"Darkest Moon versus Mad Dog" or "D.M. Gets Her Bat Back" (at last)
As the villains were getting scared out of their wits at the Katz Motel, the agents had returned to their RV.
Agents Gammon and Darkest Moon gad returned from town in Eustace's truck and Eustace was more than happy to let them go to the RV. Agents R and Barsby were thrilled to discover the pictures, but they decided to wait until it was dark before examining them.
Then Barsby and Agent R told their partners about what they had overheard in the kitchen. D.M. was shocked, but Gammon simply folded his arms in front of him and smiled. When they were finished, Gammon said, "Didn't I tell you so?"
"Yes, Gammon, I admit you were right," said Agent R. He quickly nudged Barsby, who said, humbly, "Well…I guess I owe you an apology too for not believing you."
It took some doing, but Gammon and Barsby eventually shook hands and gave each other a quick hug. Gammon reached around him and pulled out the electromagnetic device that detected the spirit. "I guess this thing was made for a reason," he declared.
"So," spoke up D.M. "There really is a ghost?"
"Yes," said Agent R. "There is some paranormal activity that has taken over the 'body' of that small bear that the little girl carries around. She said the spirit was a doctor, so the ghost must've worked in the field of medicine before it died."
"Yeah, but without a name, we don't know how to identify this apparition," said Barsby.
"I think our top priority is that package of photos," mentioned Gammon.
"Gammon's right," said Agent R. He looked at his watch. "Let's wait an hour before opening them."
"Why?" asked Gammon and Barsby.
"Because in an hour, it'll be midnight," said D.M. with a grin. "And I think that'll be the perfect time to open them."
Gammon sighed. He hated delays, but he muttered, "Sure, why not?"
One uneventful hour later, Agent R opened the packet. Inside, there were forty-eight photographs from two rolls of film. The first ten photos were puppies from the pet shop in Nowhere. D.M. smiled embarrassingly as she put them in her pocket. The rest of the photos showed artifacts from the museum, vacant streets, and a blurry purple foot.
"Hey, there's that foot guy!" said Barsby.
"Yeah! How'd he get there?" laughed Gammon.
The next photo showed a picture of Mad Dog with a startled expression on his face that made the agents laugh.
"Hey, remember that photo, D.M.?" asked Barsby. "You took that before he tripped over the Foot!"
"Yeah," laughed D.M.
The next few photos were of Courage and Sandy. They looked surprised and startled by the camera. They were taken when the agents first met them.
Agent R flipped through the final photos. As soon as the last photo was flipped, Agent R shouted, "Wait! Look at that last one!"
D.M. held up the last photo and put in under the light. The agents leaned in to get a closer look.
"Whoa," whispered Gammon.
The photo showed Katie holding Mr. Furry. It had been taken at the museum. Katie seemed normal, but something was wrong with Mr. Furry. His head was faded over with a white haze. And in the center of that haze was the face of an old man. Grinning evilly.
The face sent chills down each agent's spine. D.M. started quivering, which caused the photo to shake in her hand.
"I think we have our proof," said Agent R.
CRASH! The sound caused the agents to jump and start screaming. They grabbed each other for protection until they suddenly realized that no one was attacking them. The agents turned around and saw a small figure standing in the middle of the RV.
It was Courage, bathed in a ray of moonlight. Above him, the emergency exit door hung down from the ceiling. Apparently, Courage had jumped down on the door from above and had fallen through it.
Courage had tried to fall asleep, but his mind kept wandering to those agents. He began to suspect they knew about the ghost. So, Courage had crept out of his house and arrived at the RV. He knew he couldn't use the front door, so he quietly climbed onto the roof and discovered the emergency exit door.
Courage shakily got up. He saw the four agents clutching each other with a fear that was quickly receding. D.M. was the first to speak.
"Hey, it's just Courage," she told her partners. She began walking towards Courage. "Hey, there! What are you doing here?"
The other agents let go of each other and slowly approached Courage. Feeling very nervous, Courage began backing up.
"Easy, Courage," soothed Agent R. "We aren't gonna hurt you."
Courage therefore let the agents walk up to him. Agent R began patting Courage on the head, but then he began patting Courage all over his furry body.
"What are you doing?" asked D.M.
"I'm just checking to make sure Courage isn't carrying any recording equipment," replied Agent R.
Gammon gently pulled Agent R away from Courage. "He's a dog, Jonathan. I think if he was carrying any equipment, we'd see it."
Agent R apologized. "Just following standard procedures, that's all."
Barsby spoke up. "I think we could use a little company."
Courage smiled at that remark.
Just then, a blinking red light caught Gammon's attention. He rushed over to a control panel.
"That's weird," Gammon said. "About five minutes ago, radar detected a low-flying aircraft hovering over the eastern area of Nowhere."
"Like a helicopter?" asked D.M. She and the other agents rushed over to him.
"Yes, but what's strange is that it appeared for a moment on the screen, out of nowhere, and then it vanished as quickly as it appeared!"
"Well, at least the town was appropriately named," muttered Barsby, trying to make a joke. No one laughed.
"Did you pick up any identification?" questioned Agent R.
"Negative. The object was unidentified."
"You mean…we got a UFO now too?" asked Barsby, his voice rising.
"Yep," said Gammon. "Looks like it. It's gone now."
"Man," said Agent R. He looked down at Courage. "Your hometown is bad news, dog."
"Speaking of bad news," said D.M. She was looking through the blinds of a window. "You guys aren't gonna like this."
Courage gulped as the agents ran to the window. They spotted a pink sports car sitting on the far side of the road. Walking around his car, baseball bat in hand, was Mad Dog. The moonlight reflected off his eyes, giving them a sinister red color. He slowly began to walk toward the RV.
"It's Mad Dog," D.M. told Courage. "He has my bat and he looks mad."
"What's he coming here for? He's already dealt with us," asked Gammon, referring to him and the other agents. As soon as he said it, all four agents turned towards Courage. The pink dog shook with fright. He had lost his sense to stay calm.
Courage also lost control of an important body function, because Agent R suddenly blurted out, "No! Not on the floor!"
Courage looked down and was immediately hit by a feeling of embarrassment. Fortunately, the floor was linoleum, so it was easy to clean up. But there wasn't time for that now.
Mad Dog would arrive at the RV within minutes. "We need to think of a plan," whispered Barsby as he closed the emergency door.
Stepping around Courage's "accident", Agent R agreed. "We obviously outnumber him, so this is what we'll do."
Everyone liked the plan except for Courage, but seeing as how he didn't have much choice, he reluctantly agreed. He hoped he knew what these agents were doing.
When Mad Dog stepped up in front of the RV, he slapped the bat in his free paw. "I know you're in there, little dog," shouted Mad Dog. "You took Bunny away from me, and no one does that to me and gets away with it! So, I'm gonna count to five, and if you're not out here by the time I get to five, I'm coming in after you!"
Mad Dog counted to five and made clear that he was coming in. Walking to the rear of the RV, Mad Dog smashed the rear window in with the bat. Shards of glass rained down onto the floor. Mad Dog crawled through the window as large pieces of glass punctured his skin, but he hardly noticed. He suddenly smiled. At the other end of the RV, backed up against the emergency brake, was Courage, shaking and whining in the dark.
"There you are," said Mad Dog to himself. With that, Mad Dog started walking towards Courage. He walked past D.M. who hid under a cot, holding her breath. He walked past Gammon who hid in a cupboard, terrified that the angry Doberman would discover him. Mad Dog walked past Barsby, who hid in a closet. He held a clothes hanger in his hand, just in case.
Mad Dog's senses were focused on Courage. He trembled and whined pitifully as Mad Dog came closer and closer. ("Almost there," thought Agent R.) Mad Dog held the bat tightly in his paws and a grin spread across his face. ("One more step.")
Just then, before Mad Dog thought about raising the bat and putting an end to Courage's misery, Mad Dog felt a drop of perspiration land on his nose. As he looked up, he heard a voice scream, "NOW!!" and saw Agent R let go of the ceiling above Mad Dog and landed on top of him.
Courage ducked out of the way as Mad Dog shouted, "Get off 'a me you crummy agent!" At that moment, the other agents got out of their hiding places and started ganging up on Mad Dog.
Courage had high hopes that the agents would come out on top, but they underestimated Mad Dog…especially since he still carried the bat. After a moment of confused attacking, Mad Dog pushed D.M. aside (as she kept screaming, "Gimme back my bat!"), slammed Gammon against a wall, and elbowed Barsby in the stomach. Then, with frightening speed and dexterity, Mad Dog swung the bat into Agent R's stomach, who immediately keeled over. Then, Mad Dog hit Agent R in the side of his face with his free paw. Agent R collapsed on the ground.
"Jonathan!" shouted D.M.
Courage stood up in front of the gear stick. Mad Dog looked at Courage with a gleam in his eye. "It's just you and me, dog."
Courage felt like he was about to faint, when suddenly, D.M. shouted, "Don't hurt Courage! He's a good dog! We don't want to see him hurt!"
The moment Courage heard those words he realized these agents weren't just protecting him for the sake of the mission. These agents actually cared about him! Why else would they risk their own lives to protect him? D.M. was the most outspoken about it, but Courage knew the other agents cared about him too, having just seen them fighting against incredible odds. An instantaneous rush of adrenaline roared through Courage's veins as a single course of action entered his mind.
So, when Mad Dog turned his attention to D.M. and told her to shut up, Courage saw his opportunity. He took a flying leap towards Mad Dog and rammed him with his head. Mad Dog was taken off guard. He stumbled backwards and slipped on the puddle that Courage had made earlier. Mad Dog fell on his back as the bat left his grip and rolled towards D.M. Her hand quickly grasped the handle of the bat. She felt like Arthur pulling out the sword from the stone. With zero fear now, D.M. walked over to Mad Dog, stood on his chest, and looked down into his astonished eyes.
"Thanks for giving my bat back," she said sweetly.
Courage, Barsby, Gammon, and Agent R winced as D.M. raised the bat above her head and brought it down on Mad Dog's head with a 'POW'! It rendered Mad Dog unconscious. Looking back at the males, D.M. smiled and said, "It pays to be nice."
"So, what now?" asked Gammon.
Half an hour later, a cab drove up to the farmhouse. The agents and Courage lifted a bundle of blankets, which held Mad Dog inside of it.
The cab driver got out of the car. She was a well-built woman in her late forties. She helped them lift the bundle up onto the roof. She looked at Agent R and said, "Were you the one who called?"
"Yep," said Agent R. He decided to have a cab drive Mad Dog as far away from the farmhouse as possible. And he knew just the person to call.
"Good thing I was in the neighborhood," said the cab lady. She helped the agents tie down the mattresses to the roof of the cab.
"Now remember," Agent R told the cab driver. "Make sure you keep on driving until that dog wakes up. If he falls off, perfect. Just keep on going. He's pretty harmless once he wakes up anyway."
"Will do," said the woman. Before she got behind the wheel of the cab, she gave Agent R a kiss on the cheek. Gammon and Barsby laughed and guffawed by that action as the cab suddenly drove down the road.
Agent R sighed as he watched Gammon and Barsby walk back toward the RV. "Make sure you guys clean up all that glass!" he shouted to his two partners. Then, he clutched his stomach in pain.
D.M. and Courage rushed to him, but Agent R shook them away. "Don't worry. It's only a bruise. I'll be okay in the morning. Trust me."
"You took quite a blow," said D.M. admirably.
"Yeah. Good thing I know how to take a punch in the stomach…and the head." Agent R rubbed a sore spot on his temple. "Anyway, D.M., you might want to go and help Gammon and Barsby with the cleanup."
"Right," said D.M. She turned to Courage. "I'll be sure to clean up your little mess too," she said with a smile. Courage blushed slightly as she walked towards the RV.
Courage then saw Agent R looking back down the road. The cab was only a faint pair of red lights now. Agent R sighed and looked back at Courage. "That woman was something, wasn't she?" Courage nodded in agreement, although he didn't understand why Agent R made such a big deal. The woman wasn't exactly attractive for a guy like Agent R.
"Yep," said Agent R. "Good ol' Mom."
With that, Agent R turned on his heel, leaving a jaw-dropped Courage by the road. That agent never ceased to amaze him.
Agent R smiled to himself as he approached the RV. It's not every guy in America who has a CIA double-agent cab driver for a Mom and a Dad who's your boss.
Eventually, Courage went back into the house and fell asleep in his cot at around one A.M.
An hour later, Sandy woke up in the basement. She felt so uncomfortable knowing that the ghost could return to Mr. Furry at any moment. Suddenly, she decided she would no longer sleep down in the basement again. Sleepily, Sandy walked up the stairs and entered the living room. She walked up the other flight of stairs to the second story. She peeked into the bedroom and saw Eustace and Muriel in a deep sleep. She then continued walking until she reached the attic. She opened the door and peered inside.
There lay Courage on his back, fast asleep in the cot. Sandy walked up to him and ran a paw through the fur on Courage's head. She had never seen Courage so peaceful and calm before. Sandy wanted to wake him up and tell Courage how she felt about him, but she didn't want to disturb Courage's peaceful slumber. Besides, Sandy already knew how Courage felt about her.
A wave of sleepiness washed over Sandy just then. Sandy saw that there was just enough room for one more in the cot. She pulled aside the covers and slowly got into bed. Courage stirred slightly when Sandy laid her arm across his chest, but he didn't wake up. Sighing with satisfaction, Sandy rested her head on Courage's shoulder and was soon asleep.
(Looks like Kevin's in for one heck of a surprise when he finds out where Sandy has been sleeping. But that's not the only shock that's in store for Kevin tomorrow…)