Balancing Shiro and Allura's alternate characterizations with their canon selves, and how I perceive them to react to traumatic events, was fun. And by fun, I mean I suffered but enjoyed it. (Also, Ryou for the record, is canon from Beast King GoLion and was not supposed to play nearly as predominant of a role as he is; and Pidge won't be called 'she' unless the POV is aware she's a girl/until after she comes out. Writing 'he' was so weird; Shiro has an anxiety attack/PTSD episode later in the chapter, so be on the lookout for that.)
With their mother gone, that left Shiro in charge.
The situation was far from ideal - he found himself wondering if it would have mattered if they had formed Voltron ten thousand years ago, like his brother had urged them to do with a desparate voice and wide eyes - but he...they would just have to make it work, somehow. If Zarkon was still alive, then no one and nothing were safe in the universe. Once, the Paladins of Voltron had stood against such forces of tyranny and - he hated to say it, but maybe Ryou was right - evil. Voltron would do so again, if he had to climb into Black himself.
But he had faith in Allura to lead her Paladins, though, and he wanted - needed - to be right about her. The universe depended on it. They all had roles to play, whether they walked willingly into them or not, and there was no one else to pick up the mantle, not right now. Maybe after they left Arus behind; in the meantime...no pressure or anything.
He narrowed his eyes at the wormholes in the sky, waiting for the humans to return. Getting the Green and Yellow lions couldn't take so long...could it?
Maybe something had gone wrong?
He became aware of Coran - the other human who had been kept captive by Zarkon, "Yup, it's true. We were his prisoners." - staring at him, and flicked his gray gaze to him briefly.
"What is it, Coran? Speak your mind."
Coran continued looking at him for another moment, before asking, "How old are you? And your brother?" He blinked once, twice. Coran added, twirling his mustache, "It's just- you seem like your Allura's age, and Ryou seems to be younger than the others...well, maybe not Pidge. That's young to be taking charge of an eight-man war; if you want any help or advice, I served a couple tours back on Earth, before joining the Galaxy Garrison." He flashed Shiro a smile and splayed his hands.
"...I am three hundred twenty, and Ryou is two hundred and eighty six." he answered, letting his eyes rest on Coran. He sensed the man was being sincere in his offer, not being deceitful, so he continued, "and I appreciate your offer, Coran. Perhaps later."
Coran blinked at him owlishly. Then, he slowly said, "You're...three hundred years old?"
Shiro turned his attention back to the wormholes; he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep them open. Thanfully, he saw the Green lion flying towards the castle, and let its wormhole go.
"Yes?"
"I thought you were twenty!" Coran exclaimed in surprise, brows jumping towards his hairline.
"I would barely be walking if I were twenty." Shiro said calmly. He dialed the communication lines to the Yellow and Blue lions; once brought up and connected, he announced, "Paladins, the wormhole will close soon! You need to return, now preferably."
"Working on it!" the Blue paladin, Lance, called over the line.
Hunk made - what sounded like - nauseated noises with no actual intelligble response.
He disconnected the comms with them, satisfied that they would make it on time, or it seemed they would, and elaborated to Coran. "Well, Ryou was actually walking when he was fourteen. That's quite early." His brother had always been rambunctious, and it always felt like he'd been eager to chase after Shiro, to keep up with him no matter what, since...well, always. Shiro was, admittedly, at a loss as to what he'd do without- a jolt of alarm raced down his spine, and he looked around the room with wide eyes. Coran stood not too far from him, while Keith, the earthling he'd sensed would do best with the Red lion, stood in front of the window looking outside and up at the sky. The mice and Ryou, whom he recalled being in the room when Allura, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk had left, was nowhere to be seen. "Where- where is my brother?"
Now was among the worst times for Ryou to be running off, doing only the Godesses knew what; there was a Galra warship rapidly approaching their location, and...oh.
Shiro pushed Ryou to the back of his mind with a mental note to speak with him about suddenly disappearing - sulking, likely, he thought with an internal sigh - and instead focused on the Red lion's presence- he could it, finally, and with that feeling, he could find it. He just had to follow the winding thread through the universe that was its quintessence. "Wait..." he told them, closing his eyes; Coran and Keith paused mid-springing into action to look for Ryou, and stared at him. Shiro's brows knit as he followed, and followed and...he pressed his lips into a thin line. That wasn't good.
"What? What is it?" Coran asked in a comically loud whisper.
"Did you find Red?" Keith demanded. Shiro heard his footsteps move closer.
He opened his eyes and nodded. "I did." And he did not like where he had found it; by some twisted fortune, though, it was near by and getting closer, so a wormhole was not necessary. Taking a deep breath, he told Keith, "Your lion is on the Galra warship heading here."
Keith narrowed his eyes slightly, then nodded seriously.
Maybe it was for the best Ryou wasn't in the room, for now. Ryou was as temperamental as his - former - lion, and Shiro could sense an argument brewing.
Especially when he was right there.
There was no way in the name of Altea he was ever letting Ryou back into that lion- he couldn't...he couldn't risk it, risk him, and he'd promised their mother he would keep him safe when they woke up...if they woke up. Ryou was all he had, whether he liked it or not. They were the last of their bloodline, their family, and their people.
Shiro sighed, letting his hands drop from the controls as Lance and Hunk hurtled into sight. Coran and Keith probably mistook the gesture as one of relief. He would talk with Ryou later and work it out; for now, he had paladins to brief.
As if on cue, Allura, with her shocking white hair pulled up and twisted into a bun, and Pidge entered, the door whirring open and then closed behind them.
"Welcome back," he said, smiling at them.
"Allura! How old do you think he and Ryou are?" Coran asked before either of the two could respond, like a cat pouncing on its prey.
Allura cut off her greeting, blinking her blue eyes at Coran once, twice. Shiro rolled his eyes, but let them have the moment; his news could wait until the other two joined them. "Hm...twenty and seventeen - eighteen maybe?" Well, Ryou, at least, would have been walking, but only for three, four years. At any rate, he was rather concerned with how short the earthlings' lifespans seemed to be in comparison to that of an altean.
"Ryou is two hundred and...what was it?"
"Eighty six." Shiro supplied.
For how wide Allura's eyes became, she might as well have gone bug-eyed. "I...are you sure? Perhaps their years are shorter?"
"Later," Shiro interrupted, though not impolitely. He nodded his head at Lance and Hunk as they walked in, the doors making an electronic beeping. They were rubbing and pushing at their lower backs. Sore, then, and about to get even more so.
Allura straightened as they did so, immediately projecting more of a level and in control aura. Shiro could, and did, appreciate it; any good leader had to be able to balance relatability and a certain amount of distance, professionalism. It was one of those things his mother had reiterated to him, time and time again. "You made it." she said, smiling.
"Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare." Lance responded with a forced smile that thinly covered a grimace. He rubbed at and rolled his shoulder, as if trying to work out a kink in his muscles. "I almost puked out there," he went on. "I felt like Hunk!"
While he finished with a gesture, Hunk was prodding at his neck. "Think how I felt. I am Hunk."
Pidge glanced towards Allura, sharing a secretive look that was reciprocated. "Yeah, we had a tough time, too." They both smiled.
Shiro stared for a moment, but disregarded it; it wasn't any of his business.
"Have you found the Red lion yet?" Allura asked, taking a step towards him.
"As a matter of fact," Coran answered, "Prince Takashi just did. It's-"
Shiro interrupted calmly, "Aboard the Galra battleship; the one now orbiting Arus." He had estimated that it would take, at least, two days for the ship to reach them, but it appeared he was incorrect. His mistake was, most likely, failing to take into account the evolution and progression of technology in the last ten thousand years he'd been asleep; to him, that time seemed like it had just been hours ago, maybe most of a day.
Acclimating to his new time was..he was compartmentalizing. He didn't have the time to spend trying to process it- he didn't have time for a lot of things.
"-some good news...and some bad news." Coran finished lamely. All eyes turned to him, and he straightened. "...we're Arus!"
Alarm rippled through the four instantly, eyes widening. "They're already here?" Allura exclaimed.
"My estimations were wrong." Shiro said simply.
Before he could continue, the screen-window wall behind him flickered to life. He turned see a larger than life close-shot of a purple furred Galra, with big ears that reminded him of a bat's, but fluffier. Too fluffy... The galra wore a stern expression, and their right - left on the screen - eye was scarred and replaced with a prosthetic.
Shiro heard an electric beep sound from behind them, but his eyes stayed glued to the projection.
"Prince 'Shiro,' Prince Ryou," the alien said in a deep voice; masculine sounding. "This is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emporer Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions." Why else would a Galra Commander be here? he wondered to himself, a feeling of dread trickling down his spine. "Turn them over, or I will destroy your planet." The comm line disconnected, fizzing out to leave them staring through the window, outside into hillside and mountains and skies of Arus, before any of them could react.
He was in a room with six earthl- humans, two of them had been prisoners to the Galra Empire and the other four were just explorers. Maybe Coran and Allura would be prepared to handle a situation like this- he turned to the others, raising up his hands in front of him to say, "All right, let's not panic. We just-"
"Not panic?" Hunk asked incredulously and very much panicked. "The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship towards us." He held up his hand with four fingers straightened. "We only have four lions."
Shiro put on the most reassuring air he could, with a small smile and taking a Hunk. "Ca-" he began, interrupted by the short one - the Green paladin, Pidge - correcting Hunk.
"Technically, only three working lions." Pidge crossed his arms.
Shiro resisted the urge to strangle him - he wasn't helping the situation, for how nonplussed he sounded - and shoved the feeling away; it was one usually reserved for and invoked only by his baby brother. In some ways, he could see similarities and they were about the same age, maybe a few years off - or...appeared to be near equivalent ages. Pidge seemed a little younger - but...no. Just no.
Speaking of Ryou...
"That's right. Thank you, Pidge." Hunk said immediately, walking past Pidge. He patted him on the shoulder as he moved towards the middle of their impromptu circle. "Three working lions and a castle that's, like, ten thousand years old."
"Actually," Ryou said from near the door, pinching the bridge of his nose. The mice stood on his shoulders. "It's ten thousand six hundred years old. Our great grandmother had it commissioned-"
"Thanks, Ryou. Thank you for that." Hunk interrupted, speaking over Ryou. Shiro glanced towards Allura; he didn't have to look at his brother to see the dark, perhaps borderline murderous, look that claimed his already irritated expression. "See? Now is the perfect-" Ryou swept his arm toward Hunk as he approached, as if demanding some explanation. Shiro had none. "-time to panic!"
Ryou stalked past him, coattails flaring with the quick movement, and hissing, "As I was saying, the castle has a particle barrier. It's a battleship in its own right, though it's...probably out of date."
Well...that actually went much better than Shiro had been expecting. He was worried by that alone.
Pressing matters. he reminded himself.
From the way Ryou stopped abruptly, pivoting towards the paladins, plus Coran, and crossed his arms, Shiro got the feeling no matter how much being talked over made him seethe, he also had better - or worse - things to deal with. For now, at least.
"What a relief," Allura said with a smile. "Now, we just need a strategy. If it comes down to it, how long can the barrier hold against that battleship?"
Shiro rested his hands just above the controls, bringing up two holographic, blue-colored displays with the Galra ship on one, and the castle and its barrier on the other. The first locked onto a canon mounted atop the warship; wonderful, an ion cannon. A much more advanced one than Shiro had ever encountered before...and there was the ten thousand year gap again, back to bite them all where it hurt. Just what they needed. "It won't be able to withstand many blasts from that ion cannon; their technology has advanced since we last fought them."
"Ours would have advanced too if you and Moth-"
"Ryou!" Shiro yelled, snapping his head around to give him a hard and chiding stare. He could see Ryou's jaw clench and jerk away from him. Giving a sigh, he more quietly amended, "We'll talk about this later. Now is not the time for the blame game or panicking."
There was less than a heartbeat of quiet. "..are you sure?" Hunk inquired. "I mean, now seems..."
"No, Prince Shiro is right." Allura said seriously, stepping forward. "We've just got to figure out what we're going to do. Together."
"And figure it out quickly." Shiro added, meeting her eyes. They shared a little nod.
He looked at Coran, and he gave the same bob of his head.
Whatever decision he made, he had their support. They had seen the things Zarkon could - would...did do, and understood what was at stake. He found it reassuring, even though he wasn't sure what they should do; his mother had been faced with the same decision ten thousand years ago, and she had chosen to hide the lions and lock up the Black lion so Zarkon could not get possession of it. Not even for a moment did he believe his mother had meant for he and Ryou to be locked in time for ten thousand years, possibly forever, or until the castle finally wasted away despite the enchantments that protected it. Maybe they would have woken up when that happened, maybe they would have simply died.
"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Lance said.
Shiro didn't know if her choice had been the correct one, but he had believed it was the best at the time and helped her make her preparations. They should have added timers. Made it possible to unlock the Black lion's hangar with just he and his brother's quintessence alone.
"I second that. Yes. We tried to find all the lions, right?" Hunk rushed out. "We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three." He raised three fingers this time. "Can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, you were talking about."
He glanced at Ryou. His younger brother stood nearly as still as a statue save for his breathing, with the mice still on his shoulders - one hung from the fabric upon his shoulder, though it didn't seem distressed - and arms crossed, jaw clenched, and eyes hard. He glared at Lance and Hunk, undoubtedly passing - surprisingly - silent judgement on them. It was most likely ruthless and harsh judgement.
Shiro didn't have to wonder what he thought they should do. His opinion probably hadn't changed during his sleep. Fight.
"Then it's settled," Lance decided, approaching Allura. "Allura, you ride with me."
Allura gave him a flat stare for a moment. Pidge spoke up before she could reply, politely or not.
"We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them." He looked at them all from the corner of his eyes, flicking from one side to the other.
Destroy planets...like Altea. he thought uncomfortably, gaze drifting back to Ryou.
"Okay. If we run," the Yellow paladin countered, "maybe Sendak will follow us and leave Arus alone, like when we left Earth." But what if he doesn't? "We form the sbake-worm thingamijig and we-" he made a hissing noise, pressing his hands together and wiggling and he pushed them up through the air, "-out of here."
What if they did that, but it only condemned all the lives of any people who lived on this planet?
...what if his mother hadn't made the decision to hide Voltron? How many lives would have been saved by standing and fighting him and his Galra Empire instead? How many? There was no way she had meant for this much loss of life- the death tolls would only have been higher if Zarkon had Voltron!
"Sendak could destroy the planet then follow us anyway. Staying is our only option." Keith finally contributed, arms folded much like Ryou's were.
If he weren't so stressed, he would have found it an amusing pattern among Red paladins.
Shiro could barely hear over how suddenly loud his heart was and the weight of uncertainty pressing down on him. Lives depended on him making the right decision.
"Here's an option: shut your quiznak." Lance retorted, making an exaggerated zipping motion.
"I don't think you're using that word right." Keith coolly responded, unfazed.
Lance stepped closer to Keith and leaned in, demanding, "What do you know, Mullet?"
Keith met him and firmly said, "We're staying."
"Leaving!"
"Staying!" Pidge shouted loudly, squaring up against and glaring up at Hunk.
"Snake!" Hunk adopted a large and disapproving frown, staring back at Pidge.
"Enough!" Allura yelled, stepping on an invisible line dividing the four into their separate opinions. Coran took a place next to her, ready to back her up. While the four turned away from each other, Allura continued on with momentum, "Prince Shiro, they're your lions and you've fought the Galra before. What do you believe we should do?"
He didn't know. He didn't know. Nor was he sure about what to do. "I'm...I'm thinking."
Ryou finally spoke up, with a snarl. "More like over-thinking. If we run away, we doom this planet - maybe this whole solar system - to the same fate as Altea! We can't even run, Takashi! The castle isn't in any shape to fly right now and in case it's escaped your attention, the Black lion is here. We absolutely cannot let the Galra get it!" He made another sweeping gesture in the direction of the hangar bay. "If we leave- we'll lose everything."
Shiro stared at him.
Lance, Hunk, Keith, and Pidge stared at him, as did Allura and Coran. Ryou glared at him.
Slowly, their eyes turned from his brother, also to him.
"Prince Shiro- whatever you decide..." Coran trailed, giving a nod and small smile almost unnoticeable under his mustache. "But you should hurry."
Shiro knew that; there was no time. He had to make his decision now, stay or leave.
It was...hard, his chest felt and he could barely breathe, he could barely focus. Suddenly, it was all too much, it was overwhelming- he needed to breathe. To stop and find himself.
Shiro turned away, looking out the window.
This needed to be simple, so he would make it so.
If they ran away and Sendak destroyed Arus anyway, he wasn't sure he'd be able to forgive himself for that. If they stayed and fought, and lost - it'd be disastrous. But Ryou was right; it'd been ten thousand years and they didn't know the condition of the castle. It was highly unlikely it was in good enough shape to try escaping, and losing the Black lion was not something they could afford by any means. On a personal level, Shiro couldn't bear to part with the Castle of Lions anyway.
He exhaled deeply.
"My brother is right," he began, collecting himself as he turned back to face them. "If we run, we'll lose. I believe...I believe you six were brought here for a reason, whether by divine luck or destiny. We're going to have to face the Galra. And Zarkon. Forming Voltron is our - the universe's - only hope. Right now, that means we are the universe's only hope."
They nodded seriously in agreement. "We're with you."
Ryou blinked at him, as if shocked.
"Let's go. Ryou," he stopped in front of him. "Would you start preparing the castle systems for me?"
Ryou gave him an flat look, but nodded. As soon as this - immediate - crisis was over, or they had a minute alone - they would talk.
"l'll help! Just tell me what to do, Your Highness." Coran said to Ryou.
"These are your suits of armor." Shiro announced as the others followed him into the wide room. He gestured to the five displays in the room.
They each approached the display or corresponding color and stood before them.
He turned his attention to the bayards, typing in the code to unlock their case.
"Cool!" he heard Lance say.
Allura's voice agreed, "Amazing. This armor- how old is it, Shiro? It's been preserved so well." she marveled; she had been most fascinated with how good of a condition the castle was. So far, he added. He and Ryou hadn't gotten the opportunity to run a full diagnosis on the ship so far, but it was enough, for now, that the most basic of functions still worked smoothely.
"Hm." he answered thoughtfully. "That exact suit is brand new...or has been kept in such a state."
The pods they were in now were, specifically, for the purpose of repairing said armor. There were others of the same model- but it was easier to "switch and fix" armor than it was to keep making new ones.
"Amazing," she repeated. "All right, it's time to suit up! Now, quickly!"
There was a rush of noise behind him as the other paladins scrambled to do as told; "Wait, right here?" Pidge asked with an alarmed tone, while Lance was saying,
"How do we- oh. Okay. That's how you open it. Hey, Shiro, what's the trick to getting these on?"
"Yes, right here." Allura said coolly.
Shiro took a deep breath to stave off either a heavy sigh - they're hopeless - or maybe a laugh of amusement, he wasn't sure, and pulled out the drawer for the bayards. "Not wearing clothes helps. Or, so I've been told; I'm sure, Lance, that it's not too different a concept from my armor." There was a long groan from Lance's direction, and a grunt from Keith's.
"But, Allura-" Pidge cut off for a moment. Shiro easily heard him quietly mumble, "You're a girl."
Somehow, that didn't really sound like what was bothering Pidge. Shiro spoke up, taking mercy on him, "There's a changing room just off the side there, if you want."
"H-hey, Shiro?" Hunk started nervously. "I don't think this armor is going to fit me."
He turned to give Hunk a reassuring smile. "It'll fit, Hunk. Aliens much larger than you have worn it before just fine."
Hunk eyed it dubiously. "If you say so..."
There was a yelp from Lance's direction, and all movement in the room seemed to cease, from Allura and Keith already pulling their armor on to Pidge pulling his shirt off, as they all looked at him; he was on his back, with one knee driven up in the air, his jacket on the floor along with one boot. The other was on his foot in the air, with Lance's fingers trying to pry it off. He grinned at them all sheepishly. "I'm okay. 'M fine. Nothing to see."
"Hurry up, Lance." Pidge said with a frown.
"Says you! You're still fully dressed!"
Shiro glanced at Allura. "Both of you hurry up!" she said before Pidge could retort. "We don't have a lot of time for this!"
"Yes ma'am." they said in unison, straightening.
Shiro returned his attention to the drawer and pulled the whole tray out. Only four of the five bayards were there; he stared at the empty space where the Black bayard should have been, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't...
Oh.
Now he remembered; it'd been lost during a confrontation between Zarkon and the last Black paladin, just before Altea fell and his mother made the decision to scatter the Voltron lions.
He briefly picked up each of the bayards to inspect them before setting them down.
Shiro knew for a fact, Ryou would be mad about him giving Keith the Red bayard if he were here. Well, he was definitely steamed about it anyway, but at least this way he wasn't levelling them all with his glower, Shiro himself especially.
Losing the Black bayard had been a disaster, but one among many and ultimately, one more prominent to the paladins than it had been to him. Just one more "uh oh" to add to the stack.
It was an overwhelmingly large pile. Shiro wasn't sure how to deal with it.
Or how to even begin to.
When the room quieted down behind him, he turned to face the paladins. They were fully dressed in their armor, standing proud in spite of their earlier conundrums; in fact, the quite looked like actual paladins, no five...however old they all were. Young, at most the equivalent of his age, but he was fairly certain Allura was older than the four.
They might not have been the best or brightest, may not have had any training to qualify or prepare them for this, but they were all he had.
He presented the tray before him, letting it float, and levitated the bayards. "These are your bayards, your weapons. They are the traditional weapons of the Paladins of Voltron. They'll each take a distinct shape that best suits your preferences and capabilities." They floated towards their respective paladins, who caught them.
Lance's immediately turned into a rifle, and he laughed a little. Mock-aiming it, he said, "Whoo!"
Keith's and Hunk's took on the form of a sword and a heavy turret-like gun respectively; they both made little noise about it, though Hunk stared at it with uncertainty, at first, then grinned and adjusted his grip.
Pidge's took the form of a small, compact and bladed fist weapon. He sliced the air experimentally.
"Aw, you got a cute little bayard." Lance crooned, sliding over.
In a move no one could have expected, or Lance didn't, Pidge struck him with it; it discharged an electric shock that left Lance collapsing to the ground. "Yeah, it is pretty cute." He said with a small smile.
Shiro blinked a couple times at the scene, then moved on to address Allura. "I'm afraid your bayard was lost by the last Black paladin during battle."
"I'll make do." she told him confidently.
He nodded. "I have to go get Ryou; we'll meet you back in the helm afterwards to discuss our plan of action. For now, all of you should get accustomed to your armor and bayards."
They blinked at him, confused, but he left before they could say anything. He needed his armor, and so did Ryou- his other armor, not the one Keith was wearing now. This was a dangerous situation they were charging into, and he refused to do so without some sort of personal protection for the two of them, first and foremost.
Ryou and Coran were still in the room when the doors opened for Shiro.
They both had tablets in hand, and Ryou was pointing something out on Coran's screen. "...the thrusters charged and online..."
"How would we charge them?" Coran inquired.
Ryou tapped at the screen more and frowned, heading towards the main controls. He left his tablet floating in the air. "Now that the crystal is active again, it should do that automatically. All we'd have to do is turn them on passive." He brought up several screen to run a diagnoses. Shiro added yet another, though predicted, thing to to the pile. His brother finished, "...unless there's been a disconnection on the lower levels."
"Looks like we'll have to fix that manually." Coran guessed.
"And reboot them from there." Ryou confirmed, zooming in on a lower level. The screen high-lighted a breaker box panel in red on the schematic. "At that panel."
Coran pulled on his mustache. "Hope nothing's gone too terribly wrong there."
Ryou groaned.
"This is exactly like Takashi," he ranted, sweeping his coattails behind him as he turned on his heel. "Leaving me to deal with this while he deals with people. I was a paladin- if either of us should be giving away the lions and armor and bayards, it should be me." Shiro restrained a sigh and a twinge. Coran stared at Ryou for a moment. He noticed Shiro standing in the doorway.
"Not to interrupt, but speaking of your brother." Coran tilted his head in Shiro's direction. Shiro took that as a cue to approach.
Ryou grabbed his tablet out of the air. "I've been thinking about it." He pointedly did not look in Shiro's direction. "If he's fine giving away my lion, I'm just fine with ignoring him. Pretending he doesn't exist. Refusing to speak t-" Shiro stepped in front of him so they were face to face and gently pushed the tablet down. Ryou scowled at him. "Fine. What does our dear Crown-Prince want from me? My advice? Or - maybe - for me to drop it? T-"
Shiro pressed his forefingers to his mouth, shushing him. "I...would like for you to change into your armor."
"And how, exactly," Ryou drawled, propping his hand that held the tablet against his hip and gesturing with the other, "do you propose I do that when you just gave it away? Hm?"
"You have other armor," Shiro reminded him, tilting his head slightly.
Ryou scoffed and moved to step around Shiro, shaking his head. Shiro put his arm out, catching him by his far shoulder.
His brother took a step back, shoving his arm away. He glared at Shiro with fiery intensity that could match Altea's suns. "Sure. Fine. Whatever the Crown-Prince says, right?" he said with clenched teeth.
Shiro frowned at him.
After a moment, he sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead and temples. "We'll talk later, okay, Ryou?"
"Whatever. Let's go if we're going."
Shiro met Coran's gaze as Ryou walked away stiffly and quickly. Coran glanced in his brother's direction as he exited the door, then mouthed, "Good luck." with his eyebrow arched slightly.
He nodded in return, and hurried to catch up with Ryou in the hallway.
"You're unbelievable." Ryou snapped as he came up next to him. "'I'm going to give the Red lion to someone with no qualifications, even though a mostly trained paladin is right there!' And before you say 'it's too dangerous to let you back into Red, Ryou' - it's only too dangerous for me because I'm your younger brother."
"That's not true, Ryou." Shiro protested. "I don't even want Pidge to piloting Green. He's just a kid."
Ryou stopped. Shiro continued, slowing down, for a few more steps, then pivoted to look at him. "I don't know if you noticed, brother, but all of them are 'kids.' You're a 'kid'. All of us except Coran are 'kids'. But you know- sure. Whatever the Crown-Prince says."
That. That was quickly turning into a phrase Shiro hated.
Ryou walked past him and took a left, disappearing around the corner. He could hear the sound of his brother's boots on stairs. Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, sighing in frustration.
'Talking later' wasn't going so well.
Shiro was the last to rejoin the group.
Aside from lamenting about his brother, he'd spared some thought for strategy. From the looks of things, so had the others.
"Prince Takashi." Allura greeted him. She smiled and he nodded. "We've come up with part of our plan, and would like your thoughts about it."
"Let me hear it then." he agreed. "I'd certainly like to hear it."
She wasted no time launching into it. "We'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship. That is oir first priority. As of now, the Galra Empire might not know we have the Green Lion."
"We're kinda depending on them not," Lance added with several hand gestures.
Allura nodded in his direction.
Keith stepped forward, apparently finding fault with this - and they hadn't even reached the specifics yet. "That's a pretty big ship." he said, gesturing; his arms and hands were far more controlled than Lance's were, though not quite stiff. "How are we gonna know where the Red lion is?"
"It's not a matter of 'we,'" Pidge adjusted his glasses. "It's a matter of 'you.'"
"Pidge is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down." Hunk reassured him.
Lance pitched in again, "Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" He finished his gesturing by crossing his arms nonchalantly.
Shiro watched and listened, content to let them discuss between themselves.
"Yeah. You made fun of me for that."
"And I'm proud of that, but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo."
Ryou made a disgusted noise, and stepped forward. "Better idea: I go get Red because-"
"No," Shiro interrupted. Was Ryou trying to undermine he and Allura both? "Keith is the Red paladin. He will get the Red lion. Now," he turned away from his dark-expressioned brother, and towards Keith who was flicking his eyes between them. "Keith, remeber: the Red lion is extremely temperamental-" like Ryou, "-you will have to earn its respect."
"Funny enough, Takashi-"
"Ryou, enough."
"-I remember having to work and study to be a paladin for years! Just to get Red's respect- but you believe Red will just," he cut off into hand gestures of frustration. "Stop it! Red is the most difficult lion, but let's give it to someone-"
Shiro clamped his hand over Ryou's mouth. "You are not piloting the Red lion, and you're no doing so because you get stupid, reckless ideas that almost got you killed the last time we let you."
He pulled his hand away, and thankfully, Ryou just clenched his jaw and let out a derisive snort.
The others, however, stared intensely at the two of them. Shiro stepped away, smoothing out his clothing. "Never mind," he added more softly, "you aren't likely to form Voltron with people you don't see as paladins, brother."
Ryou jerked his head away from them, staring out the window again with his arms crossed.
Truly, Shiro had noticed though not outwardly acknowledged until now, that Ryou didn't respect them in any way comparable to how highly he had regarded his mentor and the other paladins.
"Uh." Shiro wasn't sure which of the paladins said it, but he turned his gaze to them. Hunk rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. "So, um. Lance and I thought, you know, we'd pretend to give ourselves up. So that they can sneak in to, uh, get the Red lion. Question- if Ryou is...was...is the Red paladin...but Keith is supposed to be now, does that mean the lions can have more than one paladin or does the new one replace the old one after they bond with the lion? Because, if that's a thing, maybe we should bring Ryou just in case Red doesn't respond at first and work ion Voltron later. Just saying. No offense, Keith."
"No offense taken." Keith said. He looked light he was only bristling slightly. "Bringing him just in case is a good idea."
Shiro waited for him to finish rambling before answering, "There have been precedents of two paladins for a lion at once and both maintaining their bonds. And I need Ryou here, with me; Keith will do fine getting the Red lion. You all will. Now, tell me more about this strategy? Pretending to give the Blue and Yellow lions up, and sneaking aboard using the Green lion. What else?"
"Our ruse will surely be found out quickly; we'll only have enough time to get on the ship. After that Hunk and Lance will have to keep being distractions. If at all possible, they'll find some way to take down the ion cannon. Meanwhile, on the inside, Keith and I will look for the Red lion and Pidge will guard our exit." Allura explained, pointing out different places around the hologram of Sendak's ship. It was much like the vague plan Shiro had thought of, but better fleshed out.
"Good," he nodded in approval. "I like it; but what about Coran?"
Coran pulled on his mustache again, twirling it. "l'll be staying here if that's fine. Ryou was walking me through some of the castle's other systems, and I think I'm making some headway with them."
"Then we should be leaving." Allura concluded.
"Good luck." Shiro told her.
He, Coran, and Ryou didn't move until all five had filed out. "I should warn you," Ryou drawled, "you said 'systems,' not defenses, so I was working on the mega thrusters and engines first. I don't know what state the particle barrier is in, exactly." He shook his head, fluffy, short hair swishing.
"It's fine," Shiro said gentlier. "We'll just find out now; we'll have a little time to get ready."
He stepped up to the control center, holding his hands out, palms facing down. The two consoles rose from the floor, reaching their full length in a matter of moments. "Particle barrier up!" he ordered. Outside the window, the blue spherical field, made up of interlocking hexigons, flickered to life.
Then, just as quickly, flickered out of life with a barely audible, pathetic whine.
"Is that what's supposed to happen?" Coran asked, brow arching.
"Not at all." Ryou made his way towards the panel that housed the particle barrier's power source and wiring. He tapped away at his tablet again, before going down on his knees before the panel. After a brief moment, he set the tablet down. "I think it's...this one." he murmured to himself, pressing a button. Coran leaned down next to him, glancing at the blue screen and then at the panel.
Shiro stepped away from the controls to make his way over to the two and get a look himself.
"Ugh." Ryou said.
"That doesn't look good." Coran agreed.
Shiro tried to peer inside of their shoulders, but their heads blocked the view; how small was the opening, anyway? "What is it?" he hissed quietly.
The two looked at him. "One of the crystals is out of alignment. If we want to power up the barrier, we'll have to fix it. But how...? We're all too big..." his brother trailed, looking thoughtful. Even quieter, he muttered, "We should have started with the defenses..."
"You've got to have a tool around here somewhere." Coran declared. "Some sort of wrench? Or a long bar that has a ninety degree angle at the end? Maybe a tong?"
Shiro and Ryou both stared at him. Then slowly turned their gazes to make eye contact.
Ironically, probably the nicest, unhindered by any active feelings of resentment and frustration, interaction they'd had since Shiro had hugged him right after they woke up. Ryou arched a brow. "I...suppose those things might work..."
"They'd do just fine, I think." Shiro scratched the back of his neck. "And there should probably be a tool around here somewhere..."
"...neither of you have any clue where those are, do you?"
"Well..." they both started.
They were spared by sudden squeaks, and the four mice running past them into the panel's compartment. Shiro, once more, tried to get a look at what was happening inside, trying to peer over Coran's, then Ryou's, and then both of their shoulders, but to no avail. He could hear the mice scampering and squeaking.
"How do they know how to do this?" Coran asked in awe and intrigue.
Were the mice fixing the particle barrier?
"I can hear them talking to me." Ryou explained. "It's like our minds are connected."
Shiro blinked a few times. He looked up at the ceiling, grateful he had chosen to keep Ryou here; otherwise, he and Coran would be scrambling to find a tool, any tool, to fix it. "Maybe it's from sharing a sleeping pod for ten thousand years?" The castle was full of mysteries, scientific and - he sighed every time it was said aloud - supernatural.
"Takashi! They knocked the crystal back into place," he twisted around to look at Shiro, mice cupped in his hands and a grin on his face. "Try turning on the barrier now!"
He scrambled to stand and rush back to the controls, taken a little off guard by his brother's expression. "Particle barrier up!" he repeated.
This time, it came alive and stayed as such until he shut it down.
"Thanks," he heard Ryou telling the mice.
The first blast from Sendak's restored ion cannon rocked the whole castle, and wrapped its particle barrier in a world of virulent flames.
The shaking and red lighting and sounds of explosions and the roar of fire made Shiro feel sick.
It reminded him too much of Altea's final days. Ryou hadn't been awake for all of that - some, not all. He and their mother had already placed him in cryostasis by the time they had scattered Voltron, something else Shiro was sure Ryou was mad about. While that had happened ten thousand years ago for the rest of the universe, for the two of them it had been just yesterday.
Or a week, maybe two, ago for Shiro.
He pushed the thought away and struggled to stay upright and on his feet until the rumbling and trembling stopped.
"Guys, the barrier can't take much more that cannon!" Ryou shouted, pressing his forefingers to his ear piece. "We'll use the castle defenses to give you cover from the fighters, but do something about that battleship!"
Shiro heard a static response, too busy staring at the warship to pay attention to the comms.
When he had seen Sendak's ship entering the Arusian atmosphere, it had been just like watching Zarkon's ship entering Altea's atmosphere - even if Zarkon'd had a small fleet of them, less terrifying in terms of technological prowress, with countless fighter ships. A feeling of dread settled in his gut, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His mind replayed the moment of the sinking ship, fire from atmospheric entry raking at the bottom if it and every other ship there, over and over. One flash was Zarkon's and then the next was Sendak's.
The one actually staring them down now, in the present. The one that had its cannon locked onto them and their flightless castleship.
"Have you tried thinking as one? Focusing on a single goal together?" he heard his brother shout, sounding far and distant over the sound of his heartbeat.
Shiro shook his head hard and squeezed his eyes shut.
His chest felt tight, uncomfortably so; he could barely breathe. Just shallow intakes and exhales of air that were too fast- he forced himself to hold his breath.
Breathe out deeply, then breathe in deeply.
His lungs felt like they were burning and his muscles were tense-
A cold hand settled on him, cupping the back of his head. Thumb was cool relief where it rested, pressing in front of his ear, over his cheek bone and temple. "Takashi?" He choked for a moment; why was it so hard to breathe? "Takashi." the voice - his brother - repeated. "Open your ey-"
There was another book, the sound of an ion blast impacting on the particle barrier, electricity crackling, and through his eyelids he could see the red glow that overtook the room.
Ryou yelped and stumbled and pitched forward into Shiro. They both stayed standing, if only because Shiro, in his irrational tenseness, had adopted a vice-like grip on the control consoles; though, Ryou did stagger back after colliding with him, and he lost his grip on him.
Shiro's eyes opened in a flash and he snatched Ryou by the arm before he fell down backwards, and yanked him up.
And coincidentally, right back into himself.
"Oof." Ryou wheezed a little.
"Are you two alright over there?" he heard Coran ask. He wasn't sure where in the room he was exactly, but he wasn't too far from them.
Shiro opened his mouth to respond, but instead let out a harsh breath instead.
"I think he's having an...episode? A panic attack?" Ryou answered, sounding a little helpless. "He's sweating and his skin feels feverish. He's having a hard time breathing, too."
"Oh dear." Coran said.
Shiro rested his forehead on his brother's shoulders and took in a shuddering inhale of air. Almost uncertainly, Ryou hooked his arms around him. "I want you to know something. I am absolutely still mad at you, for various reason, but. But...I kind of need you to pull it together right now, Takashi." Shiro turned his head a little. "Just...breathe."
"...whatever the Prince says...right?" he joked.
Ryou was right. He needed to pull himself together.
He needed to bury the vision of Altea in its final moments that he'd seen. He needed to be strong - project strength - and collected. In control.
"Ha," Ryou snorted. "Haha. Don't use that to joke it's supposed to be patronizing."
His brother didn't sound very convincing about his 'do not.'
Shiro straightened and forced his grip to relax; Ryou pulled back and turned towards the window- in time to see a third blast.
The third shook the castle harder than the previous two. Ryou grabbed Shiro's arm to steady himself, grunting to himself while Coran exclaimed behind them. There was no roaring fire eveloping this time; he looked up to see the barrier bursting, fading, disappearing- they were defenseless.
Even worse, caught in the red tractor beam of Sendak's ship were the lions.
"No..." he murmured, watching in horror as the next shot charged up. He really didn't want the gleam of Galra energy weaponry to be the last thing he saw, but he couldn't look away.
Ryou's hand tightened on his arm.
He wasn't sure if it was a conscious action or not.
"Well..it's been a pleasure." Coran said, slowly moving to stand next to them. "Meeting you two and seeing the castle..."
"It can't...it can't end like this!" Shiro wasn't sure which of them shouted it first.
"There...there has to be something-" Ryou started saying. "Something..."
Coran flinched as the cannon reached full charge, lions still trapped in its red light. Shiro pulled Ryou closer again and cupped his face. "Mother wanted me to tell you, she's sorry you didn't get a proper goodbye." He leaned in, pressing his forehead against his brother's. He could feel him tremble a little, and exhale heavily.
"Thanks." Ryou said with immense sincerity. He sounded like he was starting to cry.
Ryou hated crying, and he especially hated that he seemed to cry so 'easily.' That he was an emotionaly crier- he just- he just felt so much, so fast, so intensely. Shiro had always found it a little endearing. When it didn't make him feel guilty for excluding him, or...
The blast fired.
...and...
He heard it fire and heard it explode. That...that wasn't right.
Shiro straighted, jerking with a shocked gasp that was shared by Ryou and Coran both. They were intact. The blast hadn't hit them?
He brought up the castle's screen, needing to get a closer look as to why.
Ryou took the stairs down, staring at the ship with wide eyes, and then the screen. Smoke and dust was clearing, and Shiro may not have been a paladin, but he recognized that silhouette and those golden eyes anywhere!
"Voltron!" he and his brother exclaimed in unison.
"They...they did it!" Shiro continued.
Coran soghed heavily, plopping down on a step. "What a relief!"
"I- I almost don't believe it." Ryou murmured.
All three if them shared looks, then bolted for the doors; with Voltron formed, there was no way Sendak's ship would survive. By the time they reached the front entrance, the paladins would probably be there already.
They heard far-off explosions as they rushed down the passageways and stairs. A crash. Then an even mightier explosion as they were halfway to the main gates.
As predicted, as they ran out the doors, Allura was pulling off her helmet.
"You did it!" Shiro exclaimed.
"And not a moment too late!" Coran chimed in, beaming proudly at Allura.
Ryou stared at them for a moment, before yelling, "What took so long?! We almost died!"
Lance huffed at him. "Well, if somebody had given clearer directions."
"We did it..." Allura trailed iff, slowly grinning.
"Heck yeah." Keith agreed, grinning.
Allura tilted her head. "I'm glad."
"How did we do it?" Lance asked, breathless.
"I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it." Hunk said. He pulled his helmet off with a grunt of effort.
Pidge smiled smally, then turned his eyes down.
Allura placed her hand on his shoulder. "Pidge. We're going to find you family, and we won't stop until we do. Wherever they are, I know your brother and father are proud of you."
"Somehow," Ryou sighed, "we all survived today. But if we're going, you're all going to need proper training. Learn how to form Voltron quicker and without the threat of the castle being immediately destroyed; right now, none of you know what you're doing. It's...actually rather impressive that you did manage to form Voltron." he finished, deflating into thoughtfulness.
Shiro laughed, clapping Ryou on the shoulder. "Just wait until our Defenders of the Universe have to fight a whole fleet!"
His brother groaned out a "no thanks; I'll pass" while the paladins all stared in shock- at the two of them, the last legacies of the Shirogane family, at Coran, at each other.
Then, Allura smiled.
"We'll do our best to live up to such an impressive title."
(So, about ages: in this universe at least, alteans don't consider you an adult unless you're over the equivalent of twenty one (336). Shiro is just ~twenty and Allura is about the same. Ryou is almost ~eighteen. Keith, Lance, Hunk are eighteen, Pidge is fourteen to sixteen Coran, of course, is somewhere in his forties or higher.)