Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 88: The Precious, Wonderful, Adorable, Loveable Duckling
"So. This is the place you claim to be crazier than any other place on Remnant." Whitley Schnee, brother of Weiss Schnee and Winter Schnee, said, eyeing everything in the living room.
"Yeah." I said, unsure of what to say.
Currently, Pyrrha, Ruby, Zwei, Weiss, and Winter are visiting for the weekend. It was an odd combination for sure, but it was still pleasant to have them visit. Especially Pyrrha, Ruby, and Zwei, as I hadn't seen them in a long time. However, Winter and Weiss brought their brother Whitley along, to our surprise. The reason was that they wanted to spend some time with their brother, give him a change of scenery, and introduce him to the strangeness of Nowhere. While we didn't mind him coming, we were worried that he might tell Ironwoods or Ozpin about Iris. Luckily, it seemed that Weiss and Winter had already brought him up to speed on everything. And while he didn't understand half the things they told him, he promised to keep quiet about everything. Although hopefully, that remains if he does find out about the wager we have on how long it takes before he loses it.
"I have to admit; it is much better than anything Atlas offers. And the clement, cloudless weather is a pleasant change from the near-endless, unstimulating weather of the Atlas Kingdom." He said before taking a sip of the tea Muriel gave him. "Especially this tea as it is most exquisite. And the house is most sumptuous and congenial."
"Uh, what?" Ruby, Pyrrha, and I asked, confused, while Courage raised an eyebrow. Even Zwei stopped gnawing on the bone we gave him to look at Whitley in confusion.
"Whitley said that the weather is mild and pleasant and is much better than Atlas's weather. I believe you all know what exquisite means. Sumptuous in simple terms means splendid and expensive looking. Congenial means something similar, but more so that it's pleasant because it matches one's taste." Weiss explained.
"Those terms are generally used in high-class parties, gatherings, or business meetings. Whitely is more accustomed to using them as Jacques Schnee often took him to his meetings as he favored him over us." Winter added before casting a warning glance toward Whitley. "And I believe we asked him to keep his brown-nosing to a minimum as it is no longer required since Jacques Schnee is no longer with us."
"Sorry. I do-I mean. I'm sorry." He said, casting his gaze downward.
"What does brown-nosing mean, Weiss?" Ruby asked, curious.
"It means to curry favor with someone by acting obsequiously. It essentially just means to suck up to someone in a way to gain their favor."
"And he used to do that all the time with Jacques Schnee. Yet, it was never to spite us or anyone as he used it to make the living conditions more bearable. And as you all recall from our stories how miserable that person made our lives." Winter added.
"He really did that?" Pyrrha asked, curious.
"Unfortunately, yes. As much as it pains me to admit it, I did use brown-nosing to gain Jacques Schnee's favor and trust. And while it did make a living in that cursed household more bearable, it drove a deep wedge between my sisters, mother, and me. We even began bickering ceaselessly. Thankfully, after that man left for unknown reasons, we managed to slowly but steadily repair our relationship." Whitley answered.
"Slowly is the correct word as we often start bickering again due to past events. Luckily, it has decreased recently, and we can now have pleasant conversations." Winter said before quickly sipping her tea to conceal the fact that she knew why Jacques Schnee disappeared.
"Are all siblings like this?" Pyrrha asked, curious.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"I'm an only child and have always wondered what it was like to have siblings. And I'm curious if all siblings have each other's back or are willing to forgive another despite what they do."
"Not always. Sometimes siblings get along all the time no matter what, and other times it is the opposite. It depends on several factors. Personality, values, culture, and how their parents raised them are some of the key factors."
"Huh? Ruby, did you and Yang argue when you two were younger?"
"Of course. It comes with being related. Especially when I told dad about Yang sneaking out to parties when she was grounded." She answered, giggling while Zwei barked.
'And it was funny... they chased... hours.' Zwei added. Despite all the time since we last saw him, we still have yet to find out why we only understand half of what he says.
"That must have ended badly for Yang." I said, chuckling.
"Oh, yes. It took Yang over a year to forgive me for that."
"But you still had each other's backs?" Pyrrha asked.
"Obviously. No matter what happens, we always come to each other's aid."
"How about you and Saphron, Jaune?"
"It was tough, but we always helped each other whenever we could. Although, that stopped when Saphron moved out to marry Terra and get away from the Arc Family. But now that they live in Nowhere, we help each other all the time."
"Must be nice having a sibling." Pyrrha said sadly.
"It is nice. But at the same time, it can be a pain. Things like privacy and alone time become treasured. Sharing and arguing over whose turn it is to have something become common. So, there are pros and cons with having a sibling and not having a sibling." I answered before pulling Pyrrha into a comforting hug. "Besides, you technically have siblings in the forms of Nora, Ren, and me."
"Thanks, Jaune." She said, smiling as we let go.
"Oh, it is lovely to see everyone getting along." Muriel said, getting our attention as she entered the living room. "How's the tea, Whitley?"
"It is except- I mean, it is lovely." He began but corrected himself after Wiess nudged him.
"That's good." She said before turning to Courage and me. "Would you two be dears and go out to the hen house and collect some eggs? I want to make us each some Scottish pancakes."
"Scottish?" Whitley asked, confused.
"The nationality of those born in Scotland, another country that's part of Earth." Winter answered.
"Alright, Muriel." I said as Courage, and I got up from the couch.
"Do you mind if I come along?" Whitley asked, putting down his cup.
"Sure."
'I'll... too.' Zwei said before leaping off Ruby.
"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted.
"Don't worry, Ruby. We'll be right back." I assured her.
She nodded and went back to conversing with the others about siblings. Exiting the house, we headed over to the hen house and grabbed two dozen eggs. Typically, the process would only take about ten minutes at most to get all the eggs we needed. However, it took nearly twenty minutes this time as Whitley tried his luck to grab some chicken eggs. But because the chickens did not recognize him, they thought he was an intruder. And because of this, they started either pecking his fingers or bonking him on the head. Thankfully, Weiss or Winter unlocked his aura, so he was fine after a few seconds. Unfortunately, that did not mean the chickens were done attacking him, as evident by them grabbing some clubs and bats. Luckily, we managed to exit the chicken coop with Zwei closing the door before they could continue their assault.
"Are all chickens that protective of their eggs?" Whitley asked as we headed toward the back of the house with four cases filled with eggs.
"All animals are protective of their offspring. But our chickens take it to another level." I answered while remembering when one chicken knocked Courage out after he tried taking the chicken's egg.
"That reminds me. Are all the stories Weiss and Winter told me about your adventures true?"
"Yes. As absurd as they might be, they are true."
"Even the one where you are dating a storm goddess?"
"Her name is Iris, and she's my fiancée."
"Wow. Are there other gods?"
"Yes. But I only met two others, and one was a Goose God. There are others, but I haven't met any."
"Since you are marrying a goddess, will you be meeting her parents? Or have you met them already?"
"I haven't met them. I'll be meeting them on the day of the wedding."
"Are you scared?"
"More scared than I have ever been in my life. Her mother is Mariamman, the Hindu Goddess of rain, and her father is Aeolus, the God of Storms. Both are major Gods, with Aeolus being the leader of a group known as the Anemoi."
"Well, good luck in not getting electrocuted or swept away in a massive hurricane." Whitley said, smirking. Rolling my eyes, I was about to say something but Courage and Zwei got my attention.
'Huh?' They both said, confused, before walking over to the fence.
"You found something, Courage?" I asked as we followed them.
"I'm still astonished that you can understand Courage fully and Zwei to an extent." Whitley said as we stopped next to an abandoned nest with four eggs. However, what caught our immediate attention was that three eggs were broken, with the fourth still intact.
"I'm still amazed myself." I said as I began to examine the nest to see if the eggs hatched naturally or something got them.
'What happened?' Courage asked as he continued to sniff around.
"The ducks seemed to have hatched and left with their mother. I think." I answered as I picked up some shells.
"Is the last one alive or dead?" Whitley asked.
"I'm not sure and don't know how to check for that without harming the duck that's inside."
'Wait... is... alive.' Zwei said after sniffing the remaining unhatched egg.
"What should we do then? I'm not an animal expert, but I doubt leaving it here is good for the egg." Whitley asked after I translated what Zwei said.
"I have no idea." I answered.
'I'm not sure either. But all I do know is that we're going to give this egg a nice warm home.' Courage said before gently picking up the egg with his mouth.
"Well, I guess we can take it inside. It would be safer than out here."
"Plus, we could look up how to take care of it or head to an animal clinic and see what they have to say." Whitley added.
"Right." I said as I picked up Courage's basket. "Anyway, let's head inside so Muriel can make breakfast."
Whitley nodded as he picked up his basket while Zwei picked up his. We then walked back to the house while I answered some of Whitley's questions. However, one question stuck out to me that most that I had to take a moment to recompose myself. And that was what would happen after Iris, and I got married? Would I become immortal, or would she become mortal? Then that led to where we would live afterward. We could not stay at the farmhouse. While I could easily secure a home in Nowhere or Remnant, would I even need to do so? Would we be transported to Iris's domain instead? Then one final question came to mind. And that was what would happen to our children if we decide to have children. Would they be demi-gods or full gods?
'Something to ask Iris when she returns from work.' I thought, smiling as I envisioned our kids running around our home. Although, I did wince when I 'saw' them use their powers of wind, water, and electricity. Luckily, 'they' each only had one power and not all three.
"What kind of Scottish pancakes do you think Muriel will make?" Whitley asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
"I'm not entirely sure. But I do know that they will be sweet, sugary, and buttery." I answered as we entered the kitchen. But we did have to hold in an aggravated sigh when we saw Eustace ransacking the fridge. Not surprisingly, when Weiss and Winter told Whitley about Eustace, he also developed an instant hate for Eustace.
"Huh?" Eustace said, surprised when he heard us enter. However, instead of saying anything, he snatched the egg from Courage's mouth as soon as we closed the door. "GIMME THAT EGG! Just in time for breakfast."
"Uh, don't you want-" Whitley began, but Eustace cut him off.
"SHUT UP! Gonna make me some food." Eustace said as he turned on the stove's flame.
'Oh.' Courage and Zwei worriedly said as Eustace put some butter on the pan.
'Oh, no. Please still be alive.' I thought when Eustace tapped the egg against the counter with a large crack appearing on the egg. Thankfully, it seemed that Oum heard my prayer as when Eustace opened the egg, a duck came out alive.
'"What?" He asked, confused and shocked that a duck had come out of the egg.
"SHIT! THE FLAME!" I shouted before running to turn off the flame. Unfortunately, I was too late.
"AAAHHHH!" The duck screamed as it jumped from the pan and smacked into Eustace's face.
"This cannot be good." Whitley said, worried.
"Mama." The duck said before hugging Eustace.
"Uh, what?" We all asked, confused.
"What happened? We heard someone scream." Wiess asked, startling us. Turning around, we saw that Ruby, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Winter had rushed into the kitchen with their weapons drawn. However, they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Eustace struggling to get the baby duck off his face.
"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked.
"As we started to come back to the house after getting the eggs, we found an abandoned nest with all, but one egg hatched. Courage decided that it would be for the best if we brought it inside to care for it." I began.
"But as soon as we arrived, Eustace swiped the egg from Courage's mouth. And before we could stop him, he cracked the egg open in hopes of being able to make some eggs for breakfast. But instead of an egg coming out, it was a baby duck." Whitley finished.
"Well, that explains where the duck came from, but why is it hugging Eustace?" Winter asked.
"Oh, Eustace opened the egg over the searing hot pan. The duck fell on the pan and then jumped away in pain when the heat scorched its bottom. But it collided with Eustace's face." Whitley answered.
"AHHH! STUPID DOG AND KIDS!" Eustace shouted, pissed as he finally removed the duck and threw it on the ground, which resulted in a loud smack. "Brought me a rotten egg."
"That egg wasn't rotten as it wasn't an egg for eating as it was an egg that held an offspring of a duck." Winter explained in a tired and irritated tone.
"That stupid dog and kids bringing me a rotten egg." Eustace mumbled, ignoring what Winter had just said. "Trying to poison me."
"N-no, we weren't." Whitley said, scared.
'Yeah, what he said.' Courage added while waving his paws.
"Relax, Whitley. Don't take anything this so-called man says personally. He could never take responsibility for his actions and always blames his misfortunes on others." Winter assured her brother.
"Is this something common for siblings?" Pyrrha whispered to Ruby and me.
"Watching out for each other and being there in times of distress..." I began.
"All the time." Ruby finished as we smiled.
"I HATE DOGS AND KIDS! ESPECIALLY DOGS!" Eustace shouted, shifting our attention back to him. "You're going to be outside, never in the house."
"Wait." The duck said, surprising everyone.
"What's-Huh?" Eustace said, shocked.
"Did-did anyone else hear the baby duck speak?" Whitley asked, worried that he was already going insane.
"We heard it too." Weiss and Winter said, composing themselves.
'Oh?' Courage asked, confused as he looked at the duck.
'What...you...want...fella?' Zwei asked.
"THIS!" He answered before kicking Courage's shin while wearing a giant steel toe work boot.
'OW!' Courage screamed while hopping on one paw.
"HEY! Why-OW!" I began, stepping closer to the duck only to recoil in pain when he did the same to me.
"You okay, guys?" Ruby asked, unsure of what to do.
"Fine. We were just caught off guard." I answered through gritted teeth. In reality, it hurt much more than one would expect.
"Why did you do that?" Pyrrha asked the duck.
"Mama. They made mama upset." He answered while hugging Eustace's leg.
"Heh? HA! HA! HA!" Eustace said, confused before realizing that situation.
'Oh, no.' Courage gasped, worried.
"I never thought I would see something like this." Winter said, torn between amused and worried.
"What's happening?" Whitley and Ruby asked.
"Didn't you learn about what happens after a duck hatches, Whitley?" Winter asked, disapproval in her voice.
"Uh, no. I... um, I spent that day reading through some comics and watching some videos about Xray and Vav." He answered, looking down to avoid eye contact.
*Sigh* "We have a lot to talk about when we get home, Whitley." Winter said, slightly annoyed.
"Jaune." Pyrrha said, getting my attention while asking a silent question.
"Yeah. Sometimes older siblings can often act like pseudo-parents to their younger siblings. Basically, they can act as guardians to their younger siblings." I explained.
"Alright. So, what's happening is that the duck apparently imprinted on Eustace." Winter explained while the duck continued to nuzzle Eustace's leg.
"I don't see no printer." Ruby said, confused while scratching her head.
"Imprinted, not printer, you dunce. Ducks imprint on the first thing they see. This means that the baby duck thinks that Eustace is his mother." Wiess clarified.
"Oh-OH!" Ruby said, realizing what was happening.
"Yeah. This is going to be a handful and looooong day." I said as the duck finally let go of Eustace.
"Mama. This way." The duck said as he led Eustace into the living room.
Ten Minutes Later
'His...stink.' Zwei said, covering his nose after the duck removed Eustace's shoes.
"Does he ever shower?" Whitley asked, trying to keep his composure.
"Yes. But only once a month. Why do you think we have lots of candles and big cans of air fresheners around the house." I answered as the duck put comfy slippers on Eustace's feet before handing him the daily newspaper.
"Mama." The duck said, smiling fondly at Eustace.
"How is your leg, Courage?" Pyrrha asked. The kick that the duck gave Courage was surprisingly strong enough to break his shin. And now, it was wrapped in a leg cast to help the bones heal.
'GRRR! FINE!' He growled as he glared at the duck.
"I've made some tea for everyone." Muriel said as she entered the living room while carrying a tray with some cups full of tea on it.
"Thank you." We all said as Muriel handed us each our cup. She then placed Eustace's cup on the side table. It was then that she noticed the duck behind her.
"Be careful, Muriel." Winter warned as she set her cup down.
"Oh, you, precious, wonderful, adorable, lovable duckling." Muriel said before patting his head.
'Not nice duck. He broke my leg.' Courage said, pointing to his cast.
'And...broke...Jaune...too.' Zwei added. Yet, as usual, Muriel missed our warning and headed back to the kitchen.
'GRRRR! DUCK!' Courage growled.
"What are you doing?" Ruby asked when the duck went over to the table.
"HEY!" We shouted when the duck grabbed the teacup and threw it on the floor, leaving a big stain on the rug. Ignoring us, the duck pulled out a fancy tea set and tray with mini sandwiches from thing air and placed them on the table.
"How did he do that?" Whitley asked, surprised. "And Courage, or you do it, Jaune?"
"Courage can do it, and some of the enemies we have faced before. But I can't do it. Nor do I know how they managed to do it." I answered.
"Mama." The duck said, getting Eustace's attention.
"Eh?" Eustace asked, confused. The duck went over to the tray, grabbed a cup, and poured some hot tea into it before handing it to Eustace. He then grabbed a plate and tong and used them to serve a mini sandwich on a plate to Eustace. "Now that's what I call service."
"Ah. Mama." The duck said, hugging Eustace's leg.
"As much as I don't like it, how the duck served Eustace those sandwiches reminds me of our butler." Weiss said, stuck between a glare and smile.
"But I feel like this is only the beginning of what the duck will do." Whitley said, confusing us.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.
"As much as I want to forget my time as a brownnoser, I have to admit that an infinitesimal niche came with it. And that was how to spot another brownnoser." He explained.
"Do you really think the duck is brown-nosing?" I asked.
"Yes. But I think this is only the start of an unhealthy obsession." He answered.
"Then we should keep an eye on the duck if he tries anything." Weiss said as we watched Courage hobble over to the duck.
"Be careful, Courage." Ruby warned as he pried the duck off Eustace's leg and carried him over to the table, and began conversing with him.
'Why did you throw that perfectly good cup of tea away?' Courage asked, pointing to the cup that was still on the floor. But instead of answering, the duck growled while balling its wings/hands into fists while Courage did the same.
"HEY! You leave that little critter alone." Eustace warned before wickedly smirking. "He's my pal."
"Some pal." Weiss said after the duck slammed a teacup on Courage's head. Unable to get it off, Courage headed to the kitchen to have Muriel help him.
"HA, HA, HA! STUPID-OW!" Eustace laughed but stopped when Pyrrha gave Winter her shield and then poured some red dust on it. She then returned it to Pyrrha, who used her semblance to fling it at high speeds toward Eustace. The red dust exploded on contact with the shield impact sending Eustace to the floor.
"Let's go check on, Courage." Whitley said, placing his cup on the side.
'Right. I...don't...near...duck.' Zwei barked before running into the kitchen.
"Right." I said with a sigh as we got up and headed toward the kitchen. Getting there, we saw that Courage was showing Muriel a poster of the duck.
"Oh no, Courage. Not that precious, wonderful, adorable, lovable duckling." Muriel said, not believing that the duck slammed the teacup on Courage's head.
"Unfortunately, the duck did do this to Courage." Winter confirmed as Ruby, and I helped free Courage's head from the teacup. Although, we all had to hold back a snicker as Courage's head took the shape of the teacup.
'Much better.' Courage said, relieved that his head was no longer trapped.
"I still don't believe that that precious duckling could do such a nasty thing." Muriel said, standing up. "But since you are all here, how about you all lend me a hand with making breakfast?"
"Of course." We answered before moving to set everything up.
Eight P.M.
"It seems like Whitley might be right." I whispered as we watched the duck fan a sleeping Eustace with an oversized fan. While the duck was smiling, he soon scowled when Muriel came down the stairs with a blanket and draped it around Eustace.
"And considering he can pull things out of thin air like Courage, we should tread carefully." Winter added as Muriel sat in her chair.
"I'm going to take a wee nap." Muriel said before instantly falling asleep.
"I wish I could fall asleep like that. It certainly would make nights after dealing with my agent more bearable." Pyrrha said, smiling.
"And dealing with Ironwoods or Ozpin." Winter added. We were about to continue this topic but stopped when we heard Courage scream.
'AAAAAHHHHHH!'
'HEY! STOP...DUCK!' Zwei added. Worried, we looked back toward Eustace and saw that he was no longer there. Getting up, we were about to go searching for the duck but quickly spotted him near Muriel's chair. However, we became angry and shocked when we noticed that he was trying to cut through the legs of Muriel's chair.
"STOP THAT!" I shouted as Ruby zoomed over to him and grabbed the saw from him.
'DON'T DO THAT!' Courage shouted, taking the saw from Ruby while using his other paw to smack the ducking to the ground.
"I do not believe that was necessary, Courage." Wiess said as we went over to inspect the damage the duck caused to Muriel's chair. However, we winced when the duck began crying.
"MAMA!" He screamed, waking both Eustace and Muriel.
"Eh?" Eustace said, confused. However, he became angry, no surprise, when he saw the duck on the floor next to us.
'Not...looks...like.' Zwei barked while using his nose to point at the duck.
'The duck tried sawing off the legs of Muriel's chair.' Courage explained while ducking waved his arms around to deny the accusation. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, the duck started pointing toward Courage.
"What's going on?" Muriel asked, worried.
"The duck tried cutting off the legs of your chair, but we stopped him." Pyrrha explained.
"Dear, please don't lie. How can a precious, wonderful, adorable, lovable duckling do something as vile as that?" Muriel asked, upset that she thought we were lying.
"Is she normally this pure and innocent?" Whitley asked, trying to find his wording so he didn't come off as offensive.
"Yes. She never sees the evil in someone until it's too late. And even then, that's rare." Ruby answered.
"Yeah. It was obviously this stupid dog!" Eustace shouted before grabbing Courage and kicking him out of the house.
"Mama." The duck said, grabbing Eustace's leg as he sat back down in his chair.
"Let's go check on Courage." Wiess said as we exited the house and closed the door behind us. Luckily, we quickly spotted Courage not too far off and noticed that he had already recovered.
"You okay, Courage?" I asked after Ruby zoomed over to him and brought him over.
'I'm fine.' He said after tossing the saw away. 'Typically, I like ducks. But in this case, I'll make an exception.'
"I think we can all make an exception this time." I said after translating to the others.
"Indeed." Whitley, Weiss, and Winter simultaneously said. And once they realized that, they smiled together before stepping closer together.
"I think we should head back inside, though, as that duck would try something again as soon as Eustace falls asleep." Pyrrha reminded.
'Right.' Zwei and Courage said before jumping off the porch. They then started digging together to make a tunnel that led to the cellar.
"Um, should we tell them that the door is unlocked?" Whitley asked.
"Nah, let them have their fun." I said as we followed them through the tunnel.
'We're in.' Courage and Zwei said, popping out of the ground. Once they were out, we got out of the tunnel ourselves before following them to the living room. However, we became worried when we didn't see Eustace or Muriel.
"They must be in bed or the bathroom." Ruby said after checking the time on her scroll and noticing that it was nearing nine p.m.
"If that is the case, Whitley. You and Jaune will check the bedroom. We'll check the bathroom." Winter told us.
"Alright. We'll-" I began but stopped when we heard heavy thumping from nearby. Curious but also concerned, we walked over to the stairs and saw the duck struggling to carry a cement bag up the stairs.
'HEY, DUCK! YOU BETTER STOP THAT!' Courage shouted as the duck turned the corner.
"Yeah, that's not good." Wiess said as we raced up the stairs. Yet, to our surprise, the duck was already at the bathroom by the time we reached the top.
"Woah." I said as I pulled Ruby and Whitley back out of instinct.
"What?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Um, let Pyrrha, Wiess, and Winter handle this." I said, to which they nodded.
"What's happening?" Whitley asked.
"Something, neither of you are old enough to see yet." Winter answered. They were about to protest, but Courage's screaming and Zwei's barking caught everyone's attention.
"Zwei. What's wrong?" Ruby asked, worried.
'Pouring...in...tub.' Zwei answered as he continued to bark.
'STOP HIM!' Courage shouted as he, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Winter rushed into the bathroom.
"Can someone-" Whitley began, but the duck screaming cut him off.
"MAMA! MAMA!"
"MOVE!" Eustace shouted, appearing from thin air and shoving us to the side. Once he reached the bathroom, he peered inside and shouted, presumably toward Courage. "TAKE YOUR PAWS OFF HIM!"
"OOH! HOW DARE YOU!" Muriel shouted.
"AAAH! OOOH!" Eustace said, embarrassed as he covered his face.
"Why can't we look?" Whitley asked, sounding annoyed.
"You're not old enough, Whitley." I answered.
"And me? I'm sixteen." Ruby pouted.
"Yes, but I'm not taking the chance of having Yang punching my head off because you saw something you were not supposed to see."
'Hey!' Courage said before the sound of him hitting something reached our ears.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Muriel screamed as she ran out of the bathroom, thankfully with her body covered by the bubbles. Yet, I still kept Whitley and Ruby's eyes closed even after Muriel entered her room.
"YOU STUPID DOG! LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW!" Eustace shouted.
'AAAHHHH!' We heard Courage scream before we heard something splashing.
"Now you're a wet, stupid-AAAAHHH!" Eustace began but stopped when he disappeared into the bathroom. And before I could even say anything, I heard him screaming in pain before the sounds of windows shattering reached my ears.
"MAMA!" The duck shouted before racing out of the bathroom.
"Um, can we come in?" I asked.
"You may." Winter answered.
"Alright." I said as I removed my hands from Whitley and Ruby's eyes. But as soon as I did so, they kicked me in the shin.
"Ow. Okay. I can understand why-" I began but stopped when we entered the bathroom and saw Courage stuck in cement and a giant hole in the wall next to a fuming Winter, Weiss, and Pyrrha.
"We'll explain everything later. Right now, let's free Courage." Winter said, annoyed.
"Alright. But let's do it outside." I said as we started the tedious process of freeing Courage.
The Next Morning
'YES!' Courage cheered once we finally freed him.
"I take it this is normal. The getting trapped in cement, I mean." Whitley asked.
"Cement, not really. But getting trapped in something, all the time." I answered.
'But now that this is done, we can move on to more important things. Now that precious, wonderful, adorable, lovable duckling really has to go.' Courage said in a sweet voice that was filled with sarcasm.
'I agree.' Zwei barked.
"But how about we start planning after breakfast." Pyrrha suggested, blushing when her stomach growled a bit.
"Yeah, breakfast sounds real good right about now." I agreed as I felt my stomach grumble in protest for not having had anything to eat yet. Grabbing the pickax, we walked back toward the house. Although, instead of using the front door, we went around back to get to the kitchen quicker. Yet, I was tempted to run the rest of the way when they started to tease me about my relationship with Iris and how they could easily envision our kids. However, all the embarrassment left me when we opened the back door and saw the duck blowing a raspberry toward Muriel.
"Good morning." We said as we entered the kitchen.
"Oh, there you all are. Give me a moment, and I'll have your breakfast ready." Muriel said as she went back to the counter and started placing pancakes on some plates.
"Stupid dog and kids." Eustace muttered with his mouth full.
"I take it that manners are a foreign concept for him." Whitley said as we grabbed some extra chairs and placed them at the table.
"Pretty much." Weiss answered as we sat down. However, I nearly jumped out of my seat when we noticed the duck placing a string on Muriel's fork.
'What...doing?' Zwei barked as Muriel gave him his serving of pancakes.
"Uh, Jaune." Pyrrha said, getting my attention. Looking over at her, I saw her pointing toward the ceiling.
"Oh, no." I said when we saw the anvil hanging right above where Muriel usually sits.
"Here you go. Pancakes for everyone." Muriel said as she returned with a tray filled with pancake stacks for everyone. We each grabbed our own and thanked Muriel while the duck grabbed another stack and placed it in front of Eustace.
"The ceiling looks like it's about to collapse because of the anvil's weight." I said while pointing to the cracks right above the anvil.
"Well, aren't you adorable?" Muriel asked when the duck moved her chair back so she could sit down. And once she sat down, he pushed her chain toward the table. Yet, despite us not being able to see his face, we could tell that he was glaring at Muriel.
"What should we do?" Ruby asked, trying to feign innocence while adding strawberries to her pancakes. The duck jumped back onto the table right after she said that.
"Oh. Butter." Muriel said as she reached for the fork before remembering that she likes butter on her pancakes. She then grabbed her knife and used to get a slice of butter and spread it on her pancakes.
"Perhaps we could use some ice dust?" Whitley suggested as he placed a napkin on his lap.
"Oh! Tea." Muriel said, about to reach for her fork but stopped when she realized she hadn't poured herself a cup yet.
"Do either of you have some spare ice dust left?" I asked Weiss and Winter as the duck impatiently poured Muriel a cup of tea.
"Yes. But only enough to cover the crack temporarily." Winter answered.
"But we don't have our weapons to launch it toward the anvil." Weiss added.
"Oh, syrup." Muriel said, causing the duck to fume in anger.
"Pyrrha. Do you think you can do it?" I asked as the duck poured some syrup on Muriel's pancakes.
"Yes. I have a clear shot. Just distract them, so they don't notice me." She answered with Winter and Weiss handing her the ice dust vials underneath the table.
"Well, isn't that nice?" Muriel said as the duck moved away. It then started rapidly biting on its nails as Muriel slowly reached for her fork.
"Pyrrha!?" I asked, worried as Muriel grabbed her fork.
"A few more seconds." She answered as she loaded it into her weapon.
'NO!' Courage screamed when Muriel picked up the fork. He ran around the table and pushed Muriel away while grabbing her fork so the anvil wouldn't fall.
Furious that his plan to eliminate Muriel failed, the duck grabbed the syrup jar and walked over to Courage. He then jumped onto the anvil and began stomping to try and get it to crush Courage. Seeing that this failed, the duck poured the syrup down the string in hopes of making Courage's grip slip off the fork. Yet, Courage managed to lick up all the syrup before it reached his paw. Growing increasingly frustrated, the duck threw the syrup jar at Courage before jumping on the anvil again.
"Ruby. Go to the front and ring the doorbell, so Muriel doesn't see this." I told her. She nodded before using her semblance to run to the front of the house with the doorbell ringing seconds afterward.
"Oh, a visitor." Muriel said as she got up and dusted herself off. She then exited the kitchen, unaware of everything that was happening.
"Okay, Courage. You can let go now." I told him once Muriel left the room.
'Huh-AHH!' Courage asked, confused but screamed when he inadvertently let go of the fork and fell to the floor. For a moment, he thought the anvil was about to come crashing down on him but realized he was safe when he saw the ice dust holding the string to the ceiling, preventing the anvil from hitting him.
"ARGH!" The duck growled before hopping off the anvil and dragging a sleeping Eustace out of the kitchen.
'Thanks.' Courage said as he got back up and pulled a chair over.
"You welcome." Pyrrha said as she put away her weapon.
"What did I miss?" Ruby asked, appearing back in her seat with some rose petals landing on her head.
"Nothing much." I answered.
"The duck got upset that his plan failed when Courage pushed Muriel out of the way, and Pyrrha froze the string to the chilling so the anvil could not fall and crush Courage." Weiss added.
"That's good." Ruby said as she grabbed her fork.
"Indeed. And now that we have some spare time, I suggest we enjoy our breakfast." Winter said before taking a bite out of her pancakes. However, before we could do the same, we heard something cracking.
"What's that sound?" Whitley asked, curious.
'Uh-oh.' Courage whined when he realized the sound came from above him. Looking toward the ceiling, we saw that the weight of the anvil was proving too much for the ceiling. It soon gave way with the anvil landing on Courage, sending him through the floor, into the basement, and finally into the earth.
"Should we help him?" Pyrrha asked.
"I want to, but I think he is already halfway to the center of the earth." I answered as I used my scroll's flashlight to illuminate the tunnel.
"Will he survive?" Whitley asked.
"Yes. Courage has gone through much worse. Either way, I'll prepare some bandages and some of his favorite food for when he returns." I answered as I got up from my seat and started preparing everything.
9:00 P.M.
"There he is!" Ruby shouted when we saw an anvil get tossed onto the ground, followed by Courage appearing.
'Ha, ha, ha, ha.' He crazily laughed as we ran over to him.
"Are you okay, Courage?" I asked as we helped him out of the tunnel.
'Fine.' He answered as he shook himself clean.
"How is he unharmed?" Whitley asked.
"Courage can shrug off almost anything." I answered.
"Well, now that he is back, we can resume keeping an eye on the duck and preventing him from harming Muriel." Winter said as we headed back to the house.
'Right. That duck has... What's that noise?' Courage began but asked when we heard music coming from the house.
Knowing that it could be the duck, we raced the rest of the way to the house. Entering, we saw Eustace sitting in his chair, wearing a large robe and slippers while listening to music and drinking from a large cup. Hearing some muffled grunts coming from my room, we raced up the steps and ran to my room, and saw Muriel tied to a rocket while gagged.
"Bad! Naughty, naughty duckling. Oh, please! Please, please let me go." Muriel begged, but it was hard to understand her.
"Where did he get all this?" Whitley asked, shocked at seeing the giant rocket in my room.
"You can get basically anything in Nowhere." I answered. "But let's question everything later. Right now, let's save Muriel."
"Oh, HELP ME!" Muriel screamed when she saw us.
'LET HER GO!' Courage and Zwei shouted. Growling, the duck stopped working on the rocket and turned to us. Unfortunately, he inadvertently closed the hatch on his wing, effectively trapping himself to the rocket.
"COURAGE! JAUNE! HELP!" Muriel shouted as the rocket activated itself.
"Uh, who here knows about rockets?" I asked.
"Well, I don't know much about rockets, but I do know how to disarm countdown clocks." Whitley answered, surprising us.
"You do?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes."
"Okay. You stop the clock while we free Muriel." I told him.
"MAMA! MAMA!" The duck shouted, getting our attention.
"What about him?" Ruby asked. We all blinked with him looking back at us.
"As much as I don't want to, we have to help him." Weiss admitted.
"Alright. Jaune and Courage will free Muriel. Whitley, disarm the clock while the rest of us either shut down the rocket or free the duck." Winter ordered.
Nodding, Courage and I went over to the rocket and began freeing Muriel. Luckily, we didn't need to untie the knots as Courage cut them with his teeth while I removed the gag from Muriel. Grabbing her hand, we helped her off the rocket. And as we landed on the floor, Whitley finished disarming the clock. However, to our surprise, the missile did not stop.
"Um, why didn't it stop?" I asked, worried.
"Uh. I gave it another countdown, so it can't be stopped." The duck explained, surprising us further.
"Oh, do something. We can't let the poor duckling get hurt." Muriel told us. We looked at each other for a moment before sighing.
'What can a dog and some kids do?' Courage whined. Whitely, Courage Ruby, and I then went over to the duck to try and yank him free. Meanwhile, Weiss, Winter, and Pyrrha attempted to open the hatch using Pyrrha's spear. Unfortunately, despite our best attempts, it proved futile as the duck was still trapped. Knowing that we were running out of time, we decided to try something that worked when I was still at Beacon.
"Ready, Zwei?" Ruby asked as we placed Pyrrha's spear into the crack of the hatch.
'Yes.' Zwei answered as he readied himself. We planned on using Pyrrha's semblance to launch Zwei as a projectile toward Pyrrha's spear in a last attempt to free the duck. It was a long shot, but it was all we had at the moment.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Eustace shouted, startling us. And before we could react, he pushed us out of the way and removed Pyrrha's spear from the rocket. He then tried to free the duck by himself. Unfortunately, as soon as he grabbed the duck, the countdown finished with the rocket launching right after. Looking through the hole in the roof, we saw that the rocket was heading for the moon.
"I guess he wasn't such a precious, wonderful, adorable, lovable duckling." Muriel said, getting our attention.
"No, he wasn't." I agreed.
"But at the very least, he's getting some quality time with Eustace." Winter added.
"But doesn't Eustace require air? And while I'm not entirely educated on space, I don't think there is air up there." Whitley asked.
"There isn't any. But, Eustace is basically immortal, considering all the things he had gone through. Plus, common sense and the laws of nature or physics don't apply here." I answered.
"I take it this isn't the first time he has died."
"Nope."
"Well, now that is all over. How about we head downstairs and watch some movies while I make us some tea?" Muriel suggested. We looked toward each other and nodded. After a day like this, some downtime with hot tea sounds heavenly.
The Next Day
"Have a nice trip, and thanks for visiting." Muriel said before entering the house, followed by Courage.
"Take care, guys." I said as the bullhead pilots placed the luggage in the baggage compartment. Instead of taking a taxi back to Nowhere airport, Winter called her mother to have Atlas send a bullhead with a pilot that they could trust to pick them up.
"Take care, Jaune." Pyrrha said before getting on the bullhead.
"How did you like Nowhere, Whitley?" Weiss asked.
"It was crazy, insane, and I still don't understand half of what's happening. But it was much better than spending days bored at Atlas. Although I don't think I will be returning for a while, as a semblance of normalcy would be appreciated." He answered.
"If you think today was crazy, you should've seen the other times we were here." Ruby said, chuckling. "Well, see you, Jaune. We'll try and visit when we can."
"RUBY! DON'T LET ZWEI ON THE CARPET!" Weiss shouted, running after the duo, followed by a smiling Whitley.
"Have a good day, Jaune. Oh, before I forget. Be careful, as Ozpin and Ironwood might be sending some people here to check again for Iris. While Glynda can stall Ozpin and I can stall Ironwood, it is not a guarantee that it would stop them permanently." Winter warned.
"Okay. I'll keep a lookout." I said, nodding my thanks as she headed toward the bullhead. But before she closed the door, she turned to me with a devious smirk.
"Oh, and don't forget to send us the date for the baby shower." She said before quickly closing the door and ordering the pilot to take off.
"What was all that about?" A heavenly voice asked. Turning to my side, I smiled when I saw Iris walking toward me.
"Nothing, Iris." I answered, kissing her on the lips when she reached me.
"How have you been, and why is the hole in the roof?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now, how about we spend some time together as I want to ask you a few things."
"Sure." She said as we entered the house.
Notes:
The Following Chapters: House Calls, Uncommon Cold, Goat Pain, Rumpledkiltskin, Le Quack Balloon, Bride of the Swamp Monster.
For these next chapters, how about you all pick the order and who should appear in them.