Love is Weak

Chapter 3 - The Blade of Marmora Part 2

Lillian

We watched Keith fight. He lost every battle, even seeming to dislocate his shoulder in one of the fights. When it came to the part where Keith had to fight seven highly trained Blades, I wanted to shut my eyes. It was obvious that he was losing strength, and if he was going to die in the pursuit of knowledge, I didn't want to watch it. But if I closed my eyes, the rest of my unit would know something was up, and I really didn't want to bring attention to the fact that maybe I liked him.

Wait, did I really just admit that?

I shook my head and watched. Keith ran towards the Blades, but threw his blade at the closing panel on the floor. It caught, and Keith sprinted through the agents, punching and kicking, fighting his way towards the panel. He picked up his blade and slipped through the opening.

I gasped. He stopped at seven?

Everyone in my unit had made it to at least ten, and that had kind of become the standard. However, Josh had made it the farthest in his Trials. At eight years old, he set the record of fighting fifteen Blade agents during the Trials. Personally, I had only made it to ten.

Keith's score, while it was below average, was fairly decent when you considered skill levels and background. I clapped, starting a chain reaction of applause in the control center.

Then came the worst part, the final segment of the Trials. We continued to watch as Keith's suit created a virtual mindscape of him and Shiro having a conversation, powerful technology that I had helped design. It was a fairly new feature that we integrated into the Trials. Before then, they had to use other methods of hallucination.

Keith and the holographic-mindscape Shiro talked for a moment, but we didn't hear it. If we were going to watch the Trials, that was one thing, but we never listened to the conversations. That was not for us to know.

After a while, Keith collapsed to the ground, and I knew he was entering his memory.

I took in a sharp breath, and Kiana put a hand on my arm. Apparently I was being obvious that I liked him.

Stop it, Lillian.

On the other hand, this was always the hardest part to watch. It was where most people could die in the Trials, their own mind.

Suddenly, alarms were blaring.

"The Red Lion has started attacking the base!" Someone shouted.

No one moved. I knew that I had enough seniority and clearance to act, and I also knew that Kolivan was with Shiro and I'd probably be seeing them both soon.

"Delta Unit, on me!" I quickly walked from the control room with my unit around me.

"It must be the psychic link that each Paladin has with their Lion," Ella said.

"That's exactly what it is. Masks up!" I shouted over the alarms and moved into a run after activating my mask.

My unit followed my lead, and we entered a part of the Trials hall where Keith was leaning heavily on the real Shiro.

"Stop what you're doing!" Kolivan shouted. He was just coming into the room with Antok and Regris and a whole two units of Blade members.

"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Keith asked. He truly didn't know what was going on, and his voice was raspy.

"Call off your beast!" Kolivan shouted. The room shook as the Red Lion continued to attack.

"Move out of the way. We're leaving!" Shiro said angrily. He tried to move out of the room with Keith, but I moved to block the only exit there was. My unit backed me up, forming a shoulder-to-shoulder line to block the way out.

"You're not leaving with that blade," Kolivan said, directing the statement at Keith. "It does not belong to you. You failed to awaken it!"

Keith shouted, "What does that mean?"

Antok pulled out his blade, manipulating it into a sword. "Give up the blade!"

Shiro let go of Keith, activating some type of weapon on his arm and met Antok's strike. Shiro grunted, looking daringly into Antok's mask.

"Wait! Just take the knife!"

Keith held out the knife. Shiro and Antok stepped away from each other, turning to Keith, and I gasped. He was going to do it.

"It doesn't matter where I come from. I know who I am. We all need to work together to defeat Zarkon. And if that means I give up this knife, fine. Take it."

Wise words from such an insubordinate teenager. Looked like I was going to have the unfortunate pleasure of training him. Yay.

I glanced at the Blade insignia on the knife. It glowed faintly. Keith gasped as the light engulfed him.

"You've awoken the blade!" Antok said in disbelief.

The blade shifted into a long, curved sword, and Keith stared at it in disbelief. I grinned underneath my mask. He had done it, and he had an impressive blade form. It reminded me vaguely of Krolia's sword.

"The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins," Kolivan said.

Keith gasped and looked up. "Galra?"

"It's the only way luxite can be manipulated. It's how the blade transformed into a sword," I explained, stepping forward. "And if you want an ally, you should probably alert your fellow Paladins that you're okay because they most likely noticed that Red started attacking the base."

Keith looked at me with an inquisitive expression. I deactivated my mask and kept my stern composure.

"I'm sure your team is wondering how you are, and frankly, we need to speed up the process of becoming allies. Kolivan?" I looked at him expectantly.

He nodded. "Yes. We must speak with your team."

Shiro glanced between us. "Alright. Keith, change quickly and we'll be out of here."

Keith was giving me an odd look, staring at me throughout the whole exchange.

"Kiana," I said. "With me."

A few moments later, Kolivan, Antok, Kiana, and I were standing in the Red Lion with Shiro and Keith. I was utterly in awe of their form of technology, and I wanted to inquire about everything. I kept myself in check, knowing I couldn't allow myself to be curious in this situation. I had to keep up a certain reputation.

Keith opened a hailing frequency for Shiro.

"Princess, we're coming back, and we're bringing a few people you should meet," Shiro said.

"Masks," Kolivan said.

Antok, Kiana, and I followed his lead, putting our masks up. When we arrived in the Castle of Lions, we had an audience waiting for us in the hangar. Keith and Shiro stepped out of the Lion first. Then Kolivan and Antok, then me and Kiana. Kolivan lowered his mask, signaling that Kiana and I could do the same, as he knelt down in front of a young woman with white hair.

"Princess Allura, it's good to see that the rumors are true. You're still alive after all these years." He stood.

"So is Zarkon. Can we consider you an ally in the fight against him?" The "princess" asked.

My first impression of her was not good. I did not like her. Too much diplomacy for me.

"Yes," Kolivan said, and I wanted to object, but he continued. "We have little time to discuss this. I just received word from our spy within the Galra hierarchy. They have become aware of our presence, so the timetable for our plan has been moved up."

Yes, Thace was either going to die or make it out, and it was too early to tell which was going to be the case.

"How soon do we need to begin?" Shiro asked.

"Now," I said, not bothering to deal with the fact that I hadn't spoken and that the "adults" were talking.

"Then let's head up to the bridge. We must begin preparations," Shiro said and turned to lead us toward the mysterious place called "the bridge." Sounded fascinating.