WEP owns everything except the voices in my head.
FroofyB - Well so far, it seems that it's her interactions that are calming him, but time will tell for sure...
sunshineleo - I really didn't have the urge to include Nanny in this one, so that's one less hurdle for them to cross. The nightmare has to be something epic to mess with Keith like this, maybe I'll reveal what I think they are, but maybe I'll let you all imagine your worst instead...
Paulina Ann - Sometimes Lotor provides the most comic relief when he's trying to be his nastiest ;-) He is pompous enough to think that the KA bond is subject to his will & desires though...
Smithy - Lotor, well, being an evil prince can make one believe that the universe needs to bend to one's will, not the other way around...
cubbieBlueMako - Yep, that was the calm before the storm alright. I'm sorry... Just bear with me a bit longer though...
Wade Wells - Haggar has a few more *tricks* up her sleeve, so to speak. Things are gonna get a little bumpy now...
In a dark room filled with arcane tomes, beakers, and flasks filled with smoking fluids, a loud cackle wafts on the air currents. "Finally, something to counteract the bond that is preventing my spells from succeeding!"
Haggar bends over the volume lying open before her and traces her clawed fingertip down the page. Nearby, her blue cat idly flicks an ear at the scraping sound that results. "Just a few more ingredients and that infernal captain won't know what hit him!"
She pours the contents of a few jars and beakers into a large bowl. Waving her hand through the mist emanating from it, she adds a single drop of a swirling silver liquid. The contents of the bowl flash brightly and disappear. "Come, Kitty, let's go find the prince and watch as our plan unfolds!" Gathering her pet into her arms, she leaves her laboratory with an evil grin on her face.
The five lions of Voltron fly in the airspace near the castle for a training session. Hovering in a group, the red, blue, green, and yellow cats turn to face their leader for their instructions.
"Alright, everyone, first we form a starburst formation. Then we'll skirt that mountain and take out the targets in the clearing behind it. Any questions?" barks the Voltron Force captain gruffly.
"Yeah, I have one, Keith," snorts his second in command. "Are you sure you're up to this? Shouldn't we call off practice today so you can sleep? Missing one day won't kill us, and you really need the rest…" As he trails off, Lance attempts to soften his tone and take some of the sting from his words.
"I'm fine, Lance," Keith growls over the communicator screen, "and we can use all the practice we can get. Now, if you're ready, let's go!"
Lance shakes his head and mutters something under his breath. The others can only make out the words "stubborn" and "bad idea".
"Wanna repeat that so we can all hear it?" There is no trace of humor in Keith's low tone as he snaps irritably at his second.
"No, sir! It was nothing," spits the Red Lion pilot as he tosses off a mocking salute. "Starburst formation. Got it!" He grips the control handle and adjusts Red Lion's heading, glaring menacingly at the viewscreen and biting back any further comments.
Keith returns his glare silently for the space of a few heartbeats, his face tightening dangerously in anger. He bites back the reprimand he wants to hurl at Lance in response. Instead he reaches up and violently flips the toggle to cut the communication channel.
The team quickly falls into formation behind Black Lion, following Keith along the specified course. As they approach the firing zone, the lead ship wobbles briefly before quickly regaining its proper position and orientation.
"Keith, are you *sure* you're alright?" Allura asks quietly and hesitantly.
"I'm fine, Princess! Worry about Blue Lion and leave Black to me!" he snarls out testily. "Now, does anyone else want to second guess my orders or are we ready to take out those targets?" challenges Keith with a menacing hiss.
Allura sighs, clearly unhappy that her captain is turning his temper on her now. Unwilling to risk increasing his ire, she lets the subject drop. However, she exchanges a worried glance with the Red Lion pilot on her secondary screen before silently turning back to the task at hand.
Racing around the mountain, all five lions begin firing missiles, lasers, and claws as the assorted targets placed throughout the clearing come into sight. Once again, Black Lion appears to have difficulty holding position and swings wildly, right into the path of an oncoming warhead.
"Keith! Look out!" Allura's cry reaches her captain's ears just as the projectile impacts the left hindquarter of his Lion ship. Smoke pours from the collision site at the cat's hip.
Keith's pained bellow echoes through the other four cockpits as Black Lion spirals to the ground. Landing with a jarring thud, the ship lies silent and motionless. Lance tries to raise his captain, but his hails go unanswered. Fearing the worst, he pulls out the lucky rabbit's foot he carries with him.
All weapons activity ceases as the four lions still airborne race to land near their fallen leader.
The princess leaps from Blue Lion. "KEITH!" Her terrified scream echoes through the clearing as she runs to the head of the downed ship. Lance follows, mere inches behind her. When they enter the cockpit, they find Keith slumped over in his seat, unconscious and unresponsive. A cursory examination shows no sign of blood or obvious injury. "Lance, we have to get him back to the castle quickly. There's no time to lose getting him to Doctor Gorma. Hopefully he didn't suffer any internal injuries."
"Right, I'll take him back in Red. Call ahead and have a trauma team ready, Princess. Pidge and Hunk can tow Black in and survey the damage." Lance bends down, pulls Keith across his shoulders, and carries him back out of the ship. Allura follows behind, launching Blue Lion off the ground before Lance can even set Keith down on the floor of Red's command center.
"Pidge, you and Hunk are on tow duty. We'll get Keith back for evaluation. Start any repairs needed and we'll give you an update on his condition when we have one." Lance barks out the orders to the rest of the team as he follows the princess's lion back to the castle.
Hunk and Pidge deposit the Black Lion in the repair bay before retuning their own ships to their respective lairs. The two men regroup in the hangar and begin to examine the prone machine before them.
"It looks like there are a few power relays burnt out back here, but I'm not seeing a lot of other damage besides scorch marks. You see anything, Pidge?"
Pidge's voice echoes back from within Black Lion's head, "No, all the command consoles look good. I'd say Keith got lucky and only took a glancing impact." He jumps down and lands neatly next to Hunk. "I hate to say it, but Lance was right. Keith should have called off practice today. I think the lack of sleep is finally starting to catch up to him. He shouldn't have been having so much trouble keeping in formation. Both his decision making and motor skills are starting to show the strain of exhaustion."
"We all know that, but the trick is getting him to admit it. You know how stubborn he is about this sort of thing. Let's get these relays replaced and see if Lance has an update."
The two men turn to the task at hand, determined to finish the repairs as quickly as possible.