Olivia Aurelius- at least, as her name was at the moment, walked down the street. Her... very large daughter followed behind her, four times the size of an adult. The strange mechanical girl was so young... yet was one of the largest transformations anyone had ever seen. A lot of people would quickly walk away, or give her space. Her two long locks of hair trailed to the ground, giving her a strange toy- doll like appearance. She was certainly well crafted, well made.. beautiful really, to any that could appreciate these things.
... but also, so difficult to wind her spring. To just... help her, as a person might do the more normal sized clockworks.Jeff could feel herself winding down as she walked.
"Jeff sweetheart," said her mother. "This is... not going to be easy. I have a friend I can stay with, but... she lives in a block of flats. There is no space for you there. I also need to take the bus as its... a few miles away." She bit her lip. What exactly could they do with Jeff?
Jeff looked a little sadly crouching down as best she could, careful not to break anything. "Its.. okay mom. I understand," she said quietly. "What.. should I do?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking," said Olivia. There was just... no place to 'keep' her. "There is a hotline for difficult transformations to call for assistance. "Maybe we can find someone willing to help you," she said taking out her mobile phone.
"So... you're gonna leave me too?" asked the giant clockwork girl with undisguised sadness entoned in her vibrating voice. She lost so many people. Belle, Ricky, her father.. her school..
"Jeff you're a big- boy," said Olivia, not really sure quite how to... say that. The fact that she was a girl... now...
"Why does daddy hate me so much?" asked Jeff upset still, as she clutched her hands onto her clothes. They were very simple clothes, tailor made for her. But she didn't have many. The rest were in the warehouse, and probably destroyed by now.
"Jeff... listen to me. Your father, he really does love you," she said carefully. "He... put a lot into you, that's all. He wanted you to have the things he did because they worked for him. He doesn't understand that you are unique- he didn't even know that you liked to draw."
"You.. saw...?" she asked suddenly worried as a sharp tick from within gave that nervousness away.
"Well, I saw the drawings of the two other clockwork girls," she said with a smile. "It was done really well."
"No- It.. it was bad. Horrible. I..." So... did that mean she wasn't 'all' a bad person? Just because she drew things? Every time she thought about the person she used to be she felt such loathing inside her. Yet... that was who she was. Was she just pretending? "I'd ... i'd turn back if I could- I'd go back if- if dad wanted that," said the giant little-girl still upset. "But- I kinda... I kinda like feeling like I ain't got this... cloud in my head." She felt a freedom she had never felt before. Was it something all children had? Or was Jeff just 'that' repressed? To suddenly have this feeling of sheer freedom, when before she had none.. and this urge to just play... she wanted to play with all the strange people around her now.
"Well... maybe eventually a cure will be found. Until then, you have to decide what you want to do."
Jeff looked a little saddened as she stared ahead. What is a large clockwork girl like her, supposed to do in this world? Unfortunately, at this moment she had her answer as her winding was running down again.
...all she could do was...
... stop.
"Jeff?" Her mother called concerned. "Jeff?!" she gasped. She had never seen her child in this state before, and it was quite a shock. Was she in pain? Olivia had no way to know. All she saw was the key that she knew she had to turn quickly before- before-
Jeff's expression was neutral, her eyes trying to convey that she was 'okay'... she just couldn't move. Her mother seemed to calm down some at that.
"Sorry jeff- I can't reach your- key." she said tensely. Was this going to be a regular occurrence? How will they cope...
... where could Jeff live now?
Mr Aurelius got a knock on his door. it was expected... the agents. Federal agents at his door.
"So, Mr Aurelius... would you care to explain what happened?" Asked Agent Hawkins.
"Come in," he said quietly letting the agents in. It was... advised by his lawyers he co-operated with them, if they should drop by.
The agents took off their coats, a little surprised at the invitation. They appraised the man, but he gave little away. Indeed, the room gave very little away too... aside from a little bare corner, where it looked like something once stood. Perhaps a large clock.
"You could be under a great deal of trouble, Aurelius. There are laws about dangerous machines that could harm the public." Hawkins explained.
Cecilia for her part was appraising their subject for any lies. Her eyes glowed a soft pink.
Mr Aurelius was not concerned. He just.. took out a sheet of paper. "...This was an error... researching the nature of the changed can be deadly and we had no idea how dangerous it could be. The warehouse has been shut down, and no further testing will be made. The results of an unforeseeable accident with forces we just didn't understand..." He took away his paper.
"Yes we already have your public statement on record. We are here to see if any laws have been broken."
"It was an accident..." Aurelius said saddened. "I lost my family to the sunlight... my son... my wonderful heir, do you honestly think you can punish me more?"
"We are not seeking to punish you at this time," said Cecilia. "But we are... concerned. Did you in any way harm Jeff, while you... explored her nature? There are laws on the examination of sentient beings, ever since artificial life started forming in the sunlight. There have been people... with certain desires, to 'create' life... and you were trying to do that."
"I succeeded," Mr Aurelius whispered. "I created... life... do you understand how wonderful that feels?" He said with a faint smile at that. Even if they 'killed' what he had made... he has succeeded. They could not take that away from him.
Cecilia arched an eyebrow. "We rather do it the 'natural' way." she said with a measure of annoyance.
Mr Aurelius frowned a touch. "The natural way..." he sneered. "Women.. complicate the whole thing. Bringing emotion and turbulence to an ordered life. You don't understand what I tried to do. It was going to be perfect... masterfully crafted... my son, born from me... with hands- these hands! I nurtured it, poured all my time and effort into it.."
"And all you got... was a machine," said Cecilia.
"No! He... He just needed a chance to live... to learn... to grow. I would have taught him- everything." He said sighing. "He was going to be my perfect son... My... son..." He whispered. A true heir, crafted by his hands.. his flesh and blood, honing it. Mr Aurelius took a few steps back before turning again. "You are a woman... it is 'easy' for you to have a child... not so for a man. I had to be... imaginative."
It was the next day to school... and Lilly was quite worried. "mom- I- I dunno- t-they are gonna laugh at me!" she said with fear and just a little mortification. There was no denying What she was wearing.
A bra...
It was a very simple one. Just a little more then a vest- though it was clearly designed for... for someone with her number of them. She had to admit it did feel a little easier now wearing other clothes but- it felt weird still.
Her mother just smiled. "It's okay dear. Actually I was about your age when I had to wear them too... It was... a little strange back then too," she admitted not wanting to give her the full picture of it. These were things Lilly would have to learn about herself.
"But nobody else is- I- I think im the first an-"
"And some might get jealous," she said softly. "You're not a freak Lilly. It's completely normal. Just go to school, and if anyone says anything, just say 'so'? It's not anyone's business but yours. I doubt anyone will say anything to you anyway."
"R-really?" asked the little squirrel girl still very worried of the whole thing. Honestly she had faced some strange things in the world, even faced strange magical things with a magic stick... but this? Could she really... really go to school wearing a... a...
"Go on honey, take care in school. be safe..."
