AI Chapter 3, a voltron fanfic

In back of the Castle of Lions, both Haggars are chanting to whatever spirit can help them stop the two falling spacecraft joined together as the left arm of Vehicle Voltron. For a long time they sit and chant.

"I don't think this is working." old Haggar said to young Haggar.

"It must work, we must try!" young Haggar exclaimed.

Both Haggars concentrated very hard on trying to visualize the falling object in their heads, and then reaching out their hands they psychically grabbed onto the falling ship. Old Haggar screamed as she felt the weight of the two ships combined with the terminal velocity almost rip out her brain.

"AAGGHH,… it's too heavy!" old Haggar said.

"Don't try to pull it all by yourself! Let me help you!" Young Haggar said as she concentrated on her psychic tether that was now linked via old Haggar. All of a sudden old Haggar stood up angrily breaking her bond with the ship. She chanted and waved her wand, instantly both ships were right in front of them. Young Haggar couldn't believe it. "I told you not to use evil magic for good!" young Haggar screamed in frustration. Now those evil spirits know where you are and will be after you again!" "That's not important right now." old Haggar said quickly approaching the two damaged ships as fast as she could, "The boy has no heart beat!"
Young Haggar could only stare at old Haggar. "Well come and help me!" old Haggar yelled.

As Nanny goes to check on the rooms, Both Haggars charge into the castle the young one holding an unconscious Chip in her arms. The old one helping Marvin hobble to a nearby seat. Marvin was half conscious at the time. "Thanks lady," Marvin said in a daze.

"Don't mention it." Old Haggar said in return. Marvin took a glance at her. "You know you got something all over your face?" Marvin said slowly.

"Um, It's a mud mask." Old Haggar said not wanting to frighten him.

"Oh, that's nice!" Marvin said and then slumped over her lap.

"We need some help over here!" Young Haggar shouted. Nanny ran to her seeing Chip severely hurt.

"Goodness!… He'll need to see Dr. Gorma right away. Follow me!" Nanny said as she picked up her skirts and ran with the young Haggar as quickly as she could to the castle infirmary.

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Lisa was sitting next to Jeff and holding his hand. Jeff was awake but almost immovable.

"Lisa why does this have to happen to me? I could, right now, be helping the others fix Vehicle Voltron!" Jeff said with frustration. Jeff tried to sit up but the amount of blood loss and the sharp stinging pain made was enough to make him extremely sick to his stomach.

"Whoa!" Jeff said practically falling over the side of the bed. Lisa and Dr. Gorma grabbed him before he could fall.

"Jeff, please calm down. You can't do anything right now until you are better. You need your rest." Lisa said.

"She's right, Jeff. You were just in a terrible accident, and until I finish all of my tests, you must stay in bed." Dr. Gorma concluded.

"Well why don't you give me a pair of crutches for now, and when you need to do another test, get that nanny of yours to track me down!" Jeff muttered. Lisa stifled a giggle. Dr. Gorma turned toward Jeff and said very simply, "It's not that simple. You may have to go in for surgery."

"Surgery?" Jeff whimpered. "For what?"

"To put a metal rod in your leg to keep it straight, repair some damaged tissue around the ribs and lower back, and you may have internal bleeding." Dr. Gorma said.

"Metal rod,… internal bleeding?" Jeff asked worriedly.

"I guarantee that if you get up from that bed, you may end up paralyzed. Dr. Gorma said, "Which reminds me, I have to take some X-rays of your neck and spinal column to check for abnormalities. You came in laying in an odd position, and that pain you felt while getting up may be a warning."

"So there is no way I'm going to be up and about anytime soon?" Jeff asked.

"I would not suggest it." Dr. Gorma replied. "You may break your neck, literally."

"Well I guess I have to stay here then." Jeff sighed.

"I'm glad you see it my way. By what I heard about the accident, I don't know how you even survived." Dr. Gorma turned and walked to a desk with a clipboard on it. He made a few scrawls and then he set it hanging on the end of Jeff's bed. A buzzer went off on a panel on the wall next to the door.

"Excuse me." Dr. Gorma said to Jeff and Lisa as he pushed a button that turned off the buzzer and left the room in a hurry. Lisa looked at Jeff, "How did you survive the crash? From what I saw first hand, it looked like you were doomed!"

"I don't know, I just remember hearing your words and then I woke up in the wrecked ship. I don't even know what it looks like now."

"Jeff, it's completely destroyed." Lisa said solemnly, "I watched the whole thing,… it was a nightmare." Tears were forming in Lisa's eyes.

"Jeff, I,… don't know what I'd do without you."

Jeff hugged Lisa for a while. "Lisa, don't think about that now. I'm still alive, and I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon." They both stared at each other for a while, and then Jeff face lit up with a smile. "At least I know you love me." Jeff said cheekily. Lisa lightly pounded Jeff's shoulder.

"Ow! Hey that hurt! That's not a way to treat a sick man!" Jeff whimpered. Lisa stuck her tongue out at Jeff and gave him the raspberries.

"You were trying to get out of here before, now you are a sick man?" Lisa turned her back on Jeff.

"Aw, come on Lisa." Jeff pleaded.

Dr. Gorma ran to the Castle infirmary's emergency room, someone had just been admitted assumed in serious condition because the buzzer sounded. As he entered, he saw a young boy with the same uniform as Jeff.

"This is Chip, isn't it?" Dr. Gorma asked the young Haggar.

"Yes! It is, and he's not breathing!" young Haggar said in one breath. Before Dr. Gorma did anything he checked Chip over quickly but carefully. He saw that Chip was bleeding from the nose. "This doesn't look good." Dr. Gorma said quietly as he motioned the nurses to hook Chip up to life support monitors.

"What?" young Haggar asked.

"Chip is bleeding from the nose, he could probably have major head trauma, or he could be suffocating. We need to get his heart beating first." Dr. Gorma said grimly.

"Is he going to live?" young Haggar asked as Dr. Gorma prepared the paddles Dr. Gorma ignored her question. "Someone please escort her out of here?" the doctor said as he started to try to resuscitate Chip. A nurse approached young Haggar and escorted her out of the emergency room.

A white cloud surrounded Chip as he seemed to be lifted from his own body. All of a sudden he saw a room. Then as the imagecleared, he saw himself lying on a hospital bed and nurses and doctors (or at least one doctor) scrambling to revive him. The question hit Chip hard, "Am I dead?"

"Do not be afraid, young one." A deep but gentle voice said. The area around Chip grew dark again, and soon he found himselfconfronted by images of Vehicle Voltron crashing to the ground, the effort to help Jeff escape the wreckage, and the wreckage of the SS Explorer. He saw two symbols flash before his eyes. One was a symbol for Lion Voltron and the other was the symbol for Vehicle Voltronboth then changed into their corresponding swords. Between them a ghost appeared. It was a man, Chip recognized him as soon as the image cleared it was King Alfor. Chip looked at the swords closely, he noticed prism-like lines in the gleaming reflected light of the swords especially along the edges. He noticed the sword had now become transparent. The lines were more pronounced. Then the swords disappeared and Chip did understand the meaning as to what King Alfor was telling him, he didn't know why. As Chip looked intently at the swords. Suddenly an image of the crashing Vehicle Voltron filled his view, he saw the head separate and crash, a black shiny object flew out from the back of thehead. Soon as the vision went dark a small light appeared in front of him. Chip felt himself being drawn toward it as the light got closer. Hestarted to feel pain in his head. He could see images in the light moving. The pain worsened and soon, Chip felt a tremendous jolt of painas he was slammed back into his body.

Dr. Gorma sighed a large breath of relief when he saw Chip's vital signs returning. Chip was now completely immobilized from head to toe. Chip started to open his eyes.

"He's already coming to." Dr. Gorma said in amazement. Chip could see figures but they were all blurred; he didn't have his glasses on. He heard a voice and a fuzzy white and pinkish-tan thing hovered over him. "Do you know your name?" It asked, it had a human voice and by the content of the question Chip assumed it was a doctor. "My name is Chip." Chip said as he saw a bright light shine into his eyes, switching from one eye to another. Chip tried to turn his head but he couldn't move at all.

"Don't worry, you have been immobilized for your safety. I need to take some X-rays and check for other traumatic injuries, other than that, you are safe." Dr. Gorma said.

"I'd feel better if I could see clearly." Chip said.

"Okay, do you know your prescription?" Dr. Gorma asked.

"About 20/30 in my right eye and 20/85 with astigmatism in my left." Chip said.

"Are you nearsighted, or farsighted?" Dr. Gorma asked.

"Farsighted," Chip said.

Dr. Gorma took some notes and took off his glasses and looked at them.

"Oh well, here." Dr. Gorma handed his glasses to Chip. "My prescription isn't the same, but it is a close match. You can use these until your new glasses are made."

Chip put the glasses on. The view was a little warped but he could see much clearer now. "Thank you, but won't you need these?" Chip asked the Doctor.

"No, I always carry a spare pair." The doctor said as he pulled another pair from his "doctor's coat" pocket. Dr. Gorma walked over to a table and started scrawling some information on a small sheet of paper. He than handed it to one of the nurses. "Take this to the local glassmaker, tell him that it is important that he get this done as soon as possible." The nurse nodded her head and walked out of the room with the slip of paper. Dr. Gorma looked to another nurse.

"Please tell the other members of the Voltron Vehicle Force that Chip is here, but I won't let anyone see him until I diagnose him. The other nurse nodded and walked out of the room. Dr. Gorma then wave to the remaining nurses. They gathered around the gurney and pushed Chip out into the hallway. They pushed him a few feet and turned the gurney into another room with X-ray equipment. One of the nurses put a heavy lead shield over Chip except for the places where they were going to X-ray.

"Hold still while we take the pictures, okay?" the nurse said in a sort of perky tone of voice. Chip just lay there on the gurney while the X-rays were taken.

In the recreation room the other nurse appeared. "I would like your attention please,…" she yelled. Everyone went quiet. "A friend of yours by the name of Chip has just been admitted into the infirmary. We believe he is in stable condition, but Dr. Gorma has not yet made a complete diagnosis." They all looked at each other.

"When will we be able to see him?" Ginger asked the nurse.

"After Dr. Gorma makes his diagnosis." The nurse replied calmly.

"Is the little guy okay?" Rocky asked with his typical Brooklyn accent.

"We don't know for sure yet, he is being examined right now. Don't worry, you will be able to see him in a few hours." The nurse concluded and then she walked out the door. The princess had entered the room, she had also been told about Chip by Nanny. She had stayed at the castle so that she could help make arrangements to bring the Vehicle Voltron wreckage to the castle for repairs. It seems that Lion Voltron's awakening will have to wait much to the Haggars' dismay Shannon approached the princess and bowed. "Did ya hear anythin' about th' Explorer yet?" Shannon said in his thick Irish accent.

"No, I haven't. I'm starting to get worried." Allura said calmly, "And you don't have to bow to me, I am just a regular person," she added.

"And we're just sittin' here like morons when we should be helping." Rocky said with clear agitation in his voice.

"No, you all have been through a lot today. You need some time to recover." Allura walked to a chair in front of Rocky and sat down. Rocky looked at the Princess. "Well I'm sorry if I don't feel like relaxing while someone else does all the work." Rocky's voice was calm but the anger was there. Ginger started to walk toward Rocky when he suddenly looked up at her.

"No, don't try!" Rocky almost yelled it out. Cinda was outraged by Rocky's sudden outlashing at Ginger. "Rocky, what is wrong with you? I have never seen you like this." Cinda asked with equal agitation. Rocky threw up his hands.

"You wanna know? I'll tell ya!" Rocky exclaimed. "Just sittin' here only makes me think about what will happen if we can't fix our Voltron!" Rocky was almost to the point of exploding. "But that is what I am making arrangements for, to help you rebuild your Voltron." Allura said trying to calm Rocky down. He didn't seem to listen.

"But what if you can't?" Rocky repeated, "That robot is our lives! When Voltron fought we fought! When Voltron won, we won! We are that robot! We are Voltron! Voltron is dead! We are dead!" Everyone in that room, Cinda, Ginger, Cliff, Shannon, Wolo, Krik, Tangor, Modok, Hutch, Zandee, and Allura all gasped at the depth of Rocky's thought.

"Death is only in your point of view." Krik said wisely. "In mine it is a new beginning. Allura leaned closer to Rocky, "That is what is keeping all of you together, your common memories. Don't let that go."

"I don't want to!" Rocky exclaimed everyone could feel the pain in his voice. "But,…"

"But, nothing!" Hutch interrupted. "Just because Voltron is not working right now doesn't mean the end of the team. Rocky thought of this a while. "I'm sorry guys, I'm just don't know what will happen if it should happen."

"Well then don't think abou' it, mate." Cliff said with his heavy Australian accent. "I guarantee, that Voltron will die only over my dead body!" As Cliff said this, he stood up.

"And mine!" Ginger stood up.

"And mine!" Tangor stood up.

"And mine!" Krik stood up.

"And mine!" Cinda stood up.

They all stood up, even Allura, except Rocky who was still listening.

"Hey Rocky, if ya want'a join us, you bet'er stand up." Cliff said jokingly.

Rocky shook his head and stood up. They all cheered his decision to join them. they all formed a circle and put their hands together in the center, like a team. They lifted their hands on the count of three shouting "GO VOLTRON!"

"You know the best thing about this is?" Krik asked them all, "It is harder to stop fifteen people than it is to stop one!"

"Too right!" Cliff shouted. They all laughed.

In the dark depths of space a planet of evil orbits a nearby star. This is Planet Doom. The barren plains and desert-like atmosphere give the vision of a desolate and lifeless planet. But, the ruins of a dark castle stand amongst the barren plains. Castle Doom, and the home of Zarkon. The castle has changed, no longer does it have the golden throne room, and no longer does it have the defenses it used to. It had all been destroyed a while ago. A ship lands next to the castle. It is quite small and it is very quick, but it seems to be some sort of escape pod. A figure is seen exiting the pod, upon closer inspection, it is Zarkon himself. No longer does Zarkon wear his crown and he is dressed rather plainly. Quite a surprise for someone who used to be King of at least half the universe. Zarkon is old and he has trouble walking amongst the old ruins. He starts to wheeze, and he falls to the ground recalling his last fight,… with his son, Lotor. Zarkon remembered that Lotor had gathered together a large fleet of ships, he conquered many lands that Zarkon used to own. And then, Lotor had conquered Zarkon's waning forces and soon, Zarkon fell to his son. In this time Zarkon had even considered asking Voltron to help him. But, he knew they wouldn't believe him nor would they care. Besides, calling upon Voltron would show weakness. He did not want Lotor to think he was weak, but since Lotor, his own son, had conquered him, he was now on the verge of dying. Zarkon watched his life pass before his eyes. His last words before he drew his final breath were "I will return,… more powerful than both Voltrons combined." With that Zarkon died.

Zarkon's vision was soon filled by the sight of a dark cloud. A voice was soon heard laughing at him. The dark cloud quickly surrounded him. The voice was very recognizable, soon visions of Vehicle Voltron crashing onto planet Arus were seen vividly. Zarkon stared in wonder at these sights. All he could think about was that he was dealing with a powerful entity of some sort.
"Do you wish to see the same happen to Lion Voltron and your son?" the Voice said. A glowing yellow eye confronted Zarkon. The voice was so familiar to him yet he could not figure out where he heard it from. The yellow eyes disappeared, leaving Zarkon in almost total darkness.

"Well?" the voice said with anger, still very familiar.

"Yes, I would do anything to see those two nuisances destroyed!" Zarkon replied, "But, I want to know who you are."

"Why Zarkon, don't you recognize me?" the voice said with an accentuated malice. "I was hoping that you would remember me, here let me help you jog that old brain of yours!" A massive charge of electricity jumped into Zarkon's head, the voice laughing as Zarkon cried out in pain. But, more images came into view, then the answer was all too clear as the clouds formed themselves into a face. The yellow eye came into view along with a circular red one next to it.

"Yurak?" Zarkon gasped.

"Finally you figure it out!" Yurak said mockingly.

"How did you,… What the,…" Zarkon was at a loss for words.

"That old witch Haggar as become good." Yurak said with disgust. "All her evil creations that she made are coming back to haunt her, even the evil Voltron she made." As Yurak said this his face changed to match that of the evil Voltron.

"No, No! Please,… don't let me see that image again!" Zarkon yelled in fear. "I've suffered enough from that blasted robot!"

"Didn't Haggar turn you into a robeast too?" Yurak asked.

"Yes, but I managed to escape,…" Zarkon said tiredly, "only to let my son kick my ass throughout the universe."

"Then join us, help us destroy them all!" Yurak yelled. Soon the faces of the other robeasts came into view. Along with the evil Voltron which now began to talk to him.

"I know when we will attack, and that time is soon all Haggar needs to do is to release the curse from Voltron. Then Voltron is ours todestroy." The evil Voltron said.

"Oh? And how do you think you are going to do that?" Zarkon asked. The evil Voltron's eyes went bright red. "Look at me! I just happen to look like Voltron, you didn't notice?" The evil Voltron yelled. "I know many secrets to Voltron, even the robot's worst nightmare!"

"I've heard that before, it's a crock of shit if you ask me." Zarkon said bluntly.

"Power is not just a imaginary dream, Zarkon." Yurak said surprised at Zarkon's naieveness. "Power is everything. And by joining us you will have access to great power!"

"Sounds like a cheap advertisement to me." Zarkon said. "I may be evil, but I'm not stupid. How do I know that I am actually talking to Yurak and not some being who takes over others consciousness?"

"I don't understand," Yurak said, "All the power of the universe is at your fingertips and you refuse it?"

"I want to be able to conquer the universe by my own means. That is how I've always achieved my goals, not by some quick fix." Zarkon said, "If there's anything that I've learned over the years, it is to never trust anyone. They always let you down, no matter how much power they have."

"Have you gone nuts?" Yurak asked in outrage. "I practically gave everything for this power!"

"That is exactly why I am not." Zarkon said flatly, "I don't want to give anything to anyone. I want everything to operate in my convenience. I want great power and the ability to keep it! When your power goes, you will have nothing since you gave everything, what will you do then?"

"Zarkon, you're naive! This is ultimate power! This is eternal." Yurak yelled.

"I don't believe you, It's all nonsense, Yurak!" Zarkon yelled back bravely, "Haven't I taught you anything? And yet you were probably the first one tojump at the chance for this,… this, ultimate power! I don't believe you!"

"And how many times have you believed Haggar?" Yurak asked mockingly.

"Yes, I admit, I have fallen for Haggar's promises that were never kept. But I realized afterward that Haggar is all smoke, mirrors and full of shit!" Yurak started laughing. Zarkon looked at Yurak oddly. "What's so damn funny?"

"Since we both agree that Haggar and the rest are a nuisance, you are still useful." Yurak said, "I will give you back your youth and your castle. You drive a hard bargain, but the knowledge you carry can be useful to us. Consider this a trial period. We will be back with your answer later. We must go."

The cloud disappeared quickly, leaving Zarkon on the planet. Zarkon looked up and off to his left and he could see that his castle was rebuilt the way it was before and quite possibly with a few changes. Zarkon then looked at himself. He was alive, and as young as he was just a few years after he left the Drule Academy He was stronger and more aware of his surroundings. Zarkon could only wonder what could make Yurak and "that entity" leave so quickly leaving him with an advantage. Zarkon walked into his rebuilt castle laughing maniacally. Zarkon had gotten what he wanted, with literally no strings attached. Zarkon then knew that he was too important for them to go and kill him. Yurak was a born idiot! When Zarkon walked in the front gates of his new Castle Doom, he saw all of his robot soldiers awaiting his commands. And now that he thought of it, Zarkon's first order of business was to teach his ungrateful son who was boss.

The castle recreation room was still inhabited by the Voltron Vehicle Force, by now they were all bored to death for not having anything to do, or they were anxiously waiting for the People from the Explorer to get to the castle. Allura had left the room to make further arrangements. The boredom was interrupted by Marvin who was now a little more aware of where he was as he hobbled into the rec. room helped by Nanny. Ginger was the first to jump up out of her seat almost knocking it backwards, to help. "Marvin! You're okay!" Ginger shouted happily. The whole team stood up and watched Marvin approach them slowly. "Yes, Ginger, I'm okay. There's no need to make a big fuss about it."

"What happened to you?" Cliff asked in concern.

"The last thing I remember was being helped in by some lady with a mud mask on." Marvin said coning out of his daze. Marvin sat down in an available chair. He groaned as he put up his right foot on the table in front of him. It was covered in bandaging.

"What did you do to yourself?" Cinda asked.

"Oh, it's just a sprained ankle." Marvin replied, "It will be okay in a few days."

"Mud mask?" Cliff asked, "Are ya sure you're okay, mate?" "I don't know." Marvin said, "Chip was carried in, and everyone was rushing about. Other than that, the rest is all fuzzy."

"That's okay, Marvin. We all have been through a lot this morning." Ginger said comfortingly.

"Hey! I recognize this place." Marvin said enlightened. "Did we actually crash on Arus?"

"Yeah, we did." Hutch said with a laugh, "Isn't that a coincidence?"

Princess Allura appeared in the doorway. "Keith and the others are returning with a caravan of people from the Explorer now. They will be here in about 5 minutes." Allura then plopped down unladylike on a remaining available chair and sighed. "I've been up all morning."

The Voltron Vehicle Force thought nothing of her unladylike motion of sitting down. "We know what you mean Allura." Ginger said yawning.

"Oh, No. Don't do that, you'll get the rest of us yawning." Cinda said.

"Well I'm not tired." Hutch said, "Is there a TV or something in here?"

"No, I haven't given any authorization for TV." The princess answered. "Who knows what Zarkon will find out from it."

The castle PA system activated, Coran was on the other end. "Your highness, the Voltron force has returned along with some of the Explorer crew."

"I will be there in a minute." Allura said, and she then got up again after only two minutes of sitting and started to walk out of the rec. room.

"Pret'y busy today, eh Allura?" Cliff asked. Allura sighed, she felt like she had been run ragged all day. "Yes Cliff, one of the busiest."

"Well, I'm not sittin' 'ere all day, the Captain and Commander would be pret'y ticked if they saw us doing nothing. I'm coming with you." Cliff said, "I want to see what is goin' on with the clean-up efforts." They both left the rec. room. After that all the Voltron Force got up and went their separate ways for a while most of them going to the infirmary to check on Jeff and Chip.

In the castle Control Room, Captain Newly was getting pretty upset about the whole situation. The whole morning has turned out to be a six hour disaster. The sun was up and they were still preparing to go and clean up the crash site. The worst thing though was that upon an aerial viewing of the site, he found that there was a lot to do. Especially when ground crews could not find Vehicle Voltron's master cylinder.

"That thing could be miles from the crash site." Newly said raising his voice angrily at Keith as they both entered. They had to go the long way because the tubes could only accommodate one person. "Well don't yell at me! I don't know there it is!" Keith shouted back. They both paused and realized that they were yelling at each other and stopped immediately. "I'm sorry Keith, this whole morning has been hell!" Newly said frustratedly but with more calm this time.

"I'll tell Coran about the situation, in the mean time we can start the clean up,…" Keith replied.

"We can't yet," Newly interrupted, "That master cylinder is delicate equipment, the brain of Voltron. If it gets damaged, there is no way we will be able to repair the system. We have to find the cylinder first!"

"Does the Commander know what it looks like?" Keith asked.

"He should." Newly replied. Keith then went to the control panel where Coran was standing. "Red Lion, do you read me."

"Loud and clear! What's up?" Lance said over the com-link

"Is the commander with you?" Keith asked

"Nope, he's surveying the crash site with Pidge. I'm helping the crew evacuate the ship." Lance said. Keith pushed a button and depressed another one. "Pidge, do you read me?" "Right here, Keith." Pidge replied over the com-link.

"Captain Newly has just said that ground crews can't find a 'master cylinder' you'll need to go into a wider search pattern around the site." Keith reported with an executive tone. "Will do." Pidge turned to the Commander, "Do you know what the master cylinder looks like?"

"Well it's a shiny black box that is about 4 feet high. It is wide, and it has a big plug on one side and it should have a number printed in white on top of it." The Commander said trying to recall specifications. "I would start around Voltron's head. That is where it was supposed to be." Pidge flew over the head ship of Vehicle Voltron, the commander studied the way it was lying as they passed by. "Pidge get a view of the ground just off to the right of us." Hawkins commanded. "Did you see something?" Pidge asked,

"I thought I did." Hawkins said rubbing his chin. In a short while they would both notice a bright spot on the viewscreen, a reflection of the sun in a far off to the right next to a ravine. "What is that?" Pidge asked.

"It may be what we're looking for. Take us down, and we'll go have a look." the Commander ordered, trying not to sound to overbearing Pidge set the Green Lion down next to the ravine where they last saw the glint of light. The Commander exited first and quickly approached a large shiny black boxlike object on the edge of the ravine. It was big, but it looked small enough for the Green Lion to carry without extra help. The Commander stopped right in front of the object Pidge was catching up to him.

"This is it!" the Commander called back. He took a look at the outside casing of the master cylinder. Just why it was called a cylinder was beyond Pidge, even though he knew a lot about computers. "SHIT!" Hawkins yelled frustratedly.

"What's wrong?" Pidge shouted running toward the Commander. Pidge saw the problem as soon as he got there. The master cylinder had a hole on its left side. The media inside may have been damaged.

"Do you think it can be fixed?" Pidge asked.

"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about if the operating system will be located in the bad media." Hawkins said solemnly.

"There are ways you can retrieve most of the bad media." Pidge said trying to cheer thing up a bit.

"I don't know the damage is extensive." Hawkins said looking at the hole he could see the inside of it, and looked at it in wonder. It wasn't a disk at all, it was a filling with tiny metal wires in it. Millions and millions of tiny wires extending from top to bottom in little sections of a crystalline substance.

"I've never seen the inside of Voltron's brain before." Hawkins said in wonder. Pidge looked at it also, and saw it's shape and just couldn't resist a joke. "Yeah, I guess Voltron is a "blockhead." Pidge giggled, the Commander looked at him sternly.

"One more joke like that, and you won't have a brain to make up them stupid jokes with." The Commander growled.

"I'm sorry." Pidge apologized.

"Don't be sorry, be quiet!" The Commander was staring at the master cylinder and the "block" inside, and then started laughing himself then immediately going back to rigid silence. Pidge just looked at him oddly.

"We have to get this thing out of here," the Commander said after a brief pause and looking up at the sky. "The weather doesn't look to good." Dark clouds were looming off to the west.

"I see what you mean," Pidge agreed. "I'll go get the Lion and we'll take the cylinder to the Castle. It isn't good to leave your computer in the rain."

"You'd better hurry the storm seems to be coming in fast." Hawkins shouted as Pidge ran toward the Green Lion.

TO BE CONTINUED…