The Priestess' Spirit (Klonoa)

"Lolo…" I said calmly, shedding a few tears. "I made it…"

She didn't respond right away… like Guntz when Janga poisoned me, her face bore a look of pure horror.

After a few moments, she slowly walked up to me, resting her hands on my shoulders.

"K-Klonoa?" she whimpered, another tear or two running down her cheeks.

"The one and only."

She hesitated, before gently embracing me, sobbing slightly. Unsure of what to say, I simply hugged her as well.

"H-how long…?" she asked, her head on my shoulder. "How long has it been since… since we stopped Nahatomb? It can't've been more than… more than a week, right?"

"Right. Just over a week, actually."

Again, she didn't respond right away. Instead, she gripped me tighter, sobbing a bit harder now.

Eventually, I heard her mutter: "…all a waste…"

My grin faded. "W-what do you mean?"

She hesitated again. "B-back in the Darkness… there was a reason I gave my life for everyone… sending out more dreams than any one of you possibly could…"

"I know…" I cut in, my voice still calm. "Like you said in my arms, you died defending our dreams… stopped all of us from dying doing the same…"

She tensed up. "Wait… 'us'?"

"Yeah… the amount of dreams we needed to send to stop him… you said the strain would've killed us… that's why you took the bullet, right?"

Did she… did she sigh? "I… guess I didn't have enough time to consider how to phrase it… especially with Boris' life at stake…"

She paused for a moment. "Now, I did intend to protect the world's dreams… but when I said 'the strain would've killed you', I… I wasn't referring to everyone as a whole…"

She lifted her head off my shoulder, and looked me in the eye. Her expression seemed a bit more relaxed now, though still pensive…

"T-then you were…" I replied, "you were… referring to me specifically, then?"

She nodded weakly.

"B-but why?"

"Well…" She stepped out of our embrace, running her fingers along my fur before holding my forearms. "If I hadn't… would you've done the same?"

"Of course." I answered, holding her forearms likewise. "You know I'd do anything to keep you safe – same with the rest of our friends."

"Indeed… though, for as long as I've known you, you have been pretty reckless in that regard…"

Had we reunited under different circumstances, I probably would've chuckled.

"Fair enough…" I noted. "In fact, on our way home, I… I wondered what would've happened if I sent all those dreams instead… and just last night, I had a nightmare that pretty much confirmed it…"

She gave me a puzzled look. "…Nightmare?"

"Yep – I dreamed that I…" I hesitated. "…that I died in your place, and you and Guntz cried over my lifeless body…"

Did she… did she shed another tear? "G-goddess, I…" she whimpered. "I'm… sorry, I… I didn't mean for it to… to come across like that…"

"…You didn't mean to? …So you were trying to tell me something…?"

She nodded again. "How'd you guess?"

"W-when I woke up, I talked it out with Boris… he said his late mother would often visit Pango in his sleep…"

"…'Late mother'?" she cut in. "…You mean Marigold, right?"

"P-probably, I… I don't think they mentioned her name… is she that 'Mari' you thought was coming?"

Glad she found some company up here, at least… I thought to myself…

"Y-yeah…" she noted. "And you're right – Pango talked to her in his sleep, keeping her updated about his journey… the time he spent with you and Guntz…

"And once he told her about my passing, she… she came over to see if I needed anything. So, I asked her to have Pango update her on… on how you and Breezegale were holding up…

"When she told me you and Popka weren't taking it well, however, I… I asked her to help me reach out to the two of you… she's been coming over every day to help me refine my skills… make sure my messages get through…"

"And you had one of your trial runs last night?"

She nodded yet again. "Our first one, actually. I only wanted to assure you that… that in the Darkness… it was either you or me in that moment. And if it were you, then…"

She sighed again. "…Then Breezegale, your friends… they would've been worse off than they are now… without a mentally strong hero to help them through…

"That's part of why I gave my life for you… at the time, I knew that with how optimistic you were, you would've pushed through… encouraged others to do the same… better than I ever could…"

"Actually, I…" I cut in. "I… don't think my mind's as… as strong as you think it is…"

"How come?"

Probably best not to tell her how I died… at least, not just yet…

"I… I don't know how much Mari told you, but… ever since you died, my… my optimism seemed to dissipate… not even seeing Boris wake up after Claire knows how long could bring a smile to my face… and though I felt a little better after memorializing you, and all of the heroic deeds you've done for Breezegale, I… wasn't quite back to my old self…

"So, I spent the past two-ish days with Guntz, helping him on one of his gigs and talking over my mental state with him. I figured he'd know how to handle it better, as he had to watch his father die when he was my age…"

At least, that's what we initially thought…

"Because Janga poisoned him, right?" Lolo asked.

"R-right…" I stammered. "Did Mari tell you?"

"No, but Janga wouldn't shut up about it on our rocket…"

"Figures. Either way, Guntz thought my mood was getting worse 'cause I…" I hesitated. "I loved you too much as a close friend… just as he loved Butz so much as his son…"

"Makes sense…" she noted again, a bit of dejection in her voice. "I mean, why else would you come all the way out to the moon for my sake…?

"Incidentally, that's the other part of why I gave my life for you… like I said, you've been such a good friend all these years… not just to me, but also to Chipple and Popka… and from what I saw in the Darkness, it looked like you formed a pretty strong friendship with Guntz and Pango as well…

"And if you died in my place, well…" She shed a few more tears. "…like I tried to tell you, I… don't think we would've been emotionally strong enough to handle it… losing our close friend and hero like that…"

I sighed in contemplation. "Is that why you muttered 'all a waste'?"

She nodded. "It's just… you died so soon after… after my sacrifice… how?"

No avoiding it now… perhaps I should lead into it first… try to justify my decision…

I told her about the shadowy figure from Volk… how I thought he was either Janga or an ally of his, and how I wanted to ease my mind by ensuring that those responsible for her death were actually dead… either by killing the figure or confirming he wasn't related to Janga…

"Did Pango tell Mari about this, by any chance?" I asked, my forearms still in Lolo's hands, and hers still in mine.

"Not that I know of…" Lolo muttered, tilting her head down. "So the shadow killed you, then?"

"On the contrary…" I continued, "…when we caught up to him at the Lunar Base, he… he wouldn't let me fight him. He specifically wanted to see how Guntz would fare against him in a fistfight… pretty well, it turns out. And he probably would've killed the shadow right then and there… but we still had a number of questions for him… and we needed to see who he really was…"

"And who was he?"

I hesitated. "…It was Butz."

She shot me a startled look. "H-how…?"

"I don't know…" I cut in. "I stormed off before I could hear his explanation… though I think someone treated him sometime after Guntz ran off…"

"But… but what does this have to do with… with how you died…?"

"Quite a lot, actually…" I told her about the thoughts racing through my head afterward… the lack of world threats to go up against… Guntz not needing me anymore ("I don't know about that…" she commented)… and being unable to see him and Butz together without thinking of her…

"Incidentally…" I went on, my voice growing more pensive. "…that's why I said my mind wasn't as strong as you thought it was…"

Well… can't delay the bombshell any longer…

"All in all, it became too much to process, so I… I decided to take a short jog outside the Lunar Dome…"

She didn't say a word… though it doesn't look like she put two and two together just yet…

"…Without a spacesuit." I finished.

She let go of my arms, and started clutching her brooch. I almost expected her to let out another gasp, and for that horrified look to return to her face…

Instead, she didn't let out a single sound… and while the color did drain from her face, she didn't look horrified, per se… it more resembled Guntz's face when I saw him for the last time…

A face lined with utter despair…

"Y-you…" she eventually whimpered, "you… took your… your own life…?"

I nodded weakly.

"…B…but…" she continued, her voice shaking. "…I…I thought we were… we were supposed to… protect each other…"

"I know…" I told her, my voice quiet. "And we did… you gave your life for me… for all of us… and I made sure your legacy was safe… now, we can continue to prote-"

"No…" she cut in, a few more tears rolling down her cheeks. "You don't understand, I… this past week, I could… I could rest easy knowing you… you were safe… that my sacrifice wasn't in vain…"

She closed her eyes. "But now… knowing you came here willingly, and… and so soon after I…"

She didn't finish her thought – just like in my last nightmare, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably…

Once again unsure of what to say, I sat down next to her, resting my hand on her shoulder.

"Damn it…" she muttered. "God damn it all…"

Jesus… I don't think I've heard her swear like that before…

"…Lolo…?" I said, my voice still quiet. "I… I'm sor-"

"Don't…" she interrupted, still sobbing. "Just… just how did you think I'd react?"

"Er…" I stammered… "I… I figured you missed us as… as much as we missed you…"

"Of course I missed you!" she snapped. "That's part of why I asked Mari to help me reach you again… let me see you again while you were still alive! At least that way, our friends wouldn't have to mourn for you, too…"

She sighed. "Speaking of which… Pango didn't just tell us about your mood… or Popka's…"

"He didn't?"

"No… he said Breezegale as a whole was worried for you… Chipple, Boris, your grandpa…"

Like Guntz thought back in Jugkettle… wait… was that what he discussed with Pango last night…?

She lifted her head and looked me in the eye, her face still lined with despair.

"How do you think they'll react when… when Guntz tells them that… their hero took his own life…?"

"I…" I continued to stammer, "I was hoping they could… they could rest easy, knowing we were safe together… and if not, then…" I hesitated. "…then I figured Butz and Guntz could help them out, like I did when you died… make sure they aren't mourning alone…"

"I see…" she muttered. "Selfishness aside, I doubt the irony'll be lost on them, though…"

"…Irony?"

"Right…" she continued, grabbing my wrist. "You encouraged the village to push through their loss, yet you couldn't do the sa-"

She fell silent.

"…Lolo…?"

"Hold on…" The despair on her face seemed to dissipate a bit. "I… could've sworn I felt something…"

She pulled my wrist closer to her, pressing her index and middle fingers to its underside. I could almost feel my veins thumping against them…

"You…" she remarked, her voice a bit calmer, "…you… still have a… a pulse…?"

"I… I think so…?"

Before I could ask why, she leaned towards me, pressing her ear to my chest.

"Your heart…" Did she… did she just chuckle? "It's still beating…"

"And… yours isn't?"

She pulled away, shaking her head slightly. And was she… was she grinning?

"Feel for yourself." She took off her bracelets, holding them as she offered her hands to me again.

Reluctantly, I pulled off my gloves, pocketing them before pressing my fingers against her wrists' undersides. Neither one of them had a pulse.

Just like in the Lunar Base…

I let go of her arms, pointing at her chest. "You… you mind if I…?"

"Go ahead…" she answered, spreading out her arms.

With that invitation, I pressed my ear to her chest. While I could hear her breathe steadily, her heart didn't seem to beat…

"H-how…?" I tried to ask, pulling my head back.

"Klonoa…" she cut in, slipping her bracelets back on.

"You know what this means, right?" She grabbed my shoulders once again, still grinning.

N-not really… I… I swore my heart raced when I heard her approach… shouldn't hers be beating as well…?

…Unless…

"I'm… I'm still alive?"

She nodded. My heart sank once again.

"B-but how…?" I stammered. "H-how did I survi-"

"I don't know…" Lolo cut in again, standing me back up. "It's possible Guntz or his dad brought you back in in time… and thank Claire they did…"

She pulled me into her embrace once again. Nervously, I wrapped my arms around her back likewise.

"T-then…" I continued to stammer, my expression falling. "…Then I have to… I have to leave you again?"

"Yep… at least, until I can reach you in your sleep…"

"And… how long will… will that be?"

"Not sure… Mari said it took her two years to finally see Pango again…"

I tensed up. Can I even wait that long without…?

Lolo, noticing, continued: "…T-then again, she didn't have anyone to guide her, so who knows? With her help, I might be able to visit you sooner… visit all of you sooner…"

I thought it over, several tears streaming down my cheeks. "…That'd…that'd be great, but…"

I hesitated. "…But what if this happens again in the meantime? I couldn't even make it two weeks without you, so I… I doubt I could wait two years… hell, I don't think I can even wait one year…"

"Because you love me too much?"

I shot her a confused glance. Noticing, she hastily pulled out of our embrace, her face flustered. "A-as a close friend, I meant…"

"P-possibly, but…" I paused yet again. "…You don't… you don't think it's stronger than that, do you?"

She hesitated. "I… guess that depends on… on what you'd consider 'stronger'… you mean like Mari and Pango's relationship?"

"S-sorta, but I… I meant, like…" I sighed in contemplation, my expression still low. "…Like the kind where… where we'd do more for each other than what… than what close friends would do…"

She grinned again. "Such as?"

"Well… getting each other parting gifts, for one…"

"Like the Radiant Flower?"

"Yeah… or going out of… out of our way to help each other, no matter what…"

I gulped. "…Even if it means losing our lives in the process…"

"I see…" She hesitated once again. "In that case, if you… if you can't go on for my sake, then…

"…Then go on for your other friends' sakes… and for your grandpa's sake… 'cause without me, Breezegale will need its hero… someone to maintain their hope and peace… now more than ever. Even if you do so through small actions, like I have…"

Small actions… wait…

"…I guess Mari told you about my eulogy?"

Lolo nodded yet again. "She also said you encouraged Boris to do the same… and even got him his own hero medal in the process… sounds pretty heroic to me…"

"Not as heroic as driving back a giant nightmare-eating whale by yourself…"

She chuckled yet again, looking down at my legs. "I'd say it's a tie. Still, I…"

She froze.

"…Still, you what?" I followed her gaze… and nearly stumbled back from shock…

From my waist down, I could… I could see the ground through my legs and shoes! I reached down and touched them – fortunately, they were still tangible…

I stood back up, looking over the rest of my body. It wasn't just my legs – my ears started to turn transparent as well, with my hands and forearms quickly following suit…

"Erm…" Lolo stammered, approaching me once again. "S-still, I… guess it's time for you to head back…"

"Wait…" I panicked, "r-right now?"

She nodded profusely.

Shit… my hero medal… did Mari tell her…?

"Err…" I said shakily, my entire body from the neck down now transparent. "B-before we buried you, I… I gave…"

She pressed her finger to my lips. "I know. I haven't found it here yet, but I know. Though…"

She rested her free hand on my now-transparent shoulder, grinning once again.

"…You'll always be my hero…"

With that last remark…

…she kissed me on the nose.

"And I love you too, Klonoa…"

Now, I don't know if it's because I'm going back, or if it's because our feelings for each other were finally reciprocated, but I swore I could feel a warm aura radiate throughout my body…

…just as everything went white…