Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 40: Serpent of Evil River
"Just a wee bit more and then we can go." Muriel said as she finished ironing another shirt of Eustace.
"Okay Muriel." Blake said as she folded the shirt that Muriel just ironed.
It was a few days since Velvet Vic and the impromptu concert for Weiss. Since then, not much has happened aside from Blake coming to visit. We already had plans to go fishing with her and Weiss. Blake for fish and Weiss for some peace and quiet. But first, we just had to finish ironing and folding some clothes before we could go. Though, it would be a lot faster if Eustace would help. But he is just sitting on his chair watching the television.
'Ahoy there, maties. You tired of doing the same old chores around the house.' The man on the television asked.
"Eustace, he's talking to me." Muriel said as she stopped ironing to watch the man.
"Why would he do that?" Eustace asked which caused all of us to glare at him.
'Then join me on a seafaring adventure. I promise never a dull moment. And there's always a catch.' The man said as he moved to show his boat.
"Now that sounds exciting." Muriel said as she resumed ironing.
"A nice relaxing sea voyage does sound nice right now." Weiss agreed.
"Even better if I could fish." Blake added already thinking of the different species of fish she could try and get.
'Sounds too good to be true.' Courage warned.
"While it does sound nice, there seems to be a catch." I agreed as I did not trust the man. 'Luckily, Eustace wouldn't spend any money on the trip so we don't need to worry about it.'
'Huh?' Courage said confused. Looking to him, I saw that he was holding the shirt that Muriel was ironing and saw that the iron burned through it. Courage then quietly and quickly folded it away.
'And the trip is free, for the first six passenger.' The man on the television said before it changed back to the program we were watching.
"We'll take it." Eustace shouted when he heard it was free.
"Yay." Muriel cheered as well with Blake and Weiss smiling. Turning to Courage, we both nodded before getting ready for this trip.
Next Day
"Aye, lubbers. I'm Sharky. Your captain. Good to have you all aboard." The captain said as he handed each of us a coconut with a straw in it.
It was a bit of a trip but we made it to the location where the seafaring adventure was. Getting onto the boat, there was a few things that the captain had to do before we could set sail. But after a half hour, we set sail and could hopefully enjoy this trip.
"Lubbers." Muriel giggled excitedly. She always like learning new things especially when it came to the sea.
"Aye, I can just smell those fish just begging for me, mate." Sharky said as he handed Muriel her drink. He then turned around to head to the helm. "Time to ship out."
"Ship out. Thrilling. And the way he says aye. That just tickles me. Aye. I can't wait to land me a big one." Muriel said smiling before turning to Eustace. "How about you Eustace?"
"As much as I despise him, I for the only time in my life, am going to take a note from him and have a nap as well. Wake up in a bit will you Jaune?" Weiss asked as she moved her hat that she brought to cover her eyes.
"Sure, thing Weiss." I answered as I took a sip from my drink.
"And I am going to try and catch some fish." Blake said as she took out her fishing gear.
"Aye, there are some mighty fine fish in these waters. Fishing chair is the front." The captain shouted from the wheel.
"You'll know where I'll be then." Blake said before dashing to the front of the ship.
'I wonder if there is any fish, she doesn't like.' Courage said as he started to eat the inside of the coconut.
"Probably not. And even if there is, it would most likely be on how it's cooked rather than the fish itself." I answered as I took another sip from my drink.
Two hours later
It was two hours since the trip began. Eustace was still asleep. Weiss had woken up a few minutes ago and clenched her nose immediately. She wondered what the smell was but got her answer when she saw Blake gutting and deboning some of the fish she caught. Courage was taking a nap on my lap while Muriel was cheerfully telling me a story of her childhood in Scotland. She even said she was going to teach me how to sew the secret family quilt. Hearing some steps coming towards us, we saw the captain walking towards us.
"Aye, me maties. The winds right, the salt is calling and the party is over." He told us.
"What? Huh?" Eustace asked waking up as did Courage
"What do you mean captain?" Blake asked suspiciously. Instead of answering, the captain reached down and pulled off his boot which a sharp peg leg came out. He then pulled down his eye patch from his hat. Next, he ripped his shirt apart to reveal a shark tattoo on his chest and then pulled out his teeth which turned out to be false teeth. And finally, he 'unscrewed' his right arm and replaced it with a hook.
"RRAAARGH!" The captain growled after all that was done.
'OOl!' Courage screamed and leapt to Muriel's lap in fear.
"A pirate. Should have seen that coming." Blake said as she ignored him and returned to her fish.
"Ok, lubbers. Here's how it shakes out. You're me crew." Sharky told us.
"Your crew?" I asked confused.
"Yes. Me crew. You, baldy. You're me engineer." Sharky told him.
"Hey, this ain't what we signed up for. I want me money back." Eustace demanded.
"You didn't spend any money. Trip's free." The captain reminded him.
"Oh, right. Well... Where's the catch you promised?" Eustace asked.
"Ay, the catch is, you're either working as me crew or I'll be using you as anchor." Sharky threatened before tossing a wrench to Eustace.
"And you. You and the two girls will be in charge of the grub." Sharky told them as he gave Muriel a ladle and Weiss and Blake a hair net.
"How exciting. We're making the grub. Grub. I love saying grub. Grub, grub, grub. And I can even teach these two some recipes I've been wanting to teach for a while." Muriel said happily. Not fully understanding what is happening.
"And you two jellyfish. Get ready to grow some teeth. Shape up real quick. Cause both of you are me first mate. And don't ya be daring to correct me on how that works. Got that?" The captain told us before growling.
"Yes sir." I answered. Seeing as Courage didn't answer yet, Sharky grab Courage in his teeth and started shaking him around like a toy before spitting him out.
"You got that?" He asked again.
'MM-HMM. MM-HMM. MM-HMM.' Courage answered scared and wet.
"Both of you climb up there and watch for the bend in the river." He ordered us. To which we did so quickly and without arguing.
"He's so authentic. It's all so authentic. Just like on the telly." We heard Muriel say from the deck.
"Um, Muriel. This is not an act. This is real." Weiss told her.
"Nonsense. This is all pretend." Muriel said still thinking it's not real. She then turned to the captain. "What are we fishing for, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Big catch." The captain answered before laughing.
"We're going to need a bit more than that captain." Blake told him through narrow eyes.
"You won't believe me until you see for yourself." The captain answered before walking up to her threateningly. "And one more outburst from you and I'll using you as bait. And we all know how much cats hate water."
With that, the captain went back to the wheel while Muriel, Weiss and Blake went to the kitchen. Eustace went to the engine room. It was quiet since then with the only noise coming from the river itself and the engine of the boat. Using the telescope that Courage gave me, I looked around the area and found that despite being essentially held hostage in a sense, it was quite beautiful the area.
'I should bring Iris on a trip here. If I ever get enough money to buy a boat. Would make a nice honey moon for our upcoming wedding.' I thought as I removed the telescope and admired the place. But my attention was snapped to Courage when he screamed.
'AAHHH!' He screamed in fright. Quickly turning to him, I saw a pelican blowing a raspberry at him. Courage then did the same but the pelican retaliated by pecking him with its beak like a jackhammer. 'OW!'
"Get out of here." I said as I successfully managed to hit it with my telescope.
'Ha, ha, ha.' The pelican laughed dazed as it flew away from us unsteadily.
"You okay Courage?" I asked him.
'Yeah. I hate birds.' He answered while rubbing his sore nose. Chuckling, I was about to resume lookout when I spotted something that made my heart leap into my throat.
"Uh-oh." I said in fear.
'Don't tell me. We're about to go over a huge waterfall.' Courage said in realization at what caused me to say that.
"Yup." I answered as I already started ringing the bell to alert the others.
'Sharp rocks at the bottom?' Courage asked while gripping the edge of the lookout as tightly as he could. His eyes going wide in fear as well.
"Most likely.' I answered as I did the same and the boat neared the edge.
'B-bring I-it on.' Courage said in as calm of a voice as he could do despite the situation.
"AAAHHHH!" We screamed as we reached the water fall and fell down. The water fall being a lot bigger than we originally thought. All the while, we were holding the lookout edge as tight as we could.
'Ha, ha, ha.' We heard the pelican laugh as it flew next to us easily despite how fast we were falling down.
"AAAHHHH!" We heard the captain scream. Turning back to him, we saw that he was at the front of the ship.
'He's insane.' I thought as we saw him embracing the fall with open arms. Soon, we crashed into the river below us and submerged. A few seconds later we came back up and started to cruise down the river again.
'Ha, ha, ha.' The pelican laughed at us again. Seeing that the telescope was next to me still, I grabbed and tossed it at the pelican. Because it was too busy laughing, it didn't get out of the way and was sent to the floor from the hit.
"Ha, ha, ha." We heard Muriel laugh from below.
Getting up, we peered below and saw that Muriel had a fish on her head. Eustace was burnt to a crisp and grumbling. Weiss and Blake came out a moment later. Weiss was covered in flour with her hair a mess. Blake was covered in tartar sauce and lemon. Though, she did not seem to be complaining as much as Weiss thought. Taking a quick look over, we saw that externally, the boat seemed to be alright. Deciding to see if they were alright, we got out of the lookout and climbed down to the deck.
"Are you all okay?" I asked.
"Fine Jaune. Just dandy." Muriel answered laughing while trying to take the fish off her head.
"Aside from being covered in flour. Fine. Though, I will need a shower when we get back." Weiss answered as she dusted herself off before taking out a napkin and cleaning her face.
"Same. Though, at least I got a quick snack from whatever just happened." Blake answered as she ate a small fish that got covered in tartar sauce and lime.
"Salty. Now we're ready for the big catch." The captain said getting our attention.
"Where are we captain?" Weiss asked as she noticed that the water had turned red instead of the normal blue.
"Ha, ha, ha. Welcome to Evil River." The captain answered while laughing.
"Oh, so brilliant." Muriel said as I helped take the fish off her head.
"Get comfy. It will be a while until we get to the part where we need be." He told us before heading back to the wheel.
"What do you think we are out here to catch Jaune?" Blake asked.
"Not sure, but whatever it is I feel like we might need a bigger boat for it." I answered nervous.
Nine P.M.
It was now night time. The moon has fully risen and was our only light source now. Muriel was playing the sitar at the back of the ship while Eustace rested in the hammock he put together. Courage, Blake, Weiss and I were in the front of the ship. Courage was in the fisher's seat fishing. Blake, Weiss and I were around making sure that nothing catches us off guard. But also, on the lookout for whatever the captain is hunting.
"None of you can catch what we're gonna catch without being brave." The captain told us as he walked up to us. "Aye, the sea can turn boys into men and men into salty men."
'Oh-hoo. Oh-hoo. Oh-hoo.' Courage nodded in fear.
"What even are we trying to catch?" I asked him getting annoyed with him never answering.
"Aye. It's about time for you all to know I suppose. We here to catch Carmen." The captain answered as he from somewhere, pulled down a poster of a giant red serpent with a single eye and many sharp teeth.
'EEK!' Courage said terrified.
"And why are we hunting it?" Weiss asked suspiciously.
"Like a captain needs to tell his crew his reasons for what he does." He countered before leaving,
'Poacher?' Courage suggested.
"Probably." I answered as we watched the captain head back to the wheel.
One Hour Later
We were still in our spits from earlier. Though, we did get some chairs to sit down so we didn't have to stand the whole time. So far, we haven't found any trace of Carmen yet. But we knew that we were going to meet her soon enough. However, that was only one part that needed attention. When the captain was distracted, Weiss sent a message back to her sister to see if there were any records about this guy and to our surprise, he is a well-known bounty hunter and poacher for exotic animals.
'OOH1' Courage suddenly screamed getting our attention. Turning to him, we saw that something big has caught the line and was now dragging us by the line.
"Hold on tight." The captain demanded as he ran up to us.
'Want to hold it?' Courage asked as he handed him the fishing rod handle.
"What? Ya think I'm crazy?" He asked before bringing out a whistle and blowing into it. Muriel and Eustace appeared a moment later. "Help me first mate hang onto the line."
Ten Seconds later
"AAHHH!" Eustace screamed as he held onto Muriel's feet.
"This is so authentic." Muriel said giggling as she held onto Courage who was holding onto the fishing rod still.
'EEK!' Courage screamed as he struggled to hold onto the fishing rod.
"Damn. Does he ever wash his feet?" Weiss asked as we held onto his feet.
"He only washes himself once a week." I answered as I tried to regain my balance for the sudden stop.
"Perhaps if we drop him into the water, it could rid him off the smell." Blake suggested as she gripped Weiss's shoulder and mine to stabilize us after each time the captain makes the ship stop suddenly to try and tire out whatever was pulling us. Unfortunately, while we had a firm grip on Eustace's feet, the rod broke which caused all of them to fall into the water.
"Hang on Courage." I shouted as I dove into the water.
Looking around, I saw Courage trying to get back to the surface. Swimming over to him, I held him to calm him down. I then pointed up to the surface. He nodded and we were about to swim back up but felt something coming towards us. Looking around, we saw Carmen, the giant serpent heading towards us. Courage screamed in terror before we swam as fast as we can to the surface. Getting there, I grabbed Muriel while Courage grabbed Eustace as we swam back to the ship. Once there, Weiss and Blake helped Muriel back onto the ship while Courage simply threw Eustace him onto the deck. We then climbed up ourselves.
"That was so thrilling. Hetting dragged under water and thrown onto the deck. Like a fresh caught flounder. I'm going to the gallery to whip up some brine muffins." Muriel said as she got up and went back to the kitchen.
"Jaune. Are you okay?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, just got the shock of my life. Again." I answered as I took off my shirt and rung it dry before putting it back on.
"What did you see down there? Did you see Carmen?" Blake asked after hissing at Courage who shook himself dry which caused some water to hit her. But before I could answer her, the answer came out of the water.
"Yeah. I did. Hang on." I answered as we quickly grabbed the sides of the ship. Just as we did, Carmen went under the ship and started to play with it as if it was toy ride before flinging us away. It then went away by diving into the water.
"Captain. We need to get out of here." I shouted to him.
"No can do. The engines gone. Its do or die now maties. We have to get that serpent before she gets us." He answered before jumping down to the deck.
"And how do you expect us to do that?" Weiss asked. The captain grabbed a bucket and about to answer but became surprised when he felt the bucket to light.
"What, we be out of bait? We need to change the strategy. Use a lure, something big and round and chewy... and chewy." The captain said as he began to think about what we could use.
"Mr. Sharky captain, sir. Do we have some more brine for my muffins?" Muriel asked walking up to him.
"Big and round and chewy." The captain said as he looked Muriel up and down.
"That's how I always make my muffins." Muriel said not knowing what he meant.
'NO!' Courage begged running up to the captain.
"HEY! Don't be looking at my mother like she was bait." I demanded through a growl.
"I'd split me booty with all of you. I'm getting a fortune to bring in Carmen." He bribed.
"So, this bait thing. It's safe right?" Eustace asked taken by the greed and money.
"Aye." The captain confirmed.
"Yeah, this ain't happening." I said moving in between him and the door to the kitchen.
"Drag me scurvy former first mates up there. And tie them up so they won't get in the way." The captain ordered Eustace who smiled. But his smile went away when Weiss and Blake came next to me with their weapons out.
"Try it." They threatened.
"Argh. More traitors. Can never trust them. No loyalty." He growled but stopped when Muriel came back out excited.
"What's next on the voyage captain?" She asked smiling. The captain smirked at us before answering.
"Just step into the cage with this radio." He answered as he pointed to the cage that was nearby.
"Thrilling." Muriel said as she stepping into the cage and grabbed the radio.
"Muriel. I don't think that would be a good idea." I told her.
"Don't listen to him. This is an adventure. Now Carmen likes opera she does. So, play her these tunes and it will attract her. When she gets close enough, grab it with these giant serpent tongs." The captain told her while handing her some tongs.
"Opera. Tongs. Thrilling. Adventure." Muriel said giggling before turning to us. "Do any of you want to join me?"
"Muriel. We don't think this is wise or safe. Please-HEY!" Weiss began trying to get Muriel to get out but shouted when the captain slammed the cage shut when she got near the cage.
"More bait." He said with a devilish smile as he began to turn a crank so that that cage could lift.
"Don't worry dear. It will be fun." Muriel said not knowing the danger they were in.
"Go and-HEY!" The captain said as he began to lower the cage into the river but was stopped when Blake pounced at him. Forcing him away from the crank.
"ROTTEN KIDS." Eustace shouted but was taken out when I placed the bucket on his head that used to hold the bait. He started to spin around before falling to the ground.
"Mutiny. You will all pay-oh." The captain roared but was quieted down when Blake knocked him out completely.
'Hold on Muriel. We got you.' Courage said as he began to move the crank so that it would set the cage back down on the deck. But just as he did so, Carmen came out of the water and dragged down the cage. The crane holding the cage broke and fell from the ship as well.
"MURIEL!" Me and Courage shouted in fear.
"WEISS!" Blake shouted as we moved to look over the edge. A moment later, the cage came flying back out and onto the ship. A big hole in it with Weiss and Muriel gone.
"What are we going to do?" Blake asked panicking.
"After her." I answered as Courage took out some diving gear for all of us.
"I hate water." Blake said before beginning to put on the diving gear. A few seconds later, we were all set. Moving to the edge, we jumped over to dive into the water. But only Blake hit the water as Me and Courage hit a giant rock.
"OW!" We both shouted in pain while Blake laughed a bit.
'Ha, ha, ha.' We heard the pelican laugh at us.
"Get out of here." I shouted as I threw a rock at him. He dodged before laughing some more and leaving.
'Birds.' Courage grunted before we dived into the water.
Swimming as deep as we could, we began to look around to see if we could find any trace of Muriel or Weiss. But could not find any. We were about to split up but Courage soon found the tongs the captain gave Muriel. As we approached where they were and began to look around, we started to hear opera. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, we turned to Blake and saw her point to a hole in a giant rock formation. Swimming towards it, the opera music started to get higher in volume. Despite us being under water. Entering the hole, we swam for a few more minutes and eventually reached a dead end. Swimming to the top, we looked around and saw Muriel sitting on a dry patch of land. Looking closer, we saw that Weiss was next to Carmen and both of them were singing together.
"Oh, there you three are." Muriel said when she spotted us.
"Are you both okay?" I asked as we took off our diving gear.
"We're fine. Carmen is not such a bad girl after all. She just wanted an audience for her beautiful voice." She answered.
"But what is Weiss doing singing with Carmen?" Blake asked.
"Aside from having an audience, she also wants to sing with others. And since Weiss knew how to sing Opera, she decided to sing with her." Muriel explained.
"She does have a nice voice." Blake agreed as she smiled while turning to Carmen.
"I'm just glad you safe mom." I old Muriel as I hugged her alongside Courage.
"And I'm glad you with us son." Muriel said hugging me as well. At that moment the song finished. Weiss came up to us while Carmen kept on singing.
"Glad to see you guys go here. But now comes the question on we get back home and out of here." She asked after giving a quick hug to Blake. But before any of us could answer, Courage screamed got out attention.
'AAHHH!' He screamed while pointing to something near to Carmen. Looking closely, we could see what it was.
"It's the captain." I said as I got up while Weiss and Blake took out their weapons. Ready to protect Carmen.
The captain then swam closer to Carmen. Once close enough, he then jumped towards her. Acting quickly, Courage jumped towards Carmen and pushed her out of the way in time for the captain to miss. He then landed on Muriel's lap.
"Oh, captain. You salty sailor you." Muriel said giggling.
The captain ignored her and got off her lap. He then placed a giant gloved fist on his leg. He then activated which made it shot out which hit us and sent us flying back into the water. He tried to follow up by hitting Weiss and Blake but missed when Blake used her semblance to dodge. This got him confused which allowed Weiss to use some ice dust to freeze his foot. Getting out of the water, Courage jumped onto the captain before taking out a pie and tossing it into his face. As he was cleaning his face, Carmen finished her song with a higher note that caused stalagmites to fall down.
"Oh." The captain exclaimed when the stalagmites fell down and formed a makeshift prison.
"Yay." Muriel and Courage shouted as we all cheered and clapped for Carmen's beautiful performance.
"Pathetic piece of plan-" The captain began to insult but was stopped when Weiss froze his mouth shut.
"Now, how do we get back home?" Muriel asked.
"I have an idea." Weiss answered.
Half an Hour later
We were going down the river with Carmen pulling the ship. The captain was in the back hanging upside down from his peg leg. When we head gotten back to the ship, Weiss called her sister to arrange transport to take Sharky to jail. Right now, we were in the front of the ship resting on some chairs.
"That was the most thrilling adventure of my life. It was all so authentic. I just hope Eustace gets home okay. Wherever he is." Muriel said looking worried for Eustace.
"So, what should we do about Carmen?" Blake asked.
"Nothing. She hasn't done anything." I answered.
"Maybe we can arrange something so more people can hear her beautiful voice." Weiss suggested. We all agreed to that as she did have a beautiful voice that more people need to hear.
"And perhaps, you two could make duets together." I told her with a chuckle.
"Maybe." Weiss said smiling while looking to Carmen who began to sing again.
Note:
(1) Sand whale strikes back with Team Rwby's mother. (2) The Mask with Blake and Velvet. (3) Muted Muriel with Ruby and Weiss. (4) Car Broke, Phone yes with Pyrrha. (5) The last of the star makers with Winter and Iris. (6) Night of the Scarecrow with Qrow, Ruby and Yang. (7) Thousand years of Courage with Sun and Neptune. (8) Wrath of the librarian with Blake. (9) Squatting Tiger, Hidden Dog with Nora and Ren. (10) Cabaret Courage with Wiess. (11) Family Business with Winter. (12) Curse of Shirley with Qrow, Yang and Ruby. (13) Goat Pain with Blake and Iris(?) (14) Journey to the center of Nowhere with Peach. (15) Forbidden hat of Gold with Port and Oobleck. (16) McPhearsome Phantom with Blak and her parents.
Change a part of the story where Courage was tied up by Eustace as Jaune, Weiss and Blake wouldn't let that happen.
Yes. Next chapter will include Summer, Raven, Kali and Willow.
Willow is in a much better place now as opposed to how she is in the show as Jacques is now banned from all places in Atlas and she divorced him now that Weiss's grandfather is back in charge. All thanks to the Magic Tree of Nowhere.