Shoutout to Mercedes, thanks for the review! I (personally) see Mari and Scarlett having a sisterly relationship, but it's cool that you ship them! No ship dissing here. :D
**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender
At that moment, a blinding rage overtook Mari. Her blood boiled and her eyes stung with fresh tears as her face flushed and her heartbeat quickened. She screamed, and like a woman possessed, she pounced on the druid that had murdered their companion. Caught off guard by her sudden shift in behavior, he threw up his hands to try and quickly conjure up another spell that would finish her off, but he was too slow. Mari rammed a knee into his chest, pushing him onto his back and pinning him to the ground. He clawed uselessly at her limbs to free himself and the edges of his body shimmered as he prepared to teleport. But before he could escape, Mari activated the small blade that slid out of the tip of her staff and she thrust down, stabbing him in the center of his chest.
There was a nauseating squelch as the blade cut through his robe and flesh like butter and he made a strangled sound behind his mask. Then his body illuminated and gave way, turning into a ball of purple light and breaking apart in the air until there was nothing left.
Mari breathed heavily, staring hard at the place where the druid had just been. Her fingers trembled, still able to feel the unnerving sensation of slicing through another person's body. Her grip tightened around her staff and she retracted the blade. Standing up at her full height, she narrowed her gaze at Haggar who stood watching her in shock.
"You're next," Mari warned darkly, her voice strangely calm and even.
Shaking off her surprise, Haggar growled and raised both of her hands to fire upon her. "You! You worthless girl!" she shrieked. "There is nothing you can do against me!"
Deep down, Mari knew she wouldn't be able to go up against Haggar. She was just too powerful and Mari was still so small and feeble in the face of her ability. But she knew someone who had a good chance of beating the old witch, and she had bought that someone just enough time to sneak up behind her.
Mari's lips twitched upward. "I never said I'd be the one doing anything to you."
Swinging her staff at full Altean force, Allura caught the space witch in her side, throwing her across the platform until she skidded to a painful stop at the very edge. Her impact with the floor had been so rough, it had sent her hood flying off her head. She groaned and gasped weakly for air, sitting up slowly and casting a hateful glare towards the princess.
No longer hidden beneath her robes, Haggar's true appearance was revealed: long white hair framed her thin face and she had large pointy ears and markings beneath her beady yellow eyes. Allura froze upon seeing her and she inhaled sharply in realization. "You're…Altean?"
The witch's eyes blazed with fury and she yelled ferociously as she aimed a blast of black energy at the startled princess. Allura's staff was sent flying out of her hands and she flinched as the lightning struck her, but instead of it penetrating her body and inflicting injury, she seemed to be absorbing it instead. Her entire body glowed a neon pink, radiating the evil magic. She stared at her hands in confused fascination.
"Impossible!" Haggar shrilled and she sent another attack Allura's way. But the princess merely grunted and she began to push back against the flow of magic, gradually trudging towards the witch. Haggar's energy was draining, and it wasn't long until her knees buckled and she sank to the floor before Allura.
"You will never destroy another innocent world!" Allura declared, glaring at the defeated witch. In an act of finality, she slammed her hands down on the platform, channeling the absorbed magic out of her body into the air. Frenzied purple lighting shot everywhere, destroying several sections of the komar and raining debris down around them. Haggar stumbled to her feet, wincing as bolts of energy threatened to fry her. She grit her teeth and cast the princess one last menacing scowl before retreating, disappearing in an inky mist as she teleported to a safe area of the ship.
The glow faded from Allura's body as all the negative magic was released from her system. She stood and looked around expectantly for Haggar, only for her face to fall when she realized the witch had escaped. The komar continued to crumble around them, the whole structure on the verge of collapsing. A particularly large chunk of metal crashed into Mari's platform and she hurried to jump off and join Kolivan. Looking back, she could see Antok's body slide off the remnants of the destroyed landing and her heart felt heavy as he disappeared below them. A firm hand rested on her shoulder, as if worried that she'd jump off after him, and she turned to see Kolivan staring at her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, his expression hidden beneath his mask, but she could feel his fingers shaking ever so slightly against her. He looked to where Allura was still standing and gestured for her to join them. It was time for them to leave this wretched place.
Back on the Castle, Scarlett, Coran, and Slav were finishing their repairs and reviving the ship's systems.
"All right…Let's see if this works," Scarlett muttered and she pressed a button on Coran's control panel. The overhead lights immediately flickered on and the ship hummed as the power returned. The trio fell abruptly to the floor as the interior gravity systems kicked in.
"We're back!" Coran cheered as they scrambled to his feet, Slav wrapped around him like a worm. He pressed another button on his screens and their comms crackled to life. "Hello, paladins!" he greeted and he was rewarded with five gasps of joy.
"You're alive!" Hunk cried.
"Is everyone okay?" Shiro asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry, guys!" Slav piped up.
"Oh, great," Lance drawled unenthusiastically. "Slav made it."
"Mari and Allura are okay too," Scarlett said, shooting an annoyed look at Slav. "So are Kolivan and Antok."
Shiro let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief and Scarlett bit her lip. Probably wasn't the best time to tell him that his sister, Allura, and the others were fighting Haggar and her druids head on at the moment. Besides, there were other problems Voltron needed to worry about. Their time was up and the virus's effects were wearing off.
"The power on Zarkon's ship is returning!" Coran realized. "We need to get out of here! I'm going to get Allura and the others!"
The Castle moved as close as Coran dared to get to the Galran command center. The three small forms of the princess, Mari, and Kolivan exited the komar and were moving out into open space away from the rebooting ship. They glided along the glittering white sides of the Castle and safely entered through an open hangar before Coran pulled the ship away from the enemy's.
"How was it?" Scarlett asked as they returned to the bridge, but their grim expressions said enough.
Allura frowned and averted her gaze while Mari stared down at the floor in silence. Kolivan looked at Scarlett as he said deadpan, "Haggar got away, but the komar is non-operational for now. Antok…was killed."
Scarlett's antennae drooped and Zyron chirped sadly. She had never encountered a druid, having only heard of their magic and mystery from Ulaz. But after witnessing their power in Mari's memories, seeing how they had sucked the quintessence out of a great force such as Voltron, and now learning that they'd killed someone as fierce and strong as Antok, it was apparent just how dangerous and deadly they really were.
"There is no time to mourn now," Kolivan said, although his own voice sounded strained with reluctance. He turned his attention to the battle outside. "Voltron has yet to defeat Zarkon."
Everyone watched with anxiety-filled hearts as the battle continued against the paladins and the Galran emperor. Voltron's sword impaled the stomach of Zarkon's armor, creating cracks that spread out to the rest of the suit. But the damage didn't seem to deter Zarkon as he grabbed the head of the giant robot hero and attempted to crush it, imbuing it with bright volts of energy. Suddenly, Voltron's sword was set ablaze with golden fire and the blade enlarged as it was thrust forward, getting buried all the way up to the hilt in Zarkon's armor. The cracks in his robot widened and lightning began to leak out and spark all over the armor as it was tearing apart. Voltron removed the sword and stood back as Zarkon was enveloped in light. He was swallowed by flares of purple and white and massive streams of lightning shot off him before he and his robot armor exploded into a brilliant display of glittering debris. When the blinding glow of the explosion had faded, everyone squinted through the wreckage to see the five lions floating there, having been forced out of their Voltron form.
A tense silence hung in the air as they waited for the lions to move, for any sign that they had achieved victory. "Did they…do it?" Scarlett's question came out as a whisper that was hesitant to disrupt the quiet, as if asking would change the results of their battle. "Did they kill Zarkon?"
No one could answer her. They all exchanged unsure looks and stared at the mess of twisted and broken metal that had once been Zarkon's armor. It was in a million pieces and burned to a crisp – there was no way he had survived that, and if he had, he was no doubt at least near death. There wasn't any time to find out for certain though as the rest of the Galran ship began to stir with signs of activity once more. Fighters were being dispatched and they were headed for the lions.
"We need to go!" Coran quickly decided and the lions stirred as the paladins regained their bearings. They flew back to their hangars, the Red and Green Lions having to tow the unresponsive Black Lion.
A sinking feeling settled over Mari at the sight of it. Something inside of her was telling her to get down to the hangars now.
"Princess, we're all on board," Pidge reported. The moment Allura created another wormhole and the Castle passed through, did Mari's body start moving on its own. She flew out of the bridge and ran down the hallway, the sound of her feet slapping against the pristine floors echoing faintly around her. Behind her, she could hear a startled Scarlett, Coran, and Allura following after her. With each step she took, her unease grew. Her heart was thumping like a drum against her ribs and tears pricked in her eyes. Something was very, very wrong, but what it was exactly she couldn't tell.
Lower and lower she ventured into the Castle of Lions until she reached the Black Lion's hangar. The doors were ajar and the lion laid lifeless on the floor, its jaws hanging open limply. Panting to catch her breath, Mari hurried to climb inside, only to find the other four paladins already there, standing dumbfounded in the cockpit. The Alteans and Scarlett joined them seconds later.
Mari's eyes flicked around the space, desperately searching for a familiar head of white and black. But the pilot's seat was empty, the only sign of recent use the black bayard that had been inserted and abandoned in the control panel. Shiro was nowhere amongst the paladins either. He wasn't anywhere to be found in the Black Lion period.
"Where—Where is he?" She looked to Keith pleadingly, begging him to answer, to tell her that it was okay and Shiro had just stepped out for a second. But the Red Paladin's eyes swam with just as much confusion and anger and hurt as her own. She ripped her gaze away from his, looking to the others for an answer.
Lance grimaced as he finally met her eyes. "He…" The Blue Paladin exhaled shakily, not wanting to admit it, but the only one brave enough to do so. "He's gone."
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