The Daytime in a Bird's eye view of the forest. The trees shake violently. Inside the village.
"It comes! From the forest! Explorer! Please!" An elderly villager yelled out loud.
A young woman in battle gear and with boomerangs appears and walks towards the forest. A giant centipede rushes out of the forest and towards her. She swings one of the boomerangs and swiftly cuts the centipede into two. The boomerang returns to her. The centipede crashes to the ground.
The women pointed proudly to the Daemon she'd kill as the remains integrated into the sun, leaving nothing behind.
As the leader turned to the woman, she smiled, ready to accept his congratulations on a job well done.
"Thank you!" He said.
"All in a day's work," she told him.
After that, the explorer changing her clothes. She steps out of the changing room and bows to the villagers. "Please call me if you need me".
"What about your fee?" A villager said, passing out a little bag of money.
"Thanks, I needed this!" The Woman was lucky. She desperately needed money. With that, she left the village.
"Yes, brother is going to be so impressed!" She said.
That night, Shiro was sleeping soundly when suddenly hear footsteps to his location, splintered onto sticks. Three unknown figures rushed through the field and charged toward him.
Startled, he sprang from his resting area, slicing away at the intruders with a surge of flame. The henchmen leaped through the attack, unscathed. They marched doggedly toward him, closing in.
The figures lunged, swiftly numbing his arms and legs with lightning-fast attacks on his pressure points. he collapsed to the ground, helpless.
At that moment, Sendak emerged from the shadows. Two figures hauled Shiro to his knees and dragged him before their leader.
Sendak leaned down so that his pale face was just inches from Shiro's face. "After I take your Daemon away, you will be nothing!" he hissed. Sendak fixed his claw-like grip on Shiro, just as he had done before back in his Base. His grasp tightened on his head and neck and—
Shiro screamed. His eyes flew open. he sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag, sweat trickling down his face. A quick glance around the area revealed that everything was intact. Keith and Lance were asleep and Sendak and his henchmen were absent. Stats, who'd been sleeping nearby, rose on all fours and float over to lie down beside Shiro's bag. He licked Shiro's hand gently.
"It's all right, Stats," Shiro said, his breathing beginning to slow. "I just had a bad dream. What he didn't tell Stats was that it was the third nightmare he'd had that week.
he lay down again and tried to get back to sleep, but the terror of the dream wouldn't leave him. Feeling restless, he decides to leave the campsite.
But Keith awakens and catches sight of him leaving, designed to follow him to standing by the ledge of the mountain cliff.
"Shiro," Keith said, confused, "should you be asleep!"
"Yeah." He slumps back, settling into the ground until he is somewhat comfortable. "But a Nightmare."
"Let me guess," Keith said, "is super terrifying than making you not want to go to sleep!"
Shiro chuckled, smiling, "I'm sure nothing phases you!"
"Yeah doesn't push me further," Keith said, sitting next to him, Shiro keeps smiling as he shuts his eyes and the very feeling of being surrounded by several friends and the stars.
Stars sparkle in the sky, even though he doesn't recognize any of these constellations, just show that he still be a long, long way from Earth. But that didn't matter for him. All he knew now, this is his life now.
"This reminds me of the time, that I used to go stargazing!" Shiro says.
"Stargazing!" Keith said, confusingly.
"Yeah, back at the time... at the Garrison... with Adam"
Keith frowned, folding his arms. "I'm sure this Adam person, is okay doing something"
Shiro dropped his chin, sighing. As if drawn by magnetism, he reached out with his right hand, clasping Keith on his left shoulder. "Yeah! He would be!"
Thinking of nothing better, Shiro decided to return the campsite.
"Hey, where are you going" Keith called after him. He ignored him and kept walking.
The following daytime, Shiro was unusually quiet.
Lance and Stats eyed Keith suspiciously, but he only shrugged. This time Shiro's behavior wasn't his fault or something.
The group was midway through their meal when an unexpected guest sauntered into their lives.
"Didn't you heard the explorer that killed the centipede!" A villager said.
"Yeah, she talked down that Daemon, like it was child's play," The villager told him.
Overhearing them, Keith decided to waylay several villagers and interrogates them. "What?! The woman was an explorer?! When was this? When?! Answer me!"
"Another daemon!" A villager yelled, "We must hire the explorer again!"
"What?" Keith yelled.
"Keith, what are you doing". Shiro interrupted, "pestering these poor villagers.
A while later. The gang and the villagers have a decent conversation.
"Explorer," Lance said, smoothly.
"So… Someone actually makes a living, explorer daemons?" Shiro said. Confused. "Then this must be the group that Ulaz has mentioned".
"Yes, she came here and took some more money!" A villager told him.
Keith ignored him and spoke directly to the villager. "Can you tell us which way she went, we need to know any knowledge about her and the place she came from!"
"I don't know," the villager said. The idea seemed to appeal to him. "I wish I knew but I don't know anything about the village that they live in".
The next few days were difficult for Shiro. Ever since they'd heard about the Deamon explorers, he'd been keeping to himself. It wasn't exactly something he set out to do on purpose—it just kind of worked out that way.
He told himself there was nothing wrong with it. It was perfectly fine to have some time alone. After all, it wasn't like he was hiding from anything.
"And this explorer gathers cash?" Lance said.
"Uh-huh…she originally came the same province, where the quintessence Crystal was born". Another villager said.
"Did you know this, Keith?" Shiro said.
"Err… No". Keith said, confuse. "When I first came across the quintessence Crystal, it was already in Allura's possession. I never even thought about how the Crystal was made or where it came from".
Across the forest, In another village high up in the mountains. The wooden gates open and the explorer from earlier on enters.
"Pidge, Welcome back!" A villager said.
"Hello!" Pidge said as she unwraps her bundle to reveal the money she gathered. The villagers gather around her.
"What was your prey? That much" A villager said,
"It was a black centipede, the parts integrated", Pidge said, "but I brought back the money. You can use it for an armor".
A yellow cat runs into Pidge's arms and meows. "Good boy, Kiaion. Have you been good?" Kiaion rubs his face on Pidge's cheek and meows.
"Welcome home, Pidge!" A boy said as he runs to her.
"Hi, Matt"
"the Chief wants to see you, Pidge!"
"Oh," Pidge said as she arrives In a big hut, where She was shocked when he greeted her with a stern frown.
"You're getting ahead of yourself, as usual, Pidge. This is the fifth time you ask for money!" The Chief said, in a serious tone.
"What do you mean, I always ask for people for money? Pidge said, flabbergasted. "So what's the problem!"
"Ever since you arrived with your brother, you've excelled on being an explorer, but completely ignored the honesty side". The Chief said.
"I haven't ignored it, it just doesn't come as easy to me," Pidge said, More upbeat. "I meant I came here this for the money! And now you're telling me I can have that".
"No, I just believed you lack restraint!" The Chief said, "that's why we're taking you to our latest mission!"
"Really, I'll be honored!" Pidge said. Jumps up, turning around her axis, in happiness and excitement. But realizing the elders are watching her, some of them with a dismayed expression, "I mean, thank you for giving me that chance!"
Smiling innocently, she slowly starts walking away, still eying the chief. Unable to contain her excitement any longer, she breaks into a run and leaves the grounds.
Elsewhere, a young man was walking along the edge of the village and took a deep breath of the fresh air as a bright red leaf blew past him. It was the perfect day to do training.
He saw one of his favorite friends up ahead, and he couldn't help the huge smile that took over his face.
"Hey! Kiaion" he asked. The cat is his regular cat self. Amid the pavilion among their house. The Boy and his Daemon moved through the pavilion, taking Three bowls and placed them on wooden stumps.
The stumps that ran the length of a child of 12 were laid already on the ground. That's something that he was already interested in.
Nor was he particularly interested. In many ways, he was a hiccup. What he liked best was building and cooking, building the next house, or making an engine for training but he was the chief's son. Strong and mighty. Yeah! that was the life for him.
Wrong! He was Easily the friendliest and kindest of all the village and a very good cook.
"Hey, Hunk," a voice said, drawing his attention.
"Hey," he said, stopped beside the tree stumps, and said, "Roy, how is your day.
"Oh, it's fine!" Roy said, with his mouse daemon, Ratter. "But grandfather want to speak to you!"
"Oh," Hunk said, seems uncomfortable.
"Well, you can tell him I'm busy!" He then swings his sickle chain at the bowls and crushes all of them. The sound rang loudly through the hall.
"But he insisted!" Roy said.
Hunk heaved a sigh, annoyed. "All right, I guess it wouldn't hurt!" Hunk planted his hands on his hips and gave the request some thought. The Chief has summoned him for something. Probably talking about his missions again.
The daemon explorer village wasn't the grandest or richest of all the land in Altea. But it was probably the largest, too though no one knew for certain. The building, which was grouped around irregular quadrangles, made of wood and stone, dated from the earliest days where humans explored the other side of Altea.
It had never been planned; it had grown piecemeal, with past and present overlapping at every spot, and the final effect was one of jumbled and squalid old history, about the quintessence Crystal.
Arriving at the chief's hall after the talk with Pidge. Hunk arrived with uncertainty on his face.
"You wanted to see me, Dad, I mean chief"
"Yes, yes I do, son!" The Chief said. On the practice grounds at the daemon explores, Hunk carefully walked the Ba Gua circle, pivoting through the spiral movements used by explorers since the beginning of time.
She looked up to see the chief approaching. Judging from the serious expression on his face, he'd had to deal with some insubordination from a Daemon explorer.
"I see, is this about my methods" Hunk said. "I know they're not exactly explorer material but I am trying!"
"No, it's not that" the chief responded.
"Oh"
The chief studied him a moment, he looked tired and uncertain of himself.
"Hunk, are you . . . doing all right?"
"I'm fine."
The chief was having a hard time believing him. he'd been uncharacteristically quiet, and he was growing concerned. "You know, it's okay to be scared," the chief said quietly.
"I know this job isn't easy. But the important thing is to talk about our fears because if we don't, they can throw us out of balance."
Hunk stopped his movements along the circle and stared at him. he considered his words for a moment and was just about to speak when an informant arrived and interrupted them.
"Chief, the weapons are ready for the next mission," he said, dressed in deamon explorer entire.
"Very good" the chief responded, "we need to bring the next mission for tonight!" Then turned around to Hunk and said. "Hunk, make ready too!"
"Huh? Me?" He said as couldn't help feeling skeptical.
"Yes, I need everyone's help with this!"
"Ok" Hunk said, then the Chief turned on his heel and strode away, leaving him alone with the words echoing in his ears. Hunk could not believe it. Could he be right for this? Or not
Later that day, the explorers were ready to strike. They'd heard that a dark Daemon invaded a castle. The plan was for the chief to lead the team on an attack against the daemon.
It's Nighttime in a Castle. It was a spectacular old building not far from the village.
Tonight it was made even more spectacular by the hundreds of the lord gathered and seated at the entrance with guards surround him in the castle, while Hunk, Pidge, Matt, the chief, and two other slayers kneel in front of the lord.
"Welcome, explorer. Nightly, a giant spider terrorizes this castle and has eaten several of our people. Will you be able to destroy it?" The Lord said.
"Leave it to me. I have chosen the most skilled ones to assist". The Chief said.
"Oh? Most skilled perhaps…" said the lord "but a young woman… and you even brought a child?" looks at Pidge, begrudgingly.
"Oh her. In the province, she is one of the top fighters. You can witness her skills tonight". The Chief said.
Hunk's heart was beating rapidly as he studied the area. The fear suddenly came back to him. He shivered and rubbed his arms vigorously as sweat came from his body.
"Heard that? Do your best, Hunk?" Pidge said, taunting him.
The Chief intruded on his thoughts with a quick gesture. He motioned to the endurance as the sky turns overcast and thunder rolls.
Hunk nodded, understanding what he had in mind. He and several of the explores quietly summoned weapons from their arsenal.
After several tense minutes, the chief gave the signal to move in as a giant spider appears out of the clouds and lands in front of the explorers, The chief and the explorers released their weapons, sending them crashing through the spider in a rushing torrent.
The spider was startled. It growls as was knocked from their feet by the roaring wave.
At the same moment, the explorers broke down on the daemon. Pidge and Matt leaped into the area, throwing poison powder at the daemon and rapidly blocking it's sight it to trap it in place.
The other deputies worked quickly to subdue the Daemon, but as they soon run towards it while it's spewing a web of strands at them.
"Surround it!" The Chief said as he blasted the Daemon with a jet of arrows with Pidge moves through the strands easily and cut them in midair before they could sick to her. But Hunk's ankle is caught by a bundle of strands and he is lifted into the air.
"Hunk!" An explorer shouted as he cuts the strands with his ax. Resulting in Hunk to be released from the strands.
and lands.
"Take a deep breath and go Hunk!" The explorer as pats Hunk's shoulder
Hunk nods. He can do this. He's a Daemon explorer.
"Come on!" Another explorer shouted as he attacks the demon with a huge Morningstar, and flesh is pried out. The daemon collapses and Chief holds its neck down with his pike.
"All right! Got it!" The Chief shouted to Pidge. Summoning all her strength, Pidge swings her boomerang, at the daemon, which sweeps from its head to its back, prying the flesh out. The boomerang returns and Pidge catches it. The demon growls in pain, struggles, and collapses.
"Awesome, Sister!" Matt said.
"I do, what I do," Pidge said as she felt a sudden swell of confidence. She is the best in the province, She slew the giant spider in one sweep!
But the job was not over yet, the explorers still have to crush its head.
"Okay, me too…!" Hunk said, runs over to help. However, he suddenly hears a sound causing him to slows down.
The sound was dark and he could barely hear. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his footsteps echoing against the stone. It didn't seem right. It was so confusing, meant that the spider could have done this.
Before Hunk could make sense of what was happening, the explorers have already finished the job.
"It may've been huge, but it was such easy prey," Pidge said, feeling proud of the work she did.
"Yes, It was too easy… This spider…I don't like it…" the chief responded
"Oh come on, Chief, we finished the job, we should be celebrating!" Pidge said.
"Well, I suppose you're right!" The Chief said. He then looked towards Hunk "Ah! Hunk, I saw your performance, you're getting better each day!"
Hunk gave his father, the chief, a long, hard look. "No," he said miserably. "I didn't" he grabbed his tunic and walked outside into the field of the Castle.
The chief lowered his head, crushed. He was startled when he saw one of the explorers up beside him. "We need to be patient with him," he said. "It will take time for him, you'll see!"
"And besides, look at this specimen we caught, the scientist and builders are back at home are going to have a field day with this!"
"Well, I suppose you're right!" The Chief said, he blinked as his friend stepped closer and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Some part of him had been waiting to make a change within his son, but that part of him no longer mattered. It was gone, along with his son.
"Hey, what happened to the Lord!" Pidge said, pointing over where the lord and his servants were.
"Mm, they must have fled from the danger!?" The Chief said, "well it doesn't matter, we could probably gather up the remains! And find the Lord, tell him that our mission is complete"
"I'll go look for him!" Pidge said, volunteering herself. The Chief explorer drew in a deep breath, folded his arms across his chest, "don't ask for money this time!"
Pidge dropped her defiant stance as the realization dawned on her as climbing up the entrance. "Don't worry, I won't not this time".
A short while later, Pidge begrudgingly began her search. She searches all the rooms, only to find the castle with becoming a maze. An endless supply of hallways.
Across the castle, the explorers were just finished dissecting the spider daemon, separated into parts.
"Well, that's the last of it!" The Chief said. Then turn his attention around Matt, "you seem silent, something on your mind".
"I've been just been thinking about this hunt!" Matt said.
"What do you mean!" Chief said, then he looks at the spider again, "I have to admit this spider was a weakling, but what else is there!"
At the sound of the chief's voice, a massive metal wall slid down from the ceiling. It rose up from the ground with a loud clang, sealing off the passage that led to the Castle. The Chief and Matt exchanged worried looks. They were trapped.
Hunk had no idea how long he'd wandered across the dirt and sand. It felt as if he'd walked to the ends of the earth. he had definitely reached the end of the land, as the ground dropped off ahead of him in the middle of the road.
Hunk walked to the edge of the road near the ocean and looked into the frigid fields below. he felt a lot like the field—silent, alone, and at the wind blowing onto the grass. he sank to his knees and brushed the tears from his eyes. When he heard footsteps approaching, he didn't bother to look up.
"Not now, dad. I just want to be left alone," he said.
"But are you all right!?" It wasn't His father's voice. Startled, Hunk looked up quickly. A beautiful girl drifted in front of him. Dress in a blue flower dress Hunk breathed in astonishment.
"You!"
The Chief had been in worse scrapes. The gleaming metal wall that closed off between him and the castle presented a little obstacle for an explorer, he ran toward the wall, focusing her thoughts, channeling her energy to send it crumbling to the ground, he struck out with enough force.
The wave of power shot from his body and rocketed toward the wall, slamming against the surface with a sound like a resounding gong. But then the unexpected happened. The wave rebounded, sending him staggering back. The wall stood untouched, not even a dent in its surface. Somehow, it had repelled his attack.
"Impossible!" He said. Matt gasped in disbelief and the chief's eyes widened in shock. The explorers were equally astonished. They closed ranks around the chief, enclosing him in a protective circle.
Suddenly, an amplified voice cut through the silence. "I'm afraid you won't be able to break that wall, Chief Herschel.
The voice belonged to Sendak. Matt spun around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. His question was answered, however, as the mecha-soldiers on either side of the room lit up, a spooky pale purple glow emanating from their robotic eyes. There was no question—Sendak was leading the charge against this army.
"This source was a setup!" Matt said. he thought back to the meeting with the Lord and how easily the spider Daemon was so defeated. "You lured us here!"
"Guilty as charged," Sendak replied.
All at once, the mecha-soldiers leveled their guns with a pneumatic blast. The explores leaped into action, lashing out at the soldiers with the metal cables from their uniforms. The cables looped around two of the mecha suits. The police tightened the cables, trying to topple the battle suits or pull them apart.
The metal-plated robots struggled, their hydraulic arms caught in the cables and bound to their metal bodies. The struggle was short-lived, however. Electricity burst from the robots. The current crackled down the length of the metal cables, electrocuting the explorers on the other end. The two dropped to the ground, unconscious.
With a startled cry, Herschel and Matt joined the fight. The explorer chief slashed his arms through the soldiers, crossing their skulls to pieces.
Matt then takes out his sword, sprints towards and attacks, he raised the sharp sword and hurled it at the advancing mechanized suits.
But the sharp fragment only bounced off the platinum-plated body, doing little to slow their process.
Chief Herschel and his remaining strength turned his attention to the gun, lining the edges of the room. He grabbed the gun and put his hands on the trigger, launched the shrapnel blast at the robots, hoping to pierce their armor.
The mecha slowed momentarily under the hail of blast fragments, but their armor remained impervious to the attack. Within moments, they advanced as if nothing had happened. The robots' heavy rubber treads walk over the debris, flattening it with the ease of a team of steamrollers.
When the two explorers wake up, they fell back to regroup, Sendak took advantage of the temporary retreat. In unison, the soldiers lurched to a stop and the pincers of their robotic gun ratcheted open. Each gun launched a two-pronged grappling hook at the end of a long cable. The hooks struck the two explorers and clamped shut around them. In a matter of seconds, the cables flared with electricity, shocking the explorers and knocking them unconscious.
Chief Herschel also found himself clenched in the cold iron grip of a grappling talon. But before the sizzling sparks of electricity could reach him, he used his skills to warp the metal gauntlets of her armor, transforming them into shiny blades with the wicked sharpness of swords.
The Chief sliced through the grappling hook's cable, freeing himself just in time to escape electrocution. he snarled as he rounded on the soldiers closest to him, running directly into its path. They were about to collide, but at the last possible moment, Herschel kicked against the metal door, creating a tremor. The rumbling metal launched him high into the air.
The explorer chief landed on top of the oncoming mechanic soldiers, using his gauntlet blades to slash through the glass eyes of the machine's metal dome. Then turned around to Sendak
"You're next, you Galra", Herschel said. he had just reared back to plunge his blades into Sendak's head when another soldier's grappling hook locked on to her from behind. The soldier wasted no time flooding the cable with the current.
The chief's body shook as the shock coursed through him. he reeled and fell into the ground, tumbling with a thud.
From the corner of his eye, Matt saw the chief go down. He had been keeping the tanks at bay as best they could, but they barely managed to slow them down.
Matt pounded away with a barrage of arrow strikes, trying to keep them away in Bay. But the remaining soldiers still had plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
One of the armored soldiers leveled a claw and launched a spinning metal disk from between its pincers. As the disk flew toward Matt, it ejected electrified bola cords. The weighted cords whipped through the air, gaining momentum. Matt tried to evade them, but they slammed into his body. The electrified bands closed around him and emitted a high-voltage shock. He lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground.
With their opponents defeated, the mecha-soldiers ground to a halt.
Among the men stood a tall, imposing figure whose face was half-concealed behind a pair of purple goggles and a Hood. The lower part of his face was exposed.
Belted at his waist were two electrified kali sticks. He was Sendak's new lieutenant.
Sendak nodded to the Lieutenant before he turned to survey the unconscious bodies of his enemies on the Castle grounds. "Well, I'd say that was a near-flawless test run," he said, grinning.
He motioned to his men. "Load everyone into the transports. Deliver them to the base."
"Of course," he said. Looking at the fallen on the ground with a grin on his face, he had big plans, very big plans for the explorers and village.