"It's true", the deamon woman said. She placed her hand on her chest, "I am no healer, I am Yodala, the 97th head-captain of the samurai."
"Oohh," Lance said, then he realized he had no idea what a head-captain was.
"I'm such an idiot!" Pidge said, "I should have figured it out, none of those monster were real; they were all illusions".
"Yes", Yodala said. "They were just to scare you, that's how I protest the samurai".
"But...I don't understand", Ellis said. "If you're not a real healer, how did you save Ava's leg?" She placed her gloved hand on Ava's fourth leg.
Keith had been wondering the same thing, sort of, honestly, it was a lot to follow.
Yodala smiled, she walked over to Ava. "I remember you and that little cub, both so frightened and sad", she said to Ellis, "I saw she had lost her leg and I understood that humans would have trouble accepting her".
"It's true, her father had a hard time to accept me!" Ava told her.
Yodala continued, "but I knew her spirit was strong and that was all that really matters, to help you, I created an illusion: a leg that others would see, even though it wasn't real, I enchanted the moonstone collar to hold the spell."
Yodala knelt beside Ava, who was panting happily, She carefully removed the moonstone collar, within a few seconds, the spell cast by the collar faded and Ava's fourth leg disappeared in a twinkling yellow light, there she stood, on her three strong legs, the wolf continued to pant happily.
"She never needed that fourth leg to be happy, everyone else did," Yodala said.
Everyone smiled, even though Yodala couldn't heal Ava's leg, she had helped in the way she could and it had made all the difference to Ellis and Ava these last few years.
"But the help we need is real", Keith suddenly said, "an illusion won't help us", He walked over to Yodala with Kosmo, slowly, he lifted Shiro off Kosmo's back, he was still covered in blood.
Lance stepped forward, "Our friend Shiro had sleigh beggy affect." he winced, realizing that even with all their efforts to save Shiro might die after all. "I meant we trying to save him—"
Yodala interrupted Lance with a wave of her hand, she touched Shiro's forehead lightly and then sighed, "his life is fading quickly, the only chance of saving him now would form a connection to a daemon." She frowned, "But which daemon will form a connection!"
Keith gazed at Shiro, his heart growing heavier by the second, who will form a connection with him.
"No, that can't be", Lance said. "There has to be a way to save him".
"I'm sorry," Yodala said.
Lance and the others watched, crestfallen, as Keith kept holding Shiro's body, the last of their hope with his light and life.
Keith suddenly felt like he was suffocating, "I'm so sorry, Shiro I...couldn't save you!"
"This wasn't your fault, Keith!" Lance said, he couldn't let Keith carry that burden alone.
"But it is, I let him down!" Keith said, Tears continued to pour from his violet eyes.
"Stats." Stats said, wrapping his arms around her. He was crying.
Keith took a deep breath as the tears kept following on his face, a lump rising in his throat, they had come all this way for nothing, Shiro would die and the hope that comes with it as a wave of grief washed over him, the feeling was familiar from the days following his father, Allura, and Takashi, and with the thoughts of them, Keith's sadness grew; they have so proud if Keith had made things right.
But there was nothing he could do for Allura and Takashi back then.
"Maybe if I had a connection to Takashi or Allura." he thought. "Wait a minute, a deamon can form a connection to him".
A sense of certainty unlike any Keith had ever felt welled up inside him. "I know what I have to do", he announced.
He pulled his dagger and form a cut on his hand and then form another cut on Shiro's hand and then hold his hand.
"My blood, our blood!" Keith said, days ago, he would be glad to not be connected to a person, but none of mattered now.
With a deep breath, Keith tried to make a connection with Shiro, but nothing happened until a white spark, which turned to light, three lines form on both sides, and the connection between human and daemon became one again.
Keith smiled by this but suddenly blood begins to overflow from his body, his muscles begin to tear, and his bones start to creak.
This…Was it suicide? but it didn't matter now.
Everyone was in shock by the action Keith took to save Shiro.
"Keith!" Lance answered as he holds him anxiously as he was covered in blood.
"What horrible wounds! Someone! Help Keith!" Hunk cried.
Yodala runs towards to the two as she ordered the ninjas to get help. "Everybody! Treatment for these two is top priority! This is a order. We must save their lives without fail!"
"Yes Ma'am!" The ninjas shouted.
The treatment team within the punitive force gathered around them and pulled out a stretcher for both them.
Lance and the others fall silent due to Yodala's aura of authority.
"W-What are you doing to them!?" Lance said.
"What does it look like I'm doing!" Yodala said, "I'm taking them in for medical treatment! you see!"
"Okay, but what will happened to Shiro!?" Pidge asked.
"Don't worry! your friend had made a connection with him!" Yodala answered.
"Meaning." Lance paused.
"Meaning that your friend is going to be okay, thanks to the half-daemon!" she exclaimed.
Lance and the others smiled, "Really...Shiro's going to be okay!" Lance said.
"Yes!" Yodala said.
Everyone cheered at the news, Shiro was going to be okay thanks to Keith, but still concerned by the damage that Keith took.
"So what now!" Hunk said.
"Well, now that you're proving that you're not a threat!" Yodala said, "I believe you are proven to have a proper welcome."
With that, the sun rose up as Lance and the others turned to see a beautiful and awesome structure of jagged stones and leaning cliffs. A river ran through the middle of the valley, and sparkled like a jewel in the sun.
"Welcome to the last land of the samurai." Yodala said.
The group looked in all, they found them, they found the samurai, they could see some of the samurai, training and other things, for a few moments, Lance and the others forgot the precarious situation they was in as they was mystified by these mysterious group of legends.
"Don't just stand there!" Yodala answered. "I believe I will welcome you!"
With that, The group started to run from the cliff they were on and headed to the valley, heading to find Shiro and Keith.
Following this, two days later, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Stats, Kiaion, Ellis, Ava, and Kosmo trotted over to the landscape, around the valley, where the building were Japanese style temples.
One particular building was the butterfly mansion, which also a hospital for the injured and sick, it was the exact same place where Shiro and Keith rested.
After forming a connection with Keith, Shiro slowly recovered his wounds.
"Ugh...Heavy." he thought as the sun filtered through the window, Shiro yawned and stretched, feeling the soft blanket brush against his skin.
He felt that something was snugly wrapped around the forearm of his left arm, he blinked the bluriness of sleep away and saw that his arms, legs and forehead was wrapped in a clean white bandages.
So it hadn't been a dream.
Well, in the sense that it was a real hallucination he had as he when he awake he see Keith, Stats, and Kosmo all on his bed, the latter was also covered in bandages.
"What the hell is this! Get up!" Shiro said.
"Shiro, you're awake!" Keith said as he throws in a hug.
Instead of scold him, Shiro returns the hug but also notice of a familiar mark, the d-user mark.
"Keith, it's that..." Shiro said.
"Yes, the d-user mark, the same mark that was put on me, but only this time I put one on you!" Keith said.
"Really, but why", Shiro said.
"It was the only way to save you...I was so scared!" Keith said.
"It's okay, Keith", Shiro said. "Where are we!"
Keith told Shiro that he was the last land of the samurai and both of them got urgently rushed to receive treatment in the butterfly mansion, which was surprisingly to Shiro.
A soft knock came from the door. It opened to reveal Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Ava, Ellis, and Kiaion, all them of them smiled
"How is your condition?" asked Lance.
"We're fine, thanks!" Keith said.
"That's good I'm glad that one miracle got through today!" Lance said.
"I see that you're awake!" Yodala said, appearing in the room and confusingly Shiro.
"It's okay you can trust her since she gave instructions for treatment even while you was unconscious." Keith exclaimed.
"Keith is correct, I even asked the treatment team at the hospital how you was doing." Yodala said.
"Ok...so this is the last land of the samurai!" Shiro said.
"Yes it is!" Yodala said. "Then could you follow me?"
"Where are we going?" Keith asked.
"We are going to the main temple." Yodala answered.
"Huh!" everyone said.
It seems Yodala has created a situation where Shiro, Keith, and the others had no choice but to go to the temple, it was a Japanese style Castle.
On top of that, the scenery they could see through the row of windows lining the walls was positively breathtaking. Clear blue sky, far as the eye could see, hung over a townscape straight from ancient Japan. However, they didn't have long to marvel at the spectacle before they were ushered through the hall into a large audience chamber.
"Oh? So these are the Intruders?"
A self-important black man was looking down at Shiro and the others with an appraising gaze but with him was 23 different people standing over him, looking to the side.
"The pillars are now present!!" The person with the cloth covering his mask knelt beside him and announced.
"Pillars? What pillars?" Shiro thought as he looked up at the people in front.
Seeing the figures, Shiro and the others saw, from right to left, a very tall and wide-set man with a bulky and muscular build and lighter tanned skin, his hair was white and uneven, with long strands reaching his shoulders, he wore a sleeveless and dark turquoise uniform, with two blades on his back connected with chains.
Next to him was a young woman, with long black that keeps tied up in a ponytail, she also has a distinct mole located beneath her left eye. She was a white dress with an irregular square pattern with a lighter solid cloth exposing her cleavage, her dress is also secured tight with a striped colored obi, she was fishnet socks that up to her mid-thigh along with light colored sandals.
To the left of them was a young woman with amber-colored eyes and medium length black hair, turning green at the ends of her hair, with a cape with a hood and brown boots as part of her uniform with grey leggings.
Next to her was another young woman with red eyes and long hair orange, turning red at ends of her hair, she wears a hide breastplate with her uniform, lace-up boots and a pair of gloves, but her most unique designed was the feathers on her uniform.
To the left of them was a curvaceous young woman with fair skin and round, light green eyes and long, pale pink hair that fades into a neon green color halfway down and was down in three thick braids, she wore a short skirt and plain white haori, with her breast area left unbuttoned.
Next to her was a young woman with sickly pale with disheveled shoulder-length dull brown hair, she wears a navy blue uniform with long-sleeved, a fanned-out skirt that is cut to about mid-leg and a skull decorated with a white bow and ribbon, to complete the outfit, she wears a simple white apron over the uniform, black and white stockings and black knee-high boots which are secured with silver buckles.
The left of them was a young man of tall stature with bright yellow hair and red streaks, black forked eyebrows and golden eyes, he wore a haori white which was torn at the bottom, leaving the strips to act as flames at the bottom half of it turned red.
Next to him was a young boy who had the same appearance that of the young man, this time, he wears a uniform with a plain white haori.
The left of them, a short young man with a light complexion and long, straight hair of black color that faded to pale turquoise as it approached his waist, he wore a dark, slightly turquoise-tinted uniform with longer and looser sleeves.
Next to him was a middle aged man who was dressed in a brown uniform with long-sleeved jeans jacket with brown boots.
The left of them was a young woman with a slender build and notably red lips in contrast to her pale complexion with long, straight, black hair that reached just below her waist, worn down with two shorter clumps over her shoulders and arched, ear-length bangs on either side of her face with violet eyes, bright and bug-like and purple-tinted uniform as well a butterfly patterned haori with a pair of green and pink butterfly hairpins that she wore on either side of her head.
Next to her was another young woman with pale skin and larger, compared-purple looking eyes that do not possess pupils, only a haze of gradient purple, which make her eyes appear similar to those of insects, she has shoulder-length wavy hair that fades from black into dark purple, usually styled at the back of her head into a bun, fastened with white and purple butterfly hairpin, with a dark-purple uniform with gold buttons and white-pink which has a butterfly wing pattern on it.
Next to them was a very short, elderly man with visible forehead wrinkles and large, slanted eyes as well as a straight scar with even six prongs running along his right cheekbone with bushy eyebrows and a large moustache as well as have silck white hair, he also missing his right leg with a wooden peg taking its place, he wore a jinbei styled kimono with a yellow-base color and pale triangle pattern, he also carried a thick wooden cane with him to support his body due to age and his missing leg.
Next to him was a young man with fair skin and downward-sloped, scared-looking eyes that fade from soft brown to gold, he has short, yellow hair of varying lengths, he wears a paler brown uniform with a long-sleeved white-triangle patterned, yellow and orange haori.
Next to them stood a hulking figure, easily towering over others, he looked extremely bulky and muscular, with spike black hair and a prominent scar running horizontally across his forehead, he seemed to be blind as he has white eyes with visible irises or pupils, his hands were clasped together with beads in between them.
Next to him was a young man with light and black shoulder length hair, but on his face was a mark that makes his skin rotting spreading down his face and covering his eyes making him unable to see, he wears a black robe with a long white haori with a pink and purple mist like pattern that starts around the lower back/waist.
In front of him stood Yodala who looked at Shiro, Keith and the others and said with a smile, "This is the headquarters of the samurai, we are deciding what we're going to do with you now, Shiro and Keith!"
"Huh!?" Both of them said.