All Things End: Part 47

Chapter 47: Waiting For The Inevitable

Courage slowly opened the door, unsure of what to expect. He kept his eyes only at a squint as he went in. He didn't know what he was so worried about, it wasn't as if Computer would care if he just walked in. Everything was strangely silent, there was not a single sound from the machine. Bracing himself for the worst, Courage opened his eyes.

His mouth fell open.

Computer was fast asleep on the floor...

He let out a soft sigh. At least it hadn't been anything he was expecting.

The machine was curled up on the floor. He must have fallen asleep again on accident. He'd been looking so tired lately that it didn't really surprise him much.

He began to close the door again. If this was where the machine wanted to sleep then that was where he was going to leave him. It wasn't worth waking him up just to get into another argument and maybe he'd even be in a better mood now that he was finally getting some rest.

He had the door about halfway closed when the machine suddenly shot up just like the last time he had been caught asleep. He glanced around the bathroom in a daze until his eyes finally fell on Courage, who was looking at him through the crack in the half closed door.

The glowing dog placed a paw on his head. "Ah! When did I..." His expression quickly turned to anger and he grit his teeth. "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to leave me alone!"

Well...he was awake now, there was no getting around that. Courage re-entered the room and steeled himself for another round of verbal abuse. Perhaps this was all he could do, stick through it and hope that Computer would give it up.

"I didn't tell you to come back in!" The machine growled. "Go away!"

"No!" Courage replied sternly. If he was going to do this then he couldn't allow himself to be a pushover.

The machine seemed to falter for a moment but his expression quickly hardened again. "What do you mean 'no'? And what's with that gravely voice? I'm not playing around you know! Just go away! I don't want you around anymore!"

"Computer, what's the matter?" He asked, kneeling down beside him.

The machine crossed his arms. "Nothing's the matter except you bothering me! For the last time, leave me alone!"

Courage kept his expression perfectly calm. He needed to stay the voice of reason. Computer was almost acting childish at this point so it wasn't worth getting angry over.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong." He spoke.

Arms still crossed, the machine turned away. "Then you're going to be here awhile because I don't have anything to say!" He replied stubbornly.

"That's okay. You stayed up with me when I needed your help and I can do the same for you."

The machine faltered again for a moment but remained completely stalwart to his stubbornness. He remained there, arms crossed, and nose up in the air. He was looking as though he were about to collapse from sleepiness again but he did not dare allow himself the luxury. Every time his eyes seemed to droop he snapped awake again.

Patience, patience was all that was needed, Courage thought to himself. If he really wanted it he could have three football fields worth of patience. He wasn't the type to remain calm in any given situation, whether it be anger or panic, but something like this he could endure. Computer would eventually give up and hopefully start telling him what was going on.

"Gah! You are so annoying! Far more annoying than I ever thought possible!" Computer spat. He kept making angry little comments hoping to get a rise out of the dog but Courage remained completely calm and supportive.

"Aww come on, Compute. You don't gotta talk like that!"

"If you're going to sit here like an idiot then I'm leaving!" He got up to exit the bathroom but Courage shot out a paw to stop him.

"Sit!" He growled. He was going to get through to Computer no matter what he had to do. If it meant being more forceful and possibly then he would do it.

The glowing dog's eyes narrowed. "Or else what?" He dared.

This genuinely shocked Courage. Was he seriously egging him on? He had expected him to back down after a small show of force, not get even more cocky. Wasn't he afraid of being hurt again? This didn't make sense...

"What are you getting at?" Courage asked. "This isn't like you."

"You're just going to sit here and do nothing?" The machine asked. "Fine, you wimp!"

Courage did not respond.

"I'm already halfway out the door!" Computer announced loudly.

Courage did not stop him.

He took several steps into main room and Courage only watched him calmly. This seemed to anger him far more than anything else. He clenched his fist and spun back around. "What are YOU getting at?" He asked desperately. "Why are you just sitting there? DO SOMETHING!" He yelled.

Courage gave him a pleading look. "I just want to help you."

"NO YOU DON'T!" He yelled. "I can't believe I bought into all that crap you gave me about friendship and family! Why are you just sitting there doing nothing! Why don't you just get it over with? The soon you do it the sooner I can stop worrying! Are you just trying to prolong my...my..." He shook his head. "Just hurry up and do it!" He screamed.

Courage gave him a confused look. "Computer, I don't know what you're talking about..."

The machine almost seemed to be shaking with rage. "Stop messing around! I'm tired of waiting! You're just like the rest of my owners! You do something horrible once, you will inevitably do it again! Well I'm tired of waiting around and worrying! I should have never told you anything, I knew you'd just use it against me eventually! I can't believe I actually listen to you when I knew you were just like the rest!"

"I'm not going to hurt you again! I promised I wouldn't and I'm not! I didn't mean to overreact before and I'm really sorry for that!"

The machine was shaking, his eyes squeezed shut. "Shut up, just shut up! Stop playing pretend! I'm not going to let my guard down again so stop making me wait!"

"You're my friend, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm not! The minute I let my guard down you'll do something awful again! It's an inevitability! I'm not going to fall for it again!"

"You're tired, Compute. You should get some sleep and then you can't think about this more once you have a clear mind."

"NO! NO! Definitely not!" The machine replied, his tone almost becoming panic stricken. He placed a paw against his head. "I am NOT going back to sleep again. I don't know how you organic creatures manage to do this every single night when every time you close your eyes you have to see all those horrible things..."

Horrible things? Courage realized what he meant almost immediately. "People don't normally see 'horrible things' when they sleep. You must be having nightmares."

"It doesn't matter what they are! I saw Him again back at the other house! I thought that Fear Eater actually had the gall to follow us and I tried to get up to deal with it, but...but this damnable body wouldn't move! I couldn't do anything! I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, I couldn't even blink! He almost managed to get me but then....I woke up."

"That's usually what happens when it comes to nightmares. You've just got to start thinking about happier things. You aren't worrying yourself while you try to fall asleep, do you? You don't think about Him or anything else unpleasant?"

The machine shook his head again. "That doesn't matter! I know what I saw! Just a few minutes ago you tried to break my arm! You can't tell me it wasn't real! I-I felt it snap! After that you..." He stopped himself and a look of terror briefly flashed across his face.

"Why don't you just do it?" He asked the dog weakly. "The sooner you get it over with the sooner I can stop worrying about when it will inevitably happen. I'm used to this sort of thing after all. I swear, the waiting hurts more than the actual thing." He pressed a paw up against his face again. "Why on earth did I started falling asleep without realizing it? Now I can barely tell what's the start of a dream or what is real. This might be a dream too! At least before I knew when I was going to sleep..."

Courage spoke up again. "This is why you need to get some proper sleep. You're going to keep falling asleep like this until you finally get a good night's rest. Wouldn't you rather do that than keep slipping up every time you let your guard down?"

The machine grit his teeth again. "I don't trust you!" He replied sharply. "I'm sure you'll try something awful while I'm out! Perhaps you'll try to smother me with a pillow or worse! That or I'll do this 'nightmare' thing of you doing exactly that!"

"Computer! Do you really think me beating the snot out of you again is really going to make you feel better?"

"Of course not! But it will be a relief....it always is." He glanced downwards. "It always has and it always will be. No more having to be panic stricken or worried just for a little while. A slight lull to be enjoyed just before it all goes wrong again..."

He laughed sadly. "There were times when even I was with Him that the wait for him to rip the next part out of me often felt worse than the actual act. I think he prolonged it sometimes just because I could never know when it was about to happen again.

"Compute, you can trust me." Courage replied. He was starting to hate when his friend talked about Him. It obviously hurt for him to talk about. If only he could just get him to trust him completely, they'd never have these issues again.

He continued slowly, hoping desperately that Computer would come to his senses. "I can't really help you with your nightmares, only you can do something about that, but I promise I'm never going to touch you again. You've been through enough and I'm not going to try and make it worse." He smiled gently up at the machine.

Computer's expression did not change.

"Fine!" Courage finally shouted, getting to his feet.

Computer cringed and flung an arm up as if to protect himself. Courage moved forward and placed both of his paws on the machine's shoulders.

"I'm staying up until you finally go to sleep!" He announced with as much determination as he could muster.

Computer was keeping his head to the side, refusing to make eye contact. "Don't bother! You're sick anyway, you'd only hurt yourself by depriving yourself of sleep."

"Then it's in your best interest to go to sleep." He replied making it very clear that he was serious.

The machine closed his eyes. "You're crazy."

"I'm only looking out for my friend."

"I am not your friend!"

"Well you are mine."

The machine pulled away and returned to the main room. "You might as well give up! I'm not going to sleep so just leave me alone!"

Courage followed after him. "Nope, I'm sticking with you until you go to sleep!"

"Stop being annoying!" The machine shot back. "What I do is none of your business!"

"I'm concerned about your well being!"

"Well stop being concerned then!"

Courage watched as Computer made a move for the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Anywhere that's not here!" He spat, opening the door and heading out into the cold.

"Great, I'll come too!" Courage replied cheerfully. He wasn't really feeling cheerful on the inside but he was resolved to make sure Computer got some sleep.

"I was trying to get away from you, you know!" Computer shouted as the dog joined him.

The two of them stood there leaning on the guardrail, Computer shooting him deadly glares every few minutes. Courage was not enjoying the cold but he persevered for his friend's sake.

Finally, the glowing dog seemed to get fed up and took to pacing up and down the hallway. Courage stood there watching him, getting angry glares from the machine every time he passed.

"Computer..." He spoke.

There was no response from the machine.

"Computer!" He finally shouted.

There was an quiet grumble from his friend and that was all he got.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"No." Computer replied flatly.

"If we're going to do this can we at least do it somewhere warm?"

No response.

"Do you have to keep acting like that?" He asked with a sigh.

"If it bothers you so much then you should just go inside! I already told you to leave me alone, you're only doing this to yourself!"

"You shouldn't have to be out here in the cold either..."

"Augh! Just be quiet!"

"Well in that case, if you're going to be so difficult...what was that one song which..."

Computer stopped in his tracks. "No! No singing, no being stupid, NO ANYTHING! You got that, you twit?"

"Oh, um, well...."

The machine rolled his eyes. "I really do hate you, you know."

Courage sighed. "Alright, you made me do this but....IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL! IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER..."

"AUGH!" The machine screamed. He clenched a fist, shaking violently. "Someone...is about...to DIE!"

Courage took several steps back. The way Computer was looking at him....was not pleasant.

"Come here, twit." He spoke, an eye twitching.

"Um, I don't think so..." He replied, still backing away.

"I just want to 'talk' to you." Computer spoke, his head slowly cranking sideways.

"You can do that just fine from there." Courage replied with a weak chuckle.

"You have grated on my final nerve, you twit!" The machine said before finally bolting straight at him.

Courage let out his trademark scream and made a mad dash for it.

"Can't we talk this out?" He asked.

"I will MURDER you!" The machine screamed back.

"I'm going to take that as a no..."

"ARGH! COME BACK HERE, YOU TWIT!"

"Sorry, but I kind of want to live to see tomorrow!" He replied, giggling nervously.

"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO...."

CRASH

The door between the two of them swung open and Computer hit it at full speed...

There was now a dog shaped outline in the metal.

"Will you two shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!" A voice yelled before the door slammed shut again.

"Uh, Computer?" Courage asked, poking the machine. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Why? Why is it always me?" He groaned, placing a paw on his muzzle.

"Welcome to my world." Courage sighed. "Too bad that didn't knock you out cold. You might have actually gotten some sleep..."

"Ugh....I hate you..."

End Of Chapter