Title: Nothing’s Impossible
Author: Cheezey
Theme: Doomite Fic
Characters/Pairings: Merla, Lance
Album and Song: Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel; “Nothing’s Impossible”
Rating/Genre: K / Drama
Summary: After trusting Lotor and being burned, Merla’s learned the hard way that a change of heart to goodness is no bed of roses, but a talk with a former adversary might be enough to convince her not to give up.
Author’s Notes: Merla’s sudden switch to the side of good is a plot point that both intrigues and irritates me, the former because I like the concept, the latter because it was so out of the blue in how it played out. Since this song makes me think of someone who wants to change, I thought it suited Merla.
The terrible racket of rending metal, the violent jolt of her ship, and her own cry of panic was the last thing Queen Merla remembered when she opened her eyes. She was no longer aboard her ship departing the doomed asteroid that Lotor had lured her to with entirely too convincing lies, but on a bed in a place that she did not recognize. She inhaled sharply as she sat up, her senses filling with panic, and scanned her surroundings with her naked eye and a telepathic ear.
The former provided her with no recognition or comfort, but
the latter turned up a familiar impression—the mental energies of the Voltron
Force. “Planet Arus,” she murmured to
herself, realizing then that she must be inside the
Why am I here? Merla wondered to herself as she pushed the sheet covering her to the side. It was then that she noticed a bandage on her upper arm; apparently it had been lacerated during the explosion. The explosion… Her mind raced to piece together what had happened. She had left Lotor behind on that unstable asteroid made up to look like Doom, and—
How in the universe did I not even notice that it wasn’t actually Doom? Merla chided herself, deciding that love must really be blind. Once she was done indulging in that bitterly aggravating thought, she refocused and recalled how her ship had not cleared the danger zone of the barren planetoid’s explosions in time. The impact had been brutal, although apparently not fatal, and she remembered the blinding flash of sparks and the choking smell of electrical fire that followed. She also remembered cursing in a very unladylike manner at that moment just before she had been thrown backward, shielding her face from the worst of it.
That was all she remembered, however, and she surmised that she must have been knocked out at that point. When she touched the bandage on her arm, she felt a burning tenderness beneath it and then also noticed that there were superficial scrapes and blemishes over much of the rest of her body. “The Voltron Force must’ve saved me, then?” Merla mused aloud as she came to the only conclusion that made sense.
“Yeah,” a voice confirmed from the doorway.
The queen whirled around toward the origin of the voice, her pink braid swishing abruptly with the motion, and she saw the red lion pilot Lance standing in the doorway. “I… thank you,” she greeted him somewhat uncertainly. Her telepathic powers told her that he was both curious and distrustful of her, but not a threat.
Lance nodded back to Merla, and offered her a friendly, although somewhat hesitant smile. “Well, it wouldn’t have been right to just leave you out there in a broken ship to die in space.”
“After what Lotor pulled, I couldn’t blame you if you had.” She shook her head in disgust, and then met his gaze. “This is twice that you’ve gone out of your way, probably against your better judgment, to help me. The Voltron Force’s altruistic reputation is certainly well earned.”
Taking a few steps closer, Lance shrugged. “I can’t say for sure I’d have voted to save Lotor if it had been his ship, but you, well, he played you for a fool just like the rest of us.”
“Yes.” The acidic note that crept into her voice matched the scowl that tugged at the edges of her lips as she thought about it. “I apologize for wasting your time in saving him from the Pit of Skulls in the first place. He didn’t deserve your kindness—or mine.”
At that Lance let out a dark chortle. “Nah, but it’s a shame to hear you say that.” When Merla gave him a quizzical look he went on to say, “Saving Lotor was what you said made you think about turning over a new leaf. Not the best reward for it, was it?” He shook his head. “But honestly, if I was you, I wouldn’t be so sure it was worth it either.”
“You don’t think it’ll last for me either, do you?” Merla said, her yellow eyes intent on the Voltron Force pilot.
Lance straightened and regarded her evenly. “Well, Queen Merla, since you asked,” he paused, considering the right words. “I want to—”
“But?” she prompted.
“—but, uh, let’s just say that it’s been our experience with Zarkon, Lotor, and the types that hang around them that they don’t have the best track record for honesty and good will.”
A sardonic smile tugged at Merla’s lips. “I suppose if I told you I wasn’t actually from Doom it wouldn’t help?”
“Not really,” Lance admitted with an equal measure of honesty and a mirroring smirk.
“Worth a try,” she replied, and rose to her feet.
Lance was at her side in an instant. “Hey, where do you think you’re going? You were just in a crash; you shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”
Merla straightened, standing a bit taller than the human pilot even without benefit of her high heels, and regarded him with the cynical look that time. “You don’t expect me to stay here?”
“Well we’re not going to hurt you!” Lance said indignantly, blocking her path.
“I never said you were.” She took a step forward despite his stance, but he moved again to prevent her from advancing. “But I don’t belong here, either. While I do appreciate your saving me, you can’t think—”
Lance grabbed her forearm, cutting her off. “Where are you going to go? Back to Doom? Come on.” He gave her a pointed look. “You don’t even have a ship. Sit back down and rest for a while. It won’t kill you.”
Merla glanced down at his hand on her wrist, although she did not pull back or physically resist. “Are you going to hold me against my will?”
Somewhat taken aback by that accusation, Lance lowered his tone and lightened his grasp, although he did not let go. “No. You’re not a prisoner. I just thought…”
She gave him an incredulous look. “You thought I’d want to stay?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to go back to Lotor,” he replied.
“I don’t,” she said venomously.
Releasing her arm, he eyed her curiously. “Then where are you gonna go? You’re welcome here until you’re recovered, you know. You took a few hard hits on that ship. The doctor told us you ought to rest.”
“I’ve got plenty of places I can go that aren’t Doom. My home planet, for one. Why does it matter to you?”
Lance blinked, and for once the member of the Voltron Force that always seemed to have something memorable to say could not come up with an answer. That was of no consequence to Merla, though, for as a telepath she could read his thoughts as easily as if he had spoken aloud anyway.
“You’re worried,” she said, somewhat surprised at the root of Lance’s agitation. “You don’t want to see me go back to being how I used to be,” she continued, studying his face as she spoke. Her eyes lit up as she finished, “You’re concerned for me?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. Just because Lotor’s a selfish jerk it doesn’t mean you should throw it all away. I meant it before when I said I’d like to believe you were sincere. I think you could be, Queen Merla,” he said earnestly, and then added, “but not if you go back to people like Lotor or Zarkon or the rest of them. With us…”
The queen let out a light, but not malicious, laugh. “Oh Lance… you can’t really be serious. I’d never fit in here in your world, in the Galaxy Alliance. That’s not who I am.”
“But you said you don’t belong on Doom any more either,” Lance argued. “And on your planet would it be any different? I mean, you were a… you were like you were before you ever met Zarkon or Lotor. The Drule Empire is—”
“Yes, I am a product of my upbringing,” Merla cut him off in a matter-of-fact tone. “But not all Drules are ‘evil’ as you’d call it, or even like people like Lotor, Zarkon, and I would call ourselves.” She smirked. “We do use that term facetiously when it comes to dealing with Galaxy Alliance types, you know. I go by titles like ‘Queen of Darkness’ and ‘Goddess of the Night’ just as much in reference to the fact that my home world has an unusual rotation that gives it a night that’s several hours longer than the day as it does the fact that I’m a ruthless conquering bitch who’s taken over countless planets by force.” She picked up her tiara, set aside on a table next to the bed while she had been tended to, and put it back on. “Or at least I used to be.”
Lance’s brown eyes searched hers. “You really think you’ll give all that up when you go back? Or maybe once you put some distance between you and Lotor and us and some time passes, you won’t just decide that you’re over it?”
Merla closed her eyes for a moment, thoughtful, and then faced Lance once more. “You’ve been honest with me, so I’ll be honest with you. No, I won’t give up my throne or free all my worlds, or anything else that would have me declared insane, overthrown, and quite likely assassinated by my own people. I’m a queen; I have responsibilities, and yes, I’ll freely admit I’m not about to give up my spas, my palaces, my ships, or any of the perks like that which come with my station.”
“So you won’t change,” Lance said, his features falling to a stony frown.
“I didn’t say that,” Merla argued. “What I said was what I’m not going to give up. Not being ‘evil’ doesn’t mean I have to be some self-sacrificing fool or martyr. I can still be a queen of an empire and not be cruel. I wasn’t lying when I said that helping Lotor made me feel good, that the act of doing goodness for someone felt pleasant. I can’t change the past, but from this day forward I can treat my people well and those on the worlds I’ve conquered with mercy. I can choose to work with my peers rather than conspire against them, I can not use people as coldly as I once did, and I can use my mind powers to persuade changes for good rather than selfish gain.” She smiled. “Perhaps I can even help influence matters on the Drule Council toward peace rather than war with the Galaxy Alliance. Changes like that don’t happen overnight, but…”
Lance’s hard look softened as he listened to Merla. He was not a telepath like her, but he was apt at reading others and had always been a good judge of character, and it both pleased and relieved him to hear genuine sincerity in her words. “I’d like to believe that, Queen Merla,” he said, and then smiled at her. “And I do.”
She smiled back, a warm and genuine one. “You do.” She knew it was, too, for even without benefit of telepathy she knew men like Lance, while blunt, were also unfailingly honest.
“Yeah.” He relaxed and moved to her side, no longer blocking the door. “I think you will do good things. And who knows? Maybe someday that bonehead Lotor will take a cue from you.”
At that Merla laughed. “Well, nothing’s impossible, but we’ll see.”
Laughing with her, he walked alongside her to the door, glad to not only see Queen Merla recovering in body but also in spirit. “I’m sure we will,” he said, and took her to the control room so she could call for a ride home.
* * *
“Nothing’s Impossible”
Lyrics by David Gahan
Just give me a reason, some kind of sign
I'll need a miracle to help me this time
I heard what you said, and I feel the same
I know in my heart that I'll have to change
Even the stars look brighter tonight
Nothing's impossible
I still believe in love at first sight
Nothing's impossible
How did we get to be this far apart?
How did we get to be this far apart?
I want to be with you, something to share
I want to be here, I am not there
Even the stars look brighter tonight
Nothing's impossible
I still believe in love at first sight
Nothing's impossible
Even the stars look brighter tonight
Nothing's impossible
If you believe in love at first sight
Nothing's impossible
I still believe in love at first sight
Nothing's impossible