The Things I Do For Family

Chapter 4

Misty held Courage tightly in a hug making it hard for Courage to breath.

"Misty, stop, I can't breath." gasped Courage. Misty let go of Courage. As she did so, she wiped a tear of joy from her eye.

"I'm sorry, bro." said Misty. "It's just that I'm so happy that I finally got to meet my big brother."

"Now hold on." said Courage in protest. "This can't be. I can't possibly be your big brother."

"Why not?" asked Misty as she walked over to pick up her quiver of arrows and her bow.

"Because I was an only child when my parents were launched into space." said Courage as he picked up the baseball bat he had dropped.

"But you have to be my big brother." said Misty. "We both have the same ancestral fragrance. That can't be faked, you know."

"But how could you be my sister when I never had a sister when I was a puppy?" asked Courage.

"Because Mom was pregnant before she was launched into space." said Misty.

"Really?" said Courage surprised. "But if she was, how come I didn't know about it?" The two dogs sat down on the grass.

"Well, what happened was that a few days before Mom and Dad where launched into space, Mom suspected that she was pregnant because of all those times she kept throwing up." said Misty. Courage thought back and realized he had no memory of his Mom having vomiting urges before she was launched into outer space. Despite his suspicions, he continued to listen to Misty's story.

"She arranged an appointment with the vet for a pregnancy test but on the day she was scheduled to take that test, you got your head caught in a fence." continued Misty. "Since Mom was already scheduled for a vet appointment, she and Dad brought you to the vet." Courage's eyes shot open as he remembered something.

"Wait a minute, I remember that." said Courage. "On the day my head got stuck in that fence, Mom mentioned that she had an appointment that day. I never once wondered why she had an appointment." Courage couldn't believe that idea never occurred to him before.

"Indeed, bro." said Misty. "Mom was going to have that pregnancy test that day. When the vet freed you from that fence, he gave you a lolly pop. While you were licking that lolly pop, the vet asked Mom and Dad into the next room for the pregnancy test. At least, that's what Mom and Dad told me."

"I remember that, although I was too busy on my lolly pop to pay any attention to what my parents and the vet where saying." said Courage. "I didn't hear a word they were saying."

"And what happened after that?" asked Misty. Courage breathed in a shaky breath. It always caused him pain to have to talk about how he lost his parents.

"I remember that I had followed my parents into the next room and that was when I saw that veterinarian carrying my parents away." said Courage. "He forced my parents into the rocket and I tried to save them but I ended up falling down a garbage chute and they were launched into space." There was a moment of silence as Courage's memories of that day came to him.

"So what happened after Mom and Dad was launched into space?" asked Courage. "Did they tell you?"

"Yes they did." said Misty. "After Mom and Dad were launched into space, they found themselves on this same alien planet which contained several other dogs who were sent here by the evil vet. Realizing that they're probably going to be trapped on this planet forever, Mom and Dad tried to make the best of their situation. However, life on the planet led to tough times for Mom because as time went on, the fact that she was pregnant became increasingly more obvious. Because of the lack of food on the planet, Mom was worried that she or me wouldn't get adequate nutrition to survive. With some encouragement from Dad and with the combined efforts of the other dogs, Mom lasted through the pregnancy and finally, I was born." There was a silence as Courage thought about all this.

"But where are all the other dogs?" asked Courage.

"A few months ago, there were these strange green aliens that attacked us and kidnapped the other dogs." said Misty. "Only I escaped capture. I discovered that the aliens were performing horrible experiments on the dogs so I went in to rescue Mom and Dad but..."

"Did you get them out?" asked Courage.

"Well, yes but..." said Misty.

"Take me too them." interrupted Courage. Misty looked into her brother's eyes and knew that he was anxious to see them.

"Alright." she finally said reluctantly. Misty picked up her bow and arrows, got up, and led Courage through the ravine. Courage was so excited to finally be able to see his parents again that he had butterflies in his stomach.

Courage followed closely behind Misty, swinging his baseball bat and feeling anxious all over. Misty led Courage out of the ravine and to a large green colored rock and said, "Here they are" in an unenthusiastic tone. Courage stared at the rock and was rather confused and annoyed.

"Uh, Misty, that's a rock." said Courage.

"Yeah, but what's written on the rock?" asked Misty but she said it in a way that sounded more like a challenge than a question. Courage was confused as to what she meant by that but did what he was told to do and when Courage looked closer at the rock, he realized that there was writing on it. As Courage bent over to get a closer look, he realized that the writing on the rock said, "Here lies Henry and Lily. R.I.P." When it finally registered to Courage what it was he was looking at, he began to shake his head as if he was wanting to deny it.

"Is that a grave?" asked Courage.

"Yes." said Misty as tears began to build up in her eyes. "I tried to save them but when I finally got out of the laboratories with our parents, they were already too far gone to save. I found them horribly mutilated and barely alive and they died once they were freed." Courage was barely listening to Misty. He no longer knew what to say or think. After years of waiting and hoping that he will find his parents, he finally realized that his dream will never happen. For years, he has been searching for a way to rescue his parents and yet after all that work, he only had arrived just to find out that he was too late. Courage had never felt so miserable in his life. He got down onto his knees, lied upon the stone, and cried. A rush of anger and sadness filled the little pink dog like hot air pumped into a balloon. He could barely, think feel, or even become aware of his surroundings. He was so miserable, he just cried uncontrollably. Out of his anger, he struck the rock as if he was mad at the rock. Although it hurt his paw, the pain was nothing compared to pain Courage felt all over.

The sight of watching her brother cry brought tears to Misty's eyes. She gently pulled Courage away from the stone and sat down next to him, crying along with him. When it looked like Courage had calmed down, Misty said, "I know how you feel. I had to bury my parents all by myself. I must have cried a whole week after that. Although they are dead, look on the bright side, you still have me." Courage pushed Misty off of him a little more harder than he meaned to.

"This is not what I wanted." said Courage. "I want my parents back. I wanted to be able to see them again."

"But Courage..." said Misty.

"Just get out of here." snapped Courage irritably. Misty was rather hurt by the comment. With a rather angry glare in her eyes, she said, "Fine, but bare in mind that I am still your little sister and the only biological family you have left." With that, she walked away, carrying the bow and quiver of arrows along with her. Courage made no response to Misty's comment as she left. Courage didn't even watch her walk away. He just sat there on the ground, watching the alien sun setting in the distance. Courage crawled up to the stone and said to it, "I'm so sorry, Mom and Dad. I've failed you once again." He picked up his baseball bat and headed back to his ship, leaving the grave of his Mom and Dad alone.

Little did Courage know that not too far away, hidden behind some bushes, a camera on top of a spider shaped robot was filming him walk away. From inside a screen, located in a room about a mile away two figures was watching Courage go by.

"[What is this pink creature?]" asked one figure in an alien language.

"[That is Courage, the dog I told you about.]" answered the other in the same language.

"[What must we do, my master?]" said the first figure.

"[Send some spies to study him.]" said the other. "[And make sure that he doesn't leave this planet]"

"[Right away, master.]" said the first figure and it left the room leaving his master behind. The other figure stayed to watch Courage walk away and in english, he said, "I have you now. You will not escape me this time, Courage."

Author's Note: In the dream sequence at the beginning of Chapter 1, if you read carefully, you would notice that Lily does mention that she had an appointment that day. That scene was meant to offer a hint that she was pregnant but I guess no one figured it out. Oh and by the way, the reason why I didn't describe those two that were spying on Courage was just an attempt to put in a little suspense and mystery until you read the next chapter.