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Clockwork ran. It was all he knew how to do at the moment. He felt his body starting to malfunction due to the strain and lack of energy. This wasn’t his domain, he didn’t have the Spear of Time, and he was leaking oil from various spots. He wasn’t making it out of this, was he?
The land around them was filled with red hues. The Banlands. It wasn’t a pleasant place to be for someone who relied on sunlight for most of their energy, like Clockwork. The dead trees around him swayed in the harsh winds, cold enough to send chills through their metal body.
He knew he wasn’t, it was obvious. Death by his own lover- no. That couldn’t have been the Doombringer he knew. The sweet, caring, and affectionate love he’d always known. This was something else entirely, someone consumed by the name he was given.
But they’d seen it with their own eyes. The Banhammer swinging into Builderman, instantly- well… Clockwork didn’t know what happened when admins got banned by the Banhammer while already in the Banlands. They didn’t want to know.
They could feel their body close to shutting down, but they had a human soul. And a human soul could go quite far when not held back by a human body’s restraints. When Builderman had built their robotic body, he’d made it so it couldn’t shut down if the soul didn’t want it to. And that was coming in handy right now.
Clockwork couldn’t hear the pounding footsteps behind him anymore, so he looked back- no one. He allowed himself to take a moment to look around, seeing a hidden cave with his enhanced sight.
He walked over to the cave and into it, looking around to see nothing but rocks and a decent space to rest. The cave was a dead end, but had a little nook in the corner that seemed pretty cozy, so he walked over and sat in it to tend to the small oil leaks and scratches.
After Clockwork had finished sealing all the wounds, they allowed themselves to shut down for an hour to regain some energy. Everything went smoothly, waking up the next hour and standing up.
They hesitantly looked out of the cave, being cautious as to keep themself hidden. “I have to find a way out of here.” They walked out of the cave, staying vigilant. These lands weren’t forgiving in the slightest, so they were thankful that they didn’t need food or water.
Things went well for quite a while as Clockwork navigated through the merciless lands, remembering the way to the emergency exit that Builderman had created in case of an event similar to this.
Throughout the walk, Clockwork had to force his body to work through it. He was exhausted, so he hoped that Doombringer wasn’t waiting for him at the exit. If so, Clockwork knew he wasn’t making it out alive.
A few hours later, because I don’t feel like writing all that. Also, Scripter is their adopted son in my headcannons, so apologies if you don’t like that.
Clockwork felt exhausted, the weight of everything hovering over them. And when he finally made it to the exit, he saw a horrifying sight.
Doombringer, back turned to Clockwork, standing over an injured and bleeding Scripter, Banhammer covered in blood. “You were always a disappointment, Scripter. I never understood how Clockwork always loved you.” He said in that unfamiliar, intimidating voice.
Scripter noticed Clockwork, and with his last moments of consciousness spoke directly towards them. “I love you, pa… I’m sorry.” His eyes fluttered shut, injuries taking their toll.
Clockwork stared, those parental instincts that had always been so unfamiliar kicking in full force. They quickly shook themselves out of the daze, staring up at Doombringer, those hateful and unfamiliar eyes staring back at them. “You… How dare you?!” Clockwork lunged forward towards Doombringer. Though, without their weapon, they were still quite lethal at times.
They got out their built in dagger and slashed straight through Doombringer’s bucket hat and bandana, cutting down Doombringer’s face and over his eye. That would leave a scar most definitely, plus a blind eye.
Doombringer quickly threw Clockwork off of himself before slamming the banhammer into them, knocking them down and severely injuring them. Clockwork knew you weren’t exactly able to ban a robot, so they accepted that this was the end of the line for them. “Cough- how did I ever fall for you…” Clockwork wheezed. “We both know, Doom… This isn’t right… It isn’t the justice you want.” For once when Clockwork felt their body shutting down, they allowed it. “You’ll live with this guilt until the day you die… I love you, even if you were my doom in the end…”
That was the last thing Clockwork saw, body shutting off as they couldn’t keep going any longer. Doombringer felt the words hit like a train. He knew Clockwork was right deep down, but this was what he had thought was right… But the reasons behind doing this were starting to look wrong, twisted. He saw how this was wrong. And he’d just killed his son and lover, but before either of them could pass on, he quickly extracted their souls and placed them safely in a necklace.
The necklace Scripter had made when he was a child.
Doombringer grabbed the ring on Clockwork’s finger, placing the ring snugly on the necklace, so he could keep their souls with him. Even if he was the one who brought their dooms.