Rai directed Zerith back to the Castle of Lions as quickly as possible. The longer they took to make their plan, the more danger Allura and C.C. would be in.
The moment they landed, they rushed out of the Lion and onto the castle's main bridge. Coran was there, waiting for them. When he saw that only the seven Paladins returned, he knew immediately that something was amiss.
"Rai, scan the download from the ship. Find out where Zarkon's Central Command is," Lelouch ordered fervently.
"On it!" The Green Paladin acknowledge, practically launching himself into his control seat and bringing up the computer screen, Shirley and Milly looking over his shoulder.
"What happened?" Coran asked, running over to them, "Where's Allura?"
"She and C.C. were captured. They sacrificed themselves to save me and the information. I didn't have a choice," Lelouch regrettably told the advisor.
"Wha-how is that possible?" Coran demanded, eyes wide and heart racing in panic. This was his worst nightmare coming to pass!
"Coran, I'm sorry things didn't go as planned, but we can't focus on what went wrong. We've got to figure out how to make it right. Rai, anything?" Lelouch shouted at the Green Paladin urgently.
"Guys, you need to see this," Rai said with wide eyes, pulling the image up to the main screen. Everyone's eyes widened at the massive size of the Central Command Center. It was probably the size of a small moon at the very least!
"Look at the size of it!" Coran gasped in fear.
"Are you saying that C.C. and Allura are being taken there?!" Shirley asked, visibly shaking.
"Lelouch, I think we should go in right away," Kallen said to her team leader, "Every minute we waste gives Zarkon time to prepare for us."
"I agree," Rivalz nodded, "We form Voltron, fly in, fly out, dust off our hands, and walk away."
"Um, do you guys not remember the Balmera?" Shirley asked, looking at them all anxiously, "We could barely take out one fleet. But this... a base this size could hold a thousand fleets!"
"I hate to admit it, but Shirley does have a point…" Milly agreed with a worried frown.
"Maybe we should consider other options," Suzaku said, "going after C.C. and Allura may not be the best course of action. We'll be delivering the universe's only hope to the universe's biggest enemy," as he talked everyone's, even Lelouch's, faces morphed from confused to shocked. Was this seriously coming out of Suzaku's mouth?! During the mission, he was the one most concerned for Allura's safety besides Coran. Now that she was captured, he was saying that they shouldn't go after her at all?
Noticing their expression Suzaku was quick to reiterate his statement. "What I'm trying to say is, maybe we should look at options that don't involve charging head-on. Maybe we can use stealth. We use Zerith's cloaking to sneak into Central Command, and once inside, Shirley's Geass can cloak us further. We find C.C. and the princess and then just get out! We won't even need to fight!"
"I don't know if stealth is an option, Suzaku," Rai admitted, looking back at the base on the screen, "Just look at this thing. The defensive capabilities seem nearly impenetrable!"
"Besides, we might not have time for stealth anyway!" Kallen added, "That takes planning and timing, which we just don't have right now! Plus, what do you think would happen if Zarkon finds out C.C. is immortal or about Geass? Who knows what he could do with it?!"
Suzaku's eyes widened, "I-I didn't think about that…"
"Of course you didn't," Kallen sneered, "just like you assumed that everything would be fine and dandy if you became an Honorary Brittanian!"
"What?!" Suzaku squawked in shock, "What on Earth does that have to do with anything?!"
"You think things would get better if you just followed orders like a good boy and maybe your people would be treated better?! I don't know what kind of fairy tale you're playing at Suzaku, but it definitely isn't reality!"
"First of all, this is a completely different situation! You have no right to judge me!" Suzaku argued back, gritting his teeth in anger.
Before Kallen could bark back, Rivalz got in between them, "Guys stop! Listen, we're all upset that we lost C.C. and Allura, but fighting isn't going to help anyone!"
"No! Lelouch is the one that lost them!" Coran exclaimed, looking pointedly at the prince.
"Hey! Last time we checked, you weren't even there! You got no room to put the blame on Lelouch like that!" Kallen glared hard at the advisor, fists shaking.
"That's enough!" Milly suddenly shouted authoritatively, "Sitting here and arguing isn't going to help anyone, especially Allura and C.C.!"
"All right," Lelouch said after taking a deep breath, "First things first, we need to locate the base. We find that, we'll find them."
The Galra ship was just coming to dock at Central Command. The crew themselves seemed quite elated. Who would have thought that a routine stop at an outpost would've led to capturing one of the biggest enemies to the empire? The emperor would likely reward them nicely, maybe even promote them to the main fleet.
The two prisoners in question were seated together in a single cell, as it was big enough to house both of them. They were both seated and silent, anticipating what was to follow.
As they felt the ship dock, C.C. gasped as she felt a pulse in her head, the Geass mark on her forehead flaring slightly.
Allura didn't have time to ask C.C. what was wrong when they heard the door to their cell opening. Standing there to greet them were three Druids, the middle one being the very leader of them herself.
"Come with me," Haggar ordered, her tone showing that any other option would result in dire consequences.
As the two women were being led out of the cell, cuffed, C.C.'s headache intensified, the mark resonating even more.
Hearing her slight groans of discomfort, Haggar stole a glance at the princess's companion. Overall, she looked similar to the other Earthlings that the Galra captured just a few years ago, however… the witch could certainly sense some abnormal energy emanating off of the girl. And it felt vaguely familiar.
'Interesting…'
"Anything?" Lelouch asked around the bridge as everyone was working on trying to find either a weak spot or an entry point into the base.
"There's just no way in," Rivalz said with a frown.
"He's right," Suzaku confirmed from his station, "They'll have us tracked from every direction."
"Keep looking! There's got to be something!" the Black Paladin ordered. He then looked towards the central computer, seeing Coran. The advisor hadn't said a word since they'd all begun their search. Lelouch's expression turned solemn. He had a pretty good idea of what the advisor was feeling right now. It was likely similar to how he felt when he learned what had happened to his mother. But unlike the empress, Lelouch swore that they would get Allura returned safely.
Lelouch approached the advisor cautiously. He wasn't exactly the best at comforting people unless it was Nunnally, but he had to say something. Despite what the others said, Allura and C.C. were still captured on his watch, and he had to take responsibility for it.
"I know you're worried about her. We all are. I'm sorry I let her slip away," he apologized, looking down forlornly.
Coran looked sadly at the Black Paladin, "I know it's not your fault. It's just... I've already lost so much. I can't lose Allura, too."
Lelouch smiled painfully, "I feel the same way about Nunnally."
"Your sister, correct?"
"Yes."
"...I've heard Allura talk a lot about you and your sister with her father," Coran admitted. Lelouch looked up at him in surprise. "She's discussed whether or not we can not only improve your sister's condition but also improve the state of affairs on your planet. One of the things she wants more than ever right now is for all people to live peacefully, and that includes yourself."
Lelouch blinked and then smiled slightly. Though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he was greatly touched by what Coran said. He really hoped that such peace could become a reality someday.
He quickly turned his thoughts back to the situation, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to get her back. We just need a way to get close to Zarkon's ship unseen."
"Wait a tick, I think I've got a way!" Coran suddenly realized, as the image of one of the small planets orbiting the base expanded onto the screen.
The platform rose slowly, bringing its occupants to the main level of the center. The windows gave a perfect view of the universe outside as stars sparkled in the distance. But their majestic luster was lost as the two women were brought closer to a lone figure in a red cape.
As C.C. laid her eyes on the Emperor of the Galra himself for the first time, a little bubbling sense of anxiety began to swell inside her. It was an emotion she hadn't appropriately felt in years, and to feel it rising up now of all times terrified her even more.
"Princess Allura," Zarkon's baritone voice acknowledged, not even turning to face his captives.
"You monster!" Allura exclaimed, charging furiously at the emperor, "You destroyed Altea!" Before Allura could even reach the emperor, though, Haggar's evil magic gripped the princess in the air before she collapsed to the ground, panting from the pain of it. "Voltron is going to put an end to your empire!" She glared daggers up at the leader.
"No, it will only make me more powerful," Zarkon countered, "Your father knew that as well as I. That's why he led me to believe he destroyed it all those years ago. But now, your new Paladins will come for you, and they will deliver Voltron to me, and with it the key to unimaginable power."
The Emperor's eyes then tracked to their other captive. The green-haired Earthling that was supposedly traveling with his enemy, "Who is this?"
"I am uncertain," Haggar said, before she raised her hand again, her magic gathering, "but I intend to find out."
C.C. gasped in pain as Haggar's magic also lifted her in the air. And she was unable to contain her screams as what felt like hot knives and claws began ripping into her mind, tearing it open and exposing long-buried memories to the surface.
"No! Stop!" Allura cried as she tried to rush to help C.C., only for the two other Druids to restrain her with their own spells.
Haggar's eyes widened slightly as she saw the Geass symbol on the girl's forehead begin to glow, images of her memories flashing before her eyes.
"He mustn't die!" she cried as she leaped in front of a young boy as a bullet embedded itself in her skull.
Moments later, the same boy is crouched over what he thinks is her lifeless body, only for the said body to grasp his hand, linking him to the mysterious power that she held inside of her.
Another human, this one in the uniform of the Orange Paladin, gasped as she grasped her hand, the same link forming between the two in the Balmeran prison.
Other bits and pieces flashed past her eyes. A large human with white hair standing in what appeared to be ancient ruins, a female human with long flowing brown hair standing next to him, with a very young Earthling with long flowing blonde hair. He looked no older than an adolescent, but he emitted the same energy that this girl was giving off.
Then her captive grunted and a mental wall suddenly burst up, shoving Haggar's mental probs off of her mind. The woman collapsed in a heap, breathing heavily and bracing herself shakily on her hands and knees as she struggled to stand.
"Interesting," Haggar muses as her gaze stayed on the girl a few moments longer before turning to her emperor, "I wish to examine her. I dare to say this, but I believe we found something with greater potential than Voltron."
As C.C. raised her head to look defiantly up at her captors. The bubble of anxiety slowly morphing into an emotion she hadn't felt in a long time, one that spread down her spine and almost all the way to her toes.
Fear.
Lelouch winced slightly as he felt a small needle of pain pierce his skull, but it wasn't painful enough for him to cry out. He heard a gasp and a groan behind him, and as he turned, he saw that Rai and Shirley had similar expressions.
Something inside Lelouch turned cold. Whatever was happening to C.C., and probably Allura by extension, couldn't be good. They needed to move fast!
After shaking away the feeling, he turned to Team Voltron, "Eyes front. We've got a plan to get Allura and C.C. We're going to jump to the heart of the enemy, unseen and undetected."
"Wait, I thought we needed Allura to open up a wormhole," Milly asked, confused.
"It's true that Allura powers the castle's ability to travel through wormholes. However, I think we have enough of her residual essence stored in the system to make one jump," Coran explained, as he and Lelouch turned to the bridge's main computer screen, the base and the planets surrounding it being pulled up. "We'll hide the castle here, inside one of these giant gas planets in Zarkon's command system. The gas is so dense we'll be hidden."
"From there, we'll use the castle to scan for Allura and C.C. on Zarkon's ship. We'll form Voltron, find them, and get out before Zarkon knows what hit him," Lelouch finished explaining.
"There's only one hiccup," Coran confessed, turning back to the group. "We have enough energy to wormhole in, but without Allura, we won't have enough energy to wormhole out."
"So leaving without the princess isn't an option," Suzaku summed up.
"That's correct. Remember, we're not here to fight, though we will inevitably have to. This is a quick in-and-out mission. We are not going to drag things out here."
"Lelouch, no offense, but this is a far less complex plan compared to the ones you come up with on Earth," Kallen noted. "If we mess this up, we're basically handing Voltron over to Zarkon, gift-wrapped and with a bow on top."
Though she didn't mean to, her comment made most of the other Paladins squirm apprehensively. The reality of their situation was slowly unraveling in front of them, and it scared them all.
"I know there are risks, but either way," Lelouch said, as he turned around and walked towards his seat on the bridge. He opened a compartment on his armor's gauntlet, pressed some buttons, and then slammed his hand down on the gauntlet's inside. His uniform's color suddenly morphed. Gone was the white with black accented armor of the Black Paladin, and instead appeared the black and gold accented armor of the masked leader of the Black Knights. He picked up his helmet, which is where he always kept it by his side. He slipped the mask on his head and narrowed his eyes. "We're not leaving without them."
"Sire, allow me to send my fleet to protect the command system. I will stop Voltron before it can get close-" Prorok began, trying to petition his emperor as he sat upon his throne along with all the other loyal Galran commanders. Zarkon interrupted him.
"You will do no such thing, Prorok," he ordered, "We will allow them inside our perimeter."
"Once in, they won't get out," Haggar sneered at his side.
"Ready all fleets," the emperor commanded, "On this day, the Paladins will be destroyed, and I will have Voltron."
"Sire, if I may," Thace spoke up, "what if this Zero character appears? It's more than clear that he is working alongside the Paladins."
"He will be dealt with accordingly," Zarkon answered, clasping his hands together, "he's nothing but another nuisance to squash."
"Indeed. If Zero does show himself in this battle, your orders are to bring to me. Alive," Haggar ordered as her eyes narrowed menacingly.
"We're here," Lelouch announced, standing high and confidant at the front of the bridge, his Zero uniform, minus the cape, making him look even more so, as the Castle of Lions exited the wormhole and they hovered in their hiding place. Just as they predicted, the gas planet was so thick, the enemy hadn't detected their presence yet.
They hung around the very edge of the planet's cover and were able to see the base with their own eyes. Just like on the images, the base was enormous and seeing it now, the uneasiness within the Paladins seemed to spike up another level. Shirley was the one that looked the most scared as she was literally shaking in her seat and almost hyperventilating. Though the other Paladins weren't showing as many outward signs, they were all nervous. Even Kallen had to swallow back some bile that unexpectedly worked its way up her throat. Suzaku felt sweat drops descend down his forehead.
"I'm detecting Allura and C.C.'s energy signatures. From this distance, the signals are pretty weak, but they're both somewhere in Zarkon's main ship," Coran tells them as he continues to type furiously on the main computer.
"That's a starting point," Suzaku muttered as he and the others looked up at the main screen.
"Once we get closer, we'll be able to narrow down the location where the princess is being held," Coran continued.
Shirley suddenly hurled off to the side, causing everyone to jump and look at the Orange Paladin in horror.
"I can't do this," she says as tears start to roll down her face as she clutched her hair into fists, "I'm sorry, I can't Lulu. We're practically entering hell right at the devil's doorstep."
Before Lelouch could reach out to calm Shirley down, Kallen beat him to it, "Shirley, it may not look like it, but I'm scared too. We all are. But we need to push forward. Allura and C.C. need us to do that. That's what it means to be both a Paladin and a Black Knight."
"You can do this, Shirley," Lelouch says, causing the Orange Paladin to look up at him. "I have faith in you. I have faith in all of you." He took a moment to look at each of his fellow Paladins. "We can do this."
Though it was short, Lelouch's speech put the entire team at a little bit of ease, and Shirley managed to pull herself together enough to draw a full breath.
"All right, Voltron is going to come in fast and without warning. We'll smash our way into Zarkon's ship and grab C.C. and the princess. Before they know what hit them, we'll have them back on the ship, and we'll be on our way."
The Lions roared out battle cries as they sprang out of the castle hangars and into battle. Limbs shifted, and parts connected as the great warrior and Defender of the Universe came to life right before the enemy's eyes. The Paladins that piloted it, all of them facing forward and determined to face the enemy head-on. The juggernaut blasted out of the gas planet and rocketed straight for the base.
"Emperor, we're detecting Voltron within our perimeter!" Prorok alerted Zarkon as they both stood on the main bridge.
"Engage the solar barrier immediately. Attack!" he ordered.
"Yes, Emperor," Prorok saluted.
Within moments, a dark barrier began to form around the entirety of Galra HQ, quickly locking any foes foolish enough to get in, or any from getting out.
"Thace, scramble the fighters!" Prorok ordered his second in command.
"Yes, commander."
From all over the base and the surrounding ships, hundreds of Galra fighters began swarming out of their launch bays, all of them en route and targeting a single enemy.
"Haggar, it is time," Zarkon said to his chief priestess. She in turn bowed to her master. It was finally time to reclaim Voltron.
As Voltron drew closer to the main base, the Paladins watched in apprehension as the violet barrier closed around.
"What is that?!" Rivalz asked, voice quaking.
"I don't know," Rai said, "but I hope once we get C.C. and the princess we can find a way out of here."
"Heads up, they're going to fire!" Suzaku shouted as dozens of Galra battleships set their sights on them and started firing their ion cannons relentlessly at their massive foe.
Lelouch grit his teeth and propelled themselves forward further, dodging around lasers and cannon shots. He and Kallen then pulled Aka's head back, and with all the force they could muster, slammed the Red Lion's head through one of the first cruisers. With their grip now steady on top, Zerith balancing them on the other side, Lelouch cried out, "Form sword!"
With a slam into the key port, Suzaku's Bayard flared to life as the giant sword they were all too familiar with blazed into form in front of them, inside the vessel. The sword now embedded inside, Voltron gripped the blade with both hands and propelled himself forward with his thrusters, the cruiser's surface cutting like butter underneath the mighty weapon. Within seconds, the sword exited the cruiser on the other side, and it blew up in an inferno of flames.
They didn't stop there. Building up as much speed as they could, they thrust the sword into the side of another cruiser, pushing it off course to the side. When it built up enough, the cruiser eventually slammed into the ship next to it, and Voltron propelled through both, and then the one after that as if they were made of cardboard. All three cruisers were destroyed in a matter of moments.
"More trouble, straight ahead!" Milly alerted as a wave of battle cruisers ahead had banded together and began firing rapidly at them.
The sword wouldn't do for this.
"Form bow and arrow!" Lelouch ordered.
Shirley, with a shout of her own, slammed her Bayard into the keyhole, and the sharp sword was immediately replaced with the sleek form of a bow, an arrow of energy already notched within it. With a single pullback of his arm, the arrow fired, dispersing into thousands of tiny energy beams, each hitting the Galra cruisers in rapid succession.
Once the barrier of cruisers vanished, the bow vanished to be replaced with the sword once more, and Voltron shot once more to its destination. Very few cruisers dared to stand in their way as the main base rapidly came closer and closer.
"There's Zarkon's ship!" Lelouch announced as the thrusters propelled them forward once more. As the main base nearly came within striking distance right underneath it, Voltron pulled back his sword ready to strike.
But before they could do so, Voltron suddenly froze. Everyone gasped in shock. The sword flickered out of existence as they all wondered what was happening!
"What's going on?!" Rai exclaimed.
"We lost the sword! Something's malfunctioning!" Suzaku shouted.
"What's happening?!" Coran asked from the bridge of the castle. He too watched in horror as Voltron froze in place.
"Somebody do something! Voltron's frozen up!" Rivalz cried as his face appeared on the castle's screen.
"Lelouch!" Kallen exclaimed in a panic.
"I can't hold it!" The Black Paladin shouted as he felt an unknown pressure pressing down on top of him.
Unbeknownst to them, directly above them, Zarkon was beginning a plan of his own. The Druids on all sides of the Emperor were pumping quintessence through his veins. He smirked darkly as his eyes shut for a moment.
"You're a fool to bring Voltron here," his eyes snapped back open to reveal a black symbol within his eyes. A symbol that was nearly identical to the one that rested within the eyes of the Black, Green, and Orange Paladins.
The Paladins all yelled in pain as the pressure from Lelouch's cockpit suddenly spread to all of them. They didn't just feel their own emotions, but of their Lions too. And whatever was happening right now, they were afraid. Zenobia most of all.
In a flash of blue light, the Lions split apart from Voltron, all scattering to different areas of the battlefield.
"Wh-What just happened there?!" Shirley exclaimed, eyes wide in fright.
"Something tore us apart!" Milly said.
"I don't know, but we've got bigger problems right now. Look!" Rivalz pointed as nearly all of the Galra cruisers, and millions of fighters pouring from around the base began soaring towards them.
"Why do I have the feeling these guys knew we were coming?!" Kallen exclaimed.
Without another moment of hesitation, the Lions all sprang into action, charging head-on into the horde of Galra.
All except Lelouch and Zen.
The pressure that Lelouch felt earlier in Voltron intensified even more as malevolent violet energy seemed to engulf the Lion. The same power that was emanating from the bottom of the main base.
In the battle, Maeraka fired her beam at a Galra ship, causing it to blow up moments later as well as blind a few other fighters and a cruiser due to the light. Zerith wasn't too far behind as she and Rai fired a beam across the haul of another ship, leaving a burning trail in its wake, causing an explosion. Just as the vessel combusted, Rai directed Zerith away and back into the battle. Suzaku and Yoru put the suction ability to use, pulling in small Galra fighters and tearing them to pieces once they came within range.
Nearby Polaris and Rivalz fired off their ice beam and froze multiple Galra ships at once. Aka flew in from the left and fired off her own beam and shattered two of them, while Zinnia shattered one by head-butting into it. But moments later, she was shot with another blast from the enemy, causing her and Shirley to swerve off course before the Orange Paladin managed to regain control.
"Ah, there's no end to these guys!" Shirley exclaimed in despair as she saw another ship charging its ion cannon. Before it could fire, a large blue beam from above hit the cruiser first, setting it aflame.
Looking up, the Paladins were elated to see the Castle of Lions itself zooming into the battlefield.
"Coran attack! I've waited ten thousand years for this!" the advisor howled out a war cry as he charged in.
All of the Paladins burst into cheers at seeing some backup. All but Lelouch, who remained silent, too concentrated on trying to fight off this building pressure, which seemed to be getting stronger by the minute as he and Zen were dragged closer and closer into the base.
Lelouch grit his teeth and groaned as he tried to get Zen to move. Preferably away from the base and into the battle. His Lion was silent, and no controls he pushed or pressed were doing anything to rouse her.
Within the midst of the fray, Kallen expertly destroyed two more Galra fighters flying in front of her. She and Aka weaved smoothly in and around explosions and other attacking ships. As her path of destruction led her close to the main base, Kallen called out to her leader.
"Lelouch! Are you okay?!"
"Something is overriding the controls!" Lelouch managed to grunt out, "Zen is not responding!" Before Lelouch could give anything more, he cried in pain as more of the intense pressure came down around him.
"Lelouch is in trouble! I'm going in!" Kallen exclaimed to the others as she dove towards the Black Lion.
From within Zen, Lelouch instinctively activated his Geass, not knowing if it would help, but knowing that something needed to be done. Surprisingly, the pressure lessened, only slightly though.
From above, Zarkon's eyes widened in minor surprise as he felt Lelouch's Geass activate. But…
"So, you wield that power as well," Lelouch's eyes widened and his head shot up as he heard the voice of the emperor in his mind. But what really caused his blood to freeze in horror was what he said. He couldn't be implying- "No matter. Yours is nothing more than a feeble ember compared to mine."
Lelouch could only watch in horror as Zen's controls finally reactivated, but all of it was in Galra script, highlighted in blood red. The pressure in his head became overpowering as the inside of Zen's cockpit lit up, and Lelouch was shot backward.
Before Lelouch could truly comprehend what was happening, he felt himself tumbling out of Zenobia's mouth and into space. What frightened him more was that just as he was ejected, a symbol he was all too familiar with had flashed through his mind. The black Geass had overpowered his own entirely, no matter how hard he tried to press against it.
"Lulu!" Shirley exclaimed as she watched Lelouch continue to tumble through the air. She immediately tried to propel over to him, only for about twenty Galra fighters to ambush her from below. With a gasp, Shirley hoisted Zinnia up and flew off to the side to try and lose them.
Lelouch eventually managed to activate his jetpack to slow his descent. It didn't help much as moments later, the Black Paladin's back collided with the side of the base, causing the pack to short out. Lelouch managed to grab onto a small piece of the side to stop himself from floating away further, but now he was stuck. He looked up in terror as he watched Zen being drawn even closer to who he assumed was Zarkon himself.
"What do we do now, guys?" Rivalz exclaimed over the commlink, "Our plan isn't really working out as... well, planned!"
Lelouch grit his teeth, "I'm getting Zen back! The rest of you focus on finding C.C. and Allura!"
"I've identified their exact location!" Coran responded from the castle, "Uploading the coordinates to you now. In the meantime, I'll provide covering fire from out here, all alone, against an entire fleet. So, yeah, do you mind hurrying?"
"My jetpack's damaged. I'll need to go through the ship," Lelouch said as he scanned around for any possible openings. He noticed the small outcropping that saved his life earlier and slowly glided towards it. Geass on, Lelouch channeled his lightning into his hand, almost like an electrical spear, and shoved it into the crack. With the little physical strength that he had, he lifted the metal open. He covered his mask as a burst of air followed before he promptly descended into the entrance.
Meanwhile, Kallen continued to weave Aka in and out through the lasers of Galra ships everywhere, shooting off lasers of her own in the process.
"Guys, get the princess without me, now!" Kallen shouted through the intercom.
"What?!" Suzaku exclaimed, eyes widening, "No, Kallen, it's too dangerous to go off on your own! What are you even doing?!"
"Whatever I can!" she gritted out as she and Aka shot like a rocket towards the underside of Zarkon's base, and slammed into Zen's unresponsive body. She knocked the Black Lion out of the path so hard Zen went tumbling through space before landing on the surface of Zarkon's lower ship, the violet glow fading away.
Inside the base, Lelouch, or Zero to others, crouched at the end of one of the halls, waiting for two sentries to come around. But instead of waiting for them to pass, Lelouch leaped out with a battle cry and impaled both of them with his lightning-infused fists.
Unlike other situations, he wasn't taking chances with being seen, he couldn't afford that right now.
As he continued to run down the dark hallway, Lelouch's mind began racing. Images of the battles he endured flashed through his mind. Confronting Sendak, him resisting his Geass, the mentioning of the Druids, and Rai admitting the familiarity of them, and now this!
Lelouch almost stopped dead in his tracks as the dots finally connected.
"No… Zarkon has Geass?!"
The emperor in question glared down at the Lions from above before shedding the heavy armor and cape that he always donned. The black Geass emblem glowed brightly within his pupils as he calmly let himself fall from the ritual platform above into open space below. He then activated his rocket boosters on his heels to shoot towards where Zen had landed.
As he landed in front of the Lion, Kallen was hovering close on the other side. Her eyes fell on the Galra, and she thought she felt a chill run down her spine, glaring daggers at him. She had a feeling she knew who that was, but she needed to confirm it.
"Who is that?" she asked Coran through the comlink, bringing up a video feed in the castle.
As Coran looked at the screen, he gasped in horror, "It's Zarkon! Kallen, get out there, now! Zarkon's too powerful!"
Kallen wasn't listening, though. Once her suspicions were confirmed, only one goal made itself apparent, "This is my chance to put an end to the Galra Empire! I have to take it!"
Kallen thrust Aka's controls forward and dived down towards the Galra Leader, ready to fire a beam at Zarkon to end him.
"Kallen, don't!" Coran's cries fell on deaf ears as Aka's maw let loose a beam of light directly at the emperor. The explosion that resulted almost convinced Kallen that she had actually gotten him, but something caught her eye that caused ice to curl in her stomach.
Zarkon had blocked the attack with what looked like a giant purple energy shield. Moments later, it dissipated, and Kallen could see a familiar object in Zarkon's clutches.
"Is that-Is that a Bayard?!"
"You may have a Lion," Zarkon said, holding the dark Bayard up to his chest, "but its power is weak in your fledgling hands."
The Bayard then glowed as a sword that seemed to be made of energy formed from it. Then with a single swing, Zarkon flung a wave of energy towards the Red Lion.
Still in shock from seeing the Bayard, the Black Bayard, in Zarkon's hands, Kallen would've been hit, had the Purple Lion not rammed into her, and pushed her out of the way. The shot barely missed Yoru as the two Lions spun in the air for a few moments before recovering.
All of the other Paladins heard the person Kallen was facing, and Suzaku rushed to help, being the closest one. "If we stop Zarkon right here and now, then this battle is over. Earth will be safe," he declared from his Lion as the two spun to face the Emperor once more, their Lions both growling in challenge.
Zarkon didn't even blink, "You cannot stop me. The Black Lion will finally be returned to its original Paladin."
Lelouch finally made it to what looked like one of the main hangars. He was out of breath and panting from running, but he was sure he was close to Zen now.
When he was about halfway across the hangar, the door behind him slammed shut, causing him to jump and turn in confusion.
"So," a voice behind him drawled, making the hair on his neck stand up, "you're the infamous Zero." He turned back around to see a hooded woman standing in the middle of the bay. She had long white hair and what looked like navy blue skin,
"You will answer my questions!" Lelouch ordered, an eyehole opening in his helmet, and his Geass flashing as he caught the eye of the Druid (what else could it be?) in front of him.
She seemed to grunt for a moment before she quickly dispelled the power that attempted to take her over. She then looked up curiously at him, "How do you wield this power?"
Lelouch took a step back in shock. Just like with Sendak, his Geass hadn't worked, and he had made sure to make eye contact through his mask. It seemed his theory of the Galra and Geass being connected in some way was being confirmed even more as this woman seemed to show some familiarity with it.
The woman's eyes then seemed to widen before a contemplative smiled adorned her lips, "I see... That explains the woman. She granted you that power, didn't she?" Lelouch continued to stand frozen in front of her, "I wonder how many others she's granted it to. No matter, I'll find out one way or another."
This seems to shake Lelouch out of his frozen stupor as he grit his teeth, Geass still flaring and charged at the Druid, hands flashing with electricity. Just as it looked like he was about to make contact, the Druid disappeared and reappeared behind him, laughing. Lelouch turned and blasted behind him, only for her to vanish yet again. Then multitudes of the Druid began to appear around him, all cackling with what he assumed was sick glee. He whipped his head from one end to the other, energy crackling in his palms. He was completely surrounded.
Back on in the battle, Rai and Zerith fired at an onslaught of fighters that came their way. Shirley was right. There was just no end to them at all!
The Green Paladin then gasped loudly, Zerith screeching to a halt. He felt something in the back of his mind. A presence. One that he knew, but knew he didn't at the exact same time.
"So, the Champion returns," the voice seemed to purr in his head, and it certainly wasn't from his Lion.
Due to this latest episode, the Green Lion had left itself open for several fighters to fire. The only reason that Rai wasn't blown to pieces was due to the timely arrival of Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley, who shot all of them down before racing to Rai's side.
"Rai! Rai, dude, what's wrong!" Rivalz asked urgently.
"Are you okay?" Shirley questioned as well.
Rai quickly shook his head, but his eyes were wide with fear now, "We have to get out of here! Now!" he proclaimed, fear clearly present in his tone.
"We've finally managed to locate Allura and C.C," Milly reported, bringing up her tracking on their screens. "They're in this part of the ship." Her scanners showed a lower area of the main base.
"Okay, how do we get in?" Rivalz asked.
"I-I can try and hack one of the cargo bays," Rai stuttered, still recovering from the scare from earlier.
"No, we don't have time! Shirley, you'll just have to bust through!" Milly ordered.
"What?! Seriously?!" the Orange Paladin asked in shock.
"Just do it!" Milly shouted back.
"O-okay!" Shirley didn't question further as she thrust Zinnia forward, barrelling straight towards the coordinates that Milly passed to her.
From inside their cell, Allura and C.C. looked up in shock as they felt the area around them shake violently.
Outside, the head of the Orange Lion, crashed through the wall of the prison, the two sentries guarding their cell, raised their guns to the intruder, but Shirley was faster. As Zinnia's mouth opened, she fired one arrow at the first sentry, spun around, and dodged a blast from the second one, before hitting it as well. To her pleasant surprise, those were the only two robots that were guarding the prison, at least in this area.
Up at the central command center, Thace's screen started beeping in alarm. The Galra looked up to see that a part of the haul had been broken through.
"Sir, the hull's been breached. It's one of the Lions," he reported to Prorok.
"Focus fighters on that quadrant," the commander ordered. He would retrieve those Lions for his emperor!
On the outside of the base, with the backside of the Orange Lion hanging out of the ship, the Green, Blue, and Yellow Lions surrounded it, guarding Zinnia and Shirley against attacks that would be coming from the hoard of fighters that was coming their way.
"Looks like we've got to cover Shirley's butt! Literally!" Rivalz shouted as he swerved Polaris around several fighter shots, gritting his teeth.
With her arrow, Shirley shot a hole through Allura and C.C.'s cell. As the Orange Paladin entered, she was relieved to see that neither woman looked too hurt.
"Shirley!" Allura gasped.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Shirley shouted, motioning to her newly made exit.
"What are you doing here?" Allura demanded, "Tell me you didn't bring Voltron straight to Zarkon's Central Command! Where's the Black Lion?"
Suddenly, from over their commlinks, they heard Lelouch yelp in pain as if he had been hit with something.
"Lelouch is in trouble!" C.C. exclaimed as she sprung and ran out of the cell. "We have to save him."
As Allura and Shirley ran behind her, Shirley felt pain of her own just behind her left eye. C.C. was right. Something was happening to Lelouch right at that moment.
"Shirley, did you get C.C. and the princess?" Rai asked through their helmets.
"Yeah, but there's a change of plans," she replied, blinking rapidly, trying to disperse the throb.
Lelouch grunted as he attempted to blast one of the Druid clones, but it quickly disappeared into the air.
"You're nothing but a child," she taunted from behind, "tampering with forces you can't even begin to understand."
With a shout, Lelouch spun around and punched the clone directly behind him, only to be hit with a powerful blast of her own, sending him flying across the room with a yell.
"You're only scratching the surface of the power that you possess," she hissed as a ball of energy appeared in her hand and fired in Lelouch's direction.
Gasping, Lelouch managed to narrowly roll out of the way, and charge her again, seeing as the clones had vanished. He dodged two more blasts of energy that were shot at him. With a battle cry, he flung his arm forward, attempting to swipe at her again, only for her to vanish directly behind him.
With a sneer, she thrust her claw forward, her hands glowing with her magic, deeply scratched Lelouch's side. With a choked gasp, Lelouch collapsed, agony running up his body from the wound inflicted.
Her enemy incapacitated for the moment, him kneeling and clutching his glowing wound, Haggar wasted no time probing his mind for information. Lelouch grit his teeth and tried to fight back, but due to the fatigue of battle, her influence was too strong.
Small glimpses of his childhood back on Earth flashed before his eyes, and he can only assume that the Druid is seeing them as well. His mother's assassination, Nunnally comatose in a hospital bed, bandages wrapped around her head and legs. The confrontation with his father and his resulting banishment.
Then, another image flashed by, one that even caused Lelouch to freeze. It was the face of his father, Charles Zi Britannia, and a Geass of his own flashing in his eyes.
He felt his head being physically jerked back. The Druid had grabbed onto his helmet, and he felt foreign energy seeping through the mask and into his mind. She was trying to rip in closer, to get as much information as she could.
Lelouch groaned in anguish, but he grit his teeth. She'd already seen more than she needed. He'd push her back as best as he could. She wouldn't get anything else!
"This is insane!" Kallen shouted as she sent another blast in Zarkon's direction. She and Suzaku had been engaging the Emperor for nearly ten minutes, and it didn't seem like they were leaving a single dent on him.
The Purple Paladin himself doesn't say anything, but his thoughts are very similar to Kallen's as well.
Once again, Zarkon quickly blocked the blast with his Bayard like a rubber ball against a brick building.
"To think that fate would bring me to face these two Lions in battle once again. What a disappointment of Alfor and Melenor's legacy," Zarkon said.
Suzaku then tried to take the moment of distraction to try and crush Zarkon underneath him with Yoru, but Zarkon jumped out of the way, his Bayard morphing back into a sword once again.
Simultaneously, the two Paladins lunged their Lions forward, both of them racing upon the base surface, shooting lasers at the Emperor as he flew towards them at high speed. He easily dodged out of the way of all of them.
Just as Zarkon was about to hit them, Suzaku attempted to suck the emperor in with the black hole function. Instead of being pulled in and finished off, though, the emperor seemed to simply use it to gain more momentum and slice his blade right at the Lion, who immediately fell to the ground.
Suzaku groaned as he felt the impact. Okay, this was getting ridiculous!
"Suzaku! Move!" Kallen shouted from above. The Purple Paladin lifted his head in time to see Zarkon produce a huge cannon from the Bayard that was aimed directly at him!
With a grunt, Suzaku managed to sweep out of the way, just as the blast nearly grazed Yoru's shoulder. The shot didn't hit them, but Kallen and Suzaku both looked in horror as the blast easily sliced through one of the base's outer layers. Zarkon didn't even seem to care as his own base went up in flames!
What kind of a monster were they facing?!
"Kallen, Suzaku, get out there!" Coran's voice echoed through the link again, sounding even more desperate now.
The two Paladins didn't have time to reply as Zarkon then flew into the air, the sword once again in hand, and attempted to dive-bomb them. They managed to jump out of the way, but the impact that Zarkon made caused a massive explosion as well.
Zarkon was literally tearing his own base apart just to get to the Black Lion!
"Do you copy? You don't know what you're dealing with! He's too powerful! Listen to me, it's imperative that neither of you engages the-" Coran's voice was cut off as the two Paladins simultaneously slammed the off button to the communication link. Both of the Lions readied themselves, blades appearing in their jaws as they both shot off and charged the Galra at full speed.
Zarkon was waiting for them, as he Bayard turned from a blade into a large metal whip that he threw towards them.
At first, the Lions were able to dodge around the weapon until Aka's leg got caught by it, and Zarkon slammed the Red Lion into the Purple Lion.
With both the Lions down once again, Zarkon's blade appeared once more, and he charged towards them, aiming to finally end the two Paladins at once.
"No…" Kallen groaned as she forced Aka to stand up with her own willpower. Suzaku, behind her, was still somewhat dazed from the attack and wasn't moving. As Kallen stood between Zarkon and her comrade, she took several deep breaths, her anger, and determination building with each one, before screaming out a battle cry.
At the same time, she felt something twist within her bond with Aka, and appearing on top of the Red Lion's back, was a giant cannon.
Seeing this development didn't slow Zarkon's descent towards them as the cannon charged up. With a flash, Aka unleashed a cannon blast so massive and powerful that it actually forced Zarkon to stop and block the attack. It even drove him back a couple of paces.
With a grunt of his own, Zarkon finally dove out of the way of the attack. The remaining power from the attack flew past him and hit the outer base once again, causing a large chunk of it to go up in flames.
Kallen stared wide-eyed at not only the destruction she seemingly caused from that single attack but also the fact that Zarkon had been able to block it! "Whoa!"
"Kallen! Come on!" Suzaku shouted as the two Lions ascended into the air once again. With the ray gun still activated on Aka's back, Kallen fired another shot at the emperor. To her pleasant surprise, Zarkon actually flew out of the way of the attack instead of blocking it. It left a fiery trail behind the Emperor as a result.
Suzaku took that opportunity to try and dive bomb Zarkon again, but somehow, the emperor anticipated this and sliced Suzaku out of the air once more.
"You fight like a Galra soldier," they heard the emperor commented to the Red Paladin.
"I'll take that as a compliment!" Kallen spat. She knew that out of all of the Paladins, even out of all the Black Knights, she was undoubtedly the most… battle-savvy for lack of a better term. But she knew for a fact that she was human. There was no way that she was related to the Galra, neither were any of the other Paladins for that matter… right?
"But not for long!" Zarkon proclaimed as Kallen watched him leap into the air, and with the Bayard transforming what could only be a giant club, beat Aka out of the air. She slammed back into the ground, right next to Suzaku with a gasp.
Allura, C.C., and Shirley all burst into the fighter hangar, all under the protection of Shirley's invisibility. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw Haggar bent over Lelouch's fallen form, her hand and the Black Paladin's body glowing a sickly purple.
Shirley immediately pulled out her Bayard and aimed it at the witch, "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she shouted as released the single arrow that had been notched.
Her shout was the only thing that alerted Haggar to their presence and managed to let go of Lelouch and dodge the arrow just in time. She sneered before she teleported away.
With Haggar's hold on him gone, Lelouch collapsed back to the ground with a gasp, barely bracing himself on his hands so he wouldn't fall flat on his face.
"Lulu! We have to get out of here!" Shirley exclaimed, rushing over to the Black Paladin and helping him to his feet. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of his wound, but they would have to deal with it later.
As the four of them left the hangar, C.C. couldn't help but stall just for a moment, her eyes trailing back to the spot that Haggar disappeared from. A chill ran up her spine. In all of her long life, she'd only met a few people that she would admit she was frightened of, and Haggar was only her latest addition.
The last time she had felt this way… was when she met V.V.
Yoru and Aka lay still on the surface of the base. Neither of them was moving despite their Paladins doing everything they could to get them to. Even a twitch would have been reassuring!
Above them, Zarkon's Bayard transformed once again. This time, it took the form of a giant spear, that the emperor had aimed directly at the two Lions. With a burst of the jets on his legs, the emperor charged towards them.
"Come on! Come on!" Kallen shouted from the cockpit, frantically pushing down levers and pressing buttons.
Suzaku, on the other hand, stopped. The moment he had seen Zarkon's Bayard flash, he had stopped struggling. And as the emperor drew closer to finish them off, Suzaku's eyes closed. If this was how he died, at least it was fighting for something he believed in. Really believed in.
However, death would not be the case, as just moments before Zarkon could strike, a roar to his right drew his attention. His eyes widened as the Black and Orange Lions shot off attacks of their own, throwing the emperor off in surprise, and saving Kallen and Suzaku.
Not even caring if his shot actually hurt, much less hit, Zarkon, Lelouch, with Shirley right behind him, flew down and scooped up the Red Lion in his jaws. Shirley did the same for the Purple Lion.
"We got you!" Lelouch shouted as the four of them flew back to the ship as fast as possible.
As the four Lions returned to the bays, Zarkon watched from afar, his eyes boring into what was nearly his prize. He had been too focused on the battle with the Red and Purple Lion. He should've taken the Black Lion right then and there. However, this was only a minor annoyance. The Black Lion would be his once again, one way or another.
As Zen set Aka down within the Red Lion's bay, C.C. had to catch Lelouch was keeling forward and hitting his head on the console. The wound at his side pulsed darkly, causing him to gasp in pain.
From the Orange Lion's bay, Allura raced out of the Zinnia as Yoru was placed down next to her. She ran to the bridge and swiftly put her hands on top of the teludav pillars, the familiar blue glow washing over her.
"All right, Paladins, time to get out of here!" she announced as she attempted to open a wormhole. However, to her shock, no wormholes opened up.
"Hello? What's going on? I don't see a wormhole," Milly asked, her face appearing on the castle's screen.
"The Galra barrier is jamming our ability to create one!" Coran exclaimed in a panic. They were trapped. Even though they had Allura back, there was still no way out. Nor was there a way for them to fight all of the Galra troops that were slowly closing in on them.
From inside the base, Prorok turned back to the lieutenant stationed behind him, "Send in everything we've got! Corner them!"
Prorok failed to notice the absence of one of his top subordinates.
The spy cautiously made his way down the hall, his Luxite blade clutched tightly in his hand. He approached the area of the energy barrier and ran into a sentry that was guarding the door.
The robot turned to him and addressed the Galra, "This sector is off-limits-"
Before the droid could say anything else, the spy jammed his blade into the sentry's neck, effectively destroying it as it collapsed to the ground.
Not wasting another moment, knowing that each one counted if Voltron was to escape, he entered the control room.
To his relief, there was only one other sentry stationed at the main control board, and he wasted no time stabbing his blade into the sentry's back. The robot collapsed onto the floor with a clunk.
He hurriedly entered his passcode into the computer, a lever uncovering itself in front of him. He grasped it and pulled it down.
"They have us completely surrounded!" Coran cried just as the solar barrier around them suddenly shorted out, much to the Paladins' shock.
The spy let out a small sigh of relief as he watched the barrier successfully shut down.
Now just to get rid of the rest of the evidence.
Thace bent down and snatched his Luxite blade from the body of the sentry.
The job was done. Voltron was free.
"What just happened?" Rai asked.
"Who cares?! WORMHOLE!" Shirley practically screamed.
Not wasting this window of opportunity, Allura activated the teludav once more. This time a swirling wormhole appeared before the castle. Allura directed the castle towards it, failing to notice the danger that was erupting behind them.
With a shriek of anger and power, Haggar slammed her hands into the magic circle on her ledge of the Galra base. With a dark flash of light, a beam of black energy shot towards the Castle of Lions and the wormhole they were attempting to escape through.
The castle wasn't hit directly, but the wormhole was not so lucky. As the energy was absorbed into the hole, the familiar blue of the walls twisted into dark, unstable maroon, static energy flashing across the field as they descended.
"Coran, what's happening?!" Lelouch shouted as he and C.C. felt the shaking from Zen's interior.
"The integrity of the wormhole has been compromised! It's breaking down!" the advisor shouted in fear.
"What does that mean?" Rivalz asked, gripping Polaris's controls.
"It means we have no control over where we're headed!" Coran exclaimed, just as a loud bang shook the castle.
Before either Lelouch, Kallen, or even C.C. could react, the bang shook the castle hard enough that it dislodged both Lions from the bay, causing the passengers to yell as they started spiraling out into the wormhole.
They weren't the only ones; the other five Lions soon followed, all being flung helplessly out of their bays, their Paladins in tow.
One by one, each Lion disappeared into the wormhole's wall. Their destination?
Unknown.
AN: There we go! Season 1 is officially done for this fic! Hope you all enjoyed it!
So, I know a lot of you are wondering when exactly the Paladins will be heading back to Earth. And I promise it will be within the next few chapters. First they need to all regroup (obviously) and then there will be one more episode after that. Once that's done, we'll finally move on to heading to Earth! I'm super pumped to get to that part! Me and my co-writer have been anticipating it for a LONG time!
Also, the scene where Lelouch changes his Paladin armor color? Yeah, stole that from Captain Marvel and I don't care! Ha!
R&R and please update my TVTrope page when you get the chance! Thanks!
