Legend of Rebirth
Disclaimer: All Klonoa characters belong to Namco. Yada, yada. You know the drill. OCs belong to me.
Prologue: Phantomile
Phantomile;
A large, lush, beautiful planet inhabited with a variety of different creatures and races. These habitants, despite their differences, have learned to live together in peace. The only creatures that don't get along are humans, most of the inhabitants of the planet, and monsters, creatures whose only thoughts are to kill and destroy. Over the many years these two creatures have become more distinct and discriminated. They've all come to be known as Positives, Neutrals, and Negatives.
Positives are people who are closest to the Gods and Goddesses, usually priests and priestesses. Neutrals are all of the normal people, living their personal lives every day. And Negatives are all of the monsters creating havoc among the planet. Some normal people can become Negatives, as well, but they must have a pure black heart.
But Positives and Negatives never used to be so separated. More than 10,000 years ago, when the planet was young, they co-existed together happily. But then a great evil rose. They say he was created by all of the anger and hate inside Negatives. His name was Guroki, but most just called him the Shadow.
The Shadow took control of all of the monsters and made them kill and destroy. He wanted to eliminate all happiness and joy and fill the world with darkness. So the Positives prayed for someone to come and save them from the mad monsters.
That was how Nerome was born, the god of light. He opposed the Shadow and fought with him. The battle was fierce, now dubbed the Great Battle, and the planet was almost destroyed. Only when a monster and a priestess worked together were they able to seal both mystical creatures away.
The battle between Nerome and Guroki had shown the people of Phantomile that light and darkness must never be separated. But this lesson didn't stick. The battle was never forgotten and the humans wound up blaming monsters for it all.
Almost 10,000 years later, the grudge is hardly held anymore, but the discrimination is. Monsters are hated and usually destroyed on sight. In the end, the monsters' free will to think on their own slowly disappeared and they can think of nothing but to destroy now.
It is the year 10, 998, almost New Years day. The year 20,000 will mark 10,000 years after the Great Battle.
Though, little do the people of Phantomile know, the Great Battle wasn't the only catastrophe that occurred 10,000 years ago. Something much worse almost happened, but no one seemed to notice. At least, everyone who did blamed it on the wrong things…
---
Hundreds of miles underground, in pitch darkness, stalked a shadowy figure. The only thing that could be seen were its shining amber eyes, resembling jewels. It muttered quietly to itself in a deep, echoing voice.
"They took me for a fool then. They've forgotten me; true darkness. They've forgotten darkness. They think I'll be stuck down here forever. Their blissful ignorance will cost them their lives. The planet is dying once again, and I'll soon rid the world of all light!"
---
"Been almost a year, huh?" A black and white long eared, cat-like boy asked, staring at the clear sky. "Yeah," an older, black and golden wolf/dog-like boy replied absently. The two were at an intersection of three trails in a grassy feild. They leaned against a red motorcycle-like vehicle. The wolf held a map in front of him, but was looking right through it, his mind elsewhere.
He shifted uncomfortably in the heat, not sure whether to take off his red jacket and wear only his black shirt, which would heat up immediately, or just leave it on. "It's pretty hot for this time of year," the cat-like boy commented, shifting his red scarf. Despite it all, he didn't take it off. He put a hand to his head, slightly surprised to feel fur. He kept forgetting he didn't have his hat anymore. "Hey, Klonoa," the wolf suddenly began, not looking at him.
Klonoa paused, as if he hadn't heard him. "I think Lunatea's near here," he said instead. Feeling he was being ignored, the wolf looked up over his shoulder. "I think I'm ready to go back now," Klonoa said.
"You're gonna give up?" the wolf asked. "Not 'give up,' but… Well, it's been a while, you know," Klonoa replied calmly, not allowing the wolf to call him a quitter. Besides, he knew what his partner was thinking. It was about time they wrapped this long journey up and went their separate ways.
"I think I can walk there. But I'm gonna need money." The wolf looked back at the map unhappily at the mention of money. "C'mon, Guntz, we earned that money together. I deserve at least a little bit of it; enough to last me a day," Klonoa said stubbornly, straightening up. "Fine," Guntz eventually agreed, not moving still as he slowly shifted the goggles on his forehead.
Klonoa opened a compartment on the side of the hoverbike with his yellow gloved hands and took out a small bag. He took a few small green jewels out before putting it back. "All right, then," he prompted, storing the money in the pocket of his blue jean jacket.
"See ya!" Guntz quickly turned around to see the cat-like boy running off. "Wait! How much money did you take?" he called, but it was ignored. "Come and visit Lunatea when you're done!" Klonoa called back.
Guntz blinked. "See you," he muttered, but his quick partner was long gone by now. He looked back at the map, circling a certain area with his white gloved finger.
---
"It's been a while, huh?" A girl asked. "Hmm?" An odd dog-like creature beside her twitched his large ears and shifted his emerald jewel-like eyes toward her. "Since Klonoa left," the girl explained. "Oh… yeah," the dog-like creature replied absently, looking around.
"Popka!" The girl scowled, trying to get his attention. "What? I'm just… I'm excited, ya know?" Popka replied quickly, waving his long arms up and down. The girl sighed. "C'mon, Lolo. This place is gonna be buzzin' tomorrow! Don't be so down. This is Joilant, after all," Popka said. Lolo nodded slowly, saying nothing.
Popka sighed, but then suddenly stopped. "Hey… ain't that…?" he began slowly. Lolo followed his gaze. Her heart suddenly flipped. She could only see his back, but she'd recognize those long ears anywhere.
"Klonoa!"
Overcome with excitement, she ran toward the boy and embraced him bluntly. "Hey! Leggo!" Surprised by the mad yell, Lolo immediately let go, blinking her blue eyes in confusion. She twitched, realizing her mistake. The boy had the same figure as Klonoa, but different fur color. Where Klonoa was black, he was brown, and where Klonoa was white, he was light brown. Plus, he had dark crimson eyes and a pretty nasty look on his face.
Lolo was about to apologize, but the boy quickly turned and walked off, mumbling something rude about "outsiders." "Yeah, you keep walkin', jerk!" Popka barked, running next to Lolo. The boy ignored him, still walking, his long tail lashing behind him irritably. "Y'okay?" Popka asked Lolo.
The girl nodded slowly, her lion-like tail twitching uneasily. She looked down, orange hair falling in her face. "He looked just like him," she muttered. "I guess… but don't ya think you were a little blunt, though?" Popka asked, smiling with amusement.
Lolo looked at him in surprise.
"I mean, what d'ya think Klonoa would do if you suddenly hugged 'im like that?" Popka asked. Lolo looked away in embarrassment. "I guess I got… a little excited," she admitted. "Well, control yourself next time, will ya?" Popka asked. Lolo nodded slowly.
After the two had strolled around Joilant for a while, which was busy preparing for an upcoming festival, Lolo had a sudden urge to be alone. She told Popka she wanted to go for a walk and left him, stepping down a trail to the forest.
She sighed for probably the tenth time that day. She hadn't felt this depressed a few days ago. Why now? Probably because it had been nearly a whole year since Klonoa left to discover the secrets of his past. By now, Lolo was having doubts if he'd ever come back. She remembered a promise they had made before he left…
"Just don't change, okay?" Lolo said as Guntz started up his hoverbike. Klonoa frowned in surprise for a second, then smiled. "I won't change," he assured. "Promise?" Lolo asked. "I promise." The two locked pinkies.
Lolo past a group of trees, entering a small clearing. A river was rushing a distance to her right. She looked toward it absently.
She stopped suddenly. A black figure was sitting under the shade of tall ferns in front of the river, staring down at the water. He looked hopefully familiar, but so had that other boy… Lolo decided not to be so blunt this time. "Klonoa," she said quietly.
"Yes?" The reply was unexpected and impulsive. The figure had quickly looked over its shoulder upon hearing the name. "Oh, Lolo!" Klonoa quickly stood up with a big smile. Lolo sighed silently, suddenly not sure what to do next. Klonoa frowned and cocked his head. "What's wrong?"
Lolo twitched. "Oh, nothing! I just… Welcome back," she replied, smiling. Klonoa smiled again, too. Lolo began making her way over to him. Klonoa, as if in urgency, though still smiling, quickly met her before she reached the river. "I'm not back yet," he remarked.
Lolo was taking in was she saw before her.
"You've changed," she said a bit awkwardly. "Only my clothes," Klonoa replied. "You've gotten taller, too," Lolo added. "I guess… and so did you. But I promised you I wouldn't change, didn't I? And I never break a promise!" Klonoa grinned, crossing his arms as if ashamed if being doubted.
Lolo laughed, her tension suddenly gone. "Of course not! Well, then, come on! Let's get you 'back.' We've missed you," she prompted, grabbing Klonoa's hand and turning quickly. "M-Manya!" Klonoa yelped as he was suddenly pulled to run with Lolo.
Maybe it's not such a good idea to have two continuing stories up at once, but...
A lot for a prologue, I know, but... -Shrugs- Just to say, this story won't exactly jump right into the plot. It'll go a bit slow for a few chapters, then it'll speed up. As you can see, many things are changed(hence it being AU). The whole Dream Traveler concept is gone, too...
This story's relation with First Love won't be seen until further into the plot, though there will be hints(so look out for 'em!). With that said, stay tuned for Chapter 1: A Part of Past!