Huckleberry Hound: Thru the Horn

Chapter 5: Soothing the Iron Beast

After they had stepped outside and had made their way back down the front steps, they found themselves back on the road that resembled a musical staff.
 
“So, which way do we go now?” Bugle wondered.

“Well, maybe Huck should try what he did before,” Viola suggested.

Huck closed his eyes and leaned his head to the side, raising his ear as he listened carefully.  Just as he had heard before when leaving Percussion Plains, he could hear a beat in the air.  But this time, he could also hear a short and sweet melody, whispering through the air like a hauntingly beautiful breeze.  He stayed this way for a few moments, listening for where it was coming from.

“Well?” Snag asked.  “Where are we going?”

Huck opened his eyes and pointed toward a path nearby that led into the walls of a stone hollow that was covered in green vines and tall plants that looked like the rest symbols on sheet music. 

“I think the song is comin’ from there!” he said. 

“Well then, let’s shake it and bust a move on over in that direction,” Tempo said, grinning.

“Did someone say bust a move?” Huck asked. “Then follow me!”  He hopped down the path and began to skip, then turned his footwork into dance moves.

Snag shook his head and laughed.  “Well that certainly is one way to do it!  Let’s exit, stage right…boogie-wooging all the way!”

Everyone laughed, and began to join in as Huck danced his way further and further down the road.  Tempo even whipped out his bongos and began to tap a beat, which kept everyone going happily.  They were having so much fun as they traveled, but little did they realize that Cacophony was cooking up another dirty trick at that very moment.

The wicked wizard was staring out of the window of his secret hideout, sulking angrily.  “Curse those goody-goodies and their glorious music!” he snarled.  “I’ve worked so hard to shush this land into sweet horrific noise, and I’m not about to let some mangy flea-bitten mutt undo all of my efforts!”

Discord, who was standing nearby, tapped his foot and folded his arms.  “Ahem!” he piped up, looking rather annoyed.

Cacophony turned to his bulldog lackey.  “Of course, you’re not so bad yourself, Discord.  I just wish you would stop drooling and bungling around for once.  You do that, and you’ll find that it’s not so hard being my sidekick.”

“Uh, right,” Discord repiled.  “So now what are you gonna do, master?  Your little stunt back there at the Opera house didn’t go so well.”

“I know that, you canine clown!  That’s why I’m putting a little plot together as we speak.”

“Are you gonna go back out there and give them your worstest and noisiest performance yet?

“I needn’t bother this time,” Cacophony sneered.  “My mechanical monstrosity will take care of that more than easily!”

He wandered over to a nearby curtain, then pulled it open to reveal a most unusual-looking robotic creature that he had been assembling in his workshop (which was extremely cluttered and looked more like an old storage room filled with junk).  The creature looked like some sort of dragon and had a wide assortment of noise-making contraptions all over its body, from gongs, to sirens to air horns and much more.  It had a mouth full of sharp metallic teeth as well, and ghastly-looking eyes that glowed like headlights. 

“I’ve been working on this for a while now, and now’s the time to put him into action,” Cacophony said.  “Those little fools will be no match for my monster’s incredible power!  Once he's done dealing with them, I’ll unleash him upon the entire land!  Nobody will have the nerve to stand up against me any longer!  Hahahahaha!”