"It's amazing to think that we'll be parents soon." Marie said with a warm smile.

"Parents..." Spirit looked rather sorrowful "I know who my mother is... But... Who is my father?" Marie felt a cold chill run down through her nonexistent spine. He noticed this right away, turning to her.

"Is something wrong?"

Marie started crying, not knowing how to tell him the truth "Spirit... Your father is..." she paused for a moment, but suddenly burst out in tears. "It's Zeetan! He has him under a powerful mind controll spell!"

"Marie..." he started to gasp, his breathing quickened and his eyes became watery. She tried her best to comfort him, hugging him tightly and nuzzling her cheek against his vest with a frown.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner! I didn't want you to be hurt..." she looked up to him with sorrowful eyes "But I don't want to keep secrets from you..."
"The truth is painful..." he brushed away a tear "But worth hearing... thanks, Marie..."
He returned the embrace and she felt relieved, though he cried a bit, she kept on comforting him until he smiled like she did.
"Don't worry, we'll free your father... Luce too..." she grinned, but then her expression changed. She suddenly moaned slightly, blacking out.
"Wow, Zeetan must have roughed her up a bit..." he said, taking the orb and stroking it gently. He laid down upon the bed, laying her head upon his stomach. He looked out the window, seeing a silhouette float, another Klonian. His ears perked, but soon fell asleep, hearing the words of Luce.
"I have planted the last materia... where it can never be retrieved..."

Meanwhile, Zeetan made preparations for a summoning ritual. Dark energy swirled about before him and green spectral lights began to take form.

"What are you summoning, my lord?" Ansem asked as he watched on with little interest.

"An evil from another time. A man who used the power of the deities to do his bidding!"

The lights and the dark energy soon merged, taking the form of a man with long, blue hair. He wore a black robe with some lavish decorations. He looked up, his face having a friendly look, but his eyes reflecting a great evil.

"Greetings... My name is Seymore Guado."

Zeetan deviously grinned "And you may know me as your lord and master."

Seymore seemed to take a great liking to this "I live only to serve you... Well... Maybe not live..."

As they talked Luce came in from the shadows, staring at Zeetan with glazed eyes.
"I couldn't find the final materia..." she blankly said, blinking slightly.
"Are you sure?" he quizzed his puppet "From the start you have been resisting me, struggling against my influence, when I turn my back to do other business, you find your will coming back..."
He grabbed her by the throat and she struggled against his grip, thrashing her arms and legs "I'm getting tired of your insolence, Luce... I know you hid that final materia somewhere, tell me now!"
She opened her eyes and huffed in his face with a snarl, causing him to squeeze tighter in agitation, before throwing her to the floor, unconscious.
"The final materia can wait... I need to find away to kill that pesky Gaia... no, to kill all the Gaias... then, the godess will be mine!"
He cackled insanely, making an eerie echo in all the hearts he's haunted.
Back at the temple, Marie had many visions. She found herself waking up in the night several times in terror, but when trying to recall the nightmare, she couldn't even remember the vaguest details. Spirit noticed that morning, she slept in for once, and he decided not to bother her.
"It's nearly noon..." Klonoa said with a sigh, looking down at her "This is so unlike of my sister..."

"Don't worry..." Spirit said, stroking her ear, she unconsciously purred as he kept running her soft fur gently through his fingers "She's had it really rough lately... I'm not surprised she needs all this rest..."

He stayed with Marie the entire time, petting her affectionately. It was past noon by the time she woke up with a mew from. Without any warning Marie snatched him in her arms in a cuddle, and remained silent, nuzzling his cheek..

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah... I don't remember what they were, though." She answered, starting to run her hand through his hair. Spirit purred at this, causing him to blush slightly.

"Awwww You're still so shy and cute." Marie cuddled him more, making his cheeks more pink with each passing moment. He placed his hand upon the orb once more; the sphere seeming to glow brighter than ever.

"I hope our kids end up as sweet as you." Marie said in a blissful voice.

He nodded "I hope they're as beautiful, kind, and caring as you..."
"And I hope... they can grow up in a world without Zeetan..." she paused, frowning "He's done so much to hurt us both... I wouldn't wish the tortures he's done to me onto any soul..."
"We'll get him... and my father back!" Spirit said, hugging her tightly "I can't wait to see him... you know, when he's in his right mind..."
"Yeah..." she forced a shy smile "He'll be a grampa..."
She giggled at the thought, and said "He looked a lot like you... he had your Gaian wings... you know?"

He shook his head, but smiled, stroking her ear. Klonoa walked in on the couple, scratching his head as he raised a brow.
"C'mon, you two, the High Priestess wants us!" he said. They both nodded and got up to follow him. Soon they made it to the temple's entrance chamber, and the priestess rose from her chair and walked up to Spirit.
"So you're the Gaia... born of heart and light..." she said in her sorrowful voice, looking to Marie "And the child of water..."
They both nodded, as she continued "Each with the responsibility to protect the universe from darkness... we need your help... I know well of these heartless creatures that showed up on Lunatea... and unlike most worlds, our heart is divided into 5... the elements..."
"How do you know all this?" Marie interupted in curiosity.

She smiled "Dear child, with age comes wisdom, and I have been on this world for a very long time... anyways, Zeetan has tainted a few of our villains, and they are after the elements... therefore I left them with this world's most powerful being; the King of Sorrow..."
"I remember him..." Klonoa said "So he's back and alive?""Very much so, he was reborn and now a part of his kingdom... but he can use assistance for when Zeetan starts his raid on the castle..."

Everyone nodded understandingly before leaving the temple.

"So, where is the King of Sorrow?" Spirit asked.

"He's in a sub-world of Lunatea, but it's only accessible by an air ship." Klonoa answered as an object came flying into view. It looked like an airplane, but with spinning jewels in place of propellers and it had a strange, magenta symbol shaped like an eye with a cross on it.

"Is that..." Lolo gasped as she shielded herself from the dust being kicked up. Two beings then hopped out of it. One was a tan, red haired woman; and the other was a black and white cat-like creature, with a green ring floating around her tail.

"Leorina!" Klonoa said in disbelief.

"And Tat; her cutie sidekick!" the floating feline added.

"Yes, we decided to put aside all pilfering plans for the day..." she said in a cool, laid back voice, a glint in her eye "How could we steal if our world gets destroyed?"

Marie stuck her tongue out at her, as Tat approached Spirit, walking around him.
"Ooooooo, a kitty!" she squeeled "How perfect, he's so cute"
"And he's mine, keep that in mind!" Marie said, nudging her cheek against his, causing him to blush and purr.
"Well, let's get going..." Klonoa said "Lolo, Popka, in the ring... the priestess instructed that we'll need fighters during the flight..."
He tilted his head to Marie "I hope you've been brushing up on aerial combat..."
She nodded, helping Spirit up on the wing, Klonoa hopping up. The ship took flight into the air, and they took off. Barely five minutes later, a swarm of tiny robots swooped in and attacked with drills made for piercing the skin. Klonoa swatted them away with his Wind Saber, already expecting them. Another ship swooped in overhead.; green and black, with many weapons off the side.

"Greetings Klonoa! I suppose the Dream Champ could use some new competition!" a voice rang out from its speaker system.

"Garlen!" Klonoa shouted. The ship then turned around, keeping pace with Leorina's.

"That machine is so heavily armored..." Leorina said, swerving to the side as lasers, cogs, and moos whooshed by Spirit's head "You'll have to take it out through the inside..."
Marie nodded, spreading her wings "Leave that to me to get by the defenses, just try to avoid the lasers!"
"Heh, with this clown's aim, that'll be easy" Leorina said, swerving again. She leapt off the ship, spreading her wings as she ascended in the air, avoiding enemy fire, swatting away robots with her sword. Suddenly, a drill hit her from behind, some mechanical claw grabbing around her waist. A seperate machine grabbed onto her, controled by Garlen.
"Time to clip this bird's wings!" he said, pointing a lazer behind her as she struggled. He turned it on, and it seared into her skin, causing it to burn. Spirit stared on in horror, when he finished her wings were stunned, unable to move from the shock, and the claw let go, causing her body to plummet towards the ground. She closed her eyes, the earth approaching fast, and readied herself to embrace impact, until something swooped under her. She openned her eyes to see herself in Spirit's arms, flying through the air with Gaian wings. He landed on the outside of Garlen's ship, wings quickly dispersing in a shower of white feathers.

"Are you okay!" he asked, fearful of Marie's condition.

"Of course" she said, hopping out of his arms "You saved me, after all!"

He was ready to hug her in relief, but a concentrated beam of energy shot through Spirit's shoulder, leaving him writhing in pain on the ground.

"Spirit!" Marie screamed, seeing blood dripping onto the ground.

"Darn, I was aiming for his heart." an unfamiliar voice said. Streams of light then began to float together, seeming to moan as they moved through the air. Within moments, Zeetan's latest follower had materialized in front of them, an evil grin on his face.

"I suppose my aim has gotten poor over the years." He said with a somewhat feminine laugh. "How could you! He hasn't done anything!" Marie shouted as she cradled Spirit in her arms. "Except to be a burden to my master."

"Spirit..." she laid him down, not wanting to turn around to battle "Stay safe, okay?"

He nodded and smiled, as she drew her blade of light, and materialized a vortex of water around herself. She launched the attacks at him, clouding his vision so she could land a blow. Form shifting from the extreme speed, she plunged the sword into his chest, sinking through his skin. "Did... did it work?" she asked aloud, as he looked at her with a smirk, causing her fur to jump. She saw her blade enveloped in darkness, and tried prying it out, until he smacked her aside.

"Foolish girl. You can't kill what's already dead." Seymour chuckled. "I'm afraid I must go now, but I'll leave you with a present."

He then raised his hand to the air, the sky growing dark "Come forth and feel my pain! I summon you; Anima!"

A gigantic hook and chain then descended from the sky, creating a dark portal on top of the ship. As it drew back up, it brought with it an enormous mummified creature, with only a single yellow eye breaking through the bandages on its head. It let out an ear-splitting moan as it came to life, its body only halfway out of the portal.

"Behold my servant, Anima: The great Aeon of death!"