selena devargo - You know how complex Lysette is, and that the bombshell will play a part i the end to this story arc. And believe me, the finale will blow your mind!
lovecastle89 - Intense is an understatement! This next chapter is mild, but is building up to an explosive ending! We may have gone from Ac/DC to Reba, but we're gonna end with a little Metallica... (Lars, please dont sue me!)
cubbieberry - Yes, this will be their first time as a couple going to Earth. Though i have to admit, Allura will be seeing more action than Keith...
KathDMD -Yep, the cat is out of the bag, but with full permission from selena devargo. For more details, everyone will just have to read Deception! Indeed, Kovinx performed the same ritual Haggar did to bring life to Voltron...only the unpredictable results will shock everyone! And yeah, Krik had an epic fail trying to form Voltron, but at least the sub units function. This chapter coming up will begin the wrap up, but it's next week's finale that will be HUGE! #WatchTheWatch
Author's Note - One more episode after this to go! How will it end?
Theme Music : "Some Things Are Meant To Be" by Reba McEntyre
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins and associated characters are the property of KathDMD. Lieutenant Lysette Fabrere and associated characters are the property of selena devargo.
Episode 64 : Meant To Be
"I'm not sure how it's doing it," Lisa said, "but it seems to be manipulating the water in order to attack."
"That's great and all," Taye replied, "but how do we stop it? Or at least get away."
"Maybe we can distract it," she said, hitting the controls. Gamma formed a bow and arrow, and fired bolts at a nearby structure, tumbling it onto the beast. Gamma again tried to take off into the air, but the water wrapped around the debris and flung huge chunks of the building at them, hitting Gamma and sending it once again to the ground.
"Any other ideas?" Taye asked.
"A distraction, maybe?" Aidan shouted, coming down on the beast, slicing it in two with the Alpha Sword.
"Welcome to the party," Taye said. The beast reformed and slammed into Alpha, sending it flying. Beta landed nearby.
"Did you get the sample?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah," Lisa replied.
"We'll hold its attention," David said. "You get that sample back to Professor Mizuki and try to find out what we're dealing with." Gamma nodded and took off intot he air. The beast tried to go after them again, but Beta forced itself between them, getting hit in the process. Alpha got to its feet.
"For our sake," Aidan said, "I hope they hurry."
Christiane pulled the yokes and barely escaped the blast coming at her.
"That was a close one," Cliff said. "Say, love, think you can handle a link up?"
"Let's do it," Christiane replied.
"Everyone in position," Cliff said. "Form Turbo Terrain Fighter!" Marvin and Hutch flew into position, and the side interlocks slid open from the wheels. Unlike they were used to, there was no energy field, and the interlocks were pulled together instantly, forming a relatively tight fit. The Jet Radar Station rotated into place as the interlocks fastened to each of the ATSVs. Christiane and Modoch flew together, and the interlocks magnetically held the ships together as they docked against the JRS. The completed Turbo Terrain Fighter then flew intot he fray and began the attack.
"Seems like we got this new teamwork thing down," Cliff said.
"If anything happens, it's my head," Krik reminded him.
"I have to admit," Cliff said, "I'm not liking the idea that we can't form Voltron."
"Just do the best you can," Krik said. He opened the com. "Captian Keats calling the Defender. The Drules have launched a robeast. Awaiting further orders."
"Keep trying to take it down," Jeff replied. "I am getting the final orders from Commander Hawkins to launch the Defender to help you."
"You better hurry," Krik replied. "I don't know how long we will last against this thing."
Daniel paced in the Control room, fidgeting. Larmina finally walked up to him after a while and hit him with a closed fist to the shoulder.
"Will you relax already?" she demanded.
"I can't help it," he replied. "I can't stand all this waiting around. There's gotta be something we can do." Just then, the com alert sounded.
"Incoming message from an unknown source," Pidge said. "Putting it on screen now." The screen came up, and it was none other than Haggar herself.
"Greetings, Sergeant Stoker and the Voltron Force," she said. "As you know we are currently holding one of your Lieutenants hostage."
"Enough chit chat," Pidge replied. "What are your demands?"
"Ah ah ah," Haggar said. "Before we get into all of that, you may want to know a little more about your Lieutenant than you may realize." She put her image on the screen. "As you can see, she does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Allura. You think this is coincidence?" They looked at one another. "I'm sure your ambassador can remember one of his childhood friends. The very sister of King Alfor himself!"
"No…." Coran gasped. "She died a long time ago in the midst of a battle!"
"She not only survived," Haggar continued, "but her offspring stands before you! She is, as much as Allura, and heir to the throne!" Lysette struggled against the chains.
"Don't listen to her!" Lysette shouted. "Don't give into her demands!"
"Silence!" Haggar shouted, tapping her staff. The image vanished. "In exchange for her safe return, I am asking for the unconditional surrender of the Voltron Lions!"
"You know we can't do that," Pidge shouted.
"You have one hour to comply," she said before the screen went black.
Gamma locked into the launch pad within the lab as Jet Gamma landed at the control room door. Taye and Lisa ran in with the jar, running up to the professor and Kelly.
"We were able to get a sample of that strange water," Lisa said. "It seems to have a mind of its own." The professor took the jar and studied it carefully. He carried it over to the next room, and carefully opened the jar. It seemed to move by itself, but was not posing much harm. He pulled a small sample of the water, and dropped it on a slide. The droplet began to move, and he quickly trapped it between slides. He them put it under the microscope.
"Magnifying times one million," he said, turning dials. "One billion…one trillion….there it is."
"There what is, Professor?" Taye asked.
"Microscopic robots," he replied. "This is pure genius! I have seen machines taken down to the microscopic level, but nothing of this magnitude!" He looked again. "These robots can manipulate matter on the molecular level. I can see why they were placed in the water supply…they seem best suited for manipulating liquids and dense gasses."
"Is there any way to stop them?" Taye asked.
"If you can make the liquid more dense without changing its state," he replied, "you may be able to slow them down enough to use this." He pulled out a box and handed it to Taye. "Connect this to Gamma's weapons array. Once you have them slowed enough, it will emit an ultra high frequency signal that will short circuit them. Once done, Voltron should have no problem finishing them off."
"We better get this back to the others quick," Taye said. "I'm not sure how long they'll last against those things." Taye and Lisa ran back through the doors to Jet Gamma.
The robeast continued to fire on the ships. The three teams were able to get shots in against it, but the damage was minimal at best.
"Our forward arrays aren't making a dent," Cliff said.
"If we don't so something soon," Krik replied, "it's gonna take us out and go for the Garrison."
"It's too bad we can't form Voltron," Jenny said. Krik though for a moment.
"We have no choice," he said. "All teams, separate at once and regroup."
"Air team, separate," Jenny said. The Strato Fighter separated.
"Land Team, separate," Cliff said. The Turbo Terrain Fighter separated.
"Sea Team, separate," Krik said. The Aqua Fighter separated. "All units, form Voltron!" The ships flew in formation away from the beast, then skyrocketed upwards for the formation sequence. "Form feet and legs!" The legs formed, and connected to the Jet Radar Station. "Form arms and torso!" The Communications Module locked on.
"There's a huge energy drain!" Cliff shouted. "The interlocks aren't holding!" Before the rest of the ships could connect, in a flash, the remaining ships separated.
"We gave it a shot," Jenny said.
"Now what we need is a miracle," Krik said.
"Coran," Pidge asked, "is there any truth to what Haggar said?" Coran made his way to one of the chairs and sat down.
"Long ago," he said, "before Zarkon became as powerful as he was, Alfor, myself, and his sister, Angelique, were friends. It was one of the fateful days that the evil ones we now know today as the Drule Empire attacked Arus in the hopes of stealing the secret of Voltron. In the attack, many of the royal family were killed. Angelique was one of those casualties."
"But she survived?" Pidge asked.
"I don't know," Coran replied. "According to the archives, and what little eyewitness reports existed, she had perished in the attack. For her to not only have survived, but to have bore children…."
"Lysette's past is complicated," Marina said. "Her mom stayed with our family for some time, and her childhood wasn't the greatest. None of us really knew where they came from, only that prior to living with us, her mom had been to Dradin, and had connections there. But for her to be related in any way to the Arusian Royal Family….it's too much to take in."
"Right now, we can't prove or disprove Haggar's claims," Pidge said. "But for now, we will go along with the demands, and try to come up with a strategy to rescue her. I'm going to try to home in on the source of the transmission. Meet me in the briefing room in twenty minutes." They all left, but Coran stayed behind, staring at the blank viewscreen.
"After all this time," he said to himself, "she could be out there somewhere."
"How much longer until we reach the Outer Perimeter?" Keith asked.
"Now that we are far beyond the blockade," Tails replied, "if we increase speed, we can be there in a matter of minutes." She looked down and saw the com flashing. "JC, I'm getting an incoming message from Galaxy Garrison."
"Put them through," JC replied. It started with static, then cleared up.
"Galaxy Garrison calling Voltron Force," Stormclaw's voice came over the com. "We are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack."
"What's going on?" JC asked.
"The Drules have built a base in the bay," he replied. "They launched missiles, which we were able to stop, but now a robeast is on its way here. The Vehicle Team was dispatched to try to stop it, but they are unable to form Voltron."
"We're on our way," JC replied. He turned off the com. "Seth, what's our power levels at?"
"We're at eighty percent so far," he said.
"Get ready to form Voltron," JC said. "Buckle up, Commander. It's about to get bumpy." He pulled one of the levers and began the sequence. "Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The ships pushed ahead faster in a wing formation, then moved into star formation.
"Form feet and legs!" JC shouted. "Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Voltron arched back as the energy field dissipated, its eyes lighting up with power.
"Let's get moving and stop that robeast!" Roxy shouted, and Voltron took off towards Earth.
"Scatter!" Krik ordered, and the ships flew apart, narrowly missing another attack from the robeast.
"We need help," Cliff said.
"I'm seeing something on RadialTrac," Ken said. "It doesn't look like a Drule vessel." The robeast came at the ships again, and just as it was about to hit Mai's Space Prober, the robeast was tackled out of the way by Jet Voltron.
"It's the other force!" Cliff shouted.
"Looks like you needed a hand there, Jack," Keith said over the com.
"Kogane?" Cliff asked.
"Akira-Chan!" Christiane shouted.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked. "Nevermind, we'll talk later. Just get the vehicle Team back to the hangar. We'll take care of this."
"Aye, Commander," Jenny replied, and let the teams away from the fray. Keith leaned forward to JC.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"Beats me," JC replied.
"Incoming!" Tails shouted. Seth plugged his Voltcom in.
"Defense boost!" Seth shouted. The blast hit them and knocked them back slightly, but they quickly recovered.
"Let's not waste time," JC said. "Analysis?"
"It's armor is heavy," Tails replied, "but nothing we haven't handled before."
"I'm not sensing anything special about it," Dariana said. "We can probably get in close safely."
"Then let's do it!" Roxy shouted. "Draw Magma Pistols!" The guns formed in Voltron's hands, and fired repeatedly as they flew at the beast. The beast tried to dodge, but instead was tackled in the air. They spun over and over one another, until the beast kicked Voltron away. The guns vanished.
"Form Blazing Sword!" JC shouted. Voltron reached to his hip and pulled the energy beam that then became the Blazing Sword. "Let's see exactly how tough the armor is." Voltron flew at the beast again, and it tried to fire on Voltron again. Voltron blocked two shots with the sword before getting in a swing, slicing diagonally through the robeast. The two halves fell lifelessly downward and splashed into the bay. Voltron brandished the sword while hovering in place.
"That takes care of that," Seth said.
"Now let's get back to the hangar," Keith said.
"We need to let Commander Stormclaw know what's going on, and try to determine what my father planned for Voltron," Allura said. Voltron took off in the direction of the Garrison.
The team filed into the briefing room and sat down. Pidge cleared his throat.
"As you may not know, Haggar took Lieutenant Fabrere to Outpost 9," he said. "While not as heavily armed as Doom, it is still deep within the Drule territory here in the Denubian. I am hoping by the time you reach that sector of space that yuou have the access codes needed to pass safely through."
"You don't know it yet?" Daniel asked.
"Unfortunately," he replied, "no. Normally I wouldn't have you all flying blind, but due to the time constraint Haggar placed on us, we need to move fast."
"That I can understand," Daniel said. Larmina shot him a look.
"So it's possible we could be flying into an ambush?" Hunk asked.
"Not if I can figure out the codes," Pidge replied.
"Well," Hunk said, "that gives us a fifty-fifty chance. I'll take those odds."
"We have to try," Marina said. "It's our only hope of saving Lysette."
"To the Lions!" Daniel shouted, and sped out of the room. The others followed, breaking out into a sprint. They all ran to their respective chutes, and within minutes, were aboard their lions.
"Marina," Lance said, "you're taking co-pilot on this one." She nodded, and they strapped in. The Lions each powered up with a roar, and took off from their dens. As they met up, they blasted through the Arusian atmosphere, and deep into space.
The team walked into the Space Marshall's office led by Keith and Allura. Commander Stormclaw was there waiting for them. As they entered, Stormclaw stood up, saluted keith, then proceeded to bow to Allura.
"It's an honor to have you both here," he said. "I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Will Commander Hawkins be joining us?" Keith asked.
"In a while," he replied. "He has personal business to attend to."
"Understood," Keith replied.
"So what is going on that couldn't be said over the Ultrawave?" he asked.
"The night of the competition," Keith said, "Drule forces infiltrated the castle of Lions. Somehow, Haggar was able to make off with the Lieutenant. However, we feel she was not their original target."
"Do we have any plans to rescue her?" Stormclaw asked.
"Pidge is working on that right now," Keith replied. "We're waiting to hear from the Drules with their demands, and try to get a fix on her location."
"I want to be kept posted on that situation," he replied. "Our pending investigation hinges on her safe return. Now, what else did you need to speak with me about?" Allura stepped forward.
"Commander," she said, "my father had a hand in Dr. Loring's work on Vehicle Voltron. Sergeant Kovinx and I recently discovered new information regarding the construction of Voltron, and it is important we relay this information in confidence to you."
"Very well," he replied. "Lieutenant Grend, you and your team can return to your posts. Commander Kogane, we have a room set for you and Queen Altaire. Once we finish our discussion, we'll notify you."
"Yes, sir," Keith replied. The men saluted one another, and they left. Once gone, Stormclaw pressed a button, and the doors sealed shut. A solid blind came down over the window. He then sat down behind the desk.
"Dr. Loring spent years working on his project," he said. "Years of work and manpower went into forging the individual vehicles, balancing them for the specific purpose and mission, and then trying to work on the power coefficients. And believe me, I started out like most of the cadets here at the academy studying Systems Analysis. But I, along with Sergeant Stoker, have been literally pouting over any and every note taken by Dr. Loring about the project, as well as comparing it to the brief work he did with Project Defender. Voltron was nothing short of a miracle. In all honesty, we don't even know how we were able to replicate the power structure of the Lions. And the biggest mystery that we've been unable to resolve is the compensation for the immense power strain not only on the individual interlocks, but actually performing functioning tasks. Even without the solar refractors, and operating within five-minute guidelines, the system was unimaginable." Dariana stepped forward.
"Sir," she said softly, "in my time as a Voltron pilot, I've learned so much about Voltron's creation, its past, and its significance. Voltron is a robot, but Voltron is so much more. The hopes and dreams of people across the universe rest on his shoulders. But the heart of Voltron is not the nexus that fuses together, but the energy that binds that fusion. Not of just parts, but ideas." She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Sir, Voltron was brought to life by instilling within it sentience. A living soul was imbued into the nexus, breathing life into the Defender. The same goes for Dr. Loring's creation. Sir, the only way to restore Voltron is to reanimate the soul that brought it to life….and unfortunately, in order to do that, a sacrifice must be made."
"What do you mean, 'sacrifice'?" he asked. "What sacrifice?" She stared him point blank in the eye.
"Me."