Hello, and sorry for the long gap between updates as usual, but I'm getting better at it. Really.

Courage and Shirley approached the huge door that was blocking the entrance to the metal tower. "Remember, Courage, any monsters inside are merely products of the Bringer's magic, so don't be afraid to kill them," Shirley reminded. Courage nodded and focused his magic into a ball of energy. After the ball was big enough, he fired it at the door. The door was blasted off its hinges and the magical dogs ran inside.

Instantly Courage and Shirley were face to face with several humanoid creatures. They appeared to be made up of magical energy. One of them fired a magic blast at Courage. Courage used one paw to put up a magic shield, which blocked the blast, and then used his other paw to fire a magic blast of his own.

The other creatures fired blasts of their own. But Courage dodged them and fired several more blasts, each of which connected with the creatures and caused them to fade out.

"Just as I thought," Shirley said. "The Bringers haven't had time to conjure up anything dangerous. These are only basic creatures."

"Well, they certainly were easy enough," Courage remarked. "Let's just hope there isn't anything worse higher up."

Courage wasn't aware of it, but he was being watched. On the top floor was where the mistress of the castle sat. She was hidden in the shadows, as the only light in the room came from the magical crystal ball at the center of the room. The female grinned evily at Courage's statement. "Oh, but there is, dog, there is." She grinned again as Courage and Shirley entered the second floor. "Let's see how you do against my element."

Courage entered the second floor with Shirley following close behind. To both their surprises, there were no magic creatures. "Well, this is easier than I expected," Courage observed. "Let's get up to the next floor."

However, just as Courage finished his statement, the entryway to the room was slammed shut by a gigantic stone door. The same thing happened to the rooms exit. "Okay, this might be a problem," the pink dog said nervously.

Seconds later Courage's suspicions were confirmed, as several hatches in the wall opened up, and water began pouring into the room. "It's a trap," Shirley said. "We'll drown!"

"Not if I can help it," Courage said. He ran to the exit, which was still shut tight, and fired a huge magic blast at it. However, the blast didn't even put a crack in the door.

"Just as I thought. This castle has been built with magic proof stone. Your magic can't do anything."

"What about your magic? Don't you have some water evaporation spell or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," she said as she got out her saxophone. She began to play an incantation.

Water going to and fro
I command you now to stop your flow
And cease to be in your present state
Water, now, evaporate!

A mist emerged from the saxophone and drifted over the water. It did absolutely nothing.

"Uh oh, apparently the water's magic as well. Any other ideas?"

"Give me a second," Courage said as his mind raced. There was no way out of the room and the water was rising quickly. Courage racked his brain, desperately trying to find a way out. When suddenly, the water stopped pouring, and it was only waist deep. "What the…" Courage started, but he didn't finish, because another development occurred: the water began to rise up, but only in a single place. Soon, a spiral of water was wiggling in the center of the room.

Courage, look out!" Shirley yelled, and with good reason. The spiral, with snake like movements, lunged at Courage. He barely managed to get out of the way in time.

"What is that?"

"I've read about these. They're called water snakes. They're really water enchanted with magic designed to attack aquatic targets. But they've been gone for years.

"Looks like the Bringers had more time than we thought," Courage said as he dodged another attack. Courage dodged and launched a magic blast from his paw. However, the blast passed right through the creature's skin. "Oh, great, how am I supposed to fight water?"

"I don't know," Shirley said as Courage dodged another attack. "I've only read about these things in books, and they didn't say anything about how to fight these things!"

The creature lunged again. Courage produced a shield and the creature hit the shield at high speed. It burst into several drops on impact, but quickly reformed itself. The creature lunged again, and this time Courage dodged and fired two magic blasts, but he might as well have been shooting air, as the blasts passed right through it.

The water snake quickly wrapped itself around Courage in true snake fashion and began to squeeze him. Courage found himself unable to swim through the water that made up the creature's body, and was squeezed to near asphyxiation. Finally, the snake relented, giving Courage half a second to breathe before he was pulled underwater.

"COURAGE!" Shirley shouted as she ran to where her friend had been pulled under, hoping he was okay. A second later, Courage emerged from the depths, gasping for air. "Are you okay?"

"Not…really," Courage said, short on breath. Suddenly, the snake reemerged, towering over the dogs before lunging at the dogs again. The dogs dodged again, and the creature missed.

Finally, Shirley got an idea. While the snake was attacking Courage again, she took out her saxophone again and played another tune on it, along with a new chant.

As the skies grow dark as night
We shall get a mighty sight
Although to some, it may seem frightening
I summon you, thunder and lightning!

Suddenly, black clouds formed at the top of the chamber, and sparks began to flicker. "Courage, jump!" Shirley shouted. Courage, who had heard her chant, quickly did as he was told.

This was good, because a second later a lightning bolt stuck the water and, therefore, the snake. Being made entirely of water, the snake got an amplified surge of electricity, which caused it to flop around in pain. Finally, the snake stopped and fell back into the water, which promptly disappeared.

"I wish you had thought of that sooner," Courage said as he rung his fur dry. Suddenly, the exit to the room opened. "I wonder why the door just opened."

"I think it's a magic lock. The Bringers probably knew how to tame that thing and made sure the castle would let them pass if they could defeat it," Shirley explained. "Well, let's get going." The two dogs quickly exited the room.

The rest of the path up the castle was uneventful. There were a few more basic creatures, but Courage took care of theme soundly. Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the top floor room.

"This is it," Courage said. "Any words of advice?"

"Don't get killed," Shirley answered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Courage said as he pushed the doors open.

And he gasped at who was on the other side.