KathDMD : It should be obvious, but not necessarily. There are Two Lieutenants present...
Megazord Prime : I think you're about to get your wish!
Author's Note : Glad to get this out on time! Hoping to hear what everyone thinks!
My muse is gone.
Theme Music : None
Disclaimer : Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins and associated characters are the property of KathDMD. Admiral Lysette Fabrere and associated characters are the property of Selena DeVargo.
Episode 520 : "Moonstruck"
JC and Roxy gritted their teeth, and both had the same thing on their mind….the personal challenge Wade just issued them. And both of them, in their own minds, were more than ready to give it to him. As they went to move, a shout caught them off guard.
"Look out!" Dariana shouted as she turned and fired one of her chargers blindly behind her. The others dove out of the way of laser fire, nearly missing them. Kaleb rolled to his feet, and a blade of energy slid out of the device on his wrist. JC and Roxy ran at Wade, and Wade made a beeline for Kaleb.
"Don't think it's going to be so easy," Kala said, crawling across the ceiling.
"She's above us!" Tails shouted, forming her axes. She threw them, and Kala dodged the attack, firing back. Seth rolled out of the way, forming his crossbow and firing back.
"She's crawling on the ceiling like a spider!" he shouted. Kala tried to dodge the next attack, but one of Set's bolts hit her in the leg, forcing her to drop to the ground. She turned and fired, hitting Tails and knocking her backwards into the wall. She moaned in pain.
"I've waited a long time for this," Wade said. JC ran up to him to swing, and Wade easily blocked it, redirecting his momentum around him and kicking him away. Roxy took a swing, but Wade was able to dodge left and right quickly, backhanding her to the ground. Kaleb took a shot in the distracting, coming down on Wade's mechanical arm, gouging it to the point sparks emanated from it. He held it for a moment as he got to his feet, Kaleb poised to strike again.
"Using your cadets as a shield?" he asked. "Hah! Maybe I have underestimated you. You're more like me than I thought." Kaleb ran at Wade and swung hard. He blocked it with his arm, then punched him in the gut with his other hand. He grabbed Kaleb by the shirt with the robotic hand and threw him across the room. He went to follow, but JC and Roxy got up and came at him again. He managed to block both of them with his arm, then after swinging and kicking JC back, fired a blast at Roxy. She had turned to move, but the blast managed to hit her in the shoulder and sent her spinning backwards to the ground.
"It's over, Wade!" JC shouted, brandishing his sword. Wade laughed.
"You see?" he said. "They still stand in front of you like a shield. And you led them here. Led them right to me. And the best part? When I'm done, I'll have vanquished you AND Voltron!"
"This one's for Tails!" Seth shouted as he blasted Kala, who was struck in the arm with the bolt, freezing it. She gritted her teeth.
"I'm more than prepared for the likes of you," she sneered. She spit a stream of acid from her mouth, and as Seth and Dariana dove out of the way, it hit the ground and fizzed. She easily broke free of the ice and let out an intense growl.
"Cover me," Dariana said to Seth. Seth pulled back to where Tails was and fired again. Kala avoided it, looking for an opening to attack. Dariana ran off to the side. "Hey!" Kala turned to her, and Dariana fired her charger. Kala grabbed the chain, stopping it, but Tick jumped off the end of it and clung to her face. She spun around screeching, and Dariana ran at her full speed. Kala went to spit again, but Tick jumped off her, and Dariana swung the other charger, sending it flying into her, knocking her into and through the wall. Debris began to fall as the room seemed to be collapsing.
"We're shutting you down!" Kaleb shouted as he ran at Wade, and he and JC struck him hard. Wade pushed JC off again, then began fighting hand to hand with Kaleb again.
"Who's going to shut YOU down?" he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. "You're just as mad as I am!" He swung hard, finally connecting with a right hook, sending Wade to the floor. He went to get up, but JC ran at him and swung true, slicing off his robotic arm as he laid there, pinning him to the ground. Kaleb walked up to him, and holding out his right arm, a plasma shotgun formed at the end of it. Wade looked up at him, laughing slightly.
"This is the end," Kaleb said.
"Is it?" he asked. "Is it really over? No….I don't think it is. Oh you'll go all soft hearted and bring me to trial for my 'crimes', right? The righteous and noble leader giving the 'bad guy' what he deserves. Am I even close?" He laughed harder. "Or are you truly like me. Because you know I'd do it. I'd pull the trigger. If it were you, I would kill you in a heartbeat." He looked Kaleb in the eyes. "So tell me…..Lieutenant…..is it REALLY over?" He gritted his teeth, finger on the trigger as the rifle powered up, then slowly lowered it.
"I'll never be like you," Kaleb said, looking Wade in the eye. "And as much as you deserve to die….you will be tried, and you will get what's coming to you." He got up and turned to check on Tails. As he walked away, Wade knocked the sword away from him, catching JC off guard. He grabbed his now severed arm and pointed it at Kaleb and fired.
"No!" Dariana shouted. She ran towards him, a lens of ice deflecting the shot. As it broke, she swung forward, and an ice spike formed and was hurled at Wade, impaling him and sending him into the wall. Her eyes glowed blue, then red, as more and more power flowed from her. Wade became encased in ice, growing thjicker and thicker, until Seth and Kaleb ran to her and pulled her backwards.
"Dari….stop…" Seth said to her. Slowly, she backed off, and it stopped. She slumped over, then turned to Seth and fell into his arms crying.
"I….I won't let him hurt anyone else I care about," she whispered. "Never again." JC and Roxy got up and limped over to the others, as Tails recovered as well. Seth stroked her hair softly, then looked up at Kaleb, who was looking on at Dariana with concern.
"Who are you?" he asked. Kaleb took a step back, holding their side. They then reached for their neck and pulled. Their eyes widened as they watched Kaleb tear the skin from his face, seeing now that it was all prosthetic.
"Well done, Voltron Force," Lenora said as she once again held her side.
"Marshall?" JC asked. "How?"
"It's a very long story," she replied, wincing. "Right now, we have a generator to shut down, and a Commander to save." They nodded. Tails looked over at the nearby control panel, and limped over to it. She began keying things into it.
"Scanners show Wade's forces diminishing," she replied. "Several ships just launched from the other side of the moon, but other than that, nothing. I've found the robeast's command codes. I can't free the Commander, but I'm able to disconnect his neural net from the robeast." She looked over at JC. "We'll need to physically retrieve him from the robeast before we can destroy it." JC and Roxy looked at one another and nodded.
"Draw straws?" JC asked her with a smirk.
"Coin flip could work," Roxy replied, smirking back.
"I'm sorry," Dariana said, "while his connection to the robeast is mechanical, Tails can tell you it's irradiated with Haggarium. I stand the best chance at getting him out of there."
"You've overexerted yourself," Seth said softly. She looked into his eyes.
"Then give me your strength," she said softly. Tick leaped onto his arm and clicked twice before merging with his Voltcom. He looked back at her, seeing her eyes were now whited out. She nodded. "Get to the ships." They all took off running from the room, Dariana taking up the rear.
"The Commander is located in the chest cavity slightly right of center," Morgan said. "Systems are tied into his nervous system through a control relay, but I can't determine how it's doing it or how to stop it."
"And?" Aidan asked in desperation.
"We can still defend," she replied, grabbing the controls. "Counter his next attack with a hold."
"Ready Lisa?" Aidan asked.
"Let's do this," she replied. The robest came at them, and as Lisa wrenched her yoke, Voltron dodged and reached around, locking the robeast in a hold. It began to struggle.
"How long can we keep it like this?" Aidan asked.
"Hopefully long enough for the others to find a way to stop it," Morgan replied. "There's a signal coming from the planet. This thing isn't being controlled by a pilot, per se, but rather by a relay on the surface of the moon."
"But wait," Taye asked. "Isn't all of that going through the Commander? Is there anything HE can do?" Morgan froze in thought for a moment.
"Seven hells!" she blurted out.
"What is it?" Aidan asked.
"Open a channel," she shouted. "Broadcast on the following frequency."
"Explain," Dalloway said, "preferably in English."
"He's still in there, Aidan," she replied. "Maybe he can help stop it!"
"Taye?" Aidan asked.
"I've got the com open," he said. "Speak your mind." She took a deep breath.
"Commander," she said. "I know you can hear me. We are doing everything we can to get you free of this robeast, but we need your help. We need you to focus on something….anything. We need you to be able to redirect the signals being routed to your brain, but in order to do that, I need you to think and think hard. Think of one thing, anything. Your most powerful memory. If we can distract the robeast, we may be able to help sever its ties to you." At first there was no response. Morgan's voice sounded with desperation. "Commander!"
The robeast went limp.
"Their forces are nearly depleted," Jamie said. "Their remaining forces are retreating."
"And the robeast?" Kelly asked.
"Voltron is still engaging it," he replied. "It doesn't look like its escaping." Malva took several steps towards the view screen.
"Can you get a visual on them?" she asked. Jamie signaled for the officer to switch views.
"Magnify," he ordered. The screen focused in on the battle, just as the robeast went limp. Her eyes glowed slightly. She winced as the ring, too, began to glow. Kerza stepped up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What is it?" he asked.
"She's infused the beast with her quintessence," she said. "Her life energy. If he is not freed, now that the failsafes appear to be gone, haggarium could seep into his body and ravage him as it did me."
"Is there anything you can do?" Kerza asked.
"Stay close," she said to him. She closed her eyes. "I am not Haggar. But her quintessence boils in my veins still. If I focus, perhaps….perhaps I can hold off to vile substance long enough for them to rescue him."
"Is there anything you need?' Kelly asked. Malva closed her eyes and focused.
"Just….time," she replied.