The dark Janga then vanished, along with Zeetan, leaving the warriors alone.

"Marie!" Spirit shouted, his voice echoing through the distance. Meanwhile, Marie reappeared in the holds of Zeetan's ship, the shadow lord standing before her.

"We have to stop meeting like this." he sneered at her, as she huddled in the corner, trying to work up what little shred of courage she had left.

"Well, the godess returns." a familiar voice said.

"Ansem!" Marie found a new burning rage and shouted as the dark sage appeared from the shadows.

"Lord Zeetan has given me power the likes of which I've never had before!"

Zeetan cackled, his eyes flaring up.

"You're wasting your time! You can't control me, and Spirit's probably on his way here to rescue me!" Marie said confidently, yet cautiously backed away.

"That pathetic boy can't stop me, and neither could his father!"

Marie's expression turned to shock and horror, as another figure appeared from the shadows. He looked like a Zarconian, but had wings like those in Spirit's Gaian form.

"Gaze upon this! This sorry being was once Artross: The Gaia of Heart! After our battle, his spirit was weakened, so I took what was left of my power and placed him under my control!" Marie started crying, thinking of how Spirit would react.

"Accept the fate of this world and submit to my power!"

She brushed away the tears "No, I still have hope! Someway, somehow this'll all be stopped..."
"You're in denial!" he said, appearing by her, taunting her. She looked up with a growl, extending claws as she swiped at him, scratching his robe. He didn't move a bit, instead, laying a head upon her forehead, draining her of energy. Her body weakened by the moment, her limbs becoming noodle like, yet her heart and soul remained very strong.
"Even if you're uncontrollable, there's still a use for you, my energy sponge!"
The world quickly faded before her, and she fell comatose, being left in a dark prison of Zeetan's design. He threw her in a cell, her body laying among the cold ground. Her limbs twitched and quivered, yet she couldn't budge. Marie could hear his voice in the back of her mind, tormenting her, no peace even in unconsciousness, yet she endured it all. She awoke some time later, Zeetan and his minions already gone. She was now in a cage, guarded by two devilish Heartless wielding jagged swords. She reached into her pocket, glad to see the orb was okay.

"I hope you two never have to go through this..." Marie whispered. She held it tightly, crying as she thought of what could happen. At that moment, the heartless disintegrated from a beam of blinding white light. Lumina then appeared, breaking the cage open as Marie weakly rose to her feet and ran up to her.

"You saved me!" she said, embracing the kind, motherly Gaia. Lumina smiled softly "I couldn't let anything happen to my future daughter in-law."

She then paused, looking into Marie's innocent, blue eyes "Spirit is too far off, so I had to do something. He would have saved you if he could."

Marie nodded happily. "I know he would!"

She then felt her strength leave her, collapsing into the Gaia's arms. Lumina cradled her gently, saying "Don't worry, I'll bring you somewhere safer, away from the darkness..."
"It'll help me heal a little more easily... but what of Spirit?"
She smiled "As soon as you get better, you can return to him... for now, rest little one, you're safe..."
Lumina disappeared within a portal of light, goddess in arms, returning back at her haven. It felt oddly comfortable, jarring out loose memories of Ranoke, when Marie was but a young Cryssling. She yawned, slowly falling asleep, waking up hours later, orb in folded arms as she felt somewhat different, then looked up and gasped.
"Wh-what's this?" she said, reaching up for the silvery ring that floated above her, but it fazed through her hand like an illusion. Lumina walked over with a chuckle.
"It's a halo, you mostly see them on angels, but I gave you one since it helps build up an immunity towards darkness." she explained "It concerns me that Zeetan targets you so much, not only draining you of energy and tormenting you with darkness... I could sense your great fear you have in his power..."
Marie frowned slightly, but then smiled.
"It's ok, I deal with it, it doesn't matter what happens to me, I only care for the safety of friends, my future children and soul mate..."

Lumina smiled and nodded. "But they, in turn, care for you. I know Spirit does."

Marie suddenly started panicking "Oh no! Spirit's probably worried sick about me!"

"Then hurry off to him..." she said "Who knows? Maybe you were only gone for minutes, dimension traveling does distort time after all..."

She nodded and quickly created a portal, bowing to Lumina before hopping through. Lumina's assumption proved true, back at the sight of the fight, Spirit stared solemnly at the ground, and a tear dropped. Without hesitation, Marie ran over and glomped him out of joy, catching him off guard as he fell back into a patch of grass.

"You're safe!" Spirit happily said. He spotted the halo hovering above her head "I always knew you were an angel in disguise!"

Marie giggled a bit at this. "It's just a gift from your mom. It's supposed to help build an immunity to the darkness."

He hugged her tightly "Naw, I bet it was there all along!"
She smiled in happiness, her wings outstretched as she gave him a kiss, making him turn a little pink. Klonoa walked up to her, poking the halo, his hand phasing through it. He grinned "Kinda neat... so I guess Claire Moa was some kind of angel too?"
Spirit nodded "They're human like with beautiful, white wings and a halo... it is said that they live in heaven as souls of those who lived life as a good person..."
"Ah..." he nodded "I see... I never saw one before..."
"But it can also be used to as an expression for someone you care for..." he stared into Marie's eyes, causing her to giggle once again "Like Marie" his eyes tearing slightly in the overwhelming joy "you are my angel!"

Marie blushed a bit, but then turned to a more serious look. "I have to tell you... Ansem is now with Zeetan..." Spirit unexpectedly smiled. "It doesn't matter. I won't let anyone take you away again."

Marie smiled and cuddled him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Spirit started singing a song lightly into her ear, soon lulling the goddess to sleep. She held him tightly, even while dreaming; still seeking to be close to the one she loved.

"Awwww" Lolo finally said, unable to contain herself. She then looked to Klonoa, a smile on her face. He turned away, blushing slightly. He looked on with mixed emotions and scarlet cheeks, Lolo caught him off-guard, wrapping her arms around him. His eyes widened, he could only remember the last time they hugged was when he had to leave her. This hug seemed random and sudden at first, but then he managed to return the warm embrace, as Spirit carried Marie over gently. They both noticed and abruptly let go of each other, each with pink on their cheeks.
"A-anyways the temple should be up ahead" Klonoa said "We can rest there, seeing how Popka is injured and Marie is asleep!"
Lolo nodded, gently lifting Popka into her arms, and jumping into the ring. Klonoa lifted it up, and said "Why don't you join her? There's plenty of room!"
"Eh?" he tilted his head "Why would I need to do that?"
"Well, these paths go high up, and require a lot of jumping across bottomless pits of doom... I figured it'd be hard for you since you're carrying my sister..."

"Ah, I see..." he looked down to her, gently purring in her sleep. He didn't want to put her in any danger, and decided to trust Klonoa with their safety. He nodded, and Klonoa held up his ring, Spirit leaping at it and becoming one with the jewel in a great shine. When the light faded away, he found himself staring at Lolo in a pure, white plane. She was on her knees, eyes closed. Spirit stared on curiously, until the sudden voice of Popka interrupted his thoughts.
"She's prayin' ta Claire" he said "If she doesn't, then Klonoa's ring ain't gonna work at all..."

Spirit nodded silently, returning his attention back to Marie. She slept in his arms like a carefree child, causing him to shed a slight tear. Spirit curled his tail around her, as usual, the small goddess seemingly comforted by this. She soon let out a soft yawn, her eyes slowly opening. "Your tail's nice and fluffy."

She started to bat at his tail playfully, Spirit wagging it back and forth. Marie was quite content with this, her playful nature making her seem like a kitten with a piece of string. Spirit couldn't help but laugh, joyful that Marie hadn't changed in the least. She smiled gleefully as Klonoa made it down the path, jumping when needed from platform to platform. Occasionally he shot a wind bullet from his ring, nabbing a small, red creature called a moo to perform his double jumps. About an hour later, he came to a huge pendulum, throwing Moos at it to knock down stone columns and he approached the beautiful temple. The passengers jumped out of his ring one by one, entering inside. They found themselves in a grande room, leading to a chair where a fair lady sat, staring out with solemn, red eyes.
"I see you have returned from Cryssna, Lolo..." her voice had a subtle hint of sorrow, yet no one could sense it. It felt lulling, calm, and Spirit found his mind drifting. Lolo nodded, speaking up.
"Yes, high priestess..." she bowed "I got sick in Cryssna, but thanks to my friends I was able to pull through..."
The priestess made a small smile "That's good, we don't want any of our priestesses dying..."
She nodded "But on our way here, we came across Janga... Guntz helped tipped the scales in our favor..."
As she said that he gave a satisfied smirk, but then Marie suddenly spoke up.
"I doubt that's the last time we'll be dealing with him... he's with Zeetan now... a ruthless minion until he can be stopped!"
"Tell me more about this 'Zeetan' please..." the high priestess said, as Marie continued.
"He's cunning, dark and heartless... the very source of evil itself... he recruits minions, some of them against their will..." she remembered seeing Spirit's father and frowned, her ears drooping. She didn't want to tell Spirit just yet, but knew it was best.
"For now, the battle has worn us out, and we can use a safe place to rest..." Spirit said, the priestess nodding.
"Lolo, please guide our guests to the inner sanctums..."
"Yes, Mam!" she said, turning around. The walk wasn't long, the group followed her down the halls, soon coming upon what seemed to be lounge rooms in the temple, made specifically for weary travelers.
"We're running short on free rooms... so we'll have to share a few... Spirit and Marie can share a room... Klonoa, Popka and I will share a room, and Guntz gets his own..."
They all nodded, heading to their determined quarters. That night Marie and Spirit sat together, looking down at the orb.