Her name was Cara Cooper, and she was her father's pride and joy. He was bound and determined to get her the best of everything in life. The best food, the best dresses, the best education, the best training...and the best marriage match to raise her even further in society. Even with what Henriette and Kyuubi had managed, the Cooper line was only considered minor nobility, even if they were considered part of the Royal Family by adoption as part of Kyuubi's reward for his service to the crown. That just meant they were secure, not respected or having that much political power.
Of course, the 'best match' meant there was no way her father could tolerate his daughter becoming attached to an owl and having 'half-breed' children, not that he'd dare put it that way. Instead, he tried to be careful, limiting the time they could be together based on how he arranged their training and education, all while practically throwing 'appropriate matches' at Cara whenever Klaw was somewhere else. Of course, anyone who's ever read a romance will know all that did was make the two that much more desperate to find time they could sneak to be together.
Then came the actual moment, when Klaw and Cara were both fifteen. Cara's father took Klaw aside and talked to him about the legacy of the Coopers, the importance of the line...and how important it was that Cara be matched with someone who proved worthy of siring the next generation, of raising the family to greater heights as opposed to possibly bringing it crashing down. Klaw, respecting his teacher and desperate for approval, asked how he might prove he was worthy, as he was only an orphan apprentice. His teacher had ordered him to go out into the world and create for himself a legacy to rival that of a Cooper, and if he returned bringing greatness to raise the Coopers higher, than he would be worthy of Cara...but only if he left immediately. This left Klaw no time to tell Cara goodbye...just as his teacher planned.
All of us watched as Klaw boarded a ship to sail off to make his name, fortune, and legacy...and Cara's father telling Cara that he'd gone chasing after 'some seabird', with some idle comment about how 'flighty' avians could be. We...did not take it well when we saw that...
Sly stared in disbelief as he watched one of his ancestors so cruelly drive the pair apart. "...why?" he gasped out in frustration. "Why would he do that? That...that can't really be a Cooper, can it?"
"I know it's hard seeing it be someone from your own family," Carmelita allowed softly, "but I've seen parents do far worse to ensure their children had 'what was best for them', whatever the kids thought. And...it fits the era, especially for social climbing nobility."
"I don't want to see where this part is going," Coco whimpered softly, clutching a Deik-Beck plushy she'd crafted for herself. "Can we see what happened with Klaw instead?"
"Actually, if history connected to itself, we don't really need to," Bentley pointed out thoughtfully. "This is where the first Klaww Gang came from. They were a legendary group of privateers in this time period, able to rob just about anyone blind and finding ways around even the tightest security. No one was ever able to figure out how they pulled off all their heists, and could only prove it was the same gang each time since each one had the mark of the claw slash in the wall behind the stolen item."
"I think I can answer that with what I'm seeing," Penelope spoke up thoughtfully. "Plainly, Klaw was talented and smart...and he teamed up with several other avians. He was raised around Coopers and the Cooper techniques...and saw enough to reverse engineer a few and adapt them to avian thieving techniques." She whistled appreciatively as the screen showed Klaw and a few of his 'seabird' compatriots swoop into a structure, fold themselves through tiny spaces, and then vanish into shadows with the goods leaving only their calling mark behind. "Impressive..."
"Well, I suppose-" Sly began, only to freeze as he saw something Klaw was working on on the screen. "Is...is that the Hate Chip?" he demanded intensely.
Bentley quickly checked the historic readout. "...not exactly, though it's probably what became the Hate Chip," Bentley allowed sorrowfully. "It's a combination of magic, alchemy, and technology that's years ahead of its time from inscriptions in the Thievius Raccoonus...to create a device that turns emotional energy into physical energy. The stronger something was felt, the stronger the effect. And..." His expression slowly fell. "Since Klaw wanted to prove worthy of caring for and protecting Cara...it's currently shaped to turn love into a shield. The more he loved whoever wore it, the more impenetrable the shield would be..."
"So less a Hate Chip and more a...Heart Chip?" Carmelita asked sadly. Bentley could only nod.
After that, it wasn't long before we saw what we'd all feared. Having become the most infamous gang of thieves, outlaws, and brigands the world over, the Klaww Gang returned to their home port, Klaw intending to present his reputation and the Heart Chip as proof that he was worthy of Cara, who he was certain had waited for him since their attachment was true and genuine...only to find the worst.
Having been convinced by her father that Klaw had abandoned her, Cara had finally allowed an arranged marriage to someone her father had picked out to be good both for her and the bloodline. She had not loved the raccoon, but accepted the union as something that was bound to happen given her station. She'd even had a son. This all would have been something Klaw could have accepted, even if he hated it, but he would have been there for her as a friend, part of the family...
But her husband had gotten it into his head to try and 'win her over' by proving himself as a Cooper thief. His reckless attempt...had gotten Cara killed. On learning this, Klaw had become enraged...and the rage had fed into the Heart Chip he'd hung around his neck to carry close to feed on his love for Cara, and then fed the hate back into him in an amplifying spiral...
The elder Cooper stared in horror at the bloody mess left on the floor of the family museum, what had been left of his - admittedly foolish - son-in-law. "What have you done?" he demanded aghast as he pulled his grandson close.
"What have I done?" Klaw shrieked out in mad rage as his eyes glowed golden. "I have avenged her! He was a fool who wasted the purest beauty to ever walk this world, and sent her to an undeserving grave!" He flicked his wings out, spraying the blood from his feather tips as he flicked a bit of offal from his beck. "As you were fool to force her to defile herself with him, and for what? For glory? For honor? There was neither in him!"
"You are a monster!" the elder Cooper gasped as he pulled his terrified grandson away. "I curse the day I took you in!" He didn't notice one of the cables holding the metal owl up over the scene snapping, the construct swaying. "I curse the day I let Cara befriend you!" Another cable snap. "And I curse you for this, that you should walk the Earth until you know the pain you have caused and repent!"
The second to last cable snapped, and the roof began to creak as there was only one cable holding too much weight to a single point. Klaw stalked forward. "And I curse you, fool! You and all your blood, that you waste the greatness you have in blind arrogance! There is no repentance in me, not if I walk the Earth a thousand thousand years! And if I shall walk that long...then I shall be the wings of death upon your blood, and you shall live as long as I and watch the flower of your blood you wasted endlessly struck down in their prime, only a single seed carrying it on until the legend of Cooper is no more!"
The last cable broke, and the metal owl swooped down, the beak open. Klaw looked up in shock...and roared in fury as the Heart Chip jammed into the slot that had been made for it, twisting from the rage to become the Hate Chip as Klaw was consumed by the metal specter that had once been feared, then loved...and now feared again.
"Thus says Clockwerk!" Clockwerk shrieked out as he exploded out of the museum, sending rubble flying everywhere as the elder Cooper was left crippled, barely escaping alive and with his grandson.
We could only watch after that as the next few centuries played out in an all too dreary manner. Clockwerk endlessly followed the Cooper line, waiting until each new child of the line was old enough to fend for themselves before striking down the parent in the field, ensuring the line could never achieve true greatness ever again. The cycle continued until the time he came after Grandpa...and saw the single father, the single son, and the late wife, echoing back to the almost forgotten memory of the loss of Cara. The rage and the Hate Chip ensured there was only one outcome there.
It wasn't long until we caught up to the present...and we were a somber group as we got there, but a surprise awaited us...
Everyone stared helplessly at the screen as it finally went dark after showing their final battle with Le Paradox over Paris, having seen their story play out from beginning to end to beginning again. No one said anything, unwilling to break the silence that hung like a pall over them as they saw how one person's blind ambition, one terrible accident, and bad timing had turned what had been meant to be an ultimate expression of love and a good bird into a terrible weapon and madness.
"Turn left here, and detour through Elysium Fields to Equestria," the computer spoke up calmly. "Screen locked onto Reunion Plaza on the corner of Dues Ex and Happy Endings."
The screen turned on again, and showed a rather scruffy looking owl staring in disbelief as a female raccoon stood waiting for him. "C...Cara?" Klaw gasped out in disbelief.
Cara smiled softly. "I couldn't wait in the world of the living...but I never stopped waiting for you, Klaw. I knew you'd come back to me...someday."
"I..." Klaw turned away. "I don't deserve this. I...I've done such horrible things. I...I don't belong in paradise..."
"Well you don't belong in purgatory either," Cara offered softly. "You have dedicated centuries to penance. And besides...maybe it's not just your own effort that brings you here, where I've waited so long."
"W...what do you mean?" Klaw asked in surprise, turning back to her as she approached.
"I've earned my paradise...but it won't be that without you," Cara said softly, gently slipping her fingers between his feathers, finding the part of the wing shaped almost like a hand but not quite, enough to hold. "So please...come with me now. I've missed you..."
Klaw managed a soft smile, tears pouring from his eyes. "I...I've missed you too...I'm so sorry..."
There wasn't a dry eye in the van as it moved silently past the plaza as the two star-crossed lovers walked into the mists of eternity.
It still fits THIS era, it's just hidden better.
Fork chu Tats... You shoved something in my eyes...
Wait... something's in my eye!
And Tatsurou once again proves why he is one of the greatest authors on this site
*Swears quite creatively at Tatsurou for making him cry with a headache.* It hurts! Ugh!
I got suspicious of who Klaw was when we saw the chip. Knew it was Clockwerk when we saw him go to town on the husband. It was eerily similar to how he went after Sly's old man.
Still, I wasn't expecting the happy ending there. I mean, looking back, I should have. You have a distressing habit of sneaking in happy endings for those who at least want to change, even if it's just being remembered fondly. But I didn't expect it. I had figured being forgiven by the Coopers was it for him.
Clockwerk, or perhaps Klaw, is, now and forever, this world's true spirit of the Element of Loyalty, At least in my eyes.
Here's to a wonderful Eternity for Klaw and Cara.
>>the saiyan brony
I second it
I've gone blind with tears
Damn just imagine the heights the clan could have reached if they hadn’t emotionally destroyed Klaw and accepted him instead, as much as his actions are still horrible at least with this they are understandable.
Well, Klaw got his happy ending at long last... And it now falls together. Deik-Beck was what little remained of Klaw, of his soul from so long ago... His Love that had been twisted to rightous anger, thanks to one foolish parent who didn't want to loose face.
Also, you misspelled 'Deus'. I know It's supposed to mean 'Deus Ex Machina', but I keep thinking of 'Deus Ex' the Cyberpunk story.
And I just realized something... Where is Celestia's Adopted Displaced story? I mean, Luna has one, and so does Moony, and they had the Monsters and Ralph respectively.
8911811
Two points.
One, while you're right I meant "Deus Ex"...I think I'll keep it as "Dues Ex". I think the corner of 'Penance' (Dues Ex being "from the price paid") and Happy Endings is a much better place for 'Reunion Plaza' in Elysium than the corner of Plot Device and Happy Endings.
Two, Celestia's slotted to be raised by Jean Leuc Picard aboard the Enterprise D.
I.... did not expect that. BRAVO!
did the government sneak tear-gas in to my room again
The end...
This song fits in so perfectly
8911903
Dearly Beloved is fully appropriate for the ending of this chapter.
Now I wonder how Coco will be able to put her skills to use in the far more peaceful Equestria and how their friends back in Sly’s world are reacting to their disappearance?
8911908
I don't know about Coco, but back in Sly's world i assume that they'll be able to arrive back around the same time as when they left. Give or take a few months to a year or so.
8911916
The same she has already done it. Go after the corrupt fight to keep the scum in the sewers
8911930
Huh... How did i forget that?....
8911930
So besides Flim and Flam, who have a legitimate business going, who would you see her targeting? Ponies are almost always good with the bad being few and far in between.
8911941
How about her old boss
8911852
Ah. Good to know.
8911941
Coopers go after thieves and criminals, so maybe she could have a meet up with Daring and steal from her villains?
8911959
Also if there are any corrupted nobles, she could target them.
Another well done chapter... well done man, well done, not much to say cept that.
8911603
...It's really sad how true this statement is.
Nothing else needs to be said. Bravo.
8911773
All for Cara's father to be stricken from the annals of Cooper lineage?
8911773
Not just her fathers but also the line of the man that caused her death.
Hold up! Are you saying Coco might ascend into an alicorn?!
8912035
Uhh...no. It's just that Elysium is the border region between Sly's world and Equestria since it serves as the afterlife for both.
Phew, true love wins in the end for Cara and Claw.
Who’s cutting onions here?
8912166
Everyone!
You can always find a way to make us cry for the villain
Good job ancestral Cooper, all of this was your fault.
But hey at least after thousands and thousands of years there was a happy ending.
8912047
Now I'm disappointed. :(
8912047
Did you mean Deus Ex, or Dues Ex, as actually written?
I really can't blame Klaw after that one, especially if the chip was never designed or purposely used that way.
Good thing I’m not working out. Last time you made me cry on a treadmill, my water bottle was rendered null as I cried, the more water I took in.
8912014
Quite interesting that I finally find people that agree with me. Most get off on trying to lecture me about how the parents actually love their kids and want what's best for them even as the kids are thrown away like three week old garbage
8912358
I originally meant to type Deus Ex, but on seeing the typo I realized that it worked better.
8912785
I wondered.
Wow.
8912508
8911603
While I certainly won't claim you are wrong, I can't totally agree either. Mainly because the whole parents vs child conflict on 'their own good' tends to be highly situational. Sometimes the parents are right because the kids are being needlessly reckless. Sometimes the kids are right because the parents are taking extremes and doing it for the wrong reasons (such as this case). And sometimes both sides are being idiots. My general rule of thumb for this subject: The only reliable constant is 'hindsight is 20/20'
I will say two things for sure in this case though.
1) This Cooper was an idiot that wasn't actually thinking about the child's welfare. He was thinking about the child's 'duty' to the family line.
2) Even if he wasn't an idiot, they were all doomed anyway because of the time paradox. If claw didn't have reason to hate the Coopers, he wouldn't have lived to see Coco who brought his change of heart. He wouldn't have had reason to back in time nor the desire for penance to protect the Cooper line which brought the circle to a close.
P.S.
We should also remember to be mad at Tats. For hiring that army of ninjas to drop teargas in everyone's homes. That's the logical reason for these tears, not his heartrending and touching writing skills....Or Klaw's young romance...Or seeing his cruel fate and lost love or...tear-jerking reunion.........Dang it, those ninjas are back.
media.giphy.com/media/GQnsaAWZ8ty00/giphy.gif
Pretty sad chapter, but it ended on a good note
I'm not very emotional over most things, with very few exceptions. Heck, I didn't even cry when my grandma died.
That said, this chapter was close to making a tear roll down my face. Very close.
8911603
Sad but true.
8911609
Don't worry, that's just the feels worm burrowing in.......