A/N: Look up the song 'Intro' from the Minecraft Beta soundtrack. Let it play after the only break in the chapter. That's where it fits.

Chapter 143: The Beginning Of The End

"What are you writing?" Courage asked, hovering closer to Computer.

The glowing dog had procured a pencil and paper sometime earlier that morning and had been writing ever since. Courage had seen him rip apart at least five pieces of paper thus far, apparently dissatisfied with whatever his mysterious writings were about.

"It's none of your business, so back off!" He threatened, brandishing the pencil like a sword.

"Come on! Let me see!" Courage nagged, daring to maneuver around his friend in an attempt to get a peek from behind.

Computer clutched the paper to his chest and shifted around, blocking him from seeing his writing. "I told you already, this isn't for you to read so stop being obnoxious!"

Courage couldn't keep himself from gasping as a grin widened across his face. "It's for Nina, isn't it? You're writing a love letter, aren't you?" He joked.

The machine rolled his eyes. "You're such an overgrown child! Of course it's not!"

"Then what is it really? If it isn't a love letter, you'd been willing to tell me."

"It's none of your business!" He repeated, shifting around yet again to escape Courage's curious eyes. "Go downstairs and see if Nina's finished breakfast yet! We're going to be leaving soon so get everything you need to get done now!"

Though he wanted to keeping pestering Computer, he was also very hungry and Nina had promised to make him pancakes.

"What about you?" He asked. "Aren't you going to eat too?"

"I'm skipping breakfast." Was the only thing Computer answered with before engrossing himself in his 'love' letter once more.

"Alright, if you say so." Courage reluctantly replied.

Computer did not answer.

He made his way downstairs and immediately smelt the pancakes. Nina was just setting them down on the table when he arrived.

"Where's grumpy?" She asked. "I thought he'd want to be here with us for our last breakfast together."

"He said that he's skipping out." Courage replied with little enthusiasm.

"Oh, really? You should have bribed him with a piece of cake. He wouldn't have been able to resist. Actually, we really do have a lot of it left from last night. I should have him eat his way through the rest of it before it gets dry."

Courage rubbed the back of his head. "He didn't want to come down because he's still writing that letter."

"Wow, he's been at that all morning." Nina commented, sitting down at the table beside him. "What do you think it's about?"

He couldn't stop himself from grinning again. "I bet it's a love letter!"

Nina chuckled to herself. "I hope not."

Courage began cutting into his first pancake. "What do you think that wellspring is going to be like?" He asked. The thought had never struck him before. He didn't even know what the mountain was going to look like, except for, well, looking like a mountain.

"I wish I knew." She sighed with wonder. "I bet it'll be magical!" Then she became subdue again. "Ooor maybe it's just an everyday, ordinary cave."

"It'll be anything but ordinary." Came Computer's voice.

He was standing by the staircase, having just come down.

"Hey, you decided to join us after all!" Nina greeted him.

"This stupid flesh creature stomach got the better of me." He somewhat ruefully admitted.

"Well, don't just stand there! Come over here and have some pancakes!"

He gave the ferret girl a mischievous grin. "I do believe I overheard something about leftover birthday cake."

"NO!" She cried out, thumping her paws down onto the table. "I know how you are! You'll eat like twenty pieces in one go and then whine the rest of the day when your stomach starts hurting! I won't subject Courage to that since he's the one who's going to have to babysit you on that bus!"

The machine closed his eyes, still grinning. "Fine, I'll just have to eat twenty pancakes instead."

"You!" She growled. "Hurry, Courage! Let's scarf these down before he can overeat!"

Breakfast then turned into a race to see who could eat the most pancakes in the shortest amount of time. After that, they just sat there for awhile, unsure of what to do with themselves. There was still a little bit of time left before they needed to head out to town.

"Wait, I've got an idea!" Nina announced, boredom finally getting the better of her. "You two stay here. I'll be right back!"

Computer gave Courage a precarious glance as though wordless asking what they were getting into now. When Nina returned, she was carrying camera along with a camera stand in her arms.

"Let's take a group picture!" She exclaimed. "When you guys get back, I'll make sure to frame a copy for each of us!"

Computer gave her a long, hard stare. "A picture?" He asked, acting as though this were something not worthy of his time.

Courage answered him with, "Think of it as a way to remember our time together."

The machine rubbed the back of his head. "I don't see what's so special."

"C'mon! Let's go outside and set this up!" Nina urged him.

They headed out, Computer trailing along behind them as he continued to puzzle out why a picture would be so special. Nina set up the camera in front of the building and spent a good ten minutes just fiddling with the settings.

"Stay there for a sec, Courage." She spoke, leaning down so that she could see through the lens a little better. "You're still blurry..." She muttered, messing around with the controls some more.

"I still don't see why this warrants so much effort." Computer interjected.

"There! I think I have it!" Nina exclaimed. "I'll set it to go off after a few seconds, that way I can get into place with you guys."

Computer shuffled over next to Courage. Nina pressed a few more buttons and then she raced over too. The three of them waited there for the camera to go off, Nina kneeling down so that she would be on the same level as the two dogs. It was then when it was noticed that Computer wasn't smiling.

"Start grinning!" The ferret girl ordered, keeping a smile on her face and trying not to look away from the camera.

"What? Why?" Computer complained. "I'm not going to smile unless I have a reason to!"

"Courage, help me." She spoke, daring to look away from the camera for a moment.

He couldn't stop himself from putting on a mischievous smile, one that Nina copied when she wordlessly figured out what he was thinking.

Before Computer could even ask why they were grinning so evilly, Courage grabbed the right half of his face while Nina grabbed left. They forced his lips upwards into a mock smile and then the camera went off with a flash.

Computer immediately broke away. "Thanks for that." He grumbled, rubbing his aching cheeks.

Nina went over to the camera to see how the picture turned out and then burst into a fit of laughter. Courage went to go see too, curious to find out how ridiculous their picture looked. He too broke down into laughter the moment his eyes beheld it.

Computer just stared at the two of them like they'd gone crazy.

"It's beautiful!" Nina giggled. "Best picture ever!"

"You two scare me sometimes, you know that?" Computer quipped before heading back inside.

Courage spent the rest of his limited morning with Nina, plotting out ways to plaster copies of that picture all over Computer's real body for when they came back. The look on his friend's face would no doubt be priceless!

"Oh, man." The ferret girl giggled. "If I could, I'd make it the background on his screen!"

Speaking of Computer, he'd vanished after escaping his cackling companions. Courage could only assume that he was back to writing that love letter of his.

"Pfff! We should cover the attic with them too once we get back to the farm!" He agreed.

"We'll make so many copies of that picture that even archeologists will still be finding them centuries from now!"

The two of them joked with each other for a little while longer until Computer finally reappeared. He held his long prepared letter in one paw and the bag that held all of their things in the other.

"It's time." He uttered out in a surprisingly grave voice. He looked...disappointed. Actually, he looked a bit sad and was clearly trying to hide it in vain.

Nina remained cheery despite the end of their stay having finally come. "I'll go get the bike and then we can head out."

Computer nodded in acknowledgment.

Courage, sensing his friend's unhappiness, asked, "Are you okay?"

"Of course." He spoke. "I guess I'm just feeling a bit down now that we're actually leaving."

"Don't worry!" Courage tried to cheer him up. "With that letter you've still got a chance to confess your undying love to Nina! I bet you've got, 'such a way with words'." He giggled out in a fake, girly voice.

Computer rolled his eyes. "For the millionth time, it's not a love letter!"

"What's that about a love letter?" Nina asked, shuffling back into the room.

"There is no love letter!" The machine spat, tromping past the both of them. "If romance is supposed to be this annoying then I'm glad that I want nothing to do with it!"

He could still be heard yelling long after he entered the lobby.

"Well, are you ready to go?" Nina asked, looking down at Courage with warm yet still somewhat sad eyes.

He nodded. "Compute's got everything we're taking, so yeah. I'm ready."

"I really am going to miss you." She gently spoke. "I'm glad you whacked Computer over the head with a frying pan or else we would have never met."

He smiled. "I guess good things really can come from sleep deprivation."

"Hurry up you two!" Computer called out from the lobby.

"Let's go." Nina sighed. "We can't put this off any longer. I expect you to be a perfectly healthy dog when you get back, alright?"

"Right!" He agreed.

Computer was tapping his foot when they finally caught up with him. He still did not present his letter to Nina and instead made his way out the door. Nina's bike was parked out there, waiting to carry them into town.

None of them spoke as they got into their places on the bike. It was going to be a painfully quiet trip across Nowhere. As Nina petaled away from the hotel, Courage looked back and caught Computer staring down at his letter with a distant look on his face.

The town of Nowhere soon popped up on the horizon. Thankfully they were not going to have to take a dangerous trip through the tunnels underneath it again. As they hit the outskirts of town, Nina wheeled onto the road and their ride became much smoother.

"Where's the bus stop?" She asked.

Computer gave her directions and then they were silent once more.

The small, glass station soon came into view. Only a single person was waiting there for the bus.

"Here we are." Nina said in a small voice. She parked the bike and helped Courage out of the basket, placing him onto the ground.

All three of them sat down on the bench inside the glass station. An air of gloom had cast over them and not one of them knew what to say to dispel it. Finally, Computer cleared his throat to get Nina's attention.

"Here." He said, handing her the letter. "Don't read it until you get back to the hotel, alright?"

She stared down at the folded paper. Her expression clearly showed that she had several questions she wanted to ask, but she didn't dare say anything.

Then the bus came rolling down the street. Given how much the universe had tried to prevent this moment from happening, it was an amazement that a meteor didn't come crashing down right on top of them in an attempt to stop them from reaching their goal one last time.

The man who'd been waiting at the station got on first. Slowly but surely, the three friends got up and stepped in front of the bus's doorway. Both Courage and Computer looked up at Nina one last time.

"See you around." She laughed in a light voice.

It felt like there was more that needed to be said, but not one of them could figure out what. She gave Courage one last pat on the head and then beckoned at them both to get on.

And they did.

The bus was mostly empty, aside from that one man and a decrepit old lady who busy trying to knit a sweater. Neither dog had to fight for a place to sit.

"Wow, I'm surprised." Computer commented as they picked a spot. "Here I was thinking the sky would fall just to make sure we didn't get on this bus."

Courage nodded in agreement. It seemed so strange that they were actually here.

"In a few more days we'll finally be at that mountain." Computer muttered, his voice filling with awe as the realization struck him. "I can't believe it..."

The bus pulled away from the station and began its route across Nowhere. Both dogs watched as the town fell away. Then, the old, knitting lady gasped.

Wondering what the issue was, Courage glanced out the window and gasped himself.

"Computer, look!" He cried out.

It was Nina! She was running after the bus, even forgoing her own bike to do so. Her face was red and tears were spilling down her face.

"Hey, I think that kid wants to get on!" The old lady called out to the bus driver.

The brakes were put on and the bus slowed to a halt, allowing Nina to finally catch up. The bus driver opened the door without a single word of complaint. Computer practically vaulted over Courage in his seat just so that he could meet her first at the front of the bus. It was a good thing that he did too, because Nina, bawling her eyes out, immediately scooped him up into a paralyzing hug.

Courage slowly made his way to the front of the bus as well, wondering why this was happening. Nina hadn't seemed this sad back at the bus stop.

"Don't worry about me." Computer said, apparently trying to comfort her. "I'm alright, so please don't be upset. There's absolutely nothing to be sad about."

He was speaking to her in such a way that it almost seemed like he was continuing a conversation. Courage could only look on in confusion.

"I'm sorry!" She sobbed.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He assured her with a smile. "Please don't feel bad. I'm glad that this is where I ended up. I wouldn't give it up for the world."

She slowly wiped away her tears and tried to smile. "Goodbye." She said in a shaky voice.

"Goodbye." He replied, echoing her sentiment.

She placed him back down onto the floor and then raced over to Courage, giving him the same heartfelt hug. "S-sorry for breaking down like this." She laughed in a weak voice. "It's just that after the bus started to leave, I realized how much I was going to miss you guys."

"We'll be back. Don't worry." He assured her. "I'll make sure to keep an eye on Computer." He joked. "You know how he is. He'd eat so much food that his stomach would explode if we weren't there to stop him."

"Yeah..." She agreed, wiping away her tears again.

Finally, she put him back down too. He went to go sit back down, but Computer remained where he was standing.

"Thank you." His friend called out to her as she stepped off the bus. She gave him a nod and then the bus driver closed the door.

Courage watched her wave as the bus passed her by. She continued to wave until she was finally nothing more than a speck on the horizon. Computer then returned to their seat and pulled out that ancient book which held the key to finding that mythical wellspring. Courage considered reading his own book as well, but he instead content himself with just watch the dreary landscape of Nowhere fly by. It once again struck him how strange it was that they were finally here.

"Don't worry, Muriel." He whispered. "I'll be back soon."

…...

Nina had returned to the hotel in a haze. She still held Computer's letter in her paw when she opened the front door. Her father greeted her from the desk.

"So, they're gone now, huh?"

"Yeah." She replied, breathing it out to a point of where it was almost more of a sigh.

She glided through the lobby and into the kitchen. What remained of Computer's birthday cake still sat on the counter, covered up to keep it from drying out. She could barely stand to look at it. It made her gut twist up into a knot.

She slowly made her way upstairs and over to her room. The building was so quiet now without its extra occupants. When she opened her door, she was greeted by the glow of Computer's screen. It was almost as though he were still there and just being unusually quiet.

Soundlessly, she flopped down onto her bed. Even from there she could still hear the hum that computer made, but she couldn't find the energy to get back up and turn it off. She rolled over onto her back and raise the letter up into the air above her head. She'd read it once right after Courage and Computer had left the station, then a second time not long after she had stopped the bus. It was very likely that she was going to keep reading it over and over again for several days to come.

What struck her the most as she looked it over was Computer's disjointed handwriting. She expected him to have much neater style, but perhaps since he was a machine after all he'd never had to write like a flesh creature before. It made sense that he probably wouldn't have the greatest handwriting in the world.

Unable to stop herself, she began reading the letter all over again.

'I'll start this by saying that I'm not very fond of sappy goodbyes and since I've been writing this over and over again all morning, I want to keep it brief. We might as well get the most important topic on hand out of the way first. I refuse to sugarcoat it.'

Nina bit her lip.

'I won't be returning from this trip.'

….Just outside of Nowhere, Courage took in a deep breath of air as he hopped off the bus. They'd hit their first rest stop on the cusps of Nowhere. You could see the exact spot where the barren soil gave way to green grass and other more normal, everyday features. Computer hopped out beside him and looked around, curious at such a huge change in landscape.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you in person. No offense, but you're a bit of a loudmouth who can't keep anything to herself and I didn't want Courage to find out. This is the only road trip I'm ever going to have. I want to enjoy it and I want him to enjoy it too. He won't be able to do that if he's worrying about me. I'm sure it's very selfish of me, but what else can I say? I've tried to tell him a few times before, but I just can't seem to find the right words. I think I've murdered at least a few dozen trees just trying to figure out a way to tell you too.'

The sign, 'Goin' Nowhere Fast!' sat atop the shabby looking building where the bus had stopped at. They had a few minutes to use the bathroom or do whatever else before they needed to get back on again. The shabby building was part gas station and part gift shop that seemed to be capitalizing on just how unusual Nowhere was. Courage decided to take a moment to go inside and look around. Computer trailed behind him, taking in the sights.

'I thought about how I could possibly repay you for all the kindness you've given me. I don't have much to give, I'm afraid. But then it hit me last night, I do have something I can give you. I've been up all night and I managed to get my real body to function without me inside of it. I'm entrusting it to you. It's the only gift I have to give. You won't be able to use it for much, but all of Courage's stories are on there for you to read. I suggest you get them off as soon as you can because I'm not sure how long it'll function without me. Just make sure that you keep an eye on it in case it starts walking around in the middle of the night again.'

Courage bought a bag of chips before heading back outside. Computer was already sitting out there, staring out across Nowhere with a forlorn expression. Courage had noted how distant he was being all of a sudden. They'd only started their trip maybe two hours ago and his friend was already acting completely depressed. Maybe all these new sights and sound were just too much for him to take in.

He sat down beside the glowing dog and offered him the bag of chips. The machine shook his head and refused.

Trying to lighten the mood, Courage asked, "Thinking about that love letter? I bet she's read it by now and is already swooning."

He had expected to set Computer off like normal, but instead he just kept staring out across Nowhere.

Courage let his smile fade. "Is everything alright?" He asked.

Without looking away, Computer replied with his own question, "Do you think we should have let her come along?"

"Having second thoughts about your true love?" He asked with a small smile. "Well, it's too late to change your mind now. She's long gone. We can't turn back now."

Computer sighed and nodded. "I know."

'Please don't feel bad. I want things to end this way. I wish more than life itself that I could have more time to spend with you and Courage, but it just can't happen. I don't want to dwell on it too much either because it just makes me sad, and I don't want you to be sad either. There's nothing to feel bad about. The days I've spent with you and Courage have been the happiest I've ever had. I never even thought it was possible to feel so happy. You both taught me that life doesn't have to be horrible. That not every day needs to be filled with misery and that not every person on this planet is rotten to the core. I only wish that I could be as wonderful as you, if only to give back to you what you've given to me. I've thought for so long that I was dead on the inside and was just waiting for my body to catch up, but you proved to me that I wasn't, or perhaps you merely revived me.'

The bus driver called out to them, letting them known that their time was almost up. Courage finished off the rest of his chips and stood up.

"Ready?"He asked Computer.

The glowing dog tore his eyes away from Nowhere and nodded. "I hope we're going to see a lot of interesting things on this little journey of ours." He spoke, perking up a bit. "These gift shop places are quite fascinating. Although, I'm not sure why anyone would find Nowhere interesting enough to buy souvenirs of it."

"You're just used to it." Courage joked. "I'm sure other people find Nowhere to be fascinating too. Normal for us isn't exactly normal for everyone else."

"Well, I can't wait to see what normal looks like then." Computer replied with a hint of a chuckle.

'Thank you for everything, Nina. I guess I couldn't help but make this sappy, huh? It may be the end of the road for me, but I hope you go on to live a wonderful life. Become that supernatural detective you want to be. I'm sure you'd help a lot of people, and goodness knows, Nowhere could use its own superhero.'

Courage made his way over to the bus, Computer following behind him. He had no idea where they were heading next and even though he knew Computer could probably tell him, he figured that he'd let it be a surprise.

'It looks like I've run out of things to say and perhaps that's for the best. I guess I couldn't keep this short either, could I? Thank you again for your kindness. Even now I feel like I don't deserve it. It's sheer luck that we met and I'm glad for it. Had it not happened, I don't think I would have ever escaped the things that happened to me in the past. Courage is right about how healing works. I'm sure I would still be just as bitter now if you two hadn't looked past my worst aspects and tried to help me regardless of it. Well, I don't want to ramble on anymore. I guess it's time for me to say,'

Computer took a seat closest to the window and Courage sat down beside him. He hadn't buried his face into that ancient book like last time and instead kept his eyes trained on Nowhere. Courage considered saying something to him but decided that it would be best to just let him be.

"I'm going to miss her." The machine said in a quiet voice, surprising Courage.

He was shocked at just how upset his friend was over leaving her behind. He was the one who had insisted that she couldn't come along after all!

"I know." He agreed, offering what little comfort he could. "We'll be sure to visit her the moment we get back."

As the bus rolled off, the desert of Nowhere finally vanished from view as they went up a hill and then back down it again. Computer turned away, closed his eyes for a moment and then returned his gaze to the window, still unusually sullen. Courage on the other hand pulled his book out of the bag and finally began to read it. He wanted to at least try and get it finished before they got back. Maybe Computer would even be proud of him then. Although, probably not!

He glanced over at his friend one last time, annoyed that he couldn't find a way to cheer him up. Computer continued to stare out the window, all while not really looking at anything at all. He was completely lost in thought. With little else he could do, Courage returned to his book.

'Goodbye.'

End Of Volume I

A/N: Happy four year anniversary! Hope to see you all again when Volume II begins! The final song for Volume I would be, 'Ten Thousands Years Won't Save Your Life' by Hammock from their Departure Songs album. Music for a non-existent credits roll? Don't ask me, I'm currently sleep deprived! It amazes me how much of this story I've written while I'm half asleep. Anyway, see you all later for Volume II!