Chapter 41: Bad Blood
At a remote planet similar to Earth, the Castle of Lions hovered above it as a pod went down from the Castle with Shiro, Pidge, Matt, Jenny, Ayame, and Lotor inside as it then descended safely to the ground before the pilots got out with Matt leading Jenny and Ayame out in handcuffs as he spoke to the Black Paladin.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
"This is the place."
With that, Pidge looked over to Jenny and Ayame with worry over her face.
At the Castle, Pidge saw her father held captive by Varek, Vantiv, and Syn as she spoke.
"Dad!"
Kaecilius then proceeded with his trade.
"As I said, you will hand over the children of Zarkon and the White Paladin to me if you wish to see the Earthling alive. Refuse this offer, and he will cease to draw breath."
Seeing this, Jenny grew worried before Pidge spoke to her brother.
"He's alive! Our dad is alive! We have to get him back!"
"We're going to. What's the plan, Shiro?"
"We can't rush into anything. We have to think this through."
Pidge, forgetting about the cost of getting her father back, interrupted Shiro.
"What's to think through?! It's my dad! We're doing this!"
Hearing her say this so suddenly, Jenny began to get hurt as Ayame noticed this herself while Shiro tried to alleviate the situation.
"We need to operate under the assumption that Kaecilius will try to double-cross us."
"We have Voltron! We can do anything!"
Ayame felt differently.
"Yes, it can. But it can't do everything at once. That's the whole reason we have the coalition to begin with."
That didn't matter to Pidge as she spoke.
"We can't let this opportunity slip away! We're too close! Our father is too close!"
Knowing how quickly Pidge agreed to Kaecilius' terms, Jenny snapped.
"YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE THIS CLOSE WITHOUT ME! DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?!"
Hearing the hurt in her voice as she sobbed, Pidge realized her mistake as she spoke on.
"Did everything we go through for those past couple of years mean anything to you at all? Or were we just your temporary convenience?"
As she hissed those two words at her, Pidge tried to convince her it wasn't the case.
"No, Jenny. I just— I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Well, I understand. But still... I've been wondering that since day one. And I need a truthful answer. Do you even care about us at all?"
With that, Jenny walked away from the bridge with a sour look as she held her head down.
On the planet, Pidge walked over to the White Paladins and spoke to them.
"Hey, guys? Listen. I'm so sorry for how I've treated you guys. I just— I just wanted my dad back."
As Ayame looked at Pidge solemnly, she spoke up.
"We're sorry, too. I just want to get this over with."
Jenny only turned away from her as the Altean spoke.
"Well, there's only one thing I have to say to you. A deal is only as good as the man who makes it. Keep that in mind, okay?"
As she looked to the sky, Jenny noticed an aircraft flying down to the drop zone before it landed. Once it did, the ship opened the door to show Kaecilius in his corrupted state with a devilish smile before he spoke.
"You have a debt to pay."
At the Castle's lower levels, the Paladins had an audience with Lotor as the prisoner spoke to them.
"Kaecilius has held the universe in a death grip for millennia, but he sees it slipping from his grasp because of your efforts and because of mine. With our forces combined, we would provide the greatest threat Kaecilius has ever faced. He knows we could topple his empire, so this is his attempt to tear us apart."
Jenny felt it plainly obvious, having been the victim of Pidge's act of selfishness.
"Maybe he already has."
"But united, we could forge a new path, open doors to new worlds and crush the tyrannical ways of an old regime."
Pidge then countered his beliefs.
"A regime you ran. We can't listen to him. He just wants to save his own skin."
"It's true. If you send me to Kaecilius, he would surely see to my demise. And with his most legitimate threat to the throne removed, other than my father, he would only grow stronger. But for the White Paladins, after the misery he endured, he intends a far worse fate for them. Are you really willing to let them be subject to this torture?"
Pidge only replied coldly.
"One less threat to Kaecilius, and one less threat to us."
Lance then reminded Pidge of the stakes.
"Yeah, and two less Paladins. One of which you hurt very badly, by the way."
As Pidge looked back to her, Jenny only gave a saddened look before Pidge returned a sad face as she spoke.
"Don't remind me."
Lotor then turned to Allura as he voiced his pleas.
"Your father, King Alfor, once stood side by side with Zarkon and protected the universe from harm. There was no foe the Paladins of old couldn't defeat. Sadly, that time of peace has been lost, but together, we can find it once more. Princess, imagine, a new generation that could lift the mantle of peace. The children of King Alfor and Emperor Zarkon, you and I, a royal alliance between Altean and Galra..."
Before he could speak onward, Pidge interrupted.
"Lies! Every word is a lie!"
"And what of Kaecilius' words? You think he'll return my father as he says? You think the corrupted leader of a fractured empire will be true to his word?"
"Like your word is any better."
"You don't understand. He wants more than just the three of us."
Ayame could guess what he meant.
"You're thinking he's going to double-cross us."
"I think he'd do anything to rid himself of me and claim the Lions of Voltron, if not destroy them. He also intends to prey on the follies of mortality so he can use this to wipe out his enemies and gain allies at the same time. His influence is devastatingly infectious. That is how Syn must have joined him before I recruited him. I must admit, he did well covering his tracks."
Taking the events in consideration, Allura spoke up.
"An alliance with the heir to the Galra throne could end the war."
Pidge then spoke against it as she snapped.
"What?!"
"It's not ideal. I don't like trusting the Galra but it could be our best option."
"No!"
"Pidge, think of the lives we could save. Think of the countless worlds we could free."
"Think of my father!"
Lance then snapped back at Pidge.
"At the expense of losing Jenny? I don't think so."
"Don't play into Kaecilius' hands!"
As she dwelled on it, Jenny spoke up.
"I'm in for it, if it'll get Pidge's father back. Not that she'd care."
As she said that last sentence to Pidge who felt sore about how she treated her, she turned to Ayame.
"What do you think?"
"Honestly... I don't know. On one hand, we can save Sam, but on the other... the Galra Empire could finally know peace. This is difficult to decide. What about you, Hunk?"
"I don't know. I mean, if this dude here is on our side like he says he is— You, you are saying you're on our side, right?"
As Hunk spoke onward, Pidge began to get tense.
"Then, couldn't he lead the Galra to peace from inside?"
"We are turning them in and getting my Dad back! We have Voltron to bring peace to the universe!"
Ayame then pointed out another detail in debate.
"I don't doubt that, but is Voltron really enough, Pidge?"
"Well, it's better than the Galra! They've had 10,000 years to change, and they didn't! They're obviously a lost cause!"
Hearing her say this, Ayame widened her eyes as she gasped before Pidge realized she'd made another mistake before Jenny, hurt and betrayed as she was, tried to calm her down.
"Ayame, calm down. Pidge didn't mean to—"
However, it was too late as Ayame threw a punch across Pidge's face in anger, shocking the group all around them, even Lotor. Although, his reason was because of how sudden she'd changed. In this case, Ayame's skin color was now light purple with dark violet hair, pointy ears, and yellow sclerae near her purple irises before she shed tears as she angrily retaliated in verbal communication.
"How can you possibly think that after everything we've done?! Everything we've been through! Did you ever think about their lives?! Their loss?! Their families?! Maybe they were just tired of being pushed around! Least of all, by people like you!"
Seeing how far it escalated, Shiro had enough of the drama as he took his turn to snap.
"That's enough!"
As they all turned to him, Shiro spoke onward.
"I know everyone is upset. In fact, I'm still trying to decide which option is right. But if we don't decide what to do and soon, everyone, and I mean everyone, will die. And I'll be darned if we made it this far just to tear the whole universe apart."
Jenny could tell by the look on his face that he had something else in mind.
"Sounds like you have a plan. What do we do?"
With that, Pidge looked to Ayame and saw hurt on her face. Yet another mistake she'd made. With Ayame now looking at her with a face full of mistrust, Pidge was beginning to regret not thinking about her words at all.
At the planet, Kaecilius reiterated his demands as he noticed two out of three patrons.
"One of you is missing. Bring out Lotor."
Shiro remembered the deal, and wanted to be sure he kept his word.
"Show us Commander Holt first!"
"Very well."
As he stepped away, he revealed Sam in chains beside Varek, Vantiv, and Syn before Pidge became desperate to get him beside her.
"Dad!"
However, Shiro stopped her before Kaecilius spoke.
"Now it's your turn. Produce Lotor to me, now!"
At her lair, Haggar tried to use her newly cured Quintessence to heal herself as she was suddenly overwhelmed by its power as she screamed while the blue light began overtaking the purple and covered the room in its light. In that light, Haggar knelt down and encountered memories of her time in the empire. For instance, she noticed herself pregnant with Lotor as Zarkon and two Galra doctors accompanied her before the emperor spoke.
"Can you save the child?"
"We will try, sire. There are many complications."
She then encountered another memory in which Lotor was born as she heard crying in the distance and gasped before turning to see a crib with the child all by himself. Then, she heard a boy laughing before turning towards him. However, when she did, the boy looked similar to Lotor, only about the size of a young man. And the eyes were yellow with Quintessence before he ran and she gave chase. When she caught up, she saw Lotor as he is now. But when he looked back to her, he showed restrained contempt in spite of the yellow Quintessence that fueled his eyes before Haggar went back to reality.
"My son... Lotor."
On the remote planet, Lotor stepped out of the pod in shackles as he noticed Ayame and Jenny's discomfort with the situation.
At the Castle, Hunk spoke with Babak, Coran, Allura, Lance, and Alphus.
"Everything's going according to plan."
The Blue Paladin was still unsure about the situation.
"I still don't like it. And I don't just mean the fact that Jenny's being given up like that. This whole thing is like making a deal with the devil."
Babak understood as he spoke.
"Quiznak! I hate being so out of range!"
Alphus eased his tension as she spoke.
"Kaecilius' fleet is also out of range. These are the terms we agreed on."
Back on the surface, Shiro spoke to the opposing factor.
"Send us Commander Holt!"
Kaecilius smirked before he spoke.
"Release the prisoner."
Syn then spoke to Sam as he shoved him further along.
"Move."
Ignoring the shove, Sam walked downward, his eyes fixated on the ground before Kaecilius spoke.
"Now, send them."
With that, Jenny, Ayame, and Lotor walked upward towards Sam as Shiro spoke.
"Stay alert. If Kaecilius is going to try something, now would be the time."
As the suspense got heightened, one of the White Paladins, the two siblings and Sam walked to their destinations. But when they crossed paths, they noticed something off with Sam as he didn't even give them one look before Ayame grew worried with Lotor sure of the trickery. At the same time, Jenny noticed too while Pidge got overcome with feelings of longing before running to him as Shiro called out to her.
"Pidge!"
"Dad! Dad!"
When she tried to hug him, however, she only went through him before he had disappeared. This meant only one thing. It was a double-cross. Upon realizing this, Pidge growled before snapping at him.
"No! What did you do to my father?!"
Varek only smirked as he replied.
"Oh, surely you can guess that much, my friend."
With that, he brought out the real Sam who noticed her as he spoke.
"Katie."
Seeing him, she grew more desperate than ever.
"No! No, we had a deal! We had a deal! Give me my father!"
Syn only scoffed at this before getting his sword out as he shouted to him.
"You're in no position to order us!"
With that, he swiftly impaled his sword through Sam, mortifying the prisoners and shattering Pidge as she shouted.
"NO!"
With that, he pulled out his sword before he fell, barely breathing before Syn spoke.
"Defy us again, and he won't live to see another day!"
At the Castle, they saw the ruthless display Syn put on as Hunk spoke.
"Lotor was right. Kaecilius double-crossed us."
Lance then spoke to the others.
"Everyone get to your lions! We're going in!"
Allura spoke against this, however.
"Lance, we can't. Jenny and Sam's lives are already in jeopardy enough as it is. If we go in, they won't get out alive."
Coran then spoke up on another matter.
"Allura's right. If we move in, Kaecilius' fleet moves in as well."
Hunk pointed out the main problem.
"Yeah, but without Lotor, Jenny, and Ayame, we don't hold any cards. We're powerless. What do we do?"
"We hold our positions."
Back on the planet, Kaecilius reiterated Syn's threat and promise.
"You heard my disciple! If you wish for the Earthling to be returned alive, you will forfeit Voltron to me immediately!"
Pidge didn't listen as she tried to get to her ailing father before Matt stopped her.
"No. No! We have to get dad!"
"Shiro?"
"Hold your positions until the time is right."
As dust blew in the middle, Lotor looked to Vantiv before he looked to the White Paladins before they nodded to him as Kaecilius shouted.
"Bring me the lions, or your friend dies!"
However, Lotor cut the threat short as he got out a surprising weapon: the Black Bayard. With it, he broke Jenny and Ayane's chains before he tossed it towards the corrupted tyrant before he dodged it and Lotor stood guard as Jenny and Ayame got their bayards out and shot them at Syn, knocking him back with Kaecilius glaring at them.
"Foolish mortals. This changes nothing. Your fate still awaits you... and it shall receive you three at its gate!"
Lotor then turned the Black Bayard into a sword before he spoke to the White Paladins.
"Now! Go rescue your companion!"
"Right!"
"You got it!"
With that, they went in the hangar as Lotor confronted Kaecilius with a dart towards him, forcing his opponent to follow suit as he summoned a dark red and black aura blade over his left hand. As Lotor swung his fist, Kaecilius swung his Quintessential fist at him before they clashed with a barrier of purple and dark red light expanding before the ground broke apart. As they grunted with Kaecilius' eyes glowing as he screamed in anger, Shiro turned to Matt and Pidge.
"We need to help Jenny and Ayame get Sam."
With that, the trio went to the cruiser as Syn dragged the ailing body of Sam up onto the chair as he looked back to his daughter.
"Katie!"
Before Syn could chain him, Jenny shoved him away before he got up and growled.
"You don't know what trouble you're asking for."
Jenny only retorted as she summoned her chain blade variant with a smile.
"If I didn't, I would've left anyway."
At the Castle, Hunk and Babak gave the update.
"Pidge, Shiro, and Matt are moving in!"
"Kaecilius' fleet is mobilizing as well!"
Lance then spoke to the others again.
"Everyone, get to your lions. We need to protect our team and get Sam."
As the Red, Blue, and Yellow Lions took off for the battle, the cruiser that housed Sam began to take off just as Syn and Vantiv fended off Jenny and Ayame with the former's chain blade against Vantiv's Quintessential claw and Ayame's naginata against Syn's sword as he spoke.
"Is siding with those Paladins what this made you into, Xaira? A coward?"
"I'm not running."
"You will."
With that, Syn forced her back just as Shiro, Pidge, and Matt went on the shuttle as she and the Black Paladin spoke up.
"We can't let the shuttle dock with the cruiser!"
"We need backup. Lance! We could use a little help down here."
"We're already on our way!"
Inside the shuttle, Syn and Vantiv knocked the White Paladins back before he spoke.
"Is that really your best? To think Kaecilius had trouble with you."
Suddenly, they heard metal slicing on the ceiling of the shuttle before a grating fell to the floor as Shiro, Pidge and Matt entered before the Green Paladin called out Syn.
"Hey! Let my dad go!"
"Oh, I will. Over your dead body."
At the planet's surface, Lotor clashed his bayard with Kaecilius' aura blade before he raised his fist to attack him, only for Lotor to dodge, causing him to crash his fist into the ground before charging back at him and clashing his sword with his Quintessential fist again before raising his fist to strike, but this time with a dark red orb and succeeded in damaging Lotor as he got trapped in it as the orb expanded around him while he screamed at the pain it gave him. However, Lotor was able to cut it loose with his sword and destroyed it before panting as Kaecilius laughed with the clouds going over them.
"New ownership of the black bayard? Does the mimicry have no end? You pathetic mortals always tried to emulate the divine. Now, why is that? Is it because we gods are so wondrous? Are you covering our undeniable beauty? I understand, yet it's so tragic. Your mimicry is doomed to fail. Acts of gods are beautiful because we're inherently pure, while mortal endeavors will inevitably become wicked, corrupted and marred by sin!"
"Like your body?! You've become nothing more than your own worst enemy! You proclaim that our use of Quintessence is abhorring, but you're no better! Despite your decrees, you're no more mortal than any of us, yet the power you possess has blinded you of that! All see it clearly. Without your master, without his law, you're nothing."
Kaecilius only growled before his body glowed a dark red and black color before he roared at the top of his lungs with a pillar rising to the sky before it faded as he now glared at Lotor before speaking.
"I don't need your opinion, Lotor. I JUST NEED YOU DEAD!"
Suddenly, he lunged at Lotor before smashing his fist at the ground before Lotir jumped and attempted an overhead slash, only for Lotir to be stopped by his Quintessential fist as he thrusted him to the floor. Then, he leaped above Lotor before he noticed and leaped away.
At the shuttle, Shiro clashed with Varek, arm to aura blade as the latter forced him back with a laugh from nearly cutting his arm before Shiro growled and charged at him while Matt faced Vantiv as she slashed at him, only for Matt to block her claw with his staff before Pidge charged toward Syn, who spoke to the ship.
"Hoist us up!"
With that, the ship rose up to his command before his shoes glowed purple on the bottom as the Paladins and Matt were caught in a trap of sorts before Jenny got her chain blade out and wrapped it around Syn, catching him by surprise before she pulled herself to him and kneed him under the chin, causing him to smash the controls before he went unconscious and the ship went down while both parties are now floating. Despite this, Jenny went over to Sam and saw the wound.
"It's okay. I gotcha."
With that, she placed her hand over the wound and took a deep breath, allowing blue light to envelop it before the laceration went away and Sam felt better than new as Pidge joined in with her bayard while Jenny spoke.
"You doing okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks, guys."
However, it was too soon to thank them as the shuttle was going downward.
"The ship's gonna crash!"
As Pidge tried to get the controls, Syn jumped on her and got her in a grip as she spoke to Sam.
"Dad, get the controls!"
As he took the controls, Jenny shoved Syn away while also bumping Sam away accidentally.
"Sorry, Sam."
"Oh! A little help, guys."
Shiro and Matt were a little occupied at the moment as they fought Varelk and Vantiv.
"Just a sec."
"Kinda busy here, Dad."
Fortunately, Ayame wasn't occupied at the moment as she spoke.
"I got this."
While Ayame took the controls, Lance spoke to Allura and Hunk.
"We can't let the Drule get that shuttle!"
"Copy that!"
With that, the lions got their jaw blades and tore at the ships, tearing the fleet apart before a fighter crashed into an area where Lotor and Karcilius fought once more, with the former on the receiving end of his blows before Kaecilius lurched his aura blade toward him, only for Lotor to block it with the Black Bayard as he spoke condescendingly.
"Tell me, how will you escape my justice next? Will you run to the Galra begging for help from the rest of your pathetic mortal herd, or this time will you try Voltron? HOW WILL YOU COMPENSATE FOR YOUR WEAKNESS NOW?!"
"I may not have mastered my weakness, but I do know yours. And that's your so-called justice!"
Angered at this, Kaecilius pushed his aura blade further down.
In the shuttle, Jenny saw Lotor at Kaecilius' mercy before she gasped.
"Oh no! I gotta help him! Ayame, think you can control this thing?"
"Go ahead. Just make sure Lotor is okay."
"Don't need to remind me."
With that, Jenny went to the windshield before she spoke.
"Pull up!"
With that, Ayame pulled the shuttle up until it was headed directly for the sky as the Paladins found something safe to hang off of before she spoke again.
"Now open the hatch!"
With that, Jenny opened the gate behind them before Syn, Varek, and Vantiv got sucked out before Jenny darted out and used her jet pack to steer herself towards Kaecilius and Lotor just as she noticed the Castle arriving as she spoke.
"Coran?"
"I thought you could use a little help."
As the Castle decimated the fleet, Lance spoke to the others.
"Shiro and Pidge, the sky has been cleared of all Drule. What's your status?"
Pidge answered as she stood by her father.
"The shuttle's clear, and we're ready to go."
Then, she heard Sam slump back after a terrifying moment before Pidge noticed and hugged him as she took off her helmet.
"Dad! I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Katie."
As Matt joined in to hug him, Ayame and Shiro smiled at them before they were joked with the other lions as Lance spoke.
"Nice job, team."
Shiro then grew concerned about a battle taking place.
"Where are Lotor and Kaecilius?"
Ayame then spoke up.
"Jenny went out there to help Lotor. We have to get to them."
As the shuttle headed for them, Kaecilius stood tall over a defeated Lotor as he raised his Quintessential fist with a dark red orb in its clutches as he spoke.
"Your fleet has been destroyed, and your followers separated. It's over."
"Wrong. The Drule Empire is eternal. Which is more than I can say for you."
Suddenly, a slashing sound was made as it cut off the Quintessential arm before Kaecilius screamed in agony before Jenny went down between him and Lotor, who was surprised to see her considering trust issues before his arm reformed while the stunted Paladin spoke.
"Oh, crud."
"Don't you see? I'm everlasting!"
With a swipe from his arm, Kaecilius knocked farther away as Jenny yelped before she recovered and prepared a dark red orb.
"You may be more powerful, but you're still not a god!"
As he roared, he fired it at Jenny before she blocked it with her hand like before. Except this time, it didn't dissolve. It was actually pushing her back before the orb glowed brighter, forcing her to push it up before it exploded just above her, pushing her deeper into the ground before a crater was made as Kaecilius proudly walked toward it and saw Jenny struggling to come out of the crater which laid bare as he summoned another dark red orb, to which Lotor took objection to.
"No!"
He then got the Black Bayard back from the ground as Kaecilius spoke.
"And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!"
Lotor then jumped into the air with a grunt before he performed an overhead slash and separated his Quintessential side with his normal one completely, earning a pained scream from Kaecilius as the blast fired near the crater and went upwards into the air before the blast faded. After the action was made, Kaecilius groaned as the Quintessential side was completely faded with traces of it remaining on the bayard.
"A... a righteous god defeated by a mortal. It's sacrilege... it cannot be!"
With that, he only chuckled before it turned into a dark, maniacal laughter. However, it didn't last as the Quintessential side's flame rekindled and swallowed the rest of his body before it scattered to the far side of the galaxy with the Paladins, Sam, Syn, Varek, and Vantiv stood in shock before the last of the three fell in despair.
"No..."
Varek then comforted her as he lifted her up.
"He's scattered to a new reality, wherever it may be."
Syn then glared at Lotor and Jenny as the former helped her up.
"This isn't over."