**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
"Captain, the Galra fleet is directly over the launch pad," Veronica warned them, bringing the images up on screen.
"MFE squadron, we need you to clear a path," Shiro requested. "The Atlas is powered and ready for launch."
"Copy that, Atlas," James confirmed over the comms. "Pilots, on me!"
More Galra cruisers began to descend from the upper atmosphere, joining in on the destruction of the Garrison. Even Sendak's ship began to lower, his confidence in his victory overflowing. The paladins and the lions were right there in front of them, brought closer by the warlord's premature triumph. Shiro glared at the ship, more than ready now to take it on.
"Crew, prepare for launch!" he instructed, and he was met with a unified, "Yes, sir!"
The bay doors creaked open once more and the Atlas rumbled as the engines surged. They lifted off the floor, rising higher and higher out of the hangar and into the sky. This time, they didn't fall, and as they joined the aerial battle between the MFEs and the Galra, the bridge was filled with excited whoops and hollers.
"Welcome to the battle, IGF-Atlas! Clearing a path for you now!" James greeted them, a smile in his voice. "MFEs, let's try these pulse projectiles we've been hanging on to."
Their pilots circled around the nearest cruisers and fired. The enemy ships sparked as each projectile made a direct hit, their lights flickering and going out as a result.
"Nice work, pilots," Sam said. "You've temporarily knocked out their systems."
"Iverson, how are the weapons systems coming?" Shiro asked.
"Still working on them," he admitted.
"Sir, Sendak appears to be positioning to strike from above," Veronica alerted them.
"He's going to fire his ion cannons," Mari realized.
"Shields at the ready," Shiro ordered, and Veronica nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Iverson's displays beeped. "We have an ionic discharger online!" he informed their captain.
"Lock on to that cruiser," Shiro said. "Fire when ready."
Commander Iverson aligned the targeting system and fired. The cannon buzzed with energy before releasing a brilliant golden beam that sliced straight through one of the cruisers. The entire thing exploded in the air, taking down the first of many in the enemy fleet. Their brief moment of success was short-lived though as the remaining cruisers turned on the Atlas, redirecting their attacks away from the MFEs. The ship jolted as blast after blast slammed into them, determined to bring the Earthling ship down. The Atlas' thick outer shell minimized the damage, but it was no particle barrier. It was only a matter of time before it cracked and the ship fell to a critical blow.
"Galra cruisers are taking up positions around us," Veronica announced, her screens mapping out the enemy ships as they drew closer.
The bridge lurched as another shot crashed into the Atlas. "We have a problem in the main engine!" Sam relayed, his tone grim over the comms. "The dynotherm connections are weakening."
"Commander?" Shiro asked, turning to Iverson for a weapons report.
"I'm hitting them with everything we've got, but there are just too many of them!" he admitted.
The bridge pitched again, nearly throwing Shiro, Mari, Scarlett, and Romelle off their feet. They grunted, straightening themselves and leaning on one another for support.
"Sam, what other weapons does this ship have?" Shiro called out to him, gripping his control panel as he surveyed his screens.
"I'm really not sure," Sam confessed. "Once we added the crystal, this ship gained abilities I never imagined."
Veronica's systems suddenly beeped as five unidentified ships entered the airspace of their battle. "We've got incoming!" she alerted everyone, but before they could face this new threat, the five objects began to attack Sendak's fleet. "Wait, they're friendly!"
"The lions!" Coran gasped as they zipped past.
"They escaped!" Iverson grinned, and the bridge erupted into a round of cheers and whoops of relief.
The heavy fire being aimed at the Atlas lessened as the Voltron lions joined the fight, taking out enemy fighter after fighter and putting ion cannons out of commission.
"Ah! Excellent!" Coran gushed, giddy with their turning lucky. Romelle and Scarlett squealed in delight and Shiro and Mari exchanged pleased grins.
"Paladins, welcome to the fight!" Shiro greeted them as Curtis opened the comm line linked to the lions. His eyes burned with a fiery determination as he said, "Let's go take out Sendak's cruiser."
"Wait! We're still on that ship!" Pidge quickly stopped him before he could do anything drastic. "Well, our bodies are."
Rather than disappointed, Shiro looked fairly delighted at the news. "Amazing," he breathed, a proud father watching as his baby birds not only flew, but soared, going above and beyond as a team of matured paladins. "We got ourselves some breathing room. Let's make it count."
As the lions streaked towards Sendak's cruiser, preparing to free the paladins from their prison cells, they took down hordes of enemy fighters as they went. The Atlas rose higher into the sky, bringing the enemy away from the surface. They headed towards Earth's upper atmosphere, blowing more Galra cruisers to bits while the MFEs covered them from more attacks. When the Black Lion ripped through the hull of Sendak's ship, tearing straight through it like butter, the remaining lions converged on the opening, allowing the paladins to return to them. Then they peeled away from the ship, soaring high into the sky as they formed Voltron. Another round of elated cheers elicited from the bridge team upon the reappearance of the legendary hero.
"It's great to have you back, paladins," Shiro said, unable to contain his own excitement as he grinned from ear to ear.
"It's good to be back," Hunk replied. "You know, in our bodies."
"Where's Admiral Sanda?" Mari asked. "Is she with you?"
There was a pause before Keith quietly answered, "The admiral is dead. She died trying to protect Earth."
Smiles faded and the atmosphere of the bridge grew heavy at the news. No one mentioned her previous betrayal, and the room was silent for a long moment. Shiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself. There would be time to mourn properly later. Right now, they still had a task in front of them. With Sendak still alive and kicking, this battle wasn't over yet.
"MFE pilots, what's your status?" he asked, pushing onward through the pain of their loss.
"Power is dropping," James reported.
"Return to the Atlas and recharge."
"Copy that. We're on our way."
No sooner did the MFEs dock did more Galra cruisers besiege the Atlas. More laser beams pounded into the battleship, rattling its inhabitants. Defending the aircraft, Voltron surged after the enemy ships, manifesting its sword and shoulder cannon to cut them down. Slowly but surely, the Fire of Purification was being wiped out. But there was still the heavy artillery to consider, and the six Zaiforge cannons were on the move again.
"Coran, adjust our heading to narrow our surface area for incoming attacks," Shiro instructed. "Commander Holt, what's the status of the Zaiforge cannons?"
"According to their projected trajectories, they've started moving together, but their convergent point is…"
His voice abruptly trailed off, and Shiro pressed him to respond. "Sam? Sam, what is it?"
"I know what Sendak is doing," he said, dread creeping into his voice. "He's going to converge the beams to make one massive amplified emission of particle radiation."
Shiro frowned. "Is that even possible?"
"Yes. I know because I gave them the technology. When I was enslaved, the Galra had me working on particle emission amplification," Sam rushed to explain. "I'm sending you the Zaiforge cannons' movements. This is a simulation I've run based on their current trajectory. It leads to a single point in space. Once they're in position, their individual beams will merge together, exponentially increasing their destructive force. It will be powerful enough to completely vaporize Earth."
The simulation playing on screen showed the six cannons pointed at one another as they hovered over the planet. They fired in sync, their blasts combining and forming one massive beam that shot right through Earth, melting it from the inside out.
"We can't let that happen!" Hunk insisted, vocalizing what they were all thinking in their rising fear. "What do we do?"
"Should we go after the Zaiforge cannons?" Allura asked. "The lions might not be able to defeat them all in time."
"If even two of those beams connect, they have the power to destroy Earth," Sam notified them.
"We know they're being controlled by Sendak. Let's take him out," Keith said, and Voltron started towards the warlord's command ship.
Suddenly, a beam of purple energy shot up from Earth's surface, slamming right into Voltron's back. The mech whirled and flailed, thrown off guard by the unexpected attack. Another blast fired at it again, forcing it to dodge. Then another streamed up, bouncing off one of the reflective plates and striking Voltron from behind again. The paladins raised the shield, blocking the next attack, but the remaining cruisers pelted Voltron's unguarded side. They tried moving towards the closest enemy aircraft, seeking reprieve from the onslaught of attacks, but another beam mercilessly shot down its own ship. Voltron was exposed again, surrounded by assaulting cruisers and fighters alike.
The Atlas was having no better success in trying to reach Sendak's ship. There were too many Galra cruisers blocking their path, relentlessly pounding them with more shots. The bridge quaked as a damaged fighter jet spiraled and exploded right in front of them.
"We can't get to Sendak!" Coran exclaimed.
"Voltron is pinned down!" Veronica added.
"Griffin, what's your team's status?" Shiro implored, his brow furrowed as the destruction outside continued.
"The MFEs are nearly charged," James replied. "Whatever's powering the Atlas is incredible."
"We need you back in the fight," Shiro ordered, typing away at his console. "Head to the coordinates I'm sending you and take out those surface-to-air cannons."
"Yes, sir."
Within minutes, the MFEs launched, leaping back into the battle as they returned to Earth to provide their team with some reprieve. Another Galra fighter, its wing shot off by its own forces, crashed into the side of the Atlas. Alarms beeped and Veronica's monitors flashed as she assessed the damage.
"We've sustained structural damage on our starboard bow!" she relayed. "The shield generators are not responding."
"I'll go down and take a look at them," Scarlett said, already moving for the door with Zyron hovering by her side. "Veronica, get ready to start up the system!"
"Copy that!"
"Aft cannons are recharging," Iverson reported. "Holding tight at forty-five percent."
"Shiro, the Zaiforge cannons are almost in position," Sam warned, bringing the live feed up on their screens. "By my calculations, we're not going to get to Sendak in time."
Shiro clenched his jaw in frustration. "Paladins, you have to stop your attack."
There was a furious grunt from Keith over their comms. "What?"
"Abort your attack or Earth will be destroyed."
Voltron flipped through the air, avoiding another purple beam from the enemy. It came to a hesitant stop as the paladins awaited Shiro's instructions.
"The Atlas will continue to attack Sendak while the MFEs attempt to take out the ground cannons," he quickly informed them. "But just in case that doesn't work, we'll need you to stop the Zaiforge cannons directly."
"How are we gonna stop all those cannons?" Lance asked, exasperated. "I'm not sure a lion can take one down on its own."
"We just have to think," Keith urged them. "Is there any way we can block the beams?"
"We would be annihilated," Pidge said.
"Hey, what about those reflective plates they used to curve the beam around Earth?" Hunk suggested.
"They could deflect the beams and keep them from merging," she realized, warming up to the idea.
"Okay. It's the best plan we've got so far," Keith decided. "Let's go!"
"Good luck, paladins," Shiro said, and Voltron disbanded. As the individual lions streaked towards the plates, the MFE fighters gave them a progress update on their mission.
"Atlas, cannon one is neutralized," James informed them. "Moving on to the next target."
New alert symbols popped up on their screens as the ship continued to suffer more heavy blows.
"We have a fire in the plasma alternator," Sam said. "Activating fire suppressors."
"Veronica, Scarlett, what's the status of the shielding system?" Shiro inquired.
"It's still not working," Veronica confessed, working like a madwoman at her station.
"Hold tight!" Scarlett answered over the comms. "I'm almost done rebooting the generators."
Shiro turned back to the helm, glaring out the windows at Sendak's cruiser that lay just beyond their reach. "Coran, adjust our heading to five-point-three-eight."
The lions reached the reflective plates, gradually beginning to push them into place. "How much time do we have?" Keith called out.
"Two minutes, fifteen seconds and counting," Sam replied.
"It's gonna be tight!" Pidge admitted, pushing her lion at full throttle.
Another blast from an ion cannon pounded into the hull of the Atlas, bringing up more warnings on Shiro's displays. "Full ordinance! Starboard side!"
"Munitions to starboard," Iverson affirmed, rotating their cannons accordingly.
"Coran, bearings: seven-point-two." The moment Coran adjusted their position, Shiro yelled, "Fire!"
The Atlas unleashed a series of beams, all of them landing on their intended target. "Galra cruiser destroyed!" Iverson confirmed as the ship exploded in a fiery mess.
"More cruisers incoming," Shiro alerted his team. "We can't handle many more blasts."
"I've got it!" Scarlett exclaimed, her voice giddy with success. "Veronica, activate the shields!"
Veronica didn't waste a second as she input the commands. The Atlas hummed as the generators sparked to life, fixed by Scarlett's nimble hand. "The shielding systems are coming online!" she gasped, and she grinned as the orange particle barrier manifested outside, encompassing the Atlas from all sides. An enemy beam collided with the shield, protecting the ship from a critical hit. "Shielding successful!"
"Nice work!" Shiro said, and the bridge team let out a brief sigh of relief. "How much time before the Zaiforge cannons fire?"
"Any second now!" Sam fretted.
"We're almost in position," Keith assured them.
Seconds later, the Zaiforge cannons began to glow and spark as they charged. Purple balls of scorching energy gathered at their tips before being unleashed into deadly beams. They bounced off the reflective plates that had been moved by the paladins, their blasts directed up and away from Earth and all its inhabitants.
"The lions have the plates in position, but they were designed to only reflect a short burst," Sam said as the paladins struggled to keep them in place. "They won't hold for long under the pressure of a sustained blast."
"Then we need to take out Sendak now," Shiro insisted.
"But we can't get through the cruiser blockade he's created," Coran pointed out, and the ship rocked as another ion cannon beam pounded the particle barrier.
"We need a new plan," Shiro determined. He paused, grasping for another possible course of action that could bring them victory. "Sam, what if someone were to infiltrate Sendak's ship and gain access to its crystal? Could the cannons be disrupted?"
"Infiltrate Sendak's ship?" Sam repeated, unable to hide his uncertainty.
"Would it work?" Shiro pressed.
Sam hesitated, mulling it over. "It could, but you'd need a communication device to link to the Atlas so we can hack their system."
"Then that's what we'll do," Shiro decided. "Coran, the ship is yours. Get the Atlas to the impact site. We need to be prepared for every outcome. Mari, you're with me. We're going in."
She blinked at him, surprised, but she didn't argue with his command as they turned to leave. "Yes, sir."
**Check out my tumblr to see some cool art: pufftheninja