While going through the wormhole, I, along with Shiro and Keith, am pushed back into the wall by the turbulence. Pidge and Hunk hold onto the pilot seat as the lion shoots through the passing light.
After a few short doboshes, we exit the portal.
I stand behind the chair in a daze from what just happened before shaking my head and regain focus.
"Whoa. That was..."
Hunk hurls to the side and vomits in the corner of the cockpit.
"So sorry." He says before continuing to lose his breakfast.
"I'm just surprised it took this long." Pidge acknowledges.
Shiro looks at the stars around us, "I don't recognize any of these constellations. We must be a long, long way from Earth."
I look forward to see the lion heading towards a new planet, one that looks almost like Earth. The giant sphere is getting bigger in front of us as we get closer.
"The lion seems to want to go to this planet." Lance says, "I think... I think it's going home."
Just as he says it, the lion flies faster towards the planet. I can feel the cockpit heating up as we make entry through the planet's atmosphere. We all subconsciously get pushed closer together.
"Guys, personal space. Hunk, your breath is killing me." Lance complains as we're squeezed together around him.
"Um, is it just me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious Wormhole?" Hunk questions, "Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?"
"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance counters.
"I don't know if you noticed, but we're in an alien warship." Keith points out, "With an alien I might add."
I grumble in annoyance as he gestures to me, "Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"
"Oh, are you scared?" Lance smirks at Keith, not hearing my comment.
"With you at the helm? Terrified."
"All right, knock it off!" Shiro says with a strict tone in his voice, "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."
"So, what do we do?" Pidge asks.
"First, we find out where we're headed. Lance?"
"I don't know." Lance replies, looking around at us, "I'm sorry. The Lion's not talking to me anymore. Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh! Listen. I think I hear something."
We grow quiet, listening carefully in silence. A soft squeaking noise breaks the silence in the cockpit.
"I'm hearing it, too." Keith says.
"It's, uh-- It's kind of a-- a high-pitched squeal?" Hunk tries to describe the sound.
I take in a whiff of the air and immediately regret it, so does everyone else as we groan at the stench.
"Come on, Lance!"
"Gross!"
Lance smirks at us from that little stunt, until I snort at him, huffing a small cloud of smoke in his face, just to get him back.
"Ugh! Hey, no smoke breath while I'm piloting." Lance says.
"I could've used fire." I counter.
"But seriously, there's a castle up ahead."
Looking ahead of us, there indeed is a giant white and blue castle. Everyone gasps in awe as the lion flies towards the front gate and touches the ground.
We all become tense.
"Keep your guard up." Shiro says.
"Something wrong?" Pidge asks.
"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again."
We leave the cockpit and exit the Blue Lion when it opens its mouth for us. We walk out and stand in front of the castle.
We're suddenly startled as the lion moves to stand up behind us.
"No! No! I knew it was going to eat us! No!" Hunk screams.
The lion lets out a thunderous roar, the door to the castle reacts to its call as it activates and opens wide in front of us.
"Oh, the door is open." Hunk says from his hiding spot behind Shiro, he looks up at the lion, "Guess I was wrong about you."
We walk cautiously inside the castle and into a darkened hallway.
"Hello?" Hunk's voice echoes in the empty hall. My body tenses as we look back at him questioningly, but he just shrugs his shoulders.
"From the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger." Pidge says, looking at the flight of stairs in front of us.
He's right, they are small for the lion's large paws. This place must be meant for someone else. But who? It can't be the Galra, the castle's color and design doesn't seem to match with theirs.
I inhale deeply through my snout, trying to catch a whiff of any strange scent. After a few sniffs, nothing much from what I smell stands out.
I hum in thought, bringing the humans' attention on me.
"What is it?" Keith asks.
"This place... It's old and empty, like no one has been here in a really long time."
Suddenly, a light shines on us from above, illuminating the area.
"Hold for identity scan." a computer voice says. The light scans over our stunned forms.
"Why are we here?" Shiro asks, "What do you want with us?"
When the scan is complete, the whole castle comes to life. Blue lights appear along the walls, going up the stairway and into a hall at the top. I stare wide-eyed at the illuminated path as the humans gasp.
"I guess we're going that way." Pidge says.
Having no other options, we go with his suggestion and head in the direction the lights are guiding us. I feel a little on edge as we walk through the strange castle hallways. I can't help but question everything. What is the lion, or even the castle, trying to show us? Does it have to do with Voltron? Will it help us understand what's going on?
After making a few turns around multiple corners, going up and down some stairs, and Hunk continues calling as we walk, we find ourselves in a single large room. There are small circles on the floor that form one big circle with some kind of control panel in the center.
"Hello?" Hunk calls again, hoping for a response.
"Where are we?" Lance asks.
"It's some kind of control room." Pidge says, standing next to the control panel.
Curious, I start to inspect one of the circles on the floor, it looks like something's supposed to be in its place. But then it makes a hissing sound and the circle opens up, startling me.
I jump back as a strange pod rises from the floor, there seems to be a figure inside it. A second pod appears next to the first, also having a figure inside.
"Are these guys... dead?" asks Hunk as he cowers behind the console.
The glass from the first pod suddenly disappears, revealing a woman with white hair, pointy ears, a crown on her head, and strange marks beneath her eyes.
Her eyes fly open as she gasps, "Father!"
She starts to fall forward as she reaches her arm out when Lance rushes forward and catches her. She looks up at him and the human's face turns pink as they make eye contact.
"Hello." he grins with a strange tone.
"Who are you? Where am I?" The woman asks, confused.
"I'm Lance. And you're right here in my arms."
She stares at him, "Your ears..."
Lance blinks as he realizes the difference between his and her ears. "...Yeah?"
"They're hideous. What's wrong with them?" She looks at him in disgust.
"Nothing's wrong with them!" Lance says, clearly offended, "They heard exactly what you said about them!"
The woman suddenly grabs his ear and manages to pull him down on one knee into a restraining hold.
"Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my Castle?" She asks demandingly.
"A giant blue lion brought us here. That's all we know." He cries out in pain.
"How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to its Paladin?" she lets go of him as she looks up at us, "What are you all doing here? Unless... How long has it been?"
"We don't know what you're talking about." Shiro says, "Why don't tell us who you are? Maybe we can help."
"I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep." She walks past us over to the control panel and it activates as soon as her hands touch it.
"Okay, that's how that works." Pidge stares at the screen in bewilderment.
As the princess accesses the console, the other pod suddenly opens, revealing a man with an orange mustache and hair, as well as similar marks on his face, only they are blue instead of pink.
He gasps and screams as soon as he sees us.
"E-Enemy combatants!" The man jumps at Lance in an attempt to kick him, but the human side-steps, easily dodging the attack. The man loses his balance as he lands next to Allura's pod.
"Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the old 'Sleep Chamber Knees'. Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so and-- one, two, three --" he snaps his fingers "Sleepy time!"
"Well, before you did that, I'd-- Hoo! Ha! Hiyah!" Lance says as he demonstrates some basic fighting moves, "--Like that."
"Oh, really?! Well how could you do that when I've already come at you with this?!" The man exclaims before bending down and pretending to strike him repeatedly, "Ha, ha, ha, ha-ey!"
"Man, these guys are good." Hunk comments.
"It can't be..." Allura says with wide eyes on the screen.
"What is it?" The man asks.
"We've been asleep for 10,000 years!"
What?! 10,000 years? How's that even possible? This just brings up a lot of questions in my mind.
"Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization..." The princess lowers her head, her face turns from grief into anger.
"...Zarkon!"
I gasp upon hearing that name, the face of the monster that I've feared the most flashes in my eyes.
"What?" I ask.
"Zarkon?" Shiro asks, his face revealing that he has the same shock as I am.
"He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people." Allura explains.
"And still is." I growl. The princess looks up at me with confusion.
"What do you mean?" I try to answer, but Shiro speaks first.
"I remember now..." he says, turning to look at me before back at the princess, "We were his prisoners."
"He's still alive?" Allura gasps, "Impossible!"
"Believe me, Princess, I wish I could say the same thing." I say.
"We can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron."
"He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him," Allura says, "and that's exactly why we must find it before he does."
The orange-haired man, now known as Coran, goes out of the room and then returns a moment later with a floating plate of green goo.
"Princess, you must eat." He insists, "It's been 10,000 years."
But Allura refuses to even look up at the food. "I'm not hungry."
"Man, 10,000 years?" Lance comments, "That's like one thousand plus ten."
"That's times ten." Keith corrects.
"Whatever, dropout." Lance retorts.
"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving." Hunk claims with a hand on his stomach.
"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times." Pidge points out.
"Hmm, good point." Hunk says as starts eating some of the goo.
"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago." Shiro admires our surroundings, "It must have been an incredible place."
"Yes, it was... but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive." Coran says sadly.
He looks at Princess Allura, who appears distraught, and walks over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She wraps her arms around and begins to sob softly as they embrace.
I can't help but feel pity for the Alteans, and perhaps a small sense of guilt. I always thought I had already gone through the worst things that could happen in my life when I was captured, but I never had to go through any pain of thinking about things I've lost, since I had nothing to lose. And now that I'm seeing what it's like for someone else and how hard it is for them, I just feel like I have been more blind to those around me than I thought.
My ear twitches as I suddenly hear a squeaking sound, it's coming from the sleeping pod Allura was in. I walk closer to it to see what's inside and I'm astonished to find four little mice squeaking happily. They must've been in the pod with the princess the whole time.
I smile as I turn my gaze towards the Alteans.
"Princess," I say, getting her attention, "You should see this."
Allura walks up next to me and smiles brightly when she sees the mice. "Looks like we're not the last, after all."
All of a sudden, our moment is interrupted when an alarm goes off, alerting all of us. Coran looks back at the control which is flashing red. He presses a button and an image appears, revealing a Galra battleship.
"A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" he says.
"How did they find us?" Allura asks, now holding the mice in her hands.
"I'm not sure, but I bet it's Keith's fault." Lance blames, earning a glare from said human.
"Say whatever you got to say to make yourself feel better." Keith says back, "After getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!"
"I'll stick you in a wormhole!" Lance yells, getting into Keith's face.
Ugh, seriously, their bickering is getting on my nerves.
Shiro steps in between the two and pushes them apart.
"Stow it, cadets! This is no time to place blame, it's time to work as a team." He looks at Coran, "How long before they arrive?"
Coran looks at his finger, "At their speed? Oh, well, uh, carry the two... I'd say probably a couple of days?"
I look at the Altean man confusingly, what he said does not sound right.
"What? Are you sure?" I ask.
"Well, by my calculations, yes." Coran says.
"Could you try recalculating that again?"
"What is it, Kayleigha?" Shiro asks.
"I don't think Zarkon would be that stupid to send a ship to us from just a couple of days away. It doesn't sound right." I say.
"How do you know that?" Keith asks.
"I've spent a lifetime on those Galra ships." I explain, "They always get to whatever place they need to be, on time, without any delay, without fail. If anything, that ship will more likely arrive here in about a few hours."
"Good. Let them come!" Allura says with determination, "By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!"
Hunk burps loudly, interrupting the Princess, "Sorry. Food goo." he apologizes, followed by his rumbling stomach.
"Princess, there are five of these Lions. How are we going to find the rest?" Shiro asks.
>>>--->
Princess Allura leads us to another large room in the castle, one with a control panel larger than the first. Allura walks onto a platform in the center of the room with a large crystal hanging above it, which lights up when she stands under it.
"King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force." Coran explains, "She alone is the key to the Lions' whereabouts."
After a couple of ticks, a light appears from where she stands. The light expands in the entire room, revealing an incredibly large holographic map of the universe.
The humans gasp as they stare at the star coordinates floating around us.
"These are coordinates." Pidge says, observing the map as a hologram of the Blue and Black Lions floats by him, "The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion."
"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage." Coran says.
"Very observant." Allura says, "That's because the Black Lion is in the castle."
"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the Castle. It can only be freed if the other four Lions are present." Coran informs us.
"As you have found, the Lions choose their pilots." Allura explains, "It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The Quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain."
The princess waves her hand, motioning the map to move.
"The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion."
Shiro stares at the Black Lion hologram in front of him intensely. I smile at him, feeling proud of my friend, because I know the princess is right about him. And, even I wouldn't hesitate to follow him anywhere.
"The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring." Allura motions the map to move again, bringing the Green Lion hologram to Pidge, "Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion."
Pidge smiles, happy with the choice.
"The Blue Lion--"
"Hold up, let me guess." Lance interrupts, smirking, "Takes the most handsome slash best pilot of the bunch?"
I roll my eyes at his remark. Allura stares at the boasting human, annoyed before she continues.
"The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together."
The Yellow Lion hologram hovers over Hunk, who looks at it nervously and points to himself questioningly.
"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master." The Red Lion appears in Allura's hand and then moves over to Keith. "It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion."
Keith smiles, happy with his assignment.
"What? This guy?" Lance asks in disbelief, earning a frown from the red human.
"Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet." Allura says, "There must be something wrong with the Castle. After 10,000 years, it... might need some work."
"Don't worry, we'll find it soon. They don't call me 'The Coranic' for nothing." Coran says, "It's because it sounds like 'mechanic.' So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not-- It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar."
He sounds like he's trying to make a joke, but it doesn't sound very amusing, since nobody's laughing.
The lion holograms roar and start running in the air, moving together in an upward motion.
"Once all the Lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe."
In the blink of an eye, the lions transform, revealing a large robotic warrior. Each part of it is made of a different colored lion, just as I've heard from the humans since we found the Blue Lion on Earth.
This is Voltron! This is what we need to put an end to the Galra Empire. My tail is twitching excitedly at the thought of the Galra finally getting the 'respect' they deserve.
"Awesome!" Lance says.
"Wait." Hunk says, "Okay, we're going to be in there and flying Lions. Got that part. How do Lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"
"You know we don't have much time." Shiro says, "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you stay here with Kayleigha. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it."
"In the meantime, I'll get this Castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed." Allura says.
"I'll ready a pod and load in the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion." Coran says.
"Good luck." I say as Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance follow Coran out of the bridge.
A moment later, I look out the window as the Blue Lion and a smaller white pod takes off from the castle into space. Back at Allura, two pedestals rise from the floor at each side of her. She places her hands on them and closes her eyes, like she's trying to concentrate on something. To my surprise, the crystal above her begins to glow.
A screen suddenly appears at the front of the bridge, showing two images of the Blue Lion and the Altean pod, both moving towards a wormhole, like the one that brought us here.
"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other Lions open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quick about your work." Coran tells them through the radio, "The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So, if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives. Enjoy the trip!"
Before anyone can object or change their minds about their travels, they are already flying into the wormholes and are sent to their destinations.
With everyone else gone, it just leaves me, Keith, Allura, and Coran here. While the Alteans work on the castle and keep the wormholes open, Keith has to wait until they find the Red Lion's location. Which leaves me with nothing much to do. I really want to do something right now, something that would at least be better sitting around while the others are getting their Lions. I'm tired of being a lazy reptile all the time.
I look at the view outside the castle. The planet looks beautiful from here, it reminds me of how I felt when I was on Earth. I kind of want to see what it looks like up close.
Now that I think about it, since I'm not doing anything at the moment, why don't I?
"Kayleigha, where are you going?" Keith asks as I start walking towards the door.
"I'm going outside for a little while. Think I might take the time to get some fresh air." I say.
"You sure that's what you want to be doing right now?" He asks.
"Well, this may be the only chance I'll ever get to have some time for myself since I escaped prison. I might as well enjoy the peace and quiet while I still can." I tell him before continuing to head out, "I'll come back as soon as the others return with the Lions."
I walk to the castle exit without any delay, my eyes squint as I step into the sunlight. The radiant heat brings a warm touch to my scales, I open my wings and inhale deeply to smell the fresh air. I look down the path in front of me, a bridge stretches out at the front of the castle.
Stretching my wings out wide, I breathe in again before starting to walk forward. My pace gradually speeds up as I go, I flap my wings as I move into a running speed. I run faster and faster, flapping my wings as fast as I can. Then, with a big push, I leap off the ground and beat my wings against the wind around me, lifting myself into the air.
I feel so nervous that I close my eyes as I fly higher. When I become steady, my eyes gradually begin to open. I almost forget how to breathe when I see the planet's surface so far down below me. I'm no longer nervous, looking at such a beautiful view seems to bring all my worries, present and past, out of my mind.
I tilt my wings to turn right, I smile as I look down at the trees while flying over them. Looking back at the bridge in front of the castle, I decide to test myself and see what I can do.
Beating my wings hard enough to gain more speed, I aim towards the pillars holding the bridge up. I fly swiftly through the spaces between the pillars, turning and twisting as I move left and right. At the last one, I do multiple loops around while moving upward, before flying away as I reach near the top.
I feel exhilarated as I move into a spin, doing random tricks that I can think of. I've been able to fly before, but I never got a chance to do it for anything other than survival, and not for my own entertainment.
I've always wanted to know what it is like to have some time just for myself, and I remember Shiro telling me about when he would go out on rides just for fun. Now, I understand what he meant. The way I'm feeling right now, I'm full of relief and amazement, not a sense of any negative emotion being triggered.
I straighten myself out after a few more maneuvers, then look up at the clouds above me, a thought occurs to me. I've always wondered what it would be like to touch them.
My wings flap down as hard as they can, pushing myself upward as I head into the sky. I pant as I fly higher and higher, pushing myself over my limit to continue to fly straight up. Before I know it, I fly right into a cloud, it feels mild and cool as I feel it brush over my scales.
I continue to fly up for a few more ticks until I make it to the top of the cloud. I stop and hover to catch my breath, looking around to take in the new environment I'm in. There are clouds of different shapes and sizes, the sun still seems so far away but shines brightly in the sky. Everything on the planet's surface down below is now a lot smaller than before, I'm marveling at how I made such a great distance from it. Being up here, I don't even care about the cold air, I just feel... free.
After a moment of looking around me with amazement, I stop flapping and relax as I let myself fall. I don't panic or scream. I just feel the air rushing by me as I look towards the ground, getting closer to it by the tick. I turn into a dive position, but I don't pull up, not yet. When the Castle comes into view, I open my wings and let the air pull me upward, stopping me from hitting the ground by just a few miles.
I whoop and yell with joy as I continue zooming around, resuming flipping and twirling in the air. I feel so amazing, I get to do what I want to do as a normal dragon. I want this moment to never end!
Sadly, all things come to an end eventually, because after about a varga goes by, a thunderous roar grabs my attention. I look back towards the castle as the Green Lion comes flying into the planet's atmosphere.
I rush back to the castle and make my way back towards the bridge. When I get there, I'm happy and relieved to see Shiro and Pidge are back.
"Did you have a good time?" Keith asks when he sees me walk in.
"Couldn't have been better." I say, smiling.
"What did you do?" Pidge asks.
"I just went out for a flight, I wanted to get some time to enjoy myself for the first time since I'm no longer a prisoner."
"Did you enjoy it?" Shiro asks.
"Definitely." I nod, before looking towards the Alteans, "Are Lance and Hunk coming back yet?"
"They just went to retrieve the Yellow Lion. It shouldn't be long before they return in time before the wormhole closes."
He's right, because it is only a few doboshes when the Blue Lion returns, along with the Yellow Lion. We wait until Lance and Hunk come up to the bridge with us. They look exhausted and shaken, but at least they don't look injured.
"You made it." Allura says happily.
"Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!" Lance says.
"Think how I felt. I am Hunk." Hunk adds.
"Yeah. We had a tough time, too." Pidge says, smiling at Shiro. From the way they're looking at each other, I might think that their trip wasn't that bad.
Shiro looks back at Allura and Coran, "Did you find the Red Lion yet?"
"Allura just located it." Coran says, "There's a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again. We're Arus!"
Even though he makes that last bit of good news sound like a good thing, my heart still skips a beat at the fact the Galra have one of the Lions, and that they're here!
"They're here already?" Shiro asks in a slight panic.
"Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting-- It's more of an art than a science. Looks like Kayleigha was right. Hmm?"
The screen behind him activates, revealing an all too familiar face, fear comes all over me that turns my blood cold when I see him.
"Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. I am also aware that our Storm Drake is in your possession. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."
The screen goes black before it disappears.
"All right, let's not panic." Shiro tries to reassure us.
"Not panic?" Hunk begins to panic, "The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four Lions."
"Technically, only three working Lions." Pidge corrects.
"That's right. Thank you, Pidge. Three working Lions and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old."
"Actually, it's 10,600 years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather--"
"Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that." Hunk interrupts Coran, "See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"
"Wait! This castle has a particle barrier we can activate." Allura says.
"Girl, you've already activated my par--"
"Lance!" Shiro scolds Lance, immediately shutting him up.
"But what about the ion cannon? It's probably the strongest weapon on Sendak's ship." I say.
Coran turns to the control panel and pulls up a map of the warship.
"You may be right. The particle barrier won't hold off Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."
"Panic now?" Hunk asks.
"No. We've just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly." Shiro says.
"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Lance suggests.
"I second that. Yes. I mean, we tried to find all the Lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I mean, I guess we could form a... snake? Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about." Hunk supports.
"Then it's settled." Lance walks up next to the Princess, "Allura, you ride with me. One of you take the old guy."
"We can't just abandon Arus." Pidge argues, "The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them."
"Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth." Hunk suggests, "We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we hiss out of here."
"Sendak could destroy the planet and come after us anyway." Keith says, "Staying is our only option."
"Here's an option: shut your quiznak." Lance says, both the Alteans and I flinch when he does. Wrong choice of words, loud mouth.
"I don't think you're using that word correctly."
"What do you know, mullet?" Lance gets in Keith's face.
"We're staying!"
"Leaving!"
"Staying!" Pidge shouts.
"Snake!"
Having enough of their arguing, I roar loudly to get them to shut up. Everyone immediately goes quiet and turns their attention towards me.
"Enough! All this bickering is getting us nowhere. The more time you all waste here arguing, the closer Sendak will get to destroying the planet."
"She's right, guys. Stop!" Shiro agrees, "Princess Allura, these are your Lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"
She looks down in confusion, "I-I don't know."
"Perhaps your father can help." Coran says.
The Princess stares at him, "My father?"
Coran takes Allura out of the room, leaving us to wait until they come back.
Everything is quiet, all of us are unsure of what to do next. I feel unsettled about the fact that the Galra are still after me. True, they've held me captive for so long, but if they want their prisoners back, wouldn't they demand to have Shiro turned in as well?
More questions keep piling up. If we stay, what do we do? If we run, where do we go? How are we going to go through with this? Should I just give up and go through with the deal for our own survival?
Wait, what am I thinking? I should not be wanting to just give up on myself. That's what allowed the Galra to control me the whole time I was captured.
"Hey, Kayleigha, what about you?" Lance asks, gaining my attention.
"Huh?"
"What are you thinking we should do? Run or stay?"
I look down to think for a moment, "Well, I'd be lying if I said running wasn't an option... but I think it would do more good if we stayed."
"But, aren't you worried about getting blown up by the Galra?" Hunk asks.
"Honestly, how could I not be? I'm terrified! Especially since the Galra are after me, too."
"Wait, you? You mean, you're the Storm Drake Sendak's looking for?" Pidge asks.
"Yes! I'm a Storm Drake. The Galra have been holding me captive for years and now they want me back."
"But, why you? I was their prisoner, too." Shiro points out.
"That's what I'm wondering, but I just don't know." I pause, "But what I do know is that I can't let my fear of the Galra control me, like what they've been doing to me my whole life, not anymore. I once believed that there was nothing that could stand against Zarkon, that no one was good enough to face him and his empire. Just from that, I never thought I would see another planet in my life. But then, I learned that I shouldn't lose hope just to survive and that I can be strong enough to fight back if I choose to stand up for myself. If I hadn't thought that way, I wouldn't be here. But I am. Even now when I'm not in a cage, the Galra want to control me. I am not gonna let that happen. I'm not gonna waste my only chance to fight for my own freedom. And because Voltron is the only thing that can stop Zarkon, I don't think we should waste that chance either. I'm choosing to fight, even if I might lose."
The humans stare at me when I'm done with my speech, some of them turn their heads to think. I make eye contact with Shiro, he smiles and nods his head at me. I smile back.
Princess Allura soon returns, only she has changed her outfit into a white and pink battlesuit and her hair has been pulled up.
"You five Paladins were brought here for a reason." She says, determined, "The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope."
"We're with you, Princess." Shiro says.
Allura leads us to another room in the Castle, one with several pods, each holding a set of armor.
"Your suits of armor." Allura says, gesturing to the armor.
The humans walk up to their respective armor, each set matching their assigned color that matches their lion.
"Cool."
"Outstanding."
"Nice."
"Oh, neat."
Most of them admire the armor, Hunk simply looks at his questioningly, comparing it to his size to see if it will fit.
"Princess, are you sure about this?" I hear Coran whisper to Allura, "They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."
"No, but they're all we've got." Allura replies.
I decide to ignore their opinions. These humans have surprised me so far, I have faith that they won't let us down.
"Boys, it's time to suit up!" Shiro says.
The humans strap on their armor, each fitting them perfectly despite their different sizes. I smile in admiration as they stood together with their new suits.
Allura places her hand on a panel near the end of the room, revealing four strange objects that float in the air.
"The Bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron." Allura explains as the bayards float towards the humans, "It takes a distinct shape for each Paladin."
Each human grabs hold of their respective weapon, and in a flash of light, the bayards transform into different kinds of weapons. Hunk's is a large blaster cannon, Keith gets a sword and a shield, Lance laughs excitedly as he playfully aims with his new rifle, and Pidge's bayard turns into a small green blade.
"Aw, you got a cute little bayard." Lance teases Pidge, earning a strike from Pidge's blade, which electrocutes him. The Blue Paladin screams and falls as he is sizzled.
"Yeah, it is pretty cute." Pidge smirks.
"Shiro, I'm afraid your Bayard was lost with its Paladin." Allura says.
"I guess I'll just have to make do." Shiro replies.
Not that I doubt Shiro's capability of defending himself, but I have concerns about him not having a weapon like the others.
We gather back on the bridge to discuss our battle plan. We look at the schematics of Sendak's ship on the screen.
"You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship." Allura says.
"That's a pretty big ship." Keith says, "How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?"
"Well, it's not a matter of 'we'. It's a matter of 'you'." Pidge explains.
"Pidge is right." Hunk says, "Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down."
"Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" Lance asks.
"Yeah. You made fun of me for that." Keith retorts.
"And I'm proud of that, but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo."
"Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental." Allura reminds him, "You'll have to earn its respect."
Keith looks unsure about the Red Lion choosing him, Shiro places his hand on his shoulder for reassurance.
"All right. Here's our plan of attack." Shiro explains the plan, "The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too. Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up. Kayleigha, you'll ride with them, so Sendak will be more convinced that you're surrendering."
I nod at him in understanding. He continues.
"While Sendak is distracted, Keith, Pidge, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Green Lion. Keith and I will find the Red Lion while Pidge guards our exit. Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon."
>>>--->
I ride in the Blue Lion with Lance as he and Hunk pilot us towards the Galra warship. Lance opens a transmission as we approach.
"Attention, Galra ship. Do not fire. We're surrendering our Lions and the Storm Drake."
The transmission ends, and the Lions stop in front of the ship.
"Hope this works." Lance mutters.
Although they're not here with us, I know that Shiro, Pidge, and Keith are not too far from us by now in the Green Lion.
"Pidge, what's your ETA?" Lance asks.
"We're in." Pidge's voice is heard from the comms.
The doors to the ship in front of us open and we see a large violet light appear inside it.
"What's that thing?" Hunk asks.
"It's a tractor beam!" I say, now realizing what is happening.
"I think that's our signal to get out of here!" Lance yells.
The Lions flee from the beam's line of fire right before it could touch us. Sendak must've realized that we were lying, Galra fighter ships immediately begin deploying from the larger ship.
"Hunk, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these jerks on a space ride." Lance says.
"Ten-four!"
I grip the pilot's seat as Lance charges the Blue Lion towards the fighters. Lasers are fired from the Galra at us, the Yellow Lion avoids them as it flies towards the ion cannon while Lance returns fire. I try really hard to stay standing as we're flying all over the place.
Hunk groans through communication, "What the quiznak? What is that? A force field?"
I look outside and see that the ion cannon is blocked by a violet shield. I almost forgot about that part.
"You'll have to find a way to break through, Hunk." I say, I know it's not very helpful, but it's better than nothing.
The fighter jets continue chasing us through space. Lance seems to be enjoying flying us all over the place, while I am just trying to keep myself balanced.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Yeah, buddy! This is way more fun without Hunk's barfing!" Lance cheers.
"You humans have a different concept of 'fun.'" I groan, still clinging to his seat.
As Lance keeps fighting off the fighter, Hunk continues his attempt to break through the shield, but it still won't break. I hope Shiro and the others get the Red Lion soon. Who knows how much longer Lance and Hunk can keep this up? If Hunk doesn't get the ion cannon disabled and Sendak manages to capture the Yellow and Blue Lions, we're all in deep trouble.
Hunk changes tactics and fires his Lion's mouth laser cannon directly on the shield.
"Come on, just break, you stupid thing!" Hunk shouts. The Yellow Lion continues to blast as the barrier begins to crack until finally, it comes down.
"Score one for Hunk!"
The Yellow Lion charges forward and rams straight into the cannon, leaving it dented and inoperational. Just as the cannon is damaged, the Green and Red Lions appear.
"You guys made it!" Hunk exclaims.
"Kitty Rose has left the stage!" Pidge says.
"Let's get the heck out of here!" Lance says.
"I hope I stopped that cannon. I could barely make a dent in it." Hunk says as we fly back down to Arus.
>>>--->
We make it back to the castle, a large blue particle barrier dome now covering it. As soon as we land, I exit the Blue Lion and immediately join Allura and Coran on the bridge. I stand by Allura on her left side while Coran is on her right.
I stare at the hologram of the Lions in front of her, waiting intently for the Black Lion to be unlocked. We watch as the Lions connect their energy and reach out to their missing lion.
The door unlocks and opens, revealing the Black Lion to the Paladins. Even from where I'm at, I can hear the Black Lion as it roars to life, the other Lions following its lead.
I feel so happy and relieved to finally see all the Lions together, but not as much as Allura and Coran as he cheers and she sighs in relief.
Unfortunately, our exciting moment is interrupted when the alarms suddenly go off.
"Oh, quiznak!" Coran says as an image of Sendak's ship appears on the screen.
"Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!" Allura shouts.
Shiro immediately takes his place in the Black Lion, causing it to roar and fly out of the castle with the other Lions following. All five of them land on the ground at the front of the Castle.
Sendak's ship finally breaks into the atmosphere, his fighter jets are already attacking the castle, thankfully doing hardly any damage to the particle barrier.
Suddenly, the battleship's ion cannon is back online and a powerful beam fires on the Castle. Everyone grunts from the pressure from the attack.
"The barrier gets weaker with every blast." Coran informs us, "Once that shield goes down, the Castle will be defenseless."
"I can give you cover with the Castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!" Allura says.
"Jeez, no pressure." Hunk says sarcastically.
Another beam is fired from the cannon, shaking the Castle again and damaging the particle barrier more.
"Listen up, Team Voltron!" Shiro shouts, "The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?"
The Paladins are silent, but I'm sure they agree.
"I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?" Hunk asks.
"Yes." The others reply, confirming my thoughts.
"Let's do this!"
The Lions take off running, leaving the castle, and going through the particle barrier. I watch through the window as the Galra fire at the Lions while they run off the broken bridge and onto the planet's surface, waiting for anything to happen for them to form Voltron. But nothing happens.
At one point, the Green Lion turns around and jumps at one of the fighters, grabbing it with its mouth. The Lion then tosses the small ship at another, taking both of them out.
The Red Lion looks back and fires lasers from its tail, taking out two more fighters. The Red Lion stops for a moment, only to be knocked into by the Yellow one.
What was Hunk thinking that would do? If it were to form Voltron, I don't think that would be very effective.
"Quickly, Paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!" Allura shouts and we groan as another shot is taken by the barrier.
I'm starting to grow anxious for the Paladins. With the barrier getting weaker and us just sitting here, waiting for the Paladins to stop Sendak, I don't feel very safe here anymore. They really need to form Voltron soon or we're done for!
The Lions take to the sky, flying in a "V" formation. They fly higher, only for them to suddenly be caught by the warship's tractor beam, with no way of escaping. I watch in horror as Sendak's ship pulls the Lions closer to it.
One more beam fires from the ion cannon and then the barrier drops, leaving the castle completely defenseless. I drop to my knees and elbows as the castle shakes violently when the shield is destroyed.
I stand up and stare at the Lions as they are pulled towards the ship.
We failed. The Galra have the Lions, I'm here in a castle that's about to be obliterated, I spent my whole life in prison and only got one day to be free, and I am now about to lose all my new friends I just made, including my first friend.
A single tear slides down my cheek. I look down in despair and wait for the end.
All of a sudden, there's the sound of multiple roars, bringing me to look up again. The Lions begin to glow and they suddenly break out of the tractor beam. Then in the blink of an eye, they change.
The ion cannon prepares for its final shot, but something suddenly hits it and diverts the weapon's aim, making it fire over the castle, just missing it.
I and the Alteans look at the ship in shock. The castle pulls up a close-up visual of what attacked the ship's cannon. At first, I could only see a cloud of dust. But then I gasp as I see a large figure appear as the dust cloud clears.
"Voltron."
All my fears immediately disappear as I watch the robot warrior stand tall.
Voltron suddenly grabs the cannon and easily tears it from the ship before throwing it to the ground. Then, the warrior starts breaking onto the ship, breaking into the ship's surface and firing lasers from the inside.
It feels so astonishing to watch Voltron tear Sendak's warship apart, to watch as explosions go off everywhere as Voltron moves over the ship.
Voltron flies into the air, spins around, and dives down at full speed towards the ship and straight through it. Voltron lands on the ground as the ship makes one last explosion.
They won the battle.
"They did it!" I cheer, "They actually did it!"
>>>--->
Voltron separates back into Lions and they land back at the front of the Castle. I follow Allura and Coran outside to meet up with the Paladins. We walk about halfway towards them when I flap my wings and fly over to them.
"That was incredible!" I exclaim, still flying as I move around them excitedly, "You blew that ship to pieces. I've never seen anything like that in my life. Whoo-hoo!"
"Well, someone's happy after all that chaos." Lance remarks on my actions.
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for something like that to happen to the Galra for years!" I laugh with joy as I flip through the air.
Just surviving our first fight against the Galra and actually defeating them has me so thrilled. I feel like I could fly like this all day.
"Good work, Paladins!" Allura says excitedly as she and Coran walk up to the Paladins. I let myself calm down a little and land on the ground beside them.
"Thanks, pretty lady." Lance says.
"We did it." Shiro says.
"Heck yeah, we did." Keith agrees, taking off his helmet.
"How did we do it?"
"I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it." Hunk suggests playfully.
Pidge looks disappointed as he puts on his glasses. I'm not the only one to notice him as Shiro places his hand on his shoulder, getting Pidge's attention.
"We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you." Shiro tells him.
Pidge smiles at his assurance.
Oh, now it makes sense. Pidge must be looking for his family, and I have no doubt that the Galra have anything to do with them. Could something have happened while they were on the warship?
"We won the battle, but the war has only just begun." Allura says in a serious tone, bringing me out of my thoughts, "I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these Lions."
"Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again." Coran says.
"Totally. Wait, what?" Hunk asks.
"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time." Lance says.
"And you only had to fight one ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them!"
I can agree with him about that, it is a Galra 'Empire.'
"It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."
The humans look surprised as they hear that title.
"Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it." Shiro says.
We turn our gaze towards the Lions, smiling up at them from where they stand.
This day will be a day I'll never forget, a day where I witnessed the Galra Empire face their first blow that could bring them down, the day I found myself in the right place in a new war.
This day will be known as the Rise of Voltron.
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Hooray! We made it to the first episode Voltron Legendary Defender!
Once again, it took a long time, but it was worth all the hard work. Stick around to read more about our dragon's new adventure.
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Thanks!❤️❤️❤️🐉