Chapter Six

Shadow Voltron was not so much digging, but burning its way to its destination. It shone brightly with magic and power as it made its way to the center of the planet, where its pilot instinctively knew the target was. However, as unwavering its path, said pilot was not quite as focused.

Allura could hear the second voice in her head arguing for control. There was something familiar about it and it was very convincing...it had convinced her to save Alana from falling even though her first inclination was to do nothing at all. Merla had not told her to do it, but then again, she did not tell her not to. Anything her mistress said, she was to do without argument because that was just the way things were. Still, that did not mean she had to like flying this robot. She found the wires and cables intrusive and she did not like feeling as if she was sharing a brain with the huge metal giant. But Merla told her to do so, so she did. When she asked herself why she did what Merla commanded, she got headaches. Like the headache she got when she saved Alana. It had been as if an axe had fallen on her head and began to saw, but when she did what Merla said, the pain went away so fast that she wondered if it had really been there.

It was beginning to get hot in the cockpit and the second the thought entered her head, a cool breeze began to blow from the vents above her head and below her feet. Strange as it was to be this connected to the robot, it did have its perks. All she had to control him was a joystick; the rest was all her mind's doing. And of course, Merla's orders.

"You are nearing the target, Your Highness," Merla was saying in her ear where she had a transmitter. "Make sure you do not overshoot it."

"Yes, Mistress."

"You fought well today. You can hold your own against Voltron and I think you'll have to do so again in a moment because he is after you."

Allura knew that, had known that the team would follow her even before she sensed them on her tail. She may be Merla's slave now, but she remembered her life before this time and the people who had been in it. She knew Keith was her husband and that she loved him once...or still did...

She closed her eyes as a pain shot through her head.

"Queen Allura..."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Your mind drifts."

"I apologize. It won't happen again."

And to show Merla that it was so, she turned the robot around and fired a laser blast at the other robot approaching.

"Incoming!" Matt yelled

Jack did not have enough time to get Voltron out of the way and Red Lion took the brunt of the hit. Her magic flickered for a moment but she brought it back before she could even straighten herself out.

"Bethie!" Jack exclaimed.

"I'm okay," she said, but her voice was pained.

"It was a soft hit," Matt said.

"Yeah? Try feeling it from this end," Bethie retorted.

"Focus, team. She means business," Jack said. "I'm firing back."

With the added power of Ethan and Bethie, Voltron's return shot made a visible mark on Shadow Voltron.

"Just a glancing blow," Matt assured them. "Aunt Allura's fine in there."

"Are you two sensing anything down there?"

"No," Bethie answered.

"Yeah," Ethan said at the same time. "It's like...concentrated and contained...I can't describe it.

"Shit shit shit," Jack muttered. "Alright, pedal to the metal. Gimme all you got."

Voltron burst forward, catching up to Shadow Voltron easily, but the other robot was ready for it. Green Lion was coming in for a hard punch, but it caught the Lion in its hand easily and they struggled while still flying forward as one robot tried to get the upper hand on the other. The combined powers of Ethan and Bethie were formidable, but Allura held her own against them, aware that she was fighting yet more of her children but not really caring that she was.

The sound of metal on metal was deafening in Shadow Voltron, but Allura barely acknowledged it. Sweat stood out on her forehead and her face was flushed as she pushed Shadow Voltron to its limit. She could hear the strain of its new skeleton against the strength of Voltron and though it did not seem so on the outside, the robot was being held together by spit and Merla's stubbornness. Lion Voltron would win this if she let it continue and so with a shot of the eyebeams, she disengaged herself and pushed forward.

"Lion whip," Jack ordered.

The whip appeared in the Red Lion's mouth and with a quick flick, it lashed out at Shadow Voltron's heels. There was a muted explosion as it made contact, the whip's pure energy a weapon in itself, but that was not Jack's intention. They needed to stop the robot from reaching its goal and though Voltron was stronger now, it was not catching up to Shadow Voltron. He tried the whip again but the robot stayed just out of reach. This could not continue.

"Separate," he said even as he was still considering the possible outcomes to that decision. "We're faster as the Lions, especially in this tight place. Blue, you're up here with me. Stay in formation"

"But Jack..." Jordan started.

"Not now, Green."

The five Lions separated, not even stopping for a moment to re-orient and allow the mecha time to transform completely before flying on their own. Jack positioned the Black between the Blue and Red Lions, feeling their magic automatically encompass his own. Shadow Voltron was still within sight and he was thinking of the best way to surround it, but something kept on niggling at him.

"You sure you're alright, Bethie?" he asked.

"Yeah, Jack."

"The baby..."

"Jack, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I am probably better equipped to handle this than you are."

"Alright. Stay on my wing. Yellow, Green I want cover fire, but keep it at half-power. Blue, stay behind us and make sure you've got your tractor beam at ready in case we have to get her out in a hurry."

"Aye," Ethan responded.

Green Lion opened a private channel to the Black.

"Are you crazy?" Jordan hissed. "You can't lead this thing with your condition."

"I know what I can or can't do, Jordan," he replied evenly. "Do what I say or..."

"Idiot...just know I'm doing this for your own good."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Guys," Jordan said, ignoring him and opening the channel to the rest of the team. "Jack's lost most of his peripheral vision."

"You little..."

"Say what you like, but I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself--or jeopardize this team."

"Let me lead, Jack," Ethan said quietly.

"Hell no."

"I'm more powerful than Bethie and with her helping me control my powers, I have a better chance of getting my mother out alive. You can keep the tractor beam on her."

"No. I'm leading this team and I'm not going to stand in the background while you do the real work. That's not the way it's supposed to be."

"Jack," Bethie said. "Was anything?"

That silenced him but his answer was given by slowing down his Lion and falling into line next to the Blue. Ethan nodded at the Black though Jack couldn't see it and flew to where the Black had been.

"I'm still calling the shots," Jack reminded them.

"I doubt we'd be able to stop you," Bethie answered.

In the Blue, Ethan had his head bowed as he pushed his perceptions outward to gauge his mother's condition. The closer they were getting to the Core, the more elemental his magic; he could feel it like a strong beat in his soul. Instinctively, he knew that he needed to keep it leashed in so he had to use a great deal of his energy concentrating on his control. Then...he found her. His mother was like a white light in his vision, faint but there. She was trying to fight whatever it was that had her imprisoned, but she was only getting weaker. Shadow Voltron was bleeding her dry and he did not think she would make it to the Core if they did not stop her now.

"Bethie, let's go," he said and fired his missiles.

"Ion knife," Bethie ordered.

The sharp two-bladed knife appeared in the Red's mouth and Bethie ran it all along Shadow Voltron's back as she flew above it. She barely missed getting swiped at by its sword, but she was satisfied with her work.

"Remember, chest cavity," Matt said.

"Got it."

"We don't have a lot of time," Ethan said, coming up underneath the robot. "Bethie, I'm sending you coordinates. Fire on them from the top and I'll take the bottom."

"Yes, sir."

"Nice."

They began firing in unison with bullets rather than lasers at the same two spots as they tried to avoid Shadow Voltron's defensive maneuvers. Jack stayed close behind the Blue, constantly monitoring his readings and his finger ready on the button that would activate the tractor beam. The moment she was visible, he had to pick her up because the heat outside was slowly getting close to unmanageable levels.

"Work faster," he told Ethan and Bethie. "We're getting way too close to the center here."

Blue eyes narrowed, Ethan took a deep breath and his magic rippled in the air around him.

"Bethie, I'm going to try to break her free," he said.

"What? Can you do that?"

"Yeah...I think so. Do what you can about the hull...I'm going to put my Lion on automatic fire so that I can focus more of my attention on Mom."

"Roger that."

Keeping his mind focused on his mother and her dwindling energy, Ethan explored her white light, found the darkness threatening to overtake it. He reached out to it and was immediately repelled. It hummed with dark magic and evil purposes, but that did not scare him more than it scared him to lose his mother to it. He did not feel its pull and was determined to banish it. Unbeknownst to him, Allura was becoming aware of his presence and was beginning to respond. The white light began to grow brighter.

All the while, Shadow Voltron and the five Lions were hurtling ever closer to the Core.