THREE CHAPTERS AGO:
Alys was dying. She had taken far too much damage from the assault that Dracula, Gannon, and Bowser had been dumping on them, expended the last of her energy using the "Death" skill to destroy Wily's saucer, and had taken the worst of the explosion. It was in this moment that Klumsy broke free of his old Transformer, and knelt by her side. Overcome with feelings of grief, he gave her his life force so that she could live again. She awakened, but her memory of the stadium was lost. All she remembered was the battle, and her entire past before appearing here in the Mushroom Kingdom... everything else was a complete blank.
With Klumsy gone along with quite a bit of the Melee Stadium, the Questers were rather depressed... that is, until Metal found a disk laying in the rubble� a disk labeled "K.J. Koopa." Without a doubt, this belonged to Klumsy.
It was sheer luck that the holo room still functioned. As stated before, much of the stadium was blasted away during Wily's assault. What was also sheer luck was that the disk contained the last will and testament of Klumsy Koopa. The holographic image of the orange Koopa appeared, cheerful as he always was, and directed the Questers to the bottom of the arena, where Metal stumbled upon a key, as well as a note, directing them to "the gates in the desert." No doubt that this desert was Dry Dry Desert, Klumsy's old home... the question is, what would they find there?
THREE CHAPTERS LATER:
Alys and SourSurfer were standing outside Metal's room, waiting for him to get up. They FINALLY had some time to look for those gates Klumsy's note talked about, and they weren't about to wait for Metal to get up� so StarSteel showed up, teleported into the room, grabbed the key while he was asleep (though not before grabbing his log book), and gave it to Alys. The gang headed out for Dry Dry Desert, and after much exploring, they finally stumbled upon the gates. Alys fit the key into the hole, and they were abruptly pulled under the sand... only to be replaced by an entire building, adorned with flashing lights, neon signs, and arrows pointing at the entrance, each labeled "KLUMSY'S TOMB!", "ENTER IF YOU DARE!" and the like. and so the Questers dared.
Upon entering, they were greeted by a very startling sight: Klumsy Koopa's head, suspended a la Cortex in Crash Bandicoot 2. Klumsy told them that they would have to split into two groups, both of which would go through the dungeon, and whichever had the higher score at the end would win. Alys was chosen to lead one group, but nobody seemed fit to lead the other... that is, until he came.
He claimed to be Xan Belmont, one of the many Vampire hunters of the Belmont family... but nobody recognized his name from anywhere. Nevertheless, he was chosen to lead the second group. With the groups split up, they headed on to face the challenges of the Holo Tomb (Klumsy's tomb was found to be on a modified Holo Room system. He loved that room...).
The first challenge was a challenge of strength; the groups had to fight off 3 Zubats and 5 keese each. While Alys's group had trouble, Xan's had no problems whatsoever thanks to the mysterious warrior's awesome power. Xan's group gained a point, and they moved on.
The second challenge was a challenge of wits; the groups had to find their way out of a room with no doors and no windows, armed only with a log and a mirror. After two tries, Alys's side got the puzzle right, thanks to Gibby. Xan's group, however, took three tries before Tempest was able to solve the challenge. Alys's group got the point.
The final challenge was a challenge of wisdom; the groups (Alys's group being joined by Simon Belmont at this point) were faced with a familiar puzzle� two minotaurs (Scottish minotaurs, at that), one of which was lying and one of which was telling the truth. They had to find out which was which. After a number of tries from both sides, and two failed guesses, Kola Hawk was finally able to figure out the puzzle, earning a point for Alys's team� but though the challenge was complete, Alys still had some questions to ask the minotaurs... she pointed at Xan for a moment.
"Who is this man?"
It was true; this man greatly resembled an old enemy of the Questers. His hair was overgrown and black, he wore an oversized piece of black shoulder armor and a long flowing cape, and an overcoat common of most Castlevania characters underneath... but nobody expected the answer that the Minotaurs would give...
The liar said, "Ach, 'tis Xan Belmont! Star o' various Castlevania games!"
...But the honest minotaur said... "...Ach... nae, it canna' be! He's been dead fer' months! It joost canna' be!"
"...'tis Zio! Zio has returned!!!!"