Chapter Text
I grumbled as I heard another announcement blast over the garrison radios—"Lockdown—all garrison personnel do not leave your quarters; standard operation is halted until further notice"—a blast shook distantly beyond the walls of my room… I sat up, taking in the sudden ruckus around me; the intercom soon disconnected before a crash shook the ground from somewhere seemingly in the distance. I stood from my bed, glancing out the window. I froze as I took in the wreckage over the desert horizon.
An incoherent, shock-filled whisper rolled from my still-sleep-stilled tongue; I leaned closer, dissecting the late scene. A cloudy line traced the sky, marking the carnage like an arrow from outer space. Fire lifted in cloudy smoke-filled towers above the sight—my eyes shook as I took in the detainment squad that circled it like iron sentries as they blocked it off.
I grabbed for the dice off my table, circling it in my hand as I watched the smoke rise higher. My hands stilled, the dice almost crushed in my grasp as I saw 3 more explosions resound on the horizon.
Colt stirred in the bed, his gruff voice seeming even deeper from his tired state in my sheets. “Fuck, what’s all this commotion about? Are you seeing anything out there?”
I shrugged. “Hell, I’m not sure what I’m not seeing. We’re in a lockdown because of it. You think we’re under attack?” I mused, standing to the side as he came to watch. I saw his eyes widen as he took it in…and then he stilled.
“Whatever it is,” he skillfully avoided my eye. “I bet they’re looking for me.” He turned, grabbing his shirt at the edge of the bed, three long golden lines caught the moonlight as tugged it on, the grey green a terrible color on him. “Don’t wait up…I doubt it’s an attack, probably just some miscalculated advancements.” He smiled, leaning down to push a kiss to my temple.
He wouldn't meet my gaze. “Yeah,” I sighed, “be careful.”
He nodded before slipping out into the hall. The small peck left on my forehead felt cool against the air. I wiped it off. He had lied to me, typical. My eyes returned to the growing smoke with less caution.
The air was still… I twirled the die three times in my hand—decisions, decisions. I let them fall from my grasp onto the night table; they clattered, disturbing the cool air.
*If it beats 6, I go; less than that, I stay.*
I glanced over, sighing at the two dice, a 3 and a 2. I plopped back into bed, throwing in earbuds to block out the bustling noise outside; the wind had picked up. I shoved away my predictions and sought out slumber; whatever war raged on outside, I had been directed to stay out of it.
—
I awoke to a knock at my door, my earbuds long lost in the tumble of sleep. The day had yet to fully shine its golden fingers over the horizon, its wisp of light the only indication morning was making any headway over the now ashen atmosphere.
I stumbled from the bed, a yawn etching my throat as I wrestled the door open. “You better have the best reason for waking me up before my alarm on the weekend, or I swear—” My voice caught in my throat as I came face-to-face with the commander; a million pleasantries died on my tongue, eyes widening before struggling to calm themselves.
“senior Cadet McClain,” he greeted, his tone gruff. I tried not to focus on the tiredness that laced it underneath its tight exterior. “I apologize for the early hour,” I tried not to grimace, “but the fact of the matter is your brother has gone missing, along with 2 other cadets following the events of last night.”
I felt the dice on my nightstand burn their coordinates into my back; my head ran cold. “I’m sorry—what? Missing?” I bit out. I took a step past the threshold, leaning off of the door to stand up straight. “Was he taken? he can't have just disappeared in a matter of hours—”
He held his hand up to halt me. “We understand your concern, Cadet, but understand we’ve come to ask if you know anything about it. We are still grasping the extent of last night’s losses and believe he went willingly.” His tone turned sharp.
I stilled, suddenly feeling a grave power imbalance that went outside of the command chain. I steeled my expression. “Well, as you can see, I’m as distraught with this information as you are. I regret to inform you, though, Commander, that I have not contacted my brother in months.” I took a step back towards my room. “I apologize; I have nothing better to offer you.” I glanced down the hall, a hint for him to leave. “If you don’t mind, I think I need time to process this and think of what to tell our mother.”
His eyes tracked over my face, a grave silence falling upon the hall. He thought there was more to say. I saw a play on his tongue before a sigh scraped through him. No formalities filtered as he turned to leave. I stood, watching them walk off until they disappeared around the corner before closing the door. Air racked through my lungs as I turned away—the hell had he gotten into this time?
— currently, on Arus, 15 and to many zeros light-years away
The princess stood at the circled platform moments before an ethereal glow overtook the room, bathing the group in its alien blue light as stars and constellations never before mapped by the human eye littered the room in a technological spiral.
“King Alfor connected the lions to Allura’s life force,” Coran began to rattle off. “She alone is the key to the lions’ whereabouts.”
Lance looked on, curiosity lacing his gaze. Awe took over the whole group as they took in the scene: technology and galaxies far beyond anything Earth has managed to conjure—it was—
“AMAZING,” Pidge squealed, already recording every minor detail of the machine at Allura’s feet even though he knew full well he wouldn’t have his full field day until he took it apart—Hunk elbowed him, trying to reroute his attention before he strayed too far; he himself had been on the same exact route.
“These are coordinates,” Pidge eventually bit out, a question lacing it as the blue light reflected in his eyes. “The Black Lion looks like it’s in the same location as the Blue Lion?” An image looking much like the planet they were on now whizzed past; coordinates and images of the black and blue alien warships followed, hovering near its atmosphere.
“Look at those primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage,” Coran said, leaning over, an enthusiasm like ill-intended fireworks in the dead of night.
Alurra chimed in, “Very observant.” A smile befitting royalty graced her lips. “That’s because the Black Lion is in the castle. it shall remain so, locked away, until all 6 lions are gathered; only then will we gain access to it again.” She turned to the image of the black lion; it began to move across the room.
“As you may have observed on your harrowing journey here,” she eyed Lance, “the lion chooses their pilots.” Lance let out a cheeky giggle at her words before she continued, “It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced.” Lights danced around the room, echoing the pattern of her words as if physical punctuation. “The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion; together they form something greater than science can explain.”
She waved a hand, the digital sky lacing the room, adorned by old symbols of Altea; planets both dead and born shifted. “The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron,” she continued. “It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times.”
An image of the black lion loomed closer to Shiro.
“someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion.” His eyes stared forward, a quiet determination lacing their depths.
Again the sky spun, and lions were riddled off, each a strange mimic of their pilot, the relations so uncanny they hung in the air.
“The red lion,” she began for a 5th time, “is temperamental and the most difficult to master; it’s faster and more agile than the others…but also more unstable.” An image of the red lion appeared in her hands; she then extended them, and it floated on an invisible thread across the room. “Its pilot needs to be someone who can rely more on instinct than skill alone.” The image settled before him. “Keith, you will pilot the Red Lion.”
A smirk graced his features, unbelonging but well earned. Lance bristled at his side. “What, are we sure we’re talking about the same Keith here?”
Allura gargled but riddled on with a sigh, “Unfortunately, its coordinates are unbeknownst to me at this time; it may be a tell of the castle’s condition…having taken a turn for the worse these last ten thousand years, it’s been unkempt.” She waved her hand. “That is a matter we shall cross soon. Finally, I’d like to present the white lion.”
An image of a lion bloomed in her hands, her eyes lit in delight at its character. “Deserving of a pilot, brilliant as the air but as cunning as its storms.” The image seemed to come alive and run across the skyline. “With the white lion lyes the wings of Voltron, and as such its pilot is the heart, selfless to the brink, unyielding as the weathering of mountains.” She smiled before glancing at the room before suddenly stilling.
Shiro quirked a brow. “Is something wrong, princess?” The room perked up as she scanned the room a 3rd time as if she had hoped she missed something.
“I—” She furrowed her brows; the white lion faded from the air. “I do believe we are missing someone,” she spoke slowly. “…You did not come with anyone else?”
Shiro slowly shook his head. “No?”
Her face contorted in displeasure, she put a hand to her head. “My—but—they are one of you,” she blurted in confusion. She stepped from the small podium, and the blue-lit galaxy disappeared.
Coran took her hand reassuringly. “Princess, do not fret; the lions have set their eyes on their paladins, and you know as well as I do, the guardian of the wind is not one to let one slip through the cracks.” He tried to cheer her up.
Lance stepped forward. “So we’re what, one short? I took down one of those purple spaceships with a single space cat. Would missing one really be that big of a deal?”
Coran and Allura turned to him as if they had been burned. “Of course it matters!” Allura quipped. “You cannot form Voltron unless every single one of you is present; you cannot even access the Black Lion unless all are gathered. The White Lion is nonnegotiable.” She held her head as if searching it.
Shiro put his hands up. “We understand. Tell us what to do; we are at your disposal.”
Pidge quirked up at his wording; he wasn't exactly hopping at the opportunity to be bossed around by the alien he met 5 minutes ago. That constituted trusting them with his life. He eyed the castle again, thrumming with untouched knowledge and tech… He turned back, giving the princess a reassuring nod; such a treasure trove was worth the risk.
Alura seemed lost in thought, as if a conversation graced her head she couldn't hope to transcribe to any onlooker…“The pilot is on earth still?” She shook her head, weaving out of Coran’s grasp. “That cannot be—you left them on earth!” She suddenly rounded on the 5 of them.
hunk jumped. “How were we supposed to know? I don’t think I even consented to leaving the atmosphere,” he gritted out, staring at Lance, who then shifted on his feet. “I don’t see how this is my fault either; you snooze, you lose.”
Alura let out a pained grumble. “It’s hard to tell; I can barely see the white lion as is. It’s been a long time since I’ve reached out,” she said, pained, “but it’s reassuring me of one thing at least.”
The group perked up at her words.
“She is born of probability.” She seemed to hear her words for the first time as they rolled off her tongue, but then she came to recognize something before then stumbling for the podium at the front of the room, slamming her hand to it. “She’s showing me something,” she gasped.
A screen booted up before them, hazy at its edges… A storm raged, encapsulating a tree that looked ready to fall from its cliff side; roots stood preening out of the ground like gnarled hands grasping for purchase. Waves crashed at the cliffs' feet, rocks adorned the sea's edge like a harrowing crown, the clouds spun round menacingly above, lightning struck, and the bark held charred marks from its past beating.
Allura scanned the image, not understanding, and to her own anger, she scoffed, “Our paladin is a tree?” She snapped angrily, her hand at the control board of the projection curling into a fist.
Lance shook his head. “That’s the cliff side at the garrison.” The whole room turned to him. “What? “We’ve been there loads of times,” he snickered. “Not pleasant memories, I suppose. I only ever dragged you along when I didn’t feel like tugging Lyra from its branches myself.” He sighed at the memory, at the twin he hadn’t spoken to in much too long. “She always stayed out too late.”
Hunk was suddenly nodding along. “Oh—right!” He bolted closer to the screen. “She called it her containment field.” He laughed.
Pidge grinned at the memory. “She goes out there when she’s overwhelmed.” Pidge looked to Shiro, clueing him in.
Keith looked at the image sideways. “Used to say it was the only place she could breathe…” Lance cocked his head at him as if what he said had been an insult. “excuse me—”
Allura beamed. “This is splendid news—this memory—this is our white paladin.” She dashed from the projector and ran for the door, her skirts billowing behind her. “We must prepare this instant.” The door opened before her in a crane-like whoosh. “we must obtain this lyra at once!”