The Rival Chapter 35, a voltron: legendary defender fanfic

Happy Halloween/Celtic New Year!

Chapter Thirty-Five:

"Oh. My. Quiznak." Hunk said, his eyes wide.

"This… Please tell me I'm dreaming…" Lani said, somehow still keeping the camera steady.

"I'm done!" Shinji proclaimed, putting his hands in the air as if in surrender. "I'm going back to the Castle away from all this nonsense!"

"Holy crow…" Lance said, still staring in awe. "I cannot believe what we're seeing…"

Pidge turned and looked at Shiro and Allura, both of whom were staring with open mouths and horrified looks on their faces.

"So," They said. "Uh, how are you two going to handle this one?"

Shiro groaned and put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "We need an adult." He proclaimed.

"Shiro, I hate to break it to you, but technically speaking, you are considered an adult…" Tali said.

"We need an adultier-adult. An adult with more Experience Points!" Shiro said, lifting his head up.

"I concur," Allura mumbled. They glanced at each other then both yelled,

"CORAN!"

Twelve Hours Earlier…

"Why do I keep having this feeling that we're Dungeons and Dragons characters who keep getting side-quests?" Hunk asked as they approached the planet.

"Because we keep getting side-quests," Shiro said. "So the Yunglins have had this book for ten thousand years because…?"

"Because it was loaned to their museum right before Altea fell." Allura said. "This book has a lot of information regarding the Lions and Voltron. Reclaiming it means not only regaining an Altean treasure, but it could provide you Paladins valuable information."

"I thought having valuable information about Voltron was Coran's job," Pidge said.

"That is very kind of you to say, Number Five, but the Book of Lions will be much more beneficial to you than I ever could be," Coran said. "The first Paladins wrote down about the abilities the Lions could unlock, attacks that they discovered together while forming Voltron, or things that they had discovered about their bonds with the Lions that even their comrades-in-arms did not know about."

"So basically it's a Voltron instruction manual." Hunk said. "Could have used that a couple months ago…"

"I would have thought Zarkon would have his hands on it," Allura admitted. "The Yunglins requested Voltron for a peace ceremony, but this was after the first Paladins began to break apart from each other. So my father loaned them the book as a symbol of the peace instead."

"Well, it's not worth getting all the cheat codes if you don't have all the parts and pieces," Tali pointed out.

"How hard do you think it'll be to convince the Yunglins to part with it?" Lani asked.

"Well, hopefully they'll happily hand it over to the new Paladins of Voltron," Allura said. "Easiest diplomatic exchange yet."

()()()()()()()()()()()

"Allura's eye is twitching." Lance whispered to Pidge. "She's either got something in her eye, or we're supposed to be receiving some secret code message that we didn't cover in Paladin school."

"Or she's really, really pissed." Pidge whispered back. "That's what my money's on."

So much for 'easiest diplomatic exchange yet'.

"Minister Uluio," Allura said tightly. "I understand that this is now part of your museum's permanent collection. However, that was not the arrangement that was made with the Royal Library of Altea ten thousand years ago."

"Which became invalid with the destruction of said library," Minister Uluio said. The Yunglins looked very much like humans, but with red, reptilian skin and tails and slanted eyes. "Consider this a favor to Altea, for Mitalin to protect it from destruction and age. And as a return for the favor, we will continue to protect it for millennia to come."

"Minister Uluio, I beg you, think of how much the Paladins of Voltron could learn from the Book of Lions." Allura said, voice oozing charm. "Knowledge that they and their successors will never have if it is trapped behind glass for ten thousand more years."

"Ah, so the current Paladins of Voltron are incompetent without having access to the book, is that what I'm understanding, Princess?" Minister Uluio asked, eyes gleaming slightly.

"What? No, heavens no…" Allura said quickly.

"Then based on their achievements thus far, it appears that they do not need the Book of Lions in order to successfully fight the Galra Empire," Minister Uluio said. "Besides, wouldn't having the Book be somewhat cheating? The first Paladins had to learn everything on their own. Self-discovery on this journey is very important, and makes the knowledge gained so much more important…"

"Minister, that is not in debate but—" Allura was cut off as a male voice called out, "Father!" and an adolescent Yunglin rushed into the room, pushing past Lance and Pidge.

"Father!" The young Yunglin said, eyes gleaming as he held up a tablet of pictures. "Father, look at these pictures I took last night, it is most definitely the creature, and I made a cast of the footprint it left behind and—"

Minister Uluio sighed and said, "Meelin, please, not now. Can't you see that we have guests?"

The boy, Meelin, turned and said, "Oh, forgive me for the intrusion, but I needed to show my father the proof that my zoological research study can finally be declared valid."

"No, it cannot." Minister Uluio said sharply. "For the last time, Meelin, the creature does not exist and is a figment of your imagination as a result of spending your nights in the woods and limited sleep. The Board of Science will never accept it, and if you want your degree at all you should choose a much more provable, valid research study."

"But, Father, see!" Meelin insisted. "I have proof! The creature is simply nocturnal and shy!"

Meelin then started showing them all his photos.

Suddenly, Keith's eyes widened. "Stop there! On that one!"

Meelin's finger froze and he held out his tablet for Keith to take. Keith's mouth formed an 'O' and his eyes seemed to shine as he whispered, "It's Bigfoot!"

"What?" Hunk said, looking over Keith's shoulder.

"No way," Tali said, also coming over to look.

"Look, see!" Keith said, pointing at a tall shadow. "It's definitely a Sasquatch!"

"You are familiar with the creature!" Meelin said, looking just as ecstatic as Keith.

"It's a mythical creature from our home planet," Pidge explained. "Keith, uh, happens to be our resident expert in that topic."

"Father, the creature is real and lives on other planets as well as Mitalin!" Meelin exclaimed.

"The Green Paladin called it a mythical creature," Minister Uluio said, frowning. "Mythical as in a fictional beast. No, you most likely captured a photo of a Vaneder, or some other creature that walks on its hind legs. But it was so dark and you are so sleep-deprived you did not realize this."

"I know what I saw, Father, and I would stake my life on it!" Meelin said firmly. "I will prove to you that it is real! And I will do so tonight!" He then turned to Keith, saying, "Your comrade says that you are an expert in these creatures. Please, assist me in bringing proof to my father, and give these noble beasts the recognition they deserve!"

"Yes! Of course!" Keith said, nodding his head vigorously, giving Meelin back his tablet.

"Um, Keith, I don't know if that's a good idea…" Shiro said, eyeing Minister Uluio who was looking furious with both his offspring and how the conversation had turned.

"But Shiro!" Keith exclaimed, rushing forward to put his hands on Shiro's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "I've basically been preparing for this day my whole life! This involves two things I know a lot about! Aliens! And Bigfoot! This is Alien Bigfoot we're talking about! Please let me do this!"

"Keith, come on," Shiro said, his facial expression clearly saying that he was mentally chanting 'patience yields focus'.

Keith's big eyes suddenly became watery and his lower lip jutted out.

"Oh no," Lani said. "He's bringing out the puppy dog pout."

"I didn't know Keith knew how to do the puppy dog pout." Lance said, both amused and amazed.

"Allura, back me up here!" Shiro said, his eyes widening.

"You both do know that he won't let it go if you don't let him do this," Tali said. "And you'll have to deal with a depressed Keith for months, maybe years…"

Meelin suddenly stepped in. From Pidge's observations, the look of mischief in the making was, well, universal. "You are here for a reason, yes?"

"We came to formally request possession of the Book of Lions," Allura said.

Meelin turned to his father. "Father, if we bring you proof tonight that this creature is real, will you let the Paladins take possession of the Book of Lions?"

Minister Uluio gave a small scoff of laughter, smirking slightly. "I think Smardgarfs are more likely to suddenly wear dresses, but I will agree to those terms."

Allura exchanged looks between Shiro and Coran. "I believe we can accept those terms…" She said shakily.

"Yes!" Keith and Meelin exclaimed, both grinning.

For everyone else, they knew they had a long night ahead of them.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Welcome to our Voltron Watch special!" Lani said into the camera. "Finding Alien Bigfoot!"

"To make a long story short, our new friend Meelin here," Tali said, gesturing to the grinning Meelin beside her. "Say hi to the people of Earth, Meelin."

"Greetings, humans of Earth!" Meelin said, waving to the camera.

"So anyways, Meelin here is a zoological student. And for the last few years he's been trying to prove to his people that this legendary creature exists. This creature strongly resembles the Earth mythical creature known as Bigfoot—also known as the Sasquatch or Yeti—" Tali said, but was cut off by Keith yelling from the background,

"Yeti are different than Sasquatches, Tali, everyone knows that!"

"Sure, Keith," Tali said flatly. "So we were already coming here to try and negotiate the return of a lost Altean heirloom with a lot of importance to Voltron. Meelin made a deal with his father; we find alien Bigfoot, we get the heirloom. So, yeah, we're hoping it doesn't take us a gazillion seasons to turn Finding Alien Bigfoot into Found Alien Bigfoot."

"So meet our Finding Alien Bigfoot team!" Lani said. "For Team Believers, we have team captains Meelin Uluionorm and Keith Kwan. Then we also have Lance Sanchez-Garcia and myself, Hokulani Kahele.

"For Team Skeptics, we have team captains Allura Alforsdaughter and Shinji Shirogane. Then we have Voltron Watch's own Tali Wright and Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane.

"For Team Neutral, we have team captains Hunk Kekoa and Coran Arayason. Then we have Caelum Lyrason and Pidge Holt."

"How we're going to do tonight is simple," Tali explained. "We're going to split into pairs of two. There won't be a team of two believers, two skeptics, or two neutrals, to make sure we see all angles of any potential Alien Bigfoot sightings. In short, a team will consist of one captain and one non-captain from another team. The team captains are going to do a draw to determine the order of picking.

"So while the drawing happens, let's talk with some of our team members, shall we?" Lani said.

The camera shifted to Pidge, who was sitting on a tree stump, focused on the screen of a scanner in their hands. "We're going Bigfoot Hunting," Pidge said flatly. "In the name of diplomacy. Space is weird, guys."

The camera changed to Coran, stroking his mustache. "In all my years, I never thought I'd see the old night-time mythical creature hunt delegation route be used, but yet here we are, just like Professor Arbuckle said we'd use it someday," Coran said, shaking his head slightly. "I thought it was like alphabetical-numerical mathematics. Never have a practical application in real life."

The picture then cut to Lance and Caelum standing together.

"I know nothing about these creatures or whether they exist, but I am willing to look at the evidence to determine whether I am a true skeptic or believer," Caelum said. "However, I must admit that Keith seems very knowledgeable in the subject of these 'cryptids'."

"Yeah, but Keith's readily available knowledge mostly applies just to cryptids, aliens, and sharp objects," Lance said. He held up one finger and said, "Watch." He turned to look over his shoulder. "Hey! Keith!"

"Yeah?" Keith called back, and the camera quickly swiveled to get a shot of him from where he stood with the other captains.

"Who was the first president of the United States?" Lance asked.

Keith's face went blank, blinking slowly.

"Here's a hint," Lance said. "There's a state named after him?"

Keith remained silent, frowning slightly.

"He's on the one dollar bill?" Lance prompted.

"G-Georgia?" Keith said at last, hesitantly.

Lance sighed slightly, looking at the camera despondently. "Close enough."

The camera cut again and Lani announced, "And our team captain with the first pick of the night is… Keith!"

Keith surveyed the people to choose from, then said, "I choose… Pidge."

Pidge dutifully walked over to Keith's side.

"Next up we have Coran!" Lani said. "And who will he—?"

"Lance." Coran said, without waiting for Lani to finish.

"Okay, that answers that question…" Lani said as Lance came to stand beside Coran. "Allura, you're next."

"Hmm…" Allura hummed, considering, then said. "Caelum."

The young Altean nodded and came to stand beside the princess.

"Meelin," Lani prompted. "It's your turn."

"Shiro." The Yunglin said.

"Shinji, your turn."

"Tali." Shinji said. From where she was operating the camera, Tali stuck her arm into view and gave a thumbs-up.

"Hunk," Lani said, then frowned as she realized she was the only one left. "Uh, looks like you're stuck with me then."

"I was going to pick you anyway," Hunk said with a small, nonchalant shrug.

"Alright then," Lani said with a nod. "Team Voltron, let's go Squatchin'!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"We do not get paid enough for this," Shinji said as he shined his flashlight on the bushes.

"We don't get paid at all," Tali reminded him, adjusting the zoom of the camera slightly.

"Exactly."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Look, Paladin Shiro!" Meelin exclaimed excitedly, pointing. "We're close to finding the creature!"

"Uh, how can you tell?" Shiro asked nervously.

Meelin suddenly dove into the bush, then quickly returned, grinning, and the camera suddenly jerked back as Meelin showed him something on a shovel.

"What the heck is that?" Shiro asked with disdain.

"Fresh droppings!" Meelin exclaimed. "We can use these to follow the creature's trail! Here, come closer so you can get a better idea of what scent we're looking for."

"… No. Just… No."

"Hmm, your loss." Meelin said, shrugging and heading on further into the woods.

From behind the camera, Shiro grumbled, "Join the Galaxy Garrison, they said. You'll explore the galaxy, they said. Maybe you'll discover life outside of Earth, they said. It'll be fun, they said."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Coran?"

"Yes, Number Three?"

"What's the plan?"

"For finding this creature?"

"No, for when we can't find it. You and Allura have something to fall back on, right? Some sort of magic Altean diplomatic maneuver that works every time?"

Coran was quiet for a few moments.

"You… You do have something, right?" Lance asked worriedly.

"Lance, my boy, how do I phrase this?" Coran said. "If we don't find this creature tonight, well, then… To use an Earthling phrase, we're screwed."

"Oh. Great…"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"We're screwed, Caelum. We're screwed, and it's all the fault of this stupid creature. And stupid diplomacy. And that stupid book…"

"Princess, I am certain that we are not, in fact, 'screwed'. There has to be some solution, if not this creature." Caelum said reassuringly.

"You're right," Allura said. "We must not get up hope yet."

"Yes, hope is good." Caelum said.

They were both quiet for a moment, then Allura said, "Caelum? Hope is good. But taking matters into your own hands is even better."

"Are you saying you're going to find the creature, Princess?" Caelum asked.

"Yes. Or, at least, someone is going to find the creature."

"Princess? Are you alright?"

"Caelum, you have to understand that we are at war. And that means we cannot always be fair and just when it comes to conquering the enemy."

"What are you alluding to, Princess?"

"I am saying that I am willing to fight dirty in order to see this mission accomplished."

Caelum was quiet, then said, "I am confused, terrified, and intrigued. Whatever you are thinking, count me in."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Any idea what we should be looking for, exactly?" Lani asked.

"Me?" Hunk said. "You're the one on Team Believer!"

"Yeah, but I've never actually gone actively looking for Bigfoot or evidence of Bigfoot," Lani said.

"Well, I guess we just look for anything out of the ordinary. On an alien planet." Hunk paused, then said, "Yeah, maybe we didn't think this one through…"

Suddenly, they both jolted at hearing a strange sound.

"What was that?" Lani whispered.

"Let's find out, and hope that whatever it is is friendly…"

"I don't care if it's friendly, as long as it doesn't try to eat us."

"Good qualifier. Better qualifier. On second thought, let's stay as far away from that as possible."

"Much better idea…"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Pidge, I'm going to call for it," Keith said with all seriousness.

"You're going to do what now?" Pidge said, blinking and tilting their head at him.

"Call for the creature," Keith said, a little more enthusiastically this time. "That will make him come towards us, make him think that we're looking for a mate."

"Mate as in another word for friend, or mate as in get married, have two-point-five kids and a dog?" Pidge asked. They were rightfully concerned about how the rest of the evening was going to go.

"Let's find out! It's been a while since I've last made a Bigfoot call, hope I'm not too rusty…" Keith said, cupping his hands around his mouth and letting out a noise that sounded somewhere between a bear's roar and a Wookie war cry.

"That was…" Pidge said when he was done. "Um, that was something alright."

"Awesome, I'll do it again!"

()()()()()()()()()

"Um, what was that?" Shinji asked.

Tali sighed. "I've heard that sound before…"

"That's not an ominous statement at all…"

"It's Keith's Bigfoot call."

"… Keith has a Bigfoot call?"

"Have you met him?"

"You're right, why am I surprised?"

"Come on, let's go after the sound, just in case it's actually a creature that shouldn't exist."

()()()()()()()()()()()

"What was that?" Lance exclaimed, jumping slightly at the noise.

"Let's go find out," Coran said.

"Coran, can you do me a favor and sound less excited about going to investigate sudden loud noises in a creepy alien forest at night?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The camera jostled as Meelin grabbed Shiro's wrist, dragging him. "Hurry! We might still be able to see it!"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"I'm getting some heat readings!" Keith said excitedly, starting to bob from foot to foot. "Bigfoot's coming!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Pidge asked.

"Yes, look!" Keith said. "Look how tall it is! So much heat is coming from—" Keith cut himself off as he looked at the screen. "Pidge! It's two! Look, see! One tall and one just a bit shorter… Male and female maybe?"

"Uh, Keith," Pidge said nervously. "Um, I'm kind of worried about what they're going to expect…"

"They're coming closer!" Keith whispered, ignoring Pidge. "They're getting closer and closer and—!"

He looked up and shined the flashlight at the rustling bushes and—

"Oh." Keith and Meelin said simultaneously, looking disappointed.

"Hi Shiro," Pidge said, giving him a wave.

"Hi Pidge," Shiro said, returning the wave.

"See Shinji? I told you what we'd find is a couple of nerds," Tali said as she and Shinji approached.

"And I told you that I did not doubt that," Shinji said.

"I get the feeling we're doing this wrong…" Lance said as he and Coran approached.

"I get the feeling we have no idea what we're doing, because what we're trying to accomplish is impossible," Pidge said, frowning.

Shiro frowned at hearing rustling in the bushes behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, then quickly turned around. "Um, guys?"

"What is—?" Tali started to say, but cut herself off with a scream.

Her scream of terror was joined by similar screams from Shiro, Pidge, Shinji and Lance, while Keith and Meelin made what could only be described later as 'fangirl noises' as the tall, white, bipedal creature emerged from the bushes, arms above its head and roaring.

"It's him!" Meelin said excitedly, snatching the camera out of Pidge's hands, which they did not mind at all and quickly ducked behind Shiro, whose arm was now glowing while waiting to see if the creature attacked.

"It's Alien Bigfoot!" Keith cried out. "I knew my call worked!"

Only Coran was unimpressed by the arrival.

"I wouldn't be so hasty there," He said, walking straight up to the creature.

"Careful, do not scare it away!" Meelin warned.

"It's not your creature," Coran said. "Unless your creature is a Inuat from Nua."

"A… A what?" Keith said, shoulders and face falling.

The creature lowered his arms as Coran got closer, sighed, then said, "This was as the only race we could think of that matched Meelin and Keith's description."

"Caelum?" Lance exclaimed. "Is that you?"

"And why did you scare us like that?" Shinji demanded, scowling.

"I asked him to," Allura said with a sigh as she stepped out from behind a tree, holding Caelum's clothes. "We were hopeful that we would be able to fake the evidence needed in order to get the Book."

Suddenly, there was more rustling in the bushes and everyone jumped, but quickly relaxed at seeing Hunk and Lani approach.

"Heard screaming, came running," Lani explained as they tried to catch their breath. Still panting slightly, Lani raised her camera. "Where's Bigfoot?"

"There is no Bigfoot," Shiro explained. "And even if there was, we probably have scared him away." He turned to Meelin. "Look, I'm not going to ask you to give up on your dream of finding this thing someday, but we need some help guaranteeing that you'll be able to continue your search by making sure that the Galra Empire is defeated and doesn't take over your planet. Can you help us out?"

Meelin's shoulders slumped some. "Yes, I do see your point… I can see what I can do. But as you probably realized, there is very little one can do to sway my father."

"Yeah, definitely realized that," Hunk said.

"Can we please head back towards civilization then?" Tali asked.

The trek back was punctuated with Keith doing his Bigfoot call every few intervals.

"Keith, could you give it a rest already?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, you sound like you're killing your throat," Lance said.

"Bigfoot is still out there, and I want him to know that I want to be his friend!" Keith said before making the call again.

"Just let him yell himself hoarse, it means we won't have to hear about him complaining for the next week because we didn't find anything," Tali pointed out.

Hunk suddenly stopped, frowning as he looked behind him into the bushes and trees surrounding them. "Um, guys? I think I hear something…"

"It's probably animals running away from Keith's Bigfoot calls," Allura said.

"No, I think it's coming our way," Hunk said.

"It's probably just some sort of animal," Shiro said. "Nothing to be worried about." Then he turned to Pidge. "Right? Nothing showing up on your scanners?"

Pidge frowned as they looked at the scanner. "Well, uh, there is something large and radiating heat that the scanners are picking up."

Everyone stopped.

"There… there is?" Lani asked.

"Yeah, but it could just be an animal," Pidge said. "It's definitely organic."

"Organic is good!" Meelin said.

Pidge gulped. "Um… It's kind of coming towards us…"

"Oh no." Allura said, feeling the blood draining from her face.

"Oh yes!" Keith said, grinning. He did the Bigfoot call again and…

A tall, brown fur-covered creature poked its head out from behind the tree curiously.

"Oh." Pidge said with a small squeak.

"My…" Caelum said shakily.

"Quiznak…" Shinji finished.

The creature—now undeniably a Sasquatch—stepped out from behind the tree and cautiously towards them, making low grumbling and growling noises.

"This is incredible!" Meelin whispered, practically in tears as he scrambled to turn on the camera again. "After years and years of searching, I finally have solid proof that the creature exists!"

While Meelin began to film the creature with silent tears of joy, Keith expressed his joy another way. Which was by running at it and jumping on it in a bear hug, which the creature didn't seem to mind too much.

"Oh my God, Keith just glomped Alien Bigfoot." Lance said.

"I knew you were real, all along," They heard Keith say as he looked up at the creature. "No matter what the haters say."