Yay!
Another Canon story! This will be a combination of two chapters, because I am lazy lol
Mathias looked down at the datapad in his hands as he sat in his open cockpit, casually leaning back on his seat. It's been a while since he had been to Kraydah's moon, it was a nice break from the constant fighting. He, along with Pidge and Matt, had been assisting in the repairs of several rebel ships. It was also a nice break from his own personal research into the Galra. They know about Overtechnology. They know about the Dimensional Weapons. What else did they know?
He had poured into the Galra database wherever he went, but each base had no information. It wouldn't be as concerning if he didn't know what was on the line.
He sighed as he tossed the pad down on a console and threw his arms behind his head. Mathias had a sudden thought. He knew that a fleet of ships had pierced the barrier and somehow made it here, but which fleet was it? Was it his own? A fleet from the future or maybe the past? So many questions and none of them had answers. He growled at that thought.
Mathias stood up to stretch slightly and looked back to his fighter. He never realized how barren it looked without a majority of the armored platings covering his back. He was however, anxious to prove the new engines and reinforced structural integrity of the Olkarians. He didn't doubt their abilities, far from it, he was just concerned about how compatible it was to his technology. He heard a noise coming from one of the Rebel ships. He looked back to see Pidge and Matt running to him, along with Rolo, Nyma, and a droid he couldn't remember the name of. That hurt him deep down that he couldn't remember the name of that little guy. Pidge stopped close by the giant mecha fighter and looked up at him.
"Mathias, let's go!" She seems anxious about something.
Mathias cocked his head slightly, "umm, okay? To where..? Is something wrong? You seem tense."
Matt placed a hand on her shoulder, "it's our father. We may have information on where he's being held." Mathias' eyes widened in shock, then eagerly nodded before sitting back in the cockpit and closing the hatch. So much for that break of his. The VF-31 and the Green Lion launched through the sky and into cold space.
"Say, how far are we from our destination. Well… where is the destination for that matter?" Mathias asked through the comms.
"We're going to a Galra prison where high value prisoners and scientists are said to be held. I only pray that he's there…" Pidge muttered to herself towards the end of her sentence, looking down slightly.
"Katie… we'll find him. You'll find him. I promise," Mathias spoke softly. He could see her smile, but only slightly.
"Yeah… yeah. We will!" She gave a thumbs up, which Mathias smirked and returned.
Time Skip to when the group arrives
Theme: The Dead Sea by Ace Combat 6 plays
The team arrived at a small astral body floating with several clouds around it, but the main eye catcher was the large Galran structure that can be seen from a distance. Small chunks of rocks floated some distance away from it, they were smaller than the body of the astral chunk, but large enough for Mahtias to go to GERWALK mode and hide behind while he watched the Green Lion cloak and penetrate the atmosphere of the planet. He decided to scan the surface of the planet, and found it to be breathable. He was happy on that front, but that's when he noticed something surrounding the planet, like a barrier or something.
All of a sudden, the Green Lion became visible inside the barrier. Mathias panicked slightly, and pushed the throttle forward, immediately turning the VF-31 back into fighter mode and penetrated the barrier.
"Our cloak has been disabled!" Pidge screamed as Galran fighters began to emerge in front of the Green Lion. Mathias moved his fighter suddenly in front of the Lion and fired a barrage of missiles, destroying a squadron of fighters and clearing a way for the Green Lion to move in towards the base. Mathias broke away and was chased by nine fighters while the Green Lion made a pass over the base and dropped Matt, Rolo, Nyma and the robot down.
Mathias watched as they slowly disappeared from view before returning to gun down the fighters on his tail. He flew up to Pidge, who had five fighters on her tail. Mathias gunned them down as well, freeing the Green Lion of its troubles temporarily.
"Thanks!" Pidge shouted before taking down another squadron. Mathias turned his fighter to GERWALK mode to continue his defence.
"Ground team... has landed!" Matt shouted, seemingly shakened up. Mathias noted his breathing seemed more uncontrolled than usual. Something must've traumatized him in the past few seconds.
"Copy! Call us if you need any assistance! We'll be there when you ne-" Mathias grunted in surprise and slight pain as a Galran fighter snuck up behind and shot one of the MMD Boosters off of the body of the fighter. The Booster exploded in a ball of fire, destabilizing the fighter downward. There was a collective comms spike of others saying his name, but his vision was slightly dazed. He pulled up on the throttle and right as he did so, the second booster exploded from another shot by a Galran fighter. He struggled to keep the fighter stable as the ground grew closer and closer. In a flash of a potential idea, the fighter turned into Battroid mode and when it hit the ground, extended its legs to slide across the ground. The slide considerably slowed the momentum of the fighter, but it was still enough for Mathias to launch forward and hit the console in front of him, creating a small gash on his cheek. He groaned as he quickly recovered from the ground and his mech raised a rifle.
"GAME ON!" He shouted as he launched back up into the sky and fired at the incoming drones.
Theme ends
He didn't remember much as he ended his reign of hellfire. His arms were shaking heavily, his fingers were stinging for how long he gripped the controls, his head was aching and his breathing was harsh as the last fighter crashed 40 meters in front of him. Quickly looking back, he reached back and pulled out a small pouch, pulling out a small pad and placing it on his cut open cheek. It hummed a soft green before fading away, revealing a healed wound and the dirt removed. He sighed as he pressed down on the pedals below him and launched into the sky. When he broke orbit, he saw the Green Lion flying out of the barrier system with him following her.. It was then he realized that he wasn't even paying attention to the comms. His mind shifted back to the comms, at which a voice blared into his eardrum, probably killing several cells in his ears from the intensity of his voice alone.
"Aigaion 1, do you read!?" Matt was shouting in the comms.
"I'm here… I'm a little worn out, but I'm alive," Mathias sighed.
"Stop scaring me like that!" Pidge shouted at him. He could see the fury in her eyes through her visor. It was strangely… adorable. He nearly turned into a tomato when he realized when he thought about it.
"No promises!" Mathias joked, earning him a serious glare from the Green Paladin. "Anyway, did you find him?"
Pidge looked away slightly, "no… we didn't."
"Pidge, I'm so sorry…" Mathias softly spoke through the comms.
"It's okay… let's get back to the Castle…" She said, then her head spiked up suddenly, "are you going to be able to make it? Your boosters were destroyed."
"Should, if we go at a reasonable speed," Mathias replied, "the boosters were only added to give an extra edge in space combat and to aid in high velocity maneuvers, they aren't a necessity." She nodded as the two flyed in formation, returning to the Castle of Lions.
The trip back to the Castle of Lions was a longer one than others, both figuratively and literally. Because of the loss of the MMD Boosters, Mathias' speed was drastically reduced in space, meaning the Green Lion had to drastically reduce speed to keep with the Variable Fighter.
Pidge was down constantly, despite everyone trying to cheer her up. Everyone gave up and left her alone as she piloted the Lion.
Matt stood next to Pidge the entire ride home, while Rolo, Myra and Beezer remained in the cargo hold, talking amongst themselves.
Upon arriving at the Castle of Lions, Mathias landed his fighter inside the Castle hangar after notifying Shiro he needed to examine the recent battle damage. Once his fighter rolled onto the hangar bay's deck and stopped, he deactivated his fighter and propped the cockpit hatch up as he stretched again. He took a moment to breath in the air around him before jumping out from the cockpit and onto the back of his fighter. He walked along the body of the fighter until he stopped near the engines of the fighter. He looked at the wings of the fighter, where the boosters once stood proud. He frowned, no he really was in some hot water here. His fighter had already suffered serious damage already, anymore, and he may be reduced to ground missions.
He walked over to a singed spot on the wing and crouched on it, examining the scar it left. There were several shrapnel marks from when it exploded, but otherwise the wing was intact, and the same story could be said about the other. He jumped down from the wing, landing with a very hard thud. He grunted as the weight of his body reached the ground. He looked back to the main propulsion, and eyes gaped in horror as he saw sparks fly from one of the legs of the fighter. He rushed over and pulled the panel out, pulling out several wires before everything sparked out around him. The sparks then suddenly ceased, leaving him growling in anger as he tore into the wires. He was just about to start repairs when the door to the medbay opened behind him. He looked back to see Shiro looking at him, a look of concern plastered on his face.
"Hey, Shiro, now's not a good time. My fighter just broke down, and until I can repair it, I'm out of commission," Mathias said as he returned his gaze to the fighter, he grumbled as he knocked something over inside the leg.
"I'm here to tell you of a development," Shiro said. Mathias suddenly felt the Castle jump, indicating they were going into a wormhole. Mathias stopped what he was doing and looked at the man. Shiro took a deep breath in and continued, "Zarkon has made a deal with us. Give Lotor and in exchange, we get Sam."
"And… are we accepting the deal..?" Mathias asked, tilting his head slightly.
"We… are," he spoke softly, almost reluctantly.
"And how's Katie..? Did she take it well?" Mathias asked.
"Not well… that's actually why I came to find you. I know you won't be able to change her mind about it, and seeing how we're already underway. I was hoping you might be able to calm her down," Shiro said blatantly.
Mathias looked at him in confusion, "what about Matt? Isn't he calming her down?"
Shiro shrugged slightly, "he is, to an extent. He supports Pidge, but he isn't really calming her down."
"I mean, can you really blame them, this is their one possible chance to get their father back… but doesn't this feel like a set up?" Mathias questioned, putting a hand under his chin.
"It does… but we're going with it anyway. We've got a plan just in case. Talk to her when you can, but please do so before we arrive," Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder. Mathias nodded, and resealed the panel on the fighter.
"Alright, I'll go talk to her… and I know this isn't related, but I can't help you on this mission. Not unless I can repair the engines," Mathias returned.
"I know, I just hope you can be there, would hate for you to miss the fun," Shiro smirked, while Mahtias gave him a jokingly 'I hate you' look before walking out of the Hanger Bay. Shiro watched the door close behind Mathias and frowned, looking back at the damaged fighter. To Shiro, it was hard to believe that several months ago, this fighter was just brought aboard, decked in the most armor he had seen on any fighter. Now, it was barely reminiscent of what it once was.
Mathias entered the laboratory to find Pidge sitting at her desk busying herself with Matt on something, likely to calm herself. He approached her and tapped her shoulder. Both of the Holt siblings looked at the pilot, who looked a little concerned. Katie's eyes were slightly red, dark shadows forming underneath them. She had been crying at one point. Matt didn't look any better, but at least he wasn't crying, just really down.
"Hey…" Mathias stood near her.
"What do you want…" she snarled, she seemed really agitated.
"Quite a happy manner you're in," Mathias sarcastically remarked to himself, then looked down at her with sympathetic eyes, "you okay?"
"What does it look like?" She snapped. Mathias looked away slightly, giving her a moment to realize what she did, "sorry… just… a little temperamental."
"Yeah… Shiro told me you weren't in a good mood. Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked. Pidge stood up and walked up to him. He opened up his arms, and she slowly walked into them, sinking slightly into his chest. The two hugged each other out before she looked up at him.
"Thanks…" her voice was muffled.
"Anytime…" he gently spoke as Matt suddenly wrapped his arms around the two of them. He broke away from the Holt siblings and looked at Pidge, "Pidge, I can't help on this mission, at least not immediately."
"What? Why?!" She shouted in alarm.
"My fighter has been more damaged than I thought, I have to repair the engines-" Mathias spoke, but was cut off by the comms going off.
"We're approaching the coordinates! Shiro, Matt, Pidge! Get to a shuttle!" Coran shouted through the comms.
"I'll have to make it fast!" Mathias shrugged as the three ran to the hangar bay.
When Mathias and Matt entered the hangar, Shiro was waiting by a pod. He watched them run to him.
"Where's Pidge?" Shiro asked, climbing into the pod and starting it up.
"Getting into her Paladin armor, she'll be here in a minute," Matt said as he grabbed his staff.
"I'll try to fix my fighter as fast as I can," Mathias said as footsteps echoed behind him. He turned to see Pidge running up towards them and to the pod, then looked back at them, "good luck…" Pidge gave him a nod as the three boarded the pod. The pod roared with life as it lifted from the ground, Mathias backing away from the pod so he wouldn't be knocked over from the force. The pod left the hangar and into the planet's surface, which Mathias could now see in full view. It wasn't anything to write home about, at least in his eyes.
Mathias quickly returned to his works on his fighter, rushing a lot of the repairs to be combat ready.
He didn't know how long he was finishing the repair on the engine when the Castle shook around him. He closed the panel and climbed a ladder into the cockpit.
"Coran, what's happening?!" Mathias shouted through the comms.
"Zarkon tried to double cross us! Pidge, Shiro and Matt are currently trying to bring Sam back, while the Lions are taking out the remaining Galran forces. I'm moving the Castle to assist!" Coran shouted back.
"Send me the coordinates!" Mathias shouted as he booted up systems in his fighter.
"But your-"
"I KNOW, CORAN! Just give the coordinates!" Mathias angrily shouted as he readied the weapons. A set of coordinates came up and the hangar bay doors opened. Mathias pushed the throttle forward violently as the fighter broke through the hangar and out the Castle. The particle barrier going down momentarily for him to leave through. Immediately, he could see the Lions destroying the last of the Galran ships, and the Castle obliterating enemy fighters.
"We've cleared the skies from Galra, how's the shuttle?" Lance said through the comms.
There was a grunt on the other side, "shuttle is nor clear!" That voice, it had to be Pidge. Mathias looked to see a shuttle going downward towards a rock face.
"KATIE!" He screamed as he pushed the fighter beyond its limits down to the shuttle craft. It felt like time was slowing down around him. Alarms were blaring around him, as the consoles hummed a slight red hue. At last, he was about to reach the shuttle when it started pulling up, from the rock face. Mathias did the same, but transformed the fighter into Battroid mode. The fighter pressed its mechanical hand underneath the ship and pushed up on the bottom of the shuttle. A hud came up on the console on one of the engines, as it appeared to be overloading. He roared a scream as he pushed the shuttle more up. He saw the cargo bay doors open and bodies hanging out of them. He panicked for a moment as they fell out of the cargo bay, only to realize they were not the Paladins, but Lotor's Generals. The shuttle soon gained control of itself and shot through the air like a lone dart piercing the skies. Mathias turned the fighter back into fighter mode and approached the cockpit of the shuttle. He could see three people hugging intensely in the pilot's seat.
"You guys okay in there?" Mathias said through the comms. He could see the three perk their heads to him in surprise.
"Mathais?!" Pidge shouted in surprise, "you fixed your engines!"
"Not quite, but good enough to get back out of the field! You have him?" He asked.
"We got him!" Pidge said, a large presence of relief in her voice.
"Is that an Earth Fighter?" A voice he was unfamiliar with spoke up.
"That's Mathias. He's a Lieutenant from a different reality. OH! Mathias, change your fighter!" Her voice perked up.
"Uhh… okay? Any in particular?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Both, but start with Battroid!" She said excitedly. He could hear her give off a quiet "watch this!" in the background. With a smirk, he pulled up ahead of the shuttle and transformed the fighter into the fearsome Battroid mode. He floated alongside the transport for a moment. He then changed to GERWALK mode for a few seconds before returning to fighter mode.
"Wow… that's impressive!" The voice spoke. The other Lions soon approached and escorted the shuttle.
"Where have you been?!" Lance said with a look of disapproval.
"Oh, you know… repairing…" Mathias replied.
"Guys… where's Lotor and Zarkon?" Shiro asked. At that point, everyone looked back at the field of littered battleships on the ground to see explosions in the distance.
"Mathias, take Sam, Pidge, Shiro and Matt back to the Castle. We'll go to Lotor," Lance ordered.
"Since when were you the leader?" Mathias sarcastically remarked, he got a glare from Lance. He waved a dismissing wave, "alright, sir." The comms went dead as the three Lions turned back to the battlefield while the shuttle continued on its voyage to the Castle. The barrier around the Castle lowered, allowing both to land in the hanger bay. After Mathias jumped out of the cockpit, he walked to the shuttle and saw the four leaving the shuttle. The Holt family were laughing, crying and hugging each other while Shiro just remained behind them at some distance.
Mathias walked over to Pidge's side, who turned to see him with a toothy grin. She then faced her father, "this is the pilot of the fighter, dad!"
The man suddenly outstretched his hand, "my name is Samuel Holt, but please, call me Sam." Mathias looked puzzled for a moment before smirking and returning the gesture with a shake.
"I'm Lieutenant Mathias H. Anderson, Commander of Aigaion squadron, but I guess you can just call me Mathias," Mathias smiled.
"For a moment, your hair… umm…" Sam tried to come up with an appropriate sentence.
"Made me look more feminine? Get that alot, but that was what I was putting myself through when I kept it," Mathias chuckled. The group chuckled for a while before a voice came through on the comms.
"Shiro, it's Lotor! He… he's killed Zarkon," Lance's voice eagerly spoke. Everyone looked at each other stunned.
"We… we did it… the universe's greatest threat… gone…" Mathias stuttered.
"Others may rise in his place," Sam returned.
"Right…" Mathias nodded in agreement. He looked up to see Matt smirking a grin, a grin like he was planning something.
"Heeey, dad? Wanna know something you'll find interesting?" He leaned in closer to his dad in a smug way. Mathias looked slightly uncomfortable, as if a gut feeling was saying something was about to happen. "Katie and Mathias are in loooove~." Both Katie and Mathias instantly turned red and protested against it, but looking at each other and back at their father, who laughed slightly. The two stopped their frantic protests to look at him in confusion, their faces still flustered.
"I'm not surprised," he approached Mathias and placed a hand on his shoulder, "be good to her, okay?"
Mathias gave a soft grin and spoke softly, "okay… I will."
He then stopped and looked at Katie, who looked at Matt with the most evil glare she could give. He pulled her into a hug. Mathias heard him whisper something to her, but he didn't want to intrude, so he didn't pay attention to it. When the two parted, Sam looked at the group in slight embarrassment, "is it by chance okay if I can get something to eat?"
Mathias shook his head with a laugh, "I'll have Hunk whip you up something nice and fresh. You probably deserve something amazing to eat." The four walked out of the hangar bay, all close to each other, "I would also suggest you go to the medbay later. I think it would be a good idea to run some tests, see if you need something and maybe let you rest in a healing pod, just to be safe."
"Why a healing pod?" Sam asked.
"Trust me, they're useful," Mathias replied as they walked around the corner.
"He's nearly died a few times," Katie nudged her father's arm.
Mathias's flustered face returned, "KATIE?!" The group then roared in laughter, all except the flustered pilot.
Next episode will be a fan created episode, then a time jump to the end of season 6 and a slight mix of two episodes!
Peace!