The Conscious of a King (A Clockwork Tale)
By
AzureSkyCiel,
Posted on: 2007-04-29 14:32 in Roleplaying
Holy crap man, this is SOOOO good. Fantastic job.
They stop at Yins store to pick up Fusionette.
Im sorry, CK! I tried to save her--
Its not your fault, Nette.
You are not to blame for my daughters abduction, Fusionette. Mr. Yin had applied first aid to Fusionettes injuries-- the blaster had not gone down easily when the Lost came. The fault lies in those who seek to use her gifts for their own purposes.
Theres something about Yins eyes that disturb him. Yin does not have Pennys abilities, but somehow his eyes suggest that he knows more than he should. He feels exposed, and he doesnt like it.
Jimmy, you and Nette stay here and protect Mr. Yin. Ill go save Penny.
Right. Like were going to let you go off half-cocked to save Penny all by your lonesome, CK. Shes our friend-- and so are you. Blue Steels sidekick or not, Im not going to let you do this alone.
He knows better than to argue any more. All right. Lets go.
Wait. Mr. Yins eyes hold him again. I have a word of advice for you, my young friend.
Mr. Yin, we dont have time--
Those who try to deny their fates are always lost to themselves, Clockwork
Kid. Only those who accept their destiny can surpass it.
I
see.
Go now. Save my daughter. I know that you will do it.
Yes. Its a promise, as much to himself as to Yin. No matter what it takes, Ill save Penny. Lets go, guys.
And with that, he heads off to face his bitter destiny
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
Faultline and Fusionette think that its the psychic bond between them that leads him unerringly towards Penny. They dont know that hes walked this path before.
The enemies are the same ones he faced as the Clockwork King, but he is not. As the King, they were insignificant obstacles in his way. Metal hands could slap them away like insects. Concentrated thought could hurl them aside like leaves. Countless Clockwork could blast them with fierce bolts of electricity.
But he is no longer the Clockwork King.
The Clockwork Kid is an admired young hero, sidekick to Blue Steel himself. He can form four Clockwork minions. His psionic blasts can stun a man, and-- eventually-- defeat them. Sister Psyche tells him that when his powers mature he will be the most powerful psychic shes ever trained.
But its not enough.
The monster could not be stopped.
The man-- the hero-- has to fight for every inch of progress. And without the help of Pennys friends-- his friends-- he could not do it at all.
It galls him to realize that the monster is a better protector of Penny than the man can ever hope to be.
In the end, though, they make it.
And as he expected, Penny has once more been transformed by the Lost into one of their own. Now that he knows what to expect, he can feel echoes of her true personality in her thoughts
he can see the grace that not even the Losts mutation cannot destroy. He knows that he can change this-- that he has to change this-- but its still a knife in his heart to see her so transformed.
How many times? How many times can I change this? Will Penny always wind up like this no matter what I do? Must one of us always be a monster?
Wheres Penny?! Fusionette screams at the Lost monster.
Penelope Yin is gone.
No!
Nette-- He doesnt have time to say much more than that before Fusionette and Faultline charge towards the altered Penny. Hes not surprised by that; hes also not surprised by the Psychic Wail that sends his two allies tumbling into temporary oblivion.
The PCM is mine, Clockwork Kid.
I know it is, Penny.
I am not Penny. Penny is Lost forever now.
No, no shes not. Penelope Yin is standing right in front of me. Altered-- changed-- but not Lost. The girl who found me in my torment and madness is too strong to be Lost like this.
I dont know-- what -- youre talking-- about?
Yes you do, Penny.
Ill destroy you, Clockwork Kid!
King, Penny. Im the Clockwork King. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to change it. But thats who I am. Who Im meant to be. I am the Clockwork King!
Clockwork King? CK
? The thing that had been Penelope Yin is confused, now. He knows that it wont last long. He has to make it count.
Yes. Its me, Penny. Your CK. Let me fix this, Penny. Let me fix you. Let me fix time.
Fix me. Fix you. Fix time
It-- she-- stares at him, lost in memory. CK
You came to save me
Ill always come to save you, Penny. He takes off the heavy metal gauntlets that protect his hands and extends them to her. Let me help you, Penny.
Help me, CK. Help-- no! A blast of pure thought strikes him, sending searing pain through his skull like wildfire. Penelope Yin is gone!
Not while Im alive! The pain would have sent another man down to darkness or worse, but hes not just any man. In his own way, he had been Lost a long time ago
but Penny had found him, she had brought him back from madness and isolation. She had made him a man again.
And for her, he is willing to let go of everything she gave him.
He leaps at the Lost thing that has usurped Pennys body and soul, fully aware that it has the physical and mental strength to tear him apart, literally and figuratively.
He doesnt care.
A life without Penny is no life at all.
The Lost howls as it sends forth a blast of pure psionic rage at him.
But just then his fingers brush again the PsychoChronoMetron.
And history
twitches.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
Theres nothing but the two of them.
There is no ground, but theyre not floating. They seem to be standing in the middle of a mist that makes Dark Astoria look like its bathed in sunshine. There is no cold, no warmth, no light, and no darkness. Theres nothing.
Yet.
Penelope Yin is holding one side of the PCM while he holds the other. Shes Penny again. Human. Whole. More beautiful, more precious, than anything else in the world.
CK? Shes unsure, staring at his human face. Her free hand reaches out and touches his face. CK
I know you. But
this is really the first time Ive ever seen you, isnt it?
Yes. He closes his eyes as he feels her fingers touch his face. So warm. Her fingers are so warm, so alive. He wants this moment to last forever, but he knows that even though time doesnt pass here-- if here is the proper term-- it cant last. He must do this before his will falters. I used the PCM to alter time. To save you. To try to save myself.
It didnt work.
But youre here-- youre human!
Only for a little longer.
CK? Her eyes widen in horror as she reads in his eyes what she can also sense in his thoughts. You cant! Dont do this! Dont do this for me!
The Clockwork Kid cant save you. Im not strong enough like this. The Lost will continue to come after you. Its fated. Even the PCM doesnt seem to be strong enough to change that. The Lost will keep coming after you, and theyll take you-- unless the Clockwork King stops them.
Ill help you! We can use the PCM together! We can change history!
I tried. It was wrong, Penny. Youre not meant to wind up as some kind of Lost monstrosity, but my fate is sealed.
No!
I tried to change history because you befriended me as the Clockwork King. We met after I became what I became. I knew that when I changed history. I knew I was really the Clockwork King. I knew that one of us has to be a monster. And because I tried to be human for you, the PCM made you the monster.
Even if thats true, we know it now! We can use the PCM together! We can make it work, CK! I know we can!
No. You saw what happened to Overbrook when PsiCurse tried to use it to warp history. And his power is nothing compared to yours. Compared to mine. We might destroy the world. We might break time itself. He smiles then, trying to burn the sensation into his memory. Im the Clockwork King, but part of me is now the Clockwork Kid too. The Archvillain would dare anything to be with you, Penny
the hero cant take that risk.
CK, please. She knows hes right. He can see the sadness in her eyes.
Penny. Penelope. We have this one moment in time because youre touching the PCM too. It cant restore time until you let go.
I wont!
You will. You dont have a choice. The entire world depends on it. Paragon City. Faultline and Fusionette. Your father. None of it will exist until the PCM restores reality to what its meant to be.
Its not fair!
I got to see you, Penny. I got to touch you. Its more than I ever dreamed would be possible. For me, this is heaven.
CK--
Dont cry, Penny. Its okay. This was meant to be. He touches her face, brushing away her tears. Let me remember this. When the madness and the metal return, let me remember what it feels like to hold her. To have her look at me without disgust. Please, God. Let me remember what its like to be a man when Im no longer human.
CK, I wont let it end like this. Ill find a way to save you. I swear Ill save you!
Penny, you already have. Dont you know that? He smiles at her. I owe you so much for what you have done for me. You treated a monster like a man.
Youre not a monster!
Oh, but I am. But its all right. Monsters dont get happy endings, Penny. Its time, Penny. Let go.
Ck--
I love you, Penelope Yin. I will love you all the days of my life. And I know you dont love me. I know you cant. A whisper. Let go, Penny. Please.
And she hugs him then. She hugs him fiercely, as though shes never going to let him go. Both her arms go around his neck. He can feel her hot tears burning on his neck.
The PCM dangles freely in his grip. Shes let go.
Now its time for him to do the same.
He buries his face in her hair. Goodbye, Penny. Goodbye, my love.
And history changes once more.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
Witness now the madness of a King.
He has eyes, but no tear ducts so he cannot cry. His voice is an electronic monotone that cannot be raised in rage anymore than it can drop to an agonized whisper. His soul may ache to run to leave his pain behind, but his mismatched metal limbs allow him no more than a pathetic shuffle. He can pound the walls or his own faithful Clockwork, but his mighty steel hands feel nothing. They cannot break or bleed or distract him from his inner torment by outer pain.
He is a brain in a bottle, riding a brass and steel parody of the human body.
Pathetic?
Perhaps.
Grotesque?
Without a doubt.
But he is also a man.
A man who can love and hate as passionately as any other person. A man who can lose his heart like countless others before him. A man who can long for companionship as deeply, as sincerely, as any other creature on the planet.
But a man who cannot have those things no matter how much he desires them. A man just sane enough to know how mad he is.
Penny is safe. Her father is safe. The heroes saved her. They will always save her. And she does not remember the PCM. She does not remember what I did for her. She does not remember me. But she is safe. Thats good. Thats good
He knows he is mad, yes. He hopes that his memories of wearing human flesh and giving it up to save Penelope Yin are a fantasy born of that madness because he cannot bear to accept his life as it is if they are true. To have been a man-- to have held Penny in human arms just once-- that is either a dream to cherish or a nightmare to be forgotten as soon as possible. He cannot decide which.
Penny is safe. He hates the voice that utters those words. She doesnt need me.
He is the mighty Clockwork King, ruler of a kingdom of metal. He is power incarnate. He is one of the fabled Archvillains of Paragon City.
He is a disembodied brain in a liquid filled bottle deprived of human senses, human pleasures, and sanity itself.
He is a monster.
Monsters dont get happy endings.
He holds his hands up to his eyes. They are little more than a blur to his weak, all but useless orbs, but he knows they are there even if he cant feel them either.
Strong hands. Powerful. Hands that can shatter marble, twist steel.
Hands that cannot bleed or feel. Hands that cannot be trusted to touch human flesh without doing horrendous damage to it. Hands devoid of coordination or fine motor control. Hands that cannot write or type or express anything but brute force.
A monsters hands.
Monsters dont get happy endings, but they can end.
He wants to just remove the jar, but after three attempts he realizes that his hands cannot get a good grip on the smooth glass.
I cannot even kill myself gracefully. Very well. If I must use brute force--
He balls his hands into fists and prepares to smash the jar
CK?
His entire being seems to vibrate in response. Penny?
CK, I need your help. The Ritki kidnapped me. I cant get away. Help me, CK. Please help me
I will save you, Penny. I promise. I will always save you!
He lowers his hands regretfully. His pain will have to continue, for Penny has need of her CK.
Gathering his army, the Clockwork King shuffles once more to the rescue of his lady fair.
His precious Clockwork Princess.
The story of Penelope Yin and the Clockwork King is not yet finished, but its completion is not in my hands. Someday-- perhaps-- we will know what becomes of them, but I can do no more than leave you with this final thought:
Monsters may not get happy endings, but sometimes they are the most human of us all.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
I never thought I would cry over a story I read on the Internet. This was fantastic. Bravo, bravo, bravissimo. 
"Bombarding the CoH/V fora with verbosity since January, 2006"
Djinniman, level 50 inv/fire tanker, on Victory
-and 40 others on various servers
A CoH Comic: Kid Eros in "One Light"
Thanks to everyone who offered feedback, and I'd love more.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
That was an awesome story!
Blast you: you shouldn't make the villains who read your stories cry.
Beautifully written. Exquisite.
Bravo. A beautiful tale. Very well written.
.... Wow. You know, those little sounds the Clockwork make when they break down aren't going to be as satisfying now. Thanks a lot. :P
If it makes you feel better, I had to take down CK with my stone tank in the level 41 Badge mission.
I felt bad about it. >.>
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
Bah! I always knew Clockwork was too soft to be considered a REAL villain!
...No I'm not crying! I just...have something in my optics is all. (Sob, sniffle)
Superb.
Twisted, tortured, self-loathing, insane, yet still capable of sacrifice and love.
I'll have trouble doing the Synapse Task Force again. Dammit.
The alternate history of the Clockwork Kid reminded me of something that Stephen King has done a few times, where a character imagines a happier present, which ends up highlighting how much the present situation sucks!
Dumb Question time: Conscious = Awareness, Conscience = ethics. Do you have the title you wanted?
www.paragonwiki.com is a great source of information for this game.
New or returning to the game? Want advice from experienced players who want to help YOU?
The Mentor Project: Part of the New Player Council.
Thanks for the kind words, all.
And Xalaqia, I do have the title I wanted.
I don't want to say much more than that, but yeah, I deliberately chose "Conscious" instead of "Conscience".
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
Wow.
I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to express how much this enriched my perception of the King, Paladin, even Babbage.
I wanted to express that this should be made canon. That it will forever change my experience in the CW story lines. That it brought so much depth to those stories.
But all I can say is . . .
Wow.
Just re-read the story...again....
And I know this has been said before, but you freaking deserve it, Blue:
This.
Story.
Is.
Awesome.
Also, if there is ever a petition or something to make this into Co* canon, you've got my /sign for it.
Global - @El D
Servers - Protector
That was beautiful, this needs canonizing.
Click here to find all the All Things Art Threads!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
City of Heroes is a game about freedom of expression and variety of experiences far more so than it is about representing any one theme, topic or genre.
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Wow.
It's to my regret that I didn't read this sooner, and to my good fortune that I happened to glance at it while visiting today. This is really excellent.
I have my own reasons for being interested in the Clockwork King, and my own tale concerning him. Alas, it suffers from having been written before much Clockwork canon was revealed, and even more by comparison to your story. Still, I thought it worth mentioning here.
Have you written anything else I should investigate?
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
Thanks, Azure. I think the best compliment a writer of fanfiction can get is when someone tells him that his work is done well enough to be worthy of offficial canon.
Mega, that's high praise from someone who wrote one of my favorite COH-based fics. As you may or may not remember, I'm a big fan of your "Faces of the City"story.
The only other story I have here is
Dark Genesis. It's the origin story of one of my favorite characters.
And wow, your story was VERY good.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
I would like to say that as much sympathy as this story gave me, I immediately lost most of it when my blaster kept getting swarmed by Clockwork in Faultline and during a safeguard mission.
The whole time I kept thinking "Penelope! Call off your boyfriend!"
Also, this has left me with ideas for if the Clockwork King was able to re affix himself to new and better built body. I've spent at least an hour playing with the character generator to come up with something, ashamed there's no mono-eye option among the full helmet detail 2 selection.
Click here to find all the All Things Art Threads!
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
City of Heroes is a game about freedom of expression and variety of experiences far more so than it is about representing any one theme, topic or genre.
|
[ QUOTE ]
I would like to say that as much sympathy as this story gave me, I immediately lost most of it when my blaster kept getting swarmed by Clockwork in Faultline and during a safeguard mission.
The whole time I kept thinking "Penelope! Call off your boyfriend!"
Also, this has left me with ideas for if the Clockwork King was able to re affix himself to new and better built body. I've spent at least an hour playing with the character generator to come up with something, ashamed there's no mono-eye option among the full helmet detail 2 selection.
[/ QUOTE ]
LOL. Yeah, Penny really needs to have a long talk with CK ... 
On a more serious note ...
My spin on it would be that CK's ramshackle body is a reflecton of his self image.
Or it could be that his madness keeps him from making a more perfect body ... or it might be that his powers only work on scrap metal and junk, essentially ... and that he wouldn't be able to animate a more refined form ...
I would like to see what you come up with, though. I did play around with the creator myself to try to see what CK as the Clockwork Kid would look like ...
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
This is a wonderful, wonderful thread, well-written, entertaining, and insightful.
One minor nit- I had a bit of trouble telling who was speaking in the last installment with no dialogue attributions. However, this is a pretty insignificant point against the excellence that is the Clockwork Tale.
"Bombarding the CoH/V fora with verbosity since January, 2006"
Djinniman, level 50 inv/fire tanker, on Victory
-and 40 others on various servers
A CoH Comic: Kid Eros in "One Light"