Lost

by jalpari

As the team tries to find Noor, she finds herself in an extraordinary situation.

A/N:

Over the next four chapters or so, all shall be reveal as the main plot unfolds!

Thanks to all the readers and viewers! Looking forward to more comments!

"Great!" Noor groaned. "You're lost!"

She leaned back and dragged her hands down her face. It had been a spontaneous decision. After leaving Keith at the pool, she had gone back to her room. But the more she tried to shut her mind off and sleep, the more it narrowed in on one single thought.

"That's what you get for being spontaneous! What were you thinking!?" She pursed her lips and closed her eyes.

"What do you plan to do once you find whatever it is you're hoping to find?!:

"What makes you sure you'll even find something?"

"Mom was right! You never think these things through!"

But despite this rant against herself, deep inside something told Noor that this was the right thing to do. She needed to leave. She didn't know how she would escape, where she would go, how she would find her way around, or even if she would be able to start the pod.

But it had to be done. She could not risk any more lives. She could not risk another incident. And she couldn't wait around for them to find the creature and try to get answers from him. Until now, it had all worked out.

She had managed to pilot the pod alone. She had tried her best to navigate the way she had seen Bani do. She had cloaked the pod, hoping they wouldn't be able to track her. But now, she was floating about cluelessly.

"Okay...come on. Think!" She muttered to herself.

She sat once more and racked her brain. If she had read the charts correctly, there was enough distance between her and the ship. She hadn't stopped all night. Her heart ached for her friends. The moment she had flown out of the ship, she had felt terror grip her. Almost instantly, she was tempted to turn back around.

A few minutes later, there was nothing around her. No Olkaship. No planets. Nothing. Just faint twinkling in the distance, like mirages. And the endless expanse in all directions. She realized then, what it felt like to be truly alone. Once again, she was tempted to turn back. Being alone terrified her. Being alone in the cosmic darkness terrified her even more.

But there was no turning back now. She kept reminding herself he reason why she had decided to leave. And now, as she looked around the universe that she had only read about in school books. The universe that had seemed a distant abstract concept. That had seemed ancient and strange as she looked up at the night sky from earth. Now she was sitting in the middle of it; a tiny insignificant lost organism.

"I sure hope I'm made of stardust", she muttered to herself.

She sighed and nibbled on the energy bar she had brought along. She felt a heaviness take over her as she thought of Hunk's expression in the morning when he would realize she was gone. Her heart sank further as she thought of what everyone would feel in the morning.

"No!" She pushed the guilt aside. "Don't do this."

She took a deep breath and stared at her hands. Flashes of Sepi and Aagi had troubled her ever since she had left. She shuddered at the sheer thought of another outburst. The destruction she had unleashed in a matter of seconds was horrifying. She needed to find a way to understand it, control it and find answers.

"And where exactly are you going to find the answers?! Idiot."

"If Pidge was here , she would know what to do", she pouted.

"And if Shiro was here", she sighed, "he would probably tell me this was a bad idea but that he supports me because we're a team."

"And if Keith was here", she smiled and shook her head, "he would most definitely drag me back to the Olkaship."

Just then she heard he stomach growl and laughed to herself.

"And Hunk", she giggled, "he would ask me to eat and then think with a full, happy stomach."

"Alright, let's keep moving, Noor. You gotta keep moving. And something will eventually happen...something will show up...to guide you...or kill you", she scowled.

Just then, a bright light spread through the void. It kept growing and seemed to be moving towards the pod. There was something relaxing and alluring about it. Noor felt herself drawn towards it. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a low, gentle moan coming from within it.

She watched in awe and felt the pod move forward of its own accord. She could feel a rising sense of dread but somehow the long almost sing-song moans soothed her nerves. She let the pod inch towards the glowing light which had grown into a cloud like entity and looked alive.

Soon, the shimmering sparkling particles were close enough to touch. Mesmerized, she reached out, extending her hand forward only for her fingers to bump into the glass. The contact startled her and snapped her out of her trance.

"Wait...wha...oh my god!"

Noor grabbed the controls and tried moving the pod in vain. The pod didn't respond to anything she did. Frantic and desperate, Noor tried everything she could think of.

"Arrghh! What's going on?!" She grunted as she pressed buttons and fiddled with the controls.

"Looks like you were right", she smacked her forehead, "something did come around to kill you after all."

She felt her heart race and took deep breaths.

"Okay...panicking won't help. Keep calm. Patience yields focus."

She froze as the words involuntarily spilled out of her mouth. She closed her eyes and smiled. After a few seconds, she opened them again.

"I hope this works."

Noor pressed the button to open the pod but just like everything else, it didn't respond. She scrambled to the hatch and worked at it manually. After several grunts and tugs, the latch clicked and she pushed it up with her shoulder.

"This is fine...it's going to be fine. This is your only option. You're going to get out there and propel yourself far away from this...this...thing and hope to god it doesn't suck you in like the pod."

As the hatch opened, she took a peek outside and emerged slowly. She paused halfway out and looked curiously at the bright particles. Hesitantly, she reached out and waved her hand about but couldn't feel anything. It was as if the entire cloud was an illusion. It didn't have any tangible particles, it wasn't warm or cool, it wasn't soft or hard, it had no feeling.

Another long and louder moan caught her attention and she hurriedly popped out of the pod. She looked in every direction and when the sound echoed once more, she began thrusting herself in the opposite direction.

"Yes!" She exclaimed as the suit worked.

She moved further away but never seemed to travel far enough to escape the glowing cloud that was still all around her. And the sound seemed to just get closer and closer. She changed directions several times, but none of them seemed to be the right one to exit this bubble. The light was an endless mist in every direction.

Suddenly, she felt movement behind her. She turned around and gasped when she saw a gigantic shadow appearing through the cloud. She could barely hear herself shriek over the rumbling sound of the enormous body moving through space. Its moans vibrated every molecule around her and she could feel it rattle her entire body all the way down to her bones.

"Is that…", she croaked in disbelief, "is that a whale!?"

The creature was floating effortlessly towards her and she could barely make out its features without having to turn her head from one side to the other, from up to down, in order to take in its entire form.

She darted towards the pod once more. She managed to click it open just as the creature floated above her. She could feel its heavy presence on her despite the gap, almost as if it was pushing down the space between them.

She rushed inside but just as she was about to close the hatch, she felt an invisible wave hit her, throwing her down on the floor. She froze as she felt a the moans quieten and a whisper surround her. She couldn't tell if the whisper was outside or inside her mind. But somehow, she could understand it. It was trying to say something to her.

Come with me and you will find all the answers you seek.

Her eyes opened wide and the next thing she knew, the whale had travelled beneath the pod. She peered outside the window and realized that she was now sitting on the whale's back. She tried to start the dead engine to fly away but something made her stop. Her hand paused on the lever and she bit her lips.

"You wanted answers, didn't you", she muttered to herself. "Well...maybe this is it."

She poked her head outside the hatch. From where she stood, she wouldn't have been able to tell that she was on a whale. It was like a small planet. The surface had terrain features and plant like life. There were rocks and caves and hillocks and small pools of water.

The next moan shook her to the core and she fell back inside. She reached up and closed the hatch and sat in her seat once more. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the dashboard.

"'Looks like I'm going for a ride", she dropped her chin on her palms. "I hope I have a whale of a time."

She let out a small giggle and then hid her face in her hands.

"Shut up, Noor."

"What does that even mean!? Vanished?" Keith exclaimed!

"I don't know...", Pidge frowned as she adjusted the modulators to detect any faint signal from the pod.

Keith ran his hand through his hair, trying to think straight. His mind was racing and he sat down in frustration.

"Does anyone remember anything? Any clue as to where she could be?" Luten was pacing the room.

"No idea", Hunk stood next to Pidge and stared at the map. "She doesn't even know how to...she's never...piloted a pod alone before...let alone navigate…"

"This is bad", Luten shook his head.

Keith felt Kosmo nuzzle up next to him and relaxed a little. He focussed on Kosmo. He could see the same beseeching eyes stare back at him that had endeared him when he found the pup on the cosmic whale.

As Kosmo looked at him intently, Keith felt himself being drawn into his eyes. They were like a galaxy, deep and endless, shining and twinkling. He saw himself falling into them as if falling down a cosmic tunnel. Everything around him faded away and as he tumbled through the void, he suddenly found himself in a familiar part of the universe.

A bright flash shot out from the distance and raced towards him. He shielded his eyes as it engulfed him and he saw an old memory. It was a vision he had experienced a long time back.

The energy waves show you visions of the past and the future. Time is warped.

Just as quickly, he was thrown back out of the tunnel and into the present. His eyes opened wide at the memory. It had never made sense at the time. But now it did.

"I know where we need to go", he stood up and spoke with new found determination.

"What? How?" Luten turned his attention to Keith.

"Where?" Pidge looked at him hopefully.

"The Quantum Abyss."