Beginning of the End
Voltron Legendary Defender
AN: I was going to post this yesterday, but with the premier of Hawkeye i couldn't. That show is responsible for my emotional turmoil at the moment!
Edit 12/13/21: Hawkeye still has me as a wreck btw. This chapter had already been finished but my computer stopped working so everything got wiped. And yes i mean everything including the upcoming chapters. So I'm trying to work double time to get it done again. But other than that, ONWARDS WITH THE STORY! ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron, because if I did it wouldn't have been that shitty of a show.
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Chapter 2
ScarletMidnight19
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"Not. A. Word." The green paladin of voltron hissed to her fellow teammates with as much venom as she could muster.
The two other younger paladins nodded. One more reluctant than the other. Shiro and Allura however were trying to keep their poise, lips pressed in a thin line to try to keep the giggles at bay, but their eyes.
Their eyes were filled with mirth and Pidge just wanted to gouge their eyes then and there.
She did not want to talk about what happened with anyone, she didn't even want to think about it. It had been a moment of weakness for her.
And nobody could blame her, she just loved robots.
And beezer was just there. There was no way she could not keep her hands to herself.
Was it her fault that in a moment's weakness, she ended up taking the Green lion from her hangar after Nyma had basically insinuated that beezer was better than Green? Of course not! It was just a minor hindsight that she didn't see what they had planned earlier on.
It was with small satisfaction when Keith and Red damaged the bounty hunters ship. The smug smirk that she had given them did nothing to actually convey how she had felt at that moment.
Now they were on their way to their original destination. The Balmera.
According to Hunk the balmerans had never seen the sky before. Just by their mere presence Shay and her family had been enthralled.
Hunk had been adamant that they save the planet, "This is what Voltron was made for," he had said uncharacteristically serious.
And anyways who could deny Hunk's request, after all he was right. This what Voltron was made for.
To bring peace to the universe.
In order to do that, they had to start with freeing planets one by one.
It would be a tedious task she knew, but this was part of something larger than herself and she would do anything to help.
"How far to the Balmera?" Shiro asked, breaking her out of her thoughts and subsequently halting her glare to her two young, but slightly older, teammates.
"Not far, just a couple of vargas." Coran responded cheerily from his post at the front of the bridge.
Shiro nodded. "You heard him Team. It won't be long now, when we reach the Balmera we'll have to be ready for anything they throw at us."
Pidge, Keith, and Hunk nodded. Shiro was the most experienced of the three of them, coupled with the fact that he's the one destined to fly the Black lion, their leader as well.
"Allura, what's the plan?"
Pidge had to admit that Shiro and Allura were great leaders, and Allura proved she was no slouch at forming plans either.
The plan was simple: Hunk would attack the mining equipment stationed at the surface and draw the fighters out, Keith was in charge of shutting down the main generator, while she would drop BLIP drones -to track the Galra movements- into the living planet. Allura and Coran would stay in the castleship giving them backup if need be, while Shiro; flying an Altean fighter jet; would be their first line of defense if any Galran fighter jet got past them. After they finish taking the Galra out, they would then go down into the mining tunnels and free the Balmerans.
Simple.
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It was simple. There shouldn't have been any problems but there were.
The Galra however had not taken the bait and they were then forced to go down to the mining tunnels.
Keith knew it was a trap. They all knew it. But they had no choice.
After successfully shutting the bay doors to prevent any fighter Jets from flying to the surface, with the help of Pidge, they had made their way to the core of the Balmera where Shay was being held prisoner.
And oh what do you know, it was a trap.
Who would've seen that coming? Not him, of course not, that was way too obvious.
"Allura, we need an extraction!" He said through gritted teeth through his comms
"We're kind of occupied at the moment" Allura replied voice strained "We're taking heavy fire. I need you to return to your lions!"
"How are we supposed to do that!" Hunk wailed, looking at his teammates in desperation. Keith huffed, shrugging his shoulders in turn while Pidge looked around, her brilliant mind whirling with thoughts.
It was to his and everyone's surprise when Shay announced that the other Balmerans could help them escape. That hope soon was dashed when said balmeran placed her hand on the balmera's core, explaining that the petrified beast can sense her vibrations and send a message to the other balmerans in the tunnels.
Keith was highly skeptical, but he kept those thoughts to himself. Instead they wandered to Shiro. His pseudo-brother was with Allura and Coran, doing his best to defend the castleship. The fact that they were under heavy fire as Allura had stated made him grow anxious.
They needed to get to their lions as fast as possible and help him. He was only flying an Altean fighter jet, and while he knew Shiro was skilled and would adapt to the change of altean gears, he could not help but worry for him.
"Paladins, we have an ion cannon locked on us; the castle's particle barrier would not be able to withstand the attack! We need you to get your lions!" Allura's panicked voice sounded through their comms.
All three of them paled.
"We need to get to our lions. Now." Keith stressed looking at his teammates before landing on Shay's. The balmeran was still focusing on her 'message.'
"Is it even working?" Pidge mumbled, finding her way to stand next to him.
Keith almost shrugged. Almost. However, the sound of crushing metal halted his actions. The doorway to freedom was open, and standing on the other side were other Balmerans. Shay leapt in joy, a wide smile crossing her face.
Apparently this was her family.
"We're on our way Princess." The family of balmerans then led them away from the core and towards a shortcut that led straight to the surface.
"Get to your lions. Converge on Allura's location." the red paladin instructed his fellow paladins. The green and yellow paladin nodded in turn ascenting their confirmation to his orders. Because they knew that's what they were. Orders.
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"Damn it," Keith swore.
They had barely been able to move the ion cannon, just a fraction, from the Castle of Lions. At this rate, they would for sure be decimated.
"We're way out of our league here" Pidge said through their open channel.
"Uh guys….it looks like they're recharging for a second blow. What are we going to do?" Hunk's panicky voice sounded through.
Honestly Keith had no idea, "Shiro?"
"The only way to stop them is to destroy that ion cannon."
Pidge grumbled "How are we going to do that Shiro? Last time we did that they fixed their ion cannon in mere minutes. Even if we managed to somehow totally destroy it, they would manage to fix it again. Best case scenario we manage to deal a fatal blow, gain a few minutes to form a half-way decent plan to beat the ship and free the balmerans. Worst case, we all die, and it's the end of Voltron before it's truly ever begun." she paused "Not to be pessimistic, but the way it's going, we'll end up in the worst case scenario."
"Guys! Guys it's almost ready to be fired again!"
"Hunk calm down!"
"Oh I'm sorry I can't be calm on our impending deaths Keith!"
"It's aiming at the castle. Shiro, what do we do?"
"Destroy that ion cannon." Shiro repeated, determination clear in his tone. "I'll head back to the castle and figure something out with Allura and Coran."
"Copy"
"10-4"
As Shiro left the formation making his way towards the castle a laser beam from a troop of galra, filtering out the massive warship, caught his jet. Inside, his alarms blared.
"Argh"
"Shiro!" Keith yelled, leaving his fellow paladins to deal with the cannon as he raced to get Shiro.
"Keith no!" Pidge yelled after her fellow teammate. "Damn it!" This was not good. A warship to their left, a dying balmera down below, and now they were surrounded by a fleet! And to top it off, they still can't form Voltron! No matter what angle she saw this through, she always came to the same conclusion.
Death at the hands of the galra.
Through their open channel between the voltron lions she could hear Hunk panicking over their current situation. His behaviour was not helping her at all, if anything it was giving her more anxiety than anything.
Taking a deep breath, she counted to five before exhaling. Calming her body and mind.
They could do this. She knew they could!
Well at least she hoped they could.
"Hunk, stop your panicking!" she snapped "You're lion is the strongest and largest of us all. Find a way to destroy that canon. Completely."
"Wha-! Pidge-"
"Just do it Hunk! I'll cover you!"
Hunk swallowed back his response at her tone. "You got it." he was slightly surprised when his voice contained the determination that he did not feel. "Let's go save a Balmera, Yellow!"
With a push to the back thrusters the Yellow lion sped forward. Pidge and Green on their tail blasting jets whenever they got too close to their charge.
At first everything was going great. Even with her limited knowledge on how to pilot and maneuver, she was able to blast jets with the assistance of green, she gained confidence believing that they would win. That they would be able to defeat them all, but then Hunk got separated from her when she was distracted, he was moving further from her and away from the ion cannon. She could barely see him and Yellow, but she knew from how he was flying that he was trying to get back on course and destroy that cannon.
Pidge grit her teeth as a laser was fired from behind hitting Green and leaving her momentarily defenseless. "Damn it! Keith, where are you?! We need your help!" She delivered a decent shot with Green's tail gun to the offending perpetrator.
'Damn it, there's too many.' Pidge thought, evading the shots the Galra were throwing. She flew in a semi wide arc, Green's shield deflecting most of the hits, while others missed. "Hunk, what's your status?"
"Um…..I'm taking fire! These Galra are not letting me through!"
"Fuck. On my way!" She shot, shots at any Galra she set her sights on, while evading to the best of her abilities.
She was not a pilot damn it! She could barely pilot the simulator back at the garrison, and now she was supposed to pilot an advanced Altean lion shaped warship? Keith was the best pilot out of all of them, excluding Shiro! Thank god Green was sentient, as she was basically instructing Pidge in everything.
Pidge got the feeling she was slowly getting accustomed too, a warm purring in her mind showing her images on how to evade properly and instructing her where she should aim at the jets to leave them out of commission.
With a slight smirk, that may or may not have been slightly bloodthirsty, she pushed power to the thrusters speeding towards the jets, evading just like how she had been instructed. The Galra chased after her shooting laser after laser, with an abrupt halt she whirled back towards them, flying straight to them and at the last moment she passed by them only to aim a laser shot from green's mouth to their engines and thrusters.
Not stopping to look at her handy work she quickly made her way towards Hunk. Only to be stopped half way as another fleet poured from the massive warship and encircled her. Laser guns pointed at the Green lion.
"Pidge! I can't disable the ion cannon!" Hunk's voice rang out through her cockpit. The sound of his voice jolting her from the amount of fear that had washed over her. "I'm taking heavy fire! Pidge?!"
Pidge gripped her controls. This was not looking good. Damn it! she knew this mission was suicide, but this was what they were meant to do! But they were supposed to do this as a fully formed Voltron! Not as three lions of Voltron!
"Pidge?! Hunk!?"
Keith. "Keith about fucking time! Haven't you heard us calling? we need your help!" She bit out. He was the red paladin goddamnit, his lion was the fastest of them all, and he was a skilled pilot! What was he thinking, leaving them alone on the battlefield!
The weapons on the jets hummed to life, purple lights becoming visible to her.
"Sorry. Status?" He ordered scathingly.
"Fucking shit!"
"Arghh! I'm taking heavy fire over here!" Laser shots rained down on both the yellow and green lion. The Galra closing the gaps and shooting down with even more force when it became apparent that they were trying to escape.
"Pidge! Hunk!"
Pidge grit her teeth in frustration. Green was smaller and lighter than the yellow lion, so she wouldn't last long, no matter what she did. Damn it all!
"The cannon it's firing!" Hunk's cry of panic set Pidge on her own mini panic flying Green more sporadically than what was normal. She was barely evading the shots aimed at her at this point.
"Allura! Coran! The cannon-"
"We know Keith." Her clipped tone was terrifying. "Go help your fellow paladins. I may have a way to stop this."
"Go help Hunk! He's having trouble." she supplied helpfully to the red paladin. Keith grunted, and she took that as acknowledgement.
While Keith went to help Hunk she focused on her battle. She was surrounded and she definitely did not see herself winning. Not when they suddenly sent shots that resembled electricity.
"Fuck!" she tried to evade, she tried but with galra all surrounding her there was only so much she could evade. And it wasn't nearly as much as she would've liked.
For the hundredth time she was not a pilot!
Multiple electric shots hit her, and she grunted. Biting her tongue in order to prevent a scream from letting out.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Her alarms blared, drawing her cockpit into an eerie red against her light green lights.
She saw the fleet that she was battling against, five of them raced towards her. While the others separated and flew away, most likely than not going after her teammates.
It all appeared in slow motion to her, she saw the aiming of the weapon, the straight line they flew towards her. The growing purple shimmer that signified a laser beam ready to be shot. And then from their blind spots, five blue laser shots cut through their ship. Hitting them right through the middle. All five jets stalled for a second before exploding, sending metal debris and most likely than not; Galran body parts flying through space.
She exhaled shakily, and it was only when she looked down she noticed she was shaking. Silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Fists turning white at how hard she was gripping the controls.
"You alright?" A voice she did not recognize asked her.
Apprehensively she looked up, not really knowing what to expect, ready to fire at the probable threat.
She did not, however, expect to see the Blue Lion hovering right in front her.
Wait.
The Blue lion?
She was here, with her paladin.
The Blue lion was here. Blue was here.
"Wha-?"
"Paladins get out of there, and converge inside the castle NOW!"
"The cannon-"
"We know Hunk! Just get inside now before you get decimated!"
"Roger that Shiro. We're on our way."
The blue lion flew towards her, nudging Green on the side with her own head. Pidge got the message, and quickly led the way towards the hangar bay where she knew everybody else would clearly be.
Flying at top speed, or at least what Green assured her to be top speed, she blasted the few enemy ships she saw with Green's mouth cannon.
Barely reaching the castle and almost getting to the Hangar bay, she stopped abruptly when a bright white light could be seen. Granted she wasn't even looking at the direction the light was coming from, and good thing that she wasn't because that light was intense. Even closing her eyes she could still see white, and again, she wasn't even facing the light's way.
Half a second later she heard a huge explosion, followed by a chain of smaller ones. Deeming it safe to turn back around, she could only gape at the sight.
It was a graveyard.
None of the jets that they were fighting against, or the massive warship that seemed impossible to defeat, were left. All she could see was specks of dust.
Ashes. Her mind was quick to supply.
She shuddered.
"Whatever that ray was. I want it." the unfamiliar voice of the blue paladin said. Voice sounding almost awed.
"Who said that?" Keith's suspicious self demanded. Still high on adrenaline.
"Depends on who's asking." the blue paladin replied playfully "For all you know i could be your future vir. You never know."
Pidge sighed, not really knowing what that meant but she was pretty sure it was nothing good for Keith. Allura however, spluttered. Apparently the princess knew what that meant.
"The name's Lance. Blue Paladin, at your service."
They time for Voltron's rise was finally here at last.
WARNING RANT AHEAD
So i had originally planned for a different approach but since everything got deleted, i had to start from scratch and it pissed me off! This chapter is decent, but it'll do. It helps with the plot line and everything. Anyways for right now I have three parts of this story already set and ready to be edited and posted. I honestly do hope you enjoy this story as i've now realized that it will deviate from the og story arc but you know what its fine, because nobody even liked the latter seasons of Voltron. Anyways Chapter 3 will be posted faster than this one as that one i do have written down.
REVIEW! LEAVE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IF YOU WANT I DON'T MIND.