KLONOA IRON EMPIRE
CHAPTER ONE: HEROES
Sometimes there are dreams that I wish I could forget.
But the more I try to suppress or forget them,
the stronger they become.
Are the dreams of my past always fated to return this way?
He was barely conscious, in some sort of freefall. Although he did not know where he was falling, where he would land, or how long it would take him to hit solid ground, this feeling was all too familiar to him at this point. Despite the fact that he has been through this experience more times than he could count, the boy couldn't help but wonder where he'd be going this time, who he would meet and what he'd been brought there to accomplish.
That was when he heard a quiet voice echoing from all around him.
"Help us….please….wherever you are…..please help us….."
He could barely make out what they said, but something about the voice was off to him. He felt like he recognised it, and yet at the same time he couldn't remember whose voice it was, or if he had even heard it before in the first place.
Before he could wonder any further, he finally landed in what felt like an ocean. He tried to stay conscious, but it was to no avail as he drifted back to sleep, the current carrying him along the vast sea.
He was woken up by the sound of explosions. He jolted up in surprise, but immediately fell back down from fatigue. He looked around and saw nothing but total destruction. Buildings were in flames, some collapsed in on themselves, people were running for their lives, and thick smoke, panicked screaming, and the sound of what struck the boy as gunfire filled the air. Despite his body being exhausted, he knew he could not stay here.
But before he could try to get up again, he felt himself swiftly being lifted up by someone's large arm and put over their shoulder. The grip on him was strong, and their skin felt rough and hard, almost like a shell of sorts.
"Look alive, kid! We can't stay here!" the voice rang out in a raised tone so that he could speak over the loud sounds around them. They sounded like an older male, slightly rough and intimidating, but warm and gentle at the same time.
"W..what's happening?" the boy asked, drearily. "Who are you?"
"I'll explain later, but first we gotta find shelter! I know a place where we can hide for now."
As the man ran forward with the boy over his shoulder, the duo caught the attention of some rather unusual looking creatures. They were dark green in colour, with a yellow face and a singular red eye. They also had yellow, horn-like antennas and what appeared to be a large blaster on their arm. Before he could get a better look, the creatures took aim at the two and started firing bullets of energy. The man dodged, weaved and avoided all the blasts with relative ease, it was almost as if he had been in a situation like this before.
He then pulled out a large, ball shaped object from the bag on his other shoulder and threw it back at the monsters. The creatures circled the object in confusion. Upon looking at it more, the boy noticed a lit fuse on the side of the ball. It was a bomb. Suddenly it detonated, seemingly killing their attackers and allowing the duo a chance to escape. Eventually, they reached a cave where there didn't seem to be any of those creatures in sight. The man sat the boy down, unloaded his bag of bombs and other explosives and sat down across from him.
"They shouldn't find us here, they seem to only be interested in attacking the village." the man said upon catching his breath. The boy could now get a better look at his 'saviour'.
He was a large, orange creature - at least double the boy's size, probably a bit more - in green overalls and black boots, with spines running across his back and forearms. Despite the man's round appearance, his arms appeared to be well toned, which explained why he was able to carry the boy with such ease.
"Thank you." the boy said. "What's your name?"
"It's no problem, kid. I needed to make sure they didn't find you first." the man responded. "The name's Pango, I'm a pyrotechnician, or at least I was one when I served in the Volkan army. Now I live here in La-Lakoosha with my wife, Holly, and my son, Boris. And correct me if I'm wrong, but your name doesn't happen to be Klonoa, does it?"
"It is, I'm Klonoa." the boy replied, surprised that Pango knew who he was already. He had never met Pango before. "How did you know my name?"
Pango chuckled a bit. "Hah, kid, you're kind of a big deal around here after you pretty much saved the world. You're seen as a hero in these parts. I'm surprised you don't remember."
Klonoa felt like he should be flattered by what he was saying about him, but instead he just felt indifferent to it. It's not every day he was regarded as a hero whenever he helped others out. Not because he was unlikeable or because they were ungrateful, but because he was never around long enough to receive it. So he never really learnt how to process this kind of praise.
That was when he realised something about what Pango said to him.
"Wait, Volkan army? La-Lakoosha? How does he…? Then that means…"
Klonoa quickly rushed outside and looked around him. Amidst the fire and smoke billowing from the nearby village, he could make out a large stone statue of some sort of angelic figure with large wings and wearing a long dress in the distance.
A lump formed in Klonoa's throat as he realised where he was. There was only one place he knew that had a statue just like that. Pango walked outside to join him, placing a hand on his back in reassurance.
"Welcome back to Lunatea, Klonoa. I'm sorry you have to see it in this state…"