They were about to make the jump. They had the army of the Coalition at their backs and Team Voltron to lead them. Coran had stolen away all of her fears. Nayni stood behind her control panel, ready to do everything she could to help bring The Advisor to his knees. Coran was finishing up prepping the Castle systems for the battle. Nayni watched his slender hands move deftly over the Castle controls. She'd made a decision last night that he wasn't aware of. But once this was all over he'd come to find out what it was.
Nayni watched the Lions flying in formation in front of them. They'd all had one final meeting before departing. The tone hadn't been as grim as Nayni been expecting. They all just seemed so filled with determination. The Paladins' courage was so infectious. She was just ready now. She was ready to watch them tear that Other Castle apart so they could get back to what really mattered: Zarkon.
She listened to the soft hum of the Teludav powering up. The violet and blue portal opened up in the inky blackness of space. Nayni felt such a burning sense of tenacity that she didn't think the jump sickness would hold her back. Their forces entered the undulating wormhole. Coran navigated the Castle through the passage with ease. When they emerged from the other side, the giant vessel lurched forward.
The twisted obsidian form of the Other Castle was floating before them. The sleek black dreadnoughts hovered around the capital ship. It was a substantial fleet but they weren't going to give up until every last one of them had been destroyed. The Lions and their allied ships all swarmed forward. The enemy fighters had already started pouring out of their ships.
Nayni felt that familiar chill run down the length of her spine. No. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her this time. Coran must've felt it too. When she looked over her shoulder, their eyes met. Coran waved his hand over the main display and his targets lit up in red. He flashed Nayni a smirk. Nayni flicked her hand over the various dials and switches. She watched the barrage of blue lasers rain down on their enemies.
The Terrapin vessels were already ramming into the Queen's dreadnoughts as the rebel ships unleashed their canons on them. The Blades ships weaved through clusters of fighters. They sliced through the fighters and left nothing but debris in the wake of their attacks. Lotor's ship dodged the laser fire from the Other Castle and swooped in to take out one of their drones. Once they'd finished off these warships, all of their fury would be focused on taking down the red barrier of the Other Castle.
The scarlet barrier that engulfed that twisted vessel was already dimmer than it had been in previous battles. It seemed to focus all of its attacks on the Castle's barrier. Its erratic tactics were nothing like the ones they witnessed from previous battles. It was as if a madman was manning the Other Castle's controls. She must've been right. She didn't know how or why but it seemed as if The Advisor was alone now.
Shiro didn't wait to give his order. Nayni watched the Lions soar upward in formation. They weaved around each other. Their parts shifted as they prepped to come together. She watched them be engulfed in that comforting blue light as Voltron finally formed. The superweapon had already deployed its sword and went barreling towards one of the dreadnoughts.
The Castle's defenses continued to fire off into the fray. Their blue barrier flickered every time one of the cannon rounds from the Other Castle slammed into the ship. Voltron flew past a sleek black dreadnought. It's glowing sword sliced the vessel in half. A chain of explosions lit up the battlefield as the ship was torn in half. The superweapon soared around the battlefield. Every dreadnought that hadn't been downed by their allies was being torn to shreds by Voltron. The last dreadnought fell and Voltron hovered before the Other Castle.
Nayni watched their allied ships all turn to face the twisted vessel. Voltron formed it's massive yellow cannon and unleashed a barrage of laser fire on the barrier. Sparks flew off of the red particle barrier as lasers of every conceivable color slammed into the flickering surface. The Other Castle had ceased firing. It's stagnation left Nayni with a sinking feeling.
She watched the Castle's blue lasers slamming into the enemy's barrier. Their allies wouldn't let up. The scarlet barrier of the Other Castle flickered for the last time and it vanished. The Terrapin ships charged forward. They rammed into the more delicate parts of the vessel and smashed off chunks of the hull. Still, the Other Castle did nothing. Nayni looked back at Coran with a look of concern.
"Something is amiss," Nayni said.
Her lover's violet eyes narrowed. Coran leaned over to face the communications monitor.
"Be careful guys, something doesn't seem right," Coran said.
Before Shiro or any of the Paladins could respond the Other Castle turned. Its engines roared as it dove right through their allies. Nayni watched in horror as some of the allied ships went up in flames. The Other Castle came barreling right for them. The massive, twisted vessel was going to ram them. Nayni braced herself on the control panel.
Voltron swooped forward. Its massive sword had deployed. The superweapon soared along the side of the Other Castle and sliced through the thick hull. Red flames exploded from the Other Castle. The massive vessel bucked and swerved but it was still on a collision course. Coran pulled back on the Castle's controls. Nayni felt her stomach churn as the vessel dove downward. The nose of the Castle was pointed directly towards the surface of the planet below them. The Castle shook as the Other Castle rammed into their rear.
A flurry of red errors messages exploded across the main display and the Castle's alarms started to blare. The Castle shook violently as it descended towards the surface of the rocky red planet. Sweat was beading up on Coran's forehead as he struggled to keep the vessel stable. Nayni's eyes widened as the black silhouette of the Other Castle appeared next to them. It swerved to the side and rammed them again. Coran maintained his footing as he gripped onto the Castle's control panel. The surface of the planet was rushing towards them as they descended to the ground at an alarming speed.
Voltron swooped in again. It slid between the two vessels. It rammed into the Other Castle with its shield. The Red Lion's laser fired off and ripped open another gash along the ship's hull. The Other Castle started to spiral towards the surface of the planet. Black smoke trailed behind it as it was engulfed in red flames.
Coran pulled back on the Castle's controls. The ship rumbled as he steadied it and tried to decrease its speed. He managed to steady the vessel. It still jerked when he brought it in for a landing. Nayni fell as the Castle made landfall. Red lights continued to flash on the bridge. She watched as the Other Castle spiraled and slammed into the jagged surface of a rock outcropping. She could barely make out the shape of it due to the thick smoke that had engulfed the vessel.
Coran had run up behind her. She felt his strong grasp on her arm. He pulled her back up on her feet. He was shaking. They watched Voltron land on the ground in front of them. It hovered around the smoldering remnants of the Other Castle. It couldn't be over yet. It couldn't have been that easy.
"Are you all right?" Coran pressed.
He sounded breathless. That didn't really matter right now. The main display was lit up with warnings. Several sections of the Castle were apparently on fire.
"Yes," Nayni said. "But we've got more important things to deal with than fretting about me."
Coran kept a firm grip on her as he dragged her back to the main control panel. He typed into the controls and initiated the deployment of fire suppressants. Nayni still could not shake that feeling creeping up her spine. She watched Voltron swerve around the Other Castle.
"We're going to scan for any signs of life," Shiro's voice crackled over the transmission module.
The Castle was in shambles but Coran would be able to get it back together. He stepped away from the control panel and looked over the main display as some of the error messages vanished. Coran's fiery orange hair was a bit disheveled but he appeared to be unscathed. The transmission module crackled with loud static.
"We're not picking up anything," Shiro said. "Maybe we di-"
All of the systems turned off. The lights of the bridge went black. The Castle's power had been cut off. Nayni's heart started to hammer in her chest. She gulped as she looked up at Coran. The Castle had been damaged but not to the point that it could've lost power on its own. A chill crept into the bridge. Nayni shuddered as she felt the icy air on the back of her neck. Coran looked around the room as he held onto her.
"How?" Coran stammered.
He felt it too. He already knew.
"I don't know," Nayni said.
They hadn't prepared for this possibility because they had never imagined that something like this would happen. Nayni didn't have her particle shield or her blaster. Without any power, the Castle's internal defenses wouldn't be able to function. They were completely vulnerable.
"We have to get out here," Nayni said. "We have to get to Voltron before he finds us."
Coran seemed much calmer than she was but he hadn't seen The Advisor face to face. He hadn't felt the frigid touch of those hands on his flesh. Nayni could already feel that fear taking hold of her heart. Her chest was tightening up.
Coran seized her by the hand and he sprinted to the archway off the bridge. The doors didn't open. They both grabbed the emergency latch and started to pry the doors open. Nayni's boots slipped on the ground. The muscles of her arms burned as they tugged the doors open. They managed to part them enough so they could slide through. Coran pushed her through to the other side. The hallway was pitch black. The air was so cold that her teeth were chattering. She couldn't see Coran but she could feel his firm, warm grip on her shoulder.
She felt as if she was blind. She was trembling. Coran leaned forward. She could feel his hot damp breath on the side of her face.
"We'll get out of here," Coran insisted. "I know every nook and cranny of this vessel. I don't need any quiznacking lights to navigate."
She believed him. Nayni grabbed his hand. She stayed as close to his side as she possibly could. The halls were silent. Nayni couldn't even hear their footsteps. The temperature of the air was the only thing that changed. It kept growing colder and colder. The tips of her ears and nose had started to go numb.
Coran pulled her around a corner. She brushed her shoulder along the surface of the wall. She was consumed with shock. She didn't know how The Advisor had accomplished this but it was such a brilliant tactic. Voltron couldn't attack the Castle. They couldn't destroy the vessel that they relied on to traverse the galaxy. The Advisor had transformed their fortress into the perfect trap.
Coran started kicking a wall panel in the hallway. The sound echoed off the walls. With every loud bang, Nayni cringed. The thin plate of metal clattered on the ground and Coran pushed it to the side. Nayni could barely detect a faint glow of light from the tunnel that opened up. He wrapped his arm around her waist and herded her forward. The air in the tunnel smelled musty. It was cramped and she could feel thick cables running along the wall. It must've been one of the maintenance tunnels.
She felt Coran's hand on her back. He let out a cry. Nayni whirled around. She saw the faint red glow from The Advisor's eyes. He'd seized Coran by the arm and pulled him back. He was scrambling along the floor to get away from him. Nayni was so overcome with rage that she leaped for him.
She slammed into The Advisor and pushed him against the wall. He felt like a solid hunk of ice. She started driving her fist towards his face. He grabbed her by the wrist before her knuckles could collide with his nose. All she could make out in the din was that twisted silver grin. Nayni struggled to free herself from his grip. He leaned forward, she could feel the tip of his cold nose brushing against hers.
"I'm going to make you watch him burn to a crisp," The Advisor hissed.
Nayni kneed him in the groin. She pulled back her other fist and slammed it into his jaw. Coran grabbed her and yanked her back down the maintenance tunnel. They squirmed their way down the cramped tunnel as quickly as they could. Nayni kept glancing behind them. She heard the sound of crackling lightning and The Advisor's roar of outrage. Coran came to a stop and she stumbled into him.
She heard the loud pang of his foot as he tried to kick down the panel on the other side. Nayni couldn't stop trembling. She watched that soft red glow fade away in the distance. He was stalking them like a predator. She wished he was still behind them. She wished she could still hear him creeping through the darkness. That was easier than not knowing where he was.
At any moment he could strike out from the darkness and snatch either of them. The wall panel crashed forward. It flew against the wall of the next hallway. Coran stepped out into the darkness. She could still see nothing. All she had to rely on was the feeling of the cold walls and the heat that was radiating off of him. They had no coms system. They had no way to reach the others. Nayni just had to hope that they were coming.
Coran rushed down the hallway. His grip on Nayni's hand was so tight that she thought the bones of her fingers were going to snap. The icy wind flew by her ears as they sprinted down the dark hallway. Nayni thought she heard the sound of breathing in her ear. Her head whipped around but she saw nothing except darkness behind her. Coran yanked her forward and she stumbled.
"You can't hide from me, Nayni!" The Advisor roared.
His voice filled the hallway like a clap of thunder. Coran kept running. He kept charging forward and she was hot on his heels.
"Tomyko's neck was so slender. It was so easy to squeeze the life out of her," The Advisor hissed.
Nayni closed her eyes. She tried to just focus on the warmth of Coran's hand.
"His neck looks like it'd be easy to snap too," The Advisor said. "But I won't let his death be that easy."
It sounded as if he was right next to them. She could almost feel his hand caressing the back of her neck. But there was no red light in the darkness. There was just the sound of his disembodied voice and their boots pounding on the ground as they raced down the hall. Coran skidded to a stop. He grabbed Nayni's hand a shoved it on another emergency latch.
Nayni and Coran tugged on the doors. She yanked back with all of her might. They both were grunting and panting as they struggled with the doors.
"You and that witch took everything from me," The Advisor seethed.
The doors clanged as they finally pried them open. Coran pushed Nayni through the narrow opening. She had no idea where they were. She just could feel that the floor beneath her feet was on a steep incline. She heard the sound of Coran tugging on the handle of the zip line above them. It didn't budge. He cursed under his breath. She gripped onto his hand as they started to creep down the ramp.
"I'm going to take everything from you," The Advisor cackled.
Red lightning erupted along the walls. Coran wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away. He lost his footing and they tumbled down the rampway. Nayni cried out as her shoulder slammed into the hard surface of the ground. The lightning that licked along the walls lit up the zip line with the brightness of a sun. They rolled down the ramp until they slammed into a wall. Coran moaned. She felt a warm trickle of blood running down her forehead.
Coran braced himself on the wall and she trembled as she got back up. Nayni looked back at the zip line's tunnel. The lightning had vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Coran's hand was shaking as he pulled her forward. The Advisor's cackled echoed through out the empty halls.
"You can't escape me, Nayni," The Advisor hissed. "I snapped The Queen's neck. I ended her life and I'll end the lives of everyone you love."
Nayni had been right. The shock of it only filled her with more terror. He'd killed The Queen. He'd killed the person that he had followed for thousands of years. He was the only one left now but after this discovery she was afraid of the power that he possessed. Coran tugged on Nayni's arm and yanked her back to his side.
"Come on," Coran whispered. "We can't stop moving."
They staggered down the hallway. He was limping. Nayni pulled his arm around her shoulder and tried to heft him up against her. They weren't fleeing with the same speed now. Nayni thought she heard The Advisor's footsteps behind them. She was too scared to look behind them now. She didn't want to see that face creeping towards them in the darkness. Coran was desperately trying to catch his breath.
"We're almost there," Coran wheezed. "We'll make it."
This was the most fear Nayni had ever felt. They were both injured and crawling down this hallway and he still was brave enough to comfort her. Her heart was pounding as they struggled down the hallway. Coran let out a grunt of pain. He clutched at his thigh. He was taking in desperate hungry breaths when they reached the end of the tunnel.
"Grab the latch," Coran panted.
Nayni groped around on the icy surface of the wall until her fingers laced around the clunky mechanism. It took even more effort for them to pry this door open. They both grunted as they tried to pull apart the massive set of doors. Nayni's boots kept slipping on the slick surface of the floor as she pulled.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that dim red glow emerging behind them. She started to panic and tugged on the latch more desperately. Nayni squirmed as she and Coran pried the doors apart. A thin beam of white light was starting to spill into the dark hallway. The Advisor's cackles were echoing through the hallway. She saw his gnarled hands light up like a flare as the red lightning danced between his fingers. He looked ravenous.
The doors screeched as they finally pulled them open. Nayni felt like the muscles in her arms were going to tear. She watched The Advisor raise up his hand. She watched lightning spilling forth from his hands and race down the hall. Nayni gasped. She pushed Coran out into the light. She stumbled forward. Her feet slipped on the floor. It had given The Advisor just the amount of time he needed.
It felt like a knife was being thrust through her spine when the lightning hit her. The sharp pain shot through her limbs. It felt like a hammer had just come crashing down on her head. Nayni clenched her jaw. She felt like she was on fire. She grabbed the edges of the doors and pulled herself out. She could feel the rush of the hot air flooding over her.
She felt Coran wrap his arms around her. He pulled her along the floor of the hangar. His arms were shaking from the strain. She felt his injured leg quivering as he dragged it across the floor. The Advisor clawed his way out from between the doors. His eyes were burning with hatred. His face was gnarled up with rage. He wrenched himself from the passage and ran out into the middle of the hangar.
The Blue Lion slammed onto the floor. The chamber rumbled as it's feet met with the ground. Nayni watched its massive blue head hover over them. Its jaws flung open and it's massive beam erupted out. She watched as the blue laser engulfed The Advisor. His body contorted into an unnatural position as the laser slowly ate away at his flesh. Nayni watched as he disintegrated into a pile of ashes.
The Blue Lion closed its jaws. Coran and Nayni clung to each other. Her heart was still racing. She stared at the smoldering pile of ashes on the floor. Whisps of grey smoke crept up from the pile. It looked just like a campfire that had been stamped out. Nayni gasped. She still couldn't believe what she had just seen. Coran pulled her closer. They were both drenched in sweat. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
They looked up at the Blue Lion. It had been Lurie. Her little Princess had saved them. Nayni let out a laugh. She clung to Coran and rocked back and forth. That monster was just a pile of dust. The most terrifying being that Nayni had ever encountered was gone. Allura had reduced him to ash within one single moment. Hot tears were rolling down her cheeks. They'd come so close to failure. She'd come so close to losing Coran. She gripped onto the fabric of his shirt and buried her face in his chest. They'd come so close to death but Nayni had kept her promise to Tomyko.