Author's Note: I'm going to be honest here and admit that this chapter is very much a gamble. It's based on a show that's a lesser liked part of a large, nostalgic property, one that ended on a cliffhanger no less. Not only that, but most of the characters I'm introducing here are of my own creation. Nevertheless, this particular chapter's something I put a good deal of thought into, and didn't want to just rush into it, so please give it a fair shake. Who knows? You may just love it! This actually would've been out sooner, but I've been getting over a nasty cold that swept across my household recently, so I had to take some longer breaks on this than I would've liked, but I wasn't gonna let that stop me. Now, this ended up being longer than I first expected it to be, so let's get rolling...
Earth-500
Planet Kastor
On many worlds, a plant's leaves turning brown is taken as an indicator that they have died. As such, when off-worlders first found themselves visiting the obscure planet Kastor, and found themselves in a giant forest where almost everything was brown, they had assumed it to be a place where all the vegetation was dying off. In time though, they learned they had been very wrong, and found Kastor to be a world where the organic things that would most often be a shade of green on a planet like Earth were all brown by default. Despite the abundance of plant life, there appeared to be no intelligent life forms on the world they later named Kastor, with all non plant life found proving to be nothing more than small animals that fed on the brown grass and flowers. As such, the off-worlders claimed Kastor in the name of their master and leader, the benevolent, all-powerful Shing One. The information detailing all of this was written on a massive ornamental plaque in several different languages with varying characters. The plaque was affixed to the base of a massive metallic statue depicting a humanoid figure with nary a feature to see. It was more like a silhouette of a man than a proper depiction of a particular person. That did nothing to stop it from attracting a crowd, which consisted mostly of humans, with a few alien beings scattered amongst them. They all wore matching rompers made of purple cloth, and were all bowing before the metallic statue.
"The Shining One brings war. The Shining One brings pain. Death to all who deny his greatness. Joy unto us, who bask in his purple light, for we are protected by his might." they spoke in unison.
It was an act of worship. There, before that statue, they would pray to the Shining One, and cheered for the suffering of all those who would oppose him. Despite this, they seemed lifeless, almost like machines made of flesh and bone. If one looked into their eyes, they would sense none of the joy the worshippers claimed to have been gifted. In the distance, on the edge of a nearby forest, a figure camouflaged by a brown cloak observed the scene as it happened through a pair of strange looking binoculars.
"They exist only to stroke the ego of a guy who doesn't even bother to listen half the time." the cloaked person commented with disgust in his voice.
The figure then retreated deeper into the forest. After glancing around, the figure pulled down the hood of the cloak that had been hiding his face. He was a young human man, in his twenties at the oldest. He had a swarthy complexion, a wide nose, dark brown eyes and short and messy hair that was such a dark shade of brown that you couldn't blame somebody for calling it black. Under his cloak, he wore a long sleeved black shirt, black pants, and gray gloves and boots, along with a rope belt. He heard a rustling and turned to see a woman in clothing similar to his own. She was a very pretty young woman with light beige skin, long and beautiful light brown hair, and round blue eyes.
"Hello, Swift." the woman greeted as she walked up to the young man, identifying him as Swift.
"There you are, Dana." Swift said with a smile on his face.
The two embraced and kissed each other on the lips for several seconds.
"I know you were glowering at the hourly worship service again." the young woman, Dana, stated.
"Yeah. You got me, babe." Swift said, not even trying to deny it.
He walked over and sat down under the shade of a large tree. Dana joined him, laying her head down in his lap and stroking his face affectionately. Swift sighed and looked up at the sky.
"I know it doesn't do any good, but all I have to do here is just grumble to myself and wait for a way to get off Kastor and try to find a place where I'm not surrounded by people who worship that creepy 'Shining One' all day." Swift lamented.
Dana sprung up and looked down at Swift, who looked back up at her.
"Well, at least you've had a cute girlfriend up until now." Dana cheerfully said to him.
"Up until now?" Swift asked. "Don't tell me you're dumping me to hook up with a shrub."
Dana giggled at his joke. Swift smiled, as he had always loved her laugh.
"No, that's not what I meant at all." Dana said to him.
"Good..." Swift began to say as hopped back up onto his feet. "...because you mean everything to me, Dana. Seriously. You're my whole wo…"
Dana then produced a blaster with a glowing purple line on its side and pointed it right at Swift's head. Her warm smile transformed into a cold smirk.
"No…" Swift whispered.
"Yes." Dana said back.
"But I thought you…" Swift began to say.
"That I loved your stupid non-believer butt? Ha! As if!" Dana laughed cruelly, cutting him off. "Yes, I even managed to impress myself with my performance. That I could even stand being around some stupid non-believer with an even more stupid nickname should be more than enough to earn me the favor of the Shining One."
"You just gave me yet another reason to hate the Shining One. Congrats." Swift contemptuously spoke.
Dana ignored him. She seemed excited.
"Seriously, why do you call yourself 'Swift'? Is it after the birds or some crap? You're so lame!" Dana kept going on.
Without warning, Swift then smashed his right foot down on Dana's left.
"Ow!" Dana yelled.
She dropped her blaster and went to grab her own foot before realizing what she just did. Swift kicked the weapon away like it was a football, then grabbed the girl he had thought was his girlfriend and lifted her over his head, causing her to cry out in pain as he threw her right into the tree he had been sitting under.
"I didn't escape that indoctrination camp just to get shot to death in the woods by some religious maniac!" Swift shouted at her.
Dana pulled herself up and leaned against the tree. She was clearly in pain, but was trying to hide it with a smug sneer.
"So quick to turn to violence. Typical non-believer filth." Dana maligned him.
Swift blinked at her, and then proceeded to start rubbing his temples.
"You pointed a blaster at my head, Dana." he sighed.
Dana lost her sneer. She raised a finger and opened her mouth, but Swift cut her off before she could say anything back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm totally the bad guy in this relationship for not wanting to get shot in the head." Swift sarcastically said, the bitterness apparent in his voice.
"I wasn't really going to shoot you! I was only going to take you as a prisoner!" Dana shouted.
Swift ran up at her with a clenched fist. Dana winced, but didn't feel anything hit her. She opened her eyes to see that he had struck the tree she was still leaning up against. He was right in her face. To her surprise, she saw that he had tears in his eyes.
"That wouldn't have been any less cruel! …Why? Why did you have to be a lie, Dana? The Shining One's armies killed by family. My whole village. You truly think I'm evil for not wanting to live under the one who caused my suffering? I just want to live in peace." Swift wept.
"...they were...non-believers…" Dana struggled to speak. "...all...who oppose…"
"Save it. I'm blowing this popsicle stand." Swift demanded as he wiped away his tears, turning away from her.
Dana was going to try to say something else in an attempt to have the final word, but something caused her to stop. A flash of bright white light came out of nowhere. A roaring sound could briefly be heard. Mere steps away from the two, a doorway-like portal made of crackling white energy materialized.
"What in the galaxy is this?" Swift wondered aloud.
"Do not be afraid, Mustafa Khalifa." a frail voice uttered.
A figure emerged from the door of light. It was a withered old human man dressed in a black and green jumpsuit under a white shawl. He had deep dark skin, a long and curly gray beard, and a bald head with a large scar in the shape of the letter V clear for all to see. He walked with a wooden cane with a topper carved in the shape of a lion's head.
"How…how did you know my real name? Who are you?" Swift questioned as the old man walked up to him.
"I am a friend. One offering you an escape from Kastor." the old man answered him.
He extended a hand to Swift, who looked back at Dana, who looked confused and perhaps even frightened. Swift glared at her and turned back to the man.
"I've been lied to before. How do I know you aren't a worshipper of the Shining One?" Swift asked.
"Because I know who 'the Shining One' really is, or at least who he used to be. As well as how to rid the cosmos of him." the old man answered.
"Impossible…" Dana whispered to herself.
"Well, you don't seem to be on Dana's side, and that's good enough for me." Swift said.
He and the old man walked into the doorway of crackling white light. Another roar could then be heard before it vanished before Dana's eyes. She fell on her knees and buried her now trembling hands into the thick brown grass, and murmured a single word;
"Voltron."
An underground cavern on Planetoid AFD-15
It was in the cold darkness of the cavern that the white portal reformed. Swift and the man walked out of it. Slowly, it faded, and then the Swift looked around the cavern. He could sense that there were people inside of it other than himself and his mysterious benefactor, who guided him towards a light hearted in the distance.
"What is this place?" Swift asked.
"We're on a planetoid designated AFD-15." a woman answered.
Swift's gut feeling was proven right. Now that he was closer to the light, which he now saw came from a lantern, he could see four others, who all looked even more out of place than he did, sitting around said lantern. The one who had answered his query about where they were was a petite woman who looked to be a few years older than Swift. Like him, she was human, and appeared to be of East Asian ancestry. She had long black hair tied into a braided ponytail with a small bow. She was dressed in a dark gray blazer, a white and blue striped blouse, a blue skirt, and gray Mary Janes over while kneesocks. She also wore a gray trilby hat. She stood up.
"I'm Fei Wei. Wei is my given name. We put our family names first back home." the young woman told him.
The one sitting to her right was also human. He was a bespectacled, dark skinned black man. His black hair was shaved down very short and he had the physique of a skilled runner. Fittingly, he was dressed in a white tracksuit with yellow and orange stripes going down the sides of his sleeves and pants, along with sneakers. He looked to be closer to Swift's age.
"Well, I guess we may as well finally get around to introductions." the track suit clad man spoke up, revealing his thick Ghanaian accent. "I'm Kwashi."
"My name is Mustafa Khalifa, but everyone calls me Swift." Swift introduced himself.
"Why would you call yourself that? Your normal name sounds cool." another one of the group commented.
"I'm sure he has his reasons." the other said to her.
Swift looked down at the two. The one who had questioned his nickname was another human, while the other was of an alien race. The human was rather short, and was easy to identify as a young teen, which made her younger than the others. She was of a Turkic ethic background. Her dark hair was fashioned into a jaw level bob cut and had dark brown eyes. She wore a heathered red v-neck polo shirt, faded jean shorts, and plastic sandals. She also had a single pierced ear, with a small earring with a charm designed to resemble a pomegranate.
"And what's your name, kid?" Swift asked.
"If you really gotta know, my name's Anargul." the girl said before glancing up at the alien next to her.
"Ah, you're a Kazakh. Very nice." Swift jested.
Anargul rolled her eyes.
"So how often do you 'walk like an Egyptian'? See? I can do it too." Anargul huffed.
In contrast to the Anargul, the alien was very much a grown adult woman, one with a distinct appearance that made her stand out among the humans; most of her skin was covered in short feathers that were a very, very dark shade of green, her feet and hands both had three digits that had talons, and her neck was at least four inches longer than any human's. Given these features, it should come as no surprise that she had a beak for a mouth. Her eyes, which were a reddish brown, were only slightly further apart than a human's. Her body otherwise resembled a shapely human woman. She wore a simple, frilly white dress.
"Hello, humans." she genially greeted the group. "I am Moa Plel."
Moa's accent made her sound like a person from New Zealand. Being an alien though, this was probably just a coincidence. Many creatures throughout the universe had voices that were superficially reminiscent of those associated with various Earth nations, especially when conversing in their languages. She turned to the old man, who was watching them all, his lips curled into a smile. The five looked at him.
"I'm just going to assume you approach everyone here the same way you approached me." Swift said.
"You would be correct for presuming such a thing." the man confirmed.
"Yeah, and then he left us here waiting. He barely gave us time to even speak to each other before now." Kwashi complained.
"But you did have enough time to tell us that he saved your life." Moa perkily commented.
"He did now?" Swift asked.
Kwashi silently rubbed the back of his head and blushed. Anargul smirked at this.
"You should have been here a little while ago, when he first got here; He was apparently running from the Shining One's creepy goons after they caught him knocking the guy." Anargul said to Swift as she playfully made a motion meant to resemble running with her left hand.
"Hahaha! I simply love what humans can do with their hands! So cute!" Moa squealed in delight.
Moa suddenly hugged Anargul in an affectionate manner and buried her face in the girl's hair. Now it was Anargul's turn to blush, embarrassed.
"Moa! Personal space!" Wei reminded the green feathered alien woman.
Moa gulped and sheepishly pulled away.
"So sorry, Anargul. I just already love you so much." Moa softly apologized with a bow of her head.
The old man was chuckling at all of this. The five he had brought together continued on for a little while, with each of them explaining where they had been before being approached by the stranger who appeared to them all. Anargul had been cutting classes back home after she learned the teachers had officially all been replaced by Shining One devotees, Wei had been at a trendy clothes store in a large shopping complex that was unexpectedly besieged by the Shining One's military forces, and Moa had been abducted from her home by shady men who intended to try and sell her to a harem of brides intended for the Shining One. Swift, after hearing their tales, went last, telling them of how he had escaped a camp he had been sent to that was meant to brainwash non-believers, all during an as of yet unexplained cosmic phenomenon that made half of all intelligent life temporarily disappear. What hurt him to describe most was his relationship with Dana, who he thought was like him, and how it all was a lie on her part.
"…and then I figured I had no friends back on Kastor. I had been wanting to escape for months, so when I was presented with an offer to leave, I took it."
"That girl who seduced you sounds like a real piece of work." Wei said sympathetically.
"How awful! Don't worry! You are safe with us now!" Moa sobbed.
"Hey now, you were in an even worse situation than I was!" Swift exclaimed. "Honestly, I admire that you can even think of others' problems after those creeps just tried to do to you, Moa."
Anargul jumped up and swung at the air with clenched fists.
"Grrr! I really really really hate that Shining One! He's done nothing but make the universe worse for everyone! Grrr! I wish there was something we could do about it!" the frustrated girl shouted aloud, her voice echoing through the cavern.
"Sorry, kid, but I doubt any of us can do anything beyond speaking our minds. I mean, look at us." Kwashi said as he slumped down.
"That's where you are wrong, young Kwashi." the old man spoke up.
He walked past the group and pressed his hand up against a wall of the cavern. They watched as this caused a hidden passageway to open up, revealing a corridor made of similar stone.
"Come with me, and I will at last tell you five exactly why I brought you together…and how it could lead to salvation of our universe."
he continued, pointing down the corridor with his lion-headed cane.
"Are you being serious?" Swift asked as he stood up. "Because that would be awesome."
"We may as well hear him out. It's not like we can just leave." Wei reasoned as she also got up on her feet.
The others rose as well.
"I'll hear your pitch, but only because you helped me out. If I don't like what I hear though, I'm out." Kwashi told the man.
"Same case with me, old timer." Anargul avered.
"Personally, I would love to learn more." Moa said.
The old man smiled as the five followed him down his secret passage. He seemed to be filled with a sense of hope. That much was clear to all of who were there.
"Could you please at least tell us your name now?" Wei requested.
"Oh right. My apologies, everyone. The thing is that I have been waiting for this day to come for a very, very long time. There were times when I doubted the plan, but I could not allow myself to give up. I knew I had to be the one to make this happen. I was so wrapped up in planning this that I guess my people skills got a bit rusty." the man responded as he led them all around a corner.
This was followed by an awkward silence. Everyone exchanged glances.
"You still didn't say your name! C'mon, man!" Anargul snapped.
The old man chuckled in return.
"Oh right. My bad." he said while stroking his beard. "I've kept you waiting long enough. My name is Vince. Or at least, that's who I used to be, back when I was young. Back when I used to pilot…"
He paused for a moment as the group came to what appeared to be a dead end, then knocked on the stone with his cane. A roar could be heard, and the stone wall before them opened up to reveal a massive chamber made of steel and more finely carved stone, with high ceilings and a series of electric lights that lit the room. At the heart of the room was a truly interesting sight; Five gleaming, towering robotic lions of different colors, all sitting in a circle. One black, one red, one green, one blue, and one yellow. Swift, Wei, Kwashi, Anargul, and Moa all stared at them in awe.
"…the Green Lion, as a member of the Voltron Force!" Vince concluded, motioning at the lions.
"V…Voltron? As in the giant robot used to fight evil? That Voltron?!" Kwashi gasped as he ran up to get a closer look.
"Uh…I'm sorry, but what the heck is 'Voltron'?" a confused Anargul asked.
"The legendary 'Defender of the Universe'. A team of heroes used to combine five robot lions into Voltron and to vanquish horrible monsters and protect all in need." Moa explained.
"I had heard the stories before, but had figured they were just a legend, an old wives' tale. I guess I was wrong." Wei said.
"…I heard the stories too, from my mother when I was just a little kid. But…I don't understand. How is this possible? How are they here? She had told me that they had been destroyed before she was even born!" Swift said as he stared at the black lion.
"They were not destroyed, Swift. I had to keep them hidden here, so that this important day would come to be." Vince spoke. "It is time I told you five why I brought you here."
The five then gathered around Vince. It was nice for them to at last be receiving some solid information instead of vague and cryptic statements. Vince then touched Kwashi's left shoulder with the lion head of his staff. None of them were sure why he was doing yet.
"Yellow..." Vince almost whispered.
He moved the staff from off of Kwashi's left shoulder and onto Wei's right shoulder.
"…and Blue...form feet and legs." Vince uttered.
He then put the head of the staff onto Anargul's right shoulder.
"Red…" Vince continued.
He then rested it on Moa's left shoulder.
"…and Green…" he went on, "…form the arms."
He then held up the staff before tapping Swift's forehead with it.
"Black forms the head." Vince concluded.
The five looked back at the lions, then at one another, and their mouths all fell open in shock. It was becoming clearer and clearer what Vince was telling them, but it was still hard for them to believe it.
"Years ago, before any of you were even conceived, the man that is now called the Shining One…" Vince spoke in a sad, weary voice, "…was a hero, and my friend."
Everyone gasped at this revelation. Vince simply nodded before elaborating further.
"His name was Daniel, and we were a team. We studied under Keith, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance, all previous pilots of the great lions, alongside Allura's niece. Together, we fought the deplorable villain known as Lotor, as well as his servants. We were going to become the new Voltron Force. I became the pilot of the Green Lion…and, eventually, Daniel was given the honor of piloting the Black Lion. It all seemed perfect, but…but…" Vince solemnly recounted to the group.
"But what?" Swift asked.
"…Daniel became corrupted by a substance called Haggarium that was used by Lotor. It twisted him, perverted him. Something happened that no one, not even Lotor expected. It mutated Daniel, and made him into something else, something that was truly, undeniably evil. He became the Shining One, and he…he slaughtered us when we tried to help him, when we didn't have the lions. I saw my team, my idols, fall and perish at his hands. With his last breath, Hunk, the Yellow Lion's pilot, gave me the secret coordinates to AFD-15 and told me to hide the lions, so that I could form a new team in the future, to save the people of our universe from Daniel one day. Jay I tried to stay and fight, but…" Vince struggled to finish. "…I…I…had no choice. I did what Hunk told me to do. I came here, with the five Lions and I waited until that 'one day' finally arrived. To form a new team to save every galaxy, every planet, every person from my former friend. A team of five. Those five are all of you. Together, you must save our universe."
The five all stared at him. None of them knew what to say.
"There must be some mistake. I'm not anyone special. I'm just some pro runner, not someone worthy of the Yellow Lion." Kwashi said, hanging his head, looking down at his hands.
"He's right. None of this can be true. I'm not a hero. I'm just some girl who likes to dress herself up. You can find someone better than me." Wei bemoaned.
"I've never even been in a fight in my life. All I've ever done is make people happy while I try to figure out who I want to spend my life with." Moa said as she hugged herself.
"I can protect myself, but I couldn't even get off Kastor without you stepping in. I've never been able to protect anyone else. After my family died, I had no one else to defend. Until Dana, and she was just a wolf in sheep's wool all along. I don't know the first thing about…defending anyone, let alone the whole universe. I'm sorry, Vince, but you have the wrong guy." Swift said, softly weeping.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Anargul screamed.
Everyone, including Vince, looked down at the young Kazakh girl in surprise. Anargul looked disgusted and appalled and stomped over towards the Red Lion. She pointed up at it.
"For the first time in my whole life, I've been told that I could be part of something extraordinary! Our universe is falling apart because of this 'god' who's really just a sick dude named Dan, and you all want to leave it to someone else because we aren't all action heroes?! Newsflash, everyone! Vince has probably thought this through! I don't know how or why, but he thinks we could actually win and change things for the better! Can you honestly say that you want to go back to where you were before he showed up?" Anargul asked.
Swift, Moa, Kwashi, and Wei all looked at her and said nothing. The looks on their faces changed though, and it was clear that Anargul's words were getting through to them.
"I used to live in a good place. Nobody there prepared for this cult to come and take over, and when they did, people just gave in! They're taking over schools like mine and turning them into places where they can brainwash us with stupid lies, and make them hate who they want them to hate! The people who won't fall in line and shower their god king of all space or whatever! That's us! If we don't do something, they are going to kill us! Just like they did to your family, Swift!" Anargul said, referring back to the story he had told everybody.
Swift wiped away his tears on his sleeve.
"You're right." he then spoke up.
"You bet I am!" Anargul beamed with pride. "So I'm gonna need you to stop pitying yourself, get into that big black cat, and give this Voltron thing a head! Because there is no way I'm going to let myself be selected for a frickin' harem like Moa was! No one deserves that! Especially not someone as kind as she is!"
Moa held her hands to her heart, clearly touched by what Anargul had just said.
"If I do this, I could help more people than I ever could have dreamed." Moa realized aloud.
"There will be points where we may have to run away, but that isn't us being cowardly. No, we'll just be regrouping so we can strike back even harder once we have a good plan figured out! Because we can get stronger, we can become smarter, and we'll never stop striving to be brave. No one ever became a champion by telling themselves it wasn't possible." Anargul affirmed.
Kwashi gained a huge grin and pumped his fist.
"I am so on board!" he shouted.
"If we don't believe in ourselves, then who will?" Anargul rhetorically asked. "Let's prove our worth instead of tearing ourselves down. That's just what a bad guy would want us to do. Deep down, we all want things to be better. That should be enough to prove it to ourselves."
Wei took off her hat and looked at it. A glimmer came to her eye.
"I broke up with a lot of my ex-boyfriends because they would think my ideas were dumb stuff not worth listening to. This is pretty different from that, but I may as well give it a chance!" she said.
Wei walked up to Anargul, and the others followed shortly after. Together, the five now stood side by side. Vince looked on with approval, and then proceeded to smash his staff onto the floor. Five balls of rainbow energy flew up from out of the broken staff and over to each of the five robot lions. The powerful, fabled machines then sprung to life, and all their eyes lit up. They posed proudly behind their new pilots, who each threw up a hand and all shouted out the same battle cry as one;
"Let's Go, Voltron Force!"
The lions then roared together. For finally, after many years of havoc, the Defender of the Universe was back in action. For a malevolent conqueror or a bloodthirsty abomination, this was a nightmare come true. For the rest of the universe, it was something far more sacred. It was their hope, returned.
There you have it, dear people. Earth-500 is the world of the Voltron franchise, following long after the events of Nicktoons Network's Voltron Force. While I'm not going to pretend the show was all that good, I did watch it back when it aired. I figured I could to take advantage of the cliffhanger the show ended on to do something different, and create a vastly changed setting with all new characters. Characters who I hope you find interesting enough to read about again in the future. ...aaaand if not, well, someone could still use Legendary Defender. After all, that show is set in a whole other universe to begin with. One with a fanbase I'd rather not risk pissing off!
Some Notes:
- The name of the planet Kastor is a reference to Pollux, a planet attacked by the Drule Empire in an episode of the original Voltron series. Castor and Pollux, get it? You likely get it.
- Earth-500's numbering is a reference to the number 5 (As in the five lions, the five pilots, and V being the Roman numeral for 5) and the full translation of the first anime that Voltron was adapted from, The King of Hundred Beasts GoLion.
- AFD-15's name is a reference to Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, the anime which also had its footage used for the original Voltron series.
- Vince's powers have expanded and grown since the end of Voltron Force, which is how he was able to do the unusual acts he performs here.
- Just because Vince believes that he's the only former Voltron pilot left doesn't mean that it's necessarily true...
Well, I think that should be it for now. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the chapter with me in a review. Until next time!