I apologize that this chapter took so long, but between work and muses attracted to other shiny stories and changing my mind about six times about how to handle events in this chapter with the soul bond trope...it was a difficult one. I hope you all find it satisfactory.
Please feel free to come yell at me on Twitter or Tumblr, same username.
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Shiro stood in front of the enormous doors. The others were behind him, seated in their lions. He tried to remember the last time he had felt like this, standing at attention and waiting to be measured, judged. Found worthy. Was it standing with the final candidates for the Kerberos mission, waiting to hear who had been chosen?
Before his thoughts could spiral down into darker memories, Keith sent reassurance, the warmth behind his presence vibrating like a purring cat.
The sound began to echo and Shiro began to recognize distinct purrs: the Blue Lion, steady and nurturing; that sparking energy from the jungle planet must be the Green Lion. Another purr, the Yellow Lion, had a friendly, supportive feel to it.
And the presence Keith had linked to him before was emanating from behind the doors.
It...no, he was watching Shiro. Evaluating. Deciding. An image of one of his first professors at the Garrison sprang into Shiro's mind.
The professor had taught chemistry. One of his favorite things to do during labs had been to circulate among the students, a glass rod the length of a conductor's baton in his hand. He would use it in all sorts of ways to poke and prod at students who were less than attentive to their experiments. One of his favorite tricks was to stick it in an unsuspecting student's beaker or flask and start stirring. News began circulating the year after Shiro's class that he had finally succeeded in causing a minor explosion and had been moved to a lecturing-only class.
Right now, Shiro felt like one of those beakers, the Black Lion's glass rod stirring to see what rose to the top. He straightened instinctively and tried to open his thoughts to the presence. A majestic maned lion with a coat like black velvet circled him, examining what was offered.
Memories of his parents and grandparents. Random friends as a child. Being accepted into the Garrison and moving all the way across the Pacific Ocean from what he knew. Honing in on his dreams of piloting into space.
Finding Keith.
The lion seemed to spend a long time prodding his memories of Keith, half curious and half wary. Shiro could also feel Keith following along and the Red Lion behind him, waiting impatiently, until…
Stop delaying, brother. You see as well as I do.
Keith's surprise echoed in their bond, matching Shiro's.
There were no words, but a cautious presence reaching out to him. Shiro extended his own feelings, much as he would with Keith…
Welcome, paladin.
The doors began to rise.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The holodisplay had barely finished showing the connection forming between the lions when red lights began blaring around Allura and Coran. She brought up a comm display with a sweep of one hand.
"Paladins! The Galra ship has entered the Arusian atmosphere! We'll be attacked any minute! We need Voltron now!"
Coran raised the particle barrier, glancing worriedly over at her. "If they've got their ion cannon back online, we probably can't take more than a few hits before the barrier fails."
A comm screen appeared over them, large and looming. A Galra officer leered down at them with blank yellow eyes. "Princess Allura of the former planet Altea, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I am here to collect the lions. Turn them over to me now and I will spare your lives."
Her answer was always going to be "no", but the smug confidence in his tone drove her past any attempt at diplomacy.
"I will never allow Voltron to fall into Galra hands! Leave this planet before you are destroyed!"
His answer was a derisive chuckle. "Victory or death, then. How very Galra of you, princess."
The screen vanished before she could hurl further abuse, driven by a roiling in her gut at the mere suggestion she might behave like one of those vile creatures. "Coran, give me maximum power to the shields! Paladins, prepare for incoming fire!"
Over the comms, Shiro was directing the others to fly in formation and try triggering the transformation that way. Pidge was huffing and Hunk sounded close to hysteria.
And the first beam from the cannon struck the barrier, shaking the castle walls.
"Paladins, hurry!"
She and Coran worked feverishly to divert as much power to the barrier as possible. Allura sent silent prayers to any deity who would listen: Please let them find the way.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Flying in formation didn't last once the lions left the particle barrier's shelter and the fighters began swarming around them.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Shiro's voice barked into Katie's helmet.
I don't know howto maneuver evasively! Katie thought back but didn't voice it. Instead she snapped, "Can't they just stop firing for one minute so we can figure this out?"
The steering poles jerked on their own under her hands and her mind-sister showed an expression of concentration. As a fighter closed in, Katie imagined pouncing on it like a cat on a small bird.
And the Green Lion followed suit, snatching the fighter out of the air and flinging it into another.
She could hear the others, trying to find the way to bring the lions together into one. Allura and Coran were shouting as the ship's cannon sent blast after blast into the shield. With an earth-shaking shudder, the barrier collapsed, leaving the castle exposed.
And then they were trapped in a purple light, being pulled in toward the warship.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Even in his frantic struggle to keep Blue out of the line of fire and take down fighters, Lance grinned at seeing Hunk knock Keith sideways and Keith's petulant protest. But his mind-sister reached out and yanked, snapping his head back.
Not now!The thought was tinged with a warning growl.
"Okay, okay! But how do we form Voltron?"
Come together.
"Yeah, that didn't work when Hunk tried to join Keith!"
ALL together!
Lance steered toward Shiro and Pidge.
His mind-sister gritted her teeth. This way!
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Blue!"
He felt that mental yank again and tried to lean into it. Some kind of light seemed to be bathing the image of his mind-sister. Her dark hair was taking on a blue tinge and the frustration in her voice came out in a growl. She bared her teeth in a furious expression.
Find me! See me!
And then Lance felt the lion being pulled in the opposite direction as ominous purple glow filled the cockpit.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Ohgodohgodohgod!
If he had the mental capacity for anything beyond terror at this moment, Hunk would be very irritated at mind-Melo, who was still chuckling over his attempt to just merge into Keith's lion by running into him. Hunk could also feel irritation that wasn't his from somewhere.
But he was unable to do anything but scrabble in panic. He wasn't a pilot; he was an engineer. Sure, he'd run a few sims in his training to learn the concept of diagnostics by feel, but it wasn't his thing.
I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know how any of this works—
PALADIN!
The mental shout was accompanied by a thwack that rattled inside his skull. As Hunk shook his head to clear it, he felt the controls shift in his hands, guiding him in how to move the steering sticks for marginally better maneuverability.
Mind-Melo took a deep breath and Hunk breathed with him, feeling just a little calmer. And as his own fear died down a little, he felt other emotions creep in: frustration, determination, and a will to fight to the very end.
Mind-Melo looked like the sun was setting behind him; his hair was taking on a golden glow.
And then he was fighting something that was pulling the lion up farther into the sky and purple light poured through his viewscreen.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Keith felt it the second some outside force began tugging at the Red Lion. He tried to combat it as he would a riptide, steering into it and angling to exit. He had seen the castle's protective barrier collapse and knew he had to regain control of his ship immediately.
Red circled in his mind and Keith felt the terror emanating from her. I won't go back! Don't let them take me back!
Never!
Keith swung Red around in order to fire at the warship looming overhead. "It's a tractor beam! Try focusing your fire on its source!"
We need to come together!
Along the bond, he felt Shiro's resolve start to crumble as memories of his imprisonment swarmed up. Keith flooded their connection with assurance and a fierce protectiveness. Never again! They're not getting you again! We can do this!
He felt an odd mirror-echo as Black sent the same reassuring message to Red. And plunged into that link.
Red's eyes took on a shining golden glow.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Shiro felt his lion being swept up by the pull and his essence was suddenly bombarded from multiple directions. The realization that they'd been caught in a tractor beam just as Keith voiced it. Echoes of dread and dismay from the other lions. The blast of fear from the Red Lion at the thought of being back in the hands of the Galra. Which pushed Shiro's own memories of his captivity to the forefront.
Fellow prisoners bleeding out under his hands as he tried to help them. The rain of blows that landed from the opponents in the arena. The agony as the witch raked lightning through him. The nightmares of an alien limb fused to his body and the paranoia of not knowing whether it could be used against him…
Shiro!— Paladin!
Keith's spirit drove through the cacophony in his brain and reverberated with the Black Lion's roar. And as they reached him, Shiro could feel hints of the others, not just their lions, skittering around the edges of his awareness.
And then Katie's voice crackled through the comms. "It can't end like this!"
"It won't! We can do this! Everyone, fire every weapon you can find at the tractor beam on my mark!" Shiro gave them the time it took to draw one steadying breath, then shouted, "Mark!"
Multiple blue-white energy beams shot from all the lions. Five supposed proton cannons, some paired with tail-beams. The Red Lion's eyes were glowing like twin stars and sent a golden pulse of energy.
Explosions bloomed across the hull of the Galra ship and the tractor beam fizzled out.
"Scatter and come together behind the ship! Draw it away from the castle!" Shiro steered Black over the enemy ship, taking a page from Lance's book and dragging Black's claws along its body. As more explosions erupted, Shiro led the others up and away from the castle.
Shiro extended his mental reach from Black, finding Keith and Red already with him. "I think I know what we have to do! Everyone, concentrate on that link you have with your lion and lean into it. The lions are already connected; we have to enter that connection and let it draw us in. We're supposed to be five fighting as one. We have to come together!"
He wasn't surprised that Katie was the first to join them—she had been watching and adjusting her behavior to Shiro and Keith from the start. Lance was next, full of a drive to make Blue proud of him. He could feel Hunk trying, but his anxiety was through the roof at trying to fly a ship and he was struggling. Shiro could feel Yellow, pacing back and forth, trying to find a way to bridge the gap.
"Hunk, you can do it! You invented the device that located Blue! You found Yellow and you bonded with him! You are exactly what a Paladin of Voltron should be! Lance, can you connect with him?"
"I can try!"
Shiro's limbs hummed with energy as he felt both Lance and Katie try to pull Hunk in. Then Keith reached as well, pulling Shiro along with him…
THERE!
Black's "voice" resounded through him.
TOGETHER.
The five lions spoke in a single, deep roar.
Shiro could feel it as the lions shifted, reformed, and melded together. In his mind's eye, five majestic lions, their fur shining with colors, morphed together into an enormous feline. Its coat was silvery-white, rippling with rainbow hues.
Voltron landed on the deck of the warship.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
It was the strangest thing Shiro had ever experienced. He was his own self, a human body in a pilot's seat, feverishly manipulating the controls in front of him. At the same time he was a giant, standing on the ship and looking down at its bridge, slightly amused at the tiny beings inside it.
There was a surge of energy to one side and almost before he could think it, Voltron's right arm shot out and drove into the ion cannon, sending its final blast across the horizon instead of into the castle.
Shiro's own right arm thrummed with energy, but instead of the poisonous burn, it sang with the soul bond. He felt Keith's fierce triumph as they plunged the Red Lion's head through the hull and fired, nearly breaking the ship in half with the resulting explosion.
Voltron leaped up the deck, closer to the bridge, and Shiro felt the difference as Lance landed more solidly than Hunk. This time the left arm punched through the hull and he could feel Katie's hesitation, clearly understanding Shiro's intent but still unfamiliar with the controls. Then more explosions flared up as she fired.
As the ship began to crack apart, Voltron vaulted into the air, gliding away from the enemy and toward the castle, swatting at the remaining fighters that were still programmed to attack. They began dropping out of the sky as the warship's power failed and it plummeted to the ground.
Shiro allowed himself one brief moment of victory, sending the robot into a wide looping arc and then a few spins. He could feel Keith's joy mingled with his own at the thrill of flight. The others were there, but following him rather than beside him like Keith was.
Well done.
With that pronouncement, the shimmering lion brightened and then divided back into five. Shiro felt a very uncomfortable sensation of his own body splitting apart for the briefest second, then he was himself again in the Black Lion. A wave of relief flowed into him from Keith, fatigue beginning to overtake the adrenaline from the battle.
Allura's voice sounded in his helmet, full of that same relief. "You did it, paladins! You did it."
Shiro still didn't quite understand how they'd done it. Black prowled in his mind, sending his own satisfaction into Shiro's core.
Well done, my paladin.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The afterglow of the victory lasted through a meal of that strange green goop. Hunk spent several minutes poking at his plate and taking tiny bites, as if analyzing the dish. Lance crowed about how many fighters he had taken down until he realized that Keith was going to ignore him in favor of paying attention to Shiro. Katie watched as the four little mice that had been in the princess' capsule ate their way through the extra dish that Coran set in the middle of the table.
Keith moved unexpectedly, rising and stepping over to Shiro, who had leaned forward to rest his head in his hands. "Sorry to cut the party short, but is there anywhere we could bunk down for the night?"
The princess looked startled at that, then affronted. "Of course there is! This is the Castle of Lions! We've hosted delegations of hundreds before! And as paladins, you'll each have your own quarters."
She rose and led them into the halls, turning only a couple of times before stopping along a corridor with multiple doors on either side. She pointed at various doors as she rattled off their names. "Pidge, you'll be in here. Shiro, across from her. Hunk, next to Shiro with Keith next to him and Lance next to Pidge."
Shiro activated the control for the door and glanced into the room, seeing the narrow bed in an otherwise empty space. He glanced at Keith and Katie noticed Keith's shoulders droop in resignation.
"Um, Princess?"
"Yes, Pidge?"
"You're going to need a bigger room, or at least one with a bigger bed, for Shiro and Keith."
Allura frowned. "I don't understand."
"They need to share quarters."
The princess' expression grew scandalized. "The Paladins of Voltron represent—"
"They're soulmates," Pidge stated, leaving no room for argument. "Just consider them married or bonded or whatever you people call it."
Allura drew breath to respond, her brows lowered in growing anger, but Coran laid a hand on her arm. "Princess, we've always respected the customs of other cultures. There are plenty of possibilities in the ambassadorial wing."
Allura turned her glare on him, ears twitching with the need to argue. Coran held his ground, a quirk of his mustache the only reaction.
Katie felt movement behind her. Someone put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed in gratitude. She guessed it was Shiro based on the size.
Finally Allura drew a breath. "Fine. Follow me."
The ambassadorial wing was up two floors from the kitchen and dining hall. There were six rooms on the hall that Allura chose. The first one was beautifully appointed in white and shades of purple, with an enormous bed among the furniture.
"Will this do?" Allura's voice held only a little sarcasm.
Shiro and Keith traded glances and they nodded. Shiro answered, "Yes, princess. Thank you."
Lance and Hunk had begun opening doors and they paused at one on the opposite wall. Lance looked back at them.
"Can Hunk and I share this one?"
Katie looked in, curious. The room was large, with two sizable beds in it, and soothing in a sky blue and pale gold color scheme.
"Why do you need one room? You're not bonded like them."
"No, but we were roommates back at the Garrison. We've known each other a long time," Hunk replied.
Coran pointed Katie to another door. "This one might be to your liking."
She took in the lush green colors, the bed, and the three desk areas for workspace. She felt a grin burst wide enough to split her face.
And Coran smiled back, his eyes going wistful at her enthusiasm.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Colleen swiped through the headlines on her tablet, getting more and more irritated with each one.
"Existence of Aliens Confirmed!"
"Kerberos Pilot Brings Warning—Galaxy Garrison Cover-up"
"Illegal Attempt to Break Soul Bond Confirmed by Whistleblower"
"Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Soul Bonds Reach Past Solar System"
She tossed the tablet on the table in Greg's office. The noise made the others look up. Dr. Hooper glanced at Greg and reached over to squeeze her shoulder.
"Anything in particular?"
Colleen shook her head. "No. Yes. I don't… I just need to know if Katie's all right. And I can't message her because I know she was on that lion ship when it disappeared. I know the old saying is no news is good news, but I can't stop imagining what could have happened to them out in space."
"Would it help to talk to the other parents?"
"They would have contacted us if they'd heard from their sons."
Dr. Hooper moved closer, putting an arm around her. "I meant, maybe they've got some way of coping that might help you."
Colleen resisted the urge to snap. The other woman was only trying to help.
Greg's tablet beeped with an incoming message and he sat up, his eyes narrowing. "Someone's just texted me anonymously, saying they have new information about the Kerberos Mission. They want me to go to the service entrance and let them in." He looked up and as Colleen watched, the soulmates stared at one another for a moment, communicating through their emotions. Then Greg stood. "If I'm not back in five minutes, notify my boss and the police."
After he left, the silence grew oppressive. Colleen finally looked up. "I apologize. I understand you're trying to help, Dr. Hooper, but I've been through this once already with Sam and Matt. Watching them leave, missing them and not getting any more than basic reports, being told out of the blue that they died, and then Katie finding out that we were lied to… It's all the same emotions. Just worse because now it's Katie missing as well."
Dr. Hooper nodded. "I can see that. At least you know that your daughter will contact you as soon as she is able. And call me Molly."
"Molly. I know she will if possible. It's the 'if possible' part that worries me. We don't know why those ships disappeared from the probes. If they enacted some kind of faster-than-light travel, we don't know how far they went. We don't have a soulmate to guide us to the other. We just...don't have anything."
"Not quite," a voice spoke and their heads snapped around. "We have a little information on the adversary."
Colleen jumped to her feet, seeing Commander Iverson standing beside a wary Greg.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Notes:
Thank you as always for reading, for kudos, and for comments!