Home Once More (Guntz)

Eventually, I was woken up by a sharp jolt. We just landed.

I looked over at Klonoa, still strapped to his seat. His head was still tilted back, and his eyes were still closed. I considered pressing my ear to his chest again, making sure he was still breathing… until I heard him snore.

Thank Claire… I thought to myself, grinning slightly.

I unstrapped myself and looked out one of the cabin windows. Though the sun hadn't come up yet, the horizon was still lined with a dark, red light, just enough to illuminate our surroundings. From where I was looking, I could make out a few windmills off in the distance, along with a large, Sakura tree closer to us.

Using my wrist display, I double-checked my suit's radio, making sure it was still set to channel two. Before I could say anything, however, a somber voice crackled through the display's speaker.

"Hey, G-Guntz…? Pango here. Some loud thump woke us up… was that your rocket?"

"Y-yeah…" I spoke into the display's microphone, trying to keep my voice pensive. "We landed just south of Blossom Pass… I take it you got my message?"

"Yep…" He paused for a moment. "So, um… how's… how's Klonoa? Is he…"

I glanced back at the boy, still asleep. Should I tell Pango the good news now, or…?

"That's…" I continued, my voice still pensive, "I think it's best if you… if you and Popka see for yourselves. Do you want us to bring him to your place, or…?"

"N-no, it's fine…" the pangolin muttered, his tone sinking. "We can… we can come to you and… and get him from there."

"Very well…"


Fifteen minutes have passed. The sun finally rose out of the horizon, illuminating the pass with a soft, red light, some of it spilling into the cabin.

After muting my display's microphone, I went back over to the still-sleeping Klonoa, nudging him slightly. He slowly opened his eyes, groaning a bit.

"Slept well?" I asked, my voice calm.

"I… I guess so…" he answered. "I mean, I… didn't have any nightmares, in… in case you were wondering…"

"Good to hear…" I sighed. "So, Pango and Popka should be crossing into the pass any moment now-"

Almost as in response to my remark, the pangolin's somber voice crackled once more through my display's speaker. "Alright, we're, um… we're just outside the rocket – if you could lower the cargo ramp, P-Popka and I will… will come aboard and meet you…"

I un-muted myself, before pressing a few buttons on the onboard computer. "Got it – lowering the ramp now."

After muting myself again, I heard a loud hiss from outside, followed by the ramp creaking open.

"So, erm…" Klonoa began, unstrapping himself, "d-did you tell them I'm…?"

"Not just yet." I responded. "I figured they'd be more relieved if they… if they saw for themselves first…"

"I see…" he went on, just as the ramp thudded to a stop. "Like how when you and Butz…?"

"Pretty much."

"Got it – does that mean you'll hide me when they first come in, or…?"

He was cut off by the cargo bay door opening, albeit slowly. I motioned for him to hop out of his seat just as Pango and Popka stepped in, pensive looks on their faces.

"You know, Guntz…" Pango muttered, neither of them looking at us. "When I said Klonoa might do something reckless, this wasn't what I had in mi-"

As soon as they laid eyes on Klonoa, however, their pensive looks dissipated completely.

Now, I couldn't tell how my face looked when I saw Pops again yesterday, but I imagine it looked similar to how Pango and Popka's faces looked now.

Somewhere between shock, disbelief, and joy.

I glanced back at Klonoa, a slight grin forming on his face. He rushed towards the pangolin and dog-like boy, the three of them falling into each other's embraces – like when I last embraced Pops, their faces were filled with pure elation, tears rolling down their cheeks. I couldn't help but grin again.

"Y-you promised…" Popka eventually whimpered. "You promised you'd… you'd come back safe… you'd do everything you… you could to… to come back…"

"I know…" Klonoa whimpered back. "And I'm… I'm sorry I… I tried to break it…"

Pango and Popka shot him a confused look. "S-sorry; that…" he quickly added, "that was all I could… I could think to say now…"

"I-it's fine…" Pango commented, his face relaxing. "I'm just glad to have you back, that's all…"

"Me too." Popka added, his face relaxing likewise. "Though I'll… I'll probably have some choice words for you later on. I don't know what they'll be yet, but…"

"Well, don't be too harsh on him." Pops chimed in, just now getting out of his seat. "Guntz and I already talked it out with him back at the base."

"Right." I added. "And, um… Klonoa? Didn't Lolo tell you something while… while you were under…?"

"Oh, y-yeah…" Klonoa stammered. "She… she said she misses us as… as much as we miss her… and apparently, Marigold told her we… we weren't taking her passing well at all…"

"Marigold?" Popka asked, confused.

"Pango's wife." Klonoa added, before turning his attention to the pangolin. "Thanks for letting her know, by the way…"

"O-of course…" Pango turned to me, still embracing Klonoa. "Did you tell him about Mari…?"

I shook my head no.

"Lolo told me…" Klonoa cut in, his attention still on Pango. "She also said she's… she's working to visit us in our dreams, like how… like how Mari's visiting you…"

"R-really?" Popka asked, grinning a bit.

"Yep." He turned back to the dog-like boy. "With Marigold's help, she… she should be able to visit us sooner rather than later… I mean, just imagine how excited her parents'll be to… to see their daughter again…"

"No need for me ta." Popka went on, chuckling slightly. "I'm excited enough already… I imagine everyone else'll feel the same way, too…"

"Same here…" Klonoa hesitated. "…Though, from what Boris said back in Volk, she… she can only visit those who were close to her in life… you, me, Chipple, her parents…"

He turned to Pango once again. "That's why Mari couldn't… couldn't visit your son, right?"

"R-right…" the pangolin muttered.

"Fair enough…" Popka added. "Although I… I wasn't just referring to everyone seeing Lolo again…"

"Let me guess…" I cut in. "…You meant everyone seeing Klonoa again?"

"Pretty much…" Popka responded, turning to me. "I, erm… I take it Pango told you how worried we… we were for him?"

I nodded. "And apparently, Lolo told Klonoa the same thing while… while he was unconscious…"

"It's true..." Klonoa added, slowly pulling out of his friends' embraces. "That reminds me, I… I should probably check up on Grandpa and Chipple; if they're as worried as you say they are…"

"Oh, they are." Pango noted, his and Popka's expressions falling. "Especially now…"

"What do you mean 'especia…'?" Klonoa stopped himself, his tone sinking a bit. "D-did you tell them I almost…?"

The pangolin and dog-like boy nodded.

So much for respecting his wishes…

"W-why…?"

Popka sighed, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. "Y-you remember how shocked Chipple and I were when… when we saw Lolo's corpse, right?"

"Of course…"

"Well, we… we just wanted to give everyone a… a bit of a warning this time… make sure they aren't as surprised if… if you didn't make it after all…"

Silence. So, basically the same reason why I sent that message…

…Wait…

"…What do you mean 'everyone'?" I asked.

Pango and Popka tilted their heads down, not saying a word. Eventually, they pointed toward the cabin window – the same one I looked out of last time.

Klonoa, Pops and I rushed over, desperate to see who else was told about the former's near-demise. As we looked out and scanned the pass over, the color seemed to drain from our faces… Klonoa's face even more so…

Standing in the pass, illuminated by the red, dawn sun, was a large crowd of villagers. Leading the pack was Klonoa's grandfather, his arms on Boris and Chipple's shoulders.

I couldn't count exactly how many other villagers came over. We were so high up that a lot of their figures seemed to blend together – we couldn't even make out their faces.

Though, there had to be at least as many people there as there were at Lolo's funeral.

And each and every one of them was unnervingly still… how long had they been standing there?

Klonoa and I turned back to the pangolin and dog-like boy. "How much did you tell them?" we asked in unison.

"Relax…" Popka told us, before locking eyes with Klonoa. "All they know is you were exposed to the vacuum of space – we didn't tell 'em you went out willingly."

"He's right." Pango added, looking at Klonoa likewise. "Like Guntz said, you didn't want anyone else to know about… about your 'thoughts', right? Or that you acted on them?"

"Right…" Klonoa muttered, stepping away from the window. "Especially Grandpa…"

"Figures…" He paused. "Honestly, I… I can see why, too, especially after your eulogy… if you still had those thoughts afterwards, I'd… I'd think some of us might've seen you as… as a hypocrite…"

"'Cause I couldn't push through my loss…?" Klonoa asked. "Even though that's what I encouraged everyone else to do?"

"Y-yeah…"

Klonoa let out a weak chuckle. "Thought so… Lolo did say the irony wouldn't be lost on you…"

Popka chuckled likewise… though he didn't seem to lighten up. "Even so, you've… you've done too much for Breezegale already, we… we didn't want it to go to waste…"

Klonoa sighed. "…Thanks, you two…"

"Any time…" Popka said, approaching Klonoa. "So, um… you still ready to check up on everyone?"

"Ready when you are."

With this, he headed out through the cargo bay door, the dog-like boy following behind. I started to follow them likewise, but Pango held me back.

"Do you mind staying up here a bit longer?" he asked. "I, erm… I still need to tell you something after… after Klonoa's taken care of."

"S-sure…" I answered nervously.

The three of us – Pango, Pops, and myself – looked out the cabin window once again, scanning the crowd below. Almost as soon as Klonoa came into view, a wave of joy seemed to spread over everyone; though the villagers rejoiced in celebration, I couldn't make out what they were saying from up here.

Chipple and Boris rushed towards Klonoa, the latter's grandfather trying to keep up. The three children fell into each other's embraces, Popka following up behind and joining in himself. I couldn't help but grin once more.

Klonoa… here's hoping they can give you the help you need…

Without warning, the pangolin pulled me in for an embrace of his own, his arms wrapping around my back. Though startled, I wrapped my arms likewise.

"Thank you…" he sighed. "Thank you for bringing our hero home…"

"O-of course…" I stammered. "If anything, you… you should probably thank my pops – he's the one who knew how to save Klonoa…"

"Right…" Pops cut in. "Still, you deserve some credit for bringing him back in as fast as you did; if he'd been out in the vacuum a minute longer, then…"

He sighed. "Then that scene out the window… it might've looked a hell of a lot different from now…"

"Fair enough…" I said. "He's lucky I decided to leave my spacesuit on for our fight…"

"Same here." Pango chuckled. "So what's next for you two? I imagine you'll want to make sure Klonoa's settled back in?"

"Y-yeah, then…" I told Pango about what Pops and I had planned – specifically, catching up with each other while going on a few more jobs together.

"Though before all that…" I continued, looking down at my spacesuit, "…I should probably get changed first…"