A/N: I never expected to get this chapter out within 8 days of the last one, but it came back from my beta a LOT earlier than expected, so I thought, why wait? As promised in the last chapter, the plot thickens like Thanksgiving gravy...
Chapter Eleven: Replacement
It had been a week since the robeast attack. It passed quickly for Allura, since part of it had been spent unconscious. The rest of it was spent being hovered over by Takashi as she attended meetings, tailors, and conferences. So when she finally managed to get past Takashi and head outside, she was astounded. The first surprise in store for her after being released from the medical ward was the fact that five Lions were demanding her attention, not a large Voltron.
"How did you…" Allura asked, staring at the five Lions in wonder and relief. She had been insisting that Takashi let her out of the medical ward and had been repeatedly denied, but when Akira had come to 'watch' her, he had let her leave without complaint. "I worried that they would no longer be individualized."
Akira shrugged. "The console suggested 'disengage.' I thought it'd be easier for repairs so I accepted it."
"You're supposed to be in medical," Takashi yelled from across the grassy knoll where the second surprise, the reconstruction of Castle Erus, was taking place. The base was entirely intact, aside from outer walls. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
"My royal duties," she snapped. "What you were preventing me from while detaining me to medical. I am fine. I was speaking with Akira in regards to Voltron and it doesn't concern you."
"Like hell it doesn't," Takashi returned. "And don't get all uppity. You're still recovering and don't need to make yourself faint."
"I will not faint!" Allura cried, insulted. "I am acting ruler of this planet, and I will not faint because you are tormenting me!"
"Teasing," Akira corrected.
"I don't like it," Allura dismissed. "I do not need to be patronized—"
"I think a little patronizing does you good," Takashi interrupted. "Don't want you to get too full of yourself and your 'royal duties', Miss Acting-Ruler."
Allura did not respond, but the look on her face was not a pleasant one. She finally turned her attention to Kuro, who had crouched down to her. She caressed and hugged the giant Lion's muzzle. "I am happy to see you too, my love. I was telling your pilot that I was happy that you were still Kurojishi."
"Shouldn't be a surprise," Takashi told her. "If you and Voltron are truly 'one' or whatever, he'd know you'd want to see your kitties again."
Kuro nipped at Takashi.
"Behave," Allura told both of them. "You should be with Ao, Takashi. I am sure he is needed in assisting to assemble the outer walls."
"And Akira needs to go deal with Gorosei," Takashi commented. Allura narrowed her eyes at him. She had not told Akira that yet. Takashi winced dramatically at her and walked away to Aojishi.
"I'm what?" Akira asked, looking at her suspiciously.
"General Gorosei…demands you have formal training," Allura told him. "He is upset that you will not register with the militia and told me to 'strongly recommend' it. But he insisted that you be trained on how to successfully pilot Voltron regardless."
"Well, tell him to go fuck himself," Akira returned. "That old fat ass can't tell me what to—"
Kurojishi roared loudly, startling both Allura and Akira and gaining the attention of everyone in the general area. Allura stared at Kurojishi, looking surprised. She turned to Akira.
"I believe that Kuro should tell you what he said himself," she said quietly. "I am not going to repeat that."
Despite his earlier bravado, Akira looked unsure. Still, he walked over to the agitated Lion and climbed in. Inside the cockpit, he sat down in his chair and looked at the monitor.
Kuro: Insist.
"Insist," Akira repeated. "You insist. On what?"
Kuro: Training.
Akira rolled his eyes. "Did she tell you to say that?"
Kuro: Negative.
"Well I'm not going to—" Akira began, but stopped mid-sentence when the belts fastened around him. Kuro was belting him in. Very tightly. "Hey! What gives?"
Kuro: Training. Required. Non-negotiable.
"Hell! What are you doing?" Akira yelled, too tightly restrained to reach the controls. Kurojishi had pounced up into the air and was ascending.
Kuro: Warm body. Needed. Not required.
"Yeah, but you aren't as good without me," Akira reminded him. "Not in battle. And Voltron couldn't even move without me."
They were pretty high in the atmosphere now. Close to breaking it, in fact. It was then that Akira noticed the outer vents were open and the oxygen in the cabin was thinning. Kuro was trying to kill him?
"Holy shit!" Akira yelled. "Kuro, take us down! Either that or close the vents!"
Kuro: Pilot death requires new pilot.
"Wow, Akira," Takashi spoke up over the monitors from within Aojishi. "You really pissed off the kitties."
"Shut up!" Akira snapped. "Kurojishi's going wild. I can't even move. You gotta help me get control—"
Takashi snorted. "Well, I would help you, but this nuisance has been ordered by Kuro not to interfere. He won't move for me."
"You can override that order," Akira reminded him in annoyance. "Your orders outweigh Kuro's."
"I could," Takashi agreed. "But I think Kuro's right. You either need to go be formally trained to pilot Voltron, or you need to go. This isn't a job where you can pick and choose the things you want to do. You do it all out, or not at all."
Akira was livid. Takashi knew exactly how high Kuro was in the atmosphere and was doing nothing about it. He'd known that Takashi was the kind of guy who would go to great lengths to accomplish his goals, but this? Killing him? Just what would it accomplish?
"Kurojishi! You come back here this moment!" Allura yelled into the cockpit. "I will command it if necessary. And you will not kill your pilot!"
Kurojishi was starting to descend, but slowly.
Kuro: Pilot not accepted without training.
Akira didn't respond. It wasn't worth it. This lion had gone psycho on him and in an odd turn of events, the Princess of all people was saving him. Sort of.
Back on solid ground, the belts confining Akira to his chair suddenly released. Unfortunately it was right before the emergency exit shaft popped open. Akira fell a good five meters hard to the ground. Kuro backed away and snarled at him before settling into a passive lying position.
"Kuro!" Allura cried. "You—you! I can't believe you!"
Well. Even the high and mighty Princess was at a loss for words. And it seemed that whatever Kuro was 'saying' to her was just as astounding.
"You can't refuse!" she cried out. "You—he—Kuro this is not the way to be! We need him! And I am willing to negotiate, whether you are or not. It's my life, remember?"
Kuro growled lowly. Allura took a stunned step back.
"Yes, but…" she stuttered. "I know it's his too, but that's not what I meant. I was trying to say that I would speak with both Akira and Gorosei to form a compromise on a training regime. Akira knows he needs training. I am confident that he would have asked for it himself if Takashi had not been rude and spurred the argument."
Akira sat on the ground, watching the conversation that he could hear only one side of.
"Well, how do you expect him to train, then?" Allura asked, with a little bit of heat in her voice. "He cannot train in any other Lion for this purpose. You wish to deny him the opportunity?"
Kuro was silent, as ever, but Allura was full of expressions. She looked outraged, livid, determined, and even a little shocked. Akira started to wonder if this was the first argument, real argument between her and the Lions. Well, Kuro anyway.
"I can't believe your stubbornness," she huffed, and then turned to Akira. "I am sorry. I will apologize on behalf of the Lions, since Kuro is being stubborn."
"S'okay," Akira told her, slowly standing. He gave Kuro an apprehensive look and then his gaze returned to her. "So about this training…"
"It is true that Gorosei would be the best for you to train with," Allura admitted. "He is quite difficult to work with, but he is the best we have. I know that his insisting is very bullish of him and that's why I wanted to take the opportunity to talk with you myself. When I had your ideas I was going to counter offer Gorosei."
"Here are my thoughts," Akira said, after taking a moment to readjust his nerves. "I need training on Voltron. I know I do, like you said. But I am not going to be ordered around by anyone. That's a bunch of bullshit. I'm not someone's servant and all that crap."
"I agree," Allura nodded, keeping her face impassive. "So my proposal is that Coran train you instead of Gorosei. If the training proves to be insufficient, we may consider incorporating some with Gorosei."
That was reasonable. Very reasonable. It was a little refreshing, considering the commanding brat she had been when he'd met just a few weeks ago in the caverns.
"But that is all dependant on Kurojishi's acceptance to let you be trained within him," Allura snapped at the Lion. Kurojishi's long tail whipped up into the air and back down to the ground with a vibrating thud.
"And if Doom attacks in the mean time?" Allura asked the Lion. Kurojishi roared at her but she didn't flinch. "Gorosei will be on hand to assist and you know it!"
Kuro roared again and his tail thumped rapidly.
"I would not be sufficient substitute," she denied. "You have to be willing to compromise too."
Kurojishi growled but his tail stopped thumping. Akira took it as the argument was over.
"When would you like to start, Akira?" Allura asked, turning back to him. She looked tired. The conversation had worn her down, he could see. Maybe she should still be in medical, but then again, Takashi was the one insisting she stay there. And more and more, it seemed to Akira that Takashi had an ulterior motive.
"Akira?" Allura repeated. He forgot that she'd asked an open ended question.
Akira shrugged. "Have to admit, not all that excited to get back into a Lion after today."
Kurojishi shot exhaust at him.
"But I would say that sooner is better," he went on. "We'll go talk to Raible and set up some sort of schedule. But first, I think I'd like a word with Takashi."
.o0o.
After a week of training, Akira knew it was time to suck it up and go see Gorosei. Raible had known some basic functions that were important, but the tactical moves that Gorosei had advised were not known to Raible.
Kuro knew it too because at the end of each session, Akira got this message:
Insufficient training. Pilot rejected.
And then there was Takashi. After the incident with Kuro trying to suffocate him, Akira had gone to find Takashi to give him a piece of his mind. Instead, he and Takashi had gotten into an all-out fist fight. Even worse, the Lions had been on Takashi's side it seemed. All of them.
Akira was now convinced that Takashi had an agenda. He was almost positive that Takashi, who had been within Aojishi when the first argument about training had taken place, had instigated Kurojishi's behavior. Not to mention that Takashi had buddied himself up to the Princess very nicely and now was even 'advising' her on certain subjects. Akira didn't like it at all. When he brought the subject up to Raible, he'd dismissed it, stating that Takashi was taking 'good care' with the Princess.
Akira wondered if he should let the other guys know. Pidge, Hunk and Lance could tell that there was some tension between him and Takashi, but didn't know what from. Should he bring them into it? In the end, Akira decided to wait to tell them his suspicions.
He wanted to tell someone else first.
"Alright, Kuro," Akira muttered, standing in front of the unusually temperamental Lion. "I'm giving in. I'll train with Gorosei. On one condition."
Kuro huffed exhaust.
"I will not say it out here," Akira clarified. "And you know you can toss me out after you hear it if you want."
Kuro growled at him for a long moment before opening his jaw. Akira climbed in, taking a seat at the console.
Kuro: State condition.
"Are the other Lions, er, listening? Monitoring? Or whatever?" Akira asked.
Kuro: Affirmative. State condition.
"This condition is between me and you only," Akira stated. "None of their business. Close them out. I know you can do that."
Kuro: Denied.
"It's important!" Akira spat, agitated. "Just do it! If you don't like what I say, you can just tell them later."
The pressure inside of the cockpit changed. It was like a vacuum had sucked out almost all of the air. Akira held his cool, waiting for Kuro to make the next move. The Lion seemed to shut down altogether as monitors switched off and lights went out. Only one monitor, a tiny one behind what would be the right eye, was on.
Kuro: State condition immediately.
Akira held on tight to the chair he sat in, pulling and tying together some buckles.
"I need to know if there is any way possible for you to dismiss the command that the Princess gave putting Takashi's orders above yours," Akira rattled off, holding on tight and expecting to be ejected from the cockpit.
Nothing.
Kuro didn't respond or restore his systems and eject Akira. It was a little unnerving. Finally, after nearly half a minute, the tiny monitor blinked.
Kuro: With answer, accept training.
Akira braced himself. "My condition is that you override that command, and then I'll accept training."
Kuro: Denied.
"I don't trust Takashi!" Akira yelled. "I never have. He's got a hidden agenda and he's pitting you and me against each other! You have to see it. And if his command overrides yours—"
All air left the cockpit. Akira panicked for a second and then looked to see that the monitor was blinking.
Kuro: Self preservation. No command override in self preservation.
The belts that Akira had tied himself with popped away from the seat, jarring him from it. Too oxygen starved to grab hold of anything, Akira fell out of the mouth of Kuro and onto the hard ground. Akira sucked in air rapidly. It took a couple of seconds for him to catch his breath. Hoping that he'd at least gotten the Lion to reevaluate Takashi's recent behavior, Akira looked up at Kuro.
"Okay," he wheezed. "I think you said you could do it. So I'm going to go see Gorosei. Okay?"
Whipping his tail back and forth, Kuro walked away without a response. Considering himself lucky for not being stepped on or chewed up, Akira got slowly to his feet and made his way to the partially rebuilt Castle Erus. The walls of the first two stories were up, leaving only three more floors above ground to be rebuilt.
The underground of the castle was not entirely complete in repairs, but the idea that the upper levels of the castle were mostly for show and only going to be used for official ceremonies was a sound one. It would be easier to erect the decorative walls and work on the lower levels later, in Gorosei's almost unarguable opinion.
That and Pidge was pretty much the entire planet's only hope to rework the castle's electrical system.
"How goes it?" Akira asked as he stopped into the Command Center. Pidge's leg was hanging down from one of the ceiling tiles as he reran some wiring.
"Slow," Pidge's voice answered. "Most of the wiring's bad from age. It all needs to be replaced, and not just here. I'm sure that the old bases that Gorosei keeps going on about are just as bad. I'll probably be sent over there as soon as I'm done here."
"You getting any rest?" Akira inquired. "Don't let them slave you to death."
"I am," Pidge assured him. "And I understand their need for urgency."
"Urgency is one thing," Akira told him. "But accidental wire crossings are another, and you know that you'd rather not have to track those down because you were tired when you placed them."
"I know," Pidge agreed. "But I doubt you came here to check up on me."
"You seen Gorosei?" Akira asked reluctantly. Pidge laughed.
"He's schooling the Princess in the official acceptance of reigns," Pidge answered. "Or something like that. They're in medical."
Akira curled his lip. Takashi was still keeping her there, then.
"Thanks kid," Akira called on his way out. Medical was a familiar path to him. It's where Allura had been for almost the last two weeks when he'd sought her out. As he approached, he could hear Gorosei's deep, gravelly voice harping and nitpicking about something.
"Annunciate! These are the words of the Kings of old," Gorosei rambled at a furious pace. "Your forefathers. Give them the respect they deserve! No one will hear a damn thing you say if you don't put some force behind them."
"I will be speaking into a microphone," Allura pointed out dully. She saw Akira when he entered and almost looked relieved.
What a hilarious thought; the Princess relieved to see him.
"I'm giving in," Akira announced, gaining Gorosei's attention. "I need more extensive training."
Gorosei sneered. "Almost ten days later than you should have."
"Enough," Allura snapped with an authority that Akira had to admire a little bit. "There will be no chiding or resentment. Is that understood?"
Gorosei looked as though he might blow a fuse.
"I have complied with every demand you have made to me," she went on, raising an eyebrow at Gorosei. "Acquiesce to this one of mine, General."
Gorosei was not immediately cowed, but he did offer her an elegant bow. "Of course, Highness."
"Still confining you to medical I see," Akira commented, hoping to ease the tension. It worked, kind of. Allura rolled her eyes and tsked in annoyance as she took on a petulant look.
"I cannot fathom why," she muttered. "Takashi insists, as does Coran. It is, as you say, overkill."
"I'll give you an excuse to get out. You should take a walk up to the Command Center and go harass Pidge," he suggested. "He probably wouldn't mind seeing the reason why he words so hard."
Allura winced a smile. "I will go straight away."
She left Akira and Gorosei by themselves in the medical bay. Despite the Princess' request that there be no resentment, Akira could practically see it rolling off Gorosei in waves. Still, they had to talk about training.
"My afternoon's free," Akira offered, trying to feign an indifferent attitude.
"Likely because Kurojishi has refused you again," Gorosei returned. "I receive a report of it from the Lion himself each time he does so."
Well. That would have been nice to know earlier.
"Pretty sure that Raible covered most of the basic functions," Akira tried again.
"Hardly," Gorosei replied. "Did you really think that what you did alone in the Command Lion could be considered training as a part of Voltron?"
No, not really. Akira had thought it odd that Raible hadn't suggested the other pilots take out their Lions and they form Voltron on the first day. But Akira had been learning things from the old man. He felt that because of his training with Raible, Akira was better able to take on the console situation and knew of at least a few commands that would be helpful.
But training to be able to adequately pilot Voltron, no. Akira felt he hadn't done anything of the sort. That's why he'd given in.
"Hopefully I am better off than I was ten days ago," Akira offered, though some of the strain to keep the conversation polite was seeping into his voice. "When would you like to begin?"
"When you register with the Royal Guard," Gorosei told him, crossing his arms arrogantly. Inside, Akira felt a switch flick. All the tension and anger withheld in the last few weeks found a breaking point and he grabbed Gorosei roughly by the shirt. Gorosei, old and heavyset from years of idle waiting for a reason to begin to move again, was easily shoved into the wall and held there.
"I don't want to tie myself to a dying planet's pathetic excuse of an army," Akira growled at him. "Because that's what you are, regardless of how few people there are left on this unlucky rock. You are pathetic. You aren't worth a damn. And the fact that you'd rather look to the next generation for a savior than willfully follow the ruler you've got proves how pathetic you are.
"She's good," Akira admitted, too angry to let Gorosei get a word in edgewise. "Very good. Probably the best this planet's seen in years, and you'd rather turn her into a baby factory than focus on that potential. Through all the berating and disrespect you give her, she still praises you for how good you are. And think of much you could accomplish if you would quit fighting her and help her."
"The same could be said of you!" Gorosei got out finally. "You say she's good but you undermine and second guess her every move. You have even succeeded in setting the Lions against her will. You force her to make compromises that are palatable to you rather than the right decision."
Touché.
"So where does that leave us?" Akira asked after a minute, finally letting Gorosei go. Gorosei snorted and straightened his uniform.
"I will see if Kurojishi is even willing to accept you," Gorosei stated haughtily. "And we'll go from there."
The aging strategist took his pride and walked out of the medical bay without another word. Akira shook his head in annoyance and was about to leave as well when the door opened to reveal Allura being escorted back by Takashi.
"Akira," Allura said. "You are still here. Did your conversation with Gorosei go well?"
Akira shrugged noncommittally and awkward silence enveloped the three of them. It was stifling.
"Anyway, Takashi," Allura finally spoke up, "I will not be detained here any longer. If you insist it is only until a room is ready for me, then get a room ready. I will not endure another night here."
Akira frowned. There were dozens of rooms ready within the castle's lower levels. Each of the guys had one, Takashi included, and so did the advisors and general staff.
"Security precautions," Takashi answered. "Talk to Gorosei."
Allura grimaced. "Fine. I'm sure he'll be back any minute to further dictate my life."
"Don't worry," Akira told her, amused by her abused tone. "He'll be dictating my life for the foreseeable future pretty soon, I think."
She laughed. It was a genuine, no holds barred laugh. Akira found himself smiling before he realized it.
"I should not laugh at your misfortune," Allura realized, though she still chuckled. "But you are undoubtedly right. And I may be able to do some genuine ruling duties because of it."
"Glad to be of service," he snorted, but he really was glad in a way. It meant that Takashi would not be able to steer her around the way he had in the last few weeks.
And by the look that Akira was receiving him, he believed that Takashi had probably realized that, too.
.o0o.
Training was a pain, plain and simple.
Over and over, Gorosei had them forming and unforming Voltron until the process was completed in under half a minute. Then they had moved on to presenting the sword. Again, they repeated the process until the sword could be drawn in less than ten seconds.
It was annoying all of them.
Seven hours dedicated to two moves. Lance had started complaining after only one, and by hour four when they'd broken for lunch, even Pidge was fed up. Lions were indifferent, though, as they went through the echoed motions. Even after seven hours, there was no response in regards to the repetition. Until they finished.
As soon as Akira and the rest of them were out of the Lions and clear of them, the Lions began what could only be described as scuffling. Aojishi went after Kurojishi and the two of them made the ground beneath their feet tremble as they rolled around nipping and clawing each other. The other Lions stayed out of the way for the most part until the scuffling came near them, then they joined in. It lasted a good ten minutes before they broke away from each other and headed off in opposite directions, presumably their individual bases.
Done watching the odd skirmish, they headed back to the Command Center as was ordered of them by Gorosei. Akira walked back behind all of the rest of the guys, knowing that they were annoyed with him for inadvertently dragging them along on this unpleasant journey.
Probably drawn by the scuffle, Akira surmised, Allura stood at the gate to the mostly rebuilt castle. It was only lacking guns on the outer walls and a platoon of guards to walk sentry, then the look of royalty would be complete. Castle Erus was beginning to look its part. And so was its Princess.
Allura stood in a monstrosity of pink fabric and lace that she was clearly uncomfortable with. She constantly picked at the wrists, shifting the lace this way and that, rubbed at the collar, and generally fidgeted as she waited for them to reach her.
The other guys said hello and made some idle chit chat with her as they passed, but surprisingly, Allura did not go with Takashi as he walked on. She remained at the gate, waiting for Akira to catch up.
"May I speak with you for a moment?" she asked as he reached her, but did not wait for an answer. She instead walked towards one of the decorative rooms that were for ceremony and opened the door. She stood outside it and looked to him, to show that she was waiting.
"Of course," he finally answered, walking over as well. He threw a glance behind him and saw that the other four were staring after him. Correction: three were staring, one was glaring. Takashi looked livid. Akira smirked as he entered the room. Allura followed him in, closed the door and stood in front of it. Akira looked at her warily.
"Why did you insist that Kuro override my command to put Takashi in charge?" she asked quietly, looking out the window.
Figures. The picky Lion would tell her. Akira sighed, trying to decide whether or not to tell her the truth. Not necessarily lie, but omit some parts that she would find undesirable. In the end, he went with telling her the full truth.
"Because I don't think that Takashi should be in charge of Voltron," Akira answered. "Because that, in turn, puts him in charge of your life."
Allura finally looked at him, but she didn't look livid like he expected. She looked surprised.
"He is not in charge of Voltron," she denied, confused. "He may override some of Kurojishi's decisions."
"All," Akira corrected. She took a moment to consider that.
"Still," she insisted, "he cannot command Voltron. No one can, save you when you are in battle."
"I don't agree," he said. "I think that if it came down to it and I was directing Voltron one way, a way Takashi didn't like, that he could insist that Kuro, the brain and torso of Voltron, disobey that direction. That puts him in charge of Voltron, and in turn, your life."
"And you don't trust him with my life," she summed up.
"No, I don't," Akira agreed.
"Why not?" she asked. "Why should I not trust him with my life, but I should do so with you?"
He took a moment to collect choose his words. He really didn't want to start a yelling match with her over this, and put his words together carefully.
"If Kuro is in charge in the end," he began, "then you don't have to worry and I don't have to worry. You don't have to worry that the guys and I are gonna take off with the Lions because Kuro, who is essentially you now, won't go for it. And I don't have to worry that Takashi will take desperate measures or whatever with our lives."
She looked pained. Like something he had said had hurt her. Still, she said nothing.
"Tell me," he insisted, "what you're thinking. Don't hide it."
"I am shocked that you think that Takashi would be so heavy handed with your lives," she told him. "That he would willingly put you in jeopardy in order to achieve success."
She didn't get it. Akira knew she didn't get that ultimately, her life was the one most in danger. It was a bad thing. He didn't want to freak her out either, and that was his dilemma.
"I will tell you the truth," he said slowly. "I have known Takashi for a few months at best. I don't trust him. I did know that with his help I could make it off of Doom, though, and he knew the same thing. We worked together, we got off Doom, and now we're here fighting alongside one another against Doom. But…I still don't think that he and I are on the same team."
Allura looked away for a moment and then back at him. She still didn't look angry, but she looked tired again. Exhausted. Utterly spent.
"Understood," she sighed. "I will not refute this act. I know you all now much more than I did then. You do not, but I do trust Takashi. As well as you, if you're curious. My life is literally in your hands."
Akira was at a loss of what to say. She trusted him? That was unexpected. But then again, maybe that had been part of the hesitation when she wouldn't give him the key. She was giving him trust in her life.
"That being said," she went on, "I need the two of you to work together. If it so happens in the future that I need to remove one of you from the team, I will not remove one. I will remove you both. It would only be fair."
That sounded a little patronizing. Like a parent taking away the toy that two children were fighting over so neither could have it. Akira tried his best not to allow himself to get irritated.
"Please," she begged, sounding desperate, "please, do not let that happen. I just—it would be—I do not want to do it."
She looked desperate, too. Probably because it would have been a pain in the ass to find replacements for them.
Lifelong commitment…
If at this point they were all committed to piloting Lions for the rest of their lives, how did she think she'd remove them from the Lions? Akira felt a shock of outrage go through him as he realized the most obvious answer.
"Wait," he burst out, "you'd execute us?"
"No!" she cried, surprised. "I—"
"You'd have to," Akira pressed, accusing. "You said that it was a lifelong commitment."
"I would remove the two of you from the team!" she repeated. "I'd ground your Lions! Ki, Aka, and Midori would be on their own! The two of you would be put in confinement until a resolution had been made."
"You'd lock us in a cell until we killed each other," Akira summed up. "Great."
"That is not what I mean!" she yelled, visibly upset. "I try! I really try! It is like you go out of your way to be difficult! Why do you do this?"
"I am not being difficult!" he yelled back. Great. Two steps forward, three steps back. At this rate, he'd never get along with this high-and-mighty Princess. "I'm trying to protect your pain-in-the-ass and you're treating me like an errant child! It's patronizing! You're not my Highness or whatever but you keep dictating every damn thing I do!"
And now she was crying. What a typical teenage girl.
"This is not easy," she sobbed. "There is no manual for this. Ruling a planet while simultaneously trying to make my royal army and pilots get along with each other. My father never had pilots for the Lions and no one's resurrected Voltron in two hundred years. I am trying my best."
Agitated, Akira shook his head and began pacing the room.
"I trying too!" he spat, done circling the room and heading for the door. "You say you trust me, but I don't think you really do. I think you only trust Takashi and I think that is a bad idea. You want to keep trusting him? Fine. But don't expect me to and don't say I didn't warn you!"
The door echoed loudly when it slammed shut.
.o0o.
It was a long journey. It felt like two weeks, at least. Probably closer to three. Maybe it had only been a day. It didn't matter anymore. He could feel it. He was descending. Scheelock would have smiled, but he no longer had a mouth.
He had a grenade launcher.
.o0o.
The Lions were in chaos. It was obvious every time they trained. Akira had five consoles in front of him that did not work seamlessly with each other. Which they were supposed to, Gorosei had told him. The commands given to Kuro should have registered immediately with the other four, but more often than not, there was a delay in the consoles up to three or four seconds.
FINISHING MOVE THREE
A delay of two and a half seconds in Aojishi's console. The Lion was connected but for whatever reason, not accepting the commands automatically. Akira wondered if the Blue Lion's pilot had issued an order that all commands coming down from Kuro had to be approved by him. The mere idea of it got a rise out of Akira.
"There a problem, Blue Lion?" Akira asked over the comms.
"Other than boredom?" Takashi's voice replied. "Nothing."
"Kuro shows a delay in Ao's receiving commands," Akira pointed out, determined to end this petty bullshit. "We won't be able to move on if he doesn't get his shit together."
"Ain't his shit that needs to get together."
DEFENSIVE MOVE SIX
Three-point-four second delay.
"Not my Lion wasting four seconds before accepting commands," Akira responded, rounding up. Like the asshole would know.
"The fuck makes you think it's a problem on my end?" Takashi demanded.
RIGHT DEFENSIVE BLOCK
Two-point-seven seconds.
"Because I'm absolutely sure that your damn Lion wouldn't be stupid stubborn enough to resist commands and in turn injure his precious Princess," Akira stated. "But you might be pig-headed enough."
"Guys, is this really the time for this?" Lance spoke up.
OFFENSIVE LEFT
Half a second delay. Vast improvement.
"I'm pig-headed?" Takashi yelled back. "You waited over a week to start the proper training because you don't like to be dictated to by a woman!"
SWORD FLEX NINE
Quarter second delay. Still improving, despite Takashi's arguing.
"How do I know that woman's the one giving the orders?" Akira returned. The words had barely left his mouth when the Lions broke formation.
It was pandemonium.
Lions disengaged despite the position Voltron stood in, and in Midorijishi's and Akajishi's cases, dropped from four stories high to the ground. Kurojishi fell as well, rolling as he reformed to Lion and stood. As soon as Kurojishi was on his feet, though, he was attacked by Aojishi and Kijishi. Akajishi was quick to come to his aid, but Akira was jostled and thrown about while the Lions clawed and took bites at one another.
Akira threw a glance at the message screen, hoping to see what had thrown the Lions into such a state but saw it was blank. No conversation passed between them. Midorijishi stood to the side of them all, but Akira could hear the normally passive Lion roaring in agitation while the other four went at it.
It finally occurred to Akira that he had no communication with the other guys. They must have been in the same state as him, but the likelihood of them being silent through it was slim. Kurojishi must have cut himself off from the others.
Or the others had cut themselves off from him.
"Stop!" Akira yelled. "Stop! Enough! Back down!"
Kuro: Denied.
"Not denied!" Akira cried. "This has to stop! You can't destroy each other!"
Kuro: Dispute.
"I don't care if you're disputing," Akira snapped. "You guys kill each other, what happens to the Princess?"
Akira felt Kurojishi back off a bit, but Aojishi and Kijishi were still coming at him. Akajishi had also backed off, but now Akira was stuck within Kurojishi against two feisty lions.
"What is the meaning of this?" was streamed into his cockpit at a high decibel. The Princess had apparently overridden the lockout. Akajishi and Aojishi finally stopped in their tracks.
"I cannot believe this behavior!" she cried. "Such inconceivable foolishness! Do you not see the coffin descending?"
Coffin? What coffin?
.o0o.
Scheelock could hear the roars of Lions though he had not yet landed. Impatient, he used his scythe-like fingers to slice open his coffin lid. It broke into pieces and fell away, revealing a light blue sky with puffy white clouds above him.
Vile. These skies would burn by the time Scheelock was done with this planet. But there were other things he had to deal with first. As he sat up, Scheelock saw the Lions in two of the seven eyes he now possessed. The other five eyes kept watch over the space around him, providing him with the luxury of no blind spot.
Standing, Scheelock leapt from the falling coffin and landed before the Lions, releasing every bullet, missile, flame thrower, and laser he had simultaneously. All five Lions took a direct hit and rolled from the concussions, but Scheelock had no intention of letting them stand again. He had nine blade ejectors throughout his body, and he shot a blade at each Lion before the dust settled.
Two lions were hit. The yellow and the green. They were now pinned to the ground. Easy prey.
The best kind.
.o0o.
"I can't get purchase!" Pidge shouted. "Midori and I are sitting ducks!"
"Ditto!" Hunk cried. "Get these things out of us!"
"Here it comes again!" Lance yelled. "He's going for Shorty and Hunk! Is that acid?!"
"It has to be Scheelock," Takashi decided. "Shoot now, figure shit out later."
"Fascinating," Pidge spoke up, "but I'd rather not die right now!"
"Woah!" Lance called out, barely dodging the deadly fingers of the robeast, which turned the ground into ribbons of dirt and silt. Another five beared down on him immediately. Akajishi howled loudly as the side of him was shredded like the ground.
Akira watched all of it pass in a matter of seven seconds. Seven seconds. That's all it took to incapacitate three of five Lions and pretty much knock out all possibility of their being able to form Voltron.
Akira knew that as they were at that moment, they were going to lose.
A/N: I can honestly say that this chapter was a beast to write. A vile little beast. But wow, do I ever like the way it turned out. I hope you enjoy it to.
I also would like to give a shout out to my lovely readers from the kaex yahoogroup and twitter. Especially Cubbie And Chris, my dear reader from down under. I am still jealous of your summer (its -3C where I live today ;_;) and I promise to deliver said 'goods' in the next two chapters ;) You are all lovely and am ecstatic to have you all with me.
If you would like to, check out the kaex yahoogroup at [ : / groups dot yahoo dot com / neo/ groups / kaex / info ] or on twitter at [ : / twitter dot com / keithandallura ] Just take out the spaces and brackets. Have fun!
