Chapter Text
We all stood around Shiro's pod, the air filled with worry as we watched him. I bit the inside of my cheek as I worriedly looked back and forth between the console screen and Shiro lying fitfully in the pod. I had learned of Shiro's condition once Pidge, Keith, and I met back up with the others when we returned to the castle. When I entered the medbay shortly after getting back, I immediately got to work helping Coran with the wound on Shiro's side before placing him in the pod.
The wound on his side was the most worrisome injury among the several smaller ones he had. It held a purple tint, and for a moment, I thought some poison had seeped into it until Keith explained that the wound on his side was from Zarkon's witch, Haggar. That didn't lessen the worry I felt about the side effect, but it did answer the question about its odd color.
Shiro looked like he was having a nightmare, his face taut and his brows furrowed deeply. Hunk turned towards Coran, Allura, and me as we all stood by the console; the others sat on the stairs or stood by the pod. I had asked Coran if it was possible to connect my tablet to the pods or if there was a program to let it function similarly to the medbay console. Currently, I monitor Shiro's vitals on the console with some help and guidance from Allura, along with Coran, who had kindly decided to start working on the medbay update for my tablet. At the same time, we waited, even though I had told him it could wait.
"Is he okay?" Hunk asked worriedly.
"Sometimes, the healing process can cause involuntary brain wave reactions," Allura answered, which made me wonder for a moment about the possible side effects the pods could have.
Hunk turned back to Shiro, raising a hand to his chin. "He looks like he's having a bad dream."
"He just got blasted by a space witch and mauled by giant lizards. What dream could be worse than that?" Keith spoke, voice low as he looked at Shiro.
"Shiro's brain is showing spikes in activity, probably from his nightmare, but he's recovering smoothly." I spoke softly, looking over all of them one by one before stopping at Keith, "He'll be okay." I gave them all a reassuring smile. Everyone nodded, and I turned back to the screen after returning the nod.
It wouldn't be until half an hour later that Shiro began waking up. "He's waking up!" I said as Coran took over the console while I went to join the others by the pod. Hunk and Keith caught Shiro as he stumbled out of the pod, and I immediately moved to take his vitals. Thankfully, everything was normal.
"Thank goodness. How are you feeling, Shiro?" Allura asked, joining us as Hunk, let Shiro use him as support while he got his bearings.
"Better than I did before." He told her, his face holding a serious look. The words that came next immediately drew our full attention. "I remembered something from my time in Zarkon's prison."
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We moved over to Pidge's lab after Shiro had some food and explained everything. Apparently, A Galran had helped Shiro escape, and the coordinates to their headquarters were hidden in his prosthetic arm. Pidge was currently working to find said coordinates, but with no luck.
"I'm not finding any coordinates in here. Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?" Pidge asked, turning away from her laptop and towards Shiro.
"I'm positive. Someone helped me escape." Shiro spoke, a serious look on his face.
"And he was Galra?" Allura asked, sounding apprehensive and doubtful.
"Yes."
"You know you cannot trust them." She added. I couldn't disagree with her apprehensive behavior. The Galra hadn't exactly been the most friendly, and while the idea of a Galra fighting against their own empire for the same causes we were was a welcome one, there was still the risk that this was all a hoax.
Shiro wasn't backing down, however. "Your father must have trusted them once," he turned to Allura, "Zarkon was the original Black Paladin, wasn't he?"
I looked at Allura in shock. Zarkon had been a Paladin? Not just any Paladin, the Black Paladin?
"That was a long time ago," Allura replied, looking away for a moment.
"Wait, what?" Lance asked in disbelief.
Suddenly, a few things began to make sense. Why Voltron froze up and split apart when we had gotten close to Zarkon's main ship, and why the Black Lion had been unresponsive. And those few things that made sense also sent a chill down my spine.
If Zarkon was once the Black Paladin, and the Black Lion didn't move when we got close enough, did that mean that he and Black still had a connection? How strong was it? Was the Black Lion just confused, or was his connection with Zarkon that strong despite the many years that have passed? What would it mean for us if that happened again and we were face-to-face with him as Voltron?
"Didn't you see how he stole the Black Lion right out from Shiro? Or that he could do all that cool stuff with his bayard? Shiro's bayard? You know, the black one?" Keith spoke up, breaking me from my thoughts as he turned towards Lance.
"Why didn't you tell us the truth about Zarkon?" Shiro asked, a bit upset that the information had been kept a secret for this long.
"I wanted to protect you from the dark history of the paladins so that you would have a chance to bond with your lions on your own," Allura spoke, clearly ashamed.
"Allura, by keeping that information from us, would it have changed anything that has happened so far?" I asked gently despite how upset I felt that she had kept this from us, even if by a little. She may have been trying to protect us, but that doesn't excuse the fact that she kept important knowledge from us, even if she meant well, when we were supposed to be a team. We were all rightfully upset, but getting mad at her and making her feel worse about it wouldn't do anything.
She turned her head to look at me, "I still believe that it would have," she said before turning back to Shiro, "Besides, you are the Black Paladin now, not Zarkon," she spoke, pointing her words at him.
"Yeah, well, the Black Lion may have a different take on the matter," Shiro replied after a moment, looking away.
Pidge suddenly spoke up, drawing our attention. "Wait a second. I think I see it now. Some repeating numbers in all this Galra code. Let me extract it." She frantically typed on her laptop, and a second later, something popped up. "They are coordinates! They lead here: the Thaldycon system."
"Then, that's where we're headed," Shiro spoke immediately, getting up from his seat after disconnecting his arm from the wires.
"Shiro, are you sure we can trust this?" Keith asked, voice tense as he continued. "I mean, after all the Galra have done to you. They- They took your arm."
"It's worth the risk. Someone helped me escape. If we can locate some allies in our fight against Zarkon, especially ones from his own side, we might find a way to take him down." Shiro reasoned, disregarding Keith's doubts.
We all turned towards Allura, waiting for her response. "We can check the location, but I do not like this. The Galra are not to be trusted." She spoke, giving in yet still suspicious of the entire thing.
We all headed up to the bridge after that and got into position as Allura stepped onto the platform. The atmosphere in the room was tense. Both Shiro and Allura were right in what they were saying. We needed more allies, but we also needed to be careful. No matter if these rebels were Galra or not.
Clusters of crystals floating about greeted us as we left the wormhole. They were beautiful, reminding me of the crystals the Velusrans had gifted me and Conner, yet something felt off for some reason.
"Well, this is it. No sign of any activity at all, living or otherwise." Coran announced as we floated just outside the crystal field.
"Can we get in there to take a closer look?" Shiro asked.
Coran shook his head, "I don't want to bring the Castle any closer. Those xanthorium chunks contain highly unstable nitrate salts. Even bumping one of them can blow us straight to Wozblay."
I really need to ask Coran about the things he says. I still have no idea what a Yalmor is.
"Are you sure this is right?" Shiro asked Coran once more.
"These are the coordinates Number Six gave me," Coran replied.
"Hey! My decryption is solid." Pidge exclaimed, a bit offended by their doubt of her skills.
"Pidge's work is usually spot on." I backed Pidge up, knowing that the programs she developed were usually pretty good and functioned well.
Shiro mumbled something to himself that we couldn't catch. Allura soon spoke up, still very cautious and very suspicious. "We should get out of here," she suggested, "We've checked it out, but now, it's time to move on."
"No," Shiro replied, "There must be something more to this. I can feel it. I think we should wait."
We all decided to listen to Shiro and wait. I leaned back in my chair as I looked out at the crystals in thought. Something still felt off. Shiro may be right when he said there might be something missing from all this. But, what?
Suddenly, the alarms began to blare and we all sat up in attention. "There's an intruder in the Castle!" Coran exclaimed, turning towards us. A screen popped up in front of Allura as she spoke, "How could someone sneak aboard the ship? I knew coming here was a mistake!" she angrily spoke as she pulled up the feed for the security cameras, searching for the intruder.
"There he is! Level five." She told us, and we immediately got up.
"Everyone, suit up."
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After we all got into our armor, we split up to look for the intruder once we got to the fifth level of the Castle. I ran through the halls, bayard activated with an arrow notched in case I ran into the intruder.
"I got him," Lance announced through the comm. I changed direction, moving towards Lance's location.
"Keep eyes on him, Lance. We're all headed toward you." Shiro told him.
"Hold it right there!" I heard Lance exclaim, the sound of him shooting the intruder audible in the background.
"Careful, he's faster than an angry klanmuirl!" Coran exclaimed. My brows furrowed in confusion as I turned a corner. "But he can jump like a sprightly globinheffer!" A what?
"Coran, you're not helping!" Lance complained.
"Somebody's mad as a wet chuper." He added, before exclaiming once more. "Coming your way, Number Six!" He announced. I quickly pulled up Pidge's direction and began running over there. I paused to catch my breath for a few moments before continuing to run.
"I got him!" I heard Pidge announce before the comms were filled with the sound of her screaming. "I don't got him!"
"He's dragging Pidge away!" Lance exclaimed.
"Come back here!"
"Huh?"
"Hunk, behind you!" I shouted as I turned the corner and saw the intruder run past him with Pidge getting dragged by her bayard. Hunk turned and began to fire, nearly hitting Pidge in the process.
"Hunk!"
"Huh? Sorry!" He said, quickly stopping.
"Oh, Hunk failed the team, guys."
"Hey!"
Hunk after them as I took a quick moment to think. I couldn't fire an arrow while moving without risking hitting Pidge, and we couldn't attack with him moving about and possible escape routes everywhere. I began running towards Keith's location, hoping to cut the intruder off.
I turned a corner just as the intruder turned the corner and shot an arrow towards him. He dodged, and I fired another one, being careful not to hit Pidge by accident. He's agile, I'll give him that. I thought as I fired another arrow at him as he began to get closer.
"Kaia manages to cut him off! Will she be the victor?"
I moved forward immediately, swinging my bow at him. They dodged, and I swung again. He parried my bow with his sword. I took a small step back and quickly aimed a kick at his head. He dodged it, and I shifted, spinning around as I aimed a kick to his side. He caught my leg and spun me around, letting go and throwing me into the wall. I groaned, slowly getting up with a hand on my aching back and watching as the intruder turned around another corner with Pidge trailing behind him.
"And she is not! All right, it's up to Keith now."
"Copy that. I'm ready." Keith replied.
"Ooh, this is exciting! He's got a sword. One young paladin, one seemingly indestructible foe..."
Honestly, what was this commentary? I thought with a wry smile, feeling sweat drop from my brow. I began running over to Keith's location. I spotted them going down the corridor and sped up, notching an arrow into my bow as I ran after them. As I managed to catch up to them, I could see Keith swinging his sword and the intruder dodging each swing swiftly.
"Swing and a miss!"
"Oh, another swing and a miss!"
"He can't hit him! He's too fast!"
I shared a look with Pidge and Keith, nodding and falling back a bit as I readied another arrow and took a deep breath. I watched as Pidge dug her heels into the ground while I fired an arrow past his shoulder and into the pillar next to him, making the intruder pause while Keith went in to strike. He used his jetpack as he jumped and pushed off a nearby pillar, swinging his sword. I watched as Keith and the intruder got locked in a standstill, the intruder blocking Keith's sword with one of his own.
In one swift movement, the intruder quickly disarmed Keith. "He knocked his bayard out of his hands! It's on the ground!" Coran announced as Keith got into a fighting stance. "Pidge! Keith, look out!" I moved too late as Pidge was flung into Keith, and the two came to a landing in a heap a few feet away from me. "Are you guys okay?" I asked worriedly. Keith handed Pidge over to me as he quickly got up and rushed back towards the intruder.
"You okay, Pidge?" I asked as I helped her sit up. "Yeah, a bit dizzy, but I'm fine," Pidge replied, and I nodded, standing up and moving to help Keith. I activated my bayard, moving as quietly as possible. Keith was flung into Lance and Hunk, both of whom had just turned the corner. I raised my bow and swung it towards his head. He managed to grab a hold of my bayard mid-swing and sent me off balance with a sweep of his leg before shoving me back in Pidge's direction.
Pidge helped me up, and we watched in tense silence as Shiro and the intruder were at a standstill, Shiro's arm poised at their neck while their sword was pointed at Shiro's head. The intruder soon lowered their sword, taking a step back. They pulled their hood down, and the mask they wore disappeared, revealing the identity of the intruder we had been chasing all this time.
"Ulaz?" Shiro gasped.
That was Ulaz?
I thought as we all stared at the Galran standing in front of Shiro in silence. The silence was quickly broken as Ulaz was shoved into the wall by a furious Allura. "Who are you?" She demanded angrily, a hand pinning Ulaz to the wall by his chest.
Shiro immediately stepped forward, trying to calm the situation down. "Stop! It's him!" He said, turning his head to look at Ulaz, "This is the Galra who set me free."
"You've come."
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We stood before a handcuffed Ulaz in the lounge area. Allura, still suspicious and tense, had thought it necessary to do so. It was understandable. He had broken into the Castle without any of us knowing and could have done who knows what. But there was also the fact that he had helped Shiro escape to consider.
"I don't think this is necessary," Shiro spoke up.
"I will not have some quiznak-ing Galra soldier on the bridge of my ship!" Allura replied.
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already," Ulaz said. That sounds like something Damian would say when he first showed up . The thought made me sigh quietly and pinch the bridge of my nose tiredly.
"Well, that's not going to make her trust you," I murmured to myself, crossing my arms.
Allura seemed to share the sentiment, albeit more frustrated, in contrast to my exasperation. "Are your Galra threats supposed to win my trust?"
"I'm not trying to win your trust. I'm trying to win a war." Ulaz replied, directing his gaze towards Shiro, "And, because of Shiro, we are closer than we've ever been. Our gamble on you paid off better than we could have ever imagined."
"When you released me, you also mentioned that there were others working with you," Shiro said.
"Yes. We are called the Blade of Marmora."
"Uh, others? Are they here?" Hunk spoke up, nervously.
"Hunk, can you try not to act so scared around the chained-up prisoner? It makes us seem a little lame." Lance retorted, and I nudged him with my elbow, shaking my head with a small smile.
"I am alone on this base," Ulaz spoke up, making me raise a brow.
"What is this base you're talking about?" Allura asked. "Shiro's coordinates just led us to this wasteland."
"The base is hidden." He said. "Now that I know it is Shiro that has come, you are welcome to our outpost."
"Where is it?" I asked, a bit curious as to how and where the base was hidden.
"It lies dead ahead."
"Behind all the xanthorium crystals?" Pidge asked, brows furrowing.
"No. Right in front of it, in a hidden pocket of space-time." They were able to fold space and time and create a pocket? How?
"Coran, are you hearing this?" Allura asked over the comms.
"I am picking up on some kind of anomaly on the screen. I suppose it could be a cloaked base." Coran replied after a few seconds.
"Just fly straight for the center of the xanthorium cluster. You will see." Ulaz advised, yet Allura was still apprehensive.
"You think you're going to get me to destroy our ship just because you say so?" she asked.
"Allura, he knows more than we do right now. I'm not saying we should trust him immediately, but if we want answers, then maybe we should listen to him." I suggested. Allura's apprehension wasn't unreasonable, considering how we met Ulaz, but we weren't going to get anywhere without his help. Allura looked back at me, a frown on her face, before her posture relaxed a little. She still looked a bit apprehensive, but at least she had calmed down a little.
"I still think this is a bad idea." She said, averting her gaze. "We came out here to find some answers. Are we going to turn back now?" Shiro spoke up, trying to reason with her.
"You know I trust both of you, Shiro and Kaia, but this doesn't feel right," Keith said, looking towards Shiro before looking at me. Lance then spoke up, "And you know I hate to agree with Keith, but it's a big fat ditto for me."
"Galra could have implanted fake memories of your escape in your head," Pidge said. Her doubts were somewhat plausible. The Galra had access to advanced tech and magic. They could have done so without Shiro knowing.
"Oh, come on, that would be so evil, which, of course, they are. But they'd have to come up with some molecular-level storage unit, which his hand does have. But, to be linked up to memory, it would need a direct pathway to his brain, which... yeah." Hunk tried to reason, only to end up contradicting himself along the way.
"Ulaz freed me. Without him, we wouldn't be here." Shiro said, trying to reason with everyone. He was right. If Ulaz hadn't freed Shiro, he wouldn't have set off the domino effect that would lead us to where we are now.
It was quiet for a moment as we all mulled over this. Then Allura sighed. "Fine. Slow and steady, Coran. Head for the xanthorium cluster," she said, agreeing.
"Thank you, Princess." Shiro sighed in relief, a small smile on his face.
"Yes, Princess. Beginning approach." Coran replied, and we waited in tense silence for either good or bad news. I really hoped listening to Ulaz was the right move. "Impact imminent in five, four, three, two..." Coran spoke, counting down, "Well, that's something."
The perplexed tone in Coran's voice had us all, except for Ulaz, sharing looks of curiosity. "What is it?" Allura asked.
"Pulling it up on the screens." We all turned towards the screen in the lounge room at Coran's words. The sight was an amazing wonder to behold. Multicolored streaks and stars flew past as we travelled through the unknown tunnel.
"Amazing. They're folding space." Pidge gasped, staring at the screen in shock and awe.
"It's like a space taco. Or a space calzone. Or a space-time soup dumpling, and we're the soup. Hey, is there a cafeteria on this thing?" Hunk's words made me chuckle. It was very much a Hunk thing to think of food at a time like this. "Now you're making me crave some dumplings and a taco, Hunk," I said, a small smile on my face.
The sounds of the ship leaving the tunnel drew my attention back towards the screen. There, on the screen, was the base we had been looking for.
"Welcome to the Blade of Marmora Communications Base Thaldycon." Ulaz then spoke up, making me turn towards him. "Now, if you'll free me, I need to send a message to the leadership." He said, getting up with ease, despite the restraints. "They need to know I've made contact with Voltron."
"Go with him and keep an eye on him," Allura told Shiro, turning towards the Black Paladin. "I'm staying here."
"Ooh! Can we go?" Hunk chimed.
"I want to see how they make the space pocket!" Pidge added excitedly.
"Me too. I'd like to see that too." I chimed in, stepping forward.
"You guys go ahead." Lance spoke up with a confident smile, "I'll hang back and protect the princess."
"Ugh..." Allura groaned in exasperation, looking unamused by Lance's attempt at impressing her. After deciding that we'd be taking the Red Lion, Shiro and Ulaz walked out of the room first. Keith, Pidge, and Hunk followed behind, the two excitedly talking about what they might see on the base while Keith looked deep in thought.
I chuckled, shaking my head in amusement as we began heading to the Red Lion's hangar. As we walked, I slowly retreated into my thoughts.
Folding space... I never thought that'd be possible without magic. Then again, I didn't think I'd ever go to space or become a tyranny-fighting Power Ranger. I wonder... if the space-tech could hide a rebel base, could it hide a planet?
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We left the Castle and headed towards the Blade of Marmora's base, Keith at the helm. "So, how are you guys able to fold space?" I asked, glancing at Ulaz from my place next to Hunk.
Ulaz soon began explaining, pointing towards one end of the base, "This is the gravity generator that creates the space-time fold that hides the station. It was created by a reclusive genius engineer named Slav. His technology allows the Blade of Marmora to remain hidden while we work to take down the Galra Empire. Zarkon would do anything to get his hands on this technology." Those last words definitely didn't leave a pleasant feeling.
"There are Galra out there that aren't loyal to Zarkon?" Keith asked, steering Red towards the base.
"We thought expanding the Galra Empire would bring stability." Ulaz replied with a solemn look, "We learned too late, a tyrant doesn't seek stability, only power." We all fell silent after that.
Red landed in the hangar, and we all walked into the base. Ulaz led us to the bridge, where he walked up towards a console. I took a moment to look around.
The place held the same Galran architecture prominent in all the Galran ships we'd seen, purple lights running along the walls and the floor. I saw Keith standing by a window and walked towards him, staring out at the mix of blues and purples the space outside held.
He had that same look he had when we had left the lounge, one that told me he was thinking a lot about something. "Hey, you okay?" I asked in concern, keeping my voice low as my gaze returned to the scenery outside.
"Yeah, just... thinking." He replied, voice low. I nodded, unconvinced but not pushing further. My attention was drawn by Ulaz as he began speaking.
"With our members working on the inside, planning coordinated attacks with Voltron, we may finally have a chance." He said, standing at the console on the other end of the room with Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro. Keith and I joined them, looking up at the screen.
"So, you have agents working within Zarkon's ranks?" Hunk asked, brows furrowed.
Ulaz turned towards him, a serious look on his face. "How do you think you got away from Zarkon in that last fight? Do you think those shields around Zarkon's command center went down on their own? We've got people risking their lives in this war, just like you."
"If you have people on the inside, can they tell me where my family is? They were taken at the same time Shiro was." Pidge asked, a hint of hope evident in her concerned expression.
"I knew others from Earth were captured. I never saw them, but I have some records of Galra prisoners here. I can transmit them to your ship." Ulaz answered, turning back to the console to do just that.
I didn't think about it before, but had other people from Earth aside from Shiro and the Holt men been captured before? My brows furrowed at the thought. The idea didn't bode well, especially with what little information we had.
"What's that weapon you carry?" Keith asked, voice a bit low. I looked toward him, a seed of worry planted in me at the tone in his voice and the look on his face. He sounded curious, yet there was a hidden undertone to it.
"It's a ceremonial blade that each member of our order carries," Ulaz explained, showing Keith the blade.
"Hmm, nice." The Red Paladin shrugged, effectively coming off as nonchalant. However, it couldn't fool me, and it didn't fool Shiro either, as I saw the man glance at Keith then at me with hidden concern and confusion. I returned the glance, equally as concerned and confused about Keith's false nonchalance.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and our attention was drawn towards the screen as a feed of the xanthorium field appeared. Something was approaching the crystal field. "Oh no!"
Dread filled me at Ulaz's next words. "You were tracked!"
"What? Us?" Pidge asked, eyes wide with shock.
How the hell were they able to track us? I worriedly wondered.
"If Zarkon knows we're here, it's because you ratted us out," Keith said as we watched the ship quickly approaching. The ship suddenly flipped forward, the top flying off, revealing a giant robotic head with arms.
"It's another one of Zarkon's robot beast ro-beasts!" Hunk exclaimed.
"We have to get back to the ship," Shiro said, an urgent tone in his voice.
"Shiro, wait!" Ulaz called out just as we were about to move, a hard drive in his hand. "These are instructions on how to reach the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Before you go there, find out how Zarkon is tracking you. If you lead him there, our entire underground network, everything we've spent centuries building, will be lost."
Shiro nodded, a serious look on his face as he took the hard drive from Ulaz. We moved quickly, rushing back into Red and back to the Castle.
"I knew he could not be trusted!" Allura exclaimed in frustration over the comms.
"It wasn't him," Shiro replied, defending Ulaz, who stayed back on the base.
"How can you be sure?" Allura fired back.
"Allura, we can all discuss this later. Right now, we have a bigger problem to deal with." I spoke up, my grip on the back of Keith's chair tightening slightly as I pointed out the more urgent problem of the ro-beast.
"What should we do?" Coran asked.
"Why can't we hide here in the space clam and wait for it to go away?" Hunk suggested.
"Everyone, get to your lions, but don't launch. Wait to see what this thing does." Shiro ordered. "I don't want to risk fighting it if we don't have to."
We landed back on the ship, and the rest of us quickly left Red to head to our respective lions.
I ran towards Purple's hangar, her head lowering as I got closer and allowing me to rush into the cockpit. "Sorry, girl. No time to talk today." I said, hopping into my seat.
The silence was tense as we watched the ro-beast approach the crystal field. "We should be safe as long as we're hidden in the space pocket," Pidge said.
"Uh, guys," I called out nervously as the ro-beast began opening its mouth. Its mouth began to glow as some of the xanthorium clusters began getting drawn towards it.
"It's drawing in the xanthorium clusters." Coran's perplexed voice came through the comms as we watched more clusters get drawn in.
It closed its mouth a minute later before opening it once more and firing a beam, several xanthorium clusters exploding as they were hit. The ro-beast seemed to pause before moving closer to the xanthorium field.
"He's looking for us., I spoke, biting the inside of my cheek nervously as the ro-beast moved closer to the field and the space pocket with every second.
"I think he knows we're here." Hunk uttered.
"Hold."
The ro-beast began to charge its laser again and fired, this time piercing through into the space pocket and missing the Castle by a hair.
"Direct hit! He definitely knows we're here!" Coran exclaimed as more lasers pierced the space pocket.
"Get the particle barrier up!" Allura commanded, and Coran put the particle barrier up just in time to protect the Castle from some of the lasers that managed to land directly.
The ro-beast began drawing in xanthroium clusters once more.
"He's readying another attack!" Coran exclaimed.
"He's pulling us in as well!" Allura exclaimed. "Paladins, I think it's time to launch!"
"Form Voltron!" Shiro shouted, and we left our hangars to form Voltron. I blinked in surprise as I looked down at my console. The dials had changed into levers with the faces of each lion above it and diagrams of the shield and sword next to them, with dials underneath. On my left side was a diagram showing Voltron's current energy levels and the status of each lion. I shook my head and took a deep breath. You can be confused later. Focus on the ro-beast.
We immediately flew out of the pocket, punching the ro-beast as hard as we could and shifting its aim away from the Castle. Suddenly, the gravity generator shut down, and the space pocket hiding the Castle disappeared.
"We're exposed!" Allura exclaimed as the Castle and the Blade of Marmora base were no longer hidden. "The space fold has been lowered!"
"Huh?" I spotted something darting past us from the corner of my eye.
"Well, there goes Ulaz." Coran quipped as Ulaz darted past us and the Castle.
"I knew we should never trust a Galra," Allura growled.
We continued to punch the ro-beast, pushing it back and further away from where the Castle was. "Let's light this thing up. Fire lasers!" Shiro exclaimed. I pushed two of the levers on my console as the Green and Red Lions fired three lasers at the beast.
We managed to hit him, and it looked like it worked. However, he recovered quickly and began using his tractor beam to draw in more of the xanthorium clusters. "He's pulling in more ammo!" Pidge exclaimed as the ro-beast began charging its laser.
"Move! Move! Move!" Hunk yelled as the ro-beast fired the laser in our direction. I clenched my teeth, tightening my grip on the handles as we were knocked away by an explosion.
"Kaia, Lance, Hunk! Give me full reverse boosters!" Shiro commanded as we were headed towards a xanthorium cluster at a fast pace. I pushed the levers under the Blue and Yellow Lion, diverting energy towards the two as Lance and Hunk activated the boosters. We had managed to save ourselves from crashing into the cluster, but we were soon caught in the ro-beast's tractor beam.
"We're caught in the tractor beam!" I yelled, feeling a bit anxious now that he had managed to catch us.
We tried to fly away, but our attempt was thwarted as we got knocked back by two of the clusters being drawn in. "This thing wants to eat us like we're a space taco!" Hunk yelled.
We flipped around, the Yellow and Blue Lions landing on either side of the ro-beast's gaping maw and pushing back against it as it caught the Red and Green Lions. We tried to pull back, but the force of the tractor beam and its grip on Red and Green were too strong.
"Can't get free!" Shiro grunted.
"I'll make him back off!" Keith declared as he stabbed Red's jaw blade into the ro-beast's mouth. It shrieked, its mouth closing, and we quickly moved away once it let go. "We've got to keep some distance between us and that ro-beast!" Shiro exclaimed. "Kaia, what can you tell us about it so far?"
"It's a bit slow, but its compact size and strength help it make up for that. It's probably using the clusters to fuel its laser. The biggest threat we have is the tractor beam and the laser. We can't get too close or we risk getting pulled in, but we also can't risk getting caught in it. Its mouth is probably both its strongest and weakest point. If we can break it, we have a chance. However..." I trailed off, my brain rushing to come up with a way we could beat it.
"We run the risk of getting too close, which we can't do without it catching us like it did before." Shiro finished grimly.
We flew away from it as fast as we could, and it began firing lasers at us. My grip on Purple's handles tightened as we were knocked around by the explosions caused by the lasers it fired. We flew up to avoid getting knocked around by another explosion and quickly evaded its tractor beam.
"It's trying to pull us in again!" Hunk exclaimed as we narrowly avoided getting pulled in.
We soon got caught by the ro-beast, and I pushed up the Blue and Yellow Lion's levers as Hunk and Lance were forced to go into full reverse again. "It's not working!" I exclaimed worriedly as we continued to get dragged towards the beast.
"I'm burning thrusters at full capacity, and it's not making any difference, even with the boost from Kaia!" Lance yelled.
The distance between us and the ro-beast slowly decreased as we continued to get pulled in. I could feel my palms sweat underneath my gloves, my heart racing anxiously as we were only a few meters away from the ro-beast's gaping mouth.
Suddenly, a laser shot past us and hit the ro-beast. The explosion forced us and the ro-beast apart, giving us the chance to breathe. I took a deep breath, eyes drawn towards the direction the laser came from,
"Is everyone alright?" Allura asked as the Castle flew up to us.
"Alive? Yes. Alright? No." Lance replied.
"Allura, Coran, are you okay?" I asked worriedly as the screen seemed to shake and she nearly lost her balance. I looked outside and saw that xanthorium crystals were slamming against the castle's particle barrier as the ro-beast switched his target to the castle.
"It's going for the castle!" Keith exclaimed.
"We need some way to stop its tractor beam!" Pidge added.
"I've got an idea!" Shiro chimed in, "Pidge, form shield! Kaia, re-enforce it!"
"Gotcha!" I nodded, turning the dial next to the shield diagram as Pidge activated the shield.
"Use the shield to block the beam!" Shiro commanded as we flew towards the ro-beast. We jammed the shield between its jaws before punching the ro-beast away. It rolled a bit as it was sent flying back a bit.
"We've stopped the beam. Now what?" Keith asked.
"Now, we go on the offensive," Shiro replied.
"The xanthorium clusters!" Pidge exclaimed, "We can use them!"
I pushed the levers for the Blue and Yellow Lion as we shoved the ro-beast towards one of the larger xanthorium clusters. We watched it fly back towards the xanthorium crystals, calling back the shield just as it collided with the large cluster and exploded. I sighed, a small smile growing on my face. We had done it.
Or so we thought.
I zoomed in on the explosion, squinting through the brightness before gasping. "Pidge, shield!" I yelled, reinforcing it a second before a laser collided with it. I screamed, holding on tightly to the handles. I could hear everyone's scream through the comms as the force of the laser pushed us back.
A beeping noise came from my right, a glance showing me the shield flashing red and its energy draining slowly. "The shield's about to break!" I exclaimed in alarm.
"The shield can't hold this much power!" Pidge added before we were sent flying back, the shield slipping from our grip.
We spun around, regaining our balance before getting caught in the tractor beam.
"We might not be strong enough to beat this thing!" Hunk exclaimed as we tried to pull away from the tractor beam.
"Hang on!"
"Ulaz?" Shiro asked.
The base was flying towards us, Ulaz at the helm as it sped in our direction. "I'm going to take it down from the inside," he said, shocking us all.
"Ulaz, no! Let us handle this!" Shiro fought back.
He's going to do it . I thought sadly, watching as he piloted the base in line with the tractor beam.
"Voltron is too valuable. The universe needs you." Ulaz replied, resignation and conviction in his voice.
I raised a hand to cover my mouth in shock as the base disappeared into the ro-beast's jaws, a lump in my throat as we watched Ulaz sacrifice himself. All to give us a chance, to give the universe a chance.
We didn't get the chance to process Ulaz's sacrifice as the ro-beast rushed at us once more. We all gasped in shock, getting into a defensive stance.
"Get ready!" Shiro shouted.
We braced ourselves as the ro-beast rushed at us. Suddenly, it stopped and twitched a few times, cracks appearing all over its body. Its jaw opened and closed, the cracks glowing as the ro-beast seemed to shrink.
"Ulaz opened up the space pocket from inside!" Pidge exclaimed as the ro-beast shrank and folded into itself. "It's falling in on itself!"
The ro-beast disappeared before a bright flash appeared for a few seconds, dissipating and revealing a hole in the field of xanthorium clusters.
"He did it," Hunk said, relief seeping into his voice.
"Ulaz saved us," Keith added.
"He's... gone," Shiro spoke softly.
---------------
We had returned to the ship, tired and weary from the battle, the room silent as we all processed what had happened. I watched Shiro walk out of the bridge, concerned with how quiet he'd been since we got back and the slight slump of his shoulders. I followed him quietly as he headed for the observation deck.
Ulaz's death was sudden, and, despite only having known him for the short time we did, his sacrifice had left a mark on us all in some way. I didn't fully trust him, but I could tell he cared about the well-being of the universe as much as we did. Enough to put his life on the line for it.
I quietly entered the observation deck. Shiro stood at the end of the room, arms crossed as he quietly stared out the window. I walked towards him, moving to stand next to him. "He was a brave and noble soul. He could have left us and saved himself, but instead, he fought back." I spoke softly, uncertainly, yet gently breaking the silence.
"As long as we're alive and Voltron stands, he won't be forgotten. This just shows that we need to stop Zarkon so that no one else dies." I felt Shiro place his hand on my shoulder, understanding the silent gratitude in the action as we stared out at the floating clusters outside the window.
I heard soft footsteps making their way into the room, and I turned my head to spot Keith standing a few feet behind us. The sight of him reminded me of the look he had earlier and the tone in his voice when he was asking Ulaz about the blade he carried. I would have to ask about that later.
"Sorry, we doubted Ulaz, Shiro. He saved all our lives." His voice was soft and low as he spoke, tone apologetic.
Shiro's brows furrowed slightly as he spoke, voice soft. "I still have so many questions."
It was silent for a moment after that before Keith spoke once more. "Do you think Zarkon is really tracking us?" he asked, brows furrowed.
Speaking of Zarkon...
I glanced at Shiro, brows furrowed in thought, "Shiro, do you think Zarkon-" I was interrupted by the sound of the door opening as Allura entered.
"We cannot know for sure." She said, "Only Ulaz knew our whereabouts." Her words made my brows furrow. Even if Ulaz and his intentions were suspicious, his actions during the battle spoke for themselves. I guess Allura still has doubts.
I glanced between Allura and Shiro, a bit concerned that this would lead to an argument. I sighed, shaking my head.
"You don't really think Ulaz gave us up?" Shiro asked, a slightly frustrated look on his face as he turned to look at the princess. "After he sacrificed himself?"
"Yeah! Maybe Zarkon found out about this place on his own. He's probably been searching for the Blade of Marmora." Keith chimed in, also frustrated with Allura's doubts.
"Allura, he couldn't have sold us out," I spoke up, calmer but just as upset. "After everything that's happened, it wouldn't make any sense. Besides, Zarkon could have found some other way to track us."
"It's clear the loss of Ulaz has caused you great concern, but, regardless of how Zarkon located us, we cannot stay here any longer," Allura said, brows furrowed. "It isn't safe."
"We should meet up with the rest of Ulaz's group, finish what we started," Keith suggested.
"No," Shiro replied, a serious look on his face. "We're not going to the headquarters until we figure out how Zarkon found us. We can't risk losing the only allies we have in this war."
We left it at that and went back to our rooms to get some rest. I glanced at Keith for a brief moment as he walked next to me, unsure of how to question the slight shift in his behavior earlier.
I wanted to ask, but at the same time, Keith's fake nonchalance told me he didn't want to talk about it further. At least, not until he'd figured whatever it was out.
"Hey, Keith," I spoke hesitantly, gently trying to gain his attention. He turned towards me, raising a brow. "Earlier, on the base, you seemed a little..." I trailed off, not sure if I really should pry.
"What?" He asked, his shoulders giving the tiniest twitch. It made me pause and rethink. I shook my head, "Never mind. It's nothing." I spoke, a small smile on my face.
He gave me a perplexed look before nodding. The look on his face told me he didn't believe me, but I shook my head once more. We eventually reached my room and I opened the door, turning to tell him 'Good night'. I paused, finding him already looking at me with a conflicted look on his face, the same one he had when he was second-guessing what he was going to say.
"Keith?" I asked, a bit concerned.
He sighed, his eyes meeting mine. "Look, I know you and Shiro could tell something was up, and I don't know if I can tell you what's going on with me right now. Ulaz brought up questions I thought I had answers to already, and I'm just really... confused." Keith spoke, averting his gaze and raising a hand to rub the back of his neck.
He's nervous . I thought, watching Keith sigh again before meeting my eyes.
"I promise I'm fine, so don't worry. I just... have some things I need to figure out." He gave me a small smile, slightly reassuring yet also unsure.
I stared at him silently for a moment before nodding, "Okay." I replied softly, staring at him for a few more seconds before looking away. I didn't believe Keith was truly alright, but I trusted he'd figure his thing out or go to someone if he finally wanted to talk about it.
I saw Keith take a step towards me from the corner of my eye before I felt arms wrap around me. I returned the gesture, wrapping my own arms around his waist. We didn't say a word, but it didn't feel like we needed to. Keith's gratitude was evident in the way his arms tightened slightly around me. My arms tightened around him in response, silently telling him I was here if he wanted to talk about it.
We pulled away, said our good nights, and I entered my room. Chasing after Ulaz, Zarkon somehow being able to track us, the fight against the ro-beast, Ulaz's sacrifice, and Keith's hidden troubles. Everything seemed to come one after the other, and it barely gave us all time to breathe. Flopping onto my bed with a deep sigh, I felt what leftover energy I had left slowly drain away.
Despite this, one thought seemed to keep sleep out of arm's reach as I tossed and turned.
If Zarkon was the Black Paladin and we found our Lions by sensing and connecting with them, then is he still connected and able to sense the Black Lion?
===========
Richard 'Dick' Grayson. The first Robin, Batman's sidekick, Nightwing. He'd been called many things before and gained many a title. The title he probably took the most pride in? Being the best older sibling he could be for his younger siblings.
Now? He wasn't so sure if that title was still true.
Not when he'd slowly pushed one of his siblings away, the first younger sibling he had, and neglected her, even if unintentional.
Dick could still remember the day he met Kaia, even if the rest of his memories of her were now a blur. He was curious about a child that resulted from one of Bruce's rare lapses in judgment. The first thought he had when he saw her was that she was small.
Of course, any kid would probably be small in comparison to him and Bruce, but in his eyes back then, she was small for her age.
The Kaia then had been shy, incredibly so, timid, and a bit sensitive, standing close to Alfred as if he was something she could hide herself behind like a shield. Alfred had to introduce her and explain the situation himself when Dick approached them. He could understand why she acted the way she did. She had just lost her mother and now had to live with strangers. She was probably scared and a bit overwhelmed with everything going on.
He knew what that felt like. He had been in her situation before. Alone, thrust into the unfamiliar and overwhelmed. It took him a bit to get used to everything after Bruce had taken him in.
He was also happy to get a younger sibling, being raised as an only child and all. Maybe the halls of Wayne Manor wouldn't be as quiet as they were now.
He'd reached out first, that he remembered, and he could faintly remember her smile whenever she saw him. He tried to spend as much time with her as he could, but with his busy schedule, his role as leader of the Titans, and his job as Nightwing, she and the promises he made were slowly pushed to the back of his mind.
Eventually, she had faded into obscurity without him realizing, while she had slowly pulled away, one broken promise at a time.
The guilt hit him hard and weighed down his heart heavily when he realized what he'd done. He'd prided himself on being the older sibling everyone could rely on, on being there for them when others weren't or Bruce couldn't, and he'd failed miserably when it came to Kaia.
He didn't notice when she'd started pulling away. He didn't notice when she'd stopped coming up to him. He didn't notice or feel concern when the messages he'd get from her stopped. He'd forgotten about her. He'd forgotten about his younger sister.
He'd felt this sort of guilt before. When Jason had died, he thought he'd failed him as a brother and blamed Bruce for what happened. Then Jason came back, and the brotherly relationship between them after everything calmed down was being mended, despite how rough it was back then.
At least, he had the chance to repair his relationship with Jason. He wasn't so sure he could do that with Kaia, and it made him feel sick.
Dick stood from his seat on Kaia’s bed. He’d spent his time between searches there, going through the pictures and albums she had put away. How tall was Kaia now? He thought as he stared down at her graduation picture. Judging by her height in comparison to Alfred at the time, she was probably only an inch or two taller than Damian was.
She had grown up.
Without them, without Bruce.
Without him. And he hadn't even noticed.
He looked at one of the framed pictures on her shelf, the few that had managed to be taken with him and Kaia in them. It was one of the few taken during her birthday after she'd gotten to the manor. Dick's lips formed a thin line as his brows furrowed. He hoped she didn't hate him, that he could still mend the bond between them even after all these years.
No. He thought, shaking his head. He could still fix it. He could still be the older brother she needed. If he could mend his relationships with Jason and Bruce, then he could fix things with her.
He picked up the framed picture and pulled its picture from the frame, pocketing it as he left her room. He’d find her and make it up to her somehow. They’d get to fulfill all those promises he’d broken. Kaia would forgive him.
She had to.