(From Ashes) Chapter 18

Pride: From Ashes
            Chapter 18
            This is Only a Test

The first complication didn't take long to present itself. In fairness, they'd expected just launching to be a complication, so they were still a bit ahead of the curve.

Keith looked over the consoles and found the communications panel, which seemed at least moderately intuitive. A series of colored switches clearly linked to the other lions. A few other switches and dials clearly did… well, something else. His instincts and Black's help told him these were for external frequencies, but how exactly they worked wasn't coming so easily.

Shrugging, he flipped the colored switches on. "Can anyone figure out how these outside comms are supposed to function?"

A long pause greeted him, followed by Hunk speaking up a little sheepishly. "Uh, boss, I don't think there's any other equipment to talk to."

…Oh right. Looking back up at the parade balcony of the half-destroyed castle, Keith fought down his own sheepish wince. Then he stood and circled back to the hatch.

Allura was still overwhelmed by the moment, and startled a little when Black Lion's jaws opened to reveal his pilot. "Keith? Is everything alright?" It came out in Arusian; she quickly tried again in Common, feeling a flush of heat in her cheeks.

"So far so good, Princess. But we need an area that's safe to put these lions through their paces. Handling, firepower, all of that. Is there somewhere we can go?"

…Ah, yes, that did sound important. And disappointing as it might be to have the lions go elsewhere so quickly, the Meadows of Raimon were no place for weapons testing. Allura glanced back at Coran; she could have offered some ideas, but this was more his field.

The old knight stepped forward, pointing to the northwest. "You'll find several large calderas in the Burning Ridge. Our aerospace forces once had practice targets there."

"Perfect." Keith saluted and retreated into the lion. "Okay, team, we have a plan."

"How unusual."

"Do we have to?"

Snorting, the commander launched Black Lion back into the sky, marveling again at the responsiveness of the controls. These ships were lions, they weren't exactly aerodynamic. But Black handled more smoothly than anything he'd ever flown. "To the mountains. We're going to blast some craters into other craters."

"Ooh, fun."

The others took to the sky at his sides… mostly. Hunk was determined to keep Yellow on the ground as long as he could. Which was not to say he was holding back—or that he wasn't enjoying himself. The fact that these things could run as well as fly seemed like a tactical advantage. Someone really should fully test that aspect, and it might as well be him.

To his own growing surprise, Sven was enjoying the flying. Blue didn't seem as fast or agile in the air as she had been in the water, but her freedom of movement was incredible. It felt almost like flying in deep space, moving without concern for gravity or atmosphere—even though they were subject to both.

Pidge still didn't particularly trust himself with getting too close to the other lions, but he was successfully keeping Green level well off to one side. It was a start, at least. He felt like this might be fun if he could go a bit faster, but was also certain going faster would end poorly. Maybe after some practice.

Naturally, Lance was already going faster. He sped ahead, laughing, then realized the others weren't keeping up and stopped to wait, rolling his eyes. After about three such sequences he glared at the comms. "Come on, slowpokes!"

Keith shook his head. "Patience, Lance. Not everyone is used to piloting, remember?"

As if he could forget. "But it's fucking awesome!" He darted ahead a bit further, then flipped around to look back at the others. Red hovered easily, and with an experimental tug at the controls he found he could actually fly backwards—which had the added benefit of slowing him down enough for the others to keep up.

"Dude, show off some more!" Hunk wasn't being the least bit sarcastic.

Sven was. "As if he needs to be asked."

"Oh, I plan to!" Lance tried a couple of short evasive maneuvers in reverse, and was pretty certain Red had somehow pushed off the air to spring back. The lions seemed to combine all the best features of fighter craft and, well… lions. "You guys should see yourselves, you're all fucking awesome."

"Thank you, Lance." Sven felt Blue didn't need to be quite so smug in his mind as he said it.

"Always welcome, Viking."

Keith couldn't help but chuckle. "These lions are all impressive." He'd been keeping pace and studying the others; each was unique, yet equally magnificent. "And the rest of you aren't doing badly at all, considering."

"Gotta see what we can do, boss!" Hunk dropped Yellow into a crouch and tried a pounce, which worked even better than he'd hoped—the lion blurred forward fast enough that even Lance gave a whistle of approval.

Still keeping his distance, Pidge looked over his controls, searching for one in particular. It had to be there, surely… he felt Green slightly nudging his attention to a small side panel, and smirked. "What if I don't want any of you to see me?" He turned a dial, and his lion vanished in a shimmer of light.

Glancing over at where Green had been, Hunk sputtered and pulled to a dead stop. "Wh—just what he needed, the ninja lion?!" Yellow roared with laughter.

"What the—can I do that?!" Lance demanded of Red, who growled with amusement.

"No, but we have other tricks."

"Fair enough." You will be showing me these tricks? Soon?

His lion just chuckled.

"Huh, that's impressive," Sven acknowledged. He had no doubt Blue could do some equally impressive things, and was just as certain he would be learning about them before long.

Keith's eyes widened. "The story they told us on Terina," he whispered. "The one invisible beast. This explains it."

"Oh! Hey, mystery solved." It was always nice to get answers, even small ones. Lance pushed ahead again, flying up a bit higher and looking around. "If you all wanna speed up a bit, maybe, looks like we're almost there."

"Good to know, Lance." Keith grinned. "We're coming."

"I still like two dimensions better than three," Hunk grumbled, leaping Yellow into the air as a sheer cliff loomed ahead. "But okay, let's do this!"

Pidge moved up significantly higher and disabled cloaking; Lance immediately flew over to him. "Nice trick, ninja."

"Komora—" He pulled back with a yelp, taking Green into an entirely unintended backflip. "You're thinking too highly of my collision avoidance, Lieutenant."

Their actual pilot just laughed, backing off easily. "Hey, knowing how to backflip might come in handy!"

"Probably more helpful if I'm intending it." Shaking his head, the ninja moved Green forward, well above the ridges they were passing by. Black was weaving easily around outcroppings further below, while Blue and Yellow followed much more cautiously.

Lance smirked and shot forward again. "You'll get the hang of it. Especially seeing as how we'll have plenty of practice, what with keeping the purple bastards' hands off the lions—nice loophole, by the way, boss."

"Ah, yes." Sven fell silent a moment to pass around a rocky ledge; better to practice with obstacles now than later. "That was completely unexpected, but I'm very proud of you." Who knew their commander really could be a little underhanded when he wanted to be? And he wasn't wrong.

Keith blushed, and it deepened as Black purred. "I had some help coming up with it."

"I don't care who came up with it," Lance declared. "I just care that there's no way those purple bastards are ever laying a finger on Red!"

"Bro, chill, thought we were just makin' fun of the boss here?"

"Right, right, sorry."

Shaking his head, Keith ducked Black beneath an overhang that Sven and Hunk were not about to brave. "I wanted to discuss it with all of you first, before putting it out there like that, but under the circumstances…"

Snort. "We all would've said fucking brilliant, no need to chat."

"It was a good idea," Pidge agreed. "And you are the commander."

"I appreciate the intent to chat," Sven countered mildly. This team came up with far too many horrible plans for 'chats' to just be done away with altogether.

Grinning at his team's backup—even if they were also making fun of him—Keith brought his lion over a new ridge and his eyes widened. Stretched out before them was a massive volcanic crater, dotted with the wreckage of several clearly Drule fighters and a couple that clearly weren't. Maybe this caldera had once been a training ground, but it had seen very real battle since… and it looked like the Arusians had at least given better than they got.

He landed and quickly assessed the terrain, then nodded. "I'd say this should do nicely." Hunk and Sven landed beside him, while Pidge hovered a little behind.

Lance did not want to land; he'd been on the ground more than enough lately. He flew several casual loops above the caldera instead. "Yeah, I think Red likes it here." They weren't too far from his lion's den.

"Alright. It's time to see what these lions can really do, then." An audible grin crept into Keith's voice. "Lance, I have a feeling you'd like to go first?"

"Oooh, first at what?"

"Try out some agility drills, to start. Then we can move on to advanced maneuvers, and weapons."

"Drills?" Hunk echoed. "We're doin' actual drills?" Guess he's gotta make up for the good idea somehow!

His question was nearly drowned out by Lance's yell. "FUCK YEAH!" Pushing the throttles up he shot forward, testing out loops and zigzags and every other basic maneuver he'd ever learned. Plus a few aerial tricks that weren't so basic. Plus a few that he'd never done before, but the lion and his instincts seemed to provide as he flew. Being able to hover almost effortlessly opened up a whole new realm of options. "This is fucking fantastic!"

"I think he's enjoying it," Pidge said, deadpan.

"Ya think?"

"I just said…"

Keith snorted. "Pay attention, the rest of you have to fly too." Then he allowed himself a sly chuckle. "I won't expect this out of those who aren't pilots, though. Yet."

"…Oh boy."

Ignoring everything but flight, Lance pulled into the tightest ascending corkscrew maneuver he could accomplish. Which was pretty damn tight. At high speed Red's controls offered a satisfying level of resistance—enough that a light touch wouldn't cause the lion to waver, but not enough to stop him from pulling off turns no other ship could even dream of. "Yeeeehaw!" At the top of his spiral he pitched Red into a dive, coming to a dramatic halt only a few inches from where Black Lion stood. "I think he's pretty fucking agile, boss."

Smirk. "So it seems. What kind of weaponry is he carrying?"

"…Great question. Uh…" Now that the boss mentioned it, why hadn't he taken stock of the weapons? Oh, right, because flying. He let the crimson light from his eyes draw his attention to several panels. "Well, I'm not sure about details. But seems to have laser fire, some missiles, uh, a blade…?"

"Wait, how's come he gets to blow stuff up first?" Hunk demanded, audibly mock-pouting. "That ain't flight!"

"Well, I am an expert marksman!"

"Are you volunteering to go next, Hunk?"

If the boss thought that was going to scare him off, he had another thing coming. "I'm volunteerin' to go BOOM!" He blinked as he realized what he'd just said. "…Er, make other stuff go BOOM."

"Yes, do clarify," Yellow snickered.

"Sir, this isn't very efficient." Pidge was still hovering behind the others, glancing around the quite large amount of open space they had available. "We have enough room to work here, shouldn't we all be doing something?"

Truthfully, he just didn't want everyone watching him trying to fly when it was his turn. But it was also inefficient.

"True. I'm just not sure how potent things are, we don't need anyone getting hurt because of friendly fire." Keith looked over his own consoles again; there was no real way to tell what kind of armor or shielding capacity the lions possessed until they either had the engineers do some prodding, or got in an actual fight. "That said, I'm open to suggestions."

"How about we all try the basic flying drills on our own?" Sven didn't particularly want all eyes on him for that, either. He had enough to worry about with Blue's commentary. "Then we'll do weapons one at a time."

"Alright." Much as Keith had been trying to run this with some level of professionalism, he really wanted to see just what Black Lion could do, too… why not let himself have fun with it? With a grin, he launched back into the sky. "Let's fly!"

"Perhaps you are learning more quickly than you think, Stormsoul."

Perhaps I am. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he shot after Red Lion as Lance launched into a new series of twisting maneuvers. Black was able to shadow his moves pretty well, though in a straight shot Red seemed to outpace him a bit. Not bad, for the guy who broke my records. With another chuckle he broke off to do some test runs of his own.

Though Hunk was still pouting a little—he'd been so close to kabooms!—he was quickly finding flight not to be as bad as he'd feared. Yellow wasn't fast in the air, but he moved with precision. That was something a bomb tech and crush car expert could appreciate. And three dimensions aside, as he adjusted to the quirks that came with a spacecraft that had legs, he thought he might be warming up to it.

Pidge, too, was gaining a bit more confidence, though still keeping himself and Green well away from the ground. The lion was incredibly responsive, and sometimes he swore she reacted to his intentions before he'd decided what they were. Which, now that he thought about it, was about how her reading his mind worked too. Oddly fitting.

Sven found himself missing the lake, which was not something he'd have thought possible about a week ago. Compared to swimming, Blue still felt just a touch slow in the sky. Then again, compared to swimming was quite the high bar; this was the Lion of Water he was flying. Compared to anything else he'd piloted in his career? He smirked. Blue would blow them all out of the water.

She didn't seem quite able to decide whether to appreciate the compliment or protest the joke.

Keith did several circuits of the caldera, even doing a few touch-and-goes on the jutting rock walls. Versatility would be a strength, no question. Then he looked back at the rest of his team. "How's everyone feeling?"

"Fucking awesome!" Lance called out immediately, taking Red past him in a series of flips. "WHEEEE!"

Their commander facepalmed hard enough for the sound to come through the others' comms. Mercifully, they decided to ignore it.

"We're alright over here."

"So far so good, sir."

"Ain't crashed!"

Well, that was certainly a start, he supposed. "Everyone think they might be able to do a simple formation? Standard flying V, perhaps?"

The others started to draw in around Black. "Formation sounds kind of dull, but we can go for it."

"Let's do it."

"What combat purpose does that serve…?"

"Ninja, just get in the formation so we can get to the BIG BOOMS, yeah?"

Pidge glanced out the cockpit glass and scowled in Hunk's direction, but carefully fell into formation on Black Lion's left. Lance had already taken up a position on Keith's right, which felt like the correct place to be for a reason he couldn't quite explain. After a moment's hesitation, Sven took the spot flanking Red—it felt like where Blue wanted to go, even if he might still be a little bitter about the whole being-boiled-alive thing. Hunk moved up next to Green, earning him another scowl he couldn't see as he pulled up fairly close.

"And we're a V," Lance said with a shrug. One of his side monitors displayed a short-range radar that showed the formation was a bit ragged, but recognizable.

Hunk grinned. "Veehaw!"

Keith snorted. "Okay. Let's go with a simple loop around the caldera here." He kept a close eye on his own radar as he led the formation; it looked about how he'd expect it to look. Lance was obviously having trouble with slow, while Pidge moved in hesitant bursts. Sven and Hunk both wavered a bit on the ends. But overall, considering the nature of the drill, he was pretty pleased with it. "Not bad. Alright, let's touch down and test our firepower."

"Did someone say KABOOMS?"

"Aww man, I have to land?"

"Landing is a skill, kir sa tye?"

"Hmph."

They landed on a small outcropping on the edge of the crater, overlooking the scorched stone and mangled fighter chassis. "Okay, Hunk. You're the demolitions expert. Go ahead."

"Hell yeah!" Yellow Lion stepped up to the edge of the outcropping. "Watch me nail that—"

Blinking, Hunk trailed off, staring at the most distant of the wrecked Drule craft. He did not appreciate the thought that had just presented itself in his mind. And he tried to brush it aside, but it wasn't really working, so he sighed and succumbed to the inevitable.

So, Yellow, any reason I should not drop bombs on anything in here?

"There are no wandering ghosts here, Earthwarder. …Nor could we harm them further if there were, you understand."

Hunk understood very little about ghosts, actually—except that Yellow's assurance was enough to draw a huge sigh of relief. Still woulda been kinda rude, yeah?

His lion gave a slightly confused growl, but didn't argue. And there were way more fun things to be worrying about now.

"Okay, like I was sayin', watch me nail that scrap pile like, uh… like a thing with a whole lotta nails!" He dropped what seemed like the lion's primary crosshairs over the distant wreckage and squeezed off, well… something. He had no idea what to expect.

What he got was a sphere of glowing plasma arcing from Yellow's back cannon, blazing like a miniature sun, and as it crashed down on its target there was a flare of light and a thunderous boom.

When the light faded a moment later, there was no wreckage left.

"Holy. Fuckin'. Fuzzmuffins."

"Whoa…"

"De chyle…"

"Holy fuck."

"Hell…" Sven had been having a conversation about weaponry with Blue, and what he'd learned from that already had him excited. Upon seeing the results of Hunk's test, he stepped up beside the other lion and looked for another target. "I'd like to go next."

Keith blinked. At least he now felt thoroughly vindicated for having them do this one at a time. "Go ahead, Sven. That was… wow."

"That was awesome!" Hunk had one eye on a firing mode toggle switch, the other on his main screen. He really wanted to see what else that cannon could do—but he also wanted to see what kind of explosions the others could make. Big booms were best shared, after all.

Sven ran a hand over his weapons consoles; he wanted to try everything at once and was certain that wasn't a good idea. "Any suggestions on what I should try first?" he murmured to his lion.

His attention was drawn to a button that was labeled—in a language he could not read, yet somehow understood—as the 'element cannon'. "That one." Nodding, he moved his hand to it, only to be stopped by a short growl. "Wait. It uses the firing arc indicator. I suggest you aim my head at the target first."

Firing arc indicator? "Aim your head at…?" Looking back at the main screen he immediately understood what she was saying; the weapons crosshairs moved somewhat independently, but there were also two faint blue lines that bracketed the center of the display. "Alright." Moving the lion's head until the indicator lined up with some wreckage, he hit the button.

A massive wave of something blue-white—was that actually water?—erupted from the lion's mouth. Sven barely had time to fully grasp what he was seeing before the water slammed into the Drule fighter he'd targeted, pouring into every crack and crevice and leaving it coated in a thick layer of ice.

"…Wait, what?!"

"Holy fuck!"

Smirking, Sven looked back at the others. "This is much more fun than flying." At this point, he was pretty sure not even Lance would argue. Then he tried another trigger; a series of missiles shot out, spiraling unerringly towards the frozen wreck as if drawn in by the cold, and shattered it into hundreds of glittering fragments.

"Magical cat robots," Pidge was muttering in Baltan under his breath. "Magical cat robots. Magical cat robots." He distinctly remembered saying, not so long ago, that they should just get used to the unexpected from the lions. But hells if the lions weren't making that difficult.

"Alright." Keith hadn't been there for that discussion, and it wouldn't have helped him if he had. Not with this. "These weapons are… very different?" He had been trying to sound nonchalant. It had not worked in the slightest.

"What you mean is these weapons are fucking awesome," Lance corrected. He saw no reason for nonchalance here at all.

Hunk had been demanding some answers from Yellow in the meantime, and for once had actually received them. Now he lowered the lion's head to aim at the caldera floor and fired off his own elemental cannon.

Yellow Lion opened his jaws and spat a huge column of sand, blasting a swath of the caldera floor into a rough, glittery surface. "DUDE."

"Case in fucking point!"

Looking between Blue and Yellow, Pidge slowly raised an eyebrow. If that's water and earth, then… "What does that give us? A glorified fan?" Green didn't respond with words, but the sheer amusement he felt from her told him he'd better expect the unexpected again. Shrugging, he aimed for a pile of small debris and gravel left by the other two, and fired.

Despite Green's amusement, he'd still pretty much expected a burst of wind. And he did get that, sort of. But rather than simply pushing air forward, the lion emitted what could only be described as an entire cyclone—a twisting column of wind on a horizontal axis, lifting the debris he'd aimed at and trapping it in the vortex until he took his hand off the trigger.

"…Magic cat robots do not care about physics," he whispered. Because apparently he'd needed the reminder.

Sven almost laughed. "No, they do not."

"Holy fuck." Lance felt like he'd been saying that a lot today, and he didn't see it stopping any time soon. "Alright, Red, what should we show off?" A targeting array caught his eye and he took aim at the nearest Drule wreck.

What looked at first like a slightly wavering laser shot from Red's tail; on second look it became clear he was looking at a concentrated stream of flame, a hyperfocused cutting torch that sliced through the target fighter as easily as it pierced the air. "Holy…!" He wrenched the crosshairs across the wreck, grinning like mad as the fire followed with hardly a fraction of a second's delay.

"Oh, that's sweet, bro." Hunk whistled as the top half of the wreckage slid to the ground, cut from the rest by a white-hot knife. "How 'bout the front cannon?"

"I like the precision, but you better fucking believe that's next." He found the trigger and braced as Red lurched forward, spewing a stream of glowing red-orange liquid. His jaw dropped. "Fuck yeah, Firestriker!"

"Is… is that lava?" Sven asked, eyes wide. He'd been expecting more fire, but there was really no mistaking what they'd just seen—especially not when it impacted and left a thin, glistening sheen of volcanic glass coating the wreckage.

"It's totally lava!"

"That. Is. AWESOME."

Pidge said something in Baltan that was probably another protest about physics, and Keith stepped Black Lion forward.

Looking over his consoles, he identified several weapons that looked interesting, but they did seem to have a theme going here. So he rested a hand on the front cannon's trigger and aimed for a rusted-out hulk. He had a pretty good idea of what to expect, he thought… but if there was anything they'd learned from this practice session so far, it was that having expectations only helped so much.

Sure enough, Black fired off a blinding column of lightning, arcing and crackling into the distance. Wispy tendrils of electricity danced around the main bolt, leaping between scraps of metal left from the others' attacks. A significant swath of the caldera was bathed in the electrical glow before it faded, leaving Keith to whisper the only thing he could.

"Holy shit…"

"These are the coolest ships ever!" Hunk crowed, launching another plasma sphere at nothing in particular.

"Fuck yeah they are!"

Slowly, Keith turned his lion back to face the others, a slow smile spreading over his face. "I think I have to agree on that one."

"Yes, agreed." Sven watched the plasma bomb strike, then looked back at his own consoles—he had several more weapons to try out, and it was still all he could do not to fire them all off at once. That really didn't seem wise after seeing what these things could do.

"It's not a high bar." Pidge's attention was drawn to a different trigger, and he aimed at the crater Hunk's last shot had left. Green Lion's tail snapped forward, launching a spinning blade that sliced cleanly through the crater wall… and finally he found himself grinning too. "But it is not wrong."

*****

The Great Lions had all but disappeared into the mountains before anyone on the parade balcony spoke again.

"That was awesome." Daniel was overflowing with both excitement at the warmth, and—significantly more, at the moment—sheer jealousy. Who could blame him?

"They're amazing," Vince agreed. "I wonder how they work?" This still didn't involve him, of course. But maybe the others would want some engineering help. That would be fun.

"They are," Romelle agreed softly, shivering again, though the chill she'd felt was long gone. What had she expected? Other than not that, she didn't even know.

The Arusians were silent, staring into the distance with varying levels of awe—Allura most of all. She was still half expecting to wake up in the caves, for this all to have been some grand dream. Larmina was more skeptical, her mind still on the forest encounters. Hanso and Allendar clearly didn't even know what to think, and they hadn't regained enough of their composure to ask.

It was Coran who finally found words first. "It was certainly impressive—"

"—Axpeh e pol kivatka?!"

Captain Sarial had been on her usual superfluous patrol, until suddenly it wasn't so superfluous anymore. Things were not supposed to actually happen on patrol! And if they did it was supposed to be Drules, not—not—well, if she had the first clue what she'd just seen, she wouldn't have sprinted up the stairs to the parade balcony three at a time.

"Your Highness—all respect—those—what in the name of—" As she struggled for words she couldn't help but notice that most of the people on the balcony, including the aliens, didn't look particularly surprised. "—What in the five actual Golden Hells were those things?!"

Larmina giggled despite herself, Allendar choked on a laugh, and Hanso shrugged. "Nobody's told us anything, Captain."

Even without understanding a word of the language, Vince cracked a sympathetic grin; it didn't really take much to realize what they'd just heard was basically 'Arusian for WTF'. He couldn't blame her. Daniel was thinking much the same thing, and snorted.

"Remember that magical bullshit I was talking about?"

Sarial turned to him, blinking as she finished catching her breath. "They're magical too?" …As if huge flying metal cats could be anything else. "Of course they are."

Allura shook herself free of the spell, but still couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes from the distant mountains. "Those were the Great Lions," she murmured. "They have returned to protect us once more."

"The Great…" That didn't help her. Did that help her? "Those… are fairy tales?" A few colored glints of light in the sky caught her attention, the distant lions still visible when they rose above the peaks, and finally she threw her hands up in a helpless shrug. "We thought alien invasions were ancient legends too, of course the Great Lions are real, this is fine."

Even Coran was hiding a bit of a smirk by now.

Daniel was desperately wishing he could learn Arusian without having to actually learn Arusian, though even without it this was thoroughly entertaining. Vince couldn't help wondering how many times he'd made exactly the same faces Sarial was making; he sympathized, he really did, but it was kind of nice having it be someone else.

"They're going to defend this planet," Romelle said with a small smile. She, too, was sympathetic; she knew well what it was like to be the one person out of the loop. "Trust them."

Letting out a long, slow exhale, Sarial nodded her understanding and switched to Common. "I'm not lacking any trust in the offworlders," she shot Daniel a look at that, "nor in their… 'magical bullshit'. I'm just very confused."

Now it was Romelle's turn to choke-cough in amusement, and Larmina snorted. "Don't worry, Captain, even the people who were kind of in the loop have been confused." She stuck to Arusian, for Hanso and Allendar's benefit.

"Oh it's still confusing," Daniel said at the same time. He had a suspicion, from the angry redhead's tone, that they'd also said more or less the same thing.

"We do have a lot of magical weirdness," Vince agreed, and pointedly did not look at his hands.

Looking around the group, Coran had two main thoughts gathering in his mind. The first was that, with the lions now flying, there were many new options available to them—and some of those options might quickly become imperatives. The ships were not subtle. The second was that Sarial wouldn't be the only very confused Arusian for long, and they didn't need wild rumors spreading if they could help it. For that matter, the language barrier was complicating this discussion as it was.

"Captain, perhaps we," he indicated the other militia members as he spoke, "should go consolidate what information we have on any Drule presence in other regions. Yes? And I can give the three of you an overview of the lion situation as well. If that's alright with you, Princess?"

"Oh! Yes." Allura finally turned from the mountains, shaking herself back into the present. It was understandable to be awed, but there was work still to do. "Yes, that would very much be needed."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lord Coran." Beckoning to Hanso and Allendar, Sarial turned her gaze to Larmina and Daniel for a moment and gave a knowing grin. "I suspect that the two of you who are in the loop have things to do here, but once we've compiled a report, I'm certain I'll have work for you."

Daniel grinned back as she and the others turned to go. "Sure thing, Bosswoman."

"Amazing she manages not to sound like a threat," Larmina murmured, about half to herself and half to the Earthling; he laughed.

"Yeah, she's got some of her own weird magical bullshit." The only authority figure he'd ever trusted faster was Lance—and he was, well, Lance.

Larmina nodded slowly. She was certain that was another word Nanny wouldn't approve of her knowing. "Magical bullshit, I like. Sounds accurate."

"It totally is." He eyed her carefully, his mind drifting to previous encounters. She was being nice again, and the last time she'd been nice—wait, didn't she… "Hey, I've got a question."

Why were offworlders always asking her questions? Though she was getting decent at answering them, and couldn't very well refuse with Auntie standing right there anyway. "Okay."

"Have you…" There was still no way to ask this that didn't sound bizarre. "…felt any elements lately? Or had any special connection to particular animals?" When she just looked at him, he tried to elaborate. "When Hunk bonded Vince felt earth, when Sven bonded Romelle felt a chill, and when Lance bonded I felt heat—you know, like the lion elements? And," he pointed to the salalizard on his head, "I've got a connection to the Red Lion's pets, or whatever they are."

He was positive he'd heard Larmina mention banewolves once.

Vince had shot him a look of betrayal. "No I did not! Knock that off!"

"He's in denial," he whispered to Larmina, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "We're letting him but he totally did."

"It was different weird," the engineer grumbled.

Daniel shook his head no, which drew a hiss of protest from Toast. "Oh, shush." It had genuinely not been directed at Vince, but he looked a little indignant anyway.

Larmina looked between them, her thoughts going several directions at once. Elements. Animals. The Green Lion, the wind in the forest, the mysterious growls… and the banewolves.

The banewolves.

Suddenly, Larmina wanted to be in denial too. "Didn't feel anything." It had just been a little breeze, what did that prove? They were outside. There had been giant robot lions in the area. It would be weirder if she hadn't felt a breeze, really.

For a few moments, Daniel had been excited—angry redhead was making a face! A significant face! Wait, did that mean he was going to be stuck with her somehow? Aw, man. He was still trying to decide exactly how he felt about that prospect when she spoke, and immediately he was just annoyed again. "What is it with you people and… ugh!"

"What?" Larmina would've said more—most of it probably ill-advised—but then a brief pain shot through her cheeks, and she shook it aside with a grimace.

Vince stepped a little closer to her. "I believe you." It would be good to have someone else who had nothing at all to do with this.

"…Fine." Daniel rolled his eyes. Not like I'm trying to get important answers here or anything. "Well, if your banewolf friends end up being more helpful than my salalizards as to why people who aren't lion pilots are feeling magical bullshit, let me know. I just want to know what the hell is going on, so I can decide whether I like it or not."

How the hells does he know about the banewolves? Did that 'ninja' blab?! Larmina was about to demand an answer, but found herself looking at Toast, and her indignation deflated all at once as she remembered. Oh right. I blabbed. She sighed.

Allura had been listening carefully to the discussion, thinking over everything she knew. Larmina and the banewolves—her father had believed there was a mystery she was meant to find here. Could it be true? Did it all come together so cleanly? Looking at her own hands, she remembered the feeling of static as the lions arrived in the meadow. And further back, her visions… the dream of all the elements, yet it was the warrior of lightning that had spoken. For that matter, it was the Lion of Storms that spoke to her. She'd assumed it to simply be because they were the leaders…

Was it something more? She knew they were still missing information; there was the whole matter of Voltron. Who knew what else they didn't know?

What mysteries still remain?

She could see Daniel's disappointment, and wished she had something to tell him. If only they could know more. Glancing back at the mountains, she thought she felt another crackle of static running up her spine—or was she simply imagining it now that the thought was in her head?

Frowning, the gunner started muttering to himself. "Red has the salalizards, Yellow has," shudder, "vultures, Blue has the octopus snail things, Green has wolves… hey, what animal belongs to Black?"

The princess frowned, too. She couldn't recall hearing anything about animals 'belonging' to the Great Lions. The ancient tales had little in the way of practical information; she had to assume the offworlders knew more of their current disposition. But then…

"There are the vellero," she offered hesitantly, tapping her chin in thought. "I'm not sure if they have any such relationship with Black, but they do nest nearby." Vellero was bound to tell them nothing, and she strained to remember some of her more obscure English lessons. "I think the Common word for similar animals is… graphon? Gryphon?"

"Gryphon?" Daniel repeated, swinging back around. "Like—bird head, cat body, wings, talons?"

She nodded.

"Uh, nope," Vince announced. Vultures were bad enough—again, he was so glad he hadn't felt earth at all. Gryphons? Absolutely not!

"Well that's nice." Daniel had regrets. "But nope is right. I've had enough dealings with taloned creatures and things named Griffin to last a lifetime."

His fellow Earthling stared at him. "You've seen gryphons?"

"No."

"Somehow that's a relief."

"Sounds like denial," Larmina whispered, earning a glare but no actual argument. Arguing would only take this discussion to places he didn't care to go.

Instead, he grumbled to himself a little bit and took a breath. "Okay. Well, has anyone felt a connection to these demonic winged creatures?"

Allura looked at her hands, thinking about the electricity again. What kind of connection? She'd never felt any personal draw to the gryphons that she could remember. Yet they'd always seemed to have some understanding with her family, or the Black Lion could never be hidden where it was. She didn't quite trust her own perception right now; she wanted so badly to believe there was more going on. Some connection to the Lion of Storms she didn't yet understand. But she had no real evidence.

"Doesn't seem so," Romelle said as the silence became awkward. "But maybe we just—"

—BOOM.

Everyone on the balcony jumped; Larmina immediately straightened up and pretended she hadn't. The others whirled around to face the mountains.

"What the…"

"Had to be Hunk."

Vince had barely finished saying it when a glint of yellow appeared in the distance; if they squinted, the group could just see the Yellow Lion hovering over the peaks and sheepishly waving a paw.

"…I guess that means it's going well."

*****

The lions had returned to their dens as the sun started to set. Allura had hoped to see the Black Lion up close again, but it didn't need to go past the castle. She tried to brush aside the disappointment; no doubt she'd be seeing plenty of the Lion of Storms in flight soon.

Her thoughts were jumbled. Daniel's questions from earlier had her curious, but her sheer giddiness at what they'd seen was still overpowering. They're awake. They flew. They made explosions! We might have a chance, we must have a chance. Any fears that the lions might not function had been thoroughly assuaged, and the offworlders seemed to be taking to them well.

It was too early to be sure her faith in the lions was proving justified—but she believed in them more than ever.

Bound and determined to keep her excitement at least somewhat under control, she headed for the front doors to wait on Keith. There were practical concerns to discuss; what Coran and the militia were looking into, for one thing. What the lions might need to optimize their use was another. Thinking back to earlier, getting better communications set up was surely a priority. So many concrete things flooding her mind…

They flew!

…Pure glee was still foremost among them. But really, could she be blamed for it?

Keith was walking back to the Falcon alone; they'd all agreed to just meet back there, eventually. The trip back would take different amounts of time for each of them, plus Lance had wanted to spend more time with Red… he could still hear their pilot's yeehawing, and it was adding to the slight grin on his face as he walked.

The lions really were amazing. And for a first practice run, that had been a solid success.

"It was enjoyable," Black agreed, purring. "It has been far too long…"

"So I've heard." What they hadn't really gotten any more of were answers, but he wasn't going to worry about that if he could help it. Not yet. First things first. The Drules were coming, and that had to be the primary focus. Already he had a few topics he wanted to raise to the princess.

Speaking of the princess, as he rounded the corner to the castle's entryway, there she was.

"You did it!" She rushed towards him, eyes nearly glowing with joy; his own flashed briefly as if to match her. "They are truly awake! That was an incredible sight… I wish so much that I could ride with you."

…Ah, yes, there was that composure she'd been trying to gather. Had she said that last part out loud? Oh dear.

Keith took a step back, eyes widening a little. "Um…" He scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle, trying to decide precisely how to take that.

"Remember what this means to her, Stormsoul." Black's growl was calm. "You and your Pride searched for us for months. The Daughter of Arus has known us as legends her whole life."

…Very true. He nodded slowly. "I think that may be possible in time, Princess. But without knowing exactly when the Drules will arrive, I think it would be best if we waited on that for a bit?"

"Of course." She nodded quickly. He was right, and she really hadn't meant to let that private wish slip out… yet, at least. Still, she leaned a bit closer to him. "It would be best to let you become very familiar with Black without distraction… but I must confess to being envious of you. To see him moving was such a dream…" She lowered her eyes. "For myself, and my brother."

Her brother? Keith swallowed, and realized abruptly that he'd never thought to ask why she'd been near enough to hear him in King Alfor's tomb. "I… I think I can understand that," he murmured through a throat that was suddenly very dry. From the sadness that had flickered across her face, he didn't want to ask her to say anything more about it. Fortunately, he could change the subject. "I have some logistical concerns, though."

Allura was relieved to hear that, and shook the sorrow aside. Practical concerns. "Oh?"

"Those shuttles, for one thing. We should make fixing them a priority if we can—it's quite a distance to the lions on foot, and we'll probably need them on short notice. I know our engineers are eager to have a look, but they'll need whatever help they can get."

"I can see who and what might be available," she agreed, nodding. What little they'd scavenged from the castle workshop might help. "That reminds me, we do have a small number of communications devices. Do you think we could set one up to talk to you in the lions?"

"That would be great—I'm sure we can find a way to make it work." He started pacing, as Allura tilted her head. "My next questions kind of go hand in hand. You retook the castle, but do you know of any other Drule presence on the planet? I'd like to start running patrols, if we can—it would be a good way to get the team more used to flying the lions. But if they're seen and word gets back to the Drules, that could be a problem." The element of surprise could only help them fend off whatever was coming; he did not want their first battle in the lions to be against a fully prepared foe. "So would it be better to keep them hidden still?"

Considering that, Allura stepped out through the doors, breathing in the evening air. "We're working now to get any information about further Drule presence collected and translated. I'm hopeful that it will be done soon." There had been nothing significant enough to be officially reported to her since they reclaimed the castle, but she knew the occasional straggler had been found. "As for the lions themselves… knowing the land will be vital for your team, but I know showing our hand too soon could be dangerous." She looked up at the sunset and sighed; the skies of Arus were not truly free. Not yet.

Keith nodded. "I thought that might be the case. Best to keep close to the castle and the dens, then."

"Perhaps. But the lions can't be hidden forever. I trust your judgment on how your team can learn to use them best."

The words sent a little shiver through Keith; he didn't entirely feel he'd earned that kind of trust, all things considered. "Whatever we do, we'll be careful with it."

"I know." She smiled softly, and reached up to brush a few stray hairs back; a little shock of static rippled through her fingers. A moment later she felt a fleeting soreness in her cheeks, and startled a little.

Keith frowned slightly as she turned back to him. "Are you feeling alright? Your face seems a bit… red?" He'd gotten accustomed to Arusian skin shifting with the light, but this was something different.

"My face?" she echoed, the soreness in her cheeks giving way to a rush of heat. "I feel fine. Just… seem to be attracting static for some reason." I surely can't be blushing. "Maybe I'm just overexcited?" She most certainly was blushing. Here she was trying to help one of those who would save her planet, and he was worrying about her small inconveniences.

Is this our fault? Keith inquired of Black, and his eyes flickered again. Tell me bonding to you isn't turning me into a walking static generator. Even as he asked it, the princess was trying to tame a few more stray wisps of her hair.

"Matters are not entirely as expected," the lion answered. Which was not an answer at all.

"Alright," he said with a nod as it became clear Black would say no more. "If you're sure you're okay. Your people need you to be well."

"Yes… very true." She shook off the small annoyance; priorities. "But the best way to help my people at the moment is to help you, and I think the most important thing is to get the shuttles moving as fast as possible. So, I shall go see about that now." Turning to leave, she paused a moment and looked back. Even if it had flustered her a bit… she offered a warm smile. "But thank you for being concerned about my health."

"You're welcome," he said awkwardly; that did not feel like what he should be saying in this moment. "Princess, before you go. I… owe you a personal apology. For not telling the truth right away." He felt Black's approving purr. "Everything I said earlier was true, but… we were worried about the reactions."

Taking a couple of long, thoughtful breaths, Allura tried to put herself in the offworlders' position. It was clear that honor meant something to Keith, at the very least. And all of them, in their own ways. The situation they'd been placed in, much like her own, was not one they'd ever expected…

"It is understandable, and I accept your apology. You were put in a difficult position. But I can see you were trying your best to balance your mission with everything that's happened here… perhaps in time, some form of agreement can be worked out with your superiors to ease your minds."

"I hope so. But no matter what, we're going to do whatever it takes to help." He saluted. "Thank you, Princess."

Exchanging a last nod, and small smiles, they went their separate ways. There was work to be done.

*****

Romelle had walked down to the tunnels with Vince, for entirely different reasons. He wanted to look at the shuttles; she wanted to talk to Sven. She couldn't say exactly why…

Yes, she could. That chill.

Leaving Vince to poke at a shuttle on the other side of the chamber, she went to what she assumed must be Blue Lion's tunnel. At least, it was the one that went in the direction of the lake.

It didn't feel like she'd been waiting too long when she saw the distant glow of heat through the darkness, gradually coalescing into a human form. Clasping her hands in front of her, she called out before she could change her mind.

"Um, Sven?"

Sven had been taking his time in the tunnels, feeling amazingly relaxed for all the time he'd just spent flying. But it had been amazing. He hadn't expected anyone to be waiting for him, though he wasn't displeased to see her either; honestly, it would take a lot to ruin his mood right now.

"Romelle," he acknowledged with a small smile.

"Hello." She flushed a little, but he seemed happy, which had to be a good sign. "So… how did it go?"

"It was fantastic! I was worried because piloting isn't necessarily my greatest talent, but it was…" He stopped short of saying easy. That would be an overstatement. "…Well, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Nor nearly as unpleasant."

Try as she might, Romelle couldn't remember seeing Sven so animated before—perhaps ever, though at the least, certainly not in a good way. She couldn't help but smile, and it widened as she remembered the sight of the lions. "That seems like a very good thing? They looked so impressive, so majestic."

"They're incredibly powerful machines." He paused a moment, then shook his head slightly. "Sentient cat-shaped machines."

She giggled. "I keep hearing all of you saying things like that. Are Earth ships not shaped like things in nature?" Not that she'd ever seen a cat ship before, herself, but most Polluxian spacecraft bore a certain resemblance to aquatic creatures.

"No, not really. Most things in nature are not aerodynamic enough for atmospheric operations, and even where aerodynamics aren't a concern, something so complex wouldn't be practical. How a lion shape manages to…" He trailed off as she blinked; no need to bore her. "…Anyway, were you waiting for me with any particular purpose?"

"I…" She flushed darker. "I think I might have been, yes."

Well that seemed awfully noncommittal, for someone waiting around at a dark tunnel entrance. He shrugged and headed for the castle proper, with her walking beside him. "Well, what 'might' have been on your mind?"

How to ask… "What is the Blue Lion like?" she tried finally. "What does it feel like?"

"What do you mean? The bond? Flying?" Smirk. "Or do you mean having to put up with her attitude?"

"I find it interesting that you believe it is I who has the attitude, Icehunter."

Well, you keep saying things like that.

Romelle shook her head. "No, I mean… ever since Daniel asked us all those questions, I've been wondering if what I thought I felt that time was real. That deep, penetrating chill. Is that how the lion feels to you? Because when I saw it, when you all arrived at the castle… I felt the chill again."

Oh. Sven blinked; he hadn't been anticipating that. "Hmm." Will you answer if I ask?

Blue sounded amused. "No."

Of course. "Blue is no help. Why would the lions be seemingly connecting to others, I wonder?"

Romelle shook her head. If the person who was actually bonded to the lion didn't know, she certainly didn't have any guesses. "Why does it seem that every time you get some answers, they only come with more questions?"

Because it's the truth. "Explorer Team luck." He went back to her earlier question, thinking it over carefully. "I never felt much of anything elemental until I bonded. A sense that she was related to water, but not a chill like you're describing. I mostly just heard growling, and her voice."

"So strange." She slowed a bit as they approached the castle doors, shaking her head again. "I can see why Daniel seems so upset about it."

"In the lions' defense, Daniel seems to have been upset for awhile now. Though I'm not sure if he's actually upset about this or not." Which was most assuredly a Lance problem, and not a Sven problem. He wouldn't have the first clue. "What about you? Are you upset?"

Was she? "No, I don't think I'm upset. Confused, and a bit conflicted, especially with my people's history. But not upset… I think I'm more curious than anything." It was odd to admit that. She'd wanted nothing to do with these lions, but much like the team's mission, things changed.

This sounded more like a Sven problem, and he nodded his understanding. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. And I'll be sure to let you know if Blue divulges any answers…" He snorted. "Though I wouldn't hold your breath."

That much Romelle had gathered, and she giggled softly before looking out towards the lake. "I shall, and thank you." She was lost in thought for a few moments. "Water is very prominent on Pollux… our ancestors were very close to it. I wonder if that's why I feel so strange seeing the Blue Lion specifically."

"It is possible." Sven frowned. "Though it wouldn't explain Daniel and Vince feeling fire and earth." Still, they couldn't rule it out entirely. One thing they could be sure of was that each lion had rather different criteria for who they connected with.

"Hmm, true. I suppose we'll see in time?" Yes. We will see. It still felt strange to say 'we' like that, as well. Strange, but… warming, perhaps. "Sven, there is something else I need to thank you for."

He stopped, giving her a confused look. "What's that?"

She stopped too, turning to face him. "You invited me along after you all felt Keith bond. I know you don't have to, but… you've all made me feel welcome and part of your team, and you especially so. Not to mention letting me use this." She tugged on the jacket she was wearing. "I know it wasn't easy for you to see. But thank you."

…He had not been anticipating that, either. "No thanks needed," he said after a moment, touching her shoulder as his eyes flashed blue. "You are a part of the team now, leaving you out of team business wouldn't be very team-ly, would it? And as for the jacket…" No, it hadn't been easy. But it was easier, now. A memory he could be sure not to lose, in a way. "…You're welcome."

Nodding quietly, she resumed walking at his side. But curiosity was still running wild, and perhaps she should let herself indulge some of it. She still knew so little about this team, her team, beyond what had brought them together. "So, what is Earth like?"

He glanced over at her, and cracked a smile. "Well, if you like the water, you'd love it…"

*****

Elements and animals.

Larmina had some thoughts. More than that, Larmina had questions. Questions for the banewolves, and questions for the ninja—and really she wasn't sure which one she expected answers from less.

One of them at least shared a common language with her, mostly, so she decided to start there. Waiting in a small alcove near the tunnels, she watched a couple of the others pass by, and stepped out as Pidge came into view.

He stopped, eyes narrowing. Here he'd been in a good mood; an Arusian ambush didn't seem like a promising sign for that to continue. "What do you want?"

Well, if he wasn't going to do manners neither was she. "Why your lion tried to kill me?!"

"She said it wasn't her!" Pidge snapped reflexively, and immediately winced. "I mean—I don't know what you're talking about?" Green sighed, and for once he couldn't really blame her.

Larmina just crossed her arms and waited.

"…No, really. She said it wasn't her." He supposed Larmina did deserve some answers about that, as if 'answers' were a thing they ever got without a struggle. "Because, and I'm quoting here, 'something went wrong'. If you don't like how vague that is, welcome to dealing with the lions."

Why the hells was she dealing with the lions, anyway?

"There… is a reason."

You know what? You're talking without saying anything.

A frustrated growl ran through his mind. "Believe me, Windseeker. I am very much aware."

Somehow, Larmina couldn't even bring herself to be annoyed by the non-answer. Auntie already hadn't let her in on any of this until the last possible moment; that secrecy was somehow less irritating if the lions were keeping the secrets themselves. Though she felt the lions owed them all some damn answers, and preferably sooner rather than later. Answers about why the offworlders. Answers about why Arus had to suffer for so long while they apparently had five giant battle robots in waiting…

We are not yet ready.

She stared at him, eyes narrowing further, and finally sighed. The need to know was outweighing the need to maintain her hostility. What good was that doing her, anyway? Wasn't like she was fooling him with her bravado; he'd kind of saved her life once already. Which, now that she thought about it, did seem to indicate it hadn't been the Green Lion attacking her at all.

It also might be playing into why she still didn't like him.

"…Banewolves really are the lion's pets?" she asked finally, sounding a bit more defeated than she'd hoped.

Pidge blinked. "Pets? I uh, don't think she'd call them pets." Green seemed to find that downright funny, actually. "But they're friends of hers?"

"Great." Larmina looked him in the eye; his eyes glowed, almost in response. It was weird. "Look. That… whatever in the forest. Wasn't the first time. First time, the banewolves had me follow them. Same thing happened. There was a voice… both times. Said the same thing. 'We are not yet ready'."

…Wait, what? Pidge took a reflexive step back. "You heard that too?"

Oh, no. "Yes."

Green? Anything? He wasn't really expecting any more than she'd already told him, but it seemed like it was worth a try.

To his surprise, it worked.

"I… know her," the lion said slowly. "As I recognized you as Shinori. The Daughter of the Forest is familiar to me, but I cannot say how or why."

Hmm. He cocked his head and looked at the Arusian quizzically. "You didn't happen to meet a magical green cat robot sometime in the past, did you?"

"Uh. No?"

"I'm certain that is not what I meant."

He shrugged, and Larmina eyed him suspiciously. Was he making fun of her? She didn't actually think so, and her instincts on that question usually tended towards obviously yes. "Why you asked that, exactly?"

"She says you're familiar, it seemed like a better question than any of the others I could think of."

For some reason she couldn't fully put into words, Larmina found herself infuriated. "Familiar? Oh sure. Green Lion sends me banewolves, thinks I'm familiar, but wants you to fly. Couldn't pick someone before Arus got the sinycka invasion. Couldn't—"

Pidge didn't hear the rest of whatever she'd said, because Green snarled loudly enough in his mind to drown out everything else. Komora sa kye—STOP THAT! You want me to stab her?

"Absolutely not." Green paused a moment. "If she truly wants answers… take her to the place my key was found, if you can. I have a theory."

His eyes widened. He did not want to go there ever again, and he'd thought the lion felt the same way. You won't tell me this theory if I ask, I assume.

"I cannot."

"Fine." Looking back at Larmina, who'd wound down from her own rant, he tried to figure out exactly how to present this. What came out was perhaps not the best option he could've taken. "So, you want to see a Usurper shrine?"

That was making a significant assumption, but it certainly got her attention. "What?!"

"There's one out in the forest. You said you didn't know of any lying around, thought you might be interested." Telling her that Green had a theory wasn't likely to win her over. He had the sneaking suspicion that something creepy and forbidden might interest her more.

Larmina's eyes narrowed. But he hadn't missed his guess… probably. "You're going to show me the something in my forest? Okay."

Oh, for… "Your forest?" He leaned back against the opposite wall and exhaled slowly. "Look, I get that you don't like this, or me. I don't like this, or you, either. But if I have to deal with an insufferable robot cat who lives there in my head, you can get over sharing your damn forest, kir sa tye?"

She stared at him. "Um…"

"Sometimes your blunt efficiency is adorable, cub."

Oh, shut up.

"…I'll think about it," she said finally. "The shrine. And my forest."

Well, he sure as hells wasn't going to press any further. "You do that."

*****

Vince had heard Romelle and Sven's voices fade some time ago, though he hadn't exactly been paying attention. He was sitting in one of the shuttles—he wasn't sure whose and it probably didn't matter—studying the mess of wires behind a panel he'd managed to pop out. Some of the patterns looked familiar, at least vaguely. Most of it, well… did not.

What the fuzzmuffins is all this stuff?

Hunk had meandered quite a bit on his way back, taking a good look around his own lion's tunnel. It wasn't the same kind of engineering absurdity as one through magma, but it was pretty awesome in its own right. Some kind of low-level emergency lighting illuminated windows holding back the desert sands, replaced by banded stone in the deeper sections. It couldn't have been easy to dig all of this out.

He was trying to keep his mind on the tunnels—what it must have taken to create them, and why—rather than other things. It was kind of working. Much like on the caldera, he did not appreciate having his excitement over huge kabooms and epic engineering disrupted by, well… thoughts.

Yellow wasn't even scolding him for it. Maybe he felt guilty.

In any case, he'd expected the shuttle chamber to be empty when he got there, and he wasn't quite correct. Movement to his left caught his eye, and he grinned.

"Yo! You haven't been here all this time, little dude?" He was pretty certain he'd seen Vince on the balcony, hadn't he?

The other engineer yelped, and thought he might have seen a spark, though thankfully nothing caught fire. Small favors. He really couldn't deal with that right now. "Hunk!"

"Sorry!" He gave a sheepish grin; he knew better than to startle Vince like that. His mind was just a little overloaded at the moment.

With a sheepish smile of his own, Vince waved the panel at him. "No, I haven't been here the whole time. I was just peeking."

"Well that's good." Hunk leaned over the side of the shuttle and looked at the wiring he'd exposed, giving a low whistle. "What the fuzzmuffins is all this stuff?"

"That's what I said."

"Great minds think alike, yeah?" Wink. "And ours too." Now Yellow did growl at him, just a little. Clearly Earthling humor was something they would need to discuss further.

Vince just snorted. "Yeah. I couldn't really resist it anymore, and everyone else was going to do other stuff."

"Yeah, I hear that. Yellow says he doesn't mind gettin' poked at, but that's still weirder to think about than fixin' these up, y'know?" He jumped into the shuttle's second seat and leaned over the kid's shoulder for a closer look.

Lions. Weird. Vince hadn't even thought about the implications of maintenance on a sentient ship. Though you should be polite. "How was the test flight?"

"Dude." A huge grin split Hunk's face. "There were epic kabooms. And the flyin' ain't half bad, for flyin'."

That earned him another amused snort. "We felt some of those kabooms. I assumed they were all you."

"Sorry not sorry." Making a face, he grumbled under his breath, "Be happier if Yellow didn't have me feelin' all weird about the kabooms, but y'know…"

And again. Lions. Weird. "Why's that?"

Hunk sighed. Yeah, okay. He'd been kind of inviting that, but if there was anyone he might want to talk to about the problem, it was the other guy whose reaction to ghosts was a nice, reasonable nope.

"We were usin' some busted Drule fighters as target practice, yeah?" He rolled his eyes. "Y'know, after I made sure there weren't any ghosts hangin' around, because dropping bombs on dead dudes who were just kinda stuck there would be weird. Which is not a thing I wanna have to worry about!"

"You really do not need to worry, Earthwarder. The situation in the desert was quite rare." Yellow actually did sound a little chastised.

Dude, I'm not sure how much faith I have in your standards on what to worry about. Just because the ancient lion robot apparently didn't think it was a big deal… "He says it's rare, but I mean, we've won a lot of crazy lotteries already."

"Too many," Vince agreed with a shudder. Thank god I finally lost one. "So, no more Drule ghosts at all, then?" He hoped not. It hadn't even occurred to him to worry about more Drule ghosts—expecting Arusian ones around any given corner was bad enough.

Hunk wrinkled his nose. "Uh…"

"I cannot answer that categorically."

Figured. "Y'know, I'm not real sure I wanna ask him for details. Though," sigh, "bet I'll get 'em sooner or later anyway." His eyes flickered yellow as he spoke.

"Ugh, yeah. Well at least he can warn you, right?" If one had to have lion weird, it seemed like that would be one good thing to come out of it.

"Yeah, if he wants." Rolling his eyes again, Hunk felt a particular thought making another attempt to break through. Something he was trying to get at, but also trying to avoid at the same time…

Vince couldn't help but notice the very atypical thinky-face their bomb tech was making. Hunk for sure was brilliant, but thoughtful contemplation was not his style. "What is it?"

Something about winning the wrong lotteries… nope. Hunk shook his head. "It's nothing major, just kinda thrown still, yeah? Let's talk about somethin' more fun." He pointed to the open panel. "You tell me if you've figured anything out here and I'll tell ya all about the kabooms, because uh, these lions have weapons you wouldn't believe." Grin. "Black Lion spits lightning, you'll love it."

"Lightning? Whoa." That did sound pretty cool; he made a point of not thinking about sparks as he pointed to a cluster of wires. "I think those white ones might be the movement system, just not sure how they all fit together."

"Hmm." Hunk followed the white wires to where they plugged into a much larger cable, through some sort of adapter unlike anything he'd ever seen. The cable itself, though—alien tech or not, simple physics suggested what that was about. "You thinkin' that's main power? If we can get some tools down here, we could see where it goes."

"Yeah, it could be." That probably should be their first order of business, Vince supposed. "Though, do we have any idea what that power is?"

"Rate we're goin', could be anything from a fusion core to a giant hamster wheel."

He wasn't wrong, but Vince gave him a weird look anyway. "Lion hamsters?"

"Very atypical hamsters." Hunk sighed again as he said it. He missed music.

As they poked at some more wiring, he started humming Ride of the Valkyries, and Vince snorted. Now the big guy seemed like himself.

*****

"So hey, I'm sorry that I…"

Daniel groaned. Apologies shouldn't be this hard. In theory it was just two little words, I'm sorry. But actually not. For it to be a real apology you had to include an explanation of why you were sorry, and he wanted this to be a real apology. The apology to Keith could be half-assed. In fact, his apologizing to Keith at all should be more than enough to fulfill Keith's expectations. He's done a fantastic job of keeping those low. But Lance? Lance deserved a true apology.

Now if only he could figure out how to do that.

"I am sorry that I… got pissy over shit I didn't need to get pissy over? No. That's stupid."

Lance, for his part, was not entirely happy being back on land. There was still so much to figure out with Red, but the lion's suggestion-slash-scolding that he needed rest was persuasive. So here he was, striding up the Falcon's ramp, heading to his room, not flying his completely badass lion.

He paused in the doorway as he arrived; he wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to find there, but Daniel mumbling to himself in the middle of their room wasn't it. "What's up, kid?"

Blink. "Uh…" He was nowhere near ready for this. "You were up there for a while. Was it awesome?"

Lance beamed. "It was fucking fantastic, I mean holy fuck—I can spew lava! Well, the lion can."

"Lava?" The lion did live in a volcano; he guessed that made sense. "That's awesome."

You need to be apologizing.

His brain needed to shut up.

"Fucking awesome. And the flight, shit, the flying you can do with him is like nothing else. I could spend months up there." He shook his head, wishing he were up there at this very moment. "But he made me come back here and sleep."

"I bet…" This is the perfect time to apologize, and yet you're not apologizing. Like a loser. Daniel scowled to himself. He needed his conscience to stop, so that he could enjoy hearing about how awesome the lion was.

Lance kept the grin on his face, with a little effort as he noticed the bandages on Daniel's hands and remembered that they needed to talk. "So, since I'm stuck on land, wanna tell me about your hands?"

Oh, joy. "Yeah." He really wasn't exactly hyped to have to explain that he got into a fight with a tree, and apologize, at the same time. "I will in a sec… ugh." He started pacing. You should probably apologize first. Should he though? He didn't want to, he was going to sound like an idiot.

Lance's eyebrows did a Sven impression. "You do realize that you're doing another Keith impression right?"

Ouch. "…I hate this. Okay? I've had too much time to think. And then overthink. And then overthink some more."

"That sounds dangerous."

Daniel continued as if he hadn't heard him. "Impulsively thought out plans and actions are the best kind, okay? There's no time for thinking when I go that route, I'm no good at this planned shit." This wasn't making it any easier. "Okay, whatever. I'll start with the hands, that story kind of has to do with the other thing anyway."

Other thing? "All ears."

"Okay, so I was patrolling, like a good little militia soldier, when I ran into Pidge."

"That cannot be the start of a good story." Daniel snorted; that was because it wasn't a good story. He didn't manage to say that out loud, but Lance grinned. "Go on. I'm braced for it."

Is he really, though? "Well, we started talking about the lions and magical bond shit. Which was a hard topic for me at the time. Kinda still is, kinda isn't, I'm still really confused about that, but whatever. He started talking about how he wasn't a pilot. Which," he swallowed, "is definitely still a hard topic for me. Because apparently, I'm not a good enough pilot for the Alliance, you, or magical giant robotic cats. Which is fine—FINE." He wasn't bitter. He wasn't. "Anyways, I got a little... angry."

Lance frowned.

"—I did not lose my temper at the ninja," he made sure to add quickly. "I purposefully lost my temper far away from the adorable little dude who is a little too comfortable stabbing people."

Lance narrowed his eyes—which flashed red, because of course they did—but still didn't say anything.

"So long story short, I got into a fight with a tree, and I'm honestly not sure who won. I did some damage, but I also re-broke my arm and both of my hands needed stitches. I'm thinking it was a draw though." He took a deep breath. "Also, glowing ‘What did you do?' eyes are way worse than regular ‘What did you do?' eyes."

Finally Lance attempted some words. "I've never said you aren't… you beat up a tree?" That was a lot of information to respond to all at once.

Daniel really, really wanted to disagree with that, but the only possible counter was that he'd been beat up by a tree. So he nodded. "I beat up a tree."

"…I suppose that's better than getting stabbed by Pidge."

"That was my thought process."

That got a laugh. "Thought process?" Okay, so he'd said that like there was any thought put into it whatsoever; he blushed as Lance continued. "First of all, I never said that you're not good enough to pilot. I just want to train you up to your piloting potential. Second, there's a lot in there that you need to explain better."

"Yeah I know, I need more ‘training.' Which apparently I really do if Pidge is a better pilot choice—wait, what do I need to explain better?" Daniel thought he'd done a great job explaining.

"What piloting issues made you beat up a tree? Is this about the lions?" As always, you have no clue. He'd been so far out of the loop lately.

Daniel rolled his eyes. Really? "I don't know. Like, that's what I was trained for, insufficiently apparently. Not the lions, just in general." Nobody wanted him as a pilot. "I mean it's kind of about the lions. Maybe. But not because they didn't want me as a pilot, though that was definitely the fucking metaphorical cherry on top—" He took a deep breath. "Okay. This actually segues perfectly into the other thing I need to tell you."

Don't think, don't think, just do it.

Lance was frowning again, thinking about how he really was the only pilot the lions had chosen. Well, Keith, but he was commander first and pilot second. It was strange, wasn't it? But he could worry about that later.

Before he could think, Daniel let the words fly. "So you guys, the team, are my people. Okay? And you specifically are, uh… what you are to me." Oh, that was clear.

The frown turned into a smirk. "I am what I am, huh?" He actually understood that. You too, kid.

Blush. "Yes. Asshole." All that got him was a giant grin. "Anyways. All of you were connected to this lion bullshit, and it felt like…" Ugh. He was about to be emotionally vulnerable, and he hated it. Best to get it over with. "It felt like they were taking you guys away from me."

Lance just stared for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. "Fuck that. Nothing can do that. I told you, you're stuck with me, kid."

"I know, but I still kind of feel that way, but I know treating you guys like shit and pushing you away wasn't helping anything, 'cause none of you have done anything to suggest you guys are going to do that, so. That wasn't fair, and I'm sorry."

Finally, Daniel stopped for breath. He'd done it. I did it! The damn apology was out there. A weight had lifted off his shoulders, and it felt amazing.

All Lance could do for a long several seconds was blink. "Wow, uh… see I knew you were doing that, sorta." It had been hard to miss. "Wasn't totally sure on the why. I get it, kid. But apology accepted."

Daniel abruptly realized he had in no way been worried about Lance accepting his apology or not, it almost felt like a given. Which was kind of nice… weird, but nice. What was not nice was that now he couldn't seem to stop being emotionally vulnerable, so he might as well get the rest out. "And that's why I'm so torn about this lion thing. I mean first the heat, and then the weird connection when I saw you flying it… it seems like I'm definitely a part of this somehow? I just don't know how. Which on one hand, awesome, 'cause they can't take you guys away if I'm a part of it—but why the fuck am I not a pilot? And magical bullshit, do I really want that? I just wish I knew what my purpose was here so I could decide if I like it, you know?"

Lance's eyes glowed again as he said that. "You felt it again huh?"

"Yeah. And the others felt something, too. It just doesn't make any sense to me. They already have pilots, what else do they need?"

The memories of what it had taken to bond to Red flashed through Lance's mind, and he swallowed hard as he thought of his family all over again. But now he thought about what Red hadn't brought up, too. Because your grief is a fire. Nothing about his epic flying talents.

"I don't know… I don't think any of us were chosen for our skills. It's not about piloting as much as…" Fuck it, why was he trying to sort this out himself? "Hey, Red, is Daniel connected to you or not?"

"It's complicated, Firestriker. All will come in due time."

Right, that was why. "Yeah, okay. He's cryptic but he didn't say no." Lance shook his head. "I think it's all still bigger than we really understand."

Whether or not he was connected to Red was not the question Daniel was worried about. He was totally connected to Red, but how, and for what purpose? "I don't understand. If he doesn't want me for my skills then why the hell would he want me?" He'd have liked less confusion and irritation about this. "I put up with enough things I don't understand during the academy."

Snort. "We all did… I mean, I say this with authority, because I myself am awesome." Lance smirked. "You're pretty awesome."

Blush. "I hate it when you do that." He didn't. He actually loved it, but admitting that out loud wouldn't be cool. "But I am pretty awesome." Just very distrustful of all authority that wasn't Lance, Keith… or Sarial. And a big red magical sentient cat ship was still on the Do-Not-Trust side of things.

"I don't know exactly why he picked me either, Daniel. But I do know it's not because I dorked out while flying him. This is magic and weirdness. And it's a lot." Lance hesitated. Despite all his expectations, he'd had his own moments of questioning. "Maybe you should be unsure you want this, until you know more? If he does want you, he'll make damn sure you're sure."

"Well, I'm definitely unsure."

"Good… I think." Lance squeezed his shoulder. "I want you with me, I hope you are, but you've got to be sure of yourself."

Daniel nodded slowly. It made sense, he guessed. As much as anything around here made sense. And one thing he was sure of was that he'd been emotionally vulnerable enough for one day. "Alright, we got the brotherly mentor shit out of the way. Wanna tell me all about how awesome Red is, so I can be painfully jealous?"

Snort. "Yeah, that was getting way too serious." Lance sat back and smirked. "He's fucking maneuverable as hell compared to anything Alliance. It's weird though, he does kind of move like a cat, and the shit his weapons can do is just…"

As promised, within moments Daniel was painfully jealous. But he was feeling so much better, too.

*****

*Back from delay with good news for once: our cat-herder-in-chief finally has a tentative diagnosis. Things will still be a bit sporadic while she's getting started with treatment, but we're a step closer to getting back to our regularly scheduled chapters!