"Ok, so we now know for certain that Zarkon is tracking us through the Black lion. We have to find a way to stop him." Shiro says.
"How are we going to do that?" Pidge asks.
"We've never had this situation before. Two paladins battling for the same lion." Allura says as she places her hand on her chin in thought.
"But, aren't we only the second people to become the paladins? And during the time between the first paladins and us, they were lying dormant, right? So I bet this is a new experience for the lion's as well." I say with a giggle and can feel that warm feeling again, meaning Ghost must have heard me.
"Right. So, unless we want Zarkon to take control of Voltron every time we get close, I'll have to forge a new bond with my lion. One that's stronger than his." Shiro says and he turns to me as he was pondering how he was going to do so.
"Well, while you're working on that, the rest of us need to find some new Teladuv lenses. Otherwise we won't be able to travel via wormhole." Coran says and I turn to him in question.
"Is that something we have to mail order?" Hunk asks curiously and I hold back a laugh at his innocent question.
"Does anyone even make those anymore?" Keith asks Coran and we turn to him for his answer.
"I don't know. Only a few Alteans could use the Teladuv ten thousand years ago. They may not exist anymore." Allura says with a sigh.
"I may know where to get some!" Coran exclaims as he rushed over to the console and brought up a hologram of some type of market filled with all types of aliens bustling around.
"Coran! You're not suggesting on going to one of those filthy swap moons! The last time you went there, those space pirates took you for everything you had!" Allura yelled like a mother lecturing her kid.
"Space pirates?" Lance and I say at the same time and we look to each other and he smirks and I laugh.
"The Unilu were traders and pirates that roamed the galaxies and deal in black market goods. Umvy spice, By-Tor water, little bottles of infinity vapor. Of course you had to bargain. No one could bargain like the Unilu. The last time, I ended up giving away three quarters of my shipment of lango in exchange for a used pogo oscillator." Coran says with a laugh along with Allura.
"Father was not pleased about that." Allura says through her laughter.
"Well while Coran is picking up his lenses, I'll take you shopping for something sparkly." Lance says while inching closer to Allura.
"This isn't shopping! You're not wandering around saying: 'oh what a lovely pink hat! This is so becoming.'" Coran says as he stands in between Allura and Lance, and pretends to sound like a girl.
"So no! I cannot allow Allura to get anywhere near those filthy lowballing Unilu hoodlums!" Coran exclaimed like an overprotective parent.
"But...I love sparkly things..." Allura says with a pouty face.
"Look, you're the only one who can operate the castle. You need to be resting after all you've been through." Coran orders and Allura turns away with a huff.
"Now, let's ready a pod for our mission. We need to get in and find the scaultrite lenses and just get out." Coran says and heads off in the direction of the pods.
"Shotgun!" Lance calls out as he follows after Coran.
"What?! No! You have to be in the pod bay to call shotgun!" Hunk cried out as he chased after Lance.
"Ha! Since when?"I hear Lance yell out to Hunk even though I couldn't see them anymore.
"Since forever! That's shotgun etiquette. I wrote a book." Hunk's distance voice calls out and I giggle.
Keith and Pidge began to follow after them, but I was stopped by Shiro. I turned to him as Pidge and Keith stop at the door to wait for me.
"(Y/n), how are you and the White Lion so close?" He asks and I stare up at him.
"Um....honestly...i'm not too sure... we kind of just grew attached to each other. I gave her, her nickname and we have the same personality...we kind of just clicked I guess. Sorry that probably doesn't help much." I say to him and he looks down at me and smiles.
"No that's alright." He says while ruffling my hair with a smile.
I reach up and grab his hand, startling him.
"Shiro, you just have to believe in yourself and put trust in your lion. Your bond will be the strongest one of them all. I just know it." I say to him with a smile and he looks down at me and nods.
I head back over to Keith and Pidge and wave goodbye to Shiro and we begin our trek to the pod bay. We all climb into the back of this little ship as Coran and Lance sat up front. We were all crammed together and I sat next to Keith as Hunk and Pidge sat together in front of us.
"Hello back passengers. Can you hear me?"Coran's voice says over the intercom.
"Oh it's so comfy up here. Extra leg space, heated seats. Oh man~ " Lance taunted us making Hunk pout and cross his arms in annoyance.
"He's so unfair." Hunk says with a huff and I sigh.
"Oh, (Y/n)! If it's to uncomfortable back there you can come sit up here with me." Lance says and before I could even retaliate Keith's arm hovers in front of me in a defensive stance.
"Like she'd ever want to do that." Keith says and I stare at him in amazement.
"Hey! No one asked you mullet head-" Lance began to yell but Coran jerked the ship making everyone go quiet.
"Ahem. Now these swap moons are very dangerous environments. So be on your toes. No weapons or communication devices of any kind. Also, I've brought along some disguises." Coran says and we all look at each other in confusion.
We got changed into these clothes that matched something like a pirate and rouge uniform. My costume somewhat symbolized a mage from a video game but I had a strange, almost plague doctor, mask on. When we were all done changing we walked into the location, but....it looked a lot different then how Coran described it.
"Uh...Coran? This Unilu swap meet looks an awful lot like a regular mall..." Pidge says as we all look around.
There were many levels of stores and stalls and there were families bustling about. Nothing about this seemed very dangerous at all. Other than the small fact that one of us could be robbed or something, but the only one with money was Coran so...there was no danger present at all.
"It actually looks a lot like something we'd have back on earth, well besides the aliens." I say while adjusting the mask on my face.
"Well, it does seem to be a little cleaner than I remember....Still be vigilant! The Unilu are cut-throat wheeler dealers. So keep your hands on your coin satchels." Coran says while dramatically grabbing ahold of his coin bag.
"Uh, my satchels are empty." Hunk says and I open up my cloak to see my bag is also extremely empty.
"Let's just get this over with." Keith says with crossed arms.
I looked at his outfit which actually made him look really cool. His mask was somewhat similar to mine, it just didn't have the obnoxiously long nose. He noticed my staring and I quickly turned away in embarrassment.
"Everyone let's fan out. Search the area for Teladuv lenses. We'll meet by the giant ticking clock here in one vaga. Don't be late and try to blend in." Coran says before walking off.
We all turn and look to each other and quickly strip ourselves of the disguises and walk off in separate directions. I walked alone through the huge store and looked into every shop I passed by. I saw families of aliens walk by with little children begging their parents for toys or food and it made me giggle. As I was walking I noticed a little kid standing in the middle of the square on the second level by himself. He had a little stuffed animal and was searching around looking for something. I walked up to him and he froze and stared up at me.
"Hi there. Are you lost? Don't be scared i'm here to help you." I say while crouching to his level and smiling.
"Mommy... I can't find her." The little boy says with tears forming in his eyes.
I look down at him with a sympathetic expression and extend my hand out to him. His little hand wraps around my finger and I contain the urge to pick him up and cuddle him.
'He doesn't look any older than three. Who in the world let something this cute out of their sight.' I think to myself as I stand up and look around us to see if there was any one who resembled him around.
"Little boy. Do you remember where your mommy last was? Or what she was shopping for?" I ask him and he sits there for a second contemplating until his face lights up in remembrance.
"A present for daddy!" He says excitedly and I smile down at him, even though that doesn't help much.
"A present? Well what does your daddy like? Maybe we can find the store she's in by finding the stores with the things your daddy likes in it." I say to him and he begins to lead me as we walk through the crowds of people.
"My daddy's a soldier. He fights to stop the bad guys." The boy says and I look down at him in surprise as he keeps walking with his attention straight ahead of us.
"A soldier? Well your daddy must be a strong and brave man, huh?" I ask and the boy looks up to me and nods his head with a huge smile.
We went from store to store that sold armor, weapons, gear, anything that could help in a battle. But the kid's mom was no where to be seen.
"What if we can never find her." The boy says as he begins to tear up and I beng down and hug him.
"Don't worry we'll definitely find her." I say and hear approaching footsteps and a gasp.
"Tiaran?" A woman's voice asks.
I look up and see a blue alien with long dark blue hair staring down at us with tears in her eyes. The little boy lets me go and turns around to see her and smiles.
"Momma!" The boy yells as he charges her and they enclose each other in a hug.
I stand up and smile at them as they reunite with each other. The mother then looks up at me and smiles. She takes her sons hand and they both look at me.
"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't find Tiaran again. What is your name?" She says while wiping tears from her eyes.
"It was no problem at all really. It happens a lot actually, and my name is (Y/n)." I say and she grabs onto my hand and reaches into her bag.
She pulls out this beautiful moon stone necklace and places it into my hand.
"Please take this. I could never thank you enough." She says as she closes my fingers around the necklace.
"But ma'am you don't have to-" She shakes her head making me stop talking and smiles up at me.
I return the smile, place the necklace into my bag, and say my goodbyes to the pair. They walk of, hand in hand, in search for the perfect gift. I walk over to the banister and look down noticing Keith talking to some guy at a booth. I was about to wave down at him until I say him with a knife, that looked very similar to the one Ulaz had. He gave it to the man and they had a discussion until he swiped it back and began to run off. I looked over at the man in the stall seeing him yelling something at Keith. I quickly ran down the steps and began to run after Keith.
"Keith wait up-" A huge burly man steps in front of me and I skid to a stop just a few inches from him.
"S-sorry-" The man turns to me and a huge grin appears on his face.
"What's the big hurry there pretty lady?" He asks and I cringe up at him as I peer around him in search of Keith.
"Just trying to get to my friend. Excuse me please." I say as I tried to pass by him but he slammed his hand on the wall, stopping me.
"Why don't you join me for a bite to eat? Your friend can wait." He says as he backs me up into the wall.
He inches closer and closer until I close my eyes and transform. He falls onto his butt and I look down at him with a stern expression before turning away and running back in the direction Keith took off in. When I turned the corner I ran directly into Keith who seemed to be hiding from something.
"(Y/n)? What are you doing here? And why are you transformed?" He asks quietly as he holds onto my upper arms.
"Oh um...long story." I say and hear this weird humming sound.
Keith and I turn to see this little Galra guy on a scooter coming straight for us.
"I've got you now pirates! Where are your friends!?" He called out and Keith turned to me and we both began to run off.
"Wait where even are we?!" I asked as I could hear the guard yelling at us from behind.
"Less talking more running!" Keith says as he grabs my hand and pulls me along to make me go faster.
We make our way to what seems like a food court and see Hunk behind one of the counters preparing a dish.
"Bon appetit!" He says as he finishes garnishing the dish then he notices us being chased.
"Hunk it's time to go!" I cry out as he throws off his apron and jumps the counter to catch up with us.
"Don't forget what I taught you! Those are the fundamentals of cooking!" He yells over his shoulder to the guy at the stand.
"Pirate number three! My lucky day!" The guard yells out as he caught up to us once again.
We all began to run faster until we saw Lance and Pidge standing outside of one of the shops.
"Time to get moving guys!" Hunk cried out as we approached them and catch their attention.
"Security is on our tail!" Keith followed up.
We ran at them but noticed the direction we were heading in was just a dead end.
"Everyone up on Kaltenecker!" Hunk, Keith, and I turned around to see Lance and Pidge climb up onto a cow on a hoverboard.
"You bought a cow?!" Keith cried out as he climbed up onto the cow and I grabbed Lance's hand to climb on.
Hunk was dangling off of the poor cows tail as we went flying off of the second level. I wrapped my arms around Lance's waist as I felt Keith put his hands on mine to help me keep steady. When we landed, Coran came into view.
"There he is!" Pidge called out.
"We gotta go Coran!" Keith exclaimed.
"I got the scaultrite lenses!" Coran cried out as he grabbed onto Keith's hand and got onto the hoverboard.
The guard was still right on our tails as we rushed towards the exit. When we passed the exit sign the guard stopped.
"You better run! Don't let me catch you pirates!" The guard yelled.
"Oh? So you can't follow us outside, huh?" Lance teased the guard as he stood up on the cows back, but I noticed a low beam coming towards us.
"Um...Lance! Look out!" I cry out but was too late.
His head banged against the beam and he fell onto the ground. I grabbed onto the cow's rein and pulls back, making her stop.
"Lance are you ok?" I say as I jump off Kalteneker and rush over to him.
"Did you fall from heaven, because you're an angel." Lance says with spinning eyes as I lift him up and lay his head in my lap.
"Wow he hit his head so hard he doesn't know how to flirt anymore." I say with a giggle.
"Do you think he'll stay like that forever?" Keith asks and Lance glares up at him.
"Hey at least I'm the one laying in the precious angels lap." Lance replied with a pleased sigh and a awkward sigh escapes my mouth.
We made our way back to the castle and into the control room.
"We got our lenses!" Coran called out as he ran into the room with the bag of lenses in his hand.
"Excellent!" Allura says and we all pause when we see her.
"Allura what happened to your....um....nevermind." I began to ask about her many different hairstyles but stopped myself as I saw the mice appear on her shoulder.
"Now we can get the Teladuv running." She says with a smile.
"Where's Shiro?" Keith asks and the doors opened right after, revealing Shiro.
"What did you do? Take a nap?" Allura asked him.
"Not exactly." Shiro said with a smile and crossed his arms, he then turned to us and jumped.
"I-is that a cow?" He asks as he stares at Kalteneker who moos behind me.
"Mmhmm, his name is Kalenecker." Lance says with a grin.
"Wait, isn't she a girl?" I say and Lance looks at Kalteneker who moos in reply.
"So, did you find a way to bond with your lion?" Keith asks, changing the topic.
"Yes, and we need to get moving. We're heading for the Blade of Marmora's headquarters." Shiro instructs and Coran nods to him as he enters the coordinates into the castle.
I then heard Pidge walk over and sit on the ground along with Lance and they began to open up a box. I looked at the cover and saw a game system and my eyes lit up in excitement.
"You guys bought a video game?!" I ask as I rush over to them and crouch down next to them as they open the box.
"It was one of the best games back on Earth. I had to buy it." Pidge said excitedly as she pulled out the controller and plugs.
"Yeah! Let's get this baby set up! (Y/n), let's go one on one ok." Lance cheers and I nod excitedly.
"Wait...where do we...how do...." Suddenly all of our faces turned blue as we stared at the plugins to the game.
There was nowhere to plug them in.
"NOOOOooooooo!" We all cried out as we stared down at the game system in sorrow.
Honestly... I'd be so sad about the game 😂😅 well I hope you guys like today's chapter! Space maaaallllll!!!! (Y/n) shows her inner mom and is a good bean!!! Whelp sorry if there are any mistakes and today's fanart is by Cass-a-Role on Deviant art! See you guys next weekend!!
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