Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 77: Campsite of Terror
'Come on. Just a few more.' Courage grunted as he lifted the giant mallet before bringing it down on the tent peg.
"Need some help?" I asked, walking over to him.
'I got it-oooh.' He answered as he lifted the mallet again. Only for the weight to nearly send him to the floor had I not caught him in time.
"You sure about that?" I asked while taking the mallet from him.
'Thanks.' He answered while rolling his eyes.
"Have you ever gone camping before, Jaune?" Yang asked as she walked up to us.
"If you count not being allowed inside the house and being forced to stay out in the cold rainy night, then yes." I answered before quickly, adding that it was the Arc family that did this and not Muriel.
"I may need to have a word with them." Raven commented as she helped Muriel cook the fish we caught earlier as her eyes twitched in anger.
Currently, we are in Nowhere campground for a short vacation. After all that has recently happened, Muriel decided a small break was in order. And after a bit of discussion, we decided to go on a camping trip. Yet, as we were packing up for the trip, Yang and Raven stopped by for a quick visit as they were already in Nowhere. Reason is that they were unable to spend time together due to Yang being at Beacon and Raven staying in Patch. And because of this, Summer, Taiyang, and Ruby basically forced them to take a vacation to have some mother-daughter bonding. At first, they tried to argue, saying that it wasn't needed; however, after a couple of threats and growls, mainly from Summer, they relented and agreed to go on a vacation to have some mother-daughter bonding. And for some reason, as if they like the weirdness, they chose Nowhere for their vacation. And naturally, upon hearing this, Muriel offered them to come along with us. Seeing no problem with this, they agreed, and here we are now. Setting up the tent as Muriel and Raven cooked the fish. All the while, Eustace did nothing to help and only complained.
"Don't bother. It's not really worth it. Plus, I doubt they even remember that they technically have a son." I told her.
"Still, what they did isn't right." Yang argued, with Raven nodding in agreement. Sighing, I picked up the mallet and began to help Courage finish setting up the tent. An awkward and tense silence came over us as we all knew how much I disliked talking about the Arc Family or what I had to go through with them. Luckily, the tension was broken by a familiar voice coming from the television Eustace brought with him.
'Ha! Ha! Ha! Get rich real quick. I did it, and so can you. All you have to do to learn the secret of my success is send me money. Ha! Ha! Ha!' The voice of Di Lung said before laughing manically.
"Big deal." Eustace said, annoyed.
'That's right. It's as simple as that. Get out your checkbook, credit card, and wallet and send them to me. Ha! Ha! Ha!' Di Lung explained before laughing again.
"That is the biggest scam I have ever heard. What kind of idiot would fall for that?" Yang asked, shocked and trying to contain her laughter at how ridiculous the scam was.
"Pretty sure Eustace would fall for that." I answered, causing Yang, Courage, and Raven to snicker.
"Here." Muriel said, walking up to us with a tray in her hands. "Everyone have a cupcake and lemonade."
'Yay.' Courage cheered as he took a cupcake and glass of lemonade. He ate his cupcake first before downing his drink in one go. The result was a loud belch that knocked down the tent. Yet, we just laughed while Yang crinkled her nose in slight disgust.
"Thanks, Muriel." Yang said as she took a bite of the cupcake.
"Thanks, Muriel." I also said as I took a sip of the lemonade. Looking behind her, I internally smirked when Raven looked around for a bit before devouring her cupcake. 'No one can resist Muriel's cupcakes.'
"Why don't I get a cupcake?" Eustace whined.
"Get off your ass, then maybe you might get one." Raven answered as she cleaned her mouth.
"Stupid no sharing kids and dog." Eustace complained, only to shout in pain when a large acorn landed on his head. "Stupid nature."
"Anyway, how about after we set up the tent again, we go swimming in the lake." Muriel suggested.
"Now that sounds fun. Wouldn't you say, Jaune?" Yang asked with a wink, to which I just rolled my eyes before getting to work on setting up the tent.
Eight P.M.
'EEEE!' Courage shrieked in terror.
"And that was the last sound Percival made before he was eaten alive by the Haunted Haggis." Muriel said, finishing her story. It was late at night, and aside from Eustace, we were all in the tent. But since it was not yet time to head to sleep, we tried to find a way to pass the time. And after a bit of passing ideas around, we settled on telling stories. Although Muriel chose to tell scary stories that aren't that scary, it was still a nice moment together.
"What's a haggis?" Yang asked.
"Essentially, it's a savory pudding that is often made in Scottland, where Muriel is from." I explained.
"Have you ever been there?" Raven asked, curious.
"No, I haven't been there before." I answered before turning back to Muriel.
"Would you all like to hear another?" She asked.
'N-no. N-no.' Courage answered, shivering in fear.
"Eh, why not." Yang answered before stretching a bit.
"Good. This one's called the haunted tent." Muriel told us, scaring Courage further.
"This should be good." Raven said with a smirk.
'EEE!' Courage screamed in fear before diving into my sleeping bag.
"All right, it starts in a campground much like ours. But this one was for a group of young boy scouts looking to get their camping badges. And after a long hard day of earning badges, one of the boy scouts went into his tent to take a nap. As he got ready, he felt something was off with his tent. It was then he realized that tent was alive. And as the ten grew tighter and tighter around the scared little boy scout until he let out a horrible scream." Muriel began telling the story with Courage getting more scared with each passing minute. But before she could finish the story, a loud scream cut her off.
"AAAAHHHH!" Eustace screamed from outside.
"Oh, my." Muriel said when Courage jumped into her arms.
'What was that?' Courage asked, scared.
"Probably Eustace hurting himself by kicking the television when he got fed up with Di Lung explaining his supposed wealth and success." I answered.
"I'll go and check on him." Muriel said as she put Courage down before exiting the tent.
'I'll come with.' Courage said before scurrying out the tent in fear when he heard an owl hoot.
"How's Ruby and the others doing?" I asked, turning back to Raven and Yang.
"They're fine." Yang answered.
"Aside from the fact that the house was completely covered in cookie batter." Raven added, slightly annoyed.
"What happened?" I asked, curious.
"Ruby and Summer tried recreating one of Muriel's cookie recipes. But instead of coming out with delicious cookies, they made a cookie dough bomb that covered the entire house." Yang answered with a laugh.
"Let me guess; Ruby didn't help as she passed out from eating all the cookie dough." I said, trying to hold in my laughter.
"Along with Summer. And since Taiyang was out on business on the other side of Patch, it was up to Yang and me to clean up most of the mess until he arrived." Raven added.
"Guess that's where Rube's love of cookies came from." I said, chuckling.
"Right on the nose, vomit boy." Yang said, chuckling while I rolled my eyes at the nickname.
"Got any more nicknames for Yang and Ruby?" Raven asked, surprising me.
"A few, why?" I asked. She smiled wickedly while Yang paled, seemingly knowing where this would be going.
"A mother has to embarrass her daughters somehow. And what better way than to give them nicknames. Especially when they are in front of their crushes." She answered.
"MOM!" Yang shouted, embarrassed.
"Don't act surprised. I have seen how you act around your faunus friend. Plus, I will have some names when Ruby finds her special someone." Raven said with a smirk at seeing Yang's embarrassed face. Not being able to hold back anymore, I let out my laughter.
"Oh, laugh it-" Yang began, annoyed, yet keeping her smile. But she was cut off when an explosion sounded nearby.
BOOM
"What was that?" I asked, shocked and worried.
"We better check it out." Yang said as she activated her gauntlets while Raven took out her weapon. Exiting the tent, we looked around and saw that no one was nearby. Deciding to check where Eustace had set up his chair, we went over and saw something that shocked us.
"Did a battle happen here or something?" Yang asked, shocked at seeing the campground littered with arrows, missiles, and giant boulders.
"We better find the others." Raven said, carefully examining the area in case the ones that caused this was still around.
'HELP!' The unmistakable voice of Courage shouted, getting my attention.
"This way." I said to them before dashing off to find Courage. Only to come to a sudden halt when we saw him chained to a giant tree.
"What happened?" Yang asked as we rushed over to try and free him. But as it turned out, we needed a key to free Courage. Luckily, Yang has the key. And by that, I mean she punched the lock so hard it broke to pieces.
'Thanks.' Courage said as he shook himself off. His injuries disappeared as his normal fur color returned to normal.
"What happened? Where's Muriel?" Raven asked.
'Raccoons. Raccoons attacked and took her away along with the truck.' He answered.
"Raccoons?" I asked, confused.
"Wait. Courage said that raccoons caused all this." Yang asked in disbelief.
"Apparently. And they also took Muriel along with the truck." I answered.
"What about Eustace?" Raven asked.
"Most likely sleeping somewhere." I answered before turning back to Courage. "Do you know where they went?"
'This way.' He answered before running through the forest. But before we could follow him, a very annoying voice caught our attention.
"HEY! HEY! HELP ME! STUPID DOG AND KIDS!" Eustace shouted from somewhere nearby.
"Should we even help him?" Raven asked.
"As much as I don't want to, we should." I answered. Sighing, we began to follow his shouting, only soon to find ourselves at the edge of a cliff. And at the top of a tiny mountain peak was Eustace sitting on a small platform.
"OVER HERE! GET ME AND ME MONEY DOWN FROM HERE!" Eustace demanded while waving his hand that held the money.
"How should we go about this?" I asked, looking around for something to get him to safety.
"I have an idea." Raven said as she took out her weapon before heading over to a nearby tree. We smiled and quickly got out of the way. And as soon as we were clear, she cut down the tree, which proceeded to fall on Eustace.
"OW!" Eustace shouted in pain as he began to climb across the tree while never letting go of the money. "Stupid tree slamming-"
"Don't make me send you flying off this cliff." Raven warned with a snarl.
"What happened?" Yang asked. Instead of answering immediately, he went over to a nearby tree and pulled down a poster.
"These are the guys that did this to me." He said as he showed us the poster, which turned out to be a wanted flyer showing two raccoons.
"Let me guess. They lured you with money to the peak." I said, annoyed.
'They destroyed our campsite.' Courage told Eustace, to which he surprisingly understood.
"Big deal." He mocked as he rolled up the flyer.
'They also chained me to a tree.' Courage added, to which Eustace only laughed in response.
"They also took your chair, television, and truck." I interjected and smirked when Eustace's face turned to one of terror.
"AAAHHHH! They took my chair and T.V." Eustace said, growling.
"Again, why do we even bother with him?" Yang asked while she and Raven glared at him through narrow eyes.
"I'm beginning to ask myself that." I answered.
"I'M GOING HUNTING!" Eustace declared before leaving and taking Courage with him.
Ten Minutes Later
"Quit your sniffing and just follow the tire tracks, you stupid dog." Eustace yelled at Courage.
"Why do you think the raccoons kidnapped Muriel and took the chair and television?" Yang asked.
"After everything I have seen since coming to Nowhere, it could be for any reason." I answered before snapping when we heard Muriel scream.
"OH NO! NOT THAT!" She screamed.
"It's coming from over there." Raven said while pointing to a nearby cave. Careful to not make a sound, we made our way to the entrance of the cave.
"They better not be messing up me chair." Eustace complained before being backhanded by Raven and punched by Yang. He fell into the bushes behind him, unconscious.
"That takes care of that." Yang said, annoyed.
'Let's get free Muriel.' Courage said before entering the cave with the rest of us following him.
"Hopefully, she's alright." I said, worried. But my worries were unfounded as we found her sitting in Eustace's chair with a bowl of popcorn. The raccoons were sitting on the arms of the chair. Seeing the television on, we moved a bit to the side and saw that they were watching a monster movie.
'Huh?' Courage asked, confused.
"Oh, Courage, kids, and Raven. There you all are." Muriel said, waving at us when she noticed us. However, it did not seem the raccoons like us, for they started to growl in warning. "It's all right, little ones. Jaune and Courage are part of the family, and the others are his friends."
"Are you alright, Muriel?" I asked, running up to her with Courage.
"I'm alright, dear. Only a wee bit sacred from the movie." She answered. "Come watch with us."
'Uh-uh.' Courage said, not trusting the raccoons.
"Why did these raccoons kidnap you, Ms. Bagge?" Raven asked, putting away her weapon with Yang doing the same.
"They friendly, raccoons. And they did not kidnap me. They just want a mother is all." She answered with a smile as she hugged the raccoons.
'All right. But I don't like it.' Courage said before hopping onto Muriel's lap.
"What are you watching?" Yang asked as she moved another couch the raccoons had in their cave. She then sat down but became a little awkward and nervous when Raven sat down right next to her. Clear to everyone else that she was not used to this. Only Yang and I knew the history behind how her mother actually was before the tree fixed everything. Yet, despite the tension, she quickly relaxed and leaned closer to her mother.
"A movie about a monster with a human face that terrorizes Japan." She answered.
"Sounds interesting." I said as I pulled up a chair next to Muriel and sat down. We stayed like this for the next ten minutes, all the while enjoying the movie and having some snacks. Unfortunately, this moment was ruined when Eustace came back in and used a net to capture the raccoons.
"HA! HA! HEH! HEH! HEH!" He laughed before turning around to leave the cave but was stopped by Muriel.
"Eustace, what are you doing with those children?" She asked.
"I'm going to turn them in and get the reward." He answered. "That's what they get for stealing me chair and me T.V.."
"Come back with those sweet, misunderstood children." Muriel demanded.
"Blah, blah, blah." Eustace mocked before running out of the cave.
"OOH! You all have to do something." Muriel told us, worried for the raccoons.
"All right." I said as we got up and exited the cave.
"Any ideas?" Yang asked.
"Aside from murdering, Eustace?" Raven asked as she readied her weapon.
"Murdering won't work. He will just come back later. Somehow." I answered.
"He died before?" She asked, surprised.
"On multiple occasions." I answered.
'I have an idea.' Courage interjected.
"Let's hear it." I said as we listened to his ola before running off to get the needed supplies to rescue the raccoons.
Ten Minutes Later
"You sure this will work?" Yang asked as she helped me steady the giant raccoon cardboard cut-out Courage made.
"Pretty sure. His greed always gets the better of him." I answered before turning to Raven. "Ready?"
"I still say brutalizing him is easier and more appropriate for him kidnapping raccoons for a reward." She answered before throwing the dollar attached to the fishing line out of the bushes into Eustace's path. We waited a moment for him to arrive, to which he immediately noticed the dollar.
"Huh?" He asked, confused when he spotted the dollar. But right before he could lean down to pick it up, Raven reeled the line back into the bushes. "Who took my dollar? Where's my dollar?"
"Now, Courage." I whispered, turning to him. He nodded before bringing up the megaphone to his mouth.
'LET THOSE LITTLE RACCOONS GO!' He shouted into the megaphone as we readied ourselves.
"MAKE ME!" Eustace challenged. Hearing this, we pushed the raccoon cardboard cut-out into the open as Courage began to make growling noises. The result was that of Eustace dropping the raccoons before running off into the distance. The raccoons started to cheer as they were freed. But it was then we noticed that the raccoon cut-out was falling over.
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted. Luckily, the raccoons already backed up in time to avoid getting hurt. Seeing that we were the ones who saved them, they rushed to us and began to thank us while lifting Courage up and down in cheers.
'You're welcome.' Courage said as they set him down.
"Hey, where's Raven?" Yang asked, looking around.
"OOOHHHH! AAAAHHHH!" The unmistakable voice of Eustace screaming greeted our ears as soon as she asked.
"There she is. I had a feeling she would go after him." I answered.
"Well, with him gone, how about we go finish watching the movie." Yang suggested. The raccoons seemed to like this idea as they picked up Courage before running back to the cave.
Next Day
Farm House
"Camping does such wonder for the spirit." Muriel said as she drank some of her lemonade.
"It sure does." I agreed as I stretched a bit before resuming my cupcake.
"We must do it again soon." Muriel said as she put away her glass.
'Ha, ha, ha.' Courage agreed while laughing. His teeth and mouth covered in chocolate.
"I just wonder when Eustace will be coming home." Muriel said, worried.
"Probably not for a while." Raven answered with a smirk. Unbeknownst to Muriel, the raccoons adopted Eustace as part of the family after getting brutalized by Raven. Meaning that he will not be returning home for a long time.
"Oh, well. Guess we'll have to do the next few days without him." Muriel said as she got up from her chair. "Now, who wants more cupcakes?"
"Me." We all answered. Including Raven.
Note:
Next Chapters: (1) Scuba-Scuba Doo with Terra, Saphron and Adrian. (2) Curtain of Cruelty with Iris. (3) Feast of the Bulldogs with Weiss, Willow and Winter.