**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
"I spy something…black," Mari sighed, staring tiredly out of the Yellow Lion's window at the other lions flying in formation in front of them.
"Is it the unending expanse of space in front of us?" Keith wondered dryly, and she rolled her eyes.
"That's too vague, Mari. Be more specific," Hunk gently urged, the only one being a good sport and providing productive feedback in their lackluster game.
"Okay, it's…big," she added.
Pidge hummed in thought. "Is it Shiro's dump truck of an as–"
"Pidge. No," Shiro sharply cut her off, putting an end to that train of thought.
"But is it?"
"No, Pidge," Mari said.
"Is it…my growing dislike of this game?" Lance asked, his voice tight with irritation.
"I can't see that," she replied.
"You can hear it," he shot back.
"For once, I'm with Lance. This game is getting more boring by the tick," Scarlett huffed. "Can you just tell us what it is so we can move on?"
Mari leaned back against the wall of the Yellow Lion's cockpit, in no mood to continue yanking their chains. "It was the Black Lion," she said. "How was that not obvious? It's the only other black thing in front of us."
"That's not fair. I can't even see the outside of my own lion," Keith retorted.
"I thought you weren't playing," Lance grumbled.
"I'm not."
"Then why do you care?"
"I Spy is too difficult when we're all separated like this and our options are limited," Allura intervened before they could start bickering. "Let's do something else?"
"We can do karaoke again," Lance suggested, his tone instantly brightening. "Who's ready for another round of Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall? I seriously think we can get past eighty-five bottles this time."
"No!" Hunk pleaded.
"Absolutely not," Shiro agreed.
"DON'T," Keith warned.
"I will come over there and duct tape your lips shut if you utter a single note," Pidge threatened, and Lance made a perturbed noise in the back of his throat.
"Geez, fine! You guys are no fun," he grumbled, giving in and keeping any obnoxious singing to himself.
Ever since they'd left Krolia and Kolivan in the deserted city, it was decided that they'd take no more detours on their way home. They'd promptly gotten back on course to Earth, but time only seemed to slow as they did nothing but fly forward through a sea of stars and inky darkness. They'd tried passing the days telling jokes and stories, even resorting to silly road games like charades, Twenty Questions, Rock-Paper-Scissors, and I Spy. But such activities proved to be more difficult than expected with everyone physically separated in the tight space of their respective cockpits. And after playing them for hours, they got old real quick. Pidge, of course, still had her Mercury Gameflux II console hooked up to her lion, and they all had taken turns playing her sole game, Killbot Phantasm I: Journey to the Depths of the Demonsphere, with her. But even that grew boring after all the levels were beaten and there were no more Easter eggs to be found and collected.
"I'm sooooo booooorrrreedd," Lance whined, the only one willing to speak what everyone else was thinking. "We've gotta come up with a new game or else I'm gonna lose my mind before we reach our next stop."
"Oh! I know!" Coran suddenly piped up. "Why don't we play Monsters and Mana?"
"Monsters and what?" Scarlett asked.
"Monsters and Mana!" he repeated. "It's a fantasy role-playing game."
Romelle gasped. "I've heard of that game! All the children in the colony used to play it," she exclaimed, an uncontainable excitement in her voice. "They had a reigning Lore Master who went by the alias Merla. Not to be confused with actual Merla – she didn't like her name being associated with our games. I…wasn't very good at playing, but I've always wanted to try being a Lore Master!"
"Well, I've always wanted to take on an apprentice," Coran said, and Mari imagined he was twirling his mustache with pride. "I've got my Lore Master's book right here, and I've got the holo-map program on this little drive. I'll hook it up and we can all play virtually!"
A few dobashes later, the displays of the Yellow Lion shifted, bringing up the image of a quaint inn sitting amongst a dark forest decorated with colorful glowing flowers and mushrooms. Individual player profiles popped up on screen, ready for customization.
"Ooh!" Pidge gushed, impressed by the new source of entertainment presented before her. "Yeah, I'm in!"
"Me too!" Hunk grinned, already working to restore his character stats.
"We haven't played in a while. It'll be fun!" Allura jumped on board as well.
"Sure, why not," Lance chimed in.
"I'll try it if someone explains the rules," Scarlett said.
Several characters on screen began to change as outfits and hairstyles were adjusted, and Scarlett began to build her own avatar.
"What about you, Keith?" Coran asked. "Would you like to play?"
"Hard pass."
"Aww come on, don't be like that," Hunk pouted. "It involves team bonding. We know how much you like that."
"Or are you just scared to lose to an old man and his apprentice?" Lance egged him on, and there was an annoyed tsk from the Black Paladin.
"I am not!" he snapped. He huffed and another profile was activated in their linked game. "Fine! Just tell me how to play."
Coran clasped his hands, more than willing to share the magic and wonder of the game. "So, first you have to create a fantastical character with a backstory and quest of your choosing. Your character and their stats will be represented as shown on the virtual map to help you track their action," he explained. "But the real fun happens in the mind. The Lore Master, me and my new apprentice Romelle, will send the players on a journey, where they will encounter various trials. Each player gets a turn, and every turn they say what they want to do when facing a particular challenge. The Lore Master knows the difficulty of the tasks, and the players must roll a twenty-sided die, also now virtual, to see if they can accomplish their action."
"Sounds simple enough," Scarlett deemed.
"Sounds unnecessarily complicated," Keith muttered.
"Sounds fun, right?" Hunk beamed, and he shifted in his seat to face his passenger. "You wanna play, Mari?"
"I think I'll just sit back and watch," she replied, gently turning him down.
"Well, we can still make you a character," Lance said, pulling up a new profile. "Oh, I know! You can be the pretty pretty princess we rescue in the end!"
The avatar on screen donned a poofy and sparkling dress. She smiled coyly at the camera and giggled, her voice high and twittering. Mari's eye twitched.
"Like hell you're making me a damsel," she growled, snatching control from Lance and quickly reworking her character. "I'll make a character who'll kick your butt!"
Scarlett hummed as she flipped through the different character classes. "There are so many to choose from…What are the rest of you guys in this game?"
"A sorcerer named Block," Hunk said. "The quest in our last game was to free my village after they'd been turned to stone by the evil wizard, Dakin."
"I'm the mystical elven archer, Valayun," Allura provided.
"And I'm Meklavar, a dwarf," Pidge added. "Lance is a thief named Pike. He's a furry."
"I am not! I'm a cool ninja assassin!" he shrilled in protest.
"Yeah, with wolf ears and a tail," Pidge said, her statement unchanged.
"Do we really have to come up with weird names too?" Keith asked, his unease obvious as he vocalized this question.
"No. You can be boring like Shiro and keep your real name, if you want," Pidge answered bluntly.
"I'm gonna play as a paladin," Shiro murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.
Coran let out an exasperated sigh. "Again, Shiro?"
"That was the clone playing, not me!" he reminded them, quick to defend himself. "Let me have this."
After several more minutes of customization and character building and hushed discussion between the Lore Master and his apprentice, their group was finally ready to play.
"Alright. Everyone got their characters ready?" Coran asked, and he was met with several confirmations of various levels of enthusiasm. "Yes? Good. I know exactly whose quest we'll be solving this round, so let's begin!"
Having freed Block's village after their great victory over Dakin, Paladin Shiro, Meklavar, Block, Valayun, and Pike returned to the inn to celebrate with a round of mead and several helpings of greasy meat piles. With their new treasures in hand and an evil wizard vanquished, all was merry and bright amongst the party of heroes.
"Eat and drink as much as your bellies desire!" the new Innkeeper Coran exclaimed, setting another helping of grub at their table. "It's on the house!"
"So you just reset your role as innkeep every time we start?" Lance wondered, interrupting their play.
"Why not?" Coran asked. "It's easier to send you on quests this way."
"We did actually kill Dakin, right?" Pidge chimed in, an unshakable suspicion in her tone.
"Of course!" Coran insisted. He zoomed in on his character on their screens – he looked very much like him in real life, except the avatar was short and stout and had two stubby horns sticking out of his head. "See? My character is different this time."
"I guess that's true…" Pidge murmured. She didn't sound entirely convinced, but she didn't argue as they continued.
Block grinned as he devoured the health plate presented before him, and Shiro nodded to their waiter. "Thank you, Sir Innkeep," he replied. "Your generosity is much appreciated."
"Of course, Sir Knight. You've done our realm a great service in defeating Dakin. The might and bravery of your party is deserving of such rewards," the Innkeeper assured the paladin. "With Dakin gone, the only evils left to fear are the Queen of Darkness and her demonic servants."
"The Queen of Darkness?" Meklavar frowned.
Block swallowed his bite of meat. "Demonic servants?" he squeaked.
"Yes!" the Innkeeper chirped, much too chipper to be discussing such dark topics. "She is a powerful and cunning sorceress who can control those dark and wild creatures. She sends her servants out to wipe out prospecting heroes before they can finish their training."
Shiro's eyes widened in realization. "My monastery was attacked by a demonic entity. It killed my master."
"I wouldn't doubt that the Queen was behind such an atrocity," the Innkeeper admitted with a sad shake of his head. "And what's more, I hear one of her leviathan demons has recently kidnapped Princess Romelle and taken her back to the Queen's castle."
"So you'll be the princess for this quest?" Allura piped up.
"Mhm! I've always wanted to be royalty. I'm a princess and I get to see how Lore Mastering is done!" Romelle gushed. "I've never played with so many people before. Oh, this is so much fun already!"
"A princess in danger?" Pike gasped, slamming his hands on the table and leaping from his seat. "We have to help her!"
"And we can avenge Shiro's master!" Meklavar added.
"Hmm…your band just might be strong enough to defeat the Queen," the Innkeeper mused, taking in the five heroes. "Are you up to the challenge, young adventurers?"
"Absolutely," Shiro said without hesitation, a fiery determination burning in his eyes. "I will avenge D'Jahno and complete my training."
"Where do we find this Queen of Darkness?" Valayun inquired of their knowledgeable host.
"She resides in the Castle of Shadows," the Innkeeper answered. "It's filled with demons and is protected by dark magic. It's located on the other side of the Forest of Deceit."
"Why's it called the Forest of Deceit?" Block asked, visibly nervous as he clasped his hands tighter together.
"It's a cursed, labyrinth-like forest filled with monsters and traps. Those who go in are often duped by illusions and the sweet words of the specters who reside there," the Innkeeper explained. "Only the most vigilant have survived it. You must remain patient and focused if you wish to pass through alive."
"Great," Pike muttered flatly.
"Is there any way around it?" Block hoped.
"Nope!" the Innkeeper beamed, and the party sighed in disappointment. "I wish thee luck, mighty adventurers!"
"Well, there's no use waiting around here. Let's go, everyone," Shiro prompted, dutifully leading his comrades straight into their next journey.
They stood from their table, abandoning their half-filled goblets and emptied plates before heading out of the inn's tavern. As they disappeared into the dark of night, the Innkeeper stood in the doorway, waving them goodbye.
The group of heroes ventured onward, defeating minor monsters as they climbed up the mountain range that bordered the Queen of Darkness' territory. As they crested the final peak, they stumbled upon a small and secluded waterfall set into the rock. The lush greenery and sparkling blue waters brought the gray landscape of the mountain to life. Quiet and serene, the location seemed to emit a pure magical energy that warded off the evil auras of the lands that laid before them.
"What are the Celestial Falls?" Pike asked, reading the sign next to the path.
"It's a spot of healing and meditation."
Pike yelped as a woman emerged from behind the falls. Leaping from her rock perch and landing before him, she cracked the stone beneath her and sprayed him with water as she dried herself off. She was barefoot and had bandages wrapped around her hands, forearms, and feet. For clothing, she wore a silver belt, dark blue ankle-banded pants, and a matching sleeveless mock-neck crop top that showed off a set of defined abs. One half of her short, dark hair had been shaved, and she glared at the party with a cautious hostility.
"Who are you? Robbers?" she demanded, raising her fists and striking a defensive pose.
Pike cupped his chin as he looked at her. "Well, that depends," he said. "You got anything valuable on you?"
She didn't give him an answer. Instead, she kicked him with so much inhuman force and ease, he went flying into the waterfall and crashed into the rockface behind it, dropping his HP to zero.
Lance made an indignant sound as his character died. "Why must you be so violent even in this world?" he griped, furiously working to revive Pike.
"You're a thief, Lance. You really expect me not to protect my things?" Mari pointed out in her defense.
"Ah! No friendly fire in this game, Number Five," Coran lightly scolded, failing to hide the giggle in his voice.
"Apologies for our friend. We aren't here to rob you," Shiro said, stepping up to the stranger with his hands held up in peace. "We're on our way to save Princess Romelle from the Queen of Darkness. One of her leviathan's killed my master. We're here to save her and avenge him. I am the Paladin, Shiro."
"I'm Meklavar, the best axe-fighter in three lands," Meklavar piped up, brandishing her axe proudly as if preparing to prove it. "This is Block, a sorcerer."
"Hello," he said, granting the stranger a half-wave with his staff in hand.
"I am Valayun, the mystical archer," Valayun graciously greeted. "And this is the thief, Pike."
Pike, back from the dead, reappeared next to his party-mates. "A ninja assassin, actually," he corrected her.
"A furry."
"Shut up, Pidge! I am not a furry!"
"Who are you?" Shiro asked the stranger.
The stranger's arms fell to her sides, the wariness fading from her gaze. "I'm Evren, a monk of the Way of the Stars," she introduced, her tone tight and dour. "Although I'm currently a wanderer."
"You don't sound very enthused about it," Block noted.
"It's a solitary situation. I broke my vows of silence one too many times, so I was sent on a ten year journey of atonement purging these mountains of dark energy," she reluctantly admitted. "Demons often seek to steal from me to hinder my efforts."
Shiro stared at her curiously. "What do you carry that a demon would want?"
"I've been tasked with protecting my people's sacred scrolls. They're inscribed with powerful spells that can weaken even the strongest of demons," Evren elaborated. "Fighting them off is a constant challenge. But luckily, I have recently had the help of a traveler and her mechanical companion. We came here to the Celestial Falls for healing."
"'We?'" Pike repeated, glancing around for the monk's ally.
A new figure popped out of the bushes near the water's edge. Decked out in leather boots, a metal chest plate and gauntlets, and dark underclothes, the stranger stood before them with her hands on her hips. A pair of goggles rested atop her head while several tool belts hung around her waist. Her light blue hair was tied in long double braids that fell down her front and wrapped underneath her arms, where their ends were tied together behind her back. A bag of clinking items was slung over her shoulders, and a whirring, mechanical bug-like creature flitted around her head.
"Hey, there!" Her eyes sparkled with mirth as she took in the different characters gathered in front of her. "Ha ha! You all look so weird like this."
Pike tilted his head as he looked at the stranger. "And what are you supposed to be?"
"I'm the artificer, Cerulean," she grinned. Then gesturing to the metal creature hovering next to her, she said, "This is my companion, Zee."
"Aww! Zyron's got a little character too!" Pidge cooed, and Zyron chirped happily in his excitement.
"Wait, we can do that?" Keith asked.
"I don't see why not," Coran replied.
Cerulean fondly rubbed Zee's shiny head. "We travel the realm seeking new knowledge on spells and machinery. We came here to learn more about demons and their dark magic," she explained to the party gawking at her mechanical friend. "You said your group is on its way to defeat the Queen of Darkness and her minions, right? Mind if we join you?"
"We'd welcome your company. The more members we have fighting against her, the better," Shiro said with a smile. He turned to the monk as he added, "Those sacred scrolls could really help us against her demons. Would you like to come with us too?"
"I suppose I will," Evren decided. "Maybe my punishment will be lifted if we eliminate the Queen."
With the sacred scrolls in their possession and two members added to their party, the adventurers departed from the Celestial Falls. They headed down the other side of the mountain into the territory of the Queen of Darkness, where their quest continued into the ominous Forest of Deceit.
A/N: I always wanted to include Keith, Mari, and Scarlett in the Monsters & Mana world. ;)
**Check out my tumblr to see some cool art: pufftheninja