Welcome to the next chapter folks. Just gonna say, this episode is actually another of my favorite episodes of the first season. The morals about the episode still hold up to this day and not to mention it has one of my favorite soundtracks in the entire series. Out of all the episodes I recommend revisiting, this is the big one.

Also a little warning, this episode is easily Eustace at his worst in the entire series and I decided to take things just a little step further. Some of it might be triggering so please tread carefully as you read. I'm sorry if anyone becomes bothered by it, but I included it to show that even Avery has her limits with him.

Please enjoy

It was a stormy night in Nowhere, just a few days after the last storm. The very storm that led to Avery discovering her new ability. In the days that had passed since discovering that she could transform with the bracelet, she had planned to go to the lake some time and practice swimming with her new power. But because of her uncle still being in the doghouse due to the whole Queen of the Black Puddle Incident, as Avery called it, she'd been sticking around the farm until things could lighten up again.

She still wondered at the other possibilities her bracelet could give her, but hadn't yet dared to look into it yet. With there being no place to safely test it around the farm, she didn't dare try it since there was the possibility either her aunt or uncle could discover the bracelet and what it could do.

Currently she was sitting at the window, watching the rainstorm going on outside and listening to the thunder whenever lightning would flash across the sky. Eustace sat in his chair reading the paper while Courage napped on the rocking chair nearby. Muriel was currently in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes, which she had declined Avery's offer to help. All seemed nice and relaxing.

That is until Eustace started up again.

Eustace threw his paper down, glared at Courage and said, "I thought I told you to fetch my raincoat!"

Courage lifted his head and let out a confused grunt as Eustace started up again.

"Don't you know how to fetch? You stupid dog," Eustace said.

"Uncle Eustace, lay off him," Avery said as she turned away from the window.

She turned away just as someone appeared at the window. The figure was not a pretty one to look at and could possibly terrify someone, but watched the scene unfold regardless.

Eustace shook his head and, "He's a dog. All dogs should know how to fetch. It's in their natures. Just like how THIS is in MY nature."

Eustace turned away from Courage with a cheeky laugh and reached into his pocket. He brought both hands out again, this time making a popping out effect with them that caused his eyes to extend far outside of his head. Courage screamed in horror and stood on top of the chair with his hair raised, while Eustace just laughed and laughed at the dog's misfortune. Avery groaned in disgust at her uncle's actions and the figure at the window shook his own head in disgust at the sight.

Avery turned her head back to the window and froze right as she saw the face of the figure staring right back at her. His sickly green skin combined with ragged clothing, hunched back, large nose, bulging eyes and tufts of red hair were all sharp contrasts of each other. And the sudden surprise of his appearence at the window didn't help matters either.

Without even realizing it, Avery screamed and fell backwards in her chair, leaving her sprawled on the floor as she hit her head against the floor. She groaned as she rubbed the back of her head.

Eustace looked at her and said, "What's your problem?"

Avery pointed at the window and said, "Someone at the window. His face... his face was horrible."

They all looked back at the window and saw that it was vacant. No one at the window, not even a shred of a soul at it. Avery looked up and saw no sign of the face she had just seen.

"Oh come on," Avery groaned as she laid her head back down.

"Ahh! You're seeing things. Been around the dog too much," Eustace said back to her.

Avery glared and said, "Uncle Eustace I was not-"

She was cut off though as someone began knocking at the front door. Avery paled at the possibility that it could be the same deformed man that she had just seen at the window. If he was still outside, what did he want with them?

Eustace stood up from his chair and said, "Visitors at this time of night? Who the heck does that?"

He crossed over to the door and grabbed the door handle.

"Uncle Eustace wait-," Avery once again started, but was too late as he opened the door.

Sure enough, the same man that Avery had just seen at the window was standing at the door. She gulped as she got a look at him and waited for his demands. But she was not ready by just how gentle his voice would be.

"Excuse me sir?" the man started.

"Eh?" Eustace said with horror beginning to materialize on his face.

The man smiled as he said, "Do you have any room I can spend the night in? I'd also like to apologize to the young lady for terrifying her so badly at the window. I had no intention of startling her."

Eustace just looked at the man with horror plastered all over his face and just screamed a long loud scream, causing the man at the door to frown, before yelling, "NO!" and then he proceeded to slam the door in the poor man's face. Avery looked back at the door and could see the man walking off with his head down through the screen.

'Jeez. He may not be pretty but he was at least polite. Then again I screamed at him too,' Avery said in her head as she began to feel a little shame build in her.

"Uncle Eustace, was that completely necessary?" she said.

He looked at her and said, "Whatcha preaching to me for? I know you screamed at him too. Besides with you taking the attic, there's no place else to put him."

Avery shook her head and said, "Yes, I did scream. But that's more because he startled me. Plus we still have the basement."

Sure the basement wasn't exactly the most comfortable location in the household. But it would have been better than sleeping on the cold ground outside in the rain or in something like the chicken coop or barn.

"No way. Ugly like that can just sleep outside where it belongs," Eustace said furiously before turning his attention back to Courage. "And why are you still sitting there? Get my raincoat."

Courage whined, but did as he was told and went to the front door. Just as he was going out, Avery groaned and grabbed an umbrella from the closet real quick.

"Hang on Courage. I'll go with ya," Avery said while Eustace just crossed his arms and shook his head at her.

"You and Muriel baby that dog way too much," Eustace said irritably.

Avery opened up the umbrella and said, "Because I'd shudder to think about what would happen if he didn't get ANY love."

Eustace glared, but Avery didn't care. She opened the umbrella and held it over her and Courage as they walked across the yard. Avery kept her eyes on the ground, not just for possibly deep mud but she also kept her eyes on any puddles that were forming on the ground. Just in case.

'Not gonna get caught off guard,' Avery said in her head. 'Not gonna get caught off guard.'

It didn't take long for them to reach the barn and Avery was so relieved as they stepped inside. Both her's and Courage's feet were caked in mud and some of it had splattered onto Avery's jeans as well. The shoes she wore were completely coated and would need to be cleaned.

"Great! I really need to get some boots," she said out loud and then looked to Courage with a shiver. "Alright lets grab the forsaken raincoat and get back. It's chilly out here."

Courage nodded and was just grabbing Eustace's raincoat, but he paused when he heard a gentle ringing sound. Avery heard it too and looked around the barn from where she stood to see if she could pinpoint it's location. This was followed by a different pitched ringing and then another and then another. It had no melody, yet still sounded wonderful at the same time.

"Bells?" she asked herself. "Where's it coming from?"

Courage raised one ear and followed the sound of the bells. He climbed up the ladder to the loft and Avery followed close behind him. And as they reached the top, Avery wanted to pull back some. In the loft, was the hunchbacked man again and with him was a set of bronze bells and was ringing them one after the other, never ringing the same bell twice in a row, producing a sweet sound with each ring. The only bell he neglected was the smallest one as it sat alone and unused.

Courage climbed into the loft from the ladder as Avery stood behind, transfixed by the sound of the bells. He walked over to the Hunchback as he continued to play the bells, but Courage grabbed the small bell and rang it. With that, the Hunchback grabbed an extra bell as did Courage and they just sat there and rang them. Avery smiled at the sight and even let out a giggle. The man heard the sound of Avery's giggle and turned his head towards her. He frowned and began to put his bells away, but he stopped when Avery spoke up.

"No no! You don't have to stop, you can keep going. It's just... they sound beautiful," she said.

The man looked back at her and said, "I don't know. I'm not exactly... welcome here."

Avery sighed and said, "Listen, I'm sorry I screamed when I first saw you. That was really more out of startlement and not because of... well..."

"My ugliness?" the man asked. "Don't worry, you can say it. I'm really not ashamed of it. I just don't like how people react to how I look and then act cruel about it."

"Hey listen," Avery said as she climbed up the ladder and into the loft. "I know people can be harsh, I know I've been there on both sides. But it's always best to not let that hold you down and still try to offer a helping hand whenever possible. You may not look appealing to the eye. but you've already show true beauty through your work with your bells. And since my uncle doesn't know you're here, I'll let you stay up here tonight."

The man smiled and said, "Thank you young lady. And I'm sorry I scared you earlier."

Avery smiled as well and said, "Think nothing of it. Consider it as part of my own apology."

Courage nodded and babbled something that they couldn't understand. All three laughed, as Avery and Courage had forgotten why they had originally come out there.

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Avery asked.

For the next several minutes, Avery sat and watched as Courage and the Hunchback played together in the barn. They started off just doing a little trapeze act that the Hunchback had quickly set up. How he accomplished it was a mystery for Avery, yet she couldn't help but smile and laugh as Courage's turn came. Yeah he shook and whimpered a little bit, but eventually he did find the will to kick off from the loft while still clutching the trapeze bar. As soon as he reached the highest point of it, he lost his grip and fell down below.

The Hunchback then grabbed the bar as it came back to him and kicked off again. Avery however kept her eyes on Courage to make sure he didn't hurt himself. She was relieved to see him get caught by a haystack right under them, but was bounced back up by the stack and was at risk of falling again. Avery felt relief wash over her as soon as the Hunchback came back and was able to grab Courage. He swung back across the barn and as he came back, he released Courage, causing him to bounce off the haystack again. Even though he screamed, Avery could tell by the pitch it was by instinct rather than fear.

The Hunchback swung back once more and released the bar. He fell to the haystack below and passed Courage along the way. Courage flew up as high as he could and then began to fall once more, but the Hunchback bounced off of the haystack and came up once more, grabbing Courage and taking him up with him. The trapeze bar came back as well and the Hunchback grabbed it and swung them both back over to Avery and to safety. He jumped to an upper wooden beam in the barn and he jumped from there and they both landed right next to the bells.

Courage sighed in relief as he landed and then rung the smallest bell again. The three then began to laugh and Avery clapped her hands, giving them as close to an applause as she could give them.

"Bravo! Bravo you guys. That was amazing," Avery said excitedly.

The Hunchback and Courage both bowed as Avery continued to clap.

The Hunchback smiled and said, "Thank you! Thank you! It's been so long since I've done that."

Avery calmed down her claps and asked, "Where'd you learn to do that anyway?"

The Hunchback sat back down and said, "When I was a younger man... back when I was more appealing to look at, I had performed in the circus. I'd ring bells for my act, so many bells that the audience simply loved. I made friends with the trapeze artists and I would watch them perform and sometimes they'd teach me how to do it. I never got to perform the trapeze act, but I did practice it whenever I could. This was my first time performing it for an audience."

Avery was amazed. This man was an experienced performer with a true passion in his heart and a desire for an audience. But from what she was told, he used to be more appealing looking. What exactly had happened to him to make him so deformed?

"So how did you become so... different?" she asked.

He shuddered and said, "I'm not really comfortable talking about it. Let's just say that what happened not only did this to me, but also destroyed the circus I had worked for. I've been on the road alone ever since."

Avery wanted to gasp, but couldn't find the will to do so. Instead she looked at him sympathetically and was about to give him some condolences, but the arrival of a certain someone in the barn prevented her from doing so.

"COURAGE! AVERY!" came Eustace's angry voice.

Both Courage and Avery froze at the sound of Eustace's voice. They had both heard him angry before, especially towards the both of them. But he had never sounded this mad before. True in order for him to be out here he had to have walked out here in the rain and who wouldn't be angry after that? Courage shushed at the Hunchback in order to keep him quiet. All three of them crawled to the edge of the loft and looked down.

Eustace was at the bottom of the ladder, looking around the barn the in search of them.

"Where are you two!?" he called out as he looked around.

Avery turned to the Hunchback and whispered, "Hide."

The Hunchback nodded and Courage was able to push him back into a haystack in the loft. He climbed down the ladder of the loft and down to Eustace.

He glared down at him and said, "Where's my raincoat you stupid dog?"

Courage began to babble at Eustace and Avery heard the sound of the Hunchback stick his head out of the stack.

"Psst! Pssst!" he called out and held the raincoat out to her.

She took the raincoat from his hand and said, "Thanks."

She walked to the edge of the loft and held up the raincoat and said, "I got it right here Uncle Eustace."

He looked up at her and said, "Well? I'm waiting."

Avery sighed and dropped the raincoat and let it fall down to him. He caught it and slipped it onto his body. As he did, he looked down at Courage and began to smile sadistically at him.

"Know what I have for you?" he maliciously asked the little dog.

"Uncle Eustace, don't," Avery called out.

Courage whined and shook his head, fearing what was coming next. He was right as Eustace covered his own eyes and did the popping out eye scare again. Courage screamed extra hard this time and Eustace just laughed his cruel sadistic laugh.

Avery shook her head and said, "Uncle Eustace you're going too far with this new routine."

Eustace stopped laughing and turned his attention towards his niece.

"You get down here right now young lady," he commanded her in a very cold tone.

Avery froze and gulped. She had heard her uncle use some very angry tones before, but that was the first time in years he had used that tone with her. With jittery hands in combination of fear and the chilled air around her, she climbed down the ladder and stood in front of him.

He glared at her and said, "Well? What were you doing out here for so long? I sent you both out here twenty minutes ago to get my raincoat. And I come in here to see a mess in the barn."

Avery looked around and saw what he meant. The haystack that Courage and the Hunchback had been bouncing on was now a mess and the trapeze bars were still gently swaying above her head. She was about to deny it, but didn't want to risk their new visitor being discovered. There'd be no preventing him from searching the barn if she had told him that she wasn't the one, even if he didn't believe her. So she decided to just bite the bullet and take whatever was coming to her. After all, he did have reason to be angry with her right now anyway.

"Yeah. Sorry about that," she said as she looked into his eyes, her usually stoic demeanor failing her.

Eustace did not calm down at all as he continued to look down at her and said, "Sorry doesn't fix this. You are going to clean up this mess and then come back to the house. And since you insist on acting like a child, you're going to be treated like one in return. For the rest of the week, you're sleeping in the basement."

Avery's jaw dropped at the punishment her Uncle had laid out for her and was about to argue it, but he beat her to the punch.

"No arguments. As long as you live under MY roof, I will treat you as you ACT. Do you understand?" he said angrily.

Avery sighed and simply said, "Yeah."

Eustace nodded and said, "Good. Clean up this mess and then come inside." He then pointed at Courage and said, "And I had better not see YOU in the house for the rest of the night. You can sleep out here."

With that he walked past her and left the barn making Courage whine. Avery watched him leave and could feel a tear of fear come to her eye, but was able to wipe it away. Courage pulled at her hand and pointed back up to the loft, but she shook her head.

"No, you go ahead boy. I'm just going to clean this up and do as Uncle Eustace said. I don't need to get in more trouble," she said to him.

Courage whined, but still complied by climbing up the ladder back to the loft as Avery grabbed a pitchfork off the wall and began scooping the spilled hay back onto the pile. Thankfully she was able to scrape most of it back into the stack and before long she had it back together again. As she placed the pitchfork back in it's place, she heard the sound of Courage and the Hunchback laughing again.

Curious, she looked back up to the ceiling to see that they had a flashlight on and were making silly shadow puppets with their hands. The one they were making now was of a bunny that suddenly turned into multiple bunnies. She couldn't help but laugh as well. Next was the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which made Avery wonder how they were so good at shadow puppets. After that was a butterfly and frog and Avery burst out laughing when the frog ate the butterfly. She watched for another minute, laughing at each shadow before she decided that she had pushed her luck enough. She grabbed her umbrella and left the barn.

Avery walked into the house, thankfully not to her uncle but her aunt instead who was walking back up from the basement. She frowned as she looked at Avery.

"Sorry about this dear. I did try to talk him out of it, even got him with my rolling pin, but he was insistent on punishment. You know there's no talking anything out of him," Muriel said solemnly.

Avery nodded and said, "Thanks anyway. I did kinda make a mess in the barn though and I can't blame him for being mad about that."

"I set ya up a cot in the basement. Even got ya some extra blankets to keep ya warm. Basement's going to be cold tonight," Muriel said.

"Thanks," Avery said noting how cold she still was. "Where's Uncle Eustace right now?"

"He had to go into town on an errand. I recommend getting ready for bed before he gets back because he was still pretty mad when he left," Muriel said as she walked out of the room.

Avery took her aunt's advice and did as she recommended. She got cleaned up and dressed for bed. Her uncle was just getting home as she was was standing in the living room and he still looked pretty mad as he was getting out of his truck. So she decided now would be the best time to slip downstairs. She stepped down the stairs and sat down on the cot that sat in a corner of the basement.

The basement itself was rather bleak looking. With a concrete floor and very few items spread around the place like the furnace, a few boxes and a nightstand by the bed. This wasn't her first time spending the night down here. Used to when she visited, she'd act out a few times and every time it really made her uncle mad, she'd end up spending the night in the basement. Even all these years later, the basement still frightened her.

She shivered as she wrapped her hands around her bare arms, both out of fear and the cold air. She could hear her uncle walking around up above and could hear him getting a little worked up as he started raising his voice. She slipped her slippers off of her feet and lied back in bed, wrapping a blanket around her and letting the warmth of the blankets comfort her. She turned out a lamp on the nightstand and listened to the sounds of the basement.

Mostly it was just quiet, but given enough time she could hear a rumble come from the furnace and a creak from the stairs as they settled. It was all so eerily familiar and creepy at the same time. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds it made. All she could do was hope that Courage would be alright out in the barn tonight with the Hunchback to keep company.

Oh how she wished he was nestled with her right now.

The very next morning, Avery quietly came up the stairs and was pleased to see that it was just her aunt in the kitchen right now. She crept upstairs and noticed that her uncle was still in bed as she passed his bedroom door. She did NOT want to have to deal with him this early after last night. So she quietly slipped past his room and up to hers. She dressed for the day and rejoined her aunt in the kitchen as she cooked some pancakes.

"Morning aunt Muriel," Avery greeted her aunt.

Muriel smiled at her said, "Morning dear. Did you sleep well down in the basement."

Avery sighed as she took a seat at the table and said, "As best as one can. That place still gives me the creeps."

Muriel came over, set a pancake on her plate and said, "Gives me the creeps when I just walk down there for only a moment. Sorry about sleeping down there."

Avery shrugged and said, "It's just for a few nights. Just wish Uncle Eustace wouldn't get so worked up so much. It can't be good for his health."

It was about here that the backdoor opened and Courage walked back into the house. Muriel smiled as she saw him and patted him on the head as he stood by the table.

"Oh Courage, I was afraid you'd get wet and cold out in the barn all night," Muriel said and then returned to the stove. "You're just in time for breakfast."

The door opened again and Avery looked to see the hunchbacked man peeking into the kitchen through the door, sad expression on his face. Avery saw him and gave him a friendly little wave. Muriel looked to the door and Avery half-expected her to be a little scared as well. But she was happy to see her aunt still smiling as she looked to him and beckoned him inside.

"Come in, come in," Muriel said as she offered him a seat at the breakfast table across from Avery. "A friend of Courage is always welcome here."

The man gratefully took a seat across from Avery and Courage took the seat next to him.

Muriel went back to the stove to serve up the pancakes and said, "I was so worried Courage. But I'm happy now."

She came back over with the plates of pancakes and set them down in front of the two who began digging into them hungrily. Avery even began eating hers. It was then that she could hear more footsteps approaching the kitchen from the dining room.

Avery knew what was about to happen and said quietly to the two, "Okay guys. Get ready for what I think is about to happen."

Eustace came walking into the kitchen and, as they expected, screamed at the sight of the hunchbacked man, causing Avery, Courage and the Hunchback to cringe at the sound of his scream. Muriel even turned to Eustace with a gasp.

'Saw that coming,' Avery said in her head.

Eustace came storming over to the table pointing at the Hunchback and said, "Didn't I tell you we got no place for the likes of you? Now get and stay out."

Muriel came over to Eustace to put in her two cents and said, "Now Eustace, he's Courage's friend."

"That makes it worse," Eustace retorted which got him glares from Muriel and Avery.

Muriel tried to cool her demeanor and said, "Now Eustace, don't make a fuss. Sit down and eat your breakfast. I'll even get those little blueberries you like so much."

Eustace grumbled irritably as he complied and took a seat near Courage. Avery sensed that he was about to be a jerk again and just sat there as he began going off on the poor man again.

"You know how you spell ugly?" he asked with a wicked smirk on his face as he began pointing at the poor man. "U! You! You! You! You! You! You!"

The man looked down and defeated until a small furry hand popped up from under the table. Avery raised an eyebrow and looked under the table to see Courage giggling and writing something on little slips of paper and then handing it up to the Hunchback. Avery smiled as she prepared to see where this was going.

The Hunchback put on some reading glasses as he read off the note.

"And you sir are extremely bald," he said and then crossed his arms.

Eustace babbled in anger as Courage laughed and continued writing down on the slips of paper. Avery even smiled at her uncle's misfortune. He was making her sleep in the basement this week, so any misery for him was amusing to her currently.

"Oh yeah!" Eustace said as the smirk returned to his face. "Well YOU look like something the cow spit up."

Courage handed the Hunchback another slip of paper that the Hunchback read off, "And you sir are extremely bald."

Eustace was now steaming in anger and began having trouble coming up with a good retort. Avery let out a laugh and Eustace turned to her angrily.

"Want to spend next week in the basement as well?" he asked angrily.

Avery held up in hands in mock defeat as Eustace began his next shot.

"The only thing uglier than this," he said as he held a round handheld mirror to the man and then pulled out a square one. "Is this."

He chuckled at his own joke as Courage handed off another slip of paper to the Hunchback.

"Are you bald?" the Hunchback mock asked. "Yes!"

By now, Eustace was done. He growled as he stood up from the table and raised his fist. It was here that Muriel returned with a large bowl full of blueberries. She did not look happy to see him acting up.

"Eustace, do you have no sense of hospitality?" she asked.

And with a goofy smile, Eustace said, "Nope."

Muriel then placed the bowl of berries into Eustace's hands and said, "Well then, you can take your breakfast and eat it in the hen house."

Eustace muttered glumly as he went to the door and said, "But... but... he called me bald."

Muriel smiled at Eustace's misfortune as she reminded him, "Eustace, you ARE bald."

Eustace stomped on the ground and said, "Well keep him out of MY sight."

He stepped outside into the still pouring rain and Avery smirked and said, "Sounds like a good compromise to me."

"Now why don't you three go out and play?" Muriel said to Courage, Avery and the Hunchback.

Avery pointed out the window with her thumb and said, "It's kinda still raining out there Aunt Muriel."

Muriel set a stack of pancakes down on the table for herself and said, "Ah when we were little we had loads of fun playing in the rain. You used to as well when you were a wee girl."

Avery chuckled and smiled at that. It's true, when she was a little girl she had enjoyed playing out in the rain, be it at home in Florida or here on the farm. She had to admit, the idea seemed appealing to her. But she really wanted to avoid puddles for the time being so she was good.

"I recall. Still, I think I'll be fine staying dry," she said as Courage and Hunchback went back outside.

Muriel shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Courage and the Hunchback spent the entire day either playing in the rain or going into the barn to play with the bells again. The only time they really came inside was for some lunch, but not much else. Eustace even stayed quiet for most of the day, mainly because he stayed inside and away from the Hunchback. Avery mainly helped her aunt with the housework throughout the day seeing as there was nothing else to do right now due to the ongoing rain storm.

As the sun went down, the rain still poured. It took some convincing, but eventually Muriel was able to get Avery to join her outside by the barn to listen to Courage and the Hunchback play the bells. Muriel had taken her rocking chair outside and Avery had set up an umbrella to keep her aunt dry.

They looked up as they listened to the sweet sound of the bells and watched as Courage and the Hunchback played them as they had the night before. Never the same bell twice in a row and keeping harmony with one another. There was no other way to describe the sound other than pure heavenly bliss.

The one issue that Avery noted was that the Hunchback was wearing Eustace's raincoat. Avery knew what would happen if Eustace came out here and saw the Hunchback wearing his raincoat. She figured it'd be fine since Eustace rarely came out in the middle of a rainstorm without his raincoat. Then again, things were different the night before.

She still stood there, under the umbrella and listening to the show, But then she turned her head and saw Eustace approaching in the darkness.

'Oh crap!' Avery screamed in her head as he approached.

He stepped up to them and said, "What do you think you two are doing."

Avery froze and said, "Uncle Eustace, I-"

Muriel beat her to the punch and said, "Enjoying the concert. Get your chair."

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" Avery whimpered as her uncle looked up at the duo as they took a bow.

Eustace pointed up the two in anger and said, "That thing and my raincoat!"

He dashed inside the barn and began climbing up to the roof.

"Uncle Eustace no!" Avery screamed out and tried running after him.

However, a sudden jolt from her bracelet pulled her back and kept her frozen in place right under Courage and the Hunchback. She tried to step forward, but it was like her feet were glued to this spot. No matter how hard she tried, she could only watch as Eustace climbed out onto the roof and confronted the duo.

"Get your ugliness out of my coat!" Eustace hollered, rage building up inside of him.

The hunchback complied and slid the coat off his body and handed it over to Eustace, who swiped it roughly out of the poor man's hand.

"That's it!" Eustace said angrily and pointed to the horizon. "Now you just keep walking til I can't see you no more."

Avery cringed at her uncle's outburst of anger. She'd seen him mad plenty of times, but never like this. Usually when he was angry, he began to lose all sense of his surroundings. And as she saw the amount of water pouring off the shingles of the barn, she could see how dangerous the situation was getting.

"Uncle Eustace, please get down off the roof!" Avery called out.

"Don't hurt yourself Eustace!" Muriel added as well.

Eustace ignored them and turned his anger towards Courage.

He stared Courage down and said, "You stupid dog! It's ALWAYS your fault!"

'Apparently he forgot the slab incident,' Avery said in her head.

Courage looked down and whined, but Eustace wasn't done with him yet.

"Look at me," Eustace said still angered.

Courage did just that and as soon as he did, Eustace pulled the popping out eye gag once more. Courage screamed in terror and began backing towards the edge of the barn roof, almost falling off the edge. Avery felt her heart pounding in her chest as she watched. She wanted to get up there and stop this, but the bracelet wouldn't let her even let her move. She figured the bracelet was doing some self preservation due to the perilous nature of the roof, but for right now she didn't care. Courage was in danger and Eustace was putting himself into danger. All she could do was stand there and watch the events unfold. Especially once Courage slipped and was clinging to the roof to keep himself from falling.

"Courage!" both Avery and Muriel shrieked.

The Hunchback however, was not about to leave yet. He turned back to Eustace and this time, it was HIS turn to make the confrontation.

"What did that little dog ever do to you?" the Hunchback demanded angrily and began walking towards Eustace.

Eustace began back up from the approach and said, "I... I told you to get."

But the Hunchback didn't stop as he continued his approach and his tirade against the old farmer.

"What goes around comes around. Do you really want to see ugly?" the Hunchback said angrily.

Eustace backed up even further and was now standing on the edge of the roof, stammering now as he had now lost control of the situation. He didn't get to answer as the Hunchback pulled out his trump card.

He reached behind his back, putting on a mask that looked just like Eustace and said, "Stupid dog."

Eustace screamed at the sight of his own ugly nature and backed up even further, until he lost his footing and fell from the roof, grabbing onto the edge of it to try to pull himself up as he screamed for help. Courage managed to pull himself up to the roof proper and he and the Hunchback reached down to try to pull Eustace up. But due to the slick rain, he quickly lost his grip and fell from the roof.

Avery watched as her uncle fell and was jolted as the bracelet moved her again. This time, she was to pulled to just underneath him and sent another shock through her body. She braced herself as she opened her arms and her uncle slammed into her as he fell to her, sending them both to the ground.

"Eustace!" Muriel said in alarm. "Are you alright?"

Eustace began to groan from the pain of the fall, a more pained groan than usual. Avery helped him back up to his feet, but his groans wouldn't stop as he got back up. But as he tried to walk, he'd limp slightly.

Muriel took hold of him and said, "Come on Eustace. Let's get you inside and I'll call the doctor."

Avery looked down at her bracelet and said, "Good call. That could have been worse."

She looked up to see both Courage and the Hunchback looking glum.

About an hour later, the rainstorm finally let up. The doctor had come and gone already. He had assured them that Eustace would be just fine as he had simply sprained his back in the fall and that it would have been worse if his niece hadn't caught him. A few days in bed would be enough to do him some good. The fall even may have been the lesson Eustace had really needed, because as soon as he was lucid again, he ended Avery's punishment and told her she could move back into the attic.

Avery was thankful for this, but as she looked out the window she could tell that not everything was in good spirits. Both Courage and the Hunchback stood out in the yard, still looking glum. Avery sighed as she looked out at them and both she and Muriel stepped outside to see the Hunchback off, knowing that he wouldn't want to stay after that.

The Hunchback stood with Courage and said, "I think it's time I left."

But as he turned to leave, Courage latched onto his arm for a second with a whine. As the Hunchback turned back to him, Courage pulled out the tiny bell again and rang it for him. The Hunchback laughed merrily and then, to Avery's surprise, he pulled out a giant bell from nowhere and rang it once with a loud ring. This caused the both of them and Avery to start laughing. Muriel stood with Avery and smiled at the sight of the two friends enjoying one lest bell session together.

As soon as their laughter died down, the Hunchback wandered out into the road and looked to them one last time.

"Hey before you go, I'm still sorry about screaming when I first saw you," she said.

He nodded and said, "It's quite alright. Thank you for showing me kindness after. I hope I find more people like you out there."

"I'm sure you will," Muriel said as he turned to continue his journey.

"And one more thing," Avery said and the Hunchback turned back to her. "Don't let a few cold hearted people discourage you. Kind people exist everywhere, even in unlikely places."

He smiled and said, "Thank you young lady. Hopefully we all meet again some day."

And with that, he turned back to the road and walked off, chuckling into the night.

I'm honestly glad this episode doesn't end on a joke like almost all of them. I just wish we could have had the Hunchback return one more time in the series. But then again, sometimes a character only needs one appearence to have the most powerful impact.

Next episode on the list will be Gods Must Be Goosey. It's a very silly episode.