Chapter 6
In lieu of events, Matron Sharya informed Her Highness that she would send two more Chrii and a herd of gliphonymu (pronounced glif-fo-nie-moo) in the morning. Speed was of the essence if they wanted to return to the hall and a two-varga hike through the woods was not conducive to it. They would make it back to the Matron's hall in thirty doboshes. Green did not look forward to that trip, but at least she had one more night with her Paladin close by.
For herself, Green slept in her Paladin's cockpit, in the nest under the console that was still there from two nights ago. She listened as, one by one, her Paladin's systems came online as her quintessence levels steadily rose. Green was no longer physically tired from the sedation patch, but she felt a weariness in her soul that ached. She wanted to be back in her body proper. She wanted her Paladin back in her own body, too. She was tired of being human-mortal and all of the implications and dangers that came with it. She loved interacting with their Paladins, Her Highness and Support Commander, and she was constantly intrigued by the human-mortal body she occupied, but…it was too dangerous. For both of them. And Green was tired of being human-mortal when danger lurked. She was more confident with her jaw-blade and cannons, with her Paladin in the driver's seat.
She sighed and snuggled deeper into the blankets.
At least it would be over soon. Chara would arrive today or tomorrow, and then all would be as it should be. She just had to be patient.
Green? Her Paladin's raspy voice wafted through her brain. Lance and Hunk are here.
"Oh," Green said out loud. "Green is coming." She disentangled herself from her nest's blankets and walked out of the cockpit and down the ramp.
"Morning, Green," Blue's Lance said, giving a little wave. "We were wondering where you'd gone off to after Coran set you free from the infirmary."
"You slept okay?" Yellow's Hunk added.
Green nodded. "Yes. Thank you, both. Green just needed to be close to my Paladin. It…it was a scary day, yesterday."
"I hear you," said Yellow's Hunk. "We came to check on you. Make sure you were doing okay."
"Green is doing as well as able," she said. "Is it time to leave?"
"Almost," answered Blue's Lance. "The matron sent another message saying that the gliph-critters are a bit more spread out. It'll take a bit longer than they'd thought." The animals were only used in emergencies and were docile enough that they were given free range of the forests, so none were kept in the villages. That, and they didn't climb trees.
Green nodded and gestured towards the door. They followed her out as she said, "Green finds it curious that animals that are supposedly used in emergencies are given free-rein to roam. That rather defeats the effectiveness of their response time."
"Agreed," said Yellow's Hunk. He shared a glance with Blue's Lance and then added, "Are you sure you're doing okay? I mean, it's okay to not be okay."
Green drifted to a stop, her eyes on the floor. It was the same everywhere in the castle, consistent and uniform in all the rooms and halls. She remembered the sound of her vomit hitting that metal flooring, felt the vibrations of Black Sister's roar as it shook the stability beneath her feet. She closed her eyes and hugged her arms. "Green is tired of being scared all the time," she whispered. "Green has had fun with our Paladins, but worry and fear are constantly in Green's head and heart. Green is tired of it."
Yellow's Hunk came up beside her and wrapped an arm over her shoulders. She turned into him, burying her face in his shirt and sagging just a little when his other arm encircled her. "Okay," he said simply and he continued to hug her. Blue's Lance stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything and Green was glad.
"Yellow's Hunk?" she ventured after a moment or six.
"Yeah?"
"Some time ago, you braided my Paladin's hair. She did not say it at the time, but it was comforting to her. Green asks you now, Yellow's Hunk, if you wouldn't mind…?"
"Of course I wouldn't mind." He hugged her a bit tighter and then let her go. Green opened her eyes in time to see him smile at her. "I think Lance still has some ribbons somewhere."
Blue's Lance inexplicably grinned with mischief. "I've got a better idea," he said. "Meet me outside."
With that, he ran off down the hall, leaving Green feeling perplexed but happily so. Shaking her head, she turned down a different hallway, Yellow's Hunk matching her pace.
The early morning sun was rising, casting long shadows across the meadow and purple fire across the sky. Two moons were visible, each awash in pale purple. The air warmed, summer's heat sharpening with the dawn, and a gentle breeze fluttered Green's hair. She pushed it back with a hand and turned in a circle to take in the meadow. She hadn't really looked at it because her attention had been diverted to her Paladin and her Sisters, but she had a chance now.
The grass was long, almost up to her ankles, and soft. She immediately took off her shoes and socks and burrowed her toes in the grass, feeling the cool earth.
A gentle sound caught her attention and her head snapped up. "Green hears water," she announced.
Yellow's Hunk chuckled and pointed. "Yeah. There's a stream over there – Hey! Wait up!"
Green raced across the meadow, plopped herself down on the bank, and dabbled her bare toes in the water. The grass here was substantially flattened – the shapes of sunbathing Voltron Lions from yesterday imprinted into the dirt – but the flowers were unharmed. She examined one, a small bloom with six purplish-orange petals that matched the sky overhead, before gently plucking and smelling it.
Smells like sweet peas, her Paladin murmured absently.
Green likes it, was her reply.
"It is called duskfire." Green turned around to find Shola walking towards her. Behind her, she spotted Cheychi, Churei and the two other Chrii on the far side of the meadow, in the direction leading back to the Matron's hall. They looked down at the blossom Green held and smiled.
"Duskfire," Green repeated. "Fitting." She twirled the stem between her fingers, watching the colours and petals blur together.
She heard Blue's Lance before she saw him, huffing and puffing from running around. "I got the stuff!" he exclaimed as he set a blanket down on the grass, dropped pins, ties and other paraphernalia, and sank onto the bank beside her.
Yellow's Hunk chuckled warmly and sat down on Green's other side.
"Join us, Shola," Green invited. "Yellow's Hunk is braiding Green's hair."
Shola blinked blankly for a moment, touching her bald head, and then smiled. "Ah. We have braiding, too, though it is with fabrics and reeds. I have never seen it done on a person before." She folded her long self onto the opposite bank (the stream was barely half a metre across) and ran her fingers through the grass.
Blue's Lance and Yellow's Hunk exchanged whispers, clearly scheming or plotting something diabolical with her hair. Green ignored them until Yellow's Hunk cracked his knuckles – an alarming and disgusting sound – and began to card his fingers through her hair, teasing the strands. Green propped her elbows on her knees and closed her eyes, savouring the smells and sounds of the meadow and the feel of fingers in her hair.
It was a few doboshes later that Blue's Lance exhaled a low whistle. "Dang! Would you look at that?"
Green opened her eyes and looked to where Blue's Lance stared: upward. The sky had lightened, pink and orange flames licking through purple-blue clouds, and the two moons were now gilded with rosy gold. A few brighter stars still twinkled in the paling inky west, and animals stirred and sang their morning songs, greeting each other and the new day from treetops dappled in dawn's fire.
Yellow's Hunk's fingers froze in their parting and twisting and he, too, stared, mouth slightly agape, as the morning light lit his eyes to burnished amber. "Wow," he whispered.
Green smiled to herself. It looked like she wouldn't have to haul Blue's Lance up a tree, after all.
They sat there for several doboshes, watching the clouds scuttle across the sky and the colours change and brighten. Then, as if hearing a spoken word, they returned to their tasks.
"Almost done, Lance," said Yellow's Hunk.
Blue's Lance made a noncommittal noise in his throat, his attention elsewhere. It occurred to Green that the duskfire flower in her hand was gone. Perhaps she had dropped it? She would look for it later, when the braiding was done.
"There," Yellow's Hunk said with a flourish of pride just as Blue's Lance exclaimed, "All done! Here, Green. Turn this way."
Green turned and as she did, she caught sight of what was in his hands. A wreath made of grass and duskfire.
Flower crown, her Paladin corrected. My mom used to make them all the time for me and Matt when we were younger.
"Blue's Lance," Green whispered. "It's beautiful."
He smiled at her and placed the wreath – flower crown – on her head. He arranged it carefully, tucking it around the braid on her head.
Across the brook, Shola stared with open awe and wonder. "Mammi used to tell us stories of her ancestors who, on Chriishosha, had encountered a forest spirit," she said quietly, near breathless. "They called it a lolandomii. They said it was smaller than any Chrii child and wore a crown of flowers on its head, and that, when it laughed, the sun shone brighter on sunny days and when it rained, the rains were sweeter."
Green smiled and tilted her head, trying to catch her reflection in the babbling stream. "Well, Green is no lolandomii," she said. "Green is just Green in my Paladin's body, and my Paladin is human-mortal all the way through."
"Here." Yellow's Hunk slid her a mirror that was barely the size of her hand. Green took it, held it up, and her eyes widened.
The braid was not the same one Blue's Lance had done for Her Highness so long ago, but it was similar in that it looked like a crown. Her hair was parted down the middle and braided on each side into the rest of her hair and met at the base of her skull where Yellow's Hunk had secured it with pins. The eye was immediately drawn to the flowers, purple and orange amongst the green grass and her light brown hair.
A tiny flash of light startled her and she nearly dropped the mirror. She glanced at Blue's Lance who had a device in his hand.
Camera, her Paladin supplied. He took your picture.
Sure enough, he grinned at it and turned it around for her to see. "What do you think?" he asked.
Green blinked and canted her head to the side, examining the image. There she was, sat on the grassy bank of the brook with her eyes locked on the mirror in her hands, the Castle in the background. The sun caught in her hair, turning it to deep gold, and highlighting the flowers in brighter colour. She looked…happy. Enraptured with her reflection and the magic the Paladins had woven into her hair.
She handed back the camera with a smile. "It is a beautiful image, Blue's Lance."
He beamed and suddenly spun around, falling across Green's and Yellow's Hunk's laps. "Selfie!" he announced. "Shola, get over here!"
Shola laughed, joined them, and Blue's Lance took the picture – and a few more.
They were all laughing when a low rumble met their ears, and Green looked up to see Cheychi, Churei, Cho and Shil leap into the meadow, their long legs carrying them swiftly alongside the herd of gliphonymu, two riders atop the two in front.
"Holy cow! It's the gliphs!" Blue's Lance scrambled to his feet.
The gliphonymu were long-legged creatures, with delicate paws and lean bodies that were covered, not in fur or hair, Green realised as they drew up beside them, but with tiny feathers in a variety of colours and patterns, including flecks, stripes, and splotches that reminded her Paladin of a piebald horse. Their sleek heads, crowned with a wide crest of longer plumes that lay flat along their skulls, bobbed on long necks, their whip-like tails sweeping over the grass. There were eight of them, and Green stood to greet the newcomers.
"Paladins, Green Lion," said the first. She dismounted fluidly and placed a hand over her heart. "I am Shinama. This is my brother, Chaki. Matron Sharya ordered us to bring you back to the Matron's hall."
"Hi!" said Blue's Lance. "I'm Lance. This is Hunk and Green. The others should be out soon. We were just enjoying the sunrise."
All seven Chrii looked up at the pale blue sky, ghosts of pink fading quickly.
"Ah," said Chaki. "It must have been exceptionally beautiful today." He slid off his mount and, too, bowed. "It's an honour to meet you."
"Likewise," Yellow's Hunk said with a distracted smile. "Can I, uh, pet one?" His eyes were on the nearest gliphonymu to him and Chaki chuckled.
"Of course. He is very gentle." Chaki placed a hand under its chin and guided it forward to meet Yellow's Hunk's timid fingers. The gliphonymu was curious and lipped at his fingertips, eliciting giggles.
Green was about to giggle herself when a soft nose whiffled against her hair. She froze, her gaze sliding upward, and found Shinama's mount right there. "Please do not eat Green's flowers," she said quietly but firmly.
The gliphonymu lowered its head to look her in the eye. Green met its gaze calmly, her brows slightly raised. It snorted, its crest flaring briefly before settling again, and nuzzled her face and neck instead.
"I don't believe it," Shinama gasped. "Gliphonymu love duskfire. They eat it whenever they can get it." She stared at Green with wide, pink eyes. "How'd you do that?"
Green shrugged her shoulders and petted her new friend. It wasn't long until she was surrounded, gentle chuffs from all eight animals demanding pets and scratches. She obliged right up to the moment when Her Highness, Black's Shiro, Red's Keith and Support Commander joined them.
"Is this a petting zoo?" Black's Shiro quipped with a laugh. "Hey, Green. Your hair looks great."
"Thank you, Black's Shiro. Yellow's Hunk and Blue's Lance did all the work." She turned to Her Highness and said, "Is it time to go?"
Her Highness nodded, smiling a little. "Yes. Coran and I double-checked Pidge before we left. She's recharging well."
"Yes," Green agreed. "She should reach full capacity by midday tomorrow."
"Something is wrong with Paladin Pidge?" Shinama asked, concerned.
"Nothing that can't be fixed," Green said before anyone could answer. "All will be well when Chara switches us back."
"Speaking of," said Chaki. "Shall we?"
They each paired up with a Chrii. Green was the only one who sat in front of Shola, the others all behind their respective companion. "You're small enough that this is better," she explained as she clucked her tongue to her mount. Green nodded her agreement and peered around Shola's arm to watch the herd fall in behind them. Shinama and Chaki led the group, Her Highness and Black's Shiro with them, but Shola was right behind them. Green appreciated the smooth gait and the lack of saddle or bridle that her Paladin had half-expected.
They set off at a brisk pace and a question popped into Green's head. "How fast can the gliphonymu run?"
Shola replied, "We can make it to the Matron's hall in six doboshes if we run, but it takes a skilled rider to control the mount at that kind of speed. The dense forest presents many hazards, as well. There aren't many who can ride at full speed."
"But you can." Green didn't say it as a question. It was a simple inference from the subtle pride she heard in Shola's tone.
Shola laughed. "I am one of five in the whole village who can."
The ride passed quickly, and when they arrived at the base of the Matron's hall's trees, swings were ready to haul them up.
Green definitely prefers this to climbing stairs, she thought as she settled herself into the swing. Her feet left the ground in a rush, the wind stroking her cheeks and sending a few loose duskfire petals dancing around her.
Her Paladin laughed.
-:-:-:-
"The solstice is today?"
Green's head snapped up, a half-chewed roll in her mouth. They were back in the main hall and sitting at the Matron's table, eating lunch. There were no other Chrii but for Matron Sharya. She watched Matron Sharya smile kindly at Blue's Lance.
"Of course. I did say it was approaching. There's a wonderful festival that takes place. There's food and dancing and –"
"When does it start?" Yellow's Hunk interrupted.
Matron Sharya's lips twitched, fighting a smile or annoyance, it was hard to tell. "It started at dawn this morning and will end at sunset."
"Can we go, Allura? Please?" Blue's Lance begged.
Her Highness frowned slightly and turned to Matron Sharya. "Have there been any more reports of when Chara will arrive?"
"None," was the answer. "I alerted the other sectors and they sent out scouts and riders of their own. Chara was several hundred gojak from here when he was found. He and his escort are moving as quickly as possible, but they won't get here until later this afternoon, possibly tomorrow morning if they run into any incidents or bad weather."
Her Highness cast Green a glance, clearly thinking. Green remained silent. She had always wanted to try dancing, but she would stay if Her Highness ordered it.
"Princess," Support Commander inputted gently, "they'll be nearby if he arrives early. Won't they?" he added to Matron Sharya.
She dipped her head. "But of course. The festival covers the whole village area. The paladins and the Green Lion can find something to their pleasure at the closest venue, if distance is an issue."
"Please, Allura?" Blue's Lance said again and Yellow's Hunk joined him.
"Very well," she acquiesced. "But –" she nearly yelled over the whoops and cheers – "you will be close by. Coran will go with you, as well, in case I need to contact you. Coran…?"
"I've got my communicator right here," Support Commander said, holding up his com-link. "All right, everyone. Time's a-wasting. Come on!"
They excused themselves and raced for the exit, Green right behind them. She nearly bounced with excitement. Dancing! She was going to try dancing!
Support Commander guided them from the Matron's hall down several platforms. They hardly needed him, for the scent of food was heavy on the air and music grew steadily louder.
"Food first!" Blue's Lance announced as soon as he spotted the carts and tables.
Support Commander looked at him aghast. "My boy, you just had lunch!"
"But this is festival food which automatically makes it ten times better," was the retort even as Blue's Lance reached the first of the delectable arrays. He froze abruptly and Green stilled. Was there danger? Could human-mortals smell poison?
Before she could panic more, Blue's Lance said, blushing hard, "Uh, we have to pay, right?"
"On the solstice?" the vendor exclaimed. "Never! And never for a Paladin of Voltron." She snatched up a skewer of slices of various sugared fruits and handed it to him with a smile. Leaning down, she added, "And if anyone tries to get payment from you, you send them to Shahi. I'll set them straight."
Blushing harder, Blue's Lance nodded and grinned. "Sure thing! Thanks, Shahi!"
She winked at him and then nodded to Black's Shiro and Support Commander. Green smiled at her when they locked eyes and couldn't help but notice how Shahi's smile froze on her face when she looked at her. Perhaps, she thought, touching her braids and crown of duskfire, Shurr's ancestral stories of the lolandomii were common tales to tell.
She put it out of her mind as they walked along. Someone gave Support Commander a basket and it wasn't long before it filled with snacks wrapped in leaves and trinkets the Paladins found interesting. Green stayed with the group, though she kept glancing down the way to where the music came from. She said nothing, however, enjoying how much their Paladins and Support Commander were enjoying the food and baubles. They would reach the music eventually.
But when Yellow's Hunk spent longer than a few doboshes eyeing the colourful kites on display, Green couldn't resist any longer. She drifted away, following the music and squeezing through crowds when the way was blocked.
At last, she arrived at the innermost edge of a large group gathered in the middle of the platform. The group ringed an open space and several Chrii danced there. A band consisting of several flutes, drums and what her Paladin would liken unto fiddles kicked up a joyful tune beneath a gazebo draped in flowers. Onlookers clapped along, keeping time, and calling encouragement to the little ones trying the dance for the first time.
Green was silent as she watched the dancers. Steps and turns, pivots and slides, sashays and spins. She canted her head to one side, her eyes flicking from the feet to the hands. It was a pity she didn't have four, like the Chrii, but it was…possible she could manage.
"Green?"
Absently, Green mentally acknowledged the voice far behind her. She was too busy watching, calculating, analysing. The beat was quick: one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Green smiled.
"Green Lion?"
Green waited for the downbeat and then she moved, sliding into the dance as if she had known it for all of her existence.
Cheers erupted through the onlookers and dancers alike, dozens of Chrii shining with the knowledge that the Green Lion danced with them. Oh, Green would miss this body's grace when Chara switched them back, but for now, she relished the feeling of her body moving and the music through the air.
-:-:-:-
"How could we have lost her?"
Shiro tried not to flinch at Keith's embittered question. It was Pidge all over again. Every time he had failed to watch out for her. Every time he had failed to protect her. The shishi, the tyr'kai, the giant birds, when she'd been captured by Galra (twice!), when she'd been kidnapped by androids, and every other awful incident or near-death experience. It all ripped through him and he hoped, he prayed, that Green was safe. She had to be safe. If she wasn't…
Be calm, my Paladin, Black soothed, her purr easing the cold dread in Shiro's heart. Green's Paladin, though still weak, would be aware if Green Sister was in danger. Be calm, Paladin mine.
It was her gentle reassurance that made him take a deep breath and reach out to take Keith's shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine," he said. "She wouldn't go far and Pidge would alert the Lions if she was hurt."
Hunk and Lance both glanced at him, measuring his words with his conviction, and then nodded.
Keith inhaled shakily. "Yeah. You're right. Sorry, Shiro."
"Hey." Shiro squeezed his shoulder gently. "It's okay to worry. We should look for her, though. We'll split up. Hunk, Lance, take the east side. Coran, the west. Keith, you're with me. We'll check out the-"
At just that moment, several children raced past them. The one in the lead called back to his friends: "Hurry up! Chid said the Green Lion's dancing!"
Shiro's head snapped up and he was already moving before he thought of following, the others keeping at his heels. They weaved through the crowds, and the music he had barely acknowledged grew louder. They were getting closer.
They came to the inner edge of the circling Chrii quite suddenly and Shiro halted so fast that Keith ran into him, but he barely noticed.
Because there she was.
"Paladins. Coran." Shola appeared beside them, the worry in her eyes falling away with a smile. "I was about to come look for you. I spotted Green by herself and was concerned."
Behind him, the others fanned out and he heard Coran say something to Shola in reply. It sounded like gratitude, but Shiro couldn't have been bothered because his eyes were fixed on Green.
With her crown of flowers and braids, she looked like a forest nymph, smiling and so carefree. He had never seen such lightheartedness on Pidge's face before, and it ached his heart to know that it wasn't really Pidge being so happy.
"How'd she know the dance?" Lance asked, his eyes fixed on her as she took a fellow dancer's hand and spun.
"The Green Lion is renowned for her intelligent nature," Shola replied. "I watched her watch the dancers for a few bars before she joined in. She's as natural as a Chrii, though she only has two arms." She waved all four of her hands at them, making Hunk laugh.
The song ended and onlookers and dancers alike applauded the band. Green clapped, as well, beaming.
Just as the musicians were about to kick up another tune, Coran's com-link beeped. Before Coran could say anything, Shiro caught Allura's frantic voice: "Coran, the Castle's alarm just sounded. We have Galra incoming. Tell the Paladins to head to the platform on the south side of the Matron's hall."
Shola's eyes widened, and Shiro was suddenly aware of Green who stood next to them.
"They are here, aren't they?" Green asked quietly. She didn't even look back at the dancers who had paused in concern.
Shiro nodded and turned to Shola. "Can we get everyone inside in case they make it to the ground?"
"We can certainly try," Shola said, determination in the set of her jaw. She grabbed the nearest four Chrii and gave them strict instructions.
While she did that, Shiro led his team at a run back to the Matron's hall.
Matron Sharya and Allura waited for them, as did four unknown Chrii. Sharya spoke quickly, "These are our fastest riders. They'll take you back to your Lions. Where is Shola?"
"She's coordinating evacuations," Shiro replied. "Why, what's wrong?"
"We need her to ride with us," said Allura. "You will need the support of the Castle, but none of the gliphonymu are big enough to carry three."
"We can handle a fleet, Allura," Lance said with a dismissive wave.
"Usually. But this time, Voltron is out of the question."
They all glanced at Green, but she had a strange far-away look on her face. She blinked, her expression clearing, and said, "Forgive Green. My Paladin is adamant to assist."
"She must not help!" Allura immediately argued. "Her quintessence is not sufficient for a battle."
"Your Highness, Green knows this," was the cool and calm reply. "Green will not accompany the Paladins to the Castle. Your Highness and Support Commander can reach the Castle within half a varga at most with slower riders, should Team Voltron require support. But if Team Voltron is to safeguard this planet, you must go now." Turning to the four Chrii riders, she bowed her head, her hand over her heart. "Ride swiftly and safely," she said.
And that was that. After taking the swing down to the ground, Shiro sat up on the tall gliphonymu's back and his rider, a quiet fellow named Chisro, murmured, "I thought you were the team leader, Black Paladin."
"Yeah," Shiro said, "but she's the Green Lion."
"Ah."
They said nothing more because they set off and Shiro shut his eyes against the stinging wind and dizzying speed.
-:-:-:-
We can't just sit here!
We must, my Paladin. Green propped her chin in her hand and leaned on the balcony railing. My Paladin has little quintessence. As it stands, you would last no more than ten or fifteen doboshes if you formed Voltron. So we are staying where we are and we will trust in our Sisters and their Paladins.
But they don't even have the Castle! her Paladin protested.
They will soon. Her Highness and Support Commander left already. They will be at the Castle in twenty doboshes. Be calm, my Paladin. It will be all right.
Her Paladin struggled with accepting the hope of that statement and Green sent a wave of gentle reassurance down their bond. It will be all right, she repeated.
How can you be so calm? Her Paladin's worry was a spike in Green's heart. There was no maliciousness in her tone and Green understood the source: fear for Team Voltron.
But Green was also afraid. Her Sisters were flying into battle without her and though it was wrong on so many levels, she could do nothing about it. She wanted to be beside her Sisters, but her Paladin's welfare held her back. Overlooking the forest path that led to the Castle, she had never felt so helpless. Fragile, mortal and helpless.
And her Paladin felt even more so, though she occupied the Lion's body. Strong was her armour and fearless was her spirit, but insufficient was her quintessence to maintain the required power for flight and weapons and Voltron.
Hurry, Chara, their hearts thought simultaneously.
"Green Lion?" Cheychi drew near, his pink eyes disturbed with panic and worry for his people. "We should get inside."
Wooden roofs and walls would do little to protect them from Galran cannons, but Green chose not to say so. "Of course," she said instead and followed him into the Matron's hall.
Dozens of Chrii had already taken refuge there, small children huddled close and nearing tears. Green's heart ached that she couldn't help them by being where she was supposed to be with her Paladin. Nevertheless, she smiled kindly at those who glanced at her and settled in a corner on the floor. Cheychi left to find his siblings, after a parting look at her.
There was nothing anyone could do but wait, but her Paladin refused to be idle.
Maybe we can…keep an eye on them? her Paladin offered after several moments.
Green blinked at the obvious suggestion. Through the Pride bond. It was doable and it would hopefully ease both of their anxiety. Yes. Let's do that, she said.
Her Paladin opened their bond wide, allowing Green access to the Pride bond. They sank into its tendrils with relief, aware of their Pride Sisters and their Paladins at last.
The relief was short-lived.
"Hunk, three on your tail! You gotta shake 'em!" Blue's Lance cried.
"I'm trying!"
"Shiro, we've got six aiming for the planet. I'm going after them," said Red's Keith, his determination chilly.
"Lance, help Keith. I'll help Hunk," ordered Black's Shiro.
There were several intense ticks of wordlessness, but Green and her Paladin were nearly awash with the Lions' nervousness.
/Yellow is doubting our chances of victory,/ Yellow hedged as Black finally arrived to assist Yellow's Hunk.
/Red hates to admit it, but…agreed,/ said Red, even as she blasted the last two fighters out of the sky with one shot from her tail cannon. Fiery debris rained through the atmosphere below, disintegrating into wisps of ash. She turned under Red's Keith's control and aimed for a carrier.
As deep as Green was in the Pride bond, she heard her Paladin butt into the conversation. /If Green can get to me, I'm willing to fight./
/No!/ Black and Blue shouted.
/No, you mustn't, Green's Paladin,/ Blue continued more gently, though her fear didn't lessen. /You don't have enough quintessence to fight./
/But you need help!/ her Paladin protested.
/We will manage,/ Black said, her tone brooking no argument. /We must manage./
Her Paladin seethed but chose not to reply, and Green hurt with their shared desperation. To her surprise, her Paladin retreated from the Pride bond and focussed on her. They need our help, Green, she said.
We cannot help. We mustn't help. My Paladin, you would…
No, Green! Forget about me. They need us. They need Voltron!
Green wavered. Her Paladin was right about that. Japra was doomed if the Lions failed. The Universe was forfeit if they were destroyed or captured. And what of the Paladins? Zarkon would not be kind to his most hated enemies. Would he send them to the gladiator arenas where Black's Shiro had suffered so gruesomely? Would he publicly execute them and broadcast it to all the corners of the Universe so that hope would die with them? Would he give them to the witch Haggar for experimentation?
Green's soul shuddered so hard that her physical body trembled at such horrible possibilities. One thing was certain, however: the Paladins would die.
"My Sisters' hearts," she whispered aloud without meaning to.
Through the bond, her Paladin saw what she meant. The pilots were the Lions' hearts. The Lions had lost before, had had their hearts ripped out before. They had vowed to protect not only each other but the pilots – all five – no matter the cost. Weak though her Paladin was, Green couldn't doubt her heart or resolve to help. Perhaps both would see them through?
Her Paladin replayed a memory file, eliciting Green's own biological memory of that dreadful day on Ghoko's moon.
Ours! Yellow roared, and Green heard her own agreement echo through the clearing, agreement aimed at enemy fighters and the two weak (and in one case, unconscious) Paladins huddled beneath her Sister's belly.
They're ours, Green. You promised, was her Paladin's final stroke.
"Yes." Green let her Paladin's confidence fill her brain and body, and her hands curled into fists as she said it out loud. "Yes, Green did."
She was on her feet and moving without a thought, her short legs carrying her with determined purpose towards the exit.
Matron Sharya intercepted her, her eyes flashing with barely restrained anger as she said, "Where are you going, Green Lion?"
Uh oh, her Paladin muttered.
Green met that furious pink gaze and lifted her chin. "Green goes to aid Team Voltron," she said simply.
"I cannot in good conscience allow you to leave," Matron Sharya said stiffly.
"With all due respect, Matron Sharya, you do not have that power. Green answers to no one but Voltron." With that, Green strode past, but Matron Sharya caught her upper arm.
"I cannot allow you to leave, Green Lion," she hissed, her voice low to avoid drawing attention from the civilians.
Green tossed Matron Sharya's intentions out the airlock. "Let go," she said loudly and nearly smirked at the two dozen sets of eyes that landed on them. On the other side of the room, Shola, Cheychi, Churei and Shurr zeroed in on the conversation and stepped towards them.
Matron Sharya squeezed and Green couldn't hold back a gasp of pain.
Green! her Paladin cried, feeling the painful grip in her soul.
Green's brain and body chilled. As if Blue Sister had encased her in ice, Green narrowed her eyes. "You doom this planet and the Universe itself if you do not let Green go," she said.
Matron Sharya stiffened, her four eyes blown wide. The hand curled around Green's tricep trembled. She said nothing. But then her grip tightened a fraction more and Green knew that if she squeezed any harder, her arm would break.
If this Chrii broke her Paladin's arm, Green would destroy her.
But then Cheychi's hands were on Matron Sharya's, long fingers pinching specific spots, and Matron Sharya squeaked in pain. Cheychi followed through, catching the wrist and turning his whole body away, yanking his matron with him and effectively breaking her grip without harming Green. Churei loomed at her back, hands at the ready, making Matron Sharya think twice about retaliating and Green wonder just what Churei could do that frightened the matron so badly.
Then Shurr was there, her healing hand gentle around Green's arm even as she pulled her towards the door, Shola behind them and defending their backs. The dozens of Chrii in the room swept back to allow them unhindered passage and then closed ranks in their wake. Matron Sharya would have to fight six dozen of her own people to get to Green.
They made it outside with no further problems and, despite her age, Shurr operated the swing well enough that Green was on the ground within a dobosh, Shola having preferred to jump free-style. A single gliphonymu grazed at the base of the Matron's trees. Without a word, Shola swung Green up onto the animal's back, sat up behind her, and kicked them into a full run.
The forest passed in a green and brown blur. Green closed her eyes against the dizzying speed and focussed instead on her Paladin. Green is coming, my Paladin. Tell my Sisters we are coming.
-:-:-:-
/You mustn't!/
/Green's Paladin, no!/
/Tell Green Sister not to come!/
/Tell her to turn around!/
Pidge braced herself against the mental barrage of terror and panic and shoved every ounce of will down the Pride bond. /They're ours!/ she shouted and silenced the cacophony. /Our hearts! Our Paladins! Our Voltron! I will not stand by and do nothing!/
/Green's Paladin, we understand your desire to help, but you risk your own life./ Black's voice was filled with the hope and desperation that Pidge would listen and the confidence that she would because Black was the head of Voltron and the leader.
/Black, I understand your desire to protect me, but you risk the universe if I don't try./
Horrified silence met her and the four Lions wavered under the presented logic.
And then Blue spoke, so quiet and so hesitant that Pidge hardly heard her through the bond. If anything, the words were more the whispers of Blue's heart than concrete thoughts. /Try not. Do or do not. There is no try./
Several miles above the planet, in the midst of battle, Black nearly stalled. /You support this, Blue Sister?/ she demanded, unable to mask her horror even as she managed to respond to Shiro's control and tear through a fighter.
/Yes./ Resolute and firm. /Pride Voltron needs help, Black Sister. We cannot protect Japra and our Paladins with just us four. We need our fifth. We need Voltron./
/Black,/ Pidge said gently when Black hesitated, /I understand that risking a Paladin – a Sister's heart – is dangerous. I don't want you to have to repeat that kind of heartbreak. I don't want to put anyone through that, least of all Green, but, please, listen. Green accepted the risk. She believes that the risk to my life is lesser than the chances of our defeat if we don't help you now. She is coming and we will help you. To the best of my ability and strength, I will do all I can to make sure we don't fail Japra, our hearts, or the universe itself. Will you accept our help?/
Despair swirled through the bond. Black did not want to. Red and Yellow didn't want to. Despite Blue's support, she didn't want to, either. They didn't want to risk sacrificing Green's heart for Japra or the universe. Not even for their own hearts. They had vowed to protect all five – all five – and gambling with Pidge's life for the sake of the remaining four Paladins was not something they wanted to do. But they also knew it wasn't up to them. Pidge and Green were coming, whether they liked it or not, whether they wanted them to or not. And if they refused to accept their help, all would certainly be lost. With their discordant refusal, Voltron would not form and they would be defeated.
What would happen to their Paladins if they were defeated?
Pidge braced herself as, for the second time in a handful of minutes, awful possibilities ripped through her soul and processor. The arenas, experimentation, torture, execution, all of it came down to a single end result: death.
If Pride Voltron was defeated, Team Voltron would die.
If Pride Voltron accepted Pidge's help, Team Voltron might live.
/Red accepts Green's Paladin's help./ Red's voice surged through the bond, hot and swift on the heels of that conclusion.
/Yellow accepts, as well./
/As does Blue./
Still, Black hesitated.
Outside the Castle, entering Pidge's sensor range, Shola and Green galloped into the clearing. Shola pulled up by the front door, sliding Green to the ground in a fluid motion, and Green raced inside. Pidge wrapped herself around her, purring hard, as she donned the paladin armour and nearly slipped off the ramp in her haste.
Green's hands were on the controls, the bay doors sliding open, when Black's voice rumbled through Pidge's whole body: /Black accepts. Please hurry./
Here we go, Green! Pidge's gears whirled, her hydraulics shifted, her pistons jumped, and she launched them out of the hangar.
Green flicked a switch, activating Pidge's com system. "Green to Paladins. We're on our way. Stand by."
There were two beats of complete silence and then Shiro spoke. "Standing by." Then: "Thank you for coming."
As soon as her paws left the ground, Pidge fell into a mental loop of Holy crow I'm flying! Green, are you seeing this? I'm flying! This is awesome! This is amazing! Oh, my gosh, Green, how are you still functioning in my body when you get to do this on a regular basis?
Green laughed and then laughed harder when Pidge repeated herself.
I'm flying! I'm flying! This is amazing!
"Yes, my Paladin. It's truly amazing and you're flying wonderfully." Then, more soberly, she added, "My Paladin's energy levels are holding steady."
Are they really? That's great! Hey! I see Blue!
/And Blue sees Green's Paladin,/ was the humorous reply.
/You make good time,/ Yellow observed with a chortle.
A good thing, too, Pidge thought. The Lions darted and danced through the void, dodging enemy fire and trying to whittle down the constant stream of fighters. Three of the eight carriers drifted in pieces and two more sported some critical damage. The remaining three were relatively unharmed. They certainly had their work cut out for them.
"Green, thank goodness!" Lance said, snatching at Pidge's attention. "How's Pidge doing?"
"She's holding steady," Green answered. "Black's Shiro, shall we?"
It may have been Pidge's imagination, but she swore Shiro hesitated at the same time Black did. But then Shiro spoke, "Form Voltron!" and Black swept the Pride bond wide open.
Green guided her into position, flying parallel with Keith towards Shiro, and then Pidge found some buried instinct kick in. As if she had done it a hundred times before, she clicked and whirred, readjusted and shifted, and she attached herself seamlessly to Black's torso, bringing her shield online without asking. The Pride bond was a now a gaping net rather than single threads that bound them together. It encompassed all five Paladins and all five Lions, and Pidge couldn't see through her visual receptors, but she didn't need to because Black was her eyes and her sensors had the receiving strength of five rather than one.
She did it.
"How're you guys doing, Green?" Shiro asked over the coms.
Green twirled a dial, shifted the left gear, and grinned. "We are operational, Black's Shiro. We are, as you human-mortals say, ready to kick some –"
"Incoming!" Lance shouted.
Pidge reacted instantly, throwing herself into the line of fire. The ion blast struck squarely, but the shield held. She did her best to mask the pain that rippled through her processor and was relieved when neither Lion nor Green commented. It could have been a fluke and Pidge prayed that it was. She had to hold on.
"Wahoo! Yeah, Pidge!" triumphed Hunk.
Head in the game, Green, Pidge said, grateful her voice was steady. Listen to Shiro now. Do as he says, and I'll do the rest.
"Yes, my Paladin."
Shiro surged them forward and Pidge lifted the shield to protect their body as they slammed through a carrier.
"Form sword!"
They did and the pain was more than a ripple as it swept from her processor down her back as they danced through the melee. Green didn't notice the tiny blip on one of the holoscreens, but someone else did.
/Green's Paladin?/ Red asked. /Are you all right?/
/Trying to be,/ Pidge couldn't help but say.
Instead of protesting or encouraging her to let go, Black, Blue, Red and Yellow washed through her, pouring strength into her systems so that the blip vanished. Pidge reached back with mental claws, hooking herself into the bond that was Voltron rather than solely Pride Voltron.
/It will be all right, Green's Paladin,/ Black assured her. /Hold on for a while longer./
Pidge could do that. She had to be able to do that.
She made herself do that.
She held on as they plowed through fighters, their sword swinging, slashing and stabbing, and their shield up to deflect ion shots. She held on as the minutes ticked by and the fleet thinned and she could feel her energy levels drop. That blip returned, as did several more, warning of the inevitable.
Hold on, my Paladin, Green encouraged. We're almost done. We're almost victorious. Just a little while longer.
The fighters retreated, condensing around their last carrier to defend it.
"That ion cannon's powering up," Hunk warned just as two more warnings flashed on Pidge's holoscreen.
"Black's Shiro, my Paladin is struggling to maintain power," Green announced. "Green has rerouted several secondary systems to keep the shield's power above fifty percent, but Green doesn't know how much longer my Paladin can hold on."
Steely determination was in Shiro's voice as he said, "All right, guys. We need to end this now."
That determination was mirrored in Lance's, Hunk's and Keith's agreement, and Pidge smiled to herself just as Shiro launched them forward, sword and shield raised.
They took out the first line of fighters and were barrelling through the second when the carrier's cannon fired.
Pidge was almost too slow to respond to Green's control. Almost. Voltron was unharmed, but that didn't stop the pain. The shield vanished as its power level plummeted to below fifteen percent with the single hit and a klaxon blared through the cockpit as the life support systems glitched. Pidge instantly rerouted all power from auxiliary systems to those crucial systems and the alarm turned off.
"Green! What's happening?" four voices shouted.
"My Paladin's systems are failing!" Green cried. "Green has lost control for all weapons. My Paladin cannot hold onto Voltron."
"That was the life support alarm!" Keith cut in.
"Yes." Green's fingers flew across the holoscreens. "Currently, more than half of my Paladin's power is being diverted to life support and heating, but that power is draining rapidly while formed with Voltron."
Shiro's command was instantaneous: "Let go. Let go of Voltron now. Keith, Lance, cover Green when she needs it. Hunk, you and I will focus on the carrier."
They broke apart and relief coursed through Pidge's circuits, a huge weight falling from her body and processor. Red and Blue swarmed closer as she listed, fighting to stabilise herself.
"My Paladin, we must return to the Castle," Green begged, her hands on the controls.
Just then a very different voice came over the coms. "Green Lion, as proud as I am that you decided to assist Voltron, even at the risk of Pidge's well-being, we're going to have to have a serious discussion about leaving us out of that decision."
"Allura!" several of the Paladins greeted, but Pidge knew Green was uninterested.
"Your Highness, are you on the Bridge?" she demanded.
"Yes. We also just received word that Chara is on his way here. He's not going to the Matron's hall. He's coming to the Castle. Shiro, do you still need our assistance?"
"Negative, Allura," Shiro replied. "Wait for Chara. Green, get Pidge planet-side. Lance, go with her. If Pidge's systems fail, your Lion's big enough to tow her."
"Copy that," Lance said grimly.
"Oh, and Green?" Shiro's face appeared on the communications screen. His face was solemn and worried as he said, "Take care of our Pidge."
Green nodded resolutely. "Yes, Black's Shiro. Come, Blue's Lance. We haven't a tick to waste."
With that, Black, Red and Yellow raced towards the Galran ships while Green turned Pidge towards Japra, Blue on her right flank.
They entered the atmosphere and Pidge winced as her armour heated. She threw what power wasn't being used for life support into shielding herself from burning up, but it wasn't much. Warnings flared across her cortex and Green's holoscreens.
"Green?" Lance's voice was timid and frightened as he now-doubt heard the alarms through the coms.
Green blinked once, twice, and tears gathered in her eyes. Those tears burned in Pidge's soul. "Blue's Lance…my Paladin is dying."
"Not today," Lance growled. "Not today, do you hear me, Green? You, too, Pidge! You're not dying today! …" His voice slurred and Pidge lost track of what he was saying.
Then she heard Green.
"Please, my Paladin," she begged, tears in her voice and on her face. "Please hold on. We're almost there. Hold on, my Paladin-Pidge. Please hold on."
You said my name, Pidge thought with a dazed purr. It's nice to hear you say it.
"And Green wishes for my Paladin-Pidge to hear Green say it some more. Please, my Paladin-Pidge. We are almost to the Castle of Lions. We're almost there, my Heart."
The Lions filtered through, their voices blurring together like Lance's. /Green's Pidge! Stay awake, Green's Pidge! Stay strong, precious Heart!/
Heart… What did a heart do again? Something important…
"Yes, yes, my Heart. My Paladin-Pidge is important. My Paladin-Pidge is Green's Heart. Green cannot live without my Paladin-Pidge."
Lived without…other paladin – paladins? – before. Can do it…again.
"Green doesn't want to! Green wants my Paladin-Pidge to stay. Green wants no other. Green cannot have another!"
Silly Green. Silly Lion. There is…always…another. And as she said it, she knew exactly who it would be. Matt. Find…Matt… Green?
"Green is here. Green is here, my Heart."
Pidge's words were failing and so she filled Green's end of the bond with Matt. His intellect and curiosity. His drive to excel and his comforting heart. He wasn't as daring as she was, sometimes he was downright timid, but maybe Green could help him with that?
"Green will try, my Paladin-Pidge. Green promises."
Japra loomed in front of them, the meadow coming upon them with such speed that Pidge half-wondered how she hadn't noticed. She realised too late that nothing was working. None of her systems responded, save for the barely-sustained life support. She couldn't slow down and so they hit the ground at terminal velocity, sending up a spray of dirt.
The Castle was several metres away. She didn't make it. Her claws dug into the ground, tried to haul herself closer…just a bit closer. But no. All kinds of warnings flashed through her cortex, and she was still twenty-seven metres from her hangar doors.
Pidge fought to say one last thing, think one last thing… The words were nearly gone. Bits and pieces of images and feelings flickered through their bond: leaning up against a warm paw, huddling beneath a protective stance, asking and answering, fond pats on the dash, rumbling purrs in her head… My Paladin… My Paladin-Pidge… My Heart… Mine…
And she found her words. Mine, too. My heart, too. Miss you. Miss you already.
/Green's Pidge! Stay awake!/
Pidge dropped the ramp – she would not trap Green inside – and the last of her systems shut down at the same instant that someone shouted and something hot hit her head.
The world spun, blackened, and then seared in a painful white before it darkened once again.
She fancied that she heard voices.
Pidge.
Green's Pidge?
Stay with us, Pidge.
Just another tick.
She doesn't have a tick!
Pidge, can you hear me?
If you can hear me, Pidge, squeeze my hand.
Green's Pidge? Stay, Green's Pidge.
Stay with Green, my Heart. Don't go where Green cannot follow.
She's crashing!
Don't go, my Heart…
-:-:-:-
It was the terror of losing Pidge and the awful thought of never seeing her again that spurred Shiro, Keith and Hunk to rip through the last of the Galran fighters. As the carrier exploded, a soundless wave of dying fire, they wheeled around as one and dived for Japra.
Shiro could hardly focus, caught between piloting his Lion, his worry for Pidge, his hope that Chara will be in time, and the one-sided conversation taking place in Green's helmet coms that broadcasted to the four other paladin helmets.
Desperation. "…We're almost there, my Heart."
Despair. "…Green cannot live without my Paladin-Pidge."
Denial. "…Green wants no other. Green cannot have another!"
Heartbroken compliance. "…Green will try, my Paladin-Pidge. Green promises."
They were still a couple miles above the ground, but the impact was still visible. A plume of dirt shot into the air, obscuring everything, and Lance's voice was tear-filled as he spoke. "They just crashed. Setting Blue down now."
Shiro landed a handful of seconds later, Keith and Hunk around him. He raced from his Lion to Pidge who lay on her side, her eyes dark and her ramp down. A dozen Chrii converged around a solitary figure on the ground – Green? Was she thrown? No. No, it was a Chrii. He sat up slowly and that was when Shiro stopped paying attention to him.
He was inside the Lion and slamming to a halt beside Coran and Allura. Coran held a bio-scanner and Allura's hand rested on a hovering gurney.
Pidge's body lay in the chair – was it Green or Pidge behind those closed eyes? – completely limp and unresponsive. He took her hand, crouching beside her. He was sure he spoke to her, as did Coran and Allura, possibly even Lance, Keith and Hunk since they were in here, too. It was crowded, but Shiro didn't focus on that. His heart pounded somewhere in his stomach or in his throat, blood roaring in his ears and drowning out the words and the bio-scanners beeps until Allura's voice, high and desperate and terrified, punctured the haze surrounding him.
"A pod won't help her quintessence, Coran!"
Shiro's head snapped up in time to see Coran stand. Their amiable, easy-going friend looked her dead in the eyes and replied, "She needs a pod to stabilise. Her heart's too weak. Her body must stabilise if it is to regenerate quintessence. Shiro, help me."
Shiro obeyed, standing, and his hands took Pidge and put her on the hover bed. Instant alarms rang out, alerting even the dead of Pidge's precarious health. Coran left at a run to prepare the pod, leaving Shiro to take the bed to the infirmary.
Hurry, my Paladin! Black urged, her voice startling him. Green's Paladin has no time to waste.
The others made way as Shiro rushed out of…Green. It was Green, the Green Lion. Pidge was here. Pidge was back in her body.
Pidge was still dying.
Time seemed to jump, warping ahead in a blur only to stabilise again at random moments.
Shiro pushed the gurney with Pidge on it into the Castle. Warp. Shiro entered the infirmary, the others behind him. Warp. Shiro barely heard Coran's order to take Pidge's armour off. Warp. Many hands helping. Warp. Pidge was now out of her armour.
And then time resumed.
Shiro blinked, then blinked again in confusion. She still wore her flower crown. It was in ruins, the flowers crushed and the grass bent and broken, and several petals were missing. Her braids were in shambles, stray hairs sticking out.
She must have forgotten about them, he mused absently. She'd worn her helmet over top of them.
While Coran worked furiously, Shiro found himself reaching for Pidge's hair. He carefully removed the flowers, set them to the side, and his fingers teased the braids loose. Hunk appeared at his side to take the pins before they could fall to the floor.
"Shiro!" Coran called.
Fighting back his tears, Shiro picked her up and settled her into the pod. As the barrier fell into place, so did a stray duskfire fall from her hair. It landed outside the pod. Without thinking, Shiro bent down and picked it up.
"Well. That's all we can do for now," Coran said, looking every year of his more-than ten thousand years.
"Will she be all right?" Allura dared to ask.
Coran shook his head. "I honestly don't know. If she doesn't stabilise in the next few quintants, I doubt she ever will. All we can do now is…wait."
No one said anything.
Shiro looked down at the sad, little flower. Pinched between his fingers, it had only two of its vibrant petals and its stem was broken, its head dangling by a few sparse threads.
Black, he despaired. What do I do, Black? What do I do?
Black could offer no advice or suggestion to soothe his aching heart and her purr was as broken as the flower.
-:-:-:-
Pidge stayed in the pod for three days before Coran let her out, daring to be confident that her heart wouldn't stop beating. She was set on a med-bed, a nutrients patch was applied thrice a day, and she was watched around the clock. They took turns sitting with her, talking to her, holding her hands and asking her to squeeze if she could hear them. Hunk brushed her hair every day, and Keith reminded her that they had a race planned and she couldn't chicken out. Lance sang quietly in Spanish and Allura recounted some of her favourite stories from when she was a child. Coran hummed to himself, a bio-scanner resting on his knee, and Shiro held her hand and was silent.
A week.
It felt like a year. It felt like ten thousand years. It felt like stasis and everything was frozen, no sense of time or self, just…existing in the black.
But then the week ended.
-:-:-:-
Pidge awoke slowly, her senses reeling. For a brief second, she thought she could smell her mom's peanut butter cookies, and then she swore she heard the clatter of the Garrison's commissary. White light flashed in her mind's eye, phantom terror and agony racing each other through her veins.
Then…
My Heart. Green thrummed in her mind, chasing the ghosts away. Wake up, my Heart. Open your eyes.
Do I have eyes? Pidge wondered absently.
Find out, my curious and daring Paladin-Pidge.
Pidge obeyed, smiling a little. The blackness lightened to grey, then to hazy white. Wasn't that the infirmary's ceiling?
Wait a minute. The infirmary was too small to hold a Lion. Was she…? Could it be…?
She opened her eyes further and there – there, there, there! – was a hand. She flicked her fingers. The hand's fingers moved. She turned her head – her head! – felt her hair brush her cheek, and raised her hand to sweep it out of her eyes. The movement was so familiar and yet so strange. She smiled as she leaned back against the soft pillows cradling her back and neck. It was a good strange. It wouldn't take long for it to not be strange anymore.
Welcome back, precious Heart, said Green.
Pidge smiled and sent a wave of love and gratitude down her bond. Green purred with pleasure. My Paladin-Pidge has learned much.
So have you. I see you're still using my name.
Ah. Yes. Mild embarrassment fluttered along the bond. Green doesn't wish to be rude…
I like it when you say it, Pidge interrupted gently.
Green likes it, too, my Paladin-Pidge. My Sisters are happy and relieved you are awake.
Speaking of… Pidge sat up, looked around and blinked at how full the infirmary was.
Obviously nighttime, there were mattresses and blankets all across the floor. She spotted Allura, curled up like a cat, and Coran was a respectful distance from her – though maybe that was because he lay sprawled like a starfish. Shiro and Keith were side by side and facing each other. In the auxiliary light, Keith's face glinted with fresh tears, twisting Pidge's heart. On Shiro's other side were Lance and Hunk, Hunk somehow managing to fit in the curve of Lance's stomach. There was no sound but for their gentle breathing and the occasional rustle of blankets.
Pidge smiled at them, this ragtag bunch of aliens and humans that had somehow become family to her.
My Paladin-Pidge has become family to them, too, Green put in proudly.
Smiling wider, Pidge piled her blankets in her arms, tossed her legs over the side of her bed, and stood up.
As soon as her skin left the bed, alarms ripped through the air. Pidge froze when everyone jerked awake, Coran shouting her name, even though he wasn't yet upright. Their terror locked her in place.
So it was that when everyone expected to find Pidge in some kind of medical distress and instead found her standing on her own two feet, her arms full of blankets, and looking for all the 'verse like she was about to join them on the floor, they stilled.
The medical klaxons continued to blare, but everyone stared at Pidge and Pidge stared at everyone without moving and without saying anything.
Then: "Holy quiznak," Lance hissed. "Pidge?"
"Um," said Pidge. "Yeah?"
No one could hear her over the alarms and Coran finally composed himself enough to turn them off with his holopad.
The resultant silence was deafening, Pidge's ears still ringing. "Um," she said again. "I didn't mean to wake everyone up."
"Oh, my gosh, Pidge!" Hunk lurched forward and swept her off her feet, blankets and all, and spun her in a circle. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you feel dizzy?"
"I do now," Pidge muttered. "Please, Hunk. I'd really love to not throw up on you."
"Sorry, sorry!" He set her back on her feet, only to grab her up again in a hug. "Oh, my gosh, Pidge! You're awake and alive!"
Pidge was about to fire back some kind of retort but then thought the better of it. "I'm okay, Hunk. Just a little tired. I'm sorry I woke everyone."
"Pidge, you always have to make some kind of entrance." Allura beamed at her and touched her cheek with the back of two fingers. "How are you feeling, truly?"
"Tired and…my skin feels too big right now."
"That will pass," Coran said, grinning through tears. "It is good to have you back again, Number Five."
"I didn't go anywhere," she pointed out. "But, yeah. Me, too."
"All right, all right, stop hogging her, Hunk!" Lance butted in, but all Hunk did was turn slightly so Lance could hug Pidge from behind. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Pidgey."
"I can imagine," she whispered to the blankets that were nearly smothering her.
"Shiro, Keith, come here," Allura said briskly. "This is a perfect time for a group hug!"
"Yay! Group hug!" Hunk squeezed Pidge tighter – if that were possible. Pidge squeaked on a laugh, but then Keith and Shiro were there, smiling at her with their arms wrapped around each other and Lance and Hunk and her, and Allura and Coran fitted in nicely on the other side. Green purred hard, deep and long, enveloping her in her love.
And in that moment, all was well.
-:-:-:-
For the next few days, all Pidge did was eat and sleep. Well, she also sat in the meadow with Shola, Churei and Cheychi and some gliphonymu. Hunk braided her hair and then taught Keith, and Lance made flower crowns for everyone as they basked in the sunshine, sometimes rising early enough for a sunrise or staying up late enough for a sunset. Pidge bathed her toes in the brook and ate soups and light sandwiches, and drank milkshakes Lance made. They shared stories and laughed at Shiro's attempts to ride a gliphonymu by himself (he was too short).
Pidge met Chara and Matron Sharya – smiled at Chara and glared at the matron because she knew what she had done to Green. She thanked Chara and Shola for helping her and her Lion, and reintroduced them to her. Green purred at their meeting, though did not nuzzle, and Pidge caught the fleeting thought that nuzzling was specially reserved for special people.
She slept and ate and basked in the sunshine with friends and yet…something was missing. Or rather, someone.
She missed Pride Voltron, the feeling of four Sisters in her head, loving her and encouraging her. She missed them. And she wondered if they missed her, too. More than that, she wanted to thank them for being what they had to her. They had accepted her into their circle of immortal loyalty, despite her being a flawed and mortal human.
Restlessness tugged Pidge from her bed late one night, guiding her footsteps to a hangar that wasn't hers. Peeking around the door, she looked up, way, way up, at Black.
"Hey," she said, shuffling forward in her slippers and robe. "It's me. Well, of course it's me, but…you know…" There was no response, so Pidge kept going. "So, um, I know I can't hear you anymore, but I just want you to know, um…thanks. Thank you for everything, and I'm really glad you have Green back." She bowed her head, wanted to say the words 'I miss you', and her confidence failed. "So, uh, yeah. That's it, I guess," she finished lamely.
She turned to go when a rumbling purr shook the hangar and made her turn back around. Black's eyes lit up and she crouched down, bringing her massive muzzle right to Pidge's chest. Pidge wrapped her arms around as much as she could reach and leaned into Black. "Miss you," she whispered.
Green was suddenly very there in her mind, and Pidge felt her soul being enveloped once more in the comfort and love that could only come from Pride Voltron, from Red and Blue, Yellow and Black, from all of them. Pride Voltron wished to relay their heart-thoughts to my Paladin-Pidge, Green said with a purr.
Pidge laughed, tears cascading down her cheeks, and hugged Black's nose harder. "I guess it's kind of impossible to miss someone who's still here," she said.
It was because Green was wrapped around her with all of the Lions that Pidge heard a whisper as wide and deep as a night sky: Just a little impossible.
-:-
The End