Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog

Chap 87: The Hunchback of Nowhere

Outskirts of Nowhere Town

10:00 P.M.

A powerful storm was raging overhead. And it did not appear to be stopping any time soon. The Nowhere News even warned everyone to remain indoors and seek shelter as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for one unique individual, he did not have a home or shelter.

*Ding-Dong*

We see a prominent figure with a malformed lump of a spine that dominates his entire upper torso. His skin is an unusual shade of green. He has one normal-shaped purple eye and one that protrudes from its socket. Lastly, he has a completely bald scalp except for two clusters of messy red hair on either side of his head. And if one were to look closely, they would notice the scar under the left side of his mouth. Yet, despite all these 'imperfections' and 'abnormalities,' he still wore a genuine smile. Unfortunately, he was standing on someone else's porch, hoping to be given shelter from the storm as he had no home he could call his own. After a few seconds, the door finally opened.

"AAAHHHH!" The person screamed, terrified of what he was seeing. "We have no place for the likes of you."

"Oh." The figure said dejectedly as the homeowner closed the door.

Looking down at the floor dejectedly, the figure left the porch and decided to seek shelter elsewhere. Yet, no matter how many houses he visited or how severe the storm got, he was constantly shunned by the people as soon as they saw him. Some even called him derogatory slurs about his appearance before slamming their doors in his face. Knowing that the storm would only worsen, the figure decided to try his luck one last time before heading towards his usual place, when no one was willing to let him into their house. After about a half-hour of traveling, the figure saw a farmhouse with the lights on in the distance. This told him that the people were in and probably awake.

Inside the Farmhouse

"Wow, it's really coming down hard out there." Velvet said as lighting cackled in the distance.

"Hopefully, no one is outside in this weather." Blake said, growling as she and Courage played a game of chess. Even though Blake was an excellent chess player, Courage was effortlessly winning and making her look like an amateur.

"Hopefully. And hopefully, everyone made it home in time before the storm hit." I agreed as I polished and tuned some musical instruments. There was a discount sale recently in Nowhere, and the owners were selling a complete set of musical instruments for a very low price. Unable to help myself, I purchased them and had been teaching myself how to play them. Luckily, and I'm not surprised at this point, Courage somehow knew how to play each of them.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO FETCH MY RAINCOAT!" Eustace shouted, startling everyone.

'Huh?' Courage asked, confused.

"Nope." Velvet and I answered, glaring at him.

"Why don't you go fetch it?" Blake asked, annoyed.

"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO FETCH!?" Eustace asked, ignoring what we had just said. "YOU STUPID DOG! HA, HA, HA, HA!"

'AAAAHHHHH!' Courage screamed when Eustace scared him by using a prop that made it appear as if his eyes were popping out of his head.

"HA, HA, HA, HA-OW!" Eustace laughed before being knocked out by Velvet kicking him in the head.

"Thanks, Velvet." I said, moving over to Courage to try and calm him down.

"No worried, Jaune. Been wanting to do that all day."

"You okay, Courage?" Blake asked.

'Fine. Just got a mild scare, is all. I've been through worse.' He answered, taking a few deep breaths.

*Knock Knock*

"Are you expecting anyone, Jaune?" Velvet asked, curious as we got up and headed to the door.

"Nope." I answered before opening the door. Although, I did have to use a bit more strength to keep it from slamming open. "Hello."

"Excuse me, young kids. Do you have a spare room I could spend the night in?" The mysterious figure asked in a kind voice.

"Jaune?" Velvet and Blake asked, turning to look at Courage and me.

"Yes, we do. But I have to ask my mother first. Although, I'm one hundred percent certain that she'd be more than willing to let you stay the night." I answered before moving to the side. "Why don't you step inside and-HEY!"

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDS TALKING TO?" Eustace demanded, pushing us to the side. However, as soon as he saw our guest, he screamed in terror. This caused the figure to become downtrodden. "NO!"

"Ass." We all said when Eustace slammed the door.

'We could have put him in the attic at least.' Courage said, shaking his head at Eustace.

"What are you standing there for? Get my-OW:" Eustace began, but Velvet and Blake silenced him by first kicking his shins and then his head.

'Seems like they took what he did personally.'

"Remember, Courage. Blake and Velvet are faunus. They suffered discrimination all their lives. Even at Beacon, they were harassed by Anit-faunus students based solely on their looks." I explained.

'Oh, right. Sorry.'

"It's fine." I said as we turned back to Velvet and Blake as they composed themselves.

"Well, now that we know he won't bother us for the rest of the night, how about we go check on that guy?" Velvet suggested, still glaring at Eustace's unconscious body.

"Sure. Hopefully, he is still nearby." I said as I opened the door. Only to quickly close it when we remember that it was still pouring outside. "But first, let's get our coats."

"Good idea."

Ten Minutes Later

"Where could he have gone?" Velvet shouted over the fierce winds.

"Let's try the barn. He could have gone in there." Blake suggested as she used her arm to keep the water from hitting her eyes.

"Let's go." I said as we made our way to the barn. Once we arrived there, we hurried inside and closed the door.

"HEY!" Blake shouted, annoyed when Courage shook himself dry and got Blake and Velvet wet. And while Velvet merely chuckled, Blake seethed.

'OOOH! Sorry.' Courage apologized as he looked around.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, curious.

'Eustace's raincoat. We might as well bring it to him while we're here.' He answered. Spotting the raincoat nearby, he went over to it and picked it off the hook.

"Don't forget we still have to- what's that noise?" Blake began before asking when we heard a pleasant noise.

"Bells." Velvet said, recognizing the soft music.

"It's coming from the second floor. It could be our mysterious guest." Blake said, pointing to the ladder.

"Let's go check." I said as we moved to the ladder and climbed it. And to our genuine surprise, delight, and relief, we saw our guest safe and sound. He was even smiling as he rang a different assortment of bells.

'Oh.' Courage said, surprised.

"That is some lovely music you are playing." Velvet said as we moved to sit next to our guest as he picked up in speed in ringing the bells.

"Thanks." He said as he finished his music.

'Hmm. Can we make some music together?' Courage asked as he picked up a bell and rang it.

"Sure." The guest said as he picked up two bells and rang them. Smiling, Blake, Velvet, and I picked up the remaining bells and joined them in making music.

"Sorry about Eustace. Unfortunately, he's usually like that." I said while putting down the bell.

"It's fine. I'm used to it." The figure said, causing our hearts to be stricken with grief. Feeling the air tense a bit, we decided to try and cheer up our guest.

"How about we have some fun?" Blake suggested.

"Like what?"

"You'll see."

For the rest of the night, we did various activities to help our guest forget what Eustace did and to cheer him up. First, we did trapeze and used some spare ropes and metals bars we found to act as makeshift swings. And while Velvet and I managed to swing across the barn with ease, Blake and Courage needed some encouragement. Luckily, our guest gave them the push they needed to get going and even saved them after they fell from their swings. However, he did not drop them off immediately. Instead, he flawlessly jumped around the barn's support beams for a few minutes before finally dropping them off where we started.

"That was something." Blake said, trying to calm her beating heart.

'Whoo.' Courage said, relieved. Yet, his smile never left as he calmed down before picking up another bell and ringing it.

"Heh, heh, heh." We all laughed as Courage stopped ringing the bell. Unfortunately, the fun was interrupted when we heard Eustace scream in irritation.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU STUPID DOG AND KIDS?"

'Shh.' Courage said, placing his hand to his mouth. Nodding, we quietly crawled on the floor toward the floor's edge where the ladder was. Looking down to the ground floor, we noticed that Eustace was looking for us and was pissed.

"Hurry. We can't let Eustace see you." I said, grabbing our guest's hand and leading him over to a nearby haystack. I then gently pushed into it.

"We'll be right back." Blake assured him.

"DON'T MAKE ME LOOK FOR YOU!" Eustace warned.

"Coming." I shouted as we raced towards the edge and climbed down the ladder.

"WHERE'S MY RAINCOAT, YOU STUPID DOG AND KIDS?!" Eustace shouted as we reached the ground floor.

"First off, you don't need to shout." Velvet said, covering her ears.

"And second, your coat is upstairs." Blake added, already annoyed.

"Give us a moment, and we'll get it." I said as we headed back upstairs. However, we did not immediately see Eustace's raincoat. Luckily, our guest had found it and gave it to us while remaining hidden in the haystack.

'Thanks.' Courage said as he took the raincoat. We then hurried back to the ladder and climbed down again.

"I'm waiting." Eustace complained.

"Here you go." I said as Courage handed Eustace his raincoat.

"Know what I have for you, dog?" Eustace menacingly asked as he took his raincoat.

'No, and I don't want to know.' Courage answered, whimpering.

"BA-BA-BA-BA-BOOG - OW!" Eustace began, trying the same trick from earlier to scare Courage with his eyes popping out of his skull. However, Blake and Velvet quickly stopped him by grabbing his eyes and pulling back as far as they would go before letting go. The resulting hit sent Eustace flying out of the barn while screaming in pain. However, his attempt still achieved the desired effect as Courage screamed with dentures leaving his body.

"When will he learn?" Velvet asked as she helped me put Courage's dentures back in his mouth.

"I have no idea." I answered as Courage moved his jaw to get his dentures back into place and gave a thumbs up when he was satisfied.

"Well, he better learn quick as he is about to cross a dangerous line." Blake warned.

'Enough about him. Let's go check on our friend.' Courage reminded.

"Right." We said before climbing up to the second floor. However, we became concerned when we saw him sitting on some nearby hay bales.

"Are you alright?" Velvet asked as we walked over to him.

"He treats you all so badly. Especially you, dog. One shouldn't act unkindly to others." He said as Courage sat down next to him.

'Ooooh.' Courage said, laying down.

"That is true. Unfortunately, some are just mean by nature and enjoy making others feel bad." I said, letting out a sad sigh. "Especially when it comes to looks or if they are different."

"I take it you have experience with that."

"Not exactly. My birth family did shame me for not being up to their standards. However, my friends here have faced similar troubles." I answered with Blake and Velvet nodding.

"You two have?" He asked as Blake took off her bow to reveal her cat ears.

"Yes. We're faunus. Meaning we have animal traits or body parts. I'm a cat faunus, while Velvet here is a rabbit faunus. We faced discrimination and had to endure hateful actions toward us for years, all because we were different." Blake answered.

"I'm sorry you both had to deal with that. From my own experience, it's never pleasant and can cause you to lose hope in people."

"Yeah, it does. But there are people here like Jaune and Courage who are like shining lights in a sea of darkness and despair." Velvet said, smiling.

"Really?"

"When they first learned that we were faunus, we were scared and nervous that they would shun or turn on us. Yet, they assured us that we were still their friends despite our traits." Blake answered, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you two found such good friends." The guest said while pulling out a flashlight. "Now, how about we change this depressing mood to a happy one by making some shadow puppets?"

"That sounds nice." I said as Blake turned off the light while we sat down next to him.

"Just don't use me to make shadow rabbits, Jaune." Velvet warned, still not happy with the pulling a rabbit out of a hat trick.

"Look. Look." The guest said as he set up the flashlight and began making shadow puppets. Looking to the ceiling, we saw that he made a shadow puppet of Eustace. "Stupid dog."

'Ha, ha, ha.' Courage laughed while we chuckled.

"Ha, ha, ha. That's better." The guest said, smiling. "You try."

'Alright.' Courage said while moving his hands in front of the flashlight.

"Ha, ha. Real funny." Velvet said, trying to sound annoyed but failed when Courage made shadow rabbits. Although, we were slightly curious about how Courage made so many appear when he only had two paws.

"Before we continue, what's your name?" Blake interjected, getting our attention.

"Oh, right. How rude of me. My name is Quasimodo." He answered.

"Quasimodo. That's a nice name." I said, smiling.

Although, it did take me a few tries to say it correctly without fumbling over my words. We then continued making more shadow puppets. Quasimodo started by making animals and buildings that we had never seen before. Although, thanks to Iris, I did manage to point out the Eiffel Tower to the others. Unfortunately, as with all good things, time quickly flew by. Yet, we decided to spend the night with Quasimodo so he wouldn't feel lonely. Plus, there were some emergency blankets and drinks in the closet downstairs.

The Next Day

8:00 A.M.

"Oh, you three. I was afraid you'd get wet and cold out in the barn all night." Muriel said as we entered the house. She put down her frying pan, came over to us, pulled us into a hug, and patted Courage's head.

"We're fine, Muriel. There were some blankets and drinks in the closet there, so we were warm and safe all night." Blake assured her.

"Well, you're just in time for breakfast." Muriel said as she returned to the stove.

"Actually, Muriel. Before we eat, we would like for you to meet someone." I said while Velvet and Courage helped a nervous Quasimodo inside the house.

"Come in. Come in." Muriel encouraged as she walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for him. "A friend of Courage and Jaune is always welcome here."

"See, she is nice, unlike Eustace." I told him.

"I was so worried, you four. I'm happy now. Especially since you four made a new friend and kept him company throughout the night." Muriel said as she gave us our breakfast, a heaping stack of delicious pancakes.

'MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM.' Courage said, drooling while picking up his fork.

"You know, Nora had been wanting to eat Muriel's pancakes again. So much so that she has tried different recipes and tried to come here despite still having classes." Blake said, chuckling at the memories and horrified expressions Courage and I had.

"Oh, and before you ask, she already caused major destruction in Vale that Ms. Goodwitch had to restrain her on several occasions." Velvet added.

'We better start making some and sending it to her.' Courage said with fear in his voice.

"Yeah." I agreed, already fearing the worst as Nora has proven multiple times before that nothing stands in between her and pancakes. Shaking our heads, we were about to dig into our food but stopped when we heard the door open.

"It's too early." Velvet and Blake complained when we realized it was Eustace.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" He screamed when he noticed Quasimodo.

'OOH!' Quasimodo and Courage gasp in terror with their mouths wide open.

"OOH!" Muriel said, worried about what might happen.

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU WE GOT NO PLACE FOR THE LIKES OF YOU?!" Eustace said, angry. "NOW GIT! AND STAY OUT!"

"Now, Eustace. He's Courage and the kids' friend." Muriel said, stepping in front of him.

"That makes it worse."

"Oh, Eustace, don't make such a fuss. Sit down and eat your breakfast." Muriel said, smiling. "I'll even get those little blueberries you like so much."

"Eh, well, I wouldn't mind if you did." Eustace said, relenting as Muriel returned to the stove. He then moved to sit down in his chair. "I'm sort of hungry."

"Don't start." Blake, Velvet, and I warned when we saw Eustace smirking.

"You know how you spell ugly?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Don't-"

"U... You, you, you, you, you, you!" He repeatedly said while pointing at Quasimodo, causing him to become depressed. Blake and Velvet were about to deck Eustace, but I stopped them. They were confused about why I stopped them but quickly understood when I pointed to Courage, who was handing Quasimodo a slip of paper.

"And you sure are extremely... bald." Quasimodo retaliated while crossing his arms at the end.

"Good one." I said as we struggled to contain our laughter while Eustace stumbled on his words. However, we became worried again when he became even angrier.

"OH, YEAH? WELL, YOU LOOK LIKE SOMETHING THE COW SPIT UP!" He said, trying to save face.

"Wow. That was weak, to say the least." Velvet said, unsure of what to make of the insult.

"You, sir, are extremely bald." Quasimodo said, reading Courage's following letter.

"Wow. I don't think I'd ever see the literal version of someone steaming mad." Blake said, surprised when black steam was coming from Eustace's head. But the surprise turned to a smirk as Eustace struggled to come up with anything and continued to look like an idiot.

"And the only thing uglier than this... is this." He said as he pulled out two mirrors and showed them to Quasimodo.

"Are you bald? Yes."

"GRR!" Eustace growled as he stood up while raising his fist. However, he froze when Muriel returned with the blueberries.

"Eustace, have you no sense of hospitality?" She asked, disappointed.

"I don't think he even knows the meaning of hospitality." Blake whispered.

"Nope." He said, smirking while turning his head.

"Well, then you can take your breakfast and eat it in the henhouse." Muriel said, giving him the bowl of blueberries.

"But-But- He called me bald." Eustace said, stalling at the door and hoping to change Muriel's mind.

"Eustace, you are bald." Muriel reminded him.

"Well, keep him out of my sight." Eustace said, stomping on the floor before exiting the house.

"And why don't you all go out and play?" Muriel suggested.

"Later, as we have a few things we need to finish after breakfast." I answered.

"Alright. But make sure to clean up after you're done." She said before exiting the kitchen.

"Well, what should we do now?" Velvet asked, curious.

'I have an idea.' Courage answered before running out of the room. Curious, we followed him to see what he had planned.

Nighttime

Barn

"MURIEL!" We heard Eustace angrily shout.

"Is he always like this?" Quasimodo asked as he put down a bell.

Currently, we were on the barn's roof making music with the bells and instruments I had brought. Courage's idea had been to form a small makeshift band to make more music. And despite it taking about an hour to set up and make sure none of the instruments slid off, it was worth it as we were creating wonderful music. Plus, it was nice seeing everyone smile. Even Muriel pulled up a chair and umbrella so she could listen to us play.

"Unfortunately." I answered as I continued ringing my bells.

"And it seems like he is about to stop our fun." Velvet said as Eustace stomped towards Muriel.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked Muriel.

"Oh, enjoying the concert. Grab your chair." She answered as we finished playing and took a bow.

"THAT THING! THERE'S MY RAINCOAT!" Eustace shouted, fuming mad as he raced toward the ladder.

'Oh no.' Courage said, worried as we set the instruments to the side.

"Stand behind us." Blake said as we moved to stand in front of Quasimodo.

"GET YOUR UGLINESS OUT OF MY COAT!" Eustace demanded as he climbed through the window to stand on the roof.

'AAAH!' Courage said, scared.

"That's it. Now you just keep walking till I can't see you no more." Eustace mocked as Quasimodo took off the raincoat. But before he could head toward the window, we stopped him.

"Now, hold on, Quasimodo. He can't just boss you around. Besides, that coat isn't even his." I said, glaring at Eustace.

"Now you stay out of this, or I'll-"

"You'll what? Complain that you're a real farmer when you're not? That you can fix things when you cannot? That you're more human just because you look normal? Cause I can tell you for certain that Quasimodo here is more human than you will ever be and more helpful than you could ever hope to be." I interjected, causing him to fume in anger.

"I'm warning you."

"With what? Another lie that you can actually do something?"

"That you are just as useless as your birth family claimed you are. I've seen trash more valuable than you. Honestly, I think your family did the right thing by disowning you." Eustace said, laughing when I let out a few tears as even after all this time, my birth family's words still ring in my head from time to time.

"HEY! THAT WAS TOO FAR!" Velvet and Blake shouted, seething mad now. Blake even took out her weapon while Velvet tried to calm me down.

"Yeah, keep walking." Eustace said, ignoring Blake and Velvet as Quasimodo headed towards the window. Courage was about to stop him but froze when Eustace pointed at him. "You stupid dog. It has to be your fault. It's always your fault."

'Please don't.' Courage said, looking down at the barn's roof while Eustace put on his coat.

"Look at me."

'Oh.' Courage whined as he looked towards Eustace.

"BOO-BOO-BOO-BOO-BOOGA!" He said as he used the same eye trick again.

'AAAHH!' Courage screamed in terror. However, because he was already at the edge, he nearly slid off the roof but managed to catch himself.

"What did that little dog and kid ever do to you?" Quasimodo said, running up to Eustace and pointing at him.

"I told you to git." Eustace said with fear in his voice as he stepped back.

"He's not going anywhere. You are." Blake corrected as he moved to stand next to Quasimodo while pointing her weapon at Eustace.

"What goes around comes around." Quasimodo warned.

"Now I know why Ma Bagge always treated you like this. You really are a despicable human being." Blake added.

"H-hey. Leave my-"

"Do you really wanna see ugly?" Quasimodo asked as Eustace continued to step back.

"UH." Eustace muttered when he realized he was at the edge of the roof.

"Then take a look." Quasimodo said as he pulled out a mask of Eustace's face and put it on. "Stupid dog."

"AHHHW" Eustace screamed as he took another step back, only to realize he had stepped off the roof. However, he managed to catch himself in time before he fell. "HELP!"

"Oh, we'll help you, alright." Blake said before using her weapon to send Eustace hurdling into the ground with immense force.

"Eustace, are you alright?" Muriel asked as she struggled to get him onto his feet. However, he fainted as soon as she let him go.

"He's lucky Muriel's here; otherwise, I would continue pummeling him into the ground." Blake said, still pissed.

"Be careful with what you wish; otherwise, you might turn out no better than them." Quasimodo advised. "Besides, I think a better use of your time and energy would be helping your friend."

"Right."

Half an Hour Later

"I think it's time I left." Quasimodo said. Currently, we were standing in front of the farmhouse.

'Hold on.' Courage said, grabbing his back. He then pulled out a bell and started ringing it.

"Ha, ha, ha." Quasimodo laughed before pulling out a massive bell and ringing it, causing everyone to laugh. "Thank you for your kindness. I hope to find more people like you four out there."

"I'm sure you will." Muriel said, smiling.

"Will we ever see you again?" I asked.

"Only time will tell. Goodbye." He answered before leaving. We stayed by the road until we could no longer see him. Once he was gone, Muriel headed back inside the house. I was about to follow but was stopped by Blake, Courage, and Velvet.

"Are you sure you're okay, Jaune?" Velvet asked, concerned.

"No, not really." I answered, knowing it would be fruitless to lie.

"Do you want to talk about it? We're here if you need someone to talk to." Blake asked.

"Not now. Maybe tomorrow. I just want to rest now. But thanks for the offer." I said with a weak smile.

'Okay. But just know that you have friends here to support you no matter what.' Courage said, grabbing my hand.

"Thanks, guys. You three are the best." I said, pulling each of them into a hug. "Oh, by the way, where's Eustace? I didn't see him when we got down?"

"Oh, let's just say your fiancée is taking care of him right now. I called her and told her what had happened. And saying that she is more furious than Glynda on a bad day would be an understatement." Blake answered, causing shivers to go down our spines. Letting out a yawn, we headed back inside the house to get some sleep. However, I did make a mental note to tell them everything tomorrow and that I was lucky to have such amazing friends and Muriel as a wonderful mother.

Notes:

Next Chapter: The Precious, Wonderful, Adorable, Loveable Duckling with Pyrrha, Ruby, Zwei, Weiss, and Winter. Also, should I add Whitley Schnee as well? And if so, should he work alongside the duck or not?

Also, sorry about the wait as I was taking a small break from this story.