Lion vs. Lion
Lance's eyes floated open aand he
found himself starring up at the ceiling of his own room. Grudgingly
he sat up and rubbed his eyes with his fists. Getting up he wandered
down to the recreation room unable to shake the strange dream he'd had
about Denayl and that alter.
Looking up he found himself in Castle
Control. "What the..."
"Who are you?"
Lance whirled around, his jaw dropping
as he saw a younger and very much alive King Alfor. For once Lance
found it difficult to speak. His tongue felt too thick in his dry
mouth. "King- King Alfor?"
The King's eyebrow rose. "Yes.
But you didn't answer my question young man."
"I'm Lance Braddock, pilot of Red
Lion."
The King's eyes widdened and the corners
of his mouth quirked. "Oh, I thought that was your job Denayl."
He looked over Lance's shoulder and Lance shifted his position to look
at the person the King was talking to. His fists clenched at his
sides as he saw the familiar blond head and blue, serious eyes of the spectre.
"YOU! What have you done??
It's about time you explained. Lead me out into the night to that
wierd alter-thing... Geez. Allura and Keith must have a search party
out by now... I mean Lion practice was at five and it's nearly noon..."
"What do you know about my daughter?"
Lance suddenly found himself looking
into a pair of very angry grey eyes. The sight angered Lance, after
all he hadn't done anything wrong... yet... He yanked his shirt out of
the King's grasp.
"She's ruled Arus since your death.
Fighting against Lotor and Zarkon, heck she's even piloted Blue Lion since
Sven left. But what do you care? You never told her anything
of value about the Lions. Coran's helped but it still isn't enough.
But that's fine, your ghost stays around the castle and his --..."
He jabbed a finger at the other pilot. "... ghost decided to pay
a visit to me. 'Follow,' he says. So I follow... why?
Because I'm an idiot that's why!" His whole body shook, the thoughts
going through his mind just too much for him to sort out.
He was so intent on sorting out the
jumble in his head that he missed the look that passed between the two.
King Alfor cleared his throat, drawing
Lance's attention. His face was serious, "How old is Allura?"
"Seventeen."
The King nodded, still serious.
For some reason Lance felt his frayed nerves settle. "Can you describe
this 'alter', Denayl lead you to?"
He nodded, set on his task, trying
to remember. "I think it was computer based... It asked me if I wanted
the lights on... There were two pillars on either side of a huge marble
Lion and a doorway 'tween it's front legs. When I went through the
door there were four fires and an alter in the middle. When I touched
the alter... I think I blacked out."
"The temple of the Lion spirit..."
------------------------------
King Alfor stared at the brown-haired
boy before him. No one except the Arusian Royalty knew of the temple
of the Lion spirit but the description fit. "Come with me... Lance."
The boy's confusion was suddenly hidden
by a mask that came down over his features, but he followed as he'd been
bidden.
Together they left Castle Control
and Denayl stayed behind as he knew his King wanted. Opening the
door to his office he moved back allowing Lance to enter first.
With confident, easy steps King Alfor
moved to his desk and sat, gesturing for Lance to sit across from him.
He hesitated, eyeing the door aprehensively.
But eventually sat down on the edge of the chair, his body seemingly relaxed
but an air of alertness about him.
King Alfor smiled sympathetically.
"Do you have any idea what's happened to you?"
Lance's eyebrow quirked upwards.
"Well, it maybe just my imagination, but I'd say by some weird twist of
fate I've managed to get myself transferred into the past."
Alfor nodded his blond head and smiled,
"So you're quicker than you look. Now, I'm going to explain how you
got here." He leaned forward folding his hands on the desk.
"The place you described is called the Temple of the Lion Spirit.
It is not known exactly what the Temple's nature is, but many mysteries
surround it. It would seem that you were needed here at this time,
for what reason I can't fathom but you're here for a purpose... one that
only you can fulfill."
Lance chuckled, "If Keith and Allura
could hear that, they'd choke."
At his daughter's name he looked openly
on the boy. "You're a friend of my daughter's?"
His brown eyes sparkled, "More like
a thorn in her side."
"Would you like to meet her?"
"What do you mean?" Lance's
forehead wrinkled in confusion. "I already know her."
"As she is in your time, yes, but
not as a little girl."
"Allura... a little girl... Yah sure,
why not? Where is she?"
King Alfor smiled, spun in his chair
and gently taped the side of a book case. Immediately a section fell
forward and a blonde braided girl tumbled out at his feet.
------------------------------
Lance blinked at them and found himself
struck speechless as the tiny girl, obviously Allura, placed her hands
on her hips and gave her father a level glare. "Father!"
Alfor chuckled in amusement before
scooping her into a hug.
"Allura I'd like you to meet..."
Lance cut him off, eyeing the tomboy
wearily. "Lancelot. Lancelot Braddock. It's a pleasure
to meet you, Princess."
"You should bow when you address Royalty."
She replied smugly.
Lance's mouth twisted into a smirk.
"I've never bowed to you, Princess, nor will I ever. And if you don't
like that you can toss me in the dungeon."
The little girl's mouth dropped open.
"B-but?"
"Never."
She cocked her head to the side, "You
aren't ordinary, are you?"
---------------------------------
King Alfor saw a flicker of pain in
Lance's eyes before he spoke softly, "No. I'm just ordinary."
But to Alfor's surprise his daughter
shook her head vehemently. "No. You're one for the Lions.
Just like Father, Denayl, Lyndel, Jezz and Tobel... Like I will be one
day." She frowned then chewed on her bottom lip in thought.
"But if that's true... than why are you here now?"
Lance's face weent through a series
of emotions before ending in a wide grin and a bubbling laugh. "Man,
I always wondered if Allura had been 'in touch' with the Lions since she
was a kid. Guess that answers THAT question."
Alfor opened his mouth to reply but
the alarms suddenly sounded. As he moved past Lance he gripped the
younger man's shoulder and looked directly into his brown eyes. "Take
care of my daughter."
The boy's face became serious.
"We might not have the greatest relationship but I would never let anything
happen to her, sir."
For the first time, King Alfor felt
the worry for his daughter's well-being slip away. "I believe you."
-------------------
Lance's heart pounded along with the
alarm and he wished he'd be the one flying Red Lion but somehow he tugged
his mind back to his new job.
Meeting Allura's blue eyes he found
himself grinning at the braided little girl. "Do you want to see
if we can help in Castle Control?"
Allura looked at him, a mischievious
look on her face. "Why did you say that we didn't get along?"
The question silenced Lance but she continued. "I know that there's
no way I could hate you... we're too much alike." Grabbing his hand
she tugged him towards the door. "Hurry up. I don't want to
miss the action!"
---------------------
Lance saw Coran at the monitors as
they entered but kept silent as he watched the screens. The Lions
weren't doing so well. They were loosing and it seemed that Black
was damaged and Red was down.
He felt Allura squeeze his hand and
he looked down. She motioned for him to bend closeer and he obliged.
When his ear was close enough she whispered. "There's another Lion.
The White Lion."
Lance pulled away and stared at her
in disbelief. The once more she was leading him away. Outside
of Castle Control she stopped and turned to him. "The White Lion
is only used in times of emergencies. There is no pilot because it
is a ghost ship, flown by a special link. Not many of the pilots
can link to it. The ability is very rare. I can do it but I'm
too young to establish control. Father cans as well but he's flying
the Black..." She paused and eyed him with a calculatory glance.
"I believe you may be able to as well."
"Princess. As long as you'll
be totally safe while I do this, I'm more than willing to try."
She smiled at him. "Then we
must go to the Temple of the Lion Spirit."
-----------------------------
Allura had him sit cross-legged on
the floor and returned a short time later holding two jeweled wrist braces
and a matching circlet which she dressed him in. The metal felt cool
on his skin and he noted that the jewels were really just large opals.
"The Temple's security systems have
been activated. Now close your eyes Lance and imagaine the ceremonial
pieces becoming part of you. Breath slowly..."
The voice seemed replaced by the ghost
of Denayl... "Let your heart lead you to where you're called, allow your
spirit to follow it. Your destiny has begun Lion's Heart... Red Lioon
is no longer under Denayl's control... he has perished. The Drule
now have her and use her against the others... Hurry."
Lance couldn't hope to describe tha
sudden letting go, releasing hold on his body. He wasn't sure where
he was goin but he followed a thin thread of white upwards, as if in slow
motion. When he reached the end he found himself in a hazy, white
cockpit that was translucent, allowing him to see the Castle and trees...
everythin. He wanted to get to the fight as soon as possible and
no sooner had the though entered his mind than he was in space watching
the Blue evading fire.
The braces on each wrist seemed to
have melted into his skin, the designe and stone becoming part of his body.
Somehow he managed to erect a shield around the Blue Lion just as one of
the shots came at it. Aiming the White Lion at the Drule ship he
fired a laser at it, where it touched the ship disintegrated.
A shot connected with the White Lion's
leg and pain erupted in his own. Turning he face the Red Lion and
knew in certainty that he'd be unable to destroy it. The Red shot
again but Lance had lost his concentration and wasn't able to focus enough
to move quickly. The shot hit the Lion's left foreleg and his arm
went numb.
A crazy thought entered his head...
the White Lion wasn't really solid... it was a spirit of some kind.
If he could mesh the Red and White together...
No sooner had he though it then he
found it happening. His mind felt like it was being torn in two.
Everything slowly became one and the
strain of holding it was becoming too much. "King Alfor can you hear
me?"
"Lance...What?"
"Yes, no time to expalin. Form
Voltron."
"Right."
-------------------------------
Lance was dimly aware that he felt
solid and it was a second before he realized he'd somehow settled into
Denayl's body. "This is getting really weird."
He'd missed the formation somehow
and just barely caught... 'form blazing sword.', hitting the right buttons
in reflex. No sooner had he donw so then he felt the White's Spirit
surround Voltron. Unable to withstand the stress he felt himself
'snapped' back to his own body.
-------------------------------
Allura sensed what was happening.
The Lion's Spirit had beome one with all five Lion's and she glance at
Lance in worry as he groaned in pain, unconcious. His injuries were
too real and he needed a doctor but there was no way she could carry him
to Castle Control. The left the... Alter. He'd have to be sent
back to his own time when she'd be ready to help him.
Moving him slightly she gently pushed
his hand into contact with the sacred object.
"I'll be waiting Lance, I promise."
