Author Note:
I'm supposed to be working on my real book, but these plot bunnies just wouldn't go away. I hope ya'll have as much fun reading this as I did writing it!
So here it is, the third set of paladins the Voltron lions chose.
Non-slash, I believe in personal boundaries between characters, no swearing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron. If I did, this would be cannon.
The first one to arrive was green. After a hundred years of silence, she dropped out of the sky glowing and valiant.
Inside my we found a scrawny thing dressed in rags and covered in ash. She was too thin, her breathing too shallow, her skin too pale and yellowed to be natural. She lay against the lion's reactor for warmth.
When she awoke, she hid. She was too frightened to come out or speak. She acted like she thought my people would kill her. Finally, they were able to draw her out with food. She ate from the tray with her fingers, gorging it down like she wouldn't get a second chance to eat.
Gradually over the next week, she grew bolder and her face began to fill in. She even left her lion for short periods of time. She always kept close to the walls and walked with her back hunched though. She was skittish and as it turned out, did not have any sort of education. She couldn't even read. The fact that the green lion chose her above all the cadets in the whole of the Terran Empire baffled the scientists back at High Command.
They tried to teach her to read and write and understand ship mechanics, but she wasn't interested. Every fiber of her being was invested into survival. It was her first and only priority.
A quick scan revealed she had been bathed in radiation. Possibly grown up in it. She began to get sick as her body adapted.
You have to rest." Lieutenant Skylar said gently pushing her back onto the medical bed.
She forced herself to get up. "No, I have to keep moving. Always keep moving." She said. There was that fear. The fear I'd seen in her eyes since we'd met
"You don't have to. You're safe now." He told her.
"No one's ever safe." She answered. She pushed herself off the bed and took the first few stumbling steps to the door. "I have to find something to cool off with. My temperature is too high." She said.
"I'll get you some ice." He told her, "but only if you lie back down."
She considered his words, her hidden, possibly underdeveloped, but still rational mind was going through her options scientifically. She nodded.
I will never forget the day I met the yellow Paladin. I was told they had found the yellow lion on a forest planet and that he had already chosen his paladin, a farmer named Dyn. What they did not tell me was that Dyn was not even remotely human.
The ground shook as he walked in to meet us. He was almost 8 feet tall, two feet wide, and clearly over 400 pounds. The best word I have to describe him is "dragon". He walked on two enormous crawled feet and he had three fingers that ended in black claws on each hand. His teeth jutted out above and below his snout.
He would have been a truly intimidating figure if it weren't for his cheery yellow scales, his goofy baggy brown pants, his bright blue eyes, and the child-like joy in his smile.
He ran up and shook our hands. For being such a big fellow, he had a gentle touch. He then scooped Lieutenant Skylar and myself into a bear hug.
"Oh my gosh, we are gonna be the best buddies ever!" He shouted in a deep voice that rose in pitch until the last word came out as an excited squeak.
Lieutenant Skylar woke up in a cold sweat. He had to be on that mission. Logically, that didn't make any sense and yet he was driven to do whatever it took to go.
He had been around for long enough. He knew which buttons to push, how to weave around the obstacles in his path. When he was determined enough, he always found a way.
I found his request to be strange, but I didn't stop him. Perhaps he was looking for a break from the green paladin. She was quite energetic.
When I was told that Lieutenant Skylar had stolen a hovercraft to travel into the frozen wastes alone, I was sure I was being lied to. He had been a paramedic back on Terra before joining the academy and receiving stellar marks. He was just about as level headed as they came.
When I sent a team to look into this. I was told that a terrible storm had made landing impossible and had wiped out all communication with those on the surface. My team finally managed a landing three days later. I was informed that Lieutenant Skylar was not on base and hadn't been for four days. The rescue mission I had been hoping for turned into a recovery mission. They followed his beacon into the wastes. My heart was heavy with loss. I had only known the Lieutenant for a short time, but he seemed like a decent person. A great person even. One who always had the needs of others in mind.
Then, I got the call.
He was alive!
AND he was the blue paladin.
The black lion was the forth one recovered. They found it on a barren planet full of ice spewing volcanoes.
They brought it back with them, but it neither moved nor sought a paladin, not at first anyway. The Terran High Command lined up many young officers in leadership positions to touch it. Unsurprisingly, not one was accepted.
This trial angered me so. They acted as if the lion herself was not capable of choosing her own paladin and drawing them to her.
I was concerned about the level of control my empire was trying to exert over Voltron. There was a part of me that questioned if they were only selecting young officers so they could easily manipulate them. I had to admit however, that a younger leader would live considerably longer and could grow into the role. I had to remind myself that Black could advise whoever she chose against any plots. She would take care of them. I had to have faith.
With great difficulty, I shook off my concern and concentrated rather on aiding the young paladins who were currently without a leader. I worked especially with the green paladin helping her to realize her potential, but I found myself growing more fond of all of them.
Then one day, as I was on my way to the cafeteria, I found myself turning towards the hanger. I couldn't imagine why I would be headed there, but I couldn't bring myself to stop.
There I stood looking up at the great black lion. She was larger than the others and her energy was more fierce. I now understood why so many potential paladins ran screaming from her. It was like she was searching, reaching deep into my soul, evaluating my memories and judging my worth. I did not want her, but I suppose she scanned everyone who came her way.
She saw all my flaws and my fears. Having them laid bare before me without mercy or pity was crushing.
I was not the one.
I could sense her displeasure. I wanted to move on. This would be embarrassing if someone caught me.
But I didn't. This might be my only chance to warn her.
"I'm worried," I said out loud, "I'm worried that my people will try to control your paladin to achieve their own goals." the black lion stared impassively at me. Then I felt nothing. Her presence left my mind, but I was not done.
"These are good kids," I continued, ignoring the awkwardness of speaking to myself, "you have to choose a strong leader. One who can help them. One who can stand up to the Terran High Command," There was still nothing. I clenched my jaw.
"Don't stop until you find someone worthy. No matter who or how many they send your way. You have to stay strong."
She didn't respond. I left hoping that she'd at least gotten some of it.
I ran into my commander in the doorway. He questioned my motive for visiting the black lion. He accused me of selfishly wanting her for myself. He threatened to have me court martialed.
I responded that I was warning the lion. I told them that I would do everything in my power to protect the kids, and if that meant I lost my position, then that's what would happen.
I felt a rush of acceptance and pride in my heart. The black lion roared off in the distance.
"No, not me!" I begged, "I'm too old.."
Author Note:
So, what do you think? Please let me know if you enjoyed it, and give me some ideas for team bonding and personalities and all that jazz.
Next up is Red!