Shiro reached out. He was standing inside a room that seemed to made of glimmering night, When did it all start to feel so distant? So...small?
He stands, but there is no floor beneath his feet. He breathes, but his lungs take in no air but light reflected from every surface, making to look peaceful, tranquil, painless. A stark departure from the agony he endured in another world.
He spun around and saw a shape of like a person, a woman-the same person his first vision. White hair, her skin is a warm brown, her eyes are a mix of galaxy blue and turquoise with purple pupils, and her Altean marks are light pink.
Matching her appearance, she wore a dress of whites with splashes of pink, with accents of dark blue about her shoulders and waist. " Hello, Shiro", the woman said.
"Who are you?" Shiro asked, "are you Allura!?".
Shiro has a good guess to her identity since basically everyone's been talking about her, "I am, I am Allura, my people have been waiting for you l, for a long time. but I could not reach you until you found the portal".
"You activate the portal?" Shiro asked.
"Yes to look for the sword", Allura replied, an image of a sword, It looks like a samurai sword with blue gen embedded in the grey hilt, but the sword itself was forged from a silver-white metal that gleaming from the sunlight, Shiro reached for it, but his hand passed right through it.
"Altea requires you, Shiro", Allura said, "will you answer it's the call? will you fight for the people of Arus and the planet?"
"What are you talking about?" Shiro asked. " what is that, what sword? You're not making any sense! I don't understand".
"You will", Allura promised. The vision began to break apart around them, Allura faded away.
"Wait! Come back..." he murmured as he awoke.
What Shiro saw was the shrine's bright ceiling. Shiro was right where he was before he fell asleep: still in the room where he recovered.
God had not heard his plea. "Why...?" As he slowly arose, he sort of wanted to cry. Everyone back home had to be worried sick. Panicked... everyone was probably looking for him. Adam... he wondered what happened to him. He was standing right there watching when he was dragged into the well or the portal by the centipede woman, since he was so easily frightened, he had to have been scared to death, no one will ever believe him, especially how he got hurt.
Just how long was he going to have to be in this place... this planet? How was he going to get back to his own world? And why was he even all mixed up in this in the first place?
Was it because he really was Altea's savor
So, like it was fate, as he led here? "What do I do...? If I can't ever get back home, what's going to happen to me...?" The most frightening thought surfaced in Shiro's mind, making him filled with doubt.
"No, don't give up! You got to remember" he scolded himself out loud. Keeping such pessimistic thoughts wouldn't change his situation. Just keep your eyes forward. Just believe you'll be able to go home. Stop fretting and try doing something.
The room was already empty, with a few injured and nurses for the day, judged it, it was getting to be the afternoon. For some reason, Coran and Romelle seemed to be gone. Having probably gone off somewhere, he didn't see Keith, either.
Shiro stood up briskly and did a few routine stretches from the training wing of the Garrison. Once he got his blood flowing, he started feeling a little better. At any rate, might as well try walking around the shrine and if he managed to see him, maybe try talking to Keith a bit, just to get his thoughts together. he still couldn't believe what he was hearing, though. To hear that he was the reincarnation of the priestess and the samurai who protected the quintessence Crystal, not to mention last night's attack from Mistress Centipeede...it just caused his head to swirl. Not just that, but now, not only did he have to find some way to get home, but he was also tasked with protecting this crystal?
And to think, all of this happened in one day, of all things.
As Shiro walked through the hallways of the shrine, the Alteans servants looked up and watched him with awe.
"Did you hear?" asked a young woman. "I heard that he is actually Lady Allura, reborn...!"
"You don't say," whispered an elderly man with a hand duster. "Come to think of it, he seems to share Lady Allura's regal countenance."
As Shiro turned around, he gasped in surprise upon seeing the Alteans, bowing their heads and folding their hands in prayer.
"Uh...okay, this is weird...!" Shiro said.
On the Shrine's garden with sunlight and clear skies, covered the grass with a garden of beautiful flowers, like shrubs of Hydrangea and Daisies, Pansies, and Weiss flowers in pots, all in line. but the most important feature was the beauty of the purple flowers called juniberry, surrounding the shrubs and the pots lived a cedar tree, close to the windows and sitting on a branch of the tree. Keith was sullen, upon awakening from his sealed slumber, he'd been told that woman, Allura had dead, Nevertheless, he will be the one who ended up with the Crystal.
"She dies and I didn't know, but that means he dies too," Keith said, in his head out loud. the felt of tears fell from the corners of his eyes and teeth grinding, with guilt boiling up in him.
Why they, both Allura and Takashi have to die.
But at that have to wait, now a man who bore the face and appearance of Takashi but was otherwise a completely different person was here. He may have been completely different, but her energy was the same as Allura's, not to mention he carried the quintessence Crystal, and furthermore he used that spell to subdue him...
"That man had the same Powers as Allura", Keith said to himself.
As Coran had said so, but was it really true? That man had all of Takashi's calmness, and he was but can be short-tempered and violent, he isn't stupid or naive, he was look pretty intelligent just like Takashi was. At any rate, he was much too different from Takashi.
Still, he had managed to disintegrate the sacred arrow that Allura had poured her will into, so that was a plus.
"Looks like I was the one who ended up free" Keith thought. Being sealed for fifty years was nothing, he'd surely get the quintessence Crystal this time. "he's not Allura so I'd have plenty of opportunities, plus it doesn't look like he can do that sealing trick".
Before he had a moment to figure it out, he suddenly reached around behind his back and caught something in his hand. At first, he thought it might have been a stone or something, but when he brought it up to his face to see what it was, he found that it was a pear.
"What the...?" he muttered.
"Hey! Don't you wanna eat something?"
Keith turned to see Shiro, down on the ground below. For some reason, he was carrying bundles of fruits and vegetables like apples, persimmons, pears, daikon, carrots, and other things.
"Where'd you get all those things?" Keith asked.
"The Alteans gave them to me," said Shiro. "Why don't you come down from there and help me eat this stuff?"
"Hmm." Keith frowned, believing some sort of revenge on him? but with no other option, Keith decides to sit down, If he left an opening, he could steal the quintessence Crystal.
Shiro sat at the base of the tree and began stuffing his face with delicious-looking Apple. While Keith sat on his haunches with his ears flat against his head like a nervous dog, staring warily at her, even while he was eating some pear.
"...Look here, man," said Keith. "Whatever you're up to, I ain't buyin' it, got that?"
"Buying what?" Shiro asked as he swallowed his bite of the pear. "Listen...I think it's fair to say you don't like me, right?"
"Ha!" Keith scoffed. "WAY more than fair!"
"Okay, okay," Shiro replied. "Look...it's not even me you don't like. It's this Allura lady, right?"
Keith paused...but then he growled and leaped back up into the tree, causing Shiro to sigh.
"Oh, come on!" Kagome said in exasperation. "Look...I'm NOT Allura, okay? I'm Shiro! Come on, can't we just call a truce?"
"Aha!!" Keith exclaimed. "I knew it! What you don't get it is that I'm only after the quintessence Crystal! You're just trying to get me to lower my guard!!"
Shiro hesitates. Not for the first time, he struggled to articulate the reason he found such a fascination with the young man before him.
"Why do you want the crystal so desperately!" Shiro blurted out, while he looked down at the pear.
This was the Last straw for Keith as he walked out.
"Wait, I didn't mean it like that", Shiro said, Trying to apologize. Suddenly, a strange force pushes Keith back to Shiro.
"Augh!" Keith gasps.
Hey, are you OK", Shiro said, concerned, but as soon he reaches out his hand, it was glowed in white and purple.
"What is this, Why my hand glowing," Shiro said, feeling starred.
"I forgot, you are my D-user," Keith said, Sarcastically.
"D-user, what is that," Shiro said.
Keith reeled "a D-user is a person who doesn't have a daemon".
"Doesn't have a daemon, what you mean," Shiro said, wondering by the statement.
"They are 3 types of daemons right, light, dark and anima", Keith explaining, "Anima Daemon is the type to be born with a human but there still some humans there aren't born without one, Hence for the name D-user".
Shiro realizes that this is what Coran was talking about, but he still doesn't know anything about Daemons. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean it that time," he apologized hurriedly.
Keith groaned as he pulled himself from the ground, his face covered in dirt and grass stains.
How did he EVER get into this mess?
Unknowing to them in the damp darkness, the evil, the wretched, and the vile began to stir.
"So remember the plan" Haxus said to his men.
"Yes sir, we fight for the Empire. we conquer in the name of Galra. No foe has ever stood in our way and none ever will. Vrepit so!", all the men said in unison.
"Vrepit sa! soon the quintessence Crystal will be ours..." Haxus responded with a sinister smile.
Later that night, as everyone began to turn in to prepare for another day of hard work...Shiro lied on a bed that Coran gave him along with a room of his own. Although Shiro did appreciate the man's hospitality and kindness...the poor man couldn't help feeling just a little lonely. After all, it had been 2 days, now, since she appeared here in this world...and worst of all, people doesn't even know where he is.
he could only imagine their worried faces...especially Adam's. It was bad enough when he got injured...he couldn't imagine how boyfriend must be feeling, probably panicking at the thought of Shiro being missing for 2 days. Even if Shiro did find a way to get back home, what was he going to tell everybody?
"Somehow...I have to get back home," he whispered.
Elsewhere in the night, Romelle sat at her desk in a room in the shrine and wrote in her diary. "dear Coran, I know you're never read this, but I have to say it somewhere or write it" she said out loud. "I feel like you don't respect me or listening to me".
Whoosh! her slide door whizzed past Romelle's ear! lt stun her as footsteps came in her room, Romelle rolled her eyes, putting her head on the pillow, "Coran I have nothing to say to you", a figure below walked close to her to reveal the curious face of a man, Keith.
"Oh is you what you want!" Romelle said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was searching for my room," Keith said, "I still don't know what's around this place".
"Shhhh!", Romelle warned. "What are you I don't want Coran to know you here?". Normally, Romelle would be glad to have guests here, especially to comfort her about her situations with Haxus and Mistress Centipeetle, but the last thing she needed was to get in more trouble with Coran.
"Sorry, I trying to guard the crystal!" Keith said.
"Guard it or waiting to steal it!" Romelle said.
"Well, kind of I don't know! The man is guard it now it's different!" Keith said.
"Of course he's different, he's not like the samurai you knew from the past!" Romelle said.
"Don't you think, I don't know that...his energy is different!" Keith said. "And yet the same as Allura was."
"Hey don't worry about it!" Romelle said. "It's night time we get some sleep!"
"Ok,... It's good to talk to someone, even if you're the last person that I won't listen!" Keith said and soon, he left the room, Romelle couldn't help from thinking that Keith wasn't the bad guy that he was.
"That was weird!" Romelle said, "Keith must be trying to plan something. She then try to get some sleep but was unable to, instead, she decided to do some exercise.
Dressed in her suit, Romelle began to do some exercise by running around the shrine in hopes that she will fall asleep.
The following morning was business as usual for the Alteans. However, while Coran was out doing his rounds and Keith was off doing who-knows-what, Shiro had plans of his own. Today, he was going to try and find his way back home.
In the shrine, Romelle was exhausted apparently all that jogging was not helping to fall asleep but it wasn't enough to lay down maybe that enough to fall asleep, heading back to her room, Romelle laid down on her bed.
Just then, there was a knock on her door, leaving her frustrated, she instantly forgotten that she was a handmaiden.
"Coran, I'm not in the mood to..." Romelle said as she stopped in her tracks as she saw the person wasn't Coran, in fact it was Shiro.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was searching for Coran," Shiro said, "I still don't know what's around this place".
"No it's okay, I thought you were Coran too." Romelle said. although she sighed with frustration. "Ugh! I'm still mad at Coran!" She complained.
Shiro nodded as he sits down, he had a long day, be being charged with protecting the crystal, how is he going to do that with one arm, let alone protecting all the planet.
"it's this about me, or the Galra", Shiro asked.
"I was just trying to attack their base again!" Romelle replied, "I mean I was going to look for the same thing they were looking for in hope up free Arus from their clutches!, and was my ONE CHANCE to prove that I can do this. But he acts like I can't do anything because I am not a rebel, just a handmaid, Ugh!".
She grabbed her head in annoyance, looking at her, Shiro tries to make his one arm situation work, "That doesn't make sense", Shiro said "Everyone here is a daemon!, I'm like the only one who's not a daemon".
Romelle collapsed dramatically on her bed, "Tell that to Coran!".
Shiro held up a small pad, curiously. "Hey, where what's this?".
"Tracker pad", Romelle instructed. Shiro sometimes how can he and Romelle have a communicate, even they do come from different worlds but still it was nice talking with someone who doesn't treat him like a mighty samurai or someone from a negative past.
"Anyway, Coran might have a point", Shiro said, "The only reason you got out of there was become of that centipede monster lady, and let's face and no one has a chance".
Romelle scowled, "looking for support here, samurai!".
"Shiro actually", Shiro explains to her, he started hated that name from the moment he arrived here.
"Sorry about that but you are right, if I want to prove myself, it's going to take more than running recklessly into any old battle. luckily I know just the thing". Romelle added.
She grabs the pad from Shiro's hands, "Check this out. I detected energy, the same energy that the Galra were sneaking out into the mist surrounded the forest, a pretty powerful one, by the size of these reading". Romelle continued
Shiro perked up. the energy's readings were at the same location where he came from, from the well. looking at this he might find the well again and maybe just maybe he could go home. If someone could know the way it's Romelle, and besides Shiro knew that the Altean really need it to help them.
"if I find this unknown source of energy and bring it back", Romelle said.
"And take me home", Shiro asking her, Shiro know this might be his only chance to go home and it might help Romelle to do something big to show Coran she could save the Alteans from the Galra.
"it is impossible, but have you noticed I'm on handmaiden duties again," Romelle said, putting her fingers in a sarcastic showing, suddenly a knock on the door "Romelle? are you in there" was Coran.
"Uh..." Shiro said.
Romelle put her hand over Shiro's mouth, "Romelle?", Romelle walks up the door, "Everything's fine, Coran". Trying to the seam line the situation, but the other side of the room, Coran was not having it, "Is someone else in there? I heard voices".
"No one else is in here. Can you leave me alone?" Romelle said, trying to avoid a confrontation.
"I don't appreciate your tone right now, young lady", explains Coran as he tries to be polite, like a father trying to get his daughter to talk.
"What tone"
"That attitude is never gonna help you"
"Coran, you always tell me what to do"
"You can't act that way"
"That's not fair!"
they're arguing had reached a breaking point. With doors closed, "I'm in, meet me in a few hours."
"Thanks," Shiro said.
"Oh go this way in turns two way that way, you'll find the room Coran staying in" Romelle pointed out the directions.
Under destructions, Shiro reached his destination, Coran's room for the final time, to just say his farewells to him, but he wasn't there. So he return to his room and waited for Romelle.
After finishing her work, a few hours earlier, head to Shiro's room to get him.
"Hey come with me, I want to show you something", Romelle said, leading Shiro to a different room.
As the two walked down the corridor and through the main hallway, Shiro glanced at the walls, the feel and look at it, Shiro is reminded that he might have been in a sci-fi movie but this isn't a movie this is real before he had time to think more, they reached to a room where it was closed off from everyone.
Romelle led Shiro inside and opened the room, it was filled with weapons, Shiro gasped, "Whoa. Where's the war?". There were knives of all sizes, staffs, swords, and even guns.
"Well if you are an explorer, you would tend to learn stuff", Romelle said, changing from her work dress into a more comfortable outfit. When she didn't have handmaiden duties, Romelle preferred to wear her suit, the same outfit that Shiro saw when he first met her. Complete with a white and golden staff.
Shiro picked up something that seemed like a normal toy ball, but when he tossed it in the air, sharp spikes burst out of it. Shocked, he put it back and picked up a small dagger instead. "Why do you have these. I thought that you guys wouldn't part of the war"
"We used to, I meant we used to be explorers and protectors until the war started and what happened to Allura, we just stopped" Romelle explains as she opened a creaky door and entered a dark storage room.
Shiro followed, wearing, not clothing but a cloak of concern over his head. "These people used to be" he fought, he tossed back the hood as Romelle pushed aside a small tunnel.
Shiro couldn't hold in his excitement. "Is a secret passage?" He accidentally tugged at the drapes, which fell over Romelle's head. "It was," Romelle said, tossing the thick fabric aside to discover that Shiro had already gone into the tunnel, "Shiro" he quickly followed him.
Moments later, Shiro reached the end of the secret tunnel. He popped a panel out of a grate and emerged at the base of the wall and soon Romelle climbed out to join him. They were outside the wall surrounding the shrine.
"Be reminded that we're supposed to be sneaking out", Romelle said in a hushed voice as she put the grate cover back in place, "Romelle trust me, I know my way to sneak around when I need to-" Shiro began, but Romelle threw herself at Shiro, cutting him off and knocking them both into the shadows.
Patrol guards marched past. Shiro let out a long breath. They had almost been caught, "morning patrols", Romelle explained. "We can get by them if we time it right".
"Wait", Shiro asked, "how did you know they were coming?" He watched the guards disappear in the distance. "I have eyes everywhere", She held out her hand on the ground, four mice in different colors and shapes appeared from the walls and climb from her forearm to her shoulders.
Shiro hushed, "wait you have your own Daemons, What're their names, I bought you are daemons?", Romelle rolled her eyes as if that were the stupidest but surprise question she'd heard and answered, "the big one is Platt, the smallest is Chulatt, the moody one is Plachu and the pink one is Chuchule and no none of them are daemons".
She put down her arm and the mice took off into the bright green grass. Then, with a click of her tongue, Platt and Chulatt slipped out from the grass above.
"Once they give us the all-clear single, we're heading to the forest", Romelle explain to Shiro, "how many more are you", Shiro said, curious. Romelle continues to roll her eyes, but an answer nonetheless, "there are a lot of us but there are humans and regular animals like them", the mice raise from the ground, pulling thumbs way up.
"That's the signal", the two-headed towards the direction of the Forest, Romelle looked at the mice, Plachu and Chuchule. "guys, I need all to stay here and make sure no one knows we have gone", she had to make sure no one will come to look for them, the four dutifully saluted her. They took their jobs seriously.
A short time later, Keith was walking down the hill towards Shiro's door, still dressed in his old clothes, he frowned upon as he passed a portrait of the shrine family. "Uh", with a scorned stare, he pulled out his dagger, repair to destroy the painting. "How had things gone so wrong" Keith fought, planning to strike but stopped when he saw in the picture, the preteen of Allura, he has no time for this but still wonder why she does it, Keith had no idea what's going on with her, but it didn't matter. What was what is done it's done.
He was about to enter Shiro's room when the two guards blocked his way with crossed staffs. "One of the handmaidens made it expressly clear that the samurai does not wish to be distracted under any circumstances", a guard told him.
"Huh?, What handmaiden?" Keith snorted. "Who, what handmaiden give you that order, I meant to come on, who whatever you are, you know where I am your worst nightmare", Keith said, trying to persuade the guard. "if you you know if you don't move out of my way I'm going to kill you". The guard considered it for a moment, but then said "sorry, whoever you are. Order is ordered".
"Orders are orders really; I mean come on all I want is to go to that guy's room, get the Crystal and then kill him" the guard rose from his spot, he didn't appreciate Keith what he has to say; to kill Shiro, "what did you say", he said with eyes on his face in shock. Then with a frown, the guard swiftly threw Keith far away from the room.
Keith went out flying and landed face- down on the ground, "ow that came out wrong", Keith moaned, he pulled himself up from the white and cold floor. "Goodbye", the guard said kindly and return to his post.
"Hey need a hand", Coran said, asking politely, moving closer to Keith, "hello Coran," Keith told him as helped him up, "what you want now. Probably waiting to seal me into another a tree", the man was fallible by the statement, "what no why you think that I meant sure Allura did steal you in a tree" Keith's eyes widening with anger and teeth ground.
"Don't you dare talk to me about her", Keith shouted, grabbing the collar again as he did before when he was in the hospital room. "Look whatever what you did or happened in the past, it doesn't matter anymore", Coran asking, "the only thing that matters now is what you choose to do now"
"You're right and I choose this", Keith said, flipping his hand to show the guards that were guarding Shiro's room, "what is this", Coran added, curious the reason behind this. "Arturo, Din, what are you doing".
"Oh sir we guarding this place", Arturo explains, Coran puts his hand on his face in embarrassment, "let me guess, Romelle", Arturo eyes the question "Yes why is that wrong", Coran closes his eyes and turn his head and all directions. "Well a little bit wrong, you're all dismissed", without a word, the guards left in the door, leaving him access to the door, Coran said, "But before you go you better change of out of those clothes they're a little old and dirty".
Keith looked at his appearance and oh man, Coran was right his clothes were terrible, torn, and ragey. He really needed to change his clothes but it doesn't matter now, he has to enter the room with Coran now, but the room was dark and shadowed, so they didn't see one of the mice skitter behind the covers.
"Shiro, Shiro" he called into the room. Chuchule ordered Plachu, they couldn't let Keith and Coran know Shiro was gone. They put the pillows under the covers, making the appearance at Shiro was sleeping, "huh, Romelle must have had a good reason", Coran said, "great, perfect, this makes the perfect option to steal the crystal" Keith said, reaching out to the steal the covers.
With a shout "Keith no", Coran leaped out his hand to stop Keith, but it was too late. However, instead of Shiro, it was the mice as always sitting on top of the bed. They gave the two a guilty look.
"Fantastic", Coran said sarcastically. "First thing I see space mice with an angry boy who is obviously hysterical". He sighed, "okay where they did go?"
Plachu shrugged, Keith picked up Chuchule, threatening her "hey you rat you better tell us where are the crystal and a man that is so disgusting or else you will be in big trouble, big", Chuchule nodded and with a bite on the hand, Chuchule escaped, scattering her way out of the room.
"Hey get back from here you're are a dead Rhoden, do you hear me", Keith shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran away.
With a sigh "what am I going to do now". Coran said, looking at Plachu, "come on we better go find them, oh Romelle you really have done it this time".
Shiro and Romelle finally made back to the forest. Romelle pulled out her pad, "come on" She said, trying to find the location as well as Shiro tallied her. They were in a beautiful, lush green forest, looking forward to the majestic land of Arus in the distance.
Although it was the middle of the day, Shiro looked at the sky it was always nighttime but with a hint of the sun if he could just make out the faint green light through the sunlight. If he just followed Romelle, he should be able to get to the well on his own.
A light breeze blew, whistling through the trees like a promise. When Romelle proceeded through the next part of the forest where the destruction left behind by Mistress Centipeetle. The fallen trees and branches made walking difficult, but that was not the only difficult thing, Romelle's pad started to act up. "please, tell me we're not lost!?" Shiro reacted, When thinking of the position of the well about the great tree. he could know the location or imagine in his head.
In his own world, the area where he was currently on would be a station-front shopping district that led into a residential area. There were houses and convenience stores, and a small post office.
But right now, all that was here were trees. The houses and convenience stores and post office wouldn't be built, in fact, they do not exist here. Even the Shirogane Shrine, with all its proud history, didn't exist here. This was a completely different world from the one where Shiro was born and raised. It was a completely unknown world separated by a daunting period and space...
"No, this thing is acting up". Romelle complained, trying to fix her pad, "Looks like it's being overload from whatever's the energy and where is the signal going from, we must be getting close", Eventually, the well beyond the grove of trees came into view in lights "Uhh... I think it's that way" Shiro said, began to trot. But when he did, somebody put him in a chokehold.
"...?!" he tried to shout in surprise, but another hand quickly covered his mouth.
An image of Mistress Centipeetle's six arms flashed through his mind, even though she should have been dead since yesterday. In a panic, he struggled desperately to resist and free himself.
"Shiro" Romelle yelled as she bolted for him to save him but someone grabs her "Little bitch!" It was a rough male voice.
"It's not Mistress Centipeetle". Shiro thought As soon as he thought that, she was strangled by a strong force. In an instant, his vision went black as Shiro lost consciousness.
"Take them back in the base" Haxus ordered his men, "yes sir, Vrepit so!" shouted back. with that, the group of men when back to their leader and delivered them to their target.
Romelle and Shiro were way over their heads. How are they going to get their way out of this?
It's going to take a miracle.
A big miracle.