"Shinra Agents Arisu Reiji and Xiamou.

The crew of the cargo ship Elsa: Shion, MOMO, and KOS-MOS.

Interpol agent Chun-Li.

And Shadoloo agents Cammy, Juni, and Juli.

"All appeared in Shibuya today and met under unusual circumstances. All at once, the presence of Shinra was known, Shadoloo introduced itself, and the thick thighed wonder helped save the day.

"What's about to happen next, however, is a COMPLETELY unrelated event.

"Please, enjoy the show."

"Hey, mister director man! Was that stupid introduction necessary?" Shouted a small girl with an enormous amount of red hair. "I just finished my snacks in the time that thing played!"

"You're trying to stretch this move as long as you can, aren't you?" Shouted another man in the back, one in a white gi. "You're wasting film! I could have shown up in all that time!"

"Oh be quiet before I cut all of you completely out of the movie!" Trinku shouted. Chairs, popcorn boxes, and blue balls of energy being hurled at him was the response to his response, however. Weakly, he then added. "To the other viewers in the audience (you readers), reading while listening to the character themes makes it more enjoyable. G'wan. Try it!"

Prologue (2):

"Hey look! A tower!"

Illusionary World - Oberon Corp. Secret Plant, Undersea Cave

The walls of the cave reflected the light off the water, sending an eerie glow around the area. The two individuals walking through this cave were a bit disturbed by it, but not enough to stop. This trek they took part in was one that had to be completed, regardless of the surroundings.

"Unless something leaps out and eats us, of course," Muttered a blonde young man in armor-like clothing, a headband tied around his head. Obviously, he wasn't a fan of deep dark caves.

"Hmm? What did you say Stahn?" The girl following him asked. Unlike her knightly friend, she wore a simple pair of shorts and a red-black tee shirt. Clearly, she knew what being casually dressed meant.

"I just thought that it's a bit weird. We've been following Leon for a long time now, right Rutee?" He asked. "But every time we've come close, something has always jumped out and tried to bite our heads off. But now, there's nothing here." Stahn explained. "So...where's the twenty foot tall yeti today?"

"He's on company vacation. Union rules." The two jumped. Standing in front of them was Leon Magnus himself, looking in a...mirror? "You know...they say I'm a bishonen, but I don't see it." He said, stroking his chin.

"Leon! What are you trying to pull?" Stahn shouted, drawing his sword. "What are you doing here!"

"'What am I trying to pull?'" He repeated slipping the mirror in his pocket. "Just as you see, my friend. But, if you want to go any further, you'll have to defea-"

"Yeah, we know! 'If we want to proceed, we have to kill the bad guy first'," Said Rutee. "But we don't want to fight you! Can't you see this is an emergency?"

"Oh, I know you don't want to." Leon smiled, stretching. "I'm just fulfilling my assignment...That is, to be the one to kill all of you."

"Open your eyes, Leon!" Stahn shouted. "Not only are you being manipulated by Hugo, but you just turned a bad-ass line like that into something that sounds terrible!"

"Oh...Did I? Hmmm..." Leon turned around, drawing a small booklet. "'That is...to be the one to kill you...' Hmmm...It does sound terrible..." Then, turning back around. "But you're right! To Hugo I am a tool. As disposable as a plastic fork."

"Well, if you know that, why are you working for him?" Asked Rutee.

"Because I have something to protect." Leon shrugged the question off. "That's all, really." Then, drawing a pair of rapiers, he smirked. "Are you ready now? Done with the questions? Let's do this, Stahn!"

"Leon! This isn't... This isn't the time or place for that!" Stahn shouted, still gripping his sword, ready to swing should Leon attack him. "! The "Eye of Atamoni" is something no human should possess! Let alone protect."

"Oooh. That's old school Tales right there..." Said Zelos Wilds, taking a bite of a nacho.

"Ssshh!" Hissed Sheena Fujibayashi. "Its bad enough we're not in it, but you're ruining the movie now!"

"Sorry..."

"That, dear Stahn, has nothing to do with me." Leon smiled. "But I will protect it."

"Damn it, Leon! Something is going wrong in our world and here you are helping whatever it is!" Stahn shouted. "You know the story of the "Time Key," don't you?"

"I know it," Leon said. "It was the treasure of the Divine World, stolen by some devil, right?" Then with a sigh, he continued. "But... I told you that has nothing to do with me, Stahn! Now, are we going to fight or are we going to stand her, because I'm tired of holding this pose!"

Stahn gripped his sword. "Leon...!" Fed up with holding his pose as well, Stahn swung his sword, hitting Leon with one of his more familiar moves. "SHISHI! SENKOOOOOOO!" He shouted, cutting a neat gash across mister Magnus' chest.

Leon staggered, lightly touching the cut. Then, he raised his swords again. "Stahn! This...is not over yet!" He said, a slight gasp between his words. "I can not let you pass!"

"Oh give it a rest, Leon! I don't want to fight you! Do you get it yet? Me no want to fight. No es combato. Nien! Iie! No!" Stahn said. However, at once all three of them heard a loud crack fill the air. "...What the heck was that?" Rutee pointed up, however. All three looked to the ceiling to see a large crack spreading across the top, water dripping through.

"...Heh... heheheh... it's begun. I... win..." Smiled Leon. Stahn stared at him as if he was stupid, however.

"Leon...that's a crack. In the ceiling. Of an underwater cave. Not only would you drown if all that came down, you would explode under the water pressure!" Stahn explained intelligently.

"...He's right Leon. You should leave with us!" Said Rutee.

"The clock signaling... the end... has started... to move..." Leon grinned. Clearly, the cut Stahn gave him was deeper than intended. "Now... no one... can stop... it..."

"Leon, it's going to flood!"

"Stahn, we have to leave!"

"I'm not leaving him!"

"We have to go!"

"LEON!"

Leon Magus only grinned, giving a slight wave to Stahn and Rutee. "Good-bye Stahn. Good-bye, Rutee. And good-bye... Marian..." He never saw the two run back out the cave. Nor did he see the small creature grab him by the back of his pants and drag him further down the cave...

Meanwhile, at the same time in a completely different area stood a furry creature. This creature, what looked to be a cross between a rabbit, a cat, and had the same colored fur as a skunk, looked like a small child from a distance. Garbed in a blue shirt, blue shorts, and a hat with a yellow, three-fourth circle symbol, this cabbit-like creature looked up at the sky with a sigh.

"He's so late," sighed Klonoa, as he rocked back and forth. "What's that guy doing anyway?" He asked no one in particular. However, he could hear a buzzing sound coming. A faded sound that seemed to be growing closer. "Hm? That sound-?" He thought, standing up.

Coming straight at him was what looked to be a motorcycle of sorts. This motorcycle had no wheels, though. Instead, it floated a foot off the ground like a hover bike. However, this did not slow it down in the least bit. Quite the contrary, a dust cloud was trailing it as it approached. Coming to a stop, a brown, wolf-like creature as small as Klonoa smiled behind sunshades. Moving his scarf, Guntz smiled at the cabbit. "Yo," He said simply. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Klonoa."

"Keep me waiting? You called me out!" Klonoa said. "What's up with that? You're supposed to be here first, not be late!"

"Don't whine about it," Guntz said, stepping off the bike with a scowl. "Such a child as always...I've been going through some things, ya know."

"Don't give me that!" Klonoa shouted. "I'm sick of you calling me a child, Guntz! When will you respect me! I have feelings! I'm not a doll!" The small wolf creature sighed as his companion ranted. Drawing something from his waist, he fired a single bullet into the air, silencing Klonoa.

"You done?" Guntz asked. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, actually." Klonoa said. "Sorry, frustrated. I've been sitting on a rock for the past few hours, you kn-" Klonoa cut himself short as a bird hit the ground in front of them, a large bullet hole in its chest. "..."

"...Oops."

"...So anyway," Klonoa said, kicking the bird away from them. "What's this 'stuff' you called me out here for. I wont do anything illegal, just so you know."

Guntz shook his head. "Nothing illegal. But don't you get the feeling there's been a disturbance around the world?"

"Disturbance?" Klonoa asked. "Really? What kind of disturbance? Not one of those world ending ones, right? I can't handle something like that..."

"Geez, this is exactly what's wrong in the village too. Its too peaceful, all of you can't handle something like this," Guntz sighed. "Makes me want to find someone useful--"

"I am useful!" Klonoa shouted. "And exactly what is this disturbance, anyway?"

"Heh, something familiar, actually..."

"Oh! Is it another dream monster?" Klonoa asked. It had been months since the last dream incident, and to be honest, he was as bored as Guntz. Anything would do about now, even sixty story tall dragons. "Well, why didn't you say so? Let's go exterminate it!"

"No, its that," Guntz said. "Its something pretty bad. Worse, maybe."

"Pretty bad? Exactly what is it, then? Come on, tell me!" Klonoa shouted, tired of Guntz's riddles. Guntz, however, heard a beeping at his waist. Drawing a small device, he looked to the screen as Klonoa peeked over his shoulder. There, a beeping dot was moving across the screen.

"...It looks the Golden Knight is making his move..." Guntz said, placing the device back to his side.

"Golden Knight...?" Klonoa asked. Then, he realized what Guntz meant. "Oh wait! The Golden Knight? How the heck did you manage to get a tracking device on him? Are you stalking him now too?"

"In him."

"What?"

"The tracking device is in him."

"...Oh, you've got to be kidding me. He didn't feel that!"

"Lets just say you can do anything with lubricant these days."

"..."

"Anyway, yeah, I put a device on him," Guntz explained. "It's been years since that battle of his. I figured we could use him if the circumstances ever called for it. And now the circumstances are beyond it."

"So what is it that's so urgent? When are you going to tell me?"

"The golden knight it required for this battle. Come on, kid, think," Guntz said. "And then we still have to track down the Silver knight and the Maiden knight..." He folded his arm when he saw Klonoa was still confused. "Fine! It's Druaga! D-R-U-A-G-A! Happy!"

"Oh!"

"Bingo. But the fact is that he's working for someone," Guntz said. "We, as heroes and everything, need to find out who and help shut them down. That's how things are now, okay? Are you in now, kid?"

"...This is very interesting, Guntz," He grinned.

"I was waiting for you to say that," Guntz grinned. "Interesting is one way to put it. Its decided then. Lets go!"

"Of course," Klonoa smiled. Then, "...But...we'd have to go to that royal palace place. I don't think they'd let us in easily," He noticed Guntz' grin widen. Sighing, he asked, "Don't tell me you... plan on busting down the castle gate...?"

"Just what kind of guy do you think I am!" Guntz shouted, offended. "Isn't it obvious where we're going? We're gotta get the Golden Knight first, ya know."

"...You're going to kidnap the golden knight?"

"...Yeah, when you put it that way, it sounds bad, doesn't it?"

"I thought I said I wasn't going to do anything illegal!"

At the same time – Sandland Highway

A man in golden armor walked down the beaten path, a golden lance in his hands. He appeared to be walking slowly, as he knew someone was following him. With a sigh, the man, who looked more like a frog than a human, turned around to see someone standing directly behind him.

"..." The frogman sighed as the person approached. It appeared to be a young girl with white hair, wearing a tight purple outfit with a hood. She stopped, glaring at him.

"Hold it!" This person in purple shouted. The tone in the voice confused the frogman; was it really a girl? Or was it a boy? He didn't make a sound as this purple clad person continued. "I know why you're leaving. I heard it too. You're as reckless as ever."

"...Sabine?" He asked. It sounded like Sabine. It almost looked like Sabine. In fact, he even though it may be someone dressed up like Sabine, doing a perfect Sabine impression. "...You're not Sabine, are you?"

"Sabine was busy when we started filming, so I'm taking his place," This person whispered. "The name's Garlyle, but for all intents and purposes, call me Sabine."

"..."

"I've spoken with the clan head!" This person who pretended to be Sabine continued. "Didn't the goddess Ishtar strictly forbid the Xandra clan from getting involved in this affair? Well, Krino?"

"Yes. Yes she did." Krino continued as well.

"Your conduct is insubordinate to the Goddess!" 'Sabine' shouted. "For a decision made by a man called 'Hero', it's a rather poor decision."

"And this has nothing to do with that title. Back when that person saved me in the desert, in that blazing pyramid, I decided to help them regardless of the consequences. I will use what life I have and the sake of my clan to support that person. I will support Lady Valkyrie, the Maiden Knight."

"Hah! How elegant," Sabine laughed. "And you decide to help her by leaving with just a spear and a single suit of armor? Without anyone at all seeing you off? How pathetic," He smiled.

"No. I'm grateful to the clan chief for allowing me to leave. He didn't pass judgment on me, he didn't call me a traitor." Krino explained. "He did banish me from the clan, but that does not matter. He told me not to worry about the clan, that is all I asked to know."

"Always the solitary figure," Sabine shook his (?) head. "Even when you saved my mom, you came and left alone that Tower of Illusion, didn't you?"

"...That's the past, Sabine."

"Well then, O' former 'Hero of the Xandra clan', which direction are you going?" Sabine asked.

"To the ruins of 'that tower.'" Krino said. "There's no need for you to get branded as one alongside me." He then continued to walk along his path, leaving Sabine to stare.

"Huh?" Sabine asked. "When I want to go someplace, I just go there, that's all! Though I might incidentally wind up on the same path as you, it doesn't mean I'm going with you!" He shouted.

"...You've changed." He said. "If this were the old days, even while you were shooting off at the mouth, you'd never say anything like that."

Sabine only smiled. "Hehehe. As you said, Krino...that is the past." The boy (?) looked up, however. He heard something move not too far away. "...It looks like something is in our path, Krino." He said, as the creatures revealed themselves. Various creatures, slimes, knight-like creatures, and other forms of creatures appeared around them. "I think they were following you."

"Or you, for that matter." Krino simply said, drawing his spear. "Well then, we're going the same path. That means we'll both have to fight these off."

Over a cliff, however, were two people as well. Stahn and Rutee clutched their weapons, also surrounded by various slimes and knights. LOTS of slimes, enough to invade a small village or two.

"Just when we get close to the Tower, this happens," Stahn sighed.

"Typical," Rutee sighed. "It's a typical deal. Once you make progress, they throw millions of monsters at you. Can't they just let us finish what we came here to do."

"First rule of RPGs. Never give the heroes and easy time." Stahn sighed. Then, looking at the monsters, he asked, "But...could these be monsters from the Tower of Druaga? I thought that tower was abandoned."

"Stahn, these are slimes," Rutee sighed. "SLIMES! Come on, low grade monsters! They're the roaches of the monster world! They appear EVERYWHERE!" She said.

"...Yeah. I might have been over thinking. Oh well," He gripped his sword. Swinging it, a small tornado of wind knocked the closest slime into the air. "Dance Hurricane!" He shouted. Rutee ran at him, jumping and planting a foot on his shoulder. Springing, she flipped into the air, sword raised to destroy the slime.

"Bloody Rose!" She shouted, front flipping in the air. Spinning, numerous slashed knocked the slime to the ground, where the girl then delivered a rapid amount of stabs at the slime. Rolling out of the way, Stahn was in the air, sword pointed down. Stabbing it in the jelly-creature, it exploded in a shower of green goop.

"...Wow. They ARE low grade." Stahn said, as he wiped the fragments of the monster off of him. However, as soon as they managed to clean it all off, there was a splat behind them. Turning around, the two frowned. More enemies had appeared, this time, black versions.

"...Are black slimes low grade?" Stahn asked.

"Is anything black low grade?" Rutee asked, slapping Stahn on the back of the head. With a sigh, she looked down at the ground. "Well this sucks. Now we're surrounded by enemies and there's only two of—"

"WAHOOO!"

The two looked up at the sound of the shout and the roar of a motorcycle. Landing with a bang and a screeching skid, a hover bike of sorts landed next to them with two people riding it. One of them laughed. "Wow, Guntz! Faster than I expected!"

"Well, I did add a nitrous super charger a while back, Klonoa. We can go faster than that." The other replied.

"Wh-who the heck are you!" Stahn shouted. "More enemies! We can't take ALL of you!" He was silenced by another slap to the back of the head, however.

"Look at them, Stahn. They look like they're from Marble Island," Rutee said. Rubbing the back of his head, Stahn looked. They did look like the animal people from that island.

"Hey!" Guntz called out. "What're you two doing here? What's with you guys! If you were on a date, you picked a helluva lousy spot!" He shouted. "Pack up! We'll clear this place out."

"By ourselves?" Klonoa asked. "Come on Guntz, that was mean. Leave them alone."

"Did he just say...date?" Stahn said, looking to Rutee with a grin. However, he found himself victim to yet another slap.

"Date? With a country bumpkin like this!" She shouted. "No way!"

"Rutee..."

"I said no!"

"Rutee, the slimes!"

"So we did come in the middle of something," Klonoa said. Then, he noticed the single black slime. "Oh! Now that's rare!"

"What a pain..." Guntz said. "Klonoa! It looks like we'll have something to do until the Golden Knight shows up! Lets have a little fun, shall we?" He asked, kicking the cycle to life.

"Wahoo! This will be a great warm up!" Klonoa shouted.

"...Golden Knight?" Rutee asked. "You guys are looking for him too?"

"Too? You guys are—"

"Save the chatting for later!" Stahn shouted. "They're getting closer!"

"Geez, fine," Rutee rolled her eyes. "I mean, they're just slimes. What're you so upset about?" Stahn, however, was lost in thought.

"Black slimes are from the tower of Druaga, for sure. If that's true, then..." It wasn't until a slime pounced on him that he remembered why he was there. However, he couldn't do much as the slime squiggled all over his face. "GAH! IT'S MOLESTING MY FACE!"

"Oh god..." Rutee slapped her face. Turning to Guntz, she pointed to Stahn's face. "Could you do me a favor? Blast this thing off."

"WHAT!"

A flaming bullet shot through the slime, obliterating it into a million tiny globs of goo. Stahn, however, only stared straight into the sky as Rutee stood over him. Judging by the look, he went through something bad...and getting shot at didn't help his situation. "I hate all of you..." He said, starting to sit up, but was knocked back down as Klonoa jumped over him, ring projecting a beam sword from a very large ring. "..." Stahn wept silently as everyone ran over his downed body, attacking the single slime all at once. Soon enough, it exploded too, showering Stahn in more goo. Standing up weakly, he noticed Rutee blushing with a grin as Guntz and Klonoa spoke to her.

"Three down, sis. You're not too shabby." Guntz said.

"Of course not. Who do you think I am?" She said, still grinning as Stahn approached the small group, not finding the heart to kill the remaining two slimes. Klonoa, however, looked up.

"...I feel a strong spirit here," Klonoa said. "I think it has something to do with these monsters but I can't tell where it is..." However, the cabbit and the wolf watched Stahn jump as if being shouted it.

"Stahn! We've got problems!" Both he and Rutee heard

"Eh?" Rutee asked. Stahn held up his sword, looking to it. Then, moving his lips...

"Yeah, there's a nasty atmosphere around here," He said, shocking both of the animal-creatures as he seemingly talked to his sword. "Something isn't right indeed."

"Rutee, the area around here... It seems to be getting strangely distorted." Came the voice from her sword. "As if something that shouldn't be here is forcing its way through."

"Wait, what does that mean..." Rutee asked her sword, not noticing the odd looks Klonoa and Guntz were giving her.

"...Guntz..."

"Yeah?"

"They're talking...to their swords..."

"Yeah..."

"Should we be worried? I mean, if we're not supposed to be worried..."

"Its safe to say our companions are nuts, Klonoa."

"Hey! Who are you two calling nuts?" Rutee shouted, pointing her sword at Guntz. "Look, only a Swordian user can hear the swordians' voices, okay."

"Sure. What ever you say, sister," Guntz rolled his eyes. "Wacko."

"SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!"

"Rutee! Incoming! Focus on the battle at hand!" Her swordian shouted to her. Behind her, she could hear Stahn shift. She knew that was never a good sign, and she only guessed that meant that the enemies were closer. However, Stahn said something else...

"Blue Knights...!" Stahn shouted. Turning around, Rutee saw three Knights advancing on them, armed lightly, but well enough to tear them to pieces. "What are they doing here?"

"Attacking us?" Klonoa said, answering Stahn. "I mean, its like everything else is..."

"Those knights aren't human, though," Said Stahn's Swordian. "Stahn, keep your guard up."

"...Your sword knows these enemies?" Guntz asked, seeing Stahn silent. "Not friendly, right?" Stahn nodded. With a sigh, Guntz placed a hand to his head. "Gotta get a translator for that fancy sword of yours..." However, every knight advanced again...and slaughters the slimes as they went. "..."

"...Who's side are they on?" Klonoa asked. "And how come they left the black one?"

"I thought so. They're with Drua—"

"Those blue Knights! I knew it!"

"Someone HAD to interrupt me." Stahn sighed. Looking up, two figures stood on a cliff, staring down at them. All of them were blinked, however, as the sun reflected off the armor. "Hey, is that--?"

"Is he...the Golden Knight?" Rutee asked. Donning his sunshades, Guntz looked down at his tracker. He was unable to see the screen, however, as the glint of the armor caused a glare on the screen.

"Hey, Krino," Gar—I mean – Sabine whispered. "There are others down there too? Shall we take them out?"

"No... Not those people," Krino said. Then, taking a hard look, he shouted. "But those are enemies! Servants of Druaga!" He shouted, pointing to the knights.

"I knew it!" Stahn shouted. However, Klonoa squinted through the glare of the armor, grinning. "Hey, Guntz!" He said. "Its Krino!"

"Who?"

"Krino!"

"Who?"

"KRINO!" Klonoa shouted. "Krino of Sandland!"

"Krino...Krino...Kri—Wait! You mean the Maiden Knight's sidekick?" Guntz asked.

"Yeah, isn't it awesome!"

"...You're quite the celebrity, eh Krino?" Sabine asked, elbowing the frogman playfully in the ribs. "I told you you're a hero."

"No, I am not," Krino said. "I am only known as Lady Valkyrie's...Assistant!" He shouted, leaping off the cliff. Landing with a bang, a cloud of sand kicked up around him as Sabine landed. Ignoring the 'boy's' yelps of pain, the frogman surveyed the area. "The demon Druaga...and now these people..."

"Hey, they have weapons. Maybe we should help them out," Sabine winced. "Nice entrance, by the way."

"Thank you."

"...I don't get this at all..." Rutee shook her head. "You are on our side, right?"

"Are you with Druaga?"

"No, Krino sir!" Klonoa saluted.

"Then I am on your side." Krino returned the salute. Drawing his spear, he pointed to the Knight brigade, which halted before him. "The blue knights are the weakest among them, but do not let your guard down! Come, Sabine!"

"..." The boy in purple blushed.

"What?"

"You just told me to com-"

"Now's not the time for that, boy!"

"I never said I was a boy, you know!"

"Oh just follow me!" He shouted, running at the Knight. Stahn and Rutee clutched their weapons, as did Klonoa and Guntz.

"A blue knight of Druaga, huh..." Said Stahn. Rutee, who ran him towards the knight, grabbed his arm. "Stahn, don't you dare wimp out on me now!"

"Yeah, or you won't get any!" Shouted Guntz, kicking his cycle to life as Klonoa hoped on the back. The team shot towards a knight of their own, power sliding and knocking it aside. Klonoa ran at it, ring slashing the Knight across the armor. Cracking it, a single tentacle shot out at him, causing him to fall over in shock. "What the heck is that!"

"Shinigami Fire!" Guntz shouted, shooting a burning bullet at the Knight. The knight crashed into Rutee and Stahn, to which Stahn grinned.

"Ikuzo!" He shouted, tossing his shield into the air. The poor knights never stood a chance as he kicked, slashed, punched, slashed... all in a rapid-fire combo. Crouching low, he delivered a high rising fiery slash, sending them flying to Krino and Sabine.

Sabine smiled as the two knights bounced off of their own. Extending a hand, he shot a fireball, catching each on fire. Krino swung his spear, sending a whirlwind flying and hurling the two in the air. He, Stahn, and Klonoa all leapt, slicing the knights into cubes as they passed. All landing, they ducked under a torrent of gunfire from Guntz, destroying the only remaining creature behind them; the lone black slime. Exploding in a shower of gunfire, the team all gave thumbs up, with the exception of Krino.

"...Something wrong?" Klonoa asked, seeing the look on the frogman's face.

"...Yes..." Krino pointed. Just ahead of them, more knights formed out of seemingly mid air, followed by many other strange creatures. Strange, strange creatures...orange creatures with little red gloves and large black eyes that were adorable, but unnerving to look at. Klonoa, however, recognized these creatures in an instant.

"Genju!" Klonoa shouted. "Illusion beast! What the heck are they doing here?"

"Of all the weird things that happened today, this bothers you?" Guntz asked. However, a very annoying laugh interrupted all their thoughts.

"Oh-hohohoho!" The sound of this horrible, horrible laugh made everyone wince at the sound. Looking above the crowd of monsters, they managed to make out a small, round figure staring down at them. It laughed again once it noticed it had their attention. "Well, I though I would come and cause a bit of ruckus, but it looks like someone has beaten me here..."

"And just who the heck are you?" Rutee asked. "And what is it with everyone appearing on cliffs?"

"Oh-hohohoho! I forgot to introduce myself!" the ball creature laughed again. "I am Joker. You could have asked the small one for that." Joker laughed, pointing a small arm at Klonoa. "Of course, as you can see, I have no intention of meeting you again."

"As we can se... wait a minute!" Stahn pointed his sword at the creature. "Are you the one instigating Druaga's followers? I should run up and slice you in half, you freak!" Joker paid no attention to the blonde boy, however. Instead, his eyes (if you can call them that) locked on to Krino's golden armor.

"Oh? Oh-hohohohoho!" Joker laughed his annoying, earsplitting laugh again. "Well, if it isn't sir Krino, the fake Golden Knight!"

"I never called myself the golden—"

"That would explain why lord Druaga's henchmen are having such a hard time," The creature said quietly. However, it clearly wasn't too quietly, as the group heard him rather easily.

"Lord Druaga..." Stahn muttered. "That must mean..."

"He looks up to Druaga highly?" Klonoa asked. Guntz, who slapped him in the back of the head with his gun, quickly answered him.

"It means he's running things! And Druaga must be alive!" Guntz shouted. The creature laughed again, to which Guntz pointed a gun. "After learning that, we can't let him get away!"

"Oh-hohoh—"

"STOP LAUGHING LIKE THAT!" Guntz shouted, shooting at Joker. The creature glared back at him in an annoyed manner (you can't really tell though, seeing as his eyes are little plus-signs), before continuing his speech.

"Fine! No-hohohohoho!" Joker laughed, causing everyone to wince again. Grinning at their reaction, he went on. "However, there are obstacles that need to be removed before our project can get underway."

"Project...?" Rutee thought. Then, snapping her fingers, "Oh, I get it! Druaga's not alive at all, is he? No, you just want his name, huh?" She asked. "Sounds about right. I doubt he's alive..."

"Hmhmho?" Joker half laughed. "Well, that was in interesting theory. But you're wrong, miss. Of course—" With a snap of his small fingers the solders advanced on the group. "I shouldn't be telling dead bodies anything, should I?"

"That's right, you shouldn't tell dead bodies anything. Now, you could tell us as your parting gift to the afterlife!"

"!" Krino looked up. Across from Joker, on the cliff where he and Sabine once stood, stood two more figures. And, like before, the sun reflected off a golden suit of armor, shining brightly over the entire area.

"Krino, my eyes hurt!" Sabine moaned. "Get out of the sun!"

"Its not me..." He said, turning the small child in the direction of the source. The child gasped. "Hey, its—"

"' Parting Gift on my way to the afterlife?'" Joker stroked his chin. "Well, that has a nice ring to it..." He said as this new person stood before him. "But I'm sure Lord Druaga wouldn't like that."

"How can he argue? He was driven off into the 'Interval of time.'" Said a woman. Joker grinned again.

"Yes. But that's been opened, obviously! Jeez, put two and two together and figure everything out for once." He stuck his tongue out at the pair, which the armored man growled at the sight.

"Then that means someone had to release him..." He said. "Who released Druaga you little—"

"Gil. I think he stole the key." The woman said, putting two and two together like the small creature suggested.

"Gil?" Klonoa gasped.

"That means he's..." Rutee said.

"The Golden Knight who slew Druaga..." Stahn's eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"Gilgamesh!" Sabine squealed as Guntz looked to his tracker. Indeed, it was beeping in recognition of the Golden Knight himself. "And that mean's she's Ki! Yay, we have super stars on our side!"

"Ahem."

"I thought you didn't think of yourself as a hero, Krino." Sabine gave the coughing frogman a sideways glance. Gilgamesh continued his speech, however, as he drew his sword and pointed across the ravine at Joker.

"As long as he exist...my duty will never end!" Gil shouted. "With that said, you can make a good, rough estimate about what's going to happen next!"

"Thank you mister clown," Ki bowed. "But now we have to slay you."

"What! First you lead me on and trick me with questions, then say you'll kill me! Boy, talk about lowdown, dirty, and a sleazy way to get information!" Joker howled.

"Whatever works." Guntz muttered, realizing the clown just recited every trait about him.

"That creature has some anger misplacement issues..." Krino said under his breath.

Klonoa laughed, pointing a shaking finger at Joker. "I planned to blow you away anyway! This will just make things easier!"

"Oh, right! Before we set fire to the entire ravine—"

"WHAT!"

"—Who are all of you?" Gilgamesh asked, placing a hand on Ki's shoulder, who raised her staff in preparation.

"We're with you!" Krino shouted.

"Please don't kill us!" Stahn screamed.

"I'm too cute to be burned to death! At least sex me up first!" Sabine shouted, getting odd looks from everyone. "...What? Can't I at least have a last request?"

"Gil...that's Krino." Ki whispered. "I think they're really on our side."

"I see. Though the girl in purple disturbs me a bit." He nodded.

"Actually, I think that's a boy."

"Excuse me! But can we get on with the show?" Joker asked. With one more annoying laugh, he pointed at the small group at the bottom of the cliff. "Deal with them, please! I want this man in the cheap gold armor!"

"Hey! There is nothing cheap about this!" Gilgamesh shouted. "It cost me more than you can dream of, you ugly little gnome!"

"GRAH! I AM NOT A GNOME!"

"Oh, you so are!"

"Gil...those people are being attacked." Ki pointed out. Looking down, he sweat dropped heavily at the sight of the blue knights surrounding them. Shaking his head, he charged into the crowd, leaping in and swinging his sword. Ki only watched from outside the pile as he swung, only to watch him sink under all the knights.

With a sigh, she pointed her wand. In an instant, everything was consumed in a tornado of fire. Ceasing after a few seconds, a charred Stahn, Rutee, Krino, and Sabine all coughed a cloud of ash. However, Guntz kicked his cycle to life. Klonoa hopping on, the two shot up the cliff, nearly flying at Joker.

"I'VE GOT YOU!" Klonoa shouted. Leaping, he swung his sword ring, nearly missing the small ball creature, which rolled down the cliff away from them. Retreating best he could, Joker continued to roll...only to connect with a pair of golden greaves. "...Poo."

"Got you." Gilgamesh grinned. But Joker quickly grinned as well.

"No-hohohohoho. "Golden Knight" though you may be, in the end, you're nothing more than a figment of the past..." Joker laughed. "Merely standing on name alone, how quaint."

"What! I aughta—"

"What could you possibly know about someone like Gil?" Ki asked, offended as much as her companion was.

Gilgamesh drew his sword. "It hold true here, then. Never get taken in by a clown with a quick tongue, especially if it's his job." He grinned, raising it high and laughed. "Now, squeal for me piggy!"

"Oh dear-"

The following segment has been edited for extreme violence. We will instead show you a scene 'the panda brig-" Oh, it appears to be over! Lets watch.

"GAH! IT HURTS! MY ARM! WHERE IS MY ARM!"

Whoa, our bad! We read the signs wrong. That was bad. Questionably bad. I mixed up salt with cleaning solution and my meal didn't turn out that bad. Oh. Okay, there's the sign again. If it's wrong, someone will be hearing from Ms Keiri and Mr. Neo, our PR people.

Gilgamesh breathed in heaving, heavy breaths, standing over an equally tired Joker. In one action, judging by the bar over Joker's head, Gil managed to reduce the creature's health rating to 51. Unable to move, the both of them insulted each other, glaring the whole while.

That is, until Guntz's tumbling hover bike crushed him, followed by a falling Guntz and Klonoa.

"Oww..." He gasped. "Oh...oh my. This is a poor predicament." Sighing from underneath the bike, he began to cry. "And on top of that, the Golden Knight made a comeback. Druaga is going to kill me..."

"You talk rather big for someone who cries easily." Sabine said, poking the clown with a twig.

"...I think I should go, ladies and gentlemen. Adio—"

"Could you pass a message for me, first?" Gilgamesh asked, planting his sword into the ground next to Joker's head. "Of course you will. Tell him to wait."

"..." Joker blinked. What kind of message was that? And he was letting him go? "V-very well. It looks like we'll meet again soon."

"Who'd want to meet someone like you?" Klonoa growled.

"I'll ignore that. In the mean time...ADiOs!" With that, Gilgamesh allowed the creature to leave, sheathing his now filthy sword.

"...You let him go." Stahn said.

"Yes, I did."

"You let him go!" Shouted Klonoa.

"Yes, I did."

"GIL! YOU LET HIM GO!" Ki shouted, slapping him with her wand. "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST QUESTIONED HIM!"

"I'm sorry?" Gilgamesh asked more than said. "Still, that should be the last of the monster mop up." Turning to Krino, he smiled. "Hero Krino, thank you—"

"I am no longer a Hero, Sir Gilgamesh." Krino cut him off. "For now, I only work to assist Lady Valkyrie. Come, Sabine."

"Um, yes Krino." The purple-garbed child nodded, following the frogman as he went.

"Wait! Hey, Krino!" Ki started to shout, but realized the man would not listen. "That's one less ally, then..." The others agreed, watching him walk but not wanting to stop him.

"...So, uh, Gilgamesh." Stahn grinned. "My name is-"

"Please, call me Gil, Stahn Aileron."

"Oh, alright." Stahn said. Then, "Wait, how'd you know my name?"

"He contacted us earlier," Rutee explained. "This is about the 'Eye of Atamoni', isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah. Bad news, I'm afraid." Gil nodded.

"Gil, uh," Ki said as he began to explain. "While you're explaining that, I'll head to the Great Shrine. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Be careful," Gilgamesh nodded. Then, turning to the pair, he sighed. "Well, this fancy super-duper eye is surrounded in bad news, actually. You see, it has recently..."

"Psst. Klonoa," Guntz elbowed the critter. ", We've gotten ourselves right smack dab in the middle of something huge. I bet there won't be any reward money involved either." He muttered. "Quite the predicament...and we still haven't talked to him ourselves..."

"Well, no money is okay as long as we get the other knights on our side, right?" Klonoa asked. "We have the Golden Knight. We just need to find the Maiden Knight and the Silver Knight."

"No problem there. There's trackers on them too." Guntz said. Bringing up his tracking device, he clicked it once to find the tracker on Valkyrie, the maiden knight that Krino was also searching for. Blinking, he checked again. "No way..."

"Something wrong?" Klonoa asked.

"I can't find her tracker. Its like she's not in this world!" Guntz said a bit unnerved. Thinking there may have been an error with the tracker, he clicked again to find the silver knight. Just like the maiden knight, there was no signal. "...Something weird is going on..."

"Still..." Klonoa looked up at him. "This is rather interesting, eh Guntz? Following the legendary knights might be just the entertainment we need!" He grinned. "Let's start an adventure together! Wahoo!"