Chapter 13: Rash Actions Have Consequences
After the previous battle, Keith up and flew off in Red to hunt down the Galran Prince known as Lotor. Worried, the others, despite being exhausted, followed him in their own Lions, hoping to keep him in check. Currently, they were flying passed a planet following the tracker Keith put on Lotor's ship.
"Lotor's cruiser is on the other side of this planet. At our current speed, we'll be within attack range in a hour." Pidge informed.
"Good. Get ready then." Keith instructed. Soon, Lotor's ship came into view, and the Paladins were making their way towards him.
"Uh, is attacking right now such a good idea? You know, since we're all still tired from that last battle." Hunk says.
"Not to mention, we still don't know what happened during that last minute, and as Hunk said, are exhausted as a result." Lance agrees. "So, yeah. Keith, I think we really should head back and rest up. We'll fight Lotor some other time." He adds.
"Prince Lotor is the heir to the Galra throne. We can end his rein right now." Keith rebuffs.
"Speaking of last battle, how are you two doing anyway?" Lance asked the other Paladins.
"Confused mostly. What happened anyway?" Hunk asked.
"Yeah, I went over the footage from the fight, but I have no idea what occurred during the fight that led us going "Avatar State"." Pidge explains.
"Are you guys good enough for a fight?" Keith asked. Everyone kind of "meh". "Good… because we're going in." He says, when something flashed on one of his screens. "I'm detecting movement." He said.
"So much for the element of surprise." Lance comments as a fighter exits the cruiser.
"It's just a single fighter. Where's the rest of them?" Hunk asks.
"Probably scrambling as we speak. Let's take it out." Keith says and charges head-on to attack the fighter, not knowing it was Lotor. Said Prince charges at Keith, when the Red Paladin is knocked into by the Blue Lion.
"Ugh! Lance what are you doing?!" Keith asks the Blue Paladin angrily.
"Sorry. My mind is still foggy from the last fight. I-I can't concentrate." Lance replied. "Uh, where'd the fight go?" He asked when he couldn't see said fighter anywhere.
Just the fighter appeared from above them and started shooting. The Paladins immediately started dodging the attacks, but with being so drained, they were having trouble. Even Keith, though he refused to acknowledge it. He groaned.
"I can't shake him. Someone get this guy off my tail." Keith said to the others.
"Coming in on your six." Pidge says as the others try to shoot the fighter, but he expertly dodges every attack. Leading to sais attacks hitting Keith.
"Guys!" He growled.
"Sorry, we're all still on overload here!" Lance rebuffs, just the fighter starts shooting at Keith, then turning to everyone else. Despite it being one against four, the single fighter was making quick work of the Paladins. At one point, Pidge had crashed into Hunk.
"What's up with this guy? He's pinning us against each other." Lance comments.
"It's got to be Lotor." Keith says over the coms.
"Ow. Pidge, you okay over there?" Hunk asked the Green Paladin.
"I'm fine, but my brain is on overload over here, and I feel like I'm going to pass out." She replied. "This isn't working. Keith what should we do?" She asked.
"I think our best option to head back to the Castle." Lance interjects.
"How about this? Everyone stay out of my way!" Keith snapped back.
"That's it we are defiantly heading back to the Castle! Right NOW!" Lance snaps and started making his way. "And that includes you too Keith!" He shouts.
"No way! Lotor is right here! We can end him! End the Empire! For Good!" Keith reprimanded and charged full force at Lotor while shooting at the Galran fighter. The fighter suddenly took off and Keith went ahead and chased after the Prince.
"Keith! No! Dammit!" Lance shouted then contacted Pidge and Hunk. "You two head back to the Castle, and I'll get Keith and bring him back. And if I have to, I'll drag him in his Lion!" He growled the last part and took off after Keith.
"Lance can be really scary when he's mad." Hunk said nervously.
"You're telling me." Pidge agrees than sighs. "But he's right, we need to head back and rest. I don't feel so good." She adds.
"Me neither, and I don't think it's because of my motion sickness." Hunk says back and the Green and Yellow Paladin take off back to the Castle.
Meanwhile, Keith chased after the Prince, while also being pursued by Lance. Unknown to Keith, Lotor was leading Keith into a trap on Thayserix. A planet made of thick gases and has unusual magnetic poles that distort sensors. In other words, once inside Keith would be blind. Though he was already blind at the moment.
"Keith! Keith! Turn around now! We need to head back to the Castle!" Lance's voice said through the coms.
"You can head back if you want! I'm going to end this!" Keith snapped and dove straight for the gas planet.
"No! Stop!"
"I'm not listening Lance!" Keith snapped.
"Huh?! I didn't say anything that time." Lance replied. What? Then who-?
"Turn around now! Head back! It's dangerous!"
The voice, that was not Lance's, said. Keith was confused. That wasn't coming from the coms. Where-? Who-? Wait a minute. He recognized that powerful voice. Horror replaced confusion as he realized the voice was coming inside his own mind.
"Stop it! Head back! Now!"
"Get out of my head!" Keith screamed. "Get out! Get out!" He said over and over.
"Keith! What's wrong?! What's going on?!" Lance asked concerned, but Keith just cut off the communication and followed Lotor into the gases. Lance followed in worried for the Red Paladin, but his sensors went haywire as soon he entered the planet's atmosphere.
"Shit!" The Blue Paladin cursed. Now how was he supposed to get Keith?
Meanwhile Keith was pursuing Lotor through the gas, trying to hit him, all while still hearing the voice telling him to stop, and go back, but he didn't listen and kept going after Lotor. He prepared to fire again, but he was unknowingly in a section with highly explosive gas that would explode when he did.
"I. Said. STOP!"
The voice screamed, turning into a mighty roar that was unlike any creature Keith and ever heard. Even the Lions. The roar was so loud and powerful, it blew everything away. Keith, Lance the Lions, even the gas, and Lotor and his generals still back on the cruiser hovering above the planet's atmosphere. When it settled down Keith suddenly felt relief and was panting.
"That's enough." The Red Paladin quickly turned to look behind his chair to see the one and only Zarc standing behind him.
"I knew it." Keith growled as he rose from his seat and walked over to the being. "It was you. That was your voice." He said, not knowing he looked on the verge of collapse. "What you want!? I don't have time for your games!" He yelled angrily.
"I want you, to stop." Zarc replied. "You need to head back, it's dangerous. The gas and magnetic poles are messing with your Lion's sensors. You're practically blind, and nearly blew yourself up." He reprimanded. "You're also overexerting yourself, you need to rest." He said.
"Oh now you care?! You didn't see, to care when Shiro was done!" Keith yelled.
"Keith," Zarc tried to say but was cut off by the Red Paladin.
"You didn't care, when we up against Zarkon!" He added. "You could've helped us then! People across the universe talk about "Zarc's Amazing Powers", and how "Zarc's an ancient powerful being". If you're so powerful! Why didn't you try to stop the empire years ago?! Why did you give us these powers, instead of taking care of Zarkon yourself?!"
"Keith…" Once again he was cut off by the Red Paladin's rant.
"If what Allura said about what you did on the Balmera is true, why didn't you do something like that and help end the war?! Why give these powers?! Can't you get rid of them?! Is this all a game to you?! Watching people suffer, and us run around and fight like pawns in a game?!" He kept yelling and yelling.
"Keith!" Zarc tried again, but said Paladin wasn't having it, or listening.
"NO! Lotor is right there! I can end this! End the Empire! End this war! Once and for all!" Keith brushed off and returned to his pilot chair ready to take off again, but his arm was suddenly grabbed before he took take the controls. When he turned to see who was holding him, he suddenly felt pain shooting from his cheek, accompanied by a loud "Smack!".
"Enough! Keith anymore and you won't make it at this rate! You're going to burn yourself out. You haven't even fully recovered from tapping into your power to the core, and it's going to destroy you." He warned, and that's when Keith realized that the boy had slapped him. Actually slapped him! Right across the face!
Luckily it was with his human hand. That clawed hand would have defiantly hurt like hell. He reached up with his free hand and touched his reddening cheek. He suddenly got the urge to cough, and coughed into his hand, only to see a sticky red substance on the armor glove, and immediately recognized what it was.
"Keith," said boy looked up at the being, who's expression soften. "Is this really about ending the Empire?" He asked. "Or, are you just upset? About Shiro? The battle not actually being over? The stress of the job? Or are you upset about something else? Something entirely different." His words hit Keith like a rock.
"Jeremiah…"
Thace's voice echoed in his head. Thace knew something. Something about his past. About his father. He had the answers Keith was looking for. He was so close, but yet, so far way. Thace was in a healing pod. Recovering from whatever the druids did to him when they found about him being the traitor. And while Shiro was still alive, it felt he had lost him again.
"You… Have… no idea." He said slowly feeling like he was going to break. "What it's like, not to know. To lose someone. To not know where you came from. Not know your own origins. To lose the one person, you a connection to. To be all alone." He said feeling like he was shattering inside.
"That's not true. I know that feeling." Keith snapped his head up to look at Zarc. "You remember what I told you right? My real name? How I come from another world? Before I was Zarc, I was Yuya Sakaki. Just your average boy. Until I learned I was the latest in a long of Zarc's reincarnations. I didn't want to take the mantle, but I did, for a selfish reason." He continued. Keith was stunned.
"I became Zarc, cause I wanted to find someone. Someone very important to me, but as I travelled through many worlds, and looked through the previous Zarcs' memories, I realized I had a responsibly." He took a breath before continuing. "I did want to help directly, I did want to personally take down Zarkon, but it's not my place. When I became Zarc, I was no longer apart of any reality. As Zarc I live out of reality itself, unbound by the rules." At Keith's confused look, he reworded.
"Think of reality like a fishbowl, and I'm outside of that fishbowl. As such, I can stick my hand in to change things a certain way, but if I am not careful, let's just say it wouldn't end well. many of my predecessors didn't take this seriously, and it caused a lot of damage as result. You've probably heard." He paused.
"The saying that your "gifts" brings misery and destroy lives." Keith said in realization. Zarc nodded.
"Yes. Many of those who came before me were reckless and left those they gave "gifts" to on their own. However, many could not handle the powers, or were hunted as a result. That's when I helped you, I stuck around to help guide you as well. When I gave these powers, a part of me went into all of you, connecting us." He explained. Keith suddenly understood.
"Besides, even if I wanted to, I can't take your powers back." He suddenly said and Keith looked back at him. Zarc placed his hand on Keith's chest. "These powers are yours now. In fact, your connection to the Lion is what sustains them. You think your powers reflecting your Lions' elements is a coincidence? It's not. When you all first started piloting your Lions, you all established a strong bond with them, a bond that awoke something in you. I merely helped you find a way channel it." he explained.
"This power is now yours, and yours alone Keith." He continued. "You need to head back now Keith. We'll see each other again, I promise." Zarc then let go of the Red Paladin and walked away, vanishing like before. Keith suddenly had a clear head and realized what he had done.
"This is all my fault." He said. "I need to go back! I need to get back to the others!" he said and frantically tried to start up the Lion. "They tried to warn me, but I didn't listen! I let myself be led right into this trap! What have I done!?" He said and suddenly coughed again, and started to feel dizzy and couldn't see straight.
"Keith! There you are! Are you okay?!" Lance's voice through the coms. "Thank god, whatever that roaring was blew away a lot of this gas. We need to get out of here." He said. Keith opened his mouth to reply, but instead coughed again.
"Ugh! We don't time for this! I said I was taking you back, even if I had to drag you back in your Lion, and it looks like I'm going to have to." The Blue Paladin said and proceeded to grab the Red Lion with the Blue Lion and dragged him off the planet and all the way back to the Castle, dropping the Red Lion off in the hanger.
"Okay guys! I've got Keith! Let's get out of here." Lance shouted and the Castle wormholed away. Lance than walked out his Lion and walked over to Red. "Keith get your butt down here! We need to talk!" Lance yelled, annoyed. It took a bit, but eventually the Red Lion opened up and Keith weakly walked out.
"Oaky, buddy, I know we're all a little on edge since Shiro's been in a cryopod, but that doesn't mean you can just fly off into battle. Potentially getting yourself hurt, or even worse, killed!" He proceeded to chew Keith out. "Everyone was exhausted after the last battle. We only followed you because we were worried. You need to take it easy. You're, you're not even listing are you? Same old Mullet… Mullet? Keith are you oaky?" He stopped when he noticed Keith's state.
"I… I…" Keith said weakly as he wobbled on his legs and collapsed on his knees to the floor. "I… just…" He suddenly coughed and red spilled form his lips, splattering on the white.
"Oh shit! Keith! Keith! What's wrong?!" Lance panicked as he kneeled by the Red Paladin's side. "Keith!" Lance yelled but received no answer.
Keith looked up at Lance's worried face, but it was blurry and everyone was muffled. Suddenly he could see dark spots and eventually he vision went black.
Meanwhile, on Lotor's cruiser. Said Prince and his generals were going over what had happened on Thayserix.
"What was that, roaring?" A beefy half-Galran woman asked.
"I'm not sure, but it was like nothing I had ever heard, or felt before." Lotor replied rubbing his pointed ears. "One things for sure, there's something else at paly here. Something unlike we've ever faced before." He concluded.
AN: Wow! That was a rush! It was more intense than I thought it would be. Also I forgot to warn you this was going to be darker than the show at times. Yeah, sorry. Hope you enjoyed it though. Stay tuned for next time folks. Till then, see ya.
