Sunny sky's
Chapter 32 – Bounty Hunter Bean Part 5
"So, do you think Elfo is ok?" Bean asked as she chugged down a jug of beer. Luci shrugged and took a sip of his beer. "Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine. Koga's probably already bringing him back." Bean, however, was starting to get worried.
"I don't know…maybe we should go after him?" She suggested, looking over at Luci.
Luci lets out a big groan. "Ugggghhh, fine. Let's take a beer to go for the road."
"Way ahead of you," said Bean as she picked up a beer barrel, and the two left the bar.
"Besides, how bad can Koga's situation be anyway?" Luci said confidently.
…
"It's a ha ha, and a hee hee hee-we're as happy as we can be-Elfwood is the place that We'll never flee-Our minds are blank, but our hearts are free-We work all day, and we sing with glee-We drink all night, uncontrollably-"
"Ugh…I can't stand this song…." Elfo groaned.
"Elfo!"
"How is anyone happy being here? All we do is make candy, and if someone's not happy, everyone loses their minds!"
"Elfo! Speak to me!"
"This can't be how my life is…none of this makes sense!"
"ELFO!"
"Huh? Koga?"
Elfo opened his eyes. Everything was spinning as he stared at what he believed to be a wooden floor. "Ko…ga?" He whispered. "Ugh, my head…." Elfo tried to move his right hand, but he couldn't. Both of his hands were tied up. "Elfo say something. Are you hurt?" Elfo groaned once more, and he lifted his head. "Koga, where-where are you?" Elfo's vision had started to focus. They were inside a room surrounded by all sorts of different candies. "Over here!" said Koga. Elfo turned to the right and saw Koga. "Oh my god…." Elfo whispered in shock. Koga was sealed against the wall by some hard purple candy. "How in the world did those weirdos get you like that?"
"Sleeping powder…" said Koga with a sigh. "Anyways, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I went out looking for you!" said Elfo.
"Alone?"
"I tried to get the others time come, but they were like, "Koga will be fine; he doesn't need help," and I'm like "What kind of friend leaves another friend to die? So I decided to come to look for you myself because that's what real friends do, and so i-"
"Elfo, ok, I get it," said Koga, cutting him off before he could speak again. "I appreciate the help, but you should've let me handle this."
"Oh yeah, because that's working out sooo well for you," said Elfo sarcastically.
"Look…how was I supposed to know they would spike my pudding cup with sleeping powder?!" said Koga defensively.
Elfo tried to wiggle out of the ropes but couldn't. "Koga, aren't you super strong? Can't you power out through that stuff?" He asked. Koga shook his head. "I mean…I think?" He replied, looking at the sticky melted candy that imprisoned him.
Elfo looked at Koga with a confused look, "Have you not tried?"
"Not really. After I got stuck, I just hung here and tried to process how I even got here…" said Koga. "Like, how dare those assholes use pudding to lower my guard.."
"You lowered your guard because of pudding? How does that even happen?"
"Hey, I like pudding, ok? Sue me…"
The door to the room where Elfo and Koga were being held open. Hensel stepped into the room, laughing softly like a madman. "Ah, our desert is awake!" He said as he walked over to Elfo and grabbed him. "Did you sleep well, little elf?" Hensel asked as he stared intensely at Elfo. "Uh, no, I'm tied up and hanging from the ceiling. Not the best sleep," Elfo complained. Hensel just chuckled. "Aww, you're such a cute little elf!" He then looks over at Koga. "And you…" Hensel's voice grew more profound and menacing. Koga stared at Hensel, "You need to change shirts, buddy. It's way too small for you now, big boy." He mocked. Hensel growled. "You dare hurt my sister! I'll make sure to cut you up nice and slow!" Koga scoffed. "You'd need a lot of cardio before you'd even attempt that." Hensel just huffed. "Keep up your insults, you dumb little man. You'll break soon enough…." He said as he walked out of the room with Elfo.
Koga was now alone. "Hmm…that was some damn good pudding, though…."
Hensel takes Elfo back into the kitchen and places Elfo into a pan full of vegetables. Gretel walked over and stared down at Elfo. "Mmm, he's going to cook up so well!" She licked her lips. Elfo let out a fearful whine. "W-Wait, don't do this! I'll show you where me Pot of gold is!" He cried. Hensel and Gretel looked at each other, and Hensel asked, "Pot of gold? Maybe he is a leprechaun?"
"ELFOO! KOOGAAA!" said Bean, shouting outside.
"Who's that?" said Gretel looking out the window.
"COME ON OUT, YOU BIMBOS!" Luci shouted.
It was Bean and Luci walking down the pathway outside. The two of them walk down the candy sidewalk that leads up to Hensel and Gretel's candy house. Bean looked up at the gingerbread house in awe. "Oh wow, check this out!" She said as she placed her eyes on gum drops sticking up from the ground. "You know Elfo's gotta be in here," said Luci.
The door to the gingerbread home opened, and Hensel and Gretel stood smiling at Bean and Luci. "Greeting strangers, we heard you calling for a friend outside!" said Hensel.
"Oh, um yeah, we're looking for our friend Elfo. He's about 2 feet tall, has green skin, and passive aggressive." Luci explained.
"Yeah, we're also looking for another friend named Koga. He's 6,4, has long black hair, tan skin, and carries a huge ass sword on his back," said Bean.
"Oh my, you poor, poor tasty-I mean sweet friends. Come inside, and we'll make you some food and help you look for them!" said Gretel.
Hensel and Gretel let Bean and Luci inside their gingerbread home, and they took the princess and demon into the kitchen, where they sat at the table in front of a pan of cooked meat. "Dig in!" Gretel insisted. Bean smiled. "Don't mind if I do!" She took off a piece of the leg and bites into it. "Mmmm! I like this, but as a friend." She stated as she took another bite. As she chewed her food, her eyes wandered around the kitchen till she saw an opened book on the stand on a kitchen counter—the first thing Bean saw was the body of an elf…and how to cook it. Her eyes widened, and she looked at the meat she was eating. Bean spits out the food and drops the bone. "You sick bastards!" She cried. "D-Did you serve me Elfo?" She quickly gets up from her seat, causing the chair behind her to fall back.
"Of course not," said Gretel. "Elf is desert meat. We're cooking it now!"
"BEAN! LUCI! HEEEEELP!" Elfo cried from the oven.
Bean gasped as she heard Elfo's cries and glared at Hensel and Gretel. She grabs the table and flips it onto the twins. All of the food they had on it fell on them and covered the floor. Bean rushed over to the oven and opened it. Elfo was lying in a pan surrounded by vegetables and had an apple in his mouth. As Bean hurried to try and grab Elfo, she was suddenly caught around the waist by a giant candy cane wielded by Gretel, and she yanked Bean across the room. Luci took this opportunity to hop into the oven and grab Elfo while Bean was fighting with Gretel. "Never leave a princess to do a demon's job," Luci whispered as he carried Elfo out of the oven while kicking up charcoal to the floor. Bean was defending herself against Gretel with a giant orange lollipop. Gretel slings the lollipop out of Bean's hands using her candy cane and pins it against her throat. But Gretel's attention would stray from Bean when she noticed her brother fly across the room and land against a shelf. Bean gasped and saw Koga step into the room, wielding his colossal greatsword. "K-Koga!" said Bean as she struggled to get her words out. Bean would reach over her head, grasping at anything she could to free herself. Bean would grab a random gumdrop and place it on Gretel's head. Gretel drops the candy can, releasing Bean, and stumbles back-suffocating in the gumdrop.
"I'll save you, sister!" said Hensel springing to his feet and rushing over to his sister. He grabs her by her shoulders and begins munching at the gumdrop where Gretel's mouth was, making it easier for her to breathe. "T-thank you, brother!" She sighed in relief. "Of course, siste-WATCH OUT! IT'S GOING TO BLOW!" He said, pointing at the lollipop that Bean was previously wielding. The lollipop that Bean was using was a blow pop, ignited by rocks that Luci had kicked up from the oven. The small flames surrounding the rocks lit the blow pop and exploded, kicking up dust in the kitchen.
However, this didn't stop Bean and Koga from pursuing Hensel and Gretel. Bean rushes out from the dust wielding a candy axe, and swings it at Hensel and Gretel. Hensel and Gretel avoided Bean's swings but now faced Koga, who nearly decapitated the twins when he swung his colossal sword. The two twins ducked just in time and ran out of the room. Both Hensel and Gretel laughed as they rushed down the hallway.
"Koga, are you ok?" asked Bean
"I'm fine," Koga reassured. "Let's not lose ground. We need to go after those maniacs!"
Bean nodded as she and Koga rushed out of the kitchen and down the hallway where Hensel and Gretel went. The laughs from the twins echoed in the walls, and they went further and further into the gingerbread home. "Damn it, where are they?" said Bean. Her frustrations grew as she looked up at the walls. Koga's eyes wandered around certain spots on the walls and the floor below. In situations like this, there has to be a-"Bean, look out!" He shouted. He tackled her out of the way when Giant Jawbreakers fell from the ceiling, nearly crushing them. "Whoa!" Bean gasped, staring at the broken jaw breakers. Koga reached forward and picked up a red licorice rope. "A tripwire made of Licorice candy? I guess I'll give them props for that," He said as he tossed it away. Bean and Koga looked forward and saw Hensel and Gretel. The two twins laughed and ran down the hall.
Bean and Koga pursued after them. They saw Hensel and Gretel and hurried after them. Bean and Koga walked through a doorway that led down to the basements of the gingerbread house. Once they arrived below, the two were greeted by a terrible sight. "Oh my god…." Bean whispered in shock. There was blood that covered the floors throughout the room. Piles upon piles of human bones were sitting in corners of the room, and decapitated body parts still looked fresh and were sitting on shelves; there were human legs and feet in meat grinders ground into a mesh. "Is that…a cake?" said Koga, pointing in the corner next to a bowl with squashed human flesh, a bone, and one eyeball sitting in it all. "A…human flesh a cake?" Then, a drop of blood fell onto Bean's shoulder. The two of them looked up and saw hanging severed heads above them.
"I think I'm going to be sick…" said Bean as she covered her mouth.
"Well, that explains the foul smell when I entered the house," said Koga.
"A-Alright," Bean said as she tried to pull herself together. She and Koga walked through the room. "Look…you two half to give yourselves up. Everyone will understand why you went crazy after that witch imprisoned you."
"That's not true," said Koga. "That witch was put under a spell that caused her to laugh frantically. I've seen it before. When I recognized it, I searched for who had placed it on her. Then I came here to these weirdos…."
"He's right," said Gretel's echoing voice.
"We were crazy long before we had met the witch," said Hensel's echoing voice.
"We ate our parents," said Gretel.
"Then the witch adopted us and gave us candy," said Hensel.
"But it wasn't enough," said Gretel. "So we tied her to a sink and started eating people," said Gretel with an evil giggle.
"KOGA BEHIND YOU!" Elfo called out to him as he and Luci came through another door to the basement.
Koga turned around and saw Hensel carrying a pitchfork in hand. Bean gripped her Axe tightly, but her hands trembled. Koga looks over at her. "Bean, what's wrong with you?!" He asked. She would reply, "I don't know if I can kill them…" She trembled. "Bean!" Luci called out to her. "Kill those crazy bastards!" Bean eyed down Hensel, and she raised her candy axe over her head. Bean felt the axe sink into something. Gretel was behind Bean and Koga. The Axe had fallen into her skull, killing her instantly.
"Gretel, nooo!" Hensel cried. "We were supposed to grow old together…and eat a family…." Hensel's eyes filled with rage as he charged at Bean. Bean would lift her Axe with Gretel still attached and swing downward, striking Hensel in the head with the candy axe. Both cannibal twins lay there with lifeless eyes and blood streaming down their heads.
"NOICE!" Luci cheered.
Bean lets go of the candy axe and stare's at the twins with a saddened expression. "Bean, Bean, look at me," said Luci softly. "I mean, look at the corpse too, but look at me. You finally killed someone intentionally!" He said with a cheerful expression. "I'm proud of you!" Bean would glare down at Luci. "It was self-defense!" She replied. "It was well deserved," said Koga. "I don't understand why you're so sad about it. Just take a look around you." But all of what Luci and Koga said didn't make Bean feel any better. She began to feel worse as she heard these words. Koga noticed this. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Come on, let's get out of this nasty ass place already,"
The group would leave the gingerbread house and into the fresh air that filled their nostrils. Elfo would look over at Luci and frown at him. "You know you're terrible at making people feel better," He stated. "Who said I was trying to make anyone feel better?" Luci said, confused. "Maybe when someone is feeling bad about something, you should try and say something nice?" Elfo said sternly. "But why say something nice when you make it better and rub it in?" Luci said with a grin. Elfo and Luci would begin to bicker back and forth about being nice and mean. Koga took this opportunity to check on Bean.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Koga asked.
Bean held herself and replied, "Meh," She shrugged. "I feel numb."
"Sounds about right,"
Bean looks over at Koga with a shameful look in her eye. "Sorry, I hesitated," She said softly.
"Eh, all that matters is that everyone is ok,"
"I know, but I just...It was hard for me to find the courage to take someone's life. If I go down that road, I'll lose a part of myself forever. It sounds stupid considering it's easy for you to do it…but it was hard for me." She explained as she moved her eyes from Koga to stare at the ground.
"No, I understand," He replied, staring at her. "It's a big thing to take another person's life. Good or bad."
Bean would place her eyes back onto Koga in surprise. "Is it hard for you too?"
"No, it's not hard for me to do It at all," Koga would reply with a light chuckle. "But it's not my first choice to try and take someone.'s life. I try other options if there are ways out of it. If I can, run-I'll run. If I can make peace-I'll try and make peace."
Bean lowered her eyes once more as she let Koga's words sink in. Bean would then ask, "What was it like when you killed someone for the first time?" Koga would look up at the clear skies above him as he recalled those events. "Fergus took Freya and me out to practice scouting. I was thirteen or fourteen at the time. Highway robbers ambushed us. There were four of them, I believe. Fergus was able to kill off three of them. One of them had gone after Freya and overwhelmed her. I stabbed the guy in the back, killing him."
"Whoa…you killed someone when you were thirteen?" said Bean
"Yeah, pretty much,"
"Wow, " Bean said in awe. "Well, how'd you feel after killing someone the first time?"
"I didn't feel anything at first. It wasn't till later that night everything hit me in waves. I felt numb, kind of like you are right now. I couldn't stop seeing his lifeless eyes and the blood pouring out of his wound. It kept me up all night, that's for sure."
"That sounds rough…."
"It was for a bit. But If I didn't act quickly, Freya would've been killed," said Koga, placing his eyes back on Bean. Bean would look over at Elfo, who was currently losing a wrestling fight with Luci. "Yeah…that's true…" She said quietly.
Koga would place his arm around Bean's shoulder and say, "Bean, there's nothing wrong with feeling bad about taking a life. I still think about Noland and Hector sometimes."
Bean looks up at Koga. "But didn't they try and kill you?"
"Yeah, but…at one point, I used to call them my comrades. If there were another way I could've handled all that, I would've done it without killing them," He said. His eyes wandered a bit as he began thinking about Hector and Noland. Bean was surprised at this. She's so used to seeing Koga unsympathetic about certain things. Seeing this softer and more sensitive side to him was pretty nice. "All that matters is that you saved Elfo. He's ok because of you." He smiled at her.
Bean giggled a bit. "Let's not forget I saved your tall ass, too," She grinned.
"Sure you did," Koga laughed.
"OW! OW!" Elfo cried. "I GIVE! I GIVE!"
"Hahaha! LOSER!" Luci taunted.
"Alright, you dorks, that's enough," said Koga as he walked over to them.
"Hey, Koga," said Bean. Koga truned to face her. "You mentioned that you try to go through the options you have in a confrontation. What if you can't run, or make peace with that person…what do you do then?"
"Then it's them or you," Koga said bluntly.
"I see…" Bean nods. "Ok…"
"OW! I SAID I GIVE!" Elfo whined.
"Knock it off already!" said Koga, pulling Elfo and Luci apart. Bean heaved a sigh and walked over to the three of them. That's when a realization hits her. "Hey…should we go back in there and see If there was anybody that could be alive?" She mentioned. "Hm…yeah, we should probably search the basemen-" Suddenly, the ground shook beneath their feet as the gingerbread house they were in exploded. They all watched as the fire quickly engulfed what was left the of the home. Elfo caught a cookie in his hand as it flew his way. "Yum!" He said as he took a bite out of it.
"Well… never mind then…" said Bean.
…
When the group returned to Dreamland, Koga immediately informed Zog about Hensel and Gretel and how Bean disposed of the cannibal twins. The execution that Zog planned for the witch had been canceled. Instead, it was replaced by a celebration. Everyone gathered in the courtyard as Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Koga stood on a stand as Bean made her speech.
"As rewarding as it is to kill people, nothing is better than sparing the life of one innocent person," Bean said as Pendergast brought the witch placed under the curse, Gwen, to the stand. The knights unhooked her cuffs, and she smiled at Bean. "Thank you so much, young lady! You saved my life and rid me of that awful curse!" Gwen said as she shook her hands and let out a shrieking laugh. "That was my real laugh!"
Pendergast looked at her, confused. "It sounds like the laugh she had when she was under the curse…" He whispered.
"So what're you going to do now?" Bean asked.
"Well, I'm going to return to my beautiful candy home and spend the rest of my years with my sister, who lives in the attic,"
Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Koga all looked at each other. Elfo gulped and said, "Or…you can travel…traveling is good too…" He chuckled nervously. Gwen was handed her broom, and she mounted it. "Thank you again for saving me!" She said sincerely as she took off. "Bye-Bye now! It was Elfo's fault!" Luci called out to her.
Once Gwen had left, the main event of the celebration started. King Zog had taken the stand along with Odval, who was holding a fancy-looking box in his hand. Zog cleared his throat and began to speak. "Princess Tiabeanie, please step forward!" He said as Bean did just that with a proud smile on her face. "For outstanding bravery, foresight, and wisdom, I hereby award myself this medal for my extraordinary parenting that turned you from a worthless bucktooth degenerate, to a ruthless executioner with a beautiful smile!" Zog stated as he placed the medal around his neck. He smiled at his daughter and said, "I'm proud of you, beanie."
"Really?" said Bean.
"Not that you care about what I think,"
"Yeah, I'm kind of cool that way. Thanks pops," She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. "Mention my buckteeth again, and I'll use them to bite out your spine…" she whispered to him.
"That's my girl!" said Zog proudly.
Once the celebration ended, Bean, Elfo, and Luci met at the castle gate. "So what now, princess?" Koga asked. "You still want to do the bounty hunting gig?"
Bean shook her head. "Nah I think I'm going to retire from the whole bounty-hunting thing and go back to doing what I love the most," She said with a smile.
Koga raised a brow at her. "You mean getting drunk at the bar like you usually do?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"YUP!" said Bean proudly.
"Called it, knew it by the pants," said Luci.
"You wanna join us Koga?" Bean asked.
"You know I don't drink," said Koga.
"Aww, come on, Koga, join us for once! You hardly do!"
Koga stared at Bean for a moment. "You just want me to come so I can carry you back home…right?"
"That's right!" Bean nods.
Koga sighed.
"Alright…I'll come…"
Bean, Elfo, and Luci cheered as the group headed to the local bar.
Koga reluctantly dragged his feet along.
It was going to be another long night for him.