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

Chapter 15: Happy Ending?

The miniature garbage monsters slowly advanced on the group of three. Joka laughed loudly from atop a tall building. "Keep trying. You'll never win!" he yelled blissfully. "Are you sure about this?" Guntz asked as the three faced the enclosing monsters, their backs together. "Yes," Klonoa replied blandly.

"Then let's be quick," Pango said, suddenly throwing several bombs at the trash monsters in front of him. "Destroying the monster itself isn't enough. We have to find the core," Klonoa explained. "And what the hell does this 'core' look like?" Guntz asked as he fired at the beasts in his direction. Klonoa didn't reply, probably not knowing the answer himself.

Joka waved his hands, controlling the rubbish creatures as they leapt at the group. The monsters could honestly do nothing more than attach themselves to their bodies, immobilizing them. But if too many got on them, they could be trapped and suffocate under the pile of trash.

Klonoa enlarged a piece of rubbish with his ring and tossed it at the group of monsters. It exploded, sending them flying in pieces. He quickly ran through the debris, looking for something that might seem off in the heaps of garbage. The monsters were quick to regenerate themselves, though, suddenly becoming twice as many as there were before.

The group struggled to keep track of which monsters they had already destroyed and which were newly reproduced. They had to find a core that was keeping the mop of rubbish creatures alive. Supposedly, if they destroyed the core, all the monsters would die.

But, with so many garbage monsters being constantly reproduced and multiplied with every one they killed, it seemed all but impossible to find the one that had the core. "How unlucky. None of these things has the core," Pango muttered. "They just can't make it easy for us, huh?" Guntz snorted.

Joka was still laughing from way up high. "Can't you guys take a hint? You'll die from exhaustion at this rate!" he exclaimed. "He's right. We can't keep this up for much longer," Pango reluctantly agreed. "It has to be here somewhere," Klonoa muttered. He suddenly ran through the crowd of junk beasts. At the end of his ring came a sword-like formation of green energy.

Klonoa swiped at the creatures as he past them, aiming more for the ones toward the back. Pango and Guntz watched him for a moment. "Dammit. Come on," Guntz then grimaced, gritting his teeth. Pango nodded and the two ran off in different directions. It was most likely that the ones they hadn't killed would be toward the back of the never-ending crowd.

Klonoa didn't stop, resisting to catch the breath he so desperately needed. He couldn't stop. These unconscious people weren't going to hold their breaths while he rested. He was the Dream Traveler. This was his job, his meaning of existence. He had to do this. Or else… or else all these people would suffocate!

Klonoa was just slashing his sword through a muck monster that was a little ways off from the others when something finally caught his eye. Out of the creature came a small, shiny object. Klonoa managed to catch it in his hand, amongst other yucky things. It looked like a tiny red pearl. It was sparkling clean, despite being inside all that trash.

Klonoa prayed that it wasn't just an ordinary marble as he laid it on the ground and slammed his ring into it. The small ball soon cracked and shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments. The trash monster suddenly froze, as if in shock. Pango and Guntz stopped what they were doing, confused. Then, without warning, all the little beast suddenly exploded. Garbage went flying in every direction.

"No!" Joka shrieked in dismay. Klonoa didn't move, finally catching his breath, letting out a sigh of relief. "That was unpleasant," Guntz grimaced, throwing a half-eaten slice of pizza off his nose. Pango simply smiled happily. From atop the building Joka was clenching his hands tightly. "No… I won't lose again. Not this time!"

The round clown's body then began glowing. Before anyone could even notice, he started changing form. Only when he let out a loud roar did everyone finally look up. "What now?!" Guntz asked incredulously. Joka's new, huge body cast a large shadow over the three. "I'm not going to give up that easily this time," a deep voice that somewhat resembled Joka's spoke.

The former clown now looked like a huge, flying turtle-like beast. Spikes jutted from his round shell of a back. He had what looked like flippers for arms and legs, but they had a sharp blade on one side. He still had the same grinning face and black eyes. "I'm sick of losing to you!" he roared. Without warning, he suddenly dove down towards the street between the buildings.

Klonoa didn't move as the huge turtle aimed straight for him. Joka made a sharp turn upward once only feet from touching the ground and flew back up. He moved his long tail in front of his face, on which Klonoa had voluntarily grabbed. "I'm finally going to get rid of you, you little pest," Joka growled. He lifted a razor sharp flipper threateningly.

"Wait," Klonoa said calmly. Joka paused. "I need to ask you a question." The former clown seemed to grin in amusement. "Why not? It'll be the last question you ever ask," he sneered. "I need to know how you keep traveling across worlds, like me. Are you using my power? Is that why you keep following me?" Klonoa asked in a completely straight voice.

Joka suddenly laughed, making Klonoa blink in confusion. "Oh no, of course not! Why would I use your pathetic powers? I use my own magic to get me around. That's how strong I am, see? I'm just attracted to places where chaos is running amuck. But I guess you are, too, huh?"

Klonoa had to looked away to slowly comprehend this. If he was telling the truth, then that would explain why they'd met up all those other times. He hadn't bothered to think much of it until now. "Come to think of it, we've been through a lot together, haven't we?" Joka began, amusement in his voice.

"It'll be a shame when I kill you!" The turtle-like monster lifted both his bladed fins and struck them together, intending on cutting his prey in half. But Klonoa was faster. He jumped up just before the blades struck and held out his ring. Joka twitched, seeing the he had long prepared a heap of garbage inflated onto the ring.

Klonoa shot the ring, sending the trash flying downwards and splattering onto Joka's shell. The clown monster writhed helplessly. "Gah! Get it off!" The rubbish then exploded in a blast of emerald light, jerking Joka sharply and sending him falling downward out of control. He poofed back to his original form just before landing on the dirty road.

"Ooh! You'll pay for this! You haven't seen the last of me!" the clown yelled angrily. "Oh no you don't." Guntz tried to shoot Joka before he did anything else, but it was too late. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared in an almost comical puff of smoke. Joka's words flashed in Klonoa's mind.

No. This wouldn't be the last time he saw Joka. That was almost assured. So long as he, the Dream Traveler, continued to travel to unknown worlds in corruption, he'd surely meet plenty of new and old enemies. And he'd have to face them. By himself. All alone...

Klonoa suddenly felt himself landing in someone's arms. "There we are," Pango said, smiling. So lost in his thoughts, Klonoa hadn't even realized that he'd started falling after firing at Joka. The long fall might've been enough to kill him. Pango gently let Klonoa down to the ground. "Jeez. That clown just doesn't know how to die, huh?" Guntz sighed. "At least he's gone now. And this world is safe," Pango remarked.

As if on cue, the people around them began to stir, finally waking up from their toxic comas. A few noticed the three strange creatures first, staring baffled, while others first saw the heaps of garbage everywhere, letting out exclamations of disgust. "You guys!" The three looked over to see Nikki running toward them.

"What happened?" she asked breathlessly, glancing around the junk-ridden city. "It's a long story. But now your planet is safe from harm," Pango replied. Nikki paused. "That's, uh… great. But… don't you think you guys could've saved the world a little cleaner?" Guntz snorted. "Don't be picky! We could've left you guys to die."

"Nikki!" A yell interrupted them as Nikki opened her mouth to let out a sharp retort. She looked behind her to see Chris running over. "Are you—" Before he could finish his sentence, a stepped directly on a banana peel, the squishy remains sending him sliding forward like a classical cartoon character. He slammed into Nikki, causing the both to fall over.

"That was slightly amusing," Guntz muttered as Pango simply grinned. Klonoa wasn't paying attention, looking off into the distance, lost in his thoughts. He didn't even notice the two hands reaching behind him until they suddenly pinched his cheeks. "Would you smile?!" growled an irritated voice. Klonoa quickly pulled away, spinning around. "W-What?" he stammered with a start.

"You've been moping around since yesterday. We won. Isn't this the time when you go all happy-go-lucky?" Guntz asked, almost looking as if he were scolding him. Klonoa gave him a surprised look and he sharply tuned away. "Whatever, I don't care," he said quickly. Klonoa paused thoughtfully, blinking, before making the usual smile he'd almost forgotten he had.

But a shine below him made him frown again. It was his ring. It was time to go. "What does that mean?" Pango's voice startled Klonoa. He looked up to see the two staring at him expectantly. He hesitated. As far as he knew, they'd yet to believe him being a Dream Traveler. Should he even bother? "It means… we have to leave now," he replied slowly anyway.

"What? Already?!" Nikki stood up quickly, nearly knocking Chris over. "Well, I can't wait to get back. This planet makes me sick." Guntz glanced around the dirty buildings. "Even more now," he snorted. "And I miss my son. I hope he's all right," Pango said thoughtfully.

Nikki paused, before letting out a loud sigh. "I guess you're right. You guys belong on your own planet." She sounded disappointed. Klonoa smiled. "We couldn't have done this without you, Nikki. We're really grateful," he said. Nikki scratched her head, embarrassed. "O-oh. Don't mention it, really. You're the ones I should thank."

Guntz turned to Klonoa. "Hey, we are going home, right?" he asked suspiciously. Klonoa couldn't look him in the eye. "Yes… we should." He couldn't help but hesitate slightly. He wasn't sure if that was entirely true. But he certainly hoped at least Pango and Guntz would go back home. Him, though…

A familiar emerald glow started appearing around Klonoa's body. "Here," he said a bit quickly, holding out his ring. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally leave the two here. They hesitated for a second, before placing their hands around the oversized ring. Soon their bodies began glowing, as well.

The people around them were staring in awe, too dumbstruck to do or say anything. Nikki and Chris stood together, watching. "I hope we can see each other again sometime," Nikki said. "I don't," Guntz was quick to reply. Nikki pouted at that. "I hope the mess we made here won't be too much of a problem," Pango remarked.

Nikki waved her hand dismissively. "Bah. This place was a waste, anyway. It could do with a good cleanup," she said simply. "But the smell will be terrible," Chris muttered to the side. The glow of the ring was getting brighter. "Well, goodbye," Klonoa concluded, before the light could become blindingly bright. Nikki had to flinch, and when the light faded, they were gone.

She stared up at the dawn sky. "Goodbye," she muttered. There was a long moment's silence before a raspy meow by her feet made her look down suddenly. A scrawny, dirty black and white cat was padding over to her. It made another mew before rubbing itself on her leg.

Nikki's first expected reaction would've been to grimace, but instead she bent down and picked up the little thing under its elbows. She held it up to her face. The cat didn't struggle, staring back at her with big yellow eyes. Suddenly Nikki felt like Klonoa hadn't left at all.

"Hmm? I thought you didn't like animals, Nikki," Chris said when he saw her holding the cat close to her. Nikki only grunted thoughtfully, looking up again. "Maybe I can't become a doctor, but… instead…" She looked at Chris, a big smile n her face. "I want to become a vet!"

---

Deep in space, departing Earth's atmosphere and leaving it and its neighboring planets behind, shone a bright emerald light. It flashed past star at lightning speed, leaving a fading dim green trail behind it. It was just passing a familiar, rather small, but lush planet when it split into three. Two of the new lights veered away from one, which stayed on track.

Thank goodness, Klonoa thought, able to stay conscious during the transport due to much experience. He watched as the two beams, his two friends, returned to their home planet. He more than anything wished to follow them. But it wasn't his choice. He looked away. At least they could go back to their homes where they belonged.

But, while Klonoa didn't belong anywhere, he also belonged everywhere. He belonged wherever there was a planet in need. It was his duty; his purpose in life. While it offered much joy to help others find peace, it also provided many sacrifices. Klonoa blinked sodden eyes, not looking back as he flew toward his next destination.

Aw, not so much of a happy ending for Klonoa. But now Nikki's got a new ambition, and Joka's still at large. But that clown never dies, anyway...

There probably would've been so much more to this story hadn't I gotten so much writer's block. It kind of started going in its own direction after a while... Oh well. I guess I'm pretty happy with it. And now... I get to start another one! -does a happydance- This one will really be testing out my skills. So look out for it!

Well... that's all. Bye-bye for now!