Voltrex - I was just as impressed and amused by Roxy's relationship to Larmina. Roxy hasn't let on too much about her past to anyone at the Academy or the team. Truth is, the Lion Force know her better than they let on in the story, simply because she pretty much lived in the castle since becoming a ward of the state. Though no one could tame her, Lance has always had a soft spot for her, in a little sister kinda way. And yes, now you get to see, even for a brief moment, the two Voltrons working side by side.
Author's Note - I honestly didn't think I would finish this tonight. Part of me was feeling it, and part of me wanted to drop from exhaustion! But this was an excellent episode, and an emotionally charged one at that. You've been warned.
Theme Music : Sorrow, by Flyleaf
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins is the property of KathDMD.
Episode 21 : Defender's Call
"Kovinx," Vega said, "we're almost at the anomaly. You can cut back on the thrusters." Dariana felt disoriented, but seemed capable enough to slow them down to a near stop. When she became upright, she saw a bright light.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Our next challenge," the commander replied. "Proceed with caution."
"Caution isn't exactly in my vocabulary, sire," Vega replied.
"Trevor, Kovinx, take us in slowly," he said. Voltron glided towards the light. Within moments, Dariana was able to make out the source of the bright light. It was a woman…the same size as voltron, humanoid in appearance, giving off a bright white light.
"It's a goddess," Trevor commented.
"Blastphemy!" Ansel shouted. Voltron put his hands together, pulling them apart, and a sword of blazing light was formed.
"We must stop it at all costs," the commander replied. "For if it reaches Arus, the prophecy will come true, and we will all be slaves to the Evil Ones." Voltron immediately flew at the woman and bounced off it several times.
"It has some sort of forcefield!" Vega shouted.
"Then we need to put some muscle into it," Ansel replied, "and punch through!" Voltron's eyes lit up with power, as if acknowledging its fate. They flew one more time at the woman, and as they swung their sword, it penetrated the shield and came close to slicing the woman in half, but instead, Voltron froze.
"Forces built from light's construction, send this robot to its destruction!" the woman shouted, reaching her hand out. A beam of intertwined light and darkness hit Voltron, and those aboard were hit with a massive charge of energy. They screamed in agony as Voltron was blown apart by this deadly beam of energy. Dariana cried out….she felt the souls of Kovinx's team leaving their bodies as the forces inflicted upon them killed them. But Kovinx remained. Determined, her lips began to randomly chant things she had heard as a child. Her blackened lips began shouting the words as the pieces of Voltron twisted and mangled and blasted apart. Her hands glowed, and it seemed as if a field of energy surrounded the pieces, limiting the destruction to five solid masses. The pieces flew at immeasurable speeds to where they came from….Arus. Each crashed into a different place. The body of Voltron crashed and skidded into the tower outside the castle. Voltron's right arm fell into the volcano in the distance. Voltron's left arm fell into the dense forest, surrounded by thick trees. Voltron's right leg landed in the lake near the castle, and Voltron's left leg, with Kovinx still in it, crashed in the desert, coming to a stop inside a dark cave. Dariana looked around and saw she was indeed alive. She climbed out of the lion and walked out of the cave. A sandstorm kicked up, and she was not sure where to go. It was then she saw a small craft come to her. She looked closely, and saw Prince Alfor, now older from the last time Dariana saw him. He reached out his hand, and she boarded the craft, and they began to head back towards the castle.
While riding, she couldn't help but wonder herself what this all meant, and all the while feeling such deep sorrow and pain that Kovinx felt for her friends. Then she remembered Alfor. Did he know yet? Did he see his father's twisted corpse in the black lion? She breathed a sigh, and he could almost tell what she was thinking.
"I didn't want to believe him," Alfor said. "I was a fool to not believe in the prophecy. Now my father is dead. She and the Old Ones will pay for what they have done. Thanks to you, lamia, Voltron was spared this day. And he will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. I promise you."
"We have to take out this robeast ourselves," JC shouted. "Tails and Seth, you keep hammering away at the armada. Help Daniel and the others take care of those ships,"
"We're on it!" Seth replied.
"Roxy, you and I are gonna double team this thing," JC said. You up for a challenge?" Roxy was annoyed at JC shouting orders, but her mind was on Dariana.
"Let's do this," she said, gripping the yokes tightly.
"You bank right, I'll bank left," JC said. "You cool with that?"
"Just do it, Grend!" she shouted. They swerved, taking shots at the monster. It was knocked around a bit, but the shots were barely having an effect on it.
'We're not making a dent," JC said. "Let's try another pass." They turned and headed for it. It swung and missed JC, but managed to grab Roxy's ship.
"He's got me!" Roxy shouted. "I can't shake free!" Just then a beam hit its arm and froze it. Then Blue Lion cashed through it, causing it to release Jet Red.
"Thought you might need a hand," Larmina said.
"I'm not complaining," Roxy replied.
"So," she said, "how do we take this big piece of snart down?"
"Freeze the ground around it," JC said.
"We'll take care of the rest!" Roxy replied. Larmina fired the tail laser at the ground, freezing it. Roxy and JC flew in close, and fired at near point blank range. The robeast slipped and fell backwards.
"Now we need a way to pin it," Roxy said. "If Dari were here, she could use the chargers to pull one of those ships down."
"Then let's improvise!" JC shouted. "Fire your magma cannons at that lead ship. I have an idea how to give our big friend here a little present." Roxy pulled the weapons console, and twin cannons appeared on the sides. She fired on one of the main ships, and it began to drift. JC flew behind it and pulled out his weapons console. A pair of blades appeared from the wings, and he stabbed into the rear of the ship, pushing it towards the robeast. As the robeast got up, JC released it, and the ship crashed into the robeast, pinning it to the ground.
"We did it!" Roxy shouted.
"Good work, Truvall," JC said.
"Awesome!" Larmina said. "Now let's help the others take out the rest of this armada!" They flew off towards the fleet, not noticing that the robeast was slowly trying to pull itself out of the rubble.
Dariana and Vince slowly awoke from their trance and tried to get to their feet. It was only when they realized where they were, they looked at one another and spoke.
"This is the tomb of Alfor," Dariana said. "The visions brought me here for a reason...brought us both here."
"I don't understand," Vince said. "I know I have the ability to fight haggarium, and manipulate electrical systems. But finding myself in Alfor's tomb...things like this haven't happenned to me in a long time."
"It's because you haven't pieced together what you are," she replied. "I'm starting to understand. Vince, you and i are the same."
"That's impossible," he said. 'I'm human, and you're Drule."
"We share some sort of lineage," she replied. "We may be different races, but inside, we are the last of our kind."
"What are we?" he asked.
"We are lamia," she replied. They both felt the ground shake.
"That shaking can only mean one thing," Vince said with a cracking in his voice.
"Come on," Dariana said. "Let's get back to the surface. The others need us." They ran out of the tomb and towards the entrance to the catacombs.
"Have you found them yet?" Keith asked one of the royal guard.
"No, sire," he replied.
"Keep looking," he replied. "Head into the catacombs if you have to. We have to find them." Just then, Vince and Dariana ran in.
"Sorry we disappeared like that," Vince said. "Something strange is happenning..."
"You can explain later," Keith replied. "Right now, we need Green Lion out there."
"I need to get to my ship as well," Dariana replied. "Alfor meant all this to happen. Perhaps once this battle is one, we can figure this all out once and for all." Dariana saluted Keith, turned and ran out of the room.
"What was that about?" he asked.
"No time," Vince said, running for Green Lion's chute.
Black lion tore up another large warship, and left it to crash in pieces on the ground as Lance flew by in Red, taking out a few more drones.
"Nice flying, cadet," Lance said. "Just don't get too cocky. We're not out of the woods yet."
"I know," Daniel said. "They seem almost endless." One of the smaller ships landed near the robeast. The doors opened, and Haggar appeared. She lifted her staff into the air, twirled it three times, then drove it into the ground. Suddenly, the beast exploded from the wreckage, stronger than ever.
"Go, my creation!" she screeched. "Destroy Voltron and bring him back to me in pieces!" The robeast began firing in their direction.
"Roxy!" JC shouted. "The robeast is back on it's feet!"
"SNART!" Tails said, narrowly missing the laser fire aimed at her. "We can't keep this up much longer."
"We need Dari," Roxy said softly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up when she saw Jet Yellow followed by the Green Lion. "Dari!"
"Sorry guys," she replied, "but I had the craziest dream..."
"One thing at a time, girl!" she shouted. "Time to bring it together!" She grabbed the yokes and began the formation sequence. 'Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infrecells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The Lion force flew in formation as well, and as the jets switched to diamond formation, Roxy and Daniel began shouting commands in unison.
"Form feet and legs!" they shouted. "Form arms and torso!"
"Body!" Daniel shouted instead of 'torso'. "And I'll form the head!" Both Voltrons powered up, and their eyes lit up. Lion voltron's hands and feet roared with power before both landed on the ground in front of the robeast.
"This is Haggar's doing!" Dariana shouted.
"Then we need to up the ante," Roxy shouted. The beast started to charge at them. "Daniel, follow my lead... now!" They swung forward and hit the beast with a simultaneous punch that sent it flying to the ground. Roxy yanked the controls, and Voltron leaped into the air. "Follow up!" They landed on the robeast with a flying kick, then dismounted and turned. The beast got up, but was grabbed from behind by Lion Voltron.
"Got ya!" Daniel shouted.
"Death be quick, do not sustain, drain their power, leave with pain!" Haggar shouted, pointing her staff at the beast. Suddenly, Lion Voltron started to become weak.
"What's happenning?" Daniel asked, pulling controls. "There's no haggarium."
"Power level's are dropping, dan-man," Vince replied. He linked his voltcom to the console. "Get ready for a power boost!" Vince's eyes glowed, and Voltron gained strength. he spun around and threw the robeadt overhead, causing it to crash into the ground again.
"No!" Haggar shouted. "I won't let you defeat me!" Dariana's eyes suddenly whited out again.
"You're defeat was written in the blood of our ancestors!" she shouted.
"No!" Haggar shouted. "It couldn't be..." Dariana pulled the weapons console.
"Form Blazing Chargers!" she shouted. The right one instantaneously launched at Haggar. She tried to run, but it wrapped around her a few times, and Voltron yanked hard, sending her flying into the air and far out of sight. Voltron turned, and saw Lion Voltron battling the robeast with its Blazing Sword.
"When in Rome," JC said.
"Form Blazing Sword!" Roxy shouted. Voltron reached to its hip and pulled the energy beam that became the sword. "Make this one count! Finish him while he's distracted!" Voltorn ran at the beast, and without warning, pushed the sword through its gut. Lion Voltron backed off long enough for this Voltron to pull the sword back. Both charged the swords and sliced the beast, and it fell apart and exploded. They turned to see the armada, or what was left of it, retreating.
"Good job, team," Daniel said.
"I gotta say, I'm impressed, Truvall," Larmina said. "Never really thought you fit in on a team. Making me look like a liar."
"Don't get me wrong, Altaire," Roxy replied. "I still hate you. But the fact is you did good out there too."
"Girls, can we call a truce for now so we can get through the rest of this visit in one piece?" JC asked. Both of them sighed, and both Voltrons split up and returned to the castle.
Night time hit Arus, and the girls stayed in a large guest room normally reserved for visiting dignitaries. Roxy was playing cards with Tails...and oddly enough, Larmina.
"Ha!" Tails shouted, sticking out her tongue. "Full House again! i am so damn good at this!"
"You get the feeling she's cheating?" Larmina said with a half smirk.
"No," Roxy replied. "That's whay I don't play for money. That analytic mind of hers."
"I still miss my Pooky Bear though," she replied, wiping away a tear. "he's all alone on Earth without his Pink Snuggle Muffin."
"Snuggle Muffin?" they both said. They laughed, and Tails just threw the cards and headed to the bathroom.
"Honestly, Rox," Larmina said, "I don't know whether to laugh or be disgusted!"
"You said it," Roxy replied. They picked up a glass of Arusian spring water and held them up. "To bigger fights, tougher battles, and to not needing boys in our lives."
"After dealing with Daniel's bullcrap," Larmina replied, "I'll definitely drink to that!" As they drank, Roxy looked over to see dariana sitting on the bed and staring out at the night sky.
"What's wrong, Dari?" she asked. Is it about the dream?"
"Kinda," she replied.
"What happenned?" Roxy asked.
"A phoenix rose from the ashes," she replied.