02x06 - The Goodluck Bridle

[bunniefuu]

Careful, everyone.

The briar just gave me a quick glimpse

but I can tell this artifact is powerful.

Could you walk a little faster?

In the last few weeks,

a puppet rode me to India,

and a gourd preyed

on our deepest insecurities.

I'm not taking any chances here.

This is it.

"The Goodluck Bridle, 1886."

Rotten egg stink.

I think it's brimstone.

The smell most commonly associated

with the underworld. Fantastic.

Here it goes. Look out!

The curse is that it sounds

like a rodeo and smells funky?

That's not too bad at all.

There we go!

Scent is rank, mate.

All the more reason to get to New Mexico

and get the curse off the bridle ASAP.

We can't all go.

We have somewhat

concrete evidence an intruder

The black ribbon.

The black ribbon has been

rummaging through this place.

If we all go on this trip, the Restricted

Wing will be completely unguarded.

Excuse you, sir.

I'll be here.

No. You mean we'll be here.

Me too. I'll stay behind.

Are you sure that's a good idea?

What about your blackouts?

Exactly.

After the last two trips,

it's safer for you if I stay home.

Plus, I wanna be here

to confront this intruder.

Love that intensity, fella.

I bet we can catch the black ribbon and

put an end to his malfeasance for good.

It is settled then.

The three of us will protect the manor.

And we'll head out to

the Wild Wild West with Mom.

We'll head over to the docks at noon.

I have to stop at work first.

Georgia wanted to see me.

Be honest, Sky.

Why are you looking up the Lapis Scarab?

How did you?

You've pulled everything we have

about it from the archives.

Why were you looking up the scarab

that was stolen from the museum?

- Stolen?

- Because we didn't tell anybody.

- Georgia, I

- And yet you have a keen interest in it.

I had no idea it was stolen, I swear.

I was planning ahead.

After the Babylonian exhibit,

I was hoping to move on to

the treasures of Egypt.

I've always appreciated your proactivity.

Have fun in New Mexico.

Thanks.

Sky Vanderhouven knows

more than she's letting on.

So, what do we got this time?

Did you soak it in sewer water?

A bridle.

I love horses.

They're the planes of the ground.

It belonged to a famous

cowboy named Omar "Big O" Goodluck.

He and his brothers started herding cattle

after the Emancipation Proclamation

ended their enslavement.

Hold up. No one in school ever mentioned

there were Black cowboys.

Well, historians say about

20% of cowboys were Black.

We even have a few in our family.

Right, Mom?

We certainly do.

My great, great granddad Bud was

quite the buckaroo back in his day.

Bud was cowboying in

the same era as the Goodlucks.

He passed down all sorts of stories about

how they'd move armies of cows

across dangerous terrain.

And at each stop,

they'd perform in the Wild West shows.

No wonder they were famous.

It was said they had the number 777

stitched on their jackets,

so everyone knew who they were.

All lucky sevens. Good luck.

Clever marketing.

This artifact is really spinning

my propellers.

I'm coming with you.

I don't know.

These missions are dangerous.

We are dealing with curses here.

Have I mentioned I live for danger?

Honestly, with Alex back, I've gotten

used to having two adults in the field.

Plus, we all know how capable Margie is.

Welcome aboard.

The black ribbon's a wriggly fish.

How are we gonna catch him?

I have a plan.

We'll use Russ's robot to move

some artifacts into the Hub,

then we're "leaving."

And while the black ribbon

examines the artifacts,

we shall emerge from

hiding and subdue him.

That's brilliant.

Your mind for underhanded tricks

almost rivals mine.

It really is beautiful out here.

Well, except for those

ominous black scorch marks.

We should come back for

a curse-free vacation sometime.

You won't have to convince Pandora.

This reminds me of my visits

to the family farm when I was young.

We'd cook dinner over the fire, practice

rope tricks from Granddad's rodeo days,

and right before bed,

he'd tell us stories about

our family's adventures in the West.

You ought to write that stuff down.

Dad's ancestors aren't the only side

of the family we should know about.

And you should pass on

your granddad's legacy

by teaching us some of

his cool rodeo tricks.

I might remember a thing or two.

Let me see that lasso.

We have a situation here.

The Goodluck Brothers.

- Russ!

- Let me go!

Take that, you beef-headed bullwhackers!

Get outta here.

No! Margie!

This is all my fault.

Margie got captured saving me and

Don't even think that.

The only ones responsible are

those cowboys.

We need to focus on saving Margie.

Mom's right. Come on.

We gotta move if we're gonna catch them.

Hang on, Margie.

You're making me dizzy.

If I hurl, it's going right in your lap.

Where did you get those?

I rented them from a nearby ranch.

If we're gonna chase down cowboys,

we might as well do it right.

That's the spirit.

The rancher told me

no one ever goes out this way.

Supposedly, the land has been cursed

for over a hundred years,

ever since six people

mysteriously went missing.

I asked him to explain, but he

really didn't want to talk about it.

Sounds like a job for us.

At least the Goodlucks

made it easy to follow them.

Hyah!

Hyah!

Eat my dust, greenhorns.

Yee-hoo!

There. This ought to be enough to

entice our intruder into the open.

Great work. Let's get outta here.

That'll do, guys. Time for bed.

Stan! Alex! Where are you?

I'm over here.

The echoes make it difficult

to follow your voice.

Real tough guy,

picking us off in the dark.

Show yourself, coward.

What is the meaning of this?

Release me, villain.

Well, that had to be the black ribbon.

- Must've caught wind of our plan.

- Who are you?

What have you done with my friends?

Alex is in trouble.

Wow. Old courthouse.

Yep. That place obviously

means something to them.

Hopefully there's something

here that can help us find Margie.

Do you have some

super genius plan to crack it open?

I sure do.

"The Goodluck Brothers versus

the town of Litchfield, New Mexico."

Apparently, a white farmer accused

the Goodlucks of stealing from him.

The brothers professed their innocence,

but a very expensive bridle

owned by Omar Goodluck was cited

as proof they had illicit funds on hand.

That's ridiculous.

The Goodlucks were famous cowboys.

They didn't need to steal to make money.

The older brothers claimed

they pooled their wages

to buy the bridle for Omar.

It was a gift to welcome

him to the family business.

They bought it from

a white man named Ben Harwood,

but he refused to testify on their behalf

and didn't produce a record of the sale.

Incidentally, Harwood had his own

theft charges dropped after the trial.

How is that fair?

Maybe Ben Harwood stole from

the farmer and lied to save himself.

It's likely.

Frontier justice was rarely fair.

The brothers were convicted

and sentenced to leave town

through the desert on foot at sunrise.

There's no way they could've survived.

It was essentially a death sentence.

My guess is,

after the brothers perished in the desert,

they came back in their current form, cursed.

Their fury wouldn't allow them to rest.

They must have been livid

that their trial was a r*cist sham.

I know I would be.

Six people went missing.

Russ, how many people were on the jury?

Six.

Mr. Goodluck, sir, we come in peace.

We were sorry to hear about

what happened during your trial.

Okay, new plan.

Run!

Just you wait till I get free.

You're gonna be sorry, pal.

Oh, come on.

Of all the trinkets you have in there,

you have nothing that can help us?

Hey, you're not carrying

anything useful either, pal.

And where in blazes have you been?

We could've used your help

while we were getting attacked.

Quickly, to the Hub.

Alex could be injured.

Or worse.

Alex!

What happened?

You don't remember?

Your encounter with the black ribbon

must have been more violent than I feared.

He ambushed us,

locked us up like common mongrels,

then he kicked the stuffing out of you.

What? It's true.

Did you get a good look at him?

No. I don't like this.

The black ribbon

is getting more dangerous.

You both need to

run through that doorframe.

I promise I have a plan.

Gotcha.

One, that was awesome.

Two, what just happened?

Back in the Old West,

it was common to put horseshoes

over your doors to keep specters out.

Guess it works.

What have you done with Margie?

Where is she?

Let's try a gentler approach.

We know what happened to you,

and we wanna help lift your curse.

But we need to know our friend's okay.

He stole my horse.

Your gentle approach worked great, Russ.

Should we gently chase after him?

How are we gonna find him?

He's already long gone,

and the horse isn't leaving a trail.

Follow the brimstone smell.

Hyah!

Yep, he went this way. Let's ride.

More brimstone stink.

These are sulfur pots.

Margie!

Are you all right?

No, not at all.

Six people. That must be the jury.

And they've been cursed too.

I guess they want us to go in there?

Why don't you go in yourself?

I think I know why. They can't.

The horseshoe's keeping them out.

There's something they need in there,

but we have to get it.

Well, we're not going anywhere

until you let Margie go.

What's happening to me?

No! Leave her alone!

She doesn't have a lot of time.

We need to move. Now.

Please don't crush me.

How are we gonna cross?

That's way too big

of a jump for any of us.

Wow. How did you do that?

You heard Mom. Cowboying's in our blood.

Swing over and send it back.

Russ!

Oh, no. Sorry, Mom.

Just don't look down.

Oh, no!

Hurry! It's gonna blow!

- Are you okay?

- I'm good.

That was too close.

Not looking forward to

doing that again on the way out.

Stay close to me.

It's hard to see and we don't want any

surprises.

Looks like someone planned

to stay here for a while.

Never a pleasant surprise.

Wait, there's something else here.

A sales ledger.

Proof the Goodluck Brothers

bought the bridle.

So this unlucky fellow

must be Ben Harwood.

I bet he came here

to hide the ledger and himself.

Looks like a rockslide got him first.

He must've been the one

who put up the horseshoe.

Once the Goodlucks took the jury,

he knew it was only a matter of time

until they came for him.

We can clear their names

and end their curse with this.

Hurry, before Margie's a ghost for good.

I have in my hands a sales ledger

owned by one Mr. Ben Harwood.

It contains a line item for one bridle,

paid for in two installments,

one from each of the

elder Goodluck Brothers.

The proof is clear.

The bridle was purchased legally.

It rightfully belongs to Omar Goodluck.

And since the bridle was

the only evidence against the brothers,

you've got nothing on them.

Please raise your hand if you'd like

to change your verdict to not guilty.

Don't get me wrong, I love riding horses,

but I think

I'll stick to flying next time.

Come on.

Risking your life by

messing with the supernatural gets

way easier after the first few times.

Look. The guy who was spying on us.

The black ribbon.

Who are you talking about?

Wha But he was just there, I swear.

What's going on here?

So after we broke the curse,

we took the sales ledger

to the state history museum,

and they took it to the governor.

The Goodlucks will be

officially pardoned next week.

Wow. Sounds like a pretty wild adventure,

even for this family.

Unfortunately,

things didn't go so great for us.

We were attacked by the black ribbon.

Oh, my gosh. Are you okay?

I'll be fine.

I'm just annoyed he knocked me out

before I could get a look at him.

Worse still, a news report stated

another artifact was stolen

from an auction house

in a nearby town that same evening.

I'm telling you,

it was the guy I saw at the docks.

The timing is too close

for it not to be him.

Maybe you're right.

Whoever he is, the black ribbon is

getting more aggressive and dangerous.