More Than What Meets The Eye

"It Didn't Have To End Like This," "But It Did"

Zia was once again in her room. She was working with what seemed to be smoke bombs of sorts. They had been filled with the spores and pollen of the vexlen plant, it's quite potent to Vyreans. She knew that the other two Vyrean hybrids on broad were immune to the other spores, pollens, gases, and vapors that she was using so she needed something that would stop them. Tonight she would strike, she would finally get rid of their current leader. It wasn't because he had been a tyrant, far from it, but it was due to the fact he valued missions more than his men. If it weren't for the dumb 'The mission before the individual' Tchiura would still be alive, all the Blades who have been lost in Kolivan's sixteen deca-pheobs of being the leader would still be alive! Kolivan didn't even bother saving her father, she lost someone close to her and now Kolivan will. Tonight would be a perfect night because tonight was Daixial, meaning all the Blade members would be gathered together in one place. Including Kolivan and the Paladins of Voltron.

Keith and Regris were busy rearranging the tables for tonight's event. "Keith, when did you say your friends would be here?" Regris asked connect a few tables. "In about three vargas," he answered. Since tonight was Daixial the base was having a special dinner and the Paladins had been invited since their help in the war effort.

It's been a few vargas now and Keith and Kolivan were greeting the Paladins along with Coran. "My, it's been ages since I was invited to one of these," stated Coran, "A deca-pheob before the creation of Voltron, I believe,". "I'm surprised, Daixial is meant to be celebrated with friends and family," said Kolivan, who was actually smiling this quintant, a small one but a smile nonetheless. "So what's the point of Daixial?" asked Lance. "It marks the quintant eastern half of Daibazaal won the civil war that had been raging on for deca-pheobs,"  explained Kolivan. They headed to the mess hall that had been neatly decorated, but what caught their eye was Ezern banging her head against a wall. Kolivan walked up to her, worried about one of the main medical officers, "What's wrong Ezern?" "It's deca-pheob number six of her not being here, it's worrying me! She would always be here until she was fifteen. I could care less if she continued clinging to my leg, she's only a kit!" she exclaimed. "Have you tried talking to her?" "Yes but she keeps pushing me away, she's been pushing everyone away recently. Haven't you noticed?" "Ezern, calm down. Yes I have noticed if you want I'll go talk to her,". She nodded her head and Kolivan walked off in the direction of her room. "Whos not going to be here?" Keith asked walking up to Ezern. "Zia," she answered, "She hasn't gone for deca-pheobs. I should have stopped after the third,".

Kolivan stopped at her door and knocked. There wasn't a response at first, "What now?" Zia answered a few seconds later through the door. "Zia, I know it's hard for you to be without your during this time but everyone is worried about you. You've been pushing us away recently,". There was a long silence, "Fine, I'll be there in twenty doboshes. I need to finish something," she replied. "Okay, thank you," Kolivan said then left.

The others were talking with other Galrans as they waited for Kolivan. Allura and Keith were talking with Ezern while Lance, Pidge, and Hunk fooled around with Regris. Kolivan walked in headed towards Ezern and Keith, "She said she'd head down in twenty doboshes," he says. Ezern's eyes lit up, "Really?!" She asked surprised by the fact Zia agreed for once. "Yes, though she said she had something to finish first,", "That's fine as long as she's here,". Kolivan nodded. "Thank you for inviting us to such an occasion," says Allura turning her attention to the Blade Leader. "Yes, of course Princess," he said, "Such a Holiday is meant to be spent with those who are allies, friends, and family,". She nodded and smiled at him in thanks.

Zia was heading down from her room, a large bag of gas bombs filled with anesthetic and plenty of smoke bombs. She had her father's blade on her belt, her father's blade had been made with a type of unpurified luxite making the highly toxic. Many of the impurities of the land where luxite was found were still in the blade and if any where to be put in one's body it would cause immense pain and blood poisoning. Her plan was to kill Keith, she was going to make Kolivan feel the pain of losing family just she had. She didn't care if she died in the process, it was all part in a avenging her father. She arrived at the closed doors of the mess hall

Everything went downhill from there.

Keith and Kolivan were conversing when metal balls rolled in and started spraying a dirty red gas and plumes of heavy grey smoke. "What in the great name-" Kolivan yelled before falling unconscious, all Blades but Keith started dropping like flies. "What's going on, where are you Paladins?" Yells Allura, the smoke was too dense to see through. "Urg, What are the Paladins doing here?!" "Zia! What's going on?" Yelled Keith. "What do you think?" She yells, she jumps out at him with her knife pointed out at him. He barely dodged and got a cut in the arm of his suit. "Zia, what in the world are you doing?" "Getting rid of you. Kolivan took my father away from me, now I'm going to take his son from him," she says, her eyes glowing a feral yellow. Her eyes were visible through all the smoke and gas, a low growl ejecting from her throat. She lunged at him again but was shoved to the side by Allura, "What have you done! Killing Keith won't bring back your father!" She yelled trying to shove Zia down. "Don't you think I know that Princess? I'm just showing Kolivan the same pain I faced, your precious little allies aren't going to be awake any time soon and neither will the smoke be gone," she says shoving Allura way. "Allura!" He yells as she's push into the smoke, "Guys, where are you?" He yells. "Me and Pidge are stuck under Regris! Hunks trying to help," lances calls out. Zia charged at him again, "No one can save you Keith!" "I thought we were friends!" "Well you were wrong!" She yelled and plunged the knife into his stomach. He stared at the wound and fell in pain, silent tears fell from his eyes. "W-why Zia?", she pulls the knife from his abdomen, "I said this earlier, so Kolivan feels the same pain I do,". She had a cold look in her eyes. " don't suggest holding the wound, you're just keeping the toxins in," she says. Keith sees a purple glow coming from behind Zia.

Shiro appears and jumps out at Zia, "Carabast!" She yells as Shiro tries to hit her. She ludges her own knife into Shiro's arm. "What you're doing is wrong! You shouldn't kill some just because your was killed," "What do you know Paladin?" "Enough to know you can't kill someone who had nothing to do with this!" He says ramming his side into her, she falls a few feet away from them. Shiro runs up to Keith, "Keith, where were you hit?". Keith lays limply in his arms and starts coughing blood, blood seeps from his stomach. "The blade...it was poisonous," he says with a weakened voice, "I'm sorry Shiro, I won't make it," he says. His breathing is slow, Shiro lays him down and rips her knife from his arm and activates it. He walks toward Zia,she was holding the blade out towards Shiro ready to fight him. He charges at her, she was a second too late to dodge, his arm was through her abdomen. She coughs blood and glares at him, "Don't look at me like that, you deserved this," "You don't know what you're doing. You're sacrificing soldiers to him," she growls, "It didn't need to end like this,". He scowls at her, he pulls out his arm and lets her drop dead. A pool of red coming from her lifeless body. He turns to Keith, who's already in his own pool of blood. Shiro drops to his knees and cries over his dead brother's body. "I'm sorry, I wish I saved you,". He holds Keith's body close, wishing he had been a better brother.

The smoke clears and the gas wears off vargas later. The first thing Kolivan sees when he wakes up is Shiro crying over Keith's body and Zia's body two feet away. He gets up and walks toward Keith and Shiro, "W-what happened?" He says. Shiro looks at him, eyes dead and dull, "Zia happened. She killed him out of hatred of you not saving her father. She kept saying she wanted to feel the pain she did," Kolivan falls to his knees and cries, "I should have kept a better eye on her, I knew she took her father's death hard but I never thought it was this hard," "What do you mean?" "When she first found out she was distraught, only talking to Ezern and her pack. But as she got older it got worse. She locked herself in her room and the only time she came out was when Ezern had to actually pull her out and into the infirmary, she had starved herself and barely slept. After that it was somewhat normal, we thought she was finally better after she befriended Keith but I guess we were wrong,". The others start slowly waking up and see the scene, Allura was being held up by Ezern after she saw her about to fall. Krolia runs over and cried, all those close to him did. "What do we tell Ryou and Acxa?" Asked Ezern, "We have to tell them everything. We can't leave them I the dark," says Krolia. "I'll have Lotor tell Acxa, he's only going to listen to her," says Allura. Kolivan picks up Keith's body and Ezern goes to pick up Zia's, "Is there any way we can preserve their bodies until we can hold a funeral for them?" Asks Ezern. "Yes, we can set them in a cryopod until then," answers Coran. They take them to the Castle and rest their bodies in cryopods.

It's a few pheobs until they can hold the funeral. Everyone decided to bury them on Vyra, Zia's birthplace and where Keith's father had lived for years. Lotor had informed Acxa on Keith's death, she mourned but didn't come for the funeral. She had already caused enough issues and didn't need to cause anymore. As Shiro left the burial site he looked back at Zia's grave, remembering her last words. "But it did," he said to himself and headed back to the castle.