A/N: Hehe, back again so soon just like I didn't promise. After a little bit of writing this arc, I decided to write most of this as I went. ALSO to those of you who are taking the time to read this whole story, thank you SOOO much! Also the fate of Noel's parents are revealed in this chapter. And also this is the first chapter seen from Noel's perspective. Enjoy!
Chapter 10: To Trip And Fall Down Memory Lab
Everything was dark, very dark. Noel had a hard time knowing if his eyes were open or not because of such darkness. His muscles felt too weak as he did not try to move again. He seemed to be slowly moving and that's when he noticed a slithering sound that had actually been directly behind him this whole time. But his mind was still a mush and he could not remember ANYTHING right now. But then, he felt some weird movement on his mouth.
"Mmph," he groaned, nauseously.
And then there was what he could only describe was the sound of a rubber glove getting stretched out. And that's when the "lights" came on.
His muzzle, nose, eyes, and ears were all freed. And that's when he was now able to sort of see, and his mind was able to work again. He was covered in that dark, sticky substance and was taken by an unseen force. Courage was unable to save him, as he saw that he was still covered in that weird substance. It must've hindered his ability to think before it cleared itself off of his face. But then came the question.
"Where am I?" he finally said out loud, quietly.
From what he could see, he was currently facing the ceiling of a dark hallway and was slowly moving down it. That slithering sound must be the sound of the substance on his back sliding him along the floor towards something. That sound still gave him the chills.
He couldn't see much, but it almost looked like a hallway from a hospital or some sort of laboratory. He had no idea and what was coming next, and no idea why any of this was happening to him.
As he made it to the end of the hallway, he entered a room lit dimly in blue. It HAD to be some sort of laboratory, as there was a chair with shackles and some sort of screen placed directly in front.
The slithering stopped, and then the substance FINALLY freed him. The room was so cold and packed with all kinds of tools that Noel was content with not knowing what they were used for. But once that substance was completely off of him, he got up only to not be able to stand hardly at all, as his muscles were still extremely weak. His arms and legs wobbled and he felt like he hadn't used them in years. But he knew that he had to get out of here and get back to Courage. But then somebody cleared their throat behind him. He craned his neck around to see a tall, yellow cat with glasses and a lab coat stained in blood. In a panic, Noel was able to lift himself up and limp swiftly towards the door.
"And just where do you think you're going," the cat asked in a calm, snide tone.
Then he felt a weird sting in his shoulder. He pulled out what looked like a spike from the tendrils. As he stared at it in his paw, his vision began to blur a little. He looked back at the cat to see that he was holding a little "tendril arm". He shot another into Noel's leg. Noel collapsed to the floor, and the cat advanced onto him.
"Ohh, you poor little puppy," the cat teased with a sinister grin before picking him up.
Noel had no choice but to accept defeat and go limp, as the tall cat threw him over his shoulder and brought him to the chair.
"Into the chair you go," the cat said. "Alright, there we are." He shackled Noel's wrists, legs, torso, neck, and head to the chair to strictly face the weird screen. And after plugging in many different things into the chair and Noel, the cat walked off to somewhere else in the room.
"Where am I?" Noel asked with bravery. "Why am I here?"
"You are in the memory lab, my dirty little friend," the cat replied. "And we are going to get some answers."
"Answers?" Noel asked. "What answers? Just tell me anything and I'll tell you whatever you want!"
"No," the cat replied, cruelly. "No, I'm afraid it doesn't work like that anymore. That system failed too many times. We now use memories, and back up the memories with detail from the host."
"What is this about?" Noel cried. "And what does this have to do with me?"
"I'm not inclined to answer your question," the cat blankly responded. "But I will tell you that we seem to be very interested in you."
The way he said that sent off red flags in Noel's mind.
"We?" he asked in a weak voice.
"You'll see soon enough," the cat laughed.
The room somehow grew darker and silent. Noel tensed up as the atmosphere seemed to grow more dense. The screen then shot on and blinded Noel for a fraction of a second.
After blinking his eyes, he gasped as he saw that he was now standing in the middle of a white void, free from that god-forsaken chair. It was very quiet here, and he began to look around. But after some time, a giant voice suddenly yelled very louder at him from all directions, scaring him senseless.
"Hahaha!" the voice boomed. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "Hey, buddy!"
"Uh, hello?" Noel confusingly responded into the air in front of him, hoping that his voice was heard.
"Hey, how ya doing?" the voice responded in that friendly voice.
"Uh, I don't know," Noel responded confusingly.
"Ya probably don't remember me, huh?" the voice asked.
"No," Noel said.
"Aww, well that's no biggie," the voice laughed. "Because I certainly remember you."
After hearing the way that voice said "you", Noel could practically taste the malevolence bleeding through this voice's friendly facade.
"Ya want me to jog your memory?" the voice asked.
"Uhh-," Noel was interrupted.
The entire white void rumbled and started to change color. As the colors darkened, the terrain got more rugged and the air grew cold and wet. After rubbing his eyes and ringing out his ears, Noel noticed that he was now back in the alleyway in Nowhere. However, it was a dark and stormy night, and it seemed to have changed from how it was earlier.
No, the alleyway was too different. But my god he knew it had to be the same one. But then he heard the footsteps of a stranger entering the alley, so he hid behind the dumpster closest to him. He then heard a giggle from underneath the dumpster, which scared him out of his wits. He jumped back out into the open out of fear and turned to where the sounds of the stranger were. He saw two silhouettes of what looked like two dogs about his size. They moved with a sense of haste, like they were running from something. As they got closer, he realized that they were both blue beagles, just like him, and were ever so slightly larger. One was limping, and the other was assisting the limping one with walking. And as they got even closer, Noel realized that the limping one had to be a pregnant female, and the other was a male.
"His parents are dead," Shirley's voice from earlier haunted his mind. "They were jumped and murdered by a gang of criminals right after he was born."
A tear ran down Noel's muzzle, now knowing fully well that he had been brought back to watch the deaths of his parents. But he couldn't bear to watch it. He ran over to what he could only assume was his father and fell right through him. His father didn't seem to notice and continued trying to comfort his mother. After getting back up, Noel approached his parents with melancholic sadness and defeat. When his parents stopped walking, he stood directly in front of his mother and saw her grimacing face of pain. He slowly and emotionally reached out to her to cup his paw under her muzzle, but it went right through again and didn't trigger any reaction out of her.
"Ya can't touch em," the voice from under the dumpster said again. It was that same recognizable voice from the white void. "And they cannot see or hear ya. They are only images of the past, and cannot be altered."
"Why am I here?" Noel asked.
"Because you wanted answers," the voice laughed. "And I have those answers."
Right after he said that, Noel's mother started screaming in pain and his father helped her lay down. But she kept screaming in unbelievable pain and the husband kept trying to calm her down.
Noel was HORRIFIED. His mother's screams and his father's cries greatly disturbed him.
"No," he said. "Not like this."
"What?" the voice asked.
"I wanted answers, but not like this," Noel cried. "This is just too much!" He pulled his ears.
"Oh, come on now, don't be like that!" the voice said in his sickeningly friendly, playful way. "Just chill out and watch, you're overexaggerating!"
"BUT THEY'RE GONNA DIE!" Noel screamed at the voice under the dumpster.
"WATCH!" the voice hissed in a dark, malevolent voice.
Noel then found himself watching again out of fear of the voice. His mother's screams turned into growls and snarls, and she was violently kicking her feet. Noel covered his eyes yet again.
"Open your eyes, NOW," the voice demanded without emotion.
Noel peaked again through his paws. Her snarls turned back into much more desperate and bloody screams than before. And then before long, she was bleeding a lot, and then there was a squishy kind of sound coming from her body.
Noel pulled his ears even harder. He was about to rip them off.
As she screamed one final scream in agony, she fell limp. And his father was carrying a small little blue potato that was covered in red blood. That "potato" was baby Noel, without a doubt. But then the father shook his wife.
"Baby?" he asked in a terrified voice.
Noel shut his eyes yet again, knowing fully well that his mother was dead.
"I'm okay," Noel heard her barely squeeze out barely above a whisper.
Noel's jaw dropped yet again, as his watery eyes opened back up. He was a melting mess of stifled sobs and tears, and he could not control his sniffles.
"Here he is," his father presented the baby to his mother.
His mother held him tightly and smiled down at him. Baby Noel was crying rather loudly still, and it only made big Noel cry even more. But when the mother slowly started to pet his little head, he stopped and calmed down.
Big Noel watched through teary eyes as both of his parents smiled down at him. And then he noticed that they both had tears in both of their eyes. They started laughing very sadly and cried maniacally.
"A miracle!" his father cried out, laughing and sobbing again.
"We did it!" his mother cried too. "We actually saved him!"
"Saved me from what?" Noel wondered.
His parents cried for a little longer, and then they managed to calm down again with happy smiles, gently petting their new baby puppy. Big Noel decided to sit down with them, even though they couldn't sense him. He looked into the face of his baby self and watched as he slept, peacefully. Baby or not, he wondered how he slept so peacefully in such a dangerous alleyway in such a dangerous town while being hunted by something during such a dark and stormy night.
"What should he be called?" his father asked his mother.
"How about Alfonso?" his mother suggested. "It means 'to be prepared or ready for battle.'"
"I like Arturo," his father said. "It means 'courageous and strong.'"
"How about Domingo?" his mother laughed. "He was born on a Sunday after all."
"Or Luis, our little warrior," his father said.
"Mateo, our little gift from God," his mother mused.
Noel smiled and cried, as his parents seemed to be so proud of his existence and loved him SO much.
"Sebastian," his father suggested. " It means 'revered, respected, and adored.'"
"Or Chilo, 'free man,'" said his mother.
"Milan, 'loving, kind, or with grace,'" his father suggested.
Then they both paused and looked back down at their baby. And after some time, his mother spoke again.
"Noel," she spoke softly. "It simply means 'to be born,' and tonight IS Christmas."
"Noel," his father warmly agreed. "Our little Noel."
"Yes," his mother said again with a bigger smile.
They both sighed complete content and took a moment longer to be family, before there was what sounded like a huge mob right outside of the alleyway.
"What the-?" his father exclaimed.
"How did they find us here?!" his mother panicked.
Noel stood back up in a nanosecond. He wanted more than anything to find a way to get out of here before his parents were slaughtered before his very eyes. Yet, he couldn't help but want a good look at the people who did the deed. But what still confused him is why a giant mob was after his parents? What did they do?
"This doesn't make any sense," his father said. "Get Noel into the dumpster, it is too late for us, and we cannot run anymore!"
"Ouch!" his mother exclaimed in pain. "Raul! I still can't walk!"
So Raul was the name of his father.
"Rápido!" his father panicked. "Hand him to me!"
His mother gave the puppy a big kiss and handed him to his father. He was now awake again and crying uncontrollably.
"There there, my little niño," his father calmed him. "It is going to be okay."
Big Noel watched as his father gently placed the baby version of him into the dumpster after planting a big kiss onto his forehead. Then his father looked ultimately broken and defeated.
"Go on and live a long, healthy life far away from here, and far away from evil. May you meet someone you love and start the family we never got to have. And may you all live long lives." He covered Noel so that he was hidden and so his cries were muffled, but just enough so that he could still breathe.
His father turned away from the dumpster, and a tear fell from his muzzle and onto the ground. He went back over to his mother, took her paw, and helped her hide behind the dumpster, facing towards the back wall of the alley and away from the entrance.
Noel stood out in the open to get a good look at the murderers. But as they approached the entrance, they came in two sides and collided. They were FIGHTING! It must've been a gang rivalry, and his parents got caught in a crossfire? Maybe, just maybe that was it. But according to the panic of his parents, they were after them? This still did not make any sense.
Suddenly, a tendril, just like the ones that pulled him in, shot directly into his back and through his torso. It scared him beyond his wits, but he realized that it went directly through him because he wasn't really there. But that's also when he noticed that it was actually wrapping around his mother's leg.
"AHHH!" she cried out in fear and pain. The tendril had her under the dumpster in seconds, but she held onto his father's paw, who was pulling as hard as he could to try to save her.
Noel pulled his ears again in pure horror, not expecting this to happen.
"Juanita!" his father cried.
And Juanita must've been his mother's name.
Another tendril shot out and wrapped around his father's neck and body. And as they both disappeared under the dumpster, their screams quickly faded, and absolutely no more noise came from the dumpster. But the screams from before must've gotten the attention of the gangs.
Noel looked back over to the entrance to the alley to see a giant group approaching him. Two very mean-looking people walked in front of everyone. There was a very tall, red cat with a British accent. There was also a VERY tall and very muscular brown dog with a white wife beater shirt and a collar with the letters "MD" on it. Noel took note of this and would try to remember those faces if he ever got out of here.
A tendril then grabbed onto his own leg and pulled him underneath the dumpster too. Noel screamed in terror and scratched the ground as the tendril drugged him under again. All was silent, and all was dark. Noel had no idea where he was.
"Now," the voice said. "Let's keep going, shall we?"
"Wait!" Noel begged. "Please, no more! I have my answers now!"
"Oh, little doggy," the voice giggled. "But we are only just beginning! Be a good sport about this and enjoy the show!"
"I'm through!" Noel demanded.
"Why don't ya tell that to the faces of your past," the voice whispered poisonously.
Right after he said that, the black environment then changed into a dark blue void and the "floor" that Noel stood on underneath him completely evaporated, causing him to freefall. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell through this never ending sea of blue. And after what seemed like an eternity, he hit the "bottom". It was much darker and much more silent down here. Noel groaned as he stood back up. Even though he feared the voice, he was ready to give that bastard a piece of his mind!
"Hey!" Noel screamed at the voice.
There was no response.
"HEYYYYY!" Noel screamed as loud as he could. And when there was no response, he turned around to almost poke his eye out at the end of a telescope that was now directly in his face.
"AH!" Noel screamed and fell down onto his back, not expecting this.
Behind the telescope was a cruel old rich dude with green/pale skin and a nice red robe. Noel knew this man, and he hoped that he would never have to see him again.
"Ah, there you are!" he said, reaching down for him.
Noel screamed again and ran away from him. After some time, he stopped and looked back to see the old man staring at him through the telescope. After putting the telescope down, he smiled very maliciously at Noel, and it disturbed him. As he backed away, he backed into someone else. He swiftly turned around and looked up and saw the back of another pale man, but this time he wore a gray suit jacket and black pants. As the man turned around, Noel noticed that it was Floyd. He stared down at Noel with extreme apathy.
"Floyd?" Noel asked innocently.
Floyd then curved his neck to the side. He never stopped however, and Noel started slowly backing up. Floyd's neck kept curving at an impossible angle until-
CRUNCH!
Noel gasped in horror.
Floyd's head then fell and landed right into Noel's paws. After Noel turned the head around to face him, he then came face to face with Di Lung's face.
"Ahahahaha!" Di Lung laughed.
"AHH!" Noel screamed and then dropped the head. After rolling around for a few seconds, Di Lung's head started talking again.
"See I told you, you fool!" he said. "I said eventually an unhappy scientist will rise to create a bunch of slaves! And look where we are now!"
What Di Lung said sent shivers down Noel's spine. But before he could properly respond or react, someone picked him up by his armpits from behind. A cool breeze then passed through his fur. And as he was turned over to face the person holding him, he came face to face with a dark face, blue eyes, red hair, and a desperate smile.
"Oh no," Noel gasped.
"Cute doggy, SWEET doggy, understanding doggy!" she spoke.
Noel then frantically bit her on her arm hard.
"OUCH!" she screamed.
Noel quickly turned tail and ran away from her on all fours.
"YOU ARE MIIIIIIIIINE!" she screamed with a powerful boom.
The boom he heard was a lightning strike. The weather seemed to go hand in hand with her explosive attitude.
WAIT!
Noel just realized that this was that same Stormy Goddess girl that Courage ran into trouble with too for the same reason.
BOOM!
Another lightning bolt struck above. But then there was a humming sound. It was coming from above and it seemed to grow louder by the second. He looked up and saw an old plane coming down. In it, he saw a green man with a pink scarf.
It was the nasty guy.
"Live long, live better! Hahaha!" he laughed and coughed.
But his plane was still heading straight for Noel. Noel ran as fast and as hard as he could, but he could not outrun that plane.
CRASH!
Noel could not see, hear, or feel anything for a solid 8 seconds. His ears were ringing, but he did not feel all burnt up like he would after having a plane crash into him. In fact, as his vision cleared, Noel realized that did not wake up under a wreckage. He instead woke up in a much darker place. There was the faint sound of wind howling, and absolutely nothing else. After he got up, he noticed a tall man standing in the distance. He had long, blonde hair and blonde facial hair. His face was covered in piercings, and his body in tattoos. He wore a black leather jacket with a white wife beater, ripped blue jeans, boots, a wallet chain, a spiked belt, and a neck chain. He carried a "tough guy" expression on his face.
It was him!
"No, it can't be," Noel froze in shock. "It can't be!"
Noel's eyes were instantly drawn to his neck tattoo of a split open skull screaming to the viewer. The tattoo had found its way into every single nightmare Noel had since his time with this guy. Upon seeing the tattoo again, Noel almost fell into an anxiety attack. He was breathing so hard and there was a burning pain coming from his heart. His vision blurred a little and he was losing his balance.
KICK!
Noel received a HARD kick in his rear end from a steel-toe boot.
"OWW!" Noel cried as he fell forward onto his face, holding his rear end in pain with both paws.
"Gotcha!" the raspy voice spoke with content. He grabbed Noel by the scruff of the neck and brought him face to face with him. Those cold, reptile-like eyes stared directly into his soul.
"I thought I'd never see you again, mutt!" the man literally spat into his face. His breath REEKED of light beer and chewing tobacco.
Noel was still so out of it that he continued to hang limp in the man's grasp.
SLAP!
Noel was seeing stars after the man slapped him.
"Still a little bitch I see!" he spat again. "Well, lucky for you it was only a matter of time before I'd find ya again.
KICK!
"AHHHH!" Noel cried in agonizing pain.
He punted Noel with his boot right into the junk. Noel lost all sense of everything, as the last kick might as well have killed him.
He eventually landed somewhere else in that same void and his muzzle slammed into the ground HARD. Blood splattered from his mouth upon contact. He did not get back up. But he could still hear the haunting voices of his previous owners, the disturbing cries of his parents, and the malevolent voice from earlier. Only the voice from earlier sounded livid, like it was "losing control of something".
But eventually all of the sounds decreased into nothing, and the darkness completely closed in around Noel. He yielded to the grasp of darkness and fell back into a deep slumber. And eventually, even his entirely beaten body stopped aching. But then he heard a new voice. It was deeply muffled like the others were, but he knew that voice. It was a voice that deeply concerned him, and caused him to find enough hidden strength to jolt his head up. But upon doing so, his neck harshly hit something VERY cold and it slightly strangled him.
He was back in the cold lab and back in that goddamn chair! But when his vision cleared, he found a scared looking Courage staring at him from directly in front of the screen, splattered with blood. He was shaking in uncontrollable fear with giant puppy eyes. But over to the right was the yellow cat on the ground, slumped up against the wall with a slit throat in a pool of blood. A bloody box cutter was still in Courage's paw, and another tear fell from his eyes, and down his quivering lip.
End of Chapter
A/N: Yep, Noel had a TON of owners! Not all of them were featured in this chapter. But his biggest abuser made a "debut" even though he was just a memory. And it is also safe to say that Noel and his parents all certainly influenced certain events and characters from the show. Anyways, continue to strap up! This arc is only beginning!