Chapter 3: A Final Farewell
Nico pushed the strange goo around his plate uncertainly with a slight look of distaste on his face as he sat at one head of the table in the elaborate dining room; he sat in the same seat he had been tied to not hours earlier, he noticed.
A tense silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of knives and forks clattering against plates, and the sound of Lance and Hunk wolfing down their mysterious goo. Allura sat at the opposite head of the table, Coran standing beside her, the paladins sat either side; Shiro, Allura and Pidge picked at the food on their plates, everyone taking glances at Nico as he continued to just study the 'food' before him. All except Keith, that is. His food sat untouched in front of him as he openly glared at Nico from his seat.
Nico's lips puckered as he stared at his goo, his brow furrowing in irritation and his grip around the fork tightening. He suddenly slammed the end of the fork down onto the table, making everyone jump slightly in their seats:
"You could make the staring a little less obvious." He said, before he sighed and continued a little defeatedly, "What do you want to know first?"
The paladins glanced at one another for a moment, before a cacophony of voices started asking questions all at once. Nico couldn't tell what any of the questions were, they were saying them so fast and so loud over one another, that he couldn't help but stare at them incredulously.
Were these really the people responsible for my capture? He couldn't help but think to himself.
A loud series of coughs caused the paladins to cease their 'questioning' and they turned to its source:
"Maybe we should let the Princess handle the questions for now?" Shiro said, his authority slipping into his tone as he lightly glared at the rest of the paladins, lowering his fist from just in front of his mouth. The paladins all looked down a little sheepishly at that, nodding and mumbling their affirmations as they slumped in their seats disappointedly.
"Thank you, Shiro," Allura said, nodding to him before she looked at Nico. "Nico." He returned her gaze, "Its very important you tell me how you got here without any of our sensors detecting you. This could be a major security risk."
Nico blinked before replying: "I didn't mean to come here, if that makes you feel any better. This wasn't my planned destination…" He muttered, glancing off to the side briefly. "But I came here via the shadows, that must be why your sensors didn't detect anything. It's not like I physically breached your ship; I just appeared right in the middle of it." He continued a little hesitantly then, squinting off to the side as if trying to remember something. "Oh and… When I arrived, I was in some kind of storage room… I remember the lights out in the corridor were blinking on and off, and there was someone screaming…? And someone else ran past with a pursuer attacking them… I think."
Keith's eyes widened with realisation: "That must have been me and Lance." When everyone looked at him quizzically he said, "When the Castle was malfunctioning after that Galra crystal was here, one of the training bots was attacking me and chased me through the whole ship. Nico must have arrived just before I found Lance being sucked out into space and heard him screaming for help."
"Hey, you'd be screaming too if you were about to be sucked out of an airlock!" Lance said indignantly, pointing a finger at Keith and crossing his arms.
"The cargo bays and the airlocks are pretty close to each other," Pidge said, gesturing slightly.
Nico decided not to ask.
"And it makes perfect sense that the Castle didn't detect your arrival because of the after effects of the Galra crystal," Allura said with a smile, bringing the conversation back on track. "So, you really can control shadows, Nico? And they allow you to travel great distances across many galaxies?"
"I wouldn't say across galaxies… Not on my own anyway." He muttered, "But seeing as I was on Earth in the year 2011 before I shadowed travelled… Yeah, I'd say it allows me to go pretty much anywhere I can think of." The paladin's eyes widened slightly; that was so long ago… its no wonder he had freaked out at Lances mention of the last date they had been on Earth.
"Fascinating." Allura said, her eyes wide and full of curiosity, "Do these powers drain you whilst using them at all?"
Pidge and Hunk both perked up at this; they may have already come to a conclusion themselves, but it was always worth asking for the solid truth instead of just theorizing.
"… Depending on how much I use them, yes…" Nico said begrudgingly, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"So how is it you have these powers?" Allura said, deciding to try her luck and leaning forward ever so slightly, "Does it have something to do with your heritage?"
Nico studied them in silence for a long time, the quiet tension in the room stretching on until he finally relaxed his arms a bit, looking down with a shallow exhale:
"I'll answer that after you answer some of my questions."
His reply was met with a chorus of disappointed sighs and slumped shoulders; they had all been leaning forward with great anticipation, but it seemed Nico would continue to dodge this question for a while longer.
"Of course," Allura's smile only faltered for a brief moment in her dismay, "That was our agreement, after all. What is it you would like to know?"
Nico nodded, taking a deep breath before staring unblinkingly at the people before him; he was finally going to get some answers. "Who are you people? And why is it you are all so defensive? You almost make it sound like you're at war with someone…" They all looked down at his final statement, and there was a pause before anyone said anything more:
"That is because we are at war, Nico." Allura said, her eyes remaining downcast. Nico's brow furrowed slightly, but he quickly schooled his features back to neutrality; he didn't like it when he was right. Allura continued, "As I told you before, Coran and I are the last of our kind. That is because 10,000 years ago, an- alien- race called the Galra, led by their Emperor Zarkon," she nearly spat the word out from between gritted teeth, "destroyed our home planet and everyone on it. We were frozen in cryogen pods, until the paladins here discovered us, not too long ago." She sighed as Coran squeezed her shoulder, looking at her with great sympathy.
Nico gave them some time before he asked his next question; he still needed to know more, but they had clearly been through much. They had skipped time much longer then he had, and he couldn't imagine how much more pain that would create; his was almost completely debilitating, it was so unbearable, but at least they had each other. That thought gave him a slightly bitter taste in his mouth, but he pushed it aside, bringing everyone's attention back to him:
"These Galra. Why were they attacking you?"
"They had already destroyed many planets," Coran explained, looking at him with a deep sadness in his eyes, "and Princess Allura's father, King Alfor, had created the ultimate weapon; the only thing that can defeat Zarkon and bring an end to his empire. Voltron."
"Can'?" Nico questioned incredulously, his brow furrowing, "You mean this Emperor Zarkon is still alive? And this weapon still exists too?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Allura said, eyes full of hatred, "He has lived far longer than he should have." She took a deep, calming breath before continuing, finally looking at Nico's eyes with a small smile. "My father sent Voltron away before our home was destroyed, but it was recently rediscovered. It is made up of five lions, who combine together to make Voltron. These lions are piloted by five paladins; Hunk, the yellow paladin; Pidge, the green paladin; Lance, the blue paladin; Keith, the red paladin; and Shiro, the black paladin and leader of Voltron." As Allura pointed to each paladin they each gave a nervous smile, a small wave, a confident salute or a reserved nod to Nico in greeting.
At least their conveniently colour coded… Nico thought, trying to remember their names as each person was pointed out to him. He tried piecing all the information he had so far together, asking uncertainly:
"So that… robot lion- downstairs, that's part of Voltron?"
"Yes," Allura said with an encouraging smile, "But they are more than just simple robots! They are unique beings, each with a connection to their paladins that cannot be explained by silence alone."
"Okay…"
Magic space robots then… Nico thought with slight despair, Gods, if only Leo or Annabeth were here, I'm sure they'd be able to make sense of everything in no time… or at least understand more than I am right now.
"And you guys are humans from Earth, I take it?" He said, directing his question to the paladins on either side of the table.
"That's right!" Lance said quickly before Shiro could even open his mouth, leaning forward eagerly, "Speaking of which, what's your other half? Is it some creepy shadow demon thingy?"
Nico just sat there shocked as Shiro began to berate the excited teen, laughing internally to himself at the idea of Hades being a 'creepy shadow demon thingy'. I'll have to tell them eventually… Nico thought, This was part of our agreement, and I don't have any way home right now… What harm could it do for them to know about the Gods? I'm galaxies away from Earth, and who knows what the Gods are up to these days, if their even still around… they'll only keep asking if I don't tell them.
Nico sighed, looking casually off to the side as everyone's attention was immediately brought back to the demigod, their arguing ceasing at the sound of his sigh as they all lent forward on the edge of their seats.
"You guys have heard of Greek Mythology and the Greek Gods, right?"
They simply blinked at him, expressions shocked and blank; all except Pidges, that is:
"You mean those old stories and legends? About heroes and gods and monsters? Their just forgotten myths now, nobody really talks about them much back on Earth."
"…Greek?" Allura asked in confusion, the word foreign on her tongue.
"It's a region back on Earth." Shiro explained to her, allowing Pidge to explain further:
"Back in ancient times, the people who lived there believed in specific Gods, holy beings of great power over the world they lived in; such as Zeus, the God of Thunder and King of Olympus, where all the gods lived. They also had stories about great heroes like Heracles, who was chosen by the Gods, and used his inhuman strength to complete many trials."
"Those 'heroes' were demigods, more often than not- half god, half mortal." Nico said, his eyes closed and arms still crossed. Of course, Zeus was the one to be mentioned; it only served to remind him of Thalia and Jason, however. He quickly moved the conversation on before he could dwell on those thoughts any longer. "The Gods would come down from Olympus and, er…. Be intimate, with a mortal who took their fancy, leaving behind a demigod who slew monsters and went on quests for them." Nico awkwardly looked to the side as he tried to explain this, a light blush colouring his cheeks; why was he having to explain where demigods come from, this was ridiculous!
"Erm…" Hunk said, breaking the unsure silence that had begun to gather, "What does this 'demigod' and 'Gods' stuff have to do with your heritage, exactly?"
"The Greek Gods, the 'stories' about them and those heroes- their all true. They existed, back on Earth, and the Gods still do. Living and breathing, watching you mortals. Sometimes getting… intimate with them."
A dumbfounded silence followed him; it certainly hadn't been the answer they were expecting, and it wasn't even the answer to their questions. Lance was the first to speak:
"I… still don't get it. I mean, thanks for the bombshell and all but, you sound a little crazy right now dude… We've dealt with aliens and flying robot cats sure, but this just seems-…? The Gods all actually existing and getting it on with humans? On Earth? As in our Earth?! Where's your proof?" Lance wanted to believe Nico but- well, he just wasn't sure; surely, they'd have noticed demigods walking among them back on Earth, right?
Nico continued to wait silently, his fingers tapping his arms distractedly as the gears in their heads visibly turned. Pidges eyes widened suddenly:
"No way…" She whispered under her breath, but it was still heard by all in the silence of the room. Her head snapped towards Nico, who only raised a brow at her in question. "You said 'you mortals'. You're the proof, right?" She was still a little sceptical, but there was a flash of excited curiosity behind those glasses.
"Yeah," Nico nodded, his head tilted down and eyes closed once more, "I'm a demigod. That's how I got my powers; its in my godly DNA."
Their mouths dropped and eyes widened, though Pidges was breaking into an excited grin. They sat speechless for what felt like hours before Lance stuttered:
"So… you're not half alien…"
"Your half god…" Shiro finished, not quite believing the words even as they left his lips.
"This is…" Allura started, shocked beyond words still.
"Amazing!" Pidge exclaimed, leaping from her chair to rush over to Nico, her inquisitive eyes suddenly examining him, as she asked him a million questions at once. "Your tech must be amazing after so many years of development and society!" He heard her say as she pulled on his jaw to examine his mouth, "You do have tech right?! -" Nico was trying to fend her off but found he couldn't go far before she reappeared and bombarded him with another question, and everyone else was still too shocked to stop her.
"You all don't seriously believe this guy's bullshit, do you?!" Keith had been looking around at his teammates incredulously before his outburst; at which Pidge had stopped her questions and curious jibes, standing back slightly from Nico.
"Language, Keith." Shiro admonished.
"No, I'm sorry Shiro but I still can't trust this guy. He honestly expects us to just take his word on some ancient Gods existing back on Earth and he's half of one?! I can't just believe what he says is true!" Keith gestured sharply at Nico without looking at him, and had stood up in his anger, leaning heavily on the table with one arm.
None of them could deny the power that radiated off of Nico, even just sitting there it felt incredibly intense, let alone when he actually used his powers. But still… Gods? On Earth? It felt like another big secret had just been dumped on them and Keith wasn't ready to just go ahead and accept this one like he had with the other recent bombshells. Nico was probably just some alien, not a god.
Nico stood from his chair also. The slow, steady movement drew everyone's eyes. His head was down, his dark hair hiding his eyes from their view. "Then don't believe me." He said. His voice was low and calm, but an aura of danger emanated from his form. It made the hair on the back of their necks stand on end and their muscles tense in anticipation. "I'm not going to make you." He looked up at them. His eyes almost appeared like black voids; there was nothing in them, no emotion but a blank stare that felt like it could suck your soul in if you stared too long. But then he shrugged and blinked, and when he opened his eyes again the aura was gone; he was just an ordinary, tired boy.
They watched silently as Nico turned around, his hands in his pockets, shaken by the odd display as he calmly left the room, the door hissing closed behind him. Their conversation had come to an end, apparently. Keith blinked his stupor away, punching the table beneath him with a frustrated growl as he glared at its pristine surface.
Nico walked calmly through the halls of the ship, his posture slouched as he let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go. He heard another door hiss shut behind him and he stood by the wall a moment, his head down.
BANG!
Nico's nails dug deeper into his palm as he clenched the fist he had slammed into the wall next to him, ignoring the sharp pain it incited, his teeth gritting painfully and his tense shoulders hunched around his head, his breathing heavy.
"Another damn war…" He seethed, the air practically hissing through his teeth. "I should have known…"
He looked up at his surroundings as he let his fist fall from the wall, his expression foul; the Black Lion sat in the centre of its hanger, unmoving. Nico doubted it would take much notice of his presence, now that its paladin had acknowledged him as an… well, as no longer a threat. Nico wondered over to it, sitting on the floor and leaning against one of its ginormous feet. He supposed he'd wandered here as other than the cargo room, training deck and bridge, this was the only other place on the ship he'd been too; and those other places didn't hold great memories of safety for Nico. That, and he found himself subconsciously drawn to the strange energy that emanated off of these robots; it was so much like a life force, but so unlike any soul he had felt before. The Princess certainly wasn't lying when she said Voltron was more than just robots.
The familiarity of a big beast behind his back comforted Nico as well, and he looked up at the ceiling as he thought aloud: "And the Fates didn't give me a way back…. Heh, they must want me here pretty bad… but why?" His bitterness and anger faded as he talked to himself, instead replaced with confusion and despair; one demigod in the endless expanse of space wasn't going to make that much of a difference, not in a war on this kind of scale anyway. So why send only him?
The thought made him remember his friends back home, and this time he didn't stop the memories from surfacing. It felt like only yesterday he had been eating McDonalds on Earth, that he had seen Will and Percy… but they were gone now, in this time. They had aged and grown up without him, never knowing what had happened to him. They had faced monsters, had families, and… died. And Nico would never find out how, let alone get to be by their sides throughout it all.
Nico didn't see the air ripple and shimmer in front of him, so lost in thought as he was. He'd give anything just to let them know he was okay, that he hadn't gone and died on them without a word…
"Nico!"
His head snapped back down, his eyes wide and jaw dropping at the sight before him; two iris messages hovered before him, their edges rippling but the images inside clear as day.
"Guys?" Nico muttered, unable to summon anything louder in his shock, "Is that really you?"
"Of course its us!" Percy cried indignantly. He stood in his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, the rest of Nico's Greek friends bundled around him, trying to stay in frame. In the other Iris message, Hazel stood in the centre of the frame, the residents of Camp Jupiter around her; they appeared to be in the Garden of Bacchus.
"We've been looking everywhere for you death breath!" Thalia cried, shoving her way to the front of the message and pointing accusedly at him, "Do you know how much chaos you've caused in the Hunters because I've been looking for you?!"
"Nico!" Hazel appeared close to tears, the relief of seeing her half-brother evident on her face, "Are you hurt?! Where are you?!"
Nico could only blink for a moment and think fondly, It's them. He smiled softly as he addressed his sister, "Hazel, I'm okay. I'm not in any danger." I don't think…
"Oh thank goodness." She sighed, the built-up tension easing from her shoulders as she placed a hand over her chest. Nico smiled reassuringly at her. He couldn't believe he was seeing them, though they must still be back in the past, over a 100 years ago from where he was now… But he was glad to see them again.
The paladins sat around the table in silence, Keith still standing and glaring at the table as if it were his worst enemy, and Pidge still stood by Nico's now vacant chair.
"He… didn't even try to defend himself…" Pidge said quietly, blinking at the closed door.
It confused them all, as did the brief sensation of hostility they had felt; it was all a lot to process, and even Keith slumped back into his seat eventually. They sat in silence for a long time, and soon Shiro felt the Black Lions presence in his mind once more.
"He's in the Black Lions bay again…" Shiro sighed, his brow furrowed in slight despair. "I suppose he doesn't really know anywhere else to go in the castle."
"Mm..."
A few minutes passed before Shiro's eyes narrowed, his lion communicating once more.
"He's… talking to someone…?" Everyone looked over at him curiously. "The Black Lion says there are multiple voices talking to Nico in there…!" He looked at everyone with urgency and shock, and they all exchanged panic glances with one another. Surely, he couldn't be talking to any outside forces… he didn't know about the Empire or anything, he'd never left Earths galaxy before so who could he be speaking to unless…?
Fearing the worst, they rushed to the Black Lions bay, forgetting their conflicted thoughts at the more urgent, easier to understand threat before them.
"We thought you might've shadow travelled to China again by mistake." Annabeth said.
"We've searched all over the place!" Frank said, slight exasperation slipping into his tone, "Hazel even went down to the Underworld to look for you…"
"It only worried us more when we found out your father hadn't heard from you." Piper said, her brows furrowed in concern.
I guess the Gods aren't allowed to tell anyone where they sent me then… Nico thought to himself.
"Even Festus and Mrs O'Leary can't find you!" Leo piped in, his hands gesturing wildly, "And I gave them your stinkiest socks to smell!"
Nico could only raise his brow at that; could Festus even use scent to track someone…? Honestly, it wouldn't surprise him if Leo had built that in just for this occasion. He replied to them, saying, "No I'm… more remote than China this time…" He didn't want to put them in any more distress than they were already in over his location.
"Nico." It was Will. His voice was stern and his arms crossed as he stared at Nico through the message.
Nico tried not to flush under his scrutiny: "Oh, er- h-hey Will."
"You better not be overusing your powers again." He reprimanded, "I only just cleared you for small amounts of exertion, and if I find out you've gone against your doctor's orders…"
Nico could only gulp and stutter as he tried to formulate a response that wouldn't just sound like an excuse to Will, but one which wouldn't cause them alarm either. He came up with nothing.
Fortunately, Reyna came to his rescue: "Di Angelo." She said, drawing his attention to her calm, stoic features, "It'd be poor form if you should overexert your powers again so soon, and it would reflect poorly on the legion if you were to collapse due to your own hubris. Make sure you listen to your doctor." She had a small smirk on her lips as she finished speaking, and Nico was grateful for her aid.
"Of course, Praetor." He said with a small smile and nod, "I wouldn't dare do otherwise."
'The connection of this Iris message will soon end. You will be unable to reconnect it once it has been terminated.'
A voice rang out from the shimmering air, everyone falling silent to listen to it.
Nico looked at them all determinedly, and spoke with urgency: "Look guys, I won't be able to contact you again for a long time, but I'll be alright."
"Wait!" Jason said, moving forward as though he could reach through the message and stop him from leaving, "At least tell us where you are!"
But Nico ignored him. "I swear on the River Styx that I will find a way back home. I promise." His façade suddenly broke down, and tears welled in his eyes as he said, "I-I love you guys."
He pulled his hand up, preparing to slice through the messages; they all leaned towards him, a chorus of "NICO!" crying out, a mix of anger, urgency, worry, confusion and fright evident on their faces and in their shouts; but they were all suddenly cut short.
'Connection Terminated.'
The cold, emotionless voice rang out in the sudden silence of the hanger, and Nico stared at the sudden emptiness before him, his hand still raised and ready; he hadn't even gotten to slice through the message himself before it had come to an end. He stiffly leant back, slumping against the lion and staring at his hands, his eyes seeing nothing.
"Excuse me…" A female voice said softly, "Young demigod…?"
Nico looked up sluggishly; a new message had appeared, and in this one stood a fairly muscular girl with frizzy white hair, and eyes that changed between white, grey and black.
"Your Nico Di Angelo, right?" She asked, glancing down to book in her hands; she seemed to be making sure she had the right person from a list.
"Yeah. That's me." Nico said, his eyes still no really focusing on her.
"Her Lady Iris is currently busy, but I have a message for you from the Gods." She seemed to be about to say the message before suddenly halting, and instead saying, "Wait… your Nico Di Angelo… As in the Nico Di Angelo?" Nico hummed in confirmation. Her eyes widened and a grin broke out on her face as she excitedly said, "I've heard so much about you! You returned the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half Blood all the way from Rome! You nearly fell into Mount Vesuvius doing it! You're a huge hero, the other cloud nymphs told me all about it!" But her enthusiasm died down suddenly, "Oh, I suppose that's why your here though, isn't it?"
Nico stared at her blankly. She took a deep breath, her expression turning serious; "The Gods of Olympus wished me to tell you that they had no idea, nor prior warning of your transportation. The Fates alone made that decision and acted upon it, so there is nothing the Gods can do to return you… Your father seems particularly angry about this…" Her tone had become more casual as she had spoken, and sadness flickered in her changing eyes. "The Fates allowed him only one request; that your powers will work the same they did on Earth, so that you have a fighting chance. You will have no Mist to hide them though."
Well, Nico had already discovered that. He supposed he had his old man to thank for that…
She continued, "And because you are now in the future, I'm afraid this will be your final Iris message. Not even Iris herself can connect a message between you and anyone in this time… Though, we may be able to connect you with people in your current time… provided you have some drachma of course," She uttered, her hand on her chin in thought. "It's likely you will still receive demigod dreams so maybe…"
Nico forced a strained smile onto his face as he said, "Thank you, Fleecy."
The nymph looked at him, shock evident on her face as she pointed to herself, "You know my name?!"
Nico nodded, "Hazel told me about you." Sadness tinted his features again, unable to hold his smile any longer at the thought of his sister's desperate face as their connection had been terminated.
The message began to fade, and with urgency, Fleecy said, "I'm sorry young demigod, but the Gods cannot help you in this quest! There hasn't even been a prophecy! Your father wished to bid you good luck…!"
With that, the message was gone. Nico found himself once again staring at the blank space before him, his eyes slightly wide. With Fleecy's disappearance, his last connection to his time- to his friends and family, his home- had disappeared also. He was truly alone, trapped in a future he never asked to be in.
The paladins watched him slump in despair once more from the doorway; when they had arrived, they had been confused by the messages, though had soon realised that Nico had just been speaking to his friends, and family. And that it was the last time he would be able to do so, according to the disembodied voice and strange girl. They didn't know how he was able to talk to them, over a hundred years into the past, but they did all feel huge sympathy for him.
They knew they shouldn't have listened, but they were both transfixed by the floating messages, and by their curiosity over Nico; in a way, witnessing these messages meant they couldn't doubt his story anymore.
Hunk nudged Keith in the ribs slightly, whispering, "You should go talk to him."
"Why me?" He replied.
"Because you were the one who didn't believe him." Lance whispered, arms crossed but hand gesturing lightly from he crook of his elbow, "Is strange, floaty face messages enough for you now?"
Keith sighed, and said resignedly, "I get it okay?" He walked over to Nico, his arms crossed in front of him as he looked off to the side awkwardly. "I… I'm sorry for not believing you, and for eavesdropping on your conversation."
Nico shrugged, his tired eyes staring at the floor in front of him as he said in a monotone voice, "Like I said, it didn't bother me either way."
He knew they had been listening to his Iris messages and to what was probably his last conversation with the only people he cared about in the world. But he couldn't bring himself to care. If they believed him, it just made things easier, but right now he just wanted them to leave him in peace…
Keith was a little indignant, however, "You're not even going to accept my apology? Or defend yourself?"
"I accept your apology…" Nico sighed. His head was slumped against his chest, and he closed his eyes as the rest of the paladins made their way over to him.
Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder, smiling at him and taking over, "We all want to apologise for eavesdropping Nico, it was wrong of us to do so and even more so to not believe you when we made the promise we would trust you."
Nico simply hummed in response. Shiro continued, "Nico. We may not fully understand your heritage, but were on the same page now, and I think I speak for us all when I say we'd really appreciate your help now that you're here. We'll try to help you find a way home too, in return."
"Sure thing…" Nico mumbled sluggishly.
"You have our deepest thanks," Shiro said with a smile and nod. "We won't treat you any differently because of your powers or heritage, and you can confide in us whenever you want to; we've all lost something or someone, and we miss our homes, the people and things that are out of our reach. I know it's a lot to ask, but I want you to know that we understand how you feel right now, and we want to make up for our eavesdropping. I know it's hard, but I also know that together, we can defend the universe against the threat of the Galra. We are honoured to have you with us."
Everyone smiled at Shiro, his speech having motivated them and made them hopeful as to what Nico's reply would be; they were all eager to apologise and make up for the lack of trust and belief they had shown him over and over again, and how it took seeing such an immense and personal pain from him for them to realise their mistake.
But Nico's head simply lolled to the side, his mouth hanging open slightly and his breathing even; he had fallen asleep.
Shiro's face and shoulders dropped, disheartened that his speech had gone unheard; everyone else tried not to laugh at this outcome, or stood shocked at the sleeping boy in front of them. Keith patted Shiro on the shoulder, trying to reassure him as he looked at Nico uncertainly:
"I'm sure it wasn't the speech." Shiro didn't look convinced.
"It's late," Allura said, a smile on her lips, "and its been a very long day. We should all go get some sleep."
"I don't know if I can sleep…" Hunk said, his forehead wrinkled, "I mean, Gods exist back at home on Earth, and he's the living proof! Who knows what he can really do."
"We'll have a meeting first thing tomorrow, maybe put him through the training sessions if he's up to it. And we need to look through Sendak's memories; no more distractions." Shiro said, recovering from his shock over Nico's sleeping state. His statements were followed by a series of confirmations and agreements.
"Well, I'm going to sleep like a log when my head hits that pillow." Lance stated, stretching his arms languidly above his head.
"More like your head is a log." Keith murmured.
"What was that, mullet head?" Lance said, snapping to attention and leaning towards him.
Shiro, however, put a hand on both their shoulders, putting himself between them, "That's enough you two. We're all exhausted, its time to get some rest."
"What about Nico?" Pidge said, gesturing down at his limp, sleeping form. "We can't just leave him on the floor in here."
"Sure we can!" Coran said, "Sleeping rough is good for the reflexes!" he tried demonstrating as much, but Allura just walked forward, moving to pick Nico up.
"I'll take him to one of the spare rooms." She said, easily picking up the small boy.
"Are you sure Princess? I can take him if you want, you should go get some rest." Shiro said, concerned over her tired eyes but not realising his looked even more so.
"I'll be fine Shiro," She said with a small laugh, "You've all worked hard today, and you need to get some rest as soon as possible. It won't take me long, I know just the room available."
He relented, and they all left the bay together, each going off to their rooms for a long-deserved rest. Allura set Nico down on the bed in the spare room, along the same corridor the paladins all shared. She put her hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him softly, whispering, "Welcome to the Castle of Lions, Nico." She left his room, Nico's face being the most relaxed and at peace she had seen it since his arrival on her ship.
Haggar stood alone on the Bridge of Zarkons ship, her eyes closed as she focused on the dark quintessence crackling around her. Her yellow eyes opened slowly, and she stared out into the darkness of space through the glass before her. Something different had arrived in the universe… something she had never felt before. And she wanted to find out exactly what.
A/N: Yo! It's late and I'm tired, so my apologies for any spelling mistakes, but I really wanted to get this out before Christmas (tis still Christmas Eve here). So Merry Christmas everyone! And this chapter is my gift to you. And if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you're having a wonderful day and enjoy this new chapter! I slammed this one out super fast today, so it may not be the best, I hope the emotions and characterisation are all still there so please let me know.
Was anyone worried by the title of this chapter? Be honest now ;) And no, I'm still not caught up but yes I basically know what happens and how much of a shitshow the final season was for many of you, so if you really want to you may talk to me about spoilers all you wish my dears.
Anyway, thank you so much, everyone, for your continued support, it really is appreciated (I even updated this fic over my other neglected ones, aren't you glad lol) and it really is because of your reviews and the conversations I get to have with people. It makes me happy beyond belief that you guys love my writing style, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
And for you poor souls who think Nico will go back to his time near the moment he left... oh I am not so merciful. Everything has a consequence. I have the ending pretty much worked out, and I'm pretty happy with it, so I hope you will all be too! A lot of your questions should have been answered in this chapter too! Though, no more word from the Fates as to Nico's purpose... we are as lost as him on that one ;) I'd love to hear what you guys think the reason for sending him to Voltron is!
Anyway, have a merry christmas and a happy new year everyone, and I hope you enjoyed my gift to you (I left a little extra at the end to give you more to think about till the next chapter ;) good ol Haggar up to her witchy tricks again. And yes I am slightly delirious from being tired, uni has really caught up with me since coming home for christmas...). Thank you so much for your support, and my apologies for any spell errors again... Hope your all prepared for the long haul cus this fic is gonna far outlive the end of the series lol with my update schedule... Anyway, whether you liked what you read or not...
PLEASE REVIEW!
See you in the next one!
-Limegreenarcher