Continued Reality: A Voltron Fanfiction

INTO THE GAS MASS

Voltron once again begins to fly towards New Celaria. They enter the gas mass and, as Pidge predicted, they can't see anything beyond the front of their lions and their sensors are unable to pick up any readings around them.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Hunk says.

"You always have a bad feeling," Lance says.

"I wouldn't say he always does. But most of the time, yes," Pidge agrees.

"Ha ha, very funny you guys," Hunk says, unamused.

"What's that?" Bellin asks, pointing.

The group suddenly sees a flash of light moving towards them. It collides with Voltron, and sends a massive shockwave throughout all the lions. It breaks Voltron apart, separating the lions from each other.

"What was that?!" Lance shouts once the gang gets over the shock.

"My guess is some kind of defense system," Pidge replies. "If Voltron couldn't even take that hit, there's no way one of our lions could take a hit like that on its own!"

They see another flash of light heading their direction, and they all dodge it before it can hit any of them. But the closer they fly to the planet, the more flashes of light shoot at them. It becomes nearly impossible to dodge them all.

"Fall back!" Keith orders, and they all fly out of the gas mass and regroup.

"What do we do now?" Romelle asks.

"I think someone would stand a better chance going in there alone," Keith replies. "They could scout ahead and maybe even find a way to stop whatever is shooting at us."

"But that would be too dangerous," Pidge says. "Remember what I said? A lion hit by one of those would be toast."

"I'm the best pilot here though," Keith says. "I can do it."

"Hold your horses," Lance says. "You may be the best pilot, but we all know Red is the fastest."

"Did Lance just admit that Keith is the best pilot?" Hunk says, as Pidge chuckles in response.

But Lance ignores them. "We've both piloted Red before. You know I'm right."

"Wait a minute," Romelle says. "I don't agree with this! I'm the newest member of the team. I don't think I should be the one to go."

"But Lance actually has a point," Keith says. "Red is the fastest and most agile of the lions. You should be able to dodge all of the shots."

"Should be?" Romelle repeats worriedly.

"Come on Romelle," Keith says encouragingly. "You can do this. Just trust in your lion, and trust in yourself." He pauses before adding. "We all have faith you. I have faith in you."

Romelle's breath catches in her throat. Keith's words hit her in a way she never could have imagined. "Okay... I'll do it," she says.

"Be careful, Romelle!" Hunk says.

Romelle sighs. "I'll try," she replies, still feeling hesitant. She takes a deep breath, and pilots the lion back towards the planet.

Inside the gas mass, she sees a flash coming at her almost immediately. She dodges it, only to dodge another and another.

"This is insane!" She shouts, narrowly dodging another one. "That was way too close!" But Keith's words echo inside her mind, and she breathes in and out slowly. She closes her eyes, and finds that she is more connected with her lion than she thought. She can see through its eyes, and can sense what it senses. She can feel every shot before it reaches her, and she is able to weave and dodge around them all gracefully without even opening her eyes. Finally, she completely passes through the mass and sees the surface of the planet ahead.

"I made it through!" Romelle shouts excitedly.

"Way to go!" She hears Hunk say.

"Alright!" Lance says.

"Woo-hoo!" Pidge adds.

"Good job," Keith tells her. "Now, see if you can find what's shooting."

Romelle flies in closer to the planet, at the same time trying to see if anything shows up on her sensors. But before anything can register, a strange glowing ray hits her lion, coming from the surface of the planet. It immobilizes the lion, and she begins to fall.

"My lion isn't responding!" Romelle shouts.

"Just stay calm and keep trying," Keith replies.

Romelle attempts to use the controls again, but still nothing happens.

"It's not working. I'm going to crash!"

She plummets closer and closer to the planet's surface, desperately trying to bring the lion back online. But it is unable to awaken, and she soon crashes to the ground hard.

"Romelle? Romelle!"

Everyone shouts at the same time over their coms.

"She isn't responding! Why isn't she responding?" Hunk panics.

"We need to get to her!" Pidge says.

"The lions are tough, it'll have kept her safe... right?" Lance says, unsure.

Keith hangs his head in silence, not sure what to do. He doesn't even notice Kosmo teleport away, completely disappearing from sight.

"Way to go, half-breed," Lyna says. "You just lost one of your team members."