A storm
by jalpari
The creature's next move is not what Noor expected. Neither is what ensues when the team's attempt to seize it and rescue her fails.
"Look", Pidge pointed. "The ship has stopped."
Bani watched as the pings blinked at the same location again and again.
"Everyone, get here now", Bani spoke over the comm, "they have landed on a planet."
Hurried footsteps approached the control room.
"Where are they?" Shiro spoke as the others followed him in.
"Sepi", Bani replied.
"How long will it take to get there?"
"One hour."
"That's not soon enough", Keith frowned.
"Bani, is that the best you can do?"
"If I channel more power from the cubes to the craft using myself as a channel, I think...I think we can make it in 30 minutes. I've never done it before, but I can try", she walked around hastily, preparing the controls and getting herself in place.
"Pidge, get your pod ready", Shiro began, "We need your eyes on everything but be ready to fight. Remain cloaked."
"Hunk, Keith...head to their ship and find out whatever you can about these terrorists. If possible, secure it."
"I want to go to the base with you", Keith replied.
"We don't know what to expect on the ship. I need you to lead the attack there. Luten and me can handle the base. We're going to get them, Keith", Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder and nodded reassuringly.
"We really need a name for this ship", Hunk muttered, "It was so much easier when we had names - like the Castleship, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Voltron...you know? How about Olkaride? Like Olkarion ride. Or Olkaship?"
"Olkaship works for me", Pidge nodded.
Keith rolled his eyes and walked towards their pod with Hunk.
"Follow my lead", the creature sat down.
Noor eyed it warily and hesitated. It bothered her that this was all new. Instead of the familiar lab and equipment and tubes and needles that she had expected and mentally prepared herself for, this was just an empty space.
What could it possibly to do to me here.
She took a deep breath and shook off the encroaching fear. Slowly, she made her way to him and sat across from him.
"This won't hurt", he smiled at her as if reading her mind. "Just be patient and breathe."
"I know you are not telling me everything about your dreams", it said after several seconds of simply staring at her.
Noor maintained a neutral expression and remained silent.
"Whatever they are", it continued, "they are more than just dreams...they are visions, you must meditate on them. Listen...to your body, to your heart, to your soul."
"Why are we talking about all this spiritual stuff?" Noor frowned.
"Back on earth, I spent a lot of time meditating, reading ancient philosophies, and pondering over the human subconscious."
"You want me to meditate?"
"Yes."
"I have never been good at that", she rolled her eyes.
She couldn't believe the conversation she was having.
What kind of an experiment is this!?
"You don't get it. It's not a thing that you can be good or bad at. It's just a matter of looking inside and connecting with yourself. You hold a power I wasn't able to. You must tap into it."
"So you kidnapped us, tortured us, experimented on me...all to get me to join a cult?" Noor groaned in frustration.
The creature chuckled and shook its head.
"Your thoughts limit you. You need to open your mind. To the powers that are within your reach."
As it said these words, the creature retrieved two small vials from its robe. It stared at them, enchanted, and then placed them back inside. It took a deep breath and looked at her, hopeful and determined.
"Let me lead...guide you through this."
"I can't trust you."
"Maybe not."
Noor's eyes darted around the room. The guards had stayed outside. She had no idea what was going on, where her team was, and what the creature was about to do. She decided to stay put. And wait. She didn't what she waiting for. But she knew she would know it when it occurred. At least that's what she hoped would happen.
"Fine", she muttered and closed her eyes.
"Focus on the sound of my voice, and clear your mind."
They sat in silence. Every now and then, Noor would see flashes and glimpses of her dreams and she flinched.
"You see them again, don't you? Hold on to it. Focus."
Noor saw herself. She was a child once again. She could see her father growling at her as he approached her. She cowered in fear and felt her entire body tremble.
"Let it play out."
"I can't!"
"You can."
His voice forced her to stay in the vision. Something in her was drawn further into it. She went from seeing it to reliving it. She felt the hands grab at her, grope her, violate her. She felt the rough touch as he probed her body greedily. She heard the screams of her mother as she lunged forward and struck her father. She whimpered in fear as he fought back.
She went numb as she saw him send her reeling back. She saw her mother hit her head against the table corner and fall to the ground bleeding. She saw her lift her hand and with one final breath, pull the trigger on him. She cried in horror as her entire life changed in the blink of an eye. Both her parents lay in front of her, dead.
"Accept what happened to you", the gentle voice echoed all around .
Her shallow breaths made her shiver and convulse. For what seemed like forever, she felt like she was about to explode in panic.
"Let it go. Let the river carry you forward."
Eventually, Noor felt herself flow along but soon, she was dropping down an endless waterfall. When she finally reached the bottom, she hit hard ground and broke through it. Explosions and blinding beams surrounded her as she felt herself being crushed by rocks and rubble.
She looked around in fear and confusion and saw a familiar face. Her father. The only father who deserved to be called that. The one who brought her into his life and gave her a safe space and another loving mother. Who she had learnt to call home. Who she had grown to accept as family. The generous souls who had given her a second chance at a happy life.
Suddenly, she recognized where she was. It was the Galran attack. The purple light piercing her city, her home, her family. She yelled and begged the invisible almighty, that she had never believed in, to make it stop.
"Don't fear what is about to happen", the voice guided her.
"I have no control!"
"And that's okay", it soothed her.
She saw her parents get hit and burn in front of her eyes. She struggled to free herself and crawl to them. She wanted to touch them, hold them, kiss them one last time. She wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to die by their side.
"Hold on. Hold on to your life."
"I don't want to."
"You survived. Accept that you were the one who lived. Reach into yourself and connect once more with your life force. Don't distance yourself from your soul, from your spirit. You need to find your way back to your essence. And stop hiding in your misery. Don't hide from everything that made you who you are."
Noor felt hot tears gushing out, staining her cheeks, her face, her neck...all the way down to her chest.
"Bani", Shiro whispered into the comm, "we've neutralized the three mercenaries posted outside. What's the status inside?"
"There are only two guards inside and they are stationed outside a room. That's where Noor is", Bani replied.
"Are you ready?" Shiro turned to Luten.
Luten nodded.
"We're going in."
They moved ahead cautiously, heading straight for the room Bani directed them to. They didn't encounter any guards just as she had said.
"When you turn right, you'll see the two guards."
"Got it. Luten...let's get them with one clean shot."
Shiro and Luten prepared themselves and with a nod, they rounded the corner. With quick clean shots, the two guards collapsed to the ground.
"That was...easy", Luten mumbled as they ran ahead towards the room the mercenaries had been guarding.
Luten stepped aside and Shiro kicked the door down.
Noor thought she heard a thud outside the door. Her heartbeat spiked. She hoped that the creature hadn't noticed anything.
"I can feel something", she lied in an attempt to keep it engaged.
"Good. Dig deeper. What do you see?"
"I...I…", she racked her brain for the right thing to say, "I can see blue!"
"Good! Follow it. Don't hold back. Let go of any illusion of control."
"I'm falling through it. It's never-ending."
"Don't stop", she could feel its voice growing excited. "It will be alright."
Gathering all her courage, she slowly moved her hand to her head and clicked the pins to life. She focussed all her energy into commanding the daggers. She had never tried to connect with them over a long distance before. She didn't even know if they could get to her in a closed room, behind walls and doors. But she had to try.
"Yes", she whispered breathlessly, "it will be alright."
Just then, the door came crashing down. Noor's eyes flew open and before she could react, three things happened. Shiro and Luten charged in. The creature sprung into action. And two objects whizzed through the air in her direction.
Noor jumped up and before she knew what she was doing, she directed the daggers towards the creature as it lunged at her with a growl. She spun around and saw the daggers slash at his chest. The creature winced and fell forward and sent her toppling back under its weight. She grabbed the daggers and thrust them into its chest and felt them pierce through its skin as they struggled on the ground.
"Noor!" Luten called as he advanced towards her.
Noor pushed the creature aside and scrambled to her feet. She stepped back and watched Shiro and Luten run forward. She saw the creature close its eyes and move his arms in a swirl as if waving a wand around seconds before Shiro and Luten pounced on it.
Shiro was about to shoot it with his immobilizer when they heard footsteps. Many of them. Countless guards swarmed into the room and began firing. Luten grabbed Noor and shielded them from the onslaught.
"Keith, where are you?" Shiro took a shot at the creature and pulled up his shield. "We need back up!"
No one responded.
"Keith!? Hunk? Pidge?", Shiro repeated as he and Luten tried shooting at the rapidly advancing mercenaries.
"I can't get through to anyone either", Luten grunted as he pulled back trying his best to shoot the guards closest to them. "Where the hell did they come from?"
"I don't know! We didn't see any…", before Shiro could finish, he dropped to his knees when a shot hit his leg.
"Shiro!" Noor called out.
She saw a guard leap forward and knock Shiro out with a powerful blow to his face. Before long, they were ambushed as well and more guards grabbed them and helped the creature. They struggled but to no avail. There seemed to be at least ten guards much to Noor's bewilderment. She hadn't seen so many of them on the ship or at the base.
As they were dragged out of the building, Noor froze when she saw Hunk, Keith and Pidge on their knees, surrounded by yet more mercenaries. The soldiers threw Luten and an unconscious Shiro on the ground near the rest of the team. They yanked Noor away from the group and she was brought to the creature, who was severely injured but conscious enough to grunt and slap her across her face in fury.
"You fool! Why do you fight your destiny!?"
Noor felt blood filling her mouth and she spat out at it. The creature took in a deep breath and regained its composure. It turned to the guards and with a calm almost serene voice, spoke.
"Finish them."
He wrenched Noor away by her neck and walked towards the ship. Noor sputtered and choked as she tried to free herself. She shook her head helplessly as she saw a mercenary walk up to Pidge and place his gun on the terrified girl's forehead. She could feel a rage rising up inside her. Images of the dead bodies of all her parents made her blood boil. And then everything went white.
Keith saw Noor's eyes shut tight. He thought her body was giving up as the creature strangled her . But then, she screeched. The creature fell back in shock and everyone was terrified to their bones. It was a scream of intense ferocity and pain. She stopped squirming, her body straightened, her head dropped and her hands rose up to her sides as if she was plucking something out of thin air.
They heard a rumbling. Tremors. As if the planet itself was shaking in fear. Everyone looked around, confused and bewildered. The mercenary stepped away from Pidge, unsure of what was happening. They fell and stumbled as the quakes grew stronger.
Suddenly, Noor threw her head back and lifted her arms over her head with another bloodcurdling scream and all around them, through the pores of the desert land, hundreds of fountains of water shot up. Powerful gushing spouts that tore through the barren ground and flew up in a rage that matched hers. She circled her arms above her head and the water formed a gigantic ring that loomed over their heads.
Before the creature could move, Noor threw one hand down towards it and like lightning, a stream of water came hurtling down, immediately freezing to ice and encasing the creature from head to tail. She thrust the arm forward and another stream of water raced ahead, turning into icy spikes that flew straight at the mercenary who had held Pidge at gunpoint and impaled him.
She threw both hands forward with a snarl. As if on command, the entire ring of water rushed down. More spikes flew in all directions and pierced all the guards who were retreating in terror, trying to shield themselves from the chaotic ice storm that was brewing around them.
Noor took in a long inhale, closed her eyes and her right foot slid back as she lifted her arms once more. Her entire body trembled and tears continued to cascade down her face. The never ending water that was still erupting from the ground, turned into an enormous terrifying wave that towered over everyone menacingly.
She leaned forward with all her might and pushed her hands forward as if shoving an invisible object. Much to everyone's horror, the wave propelled forward and came crashing down on them. It turned to ice just as it made contact with them, trapping everyone inside. Frozen.
With a deep exhale, Noor dropped her hands and with one fluid motion, the ice that held her friends turned to water, one by one, releasing them from their icy prison. They stood up unsure and looked all around them at the mortifying landscape that was filled with jagged ice statues. In a matter of seconds, she had decimated everyone and everything.
Noor's eyes flung open and she clutched her chest, sucking in air in lumpy choking breaths. She looked around her and gasped as she saw ice everywhere. The entire planet's surface, as far as she could see, was covered in a white blanket. She spun around and saw the creature trapped inside an icebox. She stared in horror as she saw her friends, their eyes filled with fear.
She could feel a storm inside her head. She covered her ears to stop the chaotic barrage of noise and buzzing electricity that lashed at her. She winced in pain as she felt something rise and fall within her, threatening to overtake her and throw her out of her own body. She sensed something fighting her from within.
She felt the outside world recede from her as she fell into a dark abyss. Through the incessant torrent of sounds and flashes she could hear something reach out. She couldn't make out what it was. She thought she heard a voice, she thought she heard her name, she thought her body was shaking in rapture.
"Noor…..Nooor!"
She felt something shake her violently. She inhaled sharply and her eyes jerked open in shock.
"Noor! Look at me! It's okay….you're okay…."
Noor's eyes focussed on the source of the sound. She saw a face materialize. She focussed harder.
"It's me...Keith!"
Suddenly, it felt like her floundering soul got sucked back into place and all the chaos within scurried into a deep void within her. She could feel herself being grounded in reality once more.
"Keith?"
"Yes...it's me...", Keith repeated again and again trying to snap Noor out of her state of panic.
"Keith!" Noor's voice exclaimed.
With a start, she looked around remembering where she was. Her eyes searched frantically for Pidge and she ran towards the shaking girl. She pulled her into her arms and embraced her with all her might.
"Pidge! Are you alright?"
She pulled back and looked at the stunned girl.
"I thought...I saw him shoot you...I thought you were…"
"I'm fine", Pidge mumbled and gripped her arms. There was a worried look in her eyes even though she smiled at her reassuringly, "You saved me, Noor. You saved all of us."
A/N:
Here we go!
Hopefully everyone follows along and enjoys the ride. I promise it gets better and I make a solemn vow that I WILL justify things as we move forward. I, personally, always need logic behind the 'magic'. I need even the most science-fictiony and fantastical things to be grounded in some sort of reality.
I have worked really hard and done my homework on both worlds and am really excited to continue the story revealing more pieces one by one until everything falls into its rightful place!