"Sire, if capturing Voltron is the Empire's number-one priority, then I suggest we begin moving the main fleet toward its last known location posthaste." the Galran commander that said as he knelt boldly before his leader. It was Prorok, a proud Galra that was currently stationed at the Galra's main fleet. Ambitious and loyal to the bone, he did everything in the name of Zarkon for his best interests, even if it meant taking matters into his own hands.
To Prorok's disgust though, the witch turned to the Emperor and presented her own course of action. "Lord, after many years, the Komar Experiment is finally ready. Soon, we could have more Quintessence at our fingertips than ever imagined. We must test it before moving the fleet."
Prorok rose in defiance, "We don't have time for any more of your magic. We must move our ships now." The Emperor must see that this was the perfect opportunity to take Voltron.
"Voltron is the most powerful weapon ever created," Haggar argued, "His puny ships will never be up to the task. We must be well prepared for our next encounter."
Zarkon slammed his hands against the arms of his throne, and Prorok took a step back in surprise before immediately kneeling again.
"I know better than anyone the power of Voltron. Haggar has my trust. We will perform her test," he decided.
Seeing that there was no more point in arguing, Prorok rose to his feet and stormed out of the room. He met up with one of the Galra officers he was over, Thace, a quiet but loyal Galra, in the hall away from the throne room.
"The witch has his ear. Keep sending our offer out to any scum between Planet Arus and Balmera X-95-Vox. I'll capture Voltron on my own."
o~o
"Okay. So, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and like, start blasting? Or do we land and have some... kind of public address system, like, 'Attention, Galras. This is Voltron. Turn yourselves in!' No, nevermind. Blasting, right?" Shirley asked as she paced anxiously with the rest of the Paladins sitting on the steps below her. She had no idea how a rescue mission was supposed to go. Not to mention this would be Voltron's first official mission, several things could go wrong. She was almost having an anxiety attack when Kallen gently interrupted her.
"Shirley, calm down. And yes, blasting."
"Shirley, it's okay for you to be nervous," Rai reassured her, "it's our first big mission, a rescue mission even. Everything's going to be alright."
"Nervous? I think she's more excited," Rivalz grinned.
"Excited to see her new BFF!" Milly sang as she tipped her head to wink at the Orange Paladin.
Shirley looked like she wanted to protest when unusual alarms started going off in the ship. They didn't sound like the emergency ones, though.
"What's happening? Are we under attack?" Lelouch asked urgently.
"No, it seems to be a distress beacon," Coran informed them as a small red triangle appeared on his and Allura's screens,
"It's coming from a nearby moon," Allura confirmed, "Apparently, a ship has lost power."
"I wonder who it is?" Suzaku wondered.
"Okay well, whoever it is will have to wait," Shirley insisted, "The Balmerans have first priority. We can check back on them when we're done."
"The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need," Allura chastised.
"Wow! This is so cool," Rivalz exclaimed, "It's like we're space cops on space patrol. Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?"
"Uh, no, we don't," Coran admitted.
"Well, we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them," C.C. suggested with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Perfect!" The Blue Paladin started to make some pretty lousy siren noises before Lelouch pinched his lips shut.
"Nope, not doing that!"
o~o
It didn't take long for the Castleship to approach the moon in question. Seated around a small bond-fire were two aliens, a little robot, supplies, and a decent sized ship that looked like it had been worn out through many battles.
"Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We are coming to assist you." The six towers folded in on themselves and the Castle turned upright with more fluidity than any Knightmare or aircraft on Earth could ever achieve. It slowly and gracefully lowered to the ground next to the crew.
One of the aliens, a humanoid alien, with four fingers instead of five. He was tall with muscular arms, mauve skin, and purple spots. He had lank white hair and some pre-pubescent facial scruff. He has downturned eyes and a cartoonishly straight nose, "Whoa. Nice ship."
o~o
"Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us," Allura informed Coran and C.C. as she and the Paladins all prepared to meet the lost aliens.
"Yes, Princess," Coran nodded while C.C. shrugged. She might as well learn how a few of the things worked on the Castle. Two pairs of hands were better than one after all.
o~o
They didn't take any of the Lions down but instead descended to the ground in a small elevator shuttle. The doors opened to reveal the Princess and the entirety of Team Voltron as a whole. As they exited and approached the stranded party, the purple skin leader grinned, holding a wrench-like device in his hands.
"You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces. Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra."
"So, you're fighting the Galra as well?" Milly asked. However, almost immediately upon exiting the pod, something felt wrong to the Yellow Paladin. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off.
"Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us," he gestured to the robot and his female comrade, "but we do what we can. I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, and our cyber-unit, Beezer."
"Hi," Nyma smiled. She was a tall alien with pointy ears, cream and yellow skin or fur, and blonde hair with two brown stripes at her forehead. Her eyes were light purple with darker purple pupils and sclera. Her lower arms are slightly larger than her upper arms, and she has three fingers.
Rai's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the sight of the robot. That was probably one of the coolest pieces of machinery he'd ever seen! "Cool robot!"
Rivalz was wholly enraptured with Nyma as he immediately shook her hand and introduced himself, "Hi! Name's Rivalz!"
"Was your ship damaged in a fight?" Suzaku asked Rolo.
"Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by," he explained as he looked back at the ship, "Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn—"
"We're happy to help," Allura interrupted him, "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be alone fighting the Galra. You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side."
Rolo rubbed his chin and looked back and forth between the two groups. Lelouch, Suzaku, Milly, and Kallen were standing next to Allura at the ready. A hint of light even shined off Lelouch's helmet. On the other hand, behind Rolo, Rai was still examining Beezer with Shirley crouched next to the robot with a small smile. Meanwhile, Rivalz was again flirting with Nyma, who giggled at a remark the Blue Paladin made.
"...Okay," not really sounding impressed.
"I don't believe they've heard of us," Lelouch said.
"Well, it has been 10,000 years," Kallen muttered the remark.
"Voltron? Seven robot Lions that combine into this big robot... guy?" Shirley tried to explain.
"Sounds impressive," Rolo said, "I'd love to see it. Or—Or him. Them?"
"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Milly proclaimed, clapping her hands twice, "Let's get to work on your ship. We all have places to go and people to see."
"You know how to fix spaceships, Milly?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, my family does own the Ganymede, and therefore I know it's maintenance and function, this should at least be a little similar, at least the basics anyway." Milly didn't mention that she'd also binged a couple of manuals she'd found on the ship while they were waiting for Rivalz.
"I can help too," Kallen said, "I've had to repair Knightmares from scratch before. Two sets of eyes are better than one too." Milly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, sure," Rolo agreed as he leads the two of them to the ship.
"Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot," he explained as he opened one of the hatches, "I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it."
"I'm sure we can get you back up and running," Allura smiled. In the background, Rivalz was attempting to flex his muscles for Nyma, who giggled at his efforts. Milly was watching the pair very suspiciously. "Give Kallen and Milly a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it."
"Okay," Kallen shrugged.
"We'll go with you," Rolo said, "Don't want you ladies carrying all that yourselves. Come on, guys."
Rolo started walking towards the Castle when Milly planted herself right in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"Uh, yeah, I don't think so. You can just wait out here."
"Milly, don't be rude!" Allura said.
"Yeah, mind your manners," Rivalz said, "you're giving a bad impression!" he grinned apologetically at Nyma.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down?" Milly asked, with a frown, "Someone kind of set off a bomb. Remember, Rivalz? You were almost killed."
"Oh… yeah," Rivalz wilted a little at the memory.
"Milly's right," Lelouch nodded, "apologies, but we must exercise caution. This is our first meeting, after all."
"Hey, I don't take it personal," Rolo said with a smile. Beezer rolled forward and printed off a list of materials, which Rolo handed to Milly and Kallen, "That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job."
"Yeah, thanks," Milly frowned as she looked between the list and the alien.
o~o
"My planet was destroyed by the Galra and I was taken captive," Rolo explained as he, Lelouch, Suzaku, Shirley, and Allura, sat around the fire, "I managed to escape, but not before I lost something," he pulled up his pant leg to reveal a metal prosthetic leg.
"I'm so sorry," Shirley murmured. She glanced back behind Rolo to see that Rai was still playing with and examining Beezer. She wondered, even though most of his memories were gone, whether the Green Paladin felt the same way.
"Well," Kallen called out as she and Milly lugged a large storage box out, "I hope there are some parts in here that will fit."
Rolo glanced back but made no move to join them.
Milly scowled, "...You know, to get your ship moving?"
Rolo smiled and waved back, "Great! Thanks,"
"So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's forces?" Allura asked, drawing Rolo's attention again, "Where are they concentrated?"
"Well, his Command Ship sits right in the center of the Empire. He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closest. This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak."
"Oh trust us, we've met," Suzaku frowned.
"How far are we from the center?" Lelouch asked, leaning forward.
"We're way out on the fringes," Rolo said. Before he could say anything else, Milly roughly cleared her throat and walked to the group, with her arms crossed.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo from working. Didn't you remember we're supposed to be in a hurry? Shirley kind of has a promise she needs to keep,"
"Yeah," the Orange Paladin nodded, standing up, "someone named Shay saved my life, and I told her I'd come back to help her and her people. You understand, don't you?"
"Sure. Sorry," Rolo said, as he passed Milly by. The Yellow Paladin glared after him. Yup, these people were up to something all right.
As Rolo started looking through the parts, Lelouch walked up to Milly, "You've noticed too, huh?"
"Yeah. Sorry for the attitude Lulu, but I don't trust these people at all," Milly whispered back.
"Neither do I, but we can still use this opportunity to gain valuable intelligence on the enemy. Just keep your guard up."
"Got it," she nodded, "honestly Lulu, I think we should just leave the parts here and let him take care of-"
"Hey ma'am," Rolo called over to Milly, "Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe about yay long?" he held out his hands to show the measurement.
"I can do it," Kallen said, as she ran back to the Castle for the part, "be right back!"
As Kallen went to get the part, Lelouch walked up to Rolo again, "So are there more freedom fighters? Any kind of organized resistance to the Galra?"
"Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow," the alien said.
"Well, we're going to change all that, very soon," Suzaku informed him as he walked up to them with Allura, Shirley, and Milly.
"That's good to hear," Rolo smiled, "but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. You don't know what you're up against."
o~o
"I mean, there are only seven of us in the entire universe, so…" Rivalz said as he kept talking the Nyma, "I guess you could say it's kind of a big deal."
"I don't understand," Nyma confessed, "The Lions are ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on?"
"Oh, no, no, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced," Rivalz explained, "And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really, the entire Castle is just insane! I wish you could see it."
"Yes, it's too bad we're not allowed inside. I would love a tour from one of the knights," Nyma said with a small smile, "But I guess the yellow one is in charge, huh? You have to obey her orders?"
"Who, Milly? Pfft, maybe at school I do, but not out here!" he grabbed Nyma's arm and enthusiastically led her inside the Castle.
The two arrived at the command deck with no problem. "This place is incredible!" Nyma gasped.
"Yeah, I guess," Rivalz shrugged casually, "You get used to it."
"But it's so gigantic. It must take you forever to get to your Lion," Nyma said.
Rivalz just smirked, "Ooh, you'd be surprised."
Soon the two of them were laughing gleefully as they slid down the zip line. Rivalz blushed the entire time as Nyma gripped his chest tightly. It didn't take long for the two to be in the Blue Lion's cockpit. Nyma looked around as the interior lit to life.
"Pretty slick right?" Rivalz grinned.
"Unbelievable!" Nyma exclaimed, before turning to the Paladin, "Take me on a ride around the moon?"
Though Rivalz was flattered with the offer, he knew that Lelouch probably wouldn't approve of it, "Uh—We should probably get back to the others."
"Yeah, you're right," Nyma sighed, "Maybe Rai will give me a ride."
Upon hearing this, Rivalz completely changed his mind, "No! Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!" Rivalz stretched out and pressed a few buttons, activating the engines, "I mean what's the point of having the Lion if you can't enjoy it, right? Giddy-up, girl!" he exclaimed as the Lion zoomed out of its bay and rocketed into the sky.
Back down below, Kallen, Milly, and Rolo looked up just in time to see the Lion vanish.
"Ugh! Rivalz!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration.
"Ah, let them have their fun," Rolo said with a small smile, "Thanks to you two, this thing is just about ready, so we're going to be on our way soon. Too many light years on that guy, I guess."
As Rolo returned to examining the ship, Milly couldn't help but narrow her eyes suspiciously at the part they just replaced. For some reason, it didn't look like it needed to be replaced entirely. Several other parts of the ship looked the same too, but Rolo had insistent on replacing them, "...Yeah."
o~o
The Galra central command was hovering above a giant planet that looked to be flooded with beautiful trees and plants. But the Galra weren't here for that. No, what they sought was much more sinister.
From aboard the ship, the witch, Haggar, and her druids were floating on large platforms above. Haggar was positioned in the middle, with the other four druids surrounding her. Their platforms each had a Galran crystal underneath that began glowing an ominous purple Below them was a device merged in the center, right underneath Haggar.
"Begin the ritual," Haggar commanded, as a magic circle began to glow underneath her feet. Identical circles appeared under the others as well, "Druids of the Four Directions, join us!"
Pillars of purple energy hit Haggar's crystal, and the witch slowly guided it down past her in a vile form of dark magic. Upon being absorbed in her crystal, the energy hit the point where the merged device met, coloring it a wicked shade of black. The dark energy traveled up the pillars of the device until it hit the sides of the wall that supported it. They lit up in bright purple colors, creeping down towards the bottom where it sharpened to a point. Finally, the very bottom of Galra HQ erupted with a sphere of dark, black energy, almost the size of the base itself.
Down below on the planet, many animals minded their own business, nibbling at the plants and flowers for food. Suddenly, the flowers began to wither and die, streams of blue energy being sucked from them into the sky. The animals looked up in confusion but saw no cause for this phenomena.
It didn't take long for the Komar to suck the planet completely dry of all of its bounteous quintessence, storing it within a large storage unit. The planet below them, once bright and vibrant, darkened until there was no sign of life left.
It was dead.
Haggar's platform rose above the others to meet the Emperor that had been watching from the deck above. The witch smiled triumphantly.
"The Komar Experiment was a success. We have gained an entire planet's Quintessence, a feat that would have normally taken us years."
"Most impressive," Zarkon commented as he turned to face the storage unit holding it, "This will revolutionize the way we advance throughout the galaxy. Mining and colonizing planets is a thing of the past. With this much power available at our whim, we can now spend all of our time hunting down and capturing Voltron."
o~o
"Look! A kinetic spring!" Nyma pointed as the Blue Lion descended back to the water, "Let's land over there. The minerals reflect off the water, making a rainbow," the Blue Lion's back paws trailed within it, kicking up a mist that sparkled into a rainbow above.
"Wow. Is there anything you don't know?" Rivalz asked as he gazed at the beautiful sight.
However, while Rivalz wasn't looking, Nyma looking down at a band that she had around her wrist and clicked the button on it. It began to flash red rapidly.
o~o
Back with the rest of the Paladins, Rolo's band also began to glow red. The alien smirked rolled out from underneath the engine.
"I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight," he said as he closed the hatch, "Beezer, come co-pilot for me. Be back in a tick." the two of them rapidly disappeared inside, leaving most of the Paladins confused.
The ship's thrusters activated and easily lifted off the ground. It soared off towards its destination. The Blue Lion.
o~o
"So, ah, you want to see how fast I can climb this tree?" Rivalz asked with a smirk, leaning against said tree.
Nyma giggled again, "Aw, you are cute. Let me show you something. Give me your hand."
Blushing, Rivalz held his hand out to the alien, only to suddenly be jerked forward and have something clasped over his wrists. He grunted as he was then slammed against the tree, as the cuffs around his hands emitted an energy beam that wrapped around it, effectively trapping him.
As Nyma took a step back with a smile, Rivalz tried to move his hands, but they wouldn't budge a bit.
"Um… this is… kind of…" he said, and uneasy feeling suddenly rising in his gut. The rest of what he was going to say was interrupted as Nyma, and Rolo's ship appeared from above, and Rivalz watched in horror as it sucked the Blue Lion inside. Rivalz could already hear her roaring and lecturing him for falling for such an obvious ploy as she disappeared inside.
"Nyma, what're doing?!" he asked desperately.
"Sorry, Rivalz. Maybe we'll meet again," she said as she was hoisted into the ship with a wire that extended down.
Rivalz only watched in terror as the ship turned and fired off into the sky and out of sight.
The Blue Paladin frantically looked around for something to either call for help with or to get him out of his bonds, but all he found was his helmet that was sitting a couple of feet away.
"Oh, Quiznack..."
o~o
Back with the rest of the group, they were still waiting for Rolo to return from his 'test flight,' perched on the supply and part crates they'd brought down. The longer it was though, the more Lelouch got suspicious of something else happening.
"How many ticks have they been gone?" Rai asked.
"I don't know. I hope they didn't break down again," Allura said.
"Something's not right," Milly declared, her arms tightly folded.
o~o
Rivalz managed to slide his body almost entirely to the ground, and he strained with his foot to kick his helmet over to him. He wouldn't be able to put it on, but he knew that the others would still be able to hear him. He had to warn them, and the sooner they knew, the sooner they could go after the two thieves.
It took him a couple of tries, but he finally managed to hook his toes under the glass visor and swing it over to his head.
Panting he called out into it the best he could, praying they could hear him, "Guys! Hello? Little help?"
o~o
Upon hearing the distressed call, all the Paladins put their helmets back on to listen to him properly.
"Rivalz? Rivalz! Are you all right? What's going on?" Lelouch asked urgently.
"Well, I'm kind of chained to a... a tree." they heard him say.
"I knew it!" Milly yelled, an angry scowl on her face.
"And I think Nyma and Rolo just stole the Blue Lion."
"I knew it!" Milly shrieked, throwing her arms down.
"Where are they?" Lelouch demanded, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration. He knew they shouldn't have trusted them! Now they had another problem on their platters.
"Uh… space?" Rivalz said helpfully.
"Oh! I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!" Milly ranted. And she continued to do so all the way through the Castle and to her Lion's bay.
"I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a feeling in my gut, you know? But when Kallen and I were replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged."
"Okay! We get it!" Shirley shouted through the comms.
"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted," Milly was on a role while the other Paladins just meekly listened to her explanation. At the same time, though, they were all mildly impressed that she knew so much about machinery interiors.
"Okay, we get it!" Suzaku exclaimed through the comms.
"We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play."
"Okay, we get it!" everyone, even Lelouch, shouted at her.
The six remaining Lions soon launched from the Castle and took off in hot pursuit of their stolen sister.
o~o
"Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo," he said to the Galran on the screen, I understand you're offering a reward to anyone helping capture the Voltron Lions."
"That's correct," the commander said, "do you know where they are?"
"I know where the blue one is. It's in my ship."
"Excellent," Prorok intoned, "Bring it to me, and you'll have your reward immediately."
"Just a tick. You see, my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past," the bounty hunter added, "Some stolen merchandise from the Galra Empire may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it."
"Well, I'm sure that a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion. Is that all?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.
"We'll take the reward too," Nyma confirmed.
"Of course," the commander nodded.
"All right, we're on our way," the commander's face disappeared as the screen closed up.
Rolo stretched and cracked his knuckles as he leaned back in his chair, "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks. Seemed like a nice bunch."
"If you're feeling guilty, you can turn yourself in," Nyma frowned, "Stealing from Zarkon carries a life sentence."
"They don't seem… that nice," Rolo amends.
o~o
On board the command ship, Prorok turned to Thace again, having just finished his conversation with Rolo, "Send the nearest fighter squadron to the area of the transmission. I'm not trusting some bounty hunter with our prize."
o~o
Alarms started blaring in Rolo's ship as it continued to it's meet up point. Pulling up the feed, Rolo was shocked to see the other six Lions in hot pursuit of them. The Blue Paladin must've warned them somehow. It suddenly wasn't looking suitable for any of them.
"No way!" he gasped. He pulled up the stirring system and pressed a few more buttons. They had to shake them and fast!
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nyma asked, "There's no way we can outrun those Lions."
"Not in the open. Good thing the Zorlar asteroid belt is right up here. I know that like the back of my hand," Rolo smirked as he zoomed towards the asteroid belt. They could quickly lose them in here… right?
o~o
The Lions screeched to a halt at the entrance of the belt. They could barely make out Rolo's ship as it moved farther away from them.
"We'll never get through his asteroid belt!" Rai exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"Maybe I can just bust through!" Shirley suggested.
"No, Shirley! Wait!" Suzaku called out in warning, but it fell on deaf ears. She and the Orange Lion raced forward, head down to charge through. She did hit the asteroid, but all it did was lazily bounce off another one behind it, causing it to bounce off another, and another, and another.
"Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea," she quickly deduced.
"Kallen, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this," Lelouch said, "We need you. Get in there and flush him out."
"Understood. See you on the other side!" the Red Paladin exclaimed.
As the other five Lions pulled out to go around, Kallen and the Red Lion zipped into the field, hunting for its prize. She smoothly spun around asteroids and debris as if she did it daily. They hopped from rock to rock fluently like a jungle cat, growing ever closer to the cargo ship.
The other Paladins could only watch in awe at Kallen's skill.
"I still can't believe that that's Kallen out there!" Shirley said.
"I know! It's like she's been flying all her life!" Rai agreed.
Lelouch from inside the Black Lion smirked, "Well, in the Black Knights, she's our number one ace pilot. In combat, she can easily use a Glasgow to take down several Sutherlands at once. She's a formidable foe and valuable member."
"Maybe a little too valuable?" Milly giggled with raised eyebrows.
Lelouch scowled and blushed, 'Damn you, she-devil!'
"You guys realize I can hear you, right?" Kallen asked through the comms, though she was blushing for an entirely different reason as she heard the praise that Zero gave her as she and the Red Lion ran along a rather long, narrow asteroid. A shadow fell overhead of them, and Kallen gritted her teeth as she drove her Lion to move faster to avoid the other asteroid about to collide with, "Come on Aka! We've got this!" With one final thrust of her controls, Aka shot out in between the rocks just as they crashed.
She smirked as she saw that she was now practically right on top of Rolo and his crew. They seriously didn't think they'd get away, did they?
o~o
"No way!" Rolo exclaimed as the camera showed the Red Lion, "Get on the blasters! Take her down!"
"Copy," Nyma said as she pulled up the controls with Beezer.
o~o
From on top of the ship, two blaster cannons elevated above. They started rapidly shooting in Kallen and Aka's direction.
Kallen saw them and gritted her teeth as she pulled up behind another asteroid. In retaliation she had Aka shoot out some energy blasts of her own, each of them barely missing the cruiser.
From inside his ship, Rolo, despite the situation, couldn't help but smirk, "This chick can flat-out fly!"
Despite the multiple blasts though, Kallen quickly began to close in on them.
"She's gaining on you!" Nyma shouted.
Rolo instinctively yanked the controls to the left. As the ship swerved out of the way, Kallen barely had time to stop herself as she narrowly avoided hitting another asteroid.
She gritted her teeth and pulled back on the lever, allowing Aka to activate her leg thrusters just in time. They leaped out from the rock, and with a smash of a button, Kallen activated Aka's jaw blade. With a swift swing of her head, the knife flew at the ship, burying itself in and destroying the two blaster cannons on Rolo's ship.
o~o
"Blasters are offline!" Nyma explained as the three crew members braced themselves with the turbulence.
"We gotta get out of here!" Rolo said as he fired the thrusters one last time, hoping for a last ditch escape.
o~o
"Oh no, you don't!" Kallen yelled as Aka fired an on-point shot at one of the engines. It exploded, and the ship was soon spinning out of control. Red lights and alarms blazed as the crew inside held on for dear life. It began descending towards the planet just outside the asteroid belt. But before they could crash, Aka's claws gripped onto the ship, and with a pull of the thrusters, the Lion and her Paladin brought the crew to a stop in the middle of space.
Kallen grinned triumphantly as the five other Lions surrounded the ship.
"Yeah!" Kallen laughed, "Hey, Rivalz, I got your Lion back!"
"Thank you, Kallen," Rivalz said, "Now, can you come and unchain me?"
"What's that? I, uh... Y-You're cutting out. I can't—I can't hear you," Kallen teased, even going as far as to make some static noises.
"Oh, come on!" The Blue Paladin exclaimed, "I thought we all bonded!"
o~o
With Kallen and Suzaku dragging the crew and their ship back to the moon, and Milly making a trip to rescue Rivalz, the Paladins and Allura now faced the thieves.
"Since your ship really doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue," Suzaku said, disappointment in his tone.
"Thanks… for sparing our lives," Rolo said sincerely.
"You're welcome," Lelouch said, narrowing his eyes, "But… should we catch doing something like this again, you won't be so lucky…" Lelouch understood why they did what they did, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.
Rolo gulped and nodded.
"Now that these guys are dealt with, can we go now?" Milly asked impatiently.
"Yeah, Shay and her family are still waiting for us," Shirley agreed.
"You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon," Rolo confessed, "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today."
At this statement, Lelouch's eyes lightened a little. He could only think of how many other rebels or criminals were thinking the same thing. What they needed more than ever was hope… and he knew just how to give it to them.
As the ship left the moon and the wayward thieves behind, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Kallen, was that that you called the Red Lion?" Rai asked.
"Oh!" Kallen blushed a little, "'Aka,' it means 'Red' in Japanese."
"You named your Lion?" Suzaku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… not really! I mean, it's just the color in a different language, I mean…" she stopped when she saw all the amused faces of the other Paladins, "Okay! Yes! I named her! Is that a problem?!"
"No, no!" Shirley shook her head, "I think it's cute! Honest!"
"Hey! Maybe we all do that? Have the other Paladins done that Allura?" asked Milly.
"Well no," Allura said but smiled, "but there's no rule saying that you can't."
"I think it's a good idea," C.C. spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "you keep talking about building the bonds with their Lions. By having names for them, it proves that they are being treated as equals, not just machines."
"I agree as well," Lelouch nodded, "having a name gives identity. You're not much without it."
"Great! Lion naming party!" Rivalz shouted.
"After we save the Balmera," Lelouch emphasized.
"Right!" Rivalz quickly agreed, leaving everyone laughing all over again.
o~o
Haggar held the container of Quintessence in her palm as she and her druids surrounded the test subject. After the last one failed, she was more than determined to make good on her promise to her Emperor and make a weapon that not even Voltron could stand up against, and she believed that she found the perfect subject.
"All this Quintessence will turn you into the strongest, most horrifying fighter ever created. One that even Voltron will not be able to defeat."
o~o
Omake:
Lelouch and Kallen were tasked to clean and fix the damage that was caused during Sendak's invasion. It was a dirty job but, someone had to do it.
Rover was there to help with schematics and which parts needed repairs.
"Why we got to do this?" Kallen grumbled, patching a hole, "A highly advanced castle without any droids or robots to fix the problems. I can't imagine how we're going to fly this thing during battle."
"That I don't know Kallen," Lelouch answered, "This something Coran probably knows since he knows this castle up and down."
Both of them continued in silence. It was awkward, leaving the two of them together. Ever since she knew Lelouch was the leader of the Black Knights, Zero, she felt a tingling of betrayal inside her finding out the man you admired and respected turned out to be an exiled Britannian prince.
However, after hearing his explanation and memories, she understood why he rebelled. Like her, both of them lost someone important because of Britannia's cruelty and corruption.
She understood why he needed to hide his face. If Ohgi, the others, and the rebel forces knew they would try to ransom Lelouch to free Japan, and that would be impossible. If the Emperor was willing to abandon his children to the lion's den, she doubted he was ready to negotiate.
Sure, during Sendak's invasion, they bonded, but knowing the truth was different, and it felt awkward for both of them. Even Lelouch could felt it.
So she decided to break the silence, "You know, Lelouch, I never actually thought in my life that we humans would be the first to meet alien life, and journey into space on a giant, advanced, robot lion."
"Yeah, it's mind-boggling that there are other lifeforms farther than our solar system, and piloting a giant, robot lion that makes Knightmares look like small chew toys," Lelouch though would love to see the Lancelot try and go up against Voltron. It could merely crush it if he wanted to
"I want to apologize for accusing you of lying to me earlier," Of course she didn't speak it out loud, but she needed to get it off her chest somehow, and this was the right time, and away from prying eyes especially Milly.
"About me being Zero and an exiled prince?" It was no surprise that she distrusted him for lying to her, but like him, she wanted to get it off of her chest, like how he confessed to everyone that he was Zero.
"Yes, it's just that I never thought something terrible happened to you and your sister and being forced into exile to an unknown land."
"No need to apologize, I was glad she was blind. Thank the small mercies she couldn't see what I've seen," Kallen didn't need to guess what the meant.
"Still, if you have problems, don't hesitate to call for help. We all are here with you as a team, you don't have to act like Zero all the time."
"Thank you, I'm glad to have met you, Kallen, first."
The redhead blushed that Lelouch thanked her. Sure, it wasn't some kind of confession, but still, it made her heart skip a bit. Then she saw Rover who saw everything.
"Rover, you didn't record anything, did you?" the droid turned around not looking at her and making some kind of noise that sounded like a whistle.
"Coran, how are Lelouch and Kallen doing with the repairs?" Allura was drinking some tea in the kitchen.
"They should be finished right about-"
"Get back here you droid! When I get my hands on you, I'll make you a scrap!" Kallen shouting along with Lelouch following from behind.
"I think that's a 'No.'"
o~o
AN: So here's the next chapter!
So I have officially decided to give the Lions unique names of their own. So far we've heard what Red's was, Aka, you'll just have to wait to see what the others will be!
Also, for all you Skyrim fans out there, my co-writer, TheCrookedQueen, for Burning Bridges, Crossed Minds has uploaded a story of her own. If you're a fan of the video game, I recommend you check it out. It just started, so it's a little short right now, but please do so!
Catch you all in the next chapter! RR!
Update: Sorry! The Shiro part was just an error. It should be fixed now!