"You gotta do something man," Hunk felt useless. Yellow could leap into the air and fly but the Lion's gait stumbled on land. It made the big man feel effectively useless. "Lance, Pidge, go help the Commander and Princess."
"Stay where you are," Keith ordered. "I'm almost there and this has Zarkon written all over it."
He'd reached Blue's side as the defenceless lion tried desperately to glide towards the ground. Aiming for the softest dune in the desert, Keith demanded Black catch his pride mate. Making a last, desperate attempt, Commander Kogane closed his eyes and concentrated on forming a mental link to both Lions. Asking Black to take orders directly from his mind, and demanding the same from Blue, they'd shave milliseconds off his reaction times.
The Commander's Lion roared with fury. He didn't want to do as his pilot commanded. Pouncing on the back of Blue, Black dug his claws in to stop the wind creating a vortex and ripping them apart. Lifting his heavy paw, the mighty beast aimed for his pride mates head. Bringing it crashing down at the same time Keith established a link with Blue, the bird squealed and fell from the lions now open mouth. Black released his hold, allowing Blue to fly free.
"Princess," Keith hissed through clenched teeth. He hated the pain he felt emanating off Blue. The lion fought the Commanders domination, finally giving in because of his pilot's inability to take immediate and decisive control.
"Commander," she answered, in a weak voice.
"Regroup," Keith instructed in an abrupt tone. He wanted to be glad she lived, but right now the Commander had bigger considerations than a single individual, even if she was the Crown Princess. Blue roared wrathfully at being forced to follow orders from another Lion's pilot. Sending a quelling mental blast, the Lion fell in behind Black as its power systems returned to normal. "Be ready to form Voltron. I don't think we've seen the best of this robeast, or what it can do, yet."
Keith spoke quietly to his team but with an inner strength that belayed argument. They understood his commands and would follow them without protest. Mentally linking with the rest of the pride, Yellow, Red and Green Lion displayed their displeasure by sending the Commander a cerebral backlash. He weathered the dissent, quelling it unmercifully and forcing his will upon the entire pride.
"What is that?" Hunk sat forward on his seat, watching as the Eagle regained flight and began a metamorphosis. By now the Doom ship had reached the target area and begun to energise the creature.
"Signature of the robeast is changing," Pidge broke in. "It's growing, enlarging to the kind of mechanical monster Doom usually sends us."
"A Garlock," Keith whispered, the image taking him back to a horrendous childhood memory. Black entered his mind, calming it immediately.
Haggar's spell is devastating, Keith found the anger rising. First it captured the Princess, now it's trying to trick me into engaging the beast without the support of the other Lion's. I considered myself too strong to be influenced by the old witch. What other surprises does that Garlock have in stall for us? I cannot believe Hagger's spell is the only bombshell Zarkon sent.
"A Griffin," Lance explained to the three confused team members, hearing Keith's soft mummer. "It's a mythical Earth animal with the face and wings of an Eagle but the heart and hindquarters of a lion."
"It's doing something with its wings," Pidge reported. "This can't be good from the massive energy expenditure I'm seeing on my screen."
"Take cover," Lance yelled, as did Black Lion with his mighty roar.
Each feather became a razor-sharp dart. Each flap of the giant beast's wings released a shower of piercing projectiles towards the retreating Voltron members. Each wave getting closer to the withdrawing Lions. The fourth volley managed to pierce Black's heavy armour as it protected it's retreating pride mate.
"I'm hit," once again Keith's voice sounded far away. In his cockpit, his eyes remained closed as he concentrated on controlling his lion and the rest of the pride with his mind. "Prepare to form Voltron when we get to your position."
"You can't," Allura broke in, distress at her inability to manoeuvre her machine. "I don't know what's happening. I'm not in control of my Lion. Nothing I do is making any difference."
"Me either," Hunk echoed in confusion, his beast starting to move across the desert landscape at a slow trot.
"What's going on," Lance added his cries to the others as Red fell in beside Yellow, protecting his flank from the razor darts. "It's like the Lions have developed a mind of their own."
Keith started the check list for connecting all five Lion's much to his team's surprise. Trained too well to ignore their Commander, the pilots automatically achieved their assigned roles. Each beast roared their displeasure at taking the demanding mental commands from Keith. Yet they followed his instructions and fell into formation. A few seconds later, the massive robot stood across the empty moat from the new Castle of Lion's, ready to face the Garlock.
"How?" Pidge asked, astounded.
"Right now," Keith demanded each pilot give him their complete attention, "let's send Zarkon a message from Planet Arus. It's time to go home, for good because we're not falling for any more of his tricks."
Still using his mental abilities, the Commander set Voltron in motion. Running along the sand, plumes of dust in their wake, the robot took to the sky with a mighty leap. Meeting the Griffin mid-air, he didn't wait. Initiating the blazing sword, the half Eagle half Lion found its beating heart cleaved neatly in two. Continuing to soar into the sky, the explosion behind them sent an expanding shock wave from the defeated beast high into the Arusian night. Desert sand blew in all directions as the laden clouds finally opened with an amazing thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning struck the expanding ball of energy that had once been Haggar's robeast.
"Return to base," Keith almost sighed with weariness as he released mental control over the other Lion's. Exhausted, he directed Black to disengage and take him home.
"I'm fine," he told his Lion once they'd entered Black's den. The annoyed mental prod stated his beast felt anything but happy. "Sorry," Keith tried to sound repentant. Truthfully, he felt elated at the easy victory and the way he'd been able to take control of all the lions.
His Lion wish to have his say on that matter, both for himself and the rest of his pride. "You can tell the others," Commander Keith Kogane accepted Black's mental rebuke with a tired smile, "that I'm going to make a habit of it, so you'd all better get used to the fact."
"You'd better not," Blue Lion stated, still peeved.
"Blue is furious," Black sent at the same time.
Keith actually chuckled. "I bet," he managed, "that feeling is reflected in his pilot. I'm not overly impressed with the Princess either, but we will discuss that at the team debrief."
Huffing, Black settled on his pad. Several minutes went by and Keith remained at his station. Worried, his Lion mentally nudged him once again.
"I'm awake," he sounded sleepy. "I just don't want to move for a few minutes. I think that battle took more out of me than I realised."
"Keith," Lance's dulcet tones, accompanied by the pilot's face on the monitor above his head asked in a sardonic tone, "you coming out?" When he didn't answer straight away, Red's pilot demanded, "we're waiting to find out what the hell you did out there."
"One day," Keith giggled, finding humour in the situation, "I'll tell you. Today's not your day and tomorrow doesn't look good either."
"Hey, Keith," Lance looked worried, "is that blood on your uniform."
"What?" the Commander asked, finally looking down at the patch of red spreading round the metal feather embedded in his chest. "Yeh, I think it is. Something told me I had to finish that Garlock before it affected ..." Starting to mumble incoherently, Lance signalled for a medivac.