Eeeeep! This is a rly long chapter, the longest so far in this fanfic. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer – I do NOT own Voltron… Well you know. I'm too lazy to do the disclaimers anymore so just remember them please!
Chapter 10
Pidge Pov
I was ready. I had been training for another hour and even though I hadn't improved much, I felt ready. Or so I was telling myself. I had to believe that though. All those people were counting on me and if I ever was going to free them, I had to look brave and beat the trial.
"How many people will I have to fight in the battles?" I don't ask anyone in particular so I get a cacophony of voices answering. A few voices answered with "Oh, not many. Probably only one or two people at once", while others said "You might get about 7 at once. So be ready." It was all a bit much so I just shut their voices out.
"Pidge Gunderson, Paladin of the Green Lion of Voltron? Please come with me." A guard appeared in the doorway of the prison cell with backup. I saw the other prisoners shy away from the guards out of the corner of my eye. I felt a twinge of sadness for them but turn away and follow the guards.
We weave through corridor after corridor and my attempt at memorising them is futile. On the outside, it doesn't look like there's many but now that I'm inside, it seems like there are billions.
"Hurry up!" One of the guards shouts and I quicken my pace, not wanting to be sore before my battle. The corridors wind around and up ahead, I start to see more prison cells. At the other end of the corridor is a big double door. I'm guessing that's the door that will either take me to my victory of my doom. I hear muffled words from one of the prison cells on the left and strain my ears to make out words.
"They're coming. And they've got another with them."
"Who's coming?"
"The guards, idiot."
"Oh, right. So, how do you know they've come for us?"
"Just follow my lead. Lance, get over there."
I recognise the voices and warmth fills my heart. Lance and Keith, arguing like normal. Happy thoughts enter my mind. 'They made it. They're alive!' But then another thought enters my head. 'Are they okay? Are they hurt? What happened to the Lions?' Just as we're about to walk past their cell, I bump into a guard on purpose and knock him over. I run over to their cell to see my friends wide eyed and plan totally forgotten.
"Guys! I will get you out of this. I promise. Just give…" A guard grabs me from behind and CURSE MY SMALL BODY! lifts me up. He pulls me away from my friends who I leave with gaping mouths and eyes full of shock.
"Get out of here!" I yell this before the guards take me away through the double doors. I watch with sadness as my friends are left there, helpless. I'm the only one who can save them. I have to.
"3… 2… 1… Fight!" My first fight against the Galra. From what I've observed, it's a male who thinks he's bound to win. I plan on proving him wrong. A punch flies my way and I duck just in time. That extra hour of training helped in the slightest bit but I'm still not a good fighter. Just as he lifts his leg to kick me, I swing my leg. This takes out his other leg from under him. He gets knocked unconscious, ending the battle.
"Winner Pidge Gunderson!" The crowd mostly mumbles and a few cheer. I feel proud.
Before I entered the arena, a girl about my age told me the rule. You had to defeat you opponent by either a) you or your opponent gives in or b) you or your opponent can no longer fight. All weapons allowed. Any power you possessed was allowed. Anything was pretty much allowed.
The girl also told me how to finish the first trial. I would have to fight every battle they made me fight and win everyone of them. If I lost one of them, then the trial ended, then death. If I didn't fight or couldn't fight, death. Pretty much, if I disobeyed, death.
The teenager who told me was different. She wasn't very tall, around my height and she, like everyone else here, was Galra. But there was something different about her. She kept a hooded jacket on so I couldn't see her face but her body language spoke instead. She was tense, as if ready to fight for her life at any second. It was odd.
I walk out of the arena and walk back to the girl who looked like she hadn't moved her position the whole time I was fighting.
"Well done. Now onto level 2. Your next fight will be in 10 doboshes so you have a little time to relax first." She hands me a bottle of something emerald green. I raise an eye brow at her and she sighs.
"I keep forgetting you're not from around here. That's valena. It will help you keep your strength up and mend any injury you attain from battle. It's not a drug or anything bad." I nod and drink. It tastes a bit like honey which is a nice change from all the Altean food I'd been eating. Once I finish the bottle, I smack my lips.
"Good stuff, huh? My own concoction." I frown.
"How do you know you're not poisoning someone?" Her body relaxes the tiniest amount. Maybe because it's a topic she's use to?
"I've tried it heaps on times. Mostly on myself. I made it many deca-phoebs ago though. Before the first war against the Galra and the Alteans. Before…" She trails off and her body tenses up again. Something must've happened to her. Something impacted her life, something so big that now she's different. I want to stand up and hug her but I don't. Just to be safe.
"Your next fight starts in 2 doboshes. Better get ready."
The next fights fly by with either 10 or 20 minute breaks between. As I progress, they get harder but nothing I can't handle. I haven't been able to summon my twin blades yet but I'm holding my own. So far, I've had 2 surrenders and all the rest I'd just had to wear out. It definitely hasn't been easy but the valena has helped repair many damages to my body.
The girl who keeps giving me the valena hasn't told me her name and I don't ask it. Just to be on the safe side. But she's nice. Ish. I haven't gotten on her bad side yet and to be frank, I don't want to at all. I feel like she could be an ally when the time is right.
"Alright. This is your second last fight. Now get out there and beat that Galra to his arse!" I gape at her language. She smirks.
"What? Never heard a Galra swear before?" I shake my head, smiling. Then, I walk out into the arena.
My opponent is easily twice as big as me but I could use that to my advantage. Sometimes, bigger means slower. The fight starts and I observe his movements. Neither of us advances toward the other. I feign a swift punch to his side but he dodges. 'So much for the idea that he's gonna be slower than me.' I feign a kick but before it can contact with his body, he grabs my foot, throwing me to the other side of the arena.
My head smacks against the wall and I fall to the floor making a sickening crunching. I'm slumped on the floor with a bruised body and a broken wrist. "This is not good." I mumble to myself. Thankfully, the big Galra is soaking in the crowd's cheers to not come over the finish me off. I use this small moment to think. 'I'll never win if I don't have a weapon. Especially against this guy. Think Pidge, think!' Nothing comes to mind so I accept that I'm beaten and attempt to stand up. I wait for the crowd to tell him to finish me as I try and look brave during my final moments.
My opponent turns toward me and grins evilly. I gulp nervously and wait. He walks toward me slowly, drawing out the doboshes before my death. I squeeze my eyes and wait for the inevitable.
But, of course, something happens. My right hand starts to feel hot and soon, the heat is so unbearable I have to open my eyes. The sight before me is something though. A forest green coloured fire licks its way up my arm and I stifle a scream. The flames don't seem to be burning my skin away but they're still hot to touch. I try and douse them but they won't go out. I know I must look like an idiot, jumping up and down trying to stop the flames from spreading, but I don't care. The flares are making their way up my arm now and they're getting closer to the clothes the Galra gave me to fight in. I don't want to end up standing naked in front of all those Galras so I try even harder to douse the flames. Nothing works.
I close my eyes again and try and not picture them laughing at me. After a few moments, I feel them all over my body. They're hot but not burning any of my clothes away. They're just flickering and hot. Just as quickly as they came, they're gone. But they leave something behind.
Now, I'm facing my opponent with a pair of emerald green twin blades in my hands. I don't even stop to think about the prophecy that the other prisoners told me about from before. I just launch myself at my opponent and, with a few thrusts and parries, I've won. My opponent in on the ground with blood streaming out of his broken nose and I'm declared the victor.
I return to the waiting room where I spent the few minutes before my battles. The Galran girl is still there and she's grinning.
"You found your power. This is going to be very interesting indeed." I smile at her and drink the valena in one gulp.
"I didn't even know I had this kind of power in me. It's quite amazing. How long until my last fight?" She frowns now.
"I do not know. They haven't told me yet. I guess you'll just have to wait. Do you know how to make them vanish?" I hadn't thought of that. I'd been so focused on trying to stay alive I'd forgotten that I'd need to make the swords vanish at some point.
"Ummm. Maybe I could think about them disappearing?" I hated how it sounded more like a question but in all honesty, I didn't have a clue.
"Well, you might need to work on summoning and making them disappear at will. Do that while you wait for your next battle." She disappears and I take her advice. I think about the blades disappearing. They stay in my hands. 'Come on blades. Come on Pidge, think.' I try again and again with no success.
"Ugh! This is useless. These blades are here and now they won't disappear. So much for being able to wield them." I say this to no one in particular but I hear a male voice in return.
"Try imagining them disappearing. Like, a visual of them in your mind." I turn in a full circle, trying to find the voice.
"Wh- who are you?" I get no answer in return. 'Well that was freaky. But maybe the guy's got a point.' I close my eyes and imagine the swords in my hands disappearing. When I open my eyes, they're gone. Nowhere to be seen.
"Huh. That worked. No maybe I could summon them in a similar way…" I try picturing them in my mind reappearing. When I open my eyes again, they're there. I smile. I'd mastered the twin blades.
A throat clears behind me and I turn, blades wielded.
"I'm sorry to disturb your practising but your final battle is in a dobosh." I relax a little and nod toward the Galra servant.
"Thank you." My final battle for the first trial. I was ready as I'd ever be.
As I entered the arena this time, there were no cheers. The whole place was silent, like they were waiting for someone important. I stood where I'm supposed to before the battle starts and I wait. The doors opposite me slowly slide open and I stare at my opponent. It's a small human girl, just a few centimetres taller than myself. She's smiling nervously at the crowd but when out eyes meet, hers are filled with fear. I don't want to fight this girl. I can't fight her.
"3… 2… 1… FIGHT!" I'm just about to protest when the fear in the girl's eyes vanishes completely. A violent glint appears in her eyes and she advances with a speed that isn't human. I roll out of the way just in time. She turns without a hitch and soon, she's almost on top of me. She's holding twin blades and advancing with precision. I summon my blades and roll out of her way again. I try and observe her from every time she advances toward me. I can see that the scared little child was a trick. Her technique is pretty much perfect and since I'm not a swordfighter, I can't really tell if she has any flaws. After another roll away, she starts talking to me.
"You're weak. They're all better off without you. Especially him. He's happy without you. Always was. Always will be. Anyway, you'd never work out." At first, I don't understand. Then it clicks.
"Get out my head", I growl. My crush on Keith was a secret, one that the other Galra didn't need to know about. She smirks and continues talking.
"You know, you're too violent. You hurt too many people already. You have a violence inside you that will be your downfall." I grit my teeth. I would not let her break me. But I felt in my heart that all these things she was saying were true. I was weak. I was the smallest Paladin and I didn't really know how to fight. I knew that the others could continue their battle and win against the Galra without me. I knew Keith would be better off without me. And I knew we'd never work out. It just couldn't.
I knew I was violent. I just didn't show it. I punched walls in the middle of the night when nobody else was awake. I got into fights in school sometimes but I never told my parents or Matt. That was one of the reasons I loved robots. They could be fixed if you injured them. Not like humans. If you injured them, they sometimes could never be fixed.
"You're a useless, weak Paladin of Voltron. I mean, you're not even unique. None of you are. You haven't even found the other 2 Lions yet. You found the base of Voltron, but you haven't unlocked the secret weapon." I pause. My brain is working too fast. Logic says this is a lie but my heart tells me it's true.
"Listen to her Pidge. She knows what she's doing. Trust her." I hear the same voice again. It was the exact same voice that told me how to use my blades. I decide to let her win. I make my blades disappear and I surrender. I know this could lead to my demise but I trust my instincts and they were telling me to surrender and end the battle.
"Winner Sena! Our unbeatable champion!" The crowd roars with what I assume is happiness but I can't tell because it sounds quite a lot like their roar of anger. I try to get up.
"Not yet. Wait." I try not to gasp as I recognise the voice.
"You're the girl who gave me the valena", I whisper. She nods slightly and gives me a stern look. I shut up. But I couldn't believe it. My instincts were correct. If I'd gotten on her bad side earlier, it certainly wouldn't have ended well.
And… that was an incredibly long chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! More chapters soon!