TCB: Chapter 4: A Moment Of Recreation
[Nowhere Ruins]
(Mad Dog's Control = 1 Point) - (Katz's Control = Zero)
Before we march into our current status of our beloved courageous heroes of the wasteland, let's not forget to recap so far the past events that has been causing the brigade so much trouble to survive and restore peace at the very least. Hopefully in more explicit details that shouldn't be enough to spoil the future cost.
In particular, Courage the cowardly dog as we know is changed a lot, even though he doesn't admit it or he's too afraid to face the truth since the meteor strike and the Bagge's funeral. Nobody expects a war for love being pretty, but when insanity strikes over someone that loses so many things or people they used to love and share life through years repeatedly, that respective 'someone' becomes depressive or even worse, a vicious killer looking for redemption.
Luckily Courage is two-faced, while he still has the same cowardly personality from the outside, deep inside his soul is still broken with thoughts of the past life infected in his mind. If those thoughts were shattered during the meteor strike making the dog amnesic, let's just say that, ...not even his own remaining friends would have lived by now. Which is why this is the true meaning of a wardog enemy who is worshiping a twisted doberman like Mad Dog, or a warcat to Katz.
When an animal or human is unable to remember anything from before the disaster, once it is awaken, could be confused, neutral or straight evil, depending on how that living being is raised, rescued or kidnapped by an enemy who's in the same state but with greater purpose. Or a fellow friendly survivor looking for answers they ask themselves, if it's worth to be given a second chance in life.
What has the Courageous Brigade done so far, was to save the remaining survivors and explore new locations formed up after the apocalypse, until they reach their final destination of tracking down their arch-enemy, Mad Dog. And apparently Courage's condition couldn't get any much worse than before. Seeing how his sanity dropped radically when he faced the giant spider, and chilled afterwards by the thoughts of his lost owners, confirms that this could be the only way to snap out of rage.
But that was without a doubt by luck since the dog heard Muriel's whisper in his dream beforehand. If this never happened at the beginning, Shirley would've been finished, or Scarecrow would've had no choice but to hurt Courage, responding with violence back in Katz's warcat bunker. Fortunately this wasn't the case, cause surprisingly Courage's past memories never died after the disaster. As his cowardly brave soul still remains warm as his heart of fire from his inner... demonic persona installed which became one with the dog. According to Shirley, this was the source of his raging insanity, triggered by the sensation of losing everything he loved the most. His parents, his belongings, his owners and now having the fear of losing his friends left during the end of the world. These are the marks that won't ever be brushed off Courage's fur.
How much a dog can bear is way too exhausting... One way or another, Courage would have to hear the truth himself about his hidden pain formed. His other friends no doubt will support him no matter the cost. They all had to stay united cause separating themselves in these hostile wastelands is definitely not a good idea. Only Computer and Hunchback never seen the dog rage in full pose so far, but that doesn't mean their time won't come in which they wish they shouldn't. Even though the machine knows less from the medium's discovery, the brigade decides to not bring up panic to Courage's "good side"... yet.
With that out of way, we return back to our current story.
It was still night time. The low sound of bell ringing coming from outside, made Courage to wake up again from his sleep inside the van. He finds out that nobody else was in the vehicle except him. Courage sat up looking around until he noticed a light coming through the window.
"Huh? Bells?" The dog perked his left ear up and recognized the sound, it could be Hunchback playing with his bell cane. Not only he heard the bell playing but he sensed also a sweet cooking smell.
The dog got up from his mattress and headed towards the window where the ongoing light lit up the van inside. Outside his friends pulled over and set up a campfire next to another huge boulder, while in the horizon, the sight of Mount Nowhere can be seen. They are so close of getting out of Nowhere Ruins!
Courage then went over and popped his head out from the rear van's curtain, looking at Scarecrow and Bigfoot sitting on old rusty car wreckage cooking their meal. It was dead lizard meat hanging on top of the fire like barbeque with some cans of dog food on the side next to campfire. Hunchback kept playing with his bell in form of a music to keep the mood up, even though one bell didn't seem to work out in changing music notes. While Scarecrow was cooking, Bigfoot kept whispering his lost owner "Mommy..." as he was looking around in pain and sadness beside his meal.
Courage felt the big monster's pain after seeing him all curled up warming himself to the fire, therefor he hops out of the van and joins his friends.
"Courage! You're awake!" Scarecrow shouted and relieved to see him back to normal.
"Hey guys, what'cha doing? Barbeque time?" the pink dog smiled at the sight of this and sits down next to Bigfoot. The monster gave him a happy glance for a change, even though he was horrified by Courage's transformation last time except for Hunchback and Computer.
"Pretty much." Dashboard Computer spoke."There was no sign of hostile activity for a few good hours since we almost cleaned up most of the land, therefor your friends decided to stop for a break and cook sacrificed reptiles. Which seems to be out of ordinary and disgusting to me. That monster with hairy feet captured the so called 'dinner'." The machine argued. Courage rolled his eyes.
Hunchback stopped playing, then Scarecrow said, "Don't worry Courage, if you don't like it you can always eat dog food only instead." and Bigfoot nodded. However the dog still had an empty stomach after he felt sick and eliminated everything out. Courage couldn't resist the smell of that barbeque even when he seemed to be disgusted by the lizard, the cooking smell was actually quite pleasing and similar of a roasted chicken.
"I can actually.. try it, i want to lay off of dog food for a while." In these hard times, everyone including Courage had to get used to with what they could find and eat, and the dog cannot take a "no" for an answer if survival was critical for their lives.
Courage then noticed somebody was missing, Shirley. The dog perked his ears and eyes up widen from the campfire and looks around for the medium. He sees her sitting on top of the boulder gazing the mountain and the sky covered by smoke clouds, just a few steps away from their camp place. But the source from that smoke was coming straight from atop of the mountain. Courage scratched his head confused.
"Isn't Shirley coming to eat with us?" Courage asked.
"Miss medium... said... she's not hungry... and wanted to... be alone for a bit." Hunchback told.
Scarecrow then rotated the lizard meat impaled on the stick until it was completely fried and ready for dinner. The lizard has quite actually a decent size almost long as a medium snake. Not too long and not too short. It was skinned alive and decapitated leaving only torso flesh to be consumed and it's tail was long enough to satisfy the rest of the hunger.
"Are you okay?" Courage asked Bigfoot with concern. The big guy was half hungry and half traumatized by the past events. Bigfoot nodded as if he was indeed alright but Courage knew he wasn't.
"Your name's Theodore, right? That's how your... mommy called you." Courage remembered Bigfoot's name back when the angry mob was about to raid the farmhouse until his adoptive mother called him out.
Bigfoot again nodded in agreement with a huge smile on his face and hugged Courage. The dog smiled too that he wasn't squished to death this time by Bigfoot's hugging strength. Courage's smile turned back to sad face telling, "I'm.. i'm sorry but.. who knows. Maybe i'm sure your mommy is still out there looking after you."
Courage's thoughts simply was in a metaphoric state. Meaning that Bigfoot's mother could have not survived just like his owners. So he said it in a way that could not stress out Bigfoot. The big monster then released him looking at Courage like he was the best friend he ever had after giving Bigfoot positive and optimistic thoughts.
"Aren't you... hungry?" Hunchback asked Scarecrow.
"No. I don't eat." he replied. Making the old man worried he asked again, "But you... never tried... at least once?"
"I don't have a stomach." He was made out of hays obviously. "Even if i eat there is nowhere the food should go.."
"How are you alive then?" dashboard Computer insisted in asking more about Scarecrow. "Was it by a magical fairy?" He giggled.
"No. I was... just a normal scarecrow. Lifeless, bitten by crows and forgotten. Until Muriel fixed me with all of her love and care, it gave me a new life to experience."
"I helped you too. You must have had an owner who created you or parents like you said once." Courage told. "Do you remember... anything about it?"
"Sadly no, it's been such a long time." Scarecrow looked down trying to remember how he was made and given life in the first place. "I don't know how old i am either." Bigfoot and Hunchback looked at him with concern too. "My family was bad enough to abandon me cause i couldn't scare anything..."
"And you thought being bad enough like them for people to fear you, would have been the solution." Courage reminded him about their first encounter.
"I was terribly wrong..." Scarecrow rested his head forward on his palm hands. He remembered nonetheless that crows were still is weakness of being chewed to pieces, despite being turned bad 'in a good way this time'. Courage felt the urge of apologizing to Scarecrow for calling out the crows back then to attack him but he decided not to.
"It's alright..." The dog added. "You don't have to tell more. Only matters now is how much we can survive through this." Courage's eyes were darken. "Yet, you still have that overprotective instinct of yours!" the dog smiled and gave his friend some heads up. "And Muriel was right. Your time of 'scaring' bad guys away from us has already arrived." Even though Courage knew that Scarecrow went too far of punching the dog and Eustace out of the farmhouse to protect Muriel, the dog still accepts him with the fact, that he still lives to his full potential and trust.
"Really?" Scarecrow raised his head up glancing at Courage.
"For sure! We are all here right? Still alive and unharmed, thanks to you!" the dog cheered him up.
"Thank you, Courage." He smiled and felt honored for once. Bigfoot and Hunchback glanced at each other happily.
"How emotional, and pathetic." Dashboard Computer told. The others except for Shirley, gave him a frown look.
"Wait..." Courage turned his head looking at their vehicle calling out his Computer."How come you can still talk? Your engine is stopped."
"Twit, i told you that i have unlimited battery juice thanks to my circuits connected to it. When i run out of gas, then i'll be shut down and i cannot talk. But i can hear everything instead. Don't tell me your organic brain has melt down after the disaster too. " Computer told as he turned on and off the only van's headlight for demonstration.
"Oh... well, how do you feel being a vehicle than a computer for a change?" The dog asked knowing his sarcastic friend didn't seem to like his new life on 4 wheels.
"Beside the horrible taste of fuel running through my circuits, even if it feels quite energizing which i admit it that is a new sensation i never felt before, it's a miracle that my main processor wasn't reduced to rumble by the sheer collisions made during the journey. How did that hay-made humanoid incorporated me into the farmer's truck is beyond my knowledge. Personally i would have returned inside my own computer body if it was still intact. At least i no longer have to live in that boring attic for years straight."
"Hehe, hey at least instead of a keyboard, you got yourself some radio tuning keys." Courage giggled. 'If music still exists around that is..' He thought with his eyes hooded.
"Very funny. We're in the middle of nowhere pretty much destroyed and the only thing i would hardly believe is music still being a thing existing." Computer told. "I suppose you have a good plan once we reach our final destination considering that almost everything is now dead?"
Courage's mind certainly went to the fact that he wants to recover the only family pictures Mad Dog stole to mock Courage, but true to its nature of not relying on violence even though he is affected with a plague of fury, and the disaster depression, he was unsure how to defeat the wardog lord. His friends knew what to do already, they were going to recover their own stolen goods too and liberate the wasteland of enemies for poor survivors to live in peace.
But a plan was required. They also had the warcats on their tail, but the brigade never came in contact with Katz yet. The wardog lord and the red feline both plagued Courage's thoughts. Since the insects he had met so far were very iconic to Katz, confirms that the feline is still alive, and having a bunch of warcats following his leadership couldn't get any much worse. The brigade has to face two different types of enemies, and this will surely slow down their quest.
"Uhh... Dog?" Hunchback called him out of thoughts.
"Oh. Uh I don't know..." Courage scratches his head. "Let's just focus now on our dinner." he left a bit of hunger drool. "I don't wanna think of anything for a while. I'm... I'm too scared of what Mad Dog might do to me or how am i going to deal with him. I might lose it again..." He whimpered.
"Courage... you're not... alone." Hunchback told despite the fact he hasn't seen Courage's beast mode in action. And Bigfoot pats the dog's head.
"We'll claim back what is ours." Scarecrow added. "And this troublesome dog will regret it."
"And hopefully i won't be reduced into a tricycle, considering that it's a long way to go, given by your inexplicably determination and coordinates." Computer said.
"What did that... monster took away... from you?" Hunchback asked.
Courage ultimately stands up looking at the fire with an expression on his face that almost made him cry. "Mad Dog has something... that belongs to me. Muriel and the farmer's wedding photo. And a picture of my parents..." The dog shed tears.
"Do they mean that very much to you? They're just some printed pictures after all." Dashboard Computer just made his most stupid mistake ever talking back to Courage.
"Just some pictures?" the dog gave the machine an annoying look "Computer, how could you be such a jerk?" He tries not to snap again.
"No hard feelings, kid. But i'm incapable of understanding such emotion towards mementoes that may still be or not intact."
"It is called a memento for a reason!" Courage growled. "I don't have anything else left from the farm besides you and the photo. Of course you cannot understand, cause you never had a family before!" The dog was about to snap again making his friends nervous.
"As if i would ever need one, how do we know if Mad Dog hasn't even turned them to shreds by now before we reach him?" Now the Computer gave Courage a negative thought enraging the dog more.
"COMPUTER!" He screamed while tearing down on his muzzle.
Shirley turns her head around from looking at the mountain, giving a death stare at the van in the distance after hearing Courage's screaming. Scarecrow wasn't taking any of it, he sits up and walks over towards the van frustrated, opens up the hood and...
"He-hey what, was it something i said-" Dashboard Computer gets shut down immediately.
... as Scarecrow takes out the battery leaving Computer's circuits hanging. He opens up the driver's door and throws the battery inside the cabin as he slams the door back and the hood down.
How could that machine ever say something like that since the family photos were the only things that kept Courage sane and happy, as they were the only things ever to be witnessed, after the disaster?
"Oooooh..." Courage was trying to hold up his tears but he felt on the edge seeing his computer being disconnected forcefully due to his attitude.
"There, there, Courage calm down." Scarecrow came back patting the dog too while Bigfoot growled looking at the van. Hunchback shook his head and Courage was almost beginning to cry more instead, replacing the rage that was forming.
"That blabbermouth never knows when to shut up. Let's hope none of that has happened." Scarecrow told as he sits back down angered at the campfire. Shirley's expression returned back to normal, she turns her head around again.
Courage was wiping out his tears until Hunchback added: "If that machine... was a living being... he would've knew... how does it feel... of losing... someone you loved the most." That statement made Bigfoot nodding in agreement while looking at Courage with concern. The pink dog lays down on the wreckage next to Bigfoot looking at the fire again.
"So you two met this troublesome dog in a prison? That freak did this to you?" Scarecrow was trying to understand better Courage's eye scar and Hunchback's little story before they met Scarecrow.
"Well..." Courage sat up back slowly. "It wasn't actually a prison at all but it sure resembled like one." He was beginning to regain back his fearful thoughts "And no, this was from a wardog's claw when i tried to find Muriel and the farmer... After what Mad Dog told me about his setup..." and the dog tries to take a deep breath not to get mad on what he was about to say "...and tortured me, his other dogs threw me in a cold cell and that's where i met him." He points out to Hunchback as the old man nods.
Bigfoot was all eyes and ears listening. Shirley barely even listens from the distance, but it was so quiet she had no problem going along with the story.
"I got captured... when i tried to... reach for the church..." Hunchback told. But that left everyone including Courage all perked up. "They dragged me inside and... i rested a few days before... i met this little dog again. They... never questioned me anything."
"A church?" Courage raised an eyebrow. "We never had one in Nowhere before." He was scratching his chin. Bigfoot and Scarecrow looked at each other confused.
"Wrong..." Hunchback replied. "It existed once... before it has been abandoned... and i always worked there... good people came to pray... doing weddings... funerals... and my job was to ring the tower bell... on each occasion. I had no... other home, than the old church tower..." Hunchback looked down in sadness remembering his past.
"Oooohh." Courage tries to show sympathy for the old man. "What happened then?"
"Creepy things happened in Nowhere lately..." The old man told giving Courage an approval nod. "Everyone were now... scared to visit... leaving me all alone in the holy church... until it became vandalized and ruined... and the Mayor decided to... destroy it many years ago..." Hunchback was looking at his only bell left hanging by his cane.
"I took away all the bells... before they were... bringing my home down. And i ran away..."
Courage, Bigfoot and Scarecrow had their jaws dropped without words until Courage shook his head and asked him, "But, how did you survive the meteor strike then?"
Hunchback giggled, and replied, "Under the bell." He waved his arms in the form of a giant bell. Then Courage with his eyes widen, remembered the old man also owned a giant bell bigger than himself and the dog, when Hunchback left the farm. For protection, but with a force such as the meteor shock wave, it pretty much destroyed it. At least it saved Hunchback's life.
So Hunchback was once a church bell ringer for Nowhere's special occasions each time people came to pray or organize events during his youth. Without any business and his only home got ruined even before the apocalypse, he became a hobo while his passion for playing with bells remained forever. It must have been so hard for the old man to go through this all by himself. But now everything is destroyed, how could the church still be intact after the disaster?
"Wow, and the acrobatic skills?" Courage was eager to hear more while his friends were almost finished with cooking the lizard meat.
"Somebody had to... maintain the tower... and the church. The place was so big... with lots of chains... painted walls... and ladders... Everything had to be done... fast before starting each event. It's how i taught myself... " Hunchback started coughing and clears his throat after too much talking.
"And nobody ever witnessed your work?" Courage wanted to make the situation clear. Hunchback shook his head meaning he wasn't given much credit for all of his work, all he ever wished was his precious bells having with him all the time, as a reminder of his well spent youth.
"Okay Courage, let's leave our old friend regaining back his breath." Scarecrow said and smiled while looking at the dog nodding. Courage apologized, "I'm sorry i made you talk a lot, i hope you don't mind showing us where this church was at least?"
Hunchback waved his arms showing that it was no problem, then he grabbed his bell cane and aimed it towards Mount Nowhere. Courage and his friends looked at the sight of it and it surely was reduced to rumble and height as well. The dog couldn't help but remember how he used to go there in order to find a spring for Muriel's back pain... and the goat guardian. Perhaps Courage didn't explored the whole place entirely back then, believing nothing else could have existed.
After a few coughes, Hunchback gained back his own will to talk, but he got interrupted by Bigfoot, starting to talk gibberish language again. He puts his little arms in form of horns on his head giving a vicious look on his face. Courage tries to understand him.
"Huh?" What are you trying to say?" The dog's eyes are widen seeing the big guy acting like a goat.
Courage then figured it out. Bigfoot must have met the last goat guardian of the spring asking, "You, you knew that white goat too?" in which Bigfoot nodded lowering his hands with a smile on his face.
"Just how far have you been running away from your home?" Courage shook his head while he chuckled.
"Dinner's ready." Scarecrow finished cooking the lizard. Everyone except for himself, Computer and Shirley, were famished.
Just a few minutes later as Courage, Hunchback and Bigfoot were eating, Scarecrow went back to the van and reinserted the battery back under the hood, reawakening Computer once more. The pink dog certainly liked a bit of peace in his mind for once without further arguments with the machine, but after a while it felt so quiet even more, so he told Scarecrow to switch him back on.
Courage was about to have again an argument nonetheless with Computer from that little setback about pictures, but the machine knows his ways when to limit himself from wasting too much energy therefor he goes to idle mode whenever he needs to 'rest' from all that talking. Scarecrow and Shirley on the other hand, had the urge of scolding the machine for his attitude but they didn't, knowing from Courage, that's how he was programmed.
Dashboard Computer quoted after he was switched back on by Scarecrow, "I suppose i deserved that?" making the hay soldier not amused. He didn't said a word as he removed his red boxing gloves, checking his hay-made hands from all those punches made by now. Computer then decided to go idle mode, not buying his ignorance.
Meanwhile, the taste of lizard meat was, even though unbelievable, quite acceptable. Not very tasty but every bit of decent food was crucial for survival. Bigfoot seemed to like it the most, while the old man and Courage ate it slowly due to their conditions. The dog's stomach had issues and Hunchback for being old and slow eater.
It was almost midnight now. Scarecrow was sitting on top of the van guarding the brigade as they were getting ready for sleep. They had to prepare themselves for their last location before leaving Nowhere Ruins. The campfire was still going, as we now see Shirley sitting next to it warming herself alone. She didn't ate, nor talked with her friends, for good minutes long which it was downright strange.
Courage went out of the van to put out the fire, but he sees the medium still standing there so the dog decides to leave it. Courage hesitated at first to ask Shirley about her mood, instead he pulled out some dinner leftovers in case she felt hungry again.
"Hey, aren't you hungry?" He asked while holding the leftovers to her.
"No, i'm good." Shirley was still staring at the firepit. Her expression remained similar of a person who hasn't slept in ages, without food.
"But you look so tired and you must eat something!" Courage insisted.
"Dog, please. Get that thing. Away from me." Her eyes glanced angrily then at Courage's plate of lizard meat as she talked with an annoyed tone.
Courage gulped and shivered in fear believing Shirley doesn't like that at all, so he puts it away. He came up with an alternative choice, cheering her up possibly.
"O-Okay, h-how about some of this?" he reached for the can of dog food and puts it beside her.
She looks at it a few seconds and this time the medium tries to show him some kindness. Shirley grabs it, and with single paw nail acting like a can opener, she opens it but chews the food very slowly. Courage tries to see what's wrong with her all of a sudden.
"Is everything... alright?" he asks.
She didn't replied, although Shirley was on the urge of telling Courage the truth about his condition, beside the only theory the pink dog could swallow. As much as she never liked to lie, it was better off sooner than later before anything could affect Courage more.
"Courage..." she spoke. "If i tell you something, will you promise not to scream?"
The pink hound was now confused but also nervous about what she was about to say, he nodded nonetheless keeping his promise. Shirley sighed, and began to talk.
"Remember when you were fighting that spider?"
"Y-yes..." Courage gulped. "But, then i don't know or how i woke up back in the van... you guys rescued me, right?" He placed his paws on his head figuring out what happened.
"Yes, and there's more. You almost took its life." Shirley puts down her can of food. "I tried to locate the source of your unstable raging state while you were passed out, and i am afraid that your condition is something that..." she sighes again "...no antidote on this charcoal of a planet can fix you."
Courage's heart was pounding very fast after hearing that it might not sound good, he then proceeds to ask Shirley more.
"What... what is it then? An infection? A disease? ... " the dog was shivering now his entire fur of fear.
"A demon." Shirley finally freaked out Courage as his eyes got widen and his jaw dropped.
The pink hound was struggling not to scream in hopes of not awakening his other friends already asleep except for Scarecrow, but he didn't seem to listen to Shirley and Courage's conversation, and Computer was in idle mode still. The machine knew already.
"Why... Why is this all happening to me?" Courage began to cry instead. "Can't i get rid of this 'demon' somehow?!" his tears were all over his eyes while he grabbed his ears in despair.
"Courage, I am sorry but this is a natural cause. You haven't got bitten, infected or injured much worse than you are." Shirley tries to calm him down. "We all are born with different types of emotions that could get out of control once in a while. Even myself, but i had nothing left to desire more besides helping people with being stupid or cursing them."
"B-b-but... what about me? What is wrong with me?! Did i even hurt any of you while i had this demon within me? Is this thing going to put me down? Please!" The dog begged for an accurate answer, forcing the medium to sit up and reaches for Courage to slap some sense into his muzzle. Courage shouldn't rely on depressive thoughts all of a sudden since he was the one after all who has united his friends. The pink hound was bracing himself for that and...
SLAP!
"Keep it together, dog! You are not going to die already!" Shirley snapped. Then she realized what she has done after seeing him rubbing his cheek in pain and shedding tears.
"Courage... I... I am... " her eyes got widen without words. "I am so sorry..." she drooped her ears and paw she slapped with, and her expression faded from anger to sheer sadness. She turns around not looking at Courage as she felt guilt for that.
"Shirley... I'm the one who should be sorry. I think we're all gone crazy. That makes us even." he patted her back slowly. "If it's true what you said, i'll try and... do my best to control it." The dog then looks up at Scarecrow, he was watching them for a few seconds then looks at the other way around. His expression hasn't changed in a bit.
It was only natural that the past events since the apocalypse has affected even the entire brigade physically making each character doing some unusual things they aren't commonly seen to do. The gypsy never thought she would slap some sense into Courage while he's also affected by his own self-emotions gone awry. Then again the pink hound tries to compensate towards the medium, to show he is not going to give up that easily.
"Thank you for telling me now than never... It could've been worse if i didn't knew in the wrong place in a wrong time.. I... I needed that."
Shirley turns her head slightly to peek him from under her blue hood and began to talk again softly this time, but without control on her speech since she was surprised his rage hasn't been triggered from that slap.
"Dog... this demon.. is a part of your soul formed up from too many shattered emotions after losing what you loved the most... Your Muriel and the stupid one are dead... what else have you lost?"
"My parents... My yo-yo... and now i'm scared of losing you guys too." The dog told. "You're the only 'family' i have left on this world..." His scarred eye hardly even shed a tear since it was damaged.
"Courage... i hope you understand that all things end just like it did on this world, for some of us who survived, our time will come too one way or another..." Shirley looks down at the campfire about to extinguish, describing exactly what she was about to say. "We are not going to live forever."
"It was you, who brought us hope on this burnt out rock, you may not admit it, but we wouldn't be united again without your courageous deed, dog." she continued.
Courage felt relieved now after what she said even though his cheek still hurts a bit, but he was still feeling bad for going out of control like that early despite his condition. He smiled at least.
"I suppose. How did i even went back to normal? I thought for sure i would never control my own fury once i become... a monster." He asked in fear.
"It is what i thought too." She told. "My only guess, is your memories."
"Huh?" Courage was confused.
"You absolutely don't remember anything once fury takes control over you, until something from your past memories is triggered at the same time within present time."
"Sort of like... Deja-vu?"
"Eerr.. something like that, yes."
"It was Muriel! I heard her for sure in my dream before anything of that happened! Then i heard her again, i don't know when but it's like she's still with me!" Courage perked up now knowing what's going on with him. "But you lost a lot of things too, Shirley. Why aren't you or the other folks affected like me?"
"We are all different like i said." she sighed and closed her eyes. "Look dog, i better go sleep now, we can talk about it again next time. Good night..." Shirley sits up and goes inside the van leaving Courage alone, since she was very tired to continue on. The dog was now left in thoughts memorizing everything the medium said.
The campfire went out and cold night air started to take effect. Scarecrow went inside now the van's cabin still not sleeping. Computer suddenly spoke to Courage before the dog was about to head inside to sleep.
"Dog?" The machine called out.
"Yes, Computer?" Courage turns his head around facing the van's front side.
Courage was expecting an endless argument between him and the Computer since he was forcefully shut down by Scarecrow, however surprisingly that moment never came as he simply said, "Good night... and be careful."
The dog never could believe that Computer would still care about him despite his attitude, either because the machine had enough for today or he heard everything from Shirley before he goes back to idle mode. Courage couldn't help but smile and replied too.
"Good night too, Computer." he finally reached inside.
Inside the van, Bigfoot and Shirley fell asleep already. Hunchback on the other hand waited for Courage to get inside, still awake.
"I thought you would be the first person to sleep." Courage told the old man.
"Hehehe..." he giggled. "I'm not that... very weak." he lays himself down on the mattress. They both whispered a little chit-chat not waking up the others, before they both fall asleep too.
"Hey, do you think... this church is still intact? Maybe we'll run into it tomorrow and I'd like to visit it." Courage felt excited as he leans down on his mattress too.
"Yes" the old man nodded. "And it's not vacant either..." He remembered that's where he got captured by wardogs then moved into that prison. Courage's excitement lowered down when his expression turned to worries and fear. He shook his head considering it was to be expected.
Finally they both fell asleep. The courageous brigade spent the rest of the night hidden themselves behind the boulder, far away from any roads they would believe that any enemy may pass by and expose them. Their last destination before leaving Nowhere Ruins was obviously Mount Nowhere and with that occasion they will visit Hunchback's long lost church claimed as his home. In any worse scenario it would look definitely in ruins as well.
Hopefully the wardogs have left that place since their encounter with Hunchback, but the brigade has their own doubts. Even when the mountain seems to be heavily affected as well by the meteor impact, the endless smoke emanating from atop of the mountain could mean that its still occupied, or it has turned more likely into a volcano. All these theories remained unconfirmed. Until their next adventure awaiting.
No enemy camps have been captured or destroyed during this chapter.
[Nowhere Ruins]
(Mad Dog's Control = 1 Point) - (Katz's Control = Zero)
...
Katzville
(formerly known as Nashville) located between Kansas and Washington.
...
We now see a new city built out of tons of scrap laid upon already crumbled down buildings and skyscrapers. Trees were already covered with warcats, the black shattered windows from each building seen on the horizon of Katzville were lit up by the Sun's reflection. And the unending purring sound made the entire land recognizable for cats.
"Boss, we lost him..." one of warcats told to Katz.
"Lost who?" The red feline asked.
"The pink mutt." warcat shivered in fear.
"I thought i told you idiots, not to do any harm to Courage. Didn't i made myself clear?" he finally stood out of darkness.
Katz was shown covered with bandages around his lower torso, wearing a white headband covering his injures, and also holding a backpack on his back. His left arm was replaced by a robotic one with razor-sharp claws that could pierce through metal and flesh. His yellow eyes were menacing as ever.
"Just what happened back in Nowhere?" The red cat asked.
"Me and another guy, we were resting in our bunker below the diner, until we heard the entrance gate noise. It was there, the dog you told us about. We didn't knew he would come, and our spider pet went after him quickly..."
"You let one of my precious loves... LOOSE UPON COURAGE?!" Katz was ready to shred the neck of his loyal warcat in fury.
"P-please! Let me explain! The dog was a monster! We barely went out ourselves alive!"
"...A monster...? How is that?" Katz began to lower his anger.
"It was little.. pink.. killing machine... We then chased after him once they left. My buddy didn't make it. And i thought we could bring him to you, if you wanted him so much. But- but- but-.."
"Interesting... But what?"
"The minefield, was cleared out." The warcat finished reporting the casualties.
"I don't care about it! And since you, my fellow followers, are all eager to hear my plan..." Katz was surrounded by the crowd of warcats all ears and purring for they were eager to hear their next move.
"...All i want is, for Courage to clear out Mad Dog's dirt, then we can overtake the land for us. We won't have to deal with any wardogs. No bloodbath would be necessarily once Mad Dog will be defeated..."
The warcat was now stunned hearing Katz's real plan. "...For those of you still wandering the wasteland, you can eliminate his friends instead. Once the dog has defeated our arch-enemy, i will personally deal with Courage after i truly thank him for his 'heroic deed'..." he snapped his metallic claws.
"You know, boss, i don't think he can free the land all by himself..."
"One more reason, to make him suffering a lot once his friends are dealt with. And if you truly say that he is a monster, i will look after him myself as well to confirm your theory." Then Katz's attention was moved towards his garage.
Suddenly two huge double-gates opened up by the warcats. Lights lit up Katz's personal garage revealing his own personal vehicle.
Rumors were true in fact, the giant mechanical legs out of Dr Zalost 's Tower Ruins were placed as wheels for Katz's spider-like car. The rear vehicle was replaced with a half-looking submarine acting as the spider's abdomen, while a pair of two car front-sides worked as the driver's cabin. On top of the abomination machine was his own personal throne made out of different scrap. Each side of the throne were different panels with levers and pedals.
"Lovely isn't it?" Katz admired his creation with his warcats's help.
The warcat who evaded, had his jaw long dropped before the gates opened.
"I'll be on my way now." Katz climbed up on his vehicle about to drive off.
"Where are you going?"
"I will not sit around while Mad Dog might plan any schemes on exterminating us. I must check out my land once in a while. And if i ever spot a wardog on my way..." he pulled a lever rising a huge mechanical spider leg up and then impales the ground with it, perking up all the warcats they were standing next to him. The ground was shaking for a few seconds. "...the result will not be so pleasing." Katz told his final speech before heading downtown.
THE END of Chapter 4.