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DP: Lab Rats Roleplay - Chapter 16

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Lab Rats roleplay, chapter 16
By: JessTFfan2212 and AuroraFox

Elijah blinked, looking between the Observant and Clockwork like he missed something important.

"I-I don't-... h-have a-a-..." Began the stuttering time ghost.

"What? A father? Oh yes you do. You come from a whole family of bloodthirsty killers. Like I said before, your father was the worst of them. Then comes your brother, who also tried to kill you. Your mother left you and the rest of your family abandoned you on Earth!! Just like the dirt you are!" The Observant shouted. Clockwork stepped back, looking absolutely horrified. "As a matter of fact, your brother was the one to give you that scar during one of his attempts at taking your life."

All this was new to Elijah. He wasn't expecting something like this. However, he stepped in front of Clockwork. "That's enough! Now get moving and get the Observant High Council out of here." He said, not knowing how much Clockwork could take in.

The Observant scoffed. "And now you need this blood craver to protect you. You're simply pathetic..." He said before floating off, signalling the other Observants to follow. They said nothing as they left. And Clockwork looked like he couldn't say anything at all.

Elijah just snapped his teeth toward the Observant before turning to Clockwork. "Hey old man. You okay?" He asked, waving his hand in front of his face.

The time ghost didn't react to the war prince at first. He only looked down to the ground, looking very disappointed. "I-I-... I never-..." He stuttered.

"Hey, come on and snap out of it. We still have a job to do." Elijah said, putting his hands on the ghost's shoulders, threatening to shake him if he didn't get back to his sarcastic self.

Clockwork just shut his eyes tight and let his shoulders drop. He desperately hoped being abandoned wasn't what happened to him ever since he asked Elijah about having a family.

Elijah blinked. "I know they said that out of nowhere but we need to go back and get the halfa."

"... I'm useless in my current state... I can't even stay awake for a few hours without passing out..." Said Clockwork. He sounded down.

Elijah glared at him. "Will you stop talking like that?!"

"Why? It's true!" Said Clockwork as he looked back up.

"Yes but that's why you have to pull yourself together!" Elijah said, shaking him.

Clockwork winced as he was shaken, his wound sending a short jolt of pain through him. He pressed his hand against his center. "How do you expect me to be able to help you anyway? I can't even fly for very long." He said.

"I may be a war prince but those guys know how to take down any ghost. I don't know what kind of weapons they have and there's no time to send in a scout." Elijah said. "So pull yourself together and help me."

The time ghost sighed. "Alright..." He said.

"Good, now let's go." Elijah said, stepping back.

Clockwork didn't say anything. He just slowly headed for the exit, trying not to fall over as he walked. The blue ghost suddenly felt-... strange... The best word he could come up with was alone.

Elijah headed outside and looked around, wondering just which ghosts he should get to help them overpower the Guys in White.

Clockwork just took his time getting to the exit. He checked any rooms he passed to make sure the Observants were leaving. Some were packing a few things and would leave shortly but that was still good. He soon reached Elijah but he didn't say anything. He just stood by the door, waiting.

Elijah headed off into the Ghost Zone. "Old man, which one will take us to the American West?"

"Here..." Said the time ghost. He flew past Elijah, expecting him to follow, and into the Ghost Zone, not saying a word.

Elijah followed closely. "I usually hate whiners but you've got something on your mind."

Clockwork simply nodded and kept flying until he came to an old wooden salon door. It had a green portal clearly visible behind it. The time ghost just moved to the side and gestured for Elijah to enter.

"Once this is done, we'll talk about it, okay?" Elijah said before stepping through. They appeared in an old saloon bar with cowboys. One in particular had sandy blond hair and was talking it up with a woman, who clearly caught his interest.

Clockwork soon stepped through the portal too, and stood a few feet behind the war prince. Then the ghost realized what Elijah wanted from the Old West.

Elijah headed over to the cowboy. "Always the charmer. Why you're my sharpshooter, I'll never know."
The cowboy nearly spat out his drink as he turned around to see Elijah. Clockwork couldn't help but smirk at the cowboy's reaction. But it quickly faded.

"Elijah!" He said, standing up and shaking hands with the war prince. The two started laughing like brothers.

"Jack, we really need your help on this one." He said. Clockwork just watched as the two greeted one another. But he eventually just walked back over to the exit and stood beside it, starring at the ground. Elijah turned around to Clockwork and led Jack over. "We'll fill you in on the way but we're going to need your help. And this is the time ghost." He said, gesturing to Clockwork.

Hearing that, Jack tipped his hat. "Never thought I'd see the Ghost of Time..."

The blue teen looked up and gave a quick nod. "Hello, Jack Connors." He said.

Jack blinked. "That's a little creepy how you know my name but since you're the Ghost of Time, I shouldn' be complainin'." He laughed.

"If you don't count recent events, I know everything... Or so I thought..." Said Clockwork. He then looked back down a little.

Jack looked at him and waved his hand. "Uh...you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine... If you'll excuse me..." Said the time ghost. He turned around and headed out through the green portal beside him.

"What's up with him?" Jack asked.

"He's been through a lot. Just come on." Elijah answered, stepping into the portal.

Clockwork was floating not too far away from the portal, waiting for Elijah to choose the next destination.

Elijah headed over toward his father's keep. "We're going to get an army ready. Are you ready Jack?"

"As long as I can call up my horse, Dusty Tails!" He said. Clockwork just flew behind Elijah, following him to his father's castle. "So what's this fix you've gotten yourselves into?" Jack asked.

"Basically some ghost hunters that don't know when to quit." Elijah answered.

"And want to see what's inside us..." Muttered Clockwork. He never really looked up as he flew with the other two ghosts.

"What'd he say?" Jack asked.

"He said that they were doing some surgery on us too." Elijah answered. Clockwork only nodded and kept flying. He just wanted to get to the castle before he passed out again.

Jack moved back over to Clockwork. "I still never thought I'd ever see a strong ghost like yourself!" Jack said, pretty bewildered.

Clockwork smirked. But it soon faded. "I'm afraid I'm not strong anymore..." He said, looking at his teen sized hand.

Jack frowned. "But I bet you can still put up a good fight!"

"... Maybe. Depending on the situation." Said the time ghost. Jack grinned.

Elijah turned back to them. "Let's go. We're almost there."

Clockwork only nodded and sped up so he wouldn't fall behind. Jack made sure that Clockwork caught up as he took out one of his guns, making sure all the bullets were loaded properly.

Soon enough they made it to the Ghost King's castle. By then the time ghost was beginning to feel himself losing energy again, but he shook it off. Jack noticed that Clockwork wasn't looking too well and put away his guns.

Once they flew into the stone structure and landed in the main hall, the blue ghost rubbed his head but showed no signs of passing out... Though he still wasn't looking great. He didn't say anything.

Jack whistled when he saw the mass of weapons on the floor and the large castle. "You sure have some operation E!" He said. Clockwork only stopped rubbing his head and went down a hallway, looking for something. "Hey, we're you going?" Jack asked.

"Over here." Clockwork answered bluntly. Jack rolled his eyes and followed while Elijah seemed to disappear into another hallway.

Eventually Clockwork came to a door he remembered and went to open it. It wouldn't budge. The teen tried to open it with more force, pulling the knob. Nothing was happening. The ghost suddenly cried out in pain and clutched his center, letting go of the door handle completely.

"Whoa hey!" Jack yelled as he ran over to him. He didn't know that they tried to take out Clockwork's internal clock. The blue teen dropped to his knees and hissed from the pain. Oh god that hurt. He figured he must have used a muscle in his chest where he was cut open. Jack looked really worried. "Do you need somethin'?"

Clockwork shook his head 'no' before trying to stand up, completely failing at it and causing himself more pain in the process. He winced.

"Hey just take it easy." He said, wondering if he should move him. "If you wanted to get through the door, you could just ask." Jack moved toward the handle and tried to jiggle the door open. Clockwork only focused on waiting for the horrible throbbing in his chest to stop so he could stand up. He hunched over a little and kept panting. After jiggling the handle so many times, the door finally opened. Grinning to himself, he turned to Clockwork. "You sure you don't need some water?" He asked, not knowing about his internal clock.

"Can't-... h-have any." The time ghost said. He tried one more time to lift himself up. He struggled a little but finally succeeded.

Jack was about to ask when Clockwork got up. "At least you're doing a bit better." He grinned. "So what did you want behind this door anyway?"

"Insurance." Said the blue ghost. He slowly walked past Jack, making sure he wasn't about to fall over, and into the room. It wasn't long before he eyed what he was looking for the weapon room. A scythe.

"Nice!" Jack said.

Clockwork just continued to walk up to the weapon and then pulled it up out of the rack in which it was held. He was not going to take any chances walking around empty handed when it came to the guys in white. Besides, it felt good to have something in his hand again.

Jack looked the scythe over. "It's in good condition and even the blade is clean! I don't think E's ever used that!"

Clockwork only nodded, still not really in the mood to speak. He just turned around and headed for the door, using the scythe to balance.

Jack headed out the door with the old man, wondering where Elijah ran off to. Eventually after closing the door to the weapons room the two ghosts walked back to the main room in the castle. Clockwork glanced around for the war prince. Elijah soon appeared with some powerful weapons that looked like they were used during World War 2. The time ghost was wondering just what Elijah may be planning, aside from the obvious raising an army and attacking the Guys in White.

Elijah sighed and started loading some guns. "See you got yourself something useful." He said, not looking up.

"Do you have any bullets for my gun E?" Jack asked.

"Yeah." With that, he threw a pack to the cowboy.

Clockwork only watched. He was lost in thought.

"Finally recovering?" Elijah asked.

"Hm?" Said Clockwork, being snapped out of it. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"The wound I patched up. You starting to get your strength back?" He asked.

"... Not entirely." Said the time ghost.

Elijah merely shrugged. "Guess it'll take some more time."

"I know..." Said the time ghost. He went back to staring at the floor.

The war prince stood up and held his hand out. "Let me see the scythe for a second.

The time ghost looked up a little and handed him the weapon without question.

Elijah looked it over and frowned. He swung it through the air a few times. "It seems a bit heavy. I can make it lighter though."

"Sure, whatever..." Said the time ghost as he sat down on the ground, crossing his legs.

Elijah glared at him then tossed it to the side, not going to bother if Clockwork was going to complain and groan about it.

The blue ghost sighed. Of course he would make something worse. Since he couldn't seem to do anything right at the moment, as the Observants said before, he just moved himself so he was facing away from the others, hoping he wouldn't be doing something even more stupid.

Jack wanted to say something but he didn't know the time ghost very well. He was worried he'd say something stupid or fumble with his words. He just sat down, checking his gun over. Elijah however just kept quiet as he was deep in thought about how they were going to take down the Guys in White. Suffice to say, an awkward silence was taking place. Clockwork didn't want to talk, Jack wanted to talk but didn't know what to say, and Elijah was busy plotting. At this point the time ghost was beginning to give in to all his negative thinking. Unwanted. Useless. Dirt. Nothing. Curse.

Jack suddenly got an idea. "Hey, how about I train with the time ghost for a while, E?"

Clockwork was suddenly snapped out of his depressing train of thought. Train? I'm not in the condition for that. He thought to himself.

"Do as you like." Elijah answered.

"Yeah, yeah." He then turned to Clockwork. "Come on! I'll make it easy enough for ya." He said. The blue teen didn't say anything as he got back up to his feet. Jack frowned. "Trainin' with me won't be that bad." He said, wondering if Clockwork didn't want to.

"I know... I'm just not myself right now." Said the time ghost as he turned to the sharpshooter.

"I see...But all we can do is try." He smirked.

"Alright." Said Clockwork.

"Good!" Jack said as he grabbed Clockwork on the arm and led him down a hall.

The time ghost was surprised by the sudden grabbing his arm. It didn't hurt very much though. He followed the cowboy, trying to keep his balance as well. Jack made sure to let go when he made sure that Clockwork was following him. The blue teen was then able to keep his balance much more easily and kept up, trying not to waste very much energy.

"You're doing better if I do say so myself!" Jack grinned.

"Don't get your hopes up on that." Said Clockwork. He was really doubting himself now.

"Now you're just beatin' a dead horse." Jack said.

"Excuse me?" Asked Clockwork, unable to remember what the phrase meant.

"You just keep sayin' over and over that you're not doing well. You're not clutching your stomach anymore though. Speaking of, how did you got hurt there?"

Clockwork frowned. "... They tried to remove my case..." He said, sounding very down about it.

"Wait...case?" Jack asked.

Clockwork stopped walking and lifted his shirts up, revealing his green stained bandages. He pressed a hand against them, turned them invisible and revealed the clock and case in his chest along with the sliced parts of his body.

"Well I'll be..." Jack said in amazement. He looked like an innocent kid who found something really rare but he didn't touch.

Clockwork just stopped turning his bandages invisible and lowered his shirts back over his body. "It's not fun when they want to see how it works..." Said the time ghost, sounding very down.

"I'll bet." Jack frowned. The blue teen only stared at the ground with a pained expression on his face. He was lost in his depressing thoughts again. "Hey...you alright?" He asked, seeing Clockwork's eyes were a little lost. The time ghost blinked and just looked up a little.

"I'm fine..." He said, not at all sounding convincing.

"Well, I can see if I can go get you something..." He offered.

Clockwork only shook his head 'no' before he continued walking down the hall, careful not to strain himself. Jack sighed. If he didn't want to be helped, there really wasn't much to say. Maybe he just needed some time to himself. The blue ghost kept walking down the hall until coming to the end. It had one hallway left and one right. He didn't know which way Jack wanted to go so he just waited for him.

Jack headed down the hallway to catch up with Clockwork. "I guess sparring is a little out of the question?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm not annoyin' you now am I?" He asked, a little self conscious being around Clockwork.

"No. Of course not." The time ghost said quickly. He looked disappointed, seeing once again that he keeps screwing things up somehow. "I just have a lot on my mind..."

"I can see that. You know, if I was ever distracted, talkin' about it made it feel a bit better. Even if it's just the open sky." He explained.

Clockwork nodded. Once again having a pained expression on his face. He headed down a random hallway, not waiting for Jack.

"I need to be alone..." He stated, not looking back.

"Um...alright." Jack said, wondering if he was really okay.

The blue teen just stormed down the hallway, opened a random door and went in before unintentionally slamming it shut. Jack began to just head to the front of the castle, wondering if Elijah could talk to him. After all, he probably knew the time ghost better.

Clockwork was kneeling on the ground in some sort of storage room, located deep in the Ghost King's castle. He was staring at the window, looking terribly depressed as tears began to fill his blood red eyes. It wasn't long before they began to roll down his face. He noticed this and immediately tried to wipe them away. His pride of being an all powerful being blocking his willingness to just show his new teenage emotions.

He was never allowed to have such a weakness. Emotions that is. He was always able to avoid them, keep them locked up behind an impenetrable barrier. But now that he was trapped as a teenager, it's become nearly impossible to keep them in check, especially with recent events taken into consideration. In just a few weeks, he had been shocked, stabbed, interrogated, experimented on, dissected, and just plain turned into an emotional wreck. Suffice to say, he was mentally scarred. Same with his body. The large wound around his case had started to ache, but he wouldn't say anything about it. Once again, his pride stopping him.

Tears just continued to fall down his face and drop to the ground. He was hurt, and that's not meant as just physically hurt. The proper word would be heartbroken to some. He shut his eyes tight as he cried and placed a hand over his right eye as if to try and stop the tears, showing off the black scar over his left.

Just recently he had been scolded by an Observant to the point where the green being had screamed some rather personal information about the crying teen. As is the reason for this. Through the screaming, he was told that there had been attempts to take his life by his father and brother. He also found out his mother had left him and his family, not caring what happened to him. And to top it all off, it turned out they ended up abandoning him on Earth, like the pathetic dirt he is. Finding out he actually HAD a family, what they did to him, along with the recent torture was just too much to handle. So he cried.

"Are you gonna talk about it, or do I have to beat you until you stop crying?" Asked Elijah. Clockwork flinched as the prince made his presence known. The pale ghost was standing by the entrance, invisible. He had literally just come to look for the blue ghost. He turned visible again, looking about as harsh and uncaring as usual. The blue teen slowly looked to him, his blue skin stained from crying and a pained expression on his face. There was a pause between the two. "... Look, old man. What that Observant said came out of nowhere, but you can't be this upset about it. It's in the past." He said, trying to reason with the time ghost. Clockwork only looked back to the ground in front of him.

"Y-yes I can." He replied, sounding very down. "You've always had your father with you. Even when you died. You've had Himura and Jack too... I've just been stuck with the Observants all my life." Clockwork said. A few more tears fell to the ground and he began to shake. "I've never had anyone... And now I learn that I-I could have...... But they-... they didn't want me. No one does...... I'm just dirt to kick around..." He said. The teen's voice had begun to crack at this point.

Elijah would have been teasing the old ghost about how weak he was being, calling him pathetic because he's been through worse and had never shed a tear. But this was different. Clockwork was right, he's always had comfort in the fact that his father was with him in the afterlife. Maybe not right beside him but he was still right where he could find him. Did the old man really have no one? The war prince walked up to the blue teen and kneeled beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. He knew the old ghost felt like the world was crashing down on him.

"I-I've seen it..... I've watched it..... But I never knew it could hurt so much..." Said the time ghost. He just continued to cry. Elijah just moved Clockwork so he was looking at him.

"Old man. You're not dirt, alright? You never were. Besides, if they dumped you here then it's their loss." He said, trying to cheer him up. It didn't work.

"Yes I am! I'm nothing! If I was worth anything to them, my parents would have kept me!" Clockwork shouted as tears were running down his cheeks. He was shaking quite a bit. Elijah just gave him a neutral look and stared at him before suddenly pulling the time ghost into a hug, catching him completely off guard. The blue teen stiffened and froze, no longer crying for the moment.

"... You're not alone, alright? You aren't." Said the war prince. The blue teen just started to cry into his shoulder, shaking, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Elijah just kept his head looking straight forward with the same neutral expression on his face. Clockwork needed to let it all out. Too much had happened to them in too little time. "It'll be okay." Said the war prince, keeping the time ghost in a warm embrace for as long as he needed. He looked down toward Clockwork as he kept crying. He was soaking his hoodie but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "How's your case? Does it hurt?" He asked. Clockwork nodded. "Okay... It's okay." Said the war prince. He expected that. It wasn't much to worry about right now though.

As the time ghost started to slowly calm down, Elijah sighed and just ruffled Clockwork's hair. "Come on. You'll be fine." He said quietly before he helped the ghost to his feet. He grabbed a blanket from a nearby chair and put it over Clockwork's shoulders. He then lead the ghost out of the room and to a nearby bedroom, moving him toward the bed over in the corner and helping him lie down. "Just get some rest before we move again."

"Elijah?" Clockwork asked. The war prince looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "...Th-...thanks...." He said, not looking directly at him.

"Don't mention it." And he meant that to its literal meaning. "If you say anything about this, I'll rip out your precious voice box. Just because you're the time ghost doesn't mean you can ruin my reputation." He said. Clockwork only smirked a little before rolling onto his side, facing the wall. And with that Elijah left, letting the blue ghost relax as he slowly fell asleep. It was good to see the old man smiling again, after everything that's happened.

----------

Clockwork shifted his head on the pillow as he came to. He rubbed his eyes. They were itchy from all the crying yesterday. Crying... Oh please, he was bawling! Like. A. Baby. Feeling like a complete waste of ectoplasmic life, the blue ghost opened his eyes and lifted himself up, moving his feet off the bed. He really didn't want to face anyone. Sighing, he stood up, a little wobbly but mostly from just waking up, and headed for the door. He desperately hoped Elijah hadn't told Jack what happened.

As Clockwork was about to open the door, Elijah was already there to open it. He blinked, seeing Clockwork out of bed. "You're finally awake?" He asked, knowing the answer but he didn't want to make this conversation more awkward than it was.

The blue ghost took a few steps back. "... Yeah..." He said.

"Good." Elijah said. "I got the scythe and everything. I just need to wait for Jack to come back and then we can get the halfa and his family out of the Guys in White building."

"You-... you didn't tell him, did you? About what happened?"

"Of course not, and you'd better not tell anyone either." Elijah glared.

"Me? Tell HIM? I'm the one that was bawling his eyes out like the pathetic dirt I am!! I'm NEVER telling him. NEVER." Said the time ghost. He instantly looked upset again. He may have let everything out earlier, but he was still hurt.

"Good to know old man." Elijah said, a bit irritated that Clockwork still was depressing as ever. "Now come on. You can have a pity party later."

Clockwork just rolled his eyes before walking past the war prince and out of the room. He wanted to get Danny out of that lab, get his body back to its form shifting, and give those Observants a reminder on who has the real power.

"Aren't you eager?" Elijah smirked as he walked along with Clockwork. "Must be feeling a bit better."

"That doesn't matter..."

"Of course it does. You're useless if you freeze up."

"I'm just useless all together, so who cares?"

"...Quit saying that, you stubborn old man." The war prince glared.

"Why!? Just how am I NOT useless?"

"Didn't you save the halfa's life?"

"Yes, but I also mentally scarred him..."

"Everyone's mentally scarred nowadays." Said Elijah. Clockwork didn't say anything as he rounded a corner. Negative thoughts just continued to plague his mind. "Look old man, if you feel that bad about yourself, then do something about it." Elijah said. "So grab the scythe and let's go."

"And just what do you think I should do? Kill people? How would that help?" Asked Clockwork as he entered the main hall.

"The Guys in White you nimrod. Just defend the Fentons with it." Elijah said. "You really think those pathetic humans will think twice about shooting you?"

The blue ghost sighed. "... Fine." He said, picking up the scythe that was still on the floor from yesterday.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

At that moment, Jack came riding in on Dusty Tails, carrying his revolver in his hand. "I scouted the headquarters like you asked, E. Looks like they're just fixing up the damage the last time you two were there."

Clockwork only walked around the pile of weapons. Just in case he found something else useful. Elijah whistled and Mordecai came galloping up. Getting on his horse, he made sure he had enough weapons.

"Well old man, you riding with me or Jack?"

Clockwork only looked up to them, debating on which one would hurt less. The flesh around his case was still healing.

"Is that such a good idea?" He asked.

"Riding on a horse is a little faster." Jack said. "Unless you want to fly by yourself."

"I'll fly." Said the time ghost.

"Suit yourself." Elijah said as he snapped his fingers. Several red skeletons came through the door and armed themselves with weapons. Clockwork only headed for the front door. The sooner this was over the better. "Let's go!" Elijah said as he led his army through the door. Jack was next to Elijah and Clockwork as they headed through the Ghost Zone.
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Here's the emotinal moment you've all been waiting for!
Next stop, the Guys in White headquarters!

Fanfic © JessTFfan2212 and Aurorafox
Original Labrat idea © AnneriaWings :iconanneriawings:
Elijah © AuroraFox :iconaurorafox:
Clockwork © Butch Hartman :iconbutchhartmanplz:
Art © JessTFfan2212 :iconjesstffan2212:
© 2012 - 2024 AuroraFox
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Tavirnth's avatar
Please continue with the story. I love how you and JessTFfan2212 write it and I can't wait for the next chapter.