~~~~Saoirse~~~~
After we found out that Keith was going to pilot the Black Lion, we had to decided who was going be the Red Lion pilot. Allura wasn't chosen even though she desperately wanted to follow in her father's footsteps as the Red Paladin.
"A new palidan? I mean, where would we even start looking?" Pidge asked.
"Well I vote for getting some alien diversity on the team, and I know some cool mermaids who could be good at it." Lance suggested.
"You do realize that we have an Altean princess, her advisor, a half human-half Galran pilot, and a half Altean-half Teshirian pilot, right? There's plenty of alien diversity here." I said sarcastically, making Keith chuckle. I smiled at him, happy to see his at least chuckle.
"Besides, you just want to see those mermaids again." Hunk deadpanned.
"Yeah, exactly."
"How about those blade guys?" Hukk suggested.
"Or the Olkari?" Pidge jumped out of her seat, but before we could discuss the topics any further, the screen in the lounge began to static.
The Puigian leader appeared on the staticy screen.
"Voltron, we need your help. The Galrans have returned. Once you left, we were defenseless. My people are trying to hold out, but the Galra are too powerful." The Puigian begged for help, his voice breaking slightly from the interrupted connection.
"The lions are on their way. Hold your ground and protect your people until we arrive. Voltron stands with you." Allura said.
"Thank you, Princess." The connection was cut off and all of us ran to our Lions as quickly as possible.
"Keith," Allura stopped him, "The Black Lion has chosen you. You can do this."
Keith nodded and went through the door to the tunnel leading to the Black Lion. I sighed, hoping that this mission would go well.
I went through my tunnel and landed in the Silver Lion, launching with Keith, Pidge and Hunk. However, Lance was nowhere to be seen.
"Alright guys, we're not about to let the Galra take back this planet, so follow me." Keith said.
"Where's Lance?" Pidge asked, noticing the absence of the blue palidan.
"What?" Keith asked confused.
"Lance, where are you?" I asked.
"My lion's not responding to me." Lance replied and groaned.
"Well, figure it out and catch up with us as soon as you can." Keith said.
We flew out to Planet Puig as fast as we could, but as soon as soon as we got close, a Galra ship appeared in front of us. My scar began to burn, warning me that something bad was about to happen. Or... someone bad was inside that ship. Either way, it wasn't a good sign.
"Attention, Palidans of Voltron." A man's voice said. It was powerful, demanding and almost young. "This is Prince Lotor, son of Zarkon, Emperor Pro Tem of the Galra Empire. Surrender now, or you will be destroyed."
"We've been set up!" Pidge shouted as small fighters rushed out of the large ship.
"Evasive maneuvers. Everyone, watch your back!" Keith ordered as the battle began.
~~~~Allura~~~~
I watched the battle on Puig commence, and was scared for my Paladins.
"Coran, we need to get there immediately. Lance, we need you. The lions are being attacked." I shouted.
"I'm trying!" Lance shouted back.
"I'm going to see what's keeping him." I ran down to the Blue Lion hangar to see what was the matter.
~~~~Lance~~~~
I stood there tapping my foot in front of the Blue Lion, who was stubborn and wouldn't bring down its particle barrier to let me inside.
"Come on, Old Blue. It's me, Lancey Lance. Open up." I said, but still the Lion didn't respond.
"Okay, enough goofing around. I mean it. We gotta get out there and help the others." Still... nothing.
"Oh come on! Why are you being mad at me?" I asked the lion as I collpased onto my knees. I groaned, hanging my head, but quickly shot back up with a sudden realization.
"Wait, do you hate me now?" I crawled towards the barrier surrounding the Blue Lion.
"I'm sorry for wanting to fly the Black Lion. It was just a phase. Hey, Blue, you know what? I gotta say, that's a great color on you. Oh! Are you from outer space? Because your body is out of this world." The lion didn't react to any of my witty compliments.
I groaned and collapsed on the ground.
"Jeez, that's, like, my best line." I muttered to myself, wondering what it would take for the Blue Liom to open back up.
~~~~Lotor~~~~
I was almost bored watching these lions fight my fighter ships.
"Hey! It's the black kitty!" Ezor said in her cheerful tone.
I glanced over at the map in front of Ezor and indeed saw the marker signifying the Black Lion.
"So, it survived. Where are the others?" I wondered aloud.
"How, hey look at this pretty kitty!" Ezor said, projecting the Silver Lion on the larger screen. I watched the Eiover move with such fluidity and grace, shooting its lasers with such precision and quick reflexes.
It intrigued me.
"Who pilots that Silver Lion?" I asked myself, wanting to know more about the pilot who flew that Lion.
"Not sure, but whoever pilots that lion has some serious skills." Zethrid said, glaring at the screen.
I smiled curiously at the Silver, watching as it noved and fought.
"I wonder...." I muttered, "Maybe I'll meet this mysterious Paladin. I would be honored to see him or her. But first, send out the rest of the fighters. Let's see if we can draw out the other Lions."
My orders were taken out with stride.
~~~~Keith~~~~
Another swarm of fighters rushed out from behind the Galra ship. I hewrd Pidge and Hunk scream before they took more evasive maneuvers in order to dodge and attack them.
The Silver Lion shot out its special attack, multiple streams of light wrapping around ten fighters and sucking out their energy before firing it back at the downed fighters.
"Nice shooting, Saoirse." I said.
"Thanks, Keith." She replied.
I flew away to fight off some of the fighters myself, but with the new larger Lion, it was more difficult than before to control it.
"Guys, I'm having trouble here." I said to my teammates, "These controls don't respond like the Red Lion's. I need some help."
The side of my lion got shot, shaking me in the pilot's seat.
"Keith, are you all right? I'm heading your way!" Saoirse shouted, her lion flying closer to mine.
~~~Allura~~~
I ran as fast as I could to the Blue Lion hangar, where I saw Lance rubbing the back of his head in theiugh while staring at the unresponsive lion.
"Look out!" Pidge shouted from the radios.
"Lance, get out here now!" Keith shouted.
"Lance, what's wrong?" I asked catching my breath.
"I don't know. Blue is shutting me out." Lance's shoulders slumped forward, "Maybe Pidge is right. I am just a goofball. Not only am I not meant to be the leader, I guess... I guess I'm not even meant to be a palidan."
The way he spoke, it was sad. And from the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was unsure about what to do next.
Suddenly, the roar of a lion echoed through the hangar. The two of us looked up at the Blue Lion, but saw that it hadn't moved an inch.
"What was that?" Lance asked.
"It's the Red Lion. You must go it." I said, ny eyes widening.
"No way. Keith probably trained it to bite my head off." Lance said, then his eyes widened, "Maybe It's roaring for you."
I looked towards the floor, sad, but I knew what this meant. I wasn't meant to be the pilot to the Red Lion like my father.
"I would love nothing more for that to be true, but I know the Red Lion is not meant for me. It is choosing you." I said.
"I don't understand." Lance said confused.
"My father built Voltron, but he knew Zarkon was a better leader in battle, so he became Voltron's right hand."
I placed a comforting hand on Lance's shoulder, "Lance, when you accepted Keith as the new leader of Voltron, it proved that you value a strong team over your own need for glory. Just like my father."
"I won't let him down."
I smiled, "Go." Lance nodded and ran to the Red Lion, taking off in a rush to help the others.
I frowned and began walking away back to the bridge. Suddenly, I heard a lion growling. I turned around and saw the Blue Lion's force field lower and its eyes glow.
I smiled at this new discovery. Maybe I wasn't able to pilot the Red Lion, but this gave me another opportunity.
I ran to the Blue Lion, who lowered its head for me to board it. I went inside, sat down and launched out of the Castle, following Lance and Red Lion to the battle field.
~~~Saoirse~~~~
I continued to fight with everything my lion could offer, but no matter how many fighters I took down, more just kept popping up in their place.
"Keith, what should we do?" Hunk asked shootijg down more fighters.
"We need to attack that ship." Keith answered.
"Can you be more specific? We need an actual plan." Pidge said. Suddenly, I noticed on my screens that the Galra ship on front of us was powering up somehow.
"Everyone, something's happening with the Galra ship." I said, but it was too late to figure out what it was. A powerful cannon fired at the Black Lion, grazing it a little.
"Keith!" Pidge shouted in concern as he flew off into space. I could hear his ragged breathing through the radios.
"Keith, are you all right?" I asked worringly.
"I'm okay, but we can't fight this guy alone." Keith replied.
"You won't have to!" We heard Lance's voice say through the comms. My screens began flashing and according to my scans, the Red Lion was close by.
I looked around and saw a red light shine through the darkness of space. I magnified my scans and saw the Red Lion flying towards us at great speeds.
I laughed excitedly, knowing that Lance was inside the Red Lion piloting it.
The Red Lion flew past and through several fighters, firing its lasers and destroying them all in one blow. It was amazing to watch.
Just then, the Castle ship came onto the battlefield, attacking with its own defenses.
"Need some help?" Coran asked.
The Castle kept destroying fighter after fighter, leaving behind nothing but broken metal and scraps floating in space.
"Thanks, Coran." Keith said, "All right, let's see if we can turn our attention on that ship."
Just as we were about to try and attack the Galra ship, it powered up another attack and fired directly at the Castle. Thankfully the Castle had its particle barrier up so there wasn't too much damage.
The Galra ship kept firing at the Castle again and again, but we were too busy defending ourselves to defend the Castle.
Lance flew the Red Lion up into a swarm of fighters, shooting them down at greater speeds than he was used to.
"Whoo-hoo! Boy, this lion can move!" He exclaimed. Suddenly his cheering turned to fear as he came too close to the Galra ship at too great of a speed.
He barely missed hitting the ship, pulling up and occasionally scraping the side.
"Hey! Be careful with Red." Keith shouted.
"Oh, fly your own lion, Keith." Lance replied, not noticing that the Red Lion was backing up into a fighter. The Red Lion smashed into the fighter, causing the Galra fighter to explode and resulted in Lance screaming from the shock.
"I meant to do that!" Lance shouted spinning out in space.
"Wow, we're really kind of a mess." Pidge said, "We need to get organized. Keith, what should we do?"
"I don't know. We need to form Voltron, but we're short a lion." Keith said.
"Not anymore." Allura said, confusing us but only for a couple of seconds. The Blue Lion suddenly flew out from the Castle and towards us.
"Allura?" Pidge asked in shock.
"Yes! Awesome!" Hunk shouted.
We were ready to attack as a full lion force, but strangely, the Galra force retreated as soon as the Blue Lion came into view. They disappeared in almost an instant.
"We did it!" Lance exclaimed.
"I mean, it was a little touch and go there for a second, but, yeah, we made it." Hunk sighed with relief.
"Allura, you and the Blue Lion? How cool is that?" Pidge asked excitedly.
"Yes. It was a bit of a surprise, but a happy one."
"Congratulations, Allura. Welcome to Voltron." I said happily.
"Now, we know that Zarkon has a son." Keith said, changing the mood quickly.
"This is... deeply disturbing." Allura said.
"We need to find out more."
We went back to the Castle to come up with a plan, but when I saw Keith, he had a serious expression on his face.
I walked in behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. He didn't flinch, but I could tell that he knew it was me touching him.
"You okay?" I asked, "You haven't had that expression on your face for a while now. Something you want to talk about?"
Keith sighed and clenched his fist, almost angrily.
"I don't know what to do, Saoirse." He said, "I'm the leader now but I didn't know what to do as we fought. The Black Lion is different than the Red Lion, so I don't understand what to do with it. I think the Lion and Shiro made a mistake."
I let go of his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his waist, letting my head rest on his back.
"Do you know why Shiro picked you to succeed him as leader if something happened to him?" I asked, but Keith stayed silent, "It's because he could see what you couldn't. He could see someone strong and brave. A person who is willing to lead a team into a battle and trust those who are close to him. You may not see it, but I can and so did my brother. The Black Lion made the right choice, my brother made the right choice."
Keith let me stay like that for a few more minutes, before he took my hands and made me let go of him. He spun around still holding my hands. And for the first tike since Shiro went missing... I saw him smile.
"Thanks, Saoirse. I really needed that." He said before pulling me into a hug. I gasped surprised. He hasn't hugged me in a while, so it was a little unexpected. But slowly, I hugged him back, enjoying the sound of his heart beating through his chest, and the warmth of my cheeks.
It felt nice.
We let each other go after a few minutes of staying like that.
"I think I know what to do now." Keith said before running off with a determined smile. I smiled at his disappearing back and turned around to walk back to my room.
I raised my hand to my neck and felt for the chain to my necklace. I pulled the chain and grabbed the pendant, watching to glow and the picture of me and my parents.
"Don't worry, soon I'll find you two. I hope two are proud of me." I whispered to the picture as it faded back into the pendant.
"Princess, the Black Liom is leaving the Castle!" Coran shouted through the radios.
"Keith, where are you going?" Allura shouted back.
"I put a tracker on Lotor's ship." Keuth replied, "Tell everyone to get their lions. We're going after 'em. You wanted me to lead Voltron? This is how I lead."
My scar began to burn again as I ran to the Silver Lion. What was going to happen?