Hello again my dear readers

I'm still alive and so is this story, unfortunately I'm always short on time, apologize for letting you wait all the time and thank you for your understanding.


„Say….what are you doing? " Cassia eyes surveyed the Deer Guy, she made a concentrated expression and her eyes went a bit smaller when she observed him. The deer subordinate didn't notice and still looked at the little notepad. It was simple with different coloured paper. Right now there was a blank yellow one, which soon wasn't so blank anymore; a little line made from a pencil appeared. After that he looked up, right into Cassias direction. "What did you say?" His voice was now much calmer. Still a bit high pitched but that was normal for his voice. Not so nervous or a bit scared anymore when he talked with other people that had a higher rank than him. Even if Cassia was the Co Egg Boss, he didn't have to fear her. That was due of two reasons. First, Cassia and he where around the same year, one year difference and with that that they both where mostly if not even the only ones around that age in the Northamer egg base.

Secondly both liked and enjoyed video games. Right now he wasn't sure how it went that he and Cassia began to play with or against each other a game. Maybe it was because of a conversation, he wasn't sure. For him it was nice and also kind of a relief that there was someone else, who enjoyed playing video games. Even if from time to time both accused the other for cheating. "Earth to drabble drawer dork, what are you doing?" the young Pronghorn looked at him with an annoyed look, one of her hands waving near his eyes. "I uhm, I'm counting the days, to see how long it will take us." Cassia let out a snort "Right. And you know that's kind of useless when we are only some kilometres away from that village?" It was true, they had already one day behind them, but not much happened that day.

Mostly they walked, then some short small talk, then it already became night and they prepared to sleep. And now they were here, early in the morning, walking in a forest in the orange light of the rising sun. Whilst Cassia didn't look like it, most of her thought were for and with her sister. As much as she liked to terrorize the doctor, asking her every second if her sister was alright or if her condition changed. She knew that wouldn't help, still it was in her mind. The young pronghorn tried to distract herself, not to think about it, just for a moment to get her thoughts a bit clear. He walking got slower and slower, and then she stood still. At first her friend next to her walked ahead but when the deer saw that Cassia stood still, he also stopped in walking. The pronghorn looked around herself, first she noticed the brown, yellow or reddish leaves that laid one the ground, some were already damaged, had cracks others were still intact. Each of the trees looked different.

Their height, the width of the threes trunks, the age of course too. All were different in their appearance and also many of them from a different kind. Even if Cassia didn't knew from some the names. She liked it here; she still preferred her cosy room with her thick blankets and her video game console. Still it was something different. Calm nature and fresh air greeted them. She didn't had often the possibility to go to the woods, mostly only for a short time and then of course under the eye of her older sister who cared and looked that nothing would happened to her. Even if Cassia tried to distract herself, the thought of her older sister remained. "What do you think of that Hatzinger Guy?" The pronghorn started to move again, like when she stopped now in reverse, first slow then going faster.

"Well maybe he is a doctor too, or mechanic maybe." "Or he is a super old wizard that is made out of energy." The deer looked in disbelieve. "What? Haven't you heard that video games are sometimes too realistic?"

Pain. Pain and the dry and sour taste in his mouth were the first things he felt before he even thought about opening the crusted eyes. It was always the same, but that was the price he had to pay. He let out a dry cough before his eyelids slowly began opening revealing a grey celling made of steel and sheets. A heavy breath came out, moving his head to the right he saw a machine; he always saw when he was ready to go to sleep, or heading to bed. It was tall, also grey and metallic like most of the things here. It kind of looked like one of those old computers that now stood in a museum. From time to time some LED blinked. Red, green or yellow like a traffic light. When he got out of the simple and metallic bed he just stood for some seconds looking at the machine again. The machine that was capable that he wouldn't die during sleep and made him able to rest.

Slowly he removed the tiny and slim cables that connected the button he had from time to time to twist, from the machine. From time to time he wished it would be different. But making him addicted to the Eggman? No, never, not in this live and in the next other ten. His eyes narrowed to the simple alarm clock, aha, tree hours of sleep. Enough, he had work to do. It was a simple walk through the kind of bad illuminated corridors. Sometimes the light flickered; he only changed them if they got broken. The whole building was too big for him alone. Once again he found himself in the room with the computers. The old and the newer one but this time he only sat down to one of the chairs. "How long will it take the scout to arrive at the destination point?" the voice sounded dry, still more asleep than awake. In a short break there where three dull sounds, each sound a bit higher.

"The route is going to be calculated. Please wait." He tapped with his fingers impatient on his knee. He shared that with his supervisor. Being Impatience, but for that he took the time. "Calculation finished. The scout will arrive at 6 p.m, afternoon." "Is there an alternative route?" "All other routes would take at least plus 30 minutes more supervisor. The shortest route got calculated." He let out a course under his next breath. "They could already away due of that time. And I want all three of them." Again like when he got out of bad, he pushed himself a bit from the chair and stood up. "…but it's worth a shot. Keep the route like it was. Also bring up a connection with the scout when he arrives to the destination. I don't want to miss this interesting spectacle."

"Is that the village? I mean the right village?" wind was blowing over the deer's head, letting his ears shudder a bit and feel cold. He really wished he had his helmet with the visor with him. "Yes Cass. I'm sure, it really is this time." Circa ten Kilometres ago there was another village, and they nearly stepped in but luckily Cassia realised that by reading the map once again. And now she was rubbing that the Deer under the nose, playfully of course. "I mean, we don't want that the same mistake happens again don't we." Her mouth forming a gloating grin that silent said "epic fail". Even if most of the time he had respect for the one year younger pronghorn. Right now the deer wished he could return that gesture for something she got wrong. Instead he just let out a small annoying groan, making Cassias grin at least two centimetres wider.

The village was surprisingly big, not a small one like the green pronghorn imagined. Both of them were sure to have never seen such houses. The houses mostly where all bungalows, only a few looked like they had a second floor. Most of them where either way coloured white and with brown wood planks decorated, or there weren't even painted. Something that cached their eyes was how much garnished the wood on the balcony's was, and it looked like all of that was made with handiwork, not with machines. "That village must be really old." The deer with the tan coloured fur muttered. "Pretty archaic if you ask me I mean, look they could have used machines for that but no-"Cassia pointed to some of the houses "-they wasted it with that. Also what kind of weird style is that? Not only has that Hatzinger guy a weird name, but also a really weird way to live. And have you looked at the people here-"

Cassia was already set to point at a couple, a human man and woman, but the deer whispered fast enough. "We will make us suspicious!" "Yeah look, I mean what kind of weird clothing is that. Is that whole village stuck in time?" Cassia was right with that point. The lack of cars, the old houses and clothing, the whole lack of technology made the village look, that at some point, the village didn't evolve. They didn't have the time to think about that. "…Anyway, we should ask where that Hatzinger Guy exactly lives, I'm getting tired of this." A cheetah with red fur and black stripes crossed their way. "Excuse me?" the cheetah looked at both and according to the changing of his eyes and the mouth that opened a bit. Cassia and the Deer could only guess that he thought both looked for the cheetah at least, strange.

"Do you know where we can find a guy named Hatzinger?" "Hatzinger…" the Mobian moved his left hand right through his face, thinking. "Der Uhrmacher? Was wollts ihr denn machen, euer Gesicht reparieren lassen?" Neither Cassia nor the Deer knew what kind of strange language the cheetah spoke. But he grinned "Maybe he didn't understand us." Cassia moved more to the Man. "Where can we find a man with the Name. H-A-T-Z-I-N-G-E-R." she said louder. Instead of responding the Cheetah pointed to a house that outstood the others, it was on a hill, kind of isolated from the other houses. A little road and a cardboard was also there. "Hatzinger" he said in a simple tone. Cassia simply nodded and let out a fast thanks before she and the Egg subordinate went into the direction of the hill. Mostly they went through some small alleys before they reached the hill. It stood a bit outside of the village, hundred meters at least.

Whilst the village was mostly grey here it was a bit more colourful. When they passed the cardboard they saw a car and the word archaic was already on Cassias tongue but she dropped it. The house was a bungalow too, but instead of stone completely made out of wood except for the furnace and the windows. The colour of the wood was reddish brown. The Deer put both his hands in the pocket of the hoody. "I hope the doctor was right about Hatzinger." "Well…if he's not helping us I'm going to punch him." There was no doorbell next to the door, neither a doorknocker. Only a white sign that was nails on the wall with some weird font that said "Hazingers Uhrenladen/Hatzinger Watchmaker" under the sign was another, much smaller one with the same fond there stood "Everything that Ticks and Clicks."

Instead of knocking Cassia just pressed down the door handle. The door was unlocked and Cassia swung it open fast, there was a soft creaking noise from dry unoiled wood. The room they both entered had the size from one of those old grocer shops or drug store. It also had an wooden counter with an non electronically cash register. The room's wall was also made of wood, a bit darker than the deer's light brown fur. The floor where also made with wooden planks, but they were much darker and with polish. There were some paintings, all with different landscapes but the greatest eye catcher where the one things, that the sign told them. All different kinds of clocks and watches that stood, laid or hung nearly everywhere in that room. Grandfather clocks that stood in the near of wooden walls. Pocket watches that ticked calm in glass cabinets and some wall clocks which hung there.

They all shined in different metals, some in silver, some in cooper brown and some rare in gold. If the latter was real or not, Cassia couldn't say. The chains of the pocket watches, were made finer than fine and sparkled a bit even if there was not that much light in the room, the windows shutters where half closed. And the ticking was fine and calm, all the clocks and watches ticked in welcoming union. But clocks where not the only thing that appeared in that room. There where wind up music boxes with ballerinas or a dancing pair on the top. Toys with built in clockwork devices painted in different colours. The sign didn't lie, there was really everything that ticks and clicks. Even if the pronghorn and the deer where more into video games, they couldn't deny that this was in some way, fascinating.

"I have to say, I would've really appreciated it, if you would've knocked." The sudden appearance of the voice let both tense up, Cassia took her tonfa and the deer his little energy gun. There a doorframe stood a tall person the lacks of light let the people appear, as if it was under a cloak of shadow. Except on the face, there it seems it if there was some orange light? The shadow and darkness disappeared when the person flicked a light switch. The tension of deer and pronghorn calmed a bit down. "There is no need for Gewalt, violence here." The person, a human man spoke in a serious voice with a classy undertone, also it sounded a bit rough. "Since I believe you are not costumers, might I ask for your names?" Both deer and pronghorn looked at each other before they gave a approving nod. "Cassia" "Jesse"

"Then welcomes Cassia and Jesse. I'm Milenko Hatzinger, welcome to my house and shop. I have everything that ticks and clicks."


First of all I want to say thank you to the artist/tumblr User Shinkumancer, I forgot in the last chapter to say that I used her choice of clothes she used for Cassia in one of her drawings, she allowed me to use it in the story.

Also a big thank you to (ufortunatly now deactivated) tumblr user Eggmanempire948 who had the idea/headcanon , to give the deer guy the name Jesse.

I wanted to give the deer guy a name because I think it makes it easier to write him. Maybe it dosen't look like it but I planned that since the beginning, I just wanted to surprise people with it. :P

I hope that I soon come to write the next chapter.

With friendly greetings

The Bowlerhatwearer