The Kill'een had recently been liberated from the Galra by Voltron, extending a hand of friendship to them in form of a party.
Allura, pushy as ever, decided that it would be suitable for them to attend. She saw to it personally that they followed the Kill'een tradition to the letter, including the rule dividing females from males.
As it is well known, men tend to be the strongest, fastest, and generally the best at nearly everything when it comes to military. In this culture, however, it was disgraceful for a woman to even touch a weapon.
But, ironically, it was fine for a woman to fly a Lion of Voltron. Or so they said.
Pidge, as one can imagine, exploded when she heard that the other Paladins could bring weapons. Apparently, males had to, at all times, carry a weapon. Even Coran brought along a dagger. But not her.
No, while the others had their Bayards buckled onto their belts, she was forced to leave her spade behind. Understandably, this made Pidge furious.
"Now, Pidge," Allura had scoffed. "You don't want to disrespect our new comrades, do you? Now, hold still so I can adjust your hem."
Yes, that's what Pidge was wearing. A dress. Yes, it was just a short skirt, so that it easy to walk around. But, still. A dress? And no weapon? Who did they think she was…a child who couldn't fend for herself?
Pidge fidgeted uneasily as Allura straightened out the skirt, pulling it so that it stopped at her knees. Then the princess readjusted it so that it stayed at knee length.
Later, upon meeting up with the other Paladins, who looked every bit as uncomfortable as Pidge did, the two females put aside their Bayards.
"Who dressed the Pigeon?" Lance joked, punching Pidge lightly as he grinned foolishly.
"Hah, hah. Allura did." Pidge's response was laced with sarcasm, but the Blue Paladin hardly noticed. "Seriously, will they even check me to make sure I leave my Bayard behind? Please can I bring it?"
"Pidge," Shiro chided, his eyes narrowing. "you know that's not acceptable."
"Allura wasn't able to train with a staff until Zarkon attacked." Coran reflected, making an attempt to cheer Pidge.
"Boys," Allura calmly brought everyone's attention back to her. "talking won't fix anything. Pidge, just accept that your Bayard won't be present for this one simple ceremony!"
Pidge bit her lip and sent a frosty glare at Hunk as the yellow oaf attempted to calm her by resting a hand on her shoulder briefly.
The seven Voltron force members stepped from the castle's pod as it landed, and they were greeted by several Kill'een.
The Kill'een people were built strongly, their shoulders broad. Despite this, they still ended up being only Pidge's height. In fact, the Green Paladin stood an inch above the tallest. It felt good not to be the shrimp.
Lance sent her a humored glance, which she returned when the Kill'een weren't looking.
Later on, at the party, the Paladins managed to stay together as they talked with poliitics. Pidge ended up speaking with a Kill'een half a head taller then she.
After a few moments of exchanging friendly words, the Kill'een eyed one of her dresses pockets.
"What's in there?" He questioned suspiciously, noticing the slight bulge.
Pidge presented a small tablet, built for storing information on. "This. I bring it with me everywhere. Just in case."
The Kill'een eyed it suspiciously. "Is it a weapon?"
"What? No." Pidge blinked, taken aback.
"Hmm." The Kill'een nodded, but didn't speak to her after that. Instead, he turned to talk with Shiro.
Pidge stood there awkwardly until a Kill'een barked out something in their native language.
Within seconds guns were aimed from all around, pointing at the Paladins.
All the Voltron force members exchanged glances of surprise, and all came to the same conclusion. The Kill'een must have a truce with the Galra.
It took Pidge a split second to realize that none of the guns were aimed at her. Only at the males and Allura. Probably because they were all bigger then them.
"Hands up!" Barked a Kill'een, and they obeyed.
Pidge realized nobody was even looking at her either. Hah! She kept her hands down, searching for a way to escape. She could tell the others were too. Their eyes were darting around, Lance daring to lay hand to his Bayard.
Instantly several shots rang out and the Red Paladin collapsed, his gaze alarmed and full of pain.
As one movement the Paladins all took a step towards their friend, but the blasters pointed at them halted their tracks.
This distraction had given Pidge the opportunity to take a half step closer to Shiro.
She could see her leaders gears turning as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to find out what in the world she was doing.
A low growl filled the air, indicating that the Red Lion was gaining on the ballroom.
In a few quick steps, a Kill'een had stationed himself at Lance's head, threatening to kill the Paladin if the Lion approached any more.
The Lion must've sensed the distress of the Paladins, because he halted, hovering. Silence fell over them again.
Pidge took another half step towards Shiro, who purposely avoided looking at her. She was doing something, but he couldn't place his finger on it.
Then, in a beat of an eye, she clutched his Bayard, pulled it off, and it sparked to life, taking the form of the expandable sword.
It was interesting to see Pidge clutching the Black Bayard; perhaps the Bayard activated for her because the Black Lion sensed the plight the Paladins were in. Perhaps, in that moment, Pidge was acting like a Black Paladin. Or, maybe, the Bayard responded to anyone.
But here she was, holding it as the tip released and smacked the Kill'een that stood over Lance in the face.
When the alien went flying across the room, the roof broke open and the Red Lion landed on top of several Kill'een, crushing them upon impact.
But the Kill'een weren't finished yet. They aimed at the trouble maker, and fired another round of shots, each one hitting their target precisely.
Pidge barreled over, fading in and out of consciousness as the battle progressed. She was aware of Shiro prying the Bayard from her fingers, and she recalled the sounds of shots going above her head. She also remembered the thundering roar that Green brought with her.
Finally she remembered several people leaning over her. They were all her friends, even Lance, who still looked dazed from the shots he had taken. He looked like the only way he was standing was because of Coran, who acted as a support.
"You okay?" Hunk asked, studying her. She thought that he was holding her, but he wasn't sure.
Pidge nodded, lying. She felt like she had hundreds of holes in her.
"Took more hits then I did." Lance grimaced. His voice still sounded off.
"Yeah." Hunk nodded in agreement. "How'd you get the Bayard to activate?!"
Pidge shrugged.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Lance asked, frowning at her in concern.
Another lying nod.
"Well, next time we're bringing weapons, no matter the culture." Allura decided, crossing her arms bitterly.
"Be glad I had an extra dagger." Coran reminded his princess affectionately, shifting Lance's weight slightly.
"Of course." Allura laughed, and the two Alteans turned their attention back to Pidge.
"You don't look okay." Shiro's voice sounded from somewhere to her left, but she couldn't see him. His voice was angled, and Pidge could tell he wasn't facing her.
"Get some rest." Hunk crooned, picking her up fully so that she hovered several feet above the ground. "You deserve it."
"Your quick thinking did give us the chance to win the battle." Allura grinned, petting Pidge's hair.
"Yeah." Lance's voice came out choked. "You did save me."
"Never take my Bayard again." Shiro growled, still facing the opposite direction.
"Shiro, don't be rude." Allura glared, and resumed with untangling Pidge's locks.
Coran beamed down at Pidge in pride, but Pidge didn't have the strength to respond. Instead, she faded off to black.
