Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 42: The Mask
"See you tomorrow Jaune." Iris said as she gave me a kiss before taking a few steps back.
"All right Iris. See you." I said smiling. She gave her won smile before teleporting back to her domain.
Looking back down, I gave the sleeping Courage a scratch behind his head. Him and me were taking a break in the shade of the chicken coup. It was a bit of a long day since we had finally finished filling the holes the sand whale caused last week. But also shopping with Blake and Velvet as they had come to visit again. At least this time, Iris came along with us which was nice as I did miss her. Though, as we shopped around, I did notice Blake and Velvet acting a bit strange and always looking between me and Iris. But not in the jealous way. More in the cautious way. As if I might do something to her. Something bad. Luckily, it seems they have calmed down a bit now that we are back at the farmhouse. They were inside watching a movie. Yet still, my mind kept going back to that.
'Probably overthinking it.' I thought as I began to close my eyes to take a nap.
But as I did, I felt something with a threatening aura come near us. Opening my eyes, I saw a strange figure approaching us. The person was wearing white robes and a giant mask. Though my attention was immediately drawn to the mask. It was a giant white plain mask but had eyes, a nose and lips painted on it.
'Huh?' Courage said through a yawn as he woke up.
"Um, can I help you?" I asked fighting the chill I felt go down my spine.
"Men and dogs are evil." The person, who I can now tell is female because of the voice, said ominously.
"What?" I asked confused. But the felt another chill go down my spine when she simply turned her head slightly to the side.
'AAHHHH!' Courage screamed in fear. I was about to stand up to see if I can get some answers from this lade but was struck down to the ground when she, from somewhere, pulled out a kitchen sink and started beating us over the head with it repeatedly.
"OW!" I shouted as she hit us extremely hard with each hit. After about ten strikes to both of us, she stopped. Turning to Courage, I saw that his eyes and nose popped out of his head and the top of his head had things sticking out of it. And I don't think I am much better off as I feel like I am about to pass out and could feel a bit of blood coming down my face.
"Courage. Jaune." We heard Muriel call out to us.
'He, he, he.' Courage laughed when he heard this before collapsing.
"Oh, I see you both made a new friend and are playing. That's grand. Pleased to meet you. Courage and Jaune have friends but not many. We'd love it if you join us for tea." Muriel told the lady.
'No, no, no.' Courage tried to say to Muriel.
"Fine. I'll let you three alone to play." Muriel said happily before leaving to the house.
'Seriously! Does she not see the sink in her hands!' I thought astounded. I knew she was so pure and naïve, but I thought at least she would connect the dots between me and Courage being banged up to the sink in the lady's hand in a striking position.
'Come back. Come back Muriel.' Courage begged as he slowly and painfully tried to crawl to Muriel. Seeing an even larger shadow loom over us, I turned around and saw that the lady now had a washer in her hands.
'SHIT!' I thought when I saw that.
"Such a lovely girl." We heard Muriel say. At that moment, the lady brought down the washer on us. Luckily, I managed to push Courage out of the way in time. But could not say the same for me as I was crushed under the washer. But instead of just hitting me once, she picked the washer back up and hit me three more times. She then brought it up one last time.
'Fuck.' I thought as I could feel my body aching and broken. Blood now coming out in different parts of my body. My aura was struggling to keep me awake and lessen the pain and heal the wounds.
"Men and Dogs are evil." The lady said with venom in her voice. She raised the washed again but was stopped when we heard someone yell. Two people to be exact.
"JAUNE!" They yelled out as they came to stand between me and the lady.
"Such a sad sight to see." The lady said disgusted.
"Brutalizing our friend is a sad sight?!" Blake seethed as she held her weapon at the ready while Velvet helped me and Courage up.
"He and that dog deserved what I did to them and so much more." The lady answered before moving to strike me and Courage again but Velvet and Blake managed to take the washer out of her hand quite easily.
"Back off." Blake warned.
"You two still don't get it. Do you?" The lady asked while shaking her head slightly.
"What do you mean?" Velvet asked glaring at the lady.
"Men and dogs are evil. They take what they want and don't care if they hurt others in the process. Even with the ones they say they love." The lady explained. At this, I saw Blake and Velvet tense up considerably. As if they could relate to what the lady just said. But before me or Courage could say something, Muriel called out to us.
"Kids. Courage. Time for lunch. And bring your new friend." Muriel called out.
"Learn from this. All men are deceivers. Whether human or dogs." The lady said before heading to the house. And if it wasn't for the mask, I could tell she might have even spit to insult us more.
"Are you two... okay?" I asked as I noticed that they still seemed tense about what the lady told them. And now seem somewhat frozen as they didn't even seem to notice that I asked them something. Painfully getting up, I moved in front of them and waved my hand. Only then did they move.
"Sorry Jaune. Did you say something?" Blake asked shaking her head.
"And where did the lady go?" Velvet asked looking around.
"She went inside the house. Muriel thinks she's a friend." I answered wincing as I felt a surge of pain hit my head. But it did lessen as my aura finally started to heal that part.
"I guess we should go and check on Muriel. To make sure the lady doesn't do anything to her." Blake suggested though I could easily tell she was having trouble just saying that.
Yeah, what Blake said." Velvet agreed. They tried to head into the house but I stopped them.
"Are you two, okay?" I asked worried.
"Yeah, why wouldn't we be." Velvet answered quickly.
"Just something on our minds Jaune." Blake answered looking down. I didn't really believe her but I did trust them.
"Well, okay. If you both say so. But remember, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here." I reminded them.
"Thanks, Jaune. You're a good...friend." Velvet answered hesitantly. I was about to comment on that but Blake had cut in.
"We should probably head inside now. Don't know what that lady will do to Muriel." She said before running off to the house followed by Velvet.
'You think they might have personal experience with what she said?' Courage asked crawling next to me.
"Maybe. But it's not our place to pry." I answered. Picking up Courage, we made our way back to the house limping as I still felt pain in my leg. After a few minutes, we made it to the house. Opening the door, we saw everyone sitting around the table waiting for us. Though, looking at Velvet and Blake, they seemed a bit embarrassed that they forgot that I was a bit injured.
"Ah, you both just in time. Here you go. Now we can eat." Muriel said when she saw us sitting down in our seats. She placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of us before sitting down herself.
"Finally, we can eat." Eustace said as he began to eat some of the bacon on his plate.
"So, what's your name? And can you tell us a bit about yourself?" Muriel asked the lady as she poured herself a cup of tea.
"My name is kitty. And I've come from the wrong side of the tracks. My closest friend, bunny..." The lady, Kitty, began as she took the coffee pot and poured herself some coffee.
"Yes?" Muriel asked.
"... fell in love with a gangster." Kitty continued.
"Ohh, my." Muriel said shocked. Blake and Velvet eyes had widened at this as well.
"He treats her like she's, his slave." Kitty added as she added some sugar cubes to her coffee before stirring.
"My kind of guy." Eustace said as he sucked clean his fork.
"HEY!" Velvet and Blake both shouted before hitting Eustace so hard that he flew out of the room and out of the house through the window.
'Damn insensitive bastard.' I thought as I clenched my hand so hard that my knuckles turned white. Though it did make me internally smile a bit when I heard him groan in pain.
"He's a lowdown dirty dog." Kitty growled out.
'OOH!' Courage protested as he pointed to his head that was still bruised.
"Oh, gracious me!" Muriel gasped.
"Whoever does that is a lowdown dirty dog." Blake agreed.
"They truly are if they do that to their significant other." Velvet agreed. Radiating a level of anger, I never expected from her.
"When he found out I was trying to get Bunny to run away..." Kitty said before taking a sip of her coffee. The coffee sliding down her mask. "He threatened my life."
"Oh, my. Poor dear." Muriel said worried before eating an entire egg in one bite.
'But what about she did to us?' Courage asked pointing to his head.
"Courage!" Muriel scolded.
"Let Kitty finish her story." Blake added.
"Please go on Kitty." Velvet said turning to Kitty.
"I was forced to leave my home and my best friend, Bunny. I'm lost without her. Can't bear to face the truth—that I'll never see her again." Kitty said as she placed her hands on her mask. Struggling to get that sentence out.
"Oh, such a pity." Muriel said sadly.
"Take that mask off, you might see better." Eustace said as he came back in. At this, Kitty tossed all the food off the table.
"OOH!" Muriel said in shock.
"Dogs and men are evil." Kitty said as she left the room.
"Eustace, let's not mention her mask again." Muriel advised worried.
"Don't tell me what to-" Eustace began to insult but was knocked out by a pissed off Velvet and Blake.
"Asshole." Velvet surprisingly said as she and Blake left the room
'Best give them some space.' I thought as I got up and grabbed Courage before heading to the door.
"Where are you two going?" Muriel asked.
"Out. There are some important things we need to do in town." I quickly answered before leaving as I knew Muriel would suggest we take Kitty along. Not believing to see what she did to us earlier.
7:00 P.M.
'He, he, he.' Courage laughed at the show.
We were in the living room sitting on the couch watching the television. On right now was a show about crude drawing of a cat and dog fighting each other. What made it even funnier was the fact they were puppets. We only recently got back to the farmhouse from the impromptu trip to town. Getting back, we learned from Muriel that Blake and Velvet were Kitty in my room since we left. Knowing that they needed some space right now, we decided to stay in the living room.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused when we saw Kitty move in front of the television.
"Yes?" I asked her.
"Dogs and men are evil." She answered before raising a fish.
'AAHHHHH!' Courage screamed before we got hit by the fish.
"Oh, there's my halibut. Not a bother. Just have a fun." Muriel said when she spotted the fish in Kitty's hand. But instead of saying anything when she started to hit us, she just thought we were playing around and left.
"ENOUGH!" I shouted as I grabbed the fish and threw it away.
"Huf." Kitty said before heading back upstairs.
'I'm not sure if I feel safe right now.' Courage said as I wrapped a bandaged around his head.
"Same. I cannot blame her for how she sees us for considering everything that has happened to her." I told him.
'So, what should we do?' He asked. I began to think it over but our attention was drawn when Muriel called out to us.
"Jaune. Courage. Can you come here for a moment?" She shouted from upstairs.
"Coming." We shouted. Getting up, we headed up the stairs. Looking around, we saw the bathroom door open. Heading over, we saw Muriel trying to unclog a toilet.
'OOOH?' Courage asked as we walked up to her.
"See what you both could do. I'll go get Eustace." Muriel told us as she handed us the plunger.
"Okay Muriel." I told her as I grabbed the plunger and mover closer. Muriel then left as I started to get to work.
"Allow me to help. Evil dog and man." Kitty suddenly said startling us.
"What!" I shouted in shock. Before I could fully react, Kitty took the plunger from me, pushed me to the side and started to use Courage as the plunger. I was about to get up and stop her, but the door opened up which made us all freeze.
"Ah! Oh, sorry. Ha, ha. Sorry." Eustace said embarrassed before shutting the door. Seeing that Kitty was still distracted, I quickly got Courage before exiting the bathroom. Heading down the stairs, we went outside where it was safe for the moment. But not before grabbing a towel as well.
"You alright Courage?" I asked as I began to dry him off while making a mental note to wash the towel later as it now smelled like wet dog and toilet water. Not a pleasant smell.
'Fine. Just hate being wet.' He answered once I finished drying him off.
"You know, some say that dogs like toilet water." I told him with a chuckle.
'Maybe some dogs, but not me.' He said while sticking his tongue out.
"Um, what happened Jaune?" The voice of Velvet asked startling us. Turning around, we saw her and Blake walking up to us. Though Blake was covering her nose. Looking to Courage who shrugged, I decided to tell them.
"Muriel needed our help to unclog the toilet. But as we did so, Kitty came in quietly which startled us. She then pushed me to the side before beginning to use Courage as a plunger to unclog the toilet." I answered.
"Why would she do that?" Blake asked a bit surprised. But before either one of us could answer, Muriel called out to us.
"Kids. Courage. Dinner is ready." Muriel called out to us.
"Coming." I answered before heading inside.
Opening the door, we went inside to the dining room where we saw Muriel had set up steak and mashed potatoes dinner. Taking out seats, we began to eat. Though, it was a bit hard as Kitty kept starting at me and Courage with an intense glare. Despite having the mask on. But what also made it a bit uncomfortable was the clear tension in the room. And Courage and I knew that it would only take one single wrong word for everything to go up in flames. Unfortunately, like always, Eustace made it worse.
"What are you hiding from, anyway? Can't eat the food." Eustace asked mockingly.
'OOOH!' Courage howled in fear at what's about to happen.
'Damn it Eustace.' I thought bitterly as I glared at him.
"I simply don't wish to face reality." Kitty answered.
"But my dear, we all must face reality." Muriel told her. At this, I saw from the corner of my eye Blake and Velvet tense a bit before looking down.
"Really?" Kity asked as if she knew something. "Like how you sneak extra sweets when no one is watching?"
"OH!" Muriel exclaimed felling embarrassed at being caught.
"Muriel!" Eustace scolded.
"And you-" Kity said turning to Eustace. "You say you can fix anything but we all know that is a lie."
"DAAH!" Eustace exclaimed in shock before placing his hands on the table. "I'm going to bed."
"And let's not forget about you." Kitty said turning to me.
"Me?" I asked confused and worried.
"You like to delude yourself that you moved on from your previous family. But you still wonder if you could have done more to make them happy and not be thrown out. And now you're willing to do anything, including putting yourself in harm's way to make sure the past does not repeat itself. Even if it means harming yourself." Kitty answered.
"Jaune." Blake, Muriel and Velvet exclaimed.
"Excuse me." I simply said as I got up and left the table with Courage following me. Going outside, I went to a spot that was hidden where we could be alone and not be interrupted or disturbed. Sitting down, I placed my head in my hands.
'Is it true Jaune?' Courage asked.
"Which part?" I asked.
'The part where you hurt yourself.' He answered.
"Only to an extent and in the beginning. I felt like that because I was so down and felt so worthless. And I only thought about harming myself in the beginning but never actually did. Luckily, now I no longer feel that way." I explained.
'What happened?' He asked curious as he laid his head down on my lap to comfort me.
"Remember that week where me and Muriel were gone?" I asked.
'Yeah.' He answered.
"Well, that week me and Muriel went on a bonding trip. Kind of like a welcome to the family vacation. But also, its where she first called me her son. And its where I began to fully feel where I belonged and truly mattered. Since then, all those feelings went away and I have never felt better. Though, that doesn't mean I like to bring those memories back up." I explained. After that, no more words were exchanged as just basked in the now comfortable silence. It was only broken when we heard a window open from the house. Getting up, we went around and saw Muriel open the window of my room.
"I've made a bed for you here in the attic." Muriel told Kitty.
'Oh, no.' Courage said worried.
"I hope you'll be comfortable. Just shout if you need anything." Muriel said before we heard the door closed. Signifying that Muriel left my room. After a few moments, the lights went out as well with some light snoring being heard as well.
"We have to help her Courage." I told him.
'Even after all she did to us hurting you, you still want to help her?' Courage asked shocked.
"She's hurting and lost Courage. We have to help her as no one else will." I countered.
'You really have a pure soul. Fine. How we should go about it though?' He asked.
"Find her friend Bunny and reunite them. From what little she said about Bunny, I can tell they truly care for each other." I answered.
'Ok, but where should we start? We know she is with a gangster but that's about it.' He reminded me.
"Right. Okay. We can start by asking around a bit. Kitty did also mention about how she is from the wrong side of the road. And I know a part of Nowhere where it's nothing but abandoned buildings. We could check there." I answered.
'How about the gangsters?' He asked worried at having to face them which we would probably have to do.
"Right. We're most likely going to have to face them. Going to need my shield and sword." I told him after a minute.
'Okay, you start the truck while I get it. Where did you put it?' He asked as we went up to the house and entered it.
"Under the bed. Be careful to not wake her." I warned him. He nodded before heading up the stairs to my room while I went into the kitchen and grabbed the keys to Eustace's truck. Heading back outside, I started the truck and closed the doors. A moment later, Courage reappeared with my shield and sword.
'Here.' He said as he handed me them. But as I took them, I noticed he had what appeared to be a mouse toy for a cat.
"What's that?" I asked curious as I began to drive into town.
'A mouse toy the Kitty was holding while she slept.' He answered.
"You do realize she already doesn't like us and will probably dislike us even more because of this." I told him.
'Yeah, but it could probably help us find Bunny.' He countered.
"Let me see it." I said as I held out my hand. Taking it, I looked it over and it seemed like a regular cat toy. But underneath had some writing.
'To Kitty. Love Bunny.' Courage read.
"Okay, so we know Bunny gave it to Kitty. But we still need to find her." I told him. But instead of answering with words, Courage's stomach answered.
'First, let's get a snack.' He suggested. I was about to say no when my stomach growled which reminded me that I had not taken a single bite of dinner and was getting hungry.
"Okay. Let's head to Charie's diner as that is the only place open right now as its already pretty late." I said as I turned the wheel to head over to the diner.
Ten Minutes Later
Getting to the diner, we parked in front before getting off. Heading inside, we ordered two milkshakes. Sitting on the stools, we waited a few moments before getting our order. Drinking it, I began to wonder what will happen when we meet Bunny. Will she trust us? Or will she be like Kitty and not trust us at all. But either way, we have to help them reunite. Taking out the toy again, I began to look it over to see if I could find any other clues.
"Ain't that Kitty's mouse?" Charlie asked walking towards us. "You both are friends of Kitty and Bunny?"
"Not exactly. Kitty is at our home." I answered.
"So, what are you doing with their toy?" Charlie asked suspiciously.
"Trying to find Bunny and get her back to Kitty. Kitty is in a bad place now. She's lost and hurting," I explained. At this, Charlie seemed sad before sighing.
"Right. Bunny is in a bad way without Kitty. These two were the sweetest girls that ever lived." Charlies said smiling at the end.
"Really?" I asked curious.
"Yeah. You could tell just by one look that they truly cared and loved each other. But Bunny's guy, Mad Dog—He didn't like them being so friendly like. He's one nasty piece of jealously." Charlie warned.
'Do you know where they live?' Courage asked.
"He and his gang live down the road. By an abandoned building near some train tracks." He answered. "But before you go, do me one thing."
"Okay. What?" I asked.
"After you get Bunny out of there, tell her Charlie says 'Hey.'" He answered before going back to the kitchen.
"Well, we now know where to go. Let's do this." I said turning to Courage. He gulped before nodding. Getting down from the stools, we were about to leave when we heard the bell ring. Turning to it, we saw Blake and Velvet marching in here.
"THERE YOU BOTH ARE!" They growled out as they neared us.
"Um." I said confused on how to respond.
"Jaune, we were worried sick for you." Blake said angrily.
"Don't ever do that again." Velvet said with a glare.
"Alright." I said with a sigh.
"Um, Jaune. Why do you have a mouse toy?" Blake asked pointing to it. I hesitated before turning to Courage.
'Might as well tell them.' Courage told me.
"Tell us what?" Velvet asked confused.
"We are going to try and get Bunny and Kitty back together." I answered. They both seemed shocked at this.
"While that is nice of the both of you. But this doesn't concern either of you." Velvet said.
"While it does not concern us, we can all agree that Kitty is hurting. And if we don't help her, then who will?" I asked. They didn't answer as they looked at each other. "Exactly,"
"Fine. But we're coming with you." Blake said after a moment.
"Okay. But let's hurry." I told them. They nodded and we went back outside and got into the truck.
"Wait." Velvet said getting our attention.
"What is it?" I asked.
Do we even know where Bunny could be?" She asked.
"Yes. Charlie told us where she could possibly." I answered.
"Where then?" Blake asked.
"Down the road. By an abandoned building near some train tracks." I answered.
Turning back around, I turned on the truck and were off where Charlie told us to go. After about ten minutes, we were on the edge of Nowhere town and saw no more buildings. After another couple of moments, we reached our supposed destination. Getting out of the truck, we approached the train tracks near us. Looking around, we saw that there were power plants nearby as well. There also seemed to be dozens of wrecked cars piled on top of each other. Turning to the building in front of us, we noticed an ominous red glow come from the building.
'OOH!' Courage whined as he looked over the mouse toy.
"Do you think she could be in there?" Blake asked covering her nose at the foul stench the seemed to come from the building.
"We have to check to be sure." I answered. We moved up closer to the building when Velvet stopped us.
"A car is coming." She warned us. Moving to hide behind some wrecked cars quickly, we waited for the car to show up which did a second later. Taking a peek around, we saw a pink muscle car that had the license plate 'K-9' with a bone hood ornament. The door soon opened and out came a rather vicious looking dog wearing a black trench coat.
"Get down." I whispered as the dog began to look around. Moving slightly so I could see through the window of the wrecked car we were hiding behind; I saw the dog sniffing the air. For a brief moment I was afraid that he would sniff us out. But was relieved when he instead sniffed his arm pit before violently shaking his head from the smell.
"Move you tail, Bunny." A rather hostile voice demanded. Rising up a bit to see better, I saw another dog wearing a tank top that seemed to be the leader. He then reached into the car and pull someone out.
"That must be Bunny." Velvet said when we saw a Bunny wearing a rather expensive looking coat and necklace being dragged into the building by the dog. Soon, the other two dogs that were the entered the building as well.
"How are we going to get inside without alerting the other dogs?" Blake asked as scanned the building.
'How about the fire escape ladder?' Courage suggested and pointed to the side of the building where one was.
"That would work." Velvet said as we quietly made our way over.
Seeing that the ladder was a bit too high for us to reach, I moved some cans over for us to stand on. Jumping up, we climbed up the ladder to the walkway. Moving to the top, we looked through each of the windows to see if we could see Bunny. Near the top though, we finally found her. She was sitting on a couch with Mad Dog sitting next to her.
"Come on Bunny. Don't I make you happy no more?" Mad Dog asked as he placed a hand on Bunny's shoulder. But he then grew angry. "Or maybe you're still thinking about Kitty!"
"Oh." Bunny said sadly. Clearly wanting to be with Kitty again.
"Poor Bunny." Velvet said sadly. Her ears dropping as well.
"You okay Velvet?" I asked moving closer to her. Instead of answering, she just looked even more down.
"I told you to forget her!" Mad Dog growled. Looking back inside, we saw him get up from the couch and walk to the center of the room "I take you from a two-bit joint and make you a class act. And you want to make me second rate! If I even smell Kitty, I'll bury the two of you."
"Just like Adam." Blake growled. Turning to her, we saw her hands clench so hard that she actually broke a part of the window. Concerned, I looked back inside and thankfully they didn't hear it.
"Who's Adam?" I asked her. She seemed to tense a bit before sighing.
"Jaune. You said earlier that you would be offer an ear if we just need to get something off our shoulders? Right?" She asked.
"Yes. If either of you ever need someone to just listen, I'm here." I answered.
"Okay. What I am about to tell you, I have never told anyone before. Not even my parents. But also, promise me you won't tell." Blake told me.
"I won't. Whatever you say stays between us." I assured her.
"Ok. Before coming to Beacon, I used to be part of the White Fang. Before it became what it is today. And by that, I mean before it was changed back to how it truly is by the tree. Either way, when I was there, I was in a relationship with a 'man' name Adam Tarus. At first, I truly thought he loved me. But as time went on, his true colors began to show. He was abusive only cared about sex and always made me feel like crap. Always putting me down both physically and mentally. And as time went on, it only got worse. Yet anytime I tried to break away, he would punish me harshly. Each time someone would come and check or see bruises on me, he would put on his charismatic smile to dissuade anyone and make it seem like everything was okay. It was only... it was..." Blake explained recalling everything that has happened to her. But at the end, she could no longer hold back tears and was now crying.
"Blake I'm-" I began as I raised my hand to place on her shoulder but instead, she moved closer to me as she began to fully cry. Wrapping my arms around her, I let her let it all out and give her the comfort that she needs now. I do not know how long we spent like that but it didn't matter. Eventually, she stopped crying and moved away. "Feeling a bit better?"
"Yes. Thanks, Jaune. Feels good to get it off my chest." She answered with a small smile. She then took the napkin that Courage gave her to wipe her tears.
"You're welcome." I said with a smile. Hearing some crying, we turned inside and saw Bunny now crying.
"Ah, Bunny. You know you're my girl. Let's go back to the way we was. You know happy like." Mad Dog said softly as he hugged Bunny. Yet it was clear he was just hiding his true intentions.
"Damn guy. Trying to deceive her. Like..." Velvet began angrily before trailing off. Her ears drooping down even more.
"Um, Velvet?" I asked worried.
"Jaune. Can I tell you something?" She asked turning to me.
"Of course." I answered moving closer.
"While I may not have had as bad experience like Blake did, I did have some bad experiences as well." She told us.
"Want to talk about it?" I asked.
"Normally no. But I trust you Jaune. More than many others. So, I will tell you. You know how Coco and I really close? Like really close." She asked.
"Yes." I answered as I recalled that they were always together. Rarely were they ever away from each other for long.
"Well, we are actually in a relationship. But before that, I was in another relationship. A toxic relationship. The guy always deceived others into thinking that we were in a comfortable relationship. But when no one was looking, he would always bring me down. Make me feel worthless. Telling me that I would never find someone else who would truly love me. And I believed that for a while. Until Coco came and saved me from him. And the rest is history as we have been together since." She told me.
I stayed quiet as I did know what to say honestly. So, I did the next best thing. I pulled her into a hug which seemed to calm her down a bit. Blake decided to do the same as well and come to the side ad hug her as well. We only moved back when a startled Mad Dog caught our attention. Turning to look inside, we saw that Bunny had used the hook that was on Mad Dog's collar and hooked it to the lamp above them. Mad Dog tried to free himself but couldn't and was now basically strangling himself. Looking over to Bunny, we saw her reach under the couch and pull out a brief case. She then ran to the door to escape and opened the door. Only to get surprised and shocked when she saw two other dogs waiting for her. They came inside the room with Bunny backing up. At that moment, Mad Dog freed himself by ripping the lamp off the wall.
"Let go of me!" Bunny demanded as the dogs dragged her back in the room. "Let go of me! Let go of me!"
"Get this thing off of me!" Mad Dog ordered pointing to the lamp that was now on his collar. With the lamp now off, Mad ordered the other dogs to bury her. We were about to jump in but stopped when we saw the other two dogs pulled out a giant vase from the hallway. One dog placed Bunny in the center and held her there while the other filled the vase with dirt. Trapping Bunny there.
"You dogs and men are all the same. Animals! Animals!" Bunny shouted as they finished.
"Stay there Bunny and behave and I might let you out later." Mad Dog growled before they all left the room. We waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before acting.
"Courage. Give me the toy." I told him. He nodded and handed me it.
"What are you doing Jaune?" Velvet asked confused.
"Showing her that we are friendly and not part of those vicious dogs." I answered. Turning back, I softly knocked on the window to get her attention which she quickly did.
"No! No! Not more men and dogs." Bunny whined with her ears drooping. Putting my finger to my lips, I raised my other hand to show her the toy mouse. This caused her to smile. "Oh. Kitty. Help me. Before they return."
"Help me with this." I told the others as I tried to lift the window but found it wouldn't budge. Blake and Velvet moved to help me but it still took a few tries to do so. Opening it and wincing at the slight noise it made, we entered the room and made our way to Bunny.
"Okay. Courage. Help me free Bunny. Velvet, Blake. Stand watch in case the dogs come back." I told them. They nodded and went to the door while Courage and I hopped onto the vase. Grabbing the shovel, we began to dig Bunny out. After a few minutes, we managed to free her. But as soon as we did, we heard the dogs speak.
"Let's go and check on Bunny." One of the dogs suggested. And by the sound of their paws, we could tell any second, they would be here.
"Oh, no. They're coming." Bunny said worried.
"Don't worry. We'll protect you." Velvet assured her. Bunny seemed to calm down a bit but was still worried.
"HEY!" A dog suddenly growled. Looking to the door, we saw one had entered and was none too pleased with what he saw. Luckily, before he could do anything, Blake and Velvet turned off the lights and then started beating the dog up. A second later, they turned the lights back on and saw the dog beaten to hell and unconscious.
"That felt satisfying." Blake said as she smiled at the beaten gang member.
"Really satisfying." Velvet agreed. Unfortunately, this caused enough noise to alert the other dogs.
"Hey! What's going on in there!?" One of the growled.
'Great.' I thought as I took out my shield and got ready to defend Bunny.
'This is going to hurt.' Courage said as he took out a bow and bomb to help.
Few Moments later
"That takes care of them." Blake said as Courage and I buried the unconscious gang members into the vase they trapped Bunny in earlier.
"It felt really good to make them pay for all the harm they did to Bunny." Velvet agreed.
'Now we just need to worry about Mad Dog.' Courage said as we finished and jumped down from the vase.
"OH, NO! MAD DOG IS COMING!" Bunny warned as she slammed the door she just opened shut.
'EEEK!' Courage screamed in terror as he ran to the window that had fall back down since we came in and jumped through the glass. 'OW!'
"Come on!" Blake said as we moved to the window. Getting out we saw Bunny already climbing down the ladder but stopped when she realized it was too short.
"BUNNY!" We heard Mad Dog Growl as he kicked the door down.
"There's no way down." Bunny told us. Looking down, I saw that what we used earlier to get up here was taken away by the dogs.
"Yes. There is. Hold on." Velvet told Bunny. She then grabbed bunny and held her before jumping down and landing softly. Blake then did so and landed softly. But then I realized something. Mad Dog could easily climb down as well from this ladder and survive the fall. Courage seemed to notice this as well.
"Jaune. Hurry." We heard Blake yell out.
'This is going to hurt.' He said as we flipped the hook that was keeping the ladder to the rest of the fire escape. Just as we did so and fall, Mad Dog had come out of the window and nearly grabbed us.
"OW!" Courage and I grunted as we hit the floor. Well, I hit the floor while the rung of the ladder hit the back of Courage's mouth.
"Are you both okay?" Velvet and Balke asked as they helped us up. But at that moment, we heard a train whistle.
"Fine. But we have to go. Mad Dog could be down any moment." I answered.
"But where will we go. He has a car." Bunny said worried.
"We have a car we can use to escape. But we have to cross before the tarin comes." I told her.
She seemed a bit relived at this and nodded. Blake and Velvet grabbed her hands as we started to run back to the truck. But as we got half way there, we heard the sound of Mad Dog's car turning on. Looking back, we saw Mad Dog's car slowly gaining on us. Soon we reached the tracks and saw the bar had dropped to not allow cars to pass.
'Crap.' I thought as the lights of the car started to blind us a bit when we looked back. Knowing we couldn't escape him while he is in a car, we had to give Velvet, Blake and Bunny a chance to escape. And that meant having Mad Dog chase us instead. Turning to Blake and Velvet, I quickly told them the plan.
"Jaune. Are you crazy!?" Blake asked shocked.
"You could die." Velvet nearly shouted.
"If it means giving you guys a chance to escape than it's worth the risk." I told them. They seemed hesitant before nodding. Taking out the toy, I gave it to Bunny who smiled.
"Be careful." Bunny told us worried before being pulled by Velvet and Blake.
'This is going to hurt.' Courage said as we started to wave our hands to get mad Dog's attention.
"A whole lot." I agreed. As the light neared us, we braced ourselves for the car hitting us. But to our horror, it turned at the last moment and began to chase the others.
'OH NO!' Courage exclaimed.
"COME ON!" I told him as we began to chase the car.
Running as fast as we could, we managed to catch up to the back of the car. Jumping onto the bumper, we grabbed on and slowly climbed up to the window. Taking out my sword I broke the window to allow us to get in. Courage leapt in and tried to take control of the car. But Mad Dog quickly regain control and tried toss Courage out but I jumped onto to him before he could do so. Unfortunately, this caused Mad Dog to turn the wheel to the right. And while this was good as it meant we passed the girls which meant that they were safe, it wasn't good for us as it meant we went onto the train tracks. As soon as we did, we heard the train whistle with the light from the train a second later.
"AAHHHH!" We all screamed when the train let out a whistle again and did not slow down. Grabbing Courage, I jumped out of the vehicle to avoid the collision. Unfortunately, Mad Dog grabbed my leg.
"Oh, no. If I'm going down, you're going down as well." He growled as he tightened his grip on my leg. Looking down at Courage, I tossed him out of the window before grabbing my shield and braced myself.
'This is going to hurt.' I thought as I braced myself.
*BOOM*
"JAUNE!" Blake and Velvet shouted when they didn't see me jump out of the car. After a few moments, the smoke cleared and they saw Courage waving to them.
"I see him." Bunny said pointing to us. They ran over to us worried when they saw me covered in smoke and dust. But were relieved when they saw me move a bit.
"Ow." I grunted as I slowly got up.
"JAUNE! Don't scare us like that again." Blake and Velvet demanded as they helped me up.
"Don't worry. I won't." I said before coughing a bit.
"Thank you. You both are very brave." Bunny said as she pulled me and Courage into a hug.
"BUNNY!" The voice of Kitty startled us. Looking to where it came from, we saw Kitty on the train that just passed.
"Kitty." Bunny exclaimed happily.
"Let us help." Velvet said to Bunny. She seemed confused for a moment but then realized what they meant when Blake and Velvet picked her up and managed to easily catch up to the train.
"Kitty. These two girls, that boy and dog save my life. They saved my life." Bunny yelled out to her.
"I was wrong, Bunny. Not all men and dogs are evil." Kitty said as she extended her hand to Bunny. Taking it, Kitty then pulled Bunny up into the train. They then embraced each other. "Now, we can be best friends forever."
"And I have this." Bunny said as she raised the toy mouse. They then both giggled before the train took them out of sight.
"Thank you. Thank you all for everything." Was the last thing we heard the say.
"They make a nice couple. Right Courage?" I asked turning to him.
'They sure do.' He answered before collapsing. Shaking my head, I picked up Courage and Slowly made my way to the truck with Blake and Velvet joining us.
"Let's go home." I said as I started up the truck and began to drive back to the farmhouse.
Morning
'Home Sweet Home.' I thought as we finally made it back to the farmhouse. Getting off the truck, we saw Muriel on her rocking chair on the porch eating an apple.
"Courage. Kids. We have you all been?" Muriel asked worried.
"Helping some people get back together." I answered as we wobbly approached her. Aura may be good for healing you from nearly any injury, but not from exhaustion.
"How was your night, Muriel?" Velvet asked through a yawn.
"Fine just fine. We have been waiting for all you all night." Muriel as we sat down on the porch. Courage though sat on Muriel's lap. "Kitty's gone but she left something behind."
"What did she leave?" Blake asked stretching a bit.
"Eustace has taken a fancy to it." Was all she said in answer.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused. But we then heard Eustace scream in pain. Presumably from the basement.
"Muriel. You got a bobby pin?" We heard his voice call out although it sounded muffled. But that told us what Kitty left behind.
"The Mask." We all said at once.
"You all seem tired. Why don't you all go take a nap while I whip us up some breakfast?" Muriel suggested.
"Okay. Thanks mom." I said as I picked up Courage and went to my room and instantly fell asleep. Blake and Velvet doing the same only in the guest bedroom.
Note:
(1) Muted Muriel with Ruby and Weiss. (2) Car Broke, Phone yes with Pyrrha. (3) The last of the star makers with Winter and Iris. (4) Night of the Scarecrow with Qrow, Ruby and Yang. (5) Thousand years of Courage with Sun and Neptune. (6) Wrath of the librarian with Blake. (7) Squatting Tiger, Hidden Dog with Nora and Ren. (8) Cabaret Courage with Wiess. (9) Family Business with Winter. (10) Curse of Shirley with Qrow, Yang and Ruby. (11) Goat Pain with Blake and Iris(?) (12) Journey to the center of Nowhere with Peach. (13) Forbidden hat of Gold with Port and Oobleck. (14) McPhearsome Phantom with Blake and her parents. (15) Heads of Beef with Sun and Neptune. (16) Adiran, Saphron and Terra in Courage under the Volcano.
Phoenix Warehouse Productions: Yes, I'll do your request.
BlackRaptor1: I am not sure I will do that episode as I am not too sure how to do it. But if you have a suggestion on how to do it, then I will consider doing it.
I do highly apologize if anything I wrote in this particular chapter is wrong or came out offensive as it did touch a highly sensitive subject. If you feel something needs to be changed, let me know.