It was mid morning at the castle of Lions. Pidge was trying to locate Dark1 and Lienad's computer terminal. He kept shaking his head as static kept covering various locations and throwing out weird readings. Keith came into check on him.
"Any luck?" asked Keith.
"Well, so far neither of them has forced me to download any more holographic creatures. I'm not able to get a clear scan of Doom." Answered Pidge. He pulled up some screen shots and clips. "It's like parts of Doom are covered by a digital fog. The place was castle Doom used to be is especially . . . static-iy."
"Staticiy? Is that even a word?" asked Lance as he studied the pictures. "The castle turned out to be a robo-octopus. There's no way it's still there."
"Could they have had an underground base there too?" asked Keith.
"They had to be plotting somewhere while they were building castle Doom." Said Pidge. "I wish I had been monitoring it more closely before this fog appeared."
"We need to see what is going on in those areas. Lance, grab your Voltcom; we're doing a surveillance sweep on planet Doom." Ordered Keith.
"Just the two of us? Even the kids had enough sense to go as a team." Said Lance. "Then again, Vince is still on horse manure duty."
"And Larmina is visiting Bandor on Pollux. After what happened to Daniel, I don't want to leave Arus unprotected." Said Keith. Daniel's cry of pain echoed in his mind. None of them wanted to imagine what his kidnapper was doing to him. No one even knew who their new enemy was at all. "If we're lucky, we might find him."
"Or find out our new bad guy has a robot army equipped with vaporizing rays. Look, Daniel's a resourceful kid and all, but we don't even know who ever took him is on Doom. We don't even know if he's still alive." Replied Lance.
"Why would they bother kidnapping him just to kill him?" asked Keith. "Whoever took him wanted him for another reason."
"I areed with Keith; they went to a lot of trouble to get him." Said Allura as she walked up behind them. Lance jumped and Keith sighed. He knew what was coming next. "When are we leaving?"
"We? Aren't you the queen now?" replied Lance.
"You need another pilot on this mission, especially if you do find Daniel and he's hurt." Answered Allura. She put on her Voltcom. "I don't have anything scheduled today and, other than Pidge, I'm the only other one available."
"This isn't going to be easy and it will be very dangerous." Warned Keith. He knew it was pointless.
"I'm sure. Come on, I'll ride in Black." Said Allura.
Black and Red flew over the barren deserts of Doom. There were almost no signs of life, not even a space mouse appeared to be there. Lance yawned, " Well, the surface looks like a ghost planet."
"Stay on alert, Lance; you never know when an enemy will strike." Warned Keith.
"Blah, blah, blah. I know it takes just one minute to . . ." started Lance right before Red hit an invisible shield. "What the . . .?"
"An invisible force field? Why here?" asked Allura.
"Let's see." Said Keith. He used Black's sonar to scan the area. "Looks like you hit the castle, Lance. Why does that shape look familiar?"
"It almost looks like the outline for the castle of Lions." Answered Allura. "Let's land in the canyon and investigate."
Once they were on the ground, each of them put on a dark cloak before heading into the hidden city. From the sky it had been a barren wasteland, but on the ground it was a bustling city. The three walked thru the streets in shock.
"There is no way this city just sprang up over night." Said Keith.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't here two weeks ago." replied Lance.
"After everything we've seen this is either the most fantastic thing or most frightening thing we've encountered." Answered Allura. "How could we miss this?"
Then they passed Commander Yurak.
"Was that . . .?"Started Lance, but cut off when the Drule commander turn towards them. "So, what are we doing tonight, Lucy, Jeff?"
"Voltron spies!" Yelled Yurak as he pointed towards them. They activated the holograms on their Voltcoms and ran.
After out running Yurak's men, Keith looked at Lance and said "Of all the names you could say, really? In front of General Yurak?"
"Am I the only one freaked out that Yurak's back from the grave?" said Lance. "What's going on here?"
"Lance, we know that Haggarium can bring the dead back to life. What we need to find out how they've been hiding this city." Said Allura. She look at a poster next behind Keith and Lance. It had a picture of a strange man in a grey cloak with a silver lion mask and read Join the Emperor and travel the Universe and Plunder rich planets or Be destroyed. "I have a plan."
"I can't believe we're doing this." Grumbled Lance. They were walking by the Emperor's recruiting office. Their holograms kept them hidden. "The only part about that poster that was positive was traveling the Universe and we already do to that."
"I know, but this could be our only ticket into the castle." Reminded Keith. "It may be our only chance to find Daniel and learn more about this city, not to mention the Emperor."
They walked in. The receptionist looked like a Drule version of the mythical female Amazon warriors sharpening a dagger. The three walked up to her desk. Lance broke the silence and said, "So, where do I sign up to be part of your army?"
The Drule warrior leaped from behind the desk and had him pinned to the floor with a staff that had appeared out of nowhere. "You think you weaklings can come in and run the Emperor's forces?"
"Sorry, my friend can't resist a . . . beautiful strong warrior." Said Keith as he tried to keep a straight face. "We're only interested in serving our Emperor."
"So, were you raised from the dead like so many? Or were you refugees just waiting to return?" asked the warrior.
"Actually, both." Answered Lance.
"Both?" asked the warrior. She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, he's our son that my late brother whisked away to Dradin after Doom fell five years ago. My husband and I were causalities in that brutal attack. We were merchants, but now we want to serve our Emperor and get our revenge on the Voltron Force." Answered Allura.
"So, now the entire family wants revenge? Wait, you called him your friend. Why would you call your son a friend? And if you and your wife were recently revived, how would you know how he acts?" asked the warrior.
"Well, I'm his stepfather and he was like this even back before our . . . death." Answered Keith.
"I believe whatever is how they would respond on Earth." The warrior said. She let Lance up and handed them papers. "Go to the Castle of Shadows and I'm sure one of those wannabe warlords will sign you up. In my day you had to bring the hide of a beast if not the head of an enemy to prove you were worthy of serving a ruler. Hope made fools of many trying to take prisoners, but that was long before your time."
They went to the copy of the Castle of Lions. The hall of heroes was full of unknown warriors, but a statue with five warriors in the center of the room caught their eyes. Each had a lion emblem in a crystal the color of a lion, but the faces were covered by lion masks and the names scratched away. As they quickly found their way to where the catacombs were in their castle, only to find the Emperor's rooms. Maahox walked by with Wade.
"So, the loud mouthed Voltron brat is here?" asked Wade.
"I'm not sure. The Emperor gave me a sample of the boy's DNA for another project for later, but he just said the boy is the key to his past and he wouldn't trust anyone other than himself with the boy's location." Answered Maahox. "All I really know is that Lotor are both to head to Earth on two separate missions tomorrow. My next project is called Plan B."
"Plan B?" Asked Wade.
"I'm sure it is much more . . . promising than it sounds. He said it was inspired by a blue angel." Said Maahox. He sighed. "Then he started going on and on about his half-brother he refused to name and this Earth girl who lead him on for years and a bunch of traitors he knew a long time ago without really saying much other than he'll get his revenge. What are you three doing here?"
"We're the Emperor's private guards." Answered Lance.
"The Emperor doesn't have private guards." Said Wade. "Guards, arrest these spies."
"Spies? I doubt these three would be spies after I rebuild this city and revived so many would dare betray their beloved Emperor." Said a man in a silver lion mask. He walked up to them. "While I appreciate your concern over my wellbeing, I don't need private guards. The Voltron Force wouldn't dream of touching me until they find their poor cadet locked away on my prison planet on the forgotten planet. Only I know where it is and it makes Wade's Void look like daycare as the blue angel would say. Earthlings are so strange. Besides, as a true ancient Lion warrior I need only to present to fill enemies hearts with fear and then they crumble before me. Only my brother and an Earth girl nearly bested; one is dead and the other is encased in crystal. So, if you would return to your homes. Enjoy this life. By the time I'm through, The Drules and Shadow Lion warriors shall rule."
"Thank you, my emperor." Said Keith. The three of them bowed and raced back to the lions.
"We've got to warn Earth." Said Lance. They blasted off.
"I'll send word to Manset and Kalen that we need information on the forgotten planet. There has to be something out there." Said Keith.
"I'll try to find out about blue angels. I've never heard that term, but they might have something to do with the forgotten planet. I'm sure Pidge is trying to find out more about the Emperor." Said Allura. "I just hope we're not too late for Earth or Daniel."