Chill (Klance Warmth series Book 2 of +4)

21: Cool Darkness

The moment the Black Lion burst out of its launch tunnel and into the  Balmeran sky, the Galra began their attack. The smaller towers that  marked the start and end of every arcing purple energy beam fired blasts  of similar purple energy at the Lions of Voltron.

"This is it, guys," Shiro said. "Look alive."

"We are alive," Keith said, sounding confused.

"It's a phrase, Keith," Hunk said.

"Remember the Balmera is a living creature," Shiro continued. "Pinpoint your attacks on the Galra equipment only. Good luck."

"Roger," Hunk said as the same time Pidge said "10-4."

"Your phrases are so weird," Keith said.

Lance laughed. "Why don't you focus on taking out that tower weapon instead of complaining, Fluffy Ears," he teased.

"You call him Fluffy Ears?" Pidge said and began cackling madly, diving her Green Lion down and cloaking before the Red Lion could snap at her.

"I will kill you," Keith growled in annoyance.

"Guys," Shiro groaned. "Focus."

The  main tower weapon finished charging and fired a burst of solidified  purple energy that formed a three spired pinwheel like the tower it  originated from. The glowing attack spiraled straight at the Blue Lion,  which dodged to the side and dove down to join the Yellow Lion in  attacking the Galra mining equipment. Shiro slowed his Lion until it  hovered near the power generator.

Lance was doing a magnificent  job taking down the smaller Galra tower weapons with the plasma gun in  the Blue Lion's tail. Hunk was ramming his Lion into the heavier  machinery, weakening the structures before blasting them with the Yellow  Lion's mouth gun. Pidge was cloaked and off dropping the BLIP Techs  while Keith was expertly dodging enemy fire and focusing his attention  on the power generator's main weapon. It was up to Shiro to thoroughly  disable the generator.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, "how do I take this thing down?"

As  if responding to his question, the Black Lion growled in his head,  startling him. Then the screens in front of him lit up with purple  schematics for a curved blade that fit snugly in the Black Lion's  massive jaw. The razor sharp blades extended out from either side of the  Black Lion's mouth. With this, Shiro could cut through reinforced steel  with ease.

"Oh," he said, leaning back in his chair to study the weapon's designs. The Black Lion purred and, like a rush of wind, Shiro knew  how to activate this new weapon. The corners of his mouth twitched  upwards until he smirked. "Well alright then. Jaw Blade it is."

He  took his controls, pressed the combination of buttons the Black Lion  purred into his mind and grinned when the Jaw Blade materialized in his  Lion's mouth. He flew his Lion down so he skimmed the Balmera's surface  and dragged the left blade of the Jaw Blade along the sides of the  glowing structures that created the arching energy beams. The gouges he  left behind caused the main structure of the generator to combust,  exploding in balls of fire and smoke that brought a triumphant smile to  his face.

However, Keith hadn't taken out the Galra's main tower  weapon yet. It seemed the tower was much more heavily reinforced than  the power generator itself. Shiro shook his head at the irony. It would  be typical of the Galra to choose their weapons over energy production.  He prepared to join the Red Lion when he saw something he couldn't  believe causing him to pull the Black Lion up short in shock.

Without  warning, the Red Lion executed a perfect loop so it faced the Galra  weapon, opened its mouth wide, and fired a stream of blazing liquid fire  directly at the tower's tapering trunk. The heat from the blast melted a  hole straight through the metal that continued to glow red hot even  after the fire dissipated.