Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keith woke up slowly, his head filled with a dense fog that he struggled to shake off. He sat up, fists jammed into his eyes in an attempt to physically rub the sleep out of them.

‘Where am I?’ he thought. Then he froze; his fists were tiny .

They weren’t actually tiny; they were child-sized, which, compared to what he was used to seeing, were tiny. He looked down, a feeling of panic beginning to well up within him. His body, clad in a familiar set of red racecar pajamas, was that of a child’s. Keith clutched at his shirt, unable to hold back the terror that now gripped him as he realized he was somehow a young child again.

‘Why, how—?’ He had no memory of what happened before waking up, and the harder he tried to think about it, the stronger the haze became. This was wrong, so wrong. ‘No! I don’t wanna do that again, I can’t, not again, I can’t go through all of that again —’

Incredible warmth suddenly enveloped Keith, making him flinch. He was being wrapped in a big, warm hug.

“Shh, there, there, it’s ok,” said a voice as warm as the hug.

Keith suddenly realized he was breathing rapidly, and there were tears falling down his cheeks. Mortified, he tried to wipe them away, and a hand began to rub his back with slow and gentle strokes.

“Aw, it’s ok buddy, it’s ok,” the voice cooed.

Keith managed to get his breathing to even out, and he looked up. A boy with dark skin and a soft body that matched the gentle smile on his face looked down at him. The boy looked familiar — even the yellow pajamas with a bunny pattern rang a bell — but for some reason, Keith’s mind refused to pin down who he was.

“All better?” the boy asked.

Keith nodded shyly, and the boy released him back onto the floor where they were sitting. Resisting the urge to climb back into the boy’s really warm and cozy embrace, he looked around at his surroundings.

The room wasn’t familiar at all, but the decorations were, in that they were Christmas-themed. Garland and lights hung about the living room, which had a couple of worn, but comfy-looking couches and a large Christmas tree in the corner. Under the tree was a pile of gifts, all of them in brightly colored wrappings and bows. Keith was on the floor in the middle of the room with the boy in yellow, and when he looked behind him, he saw two other kids sitting there watching him.

“Hi!” chirped one of them, a boy wearing blue pajamas. His were patterned too, but they didn’t match. His pants had airplanes on them and stopped well above his ankles, while he shirt was themed around surfboards. He had dark tan skin, though not as dark as the boy in yellow, and brown hair with a fat cowlick.

“I’m Lance!” he said, his friendly grin missing three teeth in different places. “And this is Pidge!”

The girl next to him frowned at Lance. “I told you, I’m Katie !” she said, shaking her small fist at him in warning. All of her was small, even for a kid. Keith was pretty sure he could pick her up and she’d be light as a feather. Her pajamas were green, with penguins on them, and her fluffy mass of blonde hair made her look like a baby bird. The pair of glasses with orange plastic frames only added to the image.

“No, you’re Pidge,” Lance insisted.

“You’re Pidge,” Keith agreed. He didn’t know why, but he felt it to be true, even though he didn’t recognize any of the kids. They felt familiar, but the haze in the back of his mind wouldn’t let him remember.

Pidge — Katie? — squawked and smacked Lance on the arm, making him cry out and initiate a wrestling match.

“I’m Hunk,” the boy in yellow said.

Keith jumped. He’d forgotten he was there. “I’m Keith,” he said, feeling shy again.

“Do you know where we are?” Hunk asked. At Keith’s shake of the head, he shrugged and said, “We dunno either. We just woke up here. Lance said the couches look like his family’s, but Pidge said that’s her Christmas tree, and I think that’s my mom’s wreath on the wall.”

Keith looked around again. There, on the walls. “I think the wallpaper matches my living room,” he said, hoping to be helpful. ‘ Living room? Which one…?’  The confused thought was gently whisked away by the haze, and Keith was distracted by Hunk speaking again.

“Let’s go look at the presents!” he was saying, his grin full of mischief.

Keith stood up and followed Hunk to the tree. Lance and Pidge stopped wrestling, with Lance peeking out of Pidge’s arms wrapped around his head from behind while she sat on his back.

“Ooo, you’re gonna get in trouble!” he sang. “No one’s allowed to open presents in my house until everyone’s awake!”

“But this isn’t your house,” Pidge said, dropped Lance’s head to get up. She stepped on his back to join Keith and Hunk. “I wanna see!”

Hunk peered at the gifts, his curiosity thrumming with excitement. He didn’t know why they were here in a weird mish-mash room, but it was clearly Christmas time and he loved Christmas. It meant family members visiting with other kids, good food that never ran out, and gifts. Gift giving was just as fun as gift receiving too, but as Hunk looked at the gifts under the tree, he noticed that there weren’t any for his family. In fact, none of them had tags except for five presents in the front of the pile.

“These have our names!” Hunk exclaimed, picking up a yellow box with his name on it.

“This one has all of our names on it,” Pidge said, holding a narrow box with black gift wrapping covered in glittery snowflakes.

“Let’s open ours first,” Lance suggested. He had joined them while Hunk was picking up gifts. “Then we can open that one together!”

Hunk was already tearing the paper off of his, his curiosity burning with great ferocity. It revealed a cardboard box, and inside was a stuffed yellow lioness that was large enough to hug, though not big enough to ride.

He gasped, and fell in love with it.

Something in his mind told him this lion was too simple, that it missing something, but it didn’t stop Hunk for pulling it out of the box and wrapping his arms around it. It felt warm, then again he always felt warm, so he didn’t think much of it.

“Aww, I love you,” Hunk said, burying his face into the soft fur. He heard the others opening their gifts and looked up to see that they also got stuffed lionesses.

“She’s my favorite color!” Lance cheered, holding his blue lion up and spinning with it.

Keith stared at his red lion with wide eyes, then slammed his face into it so hard that Hunk felt a flash of concern until he noticed Keith’s arms clutching the lion tightly. Pidge’s lion was green, and she had grabbed its front paws so she could dance with it around the room. Hunk spotted the abandoned black gift, and let one hand go from his lion to pick it up.

“Wait for us!” Lance cried, stumbling over to Hunk with his lion in tow.

Hunk waited for Pidge and Keith to come over, both never letting go of their lions, before placing the box down on the floor. Together, they tore the paper off and opened the cardboard box.

Inside was a wooden doll about the length of Hunk’s arm. ‘A nutcracker,’  his brain supplied, but the detail was unimportant. It wore a military uniform and a tall hat, but the red and white cloth looked faded in some spots and the hat had a small, rough patch from being scuffed against something abrasive. There was a large, deep scratch across its face and the white beard looked a little scruffy. From his hip hung a sword, and Hunk noticed the right sleeve of the jacket was empty; the entire arm was gone.

The four kids were quiet as Hunk finally released his other hand to carefully lift the doll out of the box. Like the lion, the doll felt warm in his hand, and though the empty sleeved dangled and the clothes weren’t very crisp, the painted dotted eyes and rosy cheeks looked vibrant.

“Shiro,” Keith spoke up. He flushed when everyone turned to him. “His name. It’s Shiro.”

Hunk tilted his head and looked at the dool. The familiar sensation came back — the same one he had when he woke up with three other kids that he swore he knew, but didn’t. “Shiro,” he said, nodding. The name resonated inside of him; it felt right in a way he couldn’t explain.

“Shiro,” Lance agreed, making his lion’s head nod with him.

“Let’s play!” Pidge said.

The four of them did just that, and began to play with their lions, Shiro, and each other. Even Keith, shy as he was, joined Pidge in mock battle with their lions as Hunk and Lance pretended Shiro was a king and their lions were his noble knights. They all took turns with Shiro, and each child made sure not to be too rough with the doll. If any of them felt concerned about the lack of adults being around, none of them mentioned it. It still made Hunk curious, but he was also having too much fun with his lion and the other kids.

Eventually, their energy began to run out, and when Hunk saw Lance yawn wide enough to fit a basketball, he decided to bring his lion over to the longest couch in the room.

“I’m gonna take a nap,” he announced, plopping down on it with his lion being pulled up next to him.

“Me too!” Lance quickly clambered up next to Hunk, and cuddled up between him and his own lion without hesitation.

Pidge and Keith kept playing for a while longer. Hunk watched them through heavy-lidded eyes, and smiled because to him it looked like they were stubbornly trying to ignore how sleepy they were. Finally, Pidge gave in, and came over to climb up on Hunk’s other side. Like Lance, who was already snoring, she fell asleep almost immediately, lion draped across her lap.

Hunk’s own eyes were almost closed now, but he couldn’t give in to sleep, not yet. Keith sat on the floor alone, staring at his lion and Shiro without moving. At last, after a couple of timid glances at the couch, Keith approached it with his lion and sat down next to Pidge. Within a minute, he had slumped over onto her, fast asleep. One arm was wrapped tightly around his lion, while the other arm was carefully cradling Shiro.

With a happy, content sigh, Hunk closed his eyes and drifted off into a warm blissful sleep, agreeing with himself that sleepy cuddle piles with family and friends was definitely his favorite part of Christmas.

Chapter Text

It was pitch black when Shiro woke up. When he tried to move to check if he actually was awake, his body didn’t respond. His mind was thick and hazy, but it didn’t stop a flash of panic from cutting through it.

SAFE.

The thought reverberated through his head. It wasn’t his own, but he felt it down into his very core.

SAFE. WATCH.

Shiro’s mind settled back into the warm haze. His body still refused to move and he couldn’t seem to feel anything, but the “voice” felt so profoundly true that Shiro couldn’t help but trust it.

‘I’ll watch,’  he conceded.

Distantly, Shiro could hear muffled voices that drew closer and got louder. There was motion, a sense of being lifted, and then a blinding light. When it cleared, there were four very large children looking down at him. A flash of fear rippled through Shiro again, but the haze persisted and he stilled himself as a boy in yellow gently picked him up.

“Shiro,” said another boy. “His name. It’s Shiro.”

Shiro felt relief. Whatever was going on, he was still himself, though the haze wouldn’t let him try to remember events prior to this.

‘Right,’  he remembered, as the boy holding him turned him over and inspected him. ‘I’m supposed to be watching. ’

Then his empty sleeved dangled in his line of sight. The haze couldn’t hold back the wave of disappointment.

‘Yeah, still me. Still broken.’

The children began to talk with each other. Shiro was put down, and the synapses in his fuzzy mind finally fired — he was a doll. It explained why he appeared to have grown a white beard and was dressed in unfamiliar clothes, but the why and how of it continued to elude him. Instead, loneliness creeped into his thoughts.

“Aw, c’mon, Pidge cheated!”

“Did not! You’re the one who tried to wait and see what I played first, Lance. Too bad I still won.”

Pidge, the girl in green, picked Shiro up. She pulled a sword out of a loop on his belt, and clicked it into his wooden hand. “C’mon, Shiro,” she said. “Let’s play!”

And she played with him, as well as a green, stuffed lioness toy. Each child got a turn, deciding who went next by rock, paper, scissors. Shiro watched with a small feeling of awe as he became a prince, a knight, a circus lion tamer, and even a superhero. The empty jacket sleeve didn’t deter the kids at all, and it was even worked into one story as payment offered to an evil witch in order to save Keith’s lioness, who was very grateful and became Shiro’s loyal friend in return.

They played for what must have been hours until Hunk sat on a couch for a nap. The other children followed him one by one, each sitting on the couch with their lions next to Hunk, until Keith was left. Keith stared at his lion for a moment, and from his vantage point Shiro could see hesitation and loneliness flicker across the boy’s face.

‘Join them,’  Shiro cheered from inside the doll. ‘You can do it!’

Keith’s eyes flickered to Shiro. Then, he stood up, grabbed his lion and Shiro, and joined the others on the couch. Within seconds, he was asleep like the others, with Shiro tucked into his arm.

Shiro was bathed in warmth, and if he’d been capable of it, he would have cried.

‘Why?’  he thought, as the lights in the room dimmed until only the Christmas tree remained lit. ‘Why did they accept me without hesitation?’

The question felt oddly familiar, as if he’d asked himself the question before. The answer was silence; the presence from earlier didn’t say a peep, apparently content to leave Shiro to his pondering for now as the children’s soft sleeping noises became the only sound in the room.

The peace didn’t last long.

Without warning, the walls and furniture slid away, until the room was about the size of a small gym and the Christmas tree was left in the middle. A bolt of alarm coursed through Shiro as a purple, glowing portal appeared in the far corner of the room.

‘No,’  Shiro groaned, despair beginning to overtake the haze still in his mind. ‘No no no, not them, please, not them—!’

Large mice popped out of the portal. Their fur was purple, which ordinarily would have been cartoonish and funny, but it made Shiro feel cold. Each mouse had a sword; the cold metal glinted across the room in the light of the Christmas tree. They stood at attention as an even larger mouse exited the portal — their commander, judging by the way his chest was puffed out and how the other mice defered to him. He had a big, red sword strapped to his hip.

“Ah,” he said, taking his sword in hand after spotting the children on the couch. “There they are, just as Emperor Zarkon said.”

They were after the children, and their glowing yellow eyes and toothy grins promised that nothing good waited for them after capture. Shiro struggled to move his wooden body, but he might as well been beating his fists against a glass wall as the mice began walking towards the couch.

‘No!’  he shouted. ‘ Don’t touch them! Don’t you touch them!’

He felt the haze stir, and he turned his mind inward in desperation. ‘Please!’  he begged, as the mice got closer. ‘Please let me save them!’

Please let me save these kids who held and cherished me without hesitation...!

The haze shifted again, and Shiro was suddenly enveloped by light. There was a crash that sounded like an orchestral fanfare, and a rush of heat that filled Shiro to the core. When the light subsided and the heat abated, he saw that he was still a wooden doll, but now he was standing by the couch and was life-sized.

And most importantly, he could move.

The mice cried out in surprise, their high-pitched squeaks unintelligible, and their commander barked at them to keep order.

“I don’t care if that’s the Champion!” the mouse spat, raising his sword. “We have our orders! Now, for the Emperor!”

Some of the mice ran forward at Shiro, who clumsily grabbed for the sword on his hip with his left hand. His right was still missing, and though he could move, he felt numb while his joints were stiff. WIth jerky motions, he got the sword free and faced the oncoming attack.

‘I will save them!’   he thought fiercely, finding himself still mute. ‘I won’t let those kids go through the same things I did!’

Swords clashed, and battle cries rang out. Pidge woke up first, dislodging Keith as she sat up and shoved her hands under her glasses to rub her eyes. She gasped at the sight of a human-sized Shiro fighting giant purple mice.

“Guys!” she exclaimed, shaking Hunk. “Guys, wake up! Look!”

The boys woke up, and all complaints were silenced when they saw what was happening.

“Whoa!” Lance gasped. “Shiro really is a superhero!”

“Nuh uh, he’s a knight!” Pidge argued. “He’s got a sword, superheroes don’t use swords!”

“Guys, I think he’s in trouble,” Hunk interrupted, elbowing Lance.

Pidge turned back to the fight. Each time Shiro managed to get a mouse with his sword, it vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. He leapt and spun almost as if he were dancing, but his movements were clumsy and unsteady. The mice leapt gracefully and they replaced their comrades as soon as one was defeated.

“There’s too many!” Keith said, clutching his lion in fear. “Shiro’s gonna lose!”

“Uh oh,” Lance muttered. A pair of mice were now coming towards the couch while Shiro was preoccupied.

“What do we do?” Hunk said, also gripping his lion. “I don’t see anywhere we can run or hide!”

Pidge’s mind raced. Ever since they woke up in this room, her mind had refused to work properly, and even now it was hard to think of ideas. She stamped down the helplessness threatening to swallow her, and looked down at her own lioness toy.

‘If only you were bigger! And real!’  she thought, burying her face into its soft, warm fur. ‘We could fight back and save Shiro!’

DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT?

Pidge jerked back to stare at her lion, but the question had come from within.

“I want to save Shiro!” she cried.

“Me too!” Keith said, Hunk and Lance echoing him.

WE WILL HELP YOU.

The kids watched as the approaching mice were pushed back by a burst of light that erupted from the couch. Roars rang out, and Pidge came face to face with a green lioness much bigger than her toy, which had vanished. She grinned as the lioness butted her hand with her head. It was large enough to ride on.

The lion’s eyes twinkled as if it knew what she was thinking, and knelt so Pidge could clamber onto her back.

“C’mon guys!” Pidge yelled, and the boys followed her example by climbing onto their own lions. “Let’s save Shiro!”

Her lion pounced on the nearest mouse, turning it into smoke. Pidge held onto her lion’s fur tightly as she leapt again at another, roaring in fury. Behind her, she heard Lance whooping at Hunk yelling at his lion to slow down. Ahead, she saw the leader of the mouse army below orders, frantic to keep his men in order.

“Get your act together!” the commander mouse shouted, his sword flashing crimson as he swung it in anger. “Emperor Zarkon will have those lions tonight! ”

‘Oh no you won’t,’  Pidge thought, grinning. Her lion dodged an attack from a nearby mouse, only to quickly jump again to land on it before it could correct its posture. ‘ You’re goin’ down!’

The others also fought. The lions had grown in proportion to their respective child, allowing each to ride comfortable on their backs. Lance moved like water through his attackers, almost toying with them. Keith was unexpectedly aggressive, bravely knocking away a mouse that tried to attack Shiro from behind. Hunk’s lion used its size to simply barrel through groups of mice, scattering them and keeping them from neat battle formations.

Meanwhile, Pidge outwitted foes and even got two mice to puff into smoke by getting them to charge into each other. “This is so cool!” she said, scratching the ears of her lion, who purred beneath her hand. ‘Matt’s gonna be so jealous!’

From behind, she heard Keith cry out, and Pidge whipped her head around in time to see the commander mouse tackle the red lion hard. Keith fell off the lion, and froze as the commander loomed over him, sword pointed at him in clear threat.

“Keith!” Pidge cried, but she was too far away to reach him.

“Raaahh!” With a roar from both lion and rider, Hunk’s lion slammed into the commander. The mouse went flying, and Hunk raised his fists in triumph. “I think I’m getting the hang of driving this thing!” he said.

Pidge laughed as the yellow lioness bucked him off her back, offended. Then her laughter died, because the commander mouse hadn’t vanished, and was getting to his feet.

“You little brats,” he snarled, his ruffled fur making him seem even larger and meaner. His yellow eyes glowed with fury. “I will take those lions!”

He stepped towards Keith and Hunk, but Shiro intercepted him, his silver blade held up in challenge.

“Guys, over here!” Lance called in a low voice.

The kids gathered by him near the Christmas tree. The other mice soldiers were all gone; now it was just Shiro versus the commander, who were circling each other.

“You’re just a doll now, Champion,” the commander spat at Shiro. “You’re even missing an arm! I don’t know how you found the lions, but they’re Zarkon’s, and I’m going to destroy you here.”

Shiro merely lifted his sword, and leapt forward in an arc to attack. The commander parried, twirling in the air in a graceful maneuver to bring down his sword in a powerful swing. It glinted like fire in the light of the Christmas tree.

“What should we do?” Hunk whispered, biting his fingernails. “I’m scared, I don’t want him to hurt Shiro!”

Lance looked around the room, searching for anything to give Shiro an edge against the horrible purple warrior. ‘Should we jump in with the lions?’  he considered, but he shook his head. ‘The lions might get hurt too. We need to make an opening…’

Something nudged his hand, and Lance met the eyes of the blue lion. She nodded her head at the Christmas tree, and Lance looked at it. It was decorated with garland, millions of lights, and…

‘Ornaments!’  Lance began to search the tree as fast as he could, the sounds of metal clashing behind him urging him on. ‘There!’

He found a sphere covered in a raised, glittery design, and pulled it off the tree. It had the rough weight and texture of a baseball, and he grinned.

“Guys, I’m gonna bean that ugly mouse right in the face,” he whispered, turning back to the others.

“What if you hit Shiro?” Keith asked, horrified.

“Don't’ worry, I’ve got the best aim, and I’ve been playing baseball for like, ten years,” Lance retorted, stretching his arm and rotating it.

“But you’re, like, ten,” said Pidge, doubt written across her face. “You didn’t play baseball when you were two.”

“Shh,” Lance shushed her, and concentrated.

Shiro and the commander were going hard at each other, still dancing and twirling around each other, but Lance could see that Shiro was moving slower as time went on. The distance between them and the kids wasn’t very far; if Lance could connect the hit, the force would hurt quite a bit, and could delay the mouse just long enough for Shiro to move in.

‘Ok, gotta calm down.’  Lance inhaled, exhaled, and inhaled again. ‘You can do this!’

He exhaled again, and on a deep, steady inhale, he cocked his arm back, lifting a leg as well. His eyes stared at the target, not blinking until finally, a clear shot appeared. Like a whip, he snapped his arm forward, flinging the ornament as hard as he could.

It hit the mouse right in the side of his face, and so hard that it actually shattered.

“Argh!” he howled, staggering as he clutched his face with his free hand. “My eyes!”

Shiro leapt forward, running his sword through the commander without hesitation, and the mouse promptly vanished in a puff of violet smoke.

“Whoohoo!” Lance shouted, as the others cheered and raced to Shiro. “Am I awesome or what!?”

“Only just a little awesome,” Pidge muttered, but she was grinning as she hugged Shiro, who nearly toppoled over from being tackled by three children and their lions.

‘Wait, three?’  Lance’s mind registered someone missing from the hugfest, and he relinquished his grip on Shiro to look back.

Keith still stood by the tree, furiously rubbing his face while the red lion paced around him with worry.

“What’s wrong, Keith?” Lance walked over to him, unable to leave the kid alone like that.

Keith hiccuped and hid his face in his hands while turning around. “N-nothing!” he declared, but his voice sounded wet and shaky.

“Are you crying?” Lance asked.

“N-no!”

The red lion looked at Lance with disdain. Lance cringed, sheepish.

“But it’s ok to cry!” he tried again, patting Keith’s shoulder.

“Nuh uh,” Keith protested, shaking his head. “I was told no one likes a cry baby. You won’t like m-me if I cry.”

Lance frowned. “Who told you that?”

Keith’s face scrunched up, trying to remember. Lance wondered if his mind was hazy like his own.

“I c-can’t rememb-ber,” he said, then his eyes filled with tears again.

Lance was the tallest of the four kids, though he was also skinny and all legs. But he also had plenty of experience with crying siblings, so when he wrapped his arms around Keith and lifted the boy to perch on his hip, it was in an easy, well-practiced movement. Keith clung to him, startled and scared of falling over.

“Shh, it’s ok buddy, I got ya,” Lance said, rocking from foot to foot slowly. “You were scared, right? You fell off your lion and those stupid mice almost got ya.”

Keith’s hands balled up in Lance’s shirt and he burrowed his face into Lance’s neck. There was a tiny nod, and then wetness on his skin. Keith’s body trembled, and Lance rubbed his back.

“Hunk was really cool though, wasn’t he?” Lance asked, but kept going without waiting for a response. “That mouse regretted the day it picked on our friend.”

There was a wet sniff in Lance’s ear, and he fought back a shudder as Keith’s hair tickled his ear.

“F-friend?” came a small, disbelieving voice.

“Yup. You’re our friend,” Lance said, as if nothing could prove him wrong about it. “I dunno who told you no one would like you if you cry, but they’re a stupid liar, ‘cuz we like you just fine, Keith!”

“That’s right!” Hunk came up and hugged both Lance and Keith, almost pushing them over.

“Besides,” Pidge added, pulling Shiro behind her as she, too, came over. “You helped save Shiro, Keith! You were also really cool!”

Lance set Keith down as Shiro knelt in front of him. The giant doll was still mute, but Lance personally thought that the painted expression looked warm and kind as it held its arm open. Keith wiped his tears away. His face was still red, but now he was smiling big and wide as he hugged the doll, who closed its arm around him and hugged back.

“Whoa, look!” PIdge said, grabbing Lance’s sleeve to get his attention.

A glowing door had appeared, and the lions ran towards it, clearly excited. They paced back and forth in front of it, looking at the kids as if waiting for them to come over. The blue lion came back over to nudge Lance in the door’s direction.

“What if it’s dangerous?” Hunk asked, but Shiro also strode towards the door, with Keith holding onto the doll’s hand.

“I’m gonna trust the moving doll and friendly lions,” Lance chirped, and raced to be the first one at the door.

“I wanna see where it goes!” Pidge agreed. She grabbed Hunk’s hand. “Don’t worry, Hunk. We’ve got our lions, and Shiro.”

Hunk still looked worried, but the yellow lion came over and rubbed against him, and, reassured, he let Pidge tug him to the door.

Lance turned the knob; it was warm, and his hand tingled as he pulled the door open. Light poured out, and everyone had to shield their eyes against it.

The blue lion stepped into the light, then paused to look back at Lance, beckoning to him. He took hold of Keith’s free hand because he looked scared again, and Keith’s expression changed to grateful relief. Hunk saw and grabbed Lance’s other hand. Once they were all linked, they stepped through the door, lions guiding them.

Chapter Text

Keith had still felt uneasy when he and the others walked through the door, even with Lance’s and Shiro’s hands in his own. Now, he could feel the fear shrinking away as the group stopped to take in their new, brightly colored surroundings.

They were outside, but almost everything appeared to be made of sugar, and Keith gasped at the sight of it. Some things looked normal, like the dirt path they stood on and the grass of the rolling hills, but the fence along the path was made from rainbow striped candy strips and the bushes beyond the fence were laden with miniature cupcakes instead of berries. Where there would have been rocks and pebbles, there were M&Ms and Skittles. Cotton candy puffs floated in the blue sky and trees were covered in assorted chocolates that looked fancy and enticing.

“Look at that castle!” Hunk said, also awed by their new environment.

Everyone looked in the direction that he pointed towards. Off in the distance was a gingerbread castle. Even from here, Keith saw a huge golden bell in a tower, frosting along the battlements, and swirled candy stick flag poles with colorful banners.

The red lioness nudged his knee to get his attention, and took a couple paces forward.

“You want us to go to the castle?” he asked.

The lion nodded her head. Keith looked up at Shiro, who looked back down at him. The doll also nodded, and began following the lions.

“Lance, we’re gonna leave you!” Pidge sang.

Keith, while taking in the sweet candy land, had missed Lance letting go of his hand so he could go lick the fence. Seeing the others walking away, Lance yelped and dashed after them, his long legs quick to catch up. Keith blushed when Lance took his hand and Hunk’s again.

‘I can’t believe I cried so much in front of everyone,’  he thought, embarrassed as the group walked towards the castle hand in hand. ‘Everyone else is so cool and brave…’

Still, no one seemed to mind, and no one brought it up. Chatter was focused on the sugary landscape and whether the mice would come back. Lance was swinging his hands as he talked, and even though Shiro’s hand was wooden, it was warm. Keith didn’t know why, but the tall doll made him feel safe and protected, and ahead, the red lion glanced back at him every now and then as if making sure he was still there and safe.

Keith’s face flushed again, not used to such an abundance of warmth and kindness all at once.

The dirt path ended at a graham cracker drawbridge. At some unseen signal, the bridge was lowered, allowing the group to walk across a moat filled with chocolate.

“Welcome!”

A cheer greeted them, shouted by a crowd of little, strange-looking people. They weren’t human, and were all roughly the same height as Pidge. Their attire looked normal, but their skin was shades of beige and cream, and they had curled horns on their head.

‘Are they horns?’  Keith wondered, ducking behind Shiro’s arm just a bit. ‘Or is that hair?’

“Welcome, lions!” The crowd continued to cheer as they ushered them inside the castle. “Welcome, heroes!”

The castle’s denizens looked naggingly familiar, but Keith ignored the feeling as they entered the grand entrance to the castle that was framed by braided licorice and more frosting. He felt himself staring again; the hall wasn’t made of candy, but it glittered and sparkled. The floor was marbled stone, and colorful stained glass windows stretched to the vaulted ceiling.

‘It looks more like a church than a castle,’  Keith thought, but he was dazzled nonetheless.

They were led to the end of the hall, where a great, golden throne lined with frosting and sweets sat. A beautiful woman with dark skin and a large mass of soft-looking white hair waited for them from her seat on the throne. Next to her stood a man with pale skin and bright ginger hair that matched his mustache. Both were human-sized, though their ears were long and pointed and their eyes oddly colored.

“Welcome, honored guests, to the Sugar Plum Kingdom!” the man said, his joyous voice echoing in the hall as he spread his arms wide. “Lions and heroes, I give you the Sugar Plum Princess Allura!”

He bowed, his arms gesturing to the princess with a flourish. Hunk’s mouth hung open a bit, for while she had been gorgeous sitting down, the princess was stunning when standing. Her dress was a mix of cotton candy pink and blue, and it flowed away from her in light, fluffy tiers of sparkling fabric that looked delicate to the touch. It was as princess-y a dress as one could be, or at least, that’s what Hunk thought. The man wore a fancy suit of blue and pink that matched the princess’s dress.

“I, the Sugar Plum Princess, bid you welcome to our kingdom!” Princess Allura stated, a warm smile on her face. “Might I know the names of our heroes?”

As each kid introduced themselves, Hunk blinked, his transfixed gaze broken as he remembered a question that had been plaguing him since they reached the castle. “Excuse me,” he said, raising his hand. “Why are we heroes?”

“Many years ago, five magical lions fought together to save our kingdom from the evil Galra Mice,” explained the man. “After a nasty battle, four of the lions were lost, while the fifth was taken by Zarkon, emperor of the Galra Mice.”

Surprised to hear that about his new partner, Hunk looked at the yellow lion, who sat with the other lions in front of their respective kid. The lion tilted her head back at Hunk, who imagined her winking at him before she turned around again.

“The lions sent us word that five brave heroes awakened them from their deep slumbers,” the princess continued. “and that they also defeated an army of Galra Mice, who had come to take the lions. If Emperor Zarkon had obtained the other lions, he would have gained great power, and would have taken over the world. Therefore, I believe thanks are in order!”

The Sugar Plum Princess clapped her hands, and the small castle citizens reappeared from the sides of the hall. They carried a long table and chairs, as well as great platters of food. Hunk watched the servants twirl and dance gracefully as they spread out delicious-looking food and sweets on the table. His stomach growled. He had felt too shy about eating in front of the others earlier, even though he had spotted his favorite cupcake on a bush and Lance had shown no hesitation in biting off a piece of fence.

‘But if everyone else is eating, it’s ok,’  Hunk told himself as the kids sat down. Pidge and Lance immediately made a grab for the same piece of pie, and even Keith quietly took a small piece of candy. Hunk reached out for a pastry covered in strawberries, but stopped as he noticed someone else wasn’t eating.

“Shiro?” Hunk twisted in his chair and found the doll standing behind the children. “Oh. You can’t eat, huh?”

The ginger-haired man came over to inspect Shiro. “Seems like he’s been cursed by the Galra,” he said, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. “They turned the poor fellow into a doll. Treated him rather rudely too, judging by the shape he’s in.”

Hunk dropped his pastry, upset at the words. “Shiro saved our lives!” he exclaimed in distress. “The mice attacked while we were asleep but Shiro turned big and defended us and he won, I mean we helped too, but Shiro—”

The man held up his hands. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to insult him. I’m Coran, by the way, royal advisor to the Sugar Plum Princess.”

Hunk settled down, relieved that no harm towards Shiro was meant. “Apology accepted, Mr. Coran,” he said, smiling at the advisor. He took a bite of his pastry and sighed; it tasted like heaven.

“If Shiro is cursed,” Pidge started, pausing to lick sugar off a finger. “does that mean it can be broken?”

“Possibly,” Princess Allura answered. “I hold no such power, but the black lion, the one in Emperor Zarkon’s possession, may have that capability.”

“What if a kiss can break it?” Hunk suggested. “Like in fairytales?”

“Oh, oh!” Lance stood up, coming close to knocking over his plate in his eagerness. “I’ll do it, I’ll kiss him!”

“Me next if Lance’s doesn’t work!” Hunk said, also standing up with excitement. He loved fairytales.

They made Shiro sit in a chair so they could reach better. Coran picked up each child so they could peck a kiss on the doll’s cheek. Lance went first, then Hunk, Pidge, and a crimson-faced Keith. But the doll stayed wooden, and to Hunk, it looked like Shiro’s shoulders sagged in disappointment at the failure. Hunk shared the feeling.

“Either it needs to be true love, or we need to rescue the black lion,” he said, pouting.

“I vote we try the lion. Where does Zarkon live? We can go beat him up!” Lance joked, pounding a fist into his hand.

“I’m afraid it would be very difficult to do so,” Coran said, shaking his head. “He has a vast army under his command. We’ve been fortunate that his search for the lions have kept him too busy to attack us. We have our own army, but if he attacked us with full strength, why, even we’d struggle to win!”

DONG

DONG

DONG

Deep chimes shook the hall, making Lance jump out of his skin before realizing it was the bell outside the castle ringing. There was a flurry of activity as servants rushed into the hall to quickly gather the table and food. Lance’s lioness circled around him, hackles raised and teeth bared as she stared at the door of the castle.

“The castle is under attack!” a servant cried, reporting to Princess Allura and Coran. “Emperor Zarkon is at the drawbridge with his army!”

“He must be here for the lions,” Princess Allura murmured. To the servant, she said, “Defend the drawbridge! They must not be allowed to enter the castle keep!”

Another servant dashed in, their short legs running as fast as possible. “Sugar Plum Princess!” they gasped between gulps of air. “The Emperor is riding the black lion! He used her to jump over the castle wall and opened the drawbridge!”

“Princess Allura, we must withdraw to the command room,” Coran said, his voice urgent. “We’ll be able to view the situation better and organize a defensive plan.”

“You are correct,” she agreed. Turning to the children, she asked, “We would be asking much of you, but you are our greatest chance of winning this battle. Will you help us fight?”

Lance stared wide-eyed at the princess, feeling cold all over. ‘I was only joking about beating up Zarkon,’  he thought, tears pricking his eyes. ‘But now he’s here, and everyone’s in danger, and —’

He felt someone take his hand, and looked down to see Keith holding it. Keith's face contained as much fear as Lance felt, but it also held determination.

“Let’s help them,” Keith said. “We can do it.”

Hunk gulped, but grabbed Lance’s free hand. “This place is pretty and everyone is nice,” he said. “I wanna save it!”

“Besides, we’re heroes!” Pidge chimed in. She snatched Keith’s hand to pump it in the air. “And heroes defeat evil!”

They turned to Shiro in unison, waiting to see if the doll would join them. In response, Shiro drew his sword, and raised it in a battle-ready position. The lions looked pleased at the children’s decision to fight; they sat on their hind legs and released a chorus of short, aggressive roars.

Lance’s fear receded, and he grinned at his friends. “Ok! Let’s take out Zarkon and save both the kingdom and the black lion!”

“We need a plan first,” Hunk interjected. “They know we’re here, and there’s a lot more of them this time…”

“Hunk’s lion can burst through big groups,” Pidge offered. “I can duck in and out and get info on any of their plans, and maybe stop them too!”

“Sounds good to me,” Lance nodded. “Keith and I can stick with Shiro. We can help him fight and we can help any soldiers that are in danger. We’ll keep an eye out for that Zarkon guy too. You ok with this, Keith?”

Keith nodded fiercely, his fluffy hair whipping back and forth. His lion roared her approval.

Lance opened the door to the castle. Outside, Galra mice were fighting the kingdom’s soldiers. Despite their short size, the soldiers were giving the mice a good fight, though Lance could see even more mice coming through the drawbridge entrance. His fear came back, but the blue lion butted her head against him.

‘Right,’  he thought, climbing onto her back. He scratched behind her ear and she purred. ‘I’m not alone. And Pidge is right; we’re heroes!’

With a battle cry that synched with the other kids’ yells and the lions’ roars, Lance charged forward on his lion, the others alongside him.

‘And heroes defeat evil!’

Chapter Text

The sky had grown cloudy while the children were talking with the Sugar Plum Princess inside the castle. As Pidge and her lion darted around the castle grounds between battling soldiers and mice, a snowflake landed on her glasses. More followed, until the air was filled with snow. She frowned, and paused her lioness so she could clean her glasses.

‘Ugh, this sucks,’  she thought, putting the glasses back on. A new snowflake landed on the left lens and she grumbled in annoyance.

Across the grounds, Pidge could see that so far, the battle seemed to be going ok. Hunk was no longer screaming in terror; instead, he bellowed with confidence as the yellow lion rammed her way through clusters of mice, keeping them disorganized. Lance and Keith were blue and red blurs around Shiro, who focused on helping castle soldiers who were being overpowered. The bell continued to ring, but the castle doors were still intact.

‘Well, we’re not losing.’   Feeling a surge of pride for her friends, Pidge leaned forward to scratch her lioness behind her ears. ‘Where’s that Zarkon guy, though?’

Pidge and the green lion ran around the castle grounds, dodging the fighting as well as gingerbread buildings and candy structures. When they jumped on top of a barn with a chocolate bar roof, Pidge was in view of the drawbridge.

“Whoa!” she cried, scrambling to hold onto her lion. The green lion had jumped back in surprise, and was now growling with her fur bristling. Pidge looked up, and felt her courage waver for the first time since entering the battle.

Standing on top of the wall above the entrance to the castle was a black lioness. Even from here, Pidge was able to tell that she was much larger than the other four lions. A mouse sat on her back, and with the dark red cape billowing in the wind behind him and a gold crown on his head, it could only be Emperor Zarkon.

“Ohhh boy,” Pidge muttered.

Zarkon raised a big, black sword. Below him, troops of mice began stomping across the bridge to enter the castle.

‘I need to tell the others!’  Alarmed, Pidge and her lion jumped from the barn. ‘There’s too many! If we wanna win, we need to take out Zarkon himself, but we’re gonna have to do it together!’

She started with Hunk, who was nearby. The yellow lion charged a line of mice, each one stacking against the one behind it until they puffed into a giant, purple cloud.

“Pidge!” Hunk’s face lit up, happy to see her well. “Are we winning yet? I feel like we’re winning.”

She grimaced. “We’re about to get swamped in ugly purple fur, we gotta get the others!”

Hunk saw the mice pouring into the castle grounds, and he paled. “Yeah, let’s go get the others!” he said, echoing her.

Pidge’s lion turned, but a heavy force hit her and Pidge, sending the girl flying off the lion’s back.

“Pidge!” she heard Hunk yell, but something black filled her vision as she scrambled to sit back up.

The black lion was in front of her, with Zarkon staring down at Pidge with a look of pure contempt.

A snarl erupted from the green lion. She launched herself at the black lion, but a single swipe of a black paw sent the green lion sprawling. Pidge gulped; at this distance, she could now see that the black lion was at least twice the size of the green.

“Capture them,” Zarkon said. A group of mice pounced on the green lion, and another surrounded Pidge.

“No!” Hunk hollered. The yellow lion lunged at the mice going for Pidge, but in an instant, Zarkon intercepted him. He, too, was knocked off his lion, and both were immediately surrounded by mice.

“Bring them all,” Zarkon commanded. “I let them out of my sight once; I will not do so again.”

A mouse tied Pidge’s hands behind her back. She struggled as hard as she could, but at the size of a child with a child’s strength, her efforts were feeble. The green lion had her paws tied together. Both she and the yellow lion were placed on wheeled carts that had materialized, and were then tied down to the cart bed securely. Pidge and Hunk were made to walk together, and the group followed Zarkon as he marched the lion across the castle grounds.

“Pidge, I’m sorry,” Hunk whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t be sorry,” Pidge said. She didn’t feel like crying at all, not one bit. Instead, a hot angry fire burned inside of her, and she glared at the back of Zarkon’s head with his stupid crown. “I’m gonna beat him up, I’ll kick his butt so bad, we’re gonna send him back to outer space—”

Her rage-infused mutterings were drowned by sounds of fighting as they reached the main area of battle. Made helpless by her captors, Pidge watched with increasing fury as Zarkon took out Lance, who yelped in pain as he hit the ground.

“Are you ok?!” Hunk asked Lance, his own tears forgotten as Lance was forced to join him and Pidge.

“I’m ok,” Lance brushed off the concern, busy with struggling against a mouse as the blue lion was tied up. “Blue!” he yelled in distress. “Blue, no!”

Keith saw what happened to Lance. He made a brave attempt to fight Zarkon, but the red lion went down as fast as the others. Pidge thought he’d be crying, but when he was brought to the others, she saw with some pride that while his face was flushed, his eyes were dry and alight with rage.

“That Zarkon jerk is going down!” he said, wriggling in his bonds. “We can’t let him win!”

“Ah!” Hunk exclaimed. “Shiro!”

They turned to see Shiro facing off against Zarkon. The nutcracker doll held his sword in a determined stance.

“Well, what do we have here,” Zarkon said, a smirk spreading across his face. The mouse hopped off the black lion’s back, but even when he was standing, he was still taller than Shiro. “The Champion! And still a doll, too. There really was no point in you escaping, was there? I don’t know how you did it, but it was pointless.”

Zarkon lifted his sword, preparing to attack. His eyes glowed with golden malice, and the smirk turned into a sneer. “My court will be overjoyed when I bring their toy back home,” he said, then leapt at Shiro.

Shiro sprang into action, whirling to block the emperor’s sword in a successful parry, but the calm, painted face of the doll didn’t display his inner turmoil.

‘I can’t defeat him like this,’ ’ he thought, frantic as he and Zarkon danced around with swords meeting in the middle. ‘This body is still stiff, and I can only do so much with one arm! ’

He caught sight of the kids, who were loudly cheering him on. Shiro had nearly lost it earlier when he saw Zarkon take out Lance and Keith. All four children were unharmed, but it drove him to continue fighting Zarkon even though Shiro could feel the difference in strength with each clash of their blades.

“Such a shame about your arm, Champion,” Zarkon said, twirling as he jumped back. His cape flew out behind him as he shifted battle stances. “The court witch was about to give you an...upgrade, but you escaped before she could have her fun. She’ll be happy to have you back.”

Horror shuddered through Shiro, and his sword wavered. ‘No!’  He steadied himself, and dodged the next attack. ‘I can’t go back, I won’t go back! I will protect them! ’

The two continued to duel, metallic clangs joining the sound of the bell that still rang across the castle grounds. THe snow persisted and was beginning to accumulate, making the ground wet and slippery. Shiro slipped, his joints not loose enough to function smoothly, and Zarkon took advantage of the opening.

“You’re a fun little toy, Champion,” the mouse laughed, thrusting his blade at Shiro. “But you’re no match for me.”

Shiro hit the ground to avoid the tip of the sword, and struggled to get back up. ‘This stupid body! ’ he cursed inside his wooden cage. The shape of the doll body and his lack of a second arm was making it difficult to get off the ground.

Zarkon paused his attack, so amused by Shiro’s struggle that he laughed each time Shiro rolled back onto his side. “Look at you. You’re pathetic,” he chuckled, his humor laced with disgust.

“Shiro!” Keith cried. “You can do it, Shiro! You can beat the snot outta him!”

“Yeah, Shiro!” Lance joined in. “You whoop that ugly rat!”

Pidge and Hunk added their voices to the jeers and insults, and Zarkon shot them an annoyed frown. Shiro took the chance to finally get to his feet, making the children yell and rally even louder.

“Silence!” Zarkon shouted, waving his sword in threat, but he merely encouraged them.

“Kiss my a—” Lance was interrupted by a quick nudge of Hunk’s shoulder. “—Aunt Felicia’s pig!”

Shiro tried to regain a steady battle stance, but while he was bolstered by the children’s confidence in him, the wooden body he was stuck in wasn’t responding to his commands as well as before. The dirt and snow were seeping through his clothes and making the joints grind with a gritty sensation that Shiro could feel in an odd, detached way. He staggered, losing his balance as a knee refused to bend fast enough, and he paused, something catching his eye.

During the fight, the black lion had been sitting off to the side where Zarkon had left it. It was unmoving; not even the tail twitched. Curious, Shiro faced Zarkon again, who stopped his futile attempts to order the children to be quiet.

“My patience has run out,” the mouse said, readying his blade. “I’m ending this now, Champion, even if I bring you back in pieces!”

Shiro ducked and dodged, his movements stuttering and halting as he fought against his stiff joints, but soon, he had a closer look at the black lion.

‘She has a collar around her neck, ’ he thought, taking care to make a swing at Zarkon to keep the mouse from noticing Shiro’s glances. ‘That must be what’s controlling her.’

Zarkon was starting to push against Shiro with  more aggressive attacks. It was beginning to turn into a one-sided match as Shiro avoided more than he could give back at Zarkon, but a plan was forming so he stalled for time the best he could.

‘There’s a large gem under her chin that seems to be powering the collar, ’ Shiro thought, inching closer to the lion with each side step. ‘If I can break it, she could save the kids.’

The black lion was big and powerful. The Sugar Plum Princess had said that the lion had the power to break Shiro’s curse. If that was true, then perhaps the lion also had the power to defeat Zarkon and free the children.

‘I don’t have that power, ’ Shiro admitted, the thought creating a cloud of pain and disappointment in himself. It was a familiar feeling. ‘Please, save them!’

Shiro bolted for the black lion. Zarkon bellowed behind him in fury, and Shiro knew the mouse was following him. Shiro thrusted his sword at the collar around the lion’s neck. As the blade pierced the purple gem, Zarkon tackled Shiro and sent the doll flying into the dirt. The sword skittered in the opposite direction, far beyond Shiro’s reach.

‘Please, save them! ’ Shiro pleaded, as Zarkon loomed over him with his black, gleaming blade raised. ‘Please! ’

A roar erupted into the air, so loud and deep that it vibrated through Shiro’s body. The earth shook, and then there was silence. Without realizing it, Shiro had been looking down at the ground, and after looking up, he gasped. Zarkon was no longer standing over him; instead, it was the black lion, lowering her head to peer at him. Her eyes glowed yellow, like the Galra, but they glowed with an unbelievable warmth that Shiro could actually feel.

DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THEM?

The thought echoed inside Shiro’s mind. He faltered, hung up on the phrasing used by the mysterious presence. ‘I wanted you to save them —’

DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT?

No, not really. Shiro just wanted the children safe and happy, to play with each other and laugh. They deserved it.

DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?

Yes. This question he knew the answer to. There were too many things to see, too many things to do, and he wanted—

‘I want to see and do those things with them. ’ The realization dawned on Shiro with a warm clarity.

DO YOU WANT TO SAVE THEM? DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT?

‘Yes! ’ His answer came strong with renewed determination.

THEN, SAVE THEM.

The black lion lowered her head to Shiro, and a bright light enveloped him. He could hear Zarkon bellowing in confusion somewhere, but Shiro was preoccupied with how warm, how kind the light felt. He shut his eyes, bathing in it.

‘I can save them. I will save them!’

The light dissipated, and Shiro opened his eyes.

Chapter Text

Shiro opened his eyes, and with a start he realized he opened his real eyes. The light burst away from him, disappearing in pretty sparkles that had the kids cheering and clapping in wonder.

“Shiro’s a prince!” he heard Pidge shout. “You owe me Lance, I knew he was a prince!”

Shiro looked down. He was in a flesh and blood body, and a quick touch to his face confirmed that the beard was gone and his real hair was back. The clothing was still the same, but it was clean and crisp like new, and a red cape fluttered off of his shoulders. His right arm was still gone; however, in its place was a wooden puppet arm, and it moved as well as his left arm. He touched his  head again and felt a thin, delicate crown.

“So you broke the curse,” Zarkon spat, rolling his shoulders in anger. “No matter. I captured the black lion before, and I’ll capture her again!”

Zarkon flexed his arms. With a deep, guttural growl, he began to grow in size, until he stood at least two feet taller than Shiro. His sword also grew, and it reminded Shiro to quickly pick his own blade up while he had the chance.

“Your rule ends here, Zarkon!” Shiro said. His voice was strong and steady, and filled with determination. The black lion walked over to Shiro and knelt, allowing him to climb onto her back. She purred her approval of him, and he flushed at the praise.

FIGHT. WIN!

Zarkon bellowed and charged at Shiro. The lion dodged the ebony blade with graceful agility, and Shiro swung at Zarkon. The blow connected, but as the lion spun around, Zarkon still stood there as if nothing had touched him.

‘The sword just glanced right off him, ’ Shiro thought, ducking to avoid another blow aimed at him. He jabbed at Zarkon’s hand, but again the mouse didn’t poof into smoke. ‘Am I not strong enough? ’

Zarkon’s attacks were fast and heavy. If the blade met the ground, it left deep gouges behind. The mouse was no longer smiling; instead, his furry face was twisted with ugly malice and anger. Shiro was human now and his body moved with unhindered ease, but it looked like the fight was still an even match as Shiro’s blade continued to bounce off of Zarkon. The children watched with growing concern.

“You don’t think—” Lance started speaking, but Keith cut him off.

“He’s not gonna lose!” Keith cried. “Shiro’s gonna win!”

“That’s not what I was gonna say!” Lance defended himself against Keith’s angry glare by ducking behind Hunk. “I was wondering if Shiro’s sword is too light to cut through that mouse!”

They all looked at Shiro’s sword. It was plain and while sharp, it did seem to lack the weight of Zarkon’s own heavy weapon.

“Zarkon’s body must have gotten tougher when he grew, “ Hunk observed.

“What do we do?” Lance asked. “We can’t help like this.” He wiggled his arms, his hands still tied.

Pidge spoke up, her voice slow as she continued to think even as she talked. “When the Galra first attacked, I wished that my lion was real,” she began. “You heard them talk to us too, right?”

The boys nodded.

“What if we tried wishing?” she suggested. “For the lions to beat up Zarkon, or—”

“A sword!” Keith interrupted again, face lit up in excitement. “Let’s wish for a sword for Shiro!”

“Then Shiro can cut through Zarkon,” Lance said, grinning. “Let’s try!”

The four of them fell silent, each one mentally pleading for a weapon tough enough to defeat Zarkon.

‘A sword for Shiro! ’ Keith repeated it like a mantra.

‘Please give Shiro a really awesome sword! ’ Hunk asked politely.

‘Please make a really cool sword for Shiro, a blue one, or maybe a white one!’ Lance asked.

‘Please make a sword that can cut down Zarkon!’ Pidge wished as hard as she could.

Their pleading got an answer. The lions, still bound to the carts, began to glow.

WE YOU    ARE THE LIONS OF VOLTRON.

The black lion began to glow too, and Shiro quickly hopped off her back. The lions were now spheres of light that flew towards each other in front of Shiro and merged into one light.

SEPARATE, WE YOU ARE POWERFUL, BUT TOGETHER WE YOU ARE STRONG.

The light formed a sword shape, and Shiro took hold of it with both hands. It felt solid, so he released a hand to swing it out to his side. The light, like after his transformation, burst away with dazzling sparkles, making his cape billow dramatically.

Shiro grinned at the weapon in his hand. “Together,” he murmured, feeling happier than he should be when faced with an enemy like Zarkon.

The sword was broad and nearly Shiro’s height. The core of the blade was a deep red with shifting hues, while the actual edge was a sharp, neon green that radiated a soft glow. The golden hilt was fairly simple, but thick and dense; excellent defense for Shiro’s hands, which he wrapped around the black, textured grip. The pommel was also large, to keep his hands from slipping off, and there was a beautiful blue gem set in it. Shio hefted the sword, getting a feel for it. In one hand, it was light enough to swing easily, and in two hands, it felt heavier.

‘Heavy enough to defeat Zarkon!’ Shiro thought. He resumed a battle stance, and not a moment too soon, for Zarkon was done waiting.

Zarkon was out for blood. He roared, and leapt at Shiro, all traces of poise and grace gone. Shiro, however, still spun and twirled, his actions smooth and fluid. The lion sword blazed through the air, and each time it met Zarkon’s blade, sparks flew up in the air.

“This is the end, Champion!” Zarkon shouted.

He launched himself at Shiro, who didn’t say a word but also jumped forward. Shiro brought his blade around at full strength, with a green trail of light flowing behind it. With a loud crash , it connected with Zarkon’s. The black blade shattered into sparkling metal dust. Shiro pulled the sword back over his head, and using the continued momentum with the weight of the sword, he slashed downwards.

Zarkon puffed into a cloud of purple smoke, leaving his crown to clatter to the ground.

The rest of the Galra also disappeared, along with the carts and bonds on the children’s wrists. Purple smoke flooded the castle grounds, then vanished. The snow stopped falling as well, and the air was then filled with loud cheers and joyous cries instead.

“Shiro!”

Shiro only had a brief second to register the sword also disappearing in a ray of light before he was tackled by four jubilant children.

“Shrio, that was epic !” Lance shouted, pulling on Shiro’s left arm in his excitement. “You were so cool !”

Pidge jumped to latch onto Shiro’s waist, her slight form barely making Shiro budge. Hunk looked like he wanted to join her, but settled for wrapping himself around Shiro’s leg. Keith used both of his hands to hold Shiro’s right hand; his eyes were damp and his cheeks pink, but his face was beaming with joy. Finally able to feel touch and sensations, Shiro almost felt overwhelmed, but he grinned and ruffled Keith’s hair.

“Thanks to you guys,” he said, referring to the sword. “You saved me, again.”

The kids laughed and clung to him, and he held them back.

“Citizens of the Sugar Plum Kingdom!”

All turned to the steps of the castle, where Princess Allura and Coran stood. The lions sat at the foot of the steps, with the black lion in the middle and two lions on either side of her.

“Emperor Zarkon is no more, and the black lion has been freed!” Princess Allura continued. Her smile was radiant as she spread her arms wide. “The heroes have saved us! Rejoice and celebrate, for we will now thank our honorable knights with feasting and dancing!”

The castle grounds, filled by soldiers and citizens now, erupted into a cacophony of noise. Overhead, the clouds unblocked the sun, and beams of sunlight bounced off the snow, making everything glitter.

With happy chatter, the children and Shiro — who walked with Pidge still around his waist — followed the lions into the castle. There, a great table of food sat in front of the throne, and as the group walked down the hall, a crowd of tiny citizens parted for them, bowing and cheering as the heroes passed.

“Eat, and dance!” Princess Allura announced as the group sat down. “Be merry, for evil was defeated today!”

The feast put the earlier spread of sweets and pastries to shame, and they dug in with vigor. Music began to play as people danced choreographed steps in beautiful costumes for the heroes. Keith didn’t eat much, but kept one hand clinging to Shiro’s shirt as he told Shiro about the battle in detail. Hunk and Pidge alternated between eating and poking at Shiro’s wooden arm and crown, while Lance clapped for the dancers.

“Guys!” Lance suddenly turned to the others. “Let’s dance!”

Without waiting for a response, Lance pulled Hunk away from the table. Hunk let him, giggling as Lance began to push and pull Hunk’s arms into an exaggerated, silly version of what Lance thought was a waltz.

“Keith, wanna dance with me?” Pidge asked.

Keith hesitated. Lance and Hunk were spinning around laughing, with nearby dancers clapping when Lance dipped Hunk with a flourish. Pidge’s eyes sparkled, and Keith felt his reservations crumble.

“Ok,” he said.

The music changed to a rambunctious beat, and Pidge whirled Keith onto the dance floor. She moved better than he did, but didn’t say anything if he stumbled or hit her foot, and soon they were both laughing as they twirled around.

Shiro watched the kids dance. They swapped partners so that Hunk danced with Keith and Pidge with Lance. Then they swapped again, and again, until they were dancing together. Laughter was mixed in with the joyous music, and for the first time since this all began, Shiro felt completely relaxed and content. A smile had appeared on his face without him realizing, and it was soft and affectionate.

“Shiro!” Lance came running over to the table “Shiro, dance with me!”

Keight squawked in surprise. “I want to dance with him!”

Soon, there were four pairs of small hands pulling Shiro onto the dancefloor. A song with broad, sweeping melodies started up, and Lance put his hands in Shiro’s. Shiro chuckled; it was incorrect, but the posture was a typical ballroom dance pose. Shiro slowly moved to the music, side by side at first, and then increased speed after Lance had adjusted to their height difference. Lance giggled as Shiro led him around the hall, occasionally spinning him around in place.

When they passed the others, Lance switched with Keith, who’s pout vanished as Shiro began to waltz with him in the same manner. The boy was silent at first, focused on moving with Shiro, until Shiro surprised him by gently dipping him backwards, making him laugh.

Pidge was next. They moved faster than the tempo of the music, but a challenge glinted in her eyes and Shiro obliged by spinning faster and faster, until she was laughing with glee.

Hunk was slow and gentle in contrast. Like Keith, he solemnly danced with Shiro at first, but couldn’t contain a smile as Shiro swept him along in grand movements. They came to a stop so Shiro could let Hunk spin in place under Shiro’s hand, never letting go of Hunk’s.

The music quieted to a soft trickle as Princess Allura clapped her hands.

“A beautiful dance, by all of you!” she said. Then, she gestured to a soft, plushy couch that had appeared while they were dancing. “If you could take a seat, I would like to express my personal gratitude to you with my own dance.”

Shiro and the children piled up on the couch, with Shiro in the middle gagin. The lighting shifted into blue and pink tones, while the music became delicate with tinkling bells and chirping string instruments. The Sugar Plum Princess danced slowly, her hair and dress swaying with each graceful swing of her arms and lift of her legs. The hall got dimmer, and tiny, glowing lights filled the air. They bounced in time with the music, and the effect was hypnotic. Shiro found himself focused on a particular group of lights by the princess, who continued her dance.

Then, he blinked, and everything was gone.

Shiro blinked again, working through his shock. The ceiling was that of his room in the Castle of Lions. It was dim but not completely dark, the way he preferred it when sleeping, and he was on his back in bed. A mixture of emotions coursed through him as he realized that everything, from being a doll and the paladins as children, must have been a dream. He felt sad, and a bit lonely.

‘They were all so cute and innocent, ’ he thought, chuckling as he hauled himself out of bed. ‘That was weird, though. My dreams are only that vivid during nightmares.’

Shiro went through his morning routine of showering and dressing. He had slept through his usual time of getting up for extra morning training, but it was about the time that the other paladins would start showing up in the commons area. He headed there, and raised his eyebrows upon seeing all four paladins, even Lance, standing in the room talking with serious expressions.

“That’s a first, Lance beating me to breakfast?” Shiro joked, but he tensed, unsure of what was going on.

“Shiro, did you have a dream too?!” Lance whirled around at his entrance, not even catching the joke.

Surprised, Shiro answered. “Yeah, why?”

“We were all kids, but you were a nutcracker doll?” Pidge asked, and she waited until Shiro nodded. Pidge practically cackled. “I was right!” she crowed. “We all had the same dream, even Shiro!”

“I’m starting to think it wasn’t just a dream,” Hunk said, crossing his arms. He looked at them with a thoughtful expression. “I’m gonna call it space magic.”

Shiro caught on to the situation. “We all experienced the same dream,” he stated. The others nodded, confirming it. “Huh. Well then.”

Keith cleared his throat. Shiro thought he looked unusually pink today. “Maybe it was the Voltron connection,” Keith suggested.

Pidge hummed in agreement. “Most likely,” she said. “But why now? Did we level up our bonding stat or something? And why the Nutcracker?”

“We were talking about Christmas a couple days ago,” Lance spoke up.

Shiro remembered that. Pidge had noted it would be December now back on Earth, which generated some wistful reminiscing and swapping of Christmas traditions. It was tough for Lance at the time, but now he seemed preoccupied with this new event.

“Let’s just ask the lions,” Shiro said, the solution simple and clear to him.

The others followed him to the main hangar with the intent to summon the lions together. When the doors opened, they saw it was unnecessary; the five lions were already there, sitting upright as if they were patiently waiting for their pilots to show up.

“Guys, since when were the lions able to operate castle controls?” Hunk whispered.

“Shh,” Pidge hissed. “We’ll ask about lion hacking skills later.”

Shiro walked forward. Asking giant robot lions if the dream about being a doll that fought evil purple mice was their doing felt very surreal, but he did it anyway. “Did you give us that dream we had last night?” he asked.

The lions rumbled a low growl. Each paladin felt a general impression of a positive answer from their lion.

“Well, that answers that,” Lance said.

“But why?” Pidge asked.

Shiro felt the black lion’s response as jumbled emotions. “They knew we felt homesick over Christmas,” he said, sorting it out. “It’s a big holiday to most of us, so we probably felt more strongly about it than usual.”

“This is also the first time in a month or three that we’ve caught a break from fighting Zarkon,” Hunk added. “I guess they took advantage of the downtime to give us a little Christmas gift of their own!”

“But what could they give us, as giant robot lions?” Pidge mused. “So they dug through some of our memories, and came up with the idea of using the Voltron bond to generate a shared dream, like a simulation almost.”

Keith frowned. He didn’t like the idea of his memories being rifled through. The red lion hummed in his head, sheepish and a little apologetic about diving in without permission. Taken aback by the contrite apology from a usually headstrong lion, Keith shook his head, a small smile on his face. “It’s fine, this time,” he said, and the lion purred.

“Baby Keith was so cute !” Lance cooed, as if Keith speaking reminded him.

Keith glared at him, beginning to rethink his opinion of the dream. Lance grinned and gave him a half-hug around the shoulders. Keith prepared himself for teasing about crying, but it never came; Lance let go and changed course instead.

“Everyone was cute, honestly,” Lance said. “But Shiro! You were so cool, even as a doll!”

Shiro actually blushed, making Pidge and Hunk snicker. “I was terrified, at first,” he admitted, rubbing his metal hand with his left unconsciously. “I could only watch, and then the Galra showed up.”

“Which is hilarious now, by the way,” Lance interrupted. “I am never gonna unsee the Galra as big, furry mice.”

“And you guys saved me, twice,” Shiro continued. He smiled at the memories, and it was so soft and gentle that the others squirmed, with Lance’s face darkening a shade. Shiro turned back to the lions. “Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “It was a lovely gift.”

The others added their own thanks, and the lions, clearly pleased their gift was received so well, rumbled again, tails flicking behind them in the hanger.

“Separate we are powerful,” Keith muttered, echoing the dream.

“But together, we are strong!” Hunk finished, grinning widely. He grabbed Keith in one of his trademark bear hugs. Lance joined in, along with Pidge.

Shiro hesitated, but Hunk’s arm snaked out of the hug lump and pulled him in.

“Merry Christmas, guys!”