Chapter 11: An Unwanted Surprise
A/N: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender.
I just own Ziera, Colran, Sephiras, Janze and any other OCs mentioned in this fic that isn't canon.
WARNING: Contains violence, death, racism, implications of sexual acts, Lance's flirting, and other things that may cause some readers discomfort.
Look who's still alive! Meeee! I'm so happy with how this chapter came out, you have no idea!
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Snap, snap, snap!
Nope, nothing!
Ziera stood against a console in cockpit of the Yellow Lion, snapping her fingers near her ear in hopes of hearing any sort of sound out of them. However, she had done a huge number on her most important sense, as even with her loud clicking, all she could register was that same high-pitched ringing she'd heard continuously since she set off the sound pulse back in the belly of the Weblum.
The next couple of days was going to be hell, that's for sure.
She sighed and finally gave up on recovering her hearing for the time being, hopefully this was something a sleep in the Cryo Chamber could fix. With that thought in mind, she looked over at Hunk and Keith, who were talking among themselves. Though she could not hear them, she had a feeling there was light teasing going on between them, because the larger teen was giving his Red Paladin friend the most scrutinous stare she had ever seen, and knowing Hunk, he rarely looked that serious unless their lives were at risk or a delicious meal was involved.
The feline engineer felt her lips tug upwards a little, revealing small fangs that poked out from her upper jaw. They reminded her so much of Melrak and Colren. Melrak was the brave one with the heart of gold, while Colren was the timid one that would face his fears if his friends or his love was in danger.
Too bad Sephiras was still oblivious to his feelings.
Just as Ziera's mind finally moved away from her troubling deafness, she perked up as a monitor appeared in front of Hunk showing Allura's face. She stood up and walked over, putting her hand on the back of the pilot's chair as she watched their royal leader's lips move but no sound could be heard.
Well, that was a problem.
She shifted through the settings on her goggles as she slipped them over her eyes, and soon a script formed across her vision in time with Allura's words, allowing her to understand what her faulty com was picking up, but she herself could not fathom. Luckily it was only her ability to communicate through the device that was affected, and not her ability to receive audio messages.
"Hunk, Keith, Era, are you there?" Allura asked. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, we're all here!" Ziera shouted, only to blush a little when the princess was taken aback by the volume of her response. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"
"Why on Altea are you shouting?"
"What?" Keith asked, leaning in a little to hear Allura better.
Hunk laughed nervously and scratched his cheek. "Uh, Era had to do something really dangerous to save Keith's life in the Weblum, and 'cause of that, she and Keith are a little..." He mulled over the correct word for a moment, then shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Hard of hearing...?" He cleared his throat when the princess arched a brow. "So... could you speak up?" The way he pouted as his eyebrows lifted with his plea would've been funny in any other situation.
But as it stands, Allura could not afford to laugh at his lighthearted request. "Understood!" At that moment, a loud boom was heard, and the entire castle shook, causing the Altean woman to grip her pedestals tightly to keep upright.
"What's going on, Princess?" Keith asked, before he peeked over at Ziera, concerned she could not make out what was being said. The feline saw his sideways glance and her lips twitched upwards for a split second as she pointed at her goggles. When words appeared to light up against the lenses, he realized that she had a voice-to-text command on the run, and she would be fine.
"You must return to the castle, I need you!" She commanded, just as another tremor overtook the room, forcing her to adjust her stance once again, at this rate she would be knocked to the ground, and she already knew she was worrying them enough with her alarmed tone.
"Why, what happened?"
"That monster that attacked us on the Balmera has returned!"
Hunk's complexion paled as the three felt their blood run cold. "Wait, what?!" The Yellow Paladin cried out. "Wait, wait, wait...! I thought we killed that thing, how's it back?!"
"We don't have time to get into the specifics right now, please hurry!"
The three occupiers of the large animal-like ship looked at one another before their expressions hardened and they nodded. "Leave it to us, Princess!" Ziera said, gripping the back of Hunk's chair a little tighter. "We'll be there in a few doboshes!"
Allura nodded, and the call came to a close.
"This is just great..." Hunk whined. "We finally finished our mission and now we're stuck fighting that thousand-eyed Robeast all over again!" He pouted, glaring off into space as the two other members of his crew laughed awkwardly. "I thought we trapped that thing in crystals anyway, how'd it get out?!"
"I don't know." Keith said, letting out a sigh as he watched a wormhole slowly open up in the depths of space ahead of them, past the asteroid belt they were currently travelling through. "But we can't just let it run wild. We have to get back and protect the Balmera!"
Hunk nodded. "Shay helped us a lot back then, we owe it to them to protect their planet now." He took a deep breath and leaned forward, gripping the steering handles tightly. "Hold on tight, we're going in!"
Without waiting a tick, Hunk thrust his right hand out, and the lion roared before its thrusters surged and it darted forward with insane speed. Sadly, Ziera had not been given time to read the screen, so when the ship lurched forward, she let out a yelp as her shoes slipped out from under her and she fell backward, hitting her lower ribs off the back of the chair since she had held onto it prior the fall.
"Aagh! curse the Divine Beings, that hurt!"
The moment they passed through the wormhole and reappeared in front of the Castle of Lions, Hunk looked back and blushed a little as sweat dripped down his cheek. "Oh geez... my bad!" He apologized, as Ziera groaned and got to her feet, gripping her side which would certainly bruise later.
"It's okay, you needed to hurry, no harm done!" She smiled at him in hopes of soothing his guilt, but she winced at the painful sting against her lower ribs. 'Note to self: I really need to add a setting that lets me control the gravitational pull of my Skate-Overs in different ways...' She was getting real tired of being thrown around.
A bleeping sound was heard as the engineer straightened up and looked outside in time to see the Blue Lion flying alongside them, parking themselves in front of the Castle of Lions, just as they had. The communication systems soon came to life, two screens flickered on, revealing Allura and the mice in one, and the other three Paladins in another, alongside a new friend Ziera could only assume was Slav.
She beamed at the sight of their multi-armed ally. After all, that meant Pidge, Lance and Shiro had succeeded in their mission. They were one step closer to defeating Zarkon, now they just needed to fix their little interruption.
Suddenly she was yanked to the side, as both the Yellow and Blue Lions darted in opposite directions to avoid a laser blast that shot off right in front of them. Thankfully, the castle's Particle Barrier, which had kept Allura safe so far, caught the blast and deflected it without issue.
"Whoa!" Lance cried out, and Ziera adjusted her goggles so that the words translated across her lenses came out colour coded. With that little tweak, she could understand who was speaking and when, which would make their conversations far easier to interpret. "How is that thing operational? It doesn't have a head!"
"What?!" Keith shouted, causing the others to jump in surprise, which made the Red Paladin blush.
"Don't shout at me!" Lance snapped back. "I said 'it doesn't have a head!'"
"I can't hear you!"
"What, are you deaf?!"
Allura groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she ignored a headache forming between her eyes. "Can we just focus on the situation in front of us, please?!" She asked, gritting her teeth as she shot daggers at the Robeast currently awaiting their first move. "Keith and Ziera are hard of hearing right now, so we need to speak up so they can understand us!"
"A-actually..." Ziera pointed out, blushing a little as everyone's eyes snapped in her direction. "Keith needs you to speak up, I'm completely deaf right now, so I'm translating what you're saying into text so I can read it."
"How'd that happen?" Lance asked as the occupiers of the Blue Lion ignored Slav who began to panic.
"Ahhh!" He cried out, putting two hands on his head as he ran around with tears in his eyes. "Oh no! There's only a handful of realities that have leave you and the Red Paladin hard of hearing, and only one of them leads to your victory in this battle! We're doomed!"
Oh great, that was exactly what they needed to 'hear' right now. Ziera felt herself brimming with confidence at Slav's prediction, and by the look on Shiro's face, she could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Look, we'll explain what happened later!" Ziera piped up. "Right now, we've got to stop this thing before it hurts the Balmera and everyone who lives on its surface!"
Pidge nodded and leaned towards the camera, looking at an unseen monitor on their end. "I think the reason it can move has something to do with those crystals!" She said, as the same image appeared in front of all of them. There were purple crystals scattered across the Robeast's body, while two larger ones floated just inches away from its unnaturally long arms. In the centre of it's chest, where Ziera could only assume a laser cannon once resided, was a shard of purple gemstone that jutted out into a perfect point.
"Those look like Galra crystals!" The feline said, pointing at the many different parts of the beast, before she faltered at that perfect point. "Look out for the one on its chest! If that was originally a laser cannon, the crystal there could amplify its power by acting as a chamber of mirrors!"
"Like a magnifying glass in the sun?" Hunk asked.
She nodded. "Precisely!"
Allura's eyes narrowed as she too looked at the shot of the Robeast, still waiting for them to begin their battle, perhaps it was adjusting to freedom for the first time in phoebs. "It looks like the beast corrupted some of the crystals that trapped it and used that power to break free from its prison...Who knows what kind of power it holds!"
Shiro gripped the back of Lance's chair tightly, also ignoring the yammering and panicking Slav in the background. "We can't worry about that right now, we have to protect the castle!"
"How did we beat it last time?" Keith asked, while Ziera's ears dropped down solemnly. She could not help them in this fight, she hadn't faced this enemy before.
Sometimes she wished she had met them at the start of their journey, so that she could truly understand the situations that took them down their current path.
Thankfully, Hunk was right there to give the answer. "We formed Voltron and I stuck in my Bayard and shot it with my blaster right in its arm lasers," His expression became more nervous as he spoke. "But that didn't stop it, so...Then we had to punch it."
"So we're gonna need Voltron!" Shiro confirmed.
Pidge frowned. "But we only have two lions..."
"Well, then maybe we can form the legs and kick it!" Lance piped up, smirking at his own joke, while everyone else's expression twisted into uncomfortable pouts and irritated scowls.
Sadly, their conversation was cut short when the large crystal on the beast's wide chest lit up and it shot another massive laser in their direction, forcing the Yellow Lion to dart downwards, while the Blue Lion leapt upwards to avoid the powerful blast.
"Well, it looks like it got tired of waiting for us to attack first!" Ziera said. "Be careful guys, I don't think it'll give you a chance to fight back this time!"
And true to her word, that wasn't the end of the machine's rampage. A rumbling sound echoed from behind them, and both lions spun around in time to watch the large asteroids surrounding the Balmera explode from the force of the attack. Thankfully, it was only two static rocks, and not the moons of the Balmera. God only knows how that would have affected the inhabitants of the Balmera in the long run.
The heat from the explosions was enough to force the fighters to cover their faces with their arms to avoid the sensation of burning, and the blinding light that threatened their vision. "That new laser is much more powerful, just like Era said!" Shiro said. "We're definitely gonna need all the lions!" Once the light from the explosion faded, Shiro's eyes adjusted enough that he could keep an eye on their headless 'friend.' "Hunk, you distract it so we can fly into the castle. Once we get our lions out, we'll cover you so you can get Keith in for Red!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Hunk stammered, panic evident on his face as he watched the Blue Lion turn and fly back towards the castle. "I have to hold that thing off by myself?!"
"You have Keith and Era with you!" Pidge assured him.
The poor food-loving hero was on the verge of tears as he looked between the two passengers aboard his ship, who also looked a little uncomfortable, since they could not really do anything to help. "Yeah, but they're in here with me!"
"There's no time to argue!" Shiro pressed. "We've gotta do this now!" And with that, the Blue Lion's communicator flickered momentarily before it shut down.
The three looked out at the large red and silver Robeast before them, its two purple crystals floating ominously behind it. Hunk deflated when he realized what situation he found himself in. "Oh, quiznak..."
While Ziera would usually scold Hunk for such disrespectful language, considering her beliefs, she decided to give him a pass this time. Honestly, she imagined that even the Divine Beings would give her a free pass for a little cursing, since she had already dealt with so much in the short time she had travelled with them.
However, her mind didn't stray for very long as the small smile his curse had pulled from her lips dropped into a hardened frown as she looked directly at Allura. "Princess!"
The regal Altean hummed and she diverted her attention to Ziera, as the Yellow Lion shot forward and began to shoot at the large Robeast, who was barely affected by the small orb-like blasts. In fact, the two purple crystals floating at its sides moved and deflected any and all firepower they sent it's way. "What is it, Era?"
"Once the Yellow Lion lands within the castle, would you allow me to join you on the bridge and act as backup for the lions?"
Allura paused in surprise. The Castle of Lions was a complicated, yet ingenious ship that only needed a single person to operate it in a dire situation. However, the main control unit in front of her had a secondary operating system on the far front of the bridge, one that only Coran had access to. This allowed her to fly the castle, while Coran provided the firepower she needed to remain focused on ensuring their safe passage through the cosmos.
However, Coran was not there at that moment since he was in charge of building the Teladuv back on Olkarion; and she had to admit running an entire castle alone, while also providing backup for the lions was quite difficult, and very draining. Perhaps it was time Ziera was given the chance to fight with them.
The Princess nodded. "Alright, the moment you arrive, I will give you explicit instructions on how to operate the lasers, but you must be careful!"
"Don't worry, I'm a fast learner!"
This made Allura's lips twitch upwards in a smile. "I don't doubt that for a second!" However, their conversation was once again cut short when another large laser was send hurtling at the castle, this time knocking the Particle Barrier down with the immense power it dispersed. The royal occupant cried out as the entire castle shook on the monitor.
"The castle is doomed if we don't distract that beast!" Hunk stated, before he gritted his teeth and thrust his right hand forward, while he pulled the left back. The lion shot forward and slammed its head into the Robeast with as much might as its base form would allow. This caused both machines to lose their trajectory and float in opposite directions within the weightlessness of space itself.
But that was not enough, as their headless enemy and regained its ability to move before the Yellow Lion could. With that as its advantage, it used its thrusters to approach the struggling smaller ship. Thankfully, Hunk was not a rookie pilot, and with a few maneuvers, he was able to regain his own trajectory and flew away, forcing the beast to follow.
Keith ran to the side window and observed the Robeast as it chased them down. "Good!" He said, watching it tail them a small distance away, while Ziera looked at it through the opposite window. "Its chasing us!"
They heard the door to the bridge open on Allura's monitor, and they knew then that the other three had finally made it back without issue. "The Particle Barrier is severely damaged!" Allura informed them, watching as Slav wandered around the large room, entering their field of view behind the princess, with a look of awe on his unique features.
Shiro wasted no time rushing past the Princess as he did his job leading their small, yet mighty forces. "Lance, get back out to give Hunk cover, Pidge and I are right behind you!"
"You got it, Shiro!" Lance said, as a pair of doors were heard closing on Allura's left. Well... heard by Hunk, at least.
Slav then piped up for the first time in a while. "Don't worry about me, I'll just hang out here!"
Shiro turned to him. "Can you help the Princess restore the Particle Barrier?"
"Yes!"
Silence slowly stretched between them, and Ziera felt utterly confused, as she could not see what was happening from the video feed as it only showed Allura arching her brow.
Finally, the Black Paladin spoke up and if Ziera could have heard his tone, she would have been surprised by the rare bout of impatience he expressed. "Now...?"
"Oh, you mean in this reality!" Slav then ran towards the same doors Lance went through. "Got it!" Of course, he let out a nervous laugh as he spun around and ran in the opposite direction, where the control unit he needed access to was situated.
Poor Allura looked just as lost as Ziera was. "Was that...Slav?" The Tylyrion asked.
"I suspect so." The Altean responded, before the com was switched off.
Part of her worried for the genius', and Allura's, sanity; but another part of her looked forward to having a chat with the famed scientist. His insights in how she could optimize her ship would be beneficial indeed. However, this was not the time to focus on that, as she held onto Hunk's chair tightly and watched as another laser charged before it was fired at them.
"Bank left!" Keith ordered, as Hunk expertly steered around the blasts that the beast continued to hurl in their direction. "Barrel roll!" Hunk began to sweat from the stress. "Nose dive!"
"Quit back-line driving!" The Yellow Paladin finally snapped, but still did as Keith said, and dove downwards to avoid another beam of immense power.
That's when the monitor beeped and Lance's face appeared. "I'll distract it, go get the Red Lion!"
The relief that washed over both Hunk and Ziera's faces was instantaneous, hell, it even brought their food-loving friend to tears. "Oh, good timing, Lance!"
The Yellow Lion did another barrel roll and did a u-turn back towards the Castle of Lions just as Pidge and Shiro were spotted exiting the hangar. They could hear Lance fighting the Robeast behind them, but did not have time to react when the Blue Lion dodged a laser that instead engulfed their ship.
All three occupants cried out as electrical surges shot through their bodies, alongside their famed vessel. "Guys!" Lance cried out. All video feeds that showed Hunk, Keith and Ziera flickered off, and Shiro growled in frustration as he and Pidge put their lions in overdrive to reach the battle in time to help them.
Once the beam disappated, the heaviest lion floated freely in space, the green glow from the blast fading as the mechanical feline shut down completely.
Thankfully, the damage inside the ship was far less devastating than it appeared from the outside, as Ziera groaned and sat up on the floor of the pilot's chamber, while Hunk and Keith shook their heads to remove the strange fuzzy sensation the surge had caused.
The feline engineer got to her feet and the three of them looked at one another before they looked out of the main window. Much to their horror the Yellow Lion was falling towards the Balmera thanks to the force of the attack. If they did not regain control, they would be sucked into the planet's atmosphere in a blazing ball of immense heat. "Hunk, do something!" Keith cried out, looking back at where the three other lions were locked in combat. The last thing he wanted was to leave his friends to fight that thing alone.
"I can't move!" Hunk stressed as he tried to press a few buttons and moved the steering handles, but to no avail. "I'm hit! Nothing's working!" Sweat slid down the pilot's cheek as he looked back and forth at the different controls before him, the heat from the exterior of the ship began to flood the room and they knew it was only a matter of time before they were engulfed in the flames of re-entry. "C'mon boy, come back to me...!"
Ziera ran to the side window, and looked out at the battle going on behind them, mirroring Keith's actions but with the opposite window. Her eyes widened when the Robeast's laser lit up again, despite Lance doing his best to distract it, and its sights were aimed directly at them. "Hunk, it's going to fire at us again!" She warned, pressing her hand to the hot glass, ignoring the sting. "We need to do something, or we're going to get torn to pieces!"
Suddenly though, their ship stopped its descent, and the intense falling sensation vanished so quickly, Ziera wondered if they were floating instead. Thankfully, the other lions distracted the beast long enough for it to stop charging its blast towards Yellow, so she took the opportunity to scan the depths of space with her eyes, before she turned and rushed to the other side to repeat the inspection; something was carrying them, and she wanted to know what it was. She almost sobbed with relief when she saw the clawed arm of the Black Lion clinging to the side of the ship. "Shiro!"
As the battle continued with Pidge and Lance attacking the Robeast unsuccessfully, Shiro made sure to fly the Yellow Lion back to the castle as quickly as he could. He could not afford to withhold cover fire for long, should the beast get the upper hand against his friends.
The crystal shields were proving to be a menace though, as every hit Lance flung at his enemy merely bounced off in response. Then the crystal on the mech's chest lit up, and both the Blue and Green Lions were forced to dodge as a green laser shot past where they had once stood suspended in the depths of space. Their sharpshooter snarled as he glared daggers at the headless mech. "I'm gettin' real sick of that crystal!" He ground out. "Let's take it out!"
"On it!" Pidge affirmed, as the two maneuvered around their enemy, before slamming into the shields it adorned, latching on with their claws. However, the monster was not quite as dumb as they had hoped. it swung the two crystals round and slammed them together on its back. The force of the clash shook them loose and both pilots cried out as they were sent hurtling away from their target, who set its sights on the castle.
"Shiro!" The Green Paladin shouted, turning her lion to face the retreating beast. "It's on its way to the castle!"
The Black Lion did a full one-eighty with the Yellow Lion still in its grasp. "I got it!" Shiro said as he let go of his 'cargo' and flew back down towards the Robeast, which directed its attention on him instead.
Ziera's fearful expression hardened as she saw the fight continue, and she decided she could not just sit around and wait to get back to the castle. Instead she rushed over to Hunk's side and put a hand on his shoulder, directing his attention away from trying to get the ship to respond, to her as she spoke. "Hunk, could you give me access to the ship's mainframe?"
"Uhhh, I can try!" Hunk stated, uncertainty dripping in his tone as he pressed a few buttons, letting out a surprised shout when a small monitor appeared filled with codes and files. "Hey, it worked!"
"I'm going to switch off my communication tool for a while, so you'll need to tap my shoulder if you need anything." She said, knowing the text appearing would make it hard for her to see her work. "Let's see if I can get this beautiful ship to respond..." And with that, she removed her goggles and started typing furiously, deaf to everyone and everything around her.
While she worked, Keith turned and ran towards the cockpit door. "Where are you going?" Hunk asked, which gave the Red Paladin pause as he glanced at his friend over his pointed shoulder.
"I'll jump out and jetpack over to the castle!"
Of course, Hunk laughed as he continued to watch the fight unfold in front of him. "Ha, ha, good one!" Then he heard the doors whizz shut and his smile fell. "Wait, serious?!"
Shiro rushed at the Robeast as he gritted his teeth, feeling the ache in his jaw as stress settled against his chest, with its hold, he could feel his heart thumping hard against his ribs. "Form jawblade!" He called out, pressing a few buttons as a glow of purple filled the Black Lion's maw, before it disappated to reveal a blade wedged between metal teeth. He then used said blade to clash with their enemy, bouncing off the two shields it had floating around its very being.
Keith climbed out of the Yellow Lion's side entrance, and watched Shiro's dance with the mech, before his eyes narrowed and he kicked off, using his jetpack to fly towards the castle, which seemed so far away thanks to the slower pace of the small transportation device compared to that of his lion. "Gotta hurry...!"
While this was happening, Shiro felt a bead of sweat slide down his cheek as he tried to come up with a plan. No matter what he did, his attacks were not hitting any marks, the shields were far too powerful to break through. However, it was just his luck that both Pidge and Lance managed to regain control of their ships, and were providing heavy fire on one side of the beast, which forced the shields to remain in their sights to stop any potential damage that could destroy its already broken frame.
The monster's entire right side was exposed, and that was just the opening Shiro needed. "We'll keep the crystals busy!" Pidge started, smirking as she only increased the amount of blasts she shot at their annoying, headless 'friend.' "Shiro, you attack from the other side!"
"On my way!" He sent his lion into overdrive as he hurtled towards their shared enemy. However, the beast merely turned without its shields and began to fire lasers at Shiro one at a time, as he was forced to duck and weave to avoid taking damage like Yellow had.
The blast whizzed past the heaviest of the cat-like vessels, and Keith cried out when it almost touched him and the force behind the blast sent him rolling through space beyond his control. Unknown to everyone at the time, the Red Lion reacted to his pilot's cry for help, and would soon make an appearance to aid them.
Meanwhile, inside the unresponsive ship, Ziera made a soft growling sound as she squinted her eyes and continued to type furiously, moving from one file to another as she tried to force the Lion's core crystal to react to small charges of electricity. If she could jumpstart its main power source after it had been severely overloaded, then the entire ship would be forced to react in response.
It was just her luck that she typed the right command into the right folder at the right time, and both she and Hunk let out sounds of glee as the entire ship lit up and the other monitors flickered to life, returning their communication feed to both Allura and the others, who looked just as happy as they were. "Hey!" The Yellow Paladin exclaimed. "My lion's working again!" He thrust both arms down at his side in a victory arm pump. "I'm back, baby!"
Ziera put her goggles back on as she laughed and re-activated the voice-to-text program in her lenses. Thank the Divine Beings, she had been able to do something to help their situation, even a little.
"Okay..." Hunk started softly. "Let's go-" However, in the second they were distracted by their small victory, they looked back at the window and both their faces paled as their blood ran cold a second time. The Robeast was stood directly in front of them, after it had managed to shake off the other lions. "Wait, what?!" Without giving them a chance to react, its arms reached out and grabbed both sides of the newly-activated ship, trapping them in place, just in front of the crystal embedded in its chest, which lit up as its laser charged ominously. "Oh man, not again!"
Ziera stepped back in fear as both she and Hunk watched the bright green light increase in intensity right before their eyes. The feline felt tears prick behind her eyes and she shook where she stood, grasping the pendant around her neck. If they took a direct hit from that laser, it would not just destroy the Yellow Lion, but them as well.
'This can't be happening...!' She thought, her ears pinning back in her terror. 'I can't die here...! I've still got so many questions about my past!'
Blue, Black and Green flew into the fray and shot their own lasers at the Robeast in hopes of stopping its charging attack, but thanks to the shields, it did nothing to deter the mech. It had its 'sights' set on Yellow, and it would stop at nothing to see the valiant ship in ruins within its long-armed grasp.
The two occupants braced themselves as the attack grew so bright they could not bear to look at it directly. However, when they heard the blast and no pain overcame them, they opened their eyes and checked themselves over, surprised to find that they were not hurt. The two of them looked at one another, before they turned their attention to the Robeast that trapped them.
It was falling backwards with obvious signs of damage where the head had once been. Confused, they turned the Lion around to see Keith's own ship flying towards them. That's when another com flickered to life, and the Red Paladin sat there, smirking with the confidence of a seasoned pilot who arrived in the knick of time. "Sorry I'm late, guys!"
"Keith, you're a lifesaver!" Ziera managed, almost dropping to her knees as her entire body turned to jelly. "I thought we'd finally reached our end...!"
"There's no way we'd let that happen!" Shiro told them, as the four lions flew around the mech and fired their lasers at the same time, hitting their target continuously, as there were too many blasts for the creature to block. Hunk looked at Ziera, who nodded and held onto his chair tightly, before the Yellow Lion shot into the frey, taking his place among the other four, adding onto the damage done to their enemy.
"Okay, let's form Voltron and take this thing down like we did last time!" Lance suggested.
"I don't think the Robeast is gonna sit around and wait for us to transform..." Keith chimed in. He had a point.
"Keith's right," Shiro commented. "We need to think of something else!"
Ziera's eyes darted around the room as she began to think up every single scenario and option they could take, hoping to figure something out to help them. "Hey," Hunk started. "At least we outnumber those crystal shields!" He watched as the beast took blast after blast, causing irreparable dents and damage to its red and silver casing.
"Yeah, he can only block two of us!" Lance agreed.
But their firepower as the lions still was not enough to destroy it and they were forced to disperse as it shot a green laser at each of them, which they expertly evaded. "Hey, I think I've got an idea!" Pidge said. "Guys, see if you can get me an open shot at its chest!"
Confusion was written across the Ziera's face for a second, before a lightbulb flashed within her mind. "Oh! The Green Lion's ability!" She exclaimed.
"Exactly! It needs to be able to see us to fire, so if my assumption is correct, it's looking at us from the point of its laser. If I block the crystal on its chest, it won't see us coming!"
Shiro nodded, as the group flew in formation, ready and waiting to fire. "Got it!" He snarled, before he started shooting mercilessly alongside the other lions, while Pidge waited for the opportunity needed to get a clear target on their troublesome intruder.
Lance decided the shields blocking their attack were far too annoying for him to deal with anymore, so he fired his ice blaster at them, freezing the two crystals together. Pidge then darted into the monster's field of view and fired her plant cannon, which hit the crystal before fading away.
Nothing happened for a split second, then suddenly vines burst from the mechanical casing around the crystal, covering the beast's 'sight' as they wrapped around and blocked the Robeast's irritating laser attacks; leaving it vulnerable to their attacks. Or in this case, giving them the opening they needed to transform.
Ziera let out an audible cheer as Shiro smiled and nodded at the Green Lion, which retreated back until it took its place in the line. "Nice job, Pidge!" He said, pride seeping into his voice as he gripped the steering handles a little tighter. "Now form Voltron!"
"Yeah!" They all chorused, before they flew the lions far up into the darkness of space. Slowly, the different ships began to transform, and fused together until the five lions were no more, and only a mechanical man remained.
Voltron stood tall as it slammed both its lion-shaped hands together and formed a sword out of the Quintessence it controlled. Once the sword had appeared, the mech tucked it to the side and flew towards the Robeast as the annoying monster finally managed to charge enough energy to destroy the vines with a powerful pulse of electricity. But it was too slow to turn and face their ace-in-the-hole, and all the Paladins roared angrily as they stabbed through its shields and into the central crystal with a clean thrust.
The universe seemed to still for a second, as they all watched with bated breath. Then, out of nowhere, the shields fell, and the purple gem exploded into a million pieces. Voltron retreated a little as the Robeast began to spark, before their magnificent vessel turned and flew off, just narrowly avoiding the explosion that finally finished the headless machine once and for all.
Ziera dropped to her knees as they watched the plume of fire slowly fade away in the depths of space. "Thank the Divine Beings..." She whimpered, grasping her pendant tightly.
The coms flickered to life and Allura appeared on the screen, smiling proudly at her loyal fighters. "Great work, Paladins! Now return to the castle so we can get back to Olkarion!" She then looked down at what little she could see of Ziera from that angle. "And Era...?"
"Hm?" The feline looked up with wide, curious eyes. "Yes, Princess?"
"I don't think I'll be needing your help operating the castle's weapon systems anymore."
Both women cracked a smile and Ziera laughed as she stood up and held onto Hunk's chair again. "I guess not! But I'm glad I was able to do something from in here, at least!"
"Hell yeah, you did!" Hunk said, hugging her into his side, which made the woman laugh. "If it weren't for you, Yellow would've been down for the count!"
Allura nodded, then pouted with an irritated twitch of her brow when she heard Slav clear his throat. "I must go... once you return, we will prepare for departure." And with that, the screen disappeared as the com was disconnected on her end, leaving everyone to laugh awkwardly.
It was apparent that the princess had to fight her own battle during their 'adventure,' Slav was not an easy person to get along with, Shiro could vouch for that. Ziera had no idea what trouble she would be putting herself through should she ask for his help in perfecting her ship. Until then, she remained blissfully unaware of his more... interesting quirks.
But at least for now, they could relax as they turned and flew leisurely towards the castle awaiting their return.
~FbnL~
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Ziera, Keith and Allura stood in the Cryo Chamber inside the Castle of Lions, where two pods stood, awaiting entry. The feline, who had asked the question, felt her nerves spike a little as she remembered the only other time she had been in a Cryo pod, back when she first arrived on Olkarion a century prior.
It still amused her that she had awoken within a small chamber made of wood. The Olkari were indeed geniuses in the field of engineering. She was eternally grateful towards them for teaching her so much in the short time she remembered.
Allura smiled at her, hand poised over the Cryo controls. "Don't worry, I was contained in one of these pods for ten thousand years, if it managed to maintain both mine and Coran's life forces over such a long period, then I'm sure a day or two wouldn't lead to any complications."
Ziera's stiff shoulders sagged as she let out a soft sigh of relief. "Well then, I won't need these in here, will I?" She took off her goggles, holding them out for Allura to take. "Thank you, Allura...I wish I hadn't taken such drastic measures inside the Weblum, but I didn't want to risk mine nor Keith's lives in an uncertain situation."
Allura nodded and gestured to the pod, since Ziera could no longer understand her if she spoke. The temporarily deaf feline turned to the chamber and nervously stepped inside. As soon as she maneuvered to face the princess again and the door hissed shut, she felt claustrophobic and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to ease her thumping heartbeat. Her regal friend took this time to turn back to the controls and pressed a few buttons. With a sharp hiss, the pod slowly lowered into the floor and vanished from sight. Ziera was now suspended in cryostasis while the Quintessence in the pod repaired any damage to her physical form.
There was only one pod left to fill now.
She turned and met Keith's gaze, and her cold eyes forced him to avert his own to stop the sinking sensation settling in the pit of his stomach. "Thanks..." He started. "Uh, I'll just..." He pointed at the empty chamber awkwardly before he walked inside and twisted until he too faced the cold Altean royal.
Allura silently activated his Cryo Chamber and watched as his pod hissed and slowly descended into the floor. Once both were situated safely and entered cryostasis, the princess let out a sigh and left the room without another word. There were many things she wanted to say, but for now, her focus would remain on their mission ahead.
She had a planet to return to, and a tonne of Scaultrite to deliver.
Soon she returned to the bridge and stepped through the doors as they hissed open. Only to pout and groan when she saw Slav laying on the control panel, lounging against one hand as he typed and looked at the many features the castle held within its strong walls. "Why is there a grand entrance on the fourteenth floor?" He asked as he picked at his ear with one of his eight hands and flicked away the disgusting wax absent-mindedly. "And what's with all the ziplines?! You have hover technology!"
Allura stopped at Slav's side and a vein popped up on her forehead, if it was not for their alliance, she may have flattened him. "Well, you know what...!" She started, her voice sickly sweet as she felt her anger rising. But she was a princess, so she had to remain poised and collected. She took a deep breath, then replied. "Ziplines were quite fashionable ten thousand years ago!"
The doors opened again and the regal leader turned with her arms crossed to see the other four Paladins enter the room. "Allura..." Shiro started, stopping a few feet from her with the others at his side. "Have you heard anything from Coran?"
She nodded. "Yes, I've checked in with him and the Teladuv is nearly complete!" She looked over at Hunk, who yawned, exhausted from his back-to-back missions. "Hunk, thank you for getting the Scaultrite, I'll be sure to give Ziera my thanks later, as well."
"No problem!" Hunk glanced from Allura to the others, who looked at them awkwardly, able to see the elephant in the room, without any words uttered between them. "Uh, you know Keith was there too, right?" He said, pointing his thumb towards the bridge door.
The moment Keith's name was mentioned, Allura's warm smile fell and she shot him the coldest glare he had ever experienced. It actually sent a shiver down his spine and he swallowed his discomfort. If that was how she looked at Keith, he felt sorry for the hot-headed Paladin.
No words were exchanged as Allura walked around them and onto the central platform. From there, she made a wormhole appear and flew them through the vortex, until they came out on the other side and were met with the view of Olkarion from space. It was a comforting sight for Pidge especially, and she wished Ziera was here to share the excitement of coming back after so long.
She would be sure to give Ryner a hug on her behalf.
The castle flew into the atmosphere, and towards the landing pad within the Olkari's largest city, where cheering locals awaited their arrival. Once the ship was on the ground, they left via the elevator at the bottom, only to be greeted by Ryner who stood there, waiting for them to approach with Coran at her side. "Princess!" The older Altean exclaimed, watching as Allura stepped off the lift and ran towards him, the two of them meeting in the middle to exchange a comforting embrace, relieved to be reunited. He was the only person she had left to consider family. "I'm glad you're okay... the Balmerans sent word about your encounter with the Robeast, did it give you much trouble?"
"Yes, it was quite the intense ordeal..." Allura said, pulling away.
Ryner stood there, looking around at the group for a moment, before she frowned and felt a heavy weight settle in her chest. "Princess Allura..." She started, stepping forward while Melrak, Colran, Janze, and Sephiras stood a small distance away, looking equally as worried. "Where is Ziera, is she not with you?"
Shiro stepped forward and held out his hand to shake Ryner's, who reciprocated without hesitation. "Don't worry, Era's fine. She had a little mishap during her mission and his recovering in the Cryo Chamber."
"Wait, she's hurt?!" Melrak asked, bristling at the idea of Ziera being injured. If anyone had caused his best friend pain, he'd be sure to deal it back to them tenfold!
"No, no, she's fine!" Hunk intervened, only to pause and avert his gaze. "Uh, well...Not really...She used a sound pulse in the Weblum to destroy the antibodies attacking us, and it's left her and Keith deaf for a short while..." He saw the concern flash across their faces and raised his hands in an attempt to ease their worries. "But she'll be okay soon, I promise!"
"Oh good..." Colran whimpered, pressing a hand to his chest, as Sephiras rubbed his back with a sympathetic smile. "I dunno what I'd have done if she'd lost her hearing permanently..."
"I know what I'd have done." Melrak grumbled, gripping his spear with a tight, white-knuckled fist. "I'd have found Zarkon myself and kicked his a-"
"Melrak, manners!" Sephiras shouted, silencing the strong warrior before he could finish his angry rant. "Era would hate to hear you use such foul language..."
"Yeah, yeah...I know." He pouted a little, which was an amusing sight on such a large, powerful warrior. He was worried about his best friend, he had done so since she left Olkarion in the first place and it truly showed whenever he heard she had put herself at risk.
Sephiras nodded, then made an excited noise as she clenched her fists in front of her. "I can't wait to see Era again! It's been too long, I miss hearing her talk about her plans for new machines!"
Ryner laughed as she turned to her friends. "As do I..." She glanced back at the Paladins over her shoulder, ever the calm and kindhearted woman. "I hope she's proving to be quite the ally in your fight against Zarkon's cruel reign...I can only imagine all the things she has done to protect others, she was always a selfless warrior among our people."
Shiro nodded and smiled. "She's done more for us than we ever thought possible. She's saved our lives several times, and continues to do her best to assist us in our missions." He removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. "She's even building her own fighter so she can help us in the final battle."
This surprised the Olkari before him, and both Janze and Sephiras exclaimed their curiosity and excitement, while Melrak's expression soured with concern, and Ryner glanced back at him, mirroring his fears. Ziera had a tendency to put herself at risk when building such complex machines, they'd saved her life a few times when a prototype had overloaded or exploded in her face.
However, she knew that wasn't the only reason for Melrak's frown. Over the past one hundred years, they had yet to see Ziera pilot a ship, let alone attempt to build one. Of course, their technology made it difficult for her to connect to their systems enough to encourage that, but even then, they wondered if she could effectively fly a fighter, let alone aid the Paladins in a life-or-death battle for the universe.
"Well, now that we've arrived..." Allura piped up, steering the conversation back. "Would you care to show us the progress you've made on the Teladuv? We have the Scaultrite stashed aboard the Yellow Lion, so the final preparations should be on the horizon, correct?"
Coran nodded and gestured for them to follow. "But of course, Princess! Right this way, we've been working day and night to finish our work."
"I'm glad to hear it, if you continue at such a steady pace, we might be able to bring the fight to Zarkon far sooner than we anticipated..." She turned back to the Paladins. "Let's unload the Scaultrite."
"No need." Melrak chimed in, stepping forward with a smirk as he put his worries on the sidelines for the time being. "Leave the unloading to me and my friends." He pointed towards Colran, Janze, and Sephiras, who were tiny compared to him. "We'll have it out and ready for you in no time!"
Allura nodded. "Good, I'm glad I have such dependable allies on my side." She then started walking with Coran and Ryner towards the central tower in the middle of their large city, with the Paladins following behind as they took in the sights. They had rebuilt a lot of it since they had first reclaimed it from Zarkon's dirty hands. If only Ziera was awake to see it.
Soon they reached the central command station, and Coran stood in the center of the room, watching as the Olkari took the Scaultrite handed to them and began to fuse it to the Teladuv. "We've made great progress while you were gone." He started, stroking his mustache with a bit of a confident air around him. "And now that we have the Scaultrite, we should be finished in less than a quintant!"
"Wow..." Lance gasped, as his eyes widened at the sight of the massive machine outside the window. It looked like a giant crown embedded with blue gems. "That is one giant Teladuv."
"Great work, Coran!" Pidge said sweetly.
"Good job, Coran!" Hunk beamed, pulling Coran by the shoulder as he extended his fist. "Fist bump!" The older mechanic looked at him with an arched brow, before he tapped his own knuckles off the Yellow Paladin's. "Now blow it up!"
Hilariously, he meant that Coran had to retract his fist and open his palm in an explosion sort-of gesture. However, Coran completely misunderstood his wording and stomped his foot angrily, causing Hunk to step back in surprise. "Oh, don't you dare!" He snarled, pointing at the large machine as everyone else shared a dumbfounded expression. "It took forever to build this Teladuv!" He huffed and straightened up with his arms behind his back and his eyes closed. "And lets not forget it's a pivotal piece we need for our plan to defeat Zarkon!"
An alarm beeped on the control unit and Coran cried out as he dove forward and watched a screen appear, showing Slav sat on the side of the large wormhole generator with something in one of his many hands. Wait...
Was he... hitting Coran's Teladuv with a rock?
"I've made some improvements to your design!" Slav stated proudly, as he continued to pound on the metal with the small stone. "This will increase our chances of survival in this reality two hundred and five percent!"
Coran sweatdropped before he glanced over his shoulder at his equally deflated friends. "Is this guy a little...?"
"Yes," Shiro emphasized.
"No doubt," Pidge affirmed.
"Not. A. Fan!" Lance commented.
The sound of the rock colliding with the surface of the machine echoed through the room and Coran finally snapped. "STOP HITTING THE TELADUV!"
In that moment, a small explosion erupted where Slav sat, and smoke filled the view of the monitor as the many engineers around them rushed to assess and fix the damage. Out of nowhere, they heard a very soft 'ow.' And any concerns they had about Slav's condition went out the window with a heavy sigh.
Even Shiro's inhuman levels of patience did not stand a chance against their 'genius' friend.
~FbnL~
Ziera felt a familar darkness surrounding her as she floated within a black abyss. Unlike the first time, she found herself in this situation, she was fully aware of where she was and why she was there. This was Cryostasis, and she was floating aimlessly in the realm between asleep and awake until she was released from her forced slumber refreshed and without injury.
The only concern she had in this space, was if Keith was alright, she was not sure if he'd ever experienced such a weightless existence, and she worried it would catch him off guard like it had done for her so long ago. Hell, even now, she felt sluggish and didn't actually want to wake up, it was peaceful, and she had barely had time to rest since she joined the Coalition.
Of course, she knew both she and Keith would be forced to wake soon, once the darkness surrounding them began to brighten as their consciousness returned.
As if on cue, a small spot of white appeared within the timeless void, slowly expanding until it became blindingly bright, engulfing all her senses until it finally faded into a view of the Cryo Chamber from within the pod she had been placed in. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open as she stirred and she blinked back her blurry vision until she could see Coran stood at the control unit, smiling at her.
Upon seeing his smile, her own lips tugged back sleepily, and she heard the hiss of the chamber opening. Well, at least she had her hearing back, that was definitely a pleasing result. Of course, everything was still a little muffled compared to the clarity she was used to on a daily basis, but she much preferred hearing anything than being flooded with that unbearable ringing she had to suffer with previously.
With a yawn, the feline stepped out of the pod, glancing over as another one was lifted from its place beneath the floor. "Mornin'..." She mumbled, letting out a squeaky little purring sound as she stretched her arms above her head and her tail curled tightly against her back before her entire body just relaxed and she dropped her arms.
Oh, that stretch felt good, she was starting to take such a relaxing action for granted; perhaps a day off was needed so she could unwind properly.
"Good evening." Coran greeted, glancing at the other pod as it hissed open and Keith stepped out, stretching just as Ziera had, only his fingers were linked as he extended them out in front of him, rather than above his head. "I heard about what happened, how're you feeling?"
"Well, I can hear, if that's what you're worried about!" The young, yet ancient alien stated, beaming brightly with her fangs on display as her tail swished around behind her happily. "A Tylyrion is only as good as their hearing, after all! I'm glad I have my best sense back!"
"I'm happy to hear that!" The mechanic cleared his throat as he played with his mustache. "Though I doubt you've healed completely, your senses are stronger than a human's, and you did a fair bit of damage, by the looks of your charts."
Keith snapped his fingers near his ear and flinched back. He cleared his throat and blushed a little as he walked toward them, ignoring their amused chuckles. "Hey, how're you feeling?" He asked, looking at Ziera hopefully.
She grinned and let out a trilling sound, hugging him tightly. "I can hear you!" She exclaimed, laughing with him as she pulled away. "It shouldn't take long for the rest of my hearing to recover now that the worst of it is gone..." She gripped her pendant tightly, determination flashing behind her ombre red-to-blue eyes. "I'll be operating at full capacity before our fight with Zarkon, don't you worry!"
Keith nodded and crossed his arms. "So what's happening now?" He asked, unsure what had taken place since he was put into cryostasis.
"Well, the preparations are complete, the Teladuv passed the trial period with flying colors, and everyone has been briefed on the plan, including Slav..." The look on his face when Slav was mentioned was enough to make them sweatdrop. What had their new friend done while they were unconscious? "So now we wait until all parties are ready to spring into action. I suggest you take this time to finish your ship and learn to pilot it enough to ensure your survival in battle."
Ziera swallowed hard as she felt a nervous fluttering in her chest, causing her to squeeze the solid Galra crystal hard enough to feel the edges dig into her skin. "R-right!"
Keith put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Era..." He said, squeezing it just like she had squeezed her necklace. "We're here for you, you're not doing this alone."
She smiled and nodded, patting his hand in appreciation. "I know." She looked between them. "Don't forget to take a break before the battle though, okay? I know you two work yourselves way too hard."
"Oh, believe me, I'll rest well tonight," Coran assured her, lifting onto his toes before he dropped back down, almost as if he was boasting about the amount of sleep he would get.
The Red Paladin nodded and let go of her, stepping back as he pointed at the door. "I'm gonna find the others, I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Yeah, tell them I'll see them later."
Keith gave her a mock salute in confirmation and smirked as he turned and walked towards the door. Coran watched him go before he returned his attention to his feline friend. "So what're you going to do now?" He asked, trying not to let his lips twitch upwards, they had a surprise for her, after all.
"Well, I have some people I need to see..." Her expression softened fondly, and her ears lifted a little at the idea of hugging them after being apart for so long. "I've been gone for a long time, so I need to find Ryner and the others, so I can give them a big hug and share all my adventures with them!"
"Well, you won't have to wait long for that~!" Coran said with a light lilt to his voice as he twisted around and looked at the door Keith had left from. Ziera hummed curiously and followed his gaze as it hissed open and five figures walked into the room.
The Tylyrion female's curiosity melted away in surprise as she locked eyes with Ryner, who was walking towards her with a smile stretching across her older features and her arms behind her straightened back. Behind her stood Melrak, Colran, Sephiras, and Janze, all of her closest friends.
They had come all that way just to see her when she woke up.
Coran stepped out of the way as Ziera's eyes welled with tears and she let out a choked laugh, running at them as Melrak's own smile ripped across his lips and he charged at her, grabbing her and lifting her into a spinning hug as the two snickered happily. The Altean mechanic looked at Ryner, and nodded politely, which she reciprocated, before he left the room, allowing them a private reunion.
Melrak squeezed his beloved friend so hard, that she thought she would pop like a balloon; but she was not complaining, as she gripped his back with as much force as she could muster in return, burying her face into his muscular shoulder. "It's so good to see you again!" He exclaimed. "Thank the Gods you're alright, that damn Weblum better not mess with you again, you hear?!"
Ziera sobbed out little giggles as the large man planted her feet onto the ground, where they belonged. "Melrak, what have I told you about using foul language in the presence of the Divine Beings?" She scolded, but when he waved off her concerns, she could not help but lock her arms around his waist, giving him another tight hug.
"D-did you go to any cool places?" Colran asked as she finally released the largest of their group and approached, who gave her a one-armed hug.
Ziera nodded. "There are so many amazing planets out there, Colran...! Once this is all over, I'll take you on your own adventure, okay?"
Colran smiled and gave her a reassuring squeeze before he let go. "I'd like that a lot. You look a lot more confident now, and it'd be nice to experience a bit of that myself."
The woman turned to Sephiras who tackled her in a hug so tight she almost lost consciousness. "I've missed you so much! What kind of heroic acts did you do? C'mon, you've gotta tell me everything!"
"Well..." The Tylyrion stepped back and held onto Sephiras' arms, her tail swishing behind her, hitting Melrak's legs, much to his annoyance. "I managed to stop Zarkon from chasing us by redirecting energy in a broken Teladuv so it would remain operational!"
"Really?!" Colran asked, wide-eyed and amazed.
Ziera giggled and nodded. "Yep, but other than that, I've only done things to help from the side-lines. I've never actually been in any battles or had to protect my friends...Not yet anyway."
Janze stepped towards her and lifted his hand with his knuckles pointing outwards. Ziera grinned and the two bumped fists before they hugged each other tightly. "Speaking of that, I heard you're making a ship, is that true?"
"Yes, I'm so close to finishing it now, thanks to Pidge and Coran, they've helped me fix any errors without costing me a ship or two in the process!"
"Wait, so you haven't blown it up yet?"
She puffed out her chest with pride. "Nope, it's still in tact!"
Janze laughed and gave her another fist bump. "Progress! You're gonna be an awesome engineer in no time!"
"I sure hope so, I love building machines and ships with all my heart!" She thought back to the memory of her tinkering with a vessel before her crash that lead to her brand new life on Olkarion. "Goodness..." She breathed softly, walking backwards as she continued to well with emotion, tears slowly pricking at her eyes once more. "You won't believe half the things I've seen and experienced..." She started, pausing when she pivoted round and came face to face with Ryner, who smiled at her with a proud glimmer shining brightly in her tired, experienced eyes. Finally, the dam holding back her emotions broke, and she felt the warm droplets slide down her cheeks as she yanked Ryner into the tightest hug she could muster, one the older woman returned with just as much force. "I've missed you all, so, so much...!"
"We've heard many a tale of your adventures," Ryner said, her voice strained with her own emotions. Mostly happiness, but a little bit of worry was leaking in as well. "The Paladins speak highly of you, you've done us all proud, Ziera."
"I couldn't have done it without your support." Ziera buried her face in the Olkari leader's. "And I need to tell you all that I-I'm..." She choked on her words and sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry...!"
This alarmed the group as their eyes widened and they surrounded her when Ryner pulled away in response, keeping Ziera at arm's length so she could inspect her tearful features. "You're sorry? Whatever for?!"
She sniffled as she rubbed her eyes furiously with her hands, trying to maintain some semblance of composure, which she was failing at rather miserably. "I-I promised to stay by your side just before we took back the city, a-and I didn't even keep that promise for a whole day before I went off with the Paladins and left you to lead the people of this amazing world on your own...!" She hiccupped around her words, and Ryner frowned, pulling her into a far gentler embrace. "I only realized how selfish my decision was after I'd already left, and I've hated myself for it since..."
"Hush now." Ryner soothed. "Since the moment you arrived, I knew a time would come that you would leave this place to pursue the secrets of your past..." She smiled as she pulled away again to hold the woman's cheeks in her hands. "I never took your departure as a form of abandonment, instead I saw it as a means for you to return to your world and live the life you were always meant to."
That made the feline cry even more, as she let out a broken laugh and dropped her head, her ears falling alongside her tail as she refused to look at any of her concerned friends. "That's just it...I-I found Tylyrio..." She swallowed a heavy lump in her throat, her voice quivering with her chin. "A-and there was barely anything left of it...! Zarkon destroyed it, and everyone living there! I'm all alone..." Her voice cracked at the final word, and she finally broke down, dropping to her knees while sobs wracked through her, a painful, heartfelt sound that was enough to sadden even the hardest of warriors.
Melrak felt his heart squeeze and he crouched down, giving her a tight hug. Colran soon joined him, as did Sephiras and Janze. They all embraced her tightly, silently reassuring her that she had a home with them and that she would never truly be alone. "Don't be stupid..." The large soldier told her, his own voice straining as he placed his chin on the top of her head. "You're never gonna be alone, not while I draw breath!"
"Melrak's r-right!" Colran stammered, wiping his eyes as he held her hand tightly in both of his. "W-we wouldn't be such good friends if you hadn't shown up!"
"We're a family!" Sephiras chimed in, hugging both Melrak and Colran, since they had surrounded Ziera so completely.
Janze nodded and stood over them, placing his hands on her shoulders, since he was far too small to stretch his arms around and hug them completely. "I know my life'd be lonely without someone like you to nerd out with." Ziera laughed at Janze's words, and he grinned, happy to make her smile.
She wiped her eyes as the others pulled away enough to watch as Ryner slowly crouched down directly in front of their broken ally. "Zarkon will be brought to justice for his crimes against your people, Ziera..." She said, her words unshaken in their resolve, she meant every single word she spoke. "And once this is all over... you will always have a place among our people, should you want to return and build a life here." She smiled. "You're as much an Olkari as anyone born here, and have been for many, many deca-phoebs."
"Thank you...All of you..." She sniffled and slowly stood up, wiping her eyes furiously as they slowly copied her action and stood alongside her. "Let's get out of here, I-I need some fresh air."
Melrak smirked. "I know just the place!"
With that, the group left the room, chatting aimlessly to distract her as they wandered the corridors and left the large castle. To anyone who passed, it was obvious that despite the differences they shared, they were a happy family only a few had the honor of obtaining.
And she would be damned if she let one malicious tyrant tear that away from her as he had done with everything else.
~FbnL~
"Wait, so you've remembered some stuff since you left?"
Ziera nodded as she sat atop a cliff alongside her friends, with Ryner and Melrak stood a small distance behind them. The cliff they had settled on overlooked the entire forest settlement they had once lived in, along with the faraway skyscrapers of the city they now called home. Colran who had asked the question, sat to her right, while Sephiras and Janze sat on her left, giving her their full attention.
"Yeah, it ranges from images to voices, to full-on memories...But they're all related in some way, I think..." Ziera explained, shrugging her shoulder. "I knew joining the Paladins would help me remember, but the sheer number of times I've been afflicted with flashbacks has made it hard to keep track of the timeline."
"What kind of things do you remember?"
Her frown deepened, and her ears flattened against her head as she took a deep breath. "Well...I remembered seeing the destruction of my planet from the escape pod you found me in..." She looked at Ryner who watched them from a small distance with her arms behind her back. "Remember that time I told you I saw Tylyrio in my head? The first memory I ever got back?" Ryner nodded and Ziera sighed, returning her attention to the view of the sunset against the green foliage. "Yeah, that was the same event... I wish I'd known sooner, so I wouldn't have lived through it all over again."
Sephiras put her hand on Ziera's back. "Sorry, Era."
She laughed, though it was an empty, almost bitter sound compared to her usual soft and sweet tone. "Don't apologize, Sephiras...It's not your fault, this is just the hand the Divine Beings had given me..."
"Divine Beings be damned..." Melrak growled. "If Zarkon survives your upcoming battle, I'm gonna kick his ass and pay him back for what you've been through!"
"Melrak...!"
"Oh don't start complaining, Era! We don't have time to worry about your superstitions!" His snarl softened and he crossed his arms stubbornly. "If we don't stop him now, there won't be anyone left to worship your deities..."
He had a point, she shrugged a shoulder and waved off his words, which he appreciated greatly. "Well, that wasn't everything...I remembered that I had a twin brother, but I only know what he looks like and his name, anything else about him is still a mystery."
"Wait, you had a twin?!" Sephiras asked. "Did you look alike? What was his name?"
Ziera's lips twitched upwards with a broken smile. This was the first time she had uttered his name aloud. "Denzie..." Her shoulder shook with silent snickers as she turned her head to smile at the energetic Olkari female. "And yeah, he looked exactly the same as me. I think the only thing that was different was that his eyes went from red to purple, not red to blue."
"He sounds like a pretty cool dude!" Janze complimented. "Especially if you two really did look so much alike!"
"Yeah..." She nodded. "From what I remember, he was a cool brother too, he made sure I ate when I got too engrossed in my projects and stopped me from neglecting sleep just to finish a blueprint."
Melrak laughed. "Sounds like I'd get along with him pretty well!"
She giggled and looked at him as he hovered above her, planting her hands on the dirt behind her so she could lean back and drop her head to meet his gaze. "You would! He was just as stubborn as you are now."
"Hey!"
Ryner chuckled. "It sounds like some fond memories made their way back to you, I'm glad."
Ziera's smile fell and she sighed, straightening up before she slouched forward, letting her hands fall between her legs. The sky was slowly taking on a cooler tint of purple as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon. "Not all of them were fond...I remembered more about my alliance with the Galra too..."
This caused the group to stiffen as they stared at their feline friend in shock. Of course, they had suspected that she had been part of the Galra empire, thanks to her uniform upon crashing in their forest. However, they had soon discarded that fear when she became their ally and had told them she had spent time imprisoned in one of their ships.
"The more I remember my time there, the more I worry I once worked for Zarkon..." She grimaced as one of her hands tightened into a fist and she glared out at the peaceful forest teeming with life. "How many people did I hurt before I crashed? Was I running from my mistakes, or did I have a target on my back?" She dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut. However, she did not cry, not this time. She had drained all of her emotions from her body earlier that evening, and now she just felt an overwhelming numbness that engulfed her completely. "For all I know, I was just as bad as he is, and that crash was karma catching up to me at long last..."
"Don't talk like that!" Melrak boomed, causing everyone to jump, apart from Ryner, who closed her eyes, looking a little intense herself. The large Olkari male walked up to her and leaned over, his hands planted firmly on his hips as he snarled at her. "You're nothing like that vile dictator! I refuse to believe you'd ever work for someone like that, not in this life, and certainly not in the last!" He huffed. "And if the Divine Beings want to punish you with some twisted karma like that, then they're not worth your time or energy!"
Ryner nodded. "I have to agree with Melrak...Though we found you in a Galra pod, wearing Galra armor, the colors you adorned differed greatly from the armor we're accustomed to seeing... perhaps you were part of a rebel force, similar to that of The Blade of Marmora?" She stroked her chin. "Regardless of the timeline and how it plays out, It may explain why you were imprisoned." She closed her eyes. "No matter the situation, I doubt the Galra would restrain their own unless they had betrayed the empire in some way."
"Ryner's right!" Melrak continued. "Zarkon's an evil bastard for sure, but he's smart enough to know not to lock up his own fighters if he wants to keep his army strong!" He huffed and crossed his arms. "That's just Battle Tactics: 101!"
Ziera stared at the two of them in surprise for a moment, before she smiled, it was a small, barely visible tugging of her lips, but it soothed their worries all the same. "Yeah, maybe..." She shook the fears from her mind before she combed her fringe back in place with her clawed fingers. "Sorry, I just...I haven't really talked to anyone about this, so all these worries have been festering in my mind for quite a while... I forget that they're just theories sometimes."
"Haven't you talked to the Paladins about this?" Colran asked. "You guys looked pretty close, how come you haven't confided in them?"
"Well..." She reached for her pendant, playing with the glowing gem between her gentle fingers. "When Princess Allura saw my pendant for the first time, she reacted... badly, to say the least." She deflated at the thought of seeing Allura look at her with such venomous disgust ever again. "She thought I was a spy for Zarkon, and I had to do a lot to prove myself to her..."
Melrak growled again, crossing his arms as he glared off into the distance. "How badly has her opinion of the Galra been poisoned by the acts of one tyrant?"
"She refuses to trust The Blade of Marmora, even after they've sacrificed so much to help us." She exhaled heavily through her nose. "They do whatever they can to prove their loyalties to the Coalition, and she chooses to just ignore that and keep them at a distance."
"Tch...so what? Does she think all Galra are monsters, just 'cause of Zarkon?!"
The engineer bobbed her head up and down slowly. "I think she does... but I refuse to believe all Galra are bad people." She gripped her pendant a little tighter as she got to her feet and stood alongside Melrak. The wind whipped her hair around and at that moment she almost looked like a hero in a comic book. "They have served under Zarkon for ten thousand years... if we free them from his grasp, maybe... just maybe, we can finally form an alliance and bring peace to every corner of our known universe!"
Melrak smirked and slapped her back hard enough to send her staggering forward a little with an audible yelp. "There's the Era I know!" He laughed and pulled her into a one-armed hug, patting the shoulder not squashed against his chest, reassuringly. "There's no way someone as understanding and patient as you would ever work for someone like that!"
"You really think so?" Ziera was surprised by their level of loyalty toward her, and they all either stood up or walked over so she could see their confident expression. Not one of them held a sliver of doubt in their eyes, and she smiled, feeling the tears coming back with a vengeance. "Thank you...I don't know what I'd do without any of you."
"Th-then it's a good thing we're not going anywhere!" Colran piped up, only to blush when Sephiras agreed and leaped over to him, hugging his arm with a bright smile.
"He's right! As long as you need us, we're here for you!"
Ziera nodded. "I know." She looked back at Ryner behind her. "But please don't tell the Paladins about this..." This caused their smiles to fall and confusion to echo across their collective features. "I just... I don't want to tell them until I'm one hundred percent sure... otherwise, I'd drive a wrench into our plans, and I can't risk Allura giving me the cold shoulder so close to our goal."
"Geez, I feel sorry for Keith..." Janze mumbled, Ziera had told them the story of Keith's heritage as they walked from the city to their current location. It was why they did not bat an eye when she refused to accept that all Galra were monsters.
Ziera took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "So do I..." She then opened them and spoke with such certainty, that she felt confidence surge through her. "If- no..." She turned to Ryner, her eyes hardened with a duty-bound glimmer the Olkari leader had seen before on numerous occasions, especially on the day they had taken back the city. "When we defeat Zarkon, I'm going to come back here and help you rebuild our home." She softened a little and smiled. "We'll make sure the epicenter for the Coalition holds up to its reputation! And then I'll do what I can to find and form an alliance with the Galra that want to live in peace, so everyone can finally free themselves from the weight of their pasts, and live life to the fullest!"
Ryner's entire posture relaxed and she smiled with a gentle nod of her head. "It looks like you finally found your true calling, Ziera...I was worried that you would allow yourself to succumb to the uncertainties of your past to such a level that you would neglect to live your life...I'm so proud of you."
Melrak placed his hand on the feline female's shoulder. "We all are."
She giggled and put her hand atop his, then hugged Janze to her side, while Sephiras and Colren stepped closer, the female of their group pressing tightly against Ziera's free side in reassurance, while Colran kept an arm around his crush's shoulder. "I know..." She said as they looked back at Ryner who remained behind them, a small distance away. Though she made no efforts to enter their little bubble, they all knew she too stood in solidarity with them, and always would.
Ziera vowed that she would not give up looking for the relics of her past, but she refused to let it take over her entire existence any longer. She was the last inhabitant of Tylyrio left in the universe, she owed it to her race to live a long and fulfilling life so that when she dies, their memory lives on in others.
This thought warmed her aching heart, and she finally felt the anxiety of her previous allegiance that rested heavily against her shoulders leave her form and float away with the cool night's breeze.
A short silence passed over them, comfortable and assured in their stances atop that lonely little cliff, a cliff they would frequent often before she had left; a special little spot that only they knew about. It reminded her of home, and she knew that as long as she drew breath, she would consider the Olkari her family.
They were right, she was never alone.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this rather long chapter, expect another couple of fulfilling ones in the months to come! Please review if you found my story good or have some concerns for grammar or plotlines, any and all feedback helps me improve as a writer!
Voltron Time
Dobosh = Minute
Quintant = Day
Phoeb = Month
Deca-Phoeb = Year