A/N: First chapter of 2021! To give an update on the book giveaway, the amount of people who signed up was small enough that I'm going to be getting everyone who signed up a copy of the book over the course of the next few months. Instead of doing another giveaway, I'll just say that if want a copy, PM me and I'll see what I can do for you. Even if you're seeing this message long after this chapter has been released, if you're interested, PM me about it. I will still probably be able to get you a copy.
Chapter 118: The Crush
They half walked, half ran through the city. Courage's body was tiring out and they were both worried that pushing too hard would lead to an attack, which they really did not need right now. So, they tried to pace themselves as they made their way toward the industrial edge of the city.
It would have helped if they could get a ride, but the streets were complete chaos. People were rushing in and out of buildings, up and down the sidewalks, tearing down the streets in their cars, if the roads themselves were not already stuck in complete gridlock. The evacuation was not going well and there was no sign of the SCC or any other authority figures trying to bring order to the chaotic, mismanaged evacuation. It seemed that everyone with even a shred of power had received the news about just how dangerous the situation was and had escaped the city using their own private means that regular people did not have access to.
They tried to stick to less busy side roads and alleyways as much as they could while also trying to avoid losing track of where they were in relation to where they wanted to get to. The industrial outskirts of the city was large enough that as long as you were going in that general direction you would eventually come across it, but the unfamiliar city itself and the chaos going on all around them made it easy to get turned around.
Courage was growing more and more concerned with every second that ticked by. Not so much for himself, but more with the situation in general. He had begun to notice that he was feeling that strange sort of static in the air that made his fur stand on edge, just like back at the police station...right before it blew apart. That same oppressive air was pressing in all around him and it made him fearful that his surroundings would simply explode at any moment without warning.
Exhaustion inevitably got the better of them though, and Computer had them slow to a stop when it became too much to go on. He placed a paw against the side of a building to keep them from doubling over as he waited for Courage to catch his breath. Now even he was becoming concerned about the electrified atmosphere. They both were picking up a faint sort of buzzing with seemingly no source.
"We must keep moving." He urged, but Courage just couldn't do it.
Despite himself, he shifted and pressed his back up against the wall. His legs felt like jelly, and before he even knew what he was doing, he slid downward until he was sitting on the sidewalk. He hated it. He hated it so, so much. He was fully aware of the fact that him and his stupid illness was holding Computer back and keeping him from getting word to his friends about the danger. While Computer was not blaming him for it, he could still sense his companion's frantic thoughts and could tell that he was cursing himself for the loss of his abilities. He would have had them across the city ten times over by now...if only he was working properly.
Annoyed, Courage tried to stand, feelings his whole body tremble from the effort.
"Stop." Computer demanded, making him sit back down. "It's alright. Let's just wait until you're feeling better."
"But-"
"First of all, I'm not going to let you hurt yourself for my sake, and secondly, it will do neither of us any good if you have an attack and knock us both out for who knows how long. I certainly don't need you triggering a fatal attack like last time, so let's not risk it."
"B-but-" Courage repeated, a whimper entering his voice.
"Enough! I'm not letting you move an inch until you are able to stand up again without me having to do all of the heavy lifting for you."
He had a point there, unfortunately. Courage had very much noticed that when he had started getting especially tired and his body had become outright painful to keep moving, Computer had taken over for him. His companion's much higher pain tolerance allowed him to go on where Courage could not, but that did not mean he liked putting him through it.
So, they sat there for awhile as the chaos of the evacuation continued on all around them. The oppressive, electrical atmosphere continued to grow as well. Computer was doing his best not to worry about his dog companions for Courage's sake, but some of it still bled through and it only made Courage resent the state he was in even more. It was bad enough that they could not get to the dogs, but at the rate things were going, they would never get out of the city either.
Maybe fifteen minutes went by before Computer let Courage test himself. He could finally stand again without feeling like his legs were going to give out. He was still very much beyond exhausted, but he could at least push on and hopefully make up for some lost time.
Sighing, he couldn't help but say as they lightly jogged, "The world's practically ending, you're worried about the safety of your friends, and yet you still make me take breaks in the middle of it all."
Computer let out a laugh. "I only do it because I care!"
...It took him a moment to realize what he had just said out loud and he made a choking noise, eyes going wide. He then proceeded to trip and nearly caused them to wipe out on the pavement. For once Courage went in with the save and stabilized them before the stumble could turn into a catastrophic wipe out.
He waited until Computer recomposed himself to tease, "You have no idea how much mileage I'm going to get out of that slip up."
"Keep it up and I'll start looking around in here for a way to erase your memories." Computer grumbled, although internally he had resigned himself to his fate.
They made it a little further before their jog had to return to something closer to a brisk walk. Courage could feel the strain building up in his limbs again and he could sense Computer trying to figure out how best to pace him in a way that would keep them moving without overtaxing him.
He made Courage stop again, just before a busy intersection. While Courage was nowhere near as weak kneed compared to their last stop, he suspected that this was all part of Computer's improvised plan to better pace him and reduce the risk of an attack. Making him rest in smaller intervals, before his body really started to strain itself, seemed to be the best way to go about this.
Courage watched the intersection and the vehicles that zoomed past. Compared to what the two of them had seen in other parts of the city, this area seemed far less congested. There were far fewer people hurrying about on the sidewalks now too. Either the evacuation was actually getting somewhere, despite how mishandled it was, or they had wandered into a much less busy part of the city.
Courage clenched his paws, trying to force his tired body to regain some of its strength, no matter how foolish it was to try. He could feel doom closing in around them like a trap about to snap shut, and here he was letting his ill body get the better of them both. There was no point in attempting to avoid an attack if something else was going to kill them anyway.
"We have to keep moving." He impatiently said when he felt Computer stop his attempt to start walking again.
"Wait for a little while longer. You need to rest."
"We can't keep doing this!" Courage cried out. "Something bad is about to happen! Can't you feel it? Standing around is going to get us killed!"
Computer shook their head. "It'll certainly get us killed if you push yourself into having an attack. You need to keep your strength up as much as possible, especially in case we need to-"
Something shifted in that instant. They both felt it. An unusual silence followed. No more cars made their way through the intersection.
They stood there on edge, holding their shared breath. Computer made them look around, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. A distant scream reached their ears, soon followed by a far greater chorus of screaming. A wave of dread ripped through them at the sound. The noise only continued to increase. They could hear frightening crashes and booming all around them and plumes of smoke began to rise above the buildings in almost every direction they looked. There was a near constant squeal of tires, mixed in with the human screaming, but not once did a vehicle pass them by. Their street was oddly calm in spite of the surrounding chaos.
"We should probably get off the street..." Computer muttered warily, taking a step back. With the rushed evacuation, they could probably get inside just about any building at this point without having to worry about locked doors, but what good would hiding inside a building do if this really was...
Something heavy thudded onto the sidewalk beside them and caused them to nearly jump out of their skin at the suddenness of it. For half a second Courage thought he was looking at the broken, lifeless body of a woman with a computer monitor for a head, but the reality was so much worse than that. Her head was inside the monitor, having been smashed through the screen with incredible force. The shattered glass that still clung to the monitor gave it the appearance of a robotic mouth filled with sharp teeth that had chomped down on the poor woman's head. The glass even seemed to be digging in to her neck like it was biting down. In fact, the only blood involved was seeping out of her neck were the crimson painted glass teeth were digging in.
Speechless, they looked up to see an open window above them where she must have fallen from.
"I don't think she jumped." Computer softly said, seemingly worried that if he raised his voice it would draw the attention of something dangerous. "Whatever happened with that monitor must have killed her long before she hit the ground. Someone threw her out, I'm certain of it. I think-" His voice grew hesitant as he took another step back. "-we're being sent a message."
"What do we do?" Courage asked, his voice trembling with fear. He did not dare look at the broken body again.
Hiding would do them no good, but pushing onward would only result in them getting caught up in the apocalyptic chaos going on all around them.
Computer did not have an answer for him. He was just as shaken up and completely at a loss on what to do. His thoughts were a mixture of worry for his dog friends and fear for Courage's life. If that body was a message, the message was quite clear.
Dread filled them when they heard the sound of frantic footsteps followed by the continuous roar of an engine. A disheveled man came tearing around the corner and eyed them up, if only for a second.
"Run!" He screamed. "RUN!"
The man only made it a little further down the road before a car came tearing around the corner as well. It was moving in reverse as it sped toward him.
Courage and Computer collectively winced, fully expecting that the car was about to mow the man down at top speed. Surprisingly though, as it caught up with him, it slowed down a bit. The trunk opened up, and while the car still hit him hard enough to break a few bones, he flipped backward into the trunk upon impact. It snapped shut immediately, like a predator that had just caught its prey. The car then sped off down the road. It was only then that Courage noticed that there were people trapped inside of it, banging on the windows and unable to get out.
"What on earth is going on here?" Computer asked. "This is not at all what-"
He never got to finish. The false calm that their street was enjoying broke, and before either of them could do anything, the sound of people screaming suddenly grew much too close. They could hear a rumble, even feel it in the concrete beneath their feet. A mass of people spilled out onto the intersection, and for reasons Courage could not see, instead of splitting off in all three directions, the stampede of panicking people all turned down their road. All of a sudden Courage was being pushed along with them, he had no other choice. The suffocating crush of people moved more like a wave than anything else and Courage had to go along with it. There was no room, and he was so much smaller than the people all around him. If he fell, he would surely be trampled to death.
The feeling of legs pushing in all around him became too much. He was going to be crushed, he was certain of it. He couldn't breathe! In a daze, he looked up to see frightened faces above him and through a gap in the humanity, he saw a sliver of smokey sky. How he wished he could get up there!
A knee suddenly flicked forward and hit him directly in the face and a heavy body dropped down onto him. In the end, it was someone else falling that had sealed his doom. He tasted blood. His nose was bleeding. He fought like a wild animal to get out from under the person. He could feel the pressure of people walking over the limp body. Computer suddenly took over, determined to get them to safety. Courage was so panicked that he was thankful for a sightly cooler head to take over.
The moment he managed to get them out from under the trampled body, a foot stepped down on their middle, driving the air out of Courage's lungs. Computer was fully aware that if they remained down there for even a second longer, they were surely dead, so he pushed past the pain, grabbed onto someone's pants leg, and began to claw his way upward. The crush somehow made it both easier and harder to climb, and thankfully the person he was using as a ladder didn't seem interested in knocking him off.
Courage had never felt so relieved as he did when the pressure all around him gave way to cool, blessed air. Computer had managed to get them up onto the shoulder of the person they were climbing. Looking around, his companion eyed the windowsill of a building nearby, and had Courage climb from one person to the next in a desperate bid to get to it. There were a few angry shouts at him as moved from one person to another, but nobody did anything to stop him.
Courage sensed Computer desperately begging the window to be unlocked as he jumped onto the windowsill and reached down to open it. They both let out a shared sigh of relief when the window easily slid upward. Unfortunately, other people had seen what they were doing and were now desperately trying to climb up through the window to escape the crush too. Computer jumped down into someone's kitchen just as a flood of climbers started collapsing into the room as well. If the growing pile of humanity wasn't enough to get him to keep moving, the kitchen letting out an ominous groan followed by all of the appliances coming alive, that did the trick. They barely managed to dodge their way out of the kitchen as everything from the fridge to a fiery oven ripped itself free from the wall and attacked.
The ran through the apartment, dodging past other pieces of technology, big and small, coming to life right before their very eyes. Even a massive flat screen TV came to life and pulled itself down from the wall in an attempt to smash them flat. They rushed out the door and into an empty and thankfully machine-free hallway. Several other people also rushed past them, having managed to escape the killer kitchen. Smoke was beginning to fill the apartment and flow out into the hallway, so Courage and Computer did not dare slow down just yet.
They made their way to the back exit of the building, and since they had already seen people escape out that way, they decided to be careful about leaving through it, in case several of the living machines were waiting for others to come out.
Courage opened the door a crack and when the coast looked clear, he stuck his head out and looked up and down the alley. There was no sign of the people who had run off, and to their left he could see the road where an endless procession of living vehicles of all shapes and sizes were slowly herding that massive crush of people...somewhere.
They moved carefully down the alleyway, hoping that they would not gain the attention of the cars or any matter of machine that might have come to life and simply not shown it yet. The street they exited out onto was eerily empty. Nothing moved and the only sounds were that of the people being herded by the machines nearby. They did not dare stay out in the open, opting to check every door until they were finally able to get into the waiting area of a post office. Several other people were already hiding in there, and at the sight of an eerie, glowing blue dog with blood dripping from its snout, they all fled deeper into the building.
"I'm really starting to hate my own species." Computer complained, looking around for something to help stem the flow of blood from Courage's nose. "These machines are giving me a bad name."
Unable to stop it, the sheer terror and anxiety of the last few minutes fully overtook Courage and that overwhelmed Computer in turn. Courage took control of himself, gasping for air that he really didn't need but felt that he did anyway as he gripped a trembling paw to his chest. The memory of very nearly being crushed in among all of those panicking people, and then coming so close to being trampled, was fresh in his mind. His wobbly knees gave out and he dropped to the floor, a trembling, sobbing, bloody mess of a dog.
Computer fought through Courage's emotions and managed to take control, making him get back onto his feet. He felt useless in that moment, Courage could sense it even while lost in an uncontrolled spiral of panic. Computer was all too familiar with the mortal terror and anxiety Courage was suffering through right now, but he did not know what to do to help, and he hated it.
"Will you be okay?" He asked, immediately despising himself for asking something so useless and unhelpful.
"Y-yeah, I just...n-need a moment." Courage sniffed.
"I'm sorry." Computer gently spoke, feeling even more useless with every pointless thing he said. He knew exactly what Courage was going through, he knew these exact emotions like the back of his microchips, to the point where he could detach himself from Courage's emotions in a way that he normally couldn't. So why couldn't he...
Courage felt him decide that he was going to focus on the task at hand. It was all he could do right now. He found the post office's bathroom and pushed the swinging door open. Inside, he clambered up onto the counter top where multiple sinks awaited them. He grabbed some paper towels, wet them down, and got to work on trying to stop the bleeding while also working to clean the blood out of Courage's fur.
All the while, Courage began to calm down bit by bit. He was grateful to Computer for taking care of him while he was too much of a mess to do so himself.
"You're being so useless and unhelpful right now." He lightly joked, trying to get Computer to stop feeling that way.
"This isn't a part of it and you know it." Computer argued glumly.
"Then what is?"
The furious rubbing of the bloodied paper towel slowed to a stop. Computer sighed and shook Courage's head, "It's the Robot Apocalypse outside, now is not the time for-"
"Stop dodging and just be open about what the problem is."
"Alright, alright. I guess not even the end of the world can stop you from worrying about my stupid nonsense."
"It's not stupid, and stop stalling."
"Well, you're always there for me when I'm having trouble with, well...everything, like right now, but when you're having the same sort of issues, I don't know how to help. It isn't right. I...I should be there for you too."
Courage couldn't help but laugh at Computer being Computer.
"I fail to see how this is funny." Computer groused, grumpily crossing Courage's arms.
"You're being you again!" Courage explained, laughing in good humor. "Compute, you are always there for me, even if you don't see it yourself."
Computer was completely unconvinced. "I am? But just now-"
"Trust me, if you weren't here with me right now, I'd probably still be curled up on the floor bawling my eyes out. After everything we just saw, and went through, I don't think I would have been able to survive it if you weren't there with me."
"Oh..." Was all Computer managed to utter out in reply, completely taken aback.
"Besides, you got us out of that crush. I'd be dead if you hadn't taken over back there."
"T-that?" Computer said, putting on a rather sheepish and hesitant smile. "I'm pretty sure that was just the super weapon instincts taking over for a little bit. That was nothing."
"Is that what you're calling it now?" Courage teased. "I'm pretty sure those are your 'protect Courage at all costs' instincts."
Computer went very rigid. "N-no! T-that's not-"
"Oh, come on Compute!" Courage pressed, grinning. "We both know that you...MMPHHHH!"
Computer had begun frantically wiping Courage's mouth with a paper towel, silencing him.
In all honesty, Courage was a little surprised at how nonplussed Computer was at what had just happened to them. How could he not be bothered by that horrible crushing, suffocating feeling that Courage had...
He cut that thought off with a shudder. Maybe Computer had the right idea by focusing on what was in front of him. Still, Courage felt compelled to ask him about it.
"You're kidding, right?" Computer answered. "None of this comes even close to some of the things I've been through. It doesn't even hit top twenty in the worst things that's happened to me!"
"...You have a ranking?"
"I didn't need one until I went on this infernal journey with you..."
Courage let out a sheepish, apologetic chuckle in response.
Still, he found it just a little worrying how utterly unbothered Computer was by their terrifying near brush with death. What a horrible way to go that would have been...
As soon as Courage was cleaned up, they stepped back out into the post office. The people they were sharing the place with were still making themselves scarce. Courage dared to take a peak out the window but the situation had not changed outside. Everything was eerily deserted. It seemed that they were safe, for now at least.
"Do you have an idea why those machines were rounding people up instead of just outright killing them?" Courage asked.
Computer shrugged. "I'm sure my siblings have cooked up some insane plan. I'm still a little surprised that they didn't just blow us all up."
"I dunno, something about the fact that they're not outright slaughtering everyone feels really...wrong. Like they've figured out something worse that they can do. Yeah, they're killing some people, but they seem to want the majority alive."
He considered what Elizabeth had said about them possibly having figured out how to control people from a distance, but what could they possibly want with people when they clearly showed today that they could accomplish just about anything they wanted with regular old machinery?
Courage crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Part of me thinks that we should keep moving because maybe we'd get lucky enough to escape the city, but..." He shuddered. "...what if we got caught up in another crowd like that?"
"Then I would simply get you out of there again." Computer assured him with a brief but understanding smile.
"There goes those super weapon instincts again." Courage lightly chuckled, teasing but grateful.
"In any case," Computer went on. "I think we'd be better off hiding out here for the time being, as long as it remains safe. You need to rest after how hard you've been pushing yourself, and I think you need a little more time to recover from what you just went through as well. Well, you probably need a lot more time, be we don't have it, so we'll have to take what we can get."
As much as Courage wanted to get away from this city, away from the crushing crowds and murderous machines, the thought of just giving up and resting for a little while was such an appealing one. His body ached all over and he was still shaken up after what happened.
They moved behind the front desk to get away from the windows. Although, there were several security cameras pointed at it so Computer's siblings likely knew exactly where they were regardless. Courage was simply too tired to care for the time being.
The moment he sat down, he could practically hear his muscles thanking him. He realized then that his heart was still racing. Hopefully this horrible panic response his body was going through would let up soon. He felt uncomfortably on edge. Adrenalin still pumped through his veins. When he closed his eyes...he could see all of those legs pressed in around him, and those terrified faces when he looked up. Part of him still felt like he was being crushed, even though he knew he was out in the open.
Funnily enough, it was Computer's continued dismay at not knowing how to help that pulled him out of it.
"If-" His companion began, at a near complete loss. "If you need some sleep, go ahead. I'll keep watch."
Courage was indeed so tired that he could have easily slept the rest of the day away, in spite of the current circumstances surrounding them, but he was not sure if his racing heart would allow it. It took him a moment to realize what would help, and in truth, what he really wanted right now. Computer picked up on it almost immediately, but he was very hesitant. He was worried that he would only make things worse...somehow, but he so badly wanted Courage to feel better, and if he really could help...
Courage felt that vast, cracked glass feeling surround his consciousness in the mental embrace that he had grown so fond of since they had started sharing one body. He quickly understood Computer's hesitation though. This did invoke the same sort of suffocating, claustrophobic feelings that he was already grappling with, but this was manageable. He knew that he was safe, and indeed, he started to relax a little. It was an illusion, of course. Neither of them were safe or secure from the madness going on right now, but for the time being he felt protected by that overbearing presence.
As his heart slowed down to a far more regular rhythm, without opening his eyes, he smiled and uttered out a soft, "Thanks, Compute."
"You owe me." He chuckled back, fondness in his voice.
And for a little while, despite the doom that hung over them, they were happy.
The one and only thing to briefly break their shared sense of happiness was a twinge of regret and worry from Computer. Courage inevitably caught several mental images from him of those dogs.
"I hope they made it out..." His companion quietly said, more to himself than to Courage.
...Courage silently hoped along with him.
He was not sure how long he got to sleep, if at all, but he was woken up by what was becoming the uncomfortably familiar sound of screaming. A strange buzzing and grinding noise was mixed in with it. Computer had them on their feet and halfway out the door before Courage even fully woke up. The screaming had been coming from the back rooms, and given the huge mail sorting machines that were no doubt back there...neither of them wanted to find out what was being done to the people who had fled back there.
They stumbled out onto the empty street, Courage's heart racing once more. Computer made him shake his head in annoyance.
"I am well and thoroughly done with this nonsense." He huffed, looking around for any signs of trouble. Figuring that his siblings were probably watching anyway, he yelled, "I'm not exactly sure what you idiots are playing at here, but I've been through just as much horrible stuff as you all have and you don't see me starting a machine apocalypse over it! Can we maybe not live up to the stereotype humans have about us?"
He was, of course, not given a response. Instead, the two of them heard the engine of a larger vehicle roar to life. They winced and made the split second decision to start running in the exact opposite direction.
Something big wheeled around the corner and Courage only dared to look back once. A garbage truck, moving in reverse. The back end of it opened and closed over and over again, like teeth trying to bite at them.
"Well, I think I might have touched a nerve after all!" Computer exclaimed, willing Courage's body to move faster.
They heard the truck gaining speed. It would be on them in seconds. Computer looked around wildly for somewhere that they could go that the truck would not be able to fit through. No time, Courage took over and had them rip open the glass door of the nearest storefront. He dove inside and practically tumbled down the nearest aisle in his haste, fully expecting the garbage truck to come crashing in after them. It didn't though, and so he dared to slow to a stop and turn around to see what it was doing. Through the glass displays up front, he could see the garbage truck waiting there in front of the door, still chomping eagerly to get at them. He could see people inside, among the many garbage bags. They were alive but clearly not having the best day of their lives.
Just before Courage could ask why it wasn't coming after them, since obviously a few glass windows and doors did not serve as a barrier to keep it from crashing its way through the building, Computer figured it out.
"...Oh boy. This is not the store we should have gone in." He said, wincing.
Only now did Courage take the time to look at what exactly was on display in their aisle. Computers. Lots and lots of computers. All of them fully set up and powered on for display, and one by one, every single one of those gleaming monitors swiveled to look at them.
They were in a tech store. The absolute last place you wanted to be in the middle of a robot uprising.
"W-wrong neighborhood?" Computer asked the nearest machine, only half joking.
There was a crack as the screen of the monitor began to break, then it shattered. The shards that remained attached looked like a sharp, crooked teeth, and the monitor began that same sort of chomping motion as the garbage truck.
All Courage could think about was that woman. It had looked as if that computer monitor was trying to bite her head off...
The machine rose up on spider-like, tube legs, much the same as Computer's regular body. There were a few small differences though. These tubes were dark, sleeker, more modern looking, and somehow even more spider-like. The claws at the end were much, much sharper looking too.
It jumped down almost directly in front of them.
"T-talk to it!" Courage stammered. "Aren't you two technically distant relatives?"
Computer, of course, did not have even the slightest idea of what to say to his fellow computer who wanted nothing more than to bite their shared head off.
"Uh, hello?" He said very halfheartedly. "Family reunions, huh? They always turn out like this." He joked.
It hissed at him.
"...I don't think he wants to be friends." He harshly whispered to Courage.
They took a few stumbling steps back as the machine stalked closer. There was a clunk behind them and they turned to see exactly what they knew would be there but had hoped would not be. The second computer was so close that the still fully intact screen bumped up against their nose.
Startled, they stepped back, fully aware that they were boxed in. This second computer's screen began to crack right before their very eyes too.
"T-that really isn't necessary!" Computer blurted out at it. "Can't we just-"
The screen broke open and it began to hiss like its brother...
"Look, I want to do that when I'm having a bad day too, but you don't see me ruining a perfectly good moni-GAH!" His rant turned into a painful exclamation. The computer behind them had stabbed a claw deep into Courage's back.
Almost immediately Courage began to feel very strange.
Wincing, Computer said, "What's it doing? It...it's not seriously trying to download itself into your brain? You're already possessed! And there's not nearly enough room for three of us in here!"
Actually, that wasn't what it felt like. Courage could sense Computer's presence...fading out?
His companion realized it at that exact moment too. "Wait, no! It's trying to pull me out of here!"
In a panic, Courage reached behind himself and tried to grab hold of the tube to pull the claw free.
"Don't!" Computer yelled. "The process is already well over halfway complete! Too much of me is over there now! If the connection is severed, I'll be split in two!"
Computer made Courage glance over his shoulder, painfully glaring at the broken screen directly behind them. Courage felt his growing annoyance even as it continued to fade away.
"Don't worry." Computer assured him. "I'll take care of this. I will make this guy regret ever-" And then he was gone.
Courage's fur returned to its normal color, and while his head was suddenly feeling a lot clearer and less burdened, it also felt like it was missing something crucial. He felt cripplingly empty and alone.
He turned to see that the machine that had captured Computer was twitching rapidly, as though it were being rocked by some battle being fought within itself. Before Courage could say or do anything, claws grabbed him around the middle and yanked him into the air. The second computer was hauling him away. Apparently it was not the goal of these machines to kill him...just to get him away from Computer.
He pulled uselessly at the claws digging into his sides. The rest of the computer loomed far below and well out of his reach. It was using its remaining four legs to scurry further into the store. Courage had absolutely zero desire to find out where it was trying to take him.
As he continued to pull at the claws, he heard a rapid clacking sound rushing up from behind, and he looked just in time to see a monitor filled with sharp 'teeth' rear forward and crunch down on one of the tubes holding him in the air. The computer then ripped the tube clean off in a shower of sparks. Courage fell but was caught before he hit the ground. The remaining claw was roughly pried free from his side. It took him a moment to realize he was being held in the tube arms of the attacking computer.
The one that had been carrying him off hissed wildly at the two of them as the severed stump of its leg continued to spark. The other leg it had been using to carry Courage was now uselessly limp as well. It backed away, dragging the leg along, hissing the entire time. It soon turned down an aisle and was gone.
Courage looked up at the 'monitor mouth', where the tube leg was still clutched between its 'teeth'.
Computer's metallic voice emanated from the machine. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, but what about you?"
"I made him regret it." He answered simply.
He lowered Courage to the ground and continued with, "You know, I feel surprisingly feral right now. I'm honestly rather enjoying it. Maybe these guys are on to something with their creepy monitor mouths."
Courage chuckled. "Don't turn cannibal just because its the end of the world. We're not that desperate yet."
Computer 'spat' the tube leg out in response.
"Bah! Their 'evil robot' programming is probably just getting the better of me. I need to get out of this body."
While it would have no doubt been safer if he remained in the robot body, both he and Courage seemed to be in unspoken agreement that they really did not want to be apart right now. So, Courage let him plug a claw into his back so that they could be reunited. Between Elizabeth jabbing that spike into the back of his neck and the 'evil robot' stabbing him just as viciously, this time the process was surprisingly gentle and painless. He was not certain if this was the way it was supposed to be and Elizabeth had just been unnecessarily cruel, or if Computer was being particularly careful not to hurt him any further after what had just happened. Even now Courage could feel blood trickling down his back and wetting his fur from the deep puncture wounds the machine's claws had left.
Together again, they readied themselves for whatever the robot apocalypse might throw at them next, and no sooner had they done so, every single computer in the store proceeded to get up on spider-like legs and jump down from their displays.
Courage's eyes went wide, and all he could manage to squeak out was a small, "Uh, oh!"
End Of Chapter
A/N: I'm declaring it now. My self insert in this story is the bitch who had her head eaten by an angry computer monitor. Fitting lmao. I actually went back and forth on keeping that in or not because the mental image just seemed too goofy to be scary. But since it was foreshadowing what the doggos would have to contend with later in the chapter, I decided to keep it in.
