Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 84: Swindlin' Wind
"They got everything at this bazaar." Muriel said as she picked up an old-fashioned clock. "I know I'll find Eustace the perfect anniversary gift."
"Careful, Courage." I warned when I noticed him pick up the pinwheel excitedly. Yet, it fell on deaf ears as he began to blow on it.
'Ha, ha, ha, ha.' He laughed as he began to blow harder, making the pinwheel go faster. It was then he made the fatal mistake of bringing the fan close to his ears. And like a buzzsaw, sound included, the pinwheel tore to shreds Courage's ears. 'Oh.'
"I got you." I said as I helped him free his ears from the now-destroyed pinwheel.
"I agree with Mrs. Bagge. This bazaar has so much more than anything in Remnant. Perhaps I can find something to appease or summon the maiden that's supposedly here." A young woman with medium-brown skin, dark-red eyes, light, mint-green with a straight fringe and bangs said while observing more items on the table.
"Maybe, but I doubt it, Emerald." I warily said as I finally freed Courage's ears from the pinwheel.
Currently, it has been a month since the incident with Mondo Magic. Coco, Velvet, and Ruby have gone back to Beacon. Iris also left to resume her work in another country that I struggle to remember the name. Initially, while I was disheartened at not being able to see her again for a while, I became relieved when she left when two guests came knocking on our door. The two guests were Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black.
Apparently, they were sent here by Ozpin to investigate the sightings of a mystery maiden. Naturally, Muriel agreed to allow them to stay with us until they found what they were looking for or until they have to return to Beacon. However, Courage and I quickly felt something was off with their story. And we were right as we soon overheard them talking about capturing the maiden and bringing her back to someone named Cinder. Luckily, it seemed that we only had to deal with Emerald as she kept trying to fish for information. Mercury, however, was with Eustace elsewhere, not caring for anything at the moment. But we could tell that he was still focused on whatever mission he had and was slowly getting annoyed by Eustace.
"Isn't this grand?" Muriel asked, excited.
"It sure is." I agreed, smiling.
"I'm even tempted to come back here again as they have some stuff I need." Emerald added as she put back the item she was inspecting. Although, we could tell she was lying through her teeth. She was exceptional at lying and being faux around others. Luckily, after dealing with Eustace, Katz, and a few others, I learned how to tell when someone was lying.
"I'm so excited I can hardly feel that wood tick stuck on my toe." Muriel said before wincing. "OOOH! I take that back. If you two wouldn't mind."
"Okay." I said as I grabbed the bottle of anti-bug liquid. "Mind helping me, Courage?"
'Alright.' He said before moving to take off Muriel's boot to reveal a giant wood tick biting her big toe. 'AAAHHH!'
"But, then again, if I have to risk catching a bug like that, I might stay in Vale." Emerald commented with wide eyes at seeing the giant bug. Ignoring her while internally smirking, I applied the liquid all over the tick, causing it to become woozy and stop biting Muriel's toe.
"Thank you. That feels much better." Muriel said, smiling before inserting her foot back into her boot. She then stomped it on the floor to better fit and possibly squish the tick.
"Yuck." Emerald said, hearing the loud squishing/squelching sound that came from Muriel stomping her foot on the floor.
"I can walk just fine now." Muriel said before walking towards the next booth.
"Speaking of walking just fine, where is that idiot, Mercury?" Emerald asked, annoyed as she began to look around for him. This initially surprised us, but we quickly learned that they would, on occasion, insult each other yet never actually mean it. In fact, they do seem to care about each other, almost as if they were partners.
"There he is, by the auto parts stands with Eustace." I said, quickly spotting them.
"Jaune, right?" Emerald asked, turning to me.
"Yes?" I asked, confused and slightly nervous.
"How have you not gone insane yet? I have been here in Nowhere for less than a day, and I'm already close to losing it. First, there is your dog, who I can somehow vaguely understand. Then, there is your boss at the local diner you work at, who is a giant rat. A pig runs the local market and sells some of the best burgers I'd ever had. But let's not forget how nearly half the population are animals, not faunus. And that's even including the other weird things we saw on the way to this bazaar." She asked, exasperated at seeing the auto parts stand being operated by an elephant.
"I have no idea. Honestly, I think I have already gone insane to a degree. The only thing I can tell you is just to accept what you see and move on." I told her.
"I'm so going to need a vacation after this." She huffed, irritated. Chuckling, we ran to quickly catch up to Muriel as she reached Eustace and Mercury.
"Oh, Eustace. I found you the perfect anniversary gift." She told him while clasping her hands together.
"Uh...Me, too. Uh, I got you...A hat." He stuttered before placing the hubcap he had on Muriel's head.
"Nice hat." Mercury snickered before going silent when Emerald elbowed him in the gut.
"It suits you." Eustace said, ignoring what Mercury said.
"It really does." I added while secretly glaring at Eustace and Mercury. But I also made a mental note to get a real gift for Muriel and find something that Terra, Saphron, and Adrian would like. They wanted to come with us but had other errands to run.
"Perhaps I could find something Cinder would like." Emerald whispered. As if to answer her hopes, a whistle drew our attention.
'Huh?' Courage asked, curious as we turned to the source. And to our surprise, we saw that it was Shirley who whistled to us.
"Hello, Shirley." I greeted with a smile as we made our way over.
"A dog. A green Chihuahua that's dressed up as a gypsy. What other ridiculous things will we see today?" Mercury asked, snickering.
"Your reflection the next time you look in the mirror." Shirley remarked before turning to the rest of us. "Hey, Jaune. Courage."
"You know her?" Emerald asked, smirking at Mercury's annoyed expression.
"She helped us on occasion." I explained.
"Oh, look, Eustace. Oh. Ooh! OH! OH!" Muriel exclaimed before picking up a beautiful blue necklace with a heart attached to it.
"What are you making those weird sounds for?" Eustace asked, angry.
"She sighs because she burns to possess the beautiful amulet." Shirley explained.
'MM-HMM.' Courage agreed.
"You may have the precious treasure for a mere five dollars." Shirley told them.
"Dollars? Don't you mean lien?" Mercury asked, confused.
"It seems your as stupid as the stupid one here. Here, in Nowhere, money is the currency while in Remnant, it's lien." Shirley explained, annoyed.
"Five dollars for that?! YOU'RE CRAZY!" Eustace exclaimed, shocked.
"Five dollars." Shirley repeated, unfazed by Eustace's outburst.
"Is he always this greedy?" Emerald asked.
"Like you would not believe." I answered.
"Okay. Uh...I'll give you the dog." Eustace said while pointing to Courage.
'OOH!' Courage gasped before running off, narrowly avoiding Eustace's attempt to grab him.
"STUPID DOG! GET BACK HERE!" Eustace shouted, pissed.
"Careful, Courage. That is a bear trap!" I shouted towards him when we saw him playing with a golden bear trap. However, he must not have heard me as he kept playing with the trap. As if testing how far he could go, he placed his tongue on the trap, which, unfortunately, activated it and caused it to clamp down on his tongue.
"HA! HA! HA!" Mercury laughed while Emerald and I winced.
"That's got to hurt." She said, wincing as Courage ran in circles in pain.
"Fine. Take this." Eustace said, getting our attention. Turning back to him, we noticed that he handed Shirley a crumbled piece of paper. "The deed to my oil well."
"Wait. He has an oil well?" Emerald asked, surprised.
"Nope. That is most likely his oil bill." I answered with a sigh.
"An oil well? Yes, that is a price worthy of so fine a gift." Shirley said, taking the paper and looking it over.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Eustace!" Muriel said, delighted as Eustace placed the necklace around her neck. He then started pushing her towards the bazaar's exit.
"Well, we better-" I began before Shirley screaming cut me off.
"WHAT! THIS IS NOT OIL WELL! THIS IS OIL BILL! I HAVE BEEN SWINDLED!" She screamed, infuriated.
'Hmm?' Courage asked, walking next to us. Looking down, we had to stifle a laugh as the golden bear trap was now part of his mouth and acting as his teeth.
"Eustace tricked Shirley into giving him the necklace by giving her the oil bill and telling her it was the deed to an oil well." I explained.
"Um, what is she doing?" Mercury asked, pointing to Shirley. Turning to her, we saw that she had pulled out a bellow.
"I'm not sure." I answered, confused. But my confusion went away by what Shirley said next.
"Swindling man and Swindling wife, bear this curse upon your life; instead of swindling for your lover, you shall swindle one another!" She declared before squeezing the bellow with a purple mist coming from the hole in the front. The smoke then began to make its way to Muriel and Eustace rapidly.
'AAAHHH!' Courage gasped, his mouth opening wide enough for the bear trap to fall out. He then made a mad dash for Muriel and Eustace.
"What was that for, Shirley?" I asked, walking up to her.
"A curse. A curse to teach that no good thief." She explained before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Anyway, want to buy something? I know you green-haired one is looking for a gift for someone."
"Um. Do you have a locket or something like that?" Emerald nervously asked, unsure of what Shirley was capable of doing.
"Locket as in a necklace, sadly I do not. But I do have a pocket watch that holds two pictures." Shirley answered before holding up a gold-plated pocket watch with an engraving of a hummingbird on its lid.
"How much?" Emerald asked.
"Twenty dollars." She answered.
"Um-" Emerald began but stopped when a hand appeared in front with some cash in hand.
"Here." The voice said.
"Thanks, bowler hat man." Shirley said as she took the cash and gave the pocket watch to me to hold as Emerald and Mercury were too shocked by who they were seeing.
"ROMAN! NEO! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE!" Emerald asked, shocked.
"None of your business. Good day. Come on, Neo." He answered with a growl before turning around and leaving. Neo smirked at us, mostly to hide the fact that she was giggling at Shirley's nickname for Roman. But her smirk turned to anger at Emerald and Mercury before turning around and leaving as well.
"That was weird. Thanks." Emerald said, confused, before thanking me when I handed her the pocket watch.
"How long have they been here?" Mercury asked, eyeing their retreating forms.
"We have no idea." I lied. While they were distracted by Roman, Neo handed me a paper explaining everything.
"What about you, stupid boy?" Shirley asked, referring to Mercury.
"Nothing gets my attention, sorry." He answered after quickly scanning her contents.
"And you, Jaune?" Shirley asked, turning to me.
"Do you have anything that could be safe for a child?" I asked.
"Yes, in fact, I made one the other day." She answered before bringing something around the chest. "I call this the mannbulance."
"Why do you call it that?" Emerald asked, confused at the time.
"I didn't name it." Shirley answered
"Is it safe?" I asked, worried as Adrian cab be quite a handful at times.
"I placed a spell on it so it would avoid danger and take care of the kid." She answered before adding. "One hundred dollars."
"Well, I'm sure Adrian will like this and give the others some free time." I answered as I took out my wallet and gave her the money.
"Pleasure doing business." Shirley said before moving back behind the chest.
"All right. Let's get going." I said as I pushed the toy ambulance to the truck. However, we did have to hurry when we saw Eustace start up the truck. Thankfully, we managed to get in the back before he drove off. But, it was then that we noticed that the purple smoke wasn't around despite the time since Shirley summoned it.
"Oh, Eustace. I'm all in a tizzy about the new necklace." Muriel said, holding the necklace close to herself.
"Wow, she really loves that necklace." Mercury commented. But before any of us could comment, we saw that the purple smoke had reappeared.
'AAHHH!' Courage gasped when the smoke started going around Eustace and Muriel.
"I really got to get that exhaust pipe fixed." Eustace commented as the smoke started entering their heads through their ears.
"Are they actually that oblivious?" Mercury said, shocked.
"Unfortunately." I answered as we continued to watch the mist as we continued to make our way back to the farmhouse. All the while wondering what exactly did Shirley curse Eustace and Muriel.
Two Hours Later
"Okay, your mother makes the best food." Emerald said, finishing her food.
"What's her secret?" Mercury asked, curious.
"Vinegar." I answered with Courage nodding in agreement.
"No, seriously. What's her secret?" Emerald asked, not believing me, causing Courage and me to chuckle.
"Look how it sparkles." Muriel said, getting our attention. Turning to her, we saw that she was holding the necklace to the light. But before she could continue, she suddenly dropped the necklace as a poof of purple smoke appeared in front of her eyes.
"What was that?" Mercury asked, surprised.
"Yeah, yeah. What's for dessert?" Eustace asked, impatient.
"Your favorite, creme brulee." Muriel answered as she lifted a cloche to reveal the delicious cupcake underneath.
"Oh." Eustace said, drooling as he reached for the cupcake. But to everyone's surprise, Muriel covered it with cloche again before bringing out another two cloches. "Huh?"
"Um, what are you doing?" Emerald asked as Muriel started shuffling the cloches around at lightning speeds.
"Come and get it." Muriel said with an uncharacteristic devious smirk. Grumbling, Eustace started lifting each cloche, only to become surprised when he lifted the last one yet still did not see his cupcake.
"WHAT?" He said, surprised.
"Where did it go?" Emerald asked. But we received our answer when we heard Muriel giggling. Turning to her, we saw that she had swiped the cupcake and was now eating it.
"Talk about sleight of hand." Mercury commented, impressed.
"HEY! YOU SWINDLED ME OUT OF MY DESSERT!" Eustace shouted, angry. Yet, Muriel only laughed at his dismay. Eustace then pulled out a deck of cards. "I'll play you for your piece. Double or nothing."
"I already ate mine, loser." Muriel told him, causing him to growl. But that was cut short when the same purple mist appeared briefly in front of Eustace.
'This can't be good.' Courage said, worried as Eustace grabbed the teapot.
"Why don't you wash down that dessert with some tea?" Eustace suggested as he poured Muriel a fresh cup.
"There's a fine idea." Muriel said as she down the cup in one go.
"You do look thirsty. Have some more." Eustace said as he poured her another cup, which she drank in one go again. This went back and forth for the next couple of minutes until no more tea came from the teapot.
"Gotta get you some more tea." Eustace said, opening the lid of the teacup to see nothing inside. He then got up and left the kitchen.
"OH, MY!" Muriel gasped.
"Is everything all right, Mrs. Bagge?" Emerald asked.
"All that tea. Nature is calling." Muriel answered before getting up and running out of the kitchen.
'Huh?' Courage asked, confused.
"Could it be the curse that green dog from earlier cast on them?" Mercury asked.
"Probably." I answered, slightly worried for Muriel.
"We should probably go check on them." Emerald suggested. Nodding, we got up from our seats and headed upstairs. And to our surprise, we saw Muriel standing in front of the bathroom. The reason she wasn't using it was because Eustace somehow put a toll booth in front of the door.
"Can't get through without a token." He told Muriel.
"But I've got to go." Muriel said, bouncing up and down to try and not go on herself.
"Three bucks." Eustace said while holding three fingers up.
"Loads me up with tea and then makes me pay." Muriel said, angry as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the money to pay. "There."
"And your rocking chair." Eustace said with a smug grin after taking the money.
"WHAT!?" Muriel asked, shocked at the demand. But the urge to sue the bathroom was too strong, causing her to relent. "Fine. Take it."
"Pleasure." Eustace said as he lifted the tollbar, allowing Muriel to enter the bathroom. Once the door closed, Eustace climbed out of his booth and headed downstairs. All the while counting the money Muriel gave him and laughing.
"He's certainly an ass. He almost reminds me of my father." Mercury commented with a low snarl.
"Don't ask. It's personnel and not at all pleasant." Emerald quickly explained when Courage and I turned to her.
"Either way, we better head down to make sure nothing else happens." I said with a sigh as we headed downstairs. And we weren't surprised when we saw Eustace in Muriel's chair, laughing as he counted the money. But what did surprise us was the fact that Muriel was also down here.
'Huh?' Courage asked, confused while looking back at the steps and Muriel.
"How did she get down here before us?" Emerald asked, surprised.
"I have no idea." I said as we walked over to her. Getting there, we saw her with some sunglasses, dice, and a dice cup.
"Is everything alright, Mrs. Bagge?" Mercury asked, glaring at Eustace. But instead of answering, she placed the dice in the dice cup and started shaking it.
"Every time a winner. Who is next? Come on, come on, come on, come on!" She shouted, getting Eustace's attention. "Step up, step up, step up! Who's next?"
"What and why is she doing?" Emerald asked as Eustace focused on the game on hand.
"I'm not sure what game she is planning, but it could be the curse like Mercury suggested." I answered as Muriel rolled the dice from the dice cup.
"The dog puts up a peanut. Lady luck rules. Come on, come on, come on!" Muriel said, giving Courage a peanut before shaking the dice cup again. She let it roll after a second, with the die landing on a six. "Dog goes home with six peanuts."
'That's a stroke of luck.' Courage said, smiling at the peanuts.
"Better than my luck with these games." Emerald commented with a chuckle. Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when Eustace reached us.
"STUPID DOG!" He shouted before kicking him away. Luckily, I managed to catch him before he hit the wall.
"You okay?" I asked as I let him go.
'Fine.' He answered while dusting himself off.
"Here are your peanuts." Emerald said, handing him the peanuts.
'Thanks.' Courage said, smiling.
"I still can't believe that you understand that dog." Mercury said, still in disbelief. However, before we could say anything, Eustace caught our attention.
"Playing for peanuts!" he said as he placed his television on the table, which surprisingly did not buckle under the weight.
"Man puts up a telly. Lady Luck rules." Muriel said before tossing the dice into her palm, where it bounced off and onto the table. "Come on, come on, come on."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh." Eustace laughed, thinking he got this. Unfortunately, and to our delight, the dice landed on the word's loser. "NO!"
"Man goes home without a telly." Muriel said before lifting the television and started walking towards the kitchen. Not giving up, Eustace raced the door to try and stop her.
"HEY! WAIT A-" He began before being cut off by Muriel.
"The cops. Beat it." She said, causing him to panic and run away. Only to realize he was still in the living room. He then began to throw a tantrum.
"That's a good one. I should definitely remember to use that when we return to Beacon." Emerald said, chuckling with Mercury.
Well, now that's done. Care to help me in the kitchen?" Muriel asked, getting our attention.
"Sure." We answered as we followed her into the kitchen. Emerald and Mercury helped her set the television down in the corner while Courage and I filled a bucket full of soapy water.
"Thank you, dears." Muriel said as she grabbed a sponge and began to clean the fridge. For the next couple of minutes, everything was quiet aside from the sounds of Muriel humming and small talk between Mercury and Emerald. But that all stopped when we heard what sounded like a sheep.
"What was that?" Mercury asked, confused.
'That sounded like a sheep.' Courage said as we began to look around for the source and quickly found it.
"Really, Eustace?" I asked in disbelief when we saw it was nothing but a fake sheep.
"Gonna be rain. Baa! I feel it in my wool. Forty days, forty nights. Lots of rain. Baa!" The sheep warned.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped.
"Better use your refrigerator like a big boat. Save yourself." The sheep advised.
"He's certainly proving to be more of an annoyance than anyone else I worked with before." Emerald said, annoyed as we made our way to the stuffed sheep.
"Where is the speaker on this damn thing?" I asked as we began inspecting it.
"Save yourself. And two of every kind of fancy kitchenware you got." The sheep continued.
'Found it.' Courage said, lifting the sheep's ear to reveal the speaker.
"So get that fridge out front now. Heed this sheep. Ba-OH!" The sheep finished.
"What?" I asked, confused. Looking out the window, we saw Eustace knocked out with Mercury standing over his body.
"Damn, this guy is getting on my nerves." He said before hopping into the kitchen from the window.
"Well, at least that takes care of him for a while." I said, sighing in relief. But before I could say anything, we heard the sound of the fridge being moved across the floor. Turning around, we noticed that Muriel had actually fallen for Eustace's lies and was now pushing the refrigerator towards the front door.
'Our work is never easy.' Courage said, exasperated.
"But as you say, the things we do for love." I reminded him as we followed Muriel out the door. However, once outside, we saw water falling from the sky. But we quickly realized that it was only Eustace with the hose.
"Damn. He got back up quickly." Emerald said, surprised.
"Yeah, Eustace might be a greedy, uncaring ass. But he is damn resilient. He's been electrocuted, frozen, melted, mummified, turned to plant soil, frozen solid, trapped in a demonic box, eaten by a weremole, attacked by a giant rabid squirrel, blasted by an alien robot's laser, turned to stone, broken to pieces like a mannequin, and eaten by a dragon twice. Just to name a few." I told them.
"Wait. Dragons exist here?!" Mercury said, shocked.
"Forget the dragons. We have bigger things to worry about, such as a real undead MUMMY!" Emerald said, shocked and slightly worried.
"Oh, don't worry. The mummy is long gone and is resting peacefully for all eternity. And dragons don't usually come here that often. And when they do, it's generally because they are lost." I assured them.
"Well, either way. It seems like the only way to put that guy down is nothing short of the maiden or acts of God." Mercury said, still in shock.
'I don't think even God can put Eustace down, permanently.' I thought as Muriel finished placing everything in the fridge and finally noticed that water.
'Don't go. It's a trick.' Courage tried to warn her.
"You might need an umbrella." Eustace said through the sheep.
"Oh." Muriel said before heading back inside.
"Okay. I'm tired of this sheep." Emerald said before pulling the sheep down. And Eustace with it. Yet, despite the fall, he merely laughed as he got up and pushed the fridge to the side. And just in time as Muriel returned with her umbrella but became confused.
"Where's the rain? Where's my stuff? Where's my fridge?!" She asked before glaring at us, thinking we had taken her stuff.
'AARGH!' Courage said, irritated as he scratched his head.
"Well, where is it?" Muriel asked, her patience running thin.
"Inside with the guy who stole it." Mercury answered while pointing inside the house. Turning around, Muriel saw Eustace sitting in his chair, reading his paper with all her stuff surrounding him.
"Oh, that cheeky." Muriel said, annoyed before running into the kitchen.
"That was exceptionally quick with how he took out everything. But I'm wondering what Muriel will do next?" Emerald asked as we entered the house and headed to the other side of the living room.
"Considering what we have seen so far and learned, I'd say anything at this point." Mercury answered. "Especially since dragons and undead mummies exist."
"Good point. But either-" Emerald began before covering her ears when a loud noise greeted our eardrums. Turning to the source, we saw Muriel walking into the living room with various instruments on her body.
"Well, Nowhere needs a band with a capital "B" that rhymes with "T" that shares an alphabet with "P" and that stands "Please Join Up and Pay Me."
"YOU'RE MAKING ME DEAF!" Eustace exclaimed.
"He's not the only one." Emerald said, covering her ears as the music was nearly deafening.
Come on, join up, don't just sit there. And whatever you do, don't throw your chair.
"AAHHH!" Eustace growled, balling his fists in anger.
"WATCH OUT!" Mercury shouted before pulling Emerald to the side as Eustace threw his chair at us in an attempt to stop Muriel from playing more music. Yet, he missed as Muriel leaned to the side. Although, this did result in Eustace hitting Courage with the chair.
"You okay, Courage?" I asked as he climbed out of the chair.
'OOOH! Been better.' He answered, groaning.
Or your grandfather clock
'OOOF!' Courage grunted as the grandfather clock landed on him.
'CUCKOO! CUCKOO! CUCKOO!'
"That's going to leave a mark." Emerald said as Courage came out of the face of the grandfather clock.
OR YOUR FLOOR
'AAAAHHHHH!' Courage screamed as Eustace threw a chunk of the floor at him.
"How is your dog still alive?" Mercury asked, surprised as Courage squeezed himself through the hole in the floor.
Or your-" Muriel began but was stopped when Courage covered her mouth. However, Muriel simply retaliated by bringing out some clash cymbals and slammed them together. The sound was loud enough to get Courage off of her and for us to cover her ears.
"That was deafening." Emerald said as I helped Courage up.
"I still feel my eardrums ringing." Mercury added, walking up to us.
'Huh?' Courage asked, raising his arm. Looking at his hand, we noticed that he took the necklace with him when he fell off Muriel.
"I think it's about time we get your friend to remove this curse as this is getting out of hand." Emerald said, annoyed as Muriel and Eustace began trying to swindle each other again.
"Right. Let's go get Shirley to remove the curse." I said as we made our way out of the house and back to the bazaar.
One Hour Later
"There she is." Emerald said, pointing towards where Shirley was. Luckily, she was in the same spot from earlier in the day.
"Those two swindlers get what they deserve. Heh! Heh! Heh! Let's see how those teenagers who don't share food are doing. They give me rotten bananas, so I give them rotten bananas. Swindling begets swindling, just as selfishness begets banana heads." We heard Shirley say before laughing as she started into two crystal orbs.
'Help! Help! Help!' Courage said as we reached her.
"Shirley. You have to take off whatever curse you placed on Muriel and Eustace." I told her.
"Or at the very least, take it off only Mrs. Bagge." Mercury added, surprising us.
"They are driving us insane with how they are trying to cheat each other out of the possessions." Emerald added before showing the necklace. "Here's the necklace back."
"Giving back what your friends have swindled will not undo the curse. They must suffer." Shirley said before laughing. "It is too sad."
"Damn it. Well, let's head back-" I began, irritated that Shirley could not help us. But before I could finish, Shirley caught our attention.
"But what is this?" She asked as she walked towards one of the crystal balls. Curious, we moved to stand next to her and looked towards the ball as well. And to our surprise, we saw two teenagers with banana heads sitting in a car. They seemed distraught at having banana heads, yet the guy seemed to be trying to comfort his friend. "That is so sweet. He cares about the suffering of another. Eh, I undo the curse."
'OHH. That's sweet.' Courage said with a tear in his eye as we watched the teens embrace each other.
"That gives me an idea. Jaune, remember the bug that's on your mom's foot?" Emerald asked.
"Yeah." I answered before understanding what she was getting at. "Let's go."
Farmhouse
"Dear Oum. They really tore this place to shreds." Mercury said, pointing to the various holes in the walls and roof of the farmhouse.
"And everything inside as well. Including their clothes. Thankfully they're wearing at least something." Emerald added as we entered the house. Looking around, we saw that all of their possessions were in various corners of the living room. They had even torn up some of the pipes.
"What do you got left?" Eustace asked as they circled each other.
"What do you got?" Muriel asked back.
"I asked you first." Eustace countered, not backing down.
"Cheeky, aren't you." Muriel said, not taking her eyes off Eustace.
"Well, here goes nothing." I said as we headed towards Muriel. Emerald and Mercury held in place while I lifted her foot. Courage then brought out a giant magnifying glass and placed it in front of her foot to show Eustace the wood tick.
'Something left. Something left.' He said as Eustace saw the tick biting on Muriel's toe.
"What? How'd she keep that from me?" He asked, confused and surprised.
"Quick, let her go." I whispered to the others, who nodded and did so.
"HEY! LOOK OVER THERE!" Eustace said while pointing behind Muriel. And as soon as she turned around, Eustace went into his barrel and fell to the floor. He then rolled closer and stuck his big toe towards the tick.
"Oh, moving is always a hassle. But it does have more space." The tick said, surprising us, before leaping off Muriel's toe and biting Eustace's big toe.
"Oh, my. I feel so much better." Muriel cheered while dancing a bit.
"HEH! HEH! HEH!" Eustace laughed before screaming in pain as the tick's bites finally registered in his mind.
'Yes! Reverse the curse. Reverse the curse.' Courage excitedly said while bouncing up and down.
"Hopefully this works." Emerald said as purple fog mysteriously appeared in the living room and started surrounding us.
Night Time
"Thanks for allowing us to stay." Emerald said as she and Mercury exited the house and got into the cab waiting for them. Only to nearly faint when they saw a dragon fly overhead, the same dragon that ate Eustace months earlier. Not saying anything, they got into the cab with it driving away a second later. Shaking my head, I closed the door before heading to sit on the couch.
"You see, everyone. When you go around swindling people, sooner or later, you get swindled yourself. That's why honesty is always best. Isn't that right, Eustace." Muriel asked. Tuning to him, we laughed a bit when we noticed him playing cards against the tick.
"So, if I win, you get packing. If you win, you can move to my earlobe." Eustace said as he moved the cards around in his hand. Smiling, he turned them around to reveal five aces. "Five aces. What do you say to that, tick?"
"Six aces. I'm moving up." The tick answered, laughing as he revealed his hand filled with aces.
"NO!" Eustace screamed in dismay as the tick jumped to his earlobe.
'How do you think those two are doing now that they failed to find the maiden?' Courage asked, turning to me.
"Well, whoever sent them, will be upset with their findings." I answered, mentally wondering who sent them here.
Vale, Unknown location
"So, what did you find?" A mysterious lady asked as Emerald and Mercury entered the room.
"Not much, Cinder. Aside from seeing things we never imagined and want to forget." Emerald answered.
"Did you find anything regarding this maiden?" Cinder asked impatiently.
"Unfortunately, not. There are no traces of her, nor any mention of her. The townsfolk don't seem to know anything about the type of maiden we're looking for." Mercury answered.
"That's a shame. For the moment, rest as it was certainly a long trip there. I need to talk to my master." Cinder said before exiting the room.
"Well, that was a bust. At least she didn't seem too pissed at us for failing." Mercury said as he laid down on his bed.
"You, know. I'm surprised you didn't steal anything from Shirley." Emerald said, suspicious.
"Who said I didn't." Mercury said, smirking as he raised his hand to reveal a strange jewelry piece.
"Really? A jewelry piece? You don't even like or wear jewelry?" Emerald asked.
"I know that. But this seemed like it would fetch some decent lien." He explained. But as soon as he said that, they heard a roar outside their room. Confused and slightly scared, they headed over to the window and moved the curtains to the side. And to their horror, a giant red dragon was hovering outside their window. But what caught their attention was the crystal orb in its paw. Looking closer, they realized that it was a crystal ball with an image of Shirley in it.
"You just had to swindle something, didn't you." Emerald said as the crystal ball showed Shirley casting a spell with the dragon roaring angrily. But before he could say anything, a purple mist enveloped them. And the last thing they heard was Shirley's voice scolding them before finishing the curse.
Notes:
Next Chapter: (1) The Gods Must be Goosey with Iris, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. (A God will be trying to compete for Iris hand. Still need to know what god should it be and of what?) (2) The Hunchback of Nowhere with ? (3) The Precious, Wonderful, Adorable, Loveable Duckling with ? (4) Courageous Cure with ?