Recovery
Chapter 8
Lion Riders Return
A/N: Hi Again! Writer’s block caught me again and then at the same time I got a mild form of the writers curse hahaha. Finally finished this chapter and I know for a fact I have the outlines for the rest of the chapters in this book so crossing my fingers I can post something new in at least a months time. For those of you still checking in, thank you! I’m glad you still like my work even though most of this isn’t even mine. Happy reading dear readers and don’t forget to R&R if you have the time.
Goggles? Check. Tools? Check. Hover pad? Check.
It was exam day for the cadets in their mechanics class. Their assignment was to do routine maintenance on the lions. Hunk was proctoring it. He was serious about a few things, and making sure the lions were running smoothly and correctly were part of that small list. And not being one to get scared over a measly test, Larmina went up first.
“I’m going in.” She said, hovering up to black lion’s shoulder joint.
“Make her purr Larmina.”
Hunk stood on another hover pad, watching her every move. With black, he got serious, especially because the energy problem still wasn’t fixed. But soon his attention went to the two boys on the catwalk who were supposed to be taking this chance to study up before their turn.
“I hope you two are taking notes. You’re up next.”
“Uh-huh, absolutely, notes...” Vince said in a distracted tone,
He was busy looking at his tablet, playing a Voltron MMORPG he and Daniel had found earlier on. It might not have been the most interesting game, but it was incredibly entertaining.
“We are studiously studying... Yes!” Daniel shouted, earning a sharp shushing from Vince.
While being glared at, he quickly added words of encouragement to Larmina, trying to cover up his tracks. Vince only rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to their game, only for Hunk to hover right in front of him, catching him red-handed.
Hunk smugly raised an eyebrow, “Fun game, huh?”
“No! I mean yeah- I uh-” Vince stuttered for a minute before starting over, “It’s research! Look, a bunch of underground Voltron friendlies have used this game to communicate under Wade’s radar. It’s brilliant!”
“That’s exactly why Pidge designed it that way.”
Vince got an excited and dreamy look in his eyes, “Pidge just gets more and more awesome!”
“You don’t even know half the stuff he’s capable of yet, little dude!”
Before Vince could ask about it, a message request caught his eye. A player currently set as blue lion hailed him before he nervously accepted the message request.
“Are you one of them?” The message read,
“One of whom?” he cautiously asked,
“Are you Voltron Force? If you are, please, my planet Ariel is peaceful and needs your help! Wade’s forces are-“
Suddenly, a black lion avatar rushed in and took Vince down, along with canceling the seemingly urgent message link Vince had received. Adding insult to injury, the respawn prompt appeared with a sullen-looking lion at the top of the screen. Before either of them could process what happened, Daniel began loudly celebrating from across the catwalk.
“Down goes Vince! Man, I am like living lightning-“
He stopped in his tracks after seeing the equally irritated looks from Vince and Hunk. Even worse, Larmina picked up on the energy of the hanger and hovered over them before giving him an unimpressed look, too.
“What?”
---
Cold.
Everything was cold, but familiar enough to be ignored. Allura slowly lit the candles around the tomb of her father. She went down to the catacombs less frequently after Wade decommissioned Voltron, but with his comeback and the team’s resurfacing, it felt right to visit him again.
“The cycle never seems to end, father. Voltron is reborn stronger, but some new evil rises to match him. No matter how hard we fight for peace, something comes back to bite us!”
She closed her eyes and put her hands on his tomb, steadying herself physically and mentally before continuing,
“Now the boys’ home of Terra has become our enemy. I don’t know if Voltron alone can stop this insanity.”
A familiar feeling washed over her. Even through closed eyes, she could tell her markings were glowing, and she smiled. As a royal, she was born with a gift. Once she opened her now also glowing eyes, blue washed over her vision, including the figure of her father that stood before her.
“Throughout all the stories I have told you of him, one fact has always stayed the same. Voltron had never stood alone. Tell me, my dear, why is he now?”
---
“So you’re telling me, this gamer from Ariel actually came to us for help? Man, it feels good to be getting requests again!” Lance said, looking at the message log in front of him.
“Well, we have been back in the limelight for a while now, though definitely negatively.” Pidge said, “Maybe it’s time to remind the public eye what we’re really here to do.”
“If there’s a pocket of loyalists on Ariel, we have to go help them. If you want to build a pro-Voltron resistance, start with the people who never gave up hope.” Keith added,
Hunk looked back at the cadets behind him. The boys were still busy playing their game as Larmina watched.
“What about them?”
The cadets still hadn’t impressed Keith. He didn’t like that they had to take in children that were younger than the team when they first became the force. Not including Pidge. Even worse, Lance essentially kidnapped two out of three of them to get them at the castle in the first place.
“I think we should stick to what people know, original five this time so we can build on it later.”
“That’s fine with us!” Daniel replied, “We’ve, uh, got a project to finish, anyway.”
Vince facepalmed, “You are a master of subtlety, y’know that?”
Lance knew better than to pry, but as he repeated the plan, Allura split the nearest hologram panel and walked towards them.
“No, the cadets fly with us. If we’re going to work with the few loyalists we have left, they should know what or who we’re bringing from our side.”
A beat of silence,
“Well, I’m not arguing with her.” Lance said towards a tired-looking Keith.
---
“Everybody stay sharp.” Keith said as they landed on Ariel.
He wanted, no, needed this to go well, Voltron needed all the backup they could get. If that distress call was the universe finally giving the team good luck, then the situation they saw next was something Keith would’ve absolutely prayed against.
“What are those?” Daniel asked,
Pidge, knowing his game inside and out, had narrowed down the area where the player from Ariel was from. On the temple ahead of them, they saw what looked like lions made of stone, reminding the Terran’s of the team of Chinese lion statues found in front of temples, except they were glowing, and cyan. Not to mention they were alive and were the same blue that Vince had glowed before, with a ghostly transparency to them too. The team watched as the spirit-like creatures began biting at the temple, before one turned their attention to the lions and roared.
“I’m sorry, Wade’s attacking with what now??” Lance said,
“Not sure. These guys aren’t something I’ve seen before,” Hunk replied.
Pidge studied the scan of the beings in front of them that had just finished, “If Wade really did make these things, the scope of his technology is a lot more advanced than any of us have thought.”
“We’ll think about the implications of that later. Right now, we need to make some good will.” Keith said,
With a roar from Black, the team was off. With balanced sides, each lion had a ghost-lion-statue-thing to fight off, except for the fact that they did more damage to the team just by touching them than the team could do to them. Hunk rushed one of them, fully knocking them down, but the energy shocked both the yellow lion and Hunk.
“Feisty, huh?” Hunk said with a wide grin,
“Only you would be excited to get zapped,” Pidge teased, “Distance attacks only! Whatever that energy is, it’s conductive.”
The team tried their best to not hit the temple in front of them, though the ground didn’t get so much kindness, as they continued to aim at the now flying ghost lions. While they were distracted, the temple opened up its doors, releasing lion riders who charged the lions.
“Allura, Lance, on your tail!” Keith warned.
They whipped around to see the group of lion riders in thicker uniforms pointing spears and firearms at them. Not wanting to crush them, all the lions backed up to give them space, only for them to be followed and met with more aggression, the more space there was between the ghosts and the lions.
“Now that we know who’s side everyone is on-” Keith said,
He got ready to attack once more, but before he could, Hunk jumped in front of him and blocked his view.
“Keith, wait!” He said, “Those are Arielans! I don’t know why they’re protecting those things, though!”
One lion rider, who wore a headdress unlike the rest, walked closer to the lions. Scowling, he pointed his own spear at them.
“Have you not insulted us enough with your sacred theft and destructive machines? Now you send these mockeries of the Voltron lions, you have pushed the lion riders too far Sky Marshal Wade!”
Another beat of silence. That wasn’t part of the plan.
“Wait... us? Wade?” Hunk questioned,
“Ooh boy,” Pidge said nervously,
“Hey Keith, uh, I don’t think your goodwill mission is going so well!” Lance snarked nervously.
“My goodwill mission?!”
Allura butted in, “Let’s try this again gentlemen, shall we?”
After calming the boys down from their group hyperventilation session, Allura walked forward and bowed blue to the front most lion rider, with the boys bowing right behind her. She walked out of blue’s open jaw, hands up in surrender.
“Citizens of Ariel, we’re actually the good guys. I promise.”
A gasp rang out from the crowd in front of her.
“The daughter of Arus!” the lead lion rider exclaimed.
Just as the team had done for them, the lion riders bowed to the princess and the lions she held in her command.
---
The team walked through the large corridors of the temple, made of sandy colored stone, decorated with teal lighting through doorways, and lion memorabilia scattered everywhere.
“Well, Chief Khalon, my new friend, I’d like to apologize again for the confusion. We saw those creatures attacking your temple and assumed those were the threat you mentioned in your message.” Allura said,
He gave her a confused look, “Message? What message?”
The sound of kicked pebbles turned Khalon’s attentions towards a little boy hiding behind a nearby pillar, who quickly hid after being noticed. Khalon sighed,
“The problem is Wade and what he’s done to our planet. That is why you’ve gotten that message.”
Before he could explain, the temple shook, and the team spotted one creature flying by.
“That seriously doesn’t bother you?” Daniel asked as he pointed towards the opening.
“The Krelshi are peaceful creatures by nature. They are an integral part of Ariel’s spiritual harmony.” Khalon replied,
Another shake ran through the temple, but before Daniel could say anything else to Khalon, Lance cut in,
“Whatever you’re thinking about saying right now, take a deep breath, and then don’t.”
Daniel crossed his arms and huffed. Lance never let him do anything.
“As I mentioned, our problem is Wade. His machines have been drilling deep into our planet for Korite, a rare and powerful metal only found on Ariel. It’s driven the Krelshi into a frenzy.” Khalon said,
“Whatever help we can give, the Voltron Force is behind you and your lion riders.” Keith replied,
“Then help us kick Wade’s forces to the far corner of the galaxy.”
“Just the answer I was hoping for!” Hunk said,
Khalon led the team down the nearest corridor, but as the cadets tried to catch up, Allura turned to face them.
“Sorry, cadets, but your mission is here.”
The teens voiced their confusion all at once.
“I brought you here because my father guided me to. You’re needed to complete a separate task.”
“You saw King Alfor?” Vince asked nervously.
It hadn’t been that long since the last time Vince saw Alfor, though it was still weird to know he could see a dead guy. Yet knowing that he wasn’t the only one that had that ability reassured him. Allura smiled softly,
“Yes, and I sense I’m not the only one. You clearly have a gift for things beyond the ordinary Vince. Use it. My father spoke of you specifically joining the mission today. The task for all three of you is to find out why.”
Keith walked over to the group, “Allura, we’re moving out. Do whatever you can here cadets, and Vince, if Allura is putting her faith in your abilities, then the team is going to back you up, too.”
“Really?” Vince said, “Thank you for the vote of confidence, commander!”
“You’re part of the team, Vince. Just call me Keith.”
“Then while we’re at it, please drop my honorific too, Vince.” Allura added,
At the prospect of finally getting closer to his heroes, all he could do was excitedly nod.
“Follow those instincts.” Allura said before walking off with Keith.
Daniel huffed, “And us? What are we just supposed to be, Vince’s bodyguards or something?”
“Me? Maybe. You? Doubtful.” Larmina teased.
As Daniel glared at her, Vince shifted nervously on his feet,
“Ookay... anyone know where to go lookin’ for a mysterious higher purpose?”
A psst rang from the nearby corridor, revealing the same little boy that had earlier caught Khalon’s attention. Once he made eye contact with Vince, he waved them all over, pulling up the image of Vince’s green lion avatar.
“I’m guessing you’re our mystery gaming buddy?” Vince asked.
The boy took off the hood he had been wearing for the cadets to see he was a younger kid, at least 14, with dark skin and blue markings across his face. Daniel noted his bald-shaven head, pointed ears, and slightly fanged incisors. He hadn’t met many other species before, though so far they’ve been fairly humanoid.
“I am called Daigo,” He said, shaking Vince’s hand, “I knew it was you the moment you stepped foot inside the temple. I must tell you, with the way you play the game, you truly are special.”
Vince couldn’t ignore the breathless tone to Daigo’s voice as he said that, but he brushed it off as he was hiding from the chief earlier. Though, Daniel couldn’t take Vince getting to call his hero by his first name and getting somewhat of a fanboy at the same time.
“Hello?” Daniel singsonged, as he pulled in Vince with an arm wrapped around his shoulder, “Didn’t you see me totally frag Vince’s guy in the same game?”
Daigo glared at him, “I did. I am just surprised the Voltron Force would let a cheap shot artist like you train under them!”
Offended, Daniel gasped. Nobody’s ever actually said that to him before. He looked to Larmina for support, but all she did was give him a snarky smile.
“You’re not the only one who’s been wondering.” She said.
“Come, please. I must show you all the reason I asked the Voltron Force to come here.”
Daigo led the teens towards a stairwell behind them, leaving Daniel to pout for a second longer before he tagged along.
---
At the bottom of the stairs, a wide cavern filled with old bridges, waterfalls, and clear lakes at the bottom met the cadets. They could already feel it was a few degrees colder underground, but the amazing view overshadowed it.
“This is beautiful!” Larmina said, “Is it some sort of mine?”
“It is, but it’s so much more. The temples you saw above ground and the mines down here, they’re all connected. Physically and spiritually.” Daigo explained.
Vince got weirded out the more he looked,
“Does anyone else feel kinda... sparky?”
“Sparky?” Daniel asked, “Like when you touch something and get zapped?”
“Exactly!”
He got closer to a nearby wall and put his hand on it to test the theory, only to be right and get zapped.
“Ow! Yeah, this place is special alright.”
Daniel puffed up his chest and tried to look as cool as possible, “You were right to bring us here, kid. Don’t worry, the Voltron force has got this under control!”
Once he started patting Daigo’s bald head, it quickly erased the effect he thought he had. To which he immediately pushed off,
“This isn’t why I brought you here,” Daigo said with annoyance, “That is.”
Just as he finished, the mines began to quake and Daniel shouted in surprise as all four of them watched giant twin drills come through the wall far across from them. The yellow glow from the machinery behind them shone through the stone as it backed into the stone it had just carved through.
“Where is it going?” Daigo asked,
Larmina got a tired look on her face, “I have a good guess.”
---
The pilots and the escort of lion riders following Chief Khalon all peered into the enormous hole in the ground in front of them. It was almost as wide as their lions, and in green’s case, it was.
“Let me get this straight. Wade’s machines did this?” Lance asked, bewildered.
Hunk almost couldn’t wrap his head around it either, “With the size of this entry hole, those things have gotta be huge.”
“The size is only one concern,” Khalon began, “The powerful ore near Ariel’s core is nearly impossible to penetrate. Our ancients used to possess sacred smithing abilities, but that craft was lost to the ages.”
He kneeled to touch the earth below him, “Somehow, Wade found a way to mine our precious Korite. Whatever he’s brought, it’s no ordinary machine.”
Before any of the team could get a word in, the ground shook, immediately putting the lion riders on edge.
“They’re coming! Mount your lions!” Khalon ordered as he stood back up,
Keith couldn’t help but smile at the words, “Like the man said!”
As they ran, the ground behind them gave way to show six pairs of gigantic drills, followed by the bug-like machines that powered them. They almost looked like windup toys, with four thin legs that walked their boxy bodies towards the team, and two drill pairs on opposite sides seemingly for maximum efficiency when underground. If the lions didn’t know it was Wade before, the green screens in front of each robot would remind them of his other machines they’ve fought.
Though, the booming voice that echoed out of them would’ve tipped them off, too.
“Voltron Force? This planet is under the protection of the alliance! You are ordered to cease and surrender to my authority.”
For some of the team, the alliance used to be a group they used to look forward to working with. But now, they all had the same bitter taste in their mouth thinking of them and the madman that strong-handed his way to the top.
“You wanna tell him where he can stick his authority?” Lance said, videoing in to Keith’s comms.
“Yes, I do.”
“Guys wait! The drills!” Pidge cut in, “I think I know how they’re penetrating the Korite!”
Lance wasn’t in the mood for Pidge to stop him from giving Wade a well-deserved beating.
“Great, you’re still the smartest guy I know! Can we fight now?!”
“Those drills have the same weird thing that the droids had!”
“You mean the giant one from a month ago?” Keith said,
“Oh great, we got beat up by a tin can last time, and now we have to deal with electric can openers, too?” Lance said,
Immediately after his rhetorical question, a drill crashed into the red lion and almost made bigger holes into its body than the team had ever dealt with before. Nobody else could react before the other drills started causing them damage, too. Soon Hunk, Lance, and Keith were pinned down as Pidge and Allura tried to stop themselves from being tossed over by the surprisingly mobile machines.
After wriggling themselves free, everyone slowly backed into each other, hoping to cover any blind spots, but being outnumbered did nothing to help their situation.
“This doesn’t make sense!” Hunk said, “How did Wade find this big of a weakness in the lions while he only had five years to study Black?!”
Taking a chance, one drill charged the red lion once more before the black lion beat it back.
“We’re taking a beating out here! Let’s cut some holes into these guys already!” Lance yelled.
“Ready to form Voltron!” Keith shouted,
Wasting no time, the lions flew into the air to form the defender and his legendary sword that they hoped could do something against the drills. After hitting the ground once more, the team motioned for the lion riders to give them some space, knowing they couldn’t hear their warning from inside their cockpits.
The drills, still having a major weakness for the lions, had fought back as best they could, but with some effort, Voltron took down the drills one after the other. Enter and exit wounds of the sword were in many of the bots, others simply torn apart from the force the team had to exert to do some damage at all.
The lion riders cheered as they saw the living legend. They never stopped believing Voltron, and he repaid their faith in the best way he could. Even though the team couldn’t hear it, they watched their celebration as the remaining drills retreated.
“Now who’s good will mission is working?” Keith said
He was only met with Lance rolling his eyes on the other side of their video comms.
Nobody noticed as the power level dipped more than usual.
----
The shaking had finally stopped. Down in the caverns as the cadets were exploring, they had felt the shakes from the fight on the surface, knowing it was the drills causing the team so much trouble.
“We have to go help them!” Daniel said,
“What’s the fastest way to the surface?” Larmina asked,
Vince grabbed Larmina’s arm before she could run off as she was preparing to do as she asked,
“Guys wait! I’m worried about them too but Allura gave us our own mission, remember?”
Vince motioned at the two to follow him as he headed further into the cavern, letting Daniel and Larmina decide if they even should. Daniel only scrunched his face in another pout as he watched his friend lead the way.
“You must learn to trust Vince. You can just tell he’s special.” Daigo said, running to catch up with him.
Larmina snorted, “Cute kid, I like him.”
The two cadets caught up to Vince and Daigo as they stopped at an area where, carved into the walls from floor to ceiling, was the ancient language of the Arielans. Daniel stood next to Vince, seeing if he could get anything out of it that Vince might be getting.
“It’s weird... I feel almost stronger down here,” Vince said,
Daniel couldn’t help but roll his eyes. They may be part of a team of heroes now but superheroes didn’t actually exist, and Daniel wasn’t too happy about seeing Vince try to act like one. Instead, he moved over to Larmina as she intently read the walls, eyebrows furrowed in concentration,
“You can actually read this stuff?” he asked,
“Only some of it,” she said, “I’ve studied a handful of different ancient languages-“
She stopped as she looked towards Daniel and only saw a skeptical expression from him.
“It’s from my royal studies. It’s comprehensive.”
She focused back on the wall in front of her with her arms crossed as Vince walked up to her opposite side, slightly tapping her to get her attention.
“What can you make out?” he asked,
“It’s something about the link between lion and man. I’m not entirely sure, but I think there’s something about Voltron here too. Does that make sense, Daigo?”
“We’ve always been loyal to Voltron on Ariel, but I know nothing about any connection with our ancients,” he said.
As they talked, Vince suddenly felt a pull towards the wall Larmina was studying earlier. Actually, it was a specific point Vince couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of, almost like it was saying to poke it....
The second Vince touched the wall, his vision had turned cyan again. This time, he could even see the color glowing around him. Like before, he had no control, mindlessly turning around and pushing past Larmina and a worried Daniel as he traced a glowing blue line with his finger still touching the wall.
“Vince?” Daniel said,
He knew Vince wouldn’t answer and as he rounded the corner, all they could do was to follow and see what Vince would find ahead. There were multiple twists and turns before Vince finally let go of the wall, but he didn’t stop until he reached the wall ahead of him.
“What?” Daniel asked,
Vince finally snapped out of his trance,
“I... I don’t know, that’s all I’ve got.”
As he looked at Daniel with a soft apologetic expression, Daniel felt his blood boil,
“Ugh! A dead end?! Dude, there has to be more than this!”
“Trust Vince’s instincts! It will come to him!” Daigo said,
“Of course I trust him!” Daniel yelled, “But suddenly he’s on this pedestal for something he can’t even control! He’s not the only one training with the force to make something of themselves!”
Before he could say any more, Larmina wrapped her arm around his throat and threw him onto his back behind her, before turning back to the awe-struck boys.
“He doesn’t speak for all of us. Excuse us for a moment.” She said sweetly,
Daniel tried to get back up before she could grab him again, but she forcefully pulled him up by the collar to his feet and pushed him to walk in front of her as he protested. After they reached what Larmina judged as a safe distance away from the others, she let go of Daniel as he turned around to glare at her.
“Okay, what exactly is the problem here?” she asked,
“Nothing!”
Larmina punched his shoulder, earning an ow,
“Stupid answer. Try again.”
Daniel sighed, “You won’t understand, you can’t really. Look Vince has some kind of destiny here... it’s like he’s been with the force before it was a thing and with how Keith and the princess treated him earlier, it’s just like you now! You’re not directly related to the princess, but she took you in, and now you’re like the kid sister to every pilot. They’d never leave either of you behind, but where does that leave me? I don’t have a destiny. I wasn’t born into it. I’m just some punk kid who got lucky and is pushing it way too far with all the issues I cause!”
Daniel turned away from her as he finished. That was enough gut spilling for him for today. Larmina lightly placed a hand on his shoulder,
“You know they chose you for a reason,”
“Larmina! Other one! Come quickly!” Daigo shouted,
Effectively cutting their conversation short, and giving Daniel a great excuse to ignore his own feelings, they ran over to Vince, who started glowing at his eyes once again.
“Vince?” Larmina asked, “Are you alright?”
She poked his shoulder to test if he was in the same trance as before, but this time she earned a response from a very in-control Vince,
“It’s... a door!”
---
Wade had returned with reinforcements but before long the same retreat had happened again, leaving only a handful of drills still standing and trying to run from the slashes of the blazing sword.
“Looks like we’ve got Wade running scared!” Lance said,
Pidge got a wicked grin on his face, “And I know something that’ll make it shitless for him!”
“You just read my mind, little buddy!” Hunk said,
“Take the lead, big guy,” Keith said, laughing,
“Sweet! Activate... uhhh, Hunk... head!”
Hunk didn’t think he’d ever be used to forming the head, but he had to admit it was super fun. The formation was just the same as the team had done for so many years, but they felt the difference. Mostly because of the difference in direction some of them were heading instead of what they were used to.
“Hunk... head?” Allura asked,
“Yeah...” Hunk said, “thing’s a work in progress.”
Voltron landed with a heavier thud than before, immediately giving the team a physical reminder that it was finally game time again.
“Let’s scrap these things!” Hunk said, “Rock Wrecking Maces!”
Their weapons didn’t actually come online through voice command, but Hunk felt pretty good yelling out his personal weapon name and having the arms of Voltron form it for him. With no time wasted, Voltron swung its giant wrecking maces into every drill they saw, and more were still coming.
“Hail the return of Voltron! Defender of the Universe!” Chief Khalon shouted,
His group of lion riders cheered with him, moving closer to Voltron, knowing the team would see their support and could maybe even hear it. Though, as Hunk watched, his panels started flashing red, and the one that held Voltron’s energy levels popped up in front of him. Immediately he saw the already low energy significantly drop, and with it, so did Voltron.
“Hunk, what’s going on?!” Keith asked,
Voltron was down on one knee, only able to hold himself up while hunched over with the help of his arm.
“The power levels dropped to near zero! This shouldn’t be happening. We had a full charge!”
“It’s the center shift!” Pidge shouted, “It must take more energy than the black center does, but we probably burned more than we thought because of the weakness Wade’s exploiting!”
“Science it up later, Pidge! We’ve got more of a now problem,” Lance said,
The last of the reinforcements finally arrived for the drills, but this time, they weren’t the same. Instead, these bots had no drills on their back, but metal strips that looked like clasps. The team could only watch as the remaining drills walked into each other, two clasping at the back and two more stacking on top of it to make an even bigger robot.
“Scramble into the lions!” Keith shouted, “We’re nothing but one big target this way!”
Proving his point, the now combined drill mech shot out some of its drills, missing the top half of Voltron but actually doing some damage to blue lion. As quickly as they could, they split back into five and slowly backed away from the giant drill bot that walked ever closer to them.
“Retreating?! Voltron is the greatest defender, is it not? What purpose does splitting into the lions serve!” Khalon yelled,
“Voltron’s time is past lion riders! The alliance has no use for relics, nor do you. The universe will get used to a future without Voltron, and I’m making your planet a big part of that future!” Wade answered,
“I’m not sure I want to hear the details of that future.” Allura said to herself,
As if they agreed with her, the five Krelshi they fought before appeared from the ground and began attacking the drill tower. Surprising even the lion riders, who had firmly believed they were peaceful creatures and had no evidence to show otherwise.
“What got into them?” Lance asked,
---
Vince walked closer to the cyan outlined door in front of him,
“The closer I get, the stronger it feels. It’s like a pull telling me to get us inside, but how?”
As he looked back to Daniel and Larmina for help, the door slid open, revealing a pair of large, glowing cyan eyes. Unprepared, the eyes revealed themselves to be from a sixth Krelshi who immediately tackled Vince. There was nothing else for him to do or be other than overwhelmed, quickly fainting from the fear of the giant lion spirit on top of him.
Taking the opportunity, the Krelshi scoop him up in his mouth and ran back through the door.
“Vince!” Daniel called,
Enough was enough with those things, Daniel thought. He brought out his claws and chased after his best friend and the apparition that grabbed him.
---
The lion riders had become increasingly worried as they saw the Krelshi getting thrown around and hit by Wade’s triple tiered drill. As soon as they could, Khalon mobilized them to push them back.
“Protect the Krelshi! Fight like lions! No matter the cost!” he yelled,
Those with spears and close-range weapons backed the Krelshi away from the machine, and those with firearms and ranged-weapons shot at the drill to distract it. Many, including Khalon, ran up anyway, giving their team time to make some damage but getting caught in the fractured ground, that the drills dug in front of them to stop their attack.
“We have to help them!” Allura said,
“I’m trying to reroute power as best I can!” Pidge said, “But even at full power, the lions were no match for Wade’s drills.”
“We may not survive this fight, but if we turn our backs on one of the few planets that stood by us these past few years, Voltron has no right to come back online in the first place!” Keith said,
A beat of silence,
“well, yeah,” Pidge said, “I just didn’t want anyone getting their hopes up!”
Without another word, the team took off, tackling the tiered drill one by one to get Wade’s focus away from the Krelshi and the lion riders. They watched in astonishment, seeing the team put everything on the line for their planet, their way of life, and them. Now, bigger than all the lions, the drill easily tossed them off one by one, making as much damage as it could.
---
The tunnels shook again as the Krelshi had run back out into the open after seeing Daniel swiftly catch up to it, only for Daniel to launch himself at its head once it stopped.
“Let! Him! Go!”
Daniel punched with every word he said, only to be shaken off as if he were a flea. Larmina quickly ran up after him, staff in hand, and swung at the Krelshi’s face, hoping she’d be close enough to catch Vince if he dropped.
“No! The Krelshi would never harm him! It’s not its fault!” Daigo shouted,
Brushing himself off, Daniel ran back into the fight, jumping with a slight boost in his claws to scratch at the Krelshi’s face again. This time it worked, and it tossed Vince onto the ground with a thud, thoroughly waking him up.
“Vince!” Daigo said, running to him.
Daniel rushed to his knees as he helped Vince to sit up.
“You okay, buddy?” Daniel asked,
“Legs feel like they’re burning,” Vince hissed.
He tried to stand back up, but only with support from Daigo and Daniel could he actually make it to his feet. Larmina backed out of the fight and ran back to the boys.
“Easy,” Larmina said, “Don’t try to walk yet.”
“Have to,” Vince grunted, “We need to get through that door!”
The Krelshi had moved to guard the still open door, making it obvious it wasn’t going down without a fight.
“We can take it,” Daniel said,
“Definitely,” Larmina answered.
Suddenly, Daigo ran in between the Krelshi and the cadets,
“No! You don’t understand these creatures!”
As if angered, the Krelshi closed the distance between him and Daigo and raised a paw up high, ready to crush the now fearful looking child. Before it could slam its paw down and crush his defender, Daniel quickly tackled Daigo out of harm’s way and ran back to the group.
“Kid,” he said, “I’m pretty sure you don’t understand it right now either!”
Larmina intercepted the now closer Krelshi, jabbing at its face once more to get it to back up and to keep its eyes on her.
“Get Vince where he needs to go! I got this!”
With no time to lose, Daniel scooped up the still weak Vince into his arms and ran to the door. As soon as they were deep enough, Daniel cautiously put him down.
“Okay, we’re here. Now what kind of here is this? It looks like a blacksmith.”
“Seems like it. It’s probably a forge for when the metal vein for the mine was strongest.”
Vince still had his arm around Daniel’s shoulder for support as they walked towards the large orange glowing crystal in front of them. It reminded them of Daniel’s claws. Vince stared at the crystal, only to hear Daniel sigh.
“Well, you’ve poked every other thing in this place,” he teased, “I know you’re dying to poke the crystal too.”
Vince gave him a playful glare before looking at his hand nervously, then finally reaching out and placing his palm on the crystal. Once he did, his body glowed once more. The walls reacted with him, showing glowing cyan veins spreading across the cavern, leaving the group underground in awe.
---
Scraped and shredded, the lions stood against the drill, which was a lot less damaged than the lions were. Soon it was stalking towards them once more, as they could only steel themselves to prepare another beating.
“You backed the wrong team, lion riders!” Wade said,
Suddenly, pillars of cyan light burst through the ground, making Wade reel back in the hopes of not getting hit, but in the process trapping his machine against them. Once they formed a ring, the drills got hot, turning red, then orange, then a yellow before the metal dripped off its ends and disarmed it.
“Umm, what just happened?” Hunk asked,
“Whatever it is, it’s giving us full power!” Pidge said,
After the beams faded away, it left the bot malfunctioning. Not letting this chance go by, Keith led the charge once more as the team tore apart what remained of Wade’s weapon.
“Sky Marshal Wade!” Khalon shouted, “I am satisfied with our choice!”
---
Gasping, Vince pulled his hand away from the crystal, and let himself be adjusted as he leaned heavily on Daniel for support once more.
“You just saved the entire planet, didn’t you?” Daniel asked,
“Probably, but only because right-hand man helped me.”
“Right-hand man, huh? When we’re both officially pilots, you’re gonna be my right-hand man, too! Even if you don’t end up in red!”
Vince finally eased up on Daniel and began walking without support. As they both neared the exit, Daniel spoke up again,
“Hey... I’m sorry I freaked out like that, man. You’re not exactly understanding all of this either”
“I forgive you. This magical destiny freaks me out, but you’re here with me, right? I think I can take it if we stick together”
Feeling the stomps of the Krelshi ahead, they looked out and saw it approaching them. It stamped its paw in front of Vince and growled, surprising him, but then giving it an annoyed look.
“We’re leaving”
Vince walked towards it as it stepped away to give him and Daniel room, walking back in after they left.
“Did you understand the Krelshi just now?” Daniel asked,
“Yeah, it said I wasn’t ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“You know, I have a standard policy about not asking giant electro ghost lions’ stupid questions,” Vince said.
They finally reached the two outside, Larmina visibly more worried than Daigo.
“Everybody good?” She asked,
“Yeah,” Daniel said, “You guys good too? How are you doing after that attack, Daigo?”
“I’m fine,” He said, “and you were right, I don’t understand everything that is happening currently. Though I know I was unfair in my judgement of you. Thank you for saving me.”
“Ha, I get that a lot.”
“May I make it up to you? Earlier, Larmina asked me which was the fastest way to the surface.”
---
Riding through the newly dug tunnels from Wade’s drills, the cadets and Daigo rode back up to the surface on the backs of some of the lion rider’s lions, whooping as they finally made it outside.
The team was out of their lions, talking once more with Chief Khalon as they watched the cadets walk over to the Krelshi.
“We cannot thank you enough for restoring peace to our planet,” Khalon said.
“Well, we’re not really sure what happened, but uh-“
Before Pidge could continue talking, Lance smacked his arm over his chest and earned a menacing look from Pidge.
“But we’re happy to take the good publicity! Go Voltron!” Lance said,
One of the Krelshi’s low bellowing catches their attention, seeing Vince as he pet it and watched them all return underground through the tunnels he just came from.
“It seems the Voltron Force has some very special cubs among them,” Khalon said,
“It seems we do,” Allura said, “I just hope we’re doing right by whatever destiny lies ahead.”
She watched as Vince continued to talk to his friends around him, not knowing of the conversation and anxiety the princess was having.
“With how the Krelshi interacted with him, I assure you, you are all on the right path. He is only getting stronger with all of you by his side.” Khalon told her,
The four teens walked over to join the main group. Larmina pulled Daniel back slightly to catch his attention.
“You were insane to jump headfirst into danger to save Vince like that, but I also think you did the right thing, anyway.”
“I couldn’t just leave him there,” Daniel said, “there’s never a good reason to do a friend dirty like that.”
“And that’s why you’re here.”
“Huh?”
“Earlier, you were right. Vince has a destiny. I was basically born into this, but you? The team saw the choices you made and knew that they were right, even if you had to be punished for them. You’re here because you earn it every day.”
It was too sappy for Larmina, so she elbowed Daniel in the arm playfully and gave him a genuine smile he wasn’t so sure he’d seen from her before. He smiled back before tripping her and running away as she started a chase with Vince and Daigo in tow towards the team.
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