GLADIATOR VOLTRON SEASON 1 (DOTU)

The quiet vastness of space spread out into the greater magnitude of infinity as five close-knit streaks of Blue, Red, Black, Green, and Yellow swiftly soared across the vast cosmic expanse like multicolored comets. The five color-coordinated Lions quickly streak across the vast cosmos like a V-shaped rainbow flare in a flash of Black, Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, with the black Lion serving as the core leader of the formation, flanked by the others on either side.

“I’d just like to go down on record that I personally hate this,” the Red Lion pilot, Lance McClain, said with a tone of clear displeasure.

“Noted, Lance...but I don’t don’t see why you’re complaining,” the team’s leader, Captain Keith Kogane, responded over the Lions’ shared communication channel.

The Red Lion pilot quickly rolled his eyes at his leader’s genuine yet perhaps misguided attempt at reassuring his teammate, who still insisted on the more virtuous points of their Gladiator counterparts.

“Ah, Keith, have you forgotten that Gladiator Force’s leader is a literal sadistic Bastard?” Lance states that his temper is almost explosive and to the group’s four Arusian cohorts.

Both Hunk and Pidge quickly chimed in, offering their own personal perspective and opinions on the Gladiator team. Pidge retorted with a teasing remark.” Oh come on, Lance, Alfor isn’t really all that bad.” Pidge stated with a half-joking tone in his voice,” Yeah, especially when compared to Fala.” Hunk laughed, chiming in.

Princess Allura of the planet Arus awkwardly shifted in her main pilot’s seat with her fingers quickly tightening around the curved handles of her Lion’s control yoke at the two names. Her sudo-adoptive father, Coran gently placed a reassuring hand on her right hand with a placid yet still kind expression on his face, which held equal parts: guilt, understanding, and apprehension, with his usually dignified and almost regal bearing immediately deflating slightly, as unspoken secrets and long-buried memories immediately resurfaced both their minds...the other two Arusian women: a maidservant, who survivor of the Drules original invasion of Arus and bloody massacre of the nearly entire royal family and a good majority of their royal court and servants with the older Arusian woman named Hys-or Nanny as the others have taken to calling her, the other woman was Allura’s maternal aunt, Queen Orla of Oriande, one of the vassal kingdoms of Arus.

The Lion Force team had been requested by the higher-ups in the Galactic Alliance’s exploration/military division, also known as Galaxy Garrison, to undertake a joint operation with the region’s local Voltron unit, which operated completely independent of the Alliance or the more local Albegas galaxy commonwealth...more often referred to as the Altean Commonwealth, a multi-star systems galactic government comprised of forty thousand systems with billions…if not millions of worlds.

“Look alive, gang,” the leader of the Lion Force, Commander Keith Akira Kogane, shouted to his teammates through the Lions’ shared commlink channel frequency.

“What in the name of Arus?” Princess Allura half swore upon spotting something that was both familiar and, yet at the same time, strangely foreign to her.

****

Bright, sporadic sparks of semi-rainbow-hued light flashed with the inaudible, repeated clash of blades mutely colliding in the soundless void of space, one of the combatants appearing to be some Minotaur Robeast, towering cyborg monster clad in Roman-style Toga with light traces of bronze metal armor and armed with an electrified axe of the double-bladed variety, and the one almost resembled a Gladiator version of the Lion Force Voltron...only this one appeared to have a more humanoid appearance with a strong Gladiator motif with the towering mecha likely standing approximately three hundred and thirty feet tall with estimate weight of fifteen thousand tons with what appears to be Adaptive cerametal alloy skin placed over carbon-weave skeleton with an apparent energy dispersion mesh and kinetic dampers, if the Alliance’s intel is to be believe...though none of the Lion Force were particicular inclined to argue against the capabilities of a Voltron unit.

The Gladiator Voltron quickly ducked under a swing from the Robeast’s warax with the blade, just barely missing the Mecha Gladiator’s right shoulder, but managed to cause the Minatour to quickly retreat with a single slash from its. Gladius, easily hacking off one of the Robeast’s horns, the Mecha warrior then plunged said severed horn deep into one of the Robeast’s eyes, causing a logically defying scream of pain in a somewhat brutal fashion that was utterly alarming to the four Arusian. Nanny dramatically faints upon seeing what appeared to be blood...but what passed for blood in a Robeast immediately gushes out of the Minotaur’s punctured eye, instantly causing it to retreat like a freshly wounded animal after being cornered by a predator readied to go in for the final kill.

“By the gods?” Princess Allura utters in a mix of abject horror and disbelief, her mind semi-reeling with searing pain, with its animalistic roar of anguish and short burst of rage.

The Minatour Robeast immediately charged forward with a guttural and savage cry, its ax repeatedly swinging in a blind and mindless fury, the mighty robot expertly evading each would-be strike with virtual ease or deflected off the blade of their gladius or shield, a feature that the Lion had always lacked. The violently intensified clash between the Gladiator-style Defender and the bull-headed titan quickly grows more and more savage, brutal, and dramatically cataclysmic, the longer it continues.

The Lion Force team quickly joined the verdant fray with the other mighty robot, immediately beginning with a swift and powerful kick to the Robeast’s face, instantly sending it crashing backward with tremendous force and power. A transmission from the other Voltron unit.

A young woman, wearing a slightly more militant version of the Lion Force Team’s uniform, particularly the green Lion, with a deep forest green base, accompanied by ivory tringes along the edges of the suit’s helmet and neckline, with bronze vine-styled filigree along the edges. The woman’s helmet was a more conventional and pragmatic style pilot’s helmet, no different from those worn by pilots of the Galaxy Garrison armada fleet, but with the subtle hint to the team’s collective gladiator aesthetic motif.

Allura, usually the most openly trusting of the Lion Force team, immediately became guarded and somewhat suspicious of the other young woman, whose uniform didn’t quite give off the feel of a stern, militant enforcer or a modernized variant of a gladiator from the ancient andals of Earth’s oh-so-remote ancient past, dating back to a long bygone civilization known as Roman somewhere during the period known as the 3rd century BC according to the now dyfunct Gregorian calender that had been abandoned by the mid 25th century according to it’s own now obsolete dating system.

“Wh-who are you?” Queen Orla immediately questioned with both parts fear and curiosity.

The image being displayed on the Lion’s communication screen abruptly shifted to a young man clad in a similar to the young woman from a few minutes prior.”introductions have to wait for later.” He stated, his tone strict yet understandably sense of urgency as he immediately split his attention between the conversation and coordinating the fight, with the Robeast.

“Ten-four, Alfor.” Keith replied back before instantly calling for his teammates to immediately form their own Voltron.

*****

The Lions quickly form their own version of the mighty robot, the Black Lion forming the torso and head-the red and green lions forming the right and left arms, while the blue and yellow lions form the legs with the heads of the lions immediately letting out a series of logic defying roars as the mighty robot’s hydraulic joints flexing of the lion based limbs in standard Voltron poses as if checking them for fatigue.

The Lion Voltron immediately summoned their own blazing sword, and the mighty Defender instantly launched forward into the fight with the mighty robot swiftly slashing the Minotaur Robeast; the almost hulking creature instantly retreated backward with a nearly otherworldly cry of pain.

“Thanks for the hand...or rather blade.” The pilot of the Alpha Gladiator states with a dry witted tone in his voice.

Hunk briefly gave a faint laugh before commenting back.” And we’re happy to lend it, Alf.” The yellow Lion pilot states back before abruptly pushing the Lion’s yoke forward, causing the foot to strike the Minotaur Robeast’s left thigh. The Robeast quickly launched forward at the Lion Voltron, which immediately caused both of them to become interlocked in an intense gridlock wrestling position; the black clad young man from before instantly reappeared on the Black Lion’s communication screen with an urgent but vital request.” Keith, you think that your guys can keep our bull-headed friend busy for a few seconds.” “You got it, Alfor!” The Black Lion with affirmative clarity.

The Lion Voltron quickly manages to trap the Minatour Robeast into an almost standing restraint-style hold. The Robeast Minatour wildly thrashed and flailed against the iron-clad grip, with the sound of logic-defying roars escaping the cybernetic creature’s gaping maw.

“Alright, Al, whatever it is you guys are going to do, I suggest you do it quickly!” Pidge grunts slightly, almost feeling the physical struggle that the Robeast was putting upagainst the mighty robot’s tremendous strength.

*****

“Alright, gang, let’s show them what we got!” Alfor says before quickly activating a ‘helmet sync’ composed of pressing the thumbpad-style button of his Voltcom located on the bottom left component of the Voltcom before immediately double-tapping it, quickly before quickly entering the numeric sequence: Alpha-19382, and followed up with the accompanying sequence code: Beta-27419.

The mighty robot immediately breaks apart with couplers automatically releasing with what would have been a crisp, metallic click and a low, hydraulic sigh-like noise, the mighty defender’s limbs separate in an engineered coreography: the mighty robot’s shoulders pivoted, it’s hips instantly swiveling, and hydraulic joints interlocking.

Within the short timeframe of eighteen to thirty seconds, the Gladiator Voltron now stands once more fully whole; whole but altered slightly, with the Red Beta Gladiator replacing the lead Black Gladiator as the main center body. The Robeast seems to take immediate notice of the newly reformed Gladiator Voltron; the Minatour instantly shot forward in a burst of semi-mindless fury.

The Gladiator-themed Defender of the Universe instantly pivoted to the side and, with both hands, immediately brought down two mighty fists that collided hard against the cyborg creature’s back before next swiftly kicking them approximately forty to sixty miles away before quickly summoning two crescent Chakrams edged with plasma filaments.

“Keith-“ Alfor’s twin sister, Fala Hime-the pilot of the Beta Gladiator, began to say before watching the Robeast abruptly break free of the Lion Voltron, with the Robeast immediately giving a backwards headbutt, instantly setting itself free.

Alfor immediately reached out to his sister over the Gladiators’ shared, his voice practically shouting as he issued an order to his sibling and teammate.” Fa, quickly aim for the crack on the creature’s chestplate,” He states with stern authority and tactical certainty.” according to my scanners that’s where the Robeast’s armor is most vulnerable.” He says affirmatively with immediate urgency.

“Alfor’s right…but we need to time this just right!” The Gamma Gladiator pilot, Katherine Holt, or rather Katie as her family and friends most often called her.

“Roger that!” Fala Hime stated with a characteristic readiness.

The mighty robot instantly flung the two crescent moon-shaped Chakrams at the Robeast with laser-focused aim and accuracy. Both Chakrams landed on their target, causing it to immediately shatter like glass. The Minatour Robeast quickly fends back in an immediately fearful retreat, roaring like a cornered, wounded predator that had just realized that it had just been forced into a feral, panicked fury as it manages to retrieve it’s battleax.

The Gladiator and Lion Voltrons quickly began working in tandem unison, the Gladiator Voltron using a hit-and-fade disruptive technique with a repeat series of rapid, aggressive strikes that proved very successful in breaking the enemy cyborg creature’s cohesion, immediately creating various openings in the Robeast’s defenses, semi-repeatedly slashing at its calves, left shoulder, and side; this maneuver gradually widdled away at the Robeast’s guard until creating an opning for the Lion Force to deliver the ultimate final blow.

The Lion Force Voltron quickly summoned it’s own blazing sword, launching forward swinging the sword down semi-vertically causing the Robeast to die in a brilliant explosion of light.

The two Voltrons metaphorically standing victorious in the vacuum of space.

“Not too bad,” Alfor comments with a tone of good natured banter.

“Neither are you, guys.” Keith replied back with equal comradiery and familiarity.