Hello my dear readers! I hope you all have a nice day.
I planned to publish the next chapter in the end of May, but school and my four day vacation in Italy came in between of my work.
My apologize, I only can hope that I can write and publish the next chapter sooner.
One the bright side this chapter is a bit longer ^^
„About your problem-„
Hatzingers voice was a bit away; he was preparing in his kitchen something for his guests. After both told Hatzinger their name and so did Hatzinger, the watchmaker invited them into his "Ruhe Zimmer" as he called his living room. The room was similar to the rest of the house, at least what pronghorn and deer saw, was made out of wood. There was a non-lit fireplace a couch and an arm chair. The latter claimed Cassia already by herself. Cassia and Jesse explained why they came to him and the human asked, if they could give him some time to think about it. Milenko brought them a plate with three grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Entschuldigung, but it's one of the few things I can make. When I'm hungry I go out or order something, well most of the time. Anyway-"Milenko sat down next to Jesse and gave a sigh, a weak one. Jesse was looking at him. His face was long and round and his nose kind of medium sized, but also it looked long. Hatzinger looked a bit chubby. His hair was black, straight and short, except where his right eye was; there it was long, covering the right one, the left remained free to see, the color grey-bluish. He also whore a beard. From one side it looked fluffy, on the other, kind of hard and pointy, it was as long as his upper lip.
His clothing looked in Jesses taste, old-school. Milenko wore brown trousers, a black belt kept it from falling down. It was equipped with tools and some little leather bags. He also wore a dark brown colored vest with thin grey stripes; the deer also noticed that under his vest was a simple white shirt. His shoes where kind of interesting, the white-black shoes would always make a tap sound when Hatzinger was going. Like right now when he stood up from his seating place.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't help you." The answer came out of his mouth like it was shot out from a gun. "WHAT!"Cassias emotion went from zero to one hundred in under one second. With both tonfa in each hand she went with angry steps in Hatzingers direction.
The now nervous getting watchmaker wasn't able to interpret if her eyes where full of sadness or anger, probably the latte. "Was ich- What I mean is I'm not able to help her. I don't have the experience!" Cassia finally stopped and looked at Milenko, so did Jesse. "In the worst case scenario I might do more harm than good. I was a blue coat, my work was to….äh zusammenfügen…what was it called, äh...assemble parts, like Jesses antennas or your parts Cassia. The symptoms your sister has, that sounds more for a job of a green coat." The Pronghorn was rolling her eyes with slight annoyance. "Blue coat, green coat what kind of nonsense is that?" "Not nonsense, just a simple differentiation for our different tasks. Schau, you see. We were many assistants under the projects we did so we wore different colored lab coats. Blue, green, yellow, grey-"the human made a sigh that was barely hearable.
"I was a blue coat as I said more or less assigned to assemble the parts. The green coats where more about the coding and how they work with the, well people that got the parts. They checked that things went right at the out and inside. I'm sorry; I'm not able to help you out." Cassia sat herself next to Jesse now, the young Pronghorn just looked down at the wooden floor, wonderful, they just wasted time for nothing, and her sister would remain bedbound.
"Thank you -""Hold your words young deer. Whilst I might not be able to help you, I still have some contacts left from some former colleagues, we kind of disbanded aft- I will go and search in the basement for the data. It could take a while bis, till I found everything, so maybe you go out a bit and well look at the sunset or you can also listen to my good old radio." Hatzinger gestured to his half a meter tall device that was made in the last century. Cassia didn't have to think twice what she would choose to do. The Pronghorn took her backpack and so did the deer. "I have to phone the doctor anyway" the 13 year olds expression was sour. Both left on spot, and so did Milenko. All three of the sandwiches remained untouched.
When they walked out she let out a groan, kicking a nearby stone in the air. "Can't anything get solved in an easy way!?" "We get data from the watchmaker, that's something." "Yeah, and that means we can go back to the base and prepare everything anew!" Cassia opened her backpack and took out the phone, fast she searched for the doctor's number and pressed the button with the green handset. She waited and became impatience when no one picked up, the bit hope she had disappeared too when the one that finally picked up was the mailbox. The live and emotionless voice just stated that the caller should leave a message after the signal, and then there was silence. The young Pronghorn spoke hastily a massage and summarized everything in short words.
"-we will begin to head to the base after that Hatzinger guy gives us the information we need." She pressed her lips together and let out a groan and gave the nearby grass a kick. "I really thought that would be solved fast, now we can go back and head to what I know." Cassia looked down at the grass and stood still. Jesse felt how it grew a bit colder around him. "L-look at the positive side, we get a step forward." "Yeah, that brings us so much further." The young pronghorn scoffed. "I really hope I can help Clove soon." Cassias mouth barely moved after the last sentence. "I really hope."
…
It was calm, but not for long than the quite nature of the basement got disturbed by a heavy sneeze, followed by coughs. "Really, when did I clean up this mess the last time?" What wouldn't he give for a smoke right now, but lighting one would've been insane, his house would be set in flames in seconds, considering of all the dust and stuff here. He was surrounded by old newspapers, taxes, cans, glass bottles, to make it short with rubbish. Milenko was not a hoarder, the problem was that the garbage removal wasn't doing a good job and only came in gabs of months. There were only a few personal belongings in the basement, or in the house. The dusty room was dim, nearly dark and the fact that it became already night didn't help either.
Luckily he had a light source that helped him with that problem. "Jetzt nur noch-"Milenko let out an exhausting breath when he pulled up an old suitcase that had seen better days, not only because of the dust. There where scratches and holes nearly everywhere in the black colored suitcase. The watchmaker hoped that not moths came in and destroyed his saved material. He opened it to make sure and was greeted by a, for him well-known poster.
"Beautiful as ever dear Fräulein." The golden and light rusted looking locks of the coffer made a click, signalizing that it got closed. Once again Milenko let out a heavy breath when he picked it up again. Painful sounding creaking was the response when a steps where made with his black white striped shoes, muffling the tap sound. It took him some time reaching the final step and with that the door which would lead him out of this dusty room, when he reached his destination Milenko made some short gasps trying to get as much air as possible in his lungs. "I really hope this stuff is not outdated." Milenko looked up, there was something, for a short moment he thought there was some sort of mechanical sound, only for a split second.
"Hello?" his voice still sounded a bit weak. Again there was this sound; it was like someone was clicking a light switch. It wasn't the pronghorn, neither the deer; he was sure about that, no one of them had any cybernetics that made such noise. He grew nervous, something wasn't right. With his right hand the watchmaker reached to his belt, taking a black long cylinder and pressed on a button that was screwed on it, the form was revealed to be an expanding baton. Slowly Hatzinger made some careful steps, listening to the noise and where it was coming from. The suitcase was dropped next to the unclosed door of the basement. He reached his wooden salesroom and noticed that one of his windows was open. Did he forget to close it?
Maybe the noise came from the wind and or some unoiled metal piece? With a hastily push he closed it and ended the breeze of fresh air that was coming in his house. Nothing except his clock was now to hear, like as far as he remembers it was most of the time in his workshop, only the clicking of his clocks, watches and sometimes the tone of his shoes. He went back to the suitcase and grabbed it. Was he getting paranoid because of the lack of people visiting him? Hopefully not, he took his baton and reduced it back to his original form. And then, when Milenko was sure that the noise came from the window, he heard it again. Louder and clearer, it was metallic and robotic and it came above him.
He looked up only to be greeted by two metal claws. Before he could get a clearer look to the shiny devices he felt suddenly pain, it started in the back before it speeded in his head. There was no dub that the two metal claws from that machine caused it. The pain let the watchmaker feel dizzy and before he could even set a single thought straight he found himself lying on the floor, his sight and thoughts slowly consumed by darkness and pain.
…
Cassia grinned whilst listening to Jesses ranting and took a bottle of water out of her backpack and so did Jesse, her anger settled down when she and the deer went for a short walk. When looking around in the town both made a game they called "Find the most advanced thing in that archaic place." After a quarter of minutes they decided that it was an at least 10 years old TV. Walking through the town, they talked about many different topics that came in their mind. "-then in Season 4 he is suddenly replaced with a different actor and they justified it with some kind of curse." complained the deer to Cassia, he talked about some kind of science fiction series that he watches nearly every Wednesday when a new episode would come out.
"But this is not even the worst, so many things are different from the book, and I don't talk about details, I talk about serious plot relevant content." "Then why do you watch it anyway?" "…because the special effects are good." He admitted almost quite. "Heh, that's what they always say on forums when they complain about video games made to movies. I watch it only because of the actors and effects." Cassia didn't put much effort in mimicking the voices of people she never heard but it was well enough for making Jesse to chuckle a bit. "Why do we even need movies that are based of games, where is the fun in it when you can't play these guys and make them hitting chickens?" when the door to Hatzingers house/ watch shop opened both got greeted by a chilly breeze.
"Hey Hatzinger guy, we are back." No response, only the ticking of the watches broke the death silence. "Hatzinger? Milo?" "I think it was Milenko Jesse." "Right, maybe he went out by himself for a walk, or is still searching for the stuff." "Well I hope, I'm not interested to wait in this room longer with those clocks, seriously they make me uncomfortable." Both split up. Cassia went to Milenko's "Ruhe Zimmer" but he wasn't there either. "Where is he?" Did it take him really that long to search for the data? "Cassia!" Jesses voice sounded worried but also with a pit panic. The young pronghorn followed her friend's voice and froze when reaching the source of his panic. Hatzinger was lying on the floor, his right hand hold in a tight grip a suitcase. A bit of blood was running down from the humans head, not much only small lines of blood ran their way down his forehead.
The 13 year old was frozen where she stood and filled with shock. "He's only unconscious. Maybe he slipped and fell down on the floor?" "Wouldn't it be then on the back of his head? " "Maybe he slipped while closing the door?" Both heard a voice and both knew that it sounded similar, like a Badnik. When they raised their heads they saw that something was coming down, quickly both jumped back. It was really one, a Badnik. But it looked different. As if it wasn't made by . There was no color only shining metal. It had one crystal clear looking eye in the middle, had two sharp crab like claws and on the back something that looked like a container but also like the back of a spider. And so where the legs too, spider like, but only six but as sharp as the claws.
Many questions where flowing in the pronghorns and the deer's head but they had to be left unanswered, the robot made the sound of an aggressive screech and moved fast in their direction, both claws looking as if they were ready attack them. They grabbed their weapons and it was Jesse who first shot at the robot but missed him, the small but strong laser shot only left a burning mark on the floor. The device didn't bother with that and moved faster forward, it jumped and tried to reach Cassia, but was only greeted by two tonfa who hit it in the face and then another strike to the claws. Her attack was made hastily and improvised, but it did quit the damage. The machine fell on its back, but it didn't take a second to get back on its legs. The eye was a bit cracked and one of the claws looked crooked. "Why is it attacking us, are its circuits burned?!"
"Do I look like a robot expert?" Instead of moving to them by his six spice shaped legs the robot revealed two medium metal wings. The buzzing was loud and sounded heavy, like one of those big bugs Cassia saw on TV. It landed right to her feet, the not damaged claw attempted to hit her boot, in which it succeeded but the claw got stuck in it. The hit Cassia tried to land on the robot got blocked by the damaged claw, it parried against the tonfa. Being distracted and busy with defending itself, Jesse took the chance and shot two times on the legs of the robot. It looked a bit as if the Badnik was startled; finally releasing his claw from Cassias boot is stumbled backwards. It stood there, recalibrating his eyes and limps that weren't too damaged, the last two legs didn't operate anymore and one only slowly but the robot was even with difficulties moving.
"Can't that thing already be scrap metal?!" Cassia made a small and quick jump to avoid one of the mechanical devices attacks. The pronghorn shuddered, at first she thought the robot might have hit her but when she turned around she was greeted by one of Milenkos big grandfather's clocks. Seeing the great clock and that the robot was also in the near of it, Cassia had a plan. "Distract the bot for me, I have a plan!" Jesse looked only for a split second at Cassia, giving her a nod. He didn't know what Cassia prepared, but he trusted her in whatever her idea foresaw. "Hey!" the shouting sounded in the deers head louder than it was really, but it drew the Bots attention. Slowly the Badnik was moving in Jesse's direction. "Back out." was the only thing Cassia said in a strained voice. Each step he made backwards, the Badnik made a faster one, coming closer and closer to the deer.
"STEP LEFT!" After the deer did what he was told in a hastily manner, he heard an exhausting sounding wooden creak. The damaged robot didn't notice what was coming for it, and when it did, too late. The bot was greeted by the big with many woodcuts decorated right on it falling grandfathers clock. The crash was loud. Mixed with braking glass and deforming metal, the clock made one final muffled tick before going silent. The Badniks eye went dull, and didn't move. They looked for a short time at it, to make sure it really was lifeless. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, it just cut in my booth, and you?" "I'm fine." For a short moment there was silence before they turned around to look a Hatzinger.
Both went back to the Watchmaker who lay still on the ground. "Why did it attack us? Why was it even here?" "I don't know, but what I know is that we probably should help Hatzinger." Cassia took him on his right, Jesse on his left arm and tried to drag him to his living room. Everything was silent. Cassia and Jesse were deep in their thoughts, both quite similar. "Without the suitcase this would be way easier." Cassia grunted Jesse gave an approving nod. A quick sound interrupted them, different than the one made by the robot, it sounded like a long "blink". The deer looked down and saw a metallic orb that blinked, and there was another one of them, and another, at least ten of those where in the corridor.
The "blink" sound went on faster. When looking down at the crushed robot Cassia noticed that in fact he eye of the scrapped robot blinked too. Not the pronghorn or the deer had to say something, they had a feeling what these little blinking orbs where. As fast as they could they dragged Milenko to the salesroom, only to notice that there were also, even more of those orbs, blinking in a faster manner than before. They didn't look back; they just tried to run with Milenko. Some of the orbs where in the middle of their way, Jesse kicked as far as possible away to clear the direction they were heading, Cassia joined him. Before they reached the door the blinking stopped, only for a second, then explosions where to hear, small in gabs of some microseconds they exploded, fortunately only at the right or left side of the room, far enough not to reach them. They only felt the heat that came from the bombs. Explosive flames got released and began in occupying the wooden walls like a celebratory meal. Paintings, the windows and of course the clocks, nothing was save from them. The flames where celebrating their victory over the house they just won, becoming their victim. Both, deer and pronghorn had luck not to breath in any smoke when they went out of house as fast as they could, in a reflex Cassia closed the door, smashing it in the doorframe.
Carrying Milenko they went down the little hill going in the direction of the cardboard they saw when they went up to the now more and more lost house. Next to the black car they sat Milenko down. Cassia said nothing, with her eyes stiff and wide, she just pushed on the car handle, and it went open, she wasn't surprised, maybe she would have, but there was no place for that in her head right now. She sat down at the dark red brownish leather passenger seat resting her face next to the window, watching at the burning house. First there was fear in her mind, how could this happen? What would the Watchmaker say? He would give them the fault wouldn't he? But there was also relive, they made it out AND saved Milenko! Speaking of the watchmaker, Jesse was able to shove the human on the driver's seat before the deer placed himdelf in the backseats. They were able to destroy the bot, on the other side maybe if they wouldn't have then the house would not burning to the ground. Where was the firewatch? The village would have one wouldn't they, and it wasn't that big so, why weren't they here already? Last but not least there was anger, anger because why? Why did that robot attack them and also Milenko? Did he attack it first? But then why did it attack it she and her friend? Did the Eggman send it to them, defenetly, who else?
"WHAT THE HEY IS GOING ON!? Cassia let out a frustrated groan. "I don't know what to do!" Jesse didn't say anything; instead he looked at Milenko whose head hanged in the direction of the floor.
Time passed before Cassia released a little, barely hearable sigh. She closed her eyes, and opened them slowly, breathed in and out. "Can you call the Doc for me?"
Searching for a bit in her backpack she then tossed the mobile phone in Jesse's direction, hitting the window before it fell down to the seat next to the deer. He typed in the numbers, waiting before saying one word, "Mailbox", the pronghorn answered with an annoyed tone, a weakly sounding groan let forget her mood. Milenko Hatzinger had both of his hands placed on his head looking perplex around. "Wo bin ich? Wie, was? W-"the tired looking uncovered eye snapped fully awake open, when he saw the burning remains of his once beloved home.
"*MeineGütemeineGütemeineGütemeineGütemeineGütemeineGütemeineGüte." He repeated this words staring at the glowing fire. Some of he repeating words got swallowed because of how fast they came out of him. He stopped and his stare eye began in looking at Jesse, then at Cassia.
The young pronghorn let out a short and nervous laugh and also began automatically in grinning embarrassed. "Well your house, it's a long sto-" Milenko stretched his right arm out and made a stop hand sign. His left one going was pulling on the beard.
"My head is spinning, let me get it straight. Some, mechanical thing attacked me. I went out for some time and now I wake up, and see a big fire that was once my house. You brought me out of the house, so you didn't send that robot…**es sei denn das ist ein Versuch mir Stockholm-Syndrom zu geben JEDENFALLS, ANYWAY! How, is this possible? "he pointed to his house. „The bot placed bombs all over your house and when we squashed it with one of your clocks it activated the bombs. It wasn't us, I swear!"
Milenko remained silent, only his breath was to hear before he exhaled. "I believe you. I'm out of my house, so you saved me, from both, the machine and the Feu-fire." He fumbled with his right hand on his belt and took out a key, soon it was plugged in next to the stirring wheel and the start of an old car motor was to hear.
"But we can't stay hier, it's too dangerous, someone is chasing you and now I'm involved too. Gib-give me the phone, I should give your doctor a call." with that the watchmaker pressed on the gas pedal.
Well, well, well looks like Milenko joined the party too! More or less he didn't had another choice :P. Let's see how this will continue.
Also if you are interested, this is what Milenko says in German:
*"Meine Güte" can be translated in "Oh my!"
**"except this is an attempt to give me stockhom syndrom"
Now for the Reviews ^^
DragoonSensei: I'm glad you are interested and thank you for reading my fanfiction ^^
Well a watchmaker might look like as if he couldn't help in such a deed, but well who knows what still might come to our group ;-.)
Peach'sMinions: Yeah it really is that it came to this incident, but I'm glad that you want to continue in reading it ^^
If you mean when that happened with that Cloves cybernetics went into lockdown, that didn't happened. In the comics Eggman uses the "fails safes" to blackmail his Egg Bosses so they help him conquer a base back from the Witchcarters. That story begins in SU #83.
And with that I want to say goodbye, until the next chapter comes of course.
With friendly greetings
The Bowlerhatwearer
