Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 82: Snowman's Revenge
"Every time we go square dancing, you rip your pants on the first do-si-do." Muriel said as she sewed the tear in Eustace's pants. Currently, we were heading back to the farmhouse after going to the monthly square-dancing festival.
"Stupid do-si-do." Eustace complained, annoyed.
"How did you like square dancing, Penny?" I asked, smiling.
"That was so much fun." Penny exclaimed, still excited.
"Maybe for you." Weiss said, annoyed as she massaged her feet. Her cowgirl shoes were next to her, taken off in a hurry.
"Don't worry, Weiss. You'll get used to it. After all, it took me a few months to learn to dance comfortably into those shoes." Willow told her with a smile.
"But if you want Weiss, when we get back to Atlas or Beacon, we can look for some soles. And if we don't, I'm sure we can find more comfortable shoes." Winter said with a smile.
"When will the next square-dancing event take place?" Willo asked.
"Yes, when?" Penny asked, excited.
"In about a month." I answered, happy to see that she had a great time and was loving being human now. However, we became confused and very concerned when we started seeing snowflakes.
'Huh? I thought snow didn't come until a few months later?' Courage said, confused.
"Well, would you look at that, Eustace?" Muriel said, surprised.
"It can't be snowing. It's August." Eustace reminded before sticking his head out the window.
"I'm surprised you even get snow here. I thought you guys lived in the desert." Weiss said, extending her hand to catch the snow. Doing the same, I caught some snow to see if it was real, fake, or only a hallucination. Yet, to my shock, it was real genuine snow.
"I don't think this is naturally occurring snow." Winter said, getting our attention.
"How so?" Penny asked.
"The snow, while it might seem natural, it's anything but as it feels as though someone artificially created it." Willow answered. "Plus, even during blizzards, landscapes don't drastically change from desert to snow."
"Yeah. We were just in the desert, and now we seem to be in a blizzard." I said, finally realizing how drastic the change was.
'Do you think it could be the snowman we encountered in the Arctic?' Courage asked.
"I'm not sure. The last we saw him; he became frozen in a block of ice after falling into the freezing cold waters. But then again, anything could happen." I answered, giving it some thought.
"Um, Jaune." Weiss said, getting my attention.
"Yes?" I asked, turning to her.
"Care to fill the rest of us in on what Courage said and what became frozen?" She asked.
"Well, a while back, we won a timeshare to the Arctic. Aside from the freezing temperatures, everything seemed normal. Yet, after a while, Courage and I discovered a real, living snowman living there. Don't ask how he was alive. But, we learned that he was after something that people have that prevents them from melting. He stole Eustace's and was about to steal Muriel's, but we stopped him in time. We only narrowly managed to escape by breaking the ice floor. He fell into the water and became frozen." I explained.
"But what makes Courage think this snowman is behind this sudden, unexplained blizzard?" Willow asked.
"Well, we did learn that-WOAH" I began, only to cling onto the side of the truck for dear life when it started skating along the ice.
"HOLD ON!" Winter shouted as she grabbed Wiess's arm before grabbing into the edge of the truck.
"Got to get me some snow tires." Eustace said as she struggled to get the truck under control.
'This is going to hurt.' I thought as we quickly approached the house. Only to be proven correct when we crashed into the porch, nearly destroying it. "Ow."
"Is everyone okay?" Willow asked as we climbed out of the now-destroyed truck.
"Fine." We answered.
"How about you, Penny?" I asked, helping her through the foot deep snow.
"I'm fine. Just cold." She answered, shivering.
"Lovely." Muriel said as we quickly made our way to the door. "Won't it be nice to get inside and get all warmed up?"
"That would be nice. I can even-" I began but was cut off when Muriel opened the door, and we all got covered in snow.
"You must have set the thermostat too low, Eustace." Muriel said, shaking the snow off her.
"I don't believe that is the reason, Muriel." Wiess said, removing the snow from her hair.
"Either way, let's head in and-" Winter began as we entered the house. Only to stop dead in our tracks when we saw a figure using a metal glove to shoot snow out of the nearby broken window.
"Huh?" Eustace asked, confused.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped.
'OOOHHH!' Courage gasped in fear, already knowing who was sitting in Eustace's chair.
"Who are you?" Willow demanded while Weiss and Winter took out their weapons.
'Oh, no.' I thought as the glove stopped shooting snow. This allowed me to see that a wooden stick was in the glove, which told me who exactly was in Eustace's chair.
"Man... Snowman." He answered as he got up from the chair and moved towards us.
'AAAHHHH!' Courage screamed, hit breath visible from cold it was.
"Um, Mr. Snowman. What's with the giant pole in the center of the room?" Penny asked, pointing to the red and blue striped pole.
"Just Snowman, young one. Anyway, my friends, that is the west pole, center of the new Arctic region." He answered before turning back to us. "Which you all will help me complete."
"Why?" Winter asked, through narrow eyes.
"And why here of all places?" Weiss asked.
"I will tell you the reason later. Right now, we have much to do if we are to terraform this place into the west pole successfully." He said before pointing to Courage. "You dog."
'Me?' Courage asked, confused.
"Keep us nourished with a steady supply of snow cones." Snowman said before tossing Courage an ice cream scoop.
'I know I'm not going to like this.' Courage said as he picked up the ice cream scoop.
"You, woman." Snowman said, pointing to Muriel. "Keep me entertained. Snowman cannot work if he's is not entertained."
"OOH! I'll have to get out my sitar." Muriel said, excited before running down to the basement.
"And you old man." Snowman said, pointing to Eustace. "You shall keep watch from the top of the pole. To let me know when the snow had completely blocked out the sun. GO!"
"I ain't sitting on no pole." Eustace argued. Annoyed, Snowman used his glove to freeze Eustace.
"Ha, ha, ha." Snowman laughed before sitting back in Eustace's chair.
'EEEAAGH!'Courage gasped, scared before running into the kitchen.
"What about us?" Willow asked suspiciously.
"You two will remain on lookout. Won't be good if anything unexpected should happen." He answered before pointing to Weiss, Penny, and me. "You three. Go around the house and make sure nothing is broken or is about to break. Can't have the place fall down all around us."
"Fine." We said.
"We'll be on the porch roof." Winter and Willow said, surprising the rest of us.
"We'll start with upstairs." I said before pulling Wiess and Penny upstairs and into my room. Closing the door, I went over to the closet and pulled out two heavy-duty coats for Weiss and Penny.
"Thank you, Jaune." Penny said, putting on the coat and relishing in the warmth.
"So, what do we do now?" Weiss asked, fixing her hair after zipping up her coat.
"I have no idea." I answered as I sat down on my bed next to them.
"Well, earlier, you said you only escaped because he fell into the water and froze. But I highly doubt we can do that again, mainly because there is no lake deep enough nearby. Plus, he won't likely fall for it again." Weiss said, thinking of a way we could get rid of Snowman.
"Not to mention, his glove could freeze us instantly before we could even try anything." I added.
"Perhaps, if we find out why he decided to create a west pole, we can get him to go back to the Arctic." Penny suggested.
"That could work." Weiss said, thinking it over. "We just need to find a way for him to tell us. Or trick him into telling us."
"He did say he would tell us after the clouds block out the sun. Hopefully, he keeps the promise." I reminded.
"Hopefully. Though, I do want to find out why Winter and Willow agreed to be on lookout without any resistance." Wiess said, looking out the window.
"When this all over, maybe you can ask them. But right now, we better go and check on the house to see if anything is broken or about to break." I told her while getting up. Nodding, they got up as well before exiting the room.
Two Hours Later
"Mean, bossy snowman." We heard Eustace complain through gritted teeth.
Hopefully, he tells us why he did this soon. I don't think we can keep up like this for much longer.' I thought as I did my best to keep everyone warm. Willow and Winter had returned earlier and were now sitting on the couch. Despite living in Atlas, where it was cold year-long, they were still freezing from the temperatures as it was well below zero. Thankfully, I had two spare coats left in my closet for them.
"I've got icicles on my blisters." Muriel said as she stopped playing.
"Here, Muriel. This should help." Winter said as she handed her some fire dust. Apparently, they had some spare dust in one of the bags they brought with them. They only agreed to be on lookout as it would allow them to retrieve the dust without raising any suspicion from the Snowman. Unfortunately, there was much fire dust, to begin with, and it was quickly dwindling by the second.
"Thanks, dear." Muriel said before resuming playing her sitar.
"Ha, ha, ha." Snowman laughed before firing more snow from his glove while eating a snow cone.
'BBBBRRRR.' Courage said, shivering before taking out the remote and turning on the television. He then changed channels to one that was showing a lit fireplace. Icicles were forming all around his body.
"I don't think that w-will work, Courage." I told him, internally wishing it was real and in the room.
"Dog." Snowman shouted before throwing his empty snow cone at Courage. "Fill her up. Ha, ha, ha."
'Hmm.' Courage hummed before grabbing the snow cone. He then fitted the cone onto one of the icicles hanging from his nose before breaking it off. He then gave the Snowman the snow cone, who was firing more snow from his glove again.
"AHH! Tutti-Frutti." Snowman said after taking a few licks of the snow cone.
"What flavor does it taste like? I never tasted any flavor when I had ice in drinks or ate them." Penny asked, curious.
"That's because only Snowman, like myself, can taste the flavor." He explained before licking the ice some more.
"Are there more of you?" Weiss asked, shivering.
"Story for another time." Snowman quickly answered before returning to his snow cone.
"EH! THE S-SUN'S BLOCKED OUT!" We heard Eustace shout.
"Heh, heh, heh. Excellent." Snowman laughed before turning to the pole. "You can come down now."
"That got to hurt." I said, wincing when Eustace fell from the top of the pole to the floor.
"Enough music. I must address you all." Snowman declared.
"About what?" Willow asked.
"An important matter. But first, I need everyone to be here." He explained. "DOG! I say dog."
"I'll get him." I said before getting up from the couch and heading into the kitchen. Looking around, I became confused as I didn't see Courage anywhere. However, some shivering told me where to check next. Opening the freezer door, I found Courage. "Hey, Courage. The Snowman wants to tell us something."
'OOOH!' He whined before getting out of the freezer.
"What were you doing in there anyway?" I asked, curious as I closed the door.
'It's warmer in there.' He explained. Sighing, I nodded in agreement before following him into the living room.
"What did you want to discuss?" Weiss asked as we reached them.
"First of all, you have all served me well." He began before becoming noticeably sad. "Now, I suppose you'll want to leave me."
'MM-HMMM.' Courage answered.
"Preferably to a tropical location." Weiss added, shivering but quickly looked down when Winter and Willow cast disapproving eyes towards her. Yet, I could tell that they felt the same as the coats were offering only minimal warmth at this point.
"That would be nice. I always wanted to go to a tropical place now that I'm human." Penny commented.
'Maybe someday, I could bring her to one.' I mentally noted.
"Wait. Hear me out first." Snowman interjected. "You've all become like family to me. If you stay here in the west pole, I'll welcome you as my fellow snowmen. Uh, snow people? Snow creatures? Slush puppies?"
"Back up, back up." Willow whispered.
"While he's distracted." Winter added. Nodding, we slowly began to make our way to the kitchen. While not knowing where we could go, at the moment, anywhere else would be better than here.
"Oh, no." Weiss said with wide eyes when Muriel and Eustace stopped moving.
"Muriel?" I asked while Courage started tapping on her arm. Yet, to our worry, it sounded hollow and as if we were tapping on ice. "Shit."
"Do we have any fire dust remaining?" Penny asked.
"Sadly no. I used the last of it on Muriel as some ice was starting to form on her head." Winter answered.
"What should we do then?" I asked, worried while trying to generate any amount of warmth with my hands. Yet, it proved futile.
"Go along for the moment. And when we have the chance, we leave." Willow answered. Sighing, I nodded before turning back to Snowman, who was still struggling to come with a name for us.
"Alright. Courage did you-" I began only to stop when I noticed that Courage became frozen as well. His tongue now stuck on Muriel's arm. 'Damn it.'
"I'll just call you "my fellow snowmen." Snowman said, getting our attention. He turned away from the window before moving towards us. "Will you stay?"
"You've won us over. We'll stay." Winter lied with a straight face.
"YOU WILL?! HA, HA, HA! Today, I feel like the luckiest guy on the surface of the barren, frozen tundra." Snowman said, smiling while clasping his hands together.
"Okay, seriously. Where does this music come from?" Weiss asked, annoyed.
"I have no idea." I answered as I have lived here for a while and still not sure where the hell the music came from. Turning back to Snowman, we saw him dancing to the beat of the music and was also beginning to sing.
I'm feelin' fine, just because you're mine,
Life is like a song, since you came along,
You freeze up life!
Ow! Ow! Ow!
Life is nice, sugar and ice, and all because of yooou!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
"Got to admit, for a snowman, he is a great dancer." I said, impressed at how well Snowman was dancing.
"Though, I wonder if the pole has any other features." Weiss commented when Snowman pressed a button on the pole, with a disco coming out a second later. Shrugging, we turned back to Snowman and continued watching him dance. All the while wondering how we're going to get out of this and unfreeze Muriel, Courage, and Eustace.
Every day's a thrill; all I want to do is chill,
My loneliness is lost, my frosting's turned to frost,
You freeze up my life!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Life is sweet, strawberry sweet like one big snow day!
Hey! Hey! Hey, love ya! Feel it, baby! Dig it! Do it with me! Yes, feel it!
Three Hours Later
After Snowman finished dancing, he suggested we do some fun activities to grow closer together. First, we watch some shows on the television while having some snow cones. Although it was during this, we learned that, while still frozen, Courage could still hear and understand us. Afterward, the Snowman decided that it would be nice if we beat a pinata together. While we wouldn't admit it out loud, we did get a laugh when Snowman accidentally hit Eustace on the head with the baseball bat. And once we had eaten all the candy, Snowman gave us each a hula hoop. Yet, while initially smiling, we noticed that Snowman was becoming sadder with each passing second. Soon, he let the hula hoop fall to the floor before moving to Eustace's chair.
"How sad to be the last of the snowman." He said as he sat down.
'OOOOH.' Courage whined, his tongue cramping up despite being frozen.
"My heart longs for my snowman friends from the old days.
"What happened to the others?" Penny asked.
"Does that relate to why you decided to make a pole here in Nowhere?" Willow asked.
"THINGS GOT HOT!" Snowman answered, slamming his fists against the chair's arms.
"Can you explain?" Winter asked while shivering.
"Fine." Snowman answered while getting up. He then moved over to Courage, freed him from being stuck next to Muriel, then placed him next to us. Although, freeing him resulted in Courage's tongue breaking in two.
"May you start from the beginning?" Willow asked.
"Alright. Not long ago, the North Pole was a frozen paradise. There were multiple snowmen, just like me. Although, admittedly, there weren't many where I lived. But that's beside the point. Anyway, at one point, something unexpected happened. Something happened to the blanket of gas that wraps all around the planet, protecting it. This blanket got weaker with time until, eventually, it ripped. Everything, from our homes to other snowmen, melted. I was able to survive, but my friends weren't so lucky. There was nothing I could do to save or help them." Snowmen explained. But then, he became angry. "AND YOU KNOW WHOSE FAULT IT WAS?!"
"It was the fault of man, unfortunately." We said simultaneously.
"EXACTLY!" Snowman shouted. He then went over to the couch and sat down. Sighing, he closed his eyes before falling asleep.
'Hmmm.' Courage hummed as a forty-wat light bulb appeared over his head, causing him to melt and provide us with some much-needed warmth.
"Okay, so we now know why he moved here to create the west pole. But the question remains on how to get him to leave." Willow said, thinking everything over.
"What if we fix the hole in the ozone? I know it sounds like a stretch but, anything can happen here." Penny suggested.
"Don't forget that we still need to procure transportation to get to the North Pole." Winter reminded.
"While I'm not sure how to get there." Weiss began before turning to me. "Could Iris possibly help us?"
"Possibly. But she's busy right now. Not to mention, she's on the other side of the world, in the opposite direction we would need to travel." I answered. "As to travel, I have enough in my bank account for a two-way trip to the Arctic for all of us."
"How do you have that much money, Jaune?" Weiss asked, surprised. "I thought you only work at the dinner with Charlie?"
"Who's Charlie?" Winter asked, curious.
"My boss, who is a giant rat." I answered before turning to Weiss. "Aside from working at the dinner, I occasionally do odd jobs around town."
"That's sweet." Willow said, smiling. "Okay. So, we have our means of transportation. We just need to find a way to fix the layer."
'This could work.' Courage said as he placed Muriel's purse in front of us. In it were various threads and yarn.
"How would they work?" Penny asked, curious.
"Those were from a previous foe we had to face, called the Stitch Sisters. It's a long story that I'll tell you all on the trip." I explained.
"All right. So we have transportation and the means to fix the ozone. Let's get going then." Weiss said before moving to the door. Nodding, we followed her out of the house and to the airport.
Ten Hours Later
"You know, I could have stopped what I was doing and helped you. It's not a big deal." Iris said, annoyed.
"Sorry." I sheepishly said while ignoring the chuckling coming from the Schnee family and Courage.
After making a quick stop to the bank to get money, we headed into town to buy heavier winter gear. Once we felt we were ready, we made our way to the airport. After getting our tickets, we headed towards the correct gate, only to run into Iris as she disembarked from another flight. Despite being able to fly on clouds and teleport, she still preferred to travel by plane every once in a while. She had just finished her work and wanted to visit me. Naturally, she became curious why we were in the airport with heavy winter gear. And after explaining, she said that she wanted to help us, which we allowed. Plus, I've wanted to spend some time with her as we haven't seen each other in over a month. However, she also became annoyed when we told her about not wanting to bother her while she was at work.
"It's fine. Just know that I'm willing to stop whatever I'm doing to help you." She said, annoyed. Yet, her expression changed to happiness before leaning in to kiss me on the lips. "I do miss you, though."
"I miss you too." I said, smiling as we separated.
"Okay, lovebirds. We're closing in on the tear in the ozone." Winter said with a tease.
"I forgot to ask. But will you be inviting us to your wedding?" Willow asked, smiling.
"WAIT! JAUNE IS GETTING MARRIED!?" Penny asked, shocked.
"Yeah. Guess I forgot to tell you that." I said, scratching the back of my head.
"Will the others be invited?" Weiss asked, curious.
"Yes. But the wedding won't be for a while as we still need to sort a few things out." I answered. Before they could ask anything else, the P.A. system came interrupted them.
'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is captain Jon Dilworth. If you look out your window to the left, why, there's the hole in the ozone.' The pilot announced.
'Yay!' Courage cheered.
"Alright. Does everyone has their parachutes?" Iris asked, getting up.
"Yes." They answered.
"Okay. Be careful and stay close." Iris said as we followed her to the plane's door.
It took a few tries, but we managed to open it on the fifth attempt. Although, we did struggle not to get blown away by the fierce winds. Jumping out of the plane, Iris quickly created a cloud for us to land on safely. Once we steadied ourselves, Iris directed the cloud towards the hole in the ozone. However, we became shocked at how big the tear was when we neared it.
"Ready, Courage?" I asked, turning to him.
He nodded before taking out a sewing needle from the purse. Bending it, he threw it towards the tear where it went through the tear before boomeranging back towards us. Catching it, he tightened his grip on it before jumping off the cloud. After he reached the bottom and stopped swinging, he climbed the thread to the hole in the ozone. Once he reached it, he took the needle back out before sewing the hole together. With one half done, he used the remaining thread to swing to the other side and sewed that part as well. After he finished, we waited a few moments to see if it would hold. And to our relief, it did. Iris then had the cloud moved towards Courage.
"I got you, Courage." I said as I grabbed him and then placed him safely on the cloud.
"Hopefully, this works, and the snowmen return here." Penny said as Iris directed the cloud to the ground.
"Not yet, as we need to find a way to build a home for him to replace the one he lost." Winter reminded.
"Plus, I don't think he would be desperate to return as this was the place where he lost his friends." I added.
'Huh?' Courage said, getting our attention.
"You see something, Courage?" I asked, turning to him.
"Yes. A miracle." Iris answered as she grabbed my head and turned it, so I was looking forward. And to my surprise, three strange winds with snow in them were spinning rapidly not too far from where we were. And to our immense surprise, once the winds died down, we saw the supposed friends of Snowmen standing there.
"Okay. Now he might be willing to return home." I said, still in shock.
"But first, we need to bring one of them back; otherwise, he won't believe us." Weiss reminded.
"Right, but who-" I began but stopped when I noticed a snowman resembling a female approach us.
"Excuse me. But the snowman you speak of, does he look like an ordinary one that is constantly angry?" She asked, sounding hopeful.
"Yes." Willow answered. "And he misses you all greatly."
"Can you take me to him? I can convince him to come back where he belongs." She asked.
"Of course." We answered, smiling before motioning her to follow us.
Next Day
"Wait here. We'll tell you when to come in and surprise him." I told the snowwoman. She nodded before moving to stand next to the door. Nodding, we opened the door and entered the house. Looking around, we saw Snowman playing the game Old Maid with Eustace and Muriel, both of whom were still frozen.
"Snowman." Willow said, getting his attention.
"Ah, there you all are. I was getting worried." He said, sounding relieved and surprised. He then turned towards Courage. "Dog, where have you been? More snow cones, all around?"
'We got this for you.' Courage said, handing him a postcard. Curious, he grabbed it and became shocked when he looked it over.
"Oh, could it be? My old home. My old friends." He said, having a hard time believing it was true.
"Not just that. We also have a guest for you." Winter said before turning to Iris, who was still outside and signaling towards her. She nodded before motioning for the snowwomen to enter. The snowwoman entered and gazed fondly at Snowman, whose jaw nearly hit the floor. Yet, he became overjoyed a second later and rushed towards the snowwoman.
"Ah, Ivana. Let's go home." He said while swinging her around a bit. Placing the snow glove on his head, the lovely couple exited the house, with the glove making it rain flurries around them.
"They make a nice couple." Penny said, smiling.
"They sure do." We agreed.
"Now all that's left is to get rid of the snow." Weiss reminded. Yet, as soon as she said this, the snow began to melt rapidly. And in less than a few seconds, all of it was water. Acting quickly, I opened the door, which allowed Iris to summon winds to get the water out of the house.
"Thanks." I told her before leaning in and kissing her cheek.
"Okay, you two. We still need to unfreeze-" Weiss began but was cut off by Muriel and Eustace, that had become unfrozen.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped.
"What's huh?" Eustace said, confused. He looked around, hoping to find an answer, only to become annoyed when he realized he didn't have any pants. "Where's my pants?"
'Hee, hee, hee.' Courage laughed while I laughed internally. What the others didn't know was that Courage's parachute was actually just Eustace's pants. Although, now it served as one of the snowman's new hats.
"Anyway. It was a long day. How about I make some hot chocolate, and we can relax afterward with a movie?" I suggested.
"Sounds good." They answered, sighing in relief as they sat down on the couch.
Note:
The next chapters: (1) Mondo's magic with Ruby, Velvet and Iris. (2) Swindlin wind with either Emerald and Mercury