Chapter 21: Battle Scars(Pidge's POV)

"Uhhh," groans Hunk, "This is the third star system in eleven days and we haven't seen anything from Honerva's robeasts."

"Actually," Pidge corrects, "This is the eleventh star system in three days that we have checked."

"See, I'm just so tired I can't….."

"Think?" asks Keith.

"Yeah."

"Is there any way to speed up the search, Shiro?"

"All the data we got from Lahn's ship thanks to Pidge is that some planets have seen them move about. Nothing concrete."

"In other words this crude way of searching is all we have," Keith confirms.

"What about the Altean Colony Marinette went too? There might be some clues there," theorizes Lance.

Shiro replies, "Marinette said that place was dangerous and that it makes time wonky. Not to mention Kovilan told us that there was no trace of the Colony when he sent a team there."

"So back to the drawing board."

"Not quite," murmurs Pidge. "We could visit the Olkari. They are a few galaxies away. Maybe they have seen something and can help us limit our search parameters or give us something much more concrete."

"Like the exact location of where they've been spotted?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds like a good plan. Let's go to Olkarion." Shiro responds.

"First I should contact them. Olkarion be advised the Paladins of Voltron are enroute."

But she receives nothing but static. Odd. "Perhaps because of our distance their response is delayed. Once we get closer we should hear their response."

However when they get closer she hasn't gotten a response. It's troubling to say the least. She was looking forward to going over the new technological advancements they may have made over the last few years, but now only dread fills her stomach.

Once they enter the star system of the Olkari she still hasn't gotten a response.

"So have they responded back?" Shiro asks.

She shakes her head, "No. It's odd to say the least. And I can't make sense of it."

"Could they be in trouble?"

"I don't know. I haven't received any messages. Hold on, my scanners are picking something up further away from us."

"Is it a Robeast? A Galra Faction ship?" Hunk asks worriedly

"No it doesn't match anything like that…"

"Well let's get to Olkarion, we can worry about whatever that is later." Shiro states.

But when they get their Olkarion is grayscale in color scheme like all life has been drained out of the planet. "What happened?" She whispers in shock.

"I don't know Pidge. But we are going to find out."

Once they land on Olkarion, mass destruction is evident. It reminds her of the ruins on the planet they met Macidus on, except all color has been drained from the planet and a gray hue hangs over the air. The structures are also more destroyed. Her heart pangs, the Olkari taught her so much, they helped her to bond with Green. But now, their home planet is gone, the very place she first started to connect with nature and understand it. Feel a bond with it as well as tech.

"Everyone split up, Pidge and Keith you head to the forest to see if there are any survivors, me, Lance and Hunk will survey the city."

She nods in acknowledgement. Walking toward the forest tears well up in her eyes. The Olkari were great people, how many died in whatever took the life of their home planet. Then she sees the forest, the trees are all dark gray, leafless. Once upon a time she would've never cried over a forest, but this forest is where she was taught to appreciate nature and where she bonded with Green.

Walking further she spots the part of the forest where she bonded with Green. The track marks of where Green crashed are still there, though it's faint. She falls to her knees and sobs. It isn't fair! Why did this have to happen!?

Then a hand touches her shoulder and she blinks away the tears seeing Keith.

"Special spot huh?" he asks.

"It's where I first really bonded with Green and where I learned how to beat the Olkari cubes helping us win the fight."

"I remember."

"It's just why did this have to happen? The Olkari had so much left to teach us, to teach me. They helped me bond with nature when I never thought I would…."

She hears Keith sigh, "I know the feeling."

Looking at him, Keith gets down on his knees and takes a deep breath, making his helmet fog up for a bit.

"I never told anyone this, not even my Team Miraculous comrades. But before Miracle Queen occurred on the day I was expelled from Francois Dupoint Lady Time, the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous came to me and demanded that I come with her. I was confused as to why, but I followed her anyway. And what she showed me was horrid. A fake Ladybug had led us to the lair of Hawkmoth where Adrien's mother lay in a glass coffin and Hawkmoth was standing in front of the coffin. Hawkmoth wasn't looking worried that Sentibug had led us to his lair, instead he looked pleased."

"Adrien was the first one to confront him, angry and enraged. But Hawkmoth easily swatted him aside and took the rest of us on. It was a terrible fight, but eventually Hawkmoth won my future self being the last to fall. Hawkmoth gloated and took the ring from Adrien's finger. But he didn't care that he had killed his son because as soon as the real Ladybug came back all could be fixed. Lady Time then went further along the timeline and eventually the timeline withered away until there was nothing left."

Keith then takes a shuddering breath, "She gave me a version of the Rabbit Miraculous that wasn't being used by a holder in a certain era and told me to face Hawkmoth and win so the timeline wouldn't cease to exist. I did as I was told but after witnessing everything and Hawkmoth not care about his own son I lost it and ended up killing him in the process, I didn't know what I had done until the madness and anger subsided and I noticed his chest wasn't heaving for air, or moving at all. And all this happened because in that timeline when Sentibug made her debut I kept my mouth shut and wanted Adrien to have some good luck instead of the miserable luck he's had for a while. After I made sure that that timeline's future was secure I again fixed the past by defeating the person who made Sentibug. Because I wore the Rabbit Miraculous I still remembered that timeline. I never told anyone because I was too afraid to lead them to that lair and have the exact same thing happen. Luckily after Hawkmoth got all the Miraculous we beat him shortly after without having to discover who his identity is. And I was able to focus on helping Commander Holt. But what happened that day hasn't escaped my memory…."

"That's a long way of saying you know how I feel." She says, not knowing what else to say to what Keith has been through.

"Yeah. But I had to let you know that you aren't alone in what you're feeling, even if I had to resurface those ugly memories again…."

"Again?" She asks and then her eyes widen in realization, "The ship! You had those memories brought to the forefront on the ship! No wonder you were trembling and no wonder you flinched at the door pounding. You thought…."

"Yeah. I did."

"I just wish we could fix what happened here like you could your predicament."

"Life is funny that way isn't it? Sometimes you can fix things and sometimes you can't."

"Yeah."

Touching the grayed soil she sighs, wondering what could have been done to prevent this devastation, but Keith is right sometimes you can't fix what is broken. Suddenly a white flashes and she sees the Planet with color and life again with two little Olkarians playing in the meadow where the Green lion crashed. A bright purple light falls out of the sky and lands towards the city and the kids look at it. The vision then ends leaving the meadow just as lifeless and gray as it was before.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"There was…..I saw…there were two little kids playing and then a bright purple shooting star made them stop…."

"Remember the Olkari had a deep connection to the land that they could reconfigure it to suit their needs. Perhaps they were so in touch that the land that their planet could have memories of them. And since you are bonded with Green and have the most connection to nature out of any of us, the planet is answering your question of 'how did this happen?' by showing you."

"If that's the case then we need to get to the city a.s.a.p."

Using their jetpacks they fly back to where the city is and land on one of the big buildings. Looking out into the destruction of the planet once again shows her a vision. This time she sees the purple shooting star land and when it does it's a Robeast. It starts laying waste to the buildings as if it's in search of something, as its not targeting civilians or shooting the soldiers trying to stop it. She sees Ryner directing the Olkari on how to act. Then the vision fades.

Moving downward to where Ryner stood shes sees her speak into the comm link on her arm to the Communications tower and telling whoever works there to preserve the data in some secure location.

She sees the Robeast destroy a building and take the Olkari cubes with it, then it lands with the cubes encircling it and it puts its scythes into the ground.

The vision fades and she and Keith head to the Communications tower when suddenly, "Ah guys, Hunk put out entry scanners around the orbit of Olkarion and something just set it off. We have about ten minutes to evacuate"

"Me and Pidge are almost done here, but just in case we don't get out in ten minutes hold it off."

"Hold it off! Keith, are you insane? We have no idea what it is!"

"Just do it Lance! Pidge is on the verge of discovering something that could prove to be major."

"You heard Keith, let's give him and Pidge some time to figure out whatever it is they're finding."

Once on the destroyed Communications tower she gets another vision and it shows her two workers furiously figuring things out and talking about what could have caused the Robeast to take them by surprise. They then download the information into a safe spot and she walks closer to see where the spot is. She gets a good look before it finishes downloading to the spot and right before the planet's color starts to disappear. The vision ends before she sees the demise of those two Olkarions.

"I know where to go!"

"Good."

Later:

"We can't hold the Weblum off any longer, you two better be done!" Lance shouts.

"We are, Pidge has got what she needs. We're heading to our Lions now." Keith answers. When the transmission link goes down Keith smiles, "Good job Pidge."

"Thanks but I have no idea how that happened."

"Like I said, it could be because of your and the Olkarions connection to nature that made it possible. This universe is full of surprises and planets that have evolved differently from Earth."

"True."

Once in the Green Lion she takes off along with Keith. Once out of Olkari's atmosphere she sees the Weblum creature head straight for Olkarion. Tears once again fall from her face but she continues onward along with the rest of her teammates. They have something that will help them determine just what exactly Honerva's master plan is.