Someone had been killed.
The lockdown had ended as soon as the shooter had killed herself. Everyone but the team had been shocked to discover the shooter was Narti.
There was more tears when the two students who had died had been the Beezer siblings. Why they had died? The question was still up in the air. They closed the school for two weeks, and Pidge took everyone to her father's apartment down the road, which she had found the keys to during her search of the house.
Everyone had gathered in the dining room. Hunk had finished cooking a meal. He brought it into the room, and served the plates. He sat down, and looked up to Pidge who had set up a whiteboard. She had stuck the pictures of her brother, father, Nyma, Rolo, Romelle, Lotor and his gang, as well as drawings of Honerva, Altea, and Daibazaal.
"So, the Daibazaal woods are named after the sacred lands in Galran culture. We know Honerva was supposedly an Altean alchemist, who married the Galran Emperor as legend says, they were on the brink of death, and were exposed to Quintessence in hopes of saving them. Instead, they became corrupted." She explained, pointing to sentences and pictures on the board.
"How does Nyma and Rolo fit into this? Why was Narti a shooter?" Keith asked after taking a bite of his food.
"Narti is one of Lotor's 'generals' as I will be calling them. Since they took me and asked a favor, which so far they haven't asked me about anything, but they could of had Nyma and Rolo do them a favor. If they failed, there is a possibility Lotor sent Narti after them to kill." She sighed. Allura nodded along.
"But how does Romelle fit into all of this?" She asked. Pidge glanced at the bagged Juniberry flower pinned to the board.
"Well, at her funeral, Tavo said that Juniberries where believed to be the beginning of life in Altean culture. Someone could've prayed for her return during the ceremony, or something. What did everybody whisper to their flower?" She suddenly asked. Veronica coughed and all eyes were on her.
"I said 'I hope you can be with us again someday.' Could that mean something?" She shrugged. Pidge turned and wrote Veronica's prayer on the board.
"If all of this is true, and magic is a thing, that could have tethered her spirit to Juniberries. So, if we had one, it could possibly be the tether to Romelle." Keith theorized. Allura pushed back her short hair.
"I had a Juniberry in my room." She states. Pidge looked at her, and everyone else joined in.
"You said you could speak to her while you slept?" Pidge asked, turning around to write the new revelations on the whiteboard.
"Yes— the night we returned from meeting Honerva, it had wilted. She didn't speak to me that night. Though, she did mention about maintaining the tether, and she'd always be here." She replied.
"We need more Juniberries, and we each need one on us every night. Romelle could prove useful in this fight." Veronica suddenly stated. Everyone nodded.
"Where can we get some?" Hunk asked, turning to Allura. She shifted her eyesight to her locket.
"The Altean church where Romelle's service was held." She answered. "We can go now, we'd just need a ride."
"I gotchu, fam!" Veronica smiled, taking keys out of her pocket and jingling them back and forth. Everyone's eyes sparkled as she dropped their lunch dishes off at the sink. They tossed on their shoes, and followed Veronica to her van.
They pulled up to the church, pink banners snapping to and fro in the autumn breeze. They entered, and were greeted by Tavo.
"Allura! Can we help you at all?" He smiled warmly. She looked over to one of the Juniberry baskets.
"We'd just like some Juniberries for Romelle's ofrenda, we want to merge together all of her friend's cultures, like she brought all of us together." Lance lied through a fake smile. Tavo nodded.
"How very noble of you! Yes, I'll be happy to provide you with Juniberries!" He beamed, retrieving a basket and handed it to Allura. "My best wishes, may we honor her spirit!" He waved as they left. The two climbed back into the car, and Veronica drove back to the apartment.
Once they got back, Pidge set the basket on the dining room table.
"Allura, you're in charge of keeping these alive." She ordered. The tanned girl nodded, taking a seat,
"They do not die easily, I believe once they're tethered to Romelle, one will die each time her energy must build up. Whenever she projects herself to physically be here, I presume one will die to grant her entry," Allura suggested.
"Sounds good. Since we don't have school for a while, we can get to the woods whenever. It's easier during the daytime, but there are people still there at that time." Pidge mumbled.
"—and with school out, anyone who's a mole would be there..." Keith finished. The group bit their tongues.
"I have an idea, but I'm going to need some materials, a few days, a batch of peanut butter cookies, and four coffees. Stat." Pidge suddenly hissed.
"Do you really need the food, or is that just something you want..." Lance trailed off when Pidge snarled.
"Yep, got it, I'm off to starbucks—" He squeaked, and Veronica facepalmed.
"Fine.. I'll drive you." She whined, grabbing Lance's wrist and dragging him out of the apartment. Pidge ran into her dad's office and didn't leave.
Hunk worked on baking the cookies. He placed them in the oven, and walked into the 'Flower Room' as they had decided. Juneberries were planted near the large window, in cups, bowls, even some in normal planters. He helped until the oven beeped. He let them cool, as Lance and Veronica walked in with four coffees.
"You ready to face Pidge?" Veronica asked, hanging up her coat and putting her shoes away.
"Hopefully." Hunk and Lance reply in unison. Hunk moves the peanut butter cookies onto a plate and pushes the door to the office open.
Pidge had been building a contraption, it looked like armor. She bent metal, burnt it, even sat on it, to mold it into shape. Lance set the coffee on the desk, and Hunk placed the plate down gently. The two backed out before Pidge could scare them.
Three days later, Pidge opened the door and ushered everyone in. Six sets of armor were laid out on the floor, each fitted for one of them. In the center of the chest plate, there was a small compartment to hold a Juniberry.
"I want to see if Romelle can power them up, make it so you can summon your bayard." She explained, pointing to her blueprints. Everyone tried on their armor, and she sighed with relief as it all fit.
She closed her eyes as she felt a small spark. She opened her eyes and found herself standing on a seemingly sheet of glass, surrounded by the galaxy. The others appeared around her, and Romelle appeared in the center.
She touched the glass, and it glowed a brilliant blue. It branched out under each person, and turned on the lights in the armor. Pidge reached for her side and smiled as she felt her bayard form in hand. Suddenly, the glass shattered and Pidge felt like she was falling.
She opened her eyes to find herself in the office, her bayard evaporating into blue light and pulling itself to her thigh.
"Anyone up for kicking ass, in two weeks?" Pidge smirked. Everyone in the room nodded as they took off the armor.
Pidge carefully put them on mannequins that her dad had for storing special uniforms.
The two weeks had passed quickly, and the group had decided to keep the Juniberries and whiteboard at the apartment, packing the armor into one box per room.
They moved back in, and prepared to make their way back to the base that evening.
Veronica slipped on her armor, watching as it hummed to life. She crept past her sleeping roommate, Ina, and dived out the window. She was slowly brought to the ground by a jetpack, and she made a mad dash for the bonfire pit.
She met up with the others as they entered, moving with agility to the base. Veronica's eyes widened in awe and shock as she saw the base for the first time. Pidge tossed something, and there was a rustle as guard dogs went to go eat it. They jammed a knife into the wall, and climbed up onto the outer roof. Keith and Lance tied rope around their waists, and slowly let themselves down the ditch.
Once everyone had reached the bottom, Pidge led everyone towards the weapon room. She verified the coast was clear, and everyone followed her in. She placed her hand on a panel, and it glowed for a second, before a panel popped up on her gauntlet. She installed another virus onto the database, and stepped aside.
"Who wants to see if their bayard is a gun?" She asked, gesturing to the large robot.
Lance summoned his bayard, and was excited to see a blaster. He took aim, and shot, watching as the laser pierced a hole in the metal. The alarms went off, and everyone got in a fighting stance, Veronica holding a gun she had somehow made in the dorms.
"How did you—" Pidge asked, looking at Veronica's gun.
"3D printing can do wonders." She shrugged, and Pidge nodded, turning back to the door. Instead of Honerva, it was Ezor and Zethrid to enter.
"You—" Keith hissed, and Ezor was quick to shoot her hands up.
"We've been kind of forced into helping Lotor. We just erased any evidence of you guys in the security feed, so.." Ezor trailed off.
"I just want to blow something up." Zethrid shrugged. Pidge wearily looked at the robot, and back at the two 'generals'.
"Then you better answer any questions we ask." She raised a brow. Ezor shrugged in agreement. Zethrid raised a blaster, and shot the hell out of the robeast.
"This'll only set back Honerva, you'd need to travel to Altea in order to retrieve the lions." Romelle's voice echoed. Everyone's heads snapped around, searching for the girl.
"The lions of what? And how would we get to Altea?" Allura asked. The chest plates began to glow, and everything turned black.
When they awoke, Ezor and Zethrid where gone. They were no longer in the base, and they sat in a field of Juniberries. The first thing they saw was Romelle.
"The lions of Voltron, of course."
