"Have you located them yet, #3003?"

"Negative, #2412."

Two robot troops were patrolling the Sea of Tears, checking every cavern, looking behind every wall, leaving no stone unturned. Word got out that their captain was defeated by a team of rebels, and that they were on their way to destroy the Generator. The robots weren't ordered by anyone to hunt them, but they knew that they couldn't just wait for the enemy to attack. Besides, if that Generator is destroyed, the boss will probably reduce them to a pile of parts and feed them to the 'Scrap Monster' - a fate worse than deactivation, in their singular eyes.

Little did they know that they were nothing but pawns - being played for fools by a nearby party.

"So, why are we hiding from these idiots again?" Popka whispered to the others. "Ya know we can turn 'em into junk, right?"

"Because we need to see if they end up heading back to the Generator." Lolo answered, also whispering.

Klonoa, Lolo and Popka had managed to find the robots before the robots found them. They needed to stay hidden in order for their plan to work. They hid behind a stone wall, constantly having to move to different hiding spots as the robots insisted on checking every nook and cranny.

"We have been searching for 3 hours and 42 minutes, the possibility of the enemies being here is minimal. I do not see the logic of continuing our search."

"Shall we return to the base then, #2412? Maybe we will spot them on the way."

"Affirmative, #3003."

The bots turned around and headed north, the heroes quietly and carefully following suit. They noticed that these bots looked different from the ones they faced before. They had the same spherical body as the others, same for the horns, monoeye and the insignia on their faces. But what set these two apart was that not only were they a more blue-ish hue, compared to their green counterpart, but their legs and feet were swapped out for a singular wheel, which they rolled around on. Their blasters were also different, having a slimmer, less bulky design,

"#3003?"

"Report."

"I have a feeling in my circuits that we are being followed."

Klonoa and the gang halted their sneaking and held their breath.

"We do not have feelings, #2412. Your circuits must be scrambled."

"I have enough feelings to feel offended by that."

"...just keep moving. We are nearly at our destination."

They followed the soldiers for about 10 more minutes, their trek ending at the edge of a cliffside. At first, it seemed that they had hit a dead end.

That was, until they saw the robots jump into a nearby cannon to get fired into the distance. Now that the robots were out of sight, Klonoa and the others came out of hiding to see what was up. Upon closer inspection, Klonoa recognised these cannons as the ones he used to traverse across Lunatea 5 years ago.

"...Klonoa?" Lolo quietly attempted to grab his attention. Klonoa could tell that she's found something. Something that spooked her.

He turned to face her, noticing that she was looking at something from afar. He got closer to the edge of the rocky precipice, and that was when he saw it. It was partially obscured by the dark sky and rain, but he could still make it out.

It was a large, tall metal structure, secluded on a lone island in the sea. Dotted along the structure were what appeared to be more cannons, firing out robots in all directions, which would explain why they kept coming in waves so frequently. At the top of the tower, there was something glowing bright green - faintly illuminating the structure, and serving as a beacon of light within a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

There was no mistaking it. It was the Generator. They finally found it.

He turned to face Lolo, but noticed that she wasn't looking at the tower. Instead, her eyes were concentrated around the bottom area of the island. What could be down there that's gotten her so quiet? Is the entrance down there? Someone she recognises? Somethi-

"Oh…"

The solitary island was littered with what seemed to be broken pieces of stone. Klonoa guessed that the invaders destroyed some sort of structure to build the Generator over.

But as Klonoa looked closer, he could make out a stone piece with a pattern, then a stone arm, then a face.

"How could they do this?"

Lolo's voice was faint and shaky, but it was clear that she was beyond infuriated. This wasn't just any old demolished monument. It was the effigy of Claire the Ancient, or at least what was left of it.

To any other person, this would be anger-inducing enough; but to a Priestess, it was sacrilege. Klonoa also recalled that this was the place where Lolo rang the bell and became a Priestess for the first time. He could see how something like this would mean a lot to her, and seeing it in this state of decay and defamation was a macabre sight indeed. He could feel her rage, her disgust, the pit in her stomach.

Lolo let out a deep sigh, before feeling a hand on her back. She looked to her side to see Popka looking up at her with concern.

"It's gonna be okay, Lo. They'll pay fo' this. We'll make sure of it!"

She could feel her inner rage starting to dissipate. Despite his brashness and sharp tongue, Popka always had her back through thick and thin, and vice versa. She looked over to Klonoa, who was looking at her, also worried.

"I'll be okay." Lolo said, regaining her composure, "We need to stop that Generator, or all of this would have been for nothing."

"Right." Klonoa answered, "It looks like this cannon is aimed at the building. My guess is that it'll lead us to the entrance."

"So once we land, we should take care of any guards before they trigger any alarms." Lolo continued.

"Exactly. Are you two ready?"

"I am."

"You betcha!"

Lolo hopped back into Klonoa's ring, her canid companion following suit this time, as the cabbit loaded himself into the barrel and got ready for takeoff.

-KABOOM!!-

"PADOO!"

The thrill of being blasted through a cannon was always an exhilarating sensation for Klonoa, no matter the situation. The feeling of strong wind blowing past his ears, his eyes watering from the sheer velocity. It invigorated him, and reminded him of why he loved going on daring adventures so much.

But he couldn't let himself have too much fun, there was still a Kingdom at stake here.

As the tower grew nearer and nearer, Klonoa braced himself to land on the ground near the bottom of the building.

That was, until he noticed that he wasn't heading towards the ground. He was heading straight towards the middle of the structure! It was too late to try and change his trajectory or stop himself from splatting onto the outer walls; he could only brace for impact now as he hurtled towards a window.

However, he noticed that the "window" in question didn't have a pane covering it. Not only that, but there was a small platform on the outside of it.

Before he could analyse his target any further, he hit the terrace and tumbled through the empty aperture. Luckily, Klonoa was unharmed for the most part, aside from mild bruising and an aching back.

"What was that all about?" he asked, scraping himself off the ground.

"It must be some sort of runway for anyone using the cannon for transport." Lolo answered.

Klonoa was about to continue the conversation, before he noticed that he was not alone in the room. He looked around to see several robotic eyes, all staring back at him in silence.

"Uh…hi?"

"I told you we were being followed."

"Shut up and press the button, #2412."

Without breaking eye-contact, one of the robots slammed a big red button next to them on the wall.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

The room around them started to blink a red hue as the enemies readied their guns and blasters. Looks like there's no stealthy way around this one.

Klonoa noticed a doorway that led to another room, it was better than nothing. He bolted towards the entrance, avoiding as many of the laser blasts as he could, and made it to the next room.

Once he was in, he caught sight of a button next to the door. Without hesitating, he pressed it; if it was what he was hoping it was, it should buy them a little time. At first, it was. The door behind them slammed shut, barricading the heroes away from the machines.

Lolo and Popka hopped out of the ring to observe their surroundings, whilst Klonoa lamented his now-singed fur on the tip of his ear. This room was one long bridge, leading to the next space. The area above them wasn't much of note, it was just a steel ceiling.

However, the area below them was much more intriguing. The trio looked over the bridge side to see dozens and dozens of Moos, lined up in organised rows, doing factory work - hammering, shaping and forging pieces of scrap metal. Once a piece was finished, it was chucked into a container and wheeled away by a Nagapoko. The Moos' slow, but monotonous movements gave the expression that they were being worked to the bone, if they even had bones to begin with.

"Oh, those poor things." Lolo lamented, "Moos are such happy, carefree creatures. This environment looks like agony for them. They look exhausted."

Klonoa saw that these Moos weren't being brainwashed like the ones in the tanks. They were simply being forced against their will to perform labour for their superiors. He looked around and could see several bots, patrolling the floor, keeping a watchful eye on the worker Moos.

Popka watched as well, also feeling pity for the creatures. That was, until he felt a tickle in his nose.

"Ah….AH…"

He was trying his best to stop himself from sneezing, but it was inevitable. Klonoa and Lolo noticed, and were silently panicking. Popka looked around, just as panicked. He saw Klonoa's long ears, then, without thinking, grabbed one of them and buried his face in it.

"ACHOO!"

The sneeze was, luckily, muffled by the thickness of the cabbit's ear. He looked up at Klonoa, who looked back at him. The expression he gave to the dog made it look like he was not only disgusted, but offended that he used his fluffy lug as a makeshift hankie.

Although the sneeze was covered up slightly, it still produced enough of a noise to cause both the robots and the Moos to look up in the trio's direction. They quickly retreated to the centre of the bridge to avoid their line of sight.

"You couldn't have just used your bandanna!?" Klonoa berated Popka, through gritted teeth as to not make too much noise. He wiped his ear on the floor in a haphazard attempt to dry it.

"I panicked, okay? And besides, I ain't ruining this thing, yo!"

The room went silent for a good few seconds, before the robot ordered the Moos to get back to work, and the factory sounds resumed.

Popka managed to sneak another peak at the room below, and noticed one of the Moos acting a little different than the others. They were looking around at the robot guards. All of a sudden, it made a sporadic break for the exit, jumping over the other Moos and attracting the attention of the security. Despite the bullets flying at them, the rebel Moo managed to get close to the exit, to freedom.

That was, until they were knocked to the other side of the floor by what looked like a spiked mace.

As the mace retracted, the wielder entered the room. They were a small purple robot with a visor and another spiked ball on its other hand. On its forehead was that same G-Shaped symbol they've been seeing on all the other machines they've faced. Before the Moo could get up and try again, the purple bot readied its weapon and swung its flail at them.

-POP!-

No blood or guts were spilled… only a crack in the floor remained where the Moo once stood. Klonoa and Lolo also caught this happening as the three looked on, horrified at the robots' cruelty. The Moo's killer looked back at the other Moos, who were too intimidated to move an inch. Eventually, they continued their work as things returned to normal.

"Those pieces of scrap!" Popka snarled, his pointy claws extending, "I oughta show 'em a piece of my mind!"

"Ah wouldn't do that if ah were you, wee mutt."

An unfamiliar male voice with a thick accent spoke out from behind them. The three jolted around to face them.

It was a screen, being held up by two Nagapokos. The image wasn't fully clear, but they could definitely make out a peculiar silhouette, with a sharp, curved beak, some horns, and a pair of large purple glasses. The most unusual thing about his appearance was the fact that he had four arms, seemingly prosthetic due to the mechanical looking design of them.

None of them could recognise this mystery man, but whoever he was, the trio was sure that he meant trouble. BIG trouble.