Then Shiro came to, the scenery was swaying in his mind, but as his vision came into focus, he realized he was being dragged in the ground by a man.
As these men were completely different from the men in Arus, in fact, they were not the Alteans, they were in fact, the Galra in their black armor directly on their bodies and guns on their hands.
Before they knew it, Shiro and Romelle had been brought into a base, It seemed to be Hi-Tech within the atmosphere descends over them, as black as nightfall. Shiro's breath catches when as looks up.
The base had every inch riddled with long-barreled guns and cannons. Guards were everywhere with Bows and arrows, spears, guns, and other weapons were haphazardly lying about.
"Look it's the samurai." Said one of the Galra soldiers
"And look what he got, A woman!" Another soldier added
"He's wearing weird clothes." Said one of the Galra soldiers.
Shiro was horrified at their unabashed stares. however as they reach the Center of the command center, their troubles will be soon beginning.
"Commander", Haxus said as he throws Shiro and Romelle violently to the floor. "Kneel!, We acceptably capture our Target"
"Commander?" Shiro thought as he lifted his head and gaps.
Before his eyes was a giant, Galra stands well taller than any human; he has mauve fur and yellow eyes, although his right eye has been replaced with a red prosthetic, but also have a large, powerful, and terrifying clawed gauntlet attached to his shoulder by a violet energy chain.
He also wears a bright red armor, accented with black and dark grays. On its cuirass, the armor has two glowing yellow adornments with a design reminiscent of an aggressive face.
"Samurai" The man spoke with barks that shoots a tremor up to Shiro's spine, his blood freezing.
Behind him, a bevy of robotic guards aims their rifles up at him and Romelle in unison. Sweat beads on Shiro's brow.
"Wow, the contact was right, you sure have returned but reincarnated", He said as he moves closer to inspect him.
Shiro felt terrified at him although he never showed it.
"Let him go", Romelle protested. She didn't like being tied up by the Galra but plan to escape with Shiro and protect him.
"Quiet, Altean woman!" the command snapped at her. "I'll ask the questions, how did you make out the mist this far out?".
"We just... walked in, Shiro replied. "And we're not doing anything wrong, we just trying to find my way home!"
The command snorted. "I see, you just so happened to find yourself near the Forest again and try to find the energy source that belongs to the empire".
"it's not yours!" Romelle protested. "We found it first!, It's for Arus".
"Arus is under the Empire's protection and me Commander Sendak", The commander said. "You were lucky to make it as far as you did".
Then he reached his hand toward Shiro. "Give me...the quintessence Crystal!" He soon grabbed the young man and lifted him high up into the air, causing him to gasp in horror before he threw his down to the floor. Shiro groaned as he rubbed his head, then looked up and gasped in shock upon seeing the Galra Commander was holding the quintessence Crystal in his hand! tearing apart his jacket in the process.
"Oh, no...!" he whispered as he remembered how Coran once said that not only do daemons seek the crystal, but the Galra do, as well...and using the crystal for their evil purposes.
"Hey!!" Shiro shouted as he stood up to take the crystal back. "Give it back, you-"
Before he could finish, the leader stabbed the floor in front of her with his black sword, causing Shiro and Romelle to squeal in fright before Shiro looked up and saw the gargantuan man towering over him.
The giant man taunts, "if you want the crystal back samurai then fight me!... Let's see if you can take me on yourself!"
"He's gonna kill me...by fighting me," Shiro thought, cursed under his breath, he never fought beforehand except in a self-defense class at the Garrison. but this wasn't his world anymore and he didn't even want to imagine it.
"Please, we were just trying to find my way home, We mean you no harm! We're unarmed!" Shiro shouted as he stood up to Sendak.
The Galra officer chuckles "I know".
Shiro was confused, but suddenly one of the guards behind him has knocked him out.
"Take him to the lab, the scientists going to have a field day with him" Sendak ordered.
"Yes sir", One of the Galra soldiers responded as they dragged Shiro towards a corridor, far away from Romelle.
"What shall we do with the Altean woman", Haxus asked.
"Take her away", Sendak ordered, with that the soldiers took Romelle way to another corridor.
While Shiro and Romelle are still trapped at the base, Arus was in a state of panic and worry. Coran with one of those worried.
"There's no sign of them anywhere," Arturo said.
"...Oh, dear," Coran said with worry etching his wrinkled features. "I meant I know about Romelle but Shiro, could it be that he has gone off on his own? I warned him of those who sought the quintessence Crystal...did I not warn him nearly enough?"
Upon the branches of one of the trees, Keith happened to be sitting nearby when his pricked-up ears happened to catch their conversation as he now dressed in the clothes that Coran gave to him, a Navy v-neck t-shirt underneath a red, white, and yellow jacket that cropped to his ribcage, with the large cuffs of the jacket rolled up to expose their white color, The collar of the jacket stands propped upright.
Along with wears black pants that his shirt overlaps; his boots are white with black and red accents. His black gloves are fingerless and expose part of his hand before strapping together over the wrist. At his waist, a brown utility belt with a silver rectangular buckle in the center and two lighter brown pouches at either hip. Strapped to the belt at his lower back is the silver-colored dagger that he used to defeat Mistress Centipeetle.
He then glanced toward the forest that had been named after him before a growl rumbled in his throat.
He had always known about the risks for the Kerberos mission. The landscape of space was so obvious and the warnings of mining ice for samples had been repeated to him at the Garrison, like a lot.
"No absolutely not", a voice so deep and gruff that echo the office room that Shiro was in.
"Why not Iverson? he's cleared all his physicals". said a voice that in the same room that Shiro was in.
"I don't care what the doctor says, this man is sick and shouldn't be sent on another mission, especially as far away as Kerberos!?". Commander Iverson said, a black man who had one bad eye on the left side on his face, "l have to report this to flight command and the admiral as well".
Shiro had schooled a frown. why does this something happen to him, he worked so hard to get this far.
"Shiro is the best pilot in the garrison by far, he's saved my bacon in deep space more times than I can count, If he doesn't go on this mission, neither do I".
Shiro is surprised someone stood up for him especially Dr. Holt or Sam as he called him when he's not working, who got him into the Galaxy Garrison after his grandfather's death and best friends with his parents.
Yet nothing, absolutely nothing, reminds him of his mortality like being a prisoner on another world with an alien group known as the Galra Empire. Shiro grunted as he laid on a table in some type of laboratory with his legs, arm and body all strapped down on the table.
Then Shiro noticed something strange tingle on his right side of his stump, but that was impossible, his right arm was devoured by Mistress Centipeetle, however when he lifts his head and gaps as he saw a rather demon arm.
They experiment on him, is ordered to repair him for a fight with a crazy Galra man, and for what? he only hopes that Romelle is ok.
"Curses wenches," Keith thought as he leaped through the trees. "What is he thinking, wandering off on his own, and with the Crystal, no less?!"
Soon, he arrived at the spot where Shiro and Romelle had last been seen, but the only things he found there were signs of a scuffle, one of Shiro's shoes, and a trail of drag marks in the dirt, heading deep into the woods.
"...Great," Keith sneered before he began to follow the trail.
Meanwhile back at the base where Romelle was taken outside of the base by the Galra soldiers.
"Hold...her..." Said one of the Galra soldiers
"Right!" one of the guards said as he and a second one grabbed Romelle by the arms, restricting her movement, while the boss held up his sword, preparing to cleave her in two with the blade.
"Sendak ordered us to kill her?!" asked one of the Galra soldiers.
"Heh...what a waste," scoffed another.
"Oh, no...!" thought Romelle as she saw the blade come down on her. "I can't look!!" She turned her head away and screwed her eyes shut, preparing for the blade to cut into her face...but then, just as Romelle braced herself, a red blur suddenly burst through the wall and jumped in between her and the blade, which snapped in half upon colliding with a sleeve of crimson. As Romelle opened her eyes, she saw that it was Keith!
"Keith!" she exclaimed.
"Keith?!" asked one of the Galra soldiers. "You mean that half-daemon that was sealed at the great tree."
"Keith...you saved me-" Romelle started.
"Where's the crystal?" asked Keith.
"Huh?" Romelle asked in surprise.
"The crystal, you dolt!" Keith barked. "Where is it?!"
"...Oh...right," Romelle answered.
"Of course, he only came for the Crystal," she thought.
"Urrrgh..." the Galra soldier moaned as he lumbered toward Keith, who glared at him before ordered the Galra soldiers to Open fire and Kill them! Before, stumbling back out of the half-circle of guards.
But Keith quickly maneuvered them and pulled out his dagger and leaped through the Galra soldiers's guns, shredding every single one.
Romelle was trance by the way he fighting against the Galra soldiers until he run off to the base, leaving Romelle behind to deal with the other Galra soldiers that were planning to execute her.
Looking around for a fight with, she saw a spear lying on the floor. She'd have learned fencing, archery, athletics, and other skills in combat; but she never allowed nor to touch a weapon in her lifetime, seizing her chance, Romelle grabbed the spear before turning to face the Galra soldiers, pointing the spearhead at them.
"Stop right there!" she demanded as she runs towards the Galra soldiers.
Inside the base, Keith ran as fast as his legs could carry him, it just had to be him, it just had to, Immediately after the recollection, a guard noticed him and pulled out a baton. The soldier swing at him, from the upper left to the lower right. Keith easily back-stepped and dodged it.
He then quickly stuck out his leg at a sideways angle and kicked the baton out of the Galra soldier's hand before getting in close to him, giving two quick punches to the guy's gut and finished him off with an uppercut to his jaw.
Keith walked further into the base where he made his way down the hallway before coming to a divergent, two different halls stood in front of him.
"Great, now, which way?" Keith questioned as he noticed a Galra sentry walking by, he quickly moved to the right as he ran away from the guard.
Back with Shiro in the lab where the scientist studies his newfound monster arm, the young man struggled against his restraints as he looked to see Sendak, the scientist, and two sentries in the room, The scientist was wearing a mask that covered his entire face.
Shiro stared at Sendak as one of the Galra sentries injected some sort of liquid into his human arm, Shiro guessed that whatever was in that vile was some sort of anesthetic as he started to feel himself get weaker.
His pulse thunders in his ears when he picks it up and brings it over, setting the end of its upper arm flush with the organic stump of his own.
He could die. This was it. This might just be his last moments alive. He shuts his eyes tight when he feels vibrations of magical locks on the flesh, merging the limb into place.
Trenches in the arm's plating pulse with blood. Points like nails dig into his skin, erupting all across the end of his stump.
Suddenly, a flash of light blooms across his vision. He looks over to his right shoulder when a strange tingle itch in his brain and an uncomfortable resonance creep up his spine.
He shivers when a dark presence prods as if you were getting in a lobotomy at the base of his skull.
Stop! Stop, he tells it, but to no avail as he started to faint.
"Status is functional", the scientist said "Pulse, cortisol levels are high, but he's stable."
"Interesting, what you're saying he will be ready to fight," Sendak says, clicking his tongue.
"It's possible, but these readings are off the chart." The scientist told him.
Then suddenly, another scientist had entered the room, unlike the other one, he wearing a mask that covered his nose and mouth, leaving only his eyes visible.
"Sir". He said.
"Yes, what is it" Sendak commanded
"An Intruder had entered the base and our soldiers are unable to handle the woman." He said.
"What...stay here with the prisoner, I will deal with this situation myself." Sendak ordered.
"Yes sir." The scientist said, with that Sendak left the room to deal with Keith.
Back outside with Romelle, She did her best to fend off the Galra soldiers, in the meantime Keith continued to run around the Galra base, before returning to the same divergent that he had started at before.
"You've got to be kidding me." Keith exclaimed.
"There's got to be a way to get through this base." He through as he nodded and closed his eyes as he cleared his mind, before he heard voices, seeing Shiro tied up in the laboratory, he quickly memorized the way to get there before turning around.
"Gotcha". The half-daemon quickly ran towards Shiro, before being stop by a massive hand appeared before him, it was Sendak.
Smirking on his face and realized that he was the boss, Keith charged right back at Sendak as he launching his massive arm at him.
"You will not stop me, half-breed." Sendak growled as he lunged at him, trying to catch him but Keith did a controlled fall onto his back, sliding through the man's legs.
He then used his arms to twist his body around him, swinging his legs so they knocked the man off of his own. Keith didn't even feel a twinge of guilt as Sendak face planted onto the floor but it causes the Galra man to get ever angry at him.
Back with Shiro and the scientists, Shiro was starting to wake up and gasped.
"Oh, shoot he's awake." He said as he got another anesthetic for Shiro, however the other scientist stopped the scientist from putting the dose in his body.
"Dr. Pershing, Stop right there." He said.
"Why, I'm following orders here!" Dr. Pershing said.
"Well I want him awake enough to feel this". The scientist officer said.
"Ok, you may want to save your self-congratulation. The integration was successful, but now comes the difficult part, how is his connect to his Daemon". Dr. Pershing explain.
"My connection, Daemons?" Shiro wonders, recalling that he has a connection with Keith.
"Where should we begin?" the attendant asks as he started to make his way over to the console, what happened next shocked Shiro, he saw that scientist go to Dr. Pershing standing by the console, smashing him against the wall before punching out the sentries by the door. Shiro then saw the doctor take off his half-mask and pull out a small needle from his uniform and attached it to his Daemon arm.
"Listen to me. We do not have much time". The officer said.
Shiro tried to focus on the Galra's words, however he still had anesthetic in his brain, just as he was about to fade into unconsciousness, the young man felt a slap on the face, causing him to groaned as he watched the Galra place the needle back in his uniform.
"Wake up!" The officer shouted. "Your friends are in danger, you must get out here."
Shiro noticed the officer fiddling with the table that he was on. "What are you doing?"
"I have planted a bomb to cover your escape. Get out, now!" He ordered, stealing the human.
"Who are you?" Shiro asked.
"I am Ulaz. Now, come on!"
Ulaz shuffled Shiro out of the medical bay and into the hallway just outside the room. As they looked out for any sentries or soldiers Ulaz spoke again.
"Sendak will contact Zarkon to know that I released you, so I must disappear, but if you survive go find Sokka, he'll know what to do, The Blade of Marmora is with you".
"Why are you helping me?" Shiro questioned, he gripped his head, maybe the anesthetic was still in his brain.
"You are the Samurai and the key of ending this war. Hurry up! Altea needs you." Ulaz explained. "We all do".
Then Ulaz quickly spouted off directions to Shiro, before going in the opposite direction. The young man figured that he must have his own escape route planned. Shiro got to his feet and made his way down the hallway to find Romelle and Keith.
Elsewhere, Keith was continuing his fight with Sendak, where Sendak threw his bulky arm, in a right hook trying to get on Keith's head, however, the half-daemon saw it coming from a mile away. Keith ducked, crouching and decided to make this as quick as possible.
Before the giant man had a chance to react to Keith's dodge, the half-daemon stuck out his fist, heading straight into the man's groin.
The big man let out a load groan as he placed his hands over his private area, but wasn't enough to take Sendak down as he managed to recover.
"Impressive for a half-breed." Sendak said.
"You're not bad yourself... especially someone is power up by a gem." Keith exclaimed.
Sendak gaps by the statement.
"So you've got the crystal, don't you?" asked the boy as he flexed his dagger and slashed the chest plate.
But Sendak extended his massive fist and crashes it down over Keith's head.
Causing Keith to rolls to the side just as it craters into the metal-plated floor, then ducks as a crosswise swipe fly over him as Sendak toys with him like a cat chasing a mouse all around someone else's house.
"Stop running, half-breed!" Sendak yelled.
Keith was about to respond when he was hit by a laser, luckily he took most of the damage, despite having no shield to defend himself, Keith charged right back at Sendak who in turn, launching his massive arm at Keith again.
Then suddenly, Shiro arriving in the room, Keith stared at him but it causes him to miss his target and making the perfect target for Sendak's punch in the face and onto the ground.
Shiro was worried for Keith, this man probably had experiences fighting and killing people with no end in sight, further its own ends! but It didn't matter to Shiro if this huge man was already going to complete what he started, he'd been itching for a fight and now he's got it in the form of Keith.
"Come on, Ulaz, where is that bomb". Shiro thought as he when he came to check on Keith.
He saw Keith pass out free exhaustion, before a large explosion went off in the area, surprising everyone including Sendak and Romelle, the impact from the blast caused the glass in the room to break, causing Sendak to escape.
"I will not be defeated by a pathetic half breed like you". Sendak curled as he jump out the window, carrying the crystal with him.
"Dammit!" Keith cursed as he threw the his dagger at Sendak, but this time, it was too far out of his aim. "Get back here, you coward!!"
"Now what do we do?!" asked Shiro.
"What do you mean 'we'?!" asked Keith. "This is your fault!!"
"My fault?!" Shiro questioned. "Excuse me?!!"
"You heard me!!" Keith barked as he charged right back into the fight before he spotted a gun on the floor.
"What is it?" Shiro asked.
"...Come here," said Keith as he grabbed Shiro by the arm while picking up the gun and running towards the outside of the base.
Meanwhile, Romelle took out as many Galra soldiers as she could while Keith and Shiro was sprinting through the base, just then, Galra sentries entered the room closing on the two, they took fighting stance when Shiro's deamon arm started to glow.
The young man gasped and gripped his arm in pain, the sound around him seems distorted, however when Shiro realized what he needed to do. He charged at the Galra sentries using his now glowing arm to block their fire, the young man also using his now to cut their armor, making short work of them.
However, just as the last sentry fell, Keith was surprise by the way that Shiro was fighting, but that had to wait, as right now, Sendak was Keith's only target.
Back with Romelle, she taking down the men like it was child's play or Ashoka style when she's taking out enemies.
"Come on, how many more are there!" Romelle exasperated as she feels exhausted, just then, Sendak appeared before her and faced her before launching his arm at her as she dodged and ran away. However, this was all a ruse as Romelle used a holographic trick on Sendak.
As Sendak went down outside the base, chasing her clone, Romelle rushed into inside of the command center to find Shiro.
However, Sendak's large arm returned and grabbed Romelle pulled her back towards him.
"Did you really think that your little holograph trick would work on me?" Sendak growled.
The Galra Commander noticed two people coming outside the base, Keith and Shiro arrived, with the half-daemon branching out his dagger, Sendak then held Romelle in front of him.
"Stand back!" Sendak warned. "Your friend will be cru-".
Sendak was interrupted by a laser hitting in the back, causing him to drop Romelle, Keith were surprised to see that Shiro, who was holding a blaster that Keith had given him and blasted Sendak.
Keith then charged at Sendak who easily punched back, though it gave Romelle the distraction in order to change Sendak. The Galra officer then extended his larger arm to push the girl away.
"You're not getting away that easily!!" Romelle shouted after it before she looked back at Shiro. "Hey! Don't just sit there! Shoot him again!!"
"What?!" Shiro questioned while holding the gun in his hands. "What do you mean, shoot him?! seriously."
"Yeah, you're having the gun." Keith barked as he charged right back at Sendak with his dagger and then used his arms to twist his body around Sendak, to hold him in place.
"Do it!" Keith shouted "Allura was a master archer, so all it'll take is one shot!!"
Shiro nodded before he began to take aim at Sendak, who was holding the quintessence Crystal on his armor.
"Okay..." Shiro whispered as it looked like he got a clear shot. "Here it goes...!"
He soon pulled the trigger on the back on the gun, preparing to let go.
"Now! Shoot!!" Keith called.
"Go!!" Shiro shouted as he fired the gun...and at first, it looked like it was about to hit its target...but then it barely missed the target as it hit the Galra man by the legs.
"What?!" Shiro questioned while Keith gaped in disbelief.
"...Okay, I'm starting to see the difference between you and Allura, now," he deadpanned.
"Oh, be quiet!" Romelle yelled. "We gotta stop him!!"
"And then what?!" Keith questioned.
"Uh...I dunno...yet," Romelle replied.
"Ugh!" Keith groaned as he followed Sendak. "Of all the people I get stuck with, why do I have to put up with you?!"
With that, Keith, Romelle, and Shiro follow the Galra Commander to the base's battlements, where Keith flexed his dagger, once more and leaped up into the air.
"Where are you going." Keith said as he stopped Sendak in his tracks, where he flexed on Sendak's hand, which he was holding the quintessence Crystal. "You have something that belongs to us!"
"Oh, really." Sendak said.
"Really." Keith said as he throws his dagger at Sendak. "Magical daemon art, Soul Stealer!!"
SLASH!!! The dagger obliterated the energy stream that held the two halves of the arm together.
"No!" Sendak yelled, he continued fighting Keith as Shiro and Romelle made their way to get behind Sendak.
"Can you shoot him." Romelle asked.
"If I can get a clear shot", Shiro answered.
"Ok!" Romelle said as she joined the fight.
While they would duking it out, Shiro saw a familiar light, shining from Sendak's punch.
"The Crystal!" he thought "He's holding it in his hand!!"
"Get back here!!" Keith shouted as he tried to grab Sendak, but he flew out of his reach.
"Shit...damn Sendak is slippery! He keep running until his body completely absorbs the Crystal!!"
"I know." Romelle shouted.
"What am I gonna do?!" thought Shiro. "At this rate, Sendak will..." He then gasped as a proverbial light bulb over his head. He looked at Sendak's arm and look around the battlements and found a cannon before he began to take aim, once more.
"What are you doing?!" Keith questioned. "You won't be able to hit it from this distance!!"
"Hey...don't listen to him", Romelle protested "You going to do fine."
"Will you two be quiet." Shiro barked, taking Keith and Romelle back a bit before he pulled back on the cannon. "This time...it's gotta hit it...!" With that, he loosed the trigger...and that's when Keith spotted something attached to it: Sendak's severed arm!
"...I get it now...!" he whispered in realized. "The crystal is connected to him...so that means...!"
"The arm will end up hitting him!" Kagome concluded, and sure enough, the massive arm ended up hitting Sendak and causing him to let go of the crystal.
"The crystal!" Said Keith.
"I'll get it". Romelle shouted, but after Shiro got off the cannon, the Crystal glowing softly like stars, all over the land.
"Coran! Look there!" called one of the Altean, pointing toward the lights. "Those lights...could they be...?!"
"...Oh, dear," Coran said. "This does not bode well."
"Ah...?!" Sendak gasped as he watched the light silently fade into the sky along with Shiro, Romelle, and Keith, then vanish.
"What... was that light...?" Sendak wondered to himself.
His chest was pounding, he had the feeling something terrible had just happened. No, it wasn't just a feeling, it was more of a certainty.
And his captives were gone but gone where.