"The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!" the Arusian King exclaimed from the stairs. Three Arusians were on top of each other playing the robeast, and three others were doing the same to play Voltron, using a wooden sword and shield. They were reenacting the battle that Voltron had fought just the previous day. Allura had announced that they would be leaving the planet tomorrow, but as thanks, she had invited the Arusian village to the Castleship for a farewell feast and party.
The three enemy Arusians threw a ball at the Voltron Arusians, which resulted in them collapsing underneath.
"...No! I said Voltron was victorious!"
The Arusians quickly reversed roles and leaped to their feet as the robeast three collapsed in defeat. The rest of the Arusians cheered and raised their drinking goblets as the princess watched in amusement.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for that…" she raised an eyebrow and grimaced slightly, "...wonderful production," she then changed it to the most innocent smile she could muster. "It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe." She then turned to the King himself, her hands clasped, "Your Highness… Please accept this gift," she opened her hands to reveal an Altean communicator. The king took the device apprehensively, "This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help." The king smiled in gratitude, "Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance."
"Hoorah!" the King exclaimed, holding the communicator in the air as his subjects cheered again.
Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley were in a little group in the crowd, holding small cups of their own.
"You know, we should get something like that," Shirley said.
"Like what?" Rivalz asked, confused.
"You know, like a cheer. Like, a team cheer that we do," the Orange Paladin clarified.
"Oh! I like where you're going with that, Shirley!" Milly giggled, "Hmmm… how about: I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol-"
"-tron!" the two exclaimed.
"Vol-"
"-tron!"
"YES! It's perfect! Now we just need the others in on it!" Milly winked before sipping her drink… which she immediately spit back into her cup. A full-body shiver followed. She zipped over to Coran, a peeved look on her face, "Coran, what is this?!"
"Oh, this is Nunvill, the Nectar of the Gods," the advisor smiled after sipping his glass.
Milly stuck out her tongue, disgusted, "It tastes more like hotdog water and feet!"
Missing the disgust in her tone, Coran smiled, "Yeah, makes a wonderful hair tonic as well." He stuck his hand in the glass before sprinkling some onto his mustache, causing it to fluff up before he walked gracefully away. Despite trying to maintain manners, this only caused the Ashford President to gag again.
Kallen was leaning against the wall, far from the crowd, scowling. She was never much of a party person, but her mind was on other things anyway. It had been officially four to five days since they all went missing. She'd be shocked if the news hadn't caught wind of their disappearances by now. Her stepmother knew she snuck out of the house now and again, but the longest she'd ever stayed away was about thirty-six hours. She was probably one of the first to contact authorities. Not because she loved Kallen, but to save her name and reputation. Not to mention the Black Knights and Zero. She was their most potent Knightmare pilot. With her gone, they would have to find a way to compensate for their loss. And it wouldn't be good on their end. Plus, Ohgi was probably worried sick about her as well. Just like...
Kallen sighed and stared up at the ceiling. She hated to admit it, but she missed her mom. Her real mom. Who worked and endured ridicule in the Stadtfeld home just to stay by her side. Why couldn't that woman just move on and get a life already?
"I'm sorry, guys…" she whispered, continuing to brood in the corner.
Meanwhile, Shirley and Rivalz were attempting to assist Milly, who was still having problems with the Nunvill drink. Rivalz poked her, and the Yellow Paladin fell comedically on her side.
Rai and Suzaku also stood apart from the crowd, but for entirely different reasons than Kallen. They were tense as if waiting for a whole army of Galra to come barging in through the wide-open gates.
"Not feeling well?" Coran asked them as he approached the two, "Try some Nunvill. Settles the stomach and brightens your smile."
"Coran, I don't think it's a good idea to be letting everyone wander in and out of the castle like this. It doesn't seem safe." Suzaku admitted.
"Oh, these Arusians won't hurt anything..."
Coran was interrupted as two Arusians came floating by, hanging from a hovering plate of drinks.
"...much." he cringed as the platter collided with another. "Besides, it's only fair to let them see the inside of a castle that's been sitting on their planet for so long."
"Okay, but who knows when Zarkon will attack again?" Rai asked pointedly.
Suzaku pushed himself away from the wall, "I'm gonna do a perimeter check. Just in case. Coming Rai?"
"Sure!" the Green Paladin said, following close behind.
Meanwhile, far across the way from the castle, two adversaries lay in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
"Commander Sendak, the sentries are in position around the Arusian village," Haxus said.
Sendak grinned. He was eager to take revenge on the Paladins and kill the princess personally. Emperor Zarkon would reward him generously for doing so. He zoomed in to get a better look at the castle with his unique Galra eye.
"Luck is on our side. Look, the castle defenses are down. The door is wide open. With all these Arusians coming in and out, it should be nothing for you to infiltrate."
Haxus looked through his binoculars and spotted Rai walking around with Rover, the drone he had reprogramed. "I may not have to. Look. The green one has a Galra drone they've repurposed. If I can just get close enough to clone its signature code, I can send our bomb drone in undetected."
Sendak grinned sinisterly, "I knew you would not disappoint me, Haxus."
Haxus got up from his crouch next to him and left to find a spot closer to the entrance to fulfill the plan.
As everyone was having fun and socializing, Allura gazed down at the Paladins from above with a smile, with the light blue mouse, Plachu, perched on her shoulder, "Look at them, the new Paladins of Voltron. The fate of the universe is on their shoulders."
She watched as Shirley took a drink of Nunvill. Her eyes widened impossibly before she spewed it out in Rivalz's face, his head ducked down as if to cover his eyes.
"Ow! My eyes!" Rivalz exclaimed with a cackle as he had put two of the stick snacks into his eye sockets. The two, along with Milly and the Arusians surrounding them, threw back their heads, laughing.
Allura cocked an eyebrow at the display. Not exactly the most proper Paladin behavior, but she saw that they weren't necessarily causing trouble and allowed it to slide. "I must portray strength so no one can tell how concerned I am about the fate of our mission."
Plachu chittered close to her ear as he perched on her shoulder. Allura's eyes widened before she blushed and smiled sheepishly, "Let's... keep that a secret."
He chittered again quietly. Allura's face became intrigued. "Who else has secrets?"
Plachu leaped down and joined his siblings on the ramp. He then took Platt's cheeks and squished them upwards like he was trying to eat something he probably should've eaten in smaller bites.
"Rivalz tried to eat what?!" Allura laughed, "That is rather amusing. What other secrets?"
The tiny mouse, Chulatt, hopped onto Plachu's head and styled his hair to look curly like Milly's. He then grabbed his tail and, with a devious smirk, spun it around like a lasso.
Allura frowned slightly, "That certainly sounds like Milly."
Chulatt then dropped back down to the ramp, stood in front of Chuchule, the pink mouse, and offered his paw out to her. Chuchule placed it there, and Chulatt lightly kissed it as Chuchule batted her eyes and gave a flattering squeak.
"Lelouch is a what?!" Allura reeled back in shock. She quickly zeroed in on the Black Paladin, who was in the process of casually and discreetly dumping a plate of snacks into his backpack. He suddenly frowned and looked around. He spotted a stray wooden pick in one of the snacks that an Arusian was carrying. His face then scrunched as he reached behind his back and scratched his shoulder vigorously. He must have managed to attack the itch as he sighed in relief a few seconds later.
Allura scowled skeptically, as she doubted even by Earth standards that that was how royalty acted. "Hmmm... Are you sure?" she asked. The mice squeaked in confirmation, "I'm getting to the bottom of this."
Meanwhile, back below, Rivalz stared skeptically at the Nunvill still in his cup. "I guess we should get used to this space juice. Who knows when we'll get back home again?"
"Yeah…" Milly frowned, swirling her cup. "If ever…"
"It's our new life. Get used to it!" Kallen suddenly snapped next to them.
"What do you mean, Kallen?" Shirley asked.
"Well, think about it! If this Zarkon character has been ruling for 10,000 years, how long do you think it will take us to fix it? You know, if we even live through it?"
"You're right…" Shirley frowned, picking up a bowl of food as a tray floated past.
Kallen rolled her eyes and sighed again. Seriously?! Can they not understand that?! she ranted as she slinked back into the crowd.
"You know… ever since we got here, Kallen's been acting like a completely different person," Shirley said.
"Yeah," Rivalz nodded, "what happened to the sick, frail Kallen Stadtfeld we know? It's like she's never been sick! Not to say that's bad! If anything, I think it's a big improvement. She's a lot more attractive now."
"True, definitely love the spikes she's added to her locks," Milly commented.
"Kallen has a point, though…" Shirley murmured. "It could take forever for us to fight Zarkon. And who knows what will happen. Some of us might not come back!"
"Yeah. Right..." Rivalz nodded solemnly.
"But hey! What do you think the chances are of us landing on another glitter planet?" Milly asked, trying to change the subject to cheer them up. "Oh! Or a planet made up completely out of nachos? That would be one for the journals!"
"Well, there's only one planet with beautiful beaches, a pizza shack looking over the water, and garlic knots and... my mom's hugs…" Rivalz's eyes started flooding with tears before ducking his head, "I'm sorry. I think this Nunvill is getting to me. I gotta go."
Milly and Shirley looked after him in concern. Coran also watched him go up the stairs with a concerned frown, his conversation with two Arusians briefly forgotten.
As Rivalz was hurrying up the stairs, Allura passed him coming down, making a beeline for Lelouch, his backpack still flung over his shoulder.
"So, Lelouch," Allura started, trying to sound casual as the Black Paladin turned to her, "we haven't had a chance to really... talk. Tell me about yourself."
Lelouch blinked in confusion, wondering why the sudden interest, but he sighed and relented, thinking a couple of facts should satisfy her. "Hmmm… well, my favorite color is indigo, I prefer turkey over ham sandwiches, and my favorite tea is jasmine, with a small dollop of honey. I also like peanut butter and peanut butter cookies. But I refuse to eat peanuts on their own. They're far too dry and salty."
Lelouch tried to escape from the princess after that, figuring that was enough. Allura blocked his path. "I-I suppose I was thinking of something a little more... personal?" she asked with a knowing wink. "We do have a lot in common."
Lelouch's eyes widened in alarm. Then they narrowed as his Geass activated, "What do you mean?" he demanded as the sigil flew into Allura's eyes.
The princess's eyes glowed with a red ring around the iris as her face went slack. "I mean that we are both a prince and princess of royalty," she replied monotonously.
Lelouch gasped before he grit his teeth in anger, "How'd you find out about that?!"
"The mice told me. They overheard a conversation with you and C.C. about it."
Lelouch sighed at the answer. That was his own fault then for not being more careful when they were around. The fact that the mice shared a mental link with the princess completely slipped his memory.
Satisfied that he had the information, he broke the command off. After all, in a little while, it wouldn't matter if she knew or not anyway.
Allura blinked before refocusing on Lelouch and then noticed his strangely aggravated face. She quickly backtracked, "I'm sorry! I overstepped my bounds. I just want you to know that you can confide in me. If there's anything you ever want to talk about..." She leaned in uncomfortably close to Lelouch's face, "Anything…"
Though a little irritated, he might as well say it now since she was technically asking. "Fine, I do have something to tell you."
"I had a feeling~" Allura sang with a giddy smile, "What is it?"
"I'm leaving Voltron and returning to Earth."
Allura took a breath like she was about to speak, but her mouth turned into a confused frown, "Wait, what?!"
"You heard correctly. I'm going back to Earth. With C.C. Tonight," he informed with a tone of finality.
"Lelouch, you can't. You're one of seven Paladins," her hands landed on Lelouch's shoulders, "You have a sacred trust to defend the universe."
"Well, I regret to tell you, Princess, but I have previous engagements and priorities back home!" Lelouch countered, backing away defensively, "Tell me, did you have any other family besides your parents? A brother or sister, perhaps?"
"Well... no but-!" Allura protested.
"Well, I do!" Lelouch interrupted, "My mother is dead, and my father abandoned my sister and me. She's blind and crippled. She can't move unless she uses a wheelchair! She needs help with almost everything! Don't you get it?! If I'm not there for her, who will be?! And I'll die first before I let my father get his filthy hands on her again!"
Allura stood in frozen shock. She had never seen Lelouch this emotional about something. Where was the calm, stoic Black Paladin she was familiar with?
He drew in a sharp breath, eyes glossy with tears, "I'm sorry. But I should inform the others about this."
Outside, Rai and Suzaku stood guard at the entrance, squinting into the darkness. Rover was hovering closer to them, assisting in patrol.
"Rai? Suzaku?" Lelouch asked as he came up behind them.
"What's up, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.
"I need to talk to you about something."
Off to the side, however, no one noticed the Galra Haxus hiding in the rocky outcroppings. He leaned out and pointed a device at the drone and trio. It quickly scanned them as the three started walking back to the castle. It got a full encryption of the drone's codes, which he promptly prepared a copy of.
"Signature code cloned," he muttered. He quickly pulled back behind the rocks when Rai looked in his direction with narrowed eyes. The two then followed Lelouch back into the castle. He pulled out a drone of his own and scanned the code into it. Its glow went from red to bright blue, copying Rover's code perfectly. "Bomb activated."
The fake Rover started hovering towards the entrance, following the trio from a short distance as Haxus leaped over the rocks and retreated to Sendak's position. Now all they needed to do was wait.
Rivalz sat sulking on the castle's bridge. His head rested on one of his fists as thoughts rolled through his head. He missed his mom, sisters, and baby brother. What Kallen said struck closer to home than he anticipated because she was right! This was war! People died, and who was to say that he wouldn't be one of them?
"Mind if I join you?" Coran asked gently as he hopped down from the platform Rivalz was sitting against.
"How far away from Earth do you think we are, Coran?" Rivalz asked. Maybe if he saw the distance and that it wasn't far at all, it could reassure him.
"Let's take a look," Coran went up to the central control and brought up the holographic map, the planets and stars surrounding them.
"Earth is over here," Coran said, pointing to the space they marked for the Paladins, "And we're aaaaaaall... the waaaaay... oveeeeer..." He kept swiping his hand over the map. It seemed to take forever. And it didn't help Rivalz's sudden homesickness at all.
"You ever notice how far the planets are from each other, Coran?" he asked forlornly.
"Yes," Coran replied, still swiping, "haven't you been paying attention?"
"Yeah," Rivalz walked up next to him, "but I mean, like, they're really, really far away. Like, say, Earth? It's so far; I can't even see it. The... The blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass... I c—I-I... I can't see any of it!" he confessed, looking down with a depressed gaze.
Coran gazed at the Blue Paladin with sympathy, "You miss Earth. I understand. I miss Altea."
"I know we're supposed to be brave Paladins and Defenders of the Universe or whatever, but, honestly? I just want to go home." Rivalz complained as he looked down, depressed stare still prominent.
"If I could go home, I would," Coran confessed, looking down and sad as well now.
"I miss the rain," Rivalz said randomly, "and splashing in puddles."
"Rain?" Coran asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. It's water that falls from the sky?" Rivalz provided, looking up at the Milky Way Galaxy.
"Oh, we had that on Altea. Only, it wasn't water, more like rocks. Razor-sharp and boiling-hot. Oh, they could knock a hole right in your head."
"Sounds fun," Rivalz said unenthusiastically.
"Yeah..."
The Galra drone that was rigged continued to fly down the hall completely undetected. It scanned each place as it went, looking for a convenient place to go off. Its destination was the bridge, where the primary power source of the castle was. Once that was taken out, the castle would be completely defenseless.
"Lelouch, no!" Suzaku exclaimed. He, Rai, Allura, and the other Paladins, except Rivalz, were gathered in one of the halls. Lelouch had just broken the news of his departure.
"Nunnally needs me, Suzaku," Lelouch said, "and I have other things I need to do on Earth. And besides, with the way things are right now, should the Galra attack, no one would stand a chance, not even Britannia."
"Lelouch, you can't just leave!" Milly argued, putting her hands on her hips.
"We're not in school, Milly, so you can't tell me what to do. Besides, C.C. and I already have a pod ready to go. She's probably waiting for me."
"Okay, seriously, Lelouch, what's with you and that C.C. chick?!" Kallen suddenly exclaimed angrily, "She sneaks onto the Blue Lion, following you, and now you're leaving with her?!"
"And if you leave, Lelouch, we can't form Voltron!" Rai also said, angry, "And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. We all have one. All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families. My mom and sister are still out there as well, you know!"
"Yeah, I have a family. They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that—Is that, like, a thing that can happen?" Shirley spoke up timidly.
"You want to leave too?" Allura asked, aghast.
"Of course I do. Look, Voltron is super cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space fighting aliens." Shirley said, trying to make Allura understand.
"Lelouch," Milly said, "I care about Nunnally as well. We all do. But think about the bigger picture. You're putting the life of one person over the lives of everyone else in the entire-!"
"Guys, wait!" Suzaku finally spoke, "This isn't how a team should operate. People have to want to be a part of it. They can't be forced," Suzaku looked at Lelouch with a small desperate gleam in his eye, "Lelouch, if you want to leave, we won't try to stop you. But please, just think about what you're doing."
Lelouch inhaled deeply, "I'm sorry, but you need to find someone else to pilot the Black Lion."
As Lelouch started walking away, Kallen suddenly caught up to him, grabbing his arm, "Fine! Then I'm going with you too!"
"Wha-Kallen!" Allura protested.
"Look," Kallen interrupted, "I hate the idea of leaving this too. But he has a point. Our world right now is completely unprepared for an attack. We need to at least warn them! So that's what we'll do," she then walked up to the princess and whispered, "And maybe I can convince him to come back."
Allura gasped slightly as Lelouch and now Kallen too started walking away.
"I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?"
Rivalz and Coran were finally leaving the bridge when the fake Rover came hovering in. They had a good talk about their homeworlds, and Rivalz had to admit he was feeling a little bit better.
"Hey, Rover!" he greeted as it passed him. It continued in its path until it stopped right next to the crystal.
Rivalz suddenly stopped, noticing something crucial. "Wait… Where's Rai?" he asked as he turned around slowly.
Looking back at the drone, it suddenly started beeping and flashing red.
Rivalz gasped, realizing what was happening.
"Coran, look out!" he shouted, tackling the Altean as the drone exploded.
The explosion was felt throughout the castle. The Arusians panicked and started running in all directions and out of the castle. Suzaku, Rai, Milly, Shirley, and Allura all gasped in horror as small pieces of debris fell around them. Lelouch, Kallen, and C.C., who had been waiting in the shuttle for them, also paused, staring in surprised confusion.
Soon the lights on the Castle of Lions flickered out. No power was flowing from any part of the ship. They were now truly stuck.
Coran groaned as he slowly got up. The bridge was dark; smoke gently cascading around him. He blinked several times until he figured out what he was seeing. He heard footsteps as Allura, C.C., and the other Paladins ran into the room, some coughing from the smoke.
"What happened?!" Lelouch exclaimed as Suzaku and Kallen helped Coran up.
"Ugh… I'm not sure," Coran said as he stood up. The smoke slowly cleared to confirm Allura's worst fear.
"The crystal!" It was in shards everywhere. Their power was gone, and therefore, nothing was going to work until they got a new one. What was even more horrifying, however, was the still figure almost directly underneath it.
"Rivalz!" the princess gasped.
Rai ran forward and gently picked up the Blue Paladin, cradling his neck, "Rivalz?" The Blue Paladin groaned in pain. "Rivalz!"
"We have to get Rivalz to the infirmary!" Shirley exclaimed.
"Without the crystal, the castle has no power," Allura said frantically.
"Meaning that those healing pods won't work either," Lelouch said before cursing.
"He doesn't look good…" Milly said, kneeling next to Rai, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Lion warriors, our village is under attack!" the Arusian King cried, running into the room, "We need help!"
"Let's get to the Lions!" Suzaku said.
"You can't. They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out. We're defenseless," Allura explained frantically.
"Will you not help us?!" the king asked, eyes shifting between the Paladins in a panic.
"We will. We just..."
Rivalz groaned in pain again, interrupting Kallen. She looked back at her friend, biting her lip.
"Well… this is quite the predicament," C.C. said as if she were discussing the weather.
Ignoring the immortal's tone, Coran straightened himself, taking his arm away from where it was draped over Shirley's shoulder.
"We have to get a new crystal to get the castle working again. But to get a new crystal, we need a ship."
"Use the pod we were loading," Lelouch said, pointing down the hall they came from, "the bay door should still be open!"
"I can use the scanner on the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby. Shirley, C.C., you both come with me. I'll need some help with carrying the crystal."
"You're making women do all the heavy lifting? How very ungentleman-like of you," C.C. quipped sarcastically, casually crossing her arms.
"A Balmera?" Shirley asked, sounding out the strange word.
"It's where the crystals come from. I'll tell you two about it on the way!" the advisor said as he, Shirley, C.C., Kallen, and Lelouch exited the room for the hanger.
"I'll go see what's happening at the Arusian village," Suzaku said to Milly and Rai.
"I'll go with you, Suzaku. I brought this on the poor Arusians." Allura said, a layer of guilt in her tone.
"Okay, we'll look after Rivalz and guard the castle." the Green Paladin said as everyone left, leaving him and Milly alone with their injured friend.
Coran, Shirley, and C.C. had settled in the pod as the advisor turned the scanner on. Lelouch and Kallen were standing outside it.
"It's our first bit of luck," the Altean said, looking at the star map, "There's a source not too far. We won't need a wormhole to get there, thankfully."
Shirley quickly adjusted her helmet as the screen lit up with the path to take.
"Hold on, Rai's been doing some tinkering around here. He told me he added some modifications to some of the shuttles. I'll try and explain them the best I can," Lelouch said, leaning in and pointing at one of the screens. "The first change is a cloaking device that he reverse-engineered from the invisible walls on the training deck. The second is a tank of booster fuel that he mounted on the fuel line."
Coran, however, didn't look very impressed with the second option, "Using that during flight would turn the whole pod into a bomb!"
Shirley paled considerably, and even C.C. looked a little nervous. Not to say she'd never been blown up before, but the experience was never pleasant. And she certainly never experienced it in space.
"Okay, maybe refrain from using that modification then," Lelouch amended, looking apologetic, even though he wasn't the one that made that adjustment. "Mental note, have Rai take it off the shuttles ASAP when this is done."
"Ya think?" Kallen asked sarcastically.
"Are we ready, then?" Shirley asked Coran.
"Yes, let's go!" Coran lowered the pod window as it prepared for take-off. The engines ignited, and it hovered as it approached the bay doors.
"Good luck!" Lelouch said, giving Shirley a smile and thumbs up. Kallen waved after them.
From inside the pod, Shirley blushed and sent a thumbs-up back before it shot out the doors and into the Arusian night sky.
Meanwhile, Rai and Milly were slowly transporting Rivalz to the medical wing. Milly was holding his legs while Rai had hoisted him up by the shoulders. They planned to use some of the other supplies inside and their limited knowledge of medical treatment to try and help patch some of the wounds.
"Hang on, buddy. Help's on the way," Rai said. He stumbled when Milly came to an abrupt stop and gasped. She was staring at the entrance to the castle, petrified. Rai followed her gaze, and his blood ran cold. There was a small troop of Galra coming towards them. They were dragging a large purple crystal behind them, and the one leading the assault was...
"Sendak!" Rai snarled, gritting his teeth.
"He's still alive," Milly whispered. The two Paladins quickly guided Rivalz's body to lie by the wall.
"Stay here!" Rai said as he raced for the entrance. He met the Galra outside and was the only thing standing between him and the castle.
Both parties stopped.
"Stand aside," Sendak said as the two continued the standoff.
"No!" Rai shouted, whipping out his Bayard in a flash of light, readying himself for battle, "You're not getting in!"
"Yes, I am." Sendak thrust his robot arm out towards the Green Paladin. Rai raised his arms to block, but the mechanical arm grabbed him and dragged him further outside toward the Galra forces. Rai was dragged along the ground with a yell before landing right in front of Sendak. He barely had time to dodge backward as the large arm came crashing down on the ground.
Rai grunted as he pulled out his Bayard again, igniting it to full charge. He ran forward with a battle cry, arm ready to swing his Bayard inward. Sendak raised his arm to block, and the katar scraped across its surface, not even scratching it! He quickly leaped up and swung again, causing Sendak to step back to dodge. Rai ducked and rolled out of the way of another strike, flipping backward to get out of range.
He roared again as he sent a frontal attack forward, the Bayard crackling with electricity. Sendak's fist also returned with an onslaught of his own, punching his metal hand in Rai's direction. The attacks clashed, the two stuck in a stalemate, though Rai was starting to pant a little.
Sendak's eye narrowed before widening, his robot arm whirling. He then smirked, "I see you spent some time with the Druids. They do love to experiment. Too bad you're letting such an ability go to waste."
"Huh?" Rai blinked. What was he talking about? But he didn't get the chance to ask this as Sendak's arm fluctuated and launched the Green Paladin back into the castle. Rai skidded and tumbled back to where Milly and Rivalz were hiding.
"Rai!" Milly gasped as he finally stopped next to them. She couldn't inspect his injuries, as they both had to jump away from Sendak's arm again. It slammed so hard into the ground it left a small crater, and the force sent the two Paladins tumbling back. Sendak was already using the momentum of his attack to propel himself at them again. This time though, Rai managed to grab Sendak by the shoulder and throw him away from them. The Galra roared in fury as Rai ran at him again, Bayard activated. The two were soon locked in another stalemate, Rai's Bayard by Sendak's neck and Sendak's claws under Rai's chin. They were as good as dead if either of them made a move.
"No!" Milly cried out from behind him. Turning around, Rai saw that some sentries had grabbed Rivalz and had thrown him to the ground. Milly was standing behind Rai, surrounded, her Bayard out in its kusarigama form. She looked like she was going to attack, but Haxus was also holding a gun to the Rivalz's head, looking her in the eye, daring her to try.
Milly looked back at Rai, terror plain to see on her face. This moment of distraction was enough for Sendak to launch Rai forward, catching the Yellow Paladin off balance and knocking them both unconscious. The two collapsed right by their fallen comrade, prisoners of war to the Galra.
"Voltron is ours," Sendak proclaimed with a sinister grin.
"Damn!" Lelouch whispered as he and Kallen hid behind the balcony.
"What do we do?!" Kallen asked urgently.
"Let's get out of here. It won't help anyone if we're caught as well," the Black Paladin said as the two scrambled down the hallway. Lelouch's brain worked furiously to devise a plan to get the Galra out of the castle and save the others in time.
The Arusian village was in flames. Blasts from guns desecrating the structures and leaving the people's homes in ruins. The king and his people could only watch in terror as everything was slowly engulfed. Suzaku and Allura quickly joined them at the top.
"What's happening?" Allura asked.
"Look! Attackers!" the King pointed towards the town square. There were multiple Galra sentries with blasters in their hands, and explosions went off in many directions.
"I'll go in for a closer look. Stay here with them," Suzaku ordered as he slid down the wall, gritting his teeth.
"Suzaku!" Allura called out in alarm.
The Purple Paladin leaped into the blaze, using his jetpack to slow his descent. He snuck through the burning village, hiding behind buildings in case he was attacked… and he wasn't. Warning bells went off as he got closer to the square. He looked through the window of one of the huts, well hidden from the sentries. As the water tower crashed to the ground, one of the droids also fell to its side, limp.
Suzaku blinked, "What?!" Now that he had a closer look, he saw that all the sentries were damaged and not operating. Some were even mounted on stilts and had their arms wrapped around their guns with cloth.
His eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Oh no! They tricked us!"
Allura's face paled as Suzaku's voice rang into her ears through her earrings, "It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the castle's defenses!" Allura whipped her head around, her eyes widening in terror as she gazed at the defenseless castle.
Inside the castle, the working sentries plugged the Galra crystal into the castle's central power system.
"Power up the castle," Sendak ordered, the symbol of the Galra Empire flashing to life on the screens. The once soothing blue lights of the Castle of Lions were soon flooded with a sinister violet. Even the lights outside had switched to match its new master's.
As the system reactivated, the screens on all the Lion hangers flashed to life, showing all seven felines sitting dormant in their chambers. The Galran commander smirked cruelly in victory. "The Lions are all in their bays. Raising particle barrier. Begin launch sequence."
Suzaku and Allura ran as fast as their legs could carry them as the now violet particle barrier descended over the castle. The wall slammed to the ground just as the two collided with it. Suzaku slammed his fist against it, but it didn't budge.
"We're too late… No!" Suzaku shouted in anger.
"They have control of the castle. They're taking Voltron!" Allura gasped in fear.
After checking over the crystal one last time and glancing at his three unconscious prisoners, Sendak turned to Haxus, "Make contact with Emperor Zarkon."
His fellow Galra nodded and pressed a few buttons on the holopads. The screen in the middle blinked to life as a link was made. Soon the emperor's sinister face flashed onto the screen.
"Sendak," he acknowledged.
"My mission is complete," Sendak debriefed, grinning in triumph, "I've captured the Altean castle, along with all of the Voltron Lions. I am currently preparing for launch and will be delivering them all to you shortly."
"This news is most pleasing," Zarkon said, showing little expression, "You've done your duty. Vrepit Sa!"
"Vrepit Sa!" saluted as the communication ended, "Haxus, ready the castle for take off."
"Yes, Commander."
Suzaku morphed his Bayard to its katana form, looking at Allura desperately, "Can we break through the barrier?"
"No. And whoever has taken the castle has a crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. We have to stop them," she answered.
"How are we going to do that?" he asked.
"Suzaku, can you hear me?"
The Purple Paladin gasped at the voice, "Lelouch?! Is that you?!"
"Yes, Kallen's with me as well."
"Where are you two?"
"We're inside the castle. We managed to evade capture… for now," the ex-prince answered.
"Sendak has taken over, and he's preparing for launch. He's got Rai, Milly, and Rivalz." Kallen added in the same hushed tone.
"Lelouch, Kallen, listen. If they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it." Allura informed them urgently.
"Tell us what to do," Lelouch ordered.
"You have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the central energy chamber," Allura instructed.
Inside, Lelouch tapped his armor gauntlet, pulling up a screen. It contained a map of the castle's interior. He pushed a couple more commands, and soon a red path led him to the chamber the princess was talking about.
"If you can do that, Sendak will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time to find a way to stop them."
Lelouch glanced at Kallen. Rover, who they had run into as they escaped down the hallway, was hovering next to them. They both nodded before shooting up from their hiding place and running down the hall, the small drone trailing behind. At that very moment, the fate of the very universe rested on their shoulders.
Shirley never knew how alone she felt until the pod was finally out of range of the castle. She felt the bond she shared with Orange (they had to come up with some better names for their Lions) fade and then disappear as they traveled through the stars. Now being alone in her own mind felt… weird. Like a crucial part of her spirit, her very being had been removed. She shivered as the sensation seemed to deepen the more they traveled.
"Are we almost there?" C.C. asked from the back seat. She sounded bored.
"Almost, don't get your hair in a knot. It's not safe to pilot this pod any faster," Coran said.
Finally, a planet with several large rock pikes and edged mountain ranges came into view.
"Is that the Balmera planet with the crystals?" Shirley asked.
"It's not a planet. Balmera are ancient animals. Petrified, but still alive," Coran informed her. Shirley looked out in shock at the 'animal' as they propelled closer. She had no idea that creatures this big existed. Even C.C. looked intrigued at this revelation.
"Their bodies naturally create the crystals that help power many Altean ships. I often accompanied my grandfather to visit these majestic creatures when he was building the Castle of Lions," Coran reminisced. The pod screen pulled up a picture of a Balmera from 10,000 years ago. The ground was sparkling with blue crystals. "I'll never forget the first time I saw the sparkling surface of a Balmera. You're both in for quite a treat."
As they finally broke through the cloud surface; however, it wasn't a sparkling landscape that greeted them but a wasteland with large, dark-colored machinery drilled into the Balmera's surface.
"Oh no!" Coran gasped as they flew over several gaping holes in the surface, some more reinforced than others, "This is horrifying! The Galra have turned this into a mining colony! Oh, they're completely destroying it! They have no regard for the poor creature!"
"Incoming, we've been spotted," C.C. informed the Altean as a large shadow drew over them.
"Hailing unidentified craft. State your ship ID, entry code, and landing destination," the ship's robotic voice demanded as it hovered over them.
"Um… what do we do?" Shirley asked, starting to panic.
Before Coran could reply, C.C. leaned forward, "Hailing Galra aircraft," she spoke monotonously, "this is ship number XG21G2D4. Requesting permission to land at once."
"There's no ship of that number expected to come through here," the voice said, the ship descending to almost being on top of them, "Land immediately and prepare to be boarded."
"With pleasure," C.C. smirked before turning to Coran, who was looking at her in shock. A similar expression was also on Shirley's face, "See you down below."
Coran blinked before understanding C.C.'s silent message as he yanked back on the control handle. The pod rocketed backward from underneath the ship. Shirley held on for dear life as she screamed in terror while C.C. braced herself against the wall. The shuttle swerved left and right to avoid the blasts from the pursuing Galra ship.
Then Coran had an idea, "Not done yet. Hang on!"
The pod pitched downward into one of the gaping holes in the Balmera. It was large enough that the ship would've fit comfortably in the middle, longwise. Shirley continued to scream as they descended at breakneck speed into the abyss.
It was about thirty seconds of straight diving before the Orange Paladin eventually got control of herself enough to ask, "How deep is this thing?!"
"Look out!" C.C. cried as one of the beams appeared right in front of them. Coran managed to swerve the pod out of the way just in time. It barely missed knicking the post.
The swerve did cause Coran to lose control of the pod, though. The trio tumbled the rest of the way down before landing ungracefully at the bottom with a lurch.
Shirley sat there in shock for about a solid minute before having the courage and strength to move again. The pod's window flickered out as the passengers groaned from the impact. C.C. could already feel the bruises forming on her immortal body.
Shirley wrenched off her helmet, her hair flowing down her back (as she didn't have time to pull it into a bun or ponytail), and looked around the bottom of the crater. She could barely see the light of the surface above them. She gazed to her right, which had a small tunnel leading away from the crash site.
She froze and grabbed her Bayard as two sets of glowing yellow eyes stared back at her.
"Uh, Coran. What lives at the bottom of these mines?"
Back at the Castle of Lions, Kallen used her clawed Bayard to wrench the elevator shaft doors open. She shoved against them with her feet and back. She panted as Lelouch looked over her leg and down toward the shaft below. Rover hovered over them before positioning himself above the center of the shaft.
"Okay, here goes nothing," Lelouch leaped forward, using his jetpack to propel him, and jumped across the chasm to the lower ledge underneath. Kallen grunted, letting the doors slam closed before following after him. The faithful robot drone quickly tailed behind them in case they needed help.
"Run main cluster activation sequence," Sendak ordered.
"Activation sequence initiated," Haxus confirmed. "Powering up for launch."
After wrenching another pair of doors open, the two Paladins, though exhausted, finally made it to the central energy chamber. The ball of pure energy was alight with a blue glow.
"Okay, Princess, we're near the turbine," Lelouch said.
"It looks like it's started!" Kallen added.
"Then you'll have to hurry," Allura said, "Cross the catwalk to the main column in the center."
The two Paladins panted as they sprinted to the center column. They couldn't afford to waste any more time!
"Okay, we're there," Kallen said.
"Now open the hatch," Allura instructed. Lelouch bent down, removed the covering, and looked inside, "Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence..."
"Princess, wait! Which is it? All these labels are in Altean!" Lelouch snapped, cursing at himself for not learning at least some basic Altean while he was here.
"Commander Sendak, we are ready for launch," Haxus said, looking at the commander.
The orb in the chamber's center suddenly pulsed, several large bolts of energy hitting it at once. The turbine was powering up, which only meant one thing! It was about to launch.
"Argh! I can't tell which one it is!" Lelouch shouted.
"Allura! Allura?! Dammit!" Kallen cursed as the link lost the connection.
"I've lost connection with them!" Allura exclaimed as she and Suzaku backed up in horror, "Oh no! It's taking off!"
Lelouch was still kneeling in front of the control panel, trying to make heads and tails of the connections. For all he knew, if he adjusted the wrong one—
He was thrown backward as Kallen got in the way. Her Bayard claws were extended.
"What are you-!"
"The hell with this!" Kallen screamed as she buried her claw into the circuits. She was shocked backward, almost hitting Lelouch. She groaned and held her arm, a feeling of fire racing up it, and her Bayard bounced away.
"Kallen! Are you alright?!" Lelouch asked, kneeling next to her.
"Peachy!" she hissed sarcastically, glaring at him. Fortunately, Kallen's impulsive maneuver seemed to work as the turbine's sound subsided, energy levels dropped, and the energy ball in the center decreased to about an eighth of its original size.
"Well, I guess that's one way to do it," Lelouch shrugged with a sheepish grin, helping Kallen sit up. She grinned viciously at him, though she was also relieved it worked.
"The main engine just shorted out!" Haxus exclaimed in alarm and frustration.
Sendak scowled and approached the screen. The camera came online and zoomed in on the two figures with the modified drone. The two of them had wrenched the doors open to let it through before bolting through themselves.
"We have some saboteurs. Find them and take them out."
AN: FINALLY! Finals are done! And to celebrate, I finished this chapter for you all! You're welcome!
So many of you have noticed the new picture I have on my profile and for the story. Well, our lovely Iron117Prime commissioned a friend of his to make a drawing for this fanfic! And I got to tell you! It's AMAZING! I'll post a full view of it on my ao3 page so you can view it! Once again, thank you so much, Iron117Prime. You're the best!
Also, those fun facts about Lelouch, I ultimately made them up. No idea if any of them are true!
Oh boy! This chapter was intense, and I can't wait to begin the next one! Love you all, and thank you for reading!
Edited and revised 07/06/2022