Title: Brother, let me be your fortress
Chapter: 5
Rating: K+
Summary: SongFic for Hunk - Brother, let me be your shelter
Brother let me be your shelter
Season 2 - Paladins
Author's notes: Okay this chapter is a little trippy. Totally based on a dream I had that inspired this set of stories. Hope you have enjoyed.
The astral plane is a weird place. There really wasn't any other way to say it. They were fighting in Voltron. There was a robeast, they had just destroyed it. The castle was engaging the fleet, and then suddenly they were hit by a blast of purple energy. They awoke to find themselves in a sandy plain that went on forever with a dark sky above them. There was lightning flashing in the sky. They were all laying in the sand. Hunk and Lance were the first up. They found Pidge and Hunk carried her over to where Keith and Shiro had gathered.
"Where are we?" Hunk asked. "I feel like someone dropped kicked me across the sky."
"It's similar to the astral plane I went to through Black." Shiro offered.
"So, any idea how to get out of here?" Lance spun around looking for a door or something obvious.
"No. Black was there before. I don't feel her right now. I feel cut off. I think this was Haggar's doing." Shiro was keeping a sharp eye out for the witch. Whatever this was, she wasn't done with them yet.
As if summoned by his thoughts the witch appeared before them hooded and cackling, "I have brought you here. You will give me what I want."
"Oh and what is that?" Lance smarted off.
She growled and flipped a wrist, purple lightening flew from her fingers and arced over to Lance sending him twitching to the ground.
"Hey!" Hunk moved over to Lance to check on him and help him up.
"We are not giving you anything." Keith growled and would have pounced if Shiro hadn't put out a hand and held him.
"Don't let her split us up Keith." Shiro turned to the witch, "Let us out of here or you will regret it."
"NO!" she hissed. "I will drain you of your quintessence and when I have, the Black Lion will return to Zarkon." She reached out a hand and muttered. A ball of darkness formed floating above her hand. Then it was pulling something from Shiro, something shimmery and black, being pulled out of him and toward the ball in a long stream.
"Stop!" Pidge tried shooting her bayard at the witch, but it didn't activate.
"NO!" Keith dove between Shiro and the witch. The line of sparkling energy touched him and then retreated back around Shiro like a puddle as he fell to his knees.
"Shiro?" Hunk moved to help. As he touched the shimmering energy he felt something within himself as well. He closed his eyes and concentrated and suddenly the energy was inside a shallow golden pool. Shiro sitting in the middle of it looking as confused as Hunk.
In the meantime Keith had burst into flame, like literally there were flames all over him. He looked a little freaked out as well, but then he ran toward the witch prepared to strike her with his burning arms.
She hissed, the ball she had formed dropped and she disappeared.
As soon as she was gone Keith's flames went out. "What just happened?"
"It must be our quintessence, like she said." Pidge answered in awe. "I mean fire, that's you right. Hunk, earth or something? Shiro, I have no idea…" Pidge stopped and stared at the pool that had filled up with the sparkling energy like Shiro was some kind of fountain.
"Power." Hunk answered. "It's like power, I couldn't do anything till I touched it."
"Me too." Keith was still patting his arms and body making sure the flames were gone and he wasn't hurt.
"I think it's more spiritual energy? Black is the most connected to the astral plane, so maybe I can manipulate the energies here."
"And Haggar wants it and if she gets it she is going to kick our butts." Lance offered dusting himself off. The jolt left his body aching…or his spirit aching…or yeah he thought that's just weird.
"Not to mention it might kill Shiro to drain it all from him." Pidge added.
"Then we can't let her near him." Keith was staring at his hands now.
"What are you doing?" Lance asked.
"Um…trying to make fire again?" Keith looked a little bewildered. "I still feel like I can I just can't get it back."
"Try saying Flame On." Lance offered.
"No." Keith scowled.
"Keith, it went away as soon as Haggar left, try feeling angry again?" Hunk offered.
"Ok," Keith frowned and flames appeared at his finger tips.
"Not much flame, maybe you need to be more angry?" Hunk approached Keith looking at his hands, fascinated with the way it burned, but didn't burn him.
"Right, Mullet, try to get more angry." Lance teased and then shouted and dodged as a ball of flame flew his way.
"Keith." Shiro warned, still feeling weakened.
"That's awesome!" Lance yelled.
"Lance, Pidge, we need to get you powered up as well, for when she comes back." Shiro gestured for them to come over.
"Shiro, are you sure, we don't want to hurt you." Pidge worried.
"It didn't hurt when Hunk or Keith powered up. I don't feel great, but I think that's because of what Haggar did not what they did. It seems she was trying to drain my energy," he gestured at the pool he sat it. "At least Hunk managed to collect it up for me." He smiled over to the yellow paladin.
"This is so weird." Lance touched his hand into the pool.
"I concur." Pidge followed suit.
"So what can you guys do?" Keith asked, practicing throwing fireballs.
Lance started moving doing some kind of TaiChi type moves.
"Lance, are you really doing that?" Pidge asked with a grin on her face.
"Why not? Worked for Katara." As he spoke a ball of water formed in his hands. He smiled and tried a different set of moves and had the water twirling around like a little snake. Then as Keith was throwing a fireball, he whipped the water out snapping it into the fireball and putting it out. "I'm so a water bender." Lance practically danced.
Pidge sat on the ground and concentrated. A field of flowers sprung up around her. "Great. Anyone need a garden?" She seemed disappointed.
"Pidge, come on, how long have we being playing Masters and Mana and you can't come up with a good druid spell?" Hunk asked with a smile. "Let's see an entangle?"
Pidge grinned and vines grow from the ground under Keith and Lance wrapping up their legs and bodies and holding them still.
"Um…Pidge," Keith asked.
"Please, Pidge, we're on the same side remember?" Lance begged.
She laughed and released them.
Hunk sighed, he was having no luck activating anything. He even tried earth bender moves at Lance's suggestion and tried to turn himself into The Thing at Pidge's idea.
"Sorry, guys, I guess my power is making pools?" Hunk frowned disappointed in himself.
"Hey, you make the pool and I'll fill it and we'll go swimming." Lance offered putting on arm around his friend.
Hunk was trying to give Lance a small smile in return when lightning flashed across the sky and clouds formed over them. Keith muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "flame on" and was covered in flames lighting the darkness around them. They all moved together to stand around Shiro protectively.
In the darkness, lightning flashed around them. A low laugh echoed. "You think to stop me? You think to battle me here? You don't stand a chance."
"We chased you off earlier." Keith snarled.
"You interrupted my spell. That won't happen again." She appeared before Keith and he threw a fire ball at her, but she disappeared again. Suddenly they were surrounded by Haggars, like an entire army of identical witches moving in from all sides. Pidge started vines growing, grabbing and stopping all that she could while Lance and Keith started attacking with fire and water. The Haggars kept disappearing and reappearing.
Pidge was starting to pant. Her energy waning. Lance cried out as another lightning bolt caught him in the arm. The electric spreading through his water. Keith screamed and sent out a wall of flame torching the ground in front of him and pushing back the Haggars on that side. Hunk was by Shiro when the first attack against him came. A clear ball flying toward them from the Haggar army's ranks. Hunk reacted and a stone slab sprung from the ground shattering the ball.
Haggar howled in the darkness, her anger apparent.
Two more balls and two more slabs later, Hunk could see his team starting to weaken. Pidge was on her knees having taken a lightning blast. Lance was breathing hard and sweat was mixing with his water. Keith was visibly shaking, but refusing to stop.
Hunk had to protect them. He knelt on the ground. He looked to Shiro, who nodded, and he put his hand into the energy. He closed his eyes and concentrated on protecting his team. The ground shook, Haggar screamed, Pidge cheered, and Lance called his name. Hunk looked up and could see the golden walls of the fortress springing from the ground, growing higher and higher, protecting them from the army of witches. The walls glowed sending light shining into the darkness, driving away the storm, driving away Haggar.
Hunk didn't realize when the ground had stopped shaking, because he still was. He blinked, his team was fading in and out of the light. He blinked, they were talking to him, saying something. He blinked and he was in Yellow, in Voltron, he could feel his team with him. They were together.
"Paladins!" Allura's desperate voice called over the coms. "Please answer me!"
"We're here, Allura." Shiro answered wearily.
"I am so glad to hear your voice. After that last blast I was unable to reach any of you. It's been almost a varga. We were able to finish off most of the remaining fleet. The last cruiser just fled."
"That's good. I feel like I could sleep for a week." Lance muttered.
"I know what you mean," Pidge whispered.
"Hunk?" Keith asked.
"I'm here." He answered smiling softly to hear all of their voices.
"Come home Voltron." Allura requested sounding relieved.
"We're coming in Princess. We will tell you all about how Hunk saved us when we get there." Shiro answered.
"Yeah, Hunk really come through for us." Pidge echoed.
"We couldn't have done it without him." Keith agreed.
"My best bud, Defender of the Universe." Lance crowed.
"Aw guys," Hunk blushed his heart full.
The End