Wiping the Clock

Copper ducked under the blade and brought his hand, palm up, to connect with his opponents wrist and drove the blade down into the ground. Using all his strength he held Shang there glaring into his face. "Do...NOT....call me a murderer. How many people have YOU killed in you lifetime general? Your hands are not bloodless. I expect to title. I expect no glory. There IS no glory for what I have done, I. ACCEPT. THIS!"

He suddenly released the older man and stepped back, his whole countenance changing. "There is no glory in bloodshed. All there is.....is death." He almost seemed to be speaking to himself. He held up his hands, "I will....ALWAYS....have the blood of that brave animal on my hands. I will live....day, after day....KNOWING with every breath that I take....that he will NEVER see the sunset. Never enjoy a birds song. Never have family. Never know love....like I have with my Meg."

He buried his face in his hands and dropped back to his knees. "There is nothing worse that you can do to me! I live EVERY DAY KNOWING WHAT I HAVE DONE! The questions haunt me! The taste-" He gagged involuntarily and let out a moan, "Oh how I HATE the taste of blood! But it never leaves me!"

He looked up at them threw his long hair, snarling almost like an animal, "But you "good" and "honorable" heroes know nothing about that do you? You know NOTHING about the darker side of life and THAT is why they HATE you!" Disgust burned the back of his throat. For these self righteous "heroes".....and for himself.

He looked away, waiting for the noose to tighten around his neck....there was nothing else he could do.....no more he could say.....

i'm sorry I can't keep my promise Meg.

Clopin looked to Shang for a second, before turning to Copper. He wrapped one end of the noose around his hand. With a heavy sigh, he stepped between the two.
"Shang....you will hate me for this...but I believe in what the dog said. Yes, he's killed ruthlessly, but that's not to say that we too haven't killed. I myself have killed without mercy, and I must live with that everyday...much like our prisoner here." Clopin said, choosing his words carefully.

"As for you," Clopin started, as he paced in front of Copper, " I know what it's like. To live every day of your life with blood on your hands, guilt in your mind, and everything else that comes with it. But with the war straining us all, we simply can't trust a villain to just come into our camp, and declare himself a hero, like my fellow general said. Now, if you had made a misstep back in my Court of Miracles, I wouldn't have hesitated to kill you. The point is, we would be willing to forgive you.....but you must prove yourself to us. Prove that you can be honorable and trusted." Clopin said, looking Copper straight in the eye.

"And never, under any circumstance, underestimate your generals. Especially me." Clopin said, shoving the noose in front of Copper's face.

"Unless you want your neck broken with this, I suggest you follow what I say."

Shang growled low.

"That is not the point and you know it," he said slowly, as if he only wanted Clopin to hear him, "When I have killed, I have killed for honor. For my country, while he killed for evil." He turned his head to the wind as if Mufasa and his own father were telling him it was okay, to let the man who was once a dog into his camp. "If I must," he continued, "I'll show you more mercy than your own general would show one of ours were they in your same shoes."

Angrily however, the man gave a glare to Copper. "However, my fellow general may be willing to forgive you. But I am not and neither will most of this camp. You affected the hearts and minds of children with your murder. You made them fear, when fear was only ahead of them. So no, I won't forgive but I will let you stay."

Getting close to Copper's face, Shang's eyes narrowed and his mouth twitched into a scowl. "But if you so much as step out of line, I will break you. You talk back to me, I'll punish you like I do any soldier who would. I don't take kindly to the way you have been speaking to me and Clopin. You want to stay here? You WILL listen and respect me. I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp. Not after the turmoil you and your kind caused everyone here."

Clopin sneered a bit at Shang.
"Forgive him? Good monsieur, I'm only giving the man a chance. True, he doesn't DESERVE it, but yes, I understand where you are coming from. He has indeed scarred the children's minds, with the fear of death." Clopin growled, turning to Copper once more.

"We demand respect, and we shall get it. You shall listen to our orders without question, and if you choose not to, you will definitely be feeling this noose around your neck. Is that clear?" Clopin asked.

Copper glared at the 2 men....although he didn't want to kill or be a villain anymore, he could definitely understand WHY people chose to BE villains from the stuck up way these two were acting. "That is all I was ASKING for. A chance to PROVE myself to you and the heroes. I'm willing to submit to your requests and trials.....but respect is something that EARNED....not demanded. I will not challenge you in front of the young ones. I will serve under you as a soldier....and I will fight for your cause.... Just as I have to prove my worth to you, so YOU have to prove yourselves worthy leaders to ME. That is something I WILL NOT bow to."

Shang was furious. Anger and mistrust welled up in his brain. He glared at the man before delivering his final message to him.

"WE have nothing to prove to you," he said, "You came here asking for forgiveness and to switch your loyalties, not the other way around. This is our camp, not yours. I have already proved myself a leader, you still have yet to prove you are not a villain. If you mistrust King Simba's descision to place us in charge then you truly do not belong here." He turned to Clopin. "As strict as I am with my soldier, he has no respect for either you or me. This is your charity case, my friend." He truly said the words 'my friend' like he meant it, a truly observant watcher catching a glint of hope and trust in his eye for the gypsy.

With that Shang walked down to the training camp, back to his tent, back to his plans. Mistrust and anger still filled him with dread and woe. He peered back. The man had no respect for him. He would not train a man who did not have respect for his general in a war. The new recruit had better be careful, he had gotten off on the wrong foot with Shang.

Clopin nodded, and gave his fellow general a salute, as he watched him leave. As soon as Clopin was sure that Shang was gone, he gave a sigh of relief, as he put the noose away. Clopin knew that Copper truly meant what he had said. But in front of Shang, he could never let that show.

"I'll take it from the top. My apologies for acting like that on your first day. I come from a family of thieves and pickpockets. I should be a villain, but I call myself a hero. The point is, soldier....I will never be as strict to you as General Shang. He is a...how do you say it...a genuine stick in the mud. I had to put up a facade for him. But you must heed our orders, understand? Shang has instilled his trust in me, and I intend to follow through with it." Clopin asked, once again holding his hand out to Copper, as a means of trust.

"Will you help me with that, soldier?" Clopin asked carefully.

Copper watched Shang walk away. He was glad the pompous idiot was gone. That guy was high on his own power.

He turned back to Clopin, "I understand what he AND you are saying....but does he not understand? I am WILLING to fight....I am TRYING to change....But less then 3 days ago I was trapped under an evil, ruthless spell in the body of a dog..... All I KNOW is villains work! And the villains leader didn't DEMAND respect from me...he EARNED it from every one of his followers. That's why they follow him so closely. Is it REALLY that bad that I ask for the same thing that you are asking of me?" He heaved a sigh, "I want to learn how to truly BE a hero. The only ways I know are Shan Yu's ways. I don't want that."

Reaching out, he took the offered hand. He didn't really know the strange gypsy very well yet.....but something in his gut was saying trust him, "YOU seem to be a man I can trust. A man that is worthy to be called my leader. I would be honored to serve under you..... my king" he added the last bit with a teasing grin as he gave the hand a firm shake.

((ooc ;hope you guys don't mind me using Stitch since Shang is gone. I need to use him in his general status a bit more.)

Stitch had been waiting until the conversation to reveal himself to the crowd. He had been in the cave when Clopin had called out. He had been there through all of the arguments, all of the discussion of the new man who was in the camp. The little alien's ears folded back, his eyes wide making him look more adorable than he wanted. But he was scared. Scared about the safety of the camp, scared for Shang and Clopin and scared of this new man. It was the first time he had truly felt fear.

He walked up to the two men. Eyes wide still, peering up at the new man in camp. Normally mistrustful, the little alien's power switch had been turned off by his sheer fear. This is who killed the rat?

He looked up at Clopin and then at the man again. He pointed to his chest. "Meega Stitch," he said, "General Stitch. You...must earn Stitch's respect too? Stitch is general, like Shang." He gave Clopin a frightened look. What had he done to their army?

"Of course not, monsieur. I respect your choice. You were raised under different values, which I understand. Don't think that I demanded respect from my gypsies either. No, I had to earn it as well. Shang...he just doesn't know how to properly earn respect, like I do." Clopin said, as Copper took his hand. The gypsy king pulled him up to his feet, and then crossed his own arms at Copper's statement. With a smile, he gave the man a bow.

"Merci beaucoup. I shall do my best to keep that worthiness of being called a leader." Clopin said, his smile only growing wider at the mention of "my king". He then turned to look back at the camp for a second, before turning to face Copper. It wasn't until then that he noticed Stitch.

"General Stitch! How nice of you to join us. This is Copper. I'm sure you heard our entire argument with Shang, but rest assured, mon ami, we can trust him." Clopin said.

Copper's eyes widened a bit at the strange creature. "This is a....GENERAL? How very strange. The.... creatures....we have on the villains side are not much good a fighting." But Clopin addressed the small blue thing with respect....so he followed his new leader and gave a short bow, "I will try my hardest to earn your trust and respect too." A true smile broke out across his face....maybe these heroes weren't so bad after all!

Stitch flexed his claws, tilting his head to the side, sizing the man up. His eyes were no longer filled with fear, but curiosity was not out of them yet. He had smiled, he had been kind. Why did he not act that way with Shang? And Clopin had bad mouthed Shang? His ear twitched. They were not falling apart, were they?

"Ih, argu-ment." He said the word slowly as if he didn't understand it. He gave Clopin a look as if he wanted to know why there had been an argument in the first place. Tilting his head to the other side, he sniffed the man's leg. His spines flexed, his antennae twitched. "Stitch." He held out his little paw to the man. Clopin trusted him...Stitch promised himself he would try to trust him as well.

Copper bent down and shook the little paw, "I didn't want to CAUSE an argument.... But that man....CANNOT demand things of me that I cannot give. I am not used to people DEMANDING my trust and respect. He is telling me that I have to prove myself worthy to him because I was a villain....but then insists that HE is above such things for the simple fact that he is a hero..... I do not see the difference. We were both fighting for the things we believed in." He shook his head, "Humans make things seem so complicated."

He offered Stitch a small smile, "I'm Copper by the way....in case you didn't catch that. Although..." His brow furrowed, "Maybe I should go by another name? Copper doesn't sound very human....and there's a few people here that might not be so willing to give me another chance if they know who I am." He looked at Clopin, "What do you think?"

Stitch saw the man was upset, angry by the situation. He was right. Humans WERE complicated. Stitch didn't understand. Sure he had never bowed to authority before but in this war...trust was all they had, wasn't it? Respect was all they had, wasn't it? Simplicity would be for the dog-man to just shut up and respect Shang blindly like everyone else did. Stitch knew Shang was under a lot of pressure. But he also knew that trust was their greatest ally.

"Co-pper." Stitch shook his hand before pondering the question before him. Pondering whether or not he should change his name. Stitch was good at names, he had helped Lilo come up with so many. He thought of his Ohana, of the millions of books he had read. "Oh! Oh! Stitch has one!" He said excitedly thinking about someone who was a member of his ohana.

"David?"

"David...." Copper rolled the name around on his tongue..... David. He liked it. He grinned at the little creature, "I like it! David it is!" He reached his hand forward, excitement making wish to scratch behind those rather large ears. He pulled back just in time. He didn't want to offend his new General, and settled for a wide smile instead to show his thanks.