Kerberos: Moon of Pluto
A team of explorers were on the icy moon. "Easy son, this ice is delicate." One of the explorers, Sam Holt, told his son, Matt Holt, as the teen collected an ice sample. "Amazing! Isn't this exciting, Shiro?" Matt asked their fellow explorer. "You guys get a little more excited about ice samples than I do." Takashi Shirogane responded, chuckling. "This is history in the making. Not only have we traveled farther than any human has, but this ice could hold microscopic clues about the existence of life outside Earth." Sam said. Matt grinned, and responded with, "Think of it Dad. We could use those clues to become the first people to meet aliens." Sam grinned. "My life's work would be complete." Just then, the moon started shaking, and the three men looked up to see a massive battleship approach. "It can't be!" Sam gasped in shock. "RUN! COME ON, RUN!" Shiro bellowed, as the three bolted.
A red beam captured the explorers as they tried to escape. Shiro was the first to wake up on the ship. "Emperor Zarkon, we were scouting system X-9-Y as ordered when we found these primitive scientists. I don't think they know anything useful." A male voice said as Shiro regained full consciousness, "Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation. The Druids will find out what they know." A gravelly male voice declared. "Please, we come from a peaceful planet! We mean you no harm! We're unarmed!" Shiro pleaded. A sentry struck him in the head, instantly knocking him out.
~One Year Later, Melanie~
I checked the controls, making sure everything was set for our rescue mission. "Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14. Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission." Lance reported. Lance and I moved the craft down to the surface. "Lance, Melanie, can you keep this thing straight?" Our engineer, Hunk, asked. "I can, but I don't know about Lance." I said. My sister, Crystal, laughed. "Relax Hunk. I'm just getting a feel for the stick. Besides, it's not like I did this." Lance responded, taking control, and showing off. "Lance, knock it off." Crystal snapped. "We've picked up a distress beacon!" Pidge Gunderson exclaimed. "Alright, look alive team! Pidge, track coordinates." I ordered. "Copy!" He responded. "I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors." Pidge said. "Come on Hunk!" Lance complained. "It's not responding!" Hunk retorted. "Never mind fellas, thar she blows. Preparing for approach on visual." Lance commented. "I don't think that's advisable with our current mechanical issues." Pidge retaliated. "I agree, we shouldn't let our guard down." Crystal and I said together. "Stop worrying! This baby can take it, can't you champ?" Lance said. The ship shook majorly. "Pidge, Crystal, hail down to them and let them know their ride is here." Lance ordered.
"Attention lunar vessel-" Pidge and my sister started, but both screamed as they were knocked over. "Attention lunar vessel. This is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction, against crew recommendations." Pidge said. "No time for your mutinous comments now. They're going under and we're going in." Lance snapped. "Look out for that overhang!" Crystal yelled. Lance tried to dodge, but we ended up crashing. "Roll out donkeys!" Commander Iverson yelled. We did just that, standing in a line. "Let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you!" Iverson snapped, before adding, "Can anyone point out the mistakes these five so-called cadets made?" The various cadets listed our mistakes. "Worst of all, the whole jump, they're arguing with each other. Heck, if you're gonna be this bad individually, you'd better be able to at least work as a team!" He yelled. "Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astro explorers. But these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission." He added. "That's not true sir!" Pidge retorted.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Iverson demanded furiously. My boyfriend quickly covered Pidge's mouth. "Sorry sir. I think he might have hit his head, but point taken." Lance replied. Iverson walked forward, and glared at Lance. My friend gulped nervously. "I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out." Iverson growled. Later, Hunk, Crystal, Lance and I were sneaking out. "We shouldn't be doing this." Hunk murmured nervously. "Come on Hunk. Where's your sense of adventure?" Crystal asked, pulling her red hair behind her. We continued sneaking. "She's right you know." I added. "That's because all of our adventures end with us in the principal's office." Hunk retorted. After a few minutes, we stopped in a corridor, and noticed a door open.
We all looked at each other as Pidge walked out. The four of us followed him to the roof. Lance grinned. He lifted Pidge's headphones from his head, and said, "You come up here to rock out?" Pidge let out a high pitched scream. "Lance, Hunk, Melanie, Crystal. I'm just looking at the stars." He replied nervously. I scanned the tech Pidge had. "Where'd you get this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech." Lance said. "Yeah, what is it?" I voiced. Pidge smirked. "I built it!" He declared, before slapping Hunk's hand away. "With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system " Pidge boasted.
I frowned. "All the way to Kerberos?" Crystal asked skeptically. "You go ballistic every time the instructors bring it up." Lance pointed out. "Yeah. Is there something you're not telling us?" I asked, as I adjusted my gloves, preparing to read my friend's aura. Crystal looked at me, and subtly shook her head, adjusting her own gloves. "Look, Pidge. If we're gonna bond as a team, we can't have any secrets." Lance stated. "Fine. The world as you know it is about to change. The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost because of malfunction, or crew mistake. So I've been scanning the system, and picking up alien radio chatter." Pidge declared. I frowned, and looked at my sister. "Aliens?" Hunk asked. "So you're insane. Got it." Lance decided. Pidge sighed. "I'm serious. They keep repeating one word. Voltron. And tonight, it's going crazier than I've ever heard it." He said.
"Did you say Voltron?" I asked. Pidge nodded. "That would explain mine and Crystal's dreams." I decided. "Dreams?" He asked. "Yeah. The past couple of nights, we've had weird dreams. Dreams involving giant lions. I think it might be Voltron." I explained. "Why do you have those dreams?" Lance asked. "We're psychic and telepathic. Psychic/telepathic aliens from Planet Mentioum. We inherited the powers from our mothers." I revealed. Lance looked surprised. Before anyone else could react, alarms blared, and Iverson called for a lockdown.
A shooting star blazed overhead, landing with a loud bang. The five of us ran towards the ship, after Pidge identified it. We were on a cliff, overlooking the compound the Garrison set up. Pidge hacked into the video feed. "You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!" Shiro yelled. I frowned. The men ignored Shiro. "We have to find Voltron!" He added. "Sir! Take a look at this. It appears his arm has been replaced by a cyborg prosthetic." One of the techs said. "We have to get him out." Pidge declared. "Definitely. We can use our powers to scramble their brains." I said. "No. What we need is a distraction." My friend said. Just then, explosions went off. "Those explosions were a distraction, for him." Pidge yelled. I saw a teen running into the compound. "It's Keith!" Crystal exclaimed, looking through the binoculars. "Come on, let's go!" I yelled, as we started running. We got into the compound, and Lance walked up to Keith. "I'm saving Shiro." He declared. "Who are you?" Keith asked. "The name's Lance. We were in a class at the Garrison." He said.
"Were you an engineer?" Keith commented. "Guys, that's not important. We have to get Shiro outta here." I said. One very exciting chase later, we were at Keith's shack. "I never want to do that again." Crystal moaned. "What have you been working on?" Shiro asked. "I can't explain it. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was lost, and found myself drawn to this place. It's like some energy was telling me to search." Keith explained. "For what?" Shiro questioned. "I didn't know at the time, until I stumbled across this area. It's an outcropping of giant boulders with ancient markings. Each tells a story about a blue lion, but they all have clues leading to some event." Keith continued. "I should thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?" Shiro said.
Lance shook Shiro's cyborg hand. "I'm Melanie, and this is my sister, Crystal." I introduced. "Nice to meet you." We shook each other's hands. "Did anyone else from your crew make it out?" Pidge asked. "I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces." Shiro said. "Sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Are they here now?" Hunk interrupted. "I can't put it together. I remember the word Voltron. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why." Shiro stated. "I noticed the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looked a lot like a Fraunhofer line. It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only this element doesn't exist on Earth, so I thought it might be this Voltron, so I can build a sort of Voltron Geiger counter." Hunk explained.
"Hunk, you big gassy genius!" Lance praised. A little while later, we arrived at the canyon. "I'm getting a reading!" Hunk exclaimed. We followed Hunk as the beeping got louder and louder. We walked in the cave, and noticed lions all over the place. "What are these?" Shiro questioned. "These are the lion carvings I was telling you about." Keith replied. Lance brushed one, and all the carvings lit up with blue light. "They've never done that before." Keith commented, as a hole opened up at our feet. We screamed as we fell. We landed in a puddle of water. "They are everywhere!" Lance gasped in shock. We saw a massive blue lion with yellow eyes, and a silver tail. Some kind of barrier was around it, shielding it. "Looks like there's a force field around it." Keith said, walking closer, and we followed him. "Anybody else get the feeling that the lion is staring at them, or is it just me?" Lance questioned. I shook my head. Keith was the first to reach the lion. He tried to get through the force field, but couldn't. Lance knocked on it, and the force field went down, and the carvings burst with blue light. In my mind, I saw seven lions.
Red, Black, Gold, Silver, Green, Blue, and Yellow. The lions formed into a massive robot with a V on its chest. The vision stopped there, and Crystal and I held on to each other. "Did everyone just see that?" Lance questioned. "Voltron is a robot! A huge, huge awesome robot!" Hunk yelled. The lion opened its mouth, and a ramp appeared. We walked in, and Lance inspected the cockpit. He sat down in the chair, activating the controls. "I feel like we need to be aware of the fact that we're in a futuristic alien cat head." Hunk pointed out. "If you think this is weird, you should see what they build back home on Planet Mentioum." Crystal said. I nodded in agreement. Shiro looked shocked. "Long story short, Crystal and I, and our moms, are aliens." I said. "We'll explain more later." Crystal added.
Shiro just nodded. Lance pressed a couple of buttons, and the lion took off, bursting out of the cave. "It's on autopilot. It's also saying there's an alien ship approaching Earth." Lance said. "What did it say, exactly?" Pidge demanded. "It's not like it said words, just feeding ideas into my brain." Lance retorted. Hunk suggested giving the lion up, but Shiro quickly shot that idea down. In space, a gigantic battleship materialized. Lance piloted the lion away from a sudden barrage of laser fire. Lance fired a laser from the Blue Lion's mouth, and blew up part of the ship. Lance attacked the ship again, causing another portion to go boom. The alien ship started following us. "Look, there's Kerberos." Crystal said. "It takes months for our ships to get this far. We got out here in five seconds!" Pidge exclaimed in shock. A swirling vortex of black and blue energy appeared in front of us. "This may seem crazy, but I think it wants us to go through there." Lance said. "Shiro, you're the senior officer, what should we do?" Lance asked. "Whatever's happening, the lion knows more than we do. I say we trust it. But we're a team now. We should decide together." Shiro responded. "Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow." Lance decided.
"I don't recognize any of these constellations. We must be a long way from Earth." Shiro said, as we made it through the portal. We descended through the planet. "We have to find out where we're headed." Shiro said. "I don't know, the lion isn't talking to me anymore." He replied. "Look, some kind of castle." I pointed out. The castle lit up in response to the lion. "Keep your guard up." Shiro commanded. "Is something up?" Pidge and Crystal asked together. "I'm not gonna let another team get captured by aliens again." He responded. We walked out of the lion, and it roared, opening the castle doors. We walked inside, to find blackness. The only light was from the sun. "Hello?" Hunk called, his voice echoing. We all glared at him. He wilted. I took off my gloves, noticing my sister do the same. I put my hand on a railing, and focused. I got several flashes of visions that were so emotionally powerful, it caused me to stagger, and slump. Shiro caught me before I could hit the ground. "What was that?" He asked. "Too much emotion. As well as being visionaries and telepaths, our race are also empaths. That vision? It was full of pain, betrayal, death, loss. I've never felt anything that powerful before." I explained. Everyone frowned, and I wiped my bloody nose. "Are you going to be OK?" Lance asked. I nodded.
"From the size of the lion, I expected the steps to be bigger." Pidge said. A beam of blue light surrounded us. "Hold for identity scan." A computer voice sounded. The light disappeared, and we followed a formerly dark corridor. We continued walking, reaching what appeared to be some sort of high tech med bay. Two pods rose from the floor. "Are these guys dead?" Hunk and Crystal asked at the same time. One of the pods opened with a hiss. I hissed in response. Everyone looked at me. "Also, Mentioumians are half cat." I added. "Complete with tail and fangs." Crystal continued. "But that's not the issue right now." I finished. The occupant of the pod fell out, and I got a good look. The young woman had long white hair, and black skin. She had pointy ears, and pink facial markings, with a pink headband. She was wearing a pink, white, and blue dress. Her eyes opened, and they were a brilliant blue, with purple sclera. "Father!" She gasped, falling over. I caught her before she could hit the ground. "Who are you? Where am I?" She asked. "My name is Melanie. This is my sister Crystal, and these are our friends Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Lance, and Keith." I replied, pointing at each in turn. "What's wrong with your ears?" She asked. "What about them?" I snapped. "They're hideous." She replied. "They heard exactly what you said about them." I growled angrily. She grabbed my cat ears, and forced me to my knees.
I yowled in pain, my tail thrashing. It had appeared when my concentration on my human disguise broke. "Who are you?! Where is King Alfor?! What are you doing in my castle?!" The woman demanded. "A giant blue lion brought us here. That's all we know. Let go of my friend." Lance snapped. "How do you have the Blue Lion?! What happened to its Paladin?" She snapped. "What are you all doing here? Unless.. How long has it been?" She continued. "We don't know what you're talking about." Shiro responded. "Why don't you tell us who you are, maybe we can help." Shiro added. "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep." She replied. The second pod opened, and Crystal hissed this time. A man with orange hair, and an orange mustache jumped out. "Enemy combatants!" He yelled. "Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the sleep chamber knees." The man said. He and Lance started mock fighting. "We've been asleep for ten thousand years." Allura breathed in horror.
I put my hand on her shoulder, before finding myself in her memories. "Zarkon." A man wearing gold armor, with white hair and a cape, growled. "Your fleet has been destroyed, Alfor. I will be there shortly to claim Voltron." Zarkon responded, in a voice that sent shivers through my body. A blast shook the castle. "Father, we must form Voltron, and fight before it's too late!" Allura pleaded. "It's already too late. We must send the lions away. We can't risk them falling into Zarkon's hands." King Alfor declared. "We can't give up hope!" Allura pleaded. "I'm sorry, daughter. If all goes well, I will see you again soon. I love you." Alfor said, placing his daughter into a deep sleep. I jerked my hand away, and put my gloves on. "Planet Altea, and all the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization. Zarkon!" Allura growled. Shiro gasped. "Zarkon?" Shiro repeated. "He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature, and enemy to all free people!" Allura yelled. "I remember now. I was his prisoner." Shiro said. "He's still alive?! Impossible!" Allura snapped.
"I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron." Shiro responded. "He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him. And that's exactly why we must find it before he does." Allura said. A little while later, we were watching Allura with concern. "Princess, you must eat. It's been ten thousand years." Coran said. Allura just shook her head. "I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology ten thousand years ago." Shiro said. I nodded in agreement. "And here I thought Planet Mentioum was scientifically advanced." I commented. Allura looked up sharply at that. "You're Mentioumian?" She asked. Crystal and I nodded. "I'm sorry for hurting you." She said. "No worries. You were totally justified." I responded. "It must have been an incredible place." Crystal said. Coran nodded. "Yes, it was. But now it's gone, and we're the last Alteans alive." Coran murmured sadly.
Just then, an alarm blared, loudly, causing both me and Crystal to hiss in shock. "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us." Coran said. "By the time they get here, you seven will have reformed Voltron, and together we will destroy Zarkon's empire!" Allura declared. "Princess, there are seven of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?" Shiro questioned. In another room, Allura stepped onto a podium of sorts. "King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force. She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts." Coran explained. A massive 3D star chart appeared. "That's amazing!" Crystal said. "These are coordinates. The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion." Pidge observed. "Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their brain cage." Coran said, grinning. "Very observant. That's because the Black Lion is in the castle." Allura said.
"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed when all the lions are present." Coran explained. "As you have found, the lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond, and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his/her lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain. The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times. Someone whose men and women will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion. The Gold Lion will only take a pilot who is fiercely loyal, and willing to do anything for their team. As one of the Hearts of Voltron, you will hold up the team, even in the most difficult of times. Melanie, you will pilot the Gold Lion. The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion. The Blue Lion-" Allura's explanation was cut off by Lance. "Let me guess, takes the most handsome/best pilot of the bunch?" He smirked.
"The Silver Lion needs someone of grace and strength. As the second Heart of Voltron, you are loyal, and dedicated to your team. Crystal, you will pilot the Silver Lion. The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together. The Red Lion is temperamental, and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies on instinct more than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion. Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After ten thousand years, it might need some work." Allura finished her explanation. The lions roared, and came together. "Once all the lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe." Allura declared, as the hologram faded.
Hunk went on a nervous tangent. I grinned. "Don't worry Hunk, everything's gonna be alright." I reassured him, and he smiled at me. "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Melanie, Crystal, since your lions are on the same planet, you go after them. Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you stay here. If you locate the Red Lion, go get it." Shiro ordered. "In the meantime, I will get the castle defenses online. They'll be sorely needed." Allura decided. "I'll ready a pod with the coordinates of the Green Lion. And, Melanie and Crystal, I'll do the same for you." Coran said. The three teams were in space. I held my sister's hand. Het tail swished nervously. "The wormholes leading to your lions will only stay open for two of your Earth hours, so you best be quick about your work. The good news is, according to my readings, all three planets are peaceful, so they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives. Enjoy the trip!" Coran said.
"Good thing our lions just happened to end up on our home planet." I said, as we made it through the wormhole. "The Galra wouldn't dare attack Mentioum, not with so many psychics that could leave them brain dead." Crystal agreed, as we touched down on our home planet. "I missed the skyscrapers." I declared. A guard ran up on the landing pad, and glared at us. "Stop right there!" A male demanded. "Come on Syro, you don't remember me? I'm hurt." I grinned. Syro gasped. "You and your family moved to Earth! What are you doing back?" He asked. "We're looking for some lions. Can you help us?" Crystal asked. Syro nodded. He led us to the forest part of the planet. "How did you get here?" He asked. "The princess of the planet Altea opened a wormhole for us. We need to form Voltron." I explained. "Altea was destroyed, wasn't it?" Syro asked, as we headed deeper and deeper into the jungle. "Yeah. The princess and her advisor were in cryosleep. For ten thousand years." Crystal explained. Syro whistled. "We're here." He said, as we came up to a temple. Come to me. A female voice said in my head. "Did you guys hear that?" I asked, looking around. Syro shook his head. "I heard a voice too." Crystal said. "Syro, thanks." I said, clapping his shoulder. He nodded. "Planet Mentioum backs Altea, not the Galra. Be sure to pass that message on to the princess. Stay safe, and be careful." Syro said. "Thanks." Crystal said. Syro grinned, and walked away.
We walked deeper into the temple. Gold and silver lights lit up the place. "We must be getting close." My sister said. "Look, there they are." I gasped, pointing to the Gold and Silver Lions in front of us. "That was easy. Come on, let's go!" Crystal cheered. The force fields opened, letting me into the Gold Lion, and Crystal into the Silver Lion. I sat in the cockpit. "Sis, you in?" I asked. Her face appeared on the comms. "You bet. Now let's get back to the others." Crystal said. We both cheered, and flew away from our home, and back through the wormhole. We landed in the castle. "That was easy." I declared. "Are the others back yet?" Crystal asked. Coran shook his head. "No. You're the first ones to return." He replied. "So now it's a waiting game." Crystal commented. Coran nodded. "I wonder how the others are doing?" She mused.
I shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see." I replied. An hour later, we were still waiting. "Dammit, where are they?" Keith growled angrily. "Paladins, please hurry back. I can't hold the wormhole much longer." Allura said. A few minutes later, Lance and Hunk walked in. I grinned. "Nice job, you guys!" I complimented. Lance grinned back. Pidge smiled at Shiro. "Good. It seems we're all set." I said. "Did we find the Red Lion yet?" Shiro questioned in his deep voice. "Allura just located it. There's a bit of good news and bad news. Good news: The Red Lion is nearby. Bad news: it's on board the Galra ship now orbiting Arus." Coran explained. "They're here already?!" Crystal demanded. "Yes. I guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting is more of an art than a science." Coran replied. The screen flickered to life.
"Princess Allura. I am Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet." The menacing purple alien declared ominously, before he vanished. "Let's keep calm everybody." Shiro said. "We only have six lions." Hunk stated. "Technically, only five working lions." Pidge corrected. Hunk nodded. "Five lions, and a ten thousand year old castle." Hunk whimpered. Allura's eyes lit up. "This castle has a particle barrier we can activate." Allura exclaimed. Girl, you've already activated my particle barrier. I thought, fighting off a blush. Crystal smirked at me, and I shot her the bird. "The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last." Coran said. "We have to quickly figure out a plan of action." Shiro said.
The team started arguing. "Here's an option: shut your quiznak." Lance told Keith, who growled. "You aren't using that word correctly." Keith retorted. The arguments continued. "ENOUGH!" I yelled, whistling loudly. "Princess Allura, these are your lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?" I asked. Allura looked frightened. "Perhaps your father can help you." Coran said. He and Allura walked away. A few minutes later, Allura looked ready for action. I grinned, sensing the determination rolling off of her in waves. "You seven paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you, and you alone. We must fight, and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the Universe's only hope. We are the Universe's only hope!" Allura declared. "We're with you, Princess." Shiro stated.
She lead us to a room with seven pods. "Your suits of armor." She informed. "Our tails will fit, right?" I asked. Allura nodded. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to suit up!" Shiro declared. I twisted and moved, feeling the armor covering me. "Feels nice." I commented. "The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each paladin." She explained, as I took the gold bayard. It transformed into a pair of daggers, and I grinned. Hunk's bayard turned into a massive cannon, and he yelped from the weight. Pidge's bayard turned into a small arrow shaped blade. Keith got a sword and shield. And Lance got a sniper rifle. Crystal's turned into a whip, and she grinned, before turning it into a bow with a set of energy arrows. "Nice!" She commented.
"Shiro, I'm afraid your bayard was lost along with its paladin." Allura said. "I guess I'll just have to make do." He responded. "You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship." Allura commented. "How?" Kieth asked. "It's like how you found the Blue Lion." I commented. He nodded. "Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect." Allura said. "Here's our plan." Shiro started. "The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lions, but they don't know we have the Green, Gold, and Silver Lions. Hunk, Lance, you guys will act as decoys, giving us enough time to sneak onboard." Shiro continued. I held my breath as Lance and Hunk got closer to Sendak's ship. "While Sendak is distracted, the rest of us will sneak onto the ship. Kieth and I will look for the Red Lion, while Pidge, Melanie, and Crystal guard the exit. Hunk, Lance, find some way to take out that ion cannon." Shiro finished.
"We're in." I reported. "Guys, what's going on?" Crystal asked, as I heard Lance scream in shock. "We're being attacked." He responded. I threw my hands up in exasperation. "I've been here before." Shiro gasped in shock. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they took me here." He explained. "So the other crew members might still be here?" Pidge asked. "We have to rescue them!" He yelled. "We don't have time. We have to find the Red Lion, and get back to Arus." Shiro responded. "Come on, let's go." I stated. "NO! Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos Mission with you." Pidge stated. "Commander Holt is your father?" Shiro asked. "Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not gonna give up when I'm this close. I won't!" He declared. "We're coming with you." Shiro responded. Crystal and I nodded. "Good luck Kieth." Crystal said. "I remember where the prisoners are held. Kieth, you go find the Red Lion." He said. "By myself?" Kieth asked. "Minor change of plans. You'll be fine. Just remember, patience yields focus." Shiro said. Kieth nodded.
We bolted when we heard guards. Pidge, Shiro, Crystal and I were spotted by a triangle shaped drone. Pidge stunned it, and it dropped like a rock. "That thing saw us. We should get out of here." Shiro said. "This thing might come in handy. I can just reset the controls, and it's working for us." Pidge said, grinning. "I'm gonna call you Rover. Follow me!" He added, as we turned in another corridor. We stopped at a door. "Open up." Pidge commanded. The drone opened up the door. "Excellent." Shiro praised. A group of aliens were huddled against the wall. "Don't be afraid. We're here to help you escape." Shiro said calmly. "We're the Paladins of Voltron. A couple of them, anyway." I said. One of the aliens gasped. "It's you, the Champion." He stated. "We have to get to the escape pods." I said, as the alien told his prison mates to trust us. We all ran to the pods. "Halt!" A drone declared. Pidge and Shiro joined me and Crystal.
Shiro's cyborg hand started glowing black and purple, and he screamed. After a minute, he stood up, and attacked. He blocked lasers with his hand, and ruthlessly destroyed the sentries. A minute later, all the sentries were scrap metal as the pod launched. "Shiro, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?" Pidge asked. He shrugged helplessly. "No idea." He responded. "We better get back to our lions." I said, as we started heading in that direction. We all returned to the castle, safe and sound. The lions glowed, and opened the seal to the Black Lion. All five lions roared, causing me and Crystal to hiss, and flatten our cat ears to quiet the noise. "Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!" Allura yelled.
We followed the Black Lion in our respective lions, landing on the ground. The particle barrier was taking heavy fire from the Galra fighters. A massive purple beam blasted the castle, causing an explosion. "The barrier goes down with every blast. Once the shield goes down, we'll be defenseless." Coran stated. "I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll be destroyed!" Allura added. "Listen up Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it everything you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?!" Shiro yelled. I nodded. "I'm nodding, is everyone else nodding?" I asked. "Yes." Five voices responded. "Let's do this!" Shiro commanded. "How?" I asked, as we started flying. "Good question! Does anyone have any ideas how to form Voltron?" Shiro asked. "That would be a negative." Crystal said. I started destroying the fighters closest to me, blasting them with a gold colored energy beam. I bit down on some, and destroyed others with the claws of my lion. The others split up, and destroyed more and more fighters. "Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine!" Shiro yelled. "Take off on my cue. One, two, three, Voltron!" He exclaimed. We flew in formation, me and Crystal on the outside.
"I feel something!" Lance yelled. "It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!" Hunk added frantically. "It's a tractor beam!" I screamed. "Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Pidge yelled. "Only a black hole is probably more merciful than Sendak is!" Crystal snapped. A final blast from Sendak's ion cannon obliterated the particle barrier. "NO!" I screamed. We continued screaming as the tractor beam pulled us to Sendak's ship. "It's been an honor flying with you guys." Kieth stated. "NO! We can do this! We have to believe in ourselves! We can't give up! We are the Universe's only hope! Everyone is relying on us! We can't fail! We won't fail! If we work together, we'll WIN TOGETHER!" Shiro yelled. "YEAH!" We all yelled as one.
The lions roared proudly, and broke free from the tractor beam. The Black, Silver, and Gold Lions formed the body, with a blue V on the chest, and the Green and Red Lions formed the left and right arms. The Blue and Yellow Lions formed the right and left legs. We knocked the ion cannon away, making it miss the castle. "We did it!" I cheered. "How?" Crystal asked. "I don't know, but let's get that cannon!" Shiro ordered. We ripped it off, and tossed it away. Kieth fired a laser through the ship, causing parts of it to explode. We continued firing lasers throughout the ship, causing whole sections to be vaporized. We all yelled, and tore a hole through the ship, causing the entire ship to be obliterated.
We cheered, triumphant. "Good work Paladins!" Allura said, a little while later. "We did it." Shiro said, as we all took our helmets off. "Hell yeah we did!" Kieth and Crystal said simultaneously. "How did we do it?" I asked. Shiro put his hand on Pidge's shoulder. "We're not gonna stop searching until we find your family. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you." Shiro told Pidge, who smiled. "We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets those lions." Allura stated somberly. "Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing, because you're gonna have to form Voltron again and again." Coran said. "We barely survived forming it this time." Crystal and I stated together. "It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe." Coran said. "Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it." Shiro stated, as we all grinned.