Disclaimer: None of the Klonoa characters belong to me, they belong to Klonoa Works/
Namco.

Kero Guardian: (Sweat drop.) Um, maybe Klonoa isn't a main character…

Klonoa: Hey, I got more lines than anyone else, other than Joka and Lolo…

Chapter Six: Joka's Mignon Forme

"I never…"

Joka blinked at the girl after fastening her tightly to the base of the hot air balloon. It would not do for her to suddenly fall over the edge. "?" His eyes, however, never left her as he pulled on the crank to force the fire to grow, succeeding on a successful take off.

"I never hated you for the choice you made, Joka…" Lolo did not look at him when she said this, there was a hint of sadness in her voice though. "And I never to forgot you…"

"My sweetheart…?" He was suddenly thrown beside her when there was an abrupt jerk on the balloon's basket. "Oh, you have overtaken!" He grinned jokingly at the now infuriated Wind Child, who clung to the ropes and balanced his feet on the top of its straw sides. His larger, older partner was clamping his claws onto the other side.

"Nohohoho, how pesky!" Joka grinned.

"By the way, Mr. Joka…" Pango panted, as he struggled to get up, "How is the condition of the Lunar Spacecraft?"

"What?"

The armadillo mutely praised himself for catching the fiend off guard.

"Wait! How is it that you know of our spacecraft!"

'Hit!' Pango smiled that his bluff was working, "Yes, I questioned Janga closely back at the Ruins of the Moons." Klonoa threw the older man a perplexed stare, completely unaware that everything was merely a delusion for further information.

Joka cursed his co-worker, "Damn! That talkative cat! Did he talk about the base in the moon, too!" The father was shocked for a moment, but swiftly recovered, and nodded, which went on unobserved to the clown, "Eek, unbelievable! Then, I cannot return this girl and the book, more and more! The special ceremony cannot be interfered with! Nightmares all over the world will be collected using a priestess as a catalyst…" His hands raised, grin curving more maniacally, "And the Star Medal of the legend-"

"Star Medal! You mean the Star Medal of a phantom!" Klonoa interrupted, leaning more inwardly with an amazed gaze, fixated upon the shorter figure.

"Yes. That like a phantom…hey, wait!" The fiend lowered his hands and paused, "Why don't you know of the Star Medal? Could it be…" His eyes widened, then lowered into a murderous glare, realizing he was fooled all along, "A leading question! How unfair! How shameful!"

"Oh so close!" Pango laughed wholeheartedly, "If only he were to go on a bit more."

The boy withdrew timidly, "Sorry Pango…I didn't know, and now I've ruined your plan…"

Joka pushed from the position of the base to exit the basket, not noticing the quick blush Lolo made when his hand incidentally brushed hers. He grabbed a rope which was attached to the balloon and landed below them on marble floors, then tied the rope to a nearby statue which resembled Garlen. It stopped the balloon from flying off. "Thus my pride will not forgive you! I shall knock you out here and continue without your meddling!"

The Dream Traveler and bomber man leapt after him, landing about five feet in front. Their mouths hung agape when in place of a two feet demon was a colossal sized Joka, which towered over them at the height of nine feet. "Now it's show time!"

BGM: Dream Champ Tournament - Your Objective

-Start Flashback-

After gazing at the chart for all contestants in the Dream Champ Tournament, the group of friends decided to make comments of their own. "Huh?" Popka looked up to Lolo, "We have one extra to combat with…" He barked angrily, "Great, more of a chance for you to get hurt…" He was now unsure if the title Greatest Hero was really worth his childhood friend getting injured.

Lolo bit her lip in concern, and turned to adventurer, standing beside her, "So does Klonoa, right?" Her hands met the hem of her pink dress and wrinkled it a bit, feeling a wave of insecurity, mainly caused by Popka's complaint.

"Hmm…well, no matter! More fun for us!" Klonoa tossed a determined fist into the air and started laughing cheerfully with anticipation.

Lolo sighed, but forced a smile, "…" All he ever spoke about was becoming a hero, and it had hurt her a bit when they first met, especially since they hadn't seen each other in such a long time.

"Positive thinking! I admire that!" Chipple hit his boxing gloves together and grinned at the Dream Traveler, but it soon disappeared when Garlen laid down the rules to each round. "Man, this is tough on my nerves!"

Popka now swung around and howled excitedly, "So in order to compete with Klonoa-I need to make it to the end!"

Klonoa gave the dog-like companion a thumbs up, "Heh, heh. We'll both need good luck, I guess! Let's see…my opponent is…" He then started rescanning the chart for his name.

It seemed Lolo's depressed mood went unnoticed to everyone around her, particularly to Klonoa, but a certain contestant behind them remarked it completely. "What! I'm competing against you! Maybe you'd better just give up now and save yourself the embarrassment of defeat." Joka snapped in back of the Wind Child.

Klonoa knew exactly who that was from the sound of his voice and the hopping of his feet, "You just worry about yourself! Be careful not to get lost!" The boy exclaimed turning around, his ears flapping behind him, as he held his hand out to compare their heights.

"Oh, that does it!" Joka was usually always well-mannered, but ever since the beginning of the tournament he grew more and more jealous of the cabbit's constant chattering around a certain priestess. "This is my chance to shut that big mouth of yours!"

-End Flashback-

BGM: Klonoa Heroes - The Tension II

"We did it!" Klonoa landed back down from his final flip after the explosion followed the oversized Joka's defeat. Pango rolled out beside him, "Good!"

"Klonoa! Mr. Pango!" Lolo called out, trying to unfasten the buckles which circled around her shoulders, legs, and waist. 'Did he really have to go this far? He must think I'm a total klutz!' She gasped when she noticed something appearing suddenly behind them, "Look out!"

"Hanya!" A fist shot out and knocked both the hero and father down to the ground, before reaching for the rope and ripping it loose. Joka stood proudly, clapping his hands as the balloon took flight once more, "How wonderful, very impressive! You are indeed as strong as Janga-chan has said…after all you defeated those robotic creations before, correct…but I was confident in my fake…"

"Fake!" The youngster hit his wind blade to sound a click, changing it back to the wind ring and charged, with Pango lighting his bombs after him. Joka flew backwards, settling on the basket once more, "Yes, just as you have tricked me, I have confused you! It is reluctant, but it looks like I will have to show you my cute power!" With a miniature flash of light, Joka increased his size and his tail opened up into what appeared to be five petals, trailed with four balls behind him, each decreasing in size as you count down. His smile was more sinister, and his eyes were more focused, with the two gloved hands in front of him as he curled his fingers downward until they nearly touched his palms.

"Transformed…?" Pango exclaimed just in time as the Cute Form Joka unleashed a spell from his hands and knocked Klonoa into the armadillo, sending them flying across temple grounds. "NOOOO!"

"MOONYO!"

"Nohohohoho!" Joka laughed triumphantly, followed by Lolo's frantic outcry of her hero's name, "KLONOA!"

Kero Guardian: Hm...I decided not to include the fight scenes, because they are basically not included in the intermissions of Klonoa Heroes...

Joka: (Running away from Janga.) Nohohoho!

Janga: Who's a damn talkative cat, huh?