Chapter 29: A Slight Diversion
"Ugh, back to the boredom that is bus travel." Computer complained, sauntering out of the diner that both he and Courage had just eaten at.
"Don't jinx it." Courage replied. "I'd rather be bored than stuck in a swamp again, or worse."
They made their way back over to the bus. It was nearly dark now, although they'd both been resting so much today that neither of them were even slightly tired. It was likely that they'd end up staying awake long into the night, not that they were really looking forward to it.
"I can't believe you flesh creatures haven't invented teleportation yet, given how boring road travel is." Computer continued to complain as they got back onto the bus. "I don't know how you stand it. I mean, at least when I was stuck in that metal prison I still had the entire internet at, well, my non-existent fingertips."
"If you're 'that' bored then why don't you get one of those fancy phones that do all the computery stuff that you normally do? You can't access the internet directly through that dog with your power, so just get a phone to do it for you."
To say that Computer looked offended would have been an immense understatement.
"Why on earth would I ever want to do that?" He asked, glaring at him.
"Because it's convenient."
"A-are you calling me obsolete? How dare you! I'm better than any of those stupid phones! Back in my day you couldn't even take them anywhere, not unless they were the size of a brick!"
Courage let out a sigh and shook his head. "That's not what I said..."
"You think I'm outdated, don't you!" He continued to huff in his outrage.
"H-hey! You're just projecting, so knock it off!"
"Am not!" He argued crossing his arms.
"I didn't say anything about you being obsolete or outdated! Stop being insecure!"
"You implied it!" He snapped, turning around in his seat so that only his back could be seen.
"C'mon, Compute. Do you really think it matters even if you are outdated? Do you really think I care about that?"
There wasn't a response from his grumpy companion.
"Look, I've got something here that will cheer you up. Actually, I, uh, got this for you a while ago, but given everything that's been happening to us lately, I kinda forgot about it."
That was enough to get Computer to look over his shoulder.
"Just give me a sec, I need to dig it out." Courage went on, grabbing their bag and riffling through it. He finally pulled out a much smaller paper bag, which had managed to sink all the way to the bottom.
Computer slowly turned around, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I figured that you would enjoy something like this, so I-" Courage reached into the bag and pulled out the silver moose figure that he had bought back at the gas station when the SCC Organization had been hunting them. He really had forgotten to give it to Computer because of the all the craziness they had just been through.
Computer blinked. "It's that moose."
He made no effort to take it.
"I suppose this is meant to be a souvenir then?" He asked.
"Well, yeah." Courage answered. "It's a gift I got for you because you liked that giant moose so much."
Computer left it sitting in Courage's paws. Looking somewhat forlorn, he rubbed the back of his head.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you really shouldn't keep doing this sort of thing for me."
Courage blinked in surprise. "Why not?"
"Well, it's just, you see, I don't-" He seemed to get stuck on his words. Then, letting out a sigh, he shook his head and continued with, "I don't really need 'things', you see. It doesn't matter if it's a gift or not. You don't exactly have any need for physical objects when you don't normally have hands. That yo-yo was more than enough of a gift."
Courage smiled. "C'mon! You know you have room on that desk of yours for a few souvenirs!"
He closed his eyes and let out another sigh. "If you insist."
…...
It wasn't until a little after midnight that the bus made another pit stop. Courage badly needed to use the bathroom so he was quick to hop out of his seat. Computer on the other hand, remained sitting.
"You aren't getting off?" Courage asked. He was a bit surprised as he figured that Computer would at least want to get coffee or something.
"I'm too bored to move." He complained, slowly sinking down further into his seat.
Courage shrugged. "Suit yourself."
He exited the bus and was hit by a wall of cool, crisp air. A shiver involuntarily ran up his spine, despite his fur protecting him from the worst of the cold. All around him were buildings that reached high into the sky. They had stopped in a city, but he wasn't sure what the name of it was. Well, it wasn't too big of a deal anyway. They'd be moving on and soon this place would be nothing more than a brief memory.
He continued to shiver, and, just as he was about to step forward to go find a bathroom, a sharp, needle-like pain shot through his chest. He wasn't sure what triggered it. Perhaps his shivering? Either way, he was immediately lost in the incredible pain of an attack. His thoughts briefly turned to Computer, who he knew was near but wouldn't be able to see him. He let out a choked cry, hoping that it would get his friend's attention. The pain only grew worse and he was forced to his knees and then onto the ground where he writhed in pain. Slowly, slowly, his vision went black, and all he could hope for was that Computer would come to his aid...
….He awoke, as always, stiff and confused. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring up at a white ceiling. His mind hazy, he became all the more confused. Where was he? He could feel the weight of a blanket over his body, and someone was talking, albeit too quietly for him to understand. He tried to sit up, but his body refused to work as commanded. Instead, he looked to his left and saw that there was another bed beside his and a window that looked out onto the cityscape.
"A hotel?" He asked himself in a dry, cracking voice.
This couldn't be a hospital, that much was certain, and it didn't seem to be someone's apartment either. The fog that had been clouding his mind was slowly dissipating, and as he became more aware of his surroundings, he wanted to sit up even more. It took several tries, but soon he was able to manage it.
It was indeed a hotel room. In front of the two beds was a dresser and on top of it sat a TV where two newscasters were talking, though the sound had been turned down to such a level that their voices were only an indecipherable drone.
Courage continued to take the room in, his body shaking involuntarily from how weak he was. Computer was nowhere to be seen, which worried him quite a bit, but the thing that concerned him the most was how long he had been unconscious. Could it have been days? He hoped not.
Unable to bear it any longer, he flopped backwards onto the pillow. A weak sigh escaped his lips. It was so disorienting to wake up from an attack like this and it didn't help at all that he knew he wouldn't be able to walk right now, even if he wanted to try.
Where was Computer?
How long had he been out?
How long had it taken for either Computer or someone else to have noticed him passed out on the sidewalk?
So many questions rolled through his mind, and he soon found his salvation when his ears picked up the sound of someone walking up to his door. He slowly sat up and listened with perked ears as whoever it was unlocked the door.
It swung open to reveal Computer who had what was apparently a bag of fast food in one paw and a cup of soda in the other. He nearly dropped both of them in shock when he found Courage staring at him.
"Oh, you're awake already?" He asked. "And here I was thinking that we were going to be stuck here for awhile."
"How...how long have I been out?" Courage asked, his voice still cracking.
"Just overnight and most of the morning. It's nearly noon now. Well, drat, if I had known that you were going to wake up, I would have gotten you something too."
Courage shook his head. "I don't think I could stomach any food right now anyway."
Computer placed the bag onto Courage's bed and then climbed up. "I really was worried that you were going to end up knocked out for ages again." He spoke, sitting down beside him. "Or worse, that you weren't going to wake back up at all."
Courage blinked. "How did you get me up here anyway?" He asked.
"Oh, well..." He answered, digging into the bag. "You were already out like a light when I got to you, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. I didn't want to drag you back onto the bus if you were going to potentially be unconscious for several days. I didn't want people to think that I was carting around a dead body or something, so I ran across the street and got us a room at this hotel. By the time I got back to you, some guy was already being nosy and trying to figure out what was wrong with you. I told him that you were tired from all the traveling we'd been doing and I even managed to get him to carry you to our room. He did seem awfully suspicious though."
"Have you seen him around since then?"
"Thankfully, no."
"And there hasn't been any other trouble either?"
Computer grinned at the question, clearly amused by it. "Of course not. I've been asleep nearly all morning. There hasn't been enough time for me to cause any trouble yet, so don't worry your fur off. I did do a little looking around while I was out getting food though, and I, uh-" He fell silent.
Courage stared. "What?" He asked, then a thought occurred to him that caused a twinge of worry to well up in his chest. "You haven't been trying to get together with someone while I was knocked out, were you?" The thought of Computer trying to flirt with anyone of either gender was enough to nearly make him die of secondhand embarrassment.
Computer gave a startled jump. "W-what? Of course not! Are you crazy! That's the last thing that's been on my mind with you being unconscious! Besides, I still need to gather up information before I do anything yet! You're the one who's been lecturing me about it after all!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Courage tried to amend, laughing sheepishly.
"What I was actually going to say is that I'd like to make a request."
"A request?" Courage asked, craning his head to the side. "Why are you acting so formal?" Now he was even more worried.
"Look, while I was walking around out there I came across this really interesting looking mall. I've never been inside one before and I'd like to check it out. In fact, I was planning on going over there today if you didn't wake up soon."
Courage was surprised by this. It wasn't like Computer to leave his side whenever his illness was pulling a number on him, not that he was particularly offended by the new development. If that's what he wanted to do, he wasn't going to fault him for it. Computer's life didn't need to revolve around him and he honestly wanted to encourage him to do more things on his own.
Computer's eyes all but lit up, well, more than they already did normally. "I really, really want to go!" He all but begged. "If you start to feel any better within an hour or two, we could both go down there. I-it could just be for the afternoon! So don't worry! We can catch the next bus out of here by tonight! I just need 'something' to break up the monotony of all this bus travel."
Smiling, Courage replied with, "What makes you think I'd say no? If you really believe a mall is going to be 'that' interesting then we have to check it out. Besides, I've been pretty bored with all the bus travel too."
Computer was clearly having a hard time containing his excitement. "I do have some knowledge of what malls are like, but I'm having a hard time accessing the information through this useless dog's brain. Is it true that they have stores dedicated solely to sale of candy?"
Courage slapped his forehead with a laugh. "I should have figured the whole reason you wanted to do this was over food."
"It's not just that, idiot!" He argued.
"Well, look, we can go, but only under one condition."
"Oh, great. Now you're bringing conditions into this." He complained.
"We both need a bath before we go anywhere. People are going to think we're a pair of swamp monsters if we go in looking like the way we do now."
"Oh, come on!" He huffed. "You just have to make this unpleasant, don't you?"
"What is it with you and water? You do know what coffee is made out of, right? Besides, we have a shower available to us now so we might as well use it. I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy having mud all knotted up in my fur."
"Ugh, fine. I'll get clean, but only because you'll keep nagging me if I don't."
Courage clasped a paw to his stomach. "Actually, before you do anything, does this place have a vending machine?"
Computer nodded. "Yes, they're down by the lobby."
"Could you maybe get me a bottle of water and a bag of chips? I don't know if I'll be able to eat much, but it'll be a start."
Computer gave him a sly, knowing smile and pushed the bag of fast food closer to him. "I saved you a hamburger." He said in a half mocking tone.
Courage gratefully accepted it, albeit he could only swallow a few bites before he became nauseous. Computer hopped down off the bed and headed over to bathroom, which was to the right of the TV. In fact, it was almost directly in front of Courage's bed.
"Can't you close the door?" He called out to his friend as he ambled his way inside.
Computer turned back around, looked down at himself and then drolly replied, "Oh, no. I'm naked." with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, somebody has to make sure I don't drown while I'm in there."
Courage snorted. "You're not about to drown in the bathtub!"
"Says you!" He argued. "I don't know how to swim!"
"You especially won't need to swim in a bathtub either!" He continued to laugh.
"Ugh! Just keep watch and stop making this more unpleasant for me than it already is!" He placed a paw to his chin. "So, how exactly do you make this thing shower instead of, well, doing the bath thing? If I can figure it out, that should drastically reduce the risk of drowning."
Courage couldn't help but keep giggling at how clueless Computer was.
The glowing dog stepped into the tub and examined the knob. He fumbled around with it a bit and when water began to spray forth from the nozzle, as he had been trying to get it to do, he was so startled that he jumped back more like a frightened cat than any dog.
Courage's gigging fit turned into uproarious laughter. He couldn't help it, even if he did feel a little bad, given Computer's dislike of anything resembling rain.
His friend glared at him, stomped out of the tub, now soaking wet, and slammed the door.
Courage stared, a goofy grin still plastered across his face. He then decided to get back to work on the hamburger and absentmindedly flicked through a few TV channels as he ate.
End Of Chapter
A/N: Fun fact of the day: I like to the think that Courage and Computer set out on their journey sometime in October and as of this chapter it's now a little into November.
