Chapter Eight

Merla laughed long and loud. Allura sat, her eyes vacant, in the cockpit of Merla's creation and through bewitched eyes, Merla could see Allura's power slowly seep its way through the main veins and arteries of this Voltron's mechanics. It was just as she had planned, just as she had imagined it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Allura's power was a white glow that flowed from the plugs attached to her arms and legs to the rest of the robot and Merla knew then that all her calculations had been correct. She may not know the secret to Voltron's power, but Allura's magic was a passable substitute, if not a better one. The one aspect about this that Merla did not like was that she was depending on the Queen because she herself could not do the same. It had to be Arus' power fueling this robot or else they would get nowhere. She wished that her soldiers moved faster so that they could start using the robot, but they still had a lot of work ahead of them.

"Come down from there, Your Highness," Merla called out. "Your job is done here."

The cables that kept Allura in place retracted as she detached them, almost as if she willed them to do so. Merla wondered if the Queen would eventually meld with the robot once the headpiece was finished and fitted to her specifications. Allura was the lifeforce of thie Voltron while Merla would be the mind and together they would get to the Core...though not before destroying the people Allura loved most in the universe. There was no reason to play with any of them anymore because she was finally going to get what she wanted and she did not need to amuse herself by baiting them. It was a beautiful plan and Merla could not stop grinning. Allura reached her side, her expression expectant. Ever since Merla had broken her spirit, she was nothing more than a puppet and could not do more than the basic necessities in life without looking to her 'Mistress' first.

"Go back to your quarters and rest," Merla said, almost soothingly, running a hand on the top of Allura's smooth head. "You're going to be very busy in the next couple weeks and you should conserve your strength. What did you think of the robot?"

"It was...intrusive," Allura answered in the flat way that had become the norm.

"That's all you have to say?"

"Very intrusive."

Merla bit back a sigh. As convenient as it was to have the Queen under her thumb, she had to admit that Allura had been much more interesting as an angry, snarling adversary.

"Go to your quarters," she said with a wave of her hand.

Even Allura's footsteps were slow as she walked around Merla to the doorway. Merla stayed on the platform, watching as her people worked on the robot. She realized then that she needed to give it a name. Voltron negative or 'the robot' just didn't cut it when her creation was finally finished. Clasping her hands in front of her, she studied her creation and it seemed as if the name came to her out of its own volition.

Shadow Voltron.

Ethan enveloped Olivia in his arms the moment she stepped into the room. Lance threw them an interested glance but after catching Keith's eye, kept his mouth shut. Hunk walked past them and held out a beefy hand for Keith.

"It's good to see you," he said, relieved. "How's Allura?"

"Not good. Thanks for taking care of them, Hunk," Keith said.

"They're all our kids, Keith, and you know what, they really didn't need me that much."

"I wouldn't say that, Uncle Hunk," Jack said, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked in with Bethie on his heels. "Well, I wish we'd managed to have this reunion under better circumstances. Dad, have you heard anything from Mom?"

"No," Lance answered. "Cital is still in control of the Voltronia base and we haven't made contact with anyone on the inside who can give us information. Archent's staking out the area."

"We've got the Voltronia refugees lying between us and the castle," Jack said. "We need to secure that area so we can use it as a staging ground."

"Not to mention an uprising that has to be put down," Keith said.

"What kind of influence does Cital have?" Bethie asked.

"The guard that helped me said to the effect that she did not have as much support as she thinks."

"I think it would be safe to say that when the people see your face, she'll have little support left," Lance said. "We gotta get you back there, Keith."

"Has Archent reported back?" Jack asked. "If we can do this now, we should."

"No, he hasn't..." Lance was saying just as the doors slid open.

Archent staggered in, looking green. He looked at Lance before falling to his knees. Ethan started for him but immediately gasped and nearly fell on top of the other man. At the other end of the room, Bethie groaned and doubled over.

"What's going on?" Olivia demanded, not sure who to go to first.

"Did you see what was happening, Archent?" Keith said, going to the Major and forcing Archent to look at him. "What did you see?"

Grimacing, Archent sat up and started to stand, but he wavered. Keith put a hand on his shoulder to steady him and he looked up, his gray eyes unfocused. He moved his mouth but nothing came out and he was so pale that Keith was afraid he was going to pass out. But he needed to know. Turning to his son, Keith helped Ethan sit up and he took the boy's chin in his hand, forcing Ethan to look into his eyes.

"Tell me, Ethan," he said.

Ethan took a deep breath and to Keith it looked as if it took an immense amount of will for him to just keep his eyes open. Keith put both hands on Ethan's shoulders and through the flightsuit, he could feel the heat of Ethan's skin. Eyebrows knitting together, he squinted at Ethan, looking for something he knew was there. It was faint at first, but there was a glow, blue like the Lion he piloted. When Ethan looked at Keith again, his blue eyes were clear and seemed to see more than what was in front of him.

"She's killing them," Ethan said. "She just wants to see how powerful she is and she's killing them from where she sits."

"Killing who?" Keith demanded.

"Voltronia," Lance muttered and before anyone could stop them, him and Jack took off down the corridor.

"Can you see her, Ethan?" Keith continued.

But Ethan blinked and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He slumped forward into Keith's arms. Bethie was sitting in a chair, her head in her hands.

"I don't sense anything, Dad," she said without looking up.

"Do what you can, Bethie," he said. "Anything..if you can block her..."

"I didn't see what Ethan did," she said hoarsely. "It's passed."

Keith went to her and brushed the hair from her face. She blinked rapidly several times but nodded her head at him reassuringly.

"We'll be fine. Go."

Keith passed her off to Olivia and took off after Jack and Lance, Hunk at his side.

"Get some troops out here, Gwen," he said into his communicator. "Something's happened in Voltronia. We have to move now. Matty, Jordan, get in your Lions and cover us."

The Black Lion was lifting off just as Keith made it to the surface. He waited until the rest of the troops caught up with them, Gwen leading them.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We don't know yet. Lance and Jack went ahead. Stay here and guard the fort."

"Aye."

Keith looked at the soldiers surrounding him and he took the helmet Gwen held out to him, pulling it on. She handed another to her husband after giving him a long embrace.

"Olivia's inside," he said quietly. "I'll be back, Gwen."

"You better be."

"I'll have him back in time for dinner," Keith said. "Alright, people, watch your sixes. Let's go."