Duel with the Shadow (Klonoa)

We unstrapped ourselves and disembarked from the rocket – Guntz, still in his spacesuit, brought his helmet and pistols along, and I brought along my wind ring.

Almost instantly, we were greeted by the still-hooded shadow, his shoulders reaching up to Guntz's nose. His outfit hadn't changed from when we saw him last – his goggles still concealed his eyes, and his nose and mouth were still covered by his mask… a voice changer, maybe? As far as I could tell, between them and his hood were patches of gold fur, similar in shade to Guntz's…

"Stay close." the shadow said, his voice still robotic.

We followed the shadow through the maze-like hallways of the Lunar Base, a million thoughts racing through my head…

So, this shadow isn't Janga after all… but a former ally of his…

Did he approve of Butz's murder, then? I'll have to ask him after our fight, but he… he probably didn't – he doesn't sound very villainous…

And speaking of Butz, did he really not trust the shadow? If not, why would the shadow lead us back here… to where Butz was avenged…? He probably doesn't know about Lolo's passing, either, so that can't be why…

Hmm… something's not adding up…


Eventually, the shadow led us right into the base's training area. Guntz set his helmet down near the entryway, and started to examine his pistols.

"Now," the shadow began, turning to me. "Klonoa, was it?"

"Yes…"

"Good, let's make one thing clear: I didn't account for you helping Guntz at the factory, nor did I expect you to come here, as I wanted to see how he fares alone. Though in hindsight, perhaps it'd be beneficial to have someone witness our duel, to back up whoever claims to have reigned victo-"

"Hold up!" I cut in. "So I can't fight you, then?"

"Right, you cannot."

"Damn it…" I muttered, my expression sinking…

So much for avenging Lolo…

Guntz, noticing, turned to the shadow. "Are you sure we can't discuss this? He's been eager to fight you for the past two days, hoping to confir-"

"It's fine!" I cut in again, my expression still low. "Just… just win this for both of us, will you?"

"Of course." Guntz responded, grinning, before facing the shadow once more. "So, how're we doing this? Pistols or hand-to-hand?"

"Hrmm…" the shadow answered, "since I've already seen your gun-slinging prowess in the Darkness and at the factory… perhaps we should see how you fare in melee combat."

"Fair enough."

"Then, assuming you beat me and get the answers you want… if you decide I'm an enemy, then…" He glanced at me. "Then I'll allow Klonoa to deal the finishing blow."

"Fine with me…" I said unconvincingly.

"Good." He looked back at Guntz. "Just don't hold back, Golden Killer!"

Without warning, the shadow leaped towards Guntz, his right fist outstretched. Reacting quickly, Guntz grabbed the shadow's arm and vaulted him against his right shoulder, slamming the shadow face-up into the ground.

"Wasn't planning on it!" Guntz remarked.

"Perfect!" With that counter-remark, the shadow quickly wheeled himself around and kicked Guntz's legs, knocking him down as well. The shadow then leapt back to his feet and went to elbow-drop Guntz, but the latter rolled out of the way just in time.

They both tried to recover, with Guntz standing back up first. Without hesitation, he leapt back towards the still-downed shadow feet-first, kicking him in the ribs on his left side.

"Quite cowardly…" the shadow snarked, finally standing back up.

"Hey," Guntz countered, "you said not to hold back!"

"Fair enough." Before Guntz could react, the shadow swiftly punched him in the snout, causing him to stagger back a few steps. Although Guntz and I suffered worse blows before, I couldn't help but wince.

The shadow attempted to throw another punch while Guntz was still dazed. The latter saw this one coming, though, and blocked it, following up by kicking the shadow between the legs.

The shadow staggered back towards me – Guntz immediately jumped up and kicked his face, knocking him back to the ground.

While he recovered, I took another look at his face, seeing if Guntz managed to kick off his goggles or mask… hopefully give us some idea of who this figure could be.

Surprisingly, his mask was still intact… though one of the lenses on his goggles was now shattered. I glanced at his now-exposed right eye – bearing a blue iris like Guntz's – almost expecting it to… actually, I don't know what I was expecting.

Given the shadow's intentions, I thought his eye would look more sinister, like how Janga and Garlen's eyes would usually look. Instead, it looked… well, rather pensive… a look Guntz's eyes bore all too frequently towards me these days…

But why…? I thought he wanted to fight Guntz… is he worried he's gonna lose? I mean, he should've seen this coming given his foe's reputation…

"More proficient with your legs, I see…" the shadow said, panting.

"Oh, don't you worry…" Guntz countered, "I'm no slouch with my fists, either!"

Using his right arm, he threw a rather hard punch at the shadow's torso. The latter saw it coming, however, and grabbed Guntz's wrist, blocking the punch.

"You were saying?"

No sooner did the shadow say this that he spun Guntz counterclockwise, now working to bend the latter's arm across his shoulder blades.

Guntz, trying to break out, elbowed the shadow's ribs a few times – the same ribs he kicked earlier – with his left arm. The shadow seemed to wince with each strike, if his right eye was any indication – nevertheless, he didn't let go.

After a few more strikes, the shadow grabbed Guntz's left arm, now trying to bend it across his shoulder blades as well.

I continued to look at the shadow's face… though he now had the upper hand, that pensive look hasn't left his eye…

Okay, this definitely isn't right… he's kicking Guntz's ass; why isn't he more excited? Was he hoping for a more challenging fight or something?

…Or is there something else I'm not considering…?

"Come on!" the shadow mocked, in spite of his eye. "Is this the best the Golden Killer has to offer!?"

Not even a few moments later, Guntz jumped up, both his arms still restrained, and kicked the shadow straight-on in his knees, causing them to bend back farther that I thought they could. The shadow fell over backwards, letting go of Guntz's arms.

Before he could re-adjust his knees, Guntz went over and socked him in the ribs a few more times, then pressed his foot down on the shadow's torso, pinning him to the ground.

"No…" Guntz retorted, "that was."

The shadow, now himself trying to break free, hit Guntz's leg several times in an attempt to get it to budge. It didn't work.

"…Well played, Golden Killer…" he sighed, his arms collapsing at his sides. "Butz's training wasn't for naught after all…"

Was he… was he smirking? I couldn't tell with his mask on, but his eye seemed to give off that effect.

But he lost… what's going on?

"Figures…" Guntz remarked. "So, you admit defeat or what?"

"…I do. Now, I believe you still have some questions for me, correct?"

"Right. First off…you said you worked with Janga, so… Pops' murder… did you approve of it?"

Good to see Guntz and I are on the same page…

"…At first… no…" the shadow responded. "However, after seeing you fight Nahatomb, I started to believe it was for the best… since as Klonoa witnessed here, you've grown stronger than you ever could… if you stayed with Butz…"

"I see…" Guntz muttered, stepping off the shadow's torso. "Though it's rather odd Pops wouldn't trust you, then…"

"Agreed." I cut in. "So why lead us back here? Why didn't you fight Guntz back at the factory?"

"As I said before…" the shadow continued, sitting up and adjusting his knees, "it's only appropriate we have our duel near where Guntz avenged his father."

"How so? If he didn't trust you, then why would you care about…"

About… Butz… hrmm…

Even disregarding him, just… just what were the shadow's feelings toward Guntz? He wasn't reacting the way I expected during his fight – he was surprisingly pensive when he had the upper hand, and he smirked when he was pinned down in defeat.

It's like he was fighting his own son…

…Son… wait…

Something seemed to click in my head…

A retired treasure hunter…

Gold fur…

Blue eyes…

Boots similar to Guntz's…

The wave of dread seemed to return…

Either I'm going crazy or…

"Unless…" I continued, "for my own sanity's sake, I hope I'm wrong given how he died, but… you… wouldn't happen to… to be Butz… would you?"

The shadow sat for a few moments in contemplation. Guntz quickly shot me a bewildered look before turning back to his opponent.

"…'Given how he died', huh…?" the shadow eventually responded. "I hope you'll forgive me for answering with another question, but… do you truly believe Janga's poison is that deadly?"

"Of course!" I pulled up my shirt, showing him the faded slash marks on my chest. "It's only thanks to Guntz and Pango that I survived it!"

"…So, he got you too, huh…?" the shadow went on. "Well, let me tell you… you're not the first to have withstood his poison…"

He struggled to stand up, moving his shattered goggles up to his forehead. As soon as he removed his hood and mask… my heart nearly stopped…

He now resembled a much older Guntz, with black and gold fur lining his head. He pulled off his vest and jacket, revealing a collar-like mane around his neck. Tattooed to each of this older wolf's arms was a yellow, pointed cross… the same mark as on Janga's hat and Guntz's pistols…

I looked over at Guntz, his face somewhere between shock, disbelief, and joy… he didn't seem to notice me anymore…

"P-p-p… Pops…!?" he stammered, his voice close to breaking. I thought I saw a few tears creep out from his eyes…

Butz turned to him, a slight grin on his face. "You've grown so strong… son…" he responded, his voice deep – though no longer robotic.

The two wolves rushed towards each other, falling into each other's embraces. Like Pango and Boris when the latter awoke, the wolves' faces were filled with pure elation, tears rolling down their cheeks.

Also like with Pango and Boris, the scene would've brought a smile to my face…

…had the room not started to spin around me…

I tried in vain to reorient myself and focus my thoughts… but each time I saw their embrace, the room spun once again…

I couldn't help it, I… I could almost see Lolo and myself rejoicing with them… in that exact same manner…

Tears formed in my eyes once again… I couldn't watch this any longer…

I stormed off, leaving my wind ring behind and praying the two wolves wouldn't notice. I don't need to distract from their reunion, anyway…