KathDMD - It's more complicated than that, but you'll see as it all unfolds. The plot will unravel with the robeast and the lake, but Blue...she's a whole 'nother story.

cubbieBlueMako - Vince would be an obvious choice to save the day, right? But let's see how it unfolds...

selena devargo - Marina's not done yet! Read on!

animebookchic - Developments are indeed on the way...Keith drinking tainted water, Blue compromised, and a robeast that is putting our favorite team to the test? I do hope this isn't the end of one of our fan favorites...DUN DUN DUUUUUN!

Author's Note - 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 119 : "Black and Blue"

In the Castle of Lions, the communications console flashed. Pidge opened the com, frazzled.

"This is Head Tech Sergeant Sparks of the S. S. Defender calling the castle of Lions," Sparks said. "Do you read me?"

"Yes, Tech Sergeant," Pidge replied. "What's going on?"

"Commander Aki needs to speak to Admiral Kogane," he said.

"The Admiral is in Med," Pidge replied. "We are currently experiencing a situation here. What is it about?"

"The Air Team has been trapped in a cave on Ariel by the Krelshi," Sparks said, "and he needs to know anything you know about the Forge."

"Things are hectic here right now," he replied, "but I'm sending you my logs. Pass them on to the Commander for me. Hopefully they'll be of some use."

"Are you in need of any assistance?' Sparks asked.

"We have things handled for the moment," Pidge replied. "We'll let you know if we need you. Castle out." The com ended, and Pidge went back to the testing he was working on. "I just hope I can figure out what's in this water before it's too late."

"There's got to be something I can do from here," Larmina said to herself. She began keying things into the nearby console, and observing the readings. "Power levels are really low. It's as if Blue hasn't been charging. Hmmm….' She sat back down and connected her Voltcom to the console. "Maybe I can jump start Blue, and get her out of the water." The voltcon glowed for a moment, then sparked and smoked, shorting out. "Great."

"What's going on down there, Larmina?" Daniel asked.

"I tried to use my Voltcom to jump start the Lion," she replied. "It's fried. I might lose communication."

"Just sit tight," Daniel said. "Vince and I are almost to the lake. We're going to try to find a way to pull you out of there." Her voltcom suddenly went dead after one last spark.

"Daniel!" she shouted. "Are you still there?" There was only silence. "Great." She slumped into her chair and reached into her pack and pulled out a bottle and took a sip of water. She suddenly stopped when an idea came into her head.

"I've lost Larmina," Daniel said.

"I hope she's OK," Vince said. They climbed out of the lions shortly after landing near the shore. They walked up to the edge, finally getting a glimpse of the purple glow emanatuing from the lake depths.

"It's contaminated alright," Daniel said. Vince turned to see the lions slump.

"Contaminated with Haggarium," Vince said. "And Keith ingested this stuff. Not good at all."

"Can you do anything about it?" Daniel asked.

"I'd need Voltron's help to cleanse the entire lake," Vince replied. "But we need Blue Lion."

"Larmina…." Daniel said softly.

"It's so crazy it might work," Larmina said, opending the few bottles of water she had in her pack. She dumped the spring water into an access panel at the back of the cockpit. "Come on…..work…." A faint groan was heard throughout the hull of the ship. Moments later, she felt the rumble of the engine trying to power on. She watched as the nexus began providing power, and the lion coming to life, albeit weak. She ran to the seat and strapped herself in. "Well, it's now or never. Let's get out of this mess." She smirked as she pulled the yokes, and Blue took off from the platform and quickly headed for the surface.

"Could we maybe get a tow rope down to the lion?" Vince asked.

"If we do," Daniel replied, "I'll be the one to go down. I've already had exposure. I might be able to resist it, and with my speed, I might be our best option to get in and out quickly." Before they could continue, Blue leaped out of the water and crashed onto the shore, skidding to a halt. Larmina climbed out.

"Well, I made it," she said, "but Blue is nearly out of power."

"The water's contaminated with Haggarium," Vince said. Larmina gasped. "We have to get Blue away from it."

"The Altairan spring isn't far from here," Larmina said. "It's not connected to the lake or the castle's water supply. We may be able to use the water to energize Blue."

"At least enough to form Voltron," Daniel said. "Come on, let's get to it so we can meet up with Marina and Hunk."

"I hope they're doing better than us," Vince said, heading back to Green.

"Let go!" Marina shouted.

"My controls are jammed!" Hunk shouted, yanking everything he could to try and fight it. "It's got us!"

"I'm not giving up without a fight!" Marina said through her teeth. "Use the Demolition tail and give red a good whack to the behind!"

"Not the time to be kinky, Marina," Hunk shrugged.

"Just do it!" she shouted. Yellow swung its tail, hammering Red hard, sending it out of the robeast's grip, strait at the robeast. "Ion Knife!" A blade appeared in red's mouth, and it cut through the beast, allowing red to escape. Marina turned around and sped towards Yellow, cutting him free as well.

"Nice work!" Hunk said.

"Compliments later, Garrett," she replied. She tapped her com. "Daniel, where are you?"

"We got Blue free," Daniel said. "We need to take it to the spring. We're hoping the fresh water there will let us get Blue running again."

"Well you better hurry," Marina said. "I'm not sure how much longer we can fight this thing on our own." Red dodged andother attack, then swiped with the knife again, cutting its arm off. The robeast absorbed the sludge, and the arm reformed. "No matter what we do to it, it just grows back!"

"Lead it to our coordinates," Daniel said. "If we can meet up, maybe we can take it on with additional firepower." Red and yellow fired on the robeast again and took off for Daniel's location, and the robeast skulked along, following them.

Dr. Ecron returned to med to check on Allura. He walked in just as she came around.

"I'm glad to see you are doing better," he said.

"I'm still exhausted," she replied, "but as long as the baby is fine…."

"Daniel came to check on them," he replied. "It's lucky we had some stores of fresh water to use for them. If they had drunk the contaminated water…." Allura gasped.

"Keith!" she shouted. She sat up and looked around the room. "Where is Keith?" She couldn't feel him anymore.

"He was here?" Dr. Ecron asked.

"Doctor," she said, "he drank the water! He was unconscious, and laying on the nearby bed!"

"I have not seen him," Dr. Ecron said. "But if he is awake….this can't be good at all."

The doors to the control room opened up, and a semi-conscious Keith walked in with a small crowd of castle denizens behind him. Without warning, then began to smash panels, destroying the control room piece by piece.

"To the empress of all evil…" he shouted, "….we grant our undying allegiance!" Alarms blared as the screen showing the robeast closing in on Yellow and Red suddenly sparked and powered off completely from the damage….

To be continued….