**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
The room was indeed a bedroom. A large and round bed covered in plush pillows sat in the middle next to a circular steaming tub. Rich tapestries hung from the walls and elaborately patterned tiles had been set into the floor. Gems, jewelry, clothing, and other fine things were stacked on shelves and strewn carelessly across the floor while a dazzling crystal chandelier illuminated it all from above. A large full-body mirror leaned against the far wall, reflecting a perfect image of the intruders.
Fortunately, not a hunter was found inside. Unfortunately, the room was not devoid of life. Naked women of an assortment of species had been lazing about on the cushions and they startled upon the appearance of the rugged strangers. They desperately grabbed for sheets and pillows to cover their dainty bits, their once languid expressions twisting in mortification.
Immea pointed her blaster at them, but made no move to kill the witnesses. "Get out," she ordered, calm and cool, and the women scrambled to obey. Wrapped in towels and blankets, the Blade waited until they had all scurried out of the room before shutting the door soundly behind them. As Zyron swiftly relocked it, changing the passcodes in case anyone tried to enter, she turned to Mari. "See? Nothing here," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "What now, genius?"
Mari frowned. The two biorhythm dots were right there in front of them, but Scarlett and Mitsubishi were nowhere in sight. "I don't understand…the scan says they're right there," she said, gesturing to the far wall. "They should be here. I know they're here."
Treble skipped up to the mirror, tilting her head as she curiously looked at her reflection. "The palace on Vurelle's got secret tunnels. Maybe there's a secret passage," she suggested. "Big ole mansions have those sorta things too, right?"
She lifted a hand to the glass and knocked on it. The surface shivered, but didn't give. She wrapped her hands around the frame and tugged on it. To her delight, the entire mirror slid to the side, revealing a heavy metal door.
"Nice work, Treble!" Mari praised, giving the Flouwan child a high-five.
"I know," she grinned, practically glowing with pride.
Immea sighed but didn't complain as she approached the door. "For a little kid, you're scarily capable. And ruthless," she noted, eyeing the girl with caution, as if she feared she'd get shot in the leg next.
"That's what happens when ya mess with me and my friends," she innocently sing-songed. "Don't make me mad or you're gonna regret it!"
"I don't doubt it," Immea assured her.
"Alright, Zyron. Open it up," Mari requested of their robot companion, and he instantly made quick work of the vault's electronic locking mechanism. The door unbolted with a heavy THUNK and Immea dragged it open, revealing a dark and vast room. They stepped inside, their only source of light coming from Zyron and dim blue lanterns hanging from the high ceiling above. Rows upon rows of shelves stretched back into the blackness, displaying all sorts of relics and valuables.
"This place is huge," Treble whispered as they took in the large space. "How're you gonna find what you're looking for?"
Immea mulled over it, glancing down the seemingly endless rows of goodies. "You two go get Scarlett," she finally instructed. "I'll take Zyron to help me look around for anything that might've actually interested Zarkon."
They nodded in agreement before splitting up. Following the biorhythms, Mari and Treble headed straight towards the back of the room, activating their gauntlet flashlights to see better in the darkness. After several long ticks of running, weaving through shelves and turning sharp corners, they reached a row of blocky cells that had been built along the wall. There were thirteen in total, and as the duo crept by the doors, they called out for their friends.
"Scarlett? Mitsubishi?" Mari said, her voice just above a whisper. "Are you here?"
"It's Treble and Mari," Treble chimed in. "We're here to save you!"
There was a tense beat of silence. Finally, a tiny muffled voice, Scarlett's voice, replied, "…Mari?"
It had come from the very last cell and Mari's heart swelled with relief upon hearing her. "Scarlett!" she exclaimed, her and Treble already upon the door. "Are you okay? Is Mitsubishi with you?"
"Y-Yeah," she answered. There was a sniffle and her voice trembled as she continued, "But he…he's badly hurt. P-Please, please help him."
Treble's eyes flashed with alarm. She whisked out her blaster and aimed it at the cell's lock. "Stand back!" she warned just as she fired, promptly frying it. The doors slid open, but before Treble could rush inside to inspect her brother's condition, a white blur launched itself from the cell, tackling her to the ground. It was another shapeshifter, his Scarlett facade already melting away as he grappled with the Flouwan.
Activating her staff, Mari charged at him, whacking him in the gut and sending him flying off the child. Treble scrambled to her feet and set her blaster's sights on their attacker, her gaze narrowed dangerously.
"So you're the other one," she said, her tone low and brimming with rage. Then her voice shifted to that of the bounty-hunter they had caught on Vurelle. "We have your partner. Give up. You failed getting the bounty."
The shapeshifter chuckled, amused rather than frightened by her hostility and mimicry. "Fools…I knew you'd come," he drawled, pushing himself to his feet and brandishing a long blaster of his own. "You think you've won? Ha! You're still in the heart of the Aviseran's nest. You're as good as trapped, and it's all thanks to me."
Scarlett and Mitsubishi's signals were still coming from inside the opened cell. He stood guard in front of the entrance, dutifully blocking them from the two girls. Mari glared at their opponent, the tip of her staff sparking.
"Fine," she decided. "We'll just deal with you first then."
Treble shot several blasts at the shapeshifter, forcing him to dive for cover. He whirled on her, ready to return fire, but before he could pull the trigger, Mari lunged at him. He narrowly dodged the end of her staff, grinning with satisfaction, only for the other end to come whipping around to hit him. It caught him in the ribs, eliciting a choked cry from his lips as he was thrown to the floor. Clutching his injured side, he lifted his weapon and pointed the barrel at the human with an unsteady hand. A shot rang out from Treble's gun and he screamed, his blaster clattering to the floor as he cradled his smoking hand. Slamming her staff against the back of his head, Mari silenced him and he crumpled.
"Too easy," Treble said, sticking her tongue out at him as she snatched his gun.
Without further delay, she and Mari hurried into the cell. Standing near the back, gagged and chained to the wall like dogs, were Scarlett and Mitsubishi. They both looked frazzled, hair messy and askew while dirt and tears decorated their clothes. Mitsubishi had a black eye and a fresh bruise on his right temple and Scarlett had one on her left cheek, but other than that, they hadn't seemed to sustain any major injuries. Tired and scared, their expressions slackened in relief upon seeing their rescue team.
"You idiots!" Scarlett gasped the moment Mari had removed the gag from her lips. "How could you get tricked so easily? Like I sound that pathetic when crying for help!"
"Sorry," Treble apologized sheepishly, blasting the chains to smithereens and freeing the prisoners. "I couldn't help getting worried."
"Are you two okay?" Mari asked, giving the younger teens a quick once-over.
"We're fine," Scarlett insisted, although there was no missing how her body trembled ever so slightly. "Just a little beaten up."
"And scared," Mitsubishi piped up, his voice hoarse. His expression hinted at no such feelings of fear, but his hair gave him away as it slowly shifted from orange to a very dull shade of yellow. "They were disguised as Vurelleans. Took us by surprise in the market. I thought for sure we were goners."
"Silly! We weren't gonna let that happen," Treble chirped, latching onto her brother's hand and giving it a loving squeeze. "Of course we were gonna save you!"
The yellow of his hair brightened a tad. "Are Ellosh and Korlis here?"
"Nope! We've gotta get back before they realize we're gone," Treble grinned.
"Sounds like you guys put together a sketchy plan," Scarlett muttered and Mari shrugged.
"Hey, it's been working out for us so far," she said and Scarlett sighed.
"Whatever. Let's just go already."
Exiting the dreary pitch of the cell, they stepped out into the main room of the vault just as Zyron came zipping towards them with Immea quick to follow. He barreled into his owner's arms, chirping and squeaking with joy, and Scarlett tenderly cuddled him.
"I heard gunshots," Immea panted, coming to a halt a few paces in front of the group. "What happened? Oh."
Her gaze landed on the unconscious shapeshifter, her question answered. Scarlett's eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'O' of surprise upon seeing her. "Immea!" she exclaimed, pulling the Blade's attention up to her. "You — Why are — What are you doing here?"
Immea stiffened, hesitating before lifting her mask briefly to reveal her face. "…Hi, Scarlett," she said, slowly and unsurely. "I'm, um…here on a mission." The indifferent edge to her voice had disappeared and the look she gave Scarlett was gentle and almost timid, a complete one-eighty compared to whenever she addressed Mari and Treble.
Scarlett blinked at her, processing their awkward and unexpected reunion. A wave of complicated emotions swirled beneath her teal colored eyes as she mumbled. "…Oh."
Immea sighed. "I'll explain later," she began, and Scarlett's face twisted into a frown.
"Right. I forgot that I always come 'later' to you," she said, bitter and dry. "Except later never comes and I get ignored anyway. The mission always comes first, right?"
The harshness crept back into Immea's expression. "I'm being serious, Scarlett. We don't have time for this." She tugged her mask back over her face with an irritated huff. "The Galra are attacking. You all have to get out of here now."
"But what about you?" Mari asked. Their task had been completed. They could've left before they encountered any other mishaps. But as much as she disliked Immea, it didn't feel right leaving an ally behind.
"I still haven't found what I'm looking for," she said, brushing off her concern. "You got what you needed. Go without me."
Mari opened her mouth to protest, but Scarlett beat her to it. "No way! We're not leaving you here!" she snapped, almost a little too quickly. Her antenna glowed in her anger and as Immea stared at her, long and hard, she rushed to add, "Besides, there are other prisoners here, aren't there? We should save them first."
"I don't know about that. Not gonna lie, I'm a little skeptical about opening another cell," Treble admitted, and Mitsubishi nodded in agreement.
"Zyron, can you see how many others there are?" Mari requested, and the little bot nodded in confirmation. The layout of the chambers popped up on her visor, and to her surprise, they were all empty except for one. A single life-force was located in the back of the first cell, quiet and unmoving.
"There's only one prisoner," she said, pointing to the cell where they were being held. "I think we can risk it."
The group stood several gracious feet in front of the cell, weapons held at the ready. Blasting the lock once more, Treble hopped out of the way as the door opened. When nothing jumped out at them, they inched closer and peered inside. A cryo-pod sat against the wall, the glass emitting a familiar blue glow. Just below the surface, frozen in stasis was a large Galra with bat-like ears and a shattered false red eye. His face had healed since his attack on the Castle of Lions, but his left arm was still missing, the Druid prosthetic having been removed by Pidge long ago.
"Oh my god." The memories of their fight on Arus resurfaced and Mari's heart dropped to her stomach, her blood running cold upon seeing him. "No way…Sendak?"
Immea's head snapped towards her. "Sendak? I thought Voltron defeated him phoebs ago!" she hissed, not even bothering to hide her own shock and disbelief. "The Blades have him listed as dead."
"No, he — he should be dead," Mari stammered, unable to pull her gaze away from the pod. "Well, I mean, we never really confirmed it, but…he was launched out in the middle of space! How did he get here?"
"Who's Sendak?" Mitsubishi wondered, unmoved by the presence of the sleeping Galra that towered over him.
"He's bad news. He was one of Zarkon's most ruthless and trusted commanders," Immea elaborated, her tone grim. Her hand alighted on the cool blue glass, contemplatively. "This must've been what Hauer wanted to confront Zarkon about. Who wouldn't want one of their most loyal soldiers back in their ranks?"
"We can't let him return to the Empire," Mari insisted, a fresh round of furious determination coursing through her. "Not when the Galra are looking for a new leader."
For once, Immea nodded in agreement. "I'll kill him for good then," she decided, already whipping out her blade. It transformed into its full form and the others stepped back to give her room. She reached for the pod's control panel to release him and end his life for good when a loud BOOM echoed from the other end of the vault. The walls shook and the shelves quivered, irreplaceable items sliding off and breaking against the floor.
Immea cursed under her breath. "They're here! Get out, now!" she barked, waving for them to go.
Several footsteps sounded from somewhere near the entrance, rapidly drawing nearer. But despite the approaching danger, Scarlett furiously shook her head. Her feet remained firmly planted where she stood as she snapped back, "No! Not without you!"
"I'll be right behind you," Immea promised, the words spilling from her lips in a desperate attempt to get them to flee already. "I have to do this first."
"It's okay, Scarlett. She's the only one who can handle getting rid of him," Mari urged, guiding the rest of her teammates toward the cell door. "Let's clear an escape path for her."
Reluctantly, Scarlett obeyed, her spirits lifting only a little bit as Treble tossed her the shapeshifter's gun to defend herself from whoever had entered the vault. They stepped out of the cell and began towards the exit, only to be stopped short in their tracks as three women rounded the corner, blocking their path. They were Galra half-breeds, one tall and muscular, one with colorful skin and a whip-like appendage protruding from the top of her head, and one with pale blue skin and humanoid features. They were wearing Galra uniforms, the colors matching those of the prince's own garb.
"Lotor's generals," Mari realized, startled by their appearance. What were they doing here? How had they not been punished after failing to help Zarkon secure Voltron when the paladins had rescued Sam? The three ex-generals were alone, no bounty-hunters or enemy sentries trailing after them. But if they were the only ones who had been attacking Hutt, successfully taking down Hauer's crew and barreling through his mansion, their strength wasn't to be underestimated.
"You!" The general with the blue skin had spoken, her glare locked onto Mari. "What are you doing here?"
Mari scowled back at her, finally putting a face to the familiar voice. She was the one she and Keith had met in the weblum. "I could ask you the same thing," she replied, just as evenly.
"Um. What?" The general with the head appendage raised a brow and glanced back and forth between the two. "You know each other?"
"She's from Voltron," the weblum general stated.
"Technically, we're just from the Voltron Coalition," Mitsubishi interrupted, not that this honest correction made them any less innocent in the eyes of the enemy.
The largest of the three eagerly pounded a fist into her palm. "They're small fry, Acxa," she grinned. "Let's just crush them and be done with it!"
"She's right. As much fun as this has been, we can't keep the witch waiting for long," the head appendage general agreed, a sly smirk tugging at her lips. "Let's get him and go."
The witch — Haggar. They were working for her now. And they were after Sendak. Whatever they were planning to use him for, it couldn't be good.
"You're not going anywhere," Mari growled, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She tossed Mitsubishi her blaster and held her staff at the ready. Scarlett and Treble followed suit as they lifted their own guns in preparation for the unavoidable fight.
Irritation and a hint of confliction flashed across the weblum general's, Acxa's, eyes. A steely determination was quick to take over as she coolly replied, "Fine. Have it your way."
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