(From Ashes) Chapter 15

Pride: From Ashes
            Chapter 15
            Pieces of the Puzzle

The silence only lasted a few seconds.

Sven drew a long, steadying breath as the surge of fire faded, the glow in his eyes only slowly draining away. That had been… intense. What the hell was that? "Fuck."

"That was weird." Pidge shook off the warmth, eyes darting between a very shaken-looking navigator and a very confused-looking gunner. After a moment's thought he stepped back to get out of Daniel's way, fully expecting a secondary eruption, because magic lion things always went over so well with him.

But Daniel was just staring blankly at them. "Uhh… you guys felt that, too?"

"I felt something…?"

Sven made a face. "Felt something? No, I was just set on fire."

Pidge redirected his attention immediately, looking him up and down and frowning. "You look fine."

Sigh. "Thank you, Pidge." He should've expected that.

Feeling Green's amusement, the ninja quickly started to put things together in his head. Fire? Hunk had mentioned Lance going to the volcano. Their eyes had glowed… You knew that was coming, didn't you? She purred, and he scowled. That's not an answer!

Daniel was still not running anywhere. Not yet. In fact he was pretty much dead still, with every thought that had been in his head a few moments before now entirely forgotten.

He'd felt warmth. He hadn't just been imagining it, he'd felt it before they said anything—he just hadn't really had time to wonder about it before the glowy eyes started up. And now he was wondering. "Why did I feel something?" It didn't make any sense. At all. If it had been some weird lion thing…

…And clearly it had been some weird lion thing…

But they all have pilots already. Didn't they? He quickly ran through it in his mind—five lions, five of his teammates, each one accounted for. Warmth meant Lance's, surely. He'd been searching a volcano.

Wait.

His thoughts were racing between touchpoints. Warmth—he usually got that from his salalizards. The same salalizards they'd found at the volcano. The ones Lance had said belonged to the volcano lion.

"…Those little rats." He raised his head and took a deep breath. "I gotta go." And with that he calmly—quickly, but calmly—took off for the Falcon's nearest boarding ramp.

"I… what?" Sven had been caught up in trying to figure out the implications of being spiritually set on fire, though he didn't really think Daniel's departure would have made sense even if he'd been paying attention.

Pidge confirmed it. "Komora sa kye?"

"If that's Baltan for 'what the hell' I concur."

"That's exactly what it means."

Nodding, Sven focused on Blue's presence in his mind. Is there something you should be telling me? She just gave a low, knowing growl, and he sighed. Should've expected that, too. "Is your lion being any more forthcoming about what that meant than mine?"

"Of course she's not, why would—"

"DUDES!"

Both spun around to see their bomb tech approaching, a pair of what looked like dirt-covered fuel scoops slung over one shoulder. "Hunk," Sven acknowledged, fully expecting that things were about to get even more confusing.

Vince poked his head out from behind the big guy and waved; Pidge waved back, cursing under his breath as his eyes glowed briefly again. Though in Vince's current mood, he wasn't even going to object to that. Freaky eye glowing was better than ghosts.

Hunk's eyes glowed too, but he barely even stopped to take notice. "Yo, Viking, we gotta—" Then he paused a moment, looking at Pidge. Should he…? "I mean, uh—" No, ninja had just bonded, the really weird stuff had taken a couple days. "Look I need to ask you some questions, okay?" Without even missing a beat, he waved to Pidge, grabbed Sven's arm, and started to drag him off.

"Fuck," Sven sputtered, "you can't even let me walk like a…" He trailed off, realizing he'd been about to say normal person, and as if on cue his eyes glowed.

He let Hunk drag him.

Watching them go, Pidge took a moment to try to get his thoughts in order, which wasn't happening. So he exhaled slowly, then looked at Vince. "You want to yell or run around like a maniac or something?" It seemed to be the theme here.

Looking at his hands—there was sand under his fingernails, though that was hardly the main problem—Vince shook his head. "I want a shower."

Oh. "I don't think we have water." They'd really been too busy to worry much about showers since the ship's tanks had been emptied.

"…Fuzzmuffins."

It probably wasn't the time to ask about weird Earthling curses, but Pidge couldn't quite take it anymore. "What does that even mean?"

"Um… uh…" Vince frowned, trying to think through it, and came to his answer quickly. "I don't wanna know what it means. It's a Hunk thing."

"Oh." That did explain everything. His eyes glowed again before he could say so. "Jalekya…"

"At least you don't have ghosts?" Vince offered, then paused again. Technically he didn't know that. "Or uh, do you? Hunk does now. Because of his lion."

Pidge blinked. "I have not had that yet, and I'd better not. I have enough to worry about with the monster wolves, kir sa tye?"

"You are more right than you know," Green purred.

…Excuse me?

No answer. Of course.

Vince noted that Pidge had talking-to-lion face, and withheld comment until the ninja rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Monster wolves?" He had mentioned those, hadn't he? "Remind me to skip ever getting a tour of the forest."

"Good call," Pidge snorted; he didn't think tours were really a thing. "Anyway, we're not that far from the lake, we could probably drag the emergency tank over?" He wasn't sure that would be enough water for much of a shower, but the backup filtration tank they'd been using for drinking water certainly wasn't.

The thought of dragging a water tank all the way to the lake and back was not appealing, but the thought of not doing it was even worse. Vince sighed. "Yeah, okay. I really do need that shower… I had to bury Drules."

One of the ninja's eyebrows went up in a way that would've made Sven proud. "Why." Without waiting for an answer—he was pretty sure he'd get one anyway—he headed for the Falcon and its water tank access and started to hack the lock.

Vince followed. "Saw their ghosts in the desert. Hunk's lion told him if we buried their bones they'd find peace. It seemed better than not burying them, but ugh."

Thoughts drifting back to the castle tour, Pidge got a loud beep of protest from the lock and cursed under his breath. Focus. "I have questions," he muttered as he started the process over. "I am not going to ask them." He was certain he'd only regret it if he did.

"Uh, thank you for that." Vince didn't think it had really been for his sake, but his moms had raised him to be a gentleman. "I have a few too. Hunk had a lot, he shouted them."

"That sounds like him." The lock beeped and the access hatch opened; the emergency tank immediately rolled down a track on some wheel-like skids, and he jumped away with an indignant yelp.

Vince yelped twice as loud and came twice as close to getting run over, and he glared at the ninja as the tank settled in the grass. "I have already HAD A DAY!"

"Situational awareness doesn't care about your day, mechka!" That only got him glared at even harder, and he decided to worry about the tank. He gave it a tentative test push; to his surprise it moved pretty easily. "This won't be so bad. Do you want water, or do you want to glare at me?"

Green Lion was laughing. She was being pointedly ignored.

"I want water." That wasn't even a question. "I need to wash Drule ghosts off of me."

"Good priorities." They headed for the lake, and after a few minutes of awkward silence Pidge reminded himself he was meant to be looking after Vince. "So uh… how are you doing? Other than ghosts."

Other than ghosts. Right. There were other things happening around here. "Um, alright really, I think. I mean, trying to make the best of all the weirdness, you know? How are you doing? You've got the glowy eye and lion situation?"

"It's insufferable," the ninja snorted. Whether he was talking about the eye glow or the lion, even he wasn't entirely sure—though he felt like it was at least leaning towards the eye glow side of the equation, which got him another small purr from the lion in his head. Don't tempt me! She chuckled, and he sighed. In a broader sense the question couldn't be brushed off so easily. "…I'm not sure how I'm doing. It's all a bit much."

A bit much! "Yeah that's probably about how I am too, honestly. This is all too impossible."

"It's clearly not impossible."

Groan. "Well, yeah, but a month or two ago it was!"

That was not how possibility worked, Pidge was certain. But he took the point. "I think we had a failure of imagination."

"I've never really been known for my imagination," Vince admitted with a shrug. If he had been, maybe he'd have come up with a better explanation of his sparking back at the Academy and not ended up here at all.

That thought wasn't nearly as attractive as he might have expected. Through all the what?! that was happening on Arus, he was still holding out some hope for an answer or two of his own. And maybe hope was somewhere close to imagination, now that he thought about it…

"I do like the person who's doing the wiring to not just be making things up," Pidge said with a shrug of his own.

Vince laughed. "Yeah, same." That at least was fair. "Come on. Right now I'm just imagining how much I want that shower."

"Keep up, then."

Exchanging weak but genuine grins, they picked up the pace.

*****

Everything was red. Inside and out Lance felt like fire, Red's voice echoing in his bones. And he felt the names.

Knight of the Flame.

Paladin of Justice.

Firestriker.

He took a few controlled breaths as the fire started to ebb away, and the world around him turned a bit less red. Just a bit. After all, he was standing by a mechanical red lion in a lava-filled volcano. His life was weird, but maybe it was time to call that his new normal?

His gaze landed on the lion's face and he looked into his penetrating eyes—could robots do that? Did Red seem more alive now that they'd bonded? Fuck. Bonded. It reminded him this was no normal robot. This was a magical being… what other words could explain it?

"You have questions." The lion wasn't asking. Just as well, as his brain whirred with about a billion.

Knight of the Flame? What?

Paladin of Justice? Even more what.

Firestriker? Fucking awesome, but why?

He felt spent from the nightmares, the emotional conversation, his grief and his sense of wanting payback. Why did all that matter to his and Red's connection?

But despite all of that, only one question actually found its way out of his mouth, and it had little to do with anything else. Because as he took in the huge lion and touched that metal that made heat curl around him, he remembered something vitally important.

Red Lion was a ship.

"Can we fly? Can I fly you? How do—I mean—I want to fly you!"

The lion chuckled.

"Is that a yes?" He felt like a kid again, and memories of asking his father the same thing rolled through him. It hit the raw nerve of loss again, but he was with his lion now and he felt fire; it was under his skin, inside of him, and it promised him payback. Fuck, it was a lot. And what better way to help him process than flight? "I need to figure out how you fly."

Red offered a sense of apology. "It is complicated, Firestriker."

"Shit, that name is fucking badass." He grinned, feeling smug for a moment, but shook that off. "What do you mean it's complicated? Why?"

Red chuckled again. "The name is who you are, cub. As for flight, the first step is finding my key."

Lance nodded, remembering Hunk mentioning a snake guarding his. And hadn't Sven bitched about having to do more swimming? "I don't have to learn to dive into lava, do I?"

"No…" The lion seemed to sigh heavily, struggling for words. "I think I remember… the salamanders prevented its destruction. But it was lost."

"Lost?"

"Now that you are my Bonded, you'll be able to sense its location. I believe it is within the Arusian castle."

"The castle?" Lance turned to look in the direction of the tunnel, but he got distracted by the fact that he was inside a volcano. Lava and heat blazed in every direction and it was…

…It was something that wasn't meant to be seen by human eyes, not like this, not by standing in it. And he felt the heat, he could see it shimmering in the air, but it just felt like a hot summer day and that was impossible.

"How?" he asked again.

"I could not say."

"Would you if you could?"

Yet again the lion chuckled. "We'll never know." Lance snorted. "My key, Firestriker. You must find it, then find your Pride once more."

"Pride?" Lance questioned before his own mind answered it. "The team?"

"The Pride."

Lance nodded. He felt—he wasn't sure how to express it, but there were tears in his eyes as he inhaled the den's warmth. He felt spent and yet more alive than he had in a long time, and he closed his eyes again just to feel it.

"Yes, focus, Firestriker."

The key. He nodded again and looked up. "I'd say see ya, but you'll be with me the whole time, won't you?" He blinked at his own words; that was both heartening and a little freaky when he phrased it like that.

Red gave an amused snort.

With that Lance headed out of the volcano, back into the tunnels… but not without one last glance over his shoulder to take in the awesome view of his lion's den.

His lion.

*****

There were places the castle tour had not gone. Mostly because they were in ruins and not very useful… or at least one of the two. 'Not very useful' was the one that applied to the parade balcony. But Larmina found herself heading there again now, with Romelle trailing behind. They needed to talk—they both knew that. Auntie was busy worrying about the big metal lions, and those probably should be a priority. But Larmina was still just on the edges of that, and she had other things to ask.

Being able to speak Arusian now was a relief, at least. "We've cleared the castle out as much as possible, but there's some artwork that doesn't exactly move."

"Oh." Romelle nodded slowly. "I'd like to see it?" That didn't feel like the correct answer, but she wasn't sure where this was going and felt the need to say something. And it wasn't inaccurate, in any case.

"Yeah, I'll bet. And I want some answers about it." Stepping through the crumbling doorway, she turned to face the stone reliefs she'd been contemplating when the offworlders arrived. It felt like that might have been significant, now… or maybe she was just assigning symbolism to things to try to make them make sense. "I don't really think you're going to have the answers, but we'll see."

Why were Arusians always wanting answers from her? It was the Polluxian condition, Romelle supposed. She stepped up beside Larmina and studied the weathered stones. "Wow…" The carvings were magnificent. A dozen stone panels depicting great, noble beasts… lions. One looked more worn than the others, perhaps older, and she gingerly ran her fingers over the five lions arrayed there. "…Alright. What do you want to know?"

Larmina indicated a different panel; several lions bowing before a grand, armored figure. "You said the lions were 'hidden'."

"I did. That's the tale that was passed down on Pollux." More or less. How exactly Voltron and the lions fit together was still unclear, but… she studied the panel and tilted her head. "Who is that the lions are bowing to?"

"That's the Radiant Warrior. According to what was passed down here… well, okay, let's start at the beginning." Larmina took a long breath. She really hadn't paid enough attention to her history tutor for this. "In ancient times Arus followed the Golden Gods, until a few thousand years ago when they were deposed by the Usurpers. When the Golden Gods took power back, they were going to punish the Arusians for their disloyalty, but the lions of the plains volunteered to be sacrificed instead." She nodded again to the panel. "Doesn't look so depressing there, huh?"

"No, it doesn't." Romelle touched the leader of the bowing lions; she couldn't say why, touching the stone wasn't giving her any further insight. At least it helped her focus her thoughts. "Very curious. But noble."

"Yeah. It's noble. But obviously we still have lions, and you said they were hidden. Not sacrificed." Or are they the same thing?

Maybe she had to go into the nuances of this after all, Romelle decided. She didn't know what was or wasn't important. "Technically, Voltron was hidden. A robotic knight in the form of a lion, according to my people—but the robotic lions you have here are related to it somehow. It didn't belong to Arus, but Arus chose to hide it away from the Galra."

Voltron. Larmina thought she might have heard Allura muttering about that recently, but couldn't be sure. The other unknown word there was actually more interesting. "What's a Galra?"

…What is a Galra? Romelle realized with a start that she didn't actually know. Not really. Pollux remembered them as an indomitable threat to be feared, but she didn't recall ever hearing much in the way of detail.

"Based on my lessons, I believe they must be a strong empire. Similar to the Drules, but not the same." The Earthlings had thought they were pirates; surely they couldn't be actively conquering worlds if the Alliance knew no more than that. Surely the old tales would have said something about their conquests. "They felt that Voltron was rightfully theirs, and they would stop at nothing to get it… my ancestors felt that it was far too dangerous to try to keep it from them, that at the least it shouldn't be hidden here. That belief is why they fled into exile."

Larmina listened carefully, putting things together, and brightened. "So—they're aliens?"

"Yes." Romelle allowed herself a brief grin; the subject matter didn't merit it, but Larmina seemed pleased with the information. That was a good sign.

Maybe 'pleased' wasn't the word she'd have used, but it was somewhere close. It makes sense! Kind of. Sort of. A little. "When the Golden Gods reclaimed their place… that was the first time Arus was invaded by aliens."

Romelle's eyes widened. "Really? Who?"

"We don't know. I mean, I didn't like history much but I don't remember ever hearing a name, that wasn't the point. The point was that we couldn't stop them, and the Usurpers couldn't stop them. But they were chased away by the Golden Gods breaking free of their prisons."

Things were starting to come together, at least in broad strokes. What was the truth, and what was myth or metaphor? That she had no way of knowing. "That sounds deeply disturbing," she murmured. "Terrifying, even."

"There's a reason we don't tend to question our gods," Larmina said quietly. "The war speaks for itself. Or at least we thought it did."

Looking at the panel with the Radiant Warrior again, Romelle grimaced in sympathy. "At least you were saved?" she offered hesitantly; what did one say to that?

"Yeah, we were. Until the next alien invasion came along."

…There was that. "Gods work in mysterious ways," she murmured. As if she were any expert, but… she'd had moments, hadn't she? "And so do many other things, if all the muttering from the Earthlings about wanting answers is to be believed."

Snort. "Yeah, I'll bet they do." She quickly tried to bite it back—scorning the offworlders was really as much reflex as anything anymore. She'd just given them a perfectly civil tour of the castle, for the Goldens' sake. But could she really be blamed for it?

Not by Romelle. That was for certain. But she felt the need to stick up for her team, too. "They do mean well. They want to help you save yourselves and your planet. Surely they aren't so bad, even if they are offworlders?"

"Yeah, I know, I know." Larmina sighed. "I'm getting used to them. At least a couple of them… and you, I guess." Romelle blushed a little at that. "But they're weird, and everything around here is a mess because of the bad kind of offworlders, so. You'll understand if I'm not really into the whole trust thing."

Truthfully, that hadn't started with the invaders, but she saw no reason to bring that up.

Trust wasn't something Romelle found particularly easy these days, either. "I understand."

…She probably did. A little bit. "I guess if I wanted to ask someone how the new batch of offworlders is different from the old one, you would be the right person, huh?"

"They are vastly different," Romelle agreed, and got a look in response. "What?"

"Now you're talking without saying anything, too." Larmina crossed her arms and glowered. "You should be a lot more flattered than you are that I'm actually trying to have a conversation with you, you know." She said it with a smirk, but it wasn't entirely a joke… because it wasn't entirely wrong.

Romelle was briefly taken aback, but then again… from what she'd seen of Lady Larmina so far, it did ring rather true. "I could tell you much more than you want to know about Drule culture," she said finally, "and how not one of these aliens would fit in with them at all. But in the end, they want to help you. The Drules want to own you." And all of us. "I would call that vastly different, yes?"

The young Arusian blinked. "I mean. When you put it like that…"

Allowing herself another small smile, Romelle pulled her jacket a little closer. The jacket that wasn't originally hers. "I would have taken any chance to get away from Korrinoth," she murmured. "But these… offworlders, aliens… these people went above and beyond for me. Bizarre as they seem, they are honorable. They're worth believing in."

Larmina considered that. Was the word of an estranged half-Arusian princess more or less convincing than the word of a bunch of robotic cats?

Well, you've only spoken to one of those options yourself.

"I'll think on it," she said finally, nodding. "I'm not promising anything else."

Now it was Romelle's turn to blink in confusion. "That's all anyone can ask, I think." She wasn't sure she'd actually been expecting to break through with that. Or with anything, to be honest.

But she wasn't going to complain if it worked.

*****

Bag of supplies slung over one shoulder, sword over the other, Keith made his way to the outskirts of the castle grounds. He was already watching the distant peaks, less because he expected to learn anything new, more to prepare himself for the journey ahead. Discipline and calm were needed now.

For a moment he thought of the tunnels again. The mountains looked so daunting… but that was precisely why he had to challenge them. This is the right way.

Thunder Ridge. That was what Allura had called the ridge to the north, covered in constant storms. Or at least, almost constant. For some reason, today of all days, it was clear and bright. Not a single cloud to be found in the sky over those mountains. Was it an omen? And if it was, was it a good or a bad one? The weather would surely make his trip easier, but he was also searching for the Lion of Storms.

Mercifully, the lion was silent at that thought, but Keith could feel his presence lingering. Then again, that might be a good omen too.

Allura was waiting with a small cluster of guards; he recognized the knight, Miralna, but hadn't met any of the others. He was a little surprised not to see Sarial or Coran, truthfully. But he could also see why Allura might prefer not to have other Common-speakers present for a mission that was surely a secret.

"Princess."

"Keith." She smiled as he approached. "Right on time." They hadn't really set a time, but she hadn't been waiting long. And the sooner they got moving, the better.

Quick introductions were exchanged—the other guards were from what had once been the Castle of Lions' security detail, led by a Captain Randel. He looked sharp and businesslike. For a moment Keith thought about trying his hand at the Arusian greeting he'd heard before… annoyo? No, that couldn't be right.

"Anenyo," Miralna said with a smile, nodding to him.

He grinned back sheepishly. "Yes, what you said." Next to him, Allura giggled a little… wait. Giggled? Did princesses giggle? Apparently this one did. But they both sobered quickly. "I probably should have asked this before, but… how long do you think it will take to reach the trailhead?"

"A good part of the afternoon, so let's get started." Rather than leading them straight towards the mountains, she started moving east a little bit, towards the foothills. "We'll keep mostly to the woods on the way to the trail. The distance isn't great, but the terrain is rough."

"Sounds good." Keith glanced up at the sky. The lion had said these tests were necessary, somehow. In his nature. But with the threat of the Drules still lurking… "And safer."

As they entered the woods at the base of the foothills, the guards took up flanking positions. Allura pulled out a small device that looked like some sort of compass. Every so often she would consult it again, and change their course just slightly… Keith could hear a distant rush of water. The river that had cut the Thunder Ridge away from the main range, he assumed.

"Once we reach it, the trail you'll be on is mostly out in the open." She kept her voice low. Drules weren't the only potential threat in the wilds, after all. "It will split in two at a point near the base of the mountain."

Of course it would. "And I'll have to figure out which side to take when I get there, right?"

"In a way, but you will have some clue. A bush growing in an odd way sits in the split. It will guide you."

Keith arched an eyebrow. That didn't tell him much. "In an odd way?"

"Yes, an odd way." The princess frowned, trying to determine if there was more she could tell him. "It has been there for a long time, but its growth has been somehow stunted above ground. You will know it by the roots that spread out all around it, and on one side of the split, people passing by have left a groove in the path."

A stunted bush with a massive root system? Keith committed that to memory. "Maybe the storms have burned most of the top part away, and it's still growing back?" He wasn't sure why theorizing about that was where his mind had gone first, but so be it.

"Perhaps. It would make sense." She moved a little closer to him and lowered her voice still further; she was certain enough that none of the others could understand what she was saying, but she couldn't be too cautious. Not for this. "Both paths could lead you to him eventually, only with different degrees of directness. But I believe he has a preference."

A short warning growl stopped her from saying any more, and she wrinkled her nose in frustration. So close, but still she could only nudge.

Keith nodded, waiting for her to continue, but not entirely surprised when she didn't. He could feel the Lion of Storms watching him… "I guess I'll know it when I see it, then."

It would be enough. It had to be.

If there was any actual trail through the foothills themselves, Keith never managed to pick up on it. It didn't look as if the guards had a clear idea where they were going either. But the princess moved with confidence, still checking the compass every so often, and more than once leading them through a small gap in the trees that was hardly even visible until she drew attention to it.

The sun was just beginning to lower when they reached something new: a beaten path cut across in front of them, a little overgrown but still easily identifiable. "Ah, good." Allura felt her pulse picking up again, and forced her tone to remain even with some difficulty. "This part of the trail is an old hunting path. Up ahead there should be another intersecting it, and your path will lie just beyond."

Keith, too, felt his heartbeat quickening. "It's close, then."

"Very close." She looked up at him. He had to succeed, surely—the other lions had awakened, had bonded. The one she'd actually seen in her vision could hardly fail. "Are you ready for what you might find?"

"Ready?" A mix of anxiety and excitement colored the words. How did one get ready to climb a mountain to face some kind of sentient cat spaceship, exactly? "I'm not sure, but I will do my best. As we all have been."

Allura smiled. His voice held no arrogance, but complete determination. "Then your best it will have to be." For a brief stretch, the trail they were following became clear, and a second path snaked across it. Past the intersection, the ground began a distinct slope upwards. "This is your path. The trees won't clear for some distance yet, but it all starts here."

It all starts here. Much more than a trail was included in that statement. "Alright," he breathed, forcing himself to remain focused and not start pacing along the path. "Is there anything else?"

She signaled two of the guards, who nodded and moved quickly up the path. "Give them a few moments to scout ahead, just to be certain." They couldn't be too cautious. "After that, it's all up to you. I wish you success."

There was so much more she wanted to say—she felt like she was bursting at the seams with it. Go and claim what we cannot. Go and bring hope to the skies of Arus. But none that she could voice. The Great Lion would test and judge this Earthling just fine without her putting any extra pressure on him… and still she didn't dare speak too freely in the presence of those who did not know the truth.

She just had to trust.

The guards returned and made their report; Keith detected a bit of worry in their tones. "What are they saying?"

"The skies are clear." Tapping her chin thoughtfully, the princess moved up a bit and peered through a gap in the trees. Sure enough, blue sky was visible. "That is odd. I don't think I've ever seen the skies clear here… even on the nicest days, it's always cloudy and on the verge of producing a new storm. I wonder if it means something?" Lion of Storms, is this your doing?

She didn't expect him to answer—indeed, she didn't know if he could at this distance. Keith stepped up next to her and looked at the clear skies again; he'd known it was unusual, but he hadn't realized just how much so.

"It should hopefully make climbing easier, at least." He adjusted the weight of the bag on his shoulders and took a deep breath. This is it. "Guess I'd better get moving."

Allura nodded. "Go on. I believe in you." She wanted to tell him Arus believed in him—but most of Arus had no idea what was happening. Her belief was all she could offer.

He seemed to appreciate it, at least. She caught the flicker of a smile on his lips before he turned and forged ahead. And in silence, she watched until she could no longer see anything but the trees.

"…Okay." Standing here would do them no more good, so she motioned for the guards to pull back. "Let's go home."

It's all up to him now.

*****

Burp.

"That's not good enough!" Daniel yelled, resisting the urge to slam his hand against a hard surface for dramatic effect. He had just gotten it treated—again. Being rough with it probably wasn't advisable.

Burp.

He growled and threw his hands up in frustration instead. He needed some answers, and these guys had seemed like his best bet. But apparently not. His salalizards, yes his salalizards, were lined up in front of him, prepped for questioning… and they were being remarkably unhelpful.

Kermi, after snapping at him for disturbing her, had decided to take a nap. Toast was just staring at him. Lizzie had lost interest the moment she realized he wasn't there to feed her, and Crouton was burping up a few smoldering embers in response to every question. Which would've been great, if he spoke salamander burp.

He wasn't sure what he'd been hoping for but it wasn't this.

"Okay, let's try this again." Daniel rested his hand against his forehead in frustration. "You guys supposedly 'belong'," he rolled his eyes at that, "to Lance's lion, right? Your species are his pets, or whatever. This means you guys have to know something, anything, about why the hell I felt that rush of heat. Which I'm assuming came from that lion because, you know. Fire lion, heat, they go together. I didn't imagine it, did I? No. No way. There was definitely heat. So what's going on? Am I connected to the lion too? Is that why you guys follow me around everywhere? You don't follow Lance like that." A different thought occurred to him. "Are you guys keeping tabs on me?" He felt a little betrayed at that thought, they were his salalizards!

Burp.

"…Whatever." He glared for a moment, then moved on. "All the lions already have pilots, why would the Pyro-Cat need me? Did any other non-lion pilot team members feel it? Or was it just me?" The salalizards probably weren't the best people—well, lizards—to be asking that question, but he was here now and he didn't think anyone else was hanging around the ship anyway, so…

Burp.

Daniel rolled his eyes. Crouton was trying to eat his embers. "Dude, stop—" Crouton began trying to eat the ashes faster; Daniel picked him up, bringing him to eye level. "You are going to make yourself sick. Stop." He just spit out a few more bits of glowing ash, and the exasperated gunner set him on the bed away from the pile of his burp by-product. "Come on guys, give me something! Some sort of indication other than burping up embers all over our room that I'm going to have to clean."

Burp.

"For fuck's sake! You know, I expect this kind of nonsense from Lizzie, she's only here for the food, but the rest of you? I thought we had a connection! Well, maybe not you Kermi, but you let me pet you sometimes!" Daniel hung his head.

Kermi cracked open an eye to glare at his tone before shutting it quickly. Lizzie was scouring the room for bugs, ignoring him. Crouton burped again. Toast was still just staring.

Fucking…

This was useless. If he wanted answers he was going to have to find them on his own, but how? Where was he supposed to start?

…Hadn't he been on his way to do something else? He shrugged that off. Lance and Keith weren't here anyway. What was here were questions. So many questions.

"Well," he mumbled to himself, "now you know how it feels to have weird lion shit happening to you. That's something. Right?" He shot a suspicious look at the salalizards. "Don't any of you dare burp at that."

Crouton sneezed, and he sighed. Great.

*****

"Am I being dragged anywhere in particular?"

Sven's mild curiosity, more so than any attempts he might have made to protest, finally got Hunk to stop dragging him. "Uh, not really. Not yet." They'd stopped at the Falcon just long enough for him to dump the makeshift shovels off by the landing gear, and since then it had just amounted to going somewhere they could talk privately. Which wasn't as hard as he'd been making it out to be, probably; they were in a huge empty meadow. Fine then. Crossing his arms, he gave the navigator his best interrogation face. "Have you been talking to water?!"

…For some reason, Sven was still capable of being surprised. Muted, but surprised nonetheless. "Do… do you need some water?" He reached up and put a hand on Hunk's forehead. "Are you having heatstroke?"

Hunk glowered. "Well I was a little warm earlier, weren't you?"

The blank stare Sven had been giving him turned into a very irritated one. "A little—a little warm?!"

"…What?"

"It was as if my insides were being boiled," he grumbled. "Litt varmt, hmph."

The Viking abandoning English didn't seem like a good sign. His reason for doing so didn't sound great either. Though… Hunk paused. He was used to this by now; the warmth he'd felt on the way back had obviously been Lance bonding. And the last time someone had bonded…

"Okay. Waitasec. Remember how I almost got knocked on my ass by wind and you didn't?"

"…I do." Sven frowned. "I would have much preferred that."

No doubt. "Yella Fella," Hunk announced in a singsong tone, "we've got more questions!"

"There is a saying in your language that 'opposites attract', I believe."

Hunk reflexively started to say that hadn't been an answer, then cut himself off. Because after thinking about it for a few moments… "I uh, think Yellow actually just gave me somethin' as close to a straight answer as he gets." He started counting off on his fingers. "So I'm earth and you're—water in general, yeah? Ice hunting aside? Pidge is wind and now Lance is fire."

"That all sounds correct, yes."

"So," he gestured off to one side, "earth gets hit hard by wind," he made a similar gesture to the other side, "water gets hit hard by fire…" Now he was just flailing his arms wildly. "They're opposites! It's a thing that makes sense! I didn't think we had those around here."

…Huh. It did. "At least something makes sense," Sven muttered. "Daniel apparently felt the fire as well, not the way I did, but still. And Blue is not being forthcoming with answers, it's like the start of our relationship all over again."

"I cannot comment on the young cub's journey. It is his own." Blue gave an amused purr. "But I do apologize for the flame. As Earthwarder says, the connection to my brother is strong."

Brother? That got his attention, but maybe it sounded familiar. Had she called the others her siblings before?

What could only be the lion version of a sardonic snort ran through his mind. "You should listen better."

Easy for her to say.

"…Oh well that's good," Hunk grumbled, "we'd hate to have answers without havin' more questions right away. Yellow had some cryptic to say about Vince t—" He stopped. He'd gotten distracted. "Wait, that's just gonna bring me right back to what I was askin' before. Have you been talking to water?"

Though Sven's first instinct was to be a bit snippy, under the circumstances that seemed like a question he'd be better off taking seriously. "No, but I haven't really been around any water, either." After finding out about the fucking tunnels, returning to the lake had not felt like a priority. "And I'm not sure I want to talk to water?"

Hunk gave him a look. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it?"

"Maybe. I mean, water doesn't really end? It evaporates and then it rains down again, it would probably have a lot of knowledge to share." That did make it sound attractive. "Though that would mean water is sentient, and I don't… I've barely wrapped my head around a lion ship being sentient. I don't think I could take my glass of water talking to me."

…For someone who hadn't had this come up, the Viking sure seemed to have some thoughts. "It doesn't talk talk, exactly. Or not if it's rocks, it doesn't." That couldn't possibly have helped. "Apparently my lion lets me sense rocks and see dead people. And this just started comin' up, so I figured the next person to do the bonding thing was the one to ask if you're getting it too."

Sven blinked. "I don't want to see dead people."

"ME EITHER."

"That is a particular talent of my brother's, Icehunter."

Again with the brother. But that seemed like a reassurance, so Sven decided to try being reassured. "Well, we're almost to the lake. Should we go and see if I can talk to water?"

"Yeah sure, let's do that." Misery loved company, didn't it?

It didn't take long to get there, and Sven looked out over the water and frowned. The lake really was pretty, when it wasn't being the bane of his existence—Blue gave a small growl of protest at that, and he changed his focus to the task at hand. "Alright, how did you talk to the rocks?"

How indeed? He hadn't been entirely clear on that himself. "I got close to 'em, and my eyes did the glowy thing and Yellow told me to focus, so I focused and touched the rocks and kind of… felt where they were?" Then the rest of the sequence dawned on him. "Then I blew 'em up and Yellow didn't object, so I don't think you hafta worry about your glass of water."

"That's good to know."

"Beats the alternative."

"I wasn't being sarcastic." Staring down at the water, Sven shook his head and tried to figure out how he was supposed to do this. Any suggestions?

"Be calm," Blue purred.

That wasn't much of a suggestion, but probably better than no suggestion at all. "Be calm. Alright." He crouched and put his hand in the water, trying to relax his breathing. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and…

He could see beneath the water. No, he could feel it—he could sense the currents, following them up to the river that fed into the lake, swirling around the surface and beneath, and the trench that hid Blue's den was there…

Eyes flashing open, he yanked his hand from the water and took a few breaths to stabilize himself. "Alright."

"Dude." Hunk was gawking at him. The navigator's eyes had just been glowing through his eyelids. "That thing your eyes just did was even freakier than the usual."

He could imagine. "I don't know if talking is the right word, but there was definitely some sort of communication going on there."

"Oh, good." The big engineer gave an equally big sigh of relief. Whether this meant he wasn't crazy, or just that he wasn't the only crazy one, he wasn't quite sure—but it made him feel better either way.

Yellow growled in a way that felt slightly reproachful and amused at the same time.

"I would like a break from the weird," Sven declared finally, as the implications of communing with the lake or whatever he'd just done set in. "Correction, I would like a break from the confusion the weird brings with it."

"No kidding." But Hunk had taken Yellow's point, as well. He and Sven weren't the crazy part of this equation. The lions—and more to the point, the things the lions could do—were. "But I know one thing for sure. I'm startin' to get why the Galra want to find these cats so badly…" He grimaced. "And I think I'm pretty damn glad we came to get 'em before they or the Drules could."

"I agree." That was a sobering thought, and he didn't want to dwell on it. "Should we go see if Pidge can talk to wind?"

Hunk was also happy for the distraction, and chuckled. "I was thinkin' it takes a couple days to set in, but we can if you want."

"Can't hurt."

Turning and heading back to the Falcon, they were greeted after only a minute or two by a large… metal box?… appearing on the horizon. "Uh." Hunk cocked his head. The box appeared to be moving. "I know the local wildlife is weird, but…"

Sven felt one of his eyebrows shooting up. But he had a somewhat better angle than Hunk, and could see something stenciled on the side of the approaching box—not something he could actually read, but the language looked familiar. "I believe that is our wildlife."

Right about then it finished cresting the small rise, and they could see two pairs of boots between the wheel-skids. "Huh. Sure is."

"What are they doing?"

"I don't even try to guess what the ninja does, bro. Except poppin' up when you least expect him."

At about that moment, Pidge poked his head around the tank to see where they were going, and immediately stopped; next to him, Vince stumbled as the tank suddenly became much harder to push. "What?"

"We found something, or someone, water-related."

"Huh?" Looking around the other side of the tank, he saw Hunk and Sven approaching. "Oh."

"Hey, little dudes! Long time no see!"

"Need any help?"

"I need water so I can shower off ghosts," Vince said plaintively. "Got any help for that?"

Sven blinked. That was certainly a question. "Well, there's the lake…?"

"That's where we were heading." Pidge indicated the tank, then paused. "Do we need to ask your lion's permission before we take some water?"

…Also a question. A question he hadn't thought to ask, but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea. "I don't know, hold on."

"How is it that my sister has a cub with more manners?"

"That was unnecessary," Sven muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Blue didn't sound a bit chastised. "They are welcome to my lake, but there is a waterfall that may be more useful to the cub for bathing."

It might, at that. "Blue appreciates your courtesy, we have permission to take some water, and she says Vince can use her waterfall."

Pidge couldn't help but think Blue sounded much more accommodating than Green; she purred in amusement. "I assure you Icehunter would not agree."

He hasn't met you.

"You haven't met my sister."

All Hunk was sure of was that Yellow was getting a real kick out of something. And all Vince knew was that a shower was closer than ever. "A waterfall? Where?"

"I can take you." Sven felt like he should be able to find said waterfall on his own—there were only so many places it could be, and he was a navigator. But he was also pretty sure that having Blue give directions would make things faster. No doubt Vince would appreciate faster.

"Awesome!" The engineer grinned, then quickly pulled back. "I mean, if you don't mind, it's probably faster than waiting for the tank and well… I really want a shower."

Sure enough. "I understand the urge."

"I thought you might, sir."

Hunk looked between them, grinned, and circled around the tank. "Okay, you two go do waterfall stuff. We'll get this tank filled up and back to the Falcon, yeah?" Without waiting for a response he gave it a little test push, nodded, then broke into a full run. "VROOM VROOM!"

"We'll—" Pidge started to object, or maybe just question, the plural part of that statement, but he was already gone. "I—what am I supposed to do? Make sure he doesn't fall in?" That would be an ill-fated endeavor, to put it mildly… but he had just been given an order. Sort of. He thought. "Well, happy showering, mechka?" With that he took off after Hunk.

Though amused, Vince had priorities and he wanted to get them done. "So? Waterfall?"

"Yes." Shaking his head, Sven started north, casting one last glance in the direction the others had gone. Maybe some things didn't actually change.

*****

It felt weird to step into the main portion of the castle again—he was different. It seemed like he knew some secret now that he'd found the tunnels, seen those odd shuttles, seen a giant robot cat…

They're real, Flynn.

Lance was tired. Thirsty. Hungry. But he had to find the key first. His eyes glowed at the thought, casting everything into a fiery shade of red, and he jumped a little bit. It felt bizarre. "How long will it take me to get used to that?"

"Once the bondings are complete, there will be more control."

"I'll have control?"

"There will be more control."

Uh huh. "Red… will you ever not be cryptic?"

He could practically feel the lion smirking, which he was positive a robot couldn't do. "No."

Lance shook his head and looked around. He'd been moving a little on autopilot, and now he was near a main staircase. "Where do I go?"

"Sense it. Use our bond, Firestriker."

Sense it? He almost closed his eyes, but the world went red again before he could. Instead he glanced around, allowing himself to adjust to the crimson cast of his surroundings. Inhaling slowly he tried to focus on the fire he felt around him, and his own instincts, which had always served him well before… he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise up as he focused on the staircase.

The world went back to normal color.

Couldn't have just said take the stairs, huh? He snorted at that and started walking.

There was something familiar here—sensing, again, like he had not so long ago to find the lion. But this time he felt the thread between them, strong and clear, and his steps felt more confident as he walked through the castle. Taking in broken walls and rubble he shook his head; it was once a grand castle, and he wished he could have seen it whole. But hopefully someday soon he and the team could help the Arusians rebuild.

Turning a corner, he saw a door that was hanging off its hinges and felt a jolt of certainty. There. He walked toward it and stepped through, eyes widening at the sight that greeted him.

A library. At least his gut told him it had been, once. Now it was bookless; broken shelves were strewn over the floor, adding wood to the chunks of stone rubble. Anger rose up again at the destruction, and the possible loss of the books. Hadn't he heard something about the Arusians salvaging what they could from the castle? He hoped this place had been scavenged, that their literature and history weren't just dust.

The key. His eyes went red again as he glanced around the wreckage.

"It's here," Red's gruff voice whispered in his mind.

Lance felt it too.

He walked toward the back of the room, where some of the shelves were still standing. It felt wrong to see them empty. He ran a finger through the dust and shook his head, reminding himself again of his promise to help Arus…

Something made him stop and step back. A glimmer of a feeling, an awareness of passing something by…

Looking back, he saw a statue of sorts, a bust seemingly embedded into the wall. A dignified-looking Arusian in a fancy cape, maybe a past king? He had no way of knowing what it meant. But he stared at it, running his fingers along the edges as his eyes flashed red again. It was significant, he knew it. Somehow.

What was he missing?

He heard a loud squeak, looked down, and saw Spork by his feet. "Oh, hi again."

The mouse squeaked.

"Ah…?" Red sounded surprised.

"What?"

"I believe he's been waiting for someone to come for the key."

Lance blinked and stared at the purple mouse; Spork peered back at him, twitching its whiskers. Then it raced up a shelf and jumped onto the statue, scurrying over the stone before seemingly pointing his body downward. Lance followed the mouse's gaze, went to his knees, and saw a crack between the statue and the wall. It would have been impossible to detect if he hadn't known where to look, but lowering his head a bit further he was able to look into the small opening.

He saw a glint of silver.

"Huh…" He carefully reached in, his fingers barely fitting, but with some persistence he managed to pull the metal disc out by his fingertips. It didn't look like a key as he knew them, but it was clearly the key to his lion. It carried Red Lion's insignia, and his warmth, and he stared at it in awe…

…Until he noticed Spork was doing a little dance around his feet.

"You've been guarding it?" he found himself asking; after everything else that had happened, that hardly even seemed strange. And he wasn't entirely surprised when Spork nodded. "How?"

"Perhaps they found it and put it somewhere safe. The space mice of Arus are wise."

"How…?" Lance asked again.

"I do not know how. They are… familiar. But I am cryptic to myself too—I've been asleep so long."

"Huh," he muttered again, and stared at the key for a few moments longer. "So, I have your key… but I still can't fly you, can I?"

"My awakening is incomplete." Red seemed to struggle for words. "Soon. When all have awakened…"

Soon. Lance nodded slowly. They were close now, weren't they? "I'm holding you to that."

Red chuckled again, and he could feel the lion's anticipation. "I assure you, Firestriker… there we are in full agreement."

*****

Keith felt he'd been walking for hours. If the sun's fading light was any clue, he really had been. His water container was still half full, but he still stopped and refilled it at a mountain creek as he passed; no sense in passing up the opportunity. He looked up at the peaks and the sky above. A few clouds were starting to gather, but it didn't look like anything too bad was moving in. Capping the container, he slid it back into his bag and continued on.

The sun was getting very low on the horizon. He frowned; he still didn't feel as though he'd reached the right mountain. More worrisome, he hadn't found the split in the path Allura had mentioned. Had he lost the trail somehow?

No, no… he couldn't second guess himself. Not now. "She did say it was a long path."

"The path is long, but the journey is important."

He stopped as the lion's voice rumbled through him. "What do you mean?"

"You will know in time."

Frown. "Will I ever get any answers?"

"In time. You will need to find a place to rest."

"A place to rest?" He looked back to the lowering sun. "…I suppose you're right." Had starting out at this hour been the wisest choice? But it felt like he'd needed to…

The Lion of Storms growled low in his mind. "It is a journey of more than miles, cub. I can spare you the storms, or the stars and the darkness. But one or the other you must face."

Keith blinked. Had the lion just said… "Are you why the skies are so clear? You can do that?"

"We are connected to these lands."

That didn't exactly feel like an answer, but it wasn't entirely a non-answer either and Keith decided it would have to do for now. He kept walking, but his eyes swept side to side, keeping an eye out for a place he could spend the night.

The stars and the darkness…

After about another two miles, the sun itself had vanished behind the peaks, leaving a sky that glowed orange and violet to guide his steps. And as he rounded a large boulder he saw a split in the path, with a very strange looking tree in the middle. It was growing at a nearly horizontal angle, pointing off to the left. To the right, he saw the thick mat of roots had been worn down by years upon years of travel…

He exhaled, more relieved than he cared to admit. "Guess I'm on the right track after all."

"Did you doubt the royal cub?"

Royal… cub? He frowned, but put it aside and shook his head. "No." It wasn't her he'd been doubting. "I just was worried. It's been a long way where I could have taken a wrong turn…"

The lion purred softly.

He looked back to the sinking sun and back to the odd tree. Allura had said either trail might take him where he needed to go eventually, but that the lion had a preference… closing his eyes, he concentrated on the question and felt a glimmer of certainty. The well-traveled path was not the one he was meant to follow. Else why would he be here at all?

Carefully walking around the tree, ducking beneath the branches that stretched over the left side of the trail, he saw the path ahead becoming steeper and more cluttered. It didn't take much to understand where he was now—beginning to scale the mountain proper.

The sunset was fading, the pinpoints of distant stars replacing the vivid colors. He went as far as he felt was safe, and might have pressed further—but the lion had told him to rest.

But I have to go on. I have to get there, no matter what it costs me. He felt a slight sense of rebuke. Or do I have to take care of… myself?

Another mile or so, and dusk had fully settled; he made his decision. Stumbling into some dark canyon wouldn't serve his team or this world. Sheer rock faces rose up around him, and he squinted through the last vestiges or twilight. "Well, maybe I can find a spot here for the night."

He carefully paced along the path until he saw a small hollow, and an overhang behind it. Not fully enclosed, but it seemed reasonably sheltered and dry. Okay. Nodding, he dropped his bag and gathered some brush from the trail—if he could avoid building a fire here, he would, but he had no idea how cold these mountains might get.

Settling in, he stared out at the sky. The storm, or the stars. What did it mean? It felt significant, but he had no way of understanding.

Not yet. But he was finally on the path.

He wouldn't fail.