A/N: If this is your first time reading this story I just want to make it known that I'm currently in the middle of revising many of the older chapters. My writing has improved quite a bit since I first started this story in 2010 and I want it to be up to snuff with the rest of it. Unfortunately with such a giant story like this one, things are going rather slowly right now. If you notice a drop in quality while reading this it's probably because you're reading one of the older chapters that hasn't been fixed up yet.

All Things End

By: Couragefan09

Chapter One: Until The End Comes

Courage whined softy as he trudged up the creaky staircase onto the second floor of the house. An air of depression hung over him, which was fairly unusual for the tiny dog. His ears were drooped like a puppy who had just been scolded and he kept himself on all fours as he could not will himself to walk upright in his current state. He needed answers and he knew that there was only one person who could give him those answers.

He whined again. Ever since that visit to the veterinarian three days ago, Muriel had been acting strangely. She'd been avoiding him and wouldn't even talk to him whenever he tried to cheer her up. He'd been completely devastated when she wouldn't let him lay on her lap anymore and she always seemed like she was on the verge of crying now. Even Eustace seemed a bit off lately as the cranky old farmer wasn't calling him a stupid dog anymore.

He pushed the attic door open and went over to the desk where his computer sat. He pulled himself up into the chair and felt his stomach lurch at how much effort it had taken him just to get up there. For months now he had been lacking the energy to do much of anything anymore. It was one of the many things that had left him worried ever since the veterinarian visit.

He flicked the switch on the side of the computer and waited. He was expecting the usual sort of greeting from the machine and he was not looking forward to it. Sighing listlessly, he allowed himself to sink deeper into the wooden chair, both out of fear and anticipation.

The screen of the computer flickered to life, displaying a bluish-green backdrop. There was a moments pause before an exaggerated sigh, originating from the machine's speakers, echoed through the empty attic.

"What is it now, you twit?" A bored voice asked, clearly coming from the computer. It spoke with an intelligent, if somewhat rude tone, and while it's voice was male, it was tinged with a slightly metallic tone that gave away the fact that it was not a real person talking.

Courage let his paws rest on the keyboard, unsure of where to begin. He was afraid that he wouldn't make sense if he rushed and the last thing he needed right now was Computer complaining about that too. He weakly sighed and tried to pull his thoughts together. He wasn't looking forward to this by any stretch of the imagination.

"Well?" The machine impatiently asked. It's words typed out across the screen as it talked.

Courage was used to 'his' usual antics, but this time he didn't bother acknowledging his impatience like he normally did. Under normal circumstances, they argued, a lot. Computer always seemed to have something to be annoyed about and Courage always hated listening to him complain. They almost always fought and Computer always won.

He began typing, slowly, to make sure that he was spelling out as many of his words as correctly as possible. His writing skills were not the best. He could read just fine, but he found typing and writing to be very difficult, especially when he were in a panic, which was almost every time he was using his computer. He wasn't very good at speaking English either. Whenever he panicked, his language usually turned into a gibbering mess of broken English and dog speak. Computer himself had gotten pretty good at understanding his gibberish, but he never missed an opportunity to mock him about it.

'Something's been wrong with me lately.' He typed, hesitating for a moment. Computer did not respond to the statement so he continued. 'Something inside of me hurts. It starts in my chest and then it spreads out all over. The pain eventually gets so bad that I can barely move and I usually black out afterwords. When I wake up, I feel weak and tired and it takes hours to get better. It wasn't so bad at first because it would only happen every once in awhile, but now it happens all the time, sometimes even twice a day. I'm tired all the time now too.' He stopped.

He left his fingers trembling on the keys. He was terrified at what could possibly be happening to him. Those mysterious seizure like pains had always frightened him but now they were getting worse and he couldn't do anything to stop them. He couldn't forget about how strange Muriel and Eustace were acting either. When this had first started, he had tried to act normal around them, but they had noticed anyway. Heck, he once even tried to hide himself in a closet when he felt an 'attack' coming on, but they had found him in the middle of the seizure anyway. They had taken him to the vet to get him checked out and now they were suddenly acting like he didn't exist at all. He was starting to wonder if he had done something wrong to make them treat him like this, but he couldn't help it if he were sick.

'I could barely even get up here without needing to take a break.' He continued. 'Muriel noticed how tired I've been and took me to see the vet. He looked me over and they talked about something, I wasn't really sure what. Muriel's been avoiding me ever since and she seems so sad now. I don't want to make her sad, but I'm not really sure what I did wrong.' He added that last part solely out of the fear that maybe he really had done something wrong. He knew that it sounded pathetic, especially to someone like Computer, but he couldn't help it.

There was a long bout of silence as his rude companion did his job. The words he had typed out still lingered on the screen. He stared intently into them, hoping that maybe he could finally get the answers he was searching for. He couldn't help but worry, it wasn't like Computer to remain this quiet.

Just as he was about to ask what was taking so long, the machine uttered out a small, "Oh, dear."

"What?" He asked out loud, not bothering to type it in this time. His heart lurched with dread.

"Well, from the sound of it, it looks like you have a very rare and very serious condition. It's only found in dogs and it's-" The machine hesitated.

"What?" Courage asked again, dreading whatever was about to be said. "I-Is it bad?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, there is no cure. The condition is...always fatal." There was a slight hint of awe in that cynical machine's voice.

"W-What?" Courage gasped. His mind shut down completely. The true implications of what he had been told didn't hit him until several seconds later.

Always fatal? He was going to...to die? How could that be? How could he be sick enough to die? He wasn't supposed to die! Not before Muriel!

"That can't be right! I-it can't be!" He gasped out. His entire body was shivering of its own accord. Fear washed over him as his own mortality became apparent. He was going to die...

Computer continued, ignoring his fearful trembling. "There is a treatment for the illness, but it really only delays the inevitable. It helps with the symptoms, but it only keeps a dog affected by the illness alive for about an extra year or so, and that is only under the best of circumstances. It's very expensive too, nothing an old, retired couple would be able to afford."

Courage was shaking with terror. Disbelief wracked his brain. Could nothing really save him? He began to type again in a frenzy, 'But Eustace is always stashing money away! He can't be that heartless! Why won't he help me!'

"Calm down, twit!" The machine replied. He were speaking as though this were business as usual and it only helped to infuriate Courage even further.

'How can you tell me to calm down? I'm about to die! Now isn't the time to be calm!' He furiously typed in. He was sure that he had missed a couple of keys but he was shaking so hard that it didn't matter either way.

"Because you're mowing in my keys, idiot!" Computer angrily replied. "Look, dog. Nothing that farmer is hoarding would be enough to help you. When I say expensive, I mean that you could buy a mansion with that kind of money. The treatment is only for quality bred dogs with exceptionally wealthy owners, and even then they're still doomed in the end."

Courage whined, unsure of what to do. He place a paw onto his chest and wondered when the next attack would occur. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to die from that sort of pain. He whined again as panic began to build up inside of him. It was more powerful than ever and he didn't know what to do about it. He wanted to run, scream, cry, but none of that would help him in the end.

"I feel for you, dog, I really do, but there isn't much that can be done. Muriel must be avoiding you because she knows that she can't help you."

Silence filled the gloomy attic. Neither machine nor dog knew what else to say. Courage squeezed his eyes shut. So many emotions rolled through him and he couldn't stop even one of them. If only he could-

Wait...

He perked up, realizing that he had forgotten something when he had told Computer about his illness. He began to type again with renewed vigor. 'While I was at the vet, he said something about putting me to sleep. I'm not really sure what that is, but does it mean he's going to put me to sleep and try to perform surgery on me? Maybe he's going to try and fix me!' He smiled at that thought. Maybe he could be saved after all!

"Oh, dear, well." Computer spoke. He seemed to be at a loss for words. Once again he had slipped out of his business as usual tone for only just a moment. He hesitated, acting as though it were better to leave whatever he was about to say left unsaid. "Don't you know what being 'put to sleep' means?" He asked, choosing his words very carefully.

Courage shook his head. The hesitation in the machine's voice made his stomach lurch with fear yet again. "Is it something bad?" He asked rather weakly.

The machine sighed, obviously not wanting to deal with this. He waited for a moment and then began to speak once more. "I won't lie to you, it's best you know. Putting you to sleep is the kid friendly term for putting you down. They're going to kill you."

Courage's jaw hit the floor.

"It's a mercy killing, of course. It's so that you won't suffer needlessly, especially in the late stages of the disease. It will be painless, unlike waiting."

Courage remained silent, he didn't even blink. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that Muriel was going to let some awful vet put him down. She had him scheduled to go back next Friday. Were they planning on doing it then? Had he not gone to Computer, he would have never even known that it was coming. He felt...betrayed.

"You still in there, twit?" Computer asked, pulling him out of this thoughts.

He shook his head in disbelief. "H-How could Muriel do this to me? I-I-"

Tears began to fill his eyes. He was angry, sad, scared, and confused all at the same time. He felt as though Muriel had intentionally betrayed him to this fate on purpose. He choked back a sob as several of his tears fell freely onto the keyboard beneath him.

"She just wants what's best for you. She wouldn't want you to suffer in the end." Computer said. He was trying to comfort him, at least as best as any cynical machine could try, but it wasn't working...

"How can she let some stupid vet kill me?" Courage cried out. His voice began to rise with fear. "Doesn't she care about me more then that? I-I don't want to die!" He started to sob.

"Would you rather suffer in the end? I'm sure it's painless. Why do you think they call it 'putting to sleep'? Surely that's preferable to wasting away, painfully, I might add."

"I don't want to die!" He sobbed. "I want to live! I want things to go back to the way they used to be!"

"Twit-" Computer tried to interject. His tone was growing annoyed.

"Why? Why did I have to get sick? I just want to nap in Muriel's lap again! I want her to talk to me like she used to! I want to be able to do things without having to worry about having an attack! I want to have my energy back! I-I-"

"Come on, dog. Don't be so-"

"I even want Eustace to scare me again! I just want things to go back to the way they used to be!"

It was almost too awful to think about. He'd never spend another day enjoying life with Muriel. He'd never spend another lazy afternoon snoozing on her lap. Everything he loved about life, he'd lose in death. He'd never see her or Eustace ever again, he'd never save them from monsters again, he'd never sample new recipes that Muriel was developing, he'd never help her with the laundry, cleaning up, cooking, washing, planting. The list went on and on and it only frightened him even more. He couldn't bear the thought of losing the only thing he had ever known. He wasn't supposed to die before them!

"Twit, seriously-" Computer spoke again, still trying to get the panicking dog's attention. It was a minor miracle that all the sobbing hadn't been heard by Muriel or Eustace downstairs yet.

"I-I don't want to die! I don't want to leave Muriel! Why did this have to happen to me?" He buried his face into his paws and sobbed.

"ENOUGH!" Computer finally yelled, cranking his speakers up to full blast. Having never raised his voice in Courage's presence before, it shut the pink dog up instantly.

"Throwing yourself into a panic isn't going to help anyone or anything! Pull yourself together!"

Courage sniffed and nodded. He began wiping tears from his eyes, feeling slightly foolish over his breakdown. He was still very much afraid, but he knew that he shouldn't have panicked like that.

He was still shaking several minutes later. He couldn't calm down knowing what was coming. His chest had begun to burn and he knew that if Computer hadn't stopped him, he probably would have thrown himself into another attack by accident.

'What should I do?' He finally typed.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you, but at least you've calmed down." The machine replied, sounding as if he were at a loss himself. Courage couldn't even remember the last time he hadn't gotten an answer from him.

'I-' He began to type, stopping on the first letter. He reconsidered what he was going to say and let his shaking paws rest on the keyboard.

"What is it, dog?" Computer asked, sounding weary.

He sighed and then typed, 'I know it's a stupid thing to say but, I'm scared.'

There was a slight chuckle from the machine. "Anybody in your predicament would be. Believe it or not, I do understand."

'I don't want some awful vet to stick a needle in me and never wake up again. I-' He stopped again. He could not hold back his tears anymore and let them fall freely. The machine said not a word as he sobbed and that allowed him to get all his emotions out in one fell swoop. It took several minutes before he could compose himself again and he was grateful that Computer hadn't mocked him during that time. He was just glad that he were listening, even if he didn't care.

He began to type again. 'I-I also don't want to waste away until my sickness finally does me in either. I-I'm scared of what's going to happen.'

The machine sighed yet again. "I don't want to get your hopes up, but I believe I might have an idea."

"R-Really?" He asked out loud. A small pang of hope entered his gut. Maybe Computer would have the answer he needed after all.

"Yes, but like I said, I don't want to get your hopes up. I plan to look into some kind of supernatural solution to this little conundrum. Things like legendary objects or places that can heal the terminally ill. It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack though. Most of them will be just that, legends, or the place, object, or whatever else it could be might have already lost it's ability to heal, or it could have been a hoax all along. This isn't even including the fact that it might be halfway across the world or that there might be some complex ritual just to make it work."

"B-but you will look, won't you?"

"Of course, but please don't stake all of your hope on something like this. I can't guarantee that anything will pan out, and I honestly don't want to make things worse in the end. I'm afraid that solutions to living problems are rarely found in supernatural ones." He sounded exhausted at the thought of it all and even a bit worried.

"We only have until Friday though." Courage added. "Muriel is taking me back to the vet on that date. I-I think they're planning on d-doing 'it' then."

"Friday, huh? No pressure." Computer sarcastically remarked. "Alright, I'll begin searching then. Please leave me now so that I can work in peace." He had gone back to that business as usual tone.

Courage nodded in agreement. He was just about to leave before deciding to type one last thing into the keyboard.

'Thank you'

There was no response from the sarcastic machine.

Sighing, he picked himself up and dropped out of the chair. He was about halfway across the attic when Computer did indeed speak, causing him jump with surprise.

"You don't deserve this, you know." He said, speaking as though he needed to get this off his chest, or, well, whatever the computer equivalent of a chest might be. "I'm sorry that I can't be much help. Even if I don't find a way to cure you, I'll still do everything in my power to help you out anyway. I can promise you that much." He then let out a sigh. "Well, at least until the end comes."

End Of Chapter