Voltron: Colored Lights

Ch 8: "Xander"

"Keith... I know you're in there." I called as I knocked on Keith's door for the fifth time in a row. Still to no avail. My foot thumped the ground repeatedly in agitation... I can't believe his little pity-party he is throwing. And I'm obviously not invited to it. He didn't answer the door and my hands burned in anger. I put my hand on the scanner and it burned into the plating. The door opened and I smiled. "Keith I'm coming in." I walked into the room and He was sitting on his bed examining his knife he had.

"What..." He said on my entrance. He was upset with me, that wasn't hard to tell. "You need to be more careful Novaia. You could have been captured, or worse killed! What got into you?" He stood up and walked over to me. He wasn't angry, he was worried.

"I saved your planet that's what I did Keith. So if you're going to be upset with me about that then next time I'll let the Galra empire wipe your planet from the universe how does that sound?" I said up in his face. I wasn't yelling but i was speaking louder than I normally do. His face turned red and he crossed his arms. Pacing around the room as if he didn't know what to say, though I think he was just holding back from saying whatever had come to his mind.

"Novaia... Sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing bringing you here. So far, youve been more of a distraction that anything." He said. His words stung and my heart, it felt as it did when Zarkon said he was my father. My nose tingled and I tried to hold back a tear that was dancing on my eye. Did he really mean that? Am I a distraction to him?

"Then I'll leave." I said simply. But where would I go. I don't want to go to Zarkon and I don't want to be here. Where is my place.

"Don't say that... you're not going to leave. Novaia, you have just brought more problems but at least we have more knowledge now that you're here. We've learned a lot from you."

"Don't try to fix the pain you've already caused..." I said and with that statement I left his room. I stormed off down the hall towards no place in particular. Then I saw a flash of blue around the corner. I followed. She continued down the hallway, it was clear she was a she because she had long flowing dirty blond hair. She turned and I ducked into the doorway nearest to me. She was in a dark blue shirt and has scrapes and scratches on her. She was young, thirteen fourteen maybe.

I followed her through the castle. She was quick and I had to keep the pace. Finally I knew she got to a spot she didn't know was a dead end. I can corner her now. She looked up at the wall in front of her. I came out from the corner. "Hello? Are you okay?"

"Wha! Who... who are you!" She said afraid. She backed up against the wall. "Leave me alone!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to know who you are." I said. "I'm Novaia, and you are?"

"Um... Saige." She said. I smiled and she still seemed a bit panicked. I smiled and tried to calm her down. Coran came running around the corner and made me and this little girl both jump. He had his hands on his knees and was out of breath.

"I gotcha now!" He said in between breaths. I laughed at him, but Saige didn't think it was to funny. Instead, she ran at full speed towards an out-of-breath-Coran and lunged at him. She knocked him over and stood up, brushed herself off, then she ran. She ran so fast I knew I couldn't keep up with her.

"Hey, woah woah woah there..." Shiro grabbed the little girl by the shoulders and hoisted her up over his shoulder. She wasn't going anywhere now. She was kicking and punching but Shiro had a strong robotic arm. He just laughed at her tries to escape him. "Where did you come from?" He asked. She didn't answer.

"I've been chasing the little rascals all over the ship. She is quite feisty." Coran commented about her. I nodded in agreement, though Shiro's question was an important one... how did she get here?

We took her to a room she could stay in. We locked the door and waited for her to calm down. I watched her through one of the cameras. She looked anxious and lost. Poor thing, we have no idea what she has gone through. I watched her sit on the floor in the corner like I did when I was in Zarkon's Prison. My hands lite up and they burned. I was angry with myself for locking her in this room. She was just scared. I looked down at my hands and the bracelets Xander so kindly gave me. He disabled them but he never took them off.

"Novaia. Hey, what are you up too." Xander said strolling into the video monitoring room. He has changed a bit since he first came here, he seems to be more charismatic now that he has gotten to know everyone. I took in a deep breath, I felt bad for the girl that was in the room. He could tell where I was coming from ."Hey, she will be okay in time. She is just afraid Novaia." He said. His arm came around my shoulder in a ply to comfort me. I let him, he was just being nice. "I understand you are having a bit of a hard time around here. You're taking on too large of a load Novaia." He told me, quietly with a soft voice. He really wanted me to feel better. I looked up at him, he had light purple skin and his hair was dark purple. He wore glasses that made his yellowish eyes stand out. He smiled but showed no teeth. He doesn't show teeth ever when he smiles.

"You're right." I said simply. I was bearing a heavier load and after being imprisoned for who knows how long... I'm not ready for this.

"I know how you feel, like you can't do something." He said, then looked at the monitors. "I was a servant of Zarkon, I worked in his throne room. Till he realized how knowledgeable I was. That was a little bit before your escape. I began working in the labs alongside the druids and learning there power. I helped your father create those wrist dampeners." I looked at my wrists and realized what he was talking about. "I um... can't take them off. I didn't design them that way. There like hand cuffs. When there on you can't use your powers. You also can't hurt Zarkon or Haggar." He explained. I was upset but not at him. He just did as he was told, he didn't realize who I was and who I was fighting for. He hugged me, he knew how I was feeling. I needed comfort and Keith wasn't there for me right now. "You should get some rest Novaia. It's the smarter thing you could do right now. I'll look into getting those things off your wrists." He said with a slight smile.

We walked down the hallway towards my room. I told him a little bit about Keith and how he was upset. He said he would talk to him for me, guy to guy. We stopped at my door way. I guess I should thank him for what he said. He was really trying to cheer me up

"Thank you-" I tried to say but before I finished what I was saying he placed his hands around my lower back and pulled me towards him. I placed my hands on his chest and wasn't sure what to do next. He leaned in close to my face and my cheeks burned. He pressed his lips against mine and I closed my eyes. Why Novaia.... Push him away. I didn't. I let Xander Cheoin kiss me... and I kissed back. He was gentle and I could feel his heartbeat. He moved back to breath and I looked him in the eyes. His face was a lavender color, likely because of his skin color. He smiled a small smile.

"So you do like me?" He said. I was a bit confused by his question. I didn't know what to say. No I don't like you but I kissed you anyways?

"I- I love Keith... Xander." I said quietly. He was upset by my response. He let go of me and looked down at the ground.

"Were the same race... I thought if I... I'm sorry." He said and took another step back. "All Keith has brought you is trouble Novaia. You need someone who will bring you comfort."

"I love Keith, Xander." I repeated. He Looked me in the face, this time with anger and regret. He looked a little scary.

"When he hurts you, I'll still Love you" He said before turning and leaving. I watched him walk down the hall. He was heart broken. He must have been having feelings like those for a while. It makes sense now. I turned and entered my room.

The poetry book sat on my desk. I grabbed it and opened to the first poem.

"I embark on a new flight

Through hopes and dreams of children"

Embarking... on a new flight. I am leaving on a new journey too. I am doing something I have never done before. Earth was below our feet and there are likely millions of confused people down there who want to know who they're saviors are. I better get to work.