The six Lions stood assembled before the large hangar doors. The anticipation in the air was thick enough that someone could easily swim through it. Finally, after ten thousand years, the seven Lions of Voltron would be united once again.
Lelouch breathed as he stood on the steps leading to the door. He'd never admit it aloud, but he was nervous. Though Allura did say he would be the Black Paladin, what if that wasn't the case? What if the Black Lion didn't respond to him?
No, Lelouch thought, you can do this. If it doesn't accept you, the universe is doomed.
One by one, the eyes of the Lions behind him lit up as the doors opened.
Back on the bridge, a screen in front of Allura and Coran showed images of the six active Lions on diamonds of their color. Three were on the right, three were on the left, and a large indigo diamond was placed at the top. She clasped her hands together, praying that the Black Lion would awaken. She didn't mention this to Lelouch or the others, but the Black Lion could be picky with its pilot, primarily since it was the head of Voltron and would ultimately lead the team. She could reject them if it didn't see its Paladin as worthy enough.
Lelouch's heart pounded as the doors to the hanger glowed blue, and the doors rose to reveal the black beauty herself.
Lelouch's eyes widened, along with the other Paladins that stood behind him by their Lions, gazing in astonishment.
The Black Lion was undoubtedly the largest of the seven. A sleek black body, a gold chest, a horned crown on its head, and large red wings hanging on her back. Her eyes were dark, indicating she was still asleep. Her eyes suddenly lit up before she lurched forward, producing a tremendous roar that seemed to echo throughout the castle. The six other Lions mimicked their leader, returning with bellows of great respect.
Allura sighed in relief as the indigo diamond lit up, and Coran leaped up with a cheer of victory. It was not to last, though, as alarms blazed throughout the castle.
"Oh, quiznack!" Coran exclaimed as a video feed appeared on the castle's screen. The Galra battleship, along with hundreds of fighters, had entered Arus's atmosphere and was coming in fast.
Allura placed her hands on the control panels, and multiple screens showing the castle's defenses lit up. "Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!" her voice emerging from the intercoms to alert the Paladins.
One by one, the Paladins entered their Lions. Lelouch slid into his seat in the Black Lion's head and was brought up to the controls, gripping the two control sticks firmly in his hands, the walls and screens lighting up in white light. The Black Lion's eyes flashed before roaring again, shooting up into the air, and flying towards the opening at the very top of the castle, the six others following close behind. They landed firmly on the ground, their silver bodies gleaming in the sunlight, witnessing the Galra shooting at the castle's barriers. Each hit caused a small explosion, weakening the shield bit by bit.
"The ion cannon is back online," the Galra soldier informed Commander Sendak from the control deck.
"FIRE!"
The ion cannon shot its powerful beam, hitting the castle head-on. The barrier was engulfed in a fiery inferno, powerful enough to shake the hill that the castle was perched on. Coran, C.C., and Allura held onto the controls from inside. At the same time, the Paladins could only endure the impact from their Lions, their bodies practically vibrating with the hill.
"Man, those Galra guys repair things fast!" Rivalz exclaimed, astonished to see the cannon that Shirley had managed to partly destroy back to full operation.
"The barrier gets weaker with every blast," Coran said as he scanned the particle barrier from inside, "Once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless!"
Allura kept her composure as she contacted Lelouch and the other Paladins. "I can give you cover in the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll all be destroyed!"
"Jeez, no pressure!" Shirley mumbled with frightened sarcasm.
Another blast from the Galra's cannon hit the barrier. Once again, it was engulfed in an inferno, causing earthquake levels of shaking once more. Lelouch grit his teeth as he and the others endured until the shaking ceased, the particle barrier already short-circuiting from the damage. His hands were white beneath his black gloves from gripping the controls so hard.
"Team Voltron, listen up! The only way we'll stop Sendak is to fight with everything we've got! We can't let the castle fall! Otherwise, we're just handing victory over to Sendak and Zarkon! Are you with me?!"
Each Paladin nodded in response, even the mechanical Lions nodding with them. They had come this far, each protecting the other. It was far too late to turn back now.
"Very well!" Lelouch said, pulling on his controls and pushing his Lion forward out of the barrier, the other Lions following behind, "Let's go!"
"Yeah!" they shouted in unison.
"Okay, quick question, though. How?" Suzaku said, suddenly remembering a big problem.
"Good question," Kallen said while avoiding incoming blasts, "how do we form Voltron?"
"I don't see a combine-into-a-giant-robot button anywhere on my dashboard!" Shirley said as the Lions leaped across the rocky landscape of the hill. Beams of the Galra ship forced them to remain moving. Otherwise, they would get shot.
Rai in the Green Lion barely dodged a flurry of lasers, "This is insane! Can't they just cease firing for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?!" Rai shouted before turning around, leaping towards two gliders closer to the ground. Jumping up, the Green Lion caught one of them in its mouth by the wing before throwing it into the other.
"I doubt these guys are the considerate type, Rai," Milly said as she nearly lost her balance from another laser landing right in front of her.
Kallen also turned around and used the Red Lion's laser tail to shoot down two more flyers. "We've got to do something!"
"Combine!" Rivalz yelled as he suddenly rammed his Lion into Kallen's, flinging her backward and rolling across the ground before regaining balance.
"Hey!" Kallen exclaimed in annoyance.
"Okay, that didn't work," Rivalz said, slightly ashamed.
"Good try," Shirley said, trying to comfort the Blue Paladin, right before having to dodge shots again.
Lelouch grit his teeth in frustration. He hated having to be in a battle like this. Unlike on Earth with the Black Knights, at least he had had information on the enemy. Not to mention he already knew what actions his siblings and the other Britannian soldiers would make, so he was usually able to thwart them. Not to say his Geass helped much in that department, but he was on a completely blank slate this time. He only had his king and a couple pawns remaining. Barely any moves available to make on the board. He had to figure out how to form Voltron with the others, FAST!
It didn't help when Allura's face appeared on the screen of the Lion, "Quickly, Paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!"
"Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine," Lelouch suggested. It seemed to be the most logical solution right now. Seeing as the Lions needed to be a specific part of Voltron if they flew a particular way, they were bound to just come together, "Everyone, take off on my cue!" The seven Lions dashed towards the cliff's edge as Lelouch began counting down, "One, two, three, Voltron!"
As one, the Lions leaped off the cliff and soared into the sky in perfect V formation. The Paladins grunted and strained themselves, trying desperately to merge, but nothing was happening.
"Nothing's happening!" Lelouch exclaimed in frustration.
"Hey, wait, wait, wait!" Rivalz said, "I think I feel something!"
"I do too!" Milly confirmed, "it's like we're being pulled in the same direction!"
"Uh, guys!" Kallen suddenly shouted, "I think I know why!"
"Yeah! Look up!" Suzaku said.
"What the?!" Shirley exclaimed as they all saw that they had been caught in Sendak's tractor beam and were slowly being pulled in.
"Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Rai shouted in panic, pulling at controls, desperate to escape.
Sendak smirked evilly. "Send a report to Emperor Zarkon. The day is ours."
The ship unleashed one final blast from the ions cannon. This time, it destroyed the particle barrier leaving the castle vulnerable. C.C., Coran, and Allura lost balance as it happened.
"No!" Lelouch gasped as an image of the defenseless castle appeared on his screen.
Shirley's screen appeared right next to it. She looked like she was having a panic attack, "Lulu! I don't care what you say, I'm panicking now!" followed by a shrill scream.
Everyone else and their Lions tried desperately to move, but no matter what they did, they were completely frozen, at the mercy of Sendak's crew.
"It can't end here!" Rai shouted.
"This is it!" Rivalz cried.
"It's been an honor flying with you," Suzaku said.
"It was good while it lasted," Kallen agreed.
"At least we'll go down together," Milly said, trying to comfort everyone one last time.
From the castle, Allura could only watch with tears in her eyes as the universe's last hope was pulled towards the enemy.
Lelouch was gripping the Black Lion's controls so hard that his hands were turning white. Gritting his teeth, he looked up defiantly at the ship, sucking them in.
No. He was Zero! He was the Man Who Works Miracles. He's already pulled off more impressive feats with the Black Knights than any other terrorist group could only dream of! He confronted his father, the freaking Emperor of Britannia! He demanded an explanation of his mother's murder and what did he get in return?! Banishment to Japan with Nunnally blinded and crippled to add icing to the cake! Nunnally was the entire reason he was fighting. He promised Nunnally he would make the world a gentle place for her. If he gave up now, it would be like spitting upon that promise and the memory of his mother, Lady Marianne vi Britannia. He wouldn't give up!
He REFUSED!
"NO!" Lelouch proclaimed, "We can do this! But we can't do that unless we believe in ourselves!" The other Paladins blinked at their leader's words, "If we give up now, we may as well be digging Earth's grave. Several other planets will follow close behind!"
Milly thought of her grandfather, all alone at Ashford Academy.
Rivalz saw his mother, sisters, and baby brother, praying and kneeling for him to be found and safely returned.
Shirley saw her father and mother, worried sick, and devastated over her disappearance.
Rai heard his sister and mother calling out to him, begging for him to rescue them.
Princess Euphemia, the sub-viceroy he had grown to respect and trust in the short time he knew her, flashed through Suzaku's mind. Sweet innocent Euphie… he could never let her be subjected to this.
A tear trailed down Kallen's face as the face of her now-deceased brother and her mother's soft smile. Watching her take the abuse of her stepmother and continuing to remain by her side. She never realized, but besides the Black Knights, her mother had always been there, even when she didn't want her. How could she have been so blind up to this point?
"The situation seems impossible, that's true! But if we work and listen to one another, we can pull off our own miracle! Failure to do so is not an option!"
The Paladin's expressions hardened. Lelouch was right. They couldn't afford to lose now, not with so many lives at stake!
"If we work together… WE'LL WIN TOGETHER!"
"YEAH!" the others cheered next to him, the eyes of their Lions glowing a bright gold as they lifted their heads to roar in unison!
Then as one, at the very moment, the seven Paladins felt something deep within them all snap into place, the Lions following not even a split second later. The joining of seven hearts, seven minds, seven souls.
They were one.
The Lions leaped into the sky, their colors sailing behind them in a stream as pieces took shape, merging as one. Each Lion dismantling itself, portions either retracting or extending to form and link together.
A bright flash of light followed as the resulting shock wave of a Lion's roar jostled the ion cannon. When the final shot was fired, it missed the Castle of Lions by mere centimeters. Instead, it hit and destroyed the mountain behind it in a fiery inferno.
After regaining balance from the aftershock of the explosion, Allura, Coran, and even C.C. looked up and gasped in astonishment.
Bringing in a closer image, they saw the outline of a towering figure made entirely from metal. The face of the warrior could be seen within a dark helmet, shaped like the head of a Lion, sizable red metal wings outstretched from the body. The upper torso looked black with outlines of blue energy. The left arm a green color, the right red. Its right leg blue and its left leg orange with the faces of the Lions as the feet and two more Lion heads making up the knees in yellow and purple, respectively. Same with the arms as the Lion heads made up the hands. A neon blue V symbol was presented proudly on its chest.
Sendak could only gasp in terror and took a step back, not believing what he saw, "Voltron!"
"We did it!" Suzaku exclaimed.
"I can't believe it!" Kallen agreed.
"We formed Voltron!" Rai cheered.
"And we look AMAZING!" Milly commented.
"I'm a leg!" Rivalz whooped.
"How are we doing this?!" Shirley could only ask in astonishment.
Lelouch was honestly just as astonished and amazed at what they accomplished. Not to mention, it felt incredible! Since the Lions were now one being, it was as if he could also sense what everyone else was thinking. They were a team.
"I don't know, but let's get that cannon!" Lelouch ordered, thrusting the controls forward. The winged giant gripped the cannon and snapped it off the ship like a mere twig. Voltron tossed it away and watched as it landed in a nearby field. With a swing of its right arm, the Red Lion's head punched through the ship's surface. A powerful beam of energy blasted through the battleship, the front exploding in an inferno, breaking the ship in two.
Sendak stumbled before catching himself, seeing the shadow of the Defender of the Universe soar to the other side of the ship, before stomping through the interior on the other side, a beam emitting from the Green Lion on Voltron's left arm. As Sendak watched his ship going up in flames from the control deck, he and Haxus turned and ran to the escape pods.
They had made it just in time as Voltron soared into the air and sped forward, ramming right into the ship, the seven Paladins within the giant screaming in righteous fury. They slammed so hard into the ship they smashed through one end and right out the other. The vessel caught fire before blowing up in a blaze as they landed on the ground, the glow of the destroyed ship lighting up the Arusian sky.
The sun was setting in the distance as the Paladins, now in their disbanded Lions, returned triumphantly to the Castle of Lions. They landed near the entrance where Allura, C.C., and Coran awaited them. They were sweaty and worn out but otherwise happy they made it out of the battle alive.
"Good work, Paladins!" Allura praised, a look of joy in her smile.
"Thanks, pretty lady," Rivalz replied with a smile as he removed his helmet along with Lelouch, Suzaku, and Rai. Shirley had fallen on her behind. She was so tired, and Milly had her hands on her knees, panting. Kallen was only slightly hunched over. Both their helmets were still on. Milly was amazed that Lelouch, of all people, was one of the ones still standing after that.
"Well, mission accomplished," Lelouch said, a tired smile on his face.
"Yeah," Suzaku agreed, looking at his childhood friend with a slight grin, "we did it!"
"How did we do it?" asked Kallen, removing her helmet and looking at Lelouch questioningly.
"I was kind of just screaming the whole time," Shirley said with a shrug, taking off her helmet and untying her bun, her hair flowing behind her. "Maybe that did it?"
Everyone chuckled at Shirley's attempt at a joke before Rai looked down with a grimace of regret. Milly and Lelouch, seeing this, knew precisely why. The Yellow Paladin put a comforting hand on Rai's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Rai, we're not going to stop searching until we find your mother and sister. That's a promise!"
"Just keep thinking about them," Lelouch said, adding his two cents, "no matter where they are right now, I'm sure they're proud of you." Rai gave the two a smile of appreciation. He hadn't realized how much he truly needed to hear that. For the time being, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"We won the battle," Allura addressed them after a moment, Coran standing next to her in classic military fashion, "but the war has only just begun… I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these Lions."
"Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing," Coran said, "because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."
"Totally... Wait, what?!" Shirley exclaimed, pretty voicing everyone's thoughts.
"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time!" Rivalz added.
"Oh, and you only had to battle one ship," Coran exclaimed, "wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! Yeah, it's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."
All the Paladins gained intrigued looks at this statement, replaying the words Coran just said. They turned and looked up at the Lions behind them as if they were heavenly beings, which they were in a way.
Suzaku suddenly smirked before addressing the Black Paladin, "I don't know. Lelouch, what do you think?"
Lelouch simply smirked his famous smirk. The one Rivalz often saw when Lelouch played a challenging (well, challenging was a strong word) opponent when off gambling. A grin that stated he knew exactly what he was doing and how he would win the game!
And here I call check, Charles zi Britannia.
"'Defenders of the Universe,' huh? If you ask me Suzaku, I say it has a nice ring to it."
'This is going to be interesting.' C.C. thought as the sun's rays seemed to make the Lions glow from atop the hill.
AN: Whew! Finally, finals are over, so I could finally buckle down and finish this for you guys.
So now that the Pilot episode is officially done, the next story I plan to update with be my Transformers/Naruto crossover like I promised, followed by Akame ga Titan. I hope to try and make a pattern with these stories so that I don't forget to update one and motivate myself to update another.
Sorry if the characters from CG seem OOC. I'm to find a healthy mix of their personalities. Also, just to let you all know, especially regarding C.C., I don't really plan for any prominent roles for her until maybe after Season 2 of Voltron (with a certain Prince, perhaps...?). But if you do spot anything that you think should REALLY be changed for them personality-wise, don't hesitate to tell me because I like staying true to their characters.
Also, in regards to Voltron season 3... HOLY CRAP, I KNEW IT! ***** and **** are alive! You'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen the leaked screenshot. MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!
In other news, in the Lelouch pairing war so far, Kallen is in the lead, so for you Shirley/Lelouch shippers that want to see that couple, please speak up. Otherwise, I'll never know your desires ;P.
And, before I forget, one of the reviewers remarked about Rai and Lelouch's enhanced Geass (you know who you are), so I went back to chapter 5 and rewrote a little of their fight, so if you haven't yet, go back and read it, I changed Lelouch's enhanced ability a little.
And to any readers/reviewers who haven't voted on the poll yet, please do it is still open.
Anyway, for further questions, PM me and R&R, please! Thank you!
Edited and revised: 07/05/2022
