Hi Dragunz! Here's The Ruins! Hope you continue to like this!
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Sakura sat alone outside of the Garrison, looking up at the blue sky. "Kolivan. Krolia, I hope you're ok." She wished.
XxXxXx
Flashback
"Come on, it's time to wake up." Keith's voice filled the com links through everyone's Lions. Sakura groaned as she stuck her head under her pillow.
"What's the point?" Lance states. "We're just floating in space. There's no day or night out here."
"I must agree with Lance." Allura agreed. "We should sleep for fifteen more doboshes."
Sakura lifted her head from under her pillow. "Here's another fun fact about road trips. Sleeping makes the trip go by much faster!" She then stuffed her head under her pillow.
"Guys, we can't let this long journey make us soft or dull our skills." Keith interjected. "Routine will keep us sharp."
"Keith's right." Shiro said, making Sakura lift her head slightly to find her brother already in his Paladin uniform. "Routine is what got me through being Zarkon's prisoner and being in the infinite void of Black Lion."
"I guess that does makes you an expert at killing time." Lance states as Sakura yawned tiredly.
"Ok everyone, to your stations." Keith ordered. "Running battle simulations now."
Sakura sat up so fast that her pillow went flying at smacked Shiro in his only arm. "Keith! You wake us up and before we can even get our brains to register at being awake, you want us to get ready?" She folds her arms as she sits Indian style on her cot. "Seriously!?"
There was a heavy sigh, followed by a grumble through the intercom. "Fine."
Sakura pounced off her make shift bed, then pushed Shiro towards the cockpit, when the doors opened she shoved him inside the cockpit and the doors closed as he stumbled.
Sakura then hurried over to a travel bag, opening it she reached for the things you need for a shower, then paused. "Hey Pidge, do you need some." She paused. "Uh, girl bathroom supplies?"
"I'm ok for right now." Pidge answered. "Thanks Sakura."
"Your welcome." Sakura then grabbed some bottles of water, then quickly tried to wash her hair, once finished she went about the rest of the morning bathroom routine. Then she got dressed into Paladin uniform. "Done!" She announced, before running towards the cockpit.
XxXxXx
"Hey Keith. I believe Sakura just broke her own personal record." Shiro comments with a big smile. "Ow!" He cried when his sister thumbed him in his only arm.
"Never thought that would happen." Keith said, making Sakura believe he was smiling.
"I programmed a new battle simulation." Krolia informed as all the panels inside each of the Lions flickered to reveal a valcano planet. "I think it's going to be especially challenging."
"Why do you sound happy about that?" Hunk asked.
"Like mother, like son." Lance muttered, and Sakura laughed.
"Focus!" Keith growled.
"Here's the scenario." Krolia began. "You're on a planet with double gravity, dense volcanic fog, and eight blovar raptors are attacking. What do you do?"
The scenery changed, and the Lions were on a volcano like planet with eight winged beasts.
"This is a good one." Keith comments.
"Do these raptors have eggs?" Hunk asked. "I say we steal some and we make a little breakfast." He suddenly screams and his becken disappears from the radar.
"A blovar raptor just melted your face off, Hunk!" Krolia calls out. "Now it's eight on five."
"I'm with Hunk." Sakura said, not paying attention either. "I want breakfast. Eggs and sausage, scrambled eggs with biscuits and gravy, pancakes and all the above. And frensh toast!" She exclaimed, getting really hungry.
"Stop it, stop it!" Hunk cried as he had imanaged all the food.
Sakura screamed when White Lion jerked a little, and her becken disappeared off radar.
"Everyone split up to thin their numbers!" Keith ordered. "If there was just some way we could ... what?!" Black Lion's becken disappeared.
"Keith, you're out." Krolia said, dsappointed.
The team continued to work on the simulation, till it disappeared.
"Wait. What happened?" Pidge asked.
"You focused too much on the raptors and forgot about the volcano." Krolia explained.
"That fictional planet seems harsh." Lance said.
"I programmed the simulator to be unbeatable." Krolia answered. "I wanted to see how long you'd survive."
"Well, I hope you're happy." Lance sighed.
XxXxXx
"Food incoming!" Hunk's voice called out through the linkcoms. "We, what a good wolf ... fella ... guy." He trailed off. "Gosh, we really gotta come up with a name for this wolf."
"Not gonna happen." Keith rejected the idea.
"Oh come on!" Hunk pushed. "I vote Cosmo."
"I like Cosmo." Allura said.
"Cosmo is cool." Lance added.
"Yeah, it's nice." Pidge agreed.
The wolf then appeared inside White Lion's cockpit, he turned to the side for Sakura to take the two breakfast meals, she scratched his ears with a smile and he disappeared to the next Lion.
"We're not calling him Cosmo." Keith continued to protest.
"Oh, come on, Keith, we gotta call him something." Hunk whined.
"I figure when he's ready, he'll tell me his name." Keith responded.
"So, Cosmo." Lance said. "Got it."
Keith sighed, giving up the fight.
Sakura dug into her food with delight and hunger, she had been hungry for hours and according to Shiro she was starting to act like a new mamma bear.
"Oh! ! Hunk, this is delicious!" Lance exclaimed after taking a bite.
"Yes, thank you Lance." Hunk answered proudly. "I made it by collecting fungus paste from the dung of the beetles on that last planet we stopped at to pick up supplies."
Lance spit out his food. "Hunk, please! I don't wanna know what it is. I just wanna eat it and pretend that it's my meemaw's home cooking."
A beep sound came over Pidge's open channel. "A signal!"
"How did you get a signal?" Allura rapidly asked.
"I've been running a passive scan, so I wouldn't give our location away, looking for any signs of communications." Pidge answered. "And I just picked up something!"
"Well, what is it?" Keith asked.
"I'm patching it through now."
A small screen appeared on Sakura's console, static was making it hard to listen to, till Pidge managed to stablize the signal. But instead of a signal, it show an alien sitcom, as the audience laughed in the background, Coran's loud laughter is also heard.
"What is this?" Sakura asked.
"That bii-boh-bi sold the other's flizblaznator!" Coran continued to laugh. "These bii-boh-bis get comedy."
"The Golden Girls know comedy way more then this." Sakura huffed, then brightened. "Hey Pidge, do you think you can find a signal for The Golden Girls?"
"Wait, wh shh, shh, shh, shh." Hunk quickly said. "What's that noise?"
The laughter from the alien show continued, but in the background, there was an electronic screeching sound.
"What is that noise?" Sakura asked with a frown.
"I'll try to tune it out." Pidge comments. "It sounds like some interference."
"No, wait." Krolia said. "Pidge, can you amplify that signal?"
"On it."
The alien show disappeared and was replaced by signal waves, Pidge continued to work her magic as the signal started to become more clear. "
"Oh, I wanted to know what was going to happen." Coran wailed.
"Judging from the intermittent sound structure, it's just deep space interference." Pidge informed. "Most likely a radiation pulse from a nearby star."
"No, that's just what it's supposed to sound like." Krolia comments.
"Krolia, you know what it is?" Sakura asked.
"Listen to the sounds in-between the pulses." Krolia instructed. "There's a unique pattern."
Team Voltron closed their eyes, listening to the electronic screeching then chirping.
"She's right." Allura voiced.
"Before the Blades were unified, we would use this crude way of communicating with each other." Krolia began. "Not many Blades know this code. It must be a senior member."
"Kolivan?" Keith questioned.
"Possibly."
"What does it say?" Shiro asked, leaning forward to take a better look at the screen.
"It's a distress signal." Krolia answered. "Whoever is sending it is in trouble."
The radar began to traingulate the singal's posion until it marked on the map.
"It looks like it's coming from this sector." Pidge said.
"Do we know anything about that section of space?" Shiro questioned.
"Not without the Castle of Lions' research library core." Coran answered. "We would be flying in blind."
"We must go!" Krolia insisted.
"That's a pretty severe detour from Earth." Hunk comments.
"Hunk, we gotta go!" Sakura told him. "We are all desprate and very home sick. But it's Kolivan, he's one of us!"
"If Kolivan is there, then maybe there will be more Blades." Keith added. "We need all the help we can get to reach Earth. Everyone follow me." He trajectory Black Lion towards the signal on the map.
XxXxXx
"The signal is coming from this planet." Pidge informed as the Lions made their way to a planet. "I'm detecting remnants of a civilization, but I don't see any signs of life." The planet looked like a long chunk of rock with the top stuck out with a flat surface.
"Is that a good or a bad sign?" Romelle asked as she stood next to Hunk.
"In all my space experience, there have never been any good signs." He answered.
"Why would Kolivan come to this rocky place?" Sakura questioned as all the Lions landed on a cliffside overlooking a destroyed city. Everyone walked out of the Lions and gathered in a group.
"What happened here?" Romelle asked as she stood close to Hunk, she grabbed and hugged his arm when a cold breeze brushed the team.
"The same thing that happened to the Blades." Keith answered as the team wandered through the destroyed city. Pidge was scanning for any signs for life, the monitor beeped constantly but nothing was happening.
"This place looks even more haunted now then it did above." Sakura comments as they continued to walk through the destroyed city.
"I still can't tell exactly where the signal originates." Pidge said while typing on her monitor. "I'll keep trying to triangulate its location."
"The signs are all around us." Krolia states. "There was a massacre here."
"Some of this damage looks like it's from magic." Allura pointed out as she analyzed a blast on a wall, Sakura standing next to her.
"You're thinking Haggar?" Sakura asked.
"Everyone stay alert." Shiro ordered, causing Romelle to hug Hunk's arm tighter.
Cosmo turned his head and gave a low growl, the team turned to look but nothing was there. Team Voltron continued to walk until Krolia stopped to analyze a gash on a small wall.
"These strike patterns look Marmoran."
"Keep looking." Keith said. "We need to find whatever Blade is broadcasting that signal. "We need to find whatever Blade is broadcasting that signal."
Cosmo turned and suddenly started growling, this time bearing his teeth.
"What is it?" Keith asked him, the wolf took off running up a fallen building and jumped, hearing a scuffle on the other side the team quickly followed. Cosmo had somebody under his front paws and growled menacing at the face. The Bayards zinged as they were summoned, Keith and Hunk pointed their weapons at the person on the ground.
"Good job." Keith praised his wolf. "Who are you? Who's broadcasting the signal?"
"It was me?" A man's voice answered, the voice sounding hollow under the mask.
"Impossible. You're no Blade of Marmora." Keith said.
"I will explain all if you would put down your weapons." The man wheezed out under Cosmo's pressure. "And please, call off your pet."
"Let's see what he has to say." Krolia said, eyeing her son.
Keith hesitated for a long moment, before retracting his sword and gave a short whistle to Cosmo, the wolf followed the instruction and came to his master's side. The man stood up brushing himself off.
"Who are you?" Sakura wanted to know.
"My name is Macidus." The man answered. "I have a camp not that far from here. I will explain what has transpired here."
XxXxXx
Various boxes and planks littered the floor around a camp fire. Macidus threw some wood into the fire, feeding the flames, while water dripped from pipes.
"This place is disgusting." Romelle imprudently voiced.
"And it smells like sweat socks." Sakura quickly added.
"I have called this place home for the past two deca-phoebs." Macidus replied.
"Oh, well, 'disgusting' is Altean for 'lovely.'" Romelle sheepishly said. "You don't speak Altean, do you?" She then slid closer to Hunk, while Sakura glared at Macidus as she folded her arms.
"You haven't heard of air fresheners?" She states.
Pidge's computer started beeping. "This is where the signal was coming from." She informs. "Somewhere below us."
"You are clever." Macidus said. "But I wouldn't expect less from the Paladins of Voltron."
"You recognized us?" Lance asked as he lowered his bayard.
Macidus chuckled. "Of course, of course. Though, I am surprised to see you. All were certain you perished."
"Yeah, we just found that out." Lance said. "But we're back."
"And I am so grateful that you are. It's been so long since I've had ... guests."
"I can see why." Sakura said to Krolia in a low voice. "This place is disguesting." She then saw the wall that was covered with a tarp, and walked over to it.
"Well, thank you for your hospitality. What happened here?" Shiro asked as Krolia turned to see Sakura disappearing behind the tarp that was covering a wall, she followed.
Krolia walked up to stand behind the younger woman.
Macidus' voice came next. "Bloodshed happened here. Death happened here. This is my home planet. But now I am the only one left alive here."
Sakura walked over to a blade and grabbed it, it took three tugs and she stumbled backwards when the blade came out of the wall, Krolia still stood behind her and steadied her.
Then the Galra pulled out her gun and turned, aiming it at Macidus. "What are you doing with these?" She demanded, and Sakura used her free hand to grab the tarp and yank it off the wall, the other Paladins eyes widened with shock.
"What happened to them!?" Sakura demanded as she cluched the blade that she's still holding.
"I hang them in honor of their sacrifice." Macidus answered simply. "They died trying to protect the universe."
"How did it happen?" Krolia demanded, her gun still aimed at the man.
Macidus turned to face the fire. "This all started when Voltron disappeared ... when - when you disappeared. The power vacuum that ensued destabilized much of the universe. Galra turned on each other. Warlords and pirates became the rulers of the land."
"What happened with Haggar, the witch?" Allura questened.
"No one knows. But her Druids continued her work, carrying out her final orders. They set out to destroy every Blade."
"After Lotor took over the throne, almost every Marmoran agent was exposed." Pidge realized.
"And that's when the slaughter began. All Blades were called away from their assignments and sent to this base."
Krolia lowers her gun with it powering down as Macidus continued.
"Kolivan knew they were being hunted and he wanted to make a stand against them. He believed it was their only means of survival."
"That must be why they abandoned that base we found." Romelle voiced.
"Indeed. When they arrived here, my people helped them fortify their base, but the Druids found us sooner than we hoped. They arrived without warning. The Druids encircled the base and besieged it with magic. After a long battle of attrition, the base fell. Casualties on both sides were enormous. My people were the first to try to escape. They were slaughtered. I stayed behind with Kolivan. He led those of us that remained to battle the last of the Druids. But for each one we managed to take down nearly a hundred Blades would fall. In the final battle, I was buried beneath a collapsed structure. When I regained consciousness, the fight was over and I was the lone survivor. I've been sending the signal Kolivan gave me ever since in the hopes of finding any remaining Blades."
"There are still a few of us alive." Keith spoke up.
"Good."
"I recognize every one of these Blades." Krolia said as she turned to look at the wall that the tarp had covered up. "I trained many of them myself. If I had only been here." She looked at the blade that Sakura was still clutching. "Kolivan."
"Their service will not be forgotten." Keith said as he approached his mother.
Suddenly the blade pulsed and hissed as a small light flickered, a startled Sakura almost dropped it, but she kept hold of the blade.
"Kolivan?" Krolia appearched Sakura. "The blade, it's flickering."
"Flickering? What does that mean?" Pidge asked.
"A Marmoran agent's life force is connected to their blade." Krolia answered, she turned to look at her son. "So does yours." She turned to look at Kolivan's blade. "I just saw it glow, he must stll be alive."
"And I felt a pulse." Sakura added, looking at Kolivan's blade. "He has to be here somewhere. He has to be still alive!" Her fists clutched the blade.
"Just barely."
Team Voltron gasped and spun around to face Macidus.
"Where's Kolivan!?" Sakura demanded. "What did you do to him!?" She readied Kolivan's blade. "Where's our friend you monster!?" She demanded.
Macidus ignored her, and looked at Keith. "Your hand is looking much better."
Keith looked at him confused. "My hand?"
"You don't remember our fight?"
"You've been using that signal to draw Blades in!" Keith realized and the bayards zing as they appeared in the Paladins' hands, and Cosmo growls and bearing his teeth.
Macidus laughed menacingly. "Kolivan proved to be useful after all." He vanished from sight and a small glowing device fell from where he stood. It hit the ground, breaking in two.
"No!" Krolia yelled, Cosmo was able to get to Keith just in time, but the rest of the team ended in slow motion. Allura had her arm out stretched and her hand began to glow as she took in the energy around them. The dome around the team shrank in a bright light and lifted up dust into the air. A few minutes went by as the force kept them in place, fell away and Allura tumbled to the ground exhausted. Lance hurried over to her, knelting down next to her.
"Allura, are you ok?" Pidge asked with worry.
Allura groaned as Lance gently held her. "Pidge, lock on to Keith's location!"
The youngest quickly tapped at her computer frantically. "He's directly below us!"
"That gotta be where Kolivan is!" Sakura cried.
Allura pulls away from Lance. "Stand back!" She warns him. "Shiro."
"I can't fight with one arm." He quickly said. "Romelle, Coran, Krolia. Stay here with me just in case that guy comes up here."
Allura created a hole in the ground, and the team jumped down with their weapons at the ready.
Macidus panted and gasped when he saw the rest of the team. "How?" Behind him is Kolivan chained to the ceiling, not looking good.
"Sakura! Can you get to Kolivan?" Keith asked, leaning on Cosmo for support.
"I need an opening!" Sakura informed.
"How about this?" Pidge shot her bayard and it wrapped tight around Macidus' wrist and when she yanked the villian went down.
"That'll do!" Sakura smiled. "Thanks Pidge." She ran foward, as Macidus started to risse.
"You brat." He growled, Sakura jumped on a crate, jumped off and thunder kicked Macidus back to the ground, then made her way to Kolivan.
XxXxXxXx
"Kolivan!" Sakura cried as she reached where he was. "Ohhh." She quickly looked around. "How do I get him down?" She asked herself, then saw a few crates that were stacked together like a ladder. "Kolivan, don't worry!" She ran for the crates and quickly started to climb.
Kolivan slowly opened his eyes, and lifted his head. "Sakura?" He whispered. "You're alive?"
She smiled. "In the flesh!" She pulled out his blade. "I got you." With her left hand she reached out and grabbed his arm, as she cut the ropes one by one. Once he was free, he fell and collapsed into her arms, almost knocking her off the crates. "We need to get you out of here." She told him and carefully as to not hurt him more, helped him down.
On the floor, Sakura gently took his arm and wrapped it behind her neck as she wrapped her arm around him to help him stay on his feet.
The path to the hole that Allura made, is currently open. "Your safe now Kolivan." Sakura said, before walking him towards the hole. Once they got under the hole, she looked up. "Krolia! I have Kolivan! I need help getting him up!" She called.
XxXxXx
It took both Krolia, and Coran to help Sakura bring Kolivan out. Once Kolivan was out, both Krolia and Coran gently guided Kolivan to a corner to prop him up. Sakura collapsed to the ground.
"Sis." Shiro knelt down next to her.
"I'm fine." Sakura breathed. "That man is heavy." She slowly pushed herself up onto her knees, staying like that for a moment, then stood up and walked over to Kolivan.
"I can heal him." Sakura told Krolia as she knelt down. "White Lion gave me some abilities." She knelt down. "With your permission of course." She added, looking at him.
"I would like that." He wheezed out with a slow nod.
Sakura took a deep breath, before she gently took his arm, under her hands is a soft glow before and after a long moment Kolivan gasped as his eyes widened.
Sakura quickly removed her hands. "I'm sorry!" She cried with panic.
"No, don't be." Kolivan smiled kindly at her. "I felt healed." He paused to let out a groan. "Almost."
"Perhaps we should let him heal on his own." Krolia told Sakura gently, who nodded.
"Right." No sonner had she said that, the Paladins returned to top side.
XxXxXxx
Keith, and Pidge are knelt down next to Kolivan, Pidge is inspecting Kolivan's wounds through her computer.
"He's in pretty bad shape, but it looks like he's gonna be okay." Pidge diagnosed and her wrist computer disappeared when she lowered her arm.
"I ... I'm sorry my code lured you here." Kolivan struggled to speak.
"There was nothing you could do." Keith told him gently. "The coordinates I gave you, the Altean colony, were you able to find it?"
Kolivan grunts. "I sent a team. There was nothing there. Just an empty facility. They were all gone."
It was silent for a long moment, before Krolia broke the silence.
"Judging from the Blades that Macidus collected, he may have delivered a critical blow to the Marmora, but he did not defeat us entirely."
Kolivan sighed. "I must find the others. The universe needs us now more than ever."
"I will join you." Krolia decided. "We will revive the Blade of Marmora together. We'll just need to find a ship."
"The Druid has a cruiser stored not far from here." Kolivan informed. "We can use it to reunite the Blades."
Shiro then escorted the remaining Paladins out of the camp so Keith could talk with his mother.
XxXxXxXx
Sakura waited for Keith as she stood in front of Black Lion, when he returned he was alone. "Are you ok?" She asked with concern as he came up to her.
"Yeah." He gave a slight nod. "I will. She found her way to Earth once, she can do it again."
Sakura smiled, she hugged him. "We'll be waiting."
Keith hugged her tightly. "Yeah."
XxXxXxx
End of flashback
Sakura sighed as she rested the back of her head on the building.
"What's my beautiful flower doing out here?" Keith asked as he came up to her, sat down and kissed her cheek. "Hey." He frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking about the Blades." She replies.
"Oh." He nods, turning to look up at the blue sky.
XxXxXx
As always I hope you like it!