Speed Demons

Part 24

Percy

I had finally gotten around to repairing the MFEs. Again. I had already completed the damage control and part replacement from the events of the Battle of Oriande, but something in the gas planet we visited had seeped in somewhere and messed with the systems. The pilots were never in any danger, and they never would have been, but the ships might have begun to handle a bit clunky. The same repairs were for all four of the MFEs. I was working on the third one when I got the call. "Percy," Coran's voice sounded, "Would you please come to the briefing room?"

"Yeah," I said, voice strained as I tightened down a bolt. "On my way."

When I walked in, the original team Voltron were all sitting at the table. They all had hard looks on their faces. "Percy," Keith said, "We have an idea to find Honerva, but we wanted to run it by you." I realized looked just as confused as I was.

I looked at each of them. My eyes widened when I reached Alura. There was a darkness in her aura that wasn't there before. "You bonded with the entity, didn't you?" She nodded hardly.

"We think we can use the entity to tap into Honerva's mind." Katie explained, "We can find where she's hiding, and save so many people."

"I don't like the idea of using Alura like this," Lance said. "We're messing with powers we don't fully understand." I sat next to him.

"I second that." I said, "If you face someone in their own mind, they'll win. It's not even a question. But let's say that somehow you do win. Let's say you face Honerva's consciousness in her mind and defeat her. What then? What do you gain from that?"

"Percy, Lance." Alura said, "We're the paladins of Voltron. There is no one in the universe who is more capable of taking this on." She stood up, "It has to be us."

One by one the other paladins stood up as well until it was just me sitting down. "You're not asking for my permission." I realized.

"Yes," Keith said guiltily, "We were going to do it anyway."

I was struck with an idea. I ran through the possibilities in my head(even looking into the future for help). I sighed and stood up, looking at my brother seriously. "Not without me, you're not."

His eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," I said seriously, before turning to the rest of the group. "I... I wouldn't wish my memories on anyone. I can't promise what you're going to see in there. I can't be certain how many memories I've suppressed, or what happened in them. But if even one of you isn't 100% sure about this, then I won't go. No questions asked." I looked at each of them.

The room was tense, but there was also an air of determination. It was like the feeling you get before a huge event. Nervous, but not afraid. Lance nudged my elbow with his own. "Fear is natural," he said, "but you've never been one to back down. Why should we? I'm in, Percival."

"I'll be honest, I don't know much about what you went through compared to the others," Hunk said, "But I'm in."

"As am I," Alura said confidently. "You are adaptable, Percy Jackson. I am interested to see why."

"I stand by what I said last time." Keith said, "I'm in."

"Let's do it, then." Katie said, "I can't wait to see what young Percy looks like." I chuckled, "But if you had to do it, why shouldn't we? All for one and one for all."

"How is this gonna work?" Hunk asked, "We've never brought someone with us before."

"It should work rather simply," Shiro thought, "As long as Percy sits in the Green Lion with Pidge."