Chapter 13: Kragok’s Return 

The Chaotix now stood in front of the Echidnaopolis Clock Tower. It was a tall gray structure that loomed over the area like a monstrous phantom. The air held chill. A slight breeze picked up. 

"Man I thought hell would freeze over before I took one step into a clock tower," Sotsu said as they approached the entrance.

"Why? I think there pretty neat," Mighty asked.

"I’m a big Castlevania fan. You’d understand if you played that game," Sotsu replied opening the small steel door.

"Can’t say I have. I’m not a big video game fan," Mighty answered as he looked around as they entered.

They weren’t in the main of the tower yet but there was a walkway leading up to it.

"Espio care to take the honor of checking?" Sotsu asked as he indicated the path.

"Why thank you," he said in a joking tone as he cloaked himself.

"Let’s just hope no others know that "Ancient Echidna Secret"," Espio added creeping his way along the walkway.

We don’t have the money so we have to pull this off. Shouldn’t be… too hard… I think. 

A few minutes later Espio peeked around the door.

"It looks like the coast is clear," he whispered.

"Okay then let’s go get…" Vector began to run up the walkway, Sotsu grabbed his arm and sooshed him. 

"Alright sorry," Vector apologized.

They crept through the door at the end of the walkway. Now they were in the main of the clock tower. It was an enigma of gears and springs, aside from other various doohickeys.

They headed across the catwalk that edged around one wall, and lead to a ladder leading to a higher similar catwalk. As they made it up the ladder a sinister voice rang out over the area.

"Well, well it looks as though you made it!" it was Kragok, he shouted from atop a turning gear near the top of the tower. He had one hand on the pole as he spun about on it.

"Hurry up with the money! I’d hate to see your two friends fall fate to the being crushed!" he added along with an equally sinister laugh.

"Come on let’s hurry," Mighty said as he charged down the catwalk. 

Sotsu looked at their path ahead. It wasn’t particularly a pleasant one. The catwalk ended on the next section, meaning from there they’d have to climb, jump and make their way across the various clock work components, just like in Castlevania.


"I hate you clock doohickeys," Sotsu said under his breath as he pointed at one of the gears. 

The group made it to the end of the next catwalk, now they’d have to make a good leap to the bottom gear, then begin the hike.

"Hah ha ha! You’ll never make it out alive!" Kragok shouted. God can’t these villains come up with an original phase to shout when the heroes find themselves in a tough predicament.

"Sotsu can’t you fly up there and shut that jerks mouth?" Vector whined as he readied to jump to the gear.

"Not with all this clock work in the way," Sotsu said watching Vector take a few steps and leap on the edge of the slow spinning gear.


Next Sotsu flew across, then Mighty leapt and Vector had to catch him because his leap was a little to short. Then Espio leaped across easily.

Ahead was a series of bars that went up diagonally. They’d have to carefully climb it as the bars sometimes closed together, then spread apart. They slowly made their way up the bars, several times they almost had their hands crushed as the bars threatened to close on them.

They looked to their next point. It was a series of small rotating gears, they could all serve as platforms, but every once in a while a round metal device would swoop low over it. It’s like the giant swiping blades they had in several video games. Sotsu explained that they’d have around fifteen seconds to make it across all three platforms, then jump to one of the large springs that were hanging down a leaps away from there.

"And we all go at one at a time!" Sotsu added. He’d be the first to go since he had come up with the plan and could demonstrate it for the others. 

He carefully lined himself with the first platform, and waited for the metal extension to pass. After a few seconds it did. Sotsu ran and leaped to the first small gear. It spun quickly due to it being small, Sotsu hesitated as he diverted his footing so he’d head toward the next gear instead of accidentally stepping off of the platform. 


Then he quickly got to the next one. It was large and didn’t rotate to quickly, so he made it to the third. He’d been counting in his head and figured he only had a few more seconds to spare. So he timed his leap to the hanging springs, the third platform was unfortunately another small one. 

He had no room for error, let alone no room for hesitation. He leapt just as the huge metal extension swung out. He grabbed on to the springs as the extension went by. The Chaotix let out a sigh of relief seeing the echidna hanging on the large metal spring. Sotsu waved for the next to go. 

The Chaotix began to argue over who was next. So they decided to flip a coin, funny though, Sotsu knew what was going to happen. They were on a large spinning gear… you get the point.

Vector flipped the small silver coin upward. They spun around and made a futile attempt to keep sight of it. They saw it hit the ground and rolled a little… off the edge and into the blackness below.

"Rats that sucked," Vector exclaimed.

"Lemme another coi…" Vector was cut off by Sotsu.

"Mighty you go!" Sotsu shouted.

The Chaotix made it across finally. They began to climb the large brass springs and eventually came to the top were another large gear resided. It led to a similar large gear, except the second one was set vertical.

Sotsu once again went first this time. He popped onto the large gear. He prepped himself to hop onto the next gear. He did and landed on one foot. Then he began to struggle to keep up with it’s rotating as he had to step over the large teeth of the gear.

"I hate you!" Sotsu said shaking his fist at the gear. He eventually gained enough speed though to make it over and land on the small metal platform on the other side.

"Espio your turn to go next!" Sotsu shouted at the already arguing group.


Sotsu looked up at the ladder leading up to another metal platform above. He decided to wait for the others before venturing off. 

Espio made it across with little trouble. Vector had an especially easy time as his height helped him make it over the hazardous gear’s teeth. Mighty once again had to get a little help to make it over. Once the group had all made it, they continued one.

Sotsu was the first to ascend the ladder. Once he made it to the top he found himself in the middle of a miserable mess of gears. 

"Ah son of Horus!" Sotsu shouted as he looked about for a reasonable path.

As each Chaotic made their way up each stood in shock at the magnitude of the clock work chaos.


"So… like now what?" Vector asked.

"Why would there be this platform if all it leads to is the middle of this?" Espio asked looking about the perimeter.

"Maybe it’s a…" Sotsu was cut off as the whole thing shook and jutted off at an angle.

"Trap!" they all shouted.

"Hurry up and grab onto one of the gears!" Mighty shouted as the platform’s supports gave way, causing the structure to begin to crumble and fall away.

Espio easily stuck himself to the bottom of a sideways gear. Mighty grabbed onto the side of a gear and caught Vector with the other hand. Sotsu grabbed onto a gear a little ways out from the rest of the group.

"See. I hate clock towers!" Sotsu yelled as he began pulling himself on top of the gear.

"Yeah, I see what you mean!" Vector said as Mighty began to swing him upward.

"I think we’re near the top!" Espio exclaimed as he crawled atop the gear he was on. He looked up toward where Kragok was last time, but there was too much obstructing his view to get a clear answer.

As the group regained themselves, they regrouped on the gear Mighty and Vector were stationed on. They carefully planned their route to the top. They’d have to make a series of complex jumps that crisscrossed the area. Then they’d have to face off with Kragok at the top, then rescue Knuckles and Julie-Su. 

"You have five minutes before the two are crushed by the clock hands! Hurry up!" Kragok shouted. 

Sotsu could tell that they were indeed close to the top, it was only a matter of them making the time limit.

The first few jumps weren’t that difficult. It was when they began having to jump from standing gear to standing gear. Many of the standing gears were small and fast ones, they had to run along it as they were balancing on a ball of some kind.

Finally after more then a few close calls, the group now rested on a one of two large rotating gears. On the other stood their adversary, Kragok. His black robes swayed about him, his cybernetic eye reflected the images of the Chaotix. His bionic arm crackled to life with yellow bolts of electricity.

"Long time no see Chaotix! Where’s the money?" then Kragok paused, his evil smile spread across his face, "No. It doesn’t matter."

He launched a lightning beam from his metal hand, it leap across and hit Espio, sending the lizard flying backward with a smoking burn wound on his chest.

The beam continued as Kragok brought it across, following the Chaotix who were diving and avoiding the beam, while trying to close the distance. 

Sotsu brought his hands out in front and shot off a few shadow blasts. They meet an electric field formed by Kragok’s metal arm device.

"You can’t beat me Chaotix!" he gloated as the bolt struck Mighty hard in the chest.


Vector took off his headphones and blasted up the volume. Kragok opened a dimensional rift sending the sound blast off to another plane. 

"Now how cheesy is that?" Sotsu asked as he began another charge.

"Not as near as cheesy as what I’m about to do," Kragok replied as the rift collapsed into a large ball of yellow crackling lightning. 

Sotsu was about to emit a shield but the ball exploded in a bright white blast. Sotsu was blown back off the gear and fell to another one several feet below. His back hit the metal with a loud thwack. He lay there for several moments as the pain finally began to suppress. 

He heard Kragok’s laughter echo throughout tower.

"I’ve gotta get back… up there," Sotsu said between gasping. As he got up he felt several sharp pains shoot through his back. 

A thunderous sound bounced across the room followed by the agony cry of one of the Chaotix. Sotsu knew he didn’t have time to make his way to the top a neat trip, he’ll have to go all out. He focused on all of his pain, he drew from it, and manifested itself in his mind. To Sotsu, his pain was a psychical and tangible thing, something so potent, that he uses it to bend the laws of the psychical realm to his needs. 

He channeled the air particles about him, much like when he was flying to the Floating Island. He began to lift off of the gear and upward to the higher. He reached the top quickly and immediately conjured his bo. He saw that Kragok had been constantly zapping the Chaotix. All of them had numerous burns on them and were out for the time being.

Sotsu had the advantage, as Kragok had yet to notice him. The black echidna took the bo into both hands and brought it over his head as he crept behind the Dark Legion commander. Then he brought the wooden shaft down on his opponent’s head. The swift strike downed the echidna, the Chaotix were out, and know Knuckles and Julie-Su’s lives were in his hands.

Sotsu made it across the gears and to a small metal catwalk lining the wall. A door from there led out to the clock face. Knuckles and Julie-Su were both tied to on of the clock hands. Once the clock hands were to come together they’d be crushed. The air was chill and made Sotsu shiver as he looked upon the glowing yellow face. The black hands were positioned close together. Sotsu flew down and grabbed hold of both of them and cut them loose. They were unconscious, no doubt some form of sedative had been injected into them prior to being tied tot he clock hands. 

Sotsu now sat on the rotating gear on which rested the limp forms of the Chaotix. One the other lay Kragok, bound by the same rope that was used on Knuckles and Julie-Su. It had been no more then ten minutes before Julie-Su finally woke.

"Wha… where am I?" see asked, still a little weary from the dose of tranquilizer.

"Your inside the clock tower," Sotsu said, he was enjoying sitting in the middle of the gear as it span about.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Krago…" she stopped as she saw the tied figure on the adjacent gear. Then she cast a look about seeing the other unconscious figures about.


"What happened?" she asked.

"Kragok happened. He got them, I got him, then I saved you and Knuckles," Sotsu replied as he simply sat and starred ahead, watching as the walls seemed to spin about.

"Thank you," Julie-Su replied.

"Don’t mention it. I have a responsibility to make sure everyone’s safe," Sotsu explained.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Julie-Su asked as she looked about the various wounds.

"They’ll be fine. They only suffered minor burns. Nothing they can’t take, right?" 

"Yeah I guess."

Once Mighty awoke, Sotsu sent off for the police to help them out. They took Kragok off to a high security cell for the time being. It was only a matter of time before Sotsu once again found himself in his new room inside the apartment. He slept easy that night knowing that he was capable as one of the Chaotix. Now with his new group he was ready to set off on new missions. What may lay ahead may be worse then anything he’d have ever fought with the Freedom Fighters. Then again it may be easier. But whatever was ahead Sotsu would try and accomplish. He had wanted this ever since he had come to Mobius. Though it had been no more then week or so since he had arrived, he knew that he had proven himself more worthy of a fighter then most have ever in their lives. 

Though what he didn’t know, is that within the month, if not the very next day, he’d have to fight his toughest fight yet. One such that it makes his rumble with Evi-Tanoted and Wolf shall look like nothing more then a short melee with a few SWATbots. Once such that it will change his new Mobian life forever. If not just that, but it very well might carve a spot in the history of the planet. The evil that lay ahead… may be some time in the future, but it’s presence is already known. What is ahead only the future can tell.

-Nicholas D. Wolfwood-