CONTENT WARNING:

Trigger Warning for Gore/Blood, Eye Strain and Disturbing imagery

Viewer Discretion is advised!

"What the heck was that!?" Popka's head spun around to face the direction of what caught his attention.

Shortly after they had departed from the Chamber of Horrors, gunfire could be heard from where the trio were standing. No screaming or any other sound of chaos - just a single gun being unloaded, then silence.

"W-we should go back." said Klonoa, already setting his mind on returning.

Lolo put a hand in front of him before he could take another step.

Klonoa looked at his ally with confusion. But, instead of telling him why she stopped him, the La-Lakooshan pointed towards the skies above them. That was when the cabbit noticed something hovering above the city. It looked to be a miniature airship, of sorts. It took him a second, but the more he looked at it, the more he realised what it meant.

"Wait, isn't that…?"

"Leorina!" Popka finished the cabbit's sentence.

"What's she doing in Joilant?" asked Klonoa.

"By the sound of it, putting a few more holes into the clown's cranium."

"Leptio used to be one of her monsters." Lolo explained, looking back at her friend. "After you left, the two, alongside the other Lunateans, helped rebuild Hyuponia, alongside fixing the damages they caused previously. But Leptio ended up betraying her and running away. Leorina has been tracking him down ever since. But, for the longest time, nobody could find him."

Lolo let out a saddened sigh, looking around at the still-frozen, war torn state of the Kingdom.

"If only she had known the trouble he'd cause here…"

Her frustration was a mutual feeling across the trio, without them having to say another word. "We should keep moving." the Priestess stated. "The other Kingdoms need our help, more than ever."

"You think they'll be alright?"

"Leorina has grown a lot since the last time you met her. I know they'll be alright, Klonoa."

Klonoa was still a little wary, but seeing Lolo's warm, confident smile gave him enough re-assurance that Joilant would be in good hands. So, the trio continued their journey.

A few hours passed, and the heroes had made it to the forest Mamett suggested they go through. The long sprawl of trees seemed to cover a lot of ground; they should provide enough cover for the trio to avoid detection, rather than being out in the open fields. As they entered the woods, Lolo looked up to the sky. Although the trees blocked a lot of natural light, she could still make out that the blue sky was starting to darken as the day started coming to an end. Soon, nighttime would be upon them.

"We should probably set up camp soon." the Priestess suggested. "It'll be difficult to navigate in the dark, and I think we could do with some rest."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." objected Klonoa, looking at his surroundings. "It might be dangerous."

"I think we should be alright, Klonoa, as long as we're careful. We just need somewhere to sleep."

"Yeah, I'm with Lolo on this one." Popka chimed in. "I'm worn out from bashing so many bots. I could use a nap."

"We'll be sitting targets, though." the cabbit added. "If someone catches us here, we're in trouble."

"We need to sleep, regardless. I don't know about Popka, but I've not had the chance to get any sleep, what with having to constantly defend others against the robots.

"Yeah!" The dog agreed with his friend. "Plus, one of us can keep watch for bots or somethin'."

Klonoa didn't say anything. Though, he still seemed hesitant to accept Lolo's suggestion.

"Besides, don't you need to sleep, too? You must be exhausted, Klonoa."

"I'm fine. Volk isn't much further away. Just another hour or so, and we'll be there."

"Have ya seen the state of Volk at the moment?" Popka asked, a little annoyed. "It's chaos! It ain't exactly an ideal napping spot."

Lolo nodded at Popka's statement, agreeing.

"Yeah; not long after you left, there was a brief window of peace. But a year or so later, the Volkans just went straight back to fighting."

"It's those two old farts! They're just making crap worse for everyone!"

"Old…farts?" Klonoa had never heard anything or anyone being described that way.

"It's a long story." Lolo sighed. "I'm too worn out to go into depth right now. We need to rest. If we're going into Volk, we're going to need all the strength we can replenish."

"But…"

"Look. If you wanna head to Volk right now, we ain't gonna stop you!" Popka interrupted the Dream Traveller mid-objection, sounding irritated at his stubbornness. "But we need to rest. It's two against one, so whatcha gonna do?

"It's just…we…"

Klonoa wanted to protest camping further, but he was struggling to think of a reason that'd change their minds.

"Fine." he huffed. "But if we stay, we need to cover our bases and be careful, like you said. You two set up here, I'm gonna look around to make sure there's nothing nearby that'll cause us trouble."

Before either of the two could say anything more to him, Klonoa turned around and departed deeper into the woods.

Lolo and Popka waited until he was out of sight, before looking at each other with concerned expressions.

"Man!" said the canine, shaking his head. "I don't remember him being so stubborn when we first met him."

Lolo didn't answer right away. She couldn't stop thinking about something, and now that it was just her and Popka-

"...You feel it too, right?" she quietly asked her friend.

"What, tiredness?"

"No." Lolo rolled her eyes. "It's about Klonoa."

She took a deep breath in and out, before continuing.

"When I was at the temple, after the High Priestess' talk with the three of us, she pulled me aside to tell me something. I know I said before that she just offered some encouragement, but there was more. More that I couldn't say in front of him…"

Before she even said what the issue was, Popka felt uneasy, sensing that whatever Lolo was about to tell him was going to be bad.

"She sensed a darkness within his heart." the girl carried on. "Something so strong, it could consume him if nothing was done about it."

"That would explain his attitude, I guess. Any ideas of what this 'darkness' thing is?"

"That's the problem." Lolo shrugged, unsure. "I don't know. And I can't figure out the best way to help him."

"Well, whilst he's out 'exploring', let's have a think before he gets back." her companion suggested, taking a seat on a rock across from the girl. "What do ya know?"

Lolo thought to herself, trying to remember any potential clues and cues she noticed.

"Let's see…he's been acting quite distant. There was that time in the Mayor's office where he lashed out a little when I sided with Mamett's evacuation plan. Then after we beat Leptio, he was hyperventilating against the wall. He calmed a little bit when we sat next to him, but he looked like he was going to be sick."

"Yeah, I remember. Now that I think about it, didn't he go dead quiet when he started talking about his past adventures back at the Sea of Tears? Maybe something like this happened in his past, and it reminded him of that."

"You mean like, trauma?" Lolo sounded fearful when she said that last word. "...Wait! The scar!"

"The scar?"

"Earlier, when I was healing his wounds, I noticed he had a large scar going across his chest. It wasn't recent, but it looked bad. Do you think it might have something to do with that?"

"I bet it does." Popka thought a little bit more, something about mentioning his past had him thinking.

"OH! What about that bird guy? He seemed pretty determined to kick Klo's ass into next year. I gotta hunch he knows something about all this. Maybe next time we bump into him, we can pry it outta him."

"Well, no matter what it is, it's not good, Popka. And I don't think Klonoa's going to tell us on his own accord. But I…"

Lolo put her head in her hands.

"I-I feel like whatever I do is only going to make things worse, but I can't just sit by and do nothing whilst he silently suffers. I want to help him, b-but I'm also scared of hurting him more. Like, when I asked about his scar, it seemed like I offended him; like I asked about something that wasn't any of my business and invaded his privacy. And yet I feel like it all rests on me to save him, because if I don't, then he'll…he'll…"

She looked back up to her friend, her eyes welling up from just thinking about the dark place her racing mind was wandering towards.

"I don't want to hurt him, Popka. I don't want to be the reason things get worse for him."

Sensing herself starting to cry, she wiped her eyes and did her best to collect herself.
"I care for him too much to lose him like this…"

Popka took a second to process everything. He didn't usually like to do this, but he knew he had to choose his next words carefully. This was serious business now.

After a moment of quiet, he decided to stand next to Lolo, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Lo, I think ya puttin' way too much pressure on yourself. I think you just simply being his friend and supporting him through rough patches is all that can be done. It don't sound like a lot, but it makes a hell of a difference. At least, to me it does."

Lolo looked at her friend, who gave her a warm smile in response. She appreciated his kind words, but still couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't doing enough to help.

"Also, I dunno about you," Popka continued, "but Klonoa hasn't exactly been treating us too well. I got no idea what's been going on in his personal life, but that ain't an excuse to take it out on ya. I'll have a word with him later."

"P-please don't!" Lolo said, slightly panicked. "I don't want him to feel bad for his trauma."

"I ain't gonna shame him for that; I just want him to know that his behaviour could do with a bit of a check, yo."

Lolo looked down at her hands, sighing.

"I just… I want him to know that we're here for him."

"I'll let him know." the canine responded. "Now, get yourself some sleep, Lo. I'll keep watch for a bit. Just until Klo gets back. Might go grab some fruit to keep me going, I'm starvin'."

The Priestess chuckled in reply, before giving her companion a brief hug.

"Thank you, Popka."

"Heh, what would ya do without me, sis? Now go to bed."

Despite his snark, he was happy to have been able to cheer his best friend up, even if it was just a little bit. As Lolo decided to rest on the grass behind him, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. She had been so busy, between helping those hurt by the invaders and her adventure with Klonoa and Popka, she hadn't had a chance to get some proper rest.

Alone with his thoughts, Popka couldn't help but wonder. The 'trauma' theory the two had discussed held merit; Klonoa never seemed like the kind of person to lash out or act this way for no reason. It'd be better for everyone that he not try and make assumptions, he thought, nor try and pry into his personal life.

That being said, the least he could do was perhaps have him treat his best friend a bit less like crap.

Aside from the rustling of leaves and the natural sounds of the local fauna, the forest was quiet. Regardless, Klonoa believed that he shouldn't let his guard down. The trees may provide cover, but there was still a risk of being caught by Garlen and Lidoc's forces.

"Lidoc…"

The Dream Traveller felt like he was supposed to know anything about the cyborg - especially considering the fact that he seemed to hold an intense grudge against him. All he knew about him was that he's working with Garlen, he was some kind of cyborg, and was strong as hell. And yet, something about how he moved Lolo to one side in a way that didn't harm her, or how he chose not to engage with any of the citizens in combat, made Klonoa believe that there was more to him than met the eye, or at the very least, he wasn't as evil as his collaborator.

No matter what, though, he knew more than ever not to let his guard down. Not only because the mad scientist could pummel him into a thin paste, but also to make sure his friends didn't get-

-AAAAAAAAAAAHH!-

"OH NO!"

There was no mistaking it. That scream came from Lolo, back where he left her and Popka. Wind Ring in hand, Klonoa ran back to where he started as fast as he could.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

His mind was racing with adrenaline-induced fear. How could he just leave them there by themselves!? Why was the air suddenly so deathly silent!? What if he was-

…too late.

The bodies laid before him were borderline unrecognisable, outside of a few features.

His eyes darted around the scene - Popka was lifelessly slumped over a rock, his throat slit and blood pouring onto the grass beneath him, painting it a ghastly shade of red. But that was nothing compared to what had befallen the Priestess. Limbs severed and dotted around the area, a large stab wound in her chest.

Her mangled, decapitated head was being held up by a monster cloaked in shadow. With sharpened claws and jagged spikes protruding from all over its body, it gazed upon its latest victim, as if it was sadistically admiring its kill. As soon as it sensed a living being nearby, it looked directly at Klonoa, its eyes piercing the darkness of the rest of its form. The mortified boy was speechless, falling to his knees and clutching his head, dropping his now-useless weapon.

He didn't even have time to blink before the entity claimed one more body.

And then he woke up.

As Klonoa opened his eyes, his body jolted upwards so hard, he nearly pulled a muscle. His breathing was rapid, his fur drenched with sweat. He looked to his side, and was met with a surprised look from a very much living and breathing Popka. He was sitting on a rock by a small campfire, munching on an apple he presumably plucked from a nearby tree. Klonoa frantically scoured the area for Lolo, only to see her peacefully sleeping on the grass. No blood in sight.

"You good, Klo?" Popka asked once he saw Klonoa's breathing slow down. "Ya look like ya saw a ghost."

Klonoa gave a sigh of relief, before rubbing his eyes. No way in hell was he gonna go back to sleep after a nightmare like that. Seeing another rock across from Popka, he decided to take a seat and join his friend by the campfire.

"Guessing you can't sleep either, right?" the cabbit asked.

"Are you kidding!?" Popka sounded like he was trying to yell without waking up Lolo. "I've wanted nothin' more than to sleep. But when you got back, ya just passed out. I've had to keep watch ever since!"

Klonoa felt a little embarrassed for unintentionally keeping Popka up all night.

"Well, I'm awake now, so you can go get some sleep if you need it. I'll keep watch for the rest of the night."

"Eh, no point now. I ain't too tired. Besides, I got apples to eat. Here. Help me get through 'em."

Popka chucked an apple towards Klonoa's direction, who caught it with ease.

"Thanks." the cabbit said, taking a bite out of the fruit. Juicy, sweet, and crunchy. They tasted different from the ones back home, but still delicious, nevertheless.

As the two sat by the fire, the silence grew a little awkward.

"So…" Popka initiated. "Any ideas on who that bird fella is? He seems to know ya."

Klonoa shrugged.

"I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out a time when we could've bumped into each other. But I got nothing."

"He really seems to have it out for ya. I'm more so wondering how he and Garlen even got here."

"I don't know. But if they were able to reach this world, they can probably reach any. If I… if we fail, nothing will stand in their way."

Even from a slight stutter in the Dream Traveller's words, Popka could see part of the problem as clear as day. It seemed like it wasn't just Lolo who was putting pressure on themselves.

"I wouldn't worry 'bout that. We'll get 'em. I'm like, 99% confident that we'll win."

Klonoa didn't offer a rebuttal, but the look on his face indicated a slight sense of doubt that was hard to shake off. Things got a little quiet and uncomfortable as a result.

"...A-anyways…" Popka tried his best to find a smooth segway into the next topic. "Is everything ok? Y'know, with you?"

Klonoa was not expecting him to ask a question like that.

"Uuuh… yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Popka didn't have to say anything, only raising his eyebrows at Klonoa's blatant lie. Even the cabbit knew that he couldn't hide it to this extent.

"Look, I'm just a little tense. I just watched a good person get murdered by an evil clown when I probably could've saved him, then I got my butt kicked by a cyborg, then I find out the guy who held Lolo hostage and nearly turned me into a GEAR is back with a vengeance. It's been a long day."

"I get that, Klo. But even before all of that, you've been acting funny ever since we started all travelling together again. There's something buggin' ya."

Klonoa averted his eyes.

"Fine. Don't tell me. It ain't exactly somethin' I'm dying to know anyways. But I think ya should at least treat Lo a bit better, yo."

That caught his attention. Popka just wasn't sure if it was because he was concerned about how he treated Lolo, or because the topic wasn't about whatever he was hiding anymore.

"What do you mean?"

"Back at the mayor's office, ya kinda bit her head off when you were having that argument. Then there was earlier, when you were being kind of a stubborn ass in regards to not wanting to camp out for the night."

"I…" Klonoa wasn't sure how to respond. "I-I wasn't trying to be rude."

"I know ya weren't, bro. But that's how ya came across. And I'd feel like a suck-up if I didn't bring it up."

Klonoa looked down at his feet, ashamed. Popka thought he looked a bit like when you tell a pet off for breaking something.

"There's a lot goin' on right now; I get the rush to save the world and all. But we gotta look out for each other if we're gonna kick Garlen's ass as a team, y'know?"

"Right…"

The mood was definitely low, and it looked like Klonoa wasn't in the position to bring things up right now.

"Look man, don't worry too much about it. It's a lotta pressure. Maybe just apologise to Lo in the morning or somethin'. She's been worried sick about ya, and I think it'd be better that you're honest with each other. Y'know, considering how much ya love each other 'n' all."

"I… I will. Thank you, Popka. I'm sorry for my behaviour."

"It's all good, yo!"

A warm smile appeared on Klonoa's face. He was genuine with his words. He doesn't always consider how he can come across whenever he's either stressed or has his mind set on something. He was glad to have friends like Popka to keep him in che-

"Wait." the cabbit boy realised something. "What was that last sentence you said?"

"Ah-HAH!" Popka pointed at Klonoa and laughed, before closing his mouth as to not wake Lolo up. "I gotcha! Don't think I haven't noticed how ya been blushing whenever you two were sharing a nice moment together. Staring into each other's eyes. Letting her feel up ya pecs 'n' shit."

Klonoa's cheeks went bright red.

"I-It's not like that!" he frantically protested. "Sh-she was just healing my wounds. I-I-I just like her as a friend."

Popka just gave him a shit-eating grin in response.

"Klo, it's ok if ya like her man. I ain't gonna object cuz I know you'd treat her well, heh."

"But I-I never said I liked her or anything, YOU said that!"

"Whatever ya say, man!" the dog chuckled, before picking up another apple, resuming his feast.

At this point, Klonoa's face was as red as the fire burning before him. He felt hotter than the flames, too. Popka paid no mind, chowing down on his snacks, but the cabbit both looked, and felt, like he was about to burst. Until eventually:

"A-and besides," he broke the silence, earning the canine's smug attention once again, "even if I did lov…uhh…like her like that, it could never work."

Popka's sly smirk diminished a little.

"How so? If ya don't mind me askin'."

Klonoa's blush started to fade, his face now bearing a more downbeat expression.

"I'm a Dream Traveller. My mission is to help other worlds in danger when summoned, then leave. I can't stay in a world I don't belong in, no matter how hard I try. I have to wake up, after all."

"Whaddya mean by 'wake up'?"

Klonoa realised that he had a lot to either explain or abbreviate, in regards to how Dream Travelling works.

"To make a long story short, I travel to different worlds in my sleep. To me, this is like a dream. Once I leave Lunatea, I'll wake up in my own bed and go about my day. There's a lot more to it than just that though, but, again, it's a long and very confusing story."

"Hm." Popka didn't have many words. He wasn't expecting his friend to talk about this after some teasing. It got him thinking, however.

"Klo, what's your home life like? If ya 'wake up' when ya leave, what stuff do ya get up to next?"

"To be honest, not too much. Life at home is simple. I wake up, eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, tend to my garden, then find something to pass the time."

"You a gardener?"

"Gotta make a living somehow, heh." Klonoa elaborated, rubbing the back of his head. "I grow flowers, fruit and vegetables, then sell them at the town market. It's just something I've always liked doing, ever since my Grandma taught me how to as a kid."

"Ya got any friends?"

"...Would you buy it if I said 'yes'?"

Klonoa smiled and shrugged, awkwardly. Popka wasn't sure how to reply to Klonoa's admittance.

"Between you and me, the only friends I have are the ones I make on my adventures. But even then, I can't let myself get too attached, because it'd only hurt everyone more when I have to leave. It's extremely rare that I see them again. My house is in a quiet, rural area. I live on my own, never really having any friends growing up, and…"

He suddenly realised how long he had been chatting.

"Oh man, I am just talking your ear off, aren't I? Sorry about that." he chuckled. "But, back on topic. That's why I don't think I can just tell her how I feel. It wouldn't be fair on her… i-if I did like her, of course, hah hah."

Despite his best efforts to move onto a different subject, Popka could only imagine how lonely he must feel for a lot of his life. He didn't even feel like teasing Klonoa about his crush. He just felt sad now.

"A-anyways," the Dream Traveller continued, "I'm feeling a little better now. Do you wanna swap places, so that you can get some sleep?"

"Nah, it's fine, bro."

"Are you sure, Popka? You seemed like you wanted to sleep earlier."

"I'm honestly not that tired now. I'll just take a nap in ya Ring when we head off to Volk. I doubt I'd be missin' much by doing so."

"If you say so." As Klonoa passed Popka, he gave the canine a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks for talking with me, Popka. I'm glad to have someone to talk to. Good night."

"No problem! Night, Klo."

Seeing how comfortable she looked, Klonoa decided to lie down on the grass near Lolo. He thought it might help him sleep better if he was lying down somewhere better than before.

Popka was on his own now. He didn't admit it in front of either of his friends, but he had a lot on his mind at this point. Between what both Klonoa and Lolo told him, he was having a hard time thinking of how to feel. He was glad that he managed to get Klonoa to check his attitude and open up a little bit, but he didn't feel much closer to figuring out that "darkness within his heart" his friend was worrying about earlier.

That being said, now that Klonoa seemed a little calmer than before, he might be a bit more open with him and Lolo going forward. Popka did his best to shake off his own doubts for now, before taking another bite out of his currently half-eaten apple and getting cosy by the fire.

This was gonna be a long night.

Klonoa stared at the stars above. Despite not being too far away from an active war zone in Volk, it was surprisingly quiet, aside from the soft buzzing of insects within the forest. The serenity would almost make you forget that Lunatea was in the middle of an otherworldly invasion. Though he originally objected to the idea of resting for the night, after taking the time to unwind a little, Klonoa was glad Lolo and Popka were able to change his mind. He needed this.

The cabbit turned to his side, where a sleeping Lolo was lying beside him. She looked peaceful, and he couldn't help but smile. This didn't last long, however, as the talk he had with Popka came back to him.

"...I can't stay in a world I don't belong in, no matter how hard I try…"

"...I can't let myself get too attached, because it'd only hurt everyone more when I have to leave…"

"...it could never work…"

He had a duty to fulfil, no matter how hard he wanted to go against the rules just this once.

He protested against the mere concept to Popka, but he couldn't deny it forever. He-

"Manya!?"

-tried his best to contain his shock, when Lolo turned over to her other side in her sleep, stretching her arm over his chest. She was practically sleeping on him without realising.

Klonoa daren't move, lest he wake her up in the middle of the night. So he just had to lie there, flustered beyond belief. Although, seeing her serene, sleeping, honestly beautiful face provided him with a sense of comfort, as well as a feeling of butterflies within his stomach.

He felt the urge to protect her with his life, to make sure she was safe and happy, and even though he knew he'd most likely never see her again after all of this is over, he wanted to make sure she knew that she'd always have him as her friend.

Popka was right, but there was absolutely no way the boy would admit it to him, lest he get a huge heaping of "I told you so"s.

Laying on the grass with Lolo, thinking about his true feelings for her, he felt his mind be carried away into a gentle sea of memories.

As his eyes grew heavier, slowly closing, he started recalling a core memory from not too long ago. One that gave him a similar sensation to what he was feeling right now…