Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 48: Cabaret Courage
"Look you three. Delores Delores." Muriel said kneeling down in front of some hand prints with a signature above them.
"Who is she Muriel?" Weiss asked as she looked over the near hundred names that had hand prints under them. And that was just on this block.
"She's such a lovely actress. Look a perfect fit." Muriel answered as she placed her hands in the prints and it was indeed a near perfect fit.
We were in a place known as Hollywood. A place I never heard of. Weiss, who was with us. Never heard of this place either. But we both quickly fell in love with this place as it was just brimming with talent. The lights, music and places that were holding shows made this place feel surreal. Almost as if this place was from a movie or dream.
"Care to ty Courage?" I asked him when I spotted some dogs prints next to the ones Muriel was admiring.
'Okay.' He answered and the placed his paws into the print. Only to find out that his paws didn't even reach the toes of the print.
"Stupid girly handed dog." Eustace mocked before laughing. We were about to go and smack him but stopped when we saw Di Lung walk right into him.
"Watch where you're goin', ya fool!" Di Lung told Eustace before bending down to pick up the pictures of himself he dropped when he bumped into Eustace. "I make sure you never work in this town again."
"Eh, lousy hippie." Eustace complained. "Come on. Let's get going."
"Yeah. It's getting late." I agreed, which felt weird, as I checked the time on my scroll to see that it was nearing eight and our hotel was a few miles away.
"To think I'm walking on the same sidewalk as Delores Delores." Muriel said smiling as she stood up.
"Yeah. Yeah." Eustace said as he started to gently push Muriel forward when we saw Di Lung start to kiss the photos of himself.
'Yuck.' Courage said grossed out.
"Not only his attitude insufferable, but also his ego and his love for himself." Weiss said also disgusted as we walked away.
"Yeah." I agreed before asking. "Hey Weiss?"
"Yes Jaune." She said turning to face me.
"Do you know of any famous musicians?" I asked.
"By name, only a few. Met them, even fewer. Though, now that my grandfather is charge, he allows me to sing any kind of song. Which also means that I can listen to any music I want and sing any kind I want. And because of that, I am now learning of many other talented musicians." She answered.
"Think any of them could have their names here?" I asked.
"Doubt it. But then again, it wouldn't surprise me if we do find some here." She answered while looking at all the signs that showed many upcoming performances of singers and actors.
"Isn't Hollywood just the most magical place on earth?" Muriel asked in wonder as we stopped at the corner of the sidewalk to wait for the light to change.
"Nope." Eustace answered annoyed.
"It truly is Muriel." Weiss said glaring at Eustace.
"What do you think Courage?" I asked him.
'Could use some more dog actors.' He answered looking around yet smiling all the same.
"Like a Great Dane that has four friends and solves mysteries with them." I suggested with a chuckle.
'Oh sure. Like that will ever happen.' He answered with a smirk which caused the both of us to chuckle a bit. Yet in the back of our minds, we wondered just what crazy thing would cause that to happen if that existed. Seeing that light change, we began to cross the street.
"Come on Eustace. Look around. Don't all the lights make you want to say. 'Hollywood, I'm yours. Take me.'?" Muriel asked. But as she asked this, they failed to notice the manhole in front of us slide open by itself.
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted as I dove for Muriel only for her fall in follow by Eustace.
'NO!' Courage shouted worried.
"Do you see them?" I asked as I leaned into the manhole but didn't see anything.
"Nothing." Weiss answered. I was about to get back up when I felt something kick me in.
"HEY!" I shouted as I fell in followed by Courage and Weiss. As we fell, we wondered who pushed us in but got our answer when we had Di Lung laugh as the manhole move back by itself.
"AAAHHH!" We all screamed as well fell the long manhole. Well, what at first seemed like a manhole. A second into falling, the sides changed from brick to what seems like intestines of a creature. A few more seconds and we finally hit the ground.
"Ow." We all moaned in pain as we slowly got up.
"I'm going to kill Di Lung for doing that the next time we see him." Weiss seethed.
"Maybe this is one of those tours." Muriel wondered.
"Of what? The star's sewer system?" Eustace mocked as he fixed himself.
"I doubt that, Muriel." I said as I helped her up while Wiess smacked Eustace on the head.
"Where are we?" Weiss asked confused as she looked around and continued to see walls that can only be described as the inside of an intestine.
'AAAHHH!' Courage screamed getting our attention. Looking towards him, we his tongue extend out of his mouth that it kind of looked like a hose.
"Oops." Muriel said seeing this.
"We got you Courage." Weiss said as she helped me get Courage's tongue back into his mouth.
"Don't be scared Courage. It's only a-" Muriel began but was cut off by a new voice.
"Creature in the wall." The voice said.
"Creature in the—AAHHH!" Muriel began to repeat but screamed at the end when she realized what spoke to her. Looking to where the voice came, we indeed saw a creature in the wall.
"WHAT IS THAT!?" Weiss screamed jumping back in shock.
"Welcome to the Hollywood Cabaret. I'm your host. Your Emcee. Your audience for tonight's show." The creature told us as he looked at us. Whatever that is keeping him where he is caused his eye to look massive which caused a shiver to go down our spines from how creepy it looked.
'What's a Cabaret?' Courage asked confused.
"Generally, a restaurant or night club where the audience can eat and drink while entertainment. is given." Weiss answered before freezing. Her mind slowly processing the fact that she now understood Courage. Thankfully, she did not faint like Winter when she first saw the son of the Chicken from outer space. And after a bit. She seemed to recover.
"What's the cover charge?" Eustace demanded.
"There is no cover charge?" The creature answered.
"Only money. Wonder what he would do if he has all the money, he desires but has nothing to spend it on." Weiss wondered.
"Oh, that already happened and it nearly drove him to insanity and tears." I answered. At her confused look, I added. "I'll explain later."
"In that case, start the show and bring me some chop meat." Eustace said as he walked over to a table and sat down.
"Ah, yes. The show will begin soon." The creature said nodding. But as he said that, we noticed something about him.
"Is it me, or did he sound like he was in pain when he said that?" Weiss asked,
"I noticed it too. Though, it seemed like the pain was caused by Eustace being his greedy self." I answered.
"You are the entertainment for this evening." The creature said getting our attention,
'NO!' Courage shouted in fear.
"Care to try Weiss?" I asked.
"Very funny Jaune." She answered smiling as she knew it was a joke. Though, I could tell that she was actually contemplating it.
"I don't do no entertaining." Eustace said while crossing his arms.
"Oh, I prepared to compensate you for your talent." The creature said while moving his eye to look at Eustace.
'I don't trust how he said that.' Courage said trembling.
"Agreed." Weiss and I said while nodding our heads.
"If I like your performance, I will give you..." The creature began. He then motioned with hie eye to the wall next to him. Looking over, we saw a spot where the intestines retract to reveal a giant truck. "...A solid gold truck."
"Happy birthday to me." Eustace said smiling.
"Could he even drive such a monstrosity?" Weiss asked.
"He'd probably crash it within a few seconds. If that truck even starts up in the first place that is." I answered.
"Heh. Heh. Heh. Where's my spotlight?" Eustace asked as he walked onto stage. A moment late, a spotlight shone above him.
'Here. We'll need these.' Courage said as he handed Weiss and I some ear plugs.
"Terrible singing?" Weiss asked as she put the ear plugs in. We just nodded before turning back to Eustace as he began to sing.
'Way down upon the Suwannee River, give me my truck.' Eustace sang terribly. Luckily, he didn't sing long so we didn't need to keep the headphones on. But as we took them off, we heard the creature groan in pain.
"OH! OH! OH!" The creature said in pain while bringing his arms to his 'body.'
"Eustace never could sing." Muriel told us.
"Are you okay, um creature in the wall?" I asked. But all he could do was groan in more pain.
"AAHHH!" We heard Eustace scream. Looking to where he was, we caught a glimpse of him falling. Going over to the stage, we saw a trap door right where he was standing previously.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped while Courage started to shiver in fear.
"The old man gave me heartburn." The creature told us.
"Where is he?" Weiss asked. But instead of answering, the creature turned to Muriel.
"Let's move on to our next performer. You madam." The creature told Muriel.
'UH! Uh-Uh!' Courage said trying to convince Muriel not to do so.
"Muriel. I don't think this is a good idea." Weiss told her,
'Especially after what happened to Eustace.' I mentally added while looking at the stage. While I don't care much for him, I don't want whatever happened to him, happen to Muriel.
"I- I'm not really an entertainer." Muriel said nervously before remembering something. "I mean, I was the lead buttercup in the middle school flower pageant. But that was a long time ago."
"If I like your performance, I'll give you the life of one of Hollywood's greatest legends. It will be as if you stepped into the skin of Delores Delores." The creature offered while pointing to the side. Looking there, we saw the intestines retract to show a painting that looked eerily similar to Muriel.
"Delores Delores." Muriel said with stars in her eyes.
"That's her?" Weiss asked as she looked between Muriel and the painting. "Are they twins Jaune?"
"Muriel never told me of having any siblings." I answered.
'The resemblance is uncanny.' Courage added. Turning back to Muriel, we saw her beginning to walk on stage.
"Muriel. Wait." I said as we rushed over to her.
"I don't think this is wise." Wiess warned.
'NO!' Courage shouted as he held onto Muriel's clothes to try and stop her.
"You're all upstaging me." Muriel scolded us. She then pointed to the piano behind us. "Give me an "F" sharp above high "C."
'Okay.' Courage said as we moved to the piano. Sitting down, Wiess and Courage began to play a really dramatic tune.
"Now you three. It's neither of you turn to show off." Muriel said walking over to us. She then hit one of the keys a few times while singing a single note. After that she went back to the spotlight.
'This isn't going to end well.' Courage said shivering.
'I'm called a little buttercup, dear little buttercup.' Muriel began to sing.
"She has a nice voice." Weiss whispered.
"Indeed." I agreed with Courage nodding as well.
"Hey look." Weiss said pointing to the creature. Turning to him, we saw that he was groaning in pain again.
'Oh, no.' Courage said realizing what's about to happen.
"We have to get her off from there." I told them. We got off the piano and rushed towards her.
'Though I could never-' Muriel continued to sing but screamed when the trap door opened beneath her. Unfortunately, this happened before we could reach her with the trap door closing as soon as we reached it.
"More heartburn." The creature groaned.
"Hey! Where does that trap door lead?" Weiss demanded as we ran up to the creature. Her weapon drawn and pointed at him.
"Would you like to perform for me next little girl?" The creature asked.
"Answer the question." I demanded impatiently as I was extremely worried for Muriel.
"How about you dog?" The creature said turning to Courage and ignoring us.
'Uh-uh.' Courage answered shaking his head.
"Oh, really. How about you all perform for me and I'll offer you all something you cannot refuse." The creature told us.
"Like what?" Weiss asked. Her weapon never leaving.
"How about I offer you boy the chance to reconnect with your old family and have them love you unconditionally. And as for you girl, the chance to repair the SDC from all the damages you father did to it. And finally, you dog. One thousand pounds of the finest sirloin—Rare and juicy. Prepared by the world's finest Croatian chefs?"
"Yeah, no. While he did seriously damage it, it is slowly but surely getting back to how it was before him." Weiss said not buying into temptation.
"And I don't care about the Arc Family and what they think of me. All I care is about my new family." I told the creature. Turning to Courage for his answer, we saw him drooling a bit at the thought of the steaks. But he shook the drool away before denying the creature's offer as well.
'Just give us back Muriel.' Courage demanded.
"You'd all like your family back, would you?" The creature asked.
"Yes. That's what we have been asking for." I answered getting annoyed.
"Hmmm. How about-" The creature began but was cut off by Wiess.
"ENOUGH! You can't buy any of us out. Just give us back Muriel." She demanded.
"Look kids and dog. Perform for me. If you all please me, I'd let you all pick your prize. And we'll see how much it takes to buy each of you." The creature offered. We looked at each other for a moment before turning back to the creature.
"We'll take it." We answered.
"Good. Good. Now, let's see what you all can do." The creature said eyeing each of us.
"Weiss. Can you play something on the piano that would fit a play that takes place in the jungle?" I asked her.
"Strange request. But I do know a song that would fit." She answered before asking. "Why?"
"Part of the performance. You'll see." I answered while blushing a bit.
"Alright." She said before heading over to the piano.
'Come on.' Courage said dragging me to the wall of intestines. Climbing up the wall, we entered the spot where the intestines retract.
'This is embarrassing.' I thought as the intestines retract to show both me and Courage in Tarzan outfits and nothing else. Looking over to Wiess, I saw that she had a massive blush on her face.
"Hmm. I think I might enjoy this." The creature said as Weiss began to play the piano.
"Here goes nothing." I said as courage I leapt from where we were and started to swing from the intestines that hanged from the ceiling.
"Careful J-Jaune." Weiss stuttered when we passed her on the celling.
"Ha, ha, ha." The creature laughed as we continued to swing from intestine to intestine. That is, until we grabbed a particularly slippery one.
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted as Courage and I fell to the stage floor. More specifically, right on top of the piano. Luckily, Weiss managed to move out of the way in time.
"Ow." Courage and I groaned in pain.
"Are you both okay?" Weiss asked running to us. But before we could answer, we heard the sound of the floor, cracking,
"Oh, no." I said before pushing Weiss away just as the piano fell through the floor along with Courage and I.
"Ha, ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho." We heard the creature laugh.
'Where are we?' Courage asked as we looked around and saw that we were floating in some green liquid. Before I could say anything, our attention was grabbed by Eustace and Muriel who were both floating in the liquid.
"Courage. Jaune. Help us." Muriel shouted panicking. "I think we're getting digested!"
"Yes. In a pool of my stomach acid." The creature told us.
"Why are you doing this?" We heard Weiss ask.
"All this callous selfish behavior. People selling themselves—their art, their talent. For fame and fortune. It makes me sick." The creature explained.
"Quick. Grab my hand." I told Muriel while extending my hand. She grabbed it and I helped her get onto the piano.
'Oh, no.' Courage said when we saw how badly burned and singed Muriel's legs were from the stomach acid.
"Hey! What about me? What do I look like? Chopped liver." Eustace shouted. Courage and I looked at each other from a moment before sighing.
"Come here." I said as we reached him and pulled him to safety.
"What's that?" Eustace gasped when he saw his legs were nothing but bone now.
'Now, how do we get out of here?' Courage asked looking around. Luckily, a rope made out of table cloths dropped down.
"Hurry!" We heard Weiss shout. Grabbing the rope, we first let Muriel climb up and then Eustace. But as soon as he went up, the piano cracked and started to sink faster. Grabbing Courage, I tossed him out of the hole before grabbing onto the rope and climbing out myself.
"Thanks Weiss." I said panting.
"N-no problem Jaune." She said blushing. I was confused as to why she blushed until I remembered that I was still in the Tarzan outfit.
"So, none of you really want a glamorous prize?" The creature asked astounded.
'NO!' Courage answered.
"You are only interested in leaving here with your family?" The creature asked amazed.
"Yes. That's all we wanted from the beginning." I answered.
"While they may not exactly be family, they are nice people and I don't want them hurt either and want to walk out of here with them." Weiss added.
"AH! I've never encountered such selfless, generous behavior. I—I" The creature began before going silent from the pain that seemed to flare up in him.
"I think there is something wrong with our host." Muriel said worried.
"Yeah, he's a lousy host." Eustace yelled but was silenced by Wiess who used some Ice Dust on him.
"I think he's having some sort of seizure." Muriel said getting more worried.
"My- my heart. Over there. In the middle of the room." The creature explained before pointing to where we were standing.
"Hard to believe that we never noticed that. Huh?" I asked as we looked down and saw a giant beating heart beneath us.
"You three have to do something. We can't just let him suffer." Muriel told us.
'Sure, about that?' Courage asked.
"Courage." Muriel scolded while I gave a gentle slap to the back of his head.
'Oh, okay.' Courage sighed.
"Oh, Oh, Oh!" The creature groaned before going silent with his heart stopping as well.
"Crap! We have to do something quickly." I said as I began to think of a way to break through the floor.
"Maybe swing like you both did from before and crash into the floor." Weiss suggested. Courage and I looked at each before sighing and doing so. Heading over to the wall, we climbed up before swinging back over to the center of the room. Unlike the last time however, we performed a cannonball which allowed us to break through the floor.
"Now what?" I asked as we quickly stood up.
"Move. I have some electrical dust that should be able to restart his heart." Weiss told us. Nodding, we moved to the side to allow her to do her thing which she did so. At first, nothing happened but after a moment, the heart started beating again.
'Oh! Yay!' Courage shouted in joy.
"Nice going Weiss." I told her with a smile.
"Thanks. Now can you put your clothes back on." She told me. Looking down, I blushed before going around a corner and doing so. Coming back a moment later fully changed.
"You all did it. You all got his heart going good and regular." Muriel congratulated us.
"Oh! You all—You all saved your family. And then, you all saved me. I had forgotten that anyone could be so giving. So, generous. My heartburn is gone. I-I feel. Optimistic." The creature told us.
"What's going on?" Weiss asked as we saw the intestines start to move towards the creature. Revealing what this place looked like without all the intestines.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused when we saw a duck wearing a paper boat hat manning the coat check area.
"I think he's getting back to his old self. Whatever his old self was.' Muriel suggested.
"We better move." Weiss said when we saw the spot where the creature was start to fill with a liquid and starting to crack. It exploded a second after she said that, but luckily, nothing was sent flying towards us. Aside from part of an intestine that hit Courage on the head.
"So, that is what he truly looks like." I said when we saw a man in a white suit stand where the creature was. He then placed his hat on his head before walking towards us.
"What happened to you?" Weiss asked curious. The mand smiled at her before answering.
"I was so bitter. So disgusted with people's callousness, that I became an ulcer in my own stomach." He answered. "But you freed me. How can I ever thank you?"
"Well, I wouldn't mind finishing my song. Just for the love of singing." Muriel answered.
"I'd like that very much." The guy told her.
"I wouldn't." Eustace complained but was knocked out again by Weiss. We then moved over and sat at one of the tables while Muriel went on stage to continue singing.
'Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi.' She began but was cut off by the appearance of Di Lung.
"Move it fat lady." He insulted while pushing her away from the spotlight and started to sing her song.
"There's Di Lung. Now I can make him pay." Weiss seethed but was stopped by the host.
"Calm yourself young girl. I got this." He said as he took out a remote and pressed a button.
"AAHHH!" Di Lung yelled as he fell through the same trap door from earlier.
"Much better." The host said smiling before turning to Muriel. "Please. Continue."
"Well, that takes care of him. At least for now." As Di Lung's screams were cut off when the trap door closed. We then turned back to Muriel and enjoyed the rest of her song.
Note:
Thank you all for the support you have shown. I will be continuing this story. It truly means a lot to me. Thank you all.
(1) Family Business with Winter and Weiss. (2) Night of the Scarecrow with Qrow, Ruby and Yang. (3) Curse of Shirley with Qrow, Yang and Ruby. (4) Wrath of the librarian with Blake. (5) Squatting Tiger, Hidden Dog with Nora and Ren. (6) Thousand years of Courage with Sun and Neptune.
Some planned chapters were removed as I looked over them and decided I need to work them out a bit.