©DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER! IT IS OWNED BY DREAMWORKS! THIS IS FAN-MADE!
.*.*.
"I know the Prince said that this is supposed to be my lion, but what if he's wrong ?" Hunk rambled, his hands gripping his shorts tightly. "I mean, he's probably not wrong. He's a prince , but I'm not a pilot — even though I've, uh, always wanted to be a pilot. I mean, I read all the fighter manuals, but never got to fly the simulator. But, hey, I can't be all that worse than Shiro. He crashed all the time."
The sloth-alien looked back at Lance, who shrugged in response.
"But what if I get in there and it doesn't respond? What if I get in there and the seat is too small?" Hunk gasped, hands twitching in panic.
"What if it just doesn't like me!?"
Lance sighed, looking upward as his lips curled back in a soft grin. "You're rambling Hunk." He stated. The familiarity of the situation hit him as he recalled that his friend would often word-vomit if he was nervous; though the cause would be something more tame, like a test grade or social interaction.
Not finding a space robot cat.
"Listen..." Lance trailed, leaning back against the canoe. "...Our Commander on the Kerberos mission is like, the smartest man I have ever met. And he always said, 'if you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great'. Sounds like solid advice if you ask me."
Hunk paused then let out a quiet exhale. "Of course." he giggled lightly, "Now I know where she gets her optimism from."
"Huh?" Lance blinked. 'She' ? Who was 'she' ? Before he could vocalize his questions, the boat pulled up to dock in front of a massive stone temple, though it was covered in large, thick overgrown vines and roots, especially near the top.
"We're here!" Hunk hopped out of the boat, nearly tripping over himself in his hurry. Lance chuckled to himself and stepped out the boat as well, though considerably more calmer on his part, and both he and Hunk waved goodbye to the alien as they rowed away before hurrying to the temple. Along the path, the lion carvings in the ground glowed green and they watched in awe as it traveled up the steps into the mass of vines. Hunk tossed a nervous look to Lance, who smiled back encouragingly.
"Go on. Be great."
That seemed to be the right thing to say as he watched the other take another steadying breath before jogging to the temple. Looking at the sheer size of the structure and the profuse amount of steps it took to get even remotely close to the top, the brunette could extrapolate that this was gonna take a hot minute. So with that thought in mind, he decided to plop his butt in the grass.
Admittedly, Lance wasn't wrong—as Hunk had come to the same conclusion. However, with adrenaline pushing him forward, he heaved himself over another large root and continued to do so until he was at the summit of the temple, gasping.
"Where is...?" He looked around, blinking to clear his bleary vision as he found nothing but miles of jungle surrounding him. The hefty man sank down onto a root, leaning back and winced at feeling the burn in his thighs and arms. "So many stairs...." He wheezed, "...so much climbing."
And yet, where was the lion? It should have been here.
Hunk stared up at the mint colored sky past the ring of trees above, feeling his brain running a mile a minute while also simultaneously stumped into a pause. His brown eyes slipped shut while a sigh left his chest.
"Where...?"
The low vibration traveling throughout the overgrowth accompanied by a deep growl had his eyes snapping open once more. Hunk rolled over quickly, looking down within the depths of the roots and jumped as a bright yellow glow illuminated through the crevices. A large grin split his face.
"Oh heck yeah!" He whooped and slipped down into one of the larger openings.
Meanwhile down below, Lance gasped out in startle at the sensations of the ground tremors beneath his bum and quickly scampered to his feet. However, his concern was short-lived as he watched the Green Lion emerge from the tomb of flora, flying down to stand before him, proud and tall.
.*.*.
The Blue Lion skirted through overhangs and Shiro listened as another fighter jet crashed behind him.
"Allura?! Please hun, answer me!" He called out frantically, straining his ears for any noise of some kind to travel over the comms. The Blue Lion had opened a transmission line almost immediately after Allura had been deposited and the sound of the female's voice had yet to be heard.
"Please answer!" He pleaded, voice cracking a tad. Suddenly the Blue Lion was thrown into a spin, heading toward a canyon as it was bombarded by laser fire. The alarms blared throughout the cockpit in warning as multiple screens appeared over the monitor.
"No, no, no, no !" The male exclaimed, pulling on the controls as the familiarity of crashing hit him. "We're going down! We are going down !"
Shiro tried his best to ease the landing but he let out a series of grunts as the Blue Lion landed on it's back, skidding into a roll across the rocky plains until it crashed into the wallside of a cliff. A red light was flashing within the cockpit as the Blue Lion struggled to stand and Shiro moaned; his head pounding from when it slammed back into the seat and he felt nauseous from the tumble. He cracked his eyes open, sweat trailing down his temples as he weakly pulled the control sticks.
"Come on, girl..." He begged, voice breathless from panic as the Lion shook in response but otherwise stayed on the ground.
Crap. He was a sitting duck. Shiro continued to fiddle with the controls in hopes to get it all to work normally until Blue's monitor switched on, and Shiro felt his heart leap into his throat as he watched Blue lock onto the three fighter jets heading towards him.
"Oh no." One of the jets fired their missiles at him and he squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact.
However, the missiles never made contact with him as the ground nearby caved in and the Yellow Lion dove up from beneath, pouncing in front of the Blue Lion as it took the brunt of the assault. The Yellow Lion then proceeded past the smoke, golden eyes glimmering as it jumped into the air and belly-flopped onto the remaining fighter jets, effectively crushing them.
"Are you alright, Shiro?" The sound of Allura's voice nearly sent the bulky man to tears as he sagged into his seat, watching the Yellow Lion rise to its feet.
"Allura! I thought you had died! Y-You jumped in front of all those shots to save my life!" He babbled, his brain struggling to filter through his mouth. "Oh my god, are you okay??" Allura appeared over the transmission, looking considerably dirty and dusty but otherwise unharmed.
"Well, actually, I was trying to get out of the way. " She informed, " Thankfully, what this thing lacks in speed, it more than makes up for in armor. Wow, can it take a beating! "
She lets out a noise of surprise as the Yellow Lion is struck from behind. A fleet of fighter jets were coming their way with an onslaught of lasers pummeling towards them, though Yellow provided sufficient cover.
"We've got incoming! " She informed.
Suddenly, a transmission of Keith appeared on their screens, "Paladins! Please hurry back, I can't hold the wormholes open for much longer. " And the transmission ended as abruptly as it started. Shiro nodded and pulled on the control sticks, relieved to find the Blue Lion responding properly once more.
"Let's get out of here!" The Blue and Yellow Lion took off into the air and headed towards the wormhole. Though Allura managed to get hit by a stray laser beam, throwing off her stability as she crashed into Shiro, who let out a startled yelp as the two of them flew into the wormhole.
They could only thank whatever celestial beings existed, that the wormhole dumped them right in front of the castle and they quickly docked, before making their way to the bridge.
"Ow." Allura muttered, cracking her back as she and Shiro walked past the threshold, finding everyone waiting for them.
"You made it." Keith smiled in relief as the podiums to his sides slid back into the floor. Shiro scoffed, "Yeah, just barely." He rotated his shoulders, hearing them click with the motion. "That was an absolute nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Allura!"
"Think how I felt. I am Allura." The female cracked her neck, before smoothing down her hair.
Hunk snickered as he and Lance shared a look. "It's okay, we had a tough time too." He consoled.
"Did we find the Red Lion yet?" Lance asked. Kolivan stepped forward, "Keith just located it. However, it comes with both good and bad news." He informed. "The good news is that the Red Lion is nearby. The bad news is that it is aboard the Galra ship that is now orbiting Arus." He paused, "Hang on a sec, good news again: we're Arus!"
"They're here already?" Lance demanded, surprise overtaking his features.
"Unfortunately," Kolivan nodded, "As it turns out, my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting is more of an art than a science really." A video transmission suddenly flickered to life over the castle's command screen as a large, fluffy Galra appeared.
"Prince Keith, this is Commander Sendak. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon , Lord of the known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet ." and with those as his final words, Sendak terminated the transmission, drowning the bridge in stunned silence.
Lance blinked, "All right." He spoke suddenly. "Let's not panic."
"Not panic? Not panic?" Allura flounded, flabbergasted by the mere suggestion. "Th-The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four Lions-"
"Technically, only three working Lions." Hunk filled in numbly.
"That's right. Thank you, Hunk." She held three fingers in emphasis, beginning to pace. "Three working Lions an-and a Castle that's, like, ten thousand years old."
"To be correct, it's ten thousand, six hundred years old." Kolivan informed off-handedly.
"Thanks, Kolivan. Thank you for that. See?" She threw her arms out in front of her as sweat beaded her brow. "Now is the perfect time to panic!"
"Wait!" Keith spoke up from where he stood, "This Castle has a particle barrier we can activate."
Shiro whistled lowly, "Boy, you've already activated my par-"
"- Shiro! " The boy in question winced as he shifted his gaze to the side, meeting Lance's eyes guiltily as the older male stared at him in appall. Shiro smiled warily, "Sorry bossman. Inappropriate, I know." He muttered before turning his eyes back to the front, cheeks burning in embarrassment.
Kolivan was typing frantically, pulling up readings of the Galra ship's diagnostics. "The particle barrier will not hold Sendak's ion cannon forever." the older man placed a hand to his chin in thought, "The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."
"Panic now?" Allura squeaked, biting her nails.
"No." Lance repeated firmly, "We've just got to figure out our plan of action..." He stared at the screen, arms folding. "...and figure it out quickly."
"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Shiro offered, Allura rose her hand up instantly,
"Yes! I second that! Very strongly, might I add." She vouched, "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." Her face screwed up in thought, "Well, I mean I guess we can form a...snake? Or a worm! To go through that hole, Shiro, that you were talking about."
Shiro nodded, hand on his chin, "Okay then it's settled. Keith, you ride with me and someone else take Kolivan with them."
Hunk sputtered, "Woah, wait, hold on here! We can't just abandon Arus!" He interjected, "The Galra will just keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until they're stopped. Until we stop them."
"Okay but if we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth." Allura argued. "We form the snake-worm thingie and we slither out of here!"
Katie stepped forward, eyes narrowed, "Or," she spoke up, "Sendak could still destroy the planet and come after us anyway." she crossed her arms, "Staying is our only option."
"Here's an option: shut your quiznak!" Shiro snapped, unaware of Kolivan and Keith cringing at the usage of the alien word.
"I don't think you're using that word correctly." The brunette griped.
"What do you know, shrimp ?" Shiro barked.
"We're staying ." Katie declared.
"Leaving!" Shiro argued.
"Staying!" Hunk chimed.
"Snake!" Allura pressed.
"Guys ! Stop !" Lance shouted, feeling his temper teeter on exploding. This escalated way too quickly. He ignored how the teens faced away from each other childishly and turned to the Alteans, finding the two watching them all cautiously. "Prince Keith, 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?"
Keith stared at him with wide eyes, expression unsure as his gaze flittered onto each person. "I...I don't know." He stammered.
Kolivan stared at Keith with a considering look, before saying, "Perhaps your father can help."
The prince whipped around to face Kolivan, eyes large with disbelief. "My father?"
"You all wait right here." Kolivan spoke, then gestured to Keith. "Prince, if you would follow me?"
The raven-haired prince trailed after the older man as they strolled out the room. They stepped into the lift and waited in shared silence until they reached one of the higher floors of the castle. Keith looked about in puzzlement, failing to recognize where they were. Kolivan lead him to a set of doors and rose a hand onto the scanner before putting in a passcode. Instead of a room, the door opened to a large hallway illuminated by the glowing designs embedded into the black walls. At the end of the hall was another door and Kolivan let the smaller male walk ahead of him as it opened.
"Kolivan..." He started, "What is this place?"
It was oppressively dark, the walls and ceilings an inky black and seemingly never ending. He looked around as he walked along the large catwalk that led to a large console of some sort.
"Your parents knew there was a chance they may never see you again." Kolivan informed gently, though he stayed by the doorway. "Before his passing, King Otis requested that his memories—his very being— were stored in this computer for you."
What? Keith thought numbly, walking closer to the computer console, realizing that there was a small glowing orb coming from it. He slowly reached out, his heart thudding in his chest and felt the tips of his fingers make contact with the warm light. He gasped as the ball of light erupted and sparkles covered his vision. He quickly rubbed at his eyes as he spun around in startle, watching as the room changed and morphed, turning into a place all too familiar to him as the walls disappeared into endless fields of flowers and flora.
His mother's garden.
Keith felt a lump form in his throat, which only grew as he turned back to the computer and saw the holographic image of his father, sitting cross-legged with a warm smile.
"Father..." He choked out, stepping over to the hologram hurriedly, "Father you have no idea how good it is to see you."
"Hello, Keithor." His father spoke gently, rich baritone voice echoing slightly. "It's been so very long, my boy. I've missed you terribly."
A stray tear rolled down Keith's cheek and he wiped it away with a sniffle. "I..." He trailed off, blinking back the tears, "...I am so quizaking frightened." He settled onto his knees, uncaring if the grass dirtied his pants. "A Galra ship is set to attack and I don't know what to do. Please, father I need your help."
Otis let out a sigh, watching his son with sad eyes. "I would do anything to take away this burden from you."
Keith rested his head in his arms, leaning his upper body along the base of the computer, yearning for the reassuring touch of his parent. "I don't know if we should run to preserve what we have or stay and risk everything. I want to fight but the Paladins of old are gone..."
The raven-haired boy looked up into the golden eyes of his father, "I know what Mother would do." He murmured weakly.
Otis let out a hum, "Yes. Your mother scattered the Lions, in an effort to keep Voltron out of Zarkon's grasp, a decision we both agreed to be best scenario if all else fails." He fisted his hands, "Though you urged us to keep them and fight."
Keith looked down, feeling the negative emotions brewing, "I think understand why now..."
"No Keithor, you were right." Violet eyes blinked in confusion before staring up to meet golden ones once more.
"We made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives." His father looked at one of his hands, palm up. "Including my own. Forming Voltron is the only way to put an end to Zarkon. As a leader, you must be willing to make sacrifice to protect what you have. Please, assemble the lions and correct our error."
Otis gave Keith a small smile, though it was tinged with melancholy.
"I'm sure your mother would agree."
When both Keith and Kolivan returned to the bridge, the prince was dressed in fitted garment not too dissimilar to an undersuit, colored in purple, white and hints of gold. He walked into the room with strides strong and purposeful, his face pulled into a look of determination.
"You five Paladins were brought here for a reason." He stated. "The Lions of Voltron are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until Zarkon has been defeated. It is our duty." Keith walked along the platform, eyeing each of the humans who stared back with varying levels of wariness and anxiety. "Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope."
It was quiet for a moment as the information sunk in, the humans exchanging looks with one another before Lance stepped forward. "We're with you, Keith."
Keith nodded. "Thank you. Now come along. We must prepare you all properly." They exited the room as the prince led them to an armory chamber a floor below. The lights came on and revealed five columns embedded from ceiling to floor, hosting a suit of some kind within each one.
"Your suits of armor." Keith explained as he stayed by the door, watching the Paladins walk up to their respective suit in awe.
"My prince," Kolivan murmured from his side. Keith spared him a glance. "Hm?" He replied gently. "Are you sure about this? They are not exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer." The older man spoke simply, though Keith heard the undertone of unease. The smaller man huffed,
"No. But they're all we've got."
"Alright gang, it's time to suit up!" Lance called out with a grin and his hands on his hips. The Alteans turned around in respect as the humans changed into the armor. It didn't take too long and soon the Paladins stood before them proud and tall.
Now they looked the part. Though, only one thing was missing. Keith walked over to a glass container laying horizontal and placed his hand onto it. The glass dissolved, revealing five identical pieces of equipment, though differing in color.
"The bayard," Keith started, letting the weapons float from the table and hover to the respective owners. "is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron."
Allura grabbed onto her bayard first, staring at it in puzzlement.
"It takes a distinct shape for each Paladin." The prince finished, watching Allura gasp in surprise as her bayard changed in a flash of yellow light, taking on the shape of a staff. She hummed in consideration, then gave the large stick a twirl before slamming the tip to the ground and grinned in satisfaction. Katie grabbed onto her bayard next and observed once the light flashed, that it hadn't change too drastically in shape, though it now had a blade along the outer part. She did some test swipes in the air, slashing and found that she enjoyed it's maneuverability but was pleasantly surprised when it suddenly crackled with electricity. "Oh hell yes." She murmured.
Hunk was next and eagerly grabbed onto his bayard though was caught off-guard as the weight change along with the light, grunting as he heaved his weapon up and whooped to find it had changed into a large machine gun-cannon hybrid. Shiro grabbed onto the blue bayard, watching the flash of light and was surprised to feel it encase his wrist in a brace. He stared at it in confusion, flexing his hand on the handle and jumped as a blade suddenly formed, stretching out almost a foot from his hand. His other hand flashed and a clear shield formed on his other arm.
"Lance, I'm afraid that your bayard was lost with it's last Paladin." Keith remarked sullenly, looking sorry for some reason. Ignoring it, Lance waved him off with a small smile. "Guess I'll just have to make do."
Once everyone was settled, they returned to the command room. "You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship." Keith explained as he pulled up a scanned diagram of the ship on the main screen.
"That's a...pretty big ship." Katie observed, "How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?"
"Well it's not a matter of 'we' but more so a matter of 'you'." Hunk responded, pointing at the Red Paladin. Allura nodded, "Hunk is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down."
"Yeah." Shiro spoke up, crossing his arms. "You know how you were able to feel that crazy energy while you were in the desert?"
Katie's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the other. "Yeah. You made fun of me for that."
"And I regret not a single thing." Shiro continued smoothly, "But turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo."
"Katie." Keith warned, "Remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn it's respect." The petite female's eyes held the prince's before wavering to the side as she considered the information. Before she could begin to properly form any thought of doubt, she felt a large hand encompass her shoulder. She looked up to find it belonged to Lance, whom was giving her a reassuring smile.
"Alright everyone, here's our plan of attack."
.*.*.
"Do you think this will work? " Allura's question crackled over the comms and Shiro let out a sigh.
"Honestly? I don't know. But it's either we get the Red Lion or we get obliterated and I don't know about you but I think I know which option I'd choose." He replied, leaning back in his seat. He stared out the window, eyeing the obnoxiously large spacecraft flying before them.
"Ready?" Shiro murmured.
"As I'll ever be. "
As they approached the ship, Shiro opened up a transmission line. "Attention Galra ship. Do not fire. We are surrendering our Lions." The line remained quiet and the two Paladins awaited anxiously as the silence stretched on. They could only hope they were proving to be a decent distraction and that the others found a way in the ship already. The plan they settled on was that he and Allura fly out first, seeing as the Galra already knew that they had the Blue and the Yellow Lion. However, what the Galra didn't know, (at least, Shiro hoped severely that they didn't) is that they also had the Green Lion on hands as well. While he and Allura act as decoys, pretending to give up the lions, Hunk was supposed to fly in undetected and sneak inside with Lance and Katie.
"Allura and Shiro, I'm gonna need you two to find some way to take down that ion cannon."
Those were Lance's instructions but just how the hell were they supposed to take out that behemoth of a weapon?
Allura cut the line with Sendak and opened the comms of her helmet, "Hunk, what's your ETA?" She heard a grunt on the other end before Hunk answered,
"We're in."
Good timing too, because a bright magenta glow was forming at the head of the ship. "What is that?" Allura demanded.
"I think that's our signal to get the heck out of here!" Shiro snapped and they both ducked out the way as a large beam was expelled. Moments later, smaller fighter jets started filing out of the ship.
"Allura babe, take out that ion cannon." Shiro grinned, flying into the cluster of ships, lasers firing. "I'm gonna take these jerks on a space ride."
"Ten-four! "
Inside the Galra ship, Katie, Hunk and Lance were creeping through the maze of halls, doing their damn best to stay undetected. Lance's steps slowed as he turned a corner, looking about uneasily. The halls seemed to stretch on forever, almost looming before him. Suddenly his vision changed and he was in a cell, surrounded by inmates and the door opened to reveal sentry bots rolling in. In the next second, he was looking up at a ceiling and being overlooked by a bunch of masked beings.
The brunette let out a gasp as he found himself back in the hallway, stumbling into a wall at his side.
"Lance?"
He jumped as a hand touched his shoulder, his head whipping around and finding warm brown eyes staring at him in concern. Hunk could feel the tremors beneath his palm and watched as Lance look around once more.
"I've been here before." Lance muttered shakily, "After I was taken by the Galra ship off Kerberos, they brought us here."
"So..." Katie stood up from the floor, "That means your other crew members, they might be held captive here." Her hazel eyes were wide, "We've gotta rescue them!"
"We don't have enough time." Lance replied, "We need to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus."
"But we can't just leave prisoners here!" Katie exclaimed, her voice growing in volume.
"Keep your voice down!" Lance hissed, "Look, no one understands that more than me but in war, we have to make hard choices. Come on, we gotta keep moving." The brunette dismissed and began to walk away.
"No!" The small girl growled. Hunk and Lance stared at her in bafflement.
"What do you mean-- "
"My brother was on that mission!" Katie fumbled, her tone nearing hysterical, "Matt could be on this ship a-and you're telling me to sit still?!"
Lance's eyes widened, recollection flashing over his gaze. "Matt's your brother."
"Yes." She fisted her hands and glared fiercely. "I have been searching for him everywhere and I am not going to give up when I'm this close." She turned to go down the opposite hall. "I won't."
"Wait!" She paused in her step as Hunk called out to her, staring at him hard over her shoulder.
"Lisen Katie, I understand what you're feeling, believe me I do." Hunk spoke gently, holding his hands in a placating gesture. "But you're the only one who can track down the Red Lion and operate it. We need you for this." He looked at Lance, who was staring at the small girl with wide guilty eyes. "Which is why me and Lance will look for the prisoners for you." Both Lance and Katie looked at him with surprise.
"What?" Katie blinked.
Lance shook himself before facing Katie once more, eyes determined, "Hunk's right. We'll look for your brother and Commander Smythe. I remember where the prisoners are held. Katie, I'm sorry but please."
Her expression was torn as she regarded what they said before letting out a long breath. "Fine." She muttered. Suddenly there was the sound down the hall before them and they froze. They watched as a light shone from around the corner and broke into a run, Katie going in a different direction from Hunk and Lance respectively. She pushed her legs as quickly as she could before skidding into another corridor, her chest heaving as she panted. She continued running until she found herself at an intersection.
"Great." She muttered, breathless as she looked around, "Now, which way?" She heard footsteps behind her and took off down the hall to her left.