Love among pain

chapter 4

            After Shiro's majestic feet in the last training everyone went back to the palace.

"The most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron. Lani you should join them" Coran says as Lani was ushered off to join the boys in the training deck. "Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron. So relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins. Come on, everyone, clear everything. Now, focus on forming your lion." From Coran's point of view, it seemed fine with four of the paladins. Lani was focused on earth and her family. The last she had seen of them. Then it was going to her friends she made and a small Galra child.

"Bring your lions together and form Voltron. Keep your minds open, work together. Good! Keep focusing! Only one to go!" Coran yelled. Keith opened his mind and looked at Pidge. Ignoring the pain Lani was feeling by thinking of her memories.

"Pidge, stop thinking of your Girlfriend!" Keith yelled.

"I wasn't! Hunk was rooting around in my head!" Pidge yelled back mad.

Hunk opened his eyes and faced Pidge, "I thought we were open. You can look in my head hole."

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head hole! Clear your minds!" Coran yelled through the speaker. The five went back and their lions were once more merging into the center. Lani was still focused on her happy memories. Trying to clear out the negative ones. The five were forming Voltron by this time and being focused on that they ignored Lani. That is until Pidge messed up the whole thing.

"Pidge!" lance yelled.

"I'm done with this!" Pidge grunted. In that moment Lani yelled and was panicking.

"NO! GET AWAY!" Lani yelled as she moved back. The others surrounded her and tried to calm her down but nothing worked. She passed out but the last thing they all saw was a small child strapped into a table and scared.

"Let's take a break." Shiro said as he lifted her and moved her to her room. Hunk went with him as he held her hand that was limped.

                  Only a few moments' later Lani walks back into the training deck and sees that they all have a juice pack. Just like lance she leans on Hunk and opens a space juice. She feels all eyes on her so she sighs and looks at the six people in the room.

"I guess you guys want me to explain," Lani said without looking down. With a simple nod from everyone, she sits up and sighs. Looking at them all in the face she opens her mouth.

"After I was captured I was taken into Zarkon's palace. There I meet the nasty witch and Zarkon. I was instantly placed to fight and learn to defend myself. I had proven myself after a few matches but that was never enough? They would experiment on me and injected me with two different blood types. More like alien blood types.... One was altain. (Looks at Coran) I was then bred to fight. Trained to be an amazing fighter. Every day was a new test for my skills and new things they would do to me. I had three friends. Two human like myself and the other a Galra. Maybe the only Galra I liked." Lani stood up and took off her coat. Her wrist showing the metal bands. She proceeded to lift her pants and showed the metal around her ankles too. She moved to lift her shirt but was stopped by Hunk.

"Lani what are you doing?" he yelled. Lani smiled and walked back from him.

"Hunk let me show you guys. I'm not done. (She removes her shirt and turns around) they didn't stop. The weapons you guys see me pull out of nowhere come from the metal tech I have through most of my body." Lani places everything back on and looks at them. A sad smile on her face. "Don't be any different with me but all this makes me want to save terra- I mean earth more than ever. I always wanted to come to space since I was a kid. I just had something came in the way of the fun I wanted." Lani looked up and only now realized that Allura was there to scold them on training but, what Lani got was shocking. Allura came in for a hug and held Lani close.

"You say you are part Altain so I welcome you as and a citizen of our people." Lani was in tears and everyone was in on a hug around the two girls. Everyone but Keith. When they broke up the hug Allura looked at the Paladins and had her glare back on.

"Now back to training. It time you face the Gladiator." And it was back to the training they went. Lani in there with them.

"In order to defeat the gladiator, five paladins must work as one. Lani, in this case, you must be the backup to help support them." Coran said into the speaker. When he did a hole opened in the middle and out fell a metallic gladiator. It went straight for Hunk who was having trouble lifting his bayard. The gladiator quickly knocked him down and next up was Pidge to defend his comrade. Sadly, he was knocked over too and lance came in shooing his laser. Missing every shot but he tried. Lani came up behind the metallic person and went for a swing with a sword. It missed and the gladiator went to knock lance out. Lance had his weapon knocked out his hands and was getting beaten pretty badly. Keith was on the other side trying to get a hit on the gladiator. Sadly, they both got knocked out together. All that was left was Shiro and Lani. Shiro had his arm ready and Lani had her metal tech form to make two arm covers. It went for Shiro and he froze. Keith made it before Lani and blocked the weapon from hitting Shiro. Both were knocked down and Lani came up and kicked the gladiator. Running to it and landing a good punch on his face. It shut off from there and the whole thing stopped. Allura came in mad.

"That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altain child! Lani was the only one able to stop it before it shut off! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone to face Zarkon!" she pretty much yelled at them.

            They were then tied to each other, Lani was upset to be next to Keith, as they got ready to eat more space goo. Pretty much they had sit and learn to eat as a team.

"I swear Coran if I wasn't tied to Pure little Pidge and mullet head.... I'd kill you!" Lani yelled from the table as she tried to undo the bands. The others just looked and sighed as Lani was struggling. She gave up and looked defeated. They tried to eat and it was proving more difficult. Everyone was irritated. Nothing was working to eat calmly. Everyone was getting into a fight and little by little Allura was getting irritated.

"Do earthlings ever stop complaining?" Allura asked.

Everyone stopped and looked at her. Lani, just to be funny, spoke up "no, no we don't."

"Can't you just give us a break? Everyone's been working really hard today." Shiro said looking pretty mad.

"Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like...like..." Keith started.

"Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" Lance finished.

"Yes! Thank you Lance!" Keith said which was shocking.

"Hate to agree with mullet but I agree. I was treated better after experiments than this." Lani said as she once more attempted to eat but failed as it fell down again. Soon even Pidge and Coran were getting in on it. Then, as if time slowed, goo was launched at Pidge. Allura has launched it and then all hell broke loose. A food war started. Lani who was confused just sat there until some landed on her. She grabbed her goo and flung it to Shiro. Joining in on the fun and when it was all over they were all tired but knew it was time to try and form Voltron.

           They all were cut loose and the five went to get into their lions. Lani standing next to Allura as she started the system. Once they were in their lions they launched out and were forming Voltron. Allura and Lani cheered as tears ran down Lani's face. The happiness that they were finally able to form Voltron.

"Man that was so cool! I'm so charged up; I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight." Lance said.

"Not me. When my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out." Keith said a smile on his face.

"I just want you to know that I realized when we are in Voltron, we are brothers, man." Hunk says as he hugs Keith and Lance. Lani laughs and smiles.

"That much is true. We are family now guys and I'm proud of all of you." Lani said as she patted Shiro. Keith felt weird but he just assumed it was because Hunk was hugging him. All of them walked away to head to bed. All but Pidge and Lani. She smiled at him and they went to work on her suit. That night Lani and Pidge really bonded and were closer than ever. Almost.... Almost like 'sisters'.