02x04 - Greening the Cube

[bunniefuu]

Let's hurry up with these repairs.
Zarkon could be here at any moment.

Okay, panel's off. Now, what?

Very simple. Just loosen
the blaxums on the somoflange.

Could you be more specific?

Sorry, Hunk, he means
the poklones on the agroclams.

- No, that doesn't help.
- Easy, Hunk. I got this.

Uh-oh. That can't be good.

- No, not the smalters, the poklones!
- No, no! It's the blaxums!

What are you talking about?

- There. Fixed.
- Well done, Pidge!

The tech on this ship
never ceases to amaze me.

It's so mathematically elegant.

Its fit is a 100 times more frictionless
than any exoskeleton we have on Earth.

- It's... beautiful.
- It's not a sunset, Pidge.

You're right. A billion sunsets
just happen every day.

Some genius engineer actually built this.

Kinda looks like a big,
delicious curly fry.

What the...?

All right, we're prepared for this.

Remember your rogue projectile
cluster training from the Garrison.

First, we need a temporary shelter.

Wha...?

Oh, sorry, Shiro.
I was trying to hit Keith.

Like that?

Yes! Squishy asteroid fight!

All right, guys.

Oh, oh! Okay, now, it's on!

...Hmm...

- Oh, come on!
- I don't think these are asteroids.

Coran, I'm going to need
a containment unit.

Just a tick.

They appear to be some
sort of hyper-resilient spore.

This bioluminescent pulsing
doesn't seem natural.

It appears programmed.
I think it's a code.

- A code? From who?
- I don't know.

I mean, it makes no sense.
You can't program a spore.

If anyone can figure it out,
it's you, Pidge.

Before that, everyone needs
to come in for decontamination.

- Ah...

Keith, did you happen to see
a mouse come through here?

He has something of mine.

Uh... no.

- I'll find you, Platt.
- Wait, Coran!

Do you think the Galra ever went to Earth?

Is that possible?
They would have taken it over, right?

Oh, I think you'd know
if the Galra were there.

The Blue Lion was there.
Did a Galra pilot the Blue Lion, too?

Hey, why are you asking about my lion?
How many lions do you need?

- What? No, I-I was just...
- Don't "What? No, I-I was just..." me!

You've had your eye
on the Blue Lion from day one!

Well, yeah.
It's the first one we found...

Ah! Bah-bah-bah-bah!

The Blue Lion's with me
and we're very happy together! Very happy!

Guys! Check this out!

Oh, oh! I've seen this experiment.

Why do we need
to get electricity from a potato?

What? No, no. I was able to crack
the "sporse code."

I ran the bioluminescent pattern through
a variety of code-breaking sequences,

including this homemade
virtual Turing machine.

Of course, I had to make a few tweaks
to the original design,

because, obviously, there have been
several advancements since he designed it.

Although, you have to admit, Turing was
a shining light in the world of science

- in an age when far too many were still...
- Pidge.

...What does it say?

Oh, yeah. "Under attack. Galra. Help."
And then, there are coordinates.

It's a distress signal. Good work, Pidge.

Get those coordinates
into the castle-ship's navigation system.

The signal came from Olkarion,
home to the Olkari,

a proud class of engineers,

builders of vast cities that could change
shape at the whim of their creators.

They had a seemingly
magical ability to manipulate solid metal.

With just a wave of their hands,

they could build a computer
inside a block of steel.

- Whoa.
- An Olkari once gave me this!

- What is it?
- Uh, hello? It's a floating cube!

Oh, this guy. And watch!

My name is Coran and I'm a gorgeous man.

My name is Coran and I'm a gorgeous man.

Why would a society
full of literal tech wizards

use spores to send a distress signal?

Who cares?
When do we get to see that city?

Actually, Pidge, the distress signal
isn't coming from the city.

It's coming from... the forest.

Oh...

Why doesn't anyone ever send
a distress signal from a cool place?

I hate the outdoors.
Nothing but sunburn and poison oak.

I like it out here. It's quiet.

- What was that?
- Uh, are we being attacked?

I don't know, but something's dragging
my lion down to the surface.

Yeah, something's pulling Blue down, too.

Are those wooden mech suits?

Are you kidding me? We got taken down
by a bunch of tree people!

We come in peace!

Could it be? Voltron?

We found your distress signal!

- Praise Lubos!
- Lubos!

Lubos!

When the Galra attacked,
only a few of us escaped the cities.

We were forced to flee into the forest.

- How long have you lived like this?
- Many decafeebs.

But, as you can see,
our people are resilient.

We never stopped evolving.

Instead, we adapted our skills
to the environment.

Coran was right, Ryner.

You really are the most incredible
engineers in the universe.

To be able to switch from working
with precision machinery

to a bunch of sticks!

Nature's designs are superior
to any that we could devise.

No offense, but I'll take
my computer over a tree any day.

You two can talk science later.

Let's assemble Voltron
and get rid of these Galra invaders.

It's not that simple, I'm afraid.
The Galra have our leader, Lubos.

Lubos...

If you attack, who knows
what they'll do to him?

Then, we'll just have to rescue him.

- Work faster! Faster!

For a bunch of sl*ves
with magical, metalworking powers,

they're taking an awfully long time
to build my super weapon.

Perhaps they need a little bit
of motivation. Show them their king!

No... No more! Please don't hurt me!

That's more like it.

Um... Ryner, where are we?

This is the armory.

Whoa...

...Huh?

- Cool!
- Uh, can I get one of those?

Of course. You can each have one.

Now, the key to operating it
is understanding

that the nanocellulose responds
to electrical impulses

from the neural pathways
connected through this.

- Do what now?
- Mm. Mm! Makes my tongue itchy.

That's your interface?

Of course, all commands need to come
as binary coded messages.

So, like this.

- Yes! Excellent!
- I think mine is just a tree.

You must have
a deep connection with nature.

Not really. My allergies and pale skin
don't mix with outdoor living.

- Pidge is our resident tech expert.
- Well, that explains it.

Like the Olkari, you understand
that, at the deepest level,

trees, metal, you, me...
we're all made up of the same cosmic dust,

all arranged by the laws of mathematics.

Does this mean I should start gardening?

It means you're going to need
to give your friends a ride.

This way! To the edge of the forest!
To save our king!

Finally, the cube is ready for launch.

Load the top Olkari engineers
onto our ships and prepare for departure.

After the cube destroys Olkarion,

hopefully, Zarkon will welcome us
back to the main fleet.

Their headquarters
are impenetrable from the ground,

but there is one way in,
a small opening in the roof.

It goes all the way down
to an open courtyard.

That's quite a drop.

But there you will have
total access to the building.

The hard part will be
getting onto the roof undetected.

That won't be a problem.

Hey, hey, what's that?
Is that part of the building?

My Lubos! It can't be!

Hey! That looks like the cube
Coran gave me!

I haven't seen one of those
in many decafeebs.

We used to play with them as children.

But this... Only King Lubos
could have designed one that size.

Why would he do that?

They must have forced him
to reveal his designs

and reconstruct it as a weapon.

From the looks of it,
I'd say it's almost finished.

Okay, we need to act fast.
Everyone, back to base. I have a plan.

First, we'll need to get
to the top of that tower.

Since the Green Lion
has stealth capabilities,

Pidge, you're the drop ship.

You'll take Keith, Hunk,
Lance, and me to the roof,

then drop back to a safe position.

After the drop, we'll use a censor to scan
the building for any Olkari biorhythms.

Betrayal!

She loves you!

King Lubos?

Yes? Who are you?
The jesters I requested?

Um, we're here to, like, rescue you?

Hmm...

You could have just said, "No, thanks."

Looks like someone came
to rescue you, Lubos.

You turned your back on your people
to save your own skin?

I'm doing this for my people!

They wanted to fight the Galra,
but they are too powerful!

The Galra could destroy us!

So, you helped enslave your people
to build some super weapon?

Don't make me the bad guy!
He forced me to do it!

Did he force-feed you, too?

Uh...

You're no king.

Okay, we're walking out of here!
Anyone tries to stop us and Lubos gets it!

- Whoa, K-Keith!
- That came out of nowhere!

La-sai, what are you doing?

You betrayed our people.
I can't live this lie anymore.

You don't want me to hurt
your genius engineer, right?

Oh, be my guest. His work is done.
The cube is complete.

What? But-But I thought we had a deal!

Guards, put them all out of their misery.

Your ride is here!

Engage the cube! Take down the lion!

The cube is operational!

We've got to get back
to the other lions and form Voltron!

On it!

Lubos...

What's going on?

While your countrymen starved,

King Lubos was well
taken care of by the Galra.

He willingly helped them
build that cube,

willingly helped
to enslave his own people.

...Lubos...

I know you're devastated, but it's time
to be strong and use your Olkari spirit

to fight alongside Voltron
and take back your planet!

Lubos, how could you?

- I... I was only trying to...
- Enough! We must free our people!

All right, team,
let's take that thing down!

Form shield!

Let's see how tough this magic cube is.

Did it just absorb our lasers?

We need to increase firepower!
Hunk, use your blaster!

- I'm not sure this is a good idea.
- Got it!

Yeah, I think it's working!

It's giving back whatever we fire into it,
like Coran's echo cube.

That's what I was trying
to tell you guys! It's learning!

Making its own versions
of our weapons to use against us!

We can't just sit here.
We've got to move!

How do we beat it?

Maybe, if we form our sword,
we can cut through the surface

and hack right into the center
thinking point place?

Can't be any worse
than what's happening now.

Let's do it. Form sword!

It's working!

It's still operational! Re-engage!

We did it! They're going down!

Uh-oh!

We've got to move! Move!

We can't fight them like this!
We need to split up! Back into lions!

Excellent. Voltron doesn't stand
a chance against my weapon.

Soon, I'll have both the cube and Voltron
to present to Emperor Zarkon.

Let's see if I can freeze these guys!

Oh, no! So cold, so cold!

- Oh, oh. Thanks, Keith.
- You got it.

Shiro, what are we going to do?

There doesn't seem
to be any way to stop them,

but we can't let this weapon
get into Zarkon's hands!

...Pidge!

The Green Lion's in trouble!

Pidge! Are you okay?

- Pidge, can you hear me?
- Yeah. Wait.

- How am I hearing you?
- That's not important right now.

We need to get your lion
back up and running.

I think we can heal your lion's body,

but you must bond with its spirit
if it is to fly again.

- But I thought we bonded already.
- Your bond must be stronger.

Come on, girl. I need you.

Remember what I said.
You, the lion, the Olkari...

We are all made of the same essence.

Where are you, Pidge? We need you!

...Pidge!

...Pidge!

- Guys, hang on!
- Pidge!

Whoa, Pidge!
What's going on? You're booking!

I'm not sure, but I feel more connected
with my lion than ever!

I know what I have to do!

Whoa! How'd you do that?

That's right! Circle up, everybody!
Get some of this!

Vines...

Well, that is not the way I thought
a giant cube of death would go down.

No!

Commander, we have to evacuate.

The cube is down,
and the Olkari have taken back the city.

I want to thank you all.
You helped us get our home back.

And, for that, we will never
be able to repay you.

Just promise me that when it's time
to take the fight to Zarkon,

we can count on the Olkari for help.

Now and forever.

And you...
The spirit of the Olkari resides in you.

The bond between you and your lion
has grown stronger than ever.

Without you, I would never have been
able to unlock my lion's hidden power.

- Nice job, Pidge.
- You know, it's weird.

I've always been a tech junkie.
That's how I connected with the world.

But, for the first time,
I feel connected to everything.

I guess it's like Ryner said.
We're all made up of the same cosmic dust.

So, that means we're all related.

This ship, those stars, the Olkari.

Even the Galra.

Uh-oh. I think Keith
just blew his own mind.

...What?

Well, that was a productive trip.
Look at all these cubes they gave me!

- Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man!
- Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man!

- Ah, sounds pretty good.
- Ah, sounds pretty good.

...Whoa!

- What's that?
- What's that?

- Oh, no!
- Oh, no!