Chapter 1
He was supposed to graduate today.
They all were.
Too bad the threats from some other life forms put a damper on that. Yeah, aliens. Who the hell would have thought out of all possible things that could happen on the planet to keep Lance McClain from graduating - it'd be aliens. He seriously thought it would have been his 'lack of attention' during class or some bullshit.
"Not bullshit." One of his best friends, Katie Holt - a.k.a Pidge, would argue. "The professors are right in you being distracted during class."
And then his other best friend, Hunk Garrett, would chime in with a, "she's right dude. I mean, I love you buddy, but if you don't stop trying to pick people up during class, they could just fail you."
That was something that came dangerously close to happening once his senior year.
A girl in his physics class. Tall, curvy, dark skin and darker hair. She had thighs that could easily crush him and he loved that. Her dark features accented his tan ones nicely, he liked to think. He himself had caramel skin, brown hair and deep blue eyes. That girl was a beauty on his level alright. And also the teacher's daughter. Needless to say when her father had caught the two of them making out in a closet one day, Lance had almost been expelled on the spot.
Thankfully, his daughter had managed to convince her father otherwise. Her and Lance even dated for a few weeks after the incident. Didn't last much longer then that, but they had a lot of fun together.
That had been three months ago. After that, Lance devoted himself back to this studies and just hanging with Pidge and Hunk. He still had some relations on the side, but that was more stress relief then anything. Something he and his partner would both consentent too before getting started.
Two months ago was when they got the first message. An accident really. Something Pidge had stumbled upon while nosing through her father's research.
"Surrender your planet." A voice had commanded. "Or face the consequences."
That was it.
Didn't explain what the hell they were talking about. Who they were. Nothing. Just the 'give up, or else' method. It wasn't until weeks later when they learned who the supposed Alien invaders were.
Galra.
That's what they called themselves. Of course it was nothing that anyone recognized. Or admitted to anyway. Pidge had her suspicions that the higher ups of the Garrison knew more than what she could find in her father's files.
Why they would hide that information from anyone, he had no idea. But Lance knew better then to doubt Pidge's genius. He knew this was information they only had because of Pidge's father and/or brother. Both very immersed in a project that involved deeper space. Not a surprise. That was what the Garrison was about; Space Exploration.
Of course, knowing that the Garrison knew something really didn't help Lance and his friends. There was nothing they could do to change anything. The Garrison was the leading expert in anything space related. The three kept the ears open whenever they were around anyone they thought might have information.
Not even a peep of it was spoke around the Garrison except by one fellow cadet, Keith Kogane. A prodigy pilot in the their class and they expelled him without so much as a 'sorry kid.' Rumors flew, as they tend to do with a bunch of teenagers, that Keith had punched a teacher. Or slept with one depending on who you asked.
Lance, Hunk and Pidge knew better.
Before they had even gotten a chance to ask Keith what he knew and how he knew it. The damn mullet disappeared. Not that Lance was salty about that or anything. Keith and him hardly talked but the guy was someone he considered a rival. He had all the skills Lance wanted and acted like he was better than everyone else. Barely talked to anyone but teachers.
He could go on, but Keith aside, the three never heard another mention of the impending alien invasion.
Which meant the rest of the world didn't know.
Which also meant they didn't surrender.
So here they were, on the day that was supposed to be graduating, evacuating the Garrison.
They'd run these kind of drills before. Many, many times but nothing quite like this. This time they were actually evacuating. Before they'd just do that dumb thing were they'd evacuate to a windowless room and put their hands over their head. Which was just shy of staying in the classroom and pretending you weren't going to die if a bomb hit in Lance's opinion. But what did he know?
Well he was sure as hell that method wasn't going to cut it for a missile from an alien spaceship.
"This way, this way." The male teacher in front of them corralled all the teens in his class forward, bringing Lance back to the present. His voice barely above the sound of the siren. "The sooner we're on those buses, the better."
Lance sighed heavily, hanging towards the back. He ran a hand along the wall, unwilling to believe this was really the end of the Garrison. That fucking aliens were putting a stop to his military career before he even got the chance to have one.
A soft purr itched at the back of his mind.
He paused with a furrow to his brow. "What in the hell was that?"
He turned around, assuming it must be from behind him somewhere, searching for the quiet call. Lance went down a hall and then another. His steps carried him further and further from the class.
The burnet heard it again. The small broken sound. Like a scared kitten.
Unable to resist the sound of an animal in need, Lance kept going against his better judgement. He should be getting to the escape busses. Should be getting out of here instead of getting himself more lost. But he couldn't resist the call. The pull he felt to help… whatever it was that was making that heartbreaking noise.
Lance ended up near, what he guessed was, the research wing. A place he'd never really been before. This area stayed mostly off limit to the students. More for the professors and visiting scientists, or the people that made a living here, like Pidge's dad. The sirens still blared loudly around him every thirty seconds. A reminder that he needed to get a move on to the exit.
He ducked into the nearest room anyway with a cautious call of, "here, kitty, kitty."
"Meow."
His blue eyes widened and he dropped to his hands and knees. "I can't believe that worked!" Lance mumbled as he searched frantically under the tables. "Come here, kitty. I won't hurtcha."
A small kitten emerged from behind a table leg. It eyed him curiously. And he stared right back in surprise.
The furry animal was an ocean blue of all colors. Not a color Lance associated with cats. Like at all.
The alarm blared. He shook his head and tired not to dwell on it. For now there were more important things. Like surviving.
"Come on kitten." Lance held out his hand with a small smile. "I'll help you out of this scary place."
She approached him slowly. She was a wee little thing. Probably no more than a month or two old. Not that he was much of an expert on the growth of any kind of feline. As soon as she was close enough, she stretched her neck out to sniff his offered hand.
When it seemed like biting was off the table, Lance scratched underneath her chin. She purred. The sound much clearer then the initial one that drew him here. He picked her up and she snuggled up to him.
"Man, you're adorable." He told her with a smile.
The kitten purred in response.
With the kitten nestled in his arms, his grin spread wider. "It's alright, girl. Don't you worry. I'll take care of you."
"Lance!"
He jumped. Panic began to swarm through him.
"What in the hell are you doing here?"
"Pidge?" He blinked in surprise, realizing he recognized the voice. He turned to the door and found his best friends. "I thought you left already?"
"I was going to!" She stomped her foot in irritation. A hand tugged at her light brown hair. "But your dumbass wasn't there!"
Hunk pushed his way past her into the room. "I caught you leaving and tried calling after you, but you must not have heard me. So I followed you and Pidge decided to come with."
"Ahh." Lance teased with a crooked grin. "You do care."
She rolled her amber eyes, ready to comment when Hunk blocked her view.
"Dude," he blinked down at the small bundle in his arms. "Where did you find this little guy? Why's he blue?" His brown eyes looked at him in concern.
"She." Lance corrected without meaning too. He idly wondered how he knew that. "And not a clue on the blue thing. I just found her here. All alone."
Pidge snorted, drawing both of their attention. "Well apparently you didn't look very hard." She too held an even smaller kitten in her grasp. This one green.
Hunk screamed and they all jumped. "Ahh! Something just touched my leg!"
Lance glanced at the ground, cradling his cat to his chest protectively. He investigated and found yet another one. This one a deep gold, looked far more normal. "What the hell!?"
He reached for it and got a small nip for his efforts.
"Dammit!" Lance cursed and the animal in his arm hissed with him. Something he'd find totally adorable if the situation weren't so dire. "Hunk, grab it so we can go!"
His large friend gulped but nodded. He wasn't about to leave a helpless animal anymore then Lance was. "Come here, bud." The larger gold feline came right to him, allowing Hunk to pick it up without so much as a bat of its eyes.
Lance huffed. The kitten in his arms licked his nipped fingers. "Thanks, girl." He mumbled with a soft smile as he scratched under her chin. "Such a good kitty."
"They're lion cubs." Pidge deadpanned.
"What?!" Lance stared at the kitten, er, cub in his arms in disbelief. He supposed it didn't really look like a common house cat on closer inspection.
Pidge held hers out under its armpits as she studied it. "What's with their color? I mean, blue? Green? Hunk's is the only one that could maybe pass for normal and that's only cause it's almost the same color. It's coat is way too bright to be consistent with an actual lion."
Lance made a face and searched his own cub. She was a lighter shade of blue then he'd originally thought. Not quite ocean blue, at least not all of her. Her under belly was a sky blue and there were tiny 'v's rested on each of her shoulder blades in the same lighter color.
He examined the strange 'v' closer. "What the…"
"He's got them too." Hunk declared puzzledly, staring at his own lion's shoulders.
"What's it mean?" Lance looked between the brainier two anxiously.
"I'm not sure…" Pidge trailed off thoughtfully, glancing around the room. "They are in the research wing, though. Chances are someone was using them to test out some new serum or something."
"Someone experimented on them?" Hunk gasped and hugged his cub close. "Who could ever do that to such a sweet face?" His gold feline purred and rubbed his nose against Hunk's cheek.
"Attention." A computerized voice came to live over the intercom system. "Any personnel left in the building need to get below ground. Impending missiles in five minutes. Termination of building likely."
Lance watched the color drain from his friends' faces. He probably didn't look much better.
"Shit." Pidge mumbled.
"We'll have to think about the lions later." Lance attempted to get them back on track, leading the way to the door. "For now we gotta get out of here."
"Right." The two nodded and followed him out of the room.
"The closest underground entrance should be right over there." Pidge announced as she stared down at the small screen on her list.
"Man," Hunk commented as they headed swiftly in that direction, "I'm really glad you stole that from your dad."
"Stole is a strong word."
"Borrowed?" Lance tried as he searched for the staircase Pidge mentioned.
"Commandeered?" Hunk suggested.
"Swiped?"
"Requisitioned?"
"Oh." Lance paused looking back at Hunk impressed. "Nice one, buddy."
They fist bumped.
"Har har." Pidge rolled her eyes. "Next left, Lance."
He did as instructed.
"Three minutes remaining." The voice spoke over the intercom again.
"Fuck. We gotta hurry!" Pidge pushed past Lance and lead the rest of the way to the stairs.
"Two minutes."
"We aren't going to make it!" Hunk panicked as they all sprinted through the halls.
"We don't have a choice!" Pidge hollered as she turned another corner.
"One minute remaining."
"How much farther?" Lance panted as they continued to rush.
"Too far."
"Pidge!"
"Thirty seconds remaining."
"We won't make it!" She faltered in her step. She tripped, turning just in time to shield the cub in her arms from impact.
Hunk and Lance stopped immediately. Hunk gathered her in his arms next to his cub. "What do we do, Lance?"
"Twenty seconds."
The brown haired man looked around desperately. He spotted a closet on the inner wall. He prayed it would be enough. "Here."
"Lance it's a fucking closet!" Pidge protested from Hunk's arms.
"Yeah well it beats being stuck in the hall! Got any better ideas?" He shouted back as he threw the door open.
"Ten seconds."
Pidge didn't say another word as Hunk hurried to carry both her and his lion in. Lance followed behind them and slammed the door shut. He couldn't believe this was how it ended. Dying in a closet with his best friends and three strange lion cubs.
A boom shook the earth.
The three huddled together, the cubs in between them.
Lance squeezed his eyes shut. He wished that they had had more time. Wished he would have found the cub sooner. Because he couldn't bring himself to regret finding the small creature. No, there were two things he regretted.
He regretted that Pidge and Hunk followed him and would now meet the same end.
And he regretted that he wouldn't see his family again.
A tear leaked down his cheek and he let it. The ground began to quake underneath them. Chunks of earth began to fall from the ceiling. Nothing to be embarrassed about when they'd die in the next few moments.
"Merow." The cub in his arms purred loudly.
The other two lions answered.
Lance opened his eyes. Hunk and Pidge stared wide eyed down at the bundles in their arms. He glanced down as well and his jaw dropped.
The lions were glowing. Something seemed to be trying to push out of their bodies, they struggled a moment and then the glow pushed out, surrounding the cubs and the humans holding them just as the world began to fall around them. Their little forms seemed to be struggling to maintain the barrier they had created, but the shelter of blue, green and gold never faltered.
As soon as the world silenced around them, the barrier fell.
The three stared at the cubs in amazement, curiosity and a little bit of fear at the unknown they held in their arms.
The lions had protected them… somehow.
"Well, shit." Lance blinked, the first one to find his voice after what he had thought was going to be his death. "Guess you really aren't a normal lion cub."
His cub purred in response.
"What in the world did they do to you?" Pidge mumbled down at her cub, turning it over in her arms. The green feline yowled in protest. "Sorry. You're probably tired." She settled it back into a more comfortable position in her arms.
Hunk let out a low whimper. "They… they saved us?"
"Looks that way, buddy." A smile broke across Lance's face. "Who's such a good girl, huh? You are, oh yes you are! You all saved our asses!" He cooed as he pet the cub in his arms in appreciation and affection.
He didn't care how dangerous these cubs may be. The fact was that they were alive because of the lions. And for that reason, Lance was never letting her out of his sight.
His plan was going to shit real fast.
Keith Kogane sprinted down a corridor, then another. "Shrio!" he bellowed through the empty halls.
He hadn't seen anyone in the past five minutes. Of course everybody was probably out on the evacuation buses by now. Why wouldn't they be? There was no reason for anyone to be in these halls anymore, but still…
Keith had a feeling this was where he needed to be.
"Shiro!" He tried once again. When no response came he mumbled a dejected, "where are you?"
Coming to bail his pseudo brother out of trouble at the last possible moment probably wasn't the best idea. But none of his ideas the past two months had really panned out. From finding out about the invasion, to confronting the Garrison officials and demanding they inform others, right down to this moment. It had all been one bad idea after another.
Going to shit real fast could practically be his life's motto.
"Attention." A computerized voice came to live over the intercom system. "Any personnel left in the building need to get below ground. Impending missiles in five minutes. Termination of building likely."
"Fuck." Keith swore in response, running a hand through his black hair. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He turned another corridor.
He was completely turned around now. This was an area he'd never been before. Even if he found Shiro, what were their chances of escaping? He turned another corner and immediately stopped as he spotted two compact furry creatures stalking down the hall.
"What the…" His expression pinched together in confusion.
Despite the need to find Shrio and the excessive blaring of the alarm, Keith moved closer to the animals. They looked like red and black kittens. He scrutinized the puny things as he came to a stop two feet away.
They paused in their journey, as if sensing his presence. Both looked up at him for a mere moment before darting into a nearby room.
"Ah!" He called after them. "Wait! I'm not gunna hurt you!"
He ducked in the room and found the black one standing slightly in front of the red. It hissed at him. Keith slowed his approach, trying to remain calm and appear nonthreatening. He hunched down, tentatively reaching for the black kitten.
As soon as he was close enough, it swiped at him.
Keith barely managed to get his hand out of the way. He glared at the black one as it ducked under a desk. He gritted his teeth, knowing he didn't have time for this. But he couldn't get himself to leave. His attention settled on the other kitten and he inched closer. Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren't common house cats.
Lions? He guessed wildly. What are lion cubs doing in the Garrison?
The red one tilted it's head as it observed him.
He inhaled a calming breath, pushing the thought from his mind to focus on the cub in front of him. "It's okay… I'm… I'll help you out if you let me."
Brown eyes blinked at him and it took a cautious step towards him.
"That's it, good kitty. Come here." Keith couldn't help but smile as he reached out his hand. He should be more worried. These were freaking lion cubs, after all. Ferocious predators. The last one had tried to scratch him. But this one…
The red lion leaned into his outstretched hand. It purred and Keith took that as an okay to pick him up.
"Good, boy. Good, kitty." He responded with a smile, scratching between the lion's ears. "I'll take care of you."
"Keith!"
"Shiro!" He spun around unable to belief his ears. Upon seeing the larger built man with a white tuft of hair in front of dark shaved sides, he let out a deep sigh in relief.
"What are you even doing here?" Shiro wasted no time coming up to him and placing his hands on his shoulders. His gaze dropped down to the fur ball between them. "And why do you have a red lion?"
"I came to get you!" Keith shook his head. "And I found him. There's another one," he gestured towards a desk in the corner where the little guy was puffed up, "but it won't let me near it."
"We need to get out of here." Shiro reached for the lion that had swiped at Keith without a second thought. The little bastard went right into Shiro's arms. "Haven't you heard the announcement?"
"I wasn't leaving without you." Keith responded stubbornly.
Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The little cub tucked under his arm titled his head up, staring curiously. "Fine. You found me. We have to get to the bunker."
"Three minutes remaining." The voice spoke over the intercom again.
"There's no more time."
"We have to at least try."
Keith pursed his lips. "Isn't there something closer?"
"There's the developmental defense room, but…" Shiro trailed off with a frown. "We don't know if that will hold."
"It's not far, right?" Keith argued already heading for the door. "And we don't know if the bunker will hold either."
Shiro paused for only a moment thinking it over. "Well if we get caught in the open, we're screwed either way. Best bet is that room."
No more words were exchanged as the two sprinted out of the research lab. The went down two hallways, searching desperately for the research teams experimental particle barrier.
"Two minutes."
They stopped in front of the correct door just as the voice over the speaker announced. "One minute remaining."
Shiro frantically slide his card against the slot on the door. Thankfully, the door opened without a second hesitation. The two barreled in, frantically searching for the area that housed the testing for the barrier.
"Thirty seconds remaining."
"Here!" Keith found the room. He threw the door open.
The other man sprinted through it and Keith hurriedly slammed it behind them.
"Twenty seconds."
"Come on." Shiro cursed as he began fiddling with the controls. "Come on!" The barrier began to flicker to life.
"Ten seconds."
Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith, holding the younger man close and practically squishing the lions between them. "It's going to be okay."
Keith snorted, returning the embrace. No reason to be stingy on a hug if it was the last one he'd ever get to give.
"I've always thought of you as my little brother." Shiro confessed, squeezing him tight.
A boom shook the earth.
"I-I know." Keith choked out unsteadily. He felt the same way. That's why he was here, probably about to die, in the first place.
He didn't regret a thing.
The ground began to quake underneath them. Chunks of earth began to fall from the ceiling for only a few seconds. A sudden shield of red and black surrounded them.
Then the barrier kicked in and the other colors flickered out. The gold glow pushed out from their room, covering an area so wide that they couldn't' see the full extent of it. The floor continued to shake beneath them for thirty long seconds. But nothing else fell from the ceiling. No walls cracked.
They survived.
"Thank god!" Shiro whispered as he squeezed Keith harder.
"Merow!" The lion in Keith's arms protested.
"Ow!" Shrio jumped back with wide eyes. "I think he just clawed me?"
Keith blinked, but he couldn't stop the relieved smile on his face. "Oh, yeah… he does that. Likes to get to know you first I think." He shrugged as if that was an actual answer.
"Temperamental, huh?" Shiro's lips twitched. "Just like you then."
Keith flipped him the bird and Shiro laughed. The younger man couldn't decide if it was because he actually thought it was funny, or because of the near death experience settling in. Because… holy fuck they'd almost just died.
He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly.
They made it.
They actually fucking made it.
"What was with those other colors?" Keith furrowed his brows as he recalled the few seconds before the actual barrier went up. "The red and black shield thing."
"I'm not sure." Shiro frowned. "Perhaps it's just the way the particle barrier starts up?"
The cub in Keith's arms snuggled into him, letting out a quiet yawn. "Yeah… maybe." He stared down at the red feline. Something tugged at the back of his mind telling him it wasn't the particle barrier, but what else could it be?
The lions?
"We should go check the damage. See if we can find anyone." Shiro suggested, eyes scanning the room they were in and drawing Keith from his thoughts.
"Wait…" Keith looked up at him, worry suddenly taking over. "Where's Adam."
Adam was Shiro's long standing boyfriend. Fiance, actually as of a week ago. Keith liked Adam, he kept Shiro on track. Making sure that his pseudo brother didn't push himself too hard by giving the Garrison too much of himself. Adam took care of Shiro and in turn when Shiro took Keith under his wing, Adam had been there as well.
Shiro gave him a sad smile. "I left him on the bus."
"What?!" Keith used his free hand to grip Shiro's military jacket. "Why would you do that?"
"To find you."
His mouth went dry. Anger, as well as his hold on Shiro's uniform, slipping from his fingers. "What? Why would you… how did you even know I was here?"
Keith had been expelled from school almost two months ago. For 'disciplinary issues'. Really they just didn't like the noise Keith was making about the impending invasion. Calling the commanders cowards for not taking more decisive actions. For not raising their defenses and their offense to try and fight off the attack. For not informing the general populous.
"It won't come to that." They had told him.
And now here they were.
"Because I knew you'd be looking for me." Shiro told him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay."
"But Adam-"
"Knew that I wouldn't be able to leave without you." Shiro sighed, removing his hand from Keith to run it through his hair. "He was pissed when I left him behind, though."
Keith finally smiled at that. "I bet he was. You're gunna get an ear full when we find him back."
"Yeah." Shiro smiled. A moment later it dipped. "I hope all the buses got away alright."
"I'm sure they did."
Shiro nodded, returning to business as he lead the way out of the room. "The last one was leaving just before the five minute mark. They should have been far enough away before the blast went off."
"Where were the buses headed?" Keith asked as he followed him through a short hall to an exit.
"They were-" Shiro stopped short as they reached the outside world.
"Holy shit." Keith swore under his breath.
He took in the destruction outside of the building. Nothing was left intact, save the small radius of the particle barrier that they had managed to erect.
"I can't believe this is happening." Keith confessed.
And to think -
He was supposed to graduate today.
A/N: Hello all! Welcome to this experiment of a story! This is my first story for this fandom and I'm SUPER excited! I've had this idea in my head for MONTHS since I ended the series this summer. Yes I'm waaaay late to the party, but I promise I'm here to impress! Or at least try to. This story is going to be ridiculously long. I've got a good chunk of it outlined but I know I'll be adding bits here and there that may turn into a whole arc, so we'll see where that takes me. ;) I have a tendency to be a bit long winded when storytelling so count on this being a minimum of 100k words. (laughs at the 45k words already written and not even in actual chapter format.)
I have started posting this story already on my AO3 account under the username destinyfalls2nit. Sadly fanficlove2014 just wasn't available *sigh*. Anyways I'm going to try to keep the posting schedule the same in both places but I have up to chapter 5 there already. So expect more chapters for this fairly quickly ;)
Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and will stick around for more!
Luv~