Wow! Six months since the last chapter. I figured it'd take me a hot minute to get the next chapter out, but I did NOT intend for it to take THIS long. Once again, I do apologize for the long wait everyone. Summer hours at work kind of got in the way as well as some family issues that kind of took up a lot of my focus. But thanks to some support from my friends xXBalorBabeXx and WeirdSweetNerd97, I finally got the push to carry on with this chapter.
It's also worth noting that since the last chapter there have been two major pieces of news regarding Courage the Cowardly Dog.
First I'd like to talk about is the release of Straight Outta Nowhere, the Scooby Doo/Courage movie that honestly never realized that I wanted and needed. Not a fantastic film, but one that perfect enough for me. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourselves a favor and give it a look. At the very least it's an entertaining film for fans of both franchises.
The second piece of news is less happy though as on July 30 of this year, we lost Thea White, the voice actress for Muriel. Though she was most well known as Muriel, Thea White had an extensive career with stage acting and gained stardom with her role as Muriel. It makes me give Straight Outta Nowhere more recommendation as it was nice to hear her voice Muriel one last time. I personally wish to dedicate this chapter to her.
Some time after the incident with the evil roasted chicken carcass and Eustace somehow getting his head back, the Bagge family found themselves settling back into their normal lives. So normal that it had become almost mundane and dull once more. So dull, that Muriel felt that the four of them could do with a little change of scenery. She had ordered a pamphlet advertising a cruise that had caught her eye. She looked through it as Courage sat upon her lap, Eustace sat in his chair reading the newspaper and Avery practiced her guitar while sitting on the stairs.
"The fresh air," Muriel said as she read the pamphlet. "The blue sea, the sky forever. Boys, Avery, we're going on vacation."
"Yes!" Courage cheered as he sat up on Muriel's lap and ran off to start packing his bags.
Avery looked up from her guitar and said, "That actually sounds like fun. We need a proper vacation after that trip to the arctic."
Eustace however was less enthusiastic as he turned a page in his paper and said, "Blah blah blah! I'm not getting out of this chair."
Avery, however, was not about to let her uncle get in the way of some much need relaxation for the four of them. She gently pulled his newspaper out of his grip and looked him straight in the eye.
"Uncle Eustace, we've all been through a lot lately including you losing your head and not to mention that horrible trip to the Arctic. We could all do with some proper rest and relaxation. Can you please do us a service and go with us so we don't have to worry about a repeat of those incidents?" she said as easily as she could.
Eustace looked her in the eye as well, crossed his arms and said, "Nope! Not getting out of this chair!"
Avery could only give him a deadpan look.
Somehow, they had managed to convince Eustace to go with them as only a few days later, they were all sitting aboard the cruise ship with only one condition from the grumpy farmer. He was currently sitting out on deck with the rest of the family, sitting in his armchair that they had managed to bring aboard, still reading the newspaper that they had gotten on the day of their departure. Avery sat near him, looking out over the ocean and would give her uncle an occasional glance.
He turned another page of his paper and said, "Nope! Not getting out of this chair."
Avery sighed and said, "We heard you the first time Uncle Eustace. And the second time. And the third time."
Muriel was also sitting nearby, playing a game of Bingo, eagerly looking at the Bingo sheet in front of her.
"B-22," said the Bingo announcer over the PA.
"B-22," Muriel said and then marked it off on her sheet. "Oh my, yes."
She looked up from her board and said, "Now wasn't this a wonderful idea Eustace?"
Eustace didn't even bother to look up and simply said, "Not getting out of this chair."
Avery rolled her eyes as she looked at Courage sitting beside her. The pink little dog was looking a little green as he leaned over the railing, clutching his stomach and his mouth every now and then.
"You ok boy?" Avery asked him.
Instead of answering her, Courage let out a moan and then, out of nowhere, he stood up, grasping his mouth with both hands and ran to a nearby vent and vomited into it. Avery cringed out of disgust and walked over to him, setting a hand on his back to comfort him. Neither of them even noticed what was approaching the ship from the starboard side.
"Get it all out?" she asked him.
Courage just laughed and gave her a thumbs up. But out of nowhere, their little moment was interrupted by the sound of the ship's alarm going off.
"What the?" Avery said.
"ICEBERG ON STARBOARD BOW! MAYDAY MAYDAY! EVERYONE TO THE LIFEBOATS!" Yelled the red mustached Captain as he ran about the deck.
Avery shook her head and sarcastically said, "Yeah, that's a good way to prevent a total panic. Good job sir!"
The Captain ignored her and continued panicking.
Muriel looked up from her game and said, "Oh my!"
Eustace however ignored the situation and continued looking at his paper and said, "Not. Getting. Out. Of. This. Chair."
Courage jumped into Avery's arms and let out a shriek as the ship struck the berg, making the boat shake, forcing Avery to grab a nearby railing to stabilize herself and keep from falling over the railing and into the water. Though the hum she was feeling from the bracelet made her think that she wouldn't have fallen over anyway. A few seconds later however, the ship pulled away from the iceberg and continued along it's merry way.
The Captain, now calmed down, strode past the family and said, "Not to worry everyone, no damage done. Now as you were."
Avery sighed in relief and sat back down on the deck, letting Courage sit in her lap as she went back to looking out over the ocean and the purple dog began to fall asleep. Muriel went back to her Bingo game and Eustace didn't change a thing except turn another page.
"O-16," called the Bingo announcer.
Muriel smiled and cheered, "Bingo!"
"Yes!" Cheered Courage as he stood up in Avery's lap.
Before they could celebrate though, the ship's alarm system went off once more, making them all look up again.
"What is it this time?" Avery said, but got her answer as the captain ran back out on deck, this time he was wearing a life jacket.
"TIDAL WAVE!" he called. 'ABANDON SHIP!"
Avery looked up and out over the ocean. Sure enough, a huge wave rose up out of the water and rammed into the boat, sending it's passenger's overboard and the ship under the water.
Eustace still sat in his chair as he flew out over the ocean and said, "No sir. Not getting out of this chair."
"Oh for heck sake Uncle Eustace!" Avery said as her bracelet began to glow and her legs formed into a mermaid tail.
Some time later, Avery pulled her uncle's unconscious form up on the beach of an island somewhere near the sinking site and Courage followed, pulling Muriel's unconscious form up onto the beach as well. While the two were still out cold, Avery turned back to her human form and kneeled over her uncle's form, placing her hands on his chest and pressing down on it to get the water out of his lungs as Courage did the same with Muriel behind her.
It took a couple of attempts, but Avery was able to get enough water out for her uncle to be able to breathe again. He coughed and sputtered as he got the rest of the sea water out of his lungs and from the sound of the coughing behind her, Avery could tell that the same thing was going on with Muriel.
Eustace shooed her hands away and said, "Get off me. Where the heck are we?"
Avery glared and said, "Yeah, your welcome. To answer your question, I have no idea where we are. I just swam us to the nearest piece of land once the boat went down."
Muriel looked around and said, "Where are the other passengers?"
Avery shrugged and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen anyone else. They might have gone elsewhere or reached the lifeboats."
At this point, wreckage was beginning to wash ashore and Eustace glared at the site and said, "I told you I didn't want to go!"
Muriel merely looked at the ocean and wreckage.
"Now look where we are. And where's my chair?" Eustace complained, nearly causing Avery to blow up at him.
She would have, if her aunt hadn't spoken up before her.
"Eustace, would you forget the chair and sit right by me," Muriel said, emulating Avery's thoughts, causing her to smile a little.
Courage babbled a little as he looked out over the endless expanse of ocean.
"The fresh air, the blue sea, the sky forever. We found the perfect spot," Muriel said as she pointed at the setting.
Avery shook her head and said, "Except for the fact that we're marooned on this island. We don't even know where we are or how far away we are from the mainland and we don't know what happened to any of our fellow passengers. I wouldn't exactly call this a vacation."
Muriel waved her off and said, "We can worry about that later dear. But for right now, let's at least try to enjoy the sight of the setting sun."
Eustace however was having none of it as he angrily stated, "Blah blah blah! Where's my chair?"
Avery growled and said, "Uncle Eustace please. We can look for your chair later. For now, we need to find a good place to sleep and find a way to keep warm. It's going to be dark soon and we're going to need something to eat."
Avery and Courage spent the next few minutes gathering some wood from the wreckage for the family to sleep on in order to keep their bodies from getting too cold during the night. In the meantime, Muriel went about gathering coconuts for the family to eat and drink from. All the while, Eustace sat on the beach and complained.
As darkness fell upon the family, most of them fell asleep upon the salvaged boards and they also used giant palm leaves to keep them warm during the night. Courage was the only one who remained awake.
Unable to fall asleep due to the noises the island's forest made, he spent much of the night carving faces on the coconuts that they had gathered and jittered nervously the entire time. Unknown to any of them though, they were not alone on the island. And it's sole inhabitant was watching them from the bushes. His tail swaying at the sight of them.
By the next morning, most of the coconut shells had faces carved into them and one could see Courage's exhaustion with bags under his eyes and the eyes themselves being very bloodshot. He was so tired that he didn't even hear the sound of footsteps as they slowly approached the sleeping family. In fact, no one even noticed a thing until the old couple began to stir.
Both Muriel and Eustace yawned as Muriel stretched and Eustace scratched his side as the approaching figure's shadow fell over them. Avery still slept, but was awakened as her aunt shook her shoulder.
"Avery wake up! We're not alone here," Muriel said as she shook her niece.
Avery sat up with a start and practically shrank back as she saw who was standing there.
She was sure that she was still in a dream, because there was no way this individual could be all the way out here. Last time she had seen him, she had slammed a tennis racket over his head and left him unconscious on the floor of his basement. But the red fur and yellow eyes were unmistakable. But she remembered the most was the unnerving look in the bipedal cat's eyes as he looked at her.
"Hello," the cat said in a friendly manner. "Welcome to Klub Katz. I'm Katz."
He finished with a bow.
Avery stood and tried creeping away from him, only to get pulled back by her aunt as Courage came up to the young woman.
"Hello, I'm Muriel and this is my niece Avery," Muriel said as she pulled Avery closer to her.
Avery tried to pull back, but her aunt was surprisingly strong enough to pull her close.
"And this is my husband, Eu-" Muriel started by was cut off by the grumpy farmer.
"Where's my chair?" Eustace demanded. "What kind of club you running here?"
Avery opened her mouth to speak, but was cutoff as Katz spoke.
"A resort," he answered. "Five star."
Muriel clapped her hands once in joy and said, "Oh we're going to have our vacation after all."
Courage looked up at Katz with a small glare as Avery looked at her aunt and said, "Aunt Muriel may-"
She was cut off though as Katz suddenly turned in the direction of the supposed resort and said, "Your accommodations await. Can I help you with your luggage?"
Avery went to speak up again, but this time was cut off by her aunt.
"We don't have any I'm afraid," Muriel said. "Shipwrecked you know."
Katz stuck his right paw into his pocket, gave them a look that seemed sympathetic and said, "Pity. No matter though, we have something that can help back at the resort."
Eustace crossed his arms and said, "I ain't paying for no resort. Especially without my chair."
"I shall compensate you given your unfortunate circumstances. After that, we can look for your missing chair," Katz assured him.
Eustace's glare lowered some and said, "Well at least the resort's free."
Avery tried to speak again, but her aunt and uncle started following Katz towards the resort. Courage walked over to her and stood by her and just growled and glared in Katz's direction. Avery knelt down and patted him on the head as the three walked away.
"I recognize him boy," Avery whispered to him as the bracelet began to detect danger. "I can tell that he's still rotten and we need to get away from here before he can do anything."
A short time later, the family of four was sitting in a hut near the beach. All four had changed into robes to get out of their wet clothing as Katz saw to their comfort personally. He had brought them drinks in coconut shells as he told them some more about his resort.
"You must be wiped out after your excruciating experience," he said after the family had grabbed their drinks. "I can help with that."
"Where's my chair?" Eustace demanded right out of nowhere.
Katz looked at Eustace, but instead of actually addressing Eustace, he carried on with his upsell.
"Please, join me for a relaxing visit to our spa," he said in his smooth voice. "You'll feel... transformed."
Avery did not like the sound of that. From what she remembered about this creepy cat, that could mean something unpleasant. The memory of being trapped like a fly in a web was enough motivator for her to opt out of this spa visit. But she would not feel good about her family falling victim to it.
"I'd rather not. Maybe we sho-," she started but was cut off again.
"Ooh a spa visit. This trip just keeps getting better," Muriel said excitedly.
"Aunt Muriel we don't even-," Avery tried again but was still cut off.
"Once again, all included. Perhaps I can give make a few suggestions about your visit," Katz said.
"No suggestions. No-," Avery tired once more but cut off yet again.
"As long as I find my chair," Eustace said, irritating Katz yet again.
"After the visit," he assured Eustace.
"WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER!" Avery suddenly shouted and then stood up and walked out of the hut, followed by Courage shortly after when he had sniffed the drink and rejected the smell.
Katz watched her leave and said, "The young lady seems a bit stressed. No matter, I have a perfect treatment for her."
Avery walked away from the hut, aggravated and shaking. Courage wrapped his arms around her leg and whined in sympathy. She sighed and rubbed the top of his head in an effort to calm both herself and him. Whenever she felt angry, showing Courage some affection tended to help her feel at least a little bit better.
"Sorry if I upset you back there boy. I just can't believe how naïve Aunt Muriel and Uncle Eustace can be sometimes. How do I recognize him but not them?" she said.
Courage shrugged and let go of her leg. They took a short walk up the beach, into a small forested area and then to their surprise, they came across a soda machine. Courage pointed at it and babbled something at her with a smile on his face.
Avery felt a little relief at the sight of the machine and said, "A soda actually does sound pretty good right now. I'll take one too."
"Yay!" shouted Courage as he ran over to the machine, pulled a coin purse out of his fur and dropped a quarter in.
He selected the root beer option and waited for the drink to dispense. But as they waited, the front plate of the machine rose up and the face of a man and a captain's hat appeared on the front of the machine.
Avery backed up from the sight and Courage merely went, "Huh?"
"Leave this island!" the face shouted at them, making Courage howl and Avery's eyes widen in fright. "Never return! Terrible things happen here!"
Both Avery and Courage stared back, but Courage gasped as he suddenly recognized the face. Avery took a better look at the face in the machine and as she did, she took notice as well. If the captain's hat wasn't a dead giveaway, the red mustache and eyebrows certainly were.
They were staring at the ship captain's face. A man who was now a machine.
Courage let out a terrified scream and Avery picked him off of the ground as she ran away from the horrifying sight. But just seconds after they ran off, Courage's drink dispensed and sat in the dispensing tray.
"I say, don't you want your root beer?" the captain called out.
Avery ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but it didn't take long for her to tire out. Through her fear, she had ran faster than she normally ever would and she had run so far that it didn't take her long to completely lose her breath and she could feel her knees buckling under her. Eventually she had to stop to catch her breath. She lost her grip on Courage and stopped to lean against a tree to take a few breaths. Courage began babbling in front of her, trying to remind her of the danger that they and their loved ones were in.
She looked at him and said, "I know... Courage. I know. But I need... to catch... my breath. I need you... to go help."
Courage whined and stepped closer to her. She knew that he worried for her and she couldn't blame him. Still, even the bracelet recognized the danger and she could feel the energy pulsating through her. She knew they were in danger, but she already had a good source of defense.
"I'll be okay," she said to Courage. " You need... to help... them. Besides... I have this."
She pointed at the bracelet and held it up, the sunlight glinting off of it. Courage saw the band on her wrist and nodded. He hugged her leg real quick and ran off in the direction of the huts.
Avery leaned against the tree and closed her eyes as she took shallows breaths. Her lungs ached with each breath she took and had to urge her feet to shift to a more comfortable position. Courage wasn't gone long before she heard a rustling sound in the bushes near her.
"Courage? Back already?" she asked.
Oh how wrong she was.
Just as she started walking towards the bushes, she heard something hissing from the tree behind her. She turned towards it with a start and practically screamed when she saw what was making the sound. In the tree behind her was a spider very much like the ones that had attacked them back in the motel just a couple months earlier. She looked at it and it looked right back at her, practically looking into her very soul.
Avery backed away from the spider, only to miss the second spider that crawled out of the bushes behind her. She tripped over it and fell on her back, giving the spider's ample time to jump her while she was helpless. The last thing she saw before her fear overtook her, was one of the spider's pulling silk from it's abdomen as another pinned her arm with the bracelet to her side.
Back at the hut, Courage arrived just as Katz was beginning to lead Eustace and Muriel away from the hut and towards the spa. Eustace walked ahead as Courage ran over to Muriel to try and stop her. He babbled at her, but she took no mind.
"Oh Courage," she said as she smiled down at the purple dog. "You're just in time to join us at the spa. Have you seen Avery?"
Courage continued to babble and began to shake his head at her, but she still didn't understand what was making him so afraid.
"If the two of you would rather sun bathe, that's fine too," Muriel said as she followed Eustace and Katz as Courage tried pulling her back.
It didn't take them long to reach the spa, Courage trying his hardest to pull Muriel back the entire way. They approached the doors of the large hut labeled "Spa", but Katz stopped them to point out a sign on the door.
"I'm sorry, no dogs allowed in the spa," Katz said with a faux saddened look. "Resort rules I'm afraid."
Courage clutched his head and howled in fear. Eustace on the other hand was elated.
"My kind of spa," he said with a smile and then took a leash from out of the pocket of his robe and tied it to Courage and the other end to a tree by the doors.
Muriel frowned and said, "Won't he be left out though? And what about my niece? Won't she be missing out?"
Katz waved it off and said, "Do not fret madam. I'll see to it they get something else that's almost as nice."
He opened the door, beckoned them inside and said, "Now if you please, step inside and join me for some relaxation."
Both Eustace and Muriel stepped up to the door and Muriel turned to wave at Courage before she stepped in, followed promptly by Eustace who took the time to call Courage a stupid dog again. The doors closed as Courage tugged at the leash.
That was when the screams and mechanical sounds began.
Eustace screamed first and was followed by Muriel. At the sound of Muriel's screams, Courage began to tug on the leash even harder. As the process continued, the screams got louder and worse and the mechanical sounds became more foreboding. In an act of desperation, Courage simply unscrewed his head from his body, allowing the leash to come free and he screwed his head back on.
How he accomplished this is anyone's guess.
Once he was free, Courage walked over to the doors of the spa and tried pulling them open, only to find them locked and they wouldn't even budge. He groaned in frustration and began running around to the other side of the building to find a back way in, only to find he was too late.
He saw Katz wheeling a large washing machine away from the spa, making the dog gasp in fright. A washing machine with a familiar looking design to it.
"Courage! Courage! Help me!" came Muriel's voice from the machine.
Courage watched the scene and shook in fright, but what he saw next terrified him even more. Following Katz was a crane with a wrecking ball attached to it. A wrecking ball with Eustace's scowling face on it. That sealed the deal as Courage let out a terrified scream.
Instead of running away though, Courage followed them deeper into the island... towards a coliseum deep in the forest of the island as Katz wheeled Muriel inside and Eustace drove in after him. Courage tried to follow them inside as well, but the gate to the coliseum closed before he could.
Seeing no other alternative, Courage latched onto the wall and began to climb.
In the meantime, inside the coliseum, Avery began to stir. She tried to move her arms, but found herself unable to. Her eyes shot open in alarm and instantly wished that she hadn't. Most of her body had been webbed up by the spiders, trapping her arms to her sides and unable to pull the bracelet from. Moreover, she was also forced to look out over the coliseum battleground and was horrified by what she saw.
She saw a washing machine that had a design similar to how her aunt dressed and a crane with a wrecking ball shaped like her uncle's face. Her heart began to pound as she watched the scene. She was further terrified as Katz walked over to where she sat and looked down at her.
"Afternoon my dear. I take it you recognize me?" he said to her, already aware of the answer.
She glared at him and said, "How could I forget? You tried feeding me to your spiders. Hell, they just tried eating me again."
Katz shook his head and said, "Not eat you my dear, I'm afraid you have more value to me alive. You see, word has gone around about you and what your piece of jewelry is capable of and it had me more invested. Do you really think you ended up here by accident?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
Katz chuckled and said, "I have ways of keeping tabs on my enemies my dear, your family included. Not that you need to worry about that. Finding out about your family's little trip gave me an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. All it took was using my means and genius to create the machinery required to put things in motion once you were close to my island."
"Sounds too convenient to me," Avery snarked.
Katz gave her bored look and said, "I call it being prepared. Now then I have a choice for you. Look down there."
Avery looked back down at the battlefield and took a good look at the machines waiting below. It didn't take long for her to realize what Katz was getting at, regarding his genius ability in regards to machines. The washing machine and wrecking ball didn't just look like her relatives. They WERE her relatives.
"What are you doing to them?" she asked. "Stop!"
"That's up to you I'm afraid. I have a proposition for you young lady, either give me the bracelet and tell me about it's secrets or, better yet, join me in my endeavors. Or your family is going to have a bad day. There's no telling who would win this fight, but I doubt a washing machine would have much offense. As you can see by all the wrecked machinery down there, I know what I'm doing. What say you?" he asked.
Avery turned her head away from him and said, "You're a creep."
Katz merely stared at her, waving his tail a bit and said, "Very well then. Have it your way."
Katz turned away from Avery and looked over the arena. Avery tried to pull her arm with the bracelet free, but a couple of hisses stopped her. She looked in the direction of one of the hisses and could see one of the spiders glaring at her from nearby. A hiss on the other side of her indicated the location of the other. She now saw that even if she was able to get free, the chance of her getting away was practically non-existent given the close proximity of the spiders. All she could was try to turn her head away from the sight of the arena. But Katz merely used his tail to turn her head back in the arena's direction and force her look. She closed her eyes, but closing them would only prevent her from watching.
It wouldn't block the sounds.
Courage continued scaling scaling the way and approached the top, just as Katz addressed the non-existent crowd of the arena.
"Welcome to another evening of fine entertainment at Klub Katz," Katz announced over the arena's PA and pointed to one end of the coliseum. "Tonight for your enjoyment we have... Eustace the Wrecking Ball!"
Courage reached the top of the wall and looked down to see a bunch of smashed machinery sitting on the coliseum floor and he watched as Eustace swung the ball that was his head and laughed while doing it. Katz pushed a button on the console next to him, creating an applause sound as he pulled his microphone down to address the arena once more and pointed in Muriel's direction.
"And the opponent! Muriel! The washing machine!" he said as the applause sounded once more.
"Oh my," Muriel said as she looked up at Eustace.
Courage cringed as he looked at the two, but then caught sight of Avery seated near Katz. Her body was webbed up to just under her neck with a couple of spiders situated just near her head. That made him scream in horror.
The fight began with Eustace's head circling Muriel like a hawk, looking for just the right moment to strike.
Muriel glared at her husband and said, "Eustace, you're really going over the line here."
Eustace pulled his head back and said, "Can't help it! I'm a wrecking ball. I gotta wreck."
He laughed as Muriel continued her glare and said, "Isn't that cheeky! And I suppose you'll be wanting your laundry done, too."
Eustace tried to swipe at her head, but Muriel ducked down as best as she could. All the while, Katz hit the applause button on his console and laughed gleefully as Avery tried to look away.
"You can stop this my dear by simply accepting my little offer. Decide quickly, before your family suffers the consequences," Katz told her.
Avery remained defiant and said, "I can't let you have it."
She tried to move her wrist with the bracelet around some more, and found a small gap between the webbing on her hand and the webbing of her side and tried to move her wrist around it. She just hoped that neither Katz or the spiders took notice. Especially since the spider closest to that arm looked to be getting a little worked up. Likely due to the battle going on down below.
There came the sound of a crash and Katz got back on the mic and said, "Oh that had to hurt!"
Courage watched from the top of the wall with his jaw hanging open.
Muriel was now furious as she continued to glare at Eustace and said, "Aha! Eustace, now you've gone too far!"
Eustace continued circling her, ready to strike her once more. Courage had finally seen enough and climbed down off of the wall of the coliseum and began running back towards the spa.
He passed by the soda machine once more and the captain looked at him and once again asked, "I say, don't you want your root beer?"
Courage walked back over to the machine, grabbed the bottle of root beer and drank it down in no time at all. He belched and tossed the bottle into the recycling. He babbled a "Thank you" to the captain and ran off.
"Anytime," the captain said and smiled before finishing with, "Oh and never return!"
Courage reached the spa and wasting little time, ran inside and prepared himself for what was about to follow.
Avery wanted to stop watching, so she'd close her eyes whenever the fight got bad. But then she'd hear the sounds of the fight getting worse so she'd be forced to open to see how bad it was. Muriel was heavily dented and scratched by this point, but Eustace wasn't letting up. Finally he tried a full frontal assault on her, only for Muriel to catch his wrecking ball head in the washing machine lid that made up her mouth. Eustace tried to pull his head out, but Muriel kept a good hold on him.
Avery smiled and said, "Don't let go Aunt Muriel!"
The spiders hissed at her in response.
Katz, however, was clapping in joy and said, "I love a good family brawl. I hope it lasts."
Avery looked at him and said, "And I hope she brings you pain when she's done."
Katz laughed as he sat back down in a familiar looking chair and said, "I'd like to see her try."
It was then that everyone in the arena heard a buzzing sound, like a rotary motor running and they all looked up to see something approaching the coliseum. It was obvious that what was approaching them was a helicopter, but once the four of them saw the purple color and the face on the front, they instantly knew who it was.
"Courage!" Avery cried out.
This was followed by Muriel spitting out Eustace's head and calling out, "Oh thank goodness. Courage!"
Eustace grumbled from where his head sat and said, "Stupid helicopter dog!"
The first thing Courage did was fly towards Katz and Avery, causing one of the spiders to pounce onto the dog as he flew low. It used it's webbing to better stick to the dog's underside, only for Courage to make a sharp jerk in one direction, causing the spider to loose it's footing, with it's webbing trailing under it. But sheer luck, it landed right on Avery's side, causing her to free the wrist and had enough just enough room to spark a fire from the bracelet. It allowed her to use it to burn herself free of the cocoon holding her and then pressed it against the fallen spider, instantly burning it to a crisp. The other spider moved to snatch her again and she just flash fried that spider as well.
"No!" Katz hollered as he tried to grab her.
Avery just grabbed the webbing that had trailed down from Courage and he lifted up into the air, getting Avery out of Katz's reach. Courage then flew over Muriel and used a magnet attached to his underside to hoist her up and out of the arena as Eustace tried one last time to get her.
Katz stood up on the chair and said, "Hey! That's MY washing machine! And MY captive! And MY bracelet!"
Eustace looked at Katz, saw the chair he was standing on and said, "Hey! That's MY chair!"
He began rolling towards Katz as the feline merely sat back down in the chair and said, "Finders keepers!"
Eustace, however, however refused to accept this answer and swung his head towards Katz. The feline shrieked and dodged Eustace's head, only for the chair to get obliterated in the process.
"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!" Eustace said in pure rage.
His fury unleashed, Eustace began targeting Katz with his wrecking ball head, tearing up the coliseum in the process.
"Wreck my chair will I?" Eustace said as his head came around.
Katz tried to creep away and said, "You're mad!" He screamed and ran as Eustace tried to strike him.
"Stop this at once," Katz tried in a vain attempt to reason with Eustace, only for the angry wrecking ball to strike the spot where Katz stood just a second before.
He landed on the ground, but screamed and ran as Eustace tried striking that spot as well. Katz ran across the arena trying to make for the exit, but Eustace pursued after him.
"You need a specialist. NOOOOO!" Katz said before Eustace tried to hit him again.
"I could help you," Katz tried to reason once more as Eustace tried to get him yet again.
As this went on, Courage, Avery and Muriel flew away from the island as Eustace tore the resort apart.
After a short while, the trio happened upon a cruise ship sailing in the ocean and Courage made sure to land on the deck. The three of them sat on the stern of the ship, overlooking the setting sun as they sailed in the opposite direction of the island. By now, they had all calmed down and things were settling down once more. Avery looked at her aunt and Courage, not sure how they were going to fix the two of them or how they were going to get Eustace back. But she figured that they could worry about that later. For now though, the trio were content to finally have a chance to relax.
"I'm glad we finally got to take our holiday. Too bad Eustace couldn't join us," Muriel said.
Avery sighed as she lied against the deck and said, "I think he could do with some time to himself right now Aunt Muriel. He was pretty mad when we left."
Muriel sighed and said, "I suppose you're right dear."
Muriel looked at Courage and said, "Courage, you don't look so good."
Courage looked at her, babbled a short something before turning to the railing and emptying the contents of his stomach into the ocean once more.
Back on the island, Katz was able to crawl away from the wreckage of the coliseum as Eustace continued his rampage, searching for Katz. The feline crept away from the forsaken arena and back towards the area of the island with the "spa" and huts where he had his boat docked in a hidden marina. He climbed aboard and set sail from the island and back towards the mainland.
Once he was far enough out and had set the boat's course, he turned on the vessel's radio and placed a headset on his ears and adjusted the radio to the proper frequency before sending out a call to someone. He got a response almost instantly.
"Hello my darling it's me," he said to someone over the headset.
He sat quiet for a moment and said, "I'm afraid not. There were some oversights on my part that I honestly should have known better."
The was some noise on the other end of the headset and he said, "Trust me. Next I'll know not to underestimate the girl. Or that dog. For now, keep an eye on their farm and report back what you can see."
They exchanged a few more words as the boat sailed off into the horizon.
So that was Klub Katz. Not gonna lie, this chapter was a pain to write and get ideas for. Once again I want to thank WeirdSweetNerd97 for their help with this chapter.
Next time we shall cover Little Muriel. This is one I have several ideas for.