Everyone sat around the conference table, trying to figure out how to proceed. Everything was happening too fast. Violet had gotten her sister back, but Veronica was different. She'd cut her hair, and there was a steel in her eyes that hadn't been there before. They looked too much like Violet's now.
She'd gotten her sister back - only to realize she'd lost her father.
Kieran Idalia. He was working in the labor camps, alone. Violet needed to find him. It was time she and her father had a little chat. One that had been held off far too long.
"The ideal course of action is to attack each sector in the camp all at once so they have no time to respond," said Keith.
"It could work if we had the lions," said Violet. "One lion for each sector and the MFE Fighters for the last one."
"The Voltron lions are on Saturn!" Sanda snapped. "We can't bring them down to fight. It's impossible."
Violet stood. "Admiral, the paladin's bond with their lions is stronger than anything I've ever seen. We were chosen to do the impossible. I have died. Most people would think that 'impossible.' I consider it a hobby." She looked down her nose at the woman. "So, ma'am, I highly suggest you do not tell me what is and what isn't possible and let us do what we've been trained to do."
Sanda spluttered in rage as Violet sat down. "Vi is right," Shiro said. "You're bonded with your lions. Your connection to Voltron will allow you to reach out."
Hunk asked dubiously, "How are you so sure our lions will hear us?"
"Because you're the five," Violet replied. "The Voltron paladins. You all know of my connection to the lions. Even now I can feel them. Though I guess it's because of my Erythian sixth sense." Her grin widened. "It's definitely faint, but I might be able to help you draw them in. The real work, though, will be up to you."
"Surprise is our best advantage," Pidge added. "If we want to catch Sendak off gaurd, we can't let him see the lions until the last second. We'll have to call them down once we're at the base."
"What?" Hunk protested. "What if there's some kind of intereference from Earth to Saturn? What if our lions don't come to us? What if they're fine having a few days off?"
"Voltron will come," Violet said firmly. "And when each paladin has their lion, we'll target and take down all six parts of the sextuple Zaiforge. Then we take down Sendak for good."
"My pilots can transport the paladins to the center point of the labor camp," offered Griffin. "From there, you can call the lions to your respective sectors."
"Wait," said Violet, and everyone's attention moved to her. "The most I can do to help this fight is call the lions from Saturn, and I doubt you'll all need my help for that." She drew in a long breath. "So while the lions are attacking the Zaiforge, I'm going to sneak into the labor camp and rescue my father."
Noise exploded in the room. Shiro was saying that it was too dangerous; Admiral Sanda was shouting, "Absolutely not!" and the rest of the room was agreeing with her.
She felt a hand on her shoulder - Veronica. "Violet's going to do it," she announced over the clamoring, quieting everyone down. "Because it will provide the distraction needed for Griffin's team to fly in the paladins. They won't be able to get close enough otherwise."
"There's no way for Vi to get into the base," Hunk pointed out. "It's too dangerous."
"No, it's not," Veronica replied. "Because I'll be going with her."
"What?" Violet yelped, turning on her sister. "You can't!"
"The sector our father is held in is the closest to the base - we can take a hover car," Veronica said, her gaze fierce. "I know how to drive one of them - you don't. I know how to navigate the terrain - you don't. I know how to sneak into the camp - you don't. I've been preparing for this for a month. You won't be able to do it alone." Quieter, she added, "I want to save him too, Violet. I'm not the little sister you need to protect anymore."
No. Violet couldn't let Veronica put her life on the line to help her. She wanted her sister at the Garrison, safe.
But if Veronica was anything like her, she'd never let that happen.
It was the look in her sister's eyes - the look that Violet encountered whenever she faced a mirror - that had her saying, "Okay."
Veronica smiled, her hand still on Violet's shoulder. "Thanks, sis."
Violet couldn't bring herself to smile back - but she relished the press of Veronica's hand. Her sister was back, and she had no intention of letting her go.
I won't let you die, Violet vowed. I swear to the stars, Veronica, I will not let my hands be stained with your blood as well.
"Anytime."
-
Violet and Veronica were loading up the hover car, preparing to leave the base. They each had two sets of explosives; Violet was strapping hers on when Allura walked over.
"Violet," she said, "Could I have a word with you?"
Violet tied her belt and said, "Sure. What is it?"
Allura wove her hands together, looking almost nervous. "I ... well, I just wanted to say that ... you might not feel very endeared to me now. I know we were friends before, and Lotor's betrayal and your death might have ruined that. So ... I'm deeply sorry if I've ruined our relationship in the past. I hope we can start over."
Violet blinked in surprise. "Allura," she said, face splitting into a grin, "I've always considered you a friend. Lotor never changed that."
Allura let out a breath of a relief, and, after a second, hesitantly pulled Violet into a hug. Violet returned the embrace, and Allura said, "Thank the stars. I value being friends with you, Violet." She pulled back, smiling softly. "Stay safe."
The other paladins walked in, also readying themselves to go. Allura had barely moved out of the way before Lance shoved in, patting Violet's shoulder affectionately. "You got this, Vi. Go out there and blow some stuff up."
"Come back soon," Hunk added.
"We'll be waiting for the signal," said Pidge; she offered a smile. "Be careful."
Keith went last. He simply said, "Don't die," before turning away. Violet narrowed her eyes. Where was her goodbye? She wouldn't settle for two measly words.
"Oh, and..." Keith turned back to her, and, in one smooth movement, pulled her towards him and kissed her on the mouth, his lips curling under hers.
Violet's face flamed and she shoved him away, hiding her grin. "Smooth, Kogane. Real smooth. Veronica's never going to let me forget that."
"It's not like no one knows," Keith replied, his eyes softening. "I meant what I said, Vi - don't die. And don't turn this into a I've-died-more-times-than-you joke. I mean it."
Violet clamped her mouth shut, forcing herself not to say the sarcastic comment she'd been about to speak. Instead, she said, "I know. I'll come back."
He stared into her eyes for a second longer before drawing away, quickly enough for Violet to see Hunk hand Lance a ten-dollar bill.
Veronica was waiting as she hopped into the car, adjusting her glasses with a raised eyebrow. "He's hot."
"Oh, wipe that stupid smirk off your face," Violet snapped, feeling her lips twitch. After a moment she added, "Yeah, he is."
Veronica giggled and clapped her hands together. "I knew it! Oh, Vi, you're in love with him. What's he like? How long have you been together? When was your first kiss? How did you confess your feelings?"
Violet rolled her eyes. "We can talk about my love life later. Now we have to go set things on fire."
Veronica still had on that insufferable smirk. "My favorite thing to do."
-
Veronica started the car, and they drove form the Garrison base, the lingering feeling of humor falling away until only silence remained. Violet had never felt nervous before a mission - Lotor had trained her to never show fear. But she knew Veronica was gripping the steering wheel as hard as she was to stop her hands from trembling.
"What happened after I was taken?" Violet asked, to break the silence.
Her fingers tightened further. "We tried to send out a search party - something - to find you, but the Garrison refused. I vowed to become a cadet so I could look for you myself."
"And Dad?"
"He continued his research, but devoted most of his time to looking for you and the people that had taken you. We found nothing." Her eyes darted to Violet's. "What about you?"
"It's ... a long story," Violet murmured. "One we don't have time for."
Veronica's mouth formed a hard line. "Talk quickly." She added, "What I'm really interested about is how you got all those kickass fighting skills."
"Language!" Violet snapped.
Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Sorry," she said. "What I'm really interested in is how you got all those kickass fighting skills."
Violet groaned. "Where did you get all of this sass from?"
She smirked. "My sister."
As much as she tried to stop it, Violet laughed. "If you really want to know, I became such a good fighter because of focus and concentration. I've trained myself to never get distracted."
"Just now you tried to jump into the car, missed, and almost hit your head because you were staring at Keith," said Veronica.
"I never knew sisters could be this annoying," said Violet.
"Not annoying. Just perceptive," Veronica shot back. She nudged Violet's shoulder. "Seriously, though. I want to know your story. Everything - all the good bits and the bad ones. We're family - you don't have to hide things from me."
Violet let out a breath, and began to speak.
She started with how she'd been taken - talking about Lotor, and how he'd trained her to be an assassin, his personal general. She told her sister about how she'd hated the life he'd forced her to live, but when she tried to escape he'd wiped her memories and hid her away. How she'd broken out and joined Voltron, meeting Keith and the other paladins.
She told Veronica how she'd worn her mask at first, trying to hide her identity, but soon realized she didn't need it. How they'd fought Zarkon, and how Lotor had resurfaced after a year and her memories had come flooding back. How they'd hunted him down and Violet had gotten hurt.
Violet told her sister about waking up to discover that Keith was distancing himself - was already gone. About having to live with that, and fighting Lotor. About how he'd turned out to be the good guy, and how she was working alongside him again. She told her about the Oriande stone, and the ship they'd built. How Violet had started unlocking odd powers she didn't know she had, that she suspected were connected to her mother.
She told Veronica about Keith's return, and Lotor's betrayal. How he'd revealed that her running away and joining Voltron was his plan all along. By that time, they'd arrived at the base, so Violet quickly continued in low tones as they entered the labor camp's outpost. They took cover, waiting for the sentries to pass.
"We fought Lotor," she whispered quietly, "And I used the quintessence abilities I'd discovered to defeat him. In doing so, I died."
Veronica stared at her. "But?"
"There is no but. I died, and then I came back to life." Violet paused. "I shape-shifted back into my original form. I'm an Erythian, the last of them. They're an ancient alien race, and Mom was one of them."
"That's crazy," Veronica muttered. "You look ... so much different, and yet your eyes, your face - it's the same. The way you hold yourself, the way you look at the world - it's all the same. It's how I recognized you." She shook her head in disbelief, smiling. "My sister. Faced hell itself and didn't break."
"I broke," Violet said. "I broke over and over, Veronica. But there are some things about me that are impossible to change." She smiled sadly. "Those things were given to me by other people, and nothing can take them away."
Veronica smiled back. "Wow, Idalia. You really are something."
Violet grinned. "As long as I'm not nothing, dear sister."
With that, they ran into the labor sector.
-
"Dad's being held in a cell," said Veronica. "We haven't been able to locate the exact one, but it's one of those." she pointed to seven cells being guarded by sentries. "I think. I've never been this close before."
"I know sentry times," Violet replied. "We'll have to wait until the ones guarding the other cells rotate - then they'll be too far away to get to us when we attack."
"Roger that," Veronica said. "The sentries on the other cells are moving now."
Violet drew her blades. "On my mark, then." She readied herself to leap from the one-story building they were hiding in, spying on the guards. "Ready-"
Veronica didn't wait. She catapulted through the window and shot the first drone, kicking a sentry in the face simultaneously.
"Never mind, then," Violet muttered, and leapt after her. Together, the Idalia sisters took out the drones and sentries guarding the cells.
Veronica ran to the nearest one, peering inside. "Dad?" she yelled. "Dad, are you in there?"
Nothing. Violet tried the second. She looked inside; a woman and her daughter were huddled against the far wall, sleeping while they could. Her heart clenched, and before she knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed a sentry's disembodied arm and pressed it against the lock on the door. The doors slid open, light flooding into the cell.
The mother whimpered in fear at Violet's blades, the sentries' arm dangling from her hand, but the girl - she blinked past the sudden brightness, her eyes meeting Violet's.
Violet only spared a second. "Go," she said, taking one of her blades and tossing it at the girl's feet. "You're free." Not safe, not going to be okay - but free. Free from the darkness of imprisonment, from the darker aliens - free, as Violet had never been.
She turned and ran away, but not before she saw the girl's splintered face crack into a smile, her hands reach out and curl around the hilt of the blade like they'd been meant to hold it.
Veronica let out a strangled noise; Violet darted to her side. "Dad?"
Through the narrow window, she could make out a slumped form at the back of the cell. Violet placed the dismembered arm of the sentry on the lock, and the door slid open; she and Veronica rushed into the cell. Veronica got there first, falling to her knees and lifting up the person's head. He opened his eyes with a groan.
Tears gathered in Violet's eyes as she recognized him. Kieran Idalia still had the dark, wavy hair that was the same as Violet's and brown eyes with flecks of gold. "Veronica? Violet?" he asked, voice rough. "My daughters?"
"Dad," Violet said, her throat catching. "I'm back. We're both back. We're going to get you out."
"No," he said. "No, you can't."
Veronica exchanged perplexed looks with Violet. "Why not?"
Kieran sat up with a grimace, clutching his stomach, and pulled his arm away from where it rested across his body. Violet recoiled. A mass of scars and torn skin greeted her; her father was wounded. Critically.
"Oh, stars," Veronica whispered. "It's okay, Dad. The Garrison has medics-"
"Violet," her father murmured, ignoring Veronica's words. "You've grown up so much. You look ... both of you look ... so much like your mother."
"I know," Violet said softly. "We have to go now, Dad. Can you make it?"
He shook his head, and her heart sank. "No. Violet - I have to tell you something. Now."
Veronica's head whipped towards the door. "Sentries coming in five," she said. "Violet, we have to leave. Right now."
"On it. Get us some cover. Dad, you'll have to tell me later-"
She broke off as her father closed his eyes, and a blaze of light filled the room. Veronica let out a startled gasp as Kieran shape-shifted.
Violet stumbled back. Her father was now an Erythian. His ears were pointed, his skin pale and radiating light, his collarbone striped through with dark brown. There were claws coming from his hands, and the markings under his eyes were gold - the exact same shade as Violet's.
"You," she managed to say. "Mom wasn't the Erythian I got my powers from. It was you all along."
"Yes and no," Kieran said, his voice deeper. "We don't have much time - I can't hold this form for long, and it would take me days to explain everything. Take this." He held out a transmission chip, hands shaking. "It will tell you everything I could never say."
The sounds of gunshots cut him off. Five sentries appeared in the doorway, aiming their blasters.
Kieran winced as a shot grazed his arm. Veronica returned fire, Violet hurling her blades and nailing a sentry in the eye. "Violet ... Erythians are powerful beings. You are one of the best. I am ... more proud than you could ever know." He slipped the chip into her hand, letting out a long breath. "You are capable of more than you think, my little Violetta. Never forget that." He turned to Veronica. "I could not be more proud of my two daughters."
Kieran shuddered, his hands going to the wound on his stomach. Veronica rushed over, the sentry's bodies still falling behind her. "We leave now or we never leave at all," she panted. "Dad, get up."
He didn't move.
"Dad."
"I'm sorry," Kieran whispered, and reached a hand into Violet's belt, drawing out the explosive she'd been saving for the blast that would divert Sendak's attention - the bomb that would blow up part of the sector. "Pull the trigger when you're far enough away. Do not look back." Light flashed, and he shifted back into his human form, slumping against the cell floor, the explosive still clutched in his hand.
His eyes were closed, and his chest wasn't moving - but he was smiling, ever so slightly.
"No," said Veronica, voice broken. Somehow, Violet found the strength to stand, to pull her sister up. "We can't - we have to save him. Please, Violet. He's our father."
Violet closed her eyes against the pain. "It's too late, Veronica."
"It's not!" She wrenched her arm from Violet's grip. "We can still get out of here with him - we can save him-"
"He's dead," Violet snapped, her voice breaking. "He's already gone."
Her sister's eyes filled with tears, and Violet wondered dimly if she'd been too harsh. "No. I - I can't - no." Tears dripped onto the ground, akin with the pounding of footsteps drawing closer - reinforcements. "I won't leave him."
"I'm sorry," Violet whispered, "But I made someone a promise that I'd stay alive. I have to keep it." She put her hand on Veronica's arm. Her sister shook her head, trying to turn back to their father; but Violet's grip on her elbow tightened, and she hauled Veronica away, towards the entrance.
Veronica sobbed, fighting her, but Violet didn't let go. She forced herself to drag her sister away, out of the cell and out of the sector, until they were out of earshot of the sentry's footsteps. Violet brought out the trigger for the bomb her father had taken and stared at it, her finger tensed over the trigger. Tears splattered onto the button.
A hand closed over hers - Veronica's. Her face was contorted in agony, but her eyes were clear.
The sisters pulled the trigger together.