Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 95: Profiles in Courage
Nowhere Annual Carnival
Slice of Life Silhouettes
Inside this small booth, we see multiple frames containing strange works of art. And in the center of the booth is an aged man cutting some paper. However, instead of cutting to make the paper shorter, he cut it to form the shape of a person.
"Come. Live. Please live." The man said, getting to his feet while placing his latest work on its feet. The paper seemed to move by itself for a brief moment but collapsed to the floor, lifeless afterward.
"AH! OH! Again I have failed." The man said, sitting down. He then looked over all the projects he had made in the past. "Look at you. My children. My art. So still, so lifeless. All these years how I've tried to give you form, to give you life."
The man tried again but failed as his latest work crumpled to the ground. But the man would get his chance soon.
Outside the Booth
"Oh, look at these." Muriel said, laughing as she stood in front of a carnival mirror.
"HEH-" Eustace began, about to insult Courage, but Taiyang knocked him out before he could.
"Nowhere has the best carnivals." Ruby shouted, standing in front of another carnival mirror.
"They sure do, puppy." Taiyang said before grabbing Ruby and placing her on his shoulders.
"You enjoying the carnival, Adrian?" I asked as he laughed at Ruby and Taiyang made funny faces. "I'll take that as a yes."
We were currently having fun at the annual Nowhere Carnival. With us were Taiyang, Ruby, and Adrian. Taiyang and Ruby decided to spend quality time together and came to Nowhere, while Raven and Yang did the same in Patch. Adrian was also with us as Saphron, and Terra asked if I could babysit him while they did some errands. Naturally, I agreed as I had wanted to spend some time with him. And after meeting up with Taiyang and Ruby, everyone decided to spend the day at the carnival.
"Can we go home now?" Eustace asked, groaning as he got up.
"Oh, come, Eustace. Haven't you wondered what it would be like to be somebody else?" Muriel asked.
"Nope."
"I have." Ruby excitedly answered.
"Of course, you have, puppy." Taiyang said, chuckling.
"Well, where to next?" I asked.
"There." He answered, pointing to a nearby booth.
"How many words does he know, Jaune?" Taiyang asked.
"He used to know only three to five words. Now, he knows about fifteen. Courage, Saphron, Terra, and I have been teaching him recently." I answered as we walked to the booth.
"Oh, my. Look at these." Muriel said, amazed at the pictures in the booth. "Oh, wouldn't this be a wonderful way to remember our day today?"
"It would be a nice way to close out the day." We agreed as the carnival would be closing soon.
"They don't even have faces. Flunked art school, did you?" Eustace mocked the owner.
"Hmm." The man glared at Eustace.
"Oh, Eustace. Be kind." Muriel chided.
"Or else." Taiyang warned as he balled his fist while Ruby grabbed her scythe.
"I think they are precious."
"These are nothing. For you, I shall do a full-size, life-size portrait."
"Of me?" Muriel asked, shocked.
"Of everyone. You're all so lifelike- I mean full of life."
'I don't trust this.' Courage whined.
"Me neither." I agreed.
"Let's do it, everyone. I'd love to see everyone in paper." Muriel said, clasping her hands.
"What am I?" Eustace grumbled.
"I think that would be nice." Taiyang said as we entered the booth that was surprisingly larger than we expected.
"Right this way." The man said as he lowered a large canvas.
"One at a time?" Ruby asked as Taiyang placed her back on the ground.
"No. The adults go first as the canvas can only fit four at a time."
"So, we just stand still?" Taiyang asked.
"Yes. Stand still, and it will be over quickly." The man answered Muriel, Taiyang, and Eustace stood in front of the canvas. The light from the nearby lamp makes their shadows appear in the background.
"What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked.
"Just call me the Silhouette Maker." He answered as he began cutting along the lines of the shadows while laughing.
'AAAHHHH!' Courage screamed, his mouth opening far too broad, tongue spiraling, left eye becoming red, and ears and fur standing up straight.
"Should we have our turn or not, Jaune?" Ruby whispered.
"No. Something is telling me not to have my portrait done. In fact, I think we should keep an eye on the portraits of the others to make sure nothing is wrong." I answered while gently rocking a now sleepy Adrian.
"Yes. Yes. Yes, at last. Full of life. Heh, heh, heh." Silhouette Maker said as he finished cutting out the portraits. "Done. You can come and see the final result."
"Alright." Taiyang said as he moved to stand next to us, with Muriel and Eustace following.
"OOOH!" Muriel exclaimed, happy.
"Do I really look like that? Yecch." Eustace said in disgust.
"Now. Give me a moment so I can frame them. In the meantime, why don't you bring your car out front." The Silhouette Maker suggested.
"Fine. Be right back." Eustace grumbled before leaving the booth.
"Next." Silhouette Maker said while lowering a new canvas.
"Sorry, but we decided not to have our portraits done." I said, surprising him.
"And you, young lady?"
"Another time, maybe." Ruby answered.
"Very well. Let me clean this mess up, and I'll get to framing."
Five Minutes Later
"Okay. The last one is secured." Taiyang said as he loaded the last framed portrait into the truck.
"Are you sure you two don't want a portrait of your own?" Muriel quietly asked as I held a sleeping Adrian.
"We're sure." Ruby and I answered.
"Okay then. Get inside, and we can head home." Muriel said before getting inside the truck.
"Live. Live, children. I shall come for you soon." Silhouette Maker whispered to the portraits. "Heh, heh, ha."
"What was that?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Nothing, nothing. Only a small quirk of mine." He explained.
"Right." Taiyang said, not believing him.
"Anyway. Have a nice day." Silhouette Maker said before hastily leaving.
"That was strange. Anyway, we better get going as it's getting late." Taiyang said as he got into the back of the truck. Nodding, Ruby, Courage, and I hopped in as well. Although, I had to give Adrian to Courage so I could get in myself without any problems.
Twenty Minutes Later
"That man really has a steady hand to make these kinds of works." Taiyang said, observing the detail of the portraits.
"I wonder if he could make something else?" Ruby asked before turning to me. "Hey, Jaune."
"Yes."
"Are you excited?"
"For what?" I asked, confused, causing Ruby to roll her eyes.
"Your marriage with Iris. It's next month. Don't tell me you forgot."
"No, I didn't forget. I just have a few things on my mind. But yeah, I'm excited but also a little nervous."
"Is it true what the others have been saying? That you are marrying a storm goddess?" Taiyang asked.
"Yes, her name is Iris."
"Why are you nervous, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"It's his big day, Ruby. A day where his life changes forever. Plus, he will be marrying an actual goddess, which adds even more stress and anxiety." Taiyang explained.
"Right. Not to mention, I will be meeting Iris's parents for the first time, and I'm still nervous about that despite Iris assuring me that everything will be alright." I added.
"You're not backing out, are you?" Ruby asked.
"No, never. I'm seeing this day through. I love Iris and want to marry her. But that doesn't mean I'm not nervous."
"That's understandable. But don't worry. Everything will turn out fine." Taiyang assured.
"Thanks. I-" I began, but the sound of Courage gasping caught our attention. Luckily, it wasn't loud enough to wake Adrian. "Everything all right, Courage?"
'The portraits. They moved. Muriel's waved at me.' He answered, pointing at them.
"What did he say?" Taiyang asked.
"He said the portraits moved, and Muriel's portrait waved at him." I answered.
"Hmm. We better keep an eye on them. I did get an odd feeling about the place. And if by the stories Yang, Ruby, Raven, and Summer told me, then it could be nothing or something magical."
"Hopefully, it's nothing." I said as we never took our eyes off the portraits until we returned to the farmhouse.
One Hour Later
"Okay. That should do it." Taiyang said as he finished hanging Muriel and Eustace's portraits on the wall.
"What a lovely memory of our day, right, Eustace?" Muriel asked, only to get a snore in response.
'EEE!' Courage gasped.
"The portraits moved?" I asked as I held a sleeping Adrian.
'Uh-huh.'
"Oh, it looks like Eustace fell asleep while watching his show again. Well, no need to disturb him." Muriel said. "Good night, everyone."
'AH! AHH!' Courage said, pointing to the portraits. He then transformed into an alien mad scientist, followed by a monster with robot claws, and finally, Frankenstein's monster. And once he was down changing, he howled as loud as he could before falling to the ground and scratching his back.
"Why, thank you, Courage. Sweet dreams to you too." Muriel said before heading to her room.
'Oh. AHHH!' Courage whined before screaming, with a little version of him appearing in his mouth when the portraits moved again. However, this time we all caught it. Courage then ran to Eustace to try and wake him up. But before he could use cymbals to wake Eustace, Ruby grabbed them from his hands.
"Courage. Adrian is sleeping." I reminded him.
'Sorry.'
"Why don't you put Adrian to sleep in your room. Then we can stay here and keep watch over these portraits." Taiyang suggested.
"Right." I said before heading up to my room.
Walking over to the crib, I placed him and covered Adrian with his blanket. And seeing his content face as he slept soundly reminded me that I still had to talk to Iris to know if she wanted to have kids or not. Walking out of the room, I closed the door and headed downstairs. But before I could say anything, I became worried when I noticed Taiyang and Ruby were shellshocked. Courage, meanwhile, was across the living room with a hoofprint on the side of his head.
"What happened?" I asked, walking over to them. But it was when I looked toward Eustace's chair and to the side of the television.
The portrait the Silhouette Maker made for Eustace had come alive, sucked all the life out of Eustace, leaving him a dry muscle mess and gaining Eustace's face. This revelation caused me to become shellshocked as well. Luckily, I managed to snap back to focus after a moment. Unfortunately, this was all the portrait needed to escape the room before we could grab it.
"What happened? Where's Eustace's portrait?" I asked, snapping Taiyang and Ruby out of their trance.
"I don't know." Ruby answered.
"One moment Ruby and I were discussing what we should do when we get back to Patch. The next, we saw Eustace's portrait suck the life out of the real Eustace, leaving us shocked beyond belief." Taiyang finished.
"I guess that's what the Silhouette Maker meant being telling his children to live." I said, recalling what the guy said when we were loading the portraits into the truck.
"We can worry about what he said later; right now, we need to find where that portrait went."
"Right. We need-Wait. Where's Muriel's portrait?" I asked, noticing the empty frame.
'AAAHHHHHH!' Courage screamed from upstairs. Not wasting any time, I dashed up the steps to Muriel's room. Getting to her room, I spotted Courage on the floor with his eyes acting similar to television static.
"Hello, Jaune. Nice... evening tonight." I heard Muriel say. Feeling a sense of relief wash over me, I smiled, knowing that the portrait hadn't gotten to Muriel yet. But that changed when I looked up and noticed that it was the portrait talking and not the actual Muriel. Seeing this, I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head before I passed out.
Next Day
"Are you okay, Jaune?" Ruby asked as I woke up.
"I'm fine, Ruby. I just had this terrible dream." I answered while holding my head in pain.
"That wasn't a dream, Jaune. What happened last night was real." Taiyang said, making me groan.
"Great. Wait, what happened with your portrait?" I asked, remembering that Taiyang got one as well.
"It tried to do the same, but Ruby managed to use her scythe to cut it down before it could take a single step away from its frame." He answered while holding up the remains of his portrait.
"That's good. Where's Adrian, though?"
'Over here.' Courage answered. Turning to him, I smiled when I saw Courage coloring with Adrian.
"What should we do, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"I'm not sure. But until we find a way to restore Muriel and Eustace, we have to keep the portrait unharmed." I answered as I stood up and felt my stomach grumble. "But first, how about I make some breakfast?"
"YES!" Ruby shouted as I picked up Adrian.
"What would you all like?" I asked as we exited my room.
"COOKIES!" Ruby shouted.
"Ruby, it's too early for cookies." Taiyang reminded, causing Ruby to pout.
"How about pancakes with strawberries?" I suggested, chuckling. However, I stopped when we heard Muriel's voice.
"Good morning, everyone." She said as we entered the living room. Turning to her, we saw that it was the portrait version of Muriel and that it was knitting in Muriel's chair.
"Uh, good morning Mrs. Bagge." Taiyang said, unsure.
"Stupid dog. Stupid kids." The portrait version of Eustace struggled to say as it sat in Eustace's chair.
"Draw." Adrian said, taking a crayon from his front pocket and trying to color the Portrait Eustace.
"Careful, Adrian. That's not to draw." I said, gently grabbing his hand.
"Oh, dear." Portrait Muriel said, getting our attention.
"Is everything alright-" Ruby began but stopped when we saw that Portrait Muriel pierced her arm with the sewing needle. "Oh."
"I am... fine, dear." She answered before turning to Portrait Eustace. "Eustace, time to fix the truck."
"Yes, and this is where you make the tea."
"Yes."
"I'll go fix the truck." Portrait Eustace said, standing up and putting away the newspaper.
"Would you like some help?" Taiyang asked.
"No. I... can do it myself. I am alive." Portrait Eustace said before exiting through the front door.
"I'll go make some tea." Portrait Muriel said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.
'AAAHHHHH!' Courage screamed with his head turning into a furnace.
"This isn't going to end well." I said with a sigh before turning to Taiyang. "Taiyang, can you go help Portrait Eustace? I doubt he can open the truck and will probably rip himself in half if he attempts it. Plus, I think the weather today is supposed to be pretty windy."
"Sure." He said before quickly rushing after Portrait Eustace.
"Come on, Ruby, Courage. Let's go keep an eye on Muriel, so she doesn't burn herself from making tea." I said as we made our way to the kitchen.
"Oh, dear. What'll I do to get it out?" Muriel asked, looking at the needle stuck in her arm. She then began to tug on it to try and take it out. Thankfully, before she could tear her hand off instead, Ruby raced and grabbed her hand.
"Let me try." She said, gently tugging on the needle until it eventually came out.
"Thanks, dearie."
"You're welcome."
"Now, what would... everyone like for breakfast?"
"Don't worry, uh, Muriel. I'll take of it and make everyone some strawberry pancakes." I told her as I placed Adrian in his high chair.
"YES!" Ruby cheered.
"Alright. But let me make everyone... tea. Time to make some tea." Portrait Muriel said, grabbing the kettle after it whistled. But because it was boiling and Portrait Muriel's arm was paper, her hand caught on fire.
'OOHHH!' Courage gasped.
"SOMEONE! HELP ME!" Portrait Muriel screamed, flailing her arm.
"MURIEL!" I shouted, running to the sink and filling a pot with water. I then grabbed it and threw the water at her. Unfortunately, I momentarily forgot that Muriel was paper due to my panic. The result was the water sending and sticking her to the wall.
"Oh, thank you, Jaune." She said before sliding to the floor. "Jaune."
"Hopefully, Taiyang is having better luck than us." Ruby said as I let go of the pot.
'Hopefully.' Courage whined.
Five Minutes Ago
"Let me help you." Taiyang said, feeling odd at having to say that to Eustace. Grabbing Portrait Eustace's hands, Taiyang removed him from the column and set Eustace on his feet.
"Ah, thanks." Portrait Eustace said before walking to the truck with great difficulty due to the strong winds. "Now... leave me alone. Time to fix the truck."
"Let me open it before-"
*RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPP*
"That happens." Taiyang said, sighing when Portrait Eustace's arms gave out and ripped.
"Ah, nuts." Portrait Eustace said, seeing his arms still trapped under the truck's hood.
"I got it." Taiyang said, opening the hood and freeing Portrait Eustace's arms. 'This is going to be a long day.'
With Jaune
"Oh. Thank you, everyone." Portrait Muriel said as we placed her on the clothesline to dry.
"Hopefully, she quickly dries and doesn't fall apart." I said.
"Can we go home now?" Portrait Eustace asked as he walked up to us.
"What happened to your arms?" Ruby asked.
"Here they are." Taiyang said as he walked up to us while holding Portrait Eustace's arms. "He ripped them when he tried to open his truck's hood."
"Oh, Eustace. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be human?" Portrait Muriel asked.
"Nope."
"Nobody ever wonders what it would be like to be made of paper."
"Nobody."
'YIP!' Courage said.
"You thinking what I'm thinking, Courage?" I asked.
'Uh-huh.'
"What are you talking about, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"To show them the joys and benefits of being paper." I answered. "Go get the glue that's in the kitchen drawer. Courage and I will get some arts and craft items."
"Alright." She said before dashing and returning with the glue and arts and craft supplies a moment later.
'Let's take this to the front. It's better there.' Courage said, chuckling.
Nodding, Courage helped Ruby with arts and craft supplies while I picked up Adrian and Taiyang grabbed a now dry Muriel. We then headed to the porch, set everything down, and got ready. We then glued Portrait Eustace's back onto his body, causing him to smile. Next, we drew on Portrait Eustace and Portrait Muriel, giving them various designs and makeovers.
"Draw." Adrian said as he began drawing his own scribbles on the pants of Portrait Eustace and even signed his name.
"Looks like we have an artist on our hands." Taiyang said, surprised at how surprisingly good Adrian drew.
"Maybe when he's older, I'll convince Saphron and Terra to sign him up for art classes." I said, smiling.
"WOW!" Portrait Eustace and Portrait Muriel said, amazed at all the drawings.
"What now?" Ruby asked.
"Origami." I answered as Courage, and I grabbed Portrait Muriel and folded her into a zebra.
"Ha, ha, ha." Portrait Muriel laughed.
"What next?" I asked.
"Doggy." Adran giggled.
"Alright." I said as we grabbed Portrait Muriel, unfolded her, and then folded her to make a paper dog.
"DOGGY!" Adrian shouted as he hugged Portrait Muriel.
"Me next. Fold me, stupid- Nice... nice dog and kids." Portrait Eustace asked.
"Alright." I said.
"Mind if I give it a try?" Taiyang asked.
"Sure." Taiyang grabbed Eustace and, with an experience we were not expecting, made a sailor's hat out of Portrait Eustace and placed it on Ruby's head, causing her to laugh. "Orders Captain Ruby."
"I, Captain Ruby, order everyone to make Portrait Muriel into a paper plane."
"Aye aye, captain." I said, chuckling as Courage changed Portrait Muriel into a paper plane. I then gave it to Adrian. "Here, Adrian. Just throw it like this."
"Ha, ha, ha." He laughed as I helped him launch Muriel into the air.
"I'M FLYING!" Portrait Muriel shouted, laughing.
'I got her. I got her.' Courage asked as he chased after Portrait Muriel. But he failed to grab her, causing Portrait Muriel to crash into his nose.
"While this is nice and all, we still need to find a way to restore the actual Muriel and Eustace." Taiyang reminded.
"But how are we going to do that?" I asked.
"That's simple. Just lay us over, and we'll give life back to your parents." Portrait Muriel said.
"But what will happen to you two?" Ruby asked.
"We will be fine. The only thing that will change will be some of our details and colors going away." Portrait Eustace answered.
Still unsure, we decided to take them on their word as we had no other alternatives. I grabbed Portrait Muriel while Courage grabbed Portrait Eustace. We then went inside with Courage, heading to restore Eustace while I went up to Muriel's room to restore Muriel. And true to the portrait's words, laying them on top of their respective person returned them to normal.
'Oh, thank, Oum.' I thought, seeing Muriel now normal and sleeping peacefully.
"This isn't so bad after all." Portrait Muriel said, smiling.
"I guess it isn't. But what do you want to do now?"
"Well, there is something I saw that I wanted to try."
"What is it?"
Half an Hour Later
"So full of life... yes." The silhouette maker said as he rode his bike to the farmhouse. "This time, it will work. My art will be alive at last. HEH, HEH, HA!"
With Jaune and Others
"Just like that, Adrian." I said, helping Adrian hang on to the handle. The thing that Portrait Muriel wanted to try was to become a kite. And Portrait Eustace felt the same way. Luckily, we had some sting left over that could act as makeshift kite strings.
"This is fun." Ruby said as she held Eustace's kite string.
"Heads up. We have a visitor." Taiyang said. Looking toward where he was pointing, we saw the Silhouette Maker riding toward us on a bike. And judging by the look on his face, we could tell he was shocked by what he was witnessing.
"But you were going to be human now, to take on new life, to be real." He said, shocked.
"I wouldn't mind being like this all the time." Portrait Muriel shouted.
"You mean, uh, it's- it's good to be paper?" The Silhouette Maker asked.
"In a sense, yes." I answered.
"Here, try it." Ruby added as we gave him the kite strings.
"WHEE!" Portrait Muriel and Portrait Eustace shouted joyfully.
"They both seem so happy." The Silhouette Maker said.
"Isn't it lovely to be made out of paper?" Portrait Muriel asked.
"It's an improvement if you ask me." Portrait Eustace added.
"YES! YES! MY ART LIVES!"
"YAY! WHOO!"
"Thank you, everyone, for this gift." The Silhouette Maker said before riding back to his booth at the carnival.
"Well, now that we are done with this, how about I start making breakfast?" I suggested, receiving a few nods of approval.
Two Hours Later
"Oh my, Eustace. Look." Muriel said, surprised as she came down the stairs.
"How do they look?" I asked as I cleaned Adrian's hand from all the glue. We were currently in the living room making paper cutouts of Muriel, Eustace, Courage, Taiyang, Ruby, Adrian, and myself.
"Big deal."
"Why, they are lovely. How did you ever learn to do that?" Muriel asked.
"Lots of practice and a trade secret." Ruby answered, giggling as Adrian continued to cut different shapes out of the paper.
'Ha, ha, ha.' Courage suddenly laughed. Turning to him, we saw that he was standing and now paper-thin. Yet, we all just laughed at this instead of worrying.
Notes:
Next Chapters: (1) Muriel blows up with Saphron, Terra, Adrian, and Winter. (2) Mother's Day with only Jaune and Muriel. (3) Perfect with Glynda, Winter, Team Jnpr, and Team Rwby. (4) Remembrance of Courage's Past with Team Rwby, Team Jnpr, and Cinder. (5) Wedding Chapter. (6) Epilogue.
Guest: No, I will not be doing Famer Hunter, Farmer Hunted.