KathDMD - I can so see Lance saying that in Voltron Force. Wade indeed needs to be a stain on the floor. Kerza is a tragic figure….but nothing explains it more than this episode.
cubbieBlueMako - I write him as I hear him in Voltron Force. He has a voice no one can forget, and I portray him as such. By the way, Keith is going home this week….and Allura is expecting. ;)
Author's Note - My muse has been missing for three weeks now. It's hard to write without her in my ear.
Without my muse, I am nothing.
Theme Music : None
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 115 : "Return of the King"
Christiane walked up to Keith as he finished a conversation with one of the security guards. He turned to meet her, and the two hugged.
"I missed you so much," she said. "How have things been on Arus?"
"Somewhat chaotic," he admitted. "Allura and Alexander are doing fine though." She blinked twice.
"And the new addition?" she asked. He laughed.
"I could never hide anything from you," he said. "The pregnancy has been fine, a few stressful moments not withstanding. In fact, Allura is due in the next few weeks."
"That's great news," she replied.
"I heard there's an issue with your Voltron," Keith said.
"Yes," she replied. "Keith…I was trying to diagnose the system issues, and when I touched the cold metal, it was as if I were touching the skin of a living being. I saw things I didn't completely understand."
"What damage was there?' he asked.
"A robeast managed to penetrate something in the Strato Weapons Module," she replied. "It followed by a strange energy leak….and strange power surges have been causing configuration changes with Voltron's weapons." Keith's eyebrows raised inquisitively.
"Could it be possible….that the vehicles have a nexus?" he asked.
"They're alive, Keith," she replied. "I don't know how or why, but they are. Added to that, I had a vision of Alfor. I saw him as a young man talking to Dr. Loring. I think he was trying to create and grow his own nexus crystals." She looked him in the eye. "The immediate problem though is the power leak. Chip took a look at the damage, and strange information is being released that even the universal translators can't decipher. He has no idea how to patch it, and is afraid if we attempt to, we could do more damage in the process. Chip mentioned Ariel…."
"The Blacksmith," he said. "He must have contacted Pidge. We had a similar issues when Wade smashed a hole in Black Lion with a corrite projectile. I'm unsure of the ties your Voltron has with Ariel, but if you saw Alfor in your vision talking to Dr. Loring, maybe there's more to Vehicle Voltron's creation than we know about." As he finished talking, Marina came running up to him.
"Keith," she said, "we need to get everything together for takeoff. Coran needs to speak to Allura in person about the Council, and suggesting a way to unite the Alliance planets in the Denubian…." She turned to look at Christiane. Christiane looked back at her. "Oh, I don't think we've officially met. Lieutenant Marina DeVille, Red Lion pilot." She held out her bare hand to shake. Christiane felt something odd, then reached out herself, grasping her hand. Without so much as a flinch, a surge of everything filled Christiane's mind. She saw visions of Marina's past, but the ones that stuck out were visions of her older brother. Keith realized he hadn't told Christiane about Marina.
"And this is Christiane Aki," he said, "my…." Christiane pulled Marina to her and wrapped her arms around her. She closed her eyes and hugged her.
"Sister," she said softly. Marina felt confused.
"What?" Marina said carefully.
"Christiane is my little sister," he replied. "Maybe I should let you two talk. I need to talk to Len quick before we depart." He walked away. Christiane pulled back and looked into Marina's eyes.
"Let's start from the beginning," Christiane said, preparing herself to explain to Marina who she is, and how they are sisters.
Haggar walked down the cold dark steps leading into her laboratory below Castle Doom. As she entered the lab, she let out a sigh.
"That wretch of a girl managed to land herself into the hands of the Voltron Force," she griped to herself. "All of that effort wasted. No doubt Lord Kanji will be furious once he returns from Earth after the Drule Force's defeat there." She walked up to one of the tables, and started intently into one of the beakers. "Perhaps his wrath will be eased by an ingenious plan to put a stop to the Voltron Force and retrieve my young apprentice from their snooping hands. Perhaps a more deceptive approach is necessary to turn this situation around." She picked up the beaker and took a nearby vial. She dropped a small amount of the substance in the mixture in the beaker. She set the vial back in the holder, then reached into her robes, pulling a corrite dagger from it. The blade glistened in the little bit of flickering light in the room as she lifted it up, then set the blade carefully in her hand and pulled swiftly, slicing through her flesh. The blood oozed from her hand with an eerie glow. She tapped the beaker with the blade, dropping several drops of blood into the mixture. In moments, it began to violently react and fizzle, nearly flowing out of the container.
"Excellent," she said to herself. "With this potion, I can contaminate the water supply of their precious Castle of Lions, turning every human who drinks it into a mindless zombie! A mindless zombie that will blindly follow my orders without question! Should one of the Voltron Force take a mere sip…they will practically deliver the Lions right to me! Then I can finally put an end to Voltron, regain my full power, and destroy Arus once and for all!" She cackled loudly, and Cova let out a screech, seemingly in agreement.
The Lions left Earth on their way back to Arus. Everyone seemed quiet. Kerza let out a defeated sigh.
"Something the matter?" Keith asked.
"I'm already starting to forget," Kerza replied. "You need to understand something, Admiral. In my time line, Sergeant Kovinx and I were engaged to be married. That ring, which she enchanted, is all I have left."
"Enchanted?" Keith asked. "You mean it has some sort of spell?"
"When I came here, the Haggar from my time line placed a spell on me, wiping my memory," he explained. "The ring brought my memory back….being close to the one thing that anchored me to reality. As long as I carried it, I would never forget. Now….her memories are fading again, and soon, I won't even know who I am again."
"Where is the ring?" Keith asked.
"That woman has it," he replied. "Malva. I left it on her finger. I felt strangely attracted to it, and at the time I didn't understand why. When I came into contact with her inside that robeast….my memories awakened briefly."
"Dr. Ecron said he didn't understand how she was able to survive with the amount of haggarium in her blood," Keith said. "Do you think the ring may have something to do with it?"
"I don't know, Admiral," he replied. "But I have a tough decision ahead of me."
"What's that?" he asked. Daniel listened intently, but kept quiet, continuing to fly towards Arus.
"I told you I am starting to forget everything again," Kerza replied. "Without the ring, I will become what I was when you found me. The decision is whether to allow her to keep the ring, but forget everything I am and was, and risk the entire future of this universe….or take back the ring, and allow that girl to die."
Coran sat quietly in Red's cockpit as Marina continued to fly with the others. A light signaling tone filled the cabin.
"We have an incoming message from Arus," Marina said. "Ambassador?" He nodded, then pressed a button, and Allura appeared on the screen in front of him.
"Coran," she said, "how well did things go on Earth?"
"The Voltron Force was able to help the Space Marshall regain control of Galaxy Garrison," he replied. "She has chosen to rebuild the High Council from the ground up, and has requested I meet with you to assist with finding representatives from our surrounding worlds in the Alliance to participate in this new Council."
"And what of Wade?" she asked. "Form trillions of miles away, I could still feel Keith's anger. I know you faced him."
"Wade was behind it from the start," Coran said. "His cohorts infected most of the Council with his idealism, and idealism which nearly destroyed the Alliance. But with the help of Voltron, Wade has been destroyed for good."
"You must know how good it is to hear you say that, Coran," she replied. "Sky Marshall Wade has been an outspoken opponent to Voltron from the start, and has proven to be more than just an outspoken politician. Just knowing there is one less tyrant in this universe puts my heart and the hearts of the people of Arus at ease."
"As well it should," Coran agreed. "The Admiral is in quite a hurry to get back to you, by the way."
"Of course," she replied with a smile. "Dr. Ercon is pretty sure this baby is going to want out pretty soon. It could be any day now."
"Hopefully the stress hasn't gotten to you, Your Highness," he replied. "I shall alert you upon our arrival."
"Thank you, Coran," she replied. "I expect to be fully debriefed when you arrive, and look forward to all you have to say about Space Marshal Hawkins' idea for a new High Council."
Dr. Ercon walked into the room to see the nurse checking vital signs and keying things into her datapad.
"Any news, nurse?" he asked.
"No, Doctor," she replied. "She's still in a deep coma. I checked her vitals, and aside from a slightly elevated heart rate for someone in her state, and the obvious signs of the intense infection, everything else about her appears normal."
"I can't understand it either," he replied. "All the testing shows that the hagarrium levels in her blood stream are so toxic it could kill her ten times over. But she's still living and breathing. By all accounts, she should either be stone cold dead, or up doing bloody jumping jacks."
"I'll continue to monitor her signs for you, Doctor," she replied.
"Thank you, Nurse," he said. "I'll check in with you in a few hours. I need to go over my paperwork for the week, and pay a visit to Her Majesty to conduct her final routine screening before the child is born." He began to walk away.
"Have you found out whether it's a boy or a girl?" she asked. He stopped for a moment and laughed.
"The Admiral and the Queen said they wanted to be surprised," he said. "And so will you." He walked out of the room, and she let out a sigh. She looked at the screen again, then saw Malva's heart rate begin to rapidly increase.
"That's odd," she said to herself softly. She grabbed her wrist and began to take her pulse. "Drule physiology isn't that mucgh different from our own, but these readings can't be…." Suddenly, Malva sat up in the bed, grabbing the nurse by the neck. She lifted her off the ground as she stood up and threw her across the room. Breathing heavily, Malva ripped the wires and needles, then stopped for a moment, staring at the ring on her left hand, glowing madly. On instinct, she quickly ran from the room, the nurse lying limply on the ground.