Guntz woke up from his sleep. He hadn't been asleep very long, and according to his alarm clock it was only about 11pm or so. He grumbled with irritation as he tried to bury his head in his pillow. He had school tomorrow, and his dad would flip if he didn't get proper rest before then…

…wait. What was that sound?

He listened out further. Yeah, he thought he had heard something. Voices. Raised voices. He recognised them as his dad and his dad's friend Janga. They were arguing about… something… but he couldn't tell what.

Guntz tensed up as he heard them. He rarely heard his dad raise his voice like that, and the two of them got along fine most days, seeming as close as could be for as long as he could remember.. But they had been acting kind of odd lately… something wasn't right, he knew that much.

He slowly crept out of bed and opened the door to creep into the hallway. He had to know what was going on.

He crept along, quiet as a mouse, trying not to be heard, though with how loud they were shouting, that wasn't difficult. Soon, he had reached the door to the living room, where the arguing seemed to be coming from as it was the loudest there.

Putting an ear up to the door, he listened to what they were saying.

It was still pretty heavily muffled, and he couldn't make out everything that was being said, but snatches were clear to his ears.

"…should've known you… fucking stab me in the…"

"…never trusted me… throw me out at the first…"

"…not letting you hurt my son… knew you were no…"

"… go and tear my heart out and give it to your new squeeze…!"

"…GET THE FUCK OUT OF…"

"…UCK YOU, I'M NOT LEAV…"

Guntz heard a scuffling noise suddenly erupt on the other side of the door, like a violent fight was breaking out. He was terrified, scared stiff, unable to open the door to see what was going on. The arguing continued as they fought, but the sheer pandemonium of smashing sounds from beyond drowned out whatever was being said as the fight continued.

It seemed to last an eternity, until suddenly there was a slicing sound… a grunt of surprised pain… and it all abruptly stopped as something fell to the ground.

Someone screamed in panic and fear… not his dad's voice… before footsteps rapidly rang out before the front door was slammed open and whoever it was fled out into the street beyond.

Silence.

Almost deafening.

After a short time, Guntz finally worked up the courage to open the door.

He slowly opened it a crack, peeking through to see into the living room.

It was a shambles, furniture destroyed, blood covering a lot of the room…

And his dad…

His dad…

Lying on the floor, a few massive gashes in his front, bleeding profusely, a numb, betrayed look in his eyes, which were rapidly emptying of life.

He wasn't moving…

…

The tension in Garlen's base was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, mixed with an apprehensive air of what was surely about to happen. The notion of this being the final confrontation being good and evil was in no doubt as Garlen looked at the ragtag group of misfits before him as he stood upon his pedestal in the middle of the hall. Klonoa, Chipple, Guntz, Batz, and Janga. A motley crew indeed.

They seemed confident of their success… a notion that he would be sure to allow them to test at their leisure. He was the one with the Aeternus around his neck, after all.

"Well, quite a team you have there… a punk kid, an angsty emo, a wannabe athlete, a drunken failure, and a…" he looked at Batz with a derisive smirk. "A gullible fool."

Batz snarled in anger, but Janga motioned for him to keep calm, not wanting to play their cards too soon.

"Whatever we are, we've got far enough up our sleeves to face you." Guntz said, acting in a surprising turn of charisma as the group's mouthpiece. "Now either you step down and surrender peacefully… or we get over there and get you down ourselves.

Garlen cackled. "Really, Guntz, you should know better than to assume you are in any sort of situation to negotiate. Not when I am the one holding the deck!"

At that moment, one of Garlen's aides called to him from their control panel at one side of the room. "Master Garlen! The energy has been siphoned to the pylons and is ready for your use!"

Garlen laughed in triumph at the news. "Well, don't just stand there! Get it underway!"

Before any of the group could react, the metallic pylons atop the open-top hall began to crackle with green energy. The very tops of them moved to position, pointed at the pedestal that Garlen was standing on. Just a moment later, the green energy fired from the pylons and concentrated on Garlen as it entered his body. He yelled in pain and surprise as it surged through him, but that soon began to morph into a mad, insane laugh. At that moment, he was sure he had won!

"He's done it!" Klonoa cried out in horror. "He's activated the damn thing!"

"No, he's not!" Janga quickly pointed out, refusing to give up now. "He's still absorbing energy; he doesn't have enough to do it yet! There's still hope!"

"Right!" Batz yelled, bounding forward. "There's no time to lose! Chipple, son, rough up those waffle irons over there and find a way to bring this process offline before he gets too powerful! Everyone else, join me, we got a cyborg to deliver some justice to!"

Seemed like natural born leaders ran in the family.

Letting out a war cry, the group chased behind him to meet Garlen head on, Chipple heading to where his robotic aides were to try and halt the process before it was too late.

Garlen simply cricked his neck as he smirked at the oncoming group. Ordinarily, he'd be pretty overwhelmed by four people rushing over to rough him up… but now… he felt strong. Unstoppable. And the process was only a fraction completed.

"Let's end this, shall we?"

…

Down in the valley, a battle was raging as Garlen's forces engaged the combined might of Emperor Jillius' troops and Lunatea's military capacity. Both sides were equally determined to come out on top; Garlen's minions under a predestined compulsion to serve and protect their creator, and Jillius' manpower desperately trying to hold the line in an act of self-preservation. If they fell today, all would be lost.

In these opening moments, the battle was closely fought, with neither side having a clear advantage. But though they were currently evenly matched, that didn't mean Klonoa and Co.'s allies were being overwhelmed. Jillius was at the front of his troops on his steed, having taken his grandfather's ceremonial blade out of retirement and was riding forth hacking down robots left and right.

"ONWARD, MEN!" he bellowed with a massive grin, enjoying the adrenaline. "TO VICTORY!"

The High Priestess had jumped into the fray elsewhere and had cleared space around her, her staff crackling with power as she blasted foes with it left and right, not one of them able to get near enough to do any damage to her. Lolo was by her side and, though her approach was shakier, she was holding her own and was determined not to let her mentor down.

"Stay close to me, Lolo!" The High Priestess said protectively.

"Yes, miss!" Lolo replied as she managed to incapacitate another robot that had been attempting to rush them both.

Above the battlefield, Leorina and Tat flew around in the Crimson Iris, Leorina having taken a leaf out of Guntz's book by affixing a few guns to the front which she was firing at the automatons below.

"EAT THIS, YOU OVERGROWN TOASTERS!"

Behind her, Tat had bought a selection of bombs which she was lighting and then dropping down to blow their foes up with glee.

"LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT! MELTED ANDROIDS ABOUT!" she cackled in a sing-song voice.

Elsewhere in the battlefield, numerous other people whom Klonoa had met fought the good fight, having been summoned there to do their part and protect the world. Pango had been roused from self-imposed retirement to provide armaments and ammunition for the army's artillery, knowing that protecting his son Boris meant putting himself on the line to prevent Garlen's rising.

Balue had somehow acquired a tank and was driving about shooting shells at the robots with reckless abandon, blasting a CD of Lephise's Greatest Hits as he did so. Suiryu, taking advantage of his rank to lead a small battalion of his own, marched forward as penance for the loss of the L.O.A Mommet under his command. Popka had been scared stiff by the fighting and initially hid from the action, but quickly pulled himself together and managed to maneuver his way to Lolo's side to provide whatever support he could.

Even people that Klonoa had only fleetingly known had come out to fight, like Chipple's estranged sister Anemon from their hometown of Ghazzaland, who was swashbuckling through the fray to try and support her brother up in the base. Dr. Medim from Santal was coordinating the army's medics to provide whatever healing and support they could, and even Heart Moo has brought along a large group of Moos to try and do their part. Or as much as could be done by a group of Moos.

All in all, every one of Klonoa's friends and allies were giving it their best. But the robots were a tough bunch, so they would need to be on full alert if they were to win the day.

And that would rely on Klonoa and his group up in the base succeeding in stopping Garlen before he could activate the Aeternus…

…

Up in Garlen's base, an equally intense battle was also raging.

Klonoa, Guntz, Janga and Batz were all engaging Garlen, trying to get close enough to him to get him away from the beams of energy that were sent coursing through his body. It was like two fighting duos from two generations and times, Klonoa and Guntz the new generation and Janga and Batz the old crowd, back together for their greatest conquest yet.

Garlen, meanwhile, was easily able to hold his own, having gained the ability to concentrate the energy coursing through his body into his fingertips and fire it from them, which prevented the group from getting very close to him. On the rare moment he missed enough shots that they were within melee range, a single punch from his claw sent them careening back. Already, his power was growing to levels they were struggling to keep up with.

Meanwhile, Chipple had managed to beat up and incapacitate Garlen's aides and was scanning the control panels before him, trying to find a button that would stop the process or even reverse it. Of course, since he knew very little about how Garlen's technology worked, he was having quite a bit of trouble doing so.

Leaping out of combat for a moment, Klonoa approached his friend. "Chipple! You found an off switch yet?"

"I don't think I can turn it off!" Chipple wailed as the monitors in front of him were cracked and letting off sparks, but still just about operational. "Those robots smashed the controls before I beat them up, now I can't tell if they even work anymore!"

Klonoa wanted to help, but Guntz was being punted around like a football at that moment, always getting back up and coming back for more, so he had to leave Chipple on his own and dive back into the fray.

Garlen had barely moved an inch; the energy being directed at his body was homing on his position so he could gain more regardless of where he stood, but remaining perched on his pedestal only drove home how little leeway the group were making. How he was the one on top, and their attempts to defy his power were futile.

Later into the battle, once his power level had passed a certain point, he was able to construct a blade made entirely of this green energy; it was fluid and aerodynamic, and it could slice through flesh as efficiently as the finest metals ever could. Its introduction to the fight made it even more difficult for Klonoa and the others to get anywhere close, as a nasty gash to Klonoa's forearm made clear

At one point, Guntz thought he saw an opening, and lunged at Garlen, but the evildoer's speed and agility had also been raised, and he knocked Guntz back hard, bringing his energy sword enough to cut him down and cull the herd a little. Just before he could, though, Janga scrambled between them, taking the full blast of the attack as it sliced into his abdomen to protect his lover's son.

"Janga!" Guntz cried out as he managed to catch the feline who was in immense pain and carry him out of the line of fire while Klonoa and Batz held position. "You alright?"

Janga took a shaky breath to steady himself as the cybernetics in his blood slowly healed the wound he had obtained. "Yeah… I'll be fine."

Giving a mixture of a grimace and a smile, Guntz patted Janga on the back. "Don't go dying on us, now. We need as much manpower as we can get."

Janga grinned. "Not while he still draws breath."

From there, the dynamics of the battle began to change as the group better coordinated their attacks. Each time one of them planned to engage Garlen directly, Janga would stay with them and take any retaliation Garlen tried to send their way, the cybernetics in his bloodstream quickly healing any damage he took. Even when Garlen tried to force him out of the way so he could attack the others, it left a wide enough window for them to avoid his energy sword, or any other weapon at his disposal.

Slowly, the group gained more and more ground, as Garlen began to feel more frustrated that he wasn't knocking them back with ease anymore, and as he was distracted trying to deal with Klonoa, Batz came in from the side and delivered a punch right in the head. It wasn't enough to hurt Garlen, not at his power level, but it was enough to knock him back, sending him stumbling over and off his pedestal, falling to the ground.

As the group began to approach him, Chipple called out from the control panel across the hall. "GUYS! I think I'm figuring out how to work this thing! I might be able to shut it off!"

Garlen tried to scramble to his feet, but Guntz was there before he could and grabbed him by the scruff of his uniform.

"Been a long time coming, Garlen." He snarled as he raised his gun.

Garlen looked worried for a moment, but only briefly as a new plan quickly came to mind, and it was replaced with a smug smirk.

"I'm sure it has, but you'll forgive me if I don't accommodate you. I've been planning much too long to pack it in now!"

And with everyone distracted, Garlen fired as powerful a beam of his energy as he could muster at Batz. The canine didn't even have time to react before he was blasted off his feet and across the room, hitting the far wall hard before collapsing in a heap to the floor.

He didn't seem to be moving.

"Dad!" yelled Guntz. "Batz!" yelled Janga in unison.

Using this brief lapse in concentration to his advantage, Garlen sent out a barrage of energy that went out like a wave, knocking everyone back and onto the floor. He then concentrated a ray not directly at Chipple, but at the wall above him, causing it to crack and crumble in a wave of rubble which destroyed the control panel completely and left the kangaroo buried under a few tons of rock.

Garlen finally got to his feet, standing high, grinning widely. He could feel the energy coursing through him, and he knew that it would only be a moment longer before he had the power needed to activate the Aeternus.

Only a moment longer…

…

Down in the valley, the battle continued to rage. The constant barrage of robots had taken a toll on Jillius' forces, but they weren't licked yet by any degree. In fact, the robots themselves were having trouble replenishing their numbers and were slowly being forced back. Jillius had since lost his transport and was now on the ground, flanked by his most experienced soldiers, having done away with most of his clothing to just leave his vest and trousers, leaving plenty of room for him to react to any advancing robot and cut them down with his sword. Anemon had run into him whilst she did her own attacks, and Jillius gladly had her join them for the extra support as they kept in the front line. Elsewhere, Heart Moo had managed to summon a couple of Giant Moos, which were simply walking into the battlefield and crushing any robots unlucky enough to be in their way

The High Priestess and Lolo were exhausted, but the fruits of their labor spoke for itself; the area around them was littered with dozens upon dozens of robot corpses. They'd lost track some time ago about how many they'd incapacitated with their powers, but that didn't matter none; they knew they were making headway. In fact, Garlen's minions had actively started trying to avoid them, so they'd have a chance at reaching the rest of the army, meaning the pair had to actively run after them in order to continue keeping them at bay.

As they did this, an explosion rang out above them as one of the robots had successfully let off a volley of missiles that had connected with the Crimson Iris, shooting it out of the sky and sending it careening to the ground below.

"Leo!" The High Priestess called out as she saw the robots advance on the beaten-up wreck of the airship… before they were suddenly knocked back as a figure stepped forward unscathed.

The High Priestess gave a sigh of relief as Leorina stepped out, followed by Tat, using a bent piece of pipe as a conduit for the power that being a priestess gave her, volleys of red energy sending any robots coming to her position flying.

She quickly ran up to the High Priestess and Lolo, panting and tired but raring to keep fighting.

"How on earth did you survive that?" Lolo yelled gobsmacked at how her friend had just walked out like it was nothing.

"I don't know; a protective barrier just came up around us both when we went down!" Leorina replied as she blasted away a group of robots that had been sneaking up on them. "I think it was an instinctual thing that my mind tapped into when it needed it."

"You've been a fast learner, Leo!" The High Priestess said approvingly. "I apologize for the loss of your airship."

"Ah, it'll be fine!" Tat trilled. "Nothing a lick of paint can't cure!"

And with that the three priestesses joined together as a single unit, their combined abilities proving to be extremely effective at cutting through Garlen's forces. Tat provided additional support in killing as many robots as she could, whilst Popka held onto Lolo's head for dear life and yelled out which direction the enemy was coming in.

Behind the front lines, Dr. Medim took inventory of the wounded and killed. Most of the army was still in fighting shape, but quite a few had been wounded to the point that they had been forced to fall back and were being patched up as best the Medics could do. The fatalities were mercifully light at this stage, but if they didn't push their way up to Garlen's base soon, they would surely keep increasing.

Balue passed them in his tank, surveying the wounded and killed. Most of them were foot soldiers he didn't recognise, and a number of unidentifiable Moos, but there was one he did… Suiryu, lying next to a medic, covered in bandages and seemingly barely able to keep himself up, having been ambushed in a sneak attack. He and Balue were old friends, so to see him in such a state stopped him in his tracks.

Balue jumped out of his tank and ran up to them. He turned to the medic and asked; "Is he going to be alright?"

The medic turned to Balue, and quietly shook his head with a remorseful air. Pango was stood nearby as another medic administered to a wound taken to his arm, and he lowered his head in respect.

Suiryu smiled up at Balue. "Guess I'm not getting out of this one, am I, old friend?"

Balue shook his head, trying to keep his emotions in check. "It doesn't have to end this way. You don't have to die here."

Suiryu simply grabbed Balue's hand and held it for support. "If I must die, I'd rather do it like this, through protecting people. Let it be my payment for the people who were killed on my watch on that airship."

A tear rolled down Balue's face. "Suiryu… dammit…"

Suiryu looked up at him, the light in his eyes fading fast. "Just promise me, Balue… whatever happens… don't let that… bastard… win…"

His hand went limp as he finally succumbed to his injuries.

Fact blank, wet with tears, Balue stood up without a word.

"I'm… sorry, Balue…" Pango said quietly.

Balue didn't say a word, simply walking over and grabbing the nearest weapon as he held it in his hands.

"I promise, old friend…" he whispered as he got back in his tank and drove right into the fray.

"I'll have his head on a spike…"

…

Garlen walked slowly towards Janga, energy crackling over his body like it was having trouble being contained, the feline trying to get to his feet.

"Oh no, you don't!" he spat before shooting Janga with another wave of energy, sending him hurtling back several meters.

Klonoa had rushed to the pile of rubble where Chipple had been buried. He could hear his friend's faint voice coming from inside, so he was desperately using his wind ring to try and lift up the rubble and get him out. Guntz had rushed to his father's side and was desperately trying to revive him, which left Janga as the main source of Garlen's ire in that moment. After all, everything that had happened, all this resistance he had faced, was because he had let Janga go free. A mistake he did not plan to make twice.

"So, here we are again, my treacherous friend." Garlen drawled as he walked up to where Janga lay as the feline again tried to get up. "Once again, you give your all, and once again your sheer incompetence fails you. Whether you work for me or against me, you're always going to fail…"

Another volley of energy, and Janga went flying, landing near where Batz lay, seemingly motionless.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Garlen said as he continued to walk closer, clearly enjoying the sound of his own voice. "I bought your precious squeeze out of your world, and as I saw fit, I sent them back out of it again." He gave Batz's motionless body a little kick. Guntz tried to retaliate in fury, only to himself be kicked considerably harder.

Garlen moved up to Janga as the power flowing through him was almost ready, nearly time for him to activate the Aeternus. As Guntz looked down at his father lying on the floor, he quietly whispered. "Please… please, wake up…"

But as Garlen faced his back to them both, giving Janga his full attention, Batz opened his eyes and put his finger to his lips to tell Guntz to keep quiet. Guntz looked at him in sheer confusion before he realized what his dad was trying to do. Certainly, he was hurt from the attack he had taken, but he was using the opportunity to lull Garlen into a false sense of security.

As Batz very carefully got up and moved behind Garlen, keeping quiet so he didn't expect anything, Garlen grabbed Janga by the neck and pulled him up to eye-level.

"I suppose you're looking forward to death now, so you and your blushing bride to be can finally be together forever, eh? Well, you can forget about it. Like I told you, as long as I live, your cybernetics will keep you alive too."

He squeezed hard, leaving Janga choking for air. Batz stayed low, not wanting Janga to spot him either and potentially give him away.

"Once I've polished off the armies below and given your little friends the fates they sorely deserve, I'll give you the perfect punishment for crossing me. I'll let it be a surprise, but I assure you…"

Batz got right up behind him.

"You won't be able to die… BUT YOU'LL DAMN WELL WISH YOU COULD!"

As he said this, he felt his energy levels finally reach that critical point, and he moved his hand down to press the front of the Aeternus and activate it… but before he did, Batz moved up in a flash, grabbed the chain keeping the Aeternus round his neck, and pulled as hard as he could, causing the flimsy gold making it up to shatter and the Aeternus itself to go clattering to the floor.

Before Garlen could pick it up again, he swiped it and held it in his cybernetic hand, a limp in his step, but a grin on his face.

"That's your one failing, Garlen!" Batz yelled out. "You just can't stop underestimating people!"

"YOU!" Garlen yelled out as he prepared to fire a massive flurry of energy to take Batz out of the picture once and for all… but Batz simply held the Aeternus in the line of fire and let it take the full blast instead of him. Instead of turning it on, the destructive force concentrated into the beam began to destroy it.

It sizzled and scorched and began to melt as the power locked within started to peek out. Garlen realized what was happening and tried to halt the inflow of energy that was cooking it, but it was too late, as in the next moment it finally gave in and was obliterated.

The blinding light it gave off as the power contained inside burst out was overwhelming, the energy flying up in a solid beacon of light from the hall into the sky, breaching the clouds and searing the pylons around the top of the ceiling.

The armies, both robotic and living, that were battling in the valley stopped their fighting at that moment and looked up in awe. Some looked on in horror in the belief that Garlen had succeeded in activating the Aeternus. The High Priestess and Leorina, on the other hand, looked on with surprised expressions. They knew what that would look like, having studied the texts which described it… and this was different…

Something had happened...

As the blinding light finally subsided, Batz finally dropped the melted shrapnel that was all that remained of the Aeternus. His cybernetic hand was also completely mangled beyond repair, but the rest of his body was mostly fine as he simply tore it off with his other hand and threw the useless limb away.

"NO! NO NO NO!" Garlen yelled in dejection as he pawed at the remnants of the medallion, now completely inert and useless. "This can't be! IT CAN'T END THIS WAY!"

A footstep rang out next to him and he looked up to see Batz and Janga both standing up in front of him, with looks of hatred in their eyes. Reeling back, Garlen tried to back away as they began to advance on him.

"W-w-wait! We can be reasonable!" he pleaded as Janga brandished his new claws and Batz took his gun back out of its holster. "I-I can give you anything! Endless wealth! Done! Incredible political power? Easy! Just say the word and I'll give you whatever you want."

Neither of them bothered to entertain his words, as Batz raised his gun. "All I want… is your sorry ass strung up for the crows to feed on."

He fired. Gunshot after gunshot went off as he fired into Garlen's chest multiple times, the tyrant no longer able to deflect them as all his energy had been lost in his volley of power that had destroyed the Aeternus. Guntz looked on in shock at seeing such a ruthless show of force from his father; no bargaining, just cold vengeance. Klonoa and Chipple also looked on paralysed as the kangaroo was freed from the rubble that had trapped him.

As Garlen fell back, howling in pain, he tried one last time to beg for his life.

"P… please… I don't want to die…"

Janga simply stepped forward and gave a grim smile. "Ironic, isn't it?", before moving in for the kill.

His claws cut through the air in a single clean swipe, hitting its target without the slightest miss… and Garlen's head came free from his body, decapitated by the blades in a clean cut, and rolled across the floor as his form collapsed in a heap.

Dead.

It was over.

…

Down in the valley, the two armies had not quite recovered from the sight they had just seen, but just as things seemed about to start up again… the robots all began to deactivate and fall to the ground en masse.

"Wait… what's happening?" Jillius asked as the robots all lay lifeless at their feet. It shouldn't have been this easy.

Balue got down and used his tools to open up one of the robots, determined to find the problem, before suddenly leaping up in joy upon realizing what he was seeing.

"HALLELUJAH! THE DAY IS OURS!"

The High Priestess ran forward in shock. "What do you mean, what has become of them?!"

Balue cackled as he gave his reply. "It's simple! These robots are designed to keep functioning either until they are destroyed or they detect the death of their creator! Since they've all stopped working on their own, that can only mean one thing!"

Leorina looked up as she put two and two together. "Then… they did it! Klonoa and the others did it! Garlen's been slain!"

Balue nodded with a grin. "I'm sure of it!"

As the news washed over Jillius, a grin broke out over his face, and he leapt up to address his troops.

"My friends! The day is won! Our saviors, Klonoa and his friends, have succeeded in destroying Garlen, and with him, ending any chance of him using the Aeternus to rule the world!"

A roar of victory began to spread across the crowd as the soldiers yelled out in victorious abandon.

"The world is safe, my friends!" Jillius yelled out, raising his hand above his head. "We looked death in the eye, and we vanquished it! Let us now step forward and claim the tyrant hideout in the name of Jillius!"

As the army began to celebrate (albeit with the High Priestess slightly put out in Jillius jumping the gun like that), a figure looked on from a nearby mountaintop, observing the scene below through a pair of binoculars. He had watched it all unfold, and when he had seen the beacon of light shine from Garlen's base, he knew that his friend had succeeded.

"Hot damn, Janga, you did it!" Joka giggled as he looked on, hanging onto the summit of the mountain he was on as he grinned widely. Nothing like a quick diversion from his trek to his permanent vacation home to make sure the old cur came out on top.

"I knew ya had it in ya to make the grade!..."

…

Klonoa and Chipple looked down at Garlen's headless corpse, covered in blood. Chipple retched at the sight, nearly throwing up. Guntz simply shook his head in satisfaction at a job well done.

"Was it necessary to kill him?" Klonoa asked, more than a little shaken. "We could have taken him back and made him face what he had done."

Batz shook his head. "Son, men like that will never change, no matter how many books you throw at 'em. Keeping him alive was just allowing him more opportunities to one day do the world harm. Ain't that right, Janga?"

But there was no reply. He looked over at Janga's form, who was turned away from him, shaking slightly.

"Janga?"

No reply, save for quiet, labored breathing, before Janga suddenly lost his balance and collapsed to his knees.

"Janga!" Guntz cried out in alarm as the group ran to his side, trying to prop him up as he was unable to stand or even move around much on his own, finally falling onto his back on the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" Klonoa asked in concern.

"It must be his blasted implants!" Batz said as he tried to find the source of the problem. Ten years of being exposed to Garlen's experiments had left him more than familiar with the ins and outs of the process. "Killing Garlen must have caused his replenishing cyborg crap to stop working!"

Indeed, all the damage Janga had taken in the battle was finally starting to catch up with him as he could no longer heal it. He looked up, growing weaker by the minute but still able to speak for now. "It's my curse, I suppose…" he managed to get out. "Not like I don't deserve it…"

"No, you're not dying here!" Guntz said as he watched Batz try to tend to Janga best he could. "You're getting out of here with us!"

"Guntz…" Janga whispered as he looked at him. "I knew going in this was going to be a one-way trip. Only my death can truly redeem all the thing that I did in life. You know that as well as anyone." At least this way he could deliver on that promise he had made to them all when this had all started, about how they'd never have to worry about him again...

"N…no…NO! You can't die!" Guntz cried out as tears rolled down his face. All the hatred and loathing for this man had vanished to the wind. In the time they had spent together, they had, most incredibly, grown closer. They had fought together, spilled each other's hearts out to the other. Janga had saved his life more than once now. He had seen first hand the truth about how his dad and Janga truly loved each other… and now, just when it seemed like he had his two childhood guardians back again, one of them was being ripped away from him, like his dad had been years ago. "God… god dammit, Janga…"

Moving slowly, gingerly, Janga reached into his coat pocket and plucked out the photo that he had taken with him on this journey. Of him, Batz, and an infant Guntz. Of happier times. He pressed the photo into Guntz's hand.

"I know you, Guntz… you're stronger than you know. Whatever happens to me… you'll get through it… you always have…"

Guntz couldn't say a word as the tears kept flowing. Klonoa and Chipple looked on, unable to stop themselves from crying as well as Klonoa removed his hat and held it to his chest. Mourning such a man seemed inconceivable before, but now…

Janga slowly, painfully, turned to Batz, who was still trying to work to fix his cybernetics, and find something that could help keep him alive.

"Batz… my Batz…"

"Just hold on, Janga!" Batz said, trying not to let his resolve waver. "I'm not going to give up trying to jumpstart your implants! You're gonna live to fight another day!"

"Batz… I'll always love… you…" Janga whispered as he began to slip away.

"No… not like this…" Batz whispered as he tried to stay on track. "Chipple, please get me some parts from those robots over there!" he said, pointing to the ones the kangaroo had beaten up before. Dutifully, Chipple ran off to bring one over.

"P…pops…" Guntz croaked. "What're… you doing?"

"I'll tell you what I'm not doing!" Batz said with gritted teeth as he grabbed the robot Chipple had bought over and started going through it for fresh parts. "I'm not letting them take my Janga away from me!"

He tore through the robot, finding some of the parts that matched the burnt out ones inside Janga, and desperately began trying to replace them as the others helped best they could, the others helping him as he only had one arm left at that moment.

But they just didn't know if it was enough.

They were losing Janga…

…

Darkness. Colors. Shapes like those seen in one's closed eyelids danced around Janga as he gained his bearings, the darkness stretching on forever around him being replaced by a vivid bright light. He looked around, not quite sure where he had ended up, but he felt better than he had in some time. Looking down and feeling around his body, he felt no metal replacing skin, no electronic mechanical parts replacing fur. He was as he was before, free of cybernetic implants, in his old coat, hat and scarf. He felt his face, feeling quite a few years younger to boot, not unlike he felt back when… Batz was still with him…

"The others in the Moon Temple didn't think you had it in you, Janga." A voice rang out from behind him. "But I had no doubt that you would succeed."

Janga turned around in a hurry to see who had addressed him… and gasped.

It was a woman, wearing ceremonial robes not unlike those of the priestess of the Claire Moa Temple, her hair curled behind her. She reclined in a marble throne, sipping on a drink somewhat resembling a Strawberry Daiquiri.

Janga recognised them at once. Their likeness had been etched in stone all across Lunatea since time immemorial. The omnipotent protector of their world. The center of the priestess' faith.

Claire The Ancient.

Letting out a panicked yowl, Janga got to his knees in a bow, hoping his less than speedy means of doing so would not be taken as an insult.

"Oh, do get up, none of this bowing rubbish!" Claire said dismissively. "It was fine for the first few eons, but now I tire of it! Please, get up, you look ridiculous down there."

"Y-yes, your greatness!" Janga said as he stumbled to his feet.

Claire grimaced, but an amused smile came across her face. "I don't know if I like "Your Greatness" as a title, either. Just "Claire" will suffice if you please."

Janga nodded. "Of course, Claire."

Smiling, Claire sat up straight on her throne to address him directly. "Well, in any case, it would appear that you succeeded in keeping one of my artifacts out of the hands of those who would wish to do harm with it."

"You mean the Aeternus?" Janga asked.

Claire nodded. "Indeed. One of my more misguided ideas, that one, but then I should have expected imbuing a mere mortal with such power would make their ego grow with it. I always knew one day it would be found, whether by those with good intentions, or someone like my old failure of a champion who sought to oust me with it."

Janga gave her a puzzled look. "If it was so much of a problem, Claire, then why not just step in directly to destroy it or keep it out of enemy hands?"

Claire took a sip of her drink with her eyebrows raised, as if the answer was totally obvious. "Being a goddess isn't just about smiting my enemies, my dear Janga! That was the Claire of many an eon ago, when I was more brash about my intentions. Nowadays, I've learned the benefits of what you might call a… light touch."

"A light touch?"

"Exactly." She took another sip. "If I were to step in to stop every threat to the world below personally, people would use me as a crutch to solve all their problems. Many crises in the olden days could have been averted had people taken care of it themselves rather than expecting me to get off my throne and sort it out for them. Besides, if there were no conflict, no one would learn anything from it."

She stood up and stepped in front of Janga. "Instead, I've learned to guide the world along in subtle ways so it may reach a positive outcome. Take this situation for instance. Garlen finds out where the Aeternus is, so what should be done? Simple; make sure the one person who'd be most inclined to stop him from living forever becomes privy to his plans and allow them to find it in themselves to step up and do just that."

Janga digested these words. "So, you're saying that me deciding to defeat Garlen and save the world… was something you'd planned from the beginning?"

Claire shrugged. "Something like that. To tell you the truth, it's not very linear a process, and would take too long for me to explain. Not like you should sell yourself short regardless. I may have pointed you in the right direction but coming out on top and winning the day… that was all your doing."

Janga smiled. It was odd, being complimented by a goddess, but he'd take it. "So… what happens now?"

Claire smiled as well as she went back to her throne. "Well, I suppose that is up to you. I believe you had a wish to die in battle throughout this enterprise."

Janga nodded, but… he didn't feel good about it like he ought to be. "Y…yeah, I suppose I did, but… I don't feel as eager as I once did now."

Claire gave him an amused look. "Oh, really? As I recall, the main reason you wished for death was because there was nothing for you in the land of the living, and everything that mattered was in the world beyond. Perhaps that has changed, has it?"

Janga was about to reply, but then he fell silent as he considered it. Everything he had done, in the expected lead-up to his death, was so that he could be reunited with his beloved Batz again. But in the course of the adventure… he had done so much. He had teamed up with an old foe, and slowly grown closer to him until they had essentially become close allies. He had helped to save numerous lives on the airship, and as a result had proved his worth to many people, so now they looked at him with admiration instead of hatred. And Batz… his beloved Batz… found in the belly of the beast, still alive… and he had forgiven him… the two had been reunited…

So much had happened… and now, it no longer felt like the waking world had nothing left for him.

"Yeah… it has…"

Claire sipped her drink, knowing what was crossing Janga's mind, but not wanting to suggest it directly. "Tell me, Janga… if you were given the opportunity to return to the world of the living… and not let this be the end of your story… would you take it?"

Janga only needed a moment to consider it. He thought about the people waiting for him down there, mourning his loss, likely missing him dearly…

"Yes… I think I would…"

Claire grinned. "Then let it be so. Think of it as a little present from me for all you've done."

She snapped her fingers, and in that moment the world began to blur and darken again as she faded away, a wind wrapping around Janga in a flurry.

"And be sure to stop by again when your true time comes!" She called out after him as everything faded to black…

…

"…try connecting this new part there to replace the old one!"

Batz and the others were still desperately trying to fix Janga and get his cybernetics working again, but their attempts to replace his old parts just didn't seem to work, and it was slowly dawning on them that they might have lost him for good.

But, just as Batz was on the cusp of giving up, the mechanisms suddenly started to whirr to life, slowly at first and then faster as they approached peak efficiency again.

"What the?!" Batz said in surprise.

"What did you do?" Chipple said in awe.

"I didn't do anything; it's just starting back up on its own!"

As they finally powered on properly, Janga coughed and let out a gasp for air as he began breathing again, trying to open his eyes to look around, life returning to his face.

He saw the others, staring at him, as if unsure about what they were seeing…

"J… Janga?" Guntz said quietly

Janga cricked his neck as he tried to stretch out. He was aching like crazy, but he felt… well, he felt. "That's my name." he said shakily. "Did I miss anything?"

Letting out a laugh born of relief, tears rolling down his face, Batz ran up and pulled Janga into a hug with his remaining arm. "I thought I'd lost you, Janga!"

Janga didn't quite have the energy to respond, but just let himself melt into the hug as he returned it. No words needed to be said. He had his long lost love back, and the threat that had kept them apart was finally vanquished.

Guntz came close, trying to find the words to say what was on his mind, but finally he gave up as he gave a relieved smile and joined his dad in the hug.

The gesture meant the world to Janga, who knew in that moment that he was forgiven, a great weight being lifted from his shoulders that had sat there for around a decade.

He spotted both Klonoa and Chipple jump into the hug, likely just so they didn't feel left out, but he didn't mind too much as he was able to give a smile of his own.

Everything he had ever wanted was right here with him…

At long last…