"Father, this is an outrage!"
Princess Allura stormed after her father, following him away from the conference room where they had just finished a fairly worthless meeting with the leaders of the neighboring kingdoms. "We can't continue to work with the Galran Empire after such accusations!"
"We must my daughter," Alfor turned to face Allura and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Actually, King Alfor, I have to side with the princess on this one," Royal Advisor Coran twirled an end of his mustache. "What they said was a complete disgrace and an obvious threat on both of you and the lives of our citizens."
"If he's trying to collect the lions of the old Voltron force," Allura pressed on, "then he will pose a true threat to all of our people. It is our duty to protect them from any threats, and that includes Zarkon! And I don't trust that rotten son of his for a second!"
"Allura, please calm yourself. I have known Zarkon for a very long time, and been in many arguments with him before. He may be temperamental, and says many things, but he will not follow through on his threats to hurt innocents."
"Then you do not know Lord Zarkon at all."
The three Alteans turned to face the owner of the new voice, only to be met with a blast of purple electricity. Allura felt herself fly back until she hit the wall, and fell to the floor where she lay stunned and winded. Beside her, she felt Coran lying face down, but breathing. Pushing herself up slowly, Allura looked around for her father. Her heart stopped.
"No, no, no, no!" She crawled over to her father's still form, laying a hand on his chest where a dark stain was growing. "Father please!"
There was a humorless laugh behind her. Turning, she saw a hooded figure with long white hair hanging from it. The figure turned and disappeared into the shadows, her words floating back over her shoulder.
"Zarkon sends his regards Princess."
Lance closed the door softly and made his way downstairs. His mom was on the sofa watching some sort of drama show. He came up behind her and rest his chin on her head, dropping the story book about lions beside her. "Miguel and Sara are asleep."
"Gracias mijo. Did you finish your homework?"
"Of course mama! When have I ever not done my homework?"
"There was that time in third grade you threw your homework into the water and said the ocean ate it."
"That was one time mama."
"There was the time in fifth grade-"
"Ok, ok, ya, you made your point. Yes, I did my homework. I'm going to head out for a walk on the beach."
"Be careful, mi amor. It's late."
"Don't worry mama, I'll make sure I don't get jumped by any crabs. Maybe I'll see a mermaid!"
His mom shook her head as he stepped out the back door and breathed in the salty sea air. He loved the beach- the sound of the crashing waves, the soft cool sand between his toes, the slightly sticky humidity being blown away by a gentle night breeze. He hummed softly as he made his way down to his favorite spot.
He was lost in thought until he felt something roll beneath his toe. Glancing down, Lance saw a brilliant blue and white seashell. He picked it up and brushed off the sand, inspecting it for any cracks. Sara would love this in a necklace. But so would Miguel. Maybe if I can find another, they can have matching sets...
Lance couldn't exactly describe what happened next. At first, it felt like a tug in his gut, but when asked to describe it later, he'd say it could've been a whisper in the wind, blowing his hair in the direction he had to go. Later still, he'd say it was the shimmer of a shell like the one in his hand hidden in the waves of the ocean.
Whatever it was, he picked up the next shell, and spotted another. He followed the trail in a trance, heading much farther out than he usually would. After about half an hour, he had taken off his shirt and was using it to carry all the shells he was collecting- spirals, waves, twists, all in different sizes and colors, along with some sea glass chunks. So far everything seemed to have a pair except for the first shell he'd picked up.
It was then that he heard the distressed squeak.
Turning in a circle, he tried to figure out where it came from. The squeak sounded again to his left.
Following the sound, Lance decided that whoever- or whatever- was making it, was more frustrated than anything. Turning the corner to a large pile of rocks, he stopped at the sight before him.
Sitting on the ground looking up at a rock that was about shoulder level with Lance was a blue lion cub.
I must be hallucinating. There are no lion cubs.
But there was one, turning at the sound of Lance dropping his makeshift bag. Perking up its ears, it trotted over to Lance and began nudging him towards the rock. When he didn't move, it gave another small mew, and threw its full force against the back of his legs. It didn't do much seeing as the cub didn't even reach his knees, but the contact was enough to get him to move.
When he reached the rock, he paused. Bending down, he gingerly scooped the cub up onto the rock. It gave a happy mew and picked up something in its mouth. Placing it in front of Lance on the rock, he felt his breath catch. Lance reached into his pocket and handed the cub the first shell he had picked up. The blue and white one. The one that matched perfectly to the one the cub had just picked up off the rock.
The cub took the shell from his hand at the same time he picked up the one from the cub.
He felt a jolt and his world shifted as he felt another mind merge with his. He became aware of the push and pull of the ocean, the sound of the shifting sand in the wind, but most of all, he became aware of himself- the star-struck look on his face, the messy dark brown hair, the wide blue eyes, and the thoughts that weren't his.
Hello. I'm Blue.
Hunk yawned as he walked out of the shed, arms filled with soil, seeds, and shovels. Man, I wish Lance were still in town to help out. Guess I'll see him when he comes home from break. In the meantime, I need to get these spices planted if I want them to grow in time.
Picking his way through the carefully tended rows, Hunk made his way towards the back of his garden where he was planning on digging new spots for his spices. Setting his equipment down under the apple tree, he tied his hair back and surveyed the ground before him. Already planted was thyme, rosemary, cilantro, basil, and. . . What happened to my mint plant!
Under closer inspection, Hunk found a trail of small leaves leading away from the half of the plant that remained. Grabbing his trowel, he slowly made his way through his garden. Now I really wish Lance were here.
He stopped when the trail curled around the orange tree and he could hear a slight munch. You can do this Hunk. It's probably just a chipmunk. It's not like it's going to be a lion or anything.
Jumping around the tree, Hunk promptly dropped his trowel and leaped back, huddling in on himself. Sitting on the ground and munching on a leaf was a thick furred golden-yellow lion cub. It regarded him with bright eyes before giving a small, mint scented burp.
"Oh my god. You're a lion," Hunk whispered. "Please don't eat me."
The lion gave another burp and looked up at where a late orange was growing. Moving slowly, Hunk reached up and plucked the orange from the branch. Setting it down between him and the lion cub, he backed up a few steps. The lion cub pawed at the orange until it was cut in half. Taking a half in its mouth, it waddled? padded? (Hunk wasn't sure how to describe it, but it was definitely cute for an apparently nonexistent creature) over to Hunk and held it out expectantly.
Trembling slightly, Hunk took the half from the lion and felt a jolt of energy. He instantly felt connected not only to the lion in front of him, but to the earth beneath him and around him. There was a shift in his vision, and suddenly he was staring through the lion's eyes, looking at himself with half an orange in his hand.
A soft voice sounded in his head.
I'm Yellow. Who are you?
"I'm Hunk," he said.
Do you want help with your gardening? I can help dig. And sorry about your mint plant.
"I- yeah, sure. Don't worry about the mint, it needed trimming anyways. How good are you at digging holes, because I have a lot to plant and oh my gosh I'm talking to a lion cub about gardening."
So where do we start? the lion asked cheerfully.
They started with fixing up the mint plant. Then they moved on to measuring and digging holes in the open space for all the new herbs. Yellow was a fast digger- it seemed like the earth simply moved for her, rocks and all. It also helped that neither of them minded getting dirty, to the point that by the time they had finished Hunk had dirt on his face, hands, and hair, while Yellow was now a Yellow and brown, spice scented blob.
It was midday when they finished, a good few hours earlier than what Hunk had been expecting. The two of them were under the apple tree munching on some fruit. When his apple was halfway done, Hunk grabbed his phone and sent a videochat request Lance. He picked up on the first ring.
"HUNK! YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!"
Hunk extended his arm in an attempt to save his eardrums. "Whatever it is, I bet what happened to me is cooler."
Lance moved the camera to show him sitting on the beach next to a blue lion cub. They were wearing matching seashell necklaces. Yellow tipped her head curiously and spoke in his head. Blue. She's picked a friend of yours.
He glanced down at Yellow. "You know her?"
"Know who?" Lance asked from the other end.
"Oh not you. I was talking to," Hunk shifted the camera to focus on Yellow. "We just finished gardening."
"YOU HAVE ONE TOO! Hi Yellow!"
Tell your friend I say hello.
"She says hello. Dude, what should we do with them? I mean, if we really found lion cubs, then we're like legends."
"What if we took them to the Altean Castle?"
"You mean the one that's been on lockdown and isn't accepting any visitors?" Hunk raised an eyebrow. "Least of all two teenagers?"
"Two teenagers with lions, Hunk! We have two of the rarest animals ever, they'd have to let us in. Besides, Blue is saying that it's most likely the place where they'll be safest."
"Fair enough. I guess I'll have to tell my mom that I'm going on a field trip with you. She knows us well enough by now to know we'll be up to no good."
"Whatever man," Lance scratched Blue behind her ear. "I'll get the car and pick you up in a couple hours."
"I'll pack up lunch."
"Deal. Hey, can you bring some of those snickerdoodle cookies?"
"What the fuck?"
There was a disapproving beep from Rover.
"Shut it Rover. I'm going to figure out how to get rid of that censoring program Matt installed eventually. But for now," Pidge said crossing her arms, "Let's figure out what this is."
Her robotic companion began running scans on the area while Pidge began to dig through the extreme undergrowth. If she could rewire the systems to the machine she'd found she could get it up and running again and make it into a helper like Rover. If not, she could salvage it for parts. She was just about to get through the final layer of vines- there were so many it must have been here for years- when there was a rewarding beep from Rover. Pausing, she glanced at the robot's reports. "So we're looking at a type of tracker and identifier thing from the Olkari kingdom. . ."
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she skimmed further down the report. "It's the newest model? Then how is it so overgrown? This thing looks like it's been here for years, not a couple weeks."
Rover beeped in agreement and pulled up the part of the report where he scanned for life. There was usually insects, small animals like squirrels and chipmunks, and in a place with vegetation this thick, there should be all sorts of herbivores. But the latest report said that there was no life whatsoever.
"Rover. . . something's not right."
He clicked out a series of dots and dashes that spelled out, we should leave. Not safe.
"Normally I would agree with you Rover, but I don't think we should go yet." She waved off his series of angry clicks. "Something's pulled me out here and I plan to find out what. You know it's serious- I almost never come out this far into nature. There's so many plants, and insects, and," she shivered, "and people. Usually."
Rover gave a resigned beep that was the equivalent of a sigh. There was a slight whirring noise before his flashlight clicked on and he hovered ahead of her into the thickest of the vines. "That's the spirit Rover!"
He clicked out a message- I'm only doing this because Matt installed a program that requires me to say within a twenty foot radius when you're in a suspicious area.
"Well I guess Matt's installations worked for once." Pidge pushed on, pulling away the branches and vines that Rover cut through with his laser. It took about two hours to get all the way through the undergrowth, Pidge and Rover arguing the whole time. When they popped out of the hole they'd made in the thick wood of a tree, it was into a dark clearing lit by fireflies and bioluminescent flowers. Above them the ceiling was a dome of thick branches, blocking out all light.
"This is incredible," Pidge whispered, turning in a circle. "Are you get this Rover?"
A small red light blinking confirmed he was recording everything for documentation.
"I wonder what kind of tech might be around here. There's no way that this clearing naturally grew like this. It's like we're in a giant orb." Pidge began digging around the edges of the clearing, searching for anything that might resemble the equipment necessary to build a dome like this.
She was bent over when there was a loud beeping and a sharp heat skimmed her neck.
Jerking up, she glared over at Rover, only to freeze and take in the scene in front of her.
A small green blob was hanging off Rover pawing at the camera light while Rover fired lasers to try to get it off him. "Rover! Turn off camera and use laser pointer." If whatever that thing is is attracted to the camera light then maybe. . .
The red camera light went off and a bright blue dot appeared on the floor. The blob hanging off Rover dropped to the ground and pounced on the dot. It chased it around while Rover moved it in circles. "Bring it this way Rover."
When the blob- now a streak- was close, Pidge dove in and swiped it up, holding it in both hands at arms length. Large emerald eyes blinked back at her, and Pidge registered what she was holding.
A lion cub.
A very small, bright green, lion cub, who was currently interested in squirming out of her grasp to get back to Rover.
Pidge let the lion go and watched as she jumped onto the drone and balanced on the top. What the hell did I just find? She went still as she ran her fingers through her hair. Her considerably shorter hair. Spinning around, she found the majority of her ponytail laying on the ground.
"Fuck!" Rover's laser blast must have cut her hair.
There was a beep behind her. Rover shifted to hover in front of her, displaying the small green cub flying the drone. Pidge gave a small laugh. The cub dropped a flower onto Pidge's head.
Her world shifted. For a split second, she was looking down on herself, and had thoughts of keeping her balance on the fun flying machine that wasn't made of the same things that she was used to, and then a voice-
Hi angry child! My name is Green.
Angry child? Really? Pidge thought.
Well you certainly seem frustrated.
"Wait, you heard that?"
Obviously.
"That's. . . really terrifying."
You'll get used to it. What's this thing that I'm on called? Is it called Fuck?
"He- no! He's not called fuck. Why would he be called that?"
You shouted that and he beeped. If he's not called Fuck what's his name?
"Rover."
Hmm. Fuck is more fun to say.
Pidge grinned. "We're going to have a lot of fun together. The name's Pidge. Now come on Green. We have a field trip to go on."
What am I doing out here? Keith wondered. A pulsing tug to his right reminded him. That's right. Following a tug in my gut. Just like I did when I was 13 and ended up in juvie for two weeks. I almost got shanked there. Picking his way carefully over the rocks, he contemplated what this feeling could be. He sometimes got feelings like it, but nothing this strong. And none of them landing him on the edge of a volcanic ring. This better be worth it, he thought grumpily. I've been many places, but this is not one of them.
Despite the harsh conditions, Keith didn't mind the terrain. The heat had never really bothered him- he did live alone in a desert shack for a year and a half and counting- and having lived in the mountains with a previous foster family, he had learned some rock climbing. The thing that bothered him was not knowing if one of the volcanoes was going to erupt- far away they may be, but he wasn't keen on being burnt. He also didn't want one of the rocks he was on to give way and discover it was hiding a tar pit or lava pool. This is what I get for following my instinct.
The tug in his gut grew stronger and he thought it was growing warmer, but it could've easily been the steam floating over from the lava pool a couple hundred feet away. The lava pool in the same direction that the tug was coming from. Great. Just fucking peachy.
Sliding down the side of the rock he was on, Keith made his way towards the lava pool, slowing slightly to make sure the ground ahead of him wasn't going to give out. Glancing up, he noticed something moving at the edge of the lava pool. It was red, but more of a ruby red instead of the angry amber-red of the lava. Whatever it was, it was getting closer to the pool edge, clearly interested in something. A pebble slipped off the edge and plopped into the lava. Keith felt a spike go down whatever was tugging his stomach, and slowly began to pick up his pace.
Just as he got within a few feet of the red thing, the ground beneath it cracked. There was a distressed sound from the thing as it scrambled to back up, but it couldn't get a grip. Its eyes, large and the color of a fiery sunset locked with Keith's as it slid backwards.
A second before it hit the lava, Keith grabbed the thing's back pulling it away from the lava. He hissed in pain as the lava droplets that splashed up from the rock landed on his hands. Scurrying away from the pit a short distance, he dropped the thing and curled in pain over his hands. Shit, shit, shit.
Through his pain, he registered soft, squishy paws pulling on his forearms. He kneeled down and looked at the thing he rescued. A red lion cub.
It gave a distressed noise and gently began licking the burn spots on his hands. A fiery jolt ran through his mind and he heard a voice purr. Thank you for saving me. My name is Red. Who are you?
Keith, he thought. He stared at his hands as the burns faded as though they had already been there for a week. Not healed, but better. Thank you.
The lion cub balanced on his knees and licked the tears off his face. Thank you Keith. Now, let us get out of here.
White.
All he saw was white.
Blinking, his vision cleared slightly, and he realized that everything seemed blurry because of the fluffy snow. That's right. He was on top of a mountain after two days of constant movement with limited food and water.
He shivered and felt his legs give out. Come on. There's an overhang just ahead. You can bunk out under that. With a groan, he dragged himself under the overhang and pulled his knees up to his chest.
Reaching into the pocket of his rags, he pulled out a small ration of food. Before he could eat, he noticed a small black shape pushing through the thick snow. As it got closer, he realized that it was a. . . lion cub?
But those went extinct. . .
But here was one in front of him. A black, female lion cub, looking as thin as he did. It sniffed the air and locked eyes with him. Shaking, he tore his ration in half and held out half in his hand. The lion cub came up and ate it tenderly from his hand. When he finished his half, the cub walked around him and leaned into his back.
"What do you want me to do?" he snapped. The lion growled back at him, pushing again. With a huff, he got up and followed the lion out of the overhang. It led him around the bend, and he froze when he saw the sight before him.
The mountain sloped downwards, and sitting in a valley before him sat a huge white and blue castle.
A growl sounded inside his head.
My name is Black. And that is home.
He looked down at the lion. "My name is Shiro. Let's go home Black."
Hope you liked the first chapter! It was pretty short, but hopefully I'll have more up soon. School is starting up *wipes tear* but I have a looser schedule this year and should have more downtime to write :D.
Please review with your ideas and opinions. (Hopefully it works this time. I've been trying to copy and paste the story but it keeps coming out with mounds of html code in.)