KathDMD - More flashbacks! The team has their hands full with a ground battle AND the Predator Robeast! Perhaps this will spark a little inspiration?
cubbieBlueMako - Indeed, things are ramping up for K/A and their team!
Author's Note - Haven seen or truly heard from my muse in weeks. If you see her, please tell her I miss her.
Theme Music : "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins and associated characters are the property of KathDMD. Admiral Lysette Fabrere and associated characters are the property of selena devargo.
Episode 111 : "Prey" Part 2
Keith led the charge against the oncoming Drule army. His swords formed in his hands, and Pidge stood to his right, activating his Smart Stars.
"Here they come!" Keith shouted. "Alpha Batallion, circle left! Beta Batallion, circle right!"
"And us?" Pidge asked. Keith brandished the swords.
"We're going strait through," he replied.
"Good luck, Admiral," Pidge said, preparing himself. They ran full speed at the enemy, dodging blaster fire and lason mortar fire all the way. When they came into contact, Keith began to hack his way through the army as Pidge sent his stars in from a distance, providing Keith with some cover fire. Moments intot he battle, laser blasts came in from a distance behind them.
"The castle is covering us!" Keith shouted. "Hold the line so they can drive them back!" The com opened.
"Alpha reporting minimal casualties!" the Alpha Leader shouted. "We are in position."
"Stand your ground, Lieutenant!" he shouted back, swinging at a few more oncoming Drule warriors.
"Their numbers are nearly endless!" Pidge shouted.
"Stay on the defensive," Keith ordered. "They need to work twice as hard if they even think they want to cover more ground." He spoke into the com. "Beta, you copy?"
"The Drules have organized a heavy front here," Beta Leader reported. "I don't know if we can hold out, Sir!"
"Do your best," Keith ordered. "Hold your position!"
"I can't see anything," Allura said, continuing to fire. "John, can you see Keith anywhere?"
"Even with enhanced magnification," he replied, "it's hard to tell one person from another."
"Keep firing into the crowd," she replied. "I can still feel him out there. I know we're doing something right. If I know him, he's put up a defense. That means the offence is all up to us."
"In that case," he replied, "I'll set up a wide burst of laser blasts that will start from their last known position and slowly work its way back. This should drive the enemy back far enough for his troops to get a foothold."
"Be careful," Allura replied. "I want to defend the town, not destroy it."
"Of course," John replied, keying the commands into the console. "I don't see Voltron. I hope they are alright."
"Me too," Allura replied, continuing to fire.
"Draw Magma Pistols!" Marina shouted. The pistols formed in Voltron's hands, and he took off backwards into the air while firing on the Predator Robeast.
"It's not phasing it," Daniel said, 'but it seems to be slowing him down."
"He swatted blue, smashed green, and caught yellow," Hunk said. "What else is there?"
"I got an idea," Marina said, "but I'm gonna need a little speed boost."
"I think I got enough in me," Daniel said with a smirk, connecting his voltcom to the console again.
"We gotta keep firing," she said. "Lead him to the volcano."
"You're not thinking of drawing it into the lava, are you?" Hunk asked. "Lace thought that MIGHT work, but we were going on a hunch that red could take the heat."
"I've got an even better idea," Marina said. "Just keep us ahead of it!" Voltron continued to fire on the robeast as it followed them towards the mountains. "Is Vince still out cold?"
"Vince, come on get up!" Daniel thought.
"What….what happened?" Vince asked telepathically.
"Dude, let Marina know you're up," Daniel replied. "The robeast smashed the shield, and you passed out." Vince grabbed the controls.
"I'm here," he said. "Still a bit out of it, but I'm awake."
"That thing is gonna get real close," she said. "Do you have enough in you to shield us?"
"From what?" he asked.
"From whatever it's gonna throw at us," she said, still jerking the controls, trying to outmaneuver the robeast.
"I'll try," he replied. Voltron landed on a cliff overlooking the inside of the volcano.
"Is there any way we can knock out its ability to fly?" Marina asked. "We need to make sure it can't recover."
"We can fire an electromagnetic pulse," Vince said, "but I'm not sure it'll have any effect."
"Ready or not, here they come!" Daniel said.
"Get ready to move on my mark," Marina said, gripping the controls tightly.
"Up and over?' Larmina asked.
"Yep," Marina replied. "NOW!" The robeast came at them firing. Voltron blocked the fire as best it could, the haggarium fluctuating the power levels. As it drew near, Voltron took off into the air, somersaulting over the robeast, firing several times at it. When they landed, they turned to see the robeast staggering at the edge.
"He didn't fall!" Larmina shouted.
"Knock him in!" Daniel said. Voltron fired several times, but the shots bounced off.
"Come on, Vince!" Marina shouted. Without noticing, her voltcom sparked and arched intot he console. Voltron would back, but instead of firing a magma shot, a sai formed, and he threw it right at the robeast, stabbing it through the face. The robeast tumbled over the edge.
"It's boosters are about to kick in!" Vince shouted.
"Then get ready witht hat pulse, Vince!" Daniel shouted. Form Black Center!" Voltron reconfigured. He took off into the air over the volcano, and stretched out, arching backwards. "Electroforce Cross!" The cross fired from the Arusian Crest on Voltron's chest and hit the robeast. Vince's eyes whited out as the power from the cross exploded in a pulse that sent the robeast plummeting into the lava, then soon afterwards exploding a geyser of lava hundreds of feet high. Voltron lost control and tumbled to the ground below the volcano, and skidded to a halt.
"Is everyone ok?" Daniel shouted.
"I'm ok," Marina said.
"Me too," Larmina replied.
"That was not a great landing," Hunk said.
"Any landing you can walk away from is a good one," Marina replied. "What about Vince?"
"Vince, you alright buddy?" Daniel asked. After a moment, they heard a few groans. Vince held his head, and as he looked up, he could have sworn he saw several Krelshi escape the volcano, and disappear from sight. "Vince?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "The Predator robeast is finished….this time for good."
"It's working!" Pidge shouted, throwing several more stars at the robot troops. "They're fleeing!"
"Good," Keith said. "As soon as the area's secure, have the troops head back into town to check on the civilians. I want to make sure everyone is alright, and try to come up with a strategy to cover any damages and losses."
"You got it," Pidge replied. Keith looked back at the castle in the near distance.
"We did it, Allura," he said softly. "Our people are safe."
John got up from the console and celebrated.
"We did it!" he shouted. "The Drule forces are retreating, and the Predator Robeast has been finished!"
"That's great news!" Allura shouted.
"Another blow to that tyrant, Lord….Kanji…." he started to say, then fell forward, falling unconscious. Allura hit the com.
"Infirmary!" she shouted. "Get someone up here immediately! John's just collapsed!"
In a flash, he opened his eyes, and found himself staggering around a dimply lit cavern. Confused, he looked around as his balance shifted, the feeling of a spell spinning his head around and around and around.
"What is this place?" he asked, stumbling around in the barely lit room.
"This will be your home for now," a woman with him said with a smile.
"What about the woman I see in my mind?" he shouted. "You promised me you'd take me to her!"
"Patience, my young Drule friend," she said. "In time, you won't need to seek her out. SHE will come to you."
"Come to me?" he asked. "How?"
"Fate," the woman replied. "The reason you see her is because she has been chosen. She is not like the others…not like any Drule woman in the universe. Not even her own grandmother could see the power she wields. But in your hands, you will hold something close to her. You will possess her….control her. And in time, you will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine!"
"I do not concern myself with power!" he snarled. "I only want to know who and what I am. All I want are answers!"
"All Drule men concern themselves with power and conquest," she replied. "It is the way of things. It's in your blood. Don't deny your heritage as some of our people have. You are destined for great things!"
"I'm no king," he said, "and I'm no emperor. And fate has nothing to do with me."
"Ah, but it does, young one!" she replied emphatically. "When she comes to you, you will understand. The anger will swell in your heart, and you will realize who you are…and what you are to her."
"You haven't even told me your name," he snapped.
"I am Haggar," she replied. "And with your help, we will return the Drule Supremacy to the empire it once was." Light surrounded him, and in a flash, it all went dark.