Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chapter 98: Perfect
"Must you go, Iris?" I asked as we stepped onto the porch.
"Don't worry, Jaune. I'll be back tomorrow night in time for supper." She answered before leaning in to kiss me on the lips.
"Okay. I'll be waiting." I said as we pulled apart. She smiled before taking a step back and vanishing from sight.
"Next week. I can't believe it." I said, amazed at how fast our wedding date was approaching.
"And it will be Jaune and Iris Bagge." Yang teased as she, Team Rwby, and Team Npr came up next to me.
"How are the papers for the house coming along, Jaune?" Weiss asked.
"Great. All the papers are in order, and construction will start soon." I answered, letting out a sigh of relief.
"I would hope so, considering all the paperwork the local office wanted us to complete and the traps they implemented." Winter said as she and Glynda approached.
"Before I forget, Jaune, have you been practicing for the wedding?" Glynda asked.
"I have, but I've been having some trouble in some areas."
"If you want, we can help you practice later." Pyrrha offered.
"I would appreciate it." I said, smiling.
"Everyone." Muriel shouted from inside, getting our attention.
"Yes, mom." I called out.
"Can everyone help me in the kitchen?"
"Coming." We said as we entered the house. However, before I went inside, a loud noise stopped me. Curious but also concerned, I followed the sound to the side of the house, where I saw Courage and Eustace standing next to Eustace's truck that was on its side.
"What happened?" I asked, running up to them.
"THIS STUPID DOG! HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!" Eustace shouted, throwing down his newspaper before getting up from his seat, which was a car tire. And as soon as I saw it, I instantly put together what had happened.
'They must have been changing the tire, and Eustace being himself forced Courage to do something he could have easily done himself.' I thought, annoyed. I then turned to Courage, who was looking down. "You okay, Courage?"
'Fine.' He dejectedly answered.
"Why couldn't you do it instead? You have two working arms and nothing else to do. Heck, you were reading the paper while waiting for Courage to do something you can very easily do yourself." I told Eustace.
"WHY YOU! I ONLY GAVE THAT STUPID DOG THIS TASK TO SEE IF HE COULD DO ANYTHING RIGHT!" Eustace growled. "BUT HE DID IT WRONG! JUST LIKE HE PAINTED THE CHICKEN COOP WRONG!"
'That's not bad, actually. In fact, it's pretty damn good.' I thought, amazed at Courage painted the chicken coop. It was rainbow-colored with eggs of different colors on each side. "And what's wrong with it? Jealous, you can't paint it as well as Courage can?"
"HOW ABOUT THE WINDMILL THEN? HE DID A LOUSY JOB REPAIRING IT!" Eustace said, pointing toward the windmill, which only had a small toy fan sticking out of it.
"He could have done a better job if you allowed him to use your tools. But you were too busy sitting on your ass to do anything."
"ARGH! IT DOESN'T MATTER! HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!"
"And yet, it's still better than anything you can do."
"ARGH! LIKE YOUR ANY BETTER! THAT'S WHY YOUR BIRTH FAMILY DISOWNED YOU! YOU AMATEURS! YOU INCOMPETENT BUFFONS! YOU TWO OUGHT TO BE SENT TO RIGHT-THING-DOING-SCHOOL AND HAVE SOMONE WHO CAN MAKE YOU TWO PERFECT!"
'Oh.' Courage whined.
"As if you're perfect. Why do you think your mother and father always preferred your brother Horst? You call us failures?! You can't even grow a plant or fix the boiler. In fact, ever since I came here, I fixed everything that broke and repaired everything you tried fixing!" I said, tired of Eustace's belittling.
"WHY YOU-." He began but was silenced when Yang punched him in the face. And before he could recover, Winter threw a box at his face with Glynda using her semblance to throw him to the house.
"I'm honestly surprised Muriel hasn't left him already." Weiss said, disgusted at Eustace.
"Are you okay, you two?" Nora asked, worried.
"We're fine." I answered with a pained smile.
"Are you sure?" Ren asked, now even more worried.
'We're fine.' Courage answered.
"And besides, I've been on the receiving end of much worse back with the Arcs." While I might have grown numb after being subjected to years of insults, it doesn't mean they don't hurt or sting, especially when they are true.
"Forgot about them, Jaune. All that is the past." Ruby said.
"And besides, you proven yourself not to be a failure and have accomplished what some might say is impossible." Blake added.
"Indeed. Even though your time at Beacon was short, you did excel in your leadership classes." Glynda said, smiling.
"But don't forget this, you two." Winter began. "Don't let anyone else's words get to you. They don't know what you've been through, nor do they know what it was like living through those experiences."
"Especially Eustace, as he is just a bitter old man spewing hot air over things that others can do better than him." Blake added, glaring at Eustace's form as he slowly dragged himself inside the house.
"Thanks, guys. And you're all right. Eustace is just jealous. But that doesn't mean he's not right as I have failed in many things before, and I have many, many faults." I said, upset with myself as memories of all my failures came to mind. Even Courage seemed to be in the same mindset as he nodded in agreement.
"Wait. Jaune, that's not-." Pyrrha began, distraught at what we had just said, but the sound of Muriel calling us cut her off.
"Jaune. Courage. There is a package for you two." She shouted from inside the house before closing the window.
"COMING!" We shouted and ran inside the house before anyone could stop us. Thankfully, no one tried to stop us. Although it was most likely, they were still trying to process what I had just said. But we both knew they would bring it up again for discussion as soon they got the chance. And after a moment, they seemed to regain themselves and ran toward the house. However, we all nearly fell to the floor when we heard an ear-splitting, horrible sound similar to someone running their nails along a chalkboard.
"What was deafening ear assault?" Blake asked, switching between covering her human ears and cat ears.
"Eustace got himself a horn." Muriel answered as she uncovered her ears.
"Now, all he needs is music lessons, so he doesn't make anyone bleed from the ears." Weiss commented.
"What? Argh. It's got a crack. I'm gonna fix this thing right up." Eustace said, standing up. But he then pointed at Courage and me. "Meantime, you both oil the boiler. And do it right."
"Why don't you do it? You got nothing else going on at the moment." Yang growled.
"Can't you see I'm-." Eustace began, holding up his cracked horn, but Glynda stopped him by using her semblance to take the horn away from him and throwing it out the front door. "MY HORN!"
"Now, you don't have any excuse not to fix the boiler." Winter said with a scowl.
"Why you-ARGH!" Eustace said before storming out of the house.
"While I don't agree with what had just happened, I do agree that he can do it himself." Muriel said, slightly annoyed at Eustace. But she then smiled while clasping her hands. "But now, how about everyone here help me make baklava? I could use the help as I had never made it before, and I want there to be enough for everyone."
"Baklava?" Blake asked, confused.
"What's that?" Yang asked, curious.
"And does it have lots of sugar?" Ren asked, subtly looking at Nora as we all knew she could not have too much sugar. The last thing we need is a sugar-crazed, hyper-active Nora.
"It's a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey." Muriel answered.
"THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!" Ruby and Nora shouted, already imaging the flavor of the pastry.
"It actually sounds quite delicious." Winter added.
"All right then. Let's get cooking." Muriel excitedly said.
"But let's try not to make too much of a mess as we cook." Glynda said with an irritated sigh. She already had enough due to Beacon's students constantly making a mess.
Half an Hour Later
Glynda's wish didn't come true as nearly the entire kitchen was covered in food or dough.
"Remember everyone. The dough is supposed to be thin, crisp, and lighter than air." Muriel said as she, Winter, and Glynda prepared the ingredients for the fish.
'MM-HMM.' Courage said as we grabbed some rolling pins.
"How will we know when it's lighter than air?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Just keep using the rolling pin until you think it looks about right." Ren answered as he began rolling his dough with the rolling pin. Although, he wasn't making much progress due to him ensuring that Nora didn't go overboard.
"Okay, here goes." Ruby said as she began rolling the dough.
"How does this look, mom?" I asked when Courage and I finished.
"Good job. It's lighter than air." She said, picking the dough up. But as soon as she said this, both doughs disintegrated.
'Huh?' Courage asked, surprised but also sounding a bit down.
"Damn it." I said, annoyed that I had failed such a simple task. Thankfully, no one else heard me.
"Wasn't expecting that." Weiss said, surprised.
"Nor that." Pyrrha added when the same thing happened to everyone's dough.
"I guess we overdid it." Yang said as she set the rolling pin to the side.
"Oh, well. Accidents happen. Don't worry, Jaune and Courage." She said, noticing our downcast looks. She then grabbed the bowl of walnuts and placed them in front of us. "Everyone, take a nut and start cracking them. I'll be with Winter and Glynda helping them bread and cook the fish."
"Alright. Let's get this over with." I said as Courage took out his mallet while I grabbed a smaller one.
"YES! HAMMER TIME!" Nora shouted, taking out her hammer.
"NORA! NO!" Ren shouted with Pyrrha using her semblance to get Nora's hammer away from her while Ren grabbed her arms.
"Okay. Hopefully, we won't mess this one up." I said, feeling unsure of myself when I saw how effortlessly everyone else cracked the walnuts.
'Here we go.' Courage said as we simultaneously slammed our hammer/mallet on the walnuts. However, it had no effect.
"One more time." Readjusting our grip on the handles, we slammed the mallet/hammer on the walnuts with as much force as possible. Yet, to our surprise and utter shame, the walnuts disappeared with the table cracking and breaking apart a moment later.
"Is everyone okay?" Glynda asked, startled at the noise.
"What happened?" Winter asked.
"We put a bit too much force in cracking the walnuts." I said, with my hands on my face.
"Cheer up, Jaune. It was an accident." Pyrrha said, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Maybe you're both just having a bad day." Ruby added.
"Miss. Rose is right. We all have bad days where nothing seems to go right. So don't take anything that happens today personally." Glynda assured.
"It will all get better soon." Winter added, yet despite their assurances, it did help alleviate our moods.
"Oh, Don't worry, you two. That table was very sturdy, was it?" Muriel said, placing her hands on our shoulders. "Why don't we tidy while you two fetch the broom and dustpan?"
"Okay. Come on, Courage." I said as we stood up.
'Hopefully, we can do this right.' He said as we made our way to the door.
'Maybe there is a perfect school we can go to so they can iron out our flaws. Oum knows I have so many. It's nothing short of a miracle I can get anything done.' I thought as we reached the door and opened it.
'AAAHHHH!' Courage gaped when I opened the door, and we saw an older lady wearing a black schoolmarm dress with a white lace collar.
"YOU TWO ARE A DISGRACE!" She said in disgust while pointing her ruler at us.
'AAAHHH!' Courage screamed in terror.
"Uh, who are you?" I asked, worried and confused. But before she could answer, the door closed.
"What's wrong, you two?" Muriel asked.
"And why did Courage shriek?" Ruby asked, curious.
"But why did we hear an older lady's voice just now?" Glynda asked.
"Wait, you heard it too?" Winter asked, sounding surprised.
"What are you two talking about?" Pyrrha asked, confused.
"N-nothing." Glynda answered before clearing her throat and composing herself. "It was nothing. We probably just heard something that wasn't there."
"Right." Blake said, not believing them.
"But who were you talking to, Jaune?" Nora asked. "I heard you asking someone who they are."
"I'm not sure. I thought we saw some lady dressed in a school teacher's outfit." I answered, unsure if what I saw was real or not.
"Is everything okay?" Muriel asked, walking over to us.
'Strange, scary lady. Strange, scary lady with a ruler.' Courage answered, hopping up and down while pointing at the door.
"I don't see anything." Muriel said after opening the door.
'But there was.' Courage said, transforming into a king wearing a robe, crown, and staff before swinging the stick around.
"I think Courage and Jaune might need to rest for a bit as they might be coming down with something, or their anxiety is at a dangerous level." Ren said.
"I think that would be a good idea." Weiss agreed.
"Yeah. Maybe a rest would help." I said, rubbing the back of my head.
'Yeah. A rest sounds nice.' Courage agreed.
"All right. I'll go grab the dustpan and broom, and you two tidy up." She said before exiting the kitchen.
"Okay, let's-" I began, but Yang stopped me.
"Oh, you two clearly aren't feeling well." She said before effortlessly picking Courage and me up and sitting us in the chairs. "We'll clean it up."
"But-"
"Jaune. Please. Rest." Pyrrha said, worried.
"All right." I relented.
"Okay. Let's-" Ren began, but Muriel interjected as she returned.
"Everyone, the last of the wedding equipment has arrived. Can you give me a hand bringing it to the cellar?"
"Of course." Nora answered.
"Why don't you all go on ahead. We'll stay behind to clean up, but we'll catch up in a bit." Winter said.
"Okay." Ruby said before she and the others followed Muriel outside.
"Maybe-OW!" I began before Courage, and I shouted in pain when we felt a sharp sting on our backs.
"THAT IS NO WAY TO SIT!" The same voice from before scolded. Courage and I got up, turned around, and noticed it was the same lady we saw moments ago that hit us.
"WHY DID YOU HIT US!?" I asked, annoyed, only to get hit again.
"Let this be a lesson, young man. Never yell at your elders." She scolded.
"What are you doing here, Perfectionist?" Glynda growled, surprising us as while she does get annoyed, she has never been aggrieved before.
"Are you going to try and teach Jaune and Courage how to be perfect?" Winter asked, making air quotes on the words perfect and teach.
"Ah, two of my previous students who are now perfect." Perfectionist said, pointing to them with her ruler.
"Wait, you two met her before?" I asked, shocked.
"Unfortunately." They answered. But before I could ask anything, the Perfectionist hit Courage and me with her ruler again.
"Now, I want to see perfect posture. Shoulders up, chin out, dog pull your ears up, and walk." The Perfectionist said, using her ruler to fix her posture.
'This feels ridiculous.' I thought as we walked out of the kitchen like toy soldiers or stereotyped living soldiers.
"Eyes ahead. Even steps." The Perfectionist reprimanded as we reached the steps. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Can you two walk correctly?"
"Correctly, how?" I asked as I knew good posture was important when sitting or walking, but I never heard someone saying/teaching others how to walk correctly. Plus, I knew there were different walking styles, but I doubt she was talking about them.
'UH-HUH, UH-HUH.' Courage answered.
"Correctly like a civilized person with perfect posture who can walk perfectly." The Perfectionist answered while slamming her ruler into her hand.
"Only proper posture is needed, Perfectionist. And even then, only in formal settings." Winter countered.
"Jaune, Courage. Your posture is the only thing you need to keep in mind while walking. Everything else is not needed. Just walk as you normally do." Glynda told us, glaring at the lady.
"I see you both have forgotten my lessons. It seems I might need to teach you two again." The Perfectionist said, turning to them.
"You have no power over us, demon." Winter and Glynda snarled.
"Either way." The Perfectionist said, turning back to Courage and me while carrying two piles of books and placing them on our heads. "If those books stay in place, you're walking perfectly. Go."
'This is exhausting and entirely unnecessary.' I thought as Courage, and I struggled to climb the stairs. Unfortunately, only one book remained on our heads as the rest had fallen.
"You two are not the least bit perfect." The Perfectionist said, disappointed.
'Oh.' Courage whined with his eyes tearing up and the book falling off his head.
'Damn it. I can't even walk correctly. How did I ever get this far in life?' I wondered, trying my best to hold back my tears.
"That was too far, Perfectionist. No one ever gets it right the first time." Glynda said, taking out her riding crop.
"And I highly doubt you were perfect all your life." Winter added, also taking out her weapon. Yet, strangely, they kept their weapons in a neutral position instead of aiming them at the lady.
"Who was perfect all their lives?" Ruby asked, startling everyone. Turning to look at her, we noticed that everyone had returned with more of the furniture for my wedding.
"Um-" I began but stopped when I noticed the Perfectionist wasn't there anymore, and neither were the books she forced Courage and me to carry.
"And why des Courage seem upset?" Nora asked, setting down some boxes.
"Jaune asked us to help him ease his nerves and help him practice for his wedding. And the first thing we agreed to help him with is to walk with a good posture. Courage decided to join to help out Jaune but stubbed his toes hard on the last step." Glynda quickly explained. But before Courage or I could hear the rest of the conversation, the Perfectionist suddenly appeared at our side and dragged us into the storage room.
"Where did you-" I began as Courage and sat down after the Perfectionist ordered us to do so. But before I could finish my question, she slammed her ruler on my desk.
"Silence. Now, on to today's lesson. Can you two speak perfectly?" She asked.
'UH-HUH. UH-HUH!' Courage answered.
"I believe we can speak properly." I added, trying my best to sound confident.
"Now, repeat after me, and do it perfectly." The Perfectionist said, walking to our desks.
"Hold on. Let us take our seats before you begin." Glynda suddenly said, startling Courage and me as she and Winter walked into the room with some foldable chairs.
"Ah, good. Perhaps this can also serve as a reminder for you two, considering your speech has gone down slightly." The Perfectionist said before turning back to Courage and me. "The turkey in Albuquerque is positively perky."
"The turkey in Albuquerque is positively perky." Courage and I repeated although I stumbled a bit on the word Albuquerque.
"Good job." Glynda and Winter said, smiling.
"NO! NO! NO! I SAID PERFECTLY! THAT WASN'T EVEN GOOD!" The Perfectionist said, slamming her ruler on my desk again. "Now try again."
'Okay.' Courage said, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"The turrrrkey."
"The turkey." We repeated but only got the Perfectionist placing her hand on her face as an answer.
"What did we do wrong?" I asked, curious.
"Good that you ask. At least you can ask questions correctly." She said before pointing to the ceiling. "I want a perfect 'URRR' sound. URRRRR."
"URRRRR!"
"URRRRRRRR!"
"URRRRRRRR!" We repeated, although Courage started to sound like he was howling while I struggled to keep rolling the r.
"Your speech is abominable. Your walking is a disgrace." The Perfectionist said.
"We're trying." I said, growing more upset with myself each time I failed to do what the lady asked us to do.
"But they are far better than many others we have seen in our lives." Winter said with Glynda nodding in agreement.
"Better than some isn't enough. They must be perfect." The Perfectionist countered before grabbing a bowl of toothpicks and a bottle of glue. "Now, let's see if you two can make something perfect."
'UH-HUH, UH-HUH.' Courage excitedly answered as he loved building things, especially sand castles.
"Professor, is there something specific you want us to build?" I asked.
"Yes, there is. Observe each detail of the drawing, and your towers will be perfect." She answered while drawing a perfect replica of the Eiffel Tower in less than a second.
'How in all of Oum's kingdom are we supposed to make that?' I wondered.
"Begin." The Perfectionist said while slamming her ruler onto our desks.
"Okay, this goes here, and that goes there." I said as I put glue on some toothpicks to build the tower's base.
'This is fun.' Courage said as he was somehow already halfway down with his tower.
"Shouldn't there be an art department or creativity class in Beacon?" We heard Winter ask Glynda.
"There used to be, but we had to cut them due to the council restricting the budget." Glynda explained, causing Winter to let out a huff of annoyance.
"And done." I said as Courage and I put the finishing touches on our towers.
'Ta-da.' Courage nervously said as the Perfectionist came to examine our towers. And for a brief moment, we thought she accepted them as her face softened. However, all that changed when she grabbed our hands and dragged us to the window.
"Look at the work of another of my pupils- A perfect pupil." She said, tapping the window with her ruler.
"HA, HA, HA, HA! I'm perfect." Di Lung shouted as he sat on his tower.
'Oh.' Courage whined.
'I doubt he built that on his first try.' I thought, recalling his other experiments and how they failed horrendously. But before I could dwell on the thought, the Perfectionist dragged us back to our desks.
"As you can see, both of yours are decidedly imperfect." She said while raising her ruler. But before she could destroy our towers, Glynda used her semblance to stop her.
"There is no need to destroy their hard work." Glynda said as Winter grabbed our towers and brought them to the other side of the room.
"Thanks." Courage and I said, relieved.
"Anyway. It's late. We have a lot to cover tomorrow, so your last assignment of the day is... go to bed and sleep perfectly. Can you do that?"
"We can try." I answered, no longer having any energy or willpower left to try and sound confident in my abilities.
"But before you two go to bed, how about some green tea?" Glynda offered.
"No, thank you. I just want to go to bed now." I answered, tired.
'Same.' Courage agreed, fighting through a yawn.
"But before I head to my room, I have to ask, how do you know the lady?" This caused Winter and Glynda to look at each other in concern.
"We both met this lady long ago, during a low point in our lives where we questioned our ability to do anything." Glynda began.
"She is known as the Perfectionist and comes to help everyone better themselves. But she does more harm than good." Winter finished.
"But how do we get rid of her?" I asked.
"That is something we cannot say. It's something you have to figure out for yourselves." Glynda answered.
"Great." I said, rolling my eyes. Luckily, before Glynda or Winter could say anything about that, we heard Team Rwby and Team Npr rushing up the stairs.
"Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked.
"We heard some screaming, shouting, and something smacking something." Blake said.
"We're fine. We were just moving some boxes around. And the shouting came from me when I dropped some books and boxes on my feet." I lied.
"Right." Ren said, not falling for my lie.
"Anyways. Jaune, Courage. Remember, we're here for you." Nora said, pulling us both into a tight hug.
"But remember that we can't help either of you if you don't say anything." Wiess added.
"Thanks, guys." I said, smiling.
"You're welcome." They said before pulling Courage and me into another hug. "Good night."
"Night, everyone." I said as they left to their guest rooms. However, once they were out of sight, I turned to Glynda and Winter. "Wait. Why can we see the lady, but they can't?"
"Only those who she taught or is currently teaching can see her. But others can hear her. Although, we're not sure why that is the case." Glynda answered.
"Anway. Thanks for being there with us during her lesson. But now, I'm going to bed." I said, letting out another yawn. "Coming Courage?"
'I'll think I'll sleep in Muriel's room. Night.' He answered before heading there. Nodding, I bid Winter and Glynda a good night one last time before going to my room. Not having the energy to change, I simply walked over to my bed and fell onto it. And strangely enough, I fell asleep instantly.
Dream
"Where am I?" I asked, looking around. All I could make out was that I was floating somewhere.
'Jaune.' I heard Courage say next to me. Turning to my right, I saw Courage looking around in confusion. 'Where are we?'
"I have no idea." I answered.
"YOU BOTH ARE NOT PERFECT!" A low voice echoed nearby. Looking toward where it was coming from, we screamed in terror when we saw what appeared to be a floating, deformed blue fetus near us. It seemed to be disappointed in us for some reason, almost as if it hated looking at failures.
'AAAHHHHHH!' We screamed as the fetus looked at us again.
Real World
'Damn. That was... strange and horrifying.' I thought, trying to calm my racing heart. Taking out my scroll, I noticed it was nearing one in the morning. And even though we had nothing planned for tomorrow, I knew I had to get some sleep. Closing my eyes, I did the trick Ren taught me to help me fall asleep.
Dream
"Where am I?" I asked, looking around.
All I could see were some empty trophy cases. Curious, I walked over to the cases and noticed each one had a plaque. However, upon closer inspection, I realized that these stands were not to hold any trophy you would win at a tournament. Instead, they were for achievements one earned in life. One was for father of the year. Another was for being a caring husband. But when I inspected a third trophy case, the pieces started to come together. It was for being a great friend and son.
"Great. It looks like I can't achieve anything." I said, annoyed as I stood up.
'YOU'RE WRONG! YOU HAVE ACHIEVED SOMETHING!' A voice boomed with a spotlight shining upon another trophy case nearby. For some reason, I felt drawn to the trophy case despite every fiber in my body saying to stay away. And I should have listened to it as I saw a trophy in it when I reached it. But it was not something one should strive to achieve. 'YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED A TROPHY FOR FAILING MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE HAS IN THE EXISTENCE OF REMNANT!'
"I can't have failed that much." I said, standing up. Yet, my voice betrayed me as it cracked.
'YOU ARE A FAILURE! YOU FAIL AT EVERYTHING!'
"NO!" I shouted, covering my ears and closing my eyes as more trophies appeared with the voice saying that I am a failure constantly.
'FAILURE!'
"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP!" I begged, feeling my eyes tear up.
Real World
"Stop it." I gasped, waking up in a cold sweat. 'Damn it.'
Reaching over to the night table, I grabbed my water bottle and down all of it in one go. I then set it down before laying down again and closing my eyes.
Dream
"Where am I this time?" I asked, noticing that someone strapped me to a chair and televisions surrounded me. But before I could try to escape, the television suddenly turned on. They were static at first but soon showed memories/events of my life when I still lived with the Arc Family.
And none of them were pleasant.
"Why couldn't they accept me? Could it have been different? Would they accept me, or would it be the same? Would it have been better if I took my life? Or would it have been better if I wasn't born?" I wondered as the television continued to play memories of the Arc Family shunning, humiliating, or abusing me. I tried to close my eyes, but something kept them open to force me to continue watching.
Real World
"Come on. Just five minutes." I begged, waking up. Closing my eyes, I huffed and fell asleep again.
Dream
"WHY COULDN'T YOU BE THE PERFECT SON!?" A familiar voice shouted. Looking at where it came from, I noticed a black silhouette of a figure shouting at me. The light behind it prevented me from making out any details. However, I knew who it was because of the voice.
"I COULD HAVE BEEN IF YOU GAVE ME A CHANCE, MRS. ARC!" I countered, shouting at my birth mother.
"BULLSHIT! YOUR SISTERS DIDN'T GET A CHANCE AS THEY WERE ALREADY PERFECT!"
"YEAH! WHY COULDN'T YOU BE PERFECT!? YOU BRING DISGRACE TO THE ARC NAME! WE'RE ASHAMED THAT WE SHARE THE SAME BLOOD!" Another voice shouted. Looking back at Mrs. Arc, I saw six other figures walk over to sit next to her. I instantly knew they were my six other birth sisters.
"YOU ALWAYS FAVORED THEM! YOU TURNED A BLIND EYE WHEN THEY BEAT ME ALL THE TIME UNTIL I PASSED OUT FROM CONSCIOUSNESS!"
"IF YOU WERE A WARRIOR, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE INJURIES! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GAVE YOU THE FAMILY SWORD!" The voice of my birth father said as he walked up to them. "IF YOU WERE WORTHY, I WOULD HAVE LOVED YOU! BUT YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE A DISGRACE! YOU'RE IMPERFECT!"
"NO! I'm not... imperfect." I said, my voice cracking.
Real World
"Damn it. Not those dreams again." I said, tired of those dreams. They plagued me constantly. But, strangely enough, they never appear when I'm with Iris. I guess that's another clue/ reason why I love her and am glad I met her. She kept me grounded and kept those nightmares and doubts at bay. Closing my eyes, I tried to get some restful sleep one last time.
Dream
"Jaune. Here, hold this." Muriel said as she gave me her necklace.
"Okay, mom." I said, grabbing her necklace carefully. But for some reason, she seemed disturbed when I said, mom. However, before she could say anything, she screamed when the necklace slipped out of my hands.
"Sorry, Muriel." I said when the necklace hit the floor. Not hearing anything, I looked at her and noticed that she was crying. Reaching out to her, I touched her shoulder and was about to say that I was genuinely sorry but couldn't as she fell to her knees. And a split second after that happened, she broke into pieces with the world breaking apart afterward.
Real World
"Yeah, I'm not getting any sleep." I said, getting up from my bed. Still sleepy, I went to the bathroom to wake myself up. But as soon as I exited my room, I noticed Courage sitting in the hallway. "Nightmares?"
'Yeah.' He answered with bloodshot eyes.
"Same here." I said, sitting next to him and pulling him close. Knowing that we were not going to get some sleep, we decided to wait out the rest of the night in the hallway.
Morning
"Worst night ever." I said with my eyes feeling heavy.
'I don't think I ever had this bad of a night.' Courage agreed, with his eyes closing a second later.
"This will wake you up then." We heard Eustace say. Turning to him, we saw him preparing to play his broken horn. But before he could play it, Nora sent him flying by hitting him in the face with her hammer.
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" She shouted.
"OR ELSE!" Yang added, cracking her knuckles with her eyes blood red.
"Thanks." We said, getting up.
"Morning, you two." Ren said as he and Weiss walked up to us.
"Why were you two sleeping in the hallway?" Weiss asked, concerned.
"One of the worst nights ever is all you need to know." I answered.
"We can tell considering your ragged appearance, bloodshot eyes, and bags under your eyes." Glynda said as she and Winter approached us.
"Where is everyone else?" I asked.
"They are with Muriel in town getting some supplies." Ren answered.
"We stayed behind to help tidy up and keep an eye on you two." Weiss added. Even though it might have sounded like she was referring to babysitting us, she genuinely sounded concerned.
'Don't we have a class or something?' Courage asked.
"Class? What class?" Nora asked, confused and curious.
"Rehearsal. We are still helping Jaune prepare for his wedding, and Courage wants to be by his side to help." Glynda quickly lied.
"I don't think they are in any condition to do anything." Yang said, worried.
"We know. That's why we will only show them something before sending them back to bed." Winter explained.
"Are you two sure you can handle it? There is still time until Jaune's wedding." Nora asked.
"Don't worry. It's something light." I answered, not wanting to risk the wrath of the Perfectionist.
"Okay. If you two say so." Yang said, now more worried.
"Come. The quicker we start, the soon we finish." Glynda said as she and Winter helped us. We then made our way to the storage room where the Perfectionist was waiting for us.
"You're late." She said, slamming her ruler into her hand.
'Not our fault.' Courage moaned but went silent when the Perfectionist slammed her ruler onto the blackboard. She clearly wanted to slam it on Courage's desk but didn't because of Glynda and Winter's stern glare.
"Be perfectly quiet. Sit up straight. There is going to be a surprise final exam today." She said, bending her ruler.
'A surprise final?' Courage asked, surprised.
"If you don't get a perfect score on this exam, there will be consequences."
"What kind?" Winter asked.
"Everywhere you both go, for the rest of your lives, everyone will know that you both are imperfect."
'Great. As if my friends and family knowing I am imperfect was bad enough. Now everyone will know!' I thought, worried.
'Can we use the bathroom first?'
"You have to go to the bathroom?"
'Uh-huh.'
"What about you, Jaune?"
"Yes, please."
"Very well. Make it quick. While you're there, practice brushing your teeth. And do it perfectly." The Perfectionist said before handing us each a toothbrush.
"Alright. Come on, Courage." I said as we headed to the bathroom.
Five Minutes Later
'Am I imperfect? Can I ever achieve perfection?' I thought as Courage, and I brushed our teeth.
"There is no such thing as perfect, you two." A voice said.
'Who said that?' Courage asked as we looked around for the source.
"A bathtub barracuda?" I asked, confused when I saw the fish swimming in the bathtub.
"You two are beautiful the way you are." The fish said as he stopped swimming to stare at us.
"But, with our imperfections, we can't do anything." I said.
"That's not true. It is because of your imperfections that you both can do anything. And anyone who tells you otherwise is only trying to put you down. Don't listen to them. Do what makes you happy and shape your future the way you want it to be."
'AH!' Courage gasped.
"You're right. Thank you." I said to the fish, which was the least strange thing I had seen since coming to Nowhere.
'Let's get back to the classroom.' Courage said as we exited the bathroom.
"Would you like to try some baklava, you two?" Muriel asked, holding a plate full of the sweet pasty. "It's more like gum, really. But you can blow the sweetest bubbles."
"Later, but thanks." I said, smiling as Muriel blew a giant bubble. Hearing a terrible noise, we looked to our right and saw Eustace trying his horn again.
"I'm going to start my own band of cracked horns." He said before walking away.
"That's it. That's how we can defeat the lady." I said before dragging Courage to the classroom.
Five Minutes Later
"And now, for your final exam, draw a perfect number six." The Perfectionist said.
"Alright." I said as Courage, and I began drawing a 'perfect' number six.
"Time's up." The Perfectionist said, slamming her ruler onto the desk.
"Here you go." I said as we showed her random drawings.
"I do not see a six here." She said, annoyed.
"We do." Winter and Glynda said, smiling.
"How about now?" I asked as we folded the paper.
'Upside down. Sorry.' Courage said as we turned it upside down to reveal the six.
"Beautiful number six, you two." Glynda said, nodding.
"AAAHHHH!" The Perfectionist screamed before hitting the desk with her ruler so hard that the ruler broke. She then began pulling at her hair. "YOU TWO ARE NOT PERFECT! YOU ARE AN IMPERFECT DOG AND CHILD! NEITHER OF YOU WILL EVER REACH THE PERFECT LEVEL OF PERFECTION!"
"Woah." I said, surprised as the Perfectionist melted into the floor with the desks and blackboard disappearing a moment afterward.
'YES!' Courage cheered.
"Congratulations, you two." Winter said, walking up to us.
"You defeated the Perfectionist." Glynda said, smiling.
"Yeah, and all it took was for us to finally realize that there is no such thing as true perfection. We are all perfect the way we are." I said, exhausted but relieved.
"Indeed. But now, how about you two get some rest." Winter said.
"That sounds heavenly now." I said as Courage, and I went to our room to take a quick nap.
"You earned it after all." Winter said.
Night time
"So, how was everyone's day?" Muriel asked after blowing another bubble with the baklava.
"A bit boring." Yang said.
"But fun nonetheless with all the recipes we tried today." Pyrrha said, smiling as she attempted to blow a bubble but failed.
"And messy." Ren added, cleaning Nora's face from a bubble that exploded.
"Why are you wearing your tux, Jaune?" Iris asked.
"It's not the tux for the wedding. This is so I can practice not making a mess while eating." I answered.
"Makes sense." She said before leaning into me.
"Will you be having dinner with Iris's parents, Jaune?" Blake asked.
"No. My parents have no need to eat. And they will only be staying for the ceremony as they are busy." Iris answered.
*Ding Dong*
"I'll get it." I said as I got up from my chair.
'I'll come.' Courage said, doing the same.
Third-person
"I have a feeling something happened today. Something Jaune is not telling me." Iris said.
"Something did happen."
"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.
"Something phooey" Eustace said before leaving the dining room.
"Something happened to Jaune that only happens to people when they are at a low point, and a significant event that will change their lives will take place." Glynda answered.
"What happened?" Iris asked, worried.
"Jaune kept feeling like a failure and imperfect that it got to his head. Luckily, he managed to beat it and finally come to terms with his faults and accept that it is because of his faults that makes him perfect." Winter answered.
"But I have a feeling that is not the end of it." Muriel said.
"No, it is not." Glynda answered.
"What is it then?" Weiss asked.
"Jaune must still confront his past memories, or he will not grow as a person."
"Can we do anything to help?" Ruby asked.
"You can by being there for him when he finally confronts him. But the one who can help the most is you, Iris." Glynda answered before turning to Iris.
"Don't worry. I will." She said with a determined face.
"It will be rough; remember that as Jaune had a difficult life." Winter said.
"It doesn't matter. I will stick by Jaune's side."
"And we will too." Yang said, smirking.
"It seems like my son is in good hands." Muriel said, smiling.
"That he is, Muriel. That he is." everyone agreed before smiling and returning to their food.
Notes:
Next Chapters: (1) Remembrance of Courage's Past with Team Rwby, Team Jnpr, Cinder, and Iris. (2) Wedding Chapter with everyone appearing. And a 'surprise' visit from Ironwood, Ozpin, and the Arc Family. (3) Epilogue.
The Fetus part of the episode still scared me after all these years. Apparently, it's supposed to be Eustace's trumpet... still scary though.