Chapter Ten: Engage
"Cool!"
Pidge was the only one who had anything positive to say as the lions sprung up towards the atmosphere and began assembling.
"I'm a foot?" Hunk asked.
"Me too," Takashi said.
"That's kind of lame," he complained.
"The legs are the strongest," Takashi disagreed. "We support the whole body."
"Holy hell, what do I do with all of this?" Akira muttered.
"What's wrong?" Takashi asked.
"I've got about five different consoles to choose from," he answered. "No idea what any of them does, either."
"Just don't press the self-destruct button," Lance joked.
"Now what do we do?" Pidge asked, noting that they were completely assembled.
"Go kill us a beasty," Hunk answered. "Same as before."
"No complaints," Lance added. "Any idea how?"
"You guys are the hands," Hunk reminded him. "You figure it out."
"Guys! Pay attention!" Akira ordered. The vile robeast had spotted their approach and was making to pounce as soon as they got close enough. It was a miracle he saw it, though. With nearly a dozen different monitors, Akira had a hard time figuring out which one to look at.
Since no one had any idea what or how to control the giant robot, the robeast hit them full on in the chest and toppled them. Akira heard all of his compatriots groan or complain at the jarring, suggesting that they were all still with him.
"Guys! Tell me what you see! We gotta figure out how to operate this thing or it's going to hack us open!" Akira called. "Takashi, Hunk, can you guys figure out any way to get the feet to move? Like, kick this beast off of us?"
"As far as I can tell," Takashi answered, "all I have is some controls over some weaponry in the jaw."
"Same here," Hunk put forth.
"Shit," Akira cursed. That was kind of what he thought. With five consoles, Akira had suspected that he would be put in charge of the rest of the limbs as well as the body. "Yeah, no pressure."
Upon closer inspection, he could discern which console belonged to which lion by a symbol on the screens: Akajishi was a flame. Midorijishi was a leaf. Aojishi was waves. Kijishi was pebbles. Akira recalled that each lion had a home base near one of these symbols and divided them up accordingly. Kuro's monitor had a crest on it, which made sense since his base was nearest to the ruins of Castle Erus. His monitor was also the biggest.
Well, at least he knew where the legs were now.
Akira tried a simple command in Kijishi's console: kick. The leg that was Kijishi shot up with resounding force and collided with the back of the robeast. The monster toppled and pitched off of Voltron, but was back and hacking away again before Akira could put in the command for Voltron to stand.
"How about a little help," Akira pleaded. "Fire whatever you got at this thing. I can't get us up without some time."
The others acknowledged and a barrage of missiles came from the feet and fire from the hands. The robeast was sufficiently distracted, but whenever Akira tried to move a limb, the attack from that limb was cut off.
"Damn it!" he cursed. "How the hell am I supposed to get us up?"
The question had been rhetorical, but an answer came anyway. Kuro's console lit up and offered up a command:
STAND
To Akira, the command was ridiculous, since that was what he'd been trying to do. But nonetheless, he selected it and watched in wonder as the same command appeared simultaneously on the other four consoles and Voltron began moving without assistance. In moments, the giant robot had evaded the robeast and regained ground underneath the feet.
"Finally!" Lance cried. "What took so long?"
Akira didn't answer; he was puzzling over what had just occurred. It seemed as though any command put through Kuro's console would direct the other four limbs as needed. Well, that was a bonus. But now that Voltron was on his feet again, he was also still. No command had been issued and he was in danger of being bowled over by the robeast again.
"Um," he said to himself. "How about this?"
DEFLECT
The arms caught the flailing appendages of the robeast within their mouths and held them with unwavering strength, but the robeast simply shot missiles from its chest and blood began oozing from its arms and eating away at the lion heads.
"It's acid!" Pidge cried. "We have to let go of it!"
Letting go was not high on Akira's priority list, but he agreed. They couldn't hold onto the robeast if it was going to melt them. Akira was at a loss.
"How the hell are we supposed to defeat this thing?" he mused, issuing a command to toss the robeast. After accepting the command to toss, a new command popped up:
SWORD
"What sword?" he wondered, but selected the command anyway. This command only went to two consoles; Akajishi and Midorijishi. Akira watched as the two Lion heads came together and a long blade extended from them.
The robeast reached them again and swung its two blades against Voltron. Without thinking about it much, Akira typed in 'parry' to Kuro's console. Voltron did parry the swing, but didn't move again when the robeast readjusted for a new swing.
'Okay,' Akira thought, 'I need bigger picture. When you're sword-fighting, the technical term is…'
ENGAGE
"Finally," Akira said with a heavy breath release. Voltron was taking care of business even though it was two swords against one. But now that all four limbs were occupied by the fight, no one could fire any sort of weapon to help them gain the upper hand. And the robeast still hadn't run out of chest missiles.
"Raible, I need a little help here!" Akira tried again. "Some guidance!"
No answer.
"Son of a bitch," Akira muttered. "How's it going guys?"
"This is harder than I thought," Lance answered immediately. "This cat-limb-thing started demanding pressure and angle variations for holding the sword."
"Me too," Pidge piped up. "It all comes down to swing variables and-"
"Too much fucking math," Lance interrupted. "That's what it is. This shit sucks man."
"We're still alive," Takashi pointed out. "And holding our ground."
"We should be winning," Hunk grunted. "That was the point. Isn't Voltron supposed to be all powerful?"
"Probably is when he doesn't have five amateurs piloting him," Takashi answered. "I hate to suggest this, Akira, but if you want battle advice, the girl raved about Gorosei, even though they don't much like each other."
"I'll take what I can get," Akira answered quickly, trying to contact the tunnel base. There seemed to be some luck left in the world for him, Akira decided, when Gorosei was the one who answered.
"You rash and impetuous children!" he yelled as soon as the connection was established. "Do you realize what you've done?"
"Help now, argue later," Akira answered. "We've successfully, uh, engaged the robeast. So how do we kill it?"
"Doesn't even know how to fight," Gorosei muttered. "You've presented the sword, yes? And engaged it? Well, in a duel of swords, one must put its opponent on the defense before going in for the finishing blow."
That was it? That wasn't an explanation!
"So put it on defense!" Gorosei growled, seeing that Akira didn't get it.
"How?" Akira asked, looking around at his consoles. He settled on Kuro's. Well, the worst that could happen was that the command would be ignored.
PUT ON DEFENSE
COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED
Damn.
"How do I put it in terms of a command?" Akira asked Gorosei. "I don't want to waste time giving the wrong commands."
"Try offensive tactic one," Gorosei instructed. "That should put him on the attack."
Akira typed in the command and the other four screens changed slightly.
"Whoa, what did you do?" Lance called out. "This thing is asking for vectors twice as fast now! And I was barely keeping up before."
"Stick with it," Akira told him. Watching the battle on five screens, Akira picked up that though Voltron was doing better, he was far from winning the battle. He turned to Gorosei's connection. "Need something else, we're better, but not going to win at this rate."
Gorosei had been watching a different monitor. His eyes glanced briefly back to him, and then again to the other screen. He watched with furrowed brows for a good half a minute, and Akira was going to repeat his question, but Gorosei addressed him again.
"Sword flex six," Gorosei stated, then looked at the other monitor.
Desperate, Akira typed it into Kuro's console. Pidge and Lance's screens changed again.
"Stop doing that!" Lance complained.
"We're trying to win," Akira argued.
"I can't keep up!" Lance snapped back.
"Just try!" Akira returned, observing the fight. Again, it was better. Whatever commands Gorosei was giving were having an effect.
"Finishing move nine!" Gorosei shouted. "Finishing move nine!"
As quickly as he could, Akira gave the command. Two quick slashes had the robeast on its knees, though it was still trying to fight.
"Move four! Move four!" Gorosei shouted again.
Akira mistyped it the first time and the robeast got an arm around Akajishi's head.
DISENGAGE
Akira typed it in before Gorosei even had a chance to tell him what to do.
"Shit! He crushed my head a little bit!" Lance complained. "The jaw's off kilter! I can't hold the sword anymore!"
"Sword Left," Gorosei growled. Akira typed as instructed and the sword went from Akajishi to Midorijishi. "Sword flex two, finishing move eight."
Akira typed in both commands one right after another, and with three confident swings from Midorijishi, the robeast was cleaved in two. Black ooze seeped from the severed sides, but somehow, the beast managed to raise one sword-hand and slash at him one more time futilely. Both pieces of the robeast then fell to the ground.
"Command Akajishi to burn the remains," Gorosei instructed. "And then blast that coffin to hell. Make sure that battle cruiser is really gone for good and then meet me at medical."
"We're fine," Akira assured him. "No serious injuries."
Gorosei snorted. "Good for you, punks. I don't think I could care less. I just want you all to see what your rashness has caused."
"What the fuck does he mean?" Hunk demanded. "Does he wanna brawl again?"
"Leave it alone, Hunk," Takashi warned. "Bigger fish to fry, remember?"
"I can't detect the Chezda anywhere in this solar system," Pidge spoke up. "Looks like it did a drop and run."
"Not like Scheelock," Akira murmured, looking at the different screens of the lions. Akajishi reported that his head needed adjustment. "Not like him at all."
DISASSEMBLE
Kuro's screen was waiting for him to accept that command. Well, it'd probably be easier to work on Akajishi that way. Akira accepted the command and each of the Lions disengaged from the form of Voltron until only Kurojishi was left.
"Cool," Pidge said again.
.o0o.
"Hey. Wake up."
No, Allura thought. She was exhausted. She felt like she'd run across the entire planet.
"Come on, wake up."
Against her better judgment, Allura cracked her eyelids open and immediately squeezed them shut again, since they were assaulted by an obscenely bright light.
"Oh, sorry."
The colors behind her eyelids darkened.
She tried opening her eyes again to better success. The bright examination light that had been on above her was now unlit, though still glowing slightly.
"You're alive. It's a miracle."
Akira. He'd been the one talking to her. She briefly considered pretending to fall asleep again before figuring that he'd probably pester her until she woke again.
"Humorous," she answered crackly, then coughed. It hurt like nothing she'd ever felt before. She started gasping and tried clutching her hands to her chest, which felt like it was exploding.
"Hold onto this," Akira instructed, putting a pillow in her hands' way. She clutched to it desperately while the pain and coughing died down. "Raible said that the chip had been jammed past your ribs to your heart, so you probably feel like someone stabbed you in the back."
Pretty close, she admitted to herself, unable to breathe properly enough to speak.
"So, uh," he stammered, "I have the key. When you're ready for it."
Breathing was becoming slightly easier.
"I do not believe you can give it back at this point," she told him, still sounding raspy and wheezy. "I had wished to have time to explain this to you earlier. This is a life commitment, and not just for me."
She half expected him to yell at her in anger for not telling him, and half to toss the key at her and bolt.
"Figures," he shrugged lightly, surprising her."Doesn't matter. I'd decided to spend my life fighting the Drule Empire long before I met you. At least this way, I can make a visible dent."
A moment of stunned silence hung between them.
"Does that mean you wish to join the royal militia?" she asked, a little shell shocked.
"Do I have to?" he countered, frowning. She should make him, in all honesty. But like the edicts she issued to the Lions, it felt wrong.
"No, I won't make you," she relented. "But it would give you the opportunity to apply for citizenship in order to make Altea your home."
He shrugged again. "I'll pass. I kind of prefer my home to be Earth. Even though it doesn't really exist anymore."
An awkward silence passed between them.
"I should probably go tell Raible you're awake," Akira admitted. "Takashi too. He's pissed at you by the way."
A faint smile touched her face. "I am sure they both are."
"All of us, actually," Akira told her. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?"
"As you said, it was either bring back Voltron, or watch my planet and my peoplebe destroyed," she reiterated. "When put that way, my life seemed like a very small concession to make."
Akira rolled his eyes. "Okay, martyr."
He left her to go in search of the others. She contemplated falling back to sleep, but before she could, Takashi rushed in and bombarded her.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded, stalking up to her with a ferocious look on his face. "What in your right mind made it a good idea for you to do that?"
She didn't answer.
"Well?" he prompted.
"Are you done?" she asked. "I would prefer if you finished all of your ranting before I gave explanation."
"That was a stupid move," he declared. "We could have figured out some other way to kill that robeast. You didn't have to do this."
She was going to attempt to answer, but he went on again.
"Screw what Akira said," he proclaimed. "And spare me that it's-my-royal-duty garbage. What you did was straight suicide."
"It is more a kin to execution," she cut in. "If you fail to protect Altea with Voltron, I will die anyway. So be sure not to fail."
His hand flew out and smacked a nearby plastic water cup into the wall with a loud clatter. Allura had jumped when he smacked it and looked at him now with wariness.
"You could have died because we didn't know what we were doing," he nearly growled. "What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I made a choice," she said.
"The wrong choice," he interrupted.
"It was my sacrifice to make," she cut in. "Not yours. Not Coran's, nor anyone else's. Lecture me on it no more."
He was far from done arguing with her, but he stopped for the time being. Raible entered a few moments later and gave her what for regarding the sacrifice.
"All these secrets," he ranted. "Things you believe that you cannot tell me. And to think, I urged you into this. Why didn't you tell me that this was what it was?"
"Until recently," she admitted, "I didn't know for sure."
"But you suspected," he pointed out. "I am your royal advisor. Moreover, your 're supposed to let me advise you on these things, not make me watch in horror as you are impaled. Do you know that your heart stopped for a full thirty seconds?"
A rhetorical question. Of course she didn't know.
"And then I see on a monitor that your heart is directly linked to Voltron's power source," he went on. "Whenever it fluxed, your heart would skip a beat. Your body went through a battle as you lay unconscious on the floor in my arms bleeding."
So that's why she felt so tired.
"My child," he lamented, "do you understand what it would have done to me if you had died? I would have been devastated beyond consolation. You are a living tribute to your mother and I cannot watch that face die before my eyes again."
Guilt set in. Raible was her mother's older brother. Of course he would be fond of her, but lately, he'd been trying to be more advisory than parental. She'd forgotten how much he cared for her beyond royalty.
"I am sorry," she apologized. "There was simply no time, though. Had I a month to explain, it may have been sufficient. But we had minutes, Coran."
He didn't look placated, and Takashi, who was pacing the room behind him, looked even more livid, if it were possible.
"What am I going to do with you, girl?" he mused, smiling slightly at her. She knew his frustration with her had been spent when he repeated his favorite line to chastise her.
"Hopefully, let me sleep," she suggested lightly. "I am very tired, Coran."
"Yes," he agreed. "I will let you sleep. Get as much as you can, because you will have to explain this situation to Gorosei and the other council members when you are awake again."
She winced. That was exactly what she didn't want to do. Raible left her to sleep, placing a kiss on her head before he left. Takashi stayed, though, and Allura wondered if he was there to watch over her.
He pulled a stool over next to her bed and it squealed on the ground loudly. She cringed at the sound.
"You are extremely lucky that Voltron guided us so efficiently," he told her quietly. "We really didn't have any idea what we were doing."
"I trust you," she answered, letting her eyes slip closed. It was quiet for a moment.
"You do?"
"I put my life in your hands, didn't I?" she asked rhetorically.
"I can think of plenty of easier ways to show someone you trust them," he muttered.
.o0o.
General Gorosei's face was almost a perfect match of Takashi's from the day before. He looked as though he wanted to jump through the screen and choke her.
"How could you do such a thing?" he sputtered. He'd been saying such things for the better part of fifteen minutes while his face changed color from red to purple and back to red again. "Senseless girl!"
"Coran tells me that now that I have released Voltron, that I am considered adult," Allura mentioned nonchalantly. "He said that when you and the others are ready, I may be coroneted."
A vein pulsed in Gorosei's forehead. "Blasphemy!"
"Do you wish to ask him yourself?" she offered lightly. Behind her, Takashi couldn't help but grin as he watched the man be mentally and verbally outmatched by a girl one-quarter his age. It was a sort of poetic revenge in his opinion. "Shall I retrieve him?"
"Abominable!" he cursed. "Such pig-headed stupidity."
"Would you prefer to defeat the robeast by yourself next time?" she asked, keeping her tone intentionally polite. "I can tell the pilots to hold back."
"Insufferable!" he cried. "This goes beyond all reason!"
Gorosei sputtered unintelligibly for a few minutes longer before Allura came to the point.
"If you are done," she posed, "we should discuss the old bases. The Command Center is still trying to reestablish communications with them. Given our current stance against the Drule Empire, I believe we should strongly consider re-inhabiting them."
Gorosei's chin lifted stubbornly. "They will have to be scouted and assessed for manageability. It takes time and man power."
"I leave it to you, then," she submitted. "Other than your disapproval in general for my decision making, do you have any concerns you wish me to address?"
"The pilots," he answered immediately. "When will they be registered within the militia?"
"Takashi is ready and willing," she pointed out. "Akira wishes not to enroll, and I will not make him. I have forced too much onto these men without their knowledge. I have not asked the others their preference yet."
"It should not be a preference," Gorosei argued. "It should be a requirement."
"I am not in disagreement," she said. "But I will not force them. Especially since they were pushed into this so suddenly."
"Perhaps you should 'strongly advise' them," Gorosei snorted. "Must I be the only one ordered around?"
"Hardly," Allura responded. "But I will tell them."
Takashi could see that Gorosei's demeanor was no longer the indignant old man but now the military strategist. He paced back and forth in front of the screen, eyes on the ground in contemplation.
"We will look to the bases closest to the Lion dens," he decided. "They will be easiest to defend until our army gets off the ground. Do you want me to issue a draft?"
"Not at this time, no," Allura denied. "I believe enrollment will increase without need for it. However, you may want to raise the age limit to twenty, unless you would like to deal with other headstrong teenagers besides myself."
Gorosei smiled in minute amusement. "Indeed. One last point. Your Voltron commander. The punk."
"You will have to be more specific," Allura told him, trying hard not to smile, unsuccessfully. "They have all been referred to as punks."
"The punk in the black Lion," Gorosei clarified, though looking like he enjoyed the joke as well. "He needs formal training, regardless of his disenchantment with joining the royal militia. Have him report to me immediately. And that is not a request. If he is to pilot Voltron, he will have proper training."
The video conference ended and Allura slumped down into a large chair that was stained with blood.
"That was incredibly tiresome," she complained. "I despise being so exhausted after so little effort."
"Come on, royal pain in the ass," Takashi goaded, pulling her by the arm back to her feet. "You need to rest. That's probably half of why you're exhausted."
"When did you become my nursemaid?" she asked playfully. "You must be tired of me by now."
"Nah," he dismissed. "You're where the action's at."
She snorted. "Hardly. Coran is subjecting me to a tailor today. He claims that I may not be coroneted without proper attire. I am going for dress fittings."
Takashi winced dramatically. "Better you than me."
"Do not feel left out," she smirked. "You and your comrades will be fitted tomorrow for uniforms."
All humor dropped from Takashi's face. "What? Why?"
Allura laughed at his somewhat fearful look. "Fire retardant uniforms for the Lions."
He sighed dramatically in relief. "That, I can accept."
"And escort uniforms," she added with a giggle.
"No. No way!" he denied. "No monkey suits!"
"Black pants and jackets the color of your Lions," she clarified. "No whining. I have to wear a tulle-infested dress."
"Oh," he teased, drawing out the single syllable word. "Very proper."
"Very constricting," Allura disagreed. "And you should thank me for your uniform. The old ones worn in Lucious' time were gold and white, adorned with tassels and braids and odd things. Very hideous."
"Escort uniforms," Takashi repeated. "What do we need those for?"
"Technically," she defined, "since you are the pilots of Lions and therefore, guardians of Voltron, you are likewise considered my protectors."
Takashi considered it. "I suppose. Escort means something else where I come from, though."
Allura looked at him in puzzlement. "It does? Your planet is the origin of our spoken language. What does it mean then?"
Takashi raised an eyebrow in contemplation. "Never mind. Back to medical."
Allura frowned. "I am fine. And I have duties."
"You have to rest," Takashi insisted. "And I'm sure I can get Raible to agree with me."
Allura narrowed her eyes at him. "Nursemaid."
"Highness," Takashi returned, gesturing for her to go ahead of him.
.o0o.
Scheelock was once again on his way to the throne room on Planet Doom. After returning to Doom once Zarkon's robeast gift had been delivered to Altea, per Zarkon's exact instructions, Scheelock had watched with every other Drulean as the thing that had once been Commander Sadak had been completely and utterly defeated. Now, Scheelock had a very boding feeling that somehow this was going to end up entirely fault.
When he entered the throne room, Scheelock's every step was watched in complete silence by the so-called royal court that Zarkon had assembled. These Druleans were little more than a group of otherwise useless people who served to do nothing more than feed Zarkon's ego. But their silence was very ominous.
It meant that his assumptions had been correct.
"Commander Scheelock," Zarkon spoke up as soon as he was in the middle of the room. "Your recent failure to dispatch of the mechanical Lions of Altea and further blunder to allow the resurrection of Voltron needs to be paid for."
Other than his jaw tightening at the false accusations, Scheelock did not move. He knew it would have only made matters worse.
"Failure had its price described to you before you first set out," Zarkon reminded him. "You are now the property of Haggar to do with as she pleases. You will report to her immediately following this judgment. But first…"
Zarkon smiled cruelly, reveling in this part. He would now ask Scheelock for his last request. No one had ever asked the inherently evil being for anything since he'd first took power. The only unfortunate fool who had was a legend in his own way. The fool had stumbled on about wanting to have a last meal for a few moments before Zarkon himself had come down from his throne and torn him limb from limb.
Of course, Zarkon had been younger then and likely wouldn't do that again. But Scheelock didn't put it past Zarkon to have Haggar do something extra painful or torturous in his stead. Still, Scheelock knew what was to come and despite that, was going to be the second Drulean in history to ask something of his Lord.
"Any last requests?" Zarkon finished. Scheelock, stomach churning and feeling a little faint, still managed to look his Lord in the eyes.
"Everything," Scheelock said.
There was a long silence broken only by a few astonished gasps.
"Everything?" Zarkon repeated. "You want me to give you everything?"
"Yes, my Lord," Scheelock replied. "Every sword. Every blaster. Every missile. Every weapon ever used in the Beast Games. I want it."
Zarkon raised a bushy navy eyebrow in surprise.
"Because when you send me back to Altea as a robeast," Scheelock went on, "I want to give them everything."
Zarkon's cruel smile returned and he suddenly burst in to loud, terrifying laughter. Even the so-called court were baffled and startled by it. Zarkon made a sweep with his finger at Haggar and she approached him.
"Make sure he truly does get everything, witch," Zarkon instructed. "Every single thing."
Haggar and Zarkon shared a significant look and Scheelock knew that it meant terrible things were in store for him. Haggar bowed slightly to Zarkon and approached Scheelock.
"I do love a fool," Haggar murmured as she led Scheelock away.
.o0o.
A small ship carrying only one being was circling Altea, spying on it. The ship had been spying on the planet for the better part of a week. It had recorded the brief outer space battle between the lions and the battle cruiser Chezda, and then later, the reformation of Voltron and defeat of the robeast. It had done all of this undetected.
A satellite floated by, oblivious to the ship. Altea's defenses were still pretty primitive and hadn't even detected the second ship that had been in the system for three days. That ship was simply doing a loop around the planet and then leaving the system, but still undetected.
It was growing irksome.
When the second ship made its loop around the planet the next time, it just happened to pass by the first ship, virtually undetectable as it adhered to an orbiting piece of debris. With one shot, the second ship was nothing more than more floating debris.
So close to the first ship, the second ship had been easily identified as a scout ship from Galaxy Garrison and therefore had to go. No doubt, the ship had been leaving the system and transmitting whatever data it had collected back to the Galaxy Alliance.
No matter. By the time Galaxy Garrison got their shit together and organized a battalion to come sweeping in after they are no longer needed, it would be too late. Much too late.
'Because,' Lotor thought with a smile, leaning back in his command chair, 'I will have claimed the Princess and Voltron for myself.'
A/N: I make no promises for the next chapter. I am participating in Nanowrimo (look it up) and am hoping to kick some ass on my other story. But I couldn't just leave you high and dry for two months so I hope this one delivered. Let me know what you think! Oh, yeah, and the plot thickens in the next chapter...