Clockwerk’s Lair
Deep within the volcano of Russia, the leader of the Fiendish Five had begun working on his ultimate weapon. His servants were busy collecting various machinery and wires while his guards stayed on alert for trouble. Clockwerk gazed at his nearly completed weapon and couldn't prevent a grin from spreading across his metal beak at his work.
“Ahh..Marvelous, such brilliant machinery, all constructed by me.”
Piece by piece, the servants screwed in all the bolts, attached every wire they could find, and checked each part to make sure everything was ready.
“Is my weapon ready to be used?” the metallic owl growled.
The servants nodded in approval, which made the owl smile.
“Perfect… very soon the Cooper lineage will fall and the reign of Clockwerk will spread for generations,” Clockwerk said, but was interrupted by a slamming door.
“YO, BOSS!” Clockwerk groaned as his fellow members walked in unannounced.
“Why are you four here?” Clockwerk swooped down and landed on the ground. “You should be dealing with Sly Cooper, not interfering with my preparations.”
Sir Raleigh, wearing his signature tall, metal hat hopped closer to the metal owl. “You see, Clockwerk, we… uh, ran into some trouble with him and his meddlesome gang.”
“Oh, don't tell me.” Clockwerk groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his right wing. “He beat you all AND is heading here now?”
“How’d you guess?” Muggshot, the largest member of the group, asked with a stupid look on his face.
Clockwerk deadpanned. “Well, Muggshot, I guess you can say that I’m good at seeing incompetent failures who can't do their jobs, let alone handle a child.”
“Hey! You have no idea what the puny runt can do! He can move really fast and that cane, it hurts!” Muggshot shouted indignantly but was stopped by the giant owl as he got up dangerously close to his face.
“Believe me, mutt, I am fully aware of what the Cooper clan can do.” Clockwerk’s wing brushed his chin as he pondered. “But now that I think about it, were you all able to at least hide his lineage from him?”
“Well, we did but-” Sir Raleigh stopped mid-sentence as Clockwerk’s eyes glowed even redder.
“BUT!?”
“Things went south fast and-” the Panda King added as he noticed the other, smaller robotic owls backing away.
“Are you saying that he has all the pages?!” Clockwerk screeched in rage.
“Well… we tried to beat him, but-” Mz. Ruby was interrupted as her mouth was covered by Muggshot’s hand.
“He beat us with that cane of his and took the pages. He and his annoying friends ruined my entire operations!”
The others flinched under Clockwerk’s gaze. “Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn't throw you four into my smelting pits!?”
The alligator member was ready to speak when they heard grunts along with loud slashing noises outside the room. “That sound… that irritating slashing sound.” Clockwerk and his gang directed their heads to the entrance to see a raccoon, a turtle, and a very big hippo in the doorway surrounded by unconscious servants.
“Did we miss the party?” the raccoon mockingly asked while twirling his signature cane.
Muggshot prepared his guns. “It’s them! It’s those annoying knuckleheads who messed up my operations!”
Clockwerk narrowed his gaze. “Sly Cooper. I am impressed to see that you have made it this far. Such a shame that your father couldn't see you now.”
“Clockwerk.” Sly stared angrily at the giant bird.
“I see you have found your way to me. Impressive. I’m guessing that means you know who I am?”
Sly pointed his cane towards his foe. “You mean the monster who killed my father and attacked each one of my ancestors? Yeah, I know exactly who you are. As for why you did it, that part I don't know yet. So before I tear you apart, can you explain to me why?”
A predatory grin spread across Clockwerk’s beak. “Heheheh...Why? Well, child, I did it because I wanted to prove a point.”
“What point?” Sly asked threateningly.
Clockwerk only grinned wider. “That you Coopers are weak and that your feelings make you weaker still.”
“Or perhaps you were jealous of my family’s great thievery?” Sly quipped back.
Clockwerk’s grin quickly vanished and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “Well, that too, I suppose, but I wanted to prove that you Coopers are nothing without the Thievius Raccoonus, which is why I left you alive that night. To prove to the world that you Coopers are nothing without it.”
Sly shook his head. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. The Thievius Raccoonus doesn’t make great thieves; it takes great thieves to make the Thievius Raccoonus.”
Clockwerk merely scoffed. “Humph. Not like it matters anymore, as I have found a way to fix my ‘rodent’ problem for good.”
“What do you mean, Clockwerk?” spoke up Sly’s friend, Bentley, a green turtle wearing technical gadgets.
“Well, my little green friend, allow me to show you all,” Clockwerk said as he ordered his mechanical birds to attack.
Sly quickly destroyed half of them by swinging his cane at them while Murray grabbed one and chucked it into the others.
Clockwork groaned, then noticed his cohorts simply watching as the Cooper Gang went running up to them. “You idiots… kill them!”
Muggshot struck first by grabbing his machine pistols and firing towards the Gang. Murray and Bentley quickly ducked behind a pile of metal owl parts while Sly quickly dodged the bullets. “Enough of your roughhouse shooting, it is time to heat things up.” The Panda King pushed Muggshot to the side and launched his fireballs. Seeing the fireballs, Sly Cooper wove to the side as he dashed towards the Panda King.
“You guys are gonna have to do better than that!” Sly landed in front of the Panda King and with a swift move of his cane knocked the panda into Sir Raleigh.
Clockwerk hid his face in his wing out of embarrassment. Muggshot fired a few more rounds at Sly but each shot missed as Sly jumped nimbly around him. “Stand still you moving, hopping piece of-” Before he could finish his insult, something metallic struck him in the head. “What the-?!”
He turned around only to greet another piece of metal with his face. Sly glanced towards where Murray was throwing the metal shrapnel at a barely standing Muggshot. “Good job, Murray!”
“Thanks, Sly!” Murray turned back to his opponent. “Come on, dog breath, come at me!” he taunted Muggshot as he continued to throw metal at him.
Muggshot made it a few inches before a metal owl beak struck his right eye. “OW!!!” He covered his eye with his hand, also covering his other eye due to his large arms. Seeing an opportunity, Sly hopped onto his back and whacked him on his head with the cane.
“Timber!” Sly hopped off his back as he dropped to the ground with a derped face and cuckoo birds circling his head.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Clockwerk sighed unamused as he gazed at Mz. Ruby. “Mz. Ruby, deal with them. And this time, no games!”
Bentley and Murray ran from behind the metal pile over to Sly. Clockwerk flew into the air and landed higher up on a cliff, leaving Mz. Ruby to deal with them. “I don’t know about you, but I feel a nice little vibe of juju!”
Bentley huffed as he reached Sly’s side. “Sly, remember, Mz. Ruby has-”
“Juju powers with the shapes in them, yeah, I know, Bentley,” Sly quickly waved away his friend’s concerns.
“Actually, Sly, leave this one to me.” Murray stepped in front of Sly with a heroic pose. “The Murray will deal with her, you stop Clockwerk.”
“You sure Murray?” asked Sly. “You’ve never faced her before.”
Clockwerk flew over to his device and began inputting information into it with his talons. “No time to argue just go!”
“Thanks, Murray!” Sly dashed past Mz. Ruby and began climbing up the cliff as he spotted Clockwerk typing something on a control panel. “Hey, Featherface!”
Clockwerk continued typing but turned his head around. “I anticipated this, but you’re already too late. I knew it would come to this, which is why I invented this,” Clockwerk said as he pressed another button which caused a huge machine to light up.
Sly stared as lights flashed and gears whirred. “What is that?”
Clockwerk’s deadly grin once more graced his countenance. “This, Cooper, is a time machine.”
“Why would you need a time machine, to see what you look like ten seconds from now?” Sly asked innocently.
“No, you simple-minded raccoon,” Clockwerk sneered. “I will use this time machine to travel back in time and completely erase your family line... forever.”
“So you’re going back on your previous line about how you wanted to show how my family is weak and blah blah blah.”
Clockwerk sighed. “Well, while dealing with you Coopers over the centuries, I began to ask myself: How do you get rid of a cockroach permanently before it spreads? The answer was simple; to erase the egg before it hatches completely.”
“As if I will ever let that happen. This ends now, Clockwerk… For my lineage!” Sly lunged at Clockwerk with his cane but the mechanical owl knocked him back with a swing of his wing.
“Pathetic… you are weak… Initiating the time machine… now!” Clockwerk said as he pulled a lever. The device started to light up with electricity buzzing around the two foes. “Within seconds… your lineage will be… erased.”
Back on the ground floor, Murray and Bentley were dodging Mz. Ruby’s attacks the only way they knew how; by running around like madmen. “Stay still and face me like men!” growled the priestess.
Bentley retreated into his shell. “We’re not men!”
Murray hid behind the pile of owl parts again. “We’re a turtle and a hippo!”
As the voodoo alligator continued her attacks on them, Muggshot began to recover. “Ugh, what in my great aunt's name just happened?” His eyes drifted up to the sight of Sly and Clockwerk battling on top of the cliff. He grabbed one of his guns and aimed it towards the back of Sly’s head. “You think you can embarrass me like that!? I’ll show you!” he yelled out as he pulled the trigger.
Clockwerk fired his eye lasers at Sly, hitting him in the chest with enough force to knock him down. “’Its a shame, really, that the last Cooper that I will be dealing with is the weakest Cooper that I have faced yet.”
Sly gritted his teeth but heard the sound of bullets firing in his direction. He quickly lunged into the air and used his cane to hook onto a support beam. The bullets ended up striking Clockwork in his chest and forcing him back against the machine.
One of the bullets bounced off his metallic body and struck the control box, sending the machine bursting into flames. The fire soon engulfed the mechanical owl, damaging his circuits and weak spots like his wings.
A single bead of sweat dripped down Muggshot’s face. “Whoops.”
“Mugg… shot… you idiot… I will… get… kill you, Sly Cooper… kill… you...” Clockwerk stuttered out as his servos began shortcircuiting.
Sly watched in shock as the machine exploded in a flurry of reds and yellows. “Let’s get out of here guys!” Sly tried to run away but he was suddenly caught. He turned to see Clockwerk gripping him in his talons. “Hey, let me go!”
“If I’m going down….I’m taking you with me!” Clockwerk roared as he glared at Sly, hatred wafting off him in waves.
Sly quickly turned to look at his friends. “Guys! I could use a little help here!”
Murray, after beating Mugshot back into unconsciousness, dropped him on the floor and ran over to the cliff with Bentley following after him. “Hang on Sly, we’re coming!” Murray yelled as loud as he could.
“I am perfection… you cannot… you will not destroy me, Sly Cooper…” As Clockwerk proclaimed his dominance, the energy from the machine began to collapsed in on itself, forming a black hole.
“What?!” The force of the black hole began to devour parts of Clockwerk one-by-one, from tail to wings. As his wings were torn off, his metal frame fell to the ground with Sly still in his clutches. The black hole continued drawing the two closer to oblivion.
Sly tried to pry himself free of his enemy’s grasp, but was only able to get his hands free. “Hurry up, guys! Getting a bit too close to death here!”
“We’re coming, Sly!” Bentley yelled out in his nasally voice as Murray pulled both himself and Bentley up the cliff.
The metal plating around Clockwerk’s back finally gave and was torn off, exposing wires and a metal endoskeleton. “You cannot stop me… I used… to sell… flowers… Perfection…” More and more of Clockwerk was pulled apart until all that was left was his head attached to a skeleton with only one claw.
Murray hurried over and released Sly from Clockwerk’s grasp. “The Murray’s got you, pal.”
“Thanks, Murray. Now, let’s hurry away from this thing before -” Sly and his friends started to feel themselves getting lighter; the black hole was pulling them in with Clockwerk’s remains.
“The Murray is not liking this!”
“Nor is The Bentley!”
“And neither is me!” Sly shouted, but turned as noticed Clockwerk grinning once more.
“Whats so funny?!?!”
“Your death,” was the last thing Clockwerk managed to say before being completely devoured by the black hole.
Murray tried to grip onto a piece of metal impaled into the ground as he held his friends. However, Murray soon realized that the metal was slowly slipping out of his hand.
“The Murray is losing his grip guys!”
“Hang on, Murray! Don’t let go!” Sly yelled out.
“I can’t hold on anymore!” Murray finally lost his grip on the metal and the three were forced into the black hole within seconds.
__________________________________________________________________________
“Okay, Big Mac, can you let me know when she’s ready to play?” An orange filly with a magenta mane asked eagerly.
“Eeyup,” replied the big red stallion with a green apple cutie mark with a nod.
Scootaloo trotted away happily from the farm and was heading back into the town when suddenly she heard a loud crash within the nearby forest. “Huh?! What was that?!” She quickly ran in, avoiding the tall trees and low branches to reach the large opening.
She stopped dead in her tracks to see a pair of large metallic wings in perfect condition laying on top of each other. “Holy smokes!” The filly gawked as she approached the metal wings. As she was getting closer to the wings, something inside her felt... off.
“Come...closer.” The voice made Scootaloo jump in fear as it sounded like it came from behind her.
“Who’s there!? Show yourself!” The filly looked around her but saw nothing.
“I’m right here.” Scootaloo looked forward again as she got up close to the metal wings. She couldn't help but stare at them. “You like them… don't you?”
“Who are you? Are you the voice in my head? Because if so, let me ask you a question…Why do you sound like a dude if you’re suppose to be my inner voice?”
The voiced merely laughed. “No, my child...I am the very wings you are gazing upon.”
Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion. “You’re a pair of wings? That’s stupid.”
“No, my child, I’m not just a pair of wings. I used to be a mighty metal owl before fate caught up with me,” the voice said solemnly.
Scootaloo tried to imagine a large owl made of the same metal as the wings before her, though the image her mind conjured up looked suspiciously like the owl of a particular librarian/princess. “That sucks.”
“Indeed. But judging by the way you gaze at my wings...You like them, don't you, Scootaloo?” asked the voice.
The filly took a step back in shock. “How do you know my name?”
“I have gazed into your mind and I know who and what you are. I also know of the ‘problems’ that you have.”
“What problems!? I have no problems whatsoever.” Scootaloo crossed her hooves indignantly.
“Really? I know of your inability to take flight,” the voice said.
Scootaloo started once more. “H-how do you know that?!”
The voice tsked. “My poor child, you cannot hide your problems from me. I know of the ones who have picked on you about your... defects.”
The filly turned her gaze to the ground. “So? They’re just bullies, I don't care what they say.”
“Oh, but I see it in your eyes, the hatred for them. Of how they pick on you. What is that they call you?...Oh, yes…Blank flank, does that ring a bell?” mocked the voice.
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide as the memories of the two bullies insulting her for not having a cutie mark played over and over in her head. She couldn’t block them out and the voices only grew louder and louder until she finally yelled out, “I AM NOT A BLANK FLANK!” Scootaloo collapsed to the ground sobbing until she heard a soft hush.
“I know my dear,” the voice soothed. “I know the pain that you feel and it sickens me seeing you like this.”
The filly sniffled as she tried futilely to wipe away her tears.“... At least I have Sweetie Belle and Applebloom with me.”
“You mean your so called friends?” replied the voice. “Can't you see? They laugh at your misery.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “No they don’t. They support me through tough times, especially when I’m bullied.”
The filly could imagine the voice’s eyes rolling if it had them. “They merely pretend to be your friends, but behind your back they laugh at you, and deep down you know it. They laugh at how you don't have a family and they do, they laugh at how you can’t even get 6 ft. off the ground.”
Scootaloo dropped her head, tears running down her cheeks and the sound of sniffling returned. “I try. I really, really try…”
The soothing quality returned to the voice. “My poor, sweet child, I know you try your best, but your friends and your bullies will always bring your hopes down. Of course, this can always change.”
“What do you mean by that?” Scootaloo asked. As if to answer her question, the huge, metallic wings started to glow with a red aura.
“My dear, I offer you my gift, a part of me that I want to give to you. With my wings, you will soar through the skies and you will even be greater than all of your kind.”
“Even Rainbow Dash?!” Scootaloo’s eyes lit up and a wide grin appeared on her face.
“Even Rainbow Dash wouldn't even be able to catch up to you. you will soon call her squirt and show her who really rules the skies. Very soon, she’ll be dreaming of being like you.”
“Dreaming of being as fast as me and all I have to do is take your wings for my own?” the filly asked with wonder.
“Yes, the first stage of perfection is finding the perfect material and what I have to offer is greater than that.”
Scootaloo stared at the wings hesitantly. “But your wings are really big and I’m not sure if you can see me, but I’m kinda small.”
“Ah, but that is where I come in. With your hatred you will be able to fly with them and they will be a part of you. Your burning hatred will flow through my wings, making us both as one.”
Scootaloo gave the proposition a few seconds of thought before her eyes narrowed with determination. “Let’s do this.”
“Good, now step forward and place your hoof on my wings.” Scootaloo did exactly as the voice told her as she touched the metallic wings. “Okay, now what?”
“I will give you this warning, this might hurt.”
Scootaloo snorted. “If Rainbow Dash can take doing the Sonic Rainboom, then I can do this no problem.”
“So be it.”
The metallic wings then bolted into the air as they began to circle around Scootaloo. As she was watching this she also began to float up into the air until she was between the circular wings. In but a moment, both of the wings darted right towards Scootaloo as if they were alive. Scootaloo quickly closed her eyes as the wings attached to her normal wings.She cried out as she felt the agonizing pain of her wings as if they were being burned off.
Scootaloo nearly passed out from the horrific pain, but the idea of soaring into the sky was enough to keep going. She continued to press on as the new wings dug their wires and metal bones into her skin, trying to connect with her skeleton. After a few more seconds, her new wings finally finished merging with her.
“Scootaloo are you alright? How do you feel?” asked the voice.
Scootaloo huffed and puffed until she caught her breath and grinned as she opened her eyelids to reveal that her pupils had turned crimson. “Much better,” she answered in an almost mechanical sounding voice. She spread her new wings and flapped them hard, flying high into the sky in mere seconds. She directed her body towards Ponyville and flew towards it at high speed. “Alright, Ponyville, ready or not….get ready for me….Clockwerk!!!”
