(e/c)-eye color (honestly idek why I included this....oh well)
When we walked into the control room and noticed the others had already congregated there. Shiro and I walked towards Coran who was steering the ship towards the coordinates that we had been given to by Ulaz.
"How soon until we get to the Blade Of Marmora?" Shiro asks.
"Based on the coordinates that Ulaz gave us, we should be there within a few doboshes." Coran answers as I sit down in my chair.
"I can't wait to see it! I mean, they were able to fold space-time, and that was just an outpost!" Pidge excitedly exclaims and I giggle.
"Mmm, the space taco. It left us too soon." Hunk sighs as he rubs his growling stomach.
"Well sure...but my point is, imagine how amazing their home base will be!" Pidge says with stars in her eyes and arms outstretched.
"Exactly! It could take on any shape. Like a jelly donut, or long like an space eclair, or a cheese blintz with cherry sauce on top. Maybe a little dusting of powdered sugar, that's the stars." Hunk says with drool sliding down his chin.
"Aw, now I'm hungry for breakfast." Lance says with a whine and my stomach growls to accompany his.
"Guys, this is a serious mission. We need to focus." Keith growls and Lance silently copies him with a funny expression.
I cover my growling stomach to silence it and slightly giggle at Lance who looks at me with a smile as Keith turns and glares at Lance. He catches my eyes, but quickly looks away and shakes his head to focus.
"The base is in range." We all looked up at Coran's words.
"Take us in slowly." Shiro says as we all go silent and I stare out the window and I freeze at what I saw.
"Guys...I don't think we can..." I say as I point out the window making everyone turn to look.
"Is that a black hole?!" Hunk exclaims.
There were two black holes side by side and in between them was a giant planet, unaffected by the two giant vacuums.
"And a planet in between them? How is it so stable?" I ask in amazement as I stare out at the window.
"Oh no no no no no. It's two black holes and a giant blue star." Coran answered and Hunk and I turn to each other then back to Coran.
"That's not any better." Hunk says and I release a sigh.
"No kidding. Just inside the black hole, the temperature is one millionth of a degree above absolute zero. But just outside, it's hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius." Pidge explains.
"Ok, it's like when you try to nuke a frozen burrito in the microwave and it comes out all scorching hot on the outside but is still frozen in the middle, right?" Hunk deduced and I let out a giggle.
"That was actually a really good comparison." I say while giggling and Hunk turns to me with a smile.
"Ugh, but now I'm hungry for lunch." Lance says while rubbing his belly.
"Guys quiet! Coran, where's the base located?" Keith yelled and we all flinched at his sudden outburst.
"In between those three deadly celestial objects." Coran replies.
"The perfect defensive position." Pidge says and I nod.
"Or the perfect trap." Allura mutters and I look towards her in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm with Allura. Maybe we shouldn't like go in there at all?" Hunk quietly says.
"What are you talking about?! We have to go in! This is the whole reason we came out here. There is no other option." Keith exclaims.
"Ok geez, calm down." Lance says, and Keith turns away with crossed arms and a scowl.
"Actually, I agree with Keith. What was the point of coming if we don't go in." I say and Keith turns to me and his expression soften.
Suddenly something appeared on the screen and purple letters appeared.
"Identify yourself." A robotic feminine voice says.
"Open a hailing frequency Coran." Shiro instructed and Coran followed the command.
"We are the paladins of Voltron, sent here by Ulaz." Shiro continues and a moment of silence passes over us as we wait for a reply.
"Three may enter. Come unarmed." The robotic voice says before switching off.
"Why would they insist we come unarmed? Shiro this doesn't feel right." Allura says and I stand from my chair.
"We've come too far to turn back now." Shiro says.
"They just sent us a route to the base, but we'll have to move quickly, because of the solar flares. It's only open for another varga, then it'll be close for two qunintants." Coran explains while showing us the path.
"They're going to close it for two years?" Hunk asks in shock.
"Two days." Pidge corrected and Hunk responded with an innocent 'oh'.
"So, any thoughts on who's going to join you on this mission? I'm thinking things might get a little hot, so you're going to want someone who can stay cool." Lance says, while posing, pretty much selling himself out.
"You're right. Keith, you're coming with me." Shiro says, completely shocking Lance.
"But Keith's a hothead! He's probably going to shoot first then ask questions later! And they're not going to be able to answer him because they'll be dead!" Lance exclaims as him and Keith exchange glares.
"We haven't yet severed Zarkon's link with the Black lion, so it has to stay here. And the Red lion can withstand the heat from that sun. So yes, it'll be Keith, and (Y/n), you're coming with us as well." Shiro says and everyone turns to me in shock.
"Wait, me? How come?" I shyly ask.
"You have your magic abilities, so if we get into any danger I can count on you to get us out. As well as the fact that you'd be the one to calm the so called 'hot head'." Shiro explains and I stare at him in disbelief.
'Wait....what did he just say?! The only one to calm the hot head? Does he mean-' I look over to Keith and we meet eyes and quickly look away with huge blushes covering our faces and Shiro let's out a laugh.
"The course to the base will be quite treacherous to say the least. You're walking a razor's edge between the gravitational pull of the black holes and the sun. One false move and you'll either be crushed into infinity or burnt to a crisp." Coran explains, changing the subject, and we all stare at him in fear.
Keith, Shiro, and I all make our way to the Red lion, and on our way we pass by Ghost's hangar and I can feel a warm sensation pass through me. I look over to her and a smile crosses my face.
'Don't worry everything will be fine...I hope. Take care of the others while we're gone.' I say to her in my head, knowing she would be able to understand and another warmth fills me, and I know she had heard me.
"(Y/n) come on!" I hear Shiro call out and I run to catch up to them.
We all board the Red lion and it flew towards the black holes, following the path on the screen. While we were flying, Keith seemed to be oddly quiet and extremely tense. Shiro and I look to each other noticing this, and he nods to me. I gently set my hand down on his and he jumps at the contact.
"Keith, are you alright? " I ask as he looks up at me and turns back to the front.
"I'm fine." He replies in a monotone voice and I look down at him in sorrow.
"You kind of blew up at everybody back there. You'll have to control your emotions if you're going to lead this group someday." Shiro says and Keith and I turn to him in utter shock.
Keith nervously laughs as he looks up at Shiro.
"Lead the group?" Keith asks with a forced smile and I look between him and Shiro completely confused.
"When we were stranded I told you, if anything were to happen to me, I want you to lead Voltron." Shiro calmly says and I look between him and Keith in shock.
"I thought you were just delirious with pain...why would you make me the leader?" Keith asks.
"Because I know what you're capable of. If you can only learn some self discipline." Shiro adds and I lean against the back of Keith's chair, speechless.
"Why are we even talking about this? Nothing is going to happen to you." Keith says in a pain filled but annoyed voice.
"Yeah! Nothing will ever happen! I won't let anything happen to any of you guys!" I suddenly cry out and the boys look at me as I cover my mouth in embarrassment.
"It's just in case, and (Y/n), thank you." Shiro says while placing a hand on both mine and Keith's shoulders.
"Now I need you to be focused. When you both ran off it put us all in jeopardy. If you're going to be a leader, you've got to get your head on straight." Shiro continues and I hang my head down in shame.
"I'm sorry...I just had a lot on my mind..." Keith mumbled and I looked up at him in worry.
"Me too...I'm really sorry..." I say while hanging my head in sorrow.
The Lion then jarred and we started to be pulled in the direction of the black holes. I held onto the back of Keith's chair in fear.
"Get us out of here!" Shiro exclaimed.
Keith quickly grabbed ahold of his handles, activating the boosters and guiding the Red lion back onto its course. We all let out sighs of relief.
"(Y/n) are you alright?" Keith asks as he turns towards me.
I was clutching my chest trying to catch my breath and steady my fast heart and I nod to him.
"I-I'm okay. Thank you." I say with a smile and I catch Shiro smiling at us.
I straighten up and look over at Shiro who smiles at me and nods his head, and all I could do was just stare at him in confusion. Keith then told us to look out front and a tooth shaped asteroid came into view. The Red lion landed on it and a strange feeling washed over me.
"(Y/n) what's wrong?" Shiro asks and I shake my head.
"It's nothing...I think." I say in response then the ground began to shift beneath us.
I quickly transformed into my Azarethian form, but the two boys still stood in front of me in defense. The ground opened up and two soldiers slowly rose from the ground. I could feel my ears bend down in shyness as they emanate an intimidating aura while we slowly began walking towards them. The platform we were on began to descend and it moved so suddenly that I stumbled a bit. A pair of arms grabbed onto me before I fell into one of the guards. I looked back to see both Shiro and Keith had grabbed onto me and released a sigh of relief as they pulled me back.
The platform soon stopped and doors opened revealing a huge hall with soldiers lining the walls on either side. Above us, a large hologram with the symbol of the Blade of Marmora glowed. The three of us walked forward and as we got closer we noticed a soldier standing in front of us in a slightly different uniform. He had a very powerful aura, but I snapped myself out of it and stood up straight to show my strength.
"I am Kolivan. The leader of the Blade of Marmora." The taller man says with his hands held behind his back.
"My name is Shiro. This is Keith and (Y/n). We're Paladins of Voltron." Shiro introduces us and I politely nod my head to him.
"I know who you are." Kolivan stated and I began to shrink again in shyness by his intimidating aura.
"Then you would know we were sent by one of your own." Shiro says and I look up to him in awe for how calmly he was handling the situation, so was Keith.
"Ulaz was a fool to divulge this location to you. He had a penchant for ignoring orders and following his impulses. That's what got him killed." Kolivan stated, as if he had no remorse for Ulaz's death.
"He gave his life to save us. What he did brought us here today and Voltron is ready to assist you. Are we welcomed here or not?" Shiro glared at Kolivan, but he seemed completely unfazed.
"You were told to come unarmed." Kolivan stated in a threatening tone.
"You also told us to identify ourselves. The lions are about as close as we can get to an ID, and (Y/n) can't really help having powers." Keith growled and looked as if he was ready to jump at the leader, so I gently grab his arm and pull him closer to me, making him freeze and stare down at me.
"The Red lion was our safest way here, Mr. Kolivan. And I apologize for my powers, but really they're more for defence. I hope you can except our help and become our allies." I say and Kolivan looked down at me.
"That's not what we're talking about." He says and I look up at him in confusion.
Suddenly one of the soldiers came over to us and pushed me off of Keith. Shiro caught me as they detained Keith. They twisted his arm behind his back and pinned him to the ground. Shiro and I went to go help, but another guard grabbed onto me and held Shiro back. The man holding Keith down, went through his uniform and pulled out a blade. Shiro and I looked to each other in shock, but looked back down at him quickly. The blade seemed very familiar though.
"I didn't steal it! I've had it all my life!" Keith shouted as he looked back at the soldier holding him.
"Lies!" The soldier growled as he pushed Keith further into the ground and tears filled my eyes.
"Stop it! Please don't hurt him!" I cried out as some of my power drifted through the air, but the soldier kept me in his tight grip.
"Can you corroborate your friend's statement? Does this blade truly belong to him?" Kolivan asked Shiro as I squirmed in the guards arms.
"I...I don't know..." Shiro muttered as he just stared at the blade.
"What about you miss Azareth?" Kolivan said and I flinched.
I looked down at Keith and my teary (e/c) eyes met his purple ones. A sob escaped my mouth as I squirmed once again in the soldiers arms and shook my head.
"I-I don't know...but I wish I did...." I say in between cries and Keith looks up to us.
"Shiro, (Y/n). You guys know me. I promise you, I didn't steal it, I've had this knife for as long as I can remember." Keith says with a grunt as he stared intently at us.
Another sob escaped my mouth. I wanted to believe him I really did, but if he's had it this whole time...why didn't he say anything?
"We can't trust them." Another soldier growled close to my ear and I shivered.
"I'm telling the truth! I saw Ulaz had a knife like this. Tell me what it means." Keith says as he glares up at Kolivan.
"Our organization is built on secrecy and trust. You three should leave. Now." Kolivan boomed and the soldiers released us.
I quickly went over to Keith and helped him up with my tear stained face. Shiro joined us and we all stood up and faced them.
"We came here to form an alliance, but obviously we are not welcomed here. Let's go." Shiro says in a firm tone, but somehow I couldn't leave.
Keith and Shiro turned to me in question as I was stood still in the hall. I spun around and made my way back to Kolivan.
"(Y/n) wait-" Shiro called out but he was too late.
I was mere inches from Kolivan and my powers freely swirled around the room and I stared up at the man.
"We can't leave. You said your organization was based upon trust, correct? Well if you can't trust us, trust Voltron, the only thing capable of defeating Zarkon. What will you do? Remain in the shadows all of your life without a chance of taking down the boss and losing man after man? What's the point of that?! Are you going to let billions of innocent aliens die at the cost of defeating Zarkon on your own, or can you trust us enough to accept our help and free your people. Free the universe." I say earning stares of astonishment from the Red and Black Paladins.
Kolivan glared down at me and Keith made his way to my side.
"Even if you Blade of Marmora want to give up this chance, we're not leaving without some answers. Somehow one of your knives ended up with me on planet Earth. Tell me how." Keith demanded.
"I suggest you two listen to your friend and leave." Kolivan stated while glaring down at us, but Keith wasn't about to back down, and I was prepared to protect us.
"Where did it come from?! I have to know!" Keith demanded again, but in the end his voice became much softer.
"You seek knowledge? There is only one way to attain knowledge here." Kolivan stated and a shiver ran up my spine.
"How?! I'll do it!" Keith immediately exclaimed and I looked up at him in worry.
"The trials of Marmora. Should you survive, you may keep the blade and it's secrets within it will be revealed." Kolivan explained and I flinched at the word 'survive'.
"Survive?!" Shiro had exclaimed my exact thoughts out loud and I spun towards Keith.
Shiro made his way to us and grabbed Keith by the shoulder, spinning him towards himself.
"Keith, this is crazy. If they're not going to help us, let's just get out of here." Shiro demanded, not liking where this was going.
"I'm not going anywhere. I have to do this." Keith retorted back making Shiro go silent and I looked between the two of them in fear.
"Antok, give the boy the blade." Kolivan instructed and the man who had pinned Keith down approached us and reluctantly held out the blade to Keith, who quickly grabbed onto the handle but Antok wouldn't let go.
"We will meet again." Antok hissed at Keith, but he seemed completely unfazed.
"Can't wait." Keith shot back as he yanked the blade from Antok's hand.
"These trials end in one of two things. Knowledge or death." Kolivan stated and I could feel my heart beat rise in speed.
A horrible feeling began to spread throughout me and I looked up to Keith who seemed so determined. He locked eyes with me and his expression softened at my gaze, but quickly turned his attention back to Kolivan.
'I'm not going to let him die.' I think to myself as the soldiers awaited for us to follow after them.
Hey guuuuuys....yeah it's another cliff hanger sorry ~ 😈 I didn't want the chapter to be too long so yeah....but juicy stuff is coming up 😈😈😈 whelp....anyways! Once again today's fanart is by Fuzzy_bean_Hunk! If you guys want your fanart to be posted in a chapter or if you just want to show me, like I'm all for other people's art like you guys are amazing, just send it to me! You can go to either of my Instagrams and DM me or my deviantart or however you wish to! I love your fanart soooooo much ☺️ whelp I'll see you guys next weekend! I hope you can survive till then 😈 bye bye~
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