Chapter Text
She awoke to a red sky, as always. Felt the broken black glass beneath her, same as yesterday. Breathed in the toxic air, felt the blisters forming on her face, as she had for however long she'd been here. With a sigh she used one of her drakon bone swords as a cane, the other strapped to her back, hobbling along the flame river with no real agenda. She couldn't remember the last time she had something other than flame water to drink, or eat, for that matter. She tried not to think about it. She knew by someone's standards, she was deathly skinny. By who's she had no clue. Thankfully the strange armor she wore shrank to fit. At one point the once white-black-and-green suit had actually let her breath what she thought might have been clean air, and actually boosted her up in the air, but those things had long since run out. The dirty armor had a matching tool, bayard an odd thought supplied, that changed into a grappling hook and let her scale cliffs easily enough, it was useful, but it used up her energy more than her sword did in a long fight, so she tried to avoid using it. She hadn't needed to fight anything in a long time, as every monster that once lived down here now roamed the surface, or at least that's what she heard a passing cyclops say once. It hadn't known she was there, thankfully, so it just went on it's merry way. She'd been horrified when she realized that she actually started smelling like this place, the Pit she'd heard it be called. But it slowly became a blessing, making it easier to wander undetected.
She never worried about names having power, as she only knew one, the name of the literal hellhole she spent her time in. Tartarus. She didn't know any other, including her own. Most days she forgot that someone might have given her one, but when she thought about it she only grunted to herself, dismissing the thought in favor of avoiding falling into the flame river. She'd done that once. It had been more painful than anything she remembered feeling, but when she finally got out she found herself clean of everything but her armor, which was fireproof. It had burnt her hair off too, but that was long ago, and now it fell down her back in tangled waves, reaching her thighs.
Throughout her time in the pit, she learned that there where five rivers. The fire river, which she tended to stay by because it kept her alive. The river of lost thoughts, which she suspected was why she remembered nothing before the pit, but no longer worked on her, as you cannot make someone who remembers nothing forget. The river of lost hopes, she knows this because she saw her hope of getting out flowing through it once. The river of sadness, which also didn't work, because the voices were often something to talk to, which was sad on a level she wasn't aware of. Then there was the river of madness, which she knew to stay away from. It made her want to hurt something, which was pointless, because, what was she going to hurt?
She snapped out of her daily thoughts when she found something out of the ordinary. A giant crater, not far from the river, with five massive metal animals lying randomly at the bottom. After a short mental debate, she filled her hellhound skin canteen with fire water and began the trek to the bottom. Once there, she immediately noticed the skeletons scattered around by the machines. There were eight that appeared to be similar to her, two large animals, and four smaller ones. Four of them wore armor like her own, while the other four wore slightly different armors, thought they appeared to have the same purpose. The animals wore nothing. It was clear that they all faced painful deaths. It occurred to her that they were probably comrades of hers, but she forced these thoughts back. It was never good to think that way in the pit. Instead she turned towards the giant metal animals, lions, a distant thought provided. They were damaged, but perhaps if she could restore one...these thoughts stopped when a voice invaded her mind. It didn't speak, rather it growled, but it was not threatening like she was used to. It was hopeful, and soon five others joined it. Soon after images started running through her head at rapid speeds, filling in the blanks in her mind. She was Pidge, the Green Paladin of Voltron, newly discovered demigod. Gaea won the war. They fell into the pit, by the Lethe, and Pidge saved Romelle from falling in, but fell in herself, managing to yell to them, Trust only the fire river! But it seemed it mattered for not in the end.
To her shock, according to the lions, she had last been here for ten thousand years. She went to speak to the lions, only to find that she only made a strange rumbling noise in the back of her throat. Oh. She was growling at them, and they responded in kind. She fell backwards, feeling the sting of the glass on her hands as stared at them in shock. Paladin? Are you alright? She could understand them. No, not really. In fact, how am I still alive? Pidge asked. We have an idea, young one. Pidge sent the Black Lion a look, and though his physical face could not show emotion, she could feel his sheepishness. Right, the Green Lion began, As you know, we lions share quintessence with our paladins, who in turn share with each other, and back again to us. You also know that quintessence is the embodiment of all things. By sharing it, you can change the quintessence of those you share it with. Normally, it is shared in small amounts, and is naturally filtered out over time. Voltron and its paladins as a whole merge quintessence whenever we come together. Pidge hummed, showing she was following along. Additionally, Voltron wasn't meant to be used on the daily, let alone weekly or even monthly, due to the straining toll it takes on its paladins. Alfor knew of this, and only had to use Voltron a small number of times. Allura did not know this, but it wouldn't matter, as it was needed to save the universe. Pidge nodded, slowly forming an idea.
Extended use of Voltron appears to have...altering affects. Did you notice that the current paladins, your pack, did not appear to age physically in the years you were paladins? In all honesty, Pidge had, but never had the time to actually consider it. If what Green was getting at was true though... The lions collectively whimpered, apparently hearing her train of thoughts. Yes, Paladin, it appears that like us, you are unable to die from anything natural, and even unnatural. It seems, however, that the others did not live long enough to adapt to the environment around us. And since you have, your quintessence has become that of a lion's, rather than a paladin. Pidge slowly ran this through her head. So...I'm basically- The sixth lion of Voltron, yes. And Pride Voltron is proud to have you. She was sure if she wasn't in shock she would have laughed at Blue's joke, but well, she was in shock. After awhile, she she asked the question that was bothering her. If I'm a lion, what am I called? At the confused noises the lions made, she elaborated. You know, Black Lion, Red Lion. What am I called? We...do not know. We were given our names because of our colors, obviously. And we cannot call you Pidge Lion, so maybe... The lions went quite, and after a long period of silence, they spoke. Where are we, exactly? Pidge glanced around nervously. I cannot speak his name, for invoking names is dangerous, but we are, in short, in hell. Red sounded nervous when she growled her response. His name? Does that mean we reside inside a creature's body? Honestly, Pidge would have preferred being eaten by a Weblum than being here. To the people who know of this place, which are few and far in between, this is known as the pit. It resides below the Underworld, Earth's realm of the dead. Most are oblivious to it's presence, but to people like myself, falling into the pit is considered a death sentence. The lions, if they could, looked thoughtful. When we first came to earth, each of us lions took the liberty of learning everything recorded by the earthlings about this planet. There is a rare gemstone here, one that resides nowhere else in the known universe, called Painite. It is similar in color to this place, the place of your birth as a lion.
The lions had come to a decision, one Pidge would never forget. From this day forward, you are the Painite Lion.
Since then, Pidge spent her free time repairing the lions in what ways she could. It was a painstaking process, and with what resources she had, which were none, it took an apparent three-hundred years. By then they were completely repaired, but there was another issue. Pidge was the only paladin left. The lions often attempted to reassure her, but their attempts were fruitless. Pidge had learned long ago that hope was a lost cause here, in hell. But maybe that was the rivers talking. Either way, it didn't matter, as she found out one day when she was flying Black around. She had decided on a whim one day to try and fly Black, and to her surprise, she could. So she tried it with the others, and sure enough she gathered the same results. So to keep in practice, and so as to not pick favorites, the lions took turns with her flying them around. They hated staying in one position all the time, so they got to 'stretch their legs'. As a bonus, she could cover and record much more of the terrain that way, especially when she took Red. Before long, she had mapped a large portion of the Pit. She had been hoping to find the opening she fell down there from, or at least another opening.
She had long since ruled out trying to get via the Doors of Death, that method wouldn't work for numerous reasons. And after observing the roof of the pit above where the lions had landed, she found that that opening had closed without a trace, which didn't surprise her. Pidge's thoughts came to an abrupt halt, pun not intended, when she found exactly what she was looking for. At the same time, the lions took that as a sign of distress, and soon enough she found that the other four flanked her and Black on either side. We've found it, the way out! The lions roared their agreement, and without a second thought, they all flew out of literal hell.
They flew for what felt like forever, but she knew it wasn't, and even if it was, it wouldn't matter, as she apparently couldn't die. Besides, she had read once that it was thought that it took three days to fall to Tartarus, so flying out should take significantly less time. When they reached they Underworld, however, it was eerily quite. No screams of the punished, no cheers of joy from the blessed. Utter silence. Upon further investigation she found that it was because there where no souls present, just the ruins of what once was. In the center of the chaos, were the elegant remains of a once impenetrable palace. For the most part it was still intact, but there where portions that caved in on themselves, giving it the appearance that it had fallen to time, not war. Out of curiosity to see the place which once housed the ruler of a death that would not come for her, Pidge landed the lions and entered. As she stepped out of Black's cockpit, she couldn't help but gasp when she realized that breathing did not pain her, nor simply moving at all. The air was so much more cleaner here, and though it smelled like death, the level of which was extremely small compared to the Pit, Pidge smiled, giddy for some change. The walls where high and imposing, but they struck no fear in Pidge's heart. Fear was a concept that she didn't feel for herself, but an emotion that emerged when her friends were at stake. She no longer had any, so there was no fear present.
Deeper in the ruins, Pidge paused as she heard something shift. Turning around, she came face to face with an hooded figure. Who are you? She paused when she realized that she'd growled at the figure, whom of which jolted in surprise, she sighed. She'd spent so much time with the lions and no one else to talk that when she spoke, it came out cracked. “Who are you?” She asked again. There was a long pause before they answered. “I am Hades, ruler of this domain. What of you, mortal? Though I suppose you aren't very mortal, are you?” Hades removed the hood of his cloak, revealing an old and weary face. Pidge thought about how to answer the god, before thinking of what the lions had been referring to her as for the past three centuries. “I am Painite, Lion of Voltron. Tell me, god of the Underworld, what has happened to your realm?” Hades looked apprehensive as he responded, worry lines deepening on his face. “It was foretold, long ago, that when the Earth was destroyed by itself, the souls that reside here should be reborn across the universe, to preserve the spirit of humans. As Gaea has destroyed herself with her own rage, I had done just that. Now, there only resides monsters who are dying off, and myself, who soon will also fade. But it appears, there is also you.” Before Pidge could respond, three voices echoed out. “Even to us, she is an enigma. But this is good. It means that she can overrule what has occurred.” Three old women appeared, and for whatever reason Pidge knew that these where the Fates. “We sense great despair from this child, she is one who has carried many burdens, and still does.” Pidge frowned. “If you are the Fates, why would you want change? Is this despair not of your making?” Pidge asked somewhat aggressively. “You dare insult the Fates?!” To say Hades sounded surprised was an understatement.
“Yeah well a couple thousand years alone in the pit tends to give you a lack of respect for those around you, wouldn't you think?” She didn't really care what anyone thought of her anymore. Especially when there was no one to think of her. Voltron had probably once again become the stuff of legends, bedtime stories to little Olkarion children while they played with their cubes. The thought struck another, Pidge's head snapping to the Fates so fast an audible crack was heard. “What happened after the Galra invaded Earth? Surely you must know something!” The Fates, surprisingly, looked mournful. “The Galra found the aftermath of Gaea's destruction worthless, so they committed planet-wide genocide. Once they realized Voltron was destroyed, they set forward in conquering the universe once more. Without Voltron, the rebel forces soon perished, and now the Galra rule without opposition. But all hope is not lost. We have known your arrival in the Underworld would come to pass, and with it, a second chance.” Pidge's mind, and most likely Hades's, was reeling with this newfound information. “How?” She asked. “As you might have guessed by now, we are not the only Fates, every system in the universe has one. We are all different, and have never unanimously agreed on anything. Now, however, we all agree that the Galra are killing our universe, and must be stopped. So we have decided to offer you the chance to return to the past and alter the timeline that leads to the destruction of the universe.” The Fates said.
They were right, of course, Pidge had spent the last three centuries contemplating whether other systems had real fates and gods, like those told by each system's people. It would have been arrogant to assume otherwise. She also knew that with their access to quintessence-absorbing weapons, they would have destroyed numerous systems already. But Pidge was curious as to why they weren't forcing her, so she voiced this question. “Why not force me to do it? Why ask if I'd do it willingly?” “We do not force you because we cannot. Your travels have brought you in contact with many Fates across the universe, many of which have added little bits and pieces of different threads of life to your own. This has created a situation in which none of us can efficiently change your Fate. That, and we find that offering the choice instead of forcing usually works better.” Pidge could hear the 'but' coming from planets away. “However there is a catch. In order to send you back in time, we must cut your ties with this timeline. This will inevitably ensure that no one, not even us, will have any memories of this timeline. This also means that you will no longer have a Red String, in either time.” Pidge's mind came to a sudden halt at the mention of Red Strings. If what Shiro had once told her was true, then... “I won't have a soulmate, is what you're saying.”
Bittersweet smiles did not fit the Fates. “Unfortunately, yes. There is always a price to pay, and this is yours.” Pidge didn't think that was a big sacrifice. Everyone was already dead, so even if she said no, she still wouldn't have met her soulmate. Regardless, she still cared. “What would happen to them after that?” “They're string will lead to someone else.” Once she knew that her current decision would only affect her, Pidge tuned herself in with the lions. Before she could say anything to them, five roars shook the ruins they stood in. Hades pulled out a sword, the shadows around him moving with his distress. The Fates only gave questioning looks, to which Pidge responded with a raised eyebrow. “It seems my fellow lions have...concerns regarding your proposal. They would much rather intimidate you in person, if you don't mind.” In a blink they were outside the palace, standing in front of the lions of Voltron. They stood tall and proud, though looking worse for wear. Black leaned his head down, nudging Pidge gently. She sighed loudly, wrapping her arms around him the best she could. “The lions are made of one of two reality comets ever discovered. We have traveled through different realities before, and they have withstood this and retained their memories and forms. They worry they will forget what they've experienced, and leave me alone. Will time-travel affect them as well?” She asked. “We are unsure. Time-travel has never been attempted before, or at least that we know of. There is a-” Whatever they were going to say was cut off by the deafening explosions heard throughout the Underworld. “The final stage of destruction is upon us, we are out of time!” Under different circumstances, Pidge would've laughed, but she knew what needed to happen.
She turned to the Fates. “I accept the terms and conditions of your offer. What must I do?” She asked. Before the Fates could reply, Hades held up his hand. “I do not know if this will help, or even stay with you, but I, Hades, give you, Kathleen 'Pidge Gunderson' Holt, Painite of Voltron, my blessing.” A shadow briefly passed over her, and she saw the world in a new shadow. “Thank you, Lord Hades.” Pidge said, deciding this god had earned her respect. Hades smiled. “Thank me by proving I made the right choice.” With those words, the god of Death faded before her eyes. Pidge faced the Fates once more. “Do what you have to,” She turned to where the sky should have been. “All of you.”
Her vision swirled as thousands of voices rang in her ears, drowning out all of her thoughts. “We, the Fates, grant you, Painite of Voltron, Champion of Hades, the ability to go back to your beginning, memories of this life preserved, to restore order to the Universe. Do you accept?” “I do.” “Then it shall be done. Now go!”