Happy (belated) new year everyone! May this year be better than the previous and remember that baby steps towards your goals ARE STILL STEPS!
This chapter happens sometime between s2e8 (When Keith goes through the trials of Marmora and finds out he's half Galra) and s2e9 (when the team goes to rescue Slav from the high security prison)
There is a musical reference in this chapter but it only lasts a fraction of a second. If you want to look it up, the song is I Can't Help Falling In Love With You. It was originally sung by Elvis Presley but I recommend you also check out the 21 Pilots version and The Book Of Life movie version. Look outfor the star! (*)
Again, I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defenders.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Planet Unus
Pidge found Coran working on the main deck, calculating the amount of time and the best trajectory for their next mission. "Hey Coran, how are you feeling?" They asked while sitting down next to him.
"Much better thanks to everyone," he replied. "I… I kinda underestimated how much energy the war is asking from me," the Altean added, "but… I'll be okay, with time." After King Alfor's AI got destroyed, Coran had done his best to quickly get back on his feet and hide his exhaustion and hurt from everyone. But he had given the team quite a scare when he collapsed out of fatigue during a team meeting a few days ago. He was put on medical rest and everyone worked to cut down and even eliminate any work the castle could need to help him rest as much as possible. Despite their best efforts, Coran couldn't stay in bed for long, claiming that isolation wasn't good for him and that he needed to do something. That didn't stop Allura and the Paladins from making sure that he takes care of himself.
Pidge nodded. "Is there anything I could help you with?"
"Actually, yes. I need to double check on the engines so that I know of any pieces we might need next time we go to the space mall. Want to tag along?" The green Paladin's eyes gleamed. They always loved going to the engine room and trying to understand Altea's advanced technology.
Unfortunately for Pidge, that lesson would have to wait another day.
Just as the Altean was finishing his calculations, the alarms blared through the castle and the red light started flashing in the main deck. Pidge jumped to their feet. "What's happening?" They asked as they ran to their station. The other Paladins quickly joined them and waited to be debriefed. Princess Allura was the last one to enter. "Coran who sent the distress signal?" She asked while making her way to the podium. She froze in her tracks when she read the words displayed in Altean. "Princess what's going on?" Shiro asked. But the Altean was in complete shock, whatever information was flashing in front of her got the princess and Coran paralyzed with fear.
"Coran!" She yelled out with a shaking voice. "Confirm what the message is saying!" He took a deep breath and read the Altean words out loud.
"When the light appears during your darkest hour, call out to it."
"What does it even mean?" Hunk asked. Allura turned around, her expression different from her usual battle stare. It was torn, angry, afraid.
"It means that planet Unus in under Galra Attack, and no matter what happens to us, THIS PLANET CANNOT, under ANY circumstances, fall to the Galra. Our very lives depend on it!" The whole team was taken aback by the princess' tone.
"Paladins, to your lions!" Shiro yelled out. They all came out of their shock and ran to their loading pods. Shiro walked towards the princess. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "This situation looks pretty serious, are you sure you'll be fine?" He asked. Allura looked at him, his eyes narrowed with worry. "I'll have to be," she responded with a small smile. What choice did she have? What choice did any of them have really? The Galra clearly wasn't going to wait for them to be ready and they had to keep going forward despite everything that was going on inside them.
And Shiro understood. "Don't worry Shiro, we'll help each other," Coran said while patting his back. Shiro nodded and ran towards his loading pod. The Paladins were just getting ready to leave when Shiro ran to his seat in the black lion. "Let's go team!" He shouted with determination in his voice.
From far, Unus looked like a ball of neon explosion, spots of different colors covered the planet's surface. "This planet's color is straight out of a 90's girl magazine!" Lance noticed with a small laugh. "According to my data," Hunk added, "the population… resemble what we consider fairies?! Their weaponry and technology is powered by a form of white quintessence native to the planet."
Pidge was looking over the information in their lion and noticed something odd. "Princess, why is this planet's data coming from the myths and legends database rather than the intergalactic glossary?"
"I'll explain later. Focus on defeating the Galra army and protecting civilians." The Galra ships came into sight within the planet's stratosphere, shooting at the ground. "Hunk, details?" Shiro asked as they started attacking the ships. "There's nothing there: no palace, no underground system, nothing! Maybe they're trying to make a hole big enough to extract the quintessence from the planet's core?"
"From the looks of it, if they keep it up it could destroy the planet," Keith realized, noticing how the planet had started fracturing the same way the Balmera did.
"Okay team, destroy the main ships into small pieces, we don't want the planet's surface to get any more damage."
What first started as a few Galra ships quickly became a whole fleet. Even with Voltron formed and backup provided by the castle, the last Galra ship was destroyed almost three hours after the distress signal was first sent out. They finally split and landed on the planet's surface soon after followed by the castle. "How are we going to help the civilians if we can't even locate them?" Lance asked. Just as Princess Allura was preparing herself to answer, the ground started shaking. "Hunk, update!" Shiro demanded. "The planet is healing itself as we speak! There is a flow of quintessence binding the cracks all across its surface, still no signs of life."
"This white quintessence must be pretty powerful," Keith said, "Could we maybe use it to fight Zarkon?"
"I'm afraid that it isn't that simple," Allura replied, "everyone, meet me on ground level."
Allura, Coran and the Paladins were soon all gathered under the castle. "Everyone alright?" She asked. The answer came in different tones of mumbles and thumbs up. Coran didn't waste any time and started checking on everyone's vital signs. A buzzing sound slowly became louder and soon, a flying swarm of dots made itself visible on the horizon. As it got closer, the dots became more defined. A group of flying creatures cam closer to the castle, all circling one individual in particular. They landed a few feet away from the group. A fairy with colorful crystal-like wings approached them, closely followed by a group of white armored men. "Thank you, Paladins," they said in a melodic voice, "we thought it was the end for us before one of my officials said they spotted the lions among the stars."
"Voltron is always ready to help those in need," Allura said with a warm smile. "I am…"
"Princess Allura…" They said in a hushed tone. "I am High-Ruler Sadachbia," the monarch introduced themself while taking the princess' hand and resting her back hand on their forehead in signs of respect. "Welcome to our beloved home." They looked up to the princess before continuing. "Please, stay here for the night and accept our hospitality. Our healers are already working on restoring the planet's natural state and we can help with any damage received during the battle."
The team decided to accept the high-ruler's offer and soon, they were walking through a forest of blue trees. Hunk couldn't help but notice how similar the planet was to earth. "Everything looks like home and is still so different," he said out loud. "How so?" Sadachbia asked.
"The vegetation physically looks very similar to those of our home planet. The main difference is the color and the size but other than that…"
"Does your species control quintessence as well?" The high-ruler asked out of curiosity. "I'm not sure to understand what you mean," Hunk replied. They span around, looking for something. After finally spotting a giant yellow flower in the distance, Sadachbia began to sing and their voice floated to the flower. Two giant petals detaching from the bulb before twirling and placing themselves on Hunk's head in a complexly woven crown. "Wow," was all the Paladin could say.
"That's so cool!" Pidge whispered in awe.
"I am not familiar with the term 'cool' but I assume it is a compliment," Sadachbia replied while laughing.
"Can everyone do that?" Lance asked as the group got closer to a clear field. "Not exactly. Direct control and use of quintessence is an ability very few on our planet possess. Others are amplifiers: using their bodies to amplify the quintessence around them so that those who can directly use it can have a bigger impact. The same principle is being used to mend together the gaps left on our planet's core as we speak."
The group gathered in the middle of a field of white flowers. "Everyone, please join hands and make a chain or else you will be left here when I transport you to my castle," the high- ruler instructed while offering their hand to Princess Allura who held it. She turned to her right and reached for Shiro's hand. He held onto it, squeezing it lightly. As the team held each other's hands, Keith quickly realized that he would have to hold Lance's hand and had to take a breath before holding it. Lance couldn't resist the urge to tease the red Paladin.
*"Take my hand, take my whole life too…" he whispered in his ear.
Keith squeezed Lance's hand tightly, crushing his bones and making a small squeak come out of the blue Paladin. "Ouch! Not so tight!" Lance hissed.
"Stop fooling around then!" He said while loosening his grip.
Blue quintessence slowly swirled around the group, then quickly picked up in speed and intensity. The energy became so intense that everyone closed their eyes to shield themselves from the intense light and when everything came back to normal, they opened their eyes and realized that they were no longer in the field but in the middle of a big hall. The tall white walls had windows made of colorful crystals fused together. The outside light coming through them created a rainbow of colors inside the hall.
"Welcome to our castle of light," they announced. "Our magic allows us to hide from any detector so unless you are taken here directly, there is no way of accessing the castle nor the population."
"I presume this is what kept the population safe during the attacks," Coran questioned. The high-ruler nodded. A little girl with blue hair flew towards the group. Her wings were different shades of blue and white crystals and had the same shape as the high-ruler's. "Welcome back!" She yelled out as the high-ruler extended their arms to catch their daughter. "Oh my little star shine, thank the ancients you are safe!"
She peeped over their shoulder and immediately noticed Hunk's flower crown. "Did you make him a crown?"
"It's really lovely, isn't it?" Hunk said with the biggest smile. The girl looked at the group of strangers and at their attire and her expression quickly changed. "Are…" she started while releasing herself from the high-ruler's embrace, "Are you… the Paladins of Voltron?"
"Yes we are," Shiro answered. "And this is…"
"Princess ALLURA?!" The child screamed when she finally realized why her face looked so familiar. She walked towards the Altean and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I can't believe it. THE princess, HERE! Are you staying for dinner?" She bulbed out, her golden eyes shining with hope. "Actually, we're staying for the night,"Coran answered instead. The little girl squealed with delight.
The young princess quickly grabbed Princess Allura's hand and, just like the high-ruler, pressed her backhand to her forehead. "Welcome to our home, Princess Allura of Altea, may you find comfort and rest and may your heart hear the universe calling out to it." The Paladins looked curiously at the child who was performing what seemed to be a traditional royal greeting. "Can I take them to their quarters?" She then yelled out, still holding the Princess' hand.
"Of course sweetheart," Sadachbia replied with a small laugh. "Don't worry," they said while talking to the guests, "my daughter knows the castle like the back of her hand, you'll be in good hands. I will see you all at dinner."
The high-ruler excused themselves and they were left with the princess and what looked like her personal guard. "Okay everyone, follow me!" She exclaimed, lifting herself off the ground and guiding the Paladins through a series of halls.
During their walk, they learned that her full title was Princess Asellus and that she was the only child of the royal family. "It's been a while since we had visitors, I'm really happy you are all here!" She said while opening a blue and white door. "You will be sleeping in here. This is the common area and the green doors lead you to your rooms. Each room has two beds and the lavender door with the twirls on it is for hygiene. If you want to sit, all you got to do is scratch the flower bulbs like this." She finally sat foot on the ground ans skipped to the nearest giant flower bulb. She scratched its side with a hand and surely enough, the flower bloomed and became a beautiful orange flower-chair. "The bigger the bulb, the bigger the furniture. All the oranges ones and the big red one in the middle create a table set. the others are either couches or sofas."
"What if we fall asleep on them?" Coran asked. The little princess giggled. "The flowers will wrap around you like a soft blanket until you wake up.
"Why the shared room?" Keith asked while looking around. "We believe that spending time with others is important, even during sleep time. Energy get transferred all the time and so you should always be transferring energy with those you care about." Shiro looked at Allura from the corner of his eyes, remembering the night he caught her dancing. "To take a break intertwined with another person was a sign of deep trust and brought comfort in ways that no Altean technology could quite surpass." That was the explanation she had given him when she sat comfortably on his lap that night.
After arrangements were made, it was decided that Shiro would share a room with Coran, Lance with Hunk and Keith and finally Pidge with Allura. The princess left, promising them that she would be back within an hour to help with their royal attire and escort them to the dining hall.
"Something doesn't fell right," Pidge said once they were left alone. "There's something they're not telling us."
Shiro's gaze went from Pidge to Allura. "Princess, I think now's the time to tell us what's going on exactly."
Allura nodded, moving towards a giant purple bulb. She passed her hand over it and the bulb opened, taking the form of a small sofa. She took a seat before speaking, inviting the others to sit as well. Pidge sat to the princess's left, Coran to her right and the others preferred sitting directly on the floor. "When I was a little girl, my father told me stories of celestial creatures that protected a rare form of white quintessence. Although it's pure, raw form usually comes in blue or yellow, white quintessence, according to the stories, could potentially give the power to create and destroy at will. If blue quintessence sustains life, white quintessence is the beginning and end of life."
"This planet wasn't in the intergalactic database because no living creature has ever sat foot here," Coran added. "For as long as I can remember, it was nothing more than a story. Even my parents told me the tale of Unus numerous time."
"What else do these stories say?" Lance asked in a voice he hoped didn't sound as alarmed as he truly was.
Princess Allura nervously played with her hair. "The planet only shows itself when the universe arrives at its darkest hour."
The room became eerily quiet. Everyone stared at each other with a fear slowly creeping in at the seriousness of the situation. "Did the stories mention if the planet was hiding anything?" Keith asked. "Yeah," Hunk added, "since they're able to hide their castle and population from every kind of sensor out there, it's possible that a weapon is hiding here too." The princess and Coran shook their heads. "The only other thing the story mentions is the message we got with their distress signal. But I suppose we will find out more during dinner," Coran concluded.
"You're right," Shiro added, "for now, all we can do is clean up and try to rest before tonight, Princess Asellus said she'll be back later to help with dress code so there's nothing more we can do until then." As they all made their way to their rooms, Shiro grabbed the princess' hand. "Can I talk to you in private?" he whispered. Allura looked at Pidge and signed her to go ahead. They sat back down on the flower-sofa.
"Why do I get the feeling that there is something you don't want to tell everyone?" He asked. She stared at Shiro. "I really can't hide anything from, can't I?" Allura asked while frowning. "Not since we both did the call of the heart," he added with a chuckle. That was true. As she slowly got back in the flow of the war, Allura and Shiro have been more in tune than before. At first it was little things: predicting what the other wants to eat for breakfast, completing their sentences and so on. But then it became less of a coincidence and more like fine tuning. They would find each other at night no matter where they were in the castle and they always defeated the gladiator robots when they trained together
Allura hesitated at first but concluded that there was no point at hiding her thoughts from him. "The Unus are allies, that much is certain. But the stories did say that they were placed under a curse. The distress signal… it had the exact wording of how to lift said curse. When the light appears during your darkest hour, call out to it. I don't know how it will all play out. I can't even… believe this planet actually exists," she whispered.
Shiro squeezed her hand to comfort her. "We can ask the high-ruler over dinner. For now, focus on resting. It's been a tough couple of days and the battle was very long so try and recharge." She looked at Shiro. He had become completely comfortable using his Galra hand around her and was now using it to replace the strands of her hair that weren't in place. Whenever they were alone like this, he always did little gestures to soothe her and make her worries dissipate for a few minutes. And it seemed to work once again. "Thank you, Takashi," she whispered with a smile on her lips. He stopped moving his hands, surprised to hear her use his real name for the first time. Allura used this moment of distraction to move his white lock from his face and press a soft kiss on his forehead before making her way to her bedroom.
Shiro stayed alone, chasing the red from his face before going into his own room to try and sleep.
I hope you liked this (long awaited) chapter, let me know what you think!