"I can't BELIEVE that bastard!" Batz yelled, pacing around his living room in an agitated air. Luckily, Guntz wasn't home, so wouldn't hear his dad swear like that. "Leading us along as pawns like that, when he wanted us to cause untold pain and suffering!"

It was a little while after they had taken the job, and Janga and Batz had been looking into the location of Nahatomb's resting place under Garlen's payroll. But in their research, they had found a rather chilling number of details about the deity they were going after. Apparently Nahatomb had been sealed away when his heroism consumed him, and he began believing himself above all other beings. Most worryingly, he used people's nightmares to fuel his own power, and if it hadn't been for him being forced off of the planet, he would have likely plunged countless people into endless nightmares to keep himself powerful. Something that he would almost certainly do again if he were awakened.

It wasn't hard to figure out what Garlen was planning. He intended to find the sleeping Nahatomb directly. To what end, the two did not know, but Batz frankly did not care. This was something he wanted no part of.

"What do we do, then?" asked Janga, a little perturbed. He wasn't used to seeing Batz this worked up, not even when they were out collecting bounties or hunting for treasure.

"I'll tell you what we do!" Batz said, waving a gun above his head in a frustrated air. "We get out while we can! Maybe rough up Garlen when we do! No money is worth this sort of evil!"

"Are you kidding?!" Janga piped up, a little outraged at the suggestion. "2 million gold, Batz! We couldn't make that much on bounties in a lifetime! With money like that, we'd be set for life, Guntz could go to that school you want him to go to, it'd be all sorted!"

"I don't care!" Batz bellowed. "I'm not going to be responsible for bringing darkness on this world! Not me!"

Janga fumed quietly. He didn't like arguing with Batz, but this just seemed unreasonable. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity after all. "We don't even know that's what's going to happen! Garlen may be shifty, but he's never mentioned anything nefarious when we've seen him! This could all just be an overreaction!"

"I'm not taking that chance, Janga!" Batz yelled, causing Janga to shrink back. "I don't trust that man! Once he finds out where Nahatomb is, anything could happen! I'm not going to put innocent people on the line for a paycheck!"

Stung, Janga muttered under his breath. "You've never complained about where the money came from any of the other times…"

The look of absolute fury Batz gave him in response made Janga nearly panic in fear, but in the next moment the older wolf tried to calm himself. They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate, not by squabbling like children.

Trying to clear the anger from his mind, he approached Janga.

"Janga… I don't want to argue with you over this. I know the prospect of that money is tempting… but this isn't just a few people with a bounty on their heads. I don't like the idea of putting so many people in danger for money. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Janga looked down at his feet, upset at the words that had come out of his mouth. "I… I know."

Batz came closer, placing a hand on Janga's shoulder and using his other to bring his chin up so they were looking at each other, a slight smile on his face.

"There'll be other jobs. One way or another, we'll find the money to get Guntz a good education and keep food on the table. We'll get through this without Garlen's help, alright?"

Janga smiled a little reluctantly, but he couldn't stay mad at Batz for long.

"Alright. If you don't want to do it, I'll stick with you."

Grinning, Batz slapped Janga's back playfully.

"Attaboy! Now, howsabout we fix something good to eat! First thing tomorrow, we go and tell Garlen where he can stick his blood money!"

Giggling amusedly, Janga followed Batz to the kitchen, glad that this was seemingly behind them for the most part…

But just outside their home, Garlen himself was hiding, having eavesdropped on their entire conversation. He should have known Batz was too much of a bleeding heart to just keep his head down and do his job. Now, they were a liability, and had to be dealt with.

However, finding out the disagreeing opinions between the two was an excellent discovery. Seems like they differed on what course of action to take. Perhaps Garlen didn't have to get rid of them himself. That would bring suspicion, after all. Instead, with just a little bit of encouragement, he could build on those differing opinions, and sow seeds of doubt between them…

Garlen grinned.

This was going to be fun.

…

At long last, a few hours after departing, the drill ground to a halt. It had come to a stop after breaching through a cliff face into a small valley which was situated near Garlen's hideout, allowing the trio of Klonoa, Guntz and Janga to depart. The base was visible on the side of the nearby mountainous hills, providing them with a direction with which to head to.

As they did, Klonoa took a moment to speak with Chipple.

"You're gonna be alright heading back, Chipple?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine!" Chipple replied with a smile. "I'll just take the drill for a spin and get it back to the Emperor's palace. Should be a fun time to get to drive it myself this time!"

Smirking at Chipple's can-do attitude, Guntz called out to him as they began to leave. "Not gonna wish us good luck, then?"

Chipple grinned. "You guys don't need luck, you got Klonoa! He defeated Garlen once, he can do it again!"

Not bothering to correct the numerous inaccuracies in that statement, the three simply waved as Chipple started the drill up and sent it digging back through the cliff face he had come out of.

It was all up to the three of them now.

Keeping out of sight, they slowly maneuvered their way through the mountainous region they had come out in, ducking behind cover whenever a squadron of Garlen's robotic minions came by. Klonoa's wind ring made it easy for them to get up the sheer cliff faces that stood between them and their destination. Soon, they had reached the outer wall of the hideout, but the entrances were all heavily guarded and under surveillance, so those were likely a no-go.

"Any ideas?" Guntz asked to his companions.

Janga looked around. "Is there a vent round here we can sneak through?"

A bit of rummaging came from behind them, and Klonoa quietly called out "Over here!"

He had indeed found a vent grate tucked out of sight. It was about the right size to accommodate them, and seemingly wasn't being surveyed by any cameras, so would be perfect for them to sneak through. It was a tight squeeze, but all three were just able to fit inside, and before long they were off through the labyrinthine shafts.

They shuffled their way through the vents for quite some time, occasionally coming across grates that lead into rooms, but they were so high up that it would be impractical to try and get through. In one, they spotted some of Garlen's minions talking about some sort of "preparations" for Garlen's "ascent", though few other details could be parsed from the number of code words they were using.

Eventually, the three hit an ending to the vent shaft they had come through; a grate opening out into what looked to be a laboratory of some description. There was nowhere else to go, the lab seemed to be empty, and there was no way of turning themselves around due to how much of a squeeze the vent shafts were, so all they could do was move forward. Getting out was no problem, Klonoa's wind ring making short work of the vent cover.

Carefully jumping down from the opening they had made to the floor, the three began to look around the room they had found themselves in. The lights weren't on, but there was enough light from the computer monitors scattered about that they could just about see.

For Klonoa and Guntz, this was all new territory. For Janga, he was getting an upsetting feeling of Déjà vu.

"I've been here before…" he said quietly, looking around. "This was the lab where Garlen woke me up after putting all those cyborg parts in me."

Guntz's eyebrows raised. "Then you'll know which way to go, then."

Klonoa moved over to a pair of double doors that likely led out, but they were locked. They'd need to find another way out of here, all without being detected.

Looking round for another exit, they saw numerous disquieting details in the room. Sat in the middle was a hard medical bed, designed for surgeries. The same one that Janga had woken up in when this whole mess had begun. Lining the workbenches were cybernetic limbs, pieces of mechanical waste, and small vats of some… glowing green liquid, inside of which a number of organic materials and organs were suspended… including a feline foot that looked an awful lot like Janga's. The sight of it made him shiver, and he averted his gaze.

Near the back of the room was a door that seemed to lead somewhere. The glass on the front was frosted, so they couldn't get a clear look inside, but the green glow from beyond indicated it was worth checking out. Trying the door, it too was locked tight, so Guntz had to use some force and use his shoulder to bash it down. It took a few tries, and a couple of kicks for good measure, but soon he and Janga had broken the lock and sent the door falling off its hinges. The three braced themselves for an alarm going off, but luckily none came. They were safe.

For now.

The room beyond was quite long and turned around a corner. Lining the walls on either side was a series of vats of the same green liquid, this time much bigger, and containing… much larger organic matter. To be blunt, there were people in there. All of them with cybernetics replacing parts of them, a breathing mask hooked up to their face, and all of them unconscious. Aside from the three of them, not a sign of life lay in that room.

Janga recognised a few of them as he scanned the nameplates at the bottom of each vat, denoting the identity of the person within. "I… I think I knew this guy! 'Big Dantil', they called him. A big player in treasure hunting about 10 years ago. Before he just disappeared…"

Elsewhere in the room, Klonoa looked at another vat worryingly. "Look at this one, Guntz. 'Diglo'. Didn't we meet this guy once?"

Guntz looked at the gorilla in the tank with concern. Memories of another of their previous run-ins with Garlen flashed through his mind. "Y…yeah, I think we did…"

The presence of an empty tank with the name "Janga" under it beside Diglo's was left unmentioned by the group. Whether it had been previously occupied or was intended for future use was a question best left unpondered.

Guntz's attention then turned to a computer terminal nearby, which seemed to be unencrypted. Perfect for getting an idea as to what Garlen was up to.

Scanning through the lines of code and computer jargon, a few particular lines of text caught his eye.

"ORGANIC POWER SOURCES: ACTIVE."

ENERGY SIPHONING PROTOCOL: ONLINE.

CONNECTION TO AETERNUS PYLONS: ONLINE."

Looking at these status levels, Guntz's mind wandered to the potential significance. Beside each tank was a screen that included numerous vital signs. Some had active brain patterns, indicating they were being kept in stasis, others were almost flat, implying they were barely more than a cadaver connected to a network of wires.

He called Janga over while Klonoa looked round the corner to see if there was another way out back there. Directing the feline's attention to the computer screen, he asked him; "What do you make of this?"

Janga scratched his head, his eyes lighting up at the potential significance. "I'm not sure… but I've got a hunch. Just hope it's wrong."

Not in the mood for beating around the bush, Guntz hurried it along. "Try me."

Janga cleared his throat before continuing. "Well, there was a passage in the legend of the Aeternus that I got reminded of just now. It said that the device requires great power to be activated. Well, like Leorina said, that would mean physical power, right?"

Guntz shrugged. "I guess."

Janga continued. "Well, Garlen's pretty powerful, but likely not powerful enough to activate the Aeternus on his own… so if he needs physical power, this all makes me think he intends to… siphon energy from everyone he appears to have kidnapped and stuck in here… and then use that physical energy on himself, allowing him full use of the Aeternus."

Guntz nodded. "I guess that makes sense." He snarled at the evil of it all. "Just when I think Garlen couldn't get more despicable, he goes and surprises me all over again."

Janga smirked at the comment. "You think that's bad? You didn't have to work with him for 10 odd years!"

Just then, Klonoa called from round the corner. "Guntz! Janga! I… I think I found something!"

Guntz called back. "What you found, Klonoa? A way out?"

There was a brief pause. "I… think you'd better see it for yourselves."

Looking at each other, Janga and Guntz made their way down the room and round the corner. They saw Klonoa, a graver look than usual upon his face. He was facing another vat, containing a figure in suspended animation.

Guntz and Janga's heart sank at the sight of the man within. They didn't need to read the nameplate at the bottom to know who was before them. Despite the numerous cybernetics across his body, the muscular physique and black/yellow colouration on the fur of the unconscious wolf inside was clear enough. The older spitting image of the gunslinger in their group.

It was Guntz's long lost father.

Janga's long lost lover.

Batz…

Janga fell to his knees in horror. Guntz could barely move. This is where his dad had been this whole time… kept a prisoner by this monster…

Suddenly, a noise rang out round the corner towards the entrance. Thinking quickly, Guntz pulled his gun out and fired a shot in the direction it had come from.

"WOAH! WOAH! FRIENDLY FIRE!"

The voice was a familiar one, and Guntz re-holstered his gun in exasperation as the figure walked into view. It was only Chipple.

"Chipple?" Klonoa said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were taking the drill back!"

"Yeah, well…" Chipple said sheepishly, "It kind of started breaking down after you left, and I got stranded. I figured instead of waiting around for rescue I could try and find the way you guys went and see if there was anything I could do to help!"

Guntz groaned at the intrusion, but Klonoa looked happy for the help. How Chipple had gotten up the mountain to follow them so quickly they didn't bother to ask. "Well, regardless, I'm happy to see you again."

Chipple nodded, before looking around and seeing what had captured the three's attention. "Is… is that your dad, Guntz?"

Guntz looked back at the pod where the figure was being kept in. Notably, his vital signs were not listed on the screen beside him, which was turned off, so it was impossible to tell whether he was still alive in there. "Yeah, I… guess it is."

Chipple removed his hat in respect. "That's rough, buddy."

Guntz looked down at Janga, who had crawled over to the front of the tank and was looking up at Batz longingly. Tears were rolling down his face and under his breath Guntz could shakily hear him repeating; "Batz… oh god, Batz… what did he do to you…"

Guntz looked away for a moment, unable to figure out quite how to respond. Even after their talk before, he had anticipated it all being a big con, and Janga playing it up so he could betray them when the time came… but this… seeing him in such a vulnerable state at the sight of his old partner… there was no reason for him to play it up to this degree… it just wasn't his style…

He shook his head, a tear rolling down his own face in regret.

Perhaps he had been wrong all this time…

He turned to Klonoa, trying to keep his voice steady. The temptation to open the pod was so tempting… but there was still a world outside that was in danger, and he still had a job to do. "Klonoa, you know the computer terminal back at the main entrance?"

Klonoa nodded.

"There was a button I saw on that interface that says 'Terminate Sources'. If I'm right, then pressing it should deactivate these pods and put everyone in them out of their misery, and Garlen can't use them as a power source."

Upon hearing this, Janga let out a gasp and jumped up, looking at Guntz. "You… you can't mean that we just let him die, Guntz!"

Guntz's face was clearly hiding a lot of emotion, but he pulled himself together. "There probably isn't anything left in there for us to save. Besides, didn't you listen to what I told you before? My dad would gladly give his life if it meant saving people."

Janga shook his head, the tears coming stronger. Just a moment ago, he had found where his long lost love had been all these years, and already it was going to be ripped away from him. "But… but we still need to know! He… he could help us! I… I can't let him go! I CAN'T! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!"

"JANGA!" Guntz yelled, moving forward and grabbing him by the shoulders. The parallel to a time when Batz had done the same thing long ago was not lost on the feline. Guntz looked like he wanted to yell… but he didn't. He steeled his anger to try and sway the man who needed a more genuine approach. "I… get it. I want my dad back as much as you do. But when I met Klonoa and defeated Nahatomb, I was finally able to move on from living in his shadow. His ghost has been haunting us all these years, and we need to cut him loose."

Janga shook, crying even harder, unable to compose himself like Guntz was. "But… but I can't… I… I love him…"

Guntz's face remained stern as he continued, betraying a whirlwind of emotion building behind his eyes. "I know. And that's why we should do this. The torture Garlen's put him through has likely changed him forever. It's better that he be freed from that… from that… pain…"

But Guntz's pep talk trailed off as he choked down tears, his stern facade broken, and in that moment they both knew that his words rang hollow. He didn't want to lose his dad either, not all over again. He probably didn't have the strength to do it any more than Janga did.

And at that moment, neither of them knew what to do.

The moment was broken when an alarm suddenly rang out around them. Whirling round, they saw Chipple in front of Batz's tank, having pressed a button.

"CHIPPLE, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Guntz yelled, horrified.

"I DON'T KNOW, I JUST PRESSED A BUTTON THAT SAID 'RELEASE!'"

In that moment, the metal tubing holding Batz in place retracted, and the front of the pod opened, sending his body and a tsunami of the green liquid suspension tumbling out.

As the alarm rang, they could hear the distant but recognisably clanging of metallic footsteps.

"They know we're here; we need to hide!" Janga yelled as he pulled the others up and they ran for the door, leaving Batz's body lying motionless on the floor behind them.

It was a mad rush back to the vent shaft, clamoring up the wall in an effort to get in before the guards broke through, Klonoa making sure to replace the cover as he slid through at the last moment, followed by over a dozen robotic minions knocking down the doors to the lab and beginning to sweep it for anyone inside.

They saw the destroyed door to the container pods, and stepped inside, expecting to find their intruders. But all they found was a destroyed tank, a puddle of green liquid under their feet… and no Batz. His body was gone.

The head of the group was about to signal to Garlen about the break-in, before they were suddenly set upon by an unknown assailant that had hidden themselves out of sight.

All that was left when backup arrived was a pile of destroyed shrapnel…

…

Garlen was in a specially made hall with an open roof, a set of large metallic pylons set around the perimeter that were designed to direct energy at a single point in the center, where a podium was positioned. He had put on a set of ceremonial robes, the Aeternus worn around his neck, and he was ready for what he considered to be his big debut.

Before he could give the order to begin the process, however, one of his minions came running into the hall.

"GARLEN! GARLEN! WE HAVE INTRUDERS! THE SOURCE POD CONTAINMENT AREA HAS BEEN BROKEN INTO!"

Garlen whirled round; his face wracked with anger. "What?! Do you know who it is?! Have you captured them?"

The minion shook its head, quivering under the inevitable punishment of failure. "N… no, sir, they'd retreated somehow… and Source #53's body is gone."

Garlen's eyes raged when he realized who that pod had contained. If his body was gone, that meant that they were likely responsible… and much sooner than he had intended.

"No matter. Keep looking for them and proceed with siphoning the source's power to the pylons. Once the Aeternus is activated, it won't—"

"Um, sir…" the minion piped up. "Without one of the sources, our calculations won't be accurate enough to do so effectively. It will take us time to compensate for it."

Garlen's patience was at a limit. "WHAT?! YOU STUPID ROBOT!"

Before he could punt them across the room like a football, a transmission came up on his communications device, this one from one of his lieutenants.

"Garlen, sir! Jillius' armies have just arrived at the base! They're taking position and demanding our immediate surrender!"

Garlen ran over to a window, and his face blanched as he saw it was the truth. A massive faction of soldiers, both from the empire and joined with Lunatea's, were waiting down in the valley below. They had found him faster than he had anticipated, and with such a large manpower…

He facepalmed hard. This was all happening faster than he found tolerable. Still, this was the last time he would underestimate them, if he could adapt to it and buy himself some time.

"Get as many of my minions mobilized as you can and meet those armies down in the valley! Hold them off as long as possible until I can activate the Aeternus!"

The lieutenant saluted and cut the transmission.

Garlen turned to the robotic minion beside him. "Get back down to the lab and put in the necessary calculations to recalibrate the sources! Get it working so we can siphon them off to the levels the pylons need!"

The minion tried to give a salute but failed. It was too nervous. "Yes, sir… but what about the intruders?"

"Forget about them!" Garlen bellowed. "Once I've activated the Aeternus, they won't be a threat to us! Just make sure it happens fast!"

The minion nodded quickly and ran out of the room, and Garlen began to pace with anxious impatience.

A decent setback, but with luck he would be able to adapt to it before his enemies did…

…

Klonoa's group made their way through the vents at speed, not intending to escape but find somewhere unoccupied they could plan their next move. Luckily, the guards didn't seem to be looking for them, so they were eventually able to find a vent cover leading to a dark office, which they quietly jumped down into, keeping out of sight of the corridors beyond the main door.

Now that they were seemingly out of danger, Guntz had a bone to pick with Chipple.

"Why the HELL did you flip that switch, Chipple?!"

"I thought you wanted to free him!" Chipple defended, indignant at the heat thrown his way. "He's your dad, isn't he?"

"I was literally telling Janga that we needed to sacrifice him for the greater good! Were you not listening?!"

"No!" Chipple said with an oddly triumphant air, as if that justified the whole thing. But before Guntz could try to unpack it, the door knob to the office began to jiggle, and he got into combat mode.

"Stay behind me." He whispered to the others as he pulled out his gun and trained it on the door, ready to blow away anyone beyond.

At last, whoever was on the other end ended up giving up on trying to unlock the door and just wrenched the door open with sheer strength. It swung open, and the figure stood in the doorway, initially hidden in shadow, before stepping inside as the lights above them illuminated their face.

They were still dripping green liquid from the tank, a haphazard set of hastily found clothes covering their body and the cybernetics criss-crossing their skin marring their fur, but the kind eyes were unmistakable, their face having not aged a day.

Guntz dropped his gun as they closed the door behind them.

"P…Pops?"

The figure smiled, almost seeming unsure how to proceed when seeing how long it had been, and how his son had grown. But soon, he found the words.

"Heya, Guntz."

Guntz ran forward, not caring about keeping up a tough façade, and pulled his father into an embrace, which he happily returned. It didn't feel real. Around 10 years it had been since he had last seen his dad, and here he was, still alive. As he tried to wrap his head around it, he just collapsed into a wave of crying, unable to stop the tears from coming as he held on for dear life, scared to let go. Batz held him in return, grateful at being able to see his son again after so long.

Few words were exchanged, but there was no need for them quite yet. Time was of the essence, but this deserved the time.

Klonoa watched on with a smile at seeing such a reunion, Chipple just gawked with complete bewilderment. Janga stared wide-eyed, keeping his distance, not sure what to do at that moment. Would Batz be glad to see him or attempt to cave his skull in for what he had done all those years ago?

At last, Guntz and Batz pulled away a little, and Batz got on his son's level as he looked him over, almost lost for words at the sight.

"Look…" he began, choking up a little. "Look at you. You've grown so much…"

Guntz couldn't hide his smile, despite the tears. "You… look the same as I remember… except for all the cyborg stuff."

Batz grinned. "It's been a… hellish few years… but, now that you're here, it doesn't feel quite as bad."

Guntz chuckled, feeling the same way. The past decade had been a whirlwind of angst and frayed emotions. But now that his dad was back... suddenly it didn't matter. All that mattered was the here and now.

As the pair slowly got used to seeing each other again, Klonoa gently stepped forward, not wanting to take away from the moment but feeling compelled to introduce himself. "Um, hello, Mr… Guntz Sr, sir."

Batz laughed at the shaky introduction. "Don't worry about the senior stuff, kid. Name's Batz. You one of Guntz's friends?"

Guntz looked over at Klonoa with a slight smile, not wanting to deny it at that moment, his cold demeanor gone. "Y-yeah, he is…"

Smiling, Batz extended a hand for Klonoa to shake. "That's good enough for me, son. What do they call you?"

Klonoa smiled as he shook Batz's hand. "Um… I'm Klonoa. The Dream Traveller."

"And I'm Chipple!" Chipple called out from across the room, striking a pose.

Batz chuckled at the sight, before his eyes fell onto Janga, and his face moved to a shocked expression.

"Janga?"

Yelping in a panic, Janga began to leap up as Batz began to get to his feet and walk over to him.

"N-now Batz, I know that when last we saw each other, it was in really messed up circumstances, but I'm not working for Garlen! I'm working with Guntz to bring him down! Seriously!"

Batz didn't reply, an indecipherable expression on his face that didn't quite resemble anger, as he kept moving towards Janga. Guntz began to get up, worried about the possibility of breaking up a fight. He didn't know how his dad would react to seeing Janga again considering what had happened before.

Backed up against the wall, Janga began to hyperventilate. "GOD! I'm sorry, Batz! I'm sorry for what I did, please don't hurt me, I never wanted to—"

His words were cut off when Batz grabbed him and pulled him into a wordless hug. Janga looked round in total shock, not believing what the hell was happening.

"I've… missed ya, Janga." Batz said quietly.

Janga couldn't believe this. This felt too forgiving. "But… but I struck you down… we both thought we were going to betray each other! You thought I wanted to kill you and Guntz!"

"I know." Batz acknowledged, keeping his grip on Janga as he held him. "But I've endured ten years of Garlen's gloating while in this godforsaken place, more than enough to figure out what he did. To me. To my son. To you."

Janga slowly calmed down, but his mind still whirled with confusion as Batz moved to look him in the eyes.

"What happened that night was as much my fault as it was yours." Batz continued. "I let Garlen into my head, as he got into yours, and we all paid the price."

Guntz finally spoke up, wanting to make sure there was no misunderstanding between them, despite his historical dislike of the feline. Seeing his dad confirm their bond left his suspicions against Janga finally broken in his mind. "But everything's changed now, dad! Janga's broken free of Garlen's control! He helped save our lives, and he's helping us defeat Garlen once and for all."

Batz didn't look at Guntz, keeping his eyes on Janga, but a smile crept back onto his face, knowing that Guntz would not be saying such things if it were not the truth. "There was a long time where I feared the Janga I once knew, the caring, brave soul, was gone forever… but here he is… he's finally clawed his way back from the darkness again… and I couldn't be happier for it."

Shaking from Batz's words, Janga finally returned his embrace, burying his head in Batz's neck floof as he tried to hold the tears back. It felt unreal… but even if it wasn't… he was glad for it. It felt right.

"I've missed you too, my Batz… so damn much…"

Batz gladly returned the embrace for a time, wanting to savor it as much as possible. He had longed for it for such a long time, after all.

But soon, he had to let go. It seemed there was business to attend to. He turned to the rest of the group, beginning to get back into action mode for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.

"So! You say there's a plan to stick it to Garlen for good?"

Guntz piped up with a grin. "Yes, that's right, pops! He's got this ancient artifact that will make him all powerful, and we need to defeat him before he does so!"

The others nodded in confirmation. Batz cackled at the prospect of finally getting one over this enemy. "I like the sound of that! Damning odds and high chance of an honorable death? Nothing better! Now, how's about we get out of here and end this whole charade?!"

Hyped up by Batz's words, the group let out what amounted to a battle cry as they got up and knocked down the door to the corridors beyond, surprising the guards who readied themselves for battle. But they had never seen Batz and Janga in action together, and they were about to find out why they had been so successful in the past…

…

Emperor Jillius and the High Priestess watched, hearts in their throats, as Garlen's forces began to pour out of the base to the valley where they were standing. It would only be a few minutes before the two forces would engage in battle.

"The die is cast." The High Priestess said quietly, hoping the casualties would be low.

"And destiny is ours." Jillius replied, as he got up with a megaphone and began to address the soldiers.

"My fellows!" He called out. "In a few moments, the fate of the world will be decided. I wish for you all to know that, whether we win or lose, our bravery will live on through the ages. This is our stand, and if Garlen wishes to rule this world, then he shall have to answer to us first!"

The army cheered, raising their hands and weapons up. Leorina sweated, in the cockpit of the Crimson Iris.

"This better not be how I die."

Tat piped up from behind her. "Not if I have a say about it!"

Jillius watched the robots pour out towards them. He steeled himself, before giving his initial orders.

"Take your positions! Ready your weapons!"

His eyes narrowed. This was what it meant to be an emperor.

"On my mark, unleash hell!"

…

Klonoa's group cut through the limited number of Garlen's minions still in the base like a hot knife through butter. Before, they might have had trouble keeping up, but with Batz now adding to their number, they had gained extra morale as well as might, and their opposition stood no chance. He and Janga fought together so effortlessly; it was as if not a day had gone by since they had stood side by side.

After clearing the way, the group stopped for a moment to consult a map of the base they had picked up from one of the guards.

"Alright." Klonoa said as he consulted the readings on the screen in his hand. "We're here, and the hall where Garlen intends to activate the Aeternus is just a short way away. If we hurry, we should be able to get there before he does.

"Then let's do it!" Guntz yelled out, and he, Klonoa and Chipple ran ahead ready to kick ass. Batz and Janga, however, hung back for a moment, wanting to talk a little before the final showdown.

"Just like old times, eh Janga?" Batz said with a grin. "What I wouldn't give for a celebratory stogie right about now."

Janga nodded with a smile, before clearing his throat, his expression turning somber. "Listen… I know there's a good chance we're both not going to get out of this… I anticipated this being a one way trip for me…"

Batz looked at Janga, giving him his full attention.

"But for what it's worth… if this is the end for us… I'm glad I get to spend it with you again." Janga finished as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the worn photograph of the pair of them, showing Batz.

Batz looked at it, a tear forming in one eye as he looked it over. "Just like old times, indeed…" He held the photo close to his chest for a moment before giving it back to Janga to keep as he replied.

"Whatever happens, Janga, whether we live or die, there's no way I'd rather go out than with you by my side."

Janga nodded, trying not to cry all over again. After one more short embrace, the pair ran ahead to join the others, ready to pay their penance to the world, and exit the world not as monsters, but as heroes.

…

Garlen stood atop the podium in the middle of the hall as the pylons above him began to crackle with energy. The calculations were finished, the math checked out, and he was ready to begin.

The battle below his base was of little concern. Soon, he would be down there himself to have them all answer for their insolence.

He was the rightful wielder of the Aeternus. He had sought it for so long; and at last, he was ready to rule the world as he had always known he should.

"Energize the pylons." He commanded to some nearby aides. "Siphon the source's organic energies. Get ready to send it all my way. The era of Garlen is nigh."

As they began to input the commands to do so, however, one of his guards burst into the room.

"Garlen, sir! The intruders have overtaken the facility! They're on their way he—"

His words were cut off by a single gunshot through his robotic head, and he fell to the ground. Behind him, Guntz, Klonoa and Chipple stood together, determined looks on their faces, knowing the fate of the world stood before them.

Garlen smirked at the sight. "Well, well, well… what a pleasant surprise. The prodigal son has shown his face once again."

Guntz smirked. "The pleasure's all mine. But you're not going to use that thing to fuck the world up. Not while I draw breath."

Garlen let out a laugh. "Oh really? And how do you intend to stop me? The three of you better have a surprise up your sleeve!"

"Now that you mention it…" came a voice from the doorway, as Batz and Janga stepped through, looking upon Garlen with scorn, but grins on their faces as they were ready for whatever happened next. Reunited at last, and ready to fight like they were destined to do.

Garlen looked shocked for a moment. But only for a moment.

"Well… it seems that today just got way more… interesting…"