Disclaimer: I do not own any Klonoa characters… The others are mine, though.

Chapter 10: Towering Inferno

Klonoa stared wide-eyed at the wide gap that blocked him and the children from progressing up the stairs. The rubble that had caused the damaged had come to a crashing stop on the last flight of stairs on the bottom floor. No one was getting in that way anymore.

The children behind Klonoa whimpered in fear and pain. The smoke was only getting worse. Klonoa's mind mingled for a solution. Actually, it was a jump he could probably make with a running start. But who said these children were as athletic as him? He couldn't imagine them making it across. And he wasn't going to risk losing some in the attempt.

"We're all gonna die!" a child wailed. A few others began crying, as well. "No we're not!" Klonoa objected, desperately trying to stop them from panicking. Though, to a normal person, all hope did seem lost. But Klonoa certainly wasn't a normal person. No matter how desperate the situation got, he knew there was always a solution. If that wasn't true, he certainly wouldn't be alive today.

A dim emerald light caught his attention. Klonoa looked down at his oversized ring. It was like it was telling him something. And Klonoa understood. No! I can't just throw these kids over. Besides... I don't think they'll inflate like moos... He looked behind him at the terribly frightened children.

They all stared at him with big, desperate eyes. Their lives were in his hands. Klonoa had volunteered to do this job and now he had to finish it. He couldn't let them down. He was a hero! But he knew being a hero was never easy. Sometimes it meant making sacrifices if it meant better for everyone else. But Klonoa didn't work like that. Everyone would get out of this alive!

A thought then struck his mind. He looked at the rest of the stairs past the gap, examining how far the empty distance was. There's no other way. It'll take a while, but at least no one will get hurt. Klonoa turned to the children, trying to put on the best assured smile he could. "Listen. I'm going to fly you guys over."

The children stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief. "You can fly?" a kid asked incredulously. "Well… no. But my ears can kind of act like wings… for a very short amount of time." Klonoa's voice was starting to reveal his doubt. He quickly tried to cover it. "If I hover you guys over one at a time, we'll be able to keep going and get out of this smoke."

The children still seemed doubtful. "Then you guys can go home and see your parents." They seemed to brighten slightly at the words. How desperately they wanted to return to their safe homes and hug their mothers and fathers. The thought soothed Klonoa a bit, as well. Though he never had any parents or a real home to return to. His friends were his family.

The thought of Guntz suddenly struck his mind. He had completely forgotten about the wolf-dog after following that fire truck. But he couldn't recall him following him and assumed he was still outside where it was safe. So much for leaving and coming right back to Nikki's apartment unnoticed, though.

"Come on," Klonoa prompted, holding out a hand. His voice was growing hoarse from all the smoke. The children hesitated. "We have to keep moving! If we don't the fire will reach us or we'll all suffocate before!" There was no time for assurances and soothing words. The truth was the only way to get these kids to move fast enough.

Finally a boy took his hand, bravely, though frightened, volunteering to be the first to go. Klonoa would be lying if he said he wasn't frightened, as well. This was going to be hard. Some of these kids were bigger than he was. He could only put so much energy into his ears for so long.

Klonoa decided the best way to ensure getting across was to make a running start. "You ready?" he asked the boy. He shook his head. "Me neither. Let's go." With that, he ran until the stairs ended and made the best leapt he could, the child clutching to his clothes tightly.

As soon as it seemed that the leap wouldn't bring them any farther and they began to descend, Klonoa desperately flapped his long, thick ears. It seemed harder now than he remember, obviously because he had extra weight. But he couldn't give up. After what seemed like forever to him, but was probably only a few seconds, the first step of the new stairs was barely under them.

Klonoa let his ears go limp, following immediately a rush of fatigue, and landed just at the edge of the stairs. The boy hardly seemed to realize they were back on land before finally letting go. Klonoa was out of breath, the smoke no help to regain his energy. He looked back at the expectant kids. Only about 15 more to go…

Klonoa let himself fall on the hard stairs after what felt like hours of individually carrying each kid over the gap. In reality he had acted quite quick, ignoring his aching ears, and wasted little time getting his energy back after each kid. But now he felt like he couldn't move another inch. The children stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to do something.

Klonoa forced himself to his feet, took another second to catch his breath, and stood up straight. "Okay… let's go," he breathed.

The group managed to get past the flame-engulfed floor without a problem. The fire had yet to make it inside the staircase room. They made up past the steaming door that led to the inferno and up to the next floor. The smoke barely lessened there and Klonoa decided it was time to get some decently fresh air before they all suffocated.

Going up a room higher for safety, Klonoa led the kids out of the smoke-filled staircase and into a seemingly clear room. The kids, apparently feeling quite safe, immediately sat themselves down in the hallway to rest. Klonoa had yet to even have an inkling for what this building was for. Each room was a little different than the last.

Some children were dozing off and Klonoa knew he couldn't let them get too comfortable, as much as he needed to rest himself. "We have to keep going," he wheezed quietly. The children made unhappy moans, but eventually got up again. They reluctantly returned to the staircase and moved upward again.

The rubble that had fallen earlier left little damaged further up, though the railing protecting them from falling off had been removed after a few floors. "Be careful," Klonoa warned. The children were huddling close, some dangerously close to the edge of the stairs. Their awkward positions made their movements a bit staggered.

One kid's foot slipped off slightly, but he quickly regained his balance. "I said be careful!" Klonoa scolded sharply. But apparently words were not enough to keep these kids in order. Another kid slipped, but this time she didn't regain her balance again. With a shrilled scream, she fell from the staircase.

"No!"

Klonoa was too far away to catch her even if he had acted fast enough. The other children screamed as the girl fell into the smoked abyss. But the girl's terrified screech was cut short. She was hanging only two floors below them by her jacket scruff. Something had caught her.

"This thing belong to you?"

The voice almost relieved Klonoa to tears.

"Guntz!"

The kids were more speechless this time as Guntz reached the short group, letting the girl down to tearfully return to her friends. Klonoa ran down to Guntz with a big smile. "How did you get here?" he asked breathlessly. But Guntz didn't answer. Instead he frowned. "You don't look so good."

Klonoa didn't even realize until he mentioned it. His throat was killing him, his eyes burned, his nose stung, and he could barely breathe. But his reply was expected. "I'm fine," Klonoa insisted. Guntz looked like he was about to say more, but the children interrupted him.

"Are you an alien, too?"

"You look like a Pokémon!"

"Can you fly with your ears?"

"You look like my German Shepherd."

Guntz blinked. "What?" They were starting to forget their circumstances. "Come on. We still have to get out of here," Klonoa prompted.

Guntz had no better opinion than to travel up to get out. Though he warned Klonoa quietly that the building was ready to collapse at any moment, as not to frighten the children. This time Guntz took the lead and Klonoa stayed at the tail of the group. This way they'd be ready for any problems no matter which side of the group it came from.

Smoking doors were past swiftly and clear areas were taken advantage of to rest quickly. They managed to go up quite a few floors before the next problem occurred. As they past a certain door one child said she heard something. Klonoa's mind seemed to be the only sense that wasn't failing him, and he hadn't heard a thing.

Upon listening closely, Guntz confirmed that the sound was voices. The door was jammed shut and they could hear the voices on the other side calling for help. Guntz had become the new "leader" since arriving, a job Klonoa was happy to give up, and quickly came up with an idea.

"All right. Stand back, I'm gonna shoot the door down!" he called through the door. "You guys, too," he said to the group of kids. Guntz took out a pair of guns from his belt, which, to the kids, looked like plastic toys, as they all backed up. They certainly didn't act like plastic toys, though, as Guntz fire the strong bullets into the door.

After several shots, the door was dented and finally fell forward. Guntz jumped out of the way before it slammed down to the staircase. There were three people in the room, all adults, though they looked as frightened as the children. They stared bewildered at Guntz.

"What? You were expecting a knight in shinning armor? Let's go!" he prompted impatiently. The children followed Guntz as he kept moving, the adults not following until Klonoa uneasily past them in the back. They kept a cautious distance in the back, as if afraid Klonoa would attack them in they got too close.

"We're almost there," Guntz sighed after a long while of climbing. He could see the last set of stairs above them. "Why the hell do these people make such huge buildings?" He muttered to himself. "Mr. Doggy! Mr. Doggy!" Guntz twitched an ear irritably and looked back at a girl who was running toward him. "The bunny fell down!" she said quickly. Guntz frowned. "What?"

"Klonoa!" Guntz quickly sped down the stairs to where the "bunny" was just struggling back to his feel. He was wheezing and coughing harshly. The three adults in the back didn't dare to assist him. "I'll be… fine," Klonoa gasped when Guntz reached him. "You're not fine," Guntz insisted. Klonoa's eyes were watery and his nose was black with soot. He had been exposed to the smoke way too long. Exhausting himself certainly hadn't been helping, either.

A girl tugged Guntz' sleeve. "Is the bunny gonna die?" But he didn't reply. "Come on, we're almost there," he encouraged, helping Klonoa to his shaky feet. The children started moving up again, leading themselves with Guntz busy making sure Klonoa didn't collapse again. They started getting rowdy as their exit slowly came closer.

Excited, the kids quickened their pace. When they finally reached the door they worked together to heave the heavy steel plate open. Like ants they scattered on the roof, acting as if they had escaped the fire altogether. Guntz looked around as he and Klonoa got out, the adults following. The fresh air felt wonderful, but their problems were far from over.

"Now what?" Guntz asked himself quietly. The children, apparently realizing their mistake in getting overexcited, grouped together again and looked at Guntz and Klonoa expectantly. Exhausted, Klonoa slumped to a hard sit on the stone roof, catching his breath. Guntz quickly left his side to look over the side of the building.

He coughed as smoke flying upward smothered in his face. He could barely see anything on the ground so many stories down. "Stupid tall buildings," he cursed under his breath. Barely over the cracking fire could Guntz hear the sirens and yelling of the crowd below. But surely if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him.

Thinking fast, Guntz lifted his muzzle and let out an echoing howl. The children ooed with awe. Now Guntz could hear the shrill barking of a few dogs. There had been oddly spotted black and white dogs there before, though they had been too far away to notice him. Hopefully now they'd get some attention up there.

But time was scarce. The whole building suddenly shuddered, causing the children to tumble over each other like dominos. This thing was ready to collapse at any moment. "Over here!" The unfamiliar yell caught Guntz off guard, especially its closeness. Looking over he saw several young men on top of a building neighboring the one they were on.

The men were concentrated on sliding a long wooden board from the edge of their roof to this one. "Climb—" The man speaking was cut off when he finally looked at Guntz. Guntz impatiently ignored his weird stare and turned to the kids. "Hey, brats! Get over here!" he called.

Immediately the children were at his side. "Climb over this to the other side," he instructed. The children hesitated, but Guntz gave them no time to ready themselves. "Hurry up!" His impatient bark made them jump. And so the children began their slow, seemingly endless trek to the neighboring building.

Urgh… so tired… can't type… anymore…