A few days had passed since our last mission to find the Altean pilot of a disabled Robeast. During the days the Alteans had refused to speak with us, I had given a lot of thought to Honerva's plan.
However, I have not been able to figure it out just yet. Another problem was that for several days, I have been feeling the Dark One swirl around near us. It was making me feel awful.
Thankfully the feeling went away after a little while and I don't feel it for the rest of the day.
Right now, I was sitting in my room, creating a small crystal in my hands for fun, smoking at my creation, when someone knocked on my door.
"Come in." I said, standing up and holding my crystal.
The door opened and Allura stood in the doorway.
"Zurine, Tavo has agreed to speak with us, but only if you are in the room with me." Allura said.
I nodded, placing the crystal on my bed and followed Allura to the interrogation room.
We opened the door and sat down in front of Tavo, whom was already brought to the room earlier.
I smiled gratefully at Tavo, who smiled back at me, albeit with a little hesitation.
"Tavo, I want to thank you for speaking with us." Allura said.
"Forgive me, Princess Allura, Princess Zurine, but we don't have much time." Tavo said terrified.
"I'm sorry?" I asked.
"Please. Once Honerva discovers I'm speaking with you, it will be over."
"Slow down. What are you trying to--?" Allura tried to asked but was interrupted when Tavo looked up from his shaking sweary hands in fear.
"Listen to me. Now that she has Lotor, she will use him to destroy everything--"
All of a sudden, Tavo stopped speaking, grabbing his head and stumbling backwards.
I felt the same pain, but not as strong, close but not quite. I held my head while Allura was focused on Tavo as he collapsed to the floor.
"Tavo!" Allura exclaimed in worry. Two Atlas doctors came rushing, but I stopped them.
"Wait!" I said, making my way to Allura's side.
"Allura, do it with me, now." I said, holding my hand over Tavo's face. Allura nodded without hesistation, placing her hand over mine.
We closed our eyes and concentrated, feeling the energy from Tavo and ourselves, but there was something else.
"I feel something." Allura said.
My brow scrunched up in pain as the strange dark feeling came back to me. Allura couldn't feel it as much as I could, but this feeling was the Dark One in a smaller form.
I cracked my eyes open a sliver and internally gasped when I saw the dark aura around Tavo.
A small black and crimson red orb floated out of Tavo, giving off such a malicious feeling with every slight movement.
Allura opened her eyes and and gasped at the sight of this... thing floating above us.
In an instant, the floating orb was covered in purple flames and began to bounce everywhere in the room. The alarms blared in our ears as Allura and I scrambled to get Tavo out of there.
The two doctors helped pick up Tavo and we rushed out of the room as quickly as we could.
Once we were out of the room, the doctor closed the door, trapping the entity inside.
It thudded against the glass until the room turned red and the entity stayed in place.
Commander Holt and his associates helped contain the entity in a secure casing.
I stood next to Allura, slightly shaking at the mere sight of it as it floated in its container.
"This unit uses the ship's crystal to energize the optronic vacuum casing." Sam explained, "It was designed to contain diseases, but it should suffice until we find a more permanent solution."
"Thank you, Sam." Allura said glaring at the orb. "That thing, it was as if it was communicating with me."
Allura turned to me, "Zurine, it didn't hurt you, did it?"
I shook my head, "I felt some pain, but it has lessened for now."
I hated to lie to Allura, but I didn't want her to worry about whatever pain I had been feeling. I bit down the throbbing headache and the thumping in my chest, just so she wouldn't have to worry too much.
"However, whatever this is, it is no doubt the way Honerva connects with the Alteans sent in the Robeasts." I said.
Sam looked at us concerned, "Perhaps you two should get some rest. Its best if everyone stays away fron this until we learn more about..." Sam's voice faded in my mind. I stared at the entity, slowly being pulled into a void in my owm mind.
"Allura? Zurine?" I heard Sam say. Allura and I gasped, turning back towards Sam and away from the entity.
"You're right. Best to stay away." Allura said. I nodded and followed Allura back to our rooms.
I sat on my bed with my newest crystal in my hands, when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said, smiling when Keith came into my room. He smiled back and sat down next to me.
"Whatcha doing, Zurine?" He asked, wrapping his arms around me. I twisted myself around, leaning against the wall and settling myself comfortably on his lap.
"Nothing, really, just creating crystals. It helps clear my mind." I answered. Keith's smile dimmed a little when I said that.
"Are you feeling all right?" He asked, "You've been overworked lately and you're starting to look a little pale."
I chuckled and leaned closer to his chest, "I'm all right, just a headache or two. Everything going on has been a little overwhelming, so I'll need to rest for a while."
Just then, Shiro's voice came over the speakers.
"Atlas crew, prepare for a detour. We've been invited to a planet for a celebration called Clear Day." He said.
I smiled at the mention of a celebration.
"We should go when we arrive, it will really help us relax." I suggested.
I nodded and closed my eyes to sleep until we arrived, however, as I slept, I was not peaceful.
My dreams were dark and a whispering voice was calling to me.
"You can't escape. She will destroy all."
The voice repeated that phrase over and over again until I was shook awake by Keith.
"Hey, we arrived at the planet. You feeling up to going down to the festival?" Keith asked softly.
I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, "Yes, I'm feeling better. No headaches." I smiled, hiding the pain I was greatly choking back.
My head felt like a sledgehammer was banging on my skull with full force. But, my heart was telling me to not tell anyone. And I agreeded with it.
I got dressed, after Keith left the room of course, then looked at my reflection in the nearby mirror.
After nodding in satisfaction at my appearance, I exited my room and joined Keith to the transport ships and our Lions.
However, when I got there, I noticed that Allura wasn't there.
"Where's Allura?" I asked Lance.
"She said she wasn't feeling well." Lance answered, "She wanted to rest for a while." I nodded in understanding. If Allura was here now, she would notice my pale face and pink cheeks and immediately send me back to my room to rest.
"I want you all to enjoy yourselves today." Shiro said, "The celebration ends in five Vargas. Its important to remember that while the Atlas patrols the skies, we are the eyes and ears on the ground looking for any suspicious activity. These people are relying on us."
We nodded and went our separate ways to prepare to leave for the celebration.
I sat in White sighing as the pain slightly increased.
"Child, you must rest for a while. I can easily feel your pain, you must go back to the Atlas." White tried to convince me, but I refused.
"No, White, it's probably just from all the stress I've been put under. Don't worry, I'll rest when we get back." White growled in disapproval, but she didn't say anything more for it would be useless to argue with me.
We landed and were greeted with warm smiles with an even warmer welcome.
The celebration was great, filled with lights, games, food and fireworks shooting off into the sky.
We gathered around Coran as we stood in the center of the festival.
"I pulled some strings and got each of you ten complimentary clear day tokens. Use them fir games, foods, rides." He said, handing us ten gold tokens each.
Pidge looked around curiously, "Where's Allura?" She asked.
"She's going to stay back and rest." Lance answered, "I just need to find something to bring back for her."
"That's nice of you, Lance." Pidge said, "I'll help, too.
"Me, three." Hunk volunteered.
Keith sighed at their actions, "Let's remember why we came here in the first place: to provide security for the event."
Everyone looked at Keith like he was crazy.
"Right." Pidge stretched out, "Well, I better go find the arcade and make sure it's safe, yeah!" Then she ran off, quickly followed by Lance and Hunk, leaving Keith, Shiro, Coran and I in the middle of the festival, at least until Coran left, too.
"Keith, relax. Go have fun." Shiro said.
"If we're not here for protection, then what are we doing here?" Keith asked.
"Morale on the Atlas is low after what happened on Oriande." Shiro said, "Who knows? A few hours at the carnival might just give us the boost we need to get back on track."
I laughed and grabbed his hand, "Also, it'll give us some time to spend together." I said. Keith sighed and reluctantly left with me to enjoy the festival.
I smiled brighter at the sight of the beautiful lights and the joyful laughs of the people around us.
But something inside me didn't want to be happy. It was a slight pull from inside me, telling me to go back to the Atlas.
I held my head and groaned softly in pain, the headache growling worse with each step I took.
I barely felt anything, nor did I hear anything as we walked around.
"Zurine? Zurine, are you okay?" I barely heard Keith ask me. I shook my head as he led me to a nearby chair and sat me down, but before I could even sit down, the pain became unbearable.
I fell to my knees clutching my head and pulling strands of my hair. My body turned cold, and the dark voice in my dream was saying,
"You won't win. She's accepted me. Your downfall is imminent. ALL REALITY WILL FALL UNDER HONVERA'S MIGHTY GRASP!!!!!!"
~~~Keith POV~~~
I was panicking. Zurine was holding her head in pain and she was turning red around the cheeks.
"Zurine! Zurine, talk to me! What's the matter?!" I shouted, trying to get an answer from her, but she looked like she couldn't hear me.
Then, her eyes went wide, and I felt every emotion she was feeling.
They were wide in pain and fear, tears filling her eyes as she shook violently.
I wasted no time in grabbing her bridal style and running back to my lion.
"Paladins, we've got a problem!" I said into my comms.
"Keith, whats the matter?" Shiro asked, the sounds of cheering in the background.
"Zurine collapsed and she looks like she's in a lot of pain. I'm taking her back to the Atlas. Meet me there." I said, running into my lion.
I set Zurine in my lap as I flew back to the Atlas. My free arm holding the controls while my other arm was holding Zurine close to me.
"Don't worry, Zurine, you're gonna be okay. I promise." I repeatedly whispered into her ear until we reached the Atlas.
I carried her into the medical room and gave her to the doctors who rushed to find the reason for her pain.
I stayed outside the room as the doctors tried to find a solution for her pain. My leg was bouncing up and down as I sat in the only chair in the hall.
My clenched hands were pressed against my forehead as I prayed for her to be okay.
It was heartbrwaking for me to know that the girl I loved was sitting in a room suffering while I couldnt do anything to help her.
"Keith!" I heard someone shout from down the hall. I lifted my head up and turned towards the shouting voice.
The rest of the Paladins came running down the hall, breathing heavily as if they had run a marathon.
"What happened, Keith?" Pidge asked.
"I don't know." I said, "One minute she was smiling and having a good time, next thing I knew she was on the ground holding her head in pain. I don't know if she'll be okay."
"Paladins!" Another voice shouted. We turned around and saw Sam running towards us.
"It's... It's Allura! She's collapsed!" He said, shaking us all with shock.
First Zurine, now Allura.
What was going on?