Chapter 7

As suspected, Ankary was bombarded with questions and inquiries from the paladins the following day. Shiro insisted on giving him some space, which they did reluctantly. That was when the castle was receiving a transmission from Kolivan. Everyone turned their attention to the screen when Coran went to answer it. Kolivan appeared on the screen, his mask off. "Kolivan," Allura addressed. Ankary felt her aura change, something more on edge, tense. Did she not trust the Blade of Marmora? Curious.

"Princess, Thace has notified me that your mission was successful. Would Ankary happen to be with you?" She stepped aside as said Dayan entered the picture. He gave a basic salute to him in greeting. "Ankary, it's good to see you safe," His expression didn't change, but there was some relief in his voice. "We would like you to return to the Head Quarters and prepare for your next assignment."

"Excuse me," another voice on Kolivan's side interrupted off screen. It sounded firm and female in tone. "He doesn't take orders from you. He takes them from me." The camera flipped over to show who was speaking. A woman stood there with her arms folded across her chest and a hard expression on her face. She was a similar race as Ankary was, but there were still differences. The same protective black scales that covered Ankary's tail was present on her as well, only it was her entire body, tail included. Her spade was about the same size as Ankary's, if a little smaller, and was shaped like an arrow. The length was shorter too, equivalent to her height by the looks of it.

Two cream colored ram horns dominated the top part of her head, curling behind pointed ears and circled her jawline. She had the same serpentine fangs and tongue when she spoke to reveal them. Her eyes were also a wash of color, the iciest crystals that even the Bolmara could never hold a candle to. She tapped her claws against her bare arms, a dark green swatch of cloth covered her chest and the tight green Capri spandex pants gave a nice compliment to her hourglass shape. Ankary flinched when he saw that it was his superior, with her shockingly blue stare. "Agent Blackwell," she addressed in that same authoritive voice, "report."

Ankary then gave a real salute to her, like a real soldier should. As instructed he relayed the information to her via Silent Tongue. His pacing between moving gestures, handshapes, positions and so on were much faster than anyone else had ever seen him use. The whole ship was silent as he told her the barebones of his mission, but he left out specific parts on purpose. No one had to know what other horrors happened in there and he knew it would trigger her if he ever mentioned it. When he finished her expression went unreadable. "I see," was what she said after a few moments. "Well then, I'll be sure to update your training sessions. I won't have my elite agent be subdued by primal methods. It seems we'll need to work on your endurance as well. You almost cost this mission with your exhaustion."

The young Dayan lowered his head and signed a 'yes ma'am' to her. "However," she continued, making him look back up at her, "you did very well by the sounds of it. This was much better than your last execution. Well done, Agent Blackwell." She gave him a sort of smirk, revealing a small portion of her pride. Ankary knew she could keep her thoughts guarded from everyone and everything; it was something he picked up from her. She was proud of him, even if she didn't show it extensively. "As Kolivan mentioned before, you need to rest and prepare for your next mission in another arena. We still have a list of them to get through."

"Sorry to interrupt," Shiro interjected, stepping up next to Ankary, "But we could use a little explanation here, Miss…?" He trailed off, a silent question hanging at the end for her to fill in the blank. She turned her attention to the black paladin and her tail swished with amusement.

"Mistress Amelia. I must say I did not expect the famous Takashi Shirogane to become the black paladin of Voltron, nor any human for that matter." Ankary felt a sudden sense of surprise radiate from him. His best guess was that it was due to the use of his full name. He never told anyone his full name, not even to Ankary. "Voltron has been in hiding for millennia. Even back then the lions never took one glance at Earth for pilots. The last paladins sure made my job a lot easier by keeping watch over this universe while I took care of the others. It's a relief to see the band back together."

"How do you know my name? I've never told anyone my full name. I just went by Champion to the universe." That last part was true. No one ever bothered to learn his real name, even when he told them.

"I know many things, Shirogane. More than you can imagine. That's beside the point. You want an explanation; I'll give it to you." She waited until she was sure that everyone on that ship had her full attention. "As I said, I am Mistress Amelia, Warden to the Prison, the highest security system throughout the multiverse. It is my duty to arrest and maintain anyone or anything that breaks the laws of the universe they reside in. Since I have a branch extending to many universes, you can guess that I have to keep track of every law of those universes and who breaks them. That's the simplest answer I can give.

"As I'm sure you know, the Galra Empire has control over much of this universe. They hold tournaments for gladiators in their arenas as a sport. That's fine, but the problem is that they use prisoners instead of willing participants. This has led to the slaughter of millions of innocent souls and their vessels, or bodies in other words. By doing so violates this universe's law. It also poses a challenge to my Prison's system of looking after the well-being of my wards. I will not stand for this mockery. Prison is meant for the guilty and prisoners shall be treated as fairly as the crimes they commit, according the Law of the Universe, not sent to fight for the entertainment of others. My elite agent Ankary here is contracted to go undercover as a prisoner to the arenas, finding their weak points and "decommission" them, saving as many prisoners as possible."

Ankary looked around to see any reactions. The group's auras didn't change but he did see focus on their faces. They listened until she spoke, her words slipping smoothly through the air. "Thank you for looking after him. I'll make sure you are rewarded for your efforts." She turned her head to look directly at Ankary, "I want you back here so we can work on your training and you can get some proper rest. Your next arena will require it."

"Would it be too much to propose that he stay with us for a while?" Princess Allura offered. The other paladins and the young Dayan turned to her, confused. "I'm sure the paladins could use some fresh skills to train with and it is our duty to protect the innocent. Assisting your efforts to destroy the arenas would weaken Zarkon's forces, bringing us closer to defeating him."

"Hm," Amelia considered, "Interesting proposal, your highness. What say you, Kolivan?" The Galra, nearly twice as big as her, came into the frame.

"I don't see why not. The more our allies work together, the stronger we are. You have the executive decision, of course," was his answer.

"Ankary?" She lifted a brow at him. The Dayan glanced over his shoulder to see the other paladins liking the idea and there was a definite rise in Shiro's aura next to him. As much as it would be nice to stay and catch up, he preferred to work alone. Not only would it protect them, but also prevent any obstacles getting in the way of his work. He can't focus on the well-being of a team and his contracts at the same time. In his signing, he expressed this to his mother.

She showed no signs of a reaction to him, except for her words. "I know you would prefer to work alone, but being on a team might do you some good. Since you would have botched your last mission without their help, I'm assigning you to stay with them and let them help you with your next mission. Who knows, they actually might prove to be more helpful to you than by yourself." She pretty much spat that last comment with a sarcastic, exasperated tone; like this wasn't the first time he was told that making friends or working with a team would be better than taking all of the weight on his own shoulders.

However, Shiro seemed happy with the opportunity and Ankary would be lying if he said he didn't want to spend more time with him as well. "I'll send you an outline of what needs to get done before and during your next mission. Report back to me when you've completed it or if you need any further assistance. Don't forget to get a diagnostic scan on your bands before you open them. There's always a possibility that the Galra have tinkered with your equipment while you were held captive in any of the past arenas." Ankary saluted her and she did the same back to him. "Good luck, Agent Blackwell." The call ended and the screen when black. Ankary faced his new temporary team behind him. This was going to be a long mission.