Voltron Next Generation
Chapter 15
Planet Void
By Cindra
The whole castle was decked out for Max and Ashley's wedding and the snow falling was just the finishing touch needed for the winter wedding event.
Ashley stared out the window watching the huge flakes of white fluffy snow falling from the sky. She was wearing a beautiful gown with jeweled snowflakes embroidered all over it. Beautiful roses were intertwined into a flowery tiara that Andy had pinned into her veil, and they were both about ready to ride the horse drawn sleigh waiting to take them to the church.
"Tell me that this is really happening…that I'm not dreaming this whole wonderful day." Ashley was on cloud nine, as she draped a fur-lined white velvet cloak around her shoulders.
Andy joined her at the window. "Oh Ash…Max is going to die when he sees you! Your dress is absolutely stunning." She smiled at her best friend. Andy was wearing a beautiful red shirtwaist dress and had draped a fur-lined cape around her shoulders. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy and felt like she was as big as a whale. "Why don't you just roll me down the aisle?" She rubbed at the small of her back that seemed to have a constant ache these days.
Ashley frowned at her when she saw that she was obviously experiencing pre-labor back pain. "You should be in bed and off your feet."
"Relax, doctor…I'm not in labor and you are off duty." Andy pulled her out of the room and led her out into the corridor where a surprise was waiting for her. "Hey General. Please calm your daughter before she nags me to death." Andy grinned at Ash's father.
"Daddy! You made it!" Ashley ran over and gave her father a huge hug.
"I wouldn't miss this day for all the missions in the galaxy. You look beautiful, baby." General Ashton Wilkes hugged her back.
"Thank you, Daddy." She sniffled. "I love you."
"Your mother would have been so proud of you." He smiled down at her.
"Mom is here." She held her beautiful bouquet of white roses to her heart. "She's here in every stitch of this beautiful wedding dress." Tears pooled in her eyes. Her mother had died in the explosion that had taken Andy's grandfather's life.
Andy unconsciously read her friend's thoughts and felt an attack of guilt rock her body. She had tears streaming down her cheeks as the memory of that day flashed before her eyes again. "Shall we finally get this woman married? I mean, they took forever getting to this day…we wouldn't want to have her miss it now would we." She managed to give her a bright smile, as she fought down the light-headedness, and nausea that had suddenly come over her.
"Andromeda, are you okay?" Ashley knew that she was hiding something from her.
"I'm fine, now let's get going." She was going to make sure that Ashley had her day and nothing was gonna ruin it.
"If you're faking that you're fine, Andromeda Marie! I'm going to strangle you!" Ashley hissed.
"I'm not faking! Now let's go before Max and Eric send a search party for us!" Andy headed outside.
Quinn was freezing in the old fashioned sleigh, as he waited for his prey to finally emerge from the castle. "This is not my idea of fun!" He snarled to himself. "Finally! I thought that they would never get here!" He waited patiently, as the two women were helped into the sleigh.
Andy felt the snowflakes as they fell on her face. "This is so beautiful, Ash." She sighed contentedly, as the sleigh began its journey to the church.
"Where's my father?" Ashley frowned. "Hey! We need to go back and get my Daddy!"
"Excuse me, sir, but you just left without the father-of-the-bride." Andy tapped the driver on his shoulder.
"Didn't you hear her? Go back and get my father!" Ashley ordered the driver, but he continued to ignore her.
"What in the name of Arus is going on here? The church is in the other direction and besides that we need to go get the General!" She stood up in the sleigh and pulled back Quinn's hood. "Dammit, Quinn, why did you have to pick today to try something?"
"No this is my day!" Ashley wailed.
"Be quiet!" He snarled as they reached his cloaked ship. "Say good-bye, Princess, because you are never going to see Arus again." He pulled out a tranq gun and shot them.
"Something's happened to them…they wouldn't ditch the wedding." Eric growled.
"Maybe Ash doesn't want to marry me anymore?" Max continued to pace the groom's room.
"She loves you, Max! Hell, you've been living together for months, so this is just a formality!" Eric glared at him.
"Let's think this over, one they happen to be over an hour late, two Andromeda could go into labor at any time…Damn! That has to be it!" Max and Eric ran over to the computer console and tried to access the castle and Einstein. "Andy went into labor that is the only thing that makes since."
"Damn! I can't reach E or Hal!" Eric punched the wall.
"Something isn't right…maybe something else happened to them." Max growled.
Eric remembered that Andy was wearing a tiny mike in her ear and tried to contact her using his com link. "Dromi, if you can hear me please answer me."
She didn't respond.
"Shit! She isn't answering me!" Eric punched his fist through the wall of the ancient building.
"Calm down, Eric! We're in a church you can't go punching the walls like that!" Max hissed.
"My wife and your bride are in serious danger and all you can think of is a thousand year old wall!?" Eric vanished from the room.
"Eric, get back here!" Max roared his voice echoed around the whole cathedral.
Causing Keith and the others to go see what was going on.
Khan was meditating in his chambers when the door was blown open. "Where is she and maybe I will let you live!" Eric roared his threat to the stunned man; his laser sword's blade pointed directly at Khan's Adams apple.
Khan tried to mask the fear that he was feeling. "So you seem to have misplaced your wife." He growled in inquiry, the sword was almost against his throat.
"Slice and dice, Khan!" Eric snarled, his sword was now burning into Khan's skin.
"I don't have her!" He hissed in pain.
"Try again!" Eric had his sword now pointing towards Khan's lower anatomy.
"I have no idea where she is, Lawson! That is the truth! I swear it!" He snarled.
"You are lucky that I don't kill!" He took his frustrations out on Khan, until the man went motionless, and then carried him outside just before Khan's base blew sky-high. "Have a taste of your own medicine! See how you like being left for dead!" He threw Khan's battered form into a nearby ditch and left him to his fate.
(Castle of Lions)
Everyone was trying to piece together what had happened to the girls. "E, get me the location of Eric!" He all but snarled.
"Yes, master!" E snarled back. "I am reading a massive explosion in the Abyssal Mountains." He showed Keith a visual of the explosion on the screen.
"Holy Mother of Mercy!" Keith watched as the monitor showed a massive blaze at the base of the mountains as explosions continued to rock that area. "Was anyone in that?"
"No life forms detected…Correction one very faint life form near the blast." E answered.
"Is there any sign of Eric?" Nate frowned when E revealed the life form in question was Khan.
"Isn't that Khan?" Jace arched a brow at his sister.
"Yes, that's my…I mean, yes, that's Khan." Kane nodded.
"Easy, son. I know all about your relationship with Khan, and it doesn't change anything. We can't choose who are parents are." Keith reassured him.
"He's right…we take care of our own." Nate grinned at Kane.
"Enough bonding! What happened to the girls?" Max snarled.
"Relax, Max. We'll find them." Keith tried to calm him down.
"Blacky just launched…I believe that we just found the Captain and here is the visual from the security cameras that you asked for." E told him.
"Wow, look at Ash she looks so beautiful." Jenna sighed, as they viewed what had happened two hours before right until they reached the sleigh and then the footage stopped.
"Where's the rest!" Max roared at E.
"I was deactivated, please don't do anything rash!" He pleaded.
"Who is that driving the sleigh?" Nate frowned. "That's not Caleb."
"He looks like the idiot that just got his butt kicked by us." Matt growled.
"Quinn!" Keith growled. "He always wanted my daughter's hand in marriage, but Andy hated him on sight."
"That's right. I remember how Dromi used to throw herself at Eric whenever she wanted to scare away her suitors. I've never seen Eric run to take so many cold showers in my life." Nate chuckled.
"Enough with the flashbacks, I'm going to find them myself! General Wilkes is lucky that he only got a nasty bump on his head…Ash and Andy are the ones that could be in extreme danger!" Max stalked from the room.
"Max, get back here! You'll only get yourself killed!" The group ran after him.
"Momma?" Jessie whimpered, as she poked her head into the lair.
"Jessie? Where you be?" Jasmine called from their room.
(I want momma!) Jessie sat on the floor of the lair and bawled her eyes out.
(Momma is okay, Jessie.) Jasmine walked over to her twin. (Daddy will find her…)
"What are the two of you doing in here?" Hal frowned at them.
"I believe that they are missing their mother." A female voice, Dromi's voice, watched from somewhere in the shadows.
"Momma!" Jessie's eyes lit up at the sound of her mother's voice.
"No, little one." Rora chuckled, walking out of the shadows and into the light. "I'm not your mother, but I can help you find her." She was tall, had a female form, was silver from her head to her toes, and had a humanoid face. "Can't we, big guy?" She winked at Hal.
"I'd do anything for you, Rora." Hal sighed.
"Thanks, big brother." She blew him a kiss.
Lilly walked into her nieces' bedroom only to find that they were missing. "Jessica! Jasmine!? Oh no! Someone took the girls!" Lilly raced from the room and went to call her father.
"What's wrong, Lilly?" Shawn asked, as she raced past him.
"The twins are missing!" She cried. "Daddy is gonna kill me!"
Shawn ran after her. "That isn't possible. We haven't left the house and the security dome is still up!"
"Well! They aren't in their room!" She hissed at him, as she placed a call to her father.
Keith's frowning face appeared on the screen. "What is it now!?"
"Daddy…I... um…have some really bad news to tell you." Lilly bit down on her lower lip.
"Where are the twins?" Keith narrowed his eyes at his youngest child.
"Gone! They went to their room for their afternoon nap and when I went to check on them they weren't there anymore!" Lilly burst into tears.
"Did you search their room and the playroom?" Keith tried to remain calm.
"Yes! They aren't there!"
"This is just wonderful…" Keith sighed in frustration. "Stay there! I'm going to send Jenna, Fawn, and the boys to help you find them!"
"I'm sorry, Daddy." She sniffled.
"These are Andy's twins, Lilly! You have to keep an eye on them at all times." Keith was not having a very good day.
"I know, Daddy, and I promise that I will do better next time." She pouted.
"Lilly, you have to focus on what you're doing and not on Shawn." Keith noticed that Shawn was standing behind his daughter.
"We were in the living room studying and the dome was still up! Plus the cats were snoozing on the floor of their room. What else was I suppose to do?" Lilly defended herself.
"I'm sorry, Lil's. I'm just having a bad day today…your sister and cousins are on their way." Keith ended the call.
"Something happened to Dromi…I know that I had to finish my homework for school, but I wanted to go to the wedding. Now I think something happened, because Daddy seems more frazzled than normal, and no one seems to be partying in the background." Lilly frowned at Shawn.
"Don't worry, Little Flower, if something did happen to them Eric will find them…Maybe Dromi went into labor?" Shawn sighed.
"No something's wrong…I just know it is." Lilly walked over and began to cry against Shawn's shoulder.
"It's okay, Lilly, everything's gonna be okay. The twins are probably playing hide-and-seek from us and your sister and Ash will be fine too." Shawn held her while she continued to cry in his arms.
(Planet Void)
Ashley paced the room in total fury. "Of all the nerve, they ruined my wedding day!" She screamed.
An ominous voice filtered into the room. "I need you to deliver the child safely." It growled.
Ashley spun around on her heel and searched for a face to that horribly creepy voice. "I won't let you harm Andy or her unborn son!" She snarled.
A low laugh echoed around the room. "You can't stop me."
"What do you want with an innocent baby?!" She wanted to strangle the thing with that voice.
"Power, my dear, Doctor Wilkes. That child will grow up to be extremely powerful…beyond your capacity of thought." It growled.
"That child is an innocent!"
"You cannot stop me, so don't hurt yourself by trying." It sneered.
"Wait!" She shouted desperately. "I won't help you! I'm going to stop you from hurting my best friend!" She snarled. "And I don't care what price it costs me!"
Andy awakened in a room exactly like her bedroom back home, only there were no windows in it. "Where am I?" She forced herself to sit up.
"Hello Andromeda." Quinn walked over beside her bed. "How are we feeling?"
"Damn you, Quinn! Why the hell did you bring me here?" She snarled at him.
"My father requested that I bring you here."
"You actually have a father?"
"Yes, Princess, I have parents!"
"I bet that you're a constant embarrassment to them." Andy smirked.
"Save it, Andromeda…taking cracks at me won't win you your freedom!" He hissed.
"Why he would want me?"
"My father collects things of great power and now he wants your unborn son." Quinn told her of what lay ahead.
"Never! If you think that I'm helpless because of this pregnancy then think again!" Andy punched him so hard that he went flying.
"Bad move, witch!" Quinn went to slug her back, only to be stopped by the voice of his father.
"Leave!" His father roared.
"This isn't over!" Quinn glared at Andy.
"Now!"
"I wish to go home!" Andy glared at the older version of the prince.
"Not until I have what I desire." The man's were like blue sheets of ice and she knew instinctively that he was evil to the core.
Andy scanned his mind, but immediately retreated out of the sheer evilness of its mind. She could have sworn that she had heard souls crying out to be free. This man was completely heartless. "What are you?" She shivered in fear.
"I collect powerful things, princess, you and your son will be my next acquisition." He stared down into her eyes.
"I am not something to collect like a hobby!" She hissed.
"I only want your life force." He sneered.
"Stay away from me and my baby!" Andy bolted out of the bed and then vanished from the room.
(Rand's Ship)
Eric landed Black Lion on top of Rand's Flagship and used the shield on Blacky's chest to cut into the ship's hull. "You have ten seconds to hand over Ashley and my wife or I will blow this ship sky-high!"
Rand's face appeared on Eric's screen. "I don't have your wife or the Doctor!" He snarled. "Get off my ship!"
"You aren't in any condition to give anyone any orders. Now answer his question!" Blacky roared.
"I don't have either of them, but I can give you an idea who could have taken the brat…I mean, your wife." Rand's ship was slowly decompressing.
"Start talking, you've got less than five minutes of air left!" Eric roared.
"Did you try Khan?" He asked.
"He's dead…try again." Blacky growled.
"You know the list!" Rand snarled.
"Good-bye, Rand!" Blacky dropped an explosive device in the hole and flew away from the doomed ship.
"You can't do this!" Rand raced for his shuttle, just making it away from his ship.
"Oh no? Watch me!" Eric detonated the device.
Andy's mike came on line and he could hear her panicked voice in his mind as well as his ear. Quinn's father was going to kill his wife and unborn son. 'Where are you?' He called out to his love.
'Planet Void! Hurry, I need you! He terrifies me!' She wailed.
'On my way!' He sent back. "Blacky, we need to head back to Arus…I need Darian's help."
"We'll be there in five minutes." Blacky shot towards home.
(Andy and Eric's house)
Jenna, Matt, Fawn, and Kane searched all over Eric and Andy's place for the missing princesses.
"They have to be around here somewhere." Jenna sighed in frustration.
"Where? We've searched everywhere." Matt was almost to the point of pulling his hair out.
"Not exactly everywhere," Fawn walked towards what was now going to be MK's nursery.
"Fawn? Where are you going?" Kane followed her.
"Let's go, Matt." Jenna dragged him with her.
"Where? What's in the nursery?" Matt now stared in surprise as the wall moved revealing the secret entrance to Andy's lair. "Is this what I think it is?" He looked over at Jenn.
"It sure is…after you." Jenna motioned to the entrance of the lair.
"If I must…I must…" Matt dashed into the darkened entrance to the lair, only to hear Kane's yelp of surprise and then silence. Then Jenna's scream and then as if by instinct he dove to the floor just as a sharp blade whisked by his head then continued to sway back and forth.
Kane was hanging from a gaping hole in the floor; deadly sharp spikes rose from the floor. "We forgot about Dromi's idea of a security system." He hissed.
Jenna had literally walked up the spikes as they came out of the wall and then clung to a ring that was embedded in the ceiling. "Whatever gave you that idea?" She glared over at her cousin standing next to Hal's main screen.
Fawn shrugged her shoulders and replied. "Would you believe that it was sheer luck that I made it in here without triggering the security system?" She had a twin in each arm.
"You were so silly!" Jessie giggled and pointed at the teens.
"Do again!" Jasmine squealed in delight.
"Get ready to move…I'm deactivating the security system." She called to them.
Kane scrambled up the opening before it closed.
Matt sighed in relief, as the blades rose back up into their hidden places in the ceiling.
Jenna scurried down the spikes, as they slid back into the cave wall.
"Now that wasn't my idea of fun…Did any of you think that was fun!?" Matt glared at Fawn.
"Leave it to Dromi to go with that security system." Jenna growled.
"Angel? How did you enter without almost getting killed?" Kane walked over to Fawn.
"I know all about this lair, so of course I got in here without activating the security system. If the three of you had just waited until I deactivated the system. Nothing would have happened to any of you!" She glared at all of them.
"Relax, angel…we're not mad at you." Kane pulled her into his arms and kissed her on her forehead.
"Mushy!" The twins frowned, not liking that they were being squished in Fawn's arms.
"May I ask what you are doing in here?" Rora turned to glare at them.
"Wow, a walking female computer!" Matt stared at her in awe.
"I prefer artificially intelligent being." Rora frowned.
"Find Momma!" The twins ordered.
"I already have, little ones…She is on Planet Void." Rora answered the twins.
"Void? That's Quinn's home planet. It's the darkest planet in this system and the furthest away from our suns." Matt frowned.
"That place is creepy! My grandfather took me there once. I could almost hear lost souls crying for help. King Eleric aged from an old man to a younger man in hours. He has this obsession with power and I couldn't wait to leave that awful place." Jenna shivered.
Eric landed just outside Darian's courtyard and jumped out of his lion. "I need your help." He growled.
Darian arched an eyebrow. "Little Blossom needs me of course I'll help you. Eleric and I are old acquaintances. My brother supplied him with souls to keep him young. My guess is that he wants your wife and child." He climbed into the lion.
"What else aren't you telling me?" Eric set off for Planet Void.
"The child must be born first before he can feed off its life force." Darian explained. "Did you want company?" He noticed the rest of the team had showed up.
"This is gonna get hairy! Go back home!" Eric snarled.
"You need our help!" Nate, Chris, and Jace growled back.
"We aren't dealing with a weapon, a robot, or a normal villain. This guy feeds off a person's life force!" Eric told them.
"We're all willing to risk this for Andy and Ashley." Alex, Ariel, and Christy told him.
"They do have a point, Eric." Blacky growled.
"I know, buddy. I'm just worried about Dromi." He sighed.
(Planet Void)
Andy skulked around Eleric's palace, barely avoiding his men. She felt the pains in her lower back beginning to worsen and tried to will her son to wait until help arrived. :Listen, little lion, not now…please wait until we get home: She all but jumped out of her skin when something landed on her shoulder. It was a huge raven and he was staring at her with curious black eyes.
"Hello my name is Ryan." A boy of about four years stepped out of his hiding place. "Is Samson bothering you?" The little guy was a miniature version of Shaitan. "I'm four." He smiled at her.
"Oh so you're a big boy." Andy knelt down in front of him.
"I'm a big boy." Ryan nodded. "You're really pretty." He reached out and touched her hair. "This is my room we can play in there." He led her to his room.
"Okay, let's play secrets." Andy winked at him.
"I like to play games." He grinned.
"Good…because this one goes like this. I'm only a secret friend and you can't tell anyone about me…not even your mom or your Daddy?" She whispered, as if to show him just how secret that this was.
"I no have a daddy." Ryan sniffled.
"I'm sorry." She said gently.
"My Daddy was killed." He whimpered.
"Who killed him?" Andy wondered what lie that Morganna had told her own son.
"Princess Dromi." Ryan growled. "I will hurt her for that one day!"
"Little one, your Daddy is still very much alive." She knelt down next to him. *That bitch! I am going to rip her hair out by the roots!*
Ryan's stared wide-eyed at her with his enormous emerald eyes. "Daddy no be dead?" He frowned at her.
"Would you like to meet your Daddy, Ryan?" Andy smiled at him.
"Really?" Ryan shouted.
"Yes, but you mustn't tell your Mommy." Andy pinned a tiny little star to his T-shirt. "Now this little star will glow when your father gets here and then I will take him to see you."
"Okay." He nodded and ran out of the room, but Samson remained on her shoulder.
"Go follow your owner." She hissed at the bird.
"Like you." He actually spoke to her.
"Can you help me find my friend?" Andy frowned at the bird. "She's a pretty lady with fiery red hair."
"Pretty Lady!" Samson wolf whistled.
"Yes, Samson, find pretty lady." She hissed.
"I find." He answered.
"Now let's go." Andy vanished again.
Shaitan raced his ship towards Planet Void, after barely surviving his brother's exploding ship. "If anyone is gonna possess Andy and her son it is gonna be me and for that to happen I need her life force intact!" He swore when his ship was hit with a tractor beam.
Morganna's face appeared on the screen. "Explain, Shaitan, or I'll implode the beam." She snarled at him.
"We need to talk, Morganna…You were right... I can't fight these feelings for you anymore." He lied through his teeth.
"It was only a matter of time…you are free to land." She grinned at him.
"Thank you, my love." He landed his craft and went in search of Dromi and Ashley. *I find Dromi and Ash and then I am out of here!*
Ashley glared at Quinn, who was staring at her with hungry eyes. "Do you mind!?" She was dressed in her slip and a lab coat.
"Actually, I'm enjoying the view…How anyone ever called you Doc Ice is beyond me." He grinned evilly.
"Don't even think about it, Quinn!"
"It's not you I want, so relax!" Quinn stalked from the room.
"I hope that Dromi is doing okay." Ashley continued her search for something to stop Eleric and found his formula for eternal life. "Let me reverse a few things and we shall see who's going to live forever." She totally rewrote his formula.
(Arus)
Max glared at Keith, who was holding the battery pack to the shuttle that he was trying to take off in. "Very funny, Keith, now give me back the energy pack, so I can go get Andy and my bride back!" He snarled.
"And let you go get yourself killed? Not a chance. Max, you are a medical officer not a trained soldier." Keith reminded him.
"I can take on more than any of you realize." Max stalked out of the shuttle.
"Max, calm down. Eric will bring Ashley and Andy home safe." Keith pulled out a small device from his pocket and shot a dart at him.
"I have to get…Ash." Max fell unconscious and dropped to the floor.
"Sorry, Max, but this is for your own good." Keith carried Max into the castle.
(Void)
Eric set Blacky on cloak mode and landed on the planet's surface, the other members of the team waited for him beyond the range of Void's scanners.
They jumped from the lion and headed for the massive palace that sat on a very wicked looking cliff. "It's a good thing that I love to mountain climb." Eric began his accent on the cliff.
"Just focus on finding Dromi." Darian growled.
Eleric glared at the empty hallway. "You can't hide forever!"
Morganna walked over to her father. "Shaitan has finally come back to me."
"He's lying!" Eleric slapped her across her face.
"Why would he lie to me? He has no clue about Ryan." She whimpered.
"He doesn't want the boy! He's after the princess and her friend!" Eleric stalked down the hallway.
Shaitan skulked around the palace, until he spotted a strange shadow tiptoeing across one of the hallways. "There you are princess." He went about stalking his prey.
Andy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and dashed for one of the doorways. "Relax, Dromi, you can handle this." She muttered and placed a protective palm on her middle.
"Talking to yourself won't get you out of this mess." He growled into her ear.
Andy jumped at the sound of Shaitan's voice and almost lost her balance. Fortunately Shaitan had a firm, but gentle hold around her rounding middle. "What do you want?" She hissed.
"Oh, I want quite a few things, but for now let's get you, Ash, and your precious cargo out of here." His eyes roved over her radiant form. "My god, you're breathtaking."
Andy tried to remain calm. "At this point I'm willing to let anyone help me." She let herself relax in his arms.
Shaitan liked the feel of her head lying against his shoulder. "Nothing has changed." He reminded her.
Andy turned in his arms and gave him a long searching look with her eyes. "Let's call a temporary truce, Shaitan. I couldn't fight you and you care about me too much take advantage of me." She whimpered what she knew to be true. "The scary part is if there hadn't been an Eric and if you had been on our side we probably would have ended up together."
Shaitan's eyes grew dark, as he looked down into her eyes. "Would that have been so bad?" He whispered. "I would have given you the universe if you asked me to."
Andy felt a sort of peace settle between the two of them. "We'll never know." She whispered and just let him hold her for a little while.
Shaitan felt tears falling down his cheeks, but didn't care. This felt so right and yet it could never really be his. "Yes, well… we have to find Ash and then get you back home where you and this little one will be safe." He quickly pulled the mask down over his face, but not before Andy could see his tears.
Andy looked up at him and smiled. "I have a gift for you, before you take me home."
Shaitan frowned at her in confusion. "What?"
"Sorry, it's a surprise." She winked at him.
"We don't have time for games." He picked her up and they vanished from the room.
Ryan sat in his room and stared at the star that continuously flashed in his palm. "Sorry, but Mommy says that I have to stay in my room." He whimpered. "I no see my Daddy." Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Andy appeared in his room and walked over to him. "Why are you crying?" She whispered.
Ryan ran over and clung to her leg. "I can't see my Daddy! Momma says that I'm to stay here!"
Andy knelt down in front of him and brushed away his tears with her fingers. "He's here Ryan." She smiled at him.
"I don't see anyone." He frowned at her, but then noticed that someone else was with them in the room, and Shaitan appeared next to Dromi.
Shaitan swallowed hard, he felt like his whole world had just came crashing down around him. He stared at the four-year-old child in front of him. "Hello my name is Shaitan and you are?" He could barely speak or stand he was shaking so much.
Ryan stared wide-eyed at the masked man then asked. "Are you my Daddy?"
Shaitan swallowed hard and knelt down in front of him. He didn't even care that Andy had reached over and taken off his mask. "Yes," Was all that he could manage to say.
Ryan didn't know how to respond. "You aren't dead?" He whimpered.
"No, I happen to be very much alive," He growled hoarsely. "How old are you, Ryan?"
"Four…Did you love my Mommy?" He asked.
"Before you were born I did." Shaitan nodded.
"You didn't want me?" Ryan burst into tears.
Shaitan scooped him up into his arms. "I didn't know about you. I would have wanted you with me, if I had known." He rocked him in his arms. :Thank you.: He looked over at Dromi.
:You're welcome.: She sniffled.
"I go with you, Daddy." He clung to his father's neck.
"Won't you miss your Mommy?" Shaitan asked.
"Mommy lied. She say you with angels, cuz of Princess Dromi." Ryan frowned. "I need you, Daddy."
"I assure you that Andromeda, although an excellent adversary, most assuredly did not kill me." He tried to reassure his son.
"Thank you." Ryan whispered to Andy. "What's your name?"
"Princess Andromeda." She smiled at Ryan and then touched Shaitan on his shoulder. :We need to get going.:
Shaitan stood up with Ryan in his arms. "Come on, son, I'm taking you home." And the three of them vanished.
Eric stood with Darian at the summit of the cliff. He listened intently to what was happening to Dromi, Shaitan, and his son. "I want my wife, unborn child, and Ashley back home where they belong." He growled softly.
"We have to find them first. Now remember you are Andy's lifeline and she is yours. So don't let what happened a few moments ago bother you." Darian placed a reassuring had on Eric's shoulder.
"Do you think that I don't know that, Darian? It's just the idea of her even near Shaitan makes my blood boil, even if he is here to help this time!" Eric snarled in sheer frustration.
"Then stop snarling and let's go get them back." They both vanished and went in search of the girls.
Eleric dragged Ashley into the open and held a phaser to her head. "I tire of this, princess! If you want the doctor to die continue with your little game of cat and mouse!"
"Don't listen to him, Andy!" Ashley called out to her friend. "I would rather die than let him do what he plans to do to you and MK! Tell Max that I'll always love him…" She sobbed.
"Very well, princess, say good-bye to your friend." He went to shoot Ash, but Andy appeared in the hallway.
"No!" Andy whimpered. "You win, just don't hurt her."
"Ryan!" Morganna shouted at her son, who was cuddled in his father's arms.
"He's mine, Morganna." Shaitan snarled.
"No! He's my son!" She made a grab for Ryan, but Eleric prevented her from getting him.
"Take him, Shaitan, leave now, and no one will stop you." Eleric growled.
Shaitan gave Andy a desperate look.
"Take him! There is nothing that you can do here anymore!" Andy sobbed, she was not ready to die.
"I can't lose you like this!" He had tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Go!" Andy shouted at him. "Ryan deserves to know his father, just don't warp him like Rand tried to do with Jace!" Andy sobbed even harder. 'Eric, where are you!'
"I promise." Shaitan growled hoarsely.
"Please go!" She whispered and he vanished. She then glared at Eleric. "Let's get this over with!" She was led into a strange room. 'Eric, please hurry! I don't want to die!'
Eric raced through the palace with Darian on his heals. 'Hold on, Dromi…I'm almost there!' He sent back.
"Let's hope that we aren't too late." Darian could hear Ashley screaming for them to leave Andy alone.
"We won't be." Eric crashed through the doors just in time to see his wife being strapped down to a table. "Get your hands-off of my wife!" He roared at Eleric.
"It's over, Eleric! Her soul is not yours to take!" Darian roared.
Eleric picked up a vial and drank its contents. "You're too late, Darian! I only have to touch her and her soul will be mine." He reached out to touch Andy, when something went terribly wrong. He began aging until there was nothing left of him but dust.
Andy watched in horror and felt her skin begin to crawl. "Take me home!" She clawed at her binds.
Her unborn child was not happy with her. :Calm down, Mommy!: He pleaded.
Eric broke the binds and then swept her up into his arms. "It's okay, baby. I'm here." He crooned, as he carried her out of the room.
"Take me home…I can't stay here anymore!" She sobbed against his chest.
"Blacky, meet us at the castle entrance and guys come and get Ash and Darian, so we can all go home." Eric spoke into his com-link.
"We're already there." Nate responded.
:Mommy! Something weird is happening!: MK tried to reach his mother. :This isn't the time to lose it, mother!: He was beginning to get pushed around and he did not like it.
Andy was too far gone to notice anything and was still crying nonstop.
"Love? Speak to me." Eric looked over at her.
Andy stared off into space, her whole body was shaking, and her dress was now soaking wet. "Not now!" She wailed. "I can't handle this now!" She sobbed even harder.
Eric's eyes widened, "Blacky, switch to auto pilot." He jumped out of his seat and went to grab the emergency blankets and the med-kit.
"You have really bad timing!" She winced in pain, as the first pain hit her hard and fast.
Eric had been prepared for such and emergency and had even brought some pillows and blankets just in case she went into labor. He scooped her up and placed her gently on the blanket. "He doesn't want to wait does he?" Eric crooned down at her.
"He's just like his father." Andy hissed in pain.
Eric pulled her dress over her head and then covered her with another blanket. "Just breathe, love." He coached her, as he checked to see how far along she was in delivering their son. He could see his son's head and knew that this was going to go extremely fast. "I need you to push now, baby." He ordered gently.
"That's easy for you to say!"
"One more time and he'll pop right into my arms." Eric winked at her.
"Max is gonna have a field day about this." Andy groaned, as she brought Michael Keith into the world and her son let out a loud wail in protest.
"Congrat's, mom," Eric whispered hoarsely, as he set their son in her arms. MK immediately latched onto his mother's breast and began to feed on her. "He sure knows what he wants." He chuckled.
"He's so perfect, Eric." Andy sniffled, as she touched his cap of downy red gold hair with her fingers.
"I love you more than anything." He growled hoarsely.
"You are my life, my lion." She smiled at him.
"Welcome to the world, Michael Keith." He placed a kiss on top of MK's downy haired head.
Michael quit feeding on his mother long enough to open his brilliant golden eyes and stared up at his father, as if accepting his new name.
"I don't want to disturb you, but we've landed on the castle lawn and everyone is demanding to know what's going on." Blacky told them. "I'll show you what I mean…" He turned on the Com so they could hear the others again.
"Damn it, Eric! Start talking! Explain why neither of you have come out of that Lion!?" Ashley snarled.
Eric rolled his eyes at Andy, who gave him a sympathetic look. "Did you really expect me to let Andy give birth alone?" He asked, his voice oozed sarcasm.
"Well!?" The entire family demanded.
"We are now the proud parents of a healthy baby boy. Andy is content and holding him in her arms." Eric told the family.
"Back off! I will let them out as soon as the princess is ready." Blacky growled at the family, as they all converged on him.
Eric emerged a few minutes later, so they could see the newest member to the royal family. He was now fed, diapered, and sleeping continently in his mother's arms. His face snuggled into the red velvet of her dress, that Eric had carefully redressed her in.
Ashley entered her and Max's quarters and quietly tiptoed up to their bed. Max was tossing and turning in his drug-induced sleep. So she walked over to their walk-in closet and carefully hung up her wedding gown, before she headed for a nice long shower. Not caring one bit that she was leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.
Max slowly awoke and got out of bed, only then did he notice the trail of female clothing leading towards their bathroom, and he could hear the shower running.
"Ashley?" Max stumbled towards the bathroom. "Please don't let this be a dream." He prayed silently, as he reached the end of the trail of clothing and saw a familiar silhouette through the frosted glass of the shower door. "Ashley!" Max flung open the shower door and pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
"Max!" She kissed him back.
Max pulled her away from him, so he could make sure that she was okay. "Did they hurt you?" He pulled her back into his arms and hugged her fiercely.
"No, Maximilian, I'm perfectly fine, and happy to be here in your arms where I belong." She sighed happily.
"I love you so much, Ash. I was going out of my mind…" He rained kisses all over her face.
"Max, there's something that I want to tell you. I was hoping to tell you on our wedding night, but since I almost died today I can't wait another minute..." Ashley was cut off by Max's fierce kiss.
Max's control broke when she told him of her near death experience. "All I want is for the two of us to be one, nothing else matters." He swept her up into his arms, took her over to their bed, and then the two of them became lost in each other.
Keith and Allura looked down at their little grandson sleeping in the arms of his slumbering mother. Eric had carried the two of them to the castle Med-wing where Darian made sure they were in perfect health.
"Isn't she the most amazing woman in the universe?" Eric yawned, as he looked lovingly down at his wife and son.
"She does have her moments." Keith smiled.
"She's exhausted…My poor baby…What they must have put her through." Allura walked over and gently brushed Andy's bangs out of her eyes.
Eric bent down kissed Dromi's forehead and then left the room without saying a word to either of them.
Keith and Allura looked at each other and then down at Andy. "What on Arus was that all about?"
"Stay with Andy, Allura. I'm going to talk to Eric." Keith gave his wife a long kiss and then left the room.
Allura looked down at her sleeping daughter and frowned. "What happened on that planet?"
Eric kept walking until he entered the gym and automatically had the computer call up Andy's usual training program. A Solid hologram of Shaitan stood in front of him on the mat and Eric went to systematically dismember every inch of the hologram.
His mind kept going over what he had heard between Shaitan and Andy and when killing the hologram didn't erase the haunting words from his mind he began to take his frustrations out of the heavy bag.
Keith stood quietly watching Eric's every move. "Want to tell me what happened on that planet?" He growled softly.
Eric spun around and glared at his father-in-law. "There is nothing to talk about, because nothing happened on that planet!" He slammed his fist into the bag.
"Try that again, son! You should be with the twins telling them about their new baby brother! Not tearing up my sparing room!" Keith snarled at him.
"Look! I wasn't the one that got to her first okay! Another person beat me to her!" He glared at Keith.
"Who?"
"Shaitan!" Eric snarled.
"Continue…" Keith growled.
"Believe it or not the bastard was there to rescue Ash and Andy. She was too tired to fight him and desperate for anyone to help her. So regardless of her feelings towards Shaitan, she let down her guard and let him help her. She knew that he cared for her too much to take advantage of her in her delicate condition! Hell, Keith, I don't know how I feel about all of this because…Oh and you'll really love what happened next. She admitted to him that if I hadn't been born that she would have probably ended up with him!" Eric was so angry and confused that he didn't realize how hurt he actually was.
"Go on."
"He then asked her if that would have been so bad…that he would have given her the universe if she asked him to and then she responded to him by saying we'll never know…then there was nothing but silence for ten minutes or so." He punched the bag, so hard that it flew off its chains, and crashed into the far wall.
Keith stood there in silence, as he took in everything that Eric had said to him. "Listen to me, Eric Anthony Lawson, because I am only going to say this once. My daughter has wanted two things all of her life Blacky and then at seven she laid her eyes on a twelve-year-old boy, who also had his eyes on that same dream. Regardless of how much she denied her feelings, you became more important to her than that lion. I bet that you didn't know that she systematically broke up every one of your attempts at dating."
"Dad…"
Keith narrowed his eyes. "Shut up and listen!"
"Sorry…"
"Then countless times, after her sixteenth birthday, she ran into my arms in tears, because you refused to notice her latest attempt to get your attention and that all you cared about was Voltron. Little did she know that you kept asking me why she kept flinging herself at you and then ignoring you completely. You two have something that only comes around once in a lifetime. Don't blow everything because of a perfectly innocent incident with Shaitan. She loves you so much, Eric. She has given you three special little miracles and would gladly sacrifice her life to save you. So I suggest that you go home, get the girls, take them to see their Mommy and their new baby brother, because that is where you belong. Not in here beating yourself up over nothing!" Keith finished what he had to say and then stalked out of the room.
(Andy and Eric's)
Matt, Jenna, Fawn, Chris, Jace, Lilly, Matt, and Kane all eyed the raven that had mysteriously appeared in Eric and Andy's home.
"Where did he come from?" Fawn hissed in Kane's ear.
Kane eyed the bird and noticed there was a note attached to his perch. "There's only one way to find out." He reached out and grabbed the card.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Read it." Matt and Jenna frowned at him.
"Thank you…Ryan wanted you to have Samson…. Love a friend?" Kane frowned, as he read the card.
"Who's Ryan?" Christy frowned.
"Kane, let me see that card." Jace took the card out of Kane's hands and looked down at the handwriting. "This is my Uncle's writing!"
"What may I ask is going on here?" Eric frowned at the teens.
"Daddy!" The twins raced into their father's arms.
"Hello angels, were you good for your Aunt Lilly and Uncle Shawn while I was away?" He hugged them to him.
"We were angels, Daddy." They chimed in unison.
Shawn and Lilly looked at each other and groaned.
"Let's just say that they know where to go in an emergency." Lilly sighed.
Eric frowned at his girls. "Were you in the Lair?"
"We want Momma!" Jessie chanted.
"Want Momma now!" Jasmine joined in.
"Okay…Okay…I give up! We'll go see your momma." Eric finally noticed the bird that was sitting on a perch in the middle of his living room. "Where did you come from?" He frowned at the bird.
"I am present from a grateful little boy." He answered clearly.
"Does this little boy have a name?" Eric frowned.
"Ryan." Samson answered.
"I see…He was so thrilled to finally meet his daddy, so he entrusted his most prized possession to my wife." Eric tried to keep his cool about this situation. "Did I leave anything out?" He glared at the raven.
"No, Captain, that about covers it." Samson cocked his head at him.
"Shadow, Bella, Buttons, and Nala do not harm Samson." He ordered the panthers currently sizing up Samson as an afternoon snack. "On second thought, I'll just put you in the lair for safekeeping." He set Samson on his shoulder.
"Pretty Birdie!" Jessie giggled, as Samson's feathers tickled her nose.
"No eat! Good birdie! Bad kitties!" Jasmine scolded the panthers.
"That's right, angels, Daddy doesn't want Momma's present to be lunch for our panthers." Eric chuckled.
"Samson tough bird, not meal for such scared beasts." He chattered.
Shadow licked his chops, as he waited until Eric finally let him fly into the lair. Fortunately for Samson, Shadow couldn't reach where he was perched.
(Castle of Lions)
Ashley snuggled contently in Max's arms. "Max, you can loosen the hold on my waist…I'm not going anywhere." She purred into his ear.
Max pulled her even closer to him, "I like holding you." He rained kisses all over her face.
"Max? What would you do if I told you that we were going to be parents seven months from now?" She looked up into his vivid green eyes.
"You mean that…I mean, that you're going to have a baby? Our baby!" His face broke into a huge grin and he kissed her senseless.
"That's right, Max, our baby." She sighed happily.
"This is great!" Max practically shouted with joy.
"Maximilian, as much as I'd love to spend the rest of the night celebrating, we have a little patient to check on." She giggled when he gave her this blank look.
"We happen to be on leave remember." He pulled her to him for another kiss. "Let Darian handle it."
"Honestly, Maximilian. Andromeda and her newborn baby take precedence over our leave, besides don't you want to check him over yourself? I doubt that Michael Keith will lack any of his mother's talents." Ashley laughed when Max practically jumped out of bed.
"When did all of this happen?" He growled.
"After Eric arrived Andy went into labor and had Michael in Blacky." Ashley told him.
"Let's go see this little miracle, after we shower." Max picked her up and carried her towards the shower.
Andromeda awoke to the company of two identical pairs of eyes staring wide-eyed at their little baby brother, who was still snuggled in the crook of her arm.
Eric was standing by the window staring out at the lake.
"Jessica, Jasmine, this is your baby brother Michael." She smiled at her daughters.
"He's so tiny." They whispered softly.
"Yes he's tiny, but he won't break if you want to touch him." She smiled at them.
"He feels soft." Jessie whispered, as she touched her little brother's tiny hand.
"We missed you, Momma." Jasmine sniffled.
"I missed you both so much." She smiled at the two of them.
"Okay, girls, Grandma and Grandpa have two pieces of Chocolate cake waiting for you in the kitchen." Eric smiled at his angels when they raced from the room.
"Now as for you, little man. I think the crib in the nursery will be your next discovery." He carefully scooped his son out of Andy's arms and into his own. "I'll be right back." He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'll be waiting." She smiled at him then frowned because she sensed that something was bothering him. Andy scooted over so there was room for two on the bed and fought back the urge to fall back to sleep.
Eric returned as promised and crawled in next to her. "I heard everything that happened to you at the palace." He lay on his side and looked down at her face, waiting to see how she was going to react.
"Are you upset about what occurred between Shaitan and I?" She asked softly.
"I was until your father straightened me out about it." He admitted to her.
"I love you, Eric. I was just so terrified for our son and he was there to help me." Andy sighed in frustration.
"I know that, Andromeda…I guess it hurts a guy's ego when he hears his wife telling his sworn enemy that if he hadn't existed that she and his enemy would have ended up together!" Eric snarled bitterly.
"Actually, if you hadn't existed then I would have drowned when I was eight-years-old. So there was no way that I could have fallen for Shaitan!" She snarled at him. "Shaitan helped me and I returned that favor by introducing him to a little four-year-old boy named Ryan! He isn't going to come and ask me for anything, so just chill!"
Eric carefully pulled her into his arms. "I love you and I dare anyone to try to take you from me. I feel guilty for not being the one to rescue you first." He tilted her chin with his hand, so she was looking into his eyes.
Andy eyed the long black feather that was stuck in his golden mane. "Lion? What is Samson's feather doing in your hair?" She frowned, as she pulled the feather out of his hair.
"He's your gift for uniting Ryan with his father." Eric chuckled.
"Eric! We have our cats! I can't have Samson! Shadow will eat him for a snack!" Andy panicked.
"He's already tried that, sweetheart, but our feathered friend is safe and sound in the lair." Eric grinned.
"I hope he doesn't try to harass Rora." Andy worriedly bit down on her lower lip with her teeth.
"What would you think about my holding you while you nap for a while?" Eric snuggled her to him tucking her head under his chin.
"I love you, lion." She yawned and settled off to sleep in his arms.
It wasn't long before Eric fell asleep and then the twins came back to check on their parents, and decided to snuggle up with them and nap.
Ashley and Max carefully entered the nursery, so they could check on the newest little royal.
Michael lay wide-awake and alert on his stomach.
"He's so adorable, Max." Ashley walked over to the crib and looked down at the infant.
"He sure doesn't look like a premature baby." Max smiled down at MK.
The infant looked none too happy at Max's comment and whimpered his reply. He was also wet and uncomfortable and voiced his disapproval with a wail of his tiny little lungs.
Ashley immediately picked him up out of the crib and began to rock him in her arms. "He certainly is healthy, just listen to those lungs." Ashley winced, as his cries grew even louder.
Max took MK from Ashley and checked his diaper. "No wonder he's angry. He doesn't like his wet diaper." Max set him down on the changing table. "No you're not pleased are you, little man." He continued to talk to the infant.
The baby stopping crying and began looking at Max, as if he were saying "What planet are you from?"
"He sure does express what he's feeling with those eyes of his." Ashley smirked.
"He really is alert and very much aware of his surroundings for only being a few hours old." Max took at little toy Black Lion and moved it around MK's area of vision. The toy instantly entranced the baby's eyes.
"He's just like his parents." Ashley grinned at Max.
Michael yawned hugely and immediately fell back to sleep, so Max carefully set him back down in his crib.
"Are you up to a nice quite candlelight ceremony in the castle chapel?" He smiled at her.
"I'd love that." She sighed, as they left the nursery, and walked back to their room.
Next Chapter 16
Cindra©1999-2015
**DISCLAIMER** I in no way own any of the original characters in this story or the original Voltron. The new characters and robots on the other hand are mine and under no circumstances are they to be used without my permission.