Lost Hope

Disclaimer: Yo no concedo Namco o Klonoa personalidades. c:

A/N: Kill me for an uncreative title. XC

Well, this idea's been hovering in my mind for a while and I've been dying to start something new. I'm sure by now you realize I rather like writing in narrations by Guntz. His character makes it feel like a free-style to me while easily sticking to his regular personality. This will be the first time I'm writing a whole story mostly in narration, considering that there might be the occasional "this is happening elsewhere so it's in normal POV" scenes.

The description is vague because I don't want to spoil anything. This is basically a "what if" scenario. What if… what? You'll just have to wait and see! :D

Prologue: Who Cares?

This world… This world used to be so peaceful.

It's hard to imagine now. Who knew four years could do so much? This whole world has been completely swallowed up by darkness. And at this very moment it's still being eaten away. It's being chewed up until soon there'll nothing left. That will happened; sooner or later. This world can't survive like this much longer.

To believe that this hell hole used to be so tranquil, so peace-loving, so beautiful. At least, parts of it were. All worlds have some evil in them, but that just keeps the balance between good and bad. But now what? The scale flipped, causing good to be thrown off and bad to take over.

I remember the sun, and the grass, and the birds in the sky. There is no more of that now. It's always night here; it's always dark. Not a single star can be seen in the sky. It's as if a black shell has incased us, shielding us from view of the normal sky. With no sun, there's no warmth, no plants.

There are no more animals, no more rivers. Even the oceans have dried up. We're forced to drink this dark, suspicious liquid given to us by the new government. It's bitter and people say it makes you sick, but it's all we've got. You get used to it after a while… You get used to everything after a while.

Most people have gotten used to this new, harsh lifestyle. They've adapted to its merciless, unfair ways. But some still resist. Some still try to make things back to the way they were. Don't they realize their efforts are useless? That they're wasting their time and their lives? People who resist only die quicker and more painfully. No one can fix this. Nothing will ever be the same again.

I resisted at first. I tried in vain to reject this lifestyle. But it's hopeless. I've long since given up. Who cares, anyway? They should just give up and accept the truth. I did. I don't care anymore. I don't care about anything anymore. I'm just living my life, not caring if I die today or tomorrow… Maybe dying would be better? The rate of suicides has increased exceptionally since four years ago. I don't blame them. This life sucks.

Lately epidemics have been spreading. The "sleeping sickness" is the most common. It has plenty of names, but they all mean the same thing. It's hard to say that such a disease is contagious. But they say you never wake up from it. You might as well be dead. But perhaps those people are dreaming peaceful dreams, completely unaware of the torture happening in reality? Or maybe they're trapped in nightmares, caught in a never-ending horror film?

They also say you don't age when you're caught in the sleeping sickness. It must suck to wake up to find that four years have past, having left you behind—letting everyone around you age without you. That's saying if anyone ever wakes up from the disease. As far as I know, no one ever has.

How this world got like this? I can't help but believe it's my fault. No… it is my fault. It's entirely all my fault. I'm to blame for this hell of a life. Because of my carelessness and stupidity—!

…I wonder how Pango is…? I haven't seen him in four years. It goes without saying that his son is probably still caught in the sleeping sickness. I wonder if he's changed at all? I wonder… if he's even still alive…?

I've changed. I've changed for the worse. I was bad before, but now I'm even worse. I'm incurable now. But I suppose that's all my fault, too. I'm not going to try and fix myself. I'll keep my distance from other people. I won't get close to anyone. I won't express any emotions. Because I just… don't care anymore.

I'm 21 now. I was 17 when Nahatomb first took over. When that beast shrouded this once peaceful world in shadows. When he tortured us, stripping us of our homes and resources and telling us to strive for ourselves. When he created an indifferent government. A government that turns away from its people's pleads. That throws us a worthless bone and tells us to make use of it and stop complaining.

Their attitude rubbed off on the people. Crimes started up at an astounding rate, from both desperation and hopelessness. We're starving. We're forced to murder our neighbors to live. But we'll all die soon, anyway. Why struggle? It's what Nahatomb wants. He wants to torture us for as long as he can before we all drop dead.

I'm always moving. I can't stay in one place for long, it's too dangerous. Everyone knows that. Yet some still try. Families, usually. They try to live in a home and defend it. But it'll just burn down eventually. Everyone's gone mad. Sometimes I see them killing each other for no reason. Because they've gotten so irritable and are so easily provoked to start a riot on one another.

Riots like these are often caused by resisting people trying to persuade others to join them in their rebellion. It angers them. Perhaps they're jealous? Jealous that these people still have hope that they've long lost. And so arguments start up, soon to turn violent and bloody.

But who cares? The government makes no attempt to stop this. Just is an ancient thing. There is no fair, no mercy, no pity. We're all going to die. We'll all kill each other as Nahatomb sits and watches, laughing. There's no more hope. It's lost, never to be found…

But who cares?

I actually wrote this prologue a long time ago but was too lazy to rewrite it. Sue me. DX

Anyway... ehm, about Legend of Rebirth... I'm not sure if I'm dropping it or just taking a very extended break from it. It just came out too long and complicated. I couldn't even keep up with it, let alone could I expect anyone else to. Oh well... Don't kill me!

I certainly plan to keep in much more control with this story. Hopefully that way I'll be able to give it a satisfying ending. Not sure how long it'll be, but I can tell you now it won't be that short(certainly not as long as LoR, though). Hope you stick with me until the end! :3