FW09: I am breezing through this chapters! Man! Then again, it isn't hard when you love a series.
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender or any of its sister series. However, I do own this story and the various OCs that are in it.
Chapter 6
"But the heaviest things, I think, are the secrets. They can drown you if you let them." - Ally Carter
(Inside the control room of the Castle of Lions...)
"...I told ya, I ain't up fer a war," Eighty-Four laid herself back against the wall, relaxed and unimpressed, "You find all them lions, that's exactly what'll happen."
It wasn't easy, letting go of that gun. Her fingers itched for a weapon - the slender grip of her X-54 plasma pistol, the comforting weight of 0.30 magnum shells in a six-cylinder barrel - but she wagered her guns were either taken off of her by the humans, or floating outside somewhere just beyond the atmosphere of whatever planet they were on. Even that piddly laser peashooter was more comforting than being empty-handed. However, if she wanted this to work, she needed to gain their trust, make them think they were in control. Luckily, Shiro was the one holding the gun - and as far as she knew, his moral compass would never lead him to shooting an unarmed captive, especially if they were female. Chivalrous brat.
"Whether war comes or not, the Galra are coming now," the princess stood next to Shiro, her arms together and her gaze fierce, "The castle detected an enemy proximity alert, and a tracker trained on our destination."
Then there was the princess. Eighty-Four took a good long look at her: dark brown skin with a touch of ash, white flowing hair, pink markings, and pretty blue eyes. She was quite beautiful, and certainly resembled King Alfor, but to say that she was the Princess Allura from 10,000 years ago was...strange, to say the least. Alteans were long-lived in comparison to some species, especially humans, but they aged relative to their years - Coran, for instance, was middle-aged at 600 years. Princess Allura, on the other hand, was no more than 200 years by Eighty-Four's calculations, which meant she was still younger than the bounty hunter.
'Heh, surrounded by brats yet again,' she thought, 'Jus' mah luck.'
Coran jumped up and checked the console, regretting that he wasn't able to be around when the alarm went off. He observed the image the castle had picked up, and brought it on-screen.
"A Galra battleship..." he whispered, noting that while the design was a bit different, the familiar Galran ribbing and sinister crystal energy was the same.
"Princess Allura wasn't sure how to gauge the distance, so we were waiting for you," Shiro kept his gaze on Eighty-Four as he talked to Coran, "How long before they arrive?"
"At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two..." the red-haired Altean trailed off as he counted on his fingers, "I'd probably say a couple of days."
"Good! Let them come. By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire," Allura's eyes took on a determined light as she looked to Eighty-Four once more, "So I say again: if you don't tell us where the Red Lion is, we are all doomed - you included. If you cannot help us as an Altean, then do so to survive."
Eighty-Four gave a half-lidded look before she pulled something behind her back, and Shiro tightened his grip on the gun. He wouldn't use it, of course, that much Eighty-Four knew, but she held up a hand to at least ease him back. She took out her Q-fumes and popped one out, flicking the tip with a nail. Allura squinted at the little black cylinder, unfamiliar with it. Eighty-Four gave a chuckle, confusing the rest of the occupants in the room, even Shiro. Guess his memory was still out of commission, for lack of a better word. And while she preferred it that way, it was a bit lonely when she couldn't share the joke with him - because he made the same uncomfortable look he did when she first showed him a Q-fume for the first time.
"Look at you, tryin' ta appeal ta mah better nature," she joked as she stuck the Q-fume between her lips, then winced when she felt a flake of dried blood drop into her her eye, "Ah, quiznak! Ssss...damn that hurts!"
Shiro seemed to ease up as he noticed that Eighty-Four was still very much injured, and Hunk stepped forward.
"We really should get your head looked at," he told her, but froze when she directed a glare at him, "I-I mean, lion! Tell us where the lion is!"
Eighty-Four continued to stare him down as he shrunk inwards, but then a light laugh caused him to ease up.
"Ye're that weird one that called me a 'good luck charm', ain't ya?" she asked, recalling the exact same tone from before.
Hunk lit up a bright red, and his teammates turned to look at him in surprise. In return, the pale Altean smirked - well, look at this cutie, all sweetness and no spice.
"Y-You heard that?!"
"Mhmm...firs' time's anyone's called me tha', by th' way," she pulled the Q-fume from her lips and blew out a noxious purple swirl of smoke, grinning, "Sweet, ain't ya? Could eat you riiiight up..."
"..." Hunk remained quiet, wishing he could hide behind something as the blush reached up to his ears.
"...The Red Lion," Allura tried to re-direct the conversation, and Eighty-Four waved her hand.
"Mmm - yeah, yeah..." she shrugged, taking a few more puffs, "Tell ya what. I'm an ex-bounty hunter turned freelancer, I work fer money or somethin' o' equal value. An' considerin' mah employer never made aware th'...dangers o' this particular deal, I'm more than happy ta make a new one. Make me an offer."
And there it was. The lie of being paid to drag Shiro out of that Galra ship would be replaced by a very real contract with the princess.
"An...offer?" Allura had to pause at that. Granted, she understood politics and business, but as a Princess of Altea, she never expected to ever have to bargain with someone of her own species. Not that she took advantage of her royal heritage. She didn't snap her fingers and everyone would jump a foot in the air, but...if she made a request, she can't recall if anyone had ever refused her. If she wasn't in the middle of negotiating with a bounty hunter, she might've stopped to consider the privileges her life afforded.
"Mah services are mah trade, an' ya can't make bank on good looks alone," Eighty-Four tipped her head and winked suggestively, "Though I know I'd be livin' like a queen if I could."
"All right, enough!" Allura felt like she'd been pulled into some alternate dimension with Eighty-Four's talking - as if they weren't about to be descended upon by the Galra, "What would it take to get the Red Lion's location?"
"Whoa, you are not seriously negotiating with her?!" Keith stepped forward, his tone caught between angry and worried, "She tried to take Shiro away!"
"Keith, this is your lion we're talking about, and we don't have a lot of time," Shiro lowered the muzzle of the pistol slowly, "What do you want?"
"...First, mah ship," she stated plainly, "I know it's still out there, an' I ain't leavin' it ta be picked apart by them Galra. Second, an' I'm jus' guessin' here based on yer 10,000 hypersleep, but assumin' ya don't buy an' trade in th' standard Galra currency, I'll need access ta things I can use fer barter here. Third, I get a room here."
"A room? You mean, you want to stay here, with us?" Pidge asked, quirking his eyebrow upwards.
"Mhmm," Eighty-Four leaned back and scratched at one of the straps to her chest plate, "Ye don't steal a favored prisoner o' th' Galra an' expect ta roam free. Then again, ain't never lived 'n a castle before, so...bonus."
"...You mean, you're the one who helped me escape?" Shiro asked, a look of surprise crossing his handsome features.
"Had me a little help, but yeah," she shrugged at the half-truth, then frowned, "'Course, didn't think it'd end up with me bein' on th' run. They mus' really like you, boy."
"My name's not 'boy', it's Shiro," the white-haired teen corrected, and Eighty-Four couldn't help but laugh again - oh, the memories. She slipped the Q-fume back into her lips, taking a few more puffs.
"Well, point is - I ain't followin' through with that quiznakkin' deal, considerin' everythin'," she looked at Allura pointedly, "An' I'm willin' ta take a better offer. Trus' me...things're a lot different, princess. An' as far as I can remember, humans're still labeled as base 2-primitives. Ye want information, I'm yer best shot."
"You're a base-2 primitive," Lance mumbled under his breath, and Eighty-Four chuckled.
"Ain't an insult, kid," she waved her hand dismissively, "It's a classification, according to th' Galra. Means ya haven't encountered aliens on a greater level yet. At least ya'll ain't base 1.
"What does base 1 mean?" the littlest human asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Yer still worshippin' aliens as Gods," Eighty-Four looked around and noted the lack of civilization on the planet they were on now, "Now this might be considered a base 1-primitive planet."
"So, your ship, your payment, and a room," Allura reigned the conversation back in, a vein in her temple throbbing, "Anything else?"
The paler Altean turned her attention back to the princess, who was currently gritting her teeth in effort not to snap. Grinning, the bounty hunter nodded and held up a fourth finger.
"One more thing...if I pull command, I get command, ya understand me?" she took another long smoke of the Q-fume before putting it out, "When I say stop, we stop. If I tell ya go, we go. Anythin' an' everythin' between them, too."
"What?! This is my castle!" the dark-skinned Altean gestured to the entire room, "Who are you to say you can give me orders?"
Eighty-Four brushed off her thighs as she stood up, and showed the princess that she was at least a few inches taller.
"Don't get yer dress up in a bunch," she leaned forward and poked the younger female in the forehead, earning a glare, "I won't pull command without a reason. An' again, I'd call this fair - since I'm essentially signin' a death warrant by agreein' ta join yer side. Ya gotta at least make it worth mah while, don't ya agree?"
"...Then in addition to the Red Lion's whereabouts, I have the right to any information you may have regarding what's happened these past 10,000 years," Allura rebounded back, "And anyone who lives in this castle must contribute - you will not be an exception to this rule."
"Fine by me," Eighty-Four spoke lazily, a little smile on her face as she saw Allura's frustration still building, "So...how ya wanna seal this deal? Shake? Sign? Kiss?"
"Coran can draft the agreement, then we...wait, did you just say...'kiss'?" everyone in the room stopped for a moment and turned to stare at the princess and the bounty hunter, eyes wide.
"Sure did," Eighty-Four added a little purr to the end of that, and leaned forward suggestively, "Why...interested?"
"You...are a female Altean, are you not?"
"Yep."
"And you understand that I'm a female, too?"
"Uh-huh."
"...Did you...um...mean a kiss on the cheek?"
"Nope."
"..."
"..."
Eighty-Four's grin had grown each time Allura had asked her questions, and she couldn't help but enjoy the way the princess squirmed under the attention. It was even more enjoyable when Allura seemed to get the picture - which, given the way she acted, showed how naive and innocent the princess was, at least in relationships. Eighty-Four would certainly not say no to kissing someone as beautiful as Allura, especially since she was a princess - the bounty hunter had never kissed royalty before - but it just wasn't meant to be, as Allura shook her head in response to the offer.
"I...um...I'm sorry, I'm not..."
"Tha's all right," Eighty-Four shrugged, then turned to look at Hunk, "How 'bout you? Want a kiss, sweet stuff?"
"What?!" Hunk waved his hands in front of himself, flushing 10 different shades of red, "N-No, I'm good - uh, not that you're aren't pretty, you're very pretty, but-but-but..."
"Heh," she laughed - it was just too easy to tease these new comrades of hers - and started moving towards Coran as he wrote up the contract quickly, "Think I might really like it here, after all."
(One hour later...)
Eighty-Four stepped out of the cryo-replenisher, feeling refreshed and surprised at the effectiveness of Altean technology. Even 10,000 years old and it still beat the standard Galra medical procedures, though it may have had to do more with Galra philosophy rather than a deficiency in their technology. After all, they hated weakness and favored the strong - and what better way to show strength than to go through excruciatingly-painful surgeries with no anesthetic? A bit muscle-headed and painful for her like, but it did encourage her to stop getting hurt in idiotic ways. Sort of...kind of...well, she did get hurt less to a degree. She took a quick peek around and saw that she was alone, just as she had intended, though it took a fair bit of flaunting and flirtatious smiling to get her way.
The pale Altean stripped off the medical gown she was given, then dressed herself in her under-armor: a simple, dark-blue body suit that had highlights of neon purple along her spine, hips, and chest. Though it offered little defense, it was better than nothing, and it allowed for better mobility than the broken bounty hunter gear she sported. The only thing she wished she had was the helmet, which was the most damaged out of her gear. For now, though, she accepted one of the spare Altean ones instead, provided by Coran - a little snug on the ears, but it did breathe a little better than her old helmet.
"Hmm..." she plodded over to the console as soon as she'd slipped on the last glove, noting the alerts that blinked rapidly over her medical readout. After a quick scan of all the warnings, she erased them - another reason why she wanted to be alone. The less these folks knew about her, the better. Especially Shiro.
Eighty-Four sighed and rubbed at her eyes, still not believing she was going through this. If only her ship wasn't destroyed...she could've just taken Shiro and left. Not that she didn't like that uppity princess and steward, or the other four humans that came along with Shiro, but if she had to choose between their safety and Shiro's...
Well, none of that mattered now. Now...the only hope for survival was indeed Voltron. Shiro and three other humans had headed out earlier to grab the Green Lion and the Yellow Lion, and Eighty-Four had told the Princess which ship the Red Lion was on - Sendak's battle cruiser, to be precise. Thus, the only thing left for her to do was to grab her things from the space outside of Arus, which was the name of the planet they were on as she found out.
"Hey, you ready?" came a voice at the opposite end of the med-bay, and Eighty-Four turned to find the moodiest human standing there, leaning against the doorway.
"Yep," she stretched, testing her re-invigorated body, "Lead me ta th' ship hanger, an' I'll be on mah way ta grab mah things - "
"With me," the black-haired teen interrupted, crossing his arms, "You didn't think we'd just let you take a pod out of here without supervision, did you?"
"...I could knock ya out in less than five ticks with tha' attitude, ya know that?" Eighty-Four raised an eyebrow, crossing her own arms.
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try," the brat retorted, clenching his fists.
"Please, we all agreed we were on the same side, did we not?" Allura walked into the room after hearing the argument, with Coran behind her, "I asked Keith to accompany you. Think of it as an exercise in trust - and if you are true to your word, then this alliance will be much easier to cope with for everyone."
"...Hmph," Eighty-Four gave a quiet nod, staring down this 'Keith' with a trained eye, "Fine...but this one needs ta work on 'is attitude - "
"You tried to take Shiro away!"
"An' I'm th' one who rescued 'im in th' first place! He wouldn't even be here if it weren't fer me!"
"Enough!" Allura shoved herself between the two of them, who had been stalking towards each other, "Please...this isn't the time. I don't want the two of you caught out there when the Galra arrive."
"...Yer lucky I agree with her or I'd plant one on ya," Eighty-Four held up a fist before turning away.
"You and Lance are the same, all talk and no action," Keith did the same, and Eighty-Four had half a mind to back-hand the dumb son of a -
"I said enough," Allura felt a small headache grow from the argument, "Coran will show you to the hanger bay. I have to get back to the bridge to assess the condition of the other Paladins and the wormholes."
(Outside Arus, approximately 416.5 killorans (510 kilometers) above atmosphere...)
"So...ya seem ta have a strong connection with tha' Shiro fella," Eighty-Four spoke finally as they reached where her ship had been wrecked. She would've preferred silence, considering how foul the teenager was acting, but if Princess Allura said to play nice, then she'd might as well try. Not to mention, Keith did seem to have an strangely-strong bond with Shiro. It made her just a tad curious.
"And it's none of your business," Keith replied from her right, making Eighty-Four frown.
"...Ya know, this would go a lot more smoothly if ye were jus' a little less prickly," she grumbled, slowing the pod down so she could get a good look at the wreckage.
Her cockpit was completely wrecked, its shield smashed to smithereens and the frame bent in several areas. Her wings were the next bits she could see, both ripped to shreds, and her tail was similarly bent. So...the frame was trashed...in essence, the Cutting Edge was beyond repair. Eighty-Four bit the inside of her cheek and groaned inwardly, apologizing to the old girl. She and the Cutting Edge had been through many battles, seen many things together, and in the end, had protected her from dying in a fiery wreck inside that wormhole. It was a loss that was...hard to put into words.
"It would've been even smoother if you hadn't pointed a gun at us," Keith turned his away from her, and she felt something snap inside of her.
"All righ', tha's it!" Eighty-Four pushed the pod into a sudden stop, causing Keith to jolt forward.
"Hey, what the heck?!" Keith turned on her angrily, but stopped when she put a finger in his face.
"In th' short span of a quintant, I managed ta make an enemy outta th' Galra Empire, got thrown halfway 'cross th' galaxy, fought a Galra battle cruiser, had mah ship blown up, wrecked mah head 'gainst an asteroid, an' on top o' all that, learned Voltron weren't no myth," Eighty-Four counted off her other hand, her volume raising with each item on her 'shit that's happened to her in the past day' list, "Now, I'm stuck with a sour-as-quiznak runt who don't shut up 'bout me takin' his boyfriend!"
"He's not my boyfriend, he's my friend - practically like a brother to me!" Keith argued back, and she leaned back with crossed arms.
"...An' I was jus' doin' mah job," Eighty-Four huffed, "I didn't know Shiro had any 'friends' or 'relatives', all I was given was orders. Ye can't blame me fer not knowin' what I didn't know."
"..." Keith looked down at that, and the Altean sighed.
"Look, this situation ain't exactly...easy fer th' both of us," she gestured to the both of them with her hands, "Yer a brat with issues, an' I'm th' girl who tried ta take yer 'brother' away."
That sentence didn't earn her any brownie points, but Eighty-Four couldn't resist calling him a 'brat'.
"That being said...I'm willin' ta put our differences aside fer now, at least 'til we can get outta here. Then, we can go back ta ignorin' each otha all we want. Deal?"
Eighty-Four held out her hand, giving a tired look.
"...Deal," Keith nodded begrudgingly and reached for her hand, but upon taking it, she jerked him forward and planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Hah, told ya I'd plant one on ya!" she laughed insanely, and Keith rubbed at his face furiously as she made a quick getaway. She exited the pod and jetted her way to one of the larger portions of the Cutting Edge that remained intact. She snickered as she heard Keith grumble darkly over the intercom, but refocused on a large black container that sat floating in her ship's broken cargo hold. Opening it up, she saw that most of her weapons inside weren't too badly damaged, and her toolkit was similarly in good shape. She took a locator and her old shoulder holsters out of the toolkit, then kicked the container to the pod to be picked up, letting herself drift forward.
"Why even bother?" Keith's voice echoed to her, and she rolled her eyes, "It's all broken anyway. It's not like you can get your ship back."
"Firstly, don't try ta get under mah skin again, it ain't gonna work," she chastised, unclipping the damaged belt on her waist and letting it float away, "Second, mah ship's done fer, I know, but that don't mean there ain't things worth salvagin'."
With a grin, she used the locator and noted that the magnums hadn't floated too far away, luckily still within the asteroid field. She jetted over and picked them up, slipping them into her shoulder holsters. Hmmm...not a bad look, if she said so herself. She always liked her shoulder holsters, but belts were the Galra standard and most folks were a little nervous when they could see the guns displayed so brazenly.
For the next 30 minutes or so, she picked up everything that she would fit inside the pod, things like rations, her Galra currency card, and the most important thing - a necklace with a personal log attached. Eighty-Four slipped it on immediately, breathing a sigh of relief that she'd found it.
"Are you done yet? The others might be back already," Keith asked seriously, and she turned around to see him drifting just behind her. Smart bugger...probably figured out how to pilot the pod already.
"Jus' 'bout," she reported, snatching the final bag of items she was looking for and blasting her way back to the pod, "Let Allura know we're on our way back an'..."
Suddenly, a flash of purple light appeared in the distance, not much brighter than a far-away star...but Eighty-Four knew better.
"...And?" Keith urged her to continue, but she didn't finish her sentence.
"Keith, move aside, we gotta get this ship outta th' way," Eighty-Four put a bit more speed into her jet pack, her ears pricking upwards.
"Why? What's going on?" she saw Keith move to the passenger side of the pod as she approached it.
"Galra," she answered immediately, and she shoved her way into the pod, moving all the pieces she'd picked up over so she could sit in the pilot's seat.
"No way, Coran said they'd be here in 2 days, not 2 hours!" Keith retorted, but when he looked up, he could see an ominous glowing purple speck, "Oh no..."
"Remind me ta ask how Coran counts his hours and days, would ya?" she grit her teeth in an annoyed fashion as she turned the ship around.
Nodding grimly, Keith watched through the mirror as they shot back towards Arus and the Castle of Lions.
(At the Castle of Lions...)
"Allura, we've got a problem," Eighty-Four rushed into the bridge with Keith as soon as she could, but was stopped in her tracks when she saw a hailing frequency from Sendak playing on the big screen.
"I am here to confiscate the Lions," the Galra commander spoke, "Turn them over to me, or I will..."
He trailed off as soon as he noted the Altean bounty hunter walk into the room, and she grit her teeth. Damn, she didn't think it would be him of all Galrans who'd show up.
"...Well, well, well, if it isn't Tracker 84-2009," the whole room turned to look at her, and she cursed under her breath before walking to the center of the room, "So this is where you ran off to. Never thought you would've been apart of the resistance...I always thought you were smarter than that."
"Not really. Th' only thing I ever needed ta be was smarter than you," Eighty-Four spoke, her voice sweet and sarcastic.
"Too bad. But I guess I should've seen this coming: you are Altean, after all," he scoffed, then leaned in closer to the camera, "You're going to wish you would've finished things in bed before I get down there, you little - "
With a finger, Eighty-Four ended the frequency abruptly, cutting the talkative Galran off.
"...Oops," she murmured in a dead-pan voice, "Guess you should've seen that comin'."
As Eighty-Four turned around, Allura stepped forward in a confronting fashion, with a judging look on her face. Ah, quiznak.
"Did that Galra commander just imply you and he were - ?"
"Ah!" Eighty-Four interrupted her, hoping to distract everyone from asking questions, "No time fer that! Ya'll should be glad that he's here! We need th' Red Lion, they got the Red Lion - let's go get it!"
"Wait, just 'go get it'? Seriously!? Th-the scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us." Hunk stuttered, "We only have four lions - "
"Technically, only three working lions," Pidge interjected, and Hunk patted him on the shoulder.
"That's right, thank you Pidge," the bandana-wearing human continued, "Three working lions, and-and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old!"
"Actually, it's 10,600 years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather - "
"Thanks Coran. Thank you for that," Hunk silenced the mustached Altean and turned back towards the group, "See? Now is the perfect time to panic, not raid that thing's ship!
And luckily for the bounty hunter, that seemed to spark a whole debate between the group. Eighty-Four sighed silently and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Deciding that it would be best to let the rest of them talk it out, she leaned against a wall nearby and watched the events unfold. Then, Allura turned to her, unsure. Eighty-Four tensed for a second, a bit worried that Allura would return back to the 'were you in bed with the enemy?' query, but was glad when the topic remained unchanged.
"Eighty-Four...which would you rather...?"
"I was up fer escapin' since I got here," the pale Altean glanced at Shiro, whose eyes were narrowing, "An' I'm guessin' hero-boy over here would vote opposite o' me, so we're still at a tie, princess. Guessin' Coran'll follow whatever ya say, so it's still yer decision there."
"I...I still don't know what to do," Allura looked down, closing her eyes.
"Perhaps your father can help," Coran caught the princess' attention, and gestured to a door that hadn't been open before.
"My father...?" a look of question crossed her features before Coran led her down the hallway. This left Eighty-Four with the other five humans, and they seemed to remain separate from each other, like a stand-off. Shrugging, she decided to grab something to drink, having remembered how Coran ordered something from the walls and it automatically popped out that food tray. Eighty-Four pressed a panel and asked for some water, pleased when a little food tray with a pouch of liquid zipped out towards her. However, as she was drinking, she noticed Shiro approaching her out of the corner of her eye.
"...So, you and Sendak?"
"Pbbttthhh!" she spit out her water, startled that he asked, and drew the attention of the other humans, "Ughhh...uhhh, whuh?"
"Don't play dumb with me," Shiro narrowed his eyes, "What were you thinking? Sleeping with the enemy?!"
Eighty-Four stared at him for a few moments. It was as if he hadn't lost his memory, like he was back to his old self - but she knew it wasn't true. And for those few brief seconds...it hurt. She shook her head, however, and forced a grin.
"How do ya think I got ya off th' ship?" she took a swig of water, swallowing quickly this time, "Besides, it's not like we actually did anythin'...I jus' used his credentials to get 'round, tha's all. What better way ta avoid suspicion while movin' through th' ship than bein' th' commander's love-bunny?"
"Love-bunny?" Shiro's face scrunched in on itself, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Anyway, I think we got bigger problems than th' ones o' th' past," she tilted her pouch at the four boys who were staring at them, and Shiro turned to follow her lead, "Whatever decision th' princess goes with, it'd be best if they all agreed, don't ya?"
"...I can't force them to do things they don't want to do," Shiro whispered to her.
"But ya are their leader," she bit her lip, then reached up and ruffled his hair, "I've seen th' way they look at ya. An' how ye've talked to 'em before. Jus'...do that, an' everythin'll be all right."
His eyes went wide at the gesture, and she walked away before he could speak to her again.
"...What was that about?" he mumbled to himself, one hand coming up to smooth his ruffled hair. He never did get an answer, though, as Princess Allura stepped back into the bridge, dressed in a bodysuit and a determined look in her eye. Looks like the princess found the answer she was looking for...
(During the Red Lion operation, outside the Castle of Lions...)
Log Entry 6102-016-02
...Ya know how hard it was ta look ya in th' eyes t'day?
Ye even said some o' th' same things, but I know it weren't "you". Not th' "you" I wiped.
It almost made me wanna tell ya everythin'. Jus' confess what I did...
Heh...thought I had more resolve than tha'.
Then again...I never loved someone as much as I did you, now have I?
...
When was th' las' time I even told ya I loved ya? Do ya remember?
Or called ya by yer name, jus' th' way ya liked it?
I shoulda said it when I had ta send ya off. It was th' las' time, but I couldn't even bring m'self ta...
...
Alfor's Beard, I've grown soft, haven't I?
I even wanted ta tell ya...don't go. Ye don't have ta be a Paladin. Ye don't have ta pilot tha' lion.
Would that I could...ta keep ya safe...I even wiped yer mind.
But it turns out I jus' made it worse...
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Whuh?
...
*sound of sighing*
That oughta be tha' princess we met t'day. Allura.
Ya look like ya like her.
...
Made me a li'l jealous, but I kissed tha' "brother" o' yours, Keith - so I guess tha' makes us even, heh.
Eighty-Four, out.
"...What?" Eighty-Four rubbed her eyes, wiping the vestiges of tears as she clicked her recorder off, and her intercom on.
"Shiro and Pidge reported in, saying they let loose a few prisoners from Sendak's ship," came Allura's voice over the intercom, "I need you to pick them up before we have the particle barrier up. I'll send you their landing coordinates."
"...Roger," Eighty-Four flicked away the newly-lit Q-fume and walked back to the hangar bay in a hurried fashion.
The pale Altean would've turned paler if she could, having heard the news. Those prisoners knew Shiro, and if they met...Alfor's Beard, she hoped they kept their mouths shut. She grit her teeth as she loaded herself into one of the larger ships, and plugged in the coordinates of the fallen escape vessel. Why did having to keep the past in the past be so hard?! Eighty-Four shook her head as she blasted off, using the short time it took to get there to calm herself. It didn't take long to see the smoke, however, and she pushed the ship to its limit in getting there.
"Please, down here!" called one of the prisoners, Cyblor, confirming her worst suspicions - he was one of the first aliens who met Shiro. Damn...damn, damn, damn!
Eighty-Four landed the ship next to them, and they waited patiently for her to open the cargo bay doors. However, she made sure she was down there as she lowered the ramp, her arms crossed and her expression dark.
"...Eighty-Four? Is that...is that really you?" Cyblor asked, his large lips enunciating each word with ease, "We thought we'd never see you again - or Shiro, for that matter! What in the known universe is going on?!"
"You - dead, in five ticks, if ya don't answer mah questions," Eighty-Four warned as she brought up one of her magnums, and the prisoners gasped at her hostile attitude.
"E-Eighty-Four, what ever is the matter? Why are you so upset?"
"What did ya tell Shiro?"
"W-What?"
"I know ya saw 'im, now what did ya tell 'im?" she walked down the ramp and kept the gun leveled at Cyblor, eyes flashing.
"We-well, I-I-I-"
"Did ya tell 'im 'bout our relationship?"
"N-no! Why would I?! He knows what relationship you...and he...wait, why would he not...?" a perplexed look crossed Cyblor's face, and Eighty-Four sighed.
"...'Cause I erased his memory," she explained, lowering the weapon, "Now tell me Cyblor...what exactly did ya say ta him?"
"I only said I knew that if anyone could save us, it'd be him...the Champion," Cyblor looked down, shaking his head, "Oh Eighty-Four...why ever would you erase his memory? You two were so happy together..."
"...It came back," Eighty-Four holstered her magnum as she turned away, ignoring the surprise in Cyblor's eyes, "Ye should know what I mean when I say tha'. Ye were friends with mah mother."
"That is hardly an excuse to - "
"I'm sorry, did I ask yer opinion th' matter?" she turned to look at him, daring him to speak, "This be mah decision, an' mah decision alone, ya hear? An' if he asks ya questions, ya better not tell 'im any more than 'e needs ta know."
"..." Cyblor turned to his compatriots, getting them to agree before turning to Eighty-Four once more, "We understand. But if I may...?"
"...What?" her tone was thin and curt.
"If that has returned...don't suffer through it alone," Cyblor approached her with a sympathetic look, putting a thin hand on her shoulder, "If you don't want to be with Shiro, then come join us. We would be happy to welcome you into our homes, for all that you and Shiro have done for us. Now more than ever..."
"...I'll keep tha' in mind," Eighty-Four flicked her ears in appreciative sadness, then waved a hand to the rest of the aliens, "Now come on. We don't have much time. Th' Galra'll be here, an' th' best place ta be fer now will be th' Castle o' Lions."
(At the Castle Lions, minutes before Sendak conflict...)
"Eighty-Four, I hope you're close! Sendak is almost here, and I need to put up the particle barrier," Allura called over the intercom, her voice frantic.
"I'm righ' here!" Eighty-Four slid the ship into the hangar bay, just in time, and she saw the particle barrier slip over the entire castle.
"Are...we safe?" asked Cyblor, and the bounty hunter nodded.
"Jus' bout...but it'd be best if ya get ta th' med-bay," she opened the cargo bay doors and let them out, "C'mon!"
Eighty-Four grit her teeth as she felt the first hit from Sendak's ion cannon hit the barrier as they ran, and the prisoners screamed from the impact.
"Don't worry none 'bout that!" she yelled at them, urging them to run faster, "Jus' get ta th' med-bay, an' everythin'll be all right, I promise!"
Every time a hit came, however, a prisoner or two would shrink into a wall and Eighty-Four would have to drag them along until they started to run on their own again. It was a tiring process, but she managed to escort them properly. She grabbed ahold of Cyblor just before he ran into the med-bay, instructing him.
"Keep everyone quiet an' calm, as best ya can," she panted, her lungs burning from having run for so long down the corridor, "I'll be back."
Before Cyblor could complain, she closed the doors on him and ran back up to the bridge. There, she could see the battle unfolding between the Paladins and Commander Sendak, along with Allura and Coran trying to keep the particle barrier up.
"What's th' status?!" Eighty-Four asked before another hit rocked the castle, causing her to stagger to the right and hit a rail, "Agh!"
"Not good! The particle barrier will only take so much!" Coran reported in, and Allura turned to look at Eighty-Four.
"Shiro and the others are fighting in their lions as we speak, but they haven't formed Voltron yet!" she continued for him, but winced when another attack from Sendak's ion cannon came again.
"...Ugh, ya think it's 'cause o' that?!" Eighty-Four pointed at the giant tractor beam that was currently drawing the five lions upward, "Ain't there a way ta fire on th' ship?! Get 'em outta there?!"
"The defenses are defenses for a reason!" Allura shouted back, "They have a limited attack radius!"
All three Alteans groaned when the particle barrier got hit one too many times, causing it to explode and the castle to shake disastrously. Bits and flakes of metal and stone shook from the ceiling, coating the inhabitants with dust.
"No...there mus' be somethin' we can do...we can't leave 'em ta die!" Eighty-Four yelled, breathing hard, "Shiro's up there!"
The desperate bounty hunter ran to Allura, looking at the display and trying to push any and all buttons, but none of them worked.
"I'm so sorry...I should've asked you to run with the others, then we wouldn't have lost everything," Allura knelt between the controls of the castle, hanging her head.
Eighty-Four glanced between Sendak's ship, which was preparing the final ion cannon blast, and Allura. She clenched her fists, roaring in frustration as she saw Shiro's Black Lion continue to move upwards, but unable to do anything. This couldn't be the end...not after everything that's happened. If it was going to end this way, she would've at least told Shiro one last time that she...
...
The bounty hunter sighed and shook her head. It was pointless now, wasn't it? None of the intercoms were working, and Shiro was still locked in the tractor beam. She couldn't even talk to him...and maybe that was for the best. Eighty-Four looked to Allura, her shoulders falling as she reached a hand up and squeezed the princess' shoulder. There was a despondent look in Eighty-Four's eyes, as if there was no hope.
"Hey...if it's any consolation, I prefer goin' down guns blazin' anyway," she grinned at the princess, showing as big a smile as she could, "An' what's better than tryin' ta form Voltron, huh? Legendary defender an' all..."
Allura smiled back, putting a hand on Eighty-Four's own when they both heard the ion cannon go off. Both Altean females and steward closed their eyes in preparation, and the shaking of the castle grew as the roar of the cannon fire grew louder, until...suddenly it stopped. Eighty-Four cracked open her right eye, but it seemed like all was well. Speechless, Allura rose from her position and used the ship controls to enhance the wide-screen monitor, showing a pair of glowing yellow eyes amidst all the smoke that came from Sendak's cannon. When it cleared, Coran jumped with joy and Allura sighed in relief - Voltron had been formed.
"...Well I'll be...Voltron..." Eighty-Four breathed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes, "I can't believe mah own eyes."
The Legendary Defender itself. But more importantly...Shiro was alive. And with that giant robot, he and the other four humans dismantled the Galra battle cruiser, sending it into oblivion along with that quiznakkin' commander, Sendak.
'Thank th' stars,' she thought, sliding down to the floor in relief, 'He's alive...he's alive...'
(After the Sendak conflict...)
"Hey, Eighty-Four," called the brown-haired pilot, Lance, who was passing the med-bay, "Aren't you coming? We're eating food-goo out on the balcony to celebrate. You know, for forming Voltron and becoming defenders of the universe?~"
He ended the sentence with a cocky grin, causing the bounty hunter to smile back at him. After the whole ordeal, Eighty-Four had kept her word and traveled back down to the med-bay to help the dehydrated and injured prisoners into the cryo-replenishers. She'd gotten a brief crash course with Coran beforehand, urging him to go with Allura to congratulate the Paladins when they returned, which gave her just enough time to go over what information Cyblor and the others could reveal once they finished their restoration. It was a bit of a headache, but she knew that if she was to keep up the charade, some things needed to stay in the dark.
"Yeah, jus'...lemme take a rest here. It's been...a long day," Eighty-Four sighed, leaning back against the cool surface of one of the cryo-replenishers. Lance shrugged before walking away, letting her be. It had been a long day, after all.
Eighty-Four watched Lance walk away before her smile slipped, her expression reminiscent and sad. She looked down and fingered the data log around her neck before pressing the rewind button and playing it back.
"...Hey, are you up?"
"...Mnnn...no..."
"Come on...I know you're up..."
"I'm tired...an' drunk..."
"I know you are, that's why I need to ask you something."
"What?"
"Do you love me?"
"Mnnn? What're you - "
"I said, 'do you love me'?~"
"Shiro, ge' orrfff, yer smofferin' me..."
"I won't stop until you say you love me."
"Fine...fine. I, Eighty-Four - "
"Your other name..."
"...I, Jack...love - "
"Your full name - "
"Oh my STARS, you are this close ta bein' kicked outta bed!"
"Then do it, but I won't stop until you say it.~"
"...Mmmrrrfff...I, Jack Shirogane...love you, Takashi Shirogane. There, ya happy, ya quiznak?!"
"Very."
"...Yer weird, ya know that?"
"Hahaha...you'll learn one day that hearing 'I love you' will never be weird...or get old."
"Riiigggghhhttt..."
"Which is why I started your log to record it - "
"Ya did what?!"
"Pffftttt - "
"Shiro, that ain't funny! This is mah personal log, ya don't touch mah - "
"Mmmmnnn~~~"
"Mmff! Mmmnn...ya know I hate it when ya do that..."
"You love it...and I love you."
"...Yeah, yeah...now shut up an' c'mere. Ya damn weirdo..."
Eighty-Four stopped the recording and shut it off, sighing deeply. She leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling, letting the white seep into her vision.
So this was how it was going to be. Shiro - the new leader of Voltron, and pilot of the Black Lion. Day after day, he'll be putting his life in danger, trying to fight Zarkon and his armies with four other brats and a princess and her steward. Oh how she wished she could take it all back. If she had known that trying to run away from both Zarkon and freaking Ulaz would have ultimately resulted in this...she would've just come clean. Then, maybe she could've at least tried to stop him - tried to talk him out of it.
...Well, even that was a pipe dream. Shiro was just as stubborn as she was, especially when it came to "doing the right thing".
Eighty-Four grasped the data log between her fingers and kissed it softly. Then she stood up, tucking the necklace under her suit, next to her collarbone.
"...This is fer th' best," she spoke quietly, wiping away any tears that might've formed, "This...is fer th' best..."
With that little mantra, Eighty-Four shut away her feelings and locked them away in a deep corner of her heart. She took a deep breath, and another, before slipping into her trademark grin. She eased her tense shoulders, stopped her shaking knees, and walked like she didn't have a care in the world. Because that is the Eighty-Four that Shiro knew now. The Eighty-Four that the other humans and Alteans knew. And she'd keep it that way, for as long as she could.
...One day she would break down, she knew...one day, these secrets that she held would be too heavy for her to hold on her own. One day.
But today was not that day.
And with that final thought, Eighty-Four took one more deep breath before she opened the doors to the balcony and slung one of her arms around the nearest person, Hunk, as she grinned widely.
"So, where's tha' food goo y'all been talkin' 'bout? I'm starved!"
FW09: And another chapter down! This was kind of also a rushed chapter, but I hope everyone still enjoys it!
Also, I just watched the last episode for Season 2, and all I can say is...they better bring him back. BRING BACK MY BABY. YOU BRING HIM BACK. I don't care...how the previous Voltrons had Shiro disappear or whatever, but YOU BRING HIM BACK. F*ck you writers if you just make him disappear without a trace! HE IS MY BABY!
Ahem, that aside, I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye!