Screams erupted from everyone as we flew through the apparently corrupt wormhole. Unlike normal, there were pink and golden tones littered around us. The lions were forced from their chambers before all going off in different directions.
"What just happened?", Hunk asked as we swirled around helplessly.
"I don't know, but we gotta stay together.", I replied, determined not to lose any of them. This was the worst time for us all to be split up; who knows what could happen? Allura and Coran were alone in the ship, defenceless and, quiznack! y/n is in the lion with Pidge. What if she gets taken back by the Galra? And Pidge too!
My thoughts were interrupted as Hunk and I were pulled out of the wormhole, leaving us both to scream out for help. We were roughly ejected from the wormhole, freefalling towards some sort of ice planet. The skies surrounding it were similar to that back on earth, yet the whole planet consisted of ice.
Our screaming continued and was soon added on to with a beeping sound that seemed to be coming from the lions. Thoughts rushed through my head and clouded my mind, preventing me from thinking straight.
'We're separated from the rest of our team and about to be stranded on some ice planet! Could this get any worse?'
Of course, it could. A loud crashing noise echoed around as we made contact with the slippery surface of the planet, smashing it in one swift movement. Broken pieces of ice and bubbles surrounded Hunk and I as we fell deeper into the planet's depths.
I clutched my two control sticks and glanced towards Hunk's lion. "Hunk, are you okay?", I asked, concern hidden in my tone. Silence. "Hunk?", I asked again. Another moment of silence, followed by a wrenching sound.
"I'm fine", he insisted as he tried to cover up the fact he had just vomited.
"You just threw up, didn't you?", I accused him, shooting a sharp look in his general direction. He stayed quiet for a second, and I thought that he was admitting defeat, but he soon spoke again.
"Well, yeah. You would too if you got sucked out of a wormhole at light speed, then crashed into an ice planet and ended up underwater!", he retorted. I mentally facepalmed at his words - he does realise we're in the same boat here?
"That is what happened to me!", I remarked. My hands seemed to grip the controllers slightly more as I tried my best not to explode on Hunk.
"Oh, right.", he mumbled, seeming embarrassed.
I ignored the little outburst we had and decided to check up on my lion's diagnostics. The hologram flashed a bright red background along with some Altean words and a symbol. 'Great. The system is down. We really are stranded. Wonderful. I just want to be home, not on this stupid planet...'
Shrugging off my homesickness, I reported my findings to my friend. "My main system is down, The crash must have screwed it up. Does yours work?". I waited patiently for his response, silently praying that his lion worked.
"I'm on reserve power. My lion's pretty much dead in the water.", he replied with a twinge of playfulness in his tone. His joke was terrible, although it did help rid my mind of my worries. However, I wouldn't be telling him that.
I groaned and said, "This situation's bad enough Hunk. Don't make it worse with puns."
He quickly changed the topic, moving on to a different matter. "I'm just shocked that we hit a planet. I thought Pidge said space was 90% empty."
"Well, apparently, Pidge's science is wrong.", I stated. We continued sinking further down, occasionally passing what I assume were some fish and coral reefs. We both sat in silence for a bit, immersed in our own separate thoughts. It was Hunk who eventually broke the silence.
"We need to contact the others and get back to the group immediately", he suddenly said, making me nod. "Hello, anyone? This is Hunk and Lance of the yellow and blue lions". 'Okay, he's really pushing it today.'
I leaned forward a bit and furrowed my eyebrows, not remembering he couldn't see me. "They know the colour of our lions", I reminded him, in a matter-of-a-factly tone.
"Oh, right. Okay, yeah. I always forget that. My bad.", he rambled, once again embarrassing himself.
We were mere inches away from the floor of the planet, my lion being the one to make contact with it first. Hunk's followed seconds after, making the same 'crash' type noise as he did.
I groaned, falling forward slightly, but soon straightened myself to sit upright. "We gotta check for damage and get these lions going.", I said in a serious tone.
"Copy that.", he replied, most likely pulling up the same diagnostics hologram that I had earlier.
"Oh, good. Hey, the blue lion's coming back online now. Welcome back, beautiful.", I announced, relief engulfing me. She stood up on the water's floor and her eyes began shining a familiar yellow light. I, however, didn't expect an alien-like creature to be in the water, eyes fixated on my lion.
The creature, of which I'd now identified as a mermaid, sped away, tail moving swiftly to propel itself away. I blinked twice, stunned."Uh... Hunk, did... did you see something swim by?", I asked. I wasn't sure whether or not I was hallucinating, but I sure as hell hoped I wasn't.
"What? No.", he replied.
A sudden rumbling sound could be heard around us and, as I looked in the direction of its source, I once again saw the mermaid as she swam away. "No way! This is going to sound crazy, but I think I just saw a mermaid.", I claimed, knowing fully well that he wouldn't believe me. I mean, heck, I hardly believed myself!
"Oh, boy. Okay, how hard did you bang your head when we hit the planet?", he asked, more likely than not narrowing his eyes. 'Rude.'
"Dude, I'm serious!", I retort, feeling a short burst of anger course through me. The anger faded, however, when I saw the unique creature swim in front of my lion once again. This time, she appeared to be much closer, too.
"Look! There it is again! Hey, come here!", I shouted at the creature. While manoeuvring my lion around to follow, her, I must've looked like I was chasing my tail. "Where are you going? Hey, slow down!", I whined again.
Hunk released an exasperated sigh and began setting me in my place. "Lance, knock it off. We have to stay focused and get to the others-"
I ignored his words against it as I left the security of my lion, mind focused on finding that mermaid so that I could talk to her. "You're outside of your lion. Great."
"I know we have to find the others. I'm just saying maybe this thing can help. Also, it's a mermaid. A mermaid! Come on, let's find it.", I pleaded as I turned to look at the yellow lion laying on the water's floor.
"No. No way. Nope. Not going out there.", he replied sternly.
Knowing he'd give in easily if I told him he'd be alone, I smirked and folded my arms across my chest. "Okay, you stay here. By yourself. In the dark. All alone in a lion that's out of commission.", 'Please work, I just wanna follow the hot mermaid!'
At lightning speed, he flew out of his lion and grabbed my shoulders, frantically shaking me. "Don't leave me!", he yelled, his helmet basically touching mine. Not responding, I turned the small light that's situated on the wrist of my suit on and began shining it around the entirety of the place, searching for the mermaid.
I quickly spotted it next to what seemed like an underwater pillar, but she began swimming away, further to the darkness. "Come on!", I exclaimed, not waiting for Hunk as I travelled through the water. He was hot on my heels, looking anxious as ever.
We swam side by side, the mermaid ahead of us, smiling in awe. "I can't believe this! We're really chasing a mermaid.", he marvelled, eyes wide. The mesmerising creature giggled, most likely hearing our conversation, and continued swimming away from us.
"Hey, wait, wait, wait! We're friendly!", I said as I shone my light directly at her. We turned to face a different direction, both gasping as we did so. In front of us was a beautiful underwater kingdom. A giant castle-like structure was placed in the middle, and in front lay a large, glowing piece of what looked to be grass.
"Whoa!", we sai simultaneously. We turned our heads to face each other but were soon horror-struck when we came face-to-face with the mermaid from earlier. She was behind us, pink hair shaping her face perfectly as her pointy ears stuck out slightly. Her tail was a mixture of pink and yellow, the top covering her top half following suit, spare the white top that she also wore.
"Hello.", she said calmly. We both screamed, backing away slightly. "Welcome to my village. Here, all are safe and warm.", she smiled softly, making my heart melt.
Two fish-men creatures appeared behind us, scaring the living daylights out of Hunk and myself, too. We shrieked in shock, swimming far away from the two creatures. "Please, do not startle our guests. I am Florona. The almighty Queen Luxia, keeper of our land, would love to meet with you.", she said, eyes darting between the two of us.
"Wait. How did your queen know we were here?", I asked. It was kinda spooky that she knew we were here considering we didn't even know who she was.
"Queen Luxia knows all.", she simply replied, her gaze focused on the 'land' in front of us. They all started swimming into the area, Hunk and I being carried on some large seahorse creatures. We made our way towards the centre and were surrounded by vibrant colours shining from every direction. It was beautiful.
Hunk, however, wasn't on the same wavelength. "Lance, I know this mermaid thing is a dream of yours, but we really gotta go.", he said. I wanted to roll my eyes at him so bad; who would pass up a chance to meet some hot mermaids?
"We will, big guy, we will, but let's meet this queen first. Besides, maybe she can help us. And, if I just happen to find the future Mrs Blue Lion, well, then that is all right with me.", I teased, a smirk creeping onto my face. Hunk stayed quiet, not knowing how to respond to my joke, and we eventually reached what looked like the palace.
We entered behind the two guards and Florona, dismounting the seahorses and stranding at the end of the corridor in anticipation. At the other end of the hall stood a mermaid with a blue body and green antenna. She had some darker blue fish gills and deep, baby blue eyes. Her looks were captivating.
An oddly soothing voice snapped me from my trance, however, and I soon brought myself back to focus. "Space travellers, I am Queen Luxia. I welcome you to our village as honoured guests.", Queen Luxia says. Something about her voice was comforting, it made me feel as if I could trust her. Plus, it was hot.
"The honour's all ours.", I say, bowing down. "I'm La-a-a-a-nce.", my voice wavers as I fall through the water. My attempt at a bow, of course, was futile considering we're underwater. I grunt as I begin floating away, but Hunk quickly grabs my ankle to bring me back down.
"Uh, Mrs Queen, Your Honour, Your Excellence, I'm Hunk. Me and my buddy here, we crash-landed on your lovely planet, but we really need to get back in touch with our friends who are in space. Would you possibly have any way of doing that?", Hunk rambled. His voice held worry and slight panic, but he's always worrying so this is normal.
"Hunk, Lance, I can solve all your problems. Here we are all safe and warm.", she said. 'Weird. Florona said that exact phrase earlier. But she seems trustworthy so whatever.', I thought. Her tone was still weirdly calm, though.
"You use magic, don't you? I bet this castle is a ship. Thi-this castle is a ship, am I right? Just don't say anything if I'm right.", he blabbed on, raising his hands and closing his eyes, an open-mouthed smile on his face.
One of the strange fish guard people swam across to us, holding something, presumably a creature, in his arms. "Here, I've brought you these. The bubble coral will provide you with all the air you need.", the Queen assured.
The thing approached Hunk first and held the creature above his head, a bubble forming over his helmet. Hunk stared in awe, squishing the weird bubble and making faces. "Whoa-ho-ho!", he exclaimed, pulling his helmet off. "Thank you, Fish Queen."
The thing then did the same to me and a bubble morphed around my head. I smiled timidly and squished the bubble a little. "Huh. Coooool.", I said.
The Queen took our silence as her cue to continue talking as she raised her hand higher, making a gesture to us. "And rest assured, your space vessels will be well protected.", we turned to see our lions with their forcefields IP being carried by some winged underwater creatures. "Now, please, follow me."
I now had my helmet rested on my hip as I looked towards the strange glowing grass object from earlier. "What is that?", I asked curiously, keeping my eyes on it.
"That is the giver of life to our people, the Baku Garden. When the waters froze over, we were forced to live down here. The garden provides us with the warmth and food we need to survive. Because of it, we are taken care of. Here, we are all safe and warm.", the Queen explained.
'Huh. The same phrase again. Weird.'
~ At the meal ~
We were taken to some sort of dinner party, where Hunk and I seated on opposite sides of the table while the Queen sat at the head of it. I was surrounded by a bunch of hot, giggling mermaids while Hunk was eating to his heart's content.
The two beautiful mermaids stayed by my side as I ate, giggling as I strike some poses for them. The best poses I have ever done, might I say. I gave them a few winks, smirk plastered onto my face. They simply laughed, probably loving me.
Hunk, on the other hand, was wolfing down every piece of food in sight. I'd never seen him eat so fast before, not even back in the Garrison. He had the biggest smile on his face as his eyes darted around the table, wondering what to eat next.
He looked towards the Queen after swallowing his food and smiled. "Your Royalness-", he paused, clearing his throat, "- if I may, this food is amazing. It's even better than Balmeran cave bugs.", he gushed as he leaned on the table a little more.
She looked at him, the same look on her face as before. "I'm glad you enjoy it. It was freshly picked from the Baku Garden. I hope you enjoy the entertainment.", she replied. She gestured her hand towards what looked like a stage, signalling for us to watch whatever was about to happen.
As we did, some seductive music began playing and what looked like a mermaid began dancing behind a red curtain. She did multiple twirls and flips, leaving both me and Hunk mesmerised by her elegance. "Whoa.", I muttered, cheeks flushing slightly.
The woman continued dancing, a spotlight still focused on her figure, until the curtain opened and revealed a pink octopus. 'What the heck?!', I thought, a little weirded out that I liked the look of an octopus just seconds ago. It came closer towards us, continuing along with its dance, using more tentacles this time.
My face turned into an annoyed expression as I leaned forward head closer to the table, sulking. Hunk turned towards the Queen again, most likely to speak to her.
"So, about us getting in contact with our friends... how can you help us?", he asked slowly, in an attempt not to irritate her.
She waved off his question, replying with a simple, "Please, let's discuss that after the dance."
We continued to focus our gaze at the octopus as it swirled around, light immersing from its core as it did so. Hunk continued eating, eyes trained solely on the creature. "Whoa, this dance is amazing. It's the... it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen."
"I'm glad you enjoy it. Put your mind at ease. Let your consciousness drift like the tide.", her words echoed around in my head as I stared at the glowing octopus. My mind became foggy as I heard Hunk's voice mumble something incoherent. At that moment, everything else became a blur.
~ Back in the castle, after they collected Shiro and Keith ~
Your P.O.V
"Hey Keith, Shiro! Everything okay?", Pidge asked over the intercom. I could see the relief in her eyes now that we had found them, but we still hadn't managed to make contact with Lance and Hunk. What if they didn't have such an easy time wherever they ended up?
"We're good, but Shiro's injured", Keith answers over the intercom as he flies his lion towards the ship, closely followed by the black lion. "Allura, Coran, get a pod ready for him"
"Right away, number four", Coran's cheery voice echoed through the intercom, some small noises being heard afterwards. Both the red and black lion flew towards the castle and into their separate chambers so that Shiro could be treated for whatever injuries he had sustained.
Everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds until Pidge turned around again, smirk in tow. "What're you smirking about, Pidge?", I ask. She simply shrugged and turned away, not answering my question. I grab her shoulders gently and lean over to look at her face. "Pidge, what's so funny? I know that face"
I received no response from Pidge, however, but rather a voice over the intercom. "y/n?", Keith's voice rang through the intercom. A hint of relief was hinted in his tone, but he tried his best to sound complacent. "Are you and Pidge alright?"
"Ye-", I started, but was swiftly cut off by Pidge.
"Nope, we're not. y/n hit her head kinda hard in the green lion. You should totally check on her", she teased. I rolled my eyes and give her a look, to which she just smiles innocently. I hear a small gasp over the intercom which drew my attention away from Pidge.
"Wait seriously? Did you hurt yourself anywhere else?", he panicked, voice fast-paced. I sighed, tapping Pidge on the head. She pouted playfully and tapped my head back. "y/n? y/n are you alright? Pidge, did she pass out or something?"
She laughed at him before shaking her head. "She's alright, Keith. She did hit her head and she has a couple of scratches but nothing serious.", Pidge assured, turning the camera on so he could see us. He sighed before returning to helping Shiro climb into one of the healing pods.
'How did he even get injured? Are Lance and Hunk alright? God, this is gonna be a long day...'
~ Back with Lance and Hunk ~
Lance P.O.V
I woke up feeling restricted and confused. It felt as if my hands were tied together and restricted behind my back whilst my eyes were being covered by something that looked like a starfish. It made me feel anxious and I was quick to question it.
"Wait, where am I? Why am I blindfolded? Is this a game? I hate games!", I ranted, moving my head from side to side as if I could see anything, which I still couldn't. But seriously, who ties a guy up? The last time I checked, I was with that cute mermaid Queen and now I'm being kept hostage!
I squirmed around a little more, moving my legs around frantically. It felt like I was still underwater; I guess that's a good sign? All of a sudden, the creature covering my eyes was gone and I looked around, seeing three... things? They looked like mermaids, but they had jellyfish covering their heads.
One of them, the one with the blue jellyfish head, held some sort of pufferfish whilst the other, the one with a yellow jellyfish and three eyes, held a starfish, leaving the other yellow-headed jellyfish, of which had two strange-looking eyes, empty-handed with their fins resting on their hips.
"It's okay. You were mind-swished, but now we want to-", the blue one started, but I was quick to cut them off.
"Kill me? Think again!", I yelled, backing away quickly. My attempt to escape was futile, however, as I soon found myself backed up against the wall. I hit it hard, my head making contact with it first. I groaned and floated away from the wall, irritated that I was stuck with these strangers.
'I seriously don't wanna be stuck here. Where's Hunk too? I should try to leave while I still can. There's an opening... behind them. Bingo!', I thought as a rush of determination coursed through my veins.
I sped towards them, grunting at the feeling of the water pushing against my skin as I did so. They all screamed and moved away, not wanting to be bulldozed over. I flew down the corridor, ignoring their words of protest, but found myself faced with sharp, spear-like objects that moved in my direction.
I screamed and backed away, turning down another of the twisty-turny tunnels. This time, instead of sharp objects, I saw some fish with claws. Claws! I screamed, looking around and seeing all the disgusting, scary things consuming the room. It's safe to say I was outta there before you could say the word 'mullet'.
I went down yet another tunnel, praying that I didn't have another encounter with either the spears or the fish. This time, thankfully, I was met with a brighter room filled with many neon jellyfish. I laughed as one swam past my face and was in awe when I noticed how beautiful the entire room was.
I moved further in, 'aww'-ing at the smaller of the jellyfish but, much to my displeasure, they had to turn angry, leaving me a screaming mess as I cowered away.
As I turned around, I recognised the three jellyfish people instantly. Instinct taking the wheel, I screamed, "Please don't hurt me!"
The blue-headed one talked again, and only then did I notice the slight shake in her voice. It was as if it was tuned. "Please, we are not here to hurt you. We brought you here to ask for your help. I am Plaxum."
It was now the other twos' turn to speak, the weird-eyed one going first. He kept it short and simple, only saying, "Blumfump.", which I'm guessing is his name?
The last of the three - the one with three eyes - said, "Swirn."
'Are they serious? Those are some... unique names, that's for sure.'
I was quick to voice my questions as I spoke up. "Are you saying names, or is this some kind of weird spell you're putting on me?"
The blue-headed one, Plaxum, dismissed my question and said, "We believe you are our saviour."
"You guys think I'm your saviour? What do you want with me?", I questioned, eyebrows furrowed harshly. How could I possibly be their saviour?
'Blumpfump' answered this time, explaining in greater detail what his friend had meant. "The queen is mind-swishing everyone, controlling their thoughts. We believe you can stop her.". I gave a quizzical look, still quite sceptical of the new, supposedly harmless people that were asking me to help them.
They continued to explain everything to me, but it still seemed slightly far-fetched. I sat on a rock, cross-legged, firing more questions at them.
"Wait. Wait a minute. Okay. You're trying to tell me that the queen is brainwashing people? But she's so safe and... warm.", I said, hands resting on the rock between my crossed legs.
'Swirn' asked me a question as she swam around behind the other two of her companions. "What do you remember from last night?".
"I remember we crashed, saw the mermaids and the village, then we had dinner, and then... uh... we, uh...", I stuttered. 'Wow. Why can't I remember anything? Is that really why my mind went blank? I was brainwashed? No way! Holy quiznack!'
She swam behind me and spoke again, her voice holding a confident tone. "You can't remember because you were under her control."
Then, Blumfump came closer and looked me dead in the eye, holding a hand-drawn diagram up to my face. "Our theory is; the queen controls minds by using her voice to strike certain head switches in your ear pan."
Next was Plaxum, holding a paper similar to her friend's, just containing slightly different drawings. "And her magnetic stare locks on to your eye-to-brain pathway plug."
Then Swirn, once again with paper in tow. "Plus, her mind-control sonar is always broadcasting through the waters. Bong, bong, bong!", the paper flew up and Plaxum's head came back into my line of vision.
"She trains people to use hypnotic movements to lull you under her control.", she stated, swimming next to me and placing a hand on my shoulder.
I look up, trying my best to remember something. 'Wait... got it!'. "I do remember a dancer.", I replied. Hopefully, that helped.
"Good, because I haven't finished my picture for that one. But you see, she was infecting your brain!", Blumfump said. 'For someone who can be serious, he sure is eager to draw a picture of that dancer.'
"Holy crow! I had a mind-controlling brain infection!", I exclaimed, feeling the reality finally hit me. I let out a slight yelp as Plaxum dragged me by the armour towards a giant clam. As she opened it, multiple colourful jellyfish swam out, leaving nothing but trails of bubbles behind them.
She tossed me into the shell, telling me to sit. I grunted from the impact but obeyed nonetheless.
"The entire village is under the queen's mind-control. The only reason we aren't is that we wear these jellyfish to hide our brains from her powers. It's like we have no brains whatsoever. You can't control what doesn't exist.", Blumfump described as Swirn stood behind me, measuring my head with a piece of seaweed.
"Right. Of course.", I said, clearly unconvinced. The whole idea of brainwash I'm coming to terms with, but for whatever reason, I seriously doubt these jellyfish do anything for them. At that moment, I had a thought. 'Wait, I won't have to wear one, right? Oh no, please no! Don't let that quiznacking thing touch my hair!'
"Our heads are empty!", he carried on, looking excited or as if he'd made a discovery.
"Yeah, I get it.", I bluntly said. Swirn was measuring the front of my face with the seaweed now, but she just measured over the bubble rather than touching my actual face, much to my relief.
"Many years ago, the queen froze over the surface by blocking the thermal vents. She forced everyone to the depths, where she then began to brainwash them. They became her prisoners.", Swirn elaborated. I was left a little baffled, surprised their beloved queen would do such a thing.
"What size?", Plaxum asked.
"Eight and seven-eighths aquameters.", Swirn replied.
Meanwhile, I was still confused about the queen's motives. "But what's the point? Why mind-control the mermaids?"
Blumfump came right up to my face, eyes contorted in a way that made him look angry or frustrated. "To kill them!", he shouted, making goosebumps appear on my skin.
"Really?", I asked.
He backed away, giving me some much needed personal space, and his eyes went back to normal. "Well, we don't know that for sure, but hundreds of mermaids have disappeared and never come back.", he explained.
"We've tried to take out the queen, but failed several times. And every attempt depletes our numbers. Now there are only three of us left. Without you, there is no hope.", Swirn said solemnly.
"Found one!", Plaxum said as she swam towards us, a jellyfish in her grip.
"What do you want from me?", I asked hesitantly.
"We saw the mer-cat you came in. We think it can stand up against the queen and her forces. But first, you'll need one of these.", Blumfump answered, gesturing towards Plaxum, who held a pink jellyfish that had blue ears.
"Now, they sting pretty bad and don't smell great.", she said, moving closer to me.
"If my theory is correct,", Blumfump started, "the smelliest ones block the most mind-control rays.". Plaxum came right up behind me, hoisting the jellyfish just above my head.
"Are you a scientist?", I asked.
He replied with a short "No", and Plaxum began explaining how the jellyfish can sometimes make your face swell and possibly experience hearing loss, making me anxious to get it over with so I could get back to my friends.
"Would you just put it on already?", I snapped impatiently.
She silently complied, floating the jellyfish above my head. The creature instantaneously used some sort of suction and attached itself to my head, leaving me to scream in agony. "Ah! It burns!", I yelled.
"That means it's working!", she assured, but it sure as quiznack felt like it was sucking my brains out.
I groaned, holding my head in my hands. As I looked up, I could already tell that my face was swollen. It felt numb and the skin felt restricted. "So what's the plan?", I mumbled.
We went into another room and Blumfump began to explain his plan to me while we gathered around a mini recreation of the village.
He held up a small, person-shaped item and said, "This is you. You act like you're still thought-swirled and get past the guards. Get your mer-cat and grab the queen. We'll mount a full-scale attack on the castle and free the people.", he finished, placing all of the miniature items he had in his hands down.
"Then, I'll get to be a hero.", I said confidently, ignoring my overly swollen face. I picked up two rocks, one being me and the other being a female mermaid. "Oh, Lance, you're so handsome!", I imitated a girl's voice. "And modest.", I said in my usual voice. "Oh thank you for saving us. Can I kiss you?", I used the female voice again. "Maybe just a little", I finished in my normal voice.
I brought the rocks closer together, imitating a kiss-like action and making kissing noises. Blumfump looked at me seriously and began talking again.
"Well, now you're just making a tree kiss a turtle.", he said bluntly.
"That's a turtle?", I asked. "But there's an actual turtle right here.", I pointed towards it.
"We needed the turtle to play the wall. If your acting fails you, this-", he held up a pufferfish, "- holds three doses of antidote to use on the guards. It should interrupt the queen's mind-control long enough for you to escape.", he finished, letting it float towards me.
I simply crossed my arms and said, "I don't think I'll be needing this. I missed 14 days of the third grade for a stomach ache that I never really had"
~ At the castle ~
Outside the castle, I saw multiple guards positioned in front of my lion, 'protecting' it. I swam closer, hiding behind a large rock. I take a deep breath and prepare to act. 'You can do this. Just like third grade. Come on.'
I swam up to the guards with a smile on my face. "Hello, mer-guards! Isn't everything just so safe and warm here?", I say cheerily as I clutch my hands together in front of my chest. They look at me, unresponsive, so I decide to say something else. "Anyway, I'm off to my lion- oh, come on!", I yell.
They wrapped me in a seaweed net and took me into the castle, only putting me down when we were face to face with the Queen herself. 'Oh, quiznack. I'm so done.'
They remove the net and I groan out of frustration; why couldn't this plan have just gone the way it was supposed to? Both guards stood either side of me, tridents in hand, and the Queen sat in her throne with a menacing look on her face.
"I had a feeling you'd come for your vessel.", she calmly states."Servant, take Lance to the Baku Garden."
A door suddenly opens, revealing my best friend as I gasp. Something was off about him, though. He wasn't acting like the guy I know. "Hunk?", I say. He doesn't say anything as he makes his way over to me, an angry expression glued to his usually stand-offish face.
"Hey buddy, it's me! Snap out of it! It's Lance!", I pleaded, but he had no reaction. My smile falters as he holds my wrists, escorting me to the Baku Garden. 'Wait... no. This isn't happening. Do something, Lance.'. I groan again but then realise I have the antidote in my back pocket. Bingo!
I turn around swiftly, grabbing the pufferfish and directing it at Hunk's face, but he swats my hand away and it begins floating behind me. "Darn it!", I yell as I watch it float away. There was no time to grab it, though, as Hunk lunged towards me.
I dodged, floating over his head and swimming away. He swivelled around in the water slightly, but I kept swimming until I was in the castle again.
"Everyone, capture him!", the Queen ordered. Her calm tone had faded now, her true colours had become clear.
I swim to the ceiling and watch as the guards follow me up in an attempt to corner me. Adrenaline kicking in, I begin looking for some sort of weapon and quickly spot something frisbee-shaped on the wall so I grab it before launching it in the general direction of the guards. 'Huh.'. My attempt was useless, though. Turns out frisbees don't work underwater.
They continue towards me at full speed as I yelp, using my boosters to propel me as far away from them as possible. I dodge them, spotting the pufferfish in the process. Hastily, I rush towards it and grab it just as Hunk tackles me, leaving us both to float across the room.
I panic as it flies out of my hand again, but calm down slightly once I've re-caught it. The relief was fleeting, though, as he grabbed ahold of my leg, using it to throw me in the direction of a wall. Giving me no time to recover, he makes his way over to me and holds my shoulders, ramming me roughly into it himself.
The stupid pufferfish leaves my grip yet again as my back makes contact with the stone surface, and I watch it as it descends to the floor. Desperate, I push back against Hunk and try my best to free myself from his grip.
He kept ahold of me, however, which was much to my dismay. I don't want to hurt him. "Hunk, please! I don't want to hurt you!", I beg. This time, I actually receive a verbal response.
"Must keep Queen safe and warm.", he says, his tone robot-like.
I take this as my opening and shove him away before rushing towards the pufferfish again. Although I face-plant, I manage to grip onto the small creature, securing it in my hand. Hunk was hot on my heel, leaving me hardly a second to move out of his way, meaning I found myself wrestling him once again.
Grunts were heard from both of us as we fought, but I managed to kick the pufferfish in front of his face so the antidote would work. Said creature emitted a green gas from its mouth, relieving Hunk of the mind-control he was previously under.
"Whoa!", he said in his usual tone, eyes wide in disbelief. "Whoa! Where am I? What am I doing? Is that a jellyfish on your head?"
"Hunk, you've been mind-controlled by the Queen and you're trying to kill me.", I deadpanned despite being suspended upside down in the water. I flip around and approach him before placing my hands on his shoulders, staring him dead in the eye.
"Oh, really? Sorry. My bad.", he replied.
I dismissed his response, saying, "We're kind of in the middle of a battle so I'm going to need your help.". His eyes widened and he nodded, mumbling a quick "Got it."
We sped towards the lions, noticing the multiple guards surrounding them. "Oh!", I exclaimed, closely followed by a nervous stutter from my yellow paladin friend. We go to turn around but soon realise we're surrounded by guards, each of them holding a weapon.
I turn to face the lions again, gasping as I see an axe make its way towards my head. The guard was stopped, however, by a pufferfish being launched at him as it emitted the antidote. My eyes widen and I turn around. "Huh?"
Behind me was Plaxum and Blumfump, Plaxum speeding towards us as Blumfump stood holding arm-fulls of pufferfish. Swirn rode by on a sea creature, shooting at some of the guards, leaving me to fight off one of them while Hunk stood idly, confusion and panic written all over him.
"Now who are these weirdos?", he asks.
I tilt my head towards him and say, "Those weirdos are with us.", as Plaxum approaches us.
"Come, we must hurry to your mer-cats.", she explains. We each give her a nod and promptly board our lions. I slide into my seat and press a button, making Blue growl as her eyes glow their usual yellow and her mouth opens, allowing Plaxum to enter it.
"You hanging on?", I ask her, making her reply with a yes as she told me to go.
"So what's the plan?", Hunk asks over the intercom. Just as I opened my mouth to answer him, a certain someone interrupted.
"We need to grab the Queen and take her to an ice prison Blumfump built, where her mind-control powers will be trapped because of the thick ice and the jellyfish.", Plaxum says, her pace of speech faster than usual.
"Okay, who's that?", Hunk asks.
"It's Plaxum. Just go with it.", I respond, leaving him no room to say anything else as I started my lion up, preparing to grab the Queen and go. Hunk followed suit and we took off, following the guards to the Queen. We see a figure leaving the castle along with two guards.
"There she is!", Hunk blurts out, stating the obvious. Nothing else was said as I sped towards her figure. Plaxum fired pufferfish at them all, causing all of the guards to be freed of the Queen's mind-control. She then used seaweed to lasoo the Queen before she could make a run for it.
The second she was secured in Blue's mouth, Hunk and I drove our lions away at a slower speed, seeing as there was no need for us to be fighting anymore. Just as I thought we were out of the woods, I heard a conversation between Plaxum and the Queen.
"What's going on?", I asked no one in particular.
"Nothing! It's a ruse!", Plaxum claims, anger evident in her tone. I ask if she's sure, but she isn't the one that responds to my question.
"I wasn't controlling anyone.", the Queen says, followed shortly after by her gasping. "The Baku!", she says, but Plaxum was having none of it.
"She's lying!", she shouted, but the Queen protested against it.
"I'm not! Please! The last thing I remember is that organism in the garden falling from space. I went to inspect it. I-I thought it was a plant.", she explained.
"Wait a second.", Hunk says. "We've been eating that plant. And it's delicious! It's so safe and warm!". At that moment, it all clicked for me.
"Aha! The mind-swishing! It was the plant this whole time. And the Queen was the first one to be mind-controlled.", I said confidently.
"But why?", Plaxum asked.
"The Baku has been harvesting us all. We are its food source.", the Queen says.
"No way.", I mumble in disbelief, but Hunk mentions something about her telling the truth, quickly telling us to look out of the window. I do as instructed and she the Baku Garden... coming to life? It untangled itself from its disguise, revealing a space snake. A piercing roar left its mouth as it faced our way, showing off its collection of sharp teeth.
I usher both Plaxum and the Queen out of Blue's mouth, telling them to get somewhere safe. Then I turned my attention towards Hunk and the creature we were about to fight. "Okay, Hunk. change of plans. The Queen is actually good and that thing is bad. Let's take it out."
We both rush towards the animal, determined not to let it win. It slings itself towards us, mouth wide open and prepared for battle. It knocked Hunk away, flinging him around thirty feet out of range and leaving me to shoot at it.
Hunk regained his balance, soon following my lead and shooting multiple laser beams at the beast. However, this thing was far from unagile. It dodged each attack with ease, moving too quick for Hunk's liking.
"That thing's too quick for me! I can't hit it. My lion's not very good in the water.", he whined.
"Really?", I asked. "My lion's moving better than ever. There's something about fighting underwater that's making me feel extra quick and powerful.", a small smile breaks onto my face as I loop around, chasing the quick creature. "I think I know how to stop that thing."
"How?", Hunk quickly asked.
"We gotta stop shooting where the creature is and start shooting where the creature's gonna be.", I explained, watching as it moved in front of us. I notice as it sneaks up on Hunk, once again moving him out of the way. I grunt and aim for where it's heading towards, landing a lucky shot on its head.
Its head became encased in ice, making me smile in victory. "I got it!", I cheered, possibly a little too soon as it broke free from the ice and swam away, hitting me into a wall in the process. I grunt, but catch myself and begin propelling my lion to move faster as the creature chased me.
I turned through a narrow opening, causing the creature to get its head trapped inside the narrow hole. It roared, squirming and trying to get itself out, but it didn't seem as if it could.
I laugh at the creature before saying "Now the hunter becomes the-", the creature breaks through the rock, driving itself at me yet again. "Oh no, he's free", I yell, getting as much distance as possible between me and the water snake.
Hunk yells as he shoves a boulder off of a cliff above us while I fought with the beast. Just as it was about to devour me, the boulder landed on its tail, squishing it. The creature lets out a battle cry, smashing the boulder as if it was nothing before lunging towards me again.
I sweatdrop but am soon drawn to something unfamiliar popping up on a hologram. "What?", I say to myself, staring at the symbol. It looked something like a flashing satellite but, with no time for decision-making, I push on my control sticks, yelling "Here goes nothing!"
My lion roars and something accumulates on its back, shooting a large soundwave at the creature. It screamed as rubble fell from above, eventually burying the creature under mounds of debris. "This place is coming down! Let's get outta here!", I tell Hunk.
We make our way back to our new-found allies together, Hunk deciding to fangirl over whatever had just happened. "Dude, you just dropped a sonic boom on him!", he exclaimed. I brushed it off as we spotted everyone in a cluster before heading towards them to discuss everything.
We climbed out of our lions and stood in front of the group of mermaids, now wearing our helmets rather than the air bubbles we had previously.
"So Blumfump, the jellyfish, the magnetic stare, the hypnotic dance...you got it all wrong. It was the food.", I explain, to which he claimed he did only say they were theories and that "Mer-science isn't always about getting the right answer."
Next to talk was the Queen. "I want to thank all of you for what you've done. You've freed my people. I will do all that I can to protect that freedom. I vow to be the voice of my people, and I beg of you to help.", she says, turning towards Swirn, Blumfump and Plaxum. "Will you be my advisors?"
"Of course, your highness.", Blumfump answers on behalf of the group. "I have some great ideas. Have you ever heard of electricity?"
Plaxum approached me as Blumfump finished speaking, making me focus my attention on her instead. "And I wanted to personally thank you, Lance.", she says, coming right up to my face and kissing my helmet. I groan in disgust, not wanting that slimy jellyfish she wore to be near my face anymore.
She turns the other way, mumbling something before she began removing the jellyfish from atop her head. My jaw drops in utter shock as I see her true beauty. "Whoa!", I exclaim, drool beginning to run down my chin.
Hunk started speaking to the Queen, but I was too focused on Plaxum to notice. I was brought back to reality, however, when Hunk pulled me by the shoulder to see something that the guards brought to us.
"It has been many years since we have last activated the energy beacon, but perhaps it is time to rebuild our civilisation and reach out to interstellar travellers once again.", the Queen said, opening what appeared to be a giant clam holding a pearl. "Activate energy beacon!"
The pearl glowed before shooting a large golden beam upwards, most likely into the atmosphere surrounding the planet. A projection of the green lion appeared, meaning Pidge and y/n were coming for us.
"There is a mer-cat that appears to be heading this way.", the Queen says, making me and Hunk cheer about being able to see our friends again.
"It's the green lion!", Hunk exclaimed.
"See, Hunk? I told you they could help us. Now, the next time I go swimming after a mermaid, I hope you won't be complaining the whole time.", I reply, crossing my arms confidently.
"Lesson learned.", he said with a smile.
'Thank god we found you... I hope you're all okay.'
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A/N: Hey reader, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading this and I do hope you found it a pleasant surprise to see the story from a brand new point of view; Lance! This one was way longer than normal, totalling at 7,899 words to make up for the slight delay in updating! Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter and my story as a whole, I hope you're enjoying and I'll see you in the next chapter! - Gracie