Welcome to Tuesday night!
Okay, I hope you guys like this chapter because it was hell to rewrite it. I even wrote the word hell so many times that I had to read it again to change stuff….Oh, well. At least it is almost done.
Animebookchic: I love to create mayham…just like the All State commercials...LOL! Ok, don't fall off of your seat, here it is!
KathDMD: EEP! Thought you might like it. Oh, just wait to you see what happens next. I've been giving a lot of thought to our last discussion before Australia….very interesting indeed!
Justlucky05: Yes, I am. I just love cliffhangers. LOL. The surprise is below. I hope you enjoy it. God knows, I had a hard time writing it.
Smithy: Did you like the movie? Not weird at all girl, I STILL have a crush on Michael Douglas. I've loved him since I was fourteen and watched The Streets of San Francisco. And you think you are weird! Hah!
Achangel Wolf: Well, in typical soap opera fashion…here it is…DA DA DA! Tune in now!
1868: Wouldn't you like that? Problem is, it is all in my head. At least the rewrites anyway. I think you are going to like this chapter, or not…I seriously don't know what to think anymore.
Feli3: It was emotional indeed. How are you doing girly? Almost there!
BKNBU: Okay, sientate, tomate un te de tilo y relajate…lo vas a necesitar. LOL!
Sorry, I'm late tonight guys. I've had to work late this week. See you soon!
Chapter 36
Four lions flew out of the castle, ready to fight the beasts that lay ahead of them.
The first beast was a huge lion with wings of an eagle. It stared at Green lion as if calculating when it would attack. The second beast was a massive bear snarling at his chosen prey, the Yellow lion. The third beast was a leopard with four wings and four heads. Long sharp fangs protruded from its mouth. It stared at Blue lion with malicious eyes. The fourth beast was a strange creature that resembled no particular animal. Its body looked like one from a rhinoceros, but its head looked like one of a prehistoric animal. It had thick hard iron teeth and ten horns on its head. It stared at Red Lion with glee.
"Coran was right," Pidge said nervously, "These robeasts are weird."
"It's like they know who they want to attack," Nate answered. "Do you guys feel it too?"
"Yeah," Hunk nodded. "Lance, if each of us has a robeast to fight, then..."
"Yeah, Keith's hasn't appeared yet," Lance sighed, frustrated.
"What do we do?" Nate asked, his tone of voice showing the nervousness he felt. This was his first battle. The first where he had to prove his strength, wit and value to the team. It was nerve racking, "Lance?"
"They haven't attacked," Lance replied, looking at each of the beast in front of him, who hadn't moved from their positions in the air after the lions left the castle. "We don't make a move until they do."
Lance barely finished the sentence when his beast began its attack.
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Allura found herself walking up under the plum tree. The day was bright, the sun shined as a light breeze roamed around her. "I'm still here," she said to herself as she sat up and looked around. She tried to find anyone who could help her decide what to do next. Suddenly, she heard a giggle.
Abruptly turning sideways, she tried to find where the voice came from. Suddenly, from behind the tree trunk, someone popped out, "You!" Allura gasped, "You…you died."
"Who said?" the little girl asked, "Why would you think that?"
Shocked, Allura answered, "But…I lost you. It hurt me so much. I'm sorry." Tears began to fall down her cheeks, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."
"It's not too late," the little girl walked up to Allura and sat next to her, "It's not too late."
"What do you mean?" Allura whispered.
The little girl caressed Allura's cheek, "It's not too late to save us, Mommy."
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The monstrous lion with the larger than life wings suddenly stood up upright, forcing Pidge to push his lion back abruptly, "Damn it!"
The lion roared as its wings spread out and released rays that blasted Green lion, making him tumble in the air. Pidge screamed as he tried to take control of his lion. It took a moment, but he finally regained control of Green.
Pidge looked around, trying to find his enemy. Nothing. His line of sight was clear. Suddenly, he felt a sharp hit from the back that pushed him forcibly toward the ground. During the fall, Pidge hit his head, everything went black.
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"How long until you arrive?" Lance roughly asked as he tried to divert the Red lion from the clasp of the robeast's teeth.
"Five minutes tops," Keith answered as he pushed Black lion to the full capacity within the planet's limits. The stress from not being able to push the lion more was making him crazy. He needed to get to his friends, yet it seemed impossible.
"I don't think we have that much time," Lance responded, "Keith, these things…they're different."
"How?"
"They're different from the others Haggar's conjured up in the past," Lance responded, "It's like she did research on them. This feels strange. Something is off. They look…"
"What do you…mean by that?" Keith asked now curious as to what his friend had seen, "Lance, what's…going on?"
"Pidge! Just get here now!" he said before disconnecting.
Hearing the anxious tone of his friend, Keith pushed his lion faster.
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Lance had managed to hold off his beast, at least for the moment. But, that didn't mean the monster hadn't done some damage to Red. Its iron teeth and nails had chewed and clawed parts of Red lion's body as Lance tried to get away. A few proton torpedoes held him back enough to give Lance the opportunity to contact Keith, but after watching Pidge free fall to the ground, Lance snapped.
"Pidge!" he shouted as he spoke to Keith, "Just get here now!"
The beast began a second attack on him.
"Damn bastard!" he yelled as the robeast took Red lion by its mid body and began tussling him around midair.
Lance had to think quickly. Using his lion tail, he lifted it up and shot enough rays to get loose. Finally letting him go, Red lion turned and began shooting enough proton missiles to put a dent in the creature.
It wasn't working.
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"Don't you just love what you are seeing?" Dorma asked her husband as they watched the battle from the vidscreen on the bridge.
An unconscious grin overtook his features, "Amazing, how did the witch pull this off?"
"Magic," Haggar answered with satisfaction, "They don't realize that I'm actually wasting each lion's power with every hit they take."
"Where's Black lion?" Lotor asked as he studied the screen intently, "Shouldn't he be enjoying the festivities?"
"You should tell him, Duchess," the witch mocked as the duchess looked at the witch, who smiled maliciously back at her.
Turning to the women, Lotor asked, "What should my wife tell me, Haggar?"
"My love, we have another surprise for you," Dorma replied, "But, we will have to wait until the esteemed prince makes his appearance."
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Pidge opened his eyes. Immediately, Green lion rose as the prehistoric robeast came his way.
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"Keith!"
Coran's voice boomed over the intercom. Keith was one, two minutes tops. Pressing one of the buttons to answer, he answered, "I'm here…Coran."
"Black lion's power source is working at half its capacity. Your best bet right now is to form Voltron as soon as you arrive."
Keith didn't answer him. Instead, he looked forward.
"Did you hear me?"
"I heard you," he answered, "I'm arriving…at the site…now."
Noting the tone and lack of continuity in his voice, Coran asked, "Keith? What's wrong?"
Ignoring him, the prince replied, "I'm here. Kogane, out."
The advisor tried to contact him several more times, but Keith wouldn't answer. Pulling up the life monitor screen for Black lion, concerned rose within the advisor's features. He called Gorma.
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Hunk didn't know what kind of bear his robeast resembled. At first, he thought it was a grizzly bear, and then a black bear. He completely lost interest when the demon-like creature began charging at him with fierce force.
The beast held a gigantic object shaped like a rib in its mouth. Without wasting any time, the creature propelled the rib like object that he used as a dagger at Yellow lion. Hunk tried to get out to the way, but the bear's weapon was just as alive as the robeast and actually moved wherever the lion moved.
It was a futile effort. He was constantly getting hit by the bear's weapon.
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Nate tried everything that he had learned in training at the academy and at lion practice. Nothing worked. The leopard got the best of him all the time. With each hit, each punch, each maneuver, Nate got clobbered. "How the hell?" he whispered to himself, trying to figure out his next move.
The monster tackled him midair, spiraling the Blue lion to a nearby mountain, where it hit the massive rocks.
Nate recovered quickly. He needed to get away before that thing attacked him on the ground. A counterattack in the air was safer and there were more possibilities for successes.
Blue lion shot up quickly.
The thing followed with equal quickness. The leopard's heads let out a scathing cry as they followed Blue from behind.
Nate tried to think of what do to next. He hadn't noticed that just a few kilometers away Black lion emerged.
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"Well, guess who joined the party," Hazar grinned as he walked closer to the viewing screen. Lotor watched as Black lion joined the group.
"Perhaps it's time to move to level two of our plan," Hazar said as he looked at his sister.
Smiling, she was about to answer when Lotor spoke up, "Let's see how he does first. You should never underestimate the Voltron commander."
"What are we going to watch him do?" Hazar asked, confused.
"I agree, my dear brother," Dorma concurred, "We should see how he works so we are better prepared when we send out his surprise."
As they continued watching, Dorma studied the scene in front of her and concentrated intently as she watched Black lion perform.
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Keith watched the battle with intense astonishment. He couldn't believe what was in front of him. His team was fighting…themselves. He shook his head with disbelief. Yellow lion was fighting Red. Blue was fighting Green. Then, they would switch and take over another opponent. But, while all that was happening, the lion's shape became distorted off and on again. He swore he saw Green lion turning into a lion robeast, Blue into a leopard with wings, Yellow, a bear and Red into some weird prehistory creature. Worse, he thought the monsters seemed…familiar. It was an indescribable sight.
"Stop!" he shouted as he connected to all lions, "Cease attacks right now!"
Lance shouted, "Keith, are you seeing these things?"
"That's exactly my...point," the commander replied, "Lance, stop it! You are...all fighting yourselves."
"What?" Hunk interjected. "What the do you mean? There's this robeast bear right in front of me!"
"That's Nate!"
"No," Hunk answered, "It can't be!"
"Hunk, believe what I'm...telling you," Keith tried to reason, "It has to be a spell…please…stop."
The four lions ceased attacks, listening to their commander's pleas. They watched the images of the robeasts slowly dissipate. Shocked, they faced each other.
"Damn witch," Lance whispered in shock.
"All this time…" Pidge stated to no one in particular, "We've been fighting each other? Why the would they do that?"
"They were waiting for...me," Keith replied, realizing what was happening, "It's time."
"It's time for what?" Nate asked, "Keith, what are you talking about?"
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Dorma smiled. "Yes," she whispered to herself. The plan executed flawlessly. "Perhaps it is time to begin Level 2 of the plan." She gently took her husband's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"Amazing what he can do just by being there. Well, let's see how he handles our pet. I think this is as good at time as any," Lotor answered. "Haggar, release the robeast!"
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"They were waiting for...me," Keith replied realizing what was happening, "It's time."
"It's time for what?" Nate asked, "Keith, what are you talking about?"
No sooner had he said those words when a scathing shrieking sound emerged from the coffin that ejected from the Drule ship. The monstrous coffin opened with a swift quickness that amazed even the lion pilots.
"Holy─" Pidge began.
"What's coming out of that thing?" Nate asked, awestruck.
They soon realized that the robeast was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. All the heads began spouting fire, sending a chorus of horrendous shrieking screams.
Keith looked at the horrendous creature with pure awe.
Flying midair, the beastly Drulian creation stared at the five lions waiting for them to react. When they didn't, it waited. It just waited. None of the members knew what the thing was thinking, what it would do next.
"What is it planning on doing?" Hunk asked as he pulled back into position, "It's like it's waiting for something."
"Whatever it is, we have to keep alert," Pidge responded. "It could be waiting on orders from Lotor and company."
"Have you ever seen a creature like this before?" Nate asked, astounded by what he saw in front of him.
"Can't say that I have," Lance answered, "But it does look familiar. Keith, what do you think?"
Keith didn't answer. He kept looking at the beast, staring at it in awe. His mind ran past memories, his aunt reading the bible, the stories, the dragon, the end.
"Keith?"
Keith kept staring. His breathing came out in gasps. He couldn't control it. Shaking his head, he knew it wasn't possible. The dragon. But it was a tale, a story, a fable, it couldn't possibly be true…but there it was…
"Keith?"
The passage. He remembered the passage. Just like his aunt read it to him. Every word came to mind as he watched the gruesome beast that looked back at him, "Another sign."
"What?" Lance asked, confused.
Keith answered, not really answering his friend, but just reciting the verse, "Another sign… was seen from heaven. Look. A great fiery… colored dragon with seven heads… and ten horns and on its head… seven diadems and its tail drags… a third of the stars of heaven… and it dragged them down the Earth."
"Keith, what are you saying, man?" Nate interjected, now even more confused.
"Revelation, chapter 12…the Bible," Keith answered. "The dragon...the end of all things."
"What?" Hunk asked.
"Keith, what are you talking about man?" Lance continued the interrogation, getting slightly annoyed at the ambiguous answers his friend was giving him.
"My aunt…she read me the Bible," Keith replied. "It…It's the dragon from Revelation."
"Oh my god!" Lance whispered harshly. Pulling up visuals, he ordered his friend, "Keith, don't let this thing brake your concentration! It is not the dragon, it's a regular robeast. We need to destroy it just like we've done before."
"What is this about?" Pidge suddenly asked. Looking at the life monitor, he watched Keith's heart rate skyrocket. "Keith, you need to calm down! It's just a robeast."
"No…" the commander answered, "It's not. It's a sign. It's my end. I waited…I waited for the sign…and it's here."
Shutting down communication with Black lion, Lance contacted the rest of the group, "Listen to me very carefully. Remember our psych evals we took a few months ago? Dr. Rabionet asked us to talk about our greatest fears…this was Keith's. His aunt told him this bible story continuously as a kid. These bastards must have found out and created this creature for him."
"How would they know what that was?" Hunk asked.
And that's when Nate knew. He closed his eyes. He remembered telling Jill, while in his trance, that he had stolen Keith's and Allura's medical record and given it to the Drule woman. Now they were using Keith's history against him, "I fed that to them. I stole the medical records and that's how they found out. Damn it!"
"No time for the guilty conscious, my friend," Lance immediately told Nate. "We need to take this fear away from him. He's not in his right mind as it is."
"So what do we do?" Pidge asked.
"The only thing we can do," Lance replied, "Keep him from doing something stupid."
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"Save him?" Allura asked the girl in front of her, "Save who?"
"Daddy!" the girl whined, "You have to save him. It's the only way to save me."
Sensing the child's desperation, Allura held her fiercely, "How, how do I do I save him? Tell me what to do?"
Looking up at the plum tree, the child said, "This is the Tree of Life. It allows us to live beyond Arus' boundaries."
Allura didn't understand what the child was saying. Every word was so cryptic, so full of meaning, she didn't yet understand. But, she listened to every word, every single word. Maybe something along the message would spark understanding. The child continued, "It allows us to see what we cannot and heal what we can't. It shows us the future and the past, what can be and what cannot."
"I…I don't get what you are saying."
"You need to. Find your way Mommy, your heart will lead you to the answer," the little girl sadly smiled. Allura could sense the worry and concern. It was as if the child didn't know what the outcome would be.
Trying to reassure her, Allura looked at her straight in the eyes, "Do not be worried. I will find the way. You, Daddy and I will live. I promise you that!"
The child gave her a luminous smile and held her tightly, "I love you, Mommy."
"I love you too."
Suddenly, the sky turned gray and thundered roared around them. Both looked up. The child's eyes widened with despair and fear, "It's time to go."
"What's going on?"
"Save him!" the girl cried out.
"God! It's happening now," Allura exclaimed.
"Mommy!" the child shouted. "Save Daddy now!"
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The robeast's seven heads launched fire from their mouths, yet it didn't move. It wanted to attract attention. It wanted to give out a warning. Suddenly, its belly began to grow and glow at the same time. The beast howled as if it were in pain. Bigger and bigger the belly grew. Bigger and larger it swelled.
"What in the world─" Nate began to speak when suddenly the beast's abdomen exploded and out came four horsemen. One had a red horse, another was black, a third was white as death and the fourth was as pale and translucent that it looked like a ghost. Their riders looked like corpses with red glowing eyes. They galloped midair toward the lions.
"Combat spread, now!" Keith yelled as the horsemen divided among the four lions that separated horizontally and vertically about 1500 feet apart.
"What do we do about the dragon robeast?" Lance asked Keith as he followed orders.
"Leave it to me," Keith replied, "I have a feeling…the horsemen will be destroyed…if I take on the dragon."
"What are you talking about?" Lance asked.
"It's what's supposed to happen," Keith replied, staring at the belly that was beginning to close. If he could get in it, he could blow it from the inside and everything would end.
"Keith?"
"I know what I'm doing," Keith answered, accelerating the Black lion toward the belly of the red fiery dragon.
Lance and the rest of the group were being attacked by the horsemen, making them unable to break away to help their captain.
Glancing briefly toward Black lion, Lance's eyes widened when he saw where it was headed, "Keith! Don't you do this! Don't you do this!"
From his lion, Keith heard his friend's pleas, but he ignored them. This was the sign he was looking for, this was what needed to be done to make peace with his mistakes, with his guilty soul, with the woman he loved.
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With a loud gasp, Allura awoke. Her eyes flew around the room as if looking for someone.
"My child!" Nanny stood up from the chair she was sitting on and ran to her adopted daughter, "You're finally awake. How do you feel?"
"Where's Keith?" she asked, ignoring the governess questions.
"Allura─"
"Where is Keith?" the queen asked forcibly, "Nanny, tell me!"
"We are being attacked as we speak," she answered, "He's fighting─"
Realizing immediately what was going to happen, Allura began to rise up, when a wave of pain hit her.
"Allura, you can't ─"
"Help me Nanny," she pleaded, "I need to get to Control now!"