~~~~Saoirse~~~~
I sat in my room, staring at the picture projected from my pendant. I couldn't stop thinking about my family back on Earth.
I could tell that the day would be coming soon, and I wouldn't be able to see them for a long time. I sighed as the picture and song disappeared, but after the song had vanished, a new picture appeared.
The picture of me and Keith on our first date. I had taken the picture and transferred a copy to my pendant. I wanted him to be close, and that picture was one of the first pictures we had of together.
Suddenly, I was broken from my thoughts when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said, clutching my stone in my hands.
The door opened and Allura stood in the doorway.
"Allura, is there something wrong?" I asked.
"Tavo has agreed to speak with me, but only if you are in the room with me." Allura said.
"But why? Why would he want to speak to me as well?" I asked.
"He simply said that he wanted an angel there to help if something were to go wrong. He's afraid Honerva could do something to him." She explained.
I nodded, stood up and while I walked with Allura to the interrogation room, I secured my necklace around my neck.
"I haven't seen you wear that stone in some time, Saoirse." Allura pointed out.
I smiled and clutched my pendant, "Yeah, it has been a while sincerely I've worn it. I just had a feeling I should wear it today."
It was true. The day was coming, and I wanted to be as close to my family as I could, even here in deep space. Maybe on our journey, we could stop by Teshiria. I would love to see how the clans are doing.
Allura and I walked down the halls to the interrogation room, where Tavo was waiting to speak with us. But as we approached the door, I felt a strange energy coming from behind it.
I revealed my true form, excluding my wings, surprising Allura with my sudden transformation.
"Why bother revealing your true form, Saoirse?" She asked me.
"I have a feeling that something is going to go wrong in that room. I want to be prepared, so I can't waste energy keeping up my human disguise." I answered. Allura nodded and we faced the door ready to go inside.
We opened the door and sat down in front of Tavo, who was waiting eagerly and nervously to speak with us.
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, Lady Saoirse, but we don't have much time." Tavo said terrified.
"What do you mean?" 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, sweaty 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.
All of a sudden, I felt my heart jump, and not in a good way. It felt painful and filled me with a sense of fear and cold darkness. I shook off the feeling and rushed over to Tavo, who was still crying out in pain.
"Tavo!" Allura exclaimed in worry. Two Atlas doctors came rushing into the room and tried to examine him, but I stopped them before they could get close enough.
I didn't want them to be hurt in any way. I grabbed Allura's hand and placed it on Tavo's forehead.
"Allura, I need you to concentrate here. I'll handle the area near the base of his head." I said, cupping Tavo's head with both of my hands. Allura nodded without hesistation and kept her hand in place.
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 the pain I felt from this energy. This feeling was horrible, whatever was the source of this energy, was physically and mentally attacking Tavo.
If I had to guess, it was doing the same to the other Alteans who pledged loyalty to Honerva.
I cracked my eyes open 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. This was a physical form of a dark and powerful energy. And entity of darkness itself.
"No light will be left." A dark voice repeated in my mind, echoing like the bells of a church. Loud and louder.
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. I couldn't help but watch the entity as it tried to move about the room. It was as if the entity was battling to escape and infect someone else.
Commander Holt and his associates helped contain the entity in a secure casing.
About an hour after the incident, Tavo was resting with the other Alteans. His energy was calm and balanced and his health exams showed nothing more than exhaustion, mainly mental exhaustion.
I stood next to Allura, slightly shaking as it floated in its container. Allura took note of my shaking and held my hand in a comforting sisterly manner.
"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, "Saoirse, did you feel it, too?"
I nodded my head, "I heard it, but it was mumbling something, but I couldn't make out what it was trying to say." I answered.
I hated to lie to Allura, but I didn't want to worry her. After everything, including this, I couldn't layer even more worry and stress on her shoulders. Besides, about ten minutes ago, the pain subsided and the voice stopped echoing.
"Whatever this thing is, it is no doubt the way Honerva connects with the Alteans sent in the Robeasts. It has a terrifyingly dark energy emitting from it." 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 own mind.
"Allura? Saoirse?" 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 her room.
"Are you going to be okay, Allura?" I asked.
"I should be asking that of you, Saoirse." She replied, "You can sense far more than I can. I worry about your health, both physical and mental." Allura placed both her hands on my shoulders.
"Please, promise me that you'll tell me if something is wrong. You will promise me, won't you?" She asked.
I couldn't back down from a promise, especially from someone I considered a sister.
"Okay, I promise I'll tell you if something is wrong with me. I won't hesitate to do so." I said. Allura smiled and pulled me into a hug. I smiled in the hug and held her tightly.
All of a sudden, I felt slightly dizzy and began to fall a little. Thankfully, Allura held me up.
"Saoirse, are you all right?" Allura asked slightly panicked.
I took in a deep breath and stood back up straight.
"I'm okay, just a small dizzy spell." I said smiling to ease her worry, even though I knew it didn't.
"Go get some rest. You deserve it." Allura said. I nodded and walked back to my room before collapsing onto my bed and falling asleep.
~~~~Keith~~~~
Shiro had made an announcement that we were heading to a celebration called Clear Day. It was said to be a festival, so it would be a great relaxing day for everyone.
I walked dowm the halls to Saoirse's room. She gave the access code to her room so I could come in when I wanted, but out of respect, I knocked on the door.
"Saoirse?" I called out through the door.
I heard some shuffling from the other side of the door and then the door opened, revealing Saoirse who looked extremely tired and worn out.
"Hey, Keith. What's going on?" She asked, even her voice had sounded tired.
"Saoirse, are you okay? You look exhausted." I said, worried after seeing her tired eyes.
She nodded her head and leaned against my chest. I held her out of instinct, and felt her body become heavy.
I picked her up bridal style and walked into her room, settling her on my lap as I sat on her bed and leaned against the wall.
"How much sleep have you gotten?" I asked.
"I've gotten plenty of sleep." She answered, "I've been exhausted and a little stressed since Allura and I spoke to Tavo."
"Then, maybe you should sit the festival out. You should get some rest." I suggested.
She shook her head, "No, I just need to de-stress. I want to go and maybe win a little prize at one of the games. It's been a long time since we've gone to a festival together."
I smiled softly into her hair. The last time we went to a festival was during the fall when we were seven. We had so much fun with Dad, and he kept on trying to win this stuffed lion for Saoirse. He never did though.
"Are you sure you'll be all right? If you start to feel bad, even for a second, I'll bring you back." I said.
Saoirse leaned deeper into my chest, absorbing the warmth I was giving off.
"I promise. I'll tell you if I'm not feeling well." She said, and I knew she wouldn't break a promise.
We left the room a few minutes later and gathered around near the transport ship. All of us were accounted for, except for Allura.
"Where's Allura?" Saoirse asked Lance.
"She said she wasn't feeling well." Lance answered, "She wanted to rest for a while."
We all understood. Like Saoirse, she was under a lot of pressure and stress. But unlike Saoirse, she knew it was better 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."
All of us were soon boarded on the ships and in our lions.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
We landed on the planet and as soon as we exited our lions, we were met with so many smiling faces and the bright lights of the festival. There were rides, attractions and all sorts of games and foods.
I smiled so freely and brightly, as I hadn't felt this excited since I was a little kid. From the corner of my eye, I could see Keith smiling at me. I could tell that enjoyed seeing me have so much excitement in my eyes.
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."
All of us 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 took Keith's hand in mine.
"C'mon, Keith, don't be such a Debby Downer. Let's go check out some of the ganes." I said pulling him along. Who knows, I already feel so much better. Maybe this was a good call after all.
~~~~Allura~~~~
My eyes crept open, the sleepiness leaving me quite drowsy, but I could feel someone by my side.
I looked towards the desk to my right and saw Lance standing there, gently caressing a potted Juniberry flower.
"Lance?" I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the carnival."
"That's a beautiful flower." He said, "Where did you get it?"
I looked over at the Juniberry flower, "Colleen gave it to me. Saoirse helped create it using her powers and Colleen helped keep it alive. It's a real Juniberry flower. I assumed they had gone extinct."
"You should know better than anyone, nothing ever truly goes extinct." Another, more haunting voice said to me. It was Lotor's voice.
I frantically looked around the room for Lotor, but Lance had disappeared as well. Suddenly, I spotted Lotor near my bedside, glaring down at me with his wicked eyes.
"It's good to see you again, Princess." He said.
My eyes widened with fear, then glared in anger, "How? How did you get in here?" I asked.
He looked over at my Juniberry flower, "You know, the ancients believed that all if life began with a single Juniberry flower, and that that Juniberry sprung with life from the tears of the angels."
I grit my teeth and summoned my bayard, slicing at Lotor, but all that was left were scratch marks on the walls, and with Lotor unscathed.
"I'd thought you'd be happy to see me." He said with a smirk.
"What are you doing here? I demand to know!" I shouted.
"You and I desire the same thing." He said, "We both seek to destroy Haggar."
"Haggar? Haggar is no longer. She's Honerva now."
"True. Though I could rename this a highlands poppy, you and I would still know what it truly is."
I looked down at my flower, knowing that he was right.
"The witch may change her name, but she will always be a witch."
I looked back at Lotor, "Be that as it may, she's too powerful. There's nothing I can do to counter her abilities."
"You are mistaken. Everything you need is here."
"How?" I asked.
In an instant, I was standing in front of the entity as it swirled around in its canister.
"This entity holds the power you seek." Lotor said, "It is an ancient form of energy that predates time itself. It hails from the Quintessence Field. Entities like this gave Haggar the ability to conquer worlds and control the universe for 10,000 years. She recognizes the strength it provides her, and uses it. The same might be said for the Angel as well."
I gasped and turned around to face Lotor.
"Whay does any of this have to do with Saoirse?" I asked.
Lotor smirked, "Then Angel of the Universe. The winged child of legend. The girl who is said to control the very existence of this universe. She has gone by many names, but there is one thing that perhaps, not even she knows about."
"And what is that?" I glared at him.
He chuckled, "Saoirse Teshiri is capable of handling this entity all on her own, but it would cost a great price. If you were to become one with the entity, then the powers you gain will not only defeat the witch, but save the girl you dearly call sister."
I stretched out my hand and touched the glass. Next thing I knew, I was seeing my mother. Altea.
I was inside a Robeast and defeating the Horde. But the cost was my planet all over again.
Just then, I saw something appear in front of me. My eyes widened when I saw her of front of me.
"Dear sister, thank you for everything." Saoirse said to me. Her body covered in light as she faded away with a smile on her face.
That's when I woke up with a shout. Sweat was dripping down my forehead. The nightmare I just had.... it terrified me.
But that last moment with Saoirse.... I had a bad feeling about it.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
I walked with Keith hand in hand around the carnival, admiring the sights and speaking to some of the people who wanted to give their thanks to us as Paladins.
I was having a lovely time, I even considered this to be a second date between me and Keith.
Suddenly, I spotted something from the corner of my eye. I stopped, Keith stopping next to me.
"What is it, Saoirse?" He asked, looking in the same direction I was looking.
It was a little game stand, and the grand prize was a stuffed Voltrom Lion. A silver one nonetheless. It was so cute! And it looked so soft and fluffy.
"Do you like that stuffed animal?" Keith suddenly asked, snapping me out of my stupor.
"What? No, I'm too old for stuffed animals anyway. I couldn't take one." I quickly said, trying to pull Keith away from looking at the prize, but then he let go of my hand and walked over to the stand.
"Step right up! Get the light to stop on the gold and win a stuffed Silver Lion!" The stand manager said, beckoning everyone to come and play.
The game looked to be simple. It was an electronic spinning ring with a small blinking red light at the bottom. At the top of the ring was a golden light bulb with the words Grand Prize Winner printed above it.
The stand manager, a blue alien with plenty of fur all over his body and a scar under neath both of his eyes, looked directly at Keith as I walked up behind him.
"Oh, the mighty Red Paladin of Voltron, and accompanied by the Silver Angel as well. I am honored to see thay you have come to my humble game stand." He said politely.
"How much to play your game?" Keith asked.
"Oh, for you good sir, it'll be two tokens." He said.
Keith took out two tokens and gave them to the man. The stand manager pressed a button on the counter and the game started.
He handed Keith a large button that said stop on it.
"Just go ahead and press the button when you want the light to stop. Best of luck." The manager said.
Keith nodded and placed his hand over the button, then closed his eyes so he could concentrate. Good instinct was one of the things you needed to beat a game like this, plus a lot of luck.
I watched the red light spin around the circle, occasionally turning gold when it got to the top.
Suddenly, Keith's eyes flashed open and he pressed the button. My eyes widened when the light stopped directly on the golden spot.
"We have a winner!" The manager shouted, a loud bell ringing from the win. He took one of the larger stuffed lions and handed it to Keith.
"Well done, Red Paladin. You're the first to win the game today. Enjoy." He said.
Keith smiled and thanked the man before turning back to me and handing me the stuffed animal.
"Here." Keith simply said. I took the stuffed animal into my arms and hugged it with a bright smile on my face.
"Thanks a lot Keith, but you didn't-"
"Remember when we were seven and Dad took us to a carnival? He couldn't win you that stuffed Lion?" He brought up from the past, "I thought I'd win you one in his place."
My cheeks flushed bright red and heat up. I buried my head into the stuffed lion and laughed.
He may have had a tough exterior, but om the inside, Keith is very sweet. The man I fell in love with, I am the only one he will show this side of himself to.
We kept walking around, me carrying a giant stuffed lion a third of my size, taking in the sights and attractions. Everything was amazing.
But then, after another hour of enjoying the festival, my vision began to grow fuzzy. My head felt heavy and my legs felt weak.
I began to stagger with every step, until finally I began to fall.
"Saoirse!" I heard Keith shout, his arms catching me before I could fell to the ground.
My chest began to hurt, my head and vision were spinning as my lungs closed up. It was so hard to breathe.
"Saoirse, talk to me, are you all right?" Keith asked.
I shook my head and leaned against Keith, "I'm fine. Just a dizzy spell." I said.
"You should go back to the Atlas. You promised to go back to the Atlas and rest if you felt bad." Keith said. I knew I had to go back, I couldn't break a promise.
Keith helped me back to the Silver Lion and settled me in my pilot seat. He asked if he should go with me, but I assured him that I was just fine and that I would find Allura to hang out with if she wasn't too sick.
He reluctantly let me go back to the Atlas alone. As I took off, I could feel my Lion purr to comfort me.
"You are ill, Saoirse. I can feel a darkness trying to etch its way into your heart. Please, be careful. I cannot lose a Paladin such as you." Silver said worried. This was the most worried I had ever heard her speak. I had to make sure I was okay until the day comes.
The day where everything would change.
I docked my lion in her hangar and slowly walked back to my room, settling my new stuffed lion on my bed. I took off my armor and got dressed in my silver pajamas I used to wear in the Castle of Lions.
But just as I was about to get into bed and rest, I felt something. Something dark.
I felt the entity. And Allura.
I ran out of my room as fast as I could, running down the halls until I reached the room where the entity was.
As soon as I got to the door and it opened, my eyes widened and my body shook with pain and fear.
Allura was standing in front of the entity, the glass canister lowering and releasing it.
"Allura!" I screamed, running to her and grabbing her hand. Then, everything went black. Then, I saw everything thay could change.
Voltron and planets being destroyed in a single flash of light. The universe being torn apart.
Everyone screaming for mercy....
I heard it all. And all of it was painful.
I didn't know much time had passed since that darkness settled in. The next thing I saw, was Commander Holt's blurred worried expression.
"Saoirse! Saoirse.... hear me? Please ....answer me!" He begged, but his voice was muddled and broken.
I felt so much pain in my chest that I couldn't move. All I wanted to do was sleep. And so I did.
My eyss closed and my body fell limp. The cold settled in. The darkness swirled my vision.
This was only the first step....
Soon the day would come, when my role would be fulfilled. And I would have to leave everyone. I just hope that they will understand my choice in not telling them.