"How hard is it to squish a bunch of ants underneath your feet? You IMBECILES!"

"Commander, I assure you that we will handle this."

"You better. In the span of just a few days, I've killed about half of this pathetic little town's population for a laugh. What makes you think I'd hesitate to do the same to you lunkheads for not doing what you were MADE TO DO!? You're on thin ice, my friend, and I WILL be under it when it breaks! Got that? Now get out of my sight!"

"Understood. Garskater #1989 out. -KZZT."

To Leptock, it was safe to say that this could be going better. It had come to his attention that the Volkan weapons they smuggled had been stolen by the Joilanteans, and now they were using them to fight back. Whilst they were still outnumbered by his men, as long as the Generator stayed intact, he knew that if something didn't change soon, the boss would not be happy with him.

He looked out from where he was positioned, high above the Kingdom. He could see the townspeople holding their own surprisingly well, for a bunch of long-necked insects. He thought maybe he should head on down and join the fun, until he noticed that irritating little Dream Traveller. He was separated from the other groups of townsfolk, darting around the city on a hoverboard, as if he was looking for something.

He gathered two things from this sight. First, he was going to eviscerate whoever failed to guard the Jungle Slider if they weren't already deactivated. And second, Leptock knew that if he was to leave where he was, someone would find and, most likely, destroy the Generator in his absence, nabbing the Element powering it in tow. If it wasn't Klonoa, it'd be that idiot Mayor, or the mutt, or even the Priestess.

The best thing to do was to pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, wait and watch the show for a little while longer. They will come to him, eventually. And when they do, they'll get a serving of ice cold carnage.

BUGBEAR'S HOUSE

Bugbear's House was a large mansion located within Joilant's Fun Park area. It's known for supposedly being haunted by the tortured soul of the manor's owner: Bugbear. At least, that's what most brochures and posters advertised it as. For all intents and purposes, it was a haunted house filled with illusions and tricks to keep visitors on their toes and their hair standing on end.

Right now, however, a team led by the mansion's "butler" were making sure the place was locked and completely impervious from the outside. When they first arrived, there weren't many robots present within the manor, and taking back the area was easier than anticipated. They were a little unsure as to why there weren't many machines and machinery around the area. Perhaps they didn't see the mansion as an important target, or maybe the majority of the troops were occupied in the other areas. Or Leptock just wanted to keep it intact to use it as his luxury house or something along those lines.

Their motivation didn't matter right now; they had to make sure the doors were sealed shut, the windows were bordered up, and that they had an escape route should things get hairy. For now, Bugbear's House served as a safe area during the War, at least until the Dream Traveller is able to destroy the Generator and stop Leptock.

In the bedroom area of the mansion, two Joilantean women were busy hammering wooden boards onto the windows. After they were complete, the two took a break and sat on the bed together.
"It'd be nice to settle down somewhere like here, y'know?" one of the girls said, admiring the decor and lavish aesthetic of the chambers.

"I agree, Babs." the other replied. "Although I'd prefer it without the ghosts and spirits running around the place."

"Well, yeah. That goes without saying, Lu."

The two shared a chuckle together, before both taking a relieved-sounding sigh. It was a nice piece of levity during all the chaos going on outside.

Babs couldn't help but find her eyes drawn to a large portrait hung up above the head of the bed. It was of a tall, portly Joilantean. They wore a plain expression, as befitting for an old-timey portrait, and wore very expensive-looking clothes. She recognised this figure as Bugbear himself.

"Hey, Lu?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Do you think Bugbear's actually real? I mean, you work here almost everyday. You must know more than anyone I know about him, right?"

"True, I'm very caught up on my Bugbear 'lore', I guess. But whether he was actually real or not is beyond me. Hell, I don't even really know if the butler is real or not."

"What do you mean? Like, yeah he's spooky and weird and always floats around like a ghost, but that doesn't mean he actually is one…does it?"

"He is…odd. I'll just leave it there. He is an odd person. As for Bugbear, I really don't know. I like to think he was real, but the crap about his spirit wandering around the mansion is mainly just for publicity."

"Huh." Babs seemed a tad disappointed that the legend was most likely false. "Well, about the butler, I've heard that he's appare-"

Before Babs could continue the conversation, a plank from the bordered-up windows fell onto the ground, startling them both.

"Good Goddess, that made me jump!"

"Do you think that was Bugbear telling us to get out of his room?" Lu poked fun. "No worries, I'll just put it back up and…what the?"

As she looked through the crack of light between the boards, she noticed something in the distance. And it was not what they needed right now. A whole team of robots, and they were heading this way. There were about five of them, two Jakattaks and three Garskaters. Lu could've sworn one of them looked her dead in the eye.

"Crap! That ain't good. We gotta tell the butler!"

Lu grabbed her partner's hand and headed for the door.

"Tell me what, Ms. Lu?"

"GHAAGH!"

Lu was sent tumbling back in shock, knocking over Babs and landing on her lap. Standing before the open doorway was the butler himself. It was almost like he was summoned by name.

"Oh heavens, I do apologise for startling you two."

The servant helped the two back up and brushed off their clothes.

"The robots are heading this way, sir!"

"I thought we'd have more time." the butler sighed, "Don't worry, dearies, I think I know how to handle these robotic ruffians. But I'm going to need your help."

"I'm in." Babs answered

"Me too!" Lu followed.

"Excellent. Now, let's get busy."

"Open the door, or we will be forced to open fire."

The bots were at the manor's front doors. They could tell that people were inside, as it didn't make sense for the house to border its own windows.

"This is your final warning. Open the door and surrender quietly."

The Garskater banged its weapon on the door. No answer. Looks like there's only one way around this. The robot took a step back, aimed its bomb launcher at the door's handles and-

-CREEEEEEAK-

Right as the bot was about to fire, the mansion doors slowly opened. It was ominous, but the robots were not programmed to feel the weakness that was fear, so they simply saw it as a sign to enter with caution.

The halls were dark and quiet. There were candles littered around the walls, carried by cobweb-ridden statues of Joilanteans, yet none were lit. The house seemed vacant at first glance, but the soldiers were well aware that looks could be deceiving. They entered one-be-one, making sure to keep their optics peeled for any signs of activity.

However, once the whole team of droids were within the building, the doors behind them suddenly slammed shut, sealing them within complete darkness. The only source of illumination within the void came from the red-coloured eyes of the now-trapped troops.

"Shoot on sight."

The bots carefully trudged along the attraction's path. Their optics were built to be able to see well in low-light areas, such as outside at night. But it was difficult for them to see in total darkness. They had to rely on the glow their eyes gave off in order to navigate. The only sounds that could be heard, aside from their metallic footsteps, were creaks from the old building's structure and quiet wind entering through the small cracks of the bordered windows.

Suddenly, a swooshing sound came from behind them, as if something, or someone, quickly ran from one point to another. The whole squadron turned to face the source, weapons at the ready. They looked around the area. Nothing.

"Scanning for footprints."

Despite the lack of light, the Garskater was able to scan the floor. A green ray of light emitted from its optic, sweeping across the ground in front of the robot.

"No footprints detected."

It scanned again, in case it was an error.

"No footprints detected."

The Garskater turned back to face its team. But when it did, it noticed something. Something off. Its eye darted around, making contact with every present party, and that's when it realised.

"Where is Jakattak #1402?"

The team looked to where the Jakattak would've stood. The bot was right, one of their members had vanished. Before they could even get the chance to think of where it went, they all heard a loud thud nearby. When they all turned to inspect the origin of the sound, they were met with the missing member. The Jakattak was offline, with a hole through its metallic skull, and a disembodied leg; most likely broken off from the impact of the fall. That would explain the shortage of terrible jokes and annoying laughter.

As the team looked over their fallen ally, a sinister giggle could be heard, echoing throughout the hall.

"Eee-hee-hee-hee-hee…"

They definitely weren't alone.

"Why don't we split up and cover more ground?" the remaining Jakattak suggested. "That usually goes well, right?"

"Negative, #9231. We must stay within close proximity of each other for the highest calculated chance of victory."

Despite the spooky situation the gang was in, they pressed forwards towards the halls ahead. Each of the robots had their weapons pointed in a different direction, in order to cover as many angles as possible. The enemy could be anywhere, after all.

"Hey, Garskater?"

"Yes?" replied every Garskater in the room.

"The one to my left." the Jakattak corrected itself.

"Yes?" replied the Garskater to their left.

"Do you think there's a ghost lurking in these halls?"

"It is statistically impossible that spectral entities exist, #9231."

"I dunno, buddy. I've been coded with enough knowledge of theme parks to know a haunted house when I see one."

"Then you must be aware that haunted houses are nothing but special effects and lifeforms in suits. Remain focused."

"Look, I'm just saying tha-"

"Halt." The Garskater in front put its hand up to signal its squad to stop. It inspected the ground in front of them, taking note of a thin, barely visible wire. A tripwire, presumably leading to some kind of elaborate trap meant for them. The darkness made it difficult to see where the wire led, but it was a good thing it saw it in time. It quickly, but delicately, hopped over the wire with its stubby, yet strong, legs.

"Be cautious of the tri-"

Before the Garskater could relay its warning, it was cut off by a large, round object landing on top of it. Judging by the muffled crunching sounds, it most likely didn't survive. All weapons were now pointed towards whatever steam-pressed the team leader.

It wasn't an inanimate object, but instead seemed to be some sort of black-coloured creature, encased within a durable, white shell, with a small pair of wings on top. The bots' programmed database on Lunatea's native species identified the monster as a 'Purje'. Although, they were unsure as to what it was doing in a haunted house attraction. Someone must've dropped it from above. The Purje started to flutter away into the darkness, most likely to avoid being blasted into oblivion by the enemies.

"Eee-hee-hee-hee-hee…"

There it was again. The creepy giggle. But this time, it sounded close. The candles along the walls lit up, supposedly by themselves, bringing partial light back to the area. They seemed to have wandered into some sort of library: tall, fully-stocked bookshelves littered the room. They could also see the tripwire trap more clearly: it didn't lead to any sort of contraptions or mechanisms. It wasn't a trap, it was bait.

"Welcome to the terrifying Ghost Palace!"

The butler revealed himself, floating high above the robots. The Jakattak of the group didn't hesitate to pull out its gun and fire at the entity, who zipped around the room, dodging all the bullets.

"Eee-hee-hee…do be more cautious with your firearms." the butler teased. "If Master Bugbear finds out about the damage, I'll be joining him six feet under!"

"...All units, take aim."

The three bots directed their arms at the spectral servant, failing to notice that the bookshelf to their left started to slowly lean over them. That was, until the Jakattak saw it from the corner of its left optic.

"LOOK OUT!"

As the other units noticed the looming danger, they all quickly ran backwards. The bookshelf slammed onto the ground with a loud thud, blasting air into the present company's faces, even sending the butler flying backwards.

"Ahh, the perks of having two eyes, I suppose." said the Jakattak.

"Make sure to watch your step in Master Bugbear's manor." the butler regained control. "You never know when you may upset one of our many residents. They've been trapped here for centuries, and they love a good scare."

Almost as if it was on cue, a creature jumped down from the ceiling, floating behind where the enemies were standing. It was draped in a dark, purple cloth, and bore a sinister smile.

As it let out a ferocious roar, the troops quickly turned around and shot at the monster. The "ghost" moved around in a similar manner to the butler, albeit not as elegantly as him. They tried their hardest to hit the robot, not only disregarding the sheer amount of property damage they were causing, but once again failing to notice another bookshelf starting to fall on top of them. This time, however, the Jakattak was too distracted to give a warning, and the remaining members of the group joined their fallen team leader in being pancaked by their environment.

When they were certain the robots were destroyed, the butler hovered over to where the purple monster was, before looking up at an opening in the ceiling.

"Well done, my friends!" he congratulated, gleeful in his inflictions. "That was truly spooktacular!"

Babs revealed herself to have been puppeteering the creature from above. Her years of working at the mansion allowed her to learn the many hidden areas and openings of the place, as well as how to give a good scare.

Lu also appeared from behind the fallen bookshelf, alongside some other Joilanteans who lent a hand.

"Now then, thanks to those pesky intruders, we've got a bit of tidying up to do. Let's get back to work!"

Babs, Lu, and the others understood that if the mansion garnered the attention of the bots they just took care of, there was nothing to say there wasn't more where they came from. It was tough work, but it was what they signed up for.

This was a safe house now that they've reclaimed it, and they were determined to keep it that way.

THE CHAMBER O'FUN

"How on earth did we let these losers run us underground?"

"I know, right?"

"Focus, everyone! Don't get cocky."

Mamett's team were scampering around the Kingdom, blasting robots left and right. It wasn't a breeze by all means, but they were doing quite well for themselves, considering the dangerous circumstances. The mayor's team had the perfect mix of both offence and defence; some Joilanteans carried weapons, whilst others protected the attackers with riot shields. The coordinated teamwork allowed them to push further into the city.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks like part of a Generator." Mamett told his team. "It could be anywhere."

"Question." one Joilantean raised his hand.

"Yes, Gino?"

"What do these 'Generators' look like, exactly?"

Mamett opened his mouth as if to answer, but no words escaped his mouth as he realised that he had no idea what the Generators actually looked like. It didn't help that in the heat of things, Klonoa never told him what they looked like either before he rushed off.

"Uuuuh…j-just try and find somewhere either heavily guarded, or a place where the robots seem to be coming from."

"Hmmm…what about there?"

Another teammate pointed towards a large, tower-like structure, with an entrance shaped like a tent. Above the doorway was an illuminated logo with Momett's face in the centre. The entrance was also being guarded by a couple of Garskaters.

There was no mistaking it: this was Momett's 'Chamber o'Fun'.

The Chambers were a pair of obstacle courses organised by the showman, located within two extremely tall structures to the left and right of his tent. The Chamber o'Fun was on the left, and was open for anyone to try, whereas the right-side Chamber o'Horrors was a special area built for those who craved a bigger challenge.

Mamett, internally, was kicking himself for not thinking about this outcome sooner. He remembered that his brother and him were told of the previous Generator being an Element-powered tower by the High Priestess. The fact that he didn't consider the idea that the Joilant one would be located within the two tallest buildings in the Kingdom made him feel quite stupid.

No time for beating oneself up though; they had to get into the Chamber. Even if it wasn't the Generator, it was still their territory, and they needed to take it back. Plus, it would most likely mean that the Chamber o'Horrors was the tower housing the trapped Element.

"Lissa, you got any grenades left?"

"Smoke or shrapnel?" Lissa responded.

Mamett took a second to think.

"Hmm…Smoke."

The Garskater guards may have been as stiff as the ice sculptures made by their boss, but they were ready for anything. They could not get tired, nor bored. They were obedient to a tee. They knew the rebellion would eventually discover the Chamber they were protecting, so they had to keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

As the Garskaters observed their surroundings, they were met with a small, tube-shaped object being thrown in their direction. Once it landed at their feet, it emitted a loud, hissing sound as a thick haze billowed from the small contraption. Their vision obscured, they had no choice but to go on the offensive. The enemy could be anywhere now.

One of the Garskaters suddenly heard a shotgun blast next to it, but before it could fire at whatever made the noise, it was shot in the back of the head and fell to the ground.

As the smoke cleared, the Joilanteans were the ones emerging victorious. With the Chamber now unguarded, the team ventured inside with caution.

The building was dark, cold and quiet. Too quiet, in fact. The Chambers' presentation was usually robust, bouncy and lively. Almost as if the areas were alive and having the time of their lives. Mamett took his lighter out of his pocket and sparked a flame. It wasn't much, but it'd have to do until they could find some stronger sources of light.

"Something ain't right…" the mayor thought to himself, "Where's all the robots? Where's the machinery? Where's…well, anything?"

It just wasn't adding up. Why would there be guards at the entrance if there wasn't anything the enemies deemed worth protecting within the Chamber? This may not be where the Generator was, but surely there was more here than just never ending darkness. This was a huge building. Taking it over would put Leptock's forces at a huge advantage. So why wa-

"OW!"

Lost in thought, Mamett failed to notice what was in front of him, and bumped into something tall and solid. Whatever he knocked into, it was with enough force to cause the unknown object to topple over and hit the ground.

Rubbing his sore nose, he pointed his lighter at the source of his pain.

"SWEET CLAIRE!"

He jumped back in shock at what he saw, accidentally knocking into his team behind him and causing some to fall over on top of one another, like a messy arrangement of dominoes.

Picking his lighter back up, he slowly aimed it back to what startled him.

It was a face. Not just any face, though. A face of anguish and agony, frozen in time and place. One of Leptock's many victims. Those who failed to retreat were swiftly frozen in place by the psychotic clown and left as a reminder of what would happen should any unfortunate soul wander into his cold-hearted grasp.

"Hey, Mr. Mayor!" Gino called out. "I think I found some kinda switch. Should I pull it or not?"

"One sec." Mamett carefully stumbled to where his teammate was. He didn't want to activate anything that would cause some kind of hassle and attract more robots. The switch Gino was referring to was a large, industrial breaker lever on the wall. The mayor held his lighter towards the switch, reading the symbols on the plating connecting the lever to the wall. Judging from the lightning bolt-shape, this must be the power switch for the Chamber o'Fun.

Mamett nodded at Gino to flip the switch. It was a little stiff, but after a good tug, the lever was toggled to 'ON'.

The lights around them slowly turned on and lit up the area, the carnival music started playing over the speakers, and the group could now clearly see what they should be afraid of.

For starters, the obstacle course was completely trashed. Broken remains of structure were littered around the edges of the building, the mini pools that would usually be filled with water were bone dry and tossed to the side, and the curtains were either unkempt and untidy, or completely shredded.

However, this wasn't what caught everyone's attention. That would go to not only the dozens of frozen Joilanteans that surrounded them, with a good majority of them positioned in a large group, but also a large, intimidating-looking mechanism located near the far end of the space. It was a large, box-shaped construction, with a conveyor belt attached to both the left and right of it. On the front was a computer panel, with a keyboard, buttons and layers surrounding it, and many wires sprawling from the top, most likely connecting to the tower's main power source.

At first, the Mayor wondered if this was the Generator he was looking for. But if it was, why would it be switched off? Wouldn't it be active and constantly pumping out bots for battle?

"Wait here."

Mamett approached the computer screen, as the rest of his team stood by. He didn't dare turn it on, but he wanted to see if he could make out what some of the buttons might do.

"What the hell have you been up to, Leptock?"

His investigation was cut short by an unusual sound coming from inside the machine. It sounded like a pained groan, like someone on the brink of death in pure , and disturbed, he headed towards the conveyor belt and looked into where it led, hoping the sounds were just the inner workings of the mechanism reacting to the power returning.

The Joilantean noticed that the belt itself was damp. As if somebody spilt liquid onto it. He tried to trace the origins of the wetness, noticing that it was coming from inside the machine. More specifically, a door: almost shut, the space too tight for anyone to squeeze through, but wide enough to at least fit an arm through. Mamett reached out to try and pry the door open with his bare hands.

That was when something came out of the door crack and latched onto Mamett's arm.

It was another arm. It tried to maintain its grip on Mamett, but was too weak to keep hold, as the startled Mayor fell back onto his backside. Almost instinctively, he reached for his shotgun, but came to his senses before he could even consider pulling the trigger. He could see the arm moving around, noticing the bruises, cuts, and dried blood on its skin.

This was no robot appendage. It was organic.

Somebody was stuck inside the machine.

"Dammit!" said Mamett, under his breath. "Hold on. I'll get you outta there! Stand back."

He tried to push one of the doors open, but it was too rigid. It would barely budge.

"Hey! Someone's trapped inside. Help me get the door open!"

A few more Joilanteans hopped onto the conveyor belt and joined Mamett in trying to get the door open. Through their combined efforts, they were able to push the door to make enough space for the trapped citizen to get through. The loud grinding sound of the forced-open door caused whoever was inside to retreat back into the dark.

"It's okay. You can get out now. We can help you."

No response.

"Do…do you need some help?" asked a worried Mamett, slowly inching towards the gap and reaching a helping hand out. "It'll be okay, y'hear me? We'll get through-"

The tortured groaning resumed. A hand grabbed the steel door. But it wasn't the same one from before, instead resembling a robotic endoskeleton. Before it's rescuers could think about whether or not this was a trap, the murmuring figure feebly pulled itself through the space, using its arm for support. Now that it was in full view, Mamett and the others could see who they were rescuing.

And the colour on their faces were flushed away almost instantaneously.

It was indeed a Joilantean, with their right arm being the injured one that previously reached out to Mamett, and their left being the robot limb. Not only did it have a prosthetic arm, but a leg as well. They were wearing what seemed to be a tattered dress, soaked in now-dried blood, with bits of fabric torn up.

To say it bore a discernible expression would be an exaggeration. The eyes were completely glazed over and sunken, their hair was a mess, and their lifeless face bore blackened bloodstains that had once seeped from their nose, mouth, and even their eyes.

Gino dropped his weapon in pure shock. He recognised the Joilantean almost instantly. They were someone he knew, someone he was very close to.

"...Nina?"

They were his wife.

Mamett's distraught comrade looked like he was about to drop to his knees and completely break down. But instead, he slowly started walking towards the entity before them.

"Careful! She might be hostile." Mamett quietly warned him, but his ally didn't listen.

"Honey…I-I thought I lost you during the invasion. What have they done to you!?"

'Nina' noticed him, and after a moment, started shuffling towards him too.

"It's gonna be okay, Nina. I'm here now. We're here now."

The distraught citizen held his wife by the cheek, holding back tears.

The two shared a look together; it was almost like Nina recognised him, despite the condition she was in.

That was, until she slowly moved her robotic arm up to Gino's face, and grabbed him by the throat. Her grip tightened as she slowly started to choke the life out of him.

"Honey…no…fight it!" the Joilantean sputtered. He could feel his windpipes crushing. Her grip was unnaturally powerful. He tried to resist, but slowly, as the world started to fade around him, his struggling started to cease.

"HYAA!"

Mamett wasn't letting anyone else die under his watch: he ran towards the cyborg and slammed down on her prosthetic limb with all his strength. While it didn't break, it caused her to lose her grip on Gino. The mayor then kicked Nina backwards, before helping up his coughing friend.

"Nina…I have to…I…"

"I don't think Nina's there anymore." relayed Mamett. It was an ugly truth.

"So what do we do?" another teammate asked. "Do we let her live? Or do we….y'know…."

The monster bearing Nina's body started to shamble towards their direction again, her metal hand outstretched.

Before they could debate the morality of the situation, Gino took Mamett's shotgun off of him and loaded it with a singular shell.

"Gino…are you sure? You don't have to be the one to do this."

The poor townsperson was holding back tears. He loved his wife more than anything; they were childhood friends, and he would always strive to help her in her times of need, just as she did to him. He and Nina were truly soulmates. But-

"It's like you said, Mr. Mayor…that isn't Nina anymore."

He couldn't hold back his tears anymore; the amount of turmoil Gino was in couldn't be described. Nevertheless, and despite his shaky hands, he got into position, took aim-

"Forgive me, my love."

-and pulled the trigger.

-BANG!-

"KZZT - What the hell do we do about all this, sir? - KZZT"

"I don't know, Bertram. I really don't know."

Mamett was staring down the rounded up group of ice statues, his mind racing with questions and scenarios. The rest of his squadron were comforting a grieving Gino after the horrific events that had unfolded a few minutes ago. Mamett did help console him at first, but he needed to catch Bertram up on everything. The frozen horde, the "zombie-cyborg", everything.

"...Is this why Leptock was freezing these people instead of just outright killing them?"

"KZZT - That's a possibility. If they were frozen whilst alive, then the body itself most likely hasn't sustained any internal damage that'd potentially compromise the process. - KZZT"

"But this one was dead. There was no life behind her eyes, her body was all torn up and…"

The Mayor had to take a moment to collect himself. Just thinking about it made him want to puke.

"KZZT - She may have been a test. Judging by what you told me, the robot side of her was powerful, but the biological side of her was weak. If that was what a weaker one was like, Goddess knows what one functioning at full capacity would be like. - KZZT."

"I'm gonna destroy the machine. This is disgusting, and I'm not letting ANYONE get their hands on this. I'll talk to you later, Bertram, I need to go check up on my team."

Mamett sighed heavily, before putting the walkie-talkie in his pocket. He looked back at the contraption, then looked at his ice-encased people. If what Bertram was saying had merit, then these Joilanteans were still alive. With enough time and dedication, Mamett was sure they could find a way to safely thaw them all out.

And if they were alive, then so was he.

"KZZT - Mr. Mamett? Are you there? - KZZT" Another voice rang out from the other end of his walkie-talkie.

"Klonoa? Come in, Klonoa. Do you hear me?"

"KZZT - Loud and clear, sir! I hope you're all okay. We've been all around the Kingdom, and I've got both good news and bad news. - KZZT"

"Oh kid, If only you knew the half of it…" Mamett thought to himself.

"KZZT - The good news is that we've found the Generator. The bad news is…

…well, let's just say you aren't gonna like where it is. - KZZT"

THE CHAMBER O'HORRORS

The Chamber o'Horrors was the obstacle course designed to be challenged by only the best of the best. It was much longer than the Chamber o'Fun, and much, much harder. Volkan troops tend to use the place for military training as a result. Few have reached the top since its inception, but for those who do, prizes await.

This time, though, the prize was Joilant's freedom, and the course was now littered by heavy machinery, robots on high alert, and one very unhinged cyborg clown with cryokinesis.

Klonoa looked up at the tower from within a bush. He had tried to get in through the front entrance and make his way up to the top from the inside, but he and Lolo were quickly overwhelmed by the constant flow of robots. They put up a good fight, but were eventually forced to make a tactical retreat, in order to think of another plan.

"Do you think we could climb up from the outside, somehow?" Klonoa hypothesised.

"We'd be extremely vulnerable if we could," answered Lolo, still in the Wind Ring, "and that's if we don't end up falling to our deaths first, because of the uneven layout."

Until they could think of any good ideas, they were stuck.

"KZZT - Any luck yet? - KZZT" Mamett asked over the walkie-talkie.

"Not yet, sir." the cabbit replied.

"We need to find a quicker way of getting up to where the core is." Lolo popped out of the Ring to speak with the Mayor. "Even if we were able to take the bots inside head-on, it'd still take much too long to manoeuvre all the way to the top. We're on borrowed time here; I don't know how long the other groups can hold off the constant flow of enemies."

Mamett wracked his brain, trying to think of what to do. The Priestess was right: even if the other teams are able to hold their own for a while, the robot numbers will eventually become too overwhelming to handle. And if, or when, that happens, it's all over.

"KZZT - I may have an idea - KZZT" Bertram chimed in over the radio.

"We're listening, sir." Lolo responded.

"KZZT - Sir, do you remember the creatures we were able to save during the initial retreat? - KZZT"

"KZZT - Yeah, I think my brother was able to help evacuate them from his Chambers. Why? - KZZT"

"KZZT - Hear me out. - KZZT"

~10 MINUTES LATER~

Klonoa and Lolo didn't move an inch since the call, but they knew that they should move out right about now. They needed to be able to see in order for the plan to work, but they also couldn't let any robots catch what they were doing.

The cabbit peeked his head out to scan his surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No robots in sight. Klonoa surmised that they must be too busy fighting the other Joilanteans to go patrolling. He put his head back down to Lolo's eye level.

"All clear."

"Okay. Let's go."

Lolo hopped back into his Ring, and the two slowly exited the bush. Remaining mindful of their surroundings, Klonoa retreated behind a nearby wall. Now that they were visible, all they had to do was wa-

"HI THERE, DREAM BOY! HEE-HEE-HEEE!"

Klonoa jolted around. A Jakattak was hanging over the wall above him. It attempted to jump over the wall, but only ended up landing on its faceplate, before jumping back to its feet.

"Where the hell did you come from!?" exclaimed a shocked Klonoa.

"Oh, I was about to go on my break, then I heard you two."

Before the cabbit could question why a robot would need to go on break, the Jakattak picked up its hammer from the ground.

"Although, now that you're here, I guess I could cave your skulls in. Then I can enjoy my break in peace."

Klonoa got into a battle stance, as did the Jakattak. Letting out a mischievous, yet hauntingly familiar cackle, the clown bot made the first move.

-BANG!-

It didn't even get a chance to swing the mallet before receiving a shotgun blast to the back of the head. As the bot fell to the ground, Klonoa and Lolo could see the one who fired the shell.

"Sorry I'm late, kiddos. Took a little longer than expected to get things ready."

"Bertram!" said Klonoa and Lolo, practically in sync.

"It feels nice to get some fresh air." Bertram said, stretching. "Gives these old bones a chance to loosen up a bit, y'know?"

"Is everything ready?" Klonoa asked.

The elder didn't respond, instead putting two fingers in his mouth and whistling. One moment later, the three were surrounded by a group of about ten floating monsters. They bore yellow heads with long pointy noses, and a red, dorsal fin-like shape atop their heads. Their bodies' shape were reminiscent of a UFO, with small red spikes littered around the creature.

"Jetimos!" said Lolo.

Bertram gave the two teens a confident smile, before motioning the Jetimos to move upwards. The floating monsters obliged, flying up and positioning themselves to form a spaced-out line leading to the top of the Chamber.

"Took a bit of convincing, but they should be able to get you to where you need to be. Just grab a hold and they'll fly you to the next one up. Got it?"

Klonoa nodded in response.

"Now go kick that clown's butt!"

The Dream Traveller gave the security guard a smile. He turned to face the Jetimo beside him, who seemed to nod to show that it was ready. Klonoa fired his Wind Ring at the monster, who, instead of inflating like a regular monster would, morphed into the shape of a rocket ship. After the sound of what came across as it revved up, the Jetimo fired into the air at an extreme speed. In a matter of seconds, Klonoa was now high above the ground, facing the second Jetimo of the group. He released his grip on his previous carrier, and quickly grabbed the next one. As the last Jetimo slowly descended back down, the following one blasted off to the Jetimo above.

This process repeated a few more times, until eventually, Klonoa was floating high above the top of the tower. Letting go of the final Jetimo, the boy started plummeting towards the surface. Just before he hit the ground, he flapped his ears to slow his descent, landing safely on his feet.

The cabbit looked onwards. In front of him was a glass-like dome, surrounded by machinery and circuitry. Judging by how Popka described it, the Element should be trapped inside the dome shape. Klonoa looked inside, and there it was; the Element of Joy - emitting sparks and glowing a bright, yellow colour.

"Mamett? Bertram? Are you there?" Klonoa spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"KZZT - Yeah, I'm here. - KZZT"

"KZZT - Loud and clear, kid. - KZZT"

"We've made it to the top. We've found the core."

"KZZT - Great! What do we do now?" - KZZT" Mamett asked.

Klonoa aimed at the translucent shape with his ring.

"We free Joilant, sir."

Klonoa attempted to fire a wind bullet to destroy the glass protecting the Element, but his strike was intercepted by a large, floating, metal arm striking him in the side and knocking him away.

"Ah, ah, ah. I don't think so, my friend."

The metal appendage wagged its finger smugly, before returning to its sender.

"Leptock!"

The giant clown grabbed the walkie-talkie Klonoa dropped and held it towards his mouth.

"Helloooo, Mamett, my good fellow. I appreciate you going through the effort of bringing the Dream Traveller right to my doorstep, but I'll take it from here. Toodaloo. MWAH!"

After sending his transmission, Leptock crushed the radio with ease, before shaking off the debris and turning to face Klonoa. The cabbit quickly got back on his feet and grabbed his weapon.

"I've beaten you before, Leptock, I'll beat you again!"

"You're mistaken, my boy. Don't you remember? You beat 'Leptio'. I'm 'Leptock', and you've now gotten a front-row seat to the greatest show in Lunatea, as well as the end of this pathetic rebellion. Once I drop your lifeless head off the side of this tower, those pathetic lambs to the slaughter will understand that all hope is lost with you."

Klonoa snarled at the cyborg clown, who smugly smiled back at him. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that shit-eating grin off this monster's face. He let out an audible sigh, before getting into a battle position.

"I admire your bravery, but I think the time for talking is over." Leptock got into a fighting position of his own, snapping his claws together and forming ice shards from his palms. "Now, for my first trick, I'm gonna make the Legendary Dream Traveller experience the cold embrace of death, AND THEN HE'LL DISAPPEAR!"

"BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAAAAH!"