1 「Awakening 」

「Context Section: Galaxy Garrison Facility. Katie Holt's Point of View.」

With her radio sat out in front of her, Pidge Gunderson stared up at the stars above, like she did every night. She was listening to the signals from outer space. She wanted to pick up everything, anything, that may indicate where her father was. Yet for weeks there had been nothing. What had happened on that mission?

She knew that they hadn't died, and it seemed the Galaxy Garrison was hiding something. So far, she had been getting nothing. She fixed her glasses to her nose with her middle and index finger, looking at the lines move up and down. It was mostly background noise, noise in which kept coming back after it had been eliminated.

"Why does this keep coming back," She scratched the back of her head, running her fingers through her bright brown hair. Reviewing her findings, she paused. She mapped out the correlation with background noise from the nights before and the ones present today.

Compared to these, it seemed that this was more intellectually made than the ones generated by natural radiation, spatial and special anomalies. She brought her hand to her face and rested her chin in her fist, her index finger coursing over her jaw in thought.

While she understood the alien chatter from off world, as they used a single common word, Voltron. What she was hearing was distinctively differently from the other.

Reaching over, she moved the antennae towards the south of the Academy, the signal became stronger and she began to hear a raspy voice. It was in an unknown alien language, fading in and out. It matched nothing she had ever heard before, was there some sort of alien presence on earth!?

Despite this not necessarily being what she had hoped to find this late at night, it was clear that something was amiss. Checking all other channels on the radio, it appeared that it only appeared on the one she had been focusing on at the time. Pausing and returning to the channel she had left behind, she began to tune in to the what seemed to be focused broadcast to a particular area.

The further she pressed into the signal, the clearer it got. She found that it was a repetitive message, one that sounded urgent. The tone, while it sounded calm, suggested they were in distress as it was accompanied by an alarm of some kind.

Using her laptop to look at the signal which was being sent, she even found that it had just started, there was no degradation, but held a large amount of encryption. Was this some sort of first contact, or a prank?

However the data wasn't lying, this wasn't a signal from any form of Earth technology. The broadband message she was receiving was synthetic, designed to be received by her device's model alone.

"This... can't be a coincidence," noticing an outdated yet highly intricate encryption key hidden within the message, she begins her work. Typing away at the computer, she tore through layer after layer of hidden security.

When she reached the end, there was simple numbers scattered all over the screen. She stared at them, in her mind processing them through complicated and brilliant equations. The first row of numbers were Prime, something that humanity often sent out in the past to find sentient life, of course without any hope of finding it.

Yet she found that it was right here on earth, amongst them, or beneath them. As she finished computing the data found here on the computer, she couldn't help but let out a sigh. In the end the numbers, excluding the prime ones, were coordinates.

"They're telling me where they are..?" Her eyes narrowed, hope ignited in the back of her head as she thought of the possibilities that they may know where her father went. What happened to her brother and where Shiro had gone. So many questions, so many answers.

Packing her things into her backpack, she paused and looked up at the sky. A small smile crossing over her lips as she watched a flying star graze her vision, reflecting off her glasses. "I'm coming Dad, Matthew, I'm coming!"

Fixing the sleeves of her casual green and white, orange trimmed, jacket. She stood up and slipped the backpack onto her back. It was about a thirty minute run from the Garrison Facility to the location given in the coordinates. From her knowledge of the local geography, she could assume it lead to an underground lake she heard rumors about in an urban legends pamphlet.

Of course as she was transversing the halls, avoiding security. She had other thoughts in the back of her head. Now that she was certain there was extraterrestrial life, she could only assume that her family had been taken by aliens from another world. This could mean, this may as very well be a trap.

Maybe they knew she was looking into her father and brother's disappearances. Maybe they were working with the Galaxy Garrison to cover it up! She became cross as she thought of the possibilities.

She returned to her room, briefly unnoticed. She began going through her personal effects and collected several objects. Flash lights, flares. She needed to see in the dark. She turned off her phone and dropped it into her pocket.

If she were to get in trouble, she had to find a way to get help after all.

Getting a change of clothes, she would glance over her shoulder towards the door. She swore she heard something outside a distance away. Probably just some other rowdy teens sneaking out at night.

"Better avoid them," she said aloud, saying exactly what she was thinking.

Undoing her knee length denim shorts, she slid them down and tucked them into her drawer and took out a pair of jeans. Slipping them on, she snapped the elastic of her boxer briefs as she straightened them out to avoid them showing.

Not that anyone would see.

She yipped slightly, but covered her mouth to keep quiet, not wanting others to hear her still awake. Once she collected some more supplies from her personal stash, she slipped the backpack onto her back once more.

"Need to be light," she shuffled the bag on her back and nodded to herself as she was able to maneuver nicely without much hinderance. "Check."

Opening the door, she peered out. She definitely heard other people moving, but the moment the door was open, they seemed to stop going wherever they were going.

Narrowing her eyes forward, she darted out of the room, letting her door close on its own. Little did she know, it was Lance and Hunk. Oddly enough they were pulling the same sort of shenanigans as they would a week from today during Shiro's crash.

After a few minutes, she was outside of the facility and on the warpath. However as she continued in her direction, she continued to wonder how her device was being targeted. She had built it herself, they must've known that somehow, that would be the only way.

"Were they targeting the hard address?" She thought out loud once more, Hunk and Lance both creeping behind. Hiding behind bush, or rock, to avoid being found.

Pidge Holt seemed to be completely unaware that she was actually being followed. She thought she had left them behind. That wasn't the case.

After about thirty minutes of jogging, she eventually came across a collapsed shack in the middle of legibly nowhere. "Urban Legends said there was an underground spring, or lake, around here..." She looked around, it was mainly land and hills. Pursing her lips she narrowed her sights on the shack once more. Walking over to the ruined wooden structure, she eyed the ground until she saw a hatch and blinked several times.

Crouching down, she grabbed an age old rope which was attached to it and pulled. The door opened, but fell off the hinges and split in two as she let go of the rope and let it fall to the ground beside the hole beneath.

"Eurika," she exclaimed with an ear to ear grin across her lips, looking down into the hole, all she saw was pitch darkness. Taking out her flashlight, she stared down at the sandstone walls and tunnel several meters beneath the surface. "Oooo..."

There was a ladder engraved into the wall, it seemed to be several millennia old, it was clear this place hadn't been refurbished. Climbing down into the hole, she grasped onto the stone ladder and slowly began to make her way to the bottom.

About half way down her fingers began to slip and she pulled herself closer to the wall. Even if she fell backward, she could stop herself from falling as the hole wasn't that wide. At least, if she didn't panic she would be able to.

Just then a light from above shined down on her, startling her and causing her to let go of the ladder; flailing her arms about as she started to slide down the hole.

Her arms and legs slowed her descent, until with a soft thud, she landed on her rump.

"Oh crap! Pidge, are you okay?" Lance called down, shining the light above frantically. "What are you even doing?"

"Going for a ... Night swim!" A sweat drop rolled down the side of her head as she smiled coyly up at her friends. Though they were mainly just classmates, they were friendly enough.

Getting up to her feet, she dusted off her behind and checked her equipment. It was relatively unscathed, though it seemed her jeans could have fared better, having torn one pant leg up to a little above her knee.

"Good thing I didn't wear shorts..." She muttered quietly to herself, before turning and walking further down the tunnel. She could hear Hunk complaining, attempting to negotiate fruitlessly with Lance to go back to the Garrison and steal a midnight snack. "You guys can come with if you'd like~" She chimed frivolously, considering they were following her anyways.

Several minutes after navigating in the dark with a single flashlight, the three enter the main chambers. before them was a crystal illuminated lake. It was a natural wonder.

"The forum said nothing about these.." Pidge gasped until she noticed a shape beneath the unnaturally clear water. It was deeper than any lake she had ever seen, and yet the water was so deep, even the bottom could be seen without aide.

Beneath the water, was a massive Altean castle wedge between two rocks. As the tip of her sneakers entered the water, all of the ship's lights turned on and began to rise to the surface.

The interior began to shake, hard enough to cause the trio to fall to the ground and sit there watching in awe as it raised above the water. A single castle ship, magnificent in design, but partially damaged. It looked as if it had been in a fire fight the last time it was space worthy.

"Is this Voltron...?" Pidge pursed her lips, though she doubted it. That's when an energy based ramp extended from the main entrance of the vessel which was soon made apparent. After a period of thought, "No... That doesn't sound right."

Standing up, Pidge looked at the bridge which was extended to them. Right as she was about to step onto it however, Hunk and Lance tried to grab her and pull her back. She however twisted and turned until she broke free from them and their deterrence. Yet when they could see the motivation clearly in her eyes, they backed off and nodded.

They weren't going to let their friend go in alone.

"Count us in Pidge!" Lance volunteered himself and a rather distressed Hunk, to be her escort into the unknown vessel. "How bad could a bunch of aliens be, anyway?" He presented with a shrug, as frivolously as always.

As they entered the vessel together, Hunk and Lance flanking her on either side, Pidge stared down the long hall. The lights turning on, sensing their movement. However her eyes quickly traced over the burn marks on the interior.

It was clear that there had been a boarding party here. It's likely they had been attacked by whoever was looking for Voltron, or some other group of people. There were skeletons of Galra soldiers and destroyed robots littering the ground. Even some dead Altean remains.

The group stepped over the bodies, avoiding contact. Hunk refused to even look down and followed his friends movements.

It was clear it made all three of them uncomfortable.

"You said you were going for a midnight swim right? Why not just go back out there and have some fun, huh?" Hunk tried to plea with the two of them, however it fell on deaf ears as they came across a sealed door after traversing several other corridors.

"What is this...?"

Suddenly a disrupted mechanical voice sounded, "V-v-v-vvvvvvv.... Voice Recognition Complete. Pidge Gunderson, Welcome to the C-cc-ccc.... Chimeras Castle." The sealed door opened, the hissing of several mechanical locks could be heard as it did so. "War-war-Warning: be-war-Be-beware of Exposed bio circuits."

Once the door was open and the steam from the locks had cleared, they all stared into a magnificent room. It looked like a command center of some sort, however unlike outside, there was no bodies here and the lights were dim.

As Pidge alone stepped in to the room, the others hesitated to follow, before stepping in shortly afterward. Hunk walked up beside her however as they both examined the large terminal on the adjacent side of the room.

Suddenly one of the screens lit up revealing a teenage elf with blue triangular-like marks under his eyes hazel blue-green eyes and black hair, "This is Lord Nemo Vargon of the Chimeras Castle, I fear I am the last Altean left. The Paladins are gone... Voltron is lost. My father's troop compliment is dead. The Galra have turned against the Galaxy. If this is you Pidge Gunderson, thank you. Thank you for waking me." The sympathetic smile across his paled lips appeared to show that he had an idea of what she was going through. It felt strange.

"What did he mean by waking..." Pidge and Hunk tensed as they heard the hissing sound of a cylinder making its way up from the floor. They both turned around to look at the tube and stared.

Lance was the first to approach, wiping away the dust from the glass which hid the face of the person inside. He blinked a few times seeing the sleeping elf-like person. "No way!" He laughed a bit, watching as the mechanism began to decompress.

Pidge walked towards it, Hunk following closely in tow.

...

「Main Section: Chimeras Castle. Nemoi Vargon's Point of View」

「Host Found. Assimilation 85% Complete. Please Standby.」

Nemoi struggled to get his senses together. He could barely hear, feel, let alone open his eyes. He felt this odd tingling sensation moving throughout his body. His eyes began to pry open, as if they had been sealed by crusted mucus.

His vision was blurry, clearly this was due to the suspended animation. However, his eyes immediately locked onto the familiar colors as the pod opened.

「Assimilation 100% Complete. Salutations, Nemoi. I am the Altean System. Would you like to see your Stats? Yes or No?」

He subconsciously nodded as he quite literally fell forward, being briefly caught by Pidge.

"H-hey!" She shouted as his weight was just a bit more than she could handle. Her sneakers sliding slightly on the sleek flooring.

She only held him up for a few seconds before both of them collapsed on the ground with him on top, barely conscious. His head rested just over her shoulder, "Sorry..." He muttered quietly, as he started to regain control of his own motor functions and vision.

The screen which appeared in front of him was a light blue with a white outline. The corners were rounded on the top, but pointed at the bottom.

「Virtual Status Screen | System Alpha Version 1.3.0a | Altean Edition」

「Name」Nemoi Vargon

「Age 」Sixteen

「Gender 」Male

「Race 」<Altean Pureblood>

「Occupation 」<Noble lv.1> <Alchemist lv.1> <Agent of the Throne lv.1>

「Skills 」Close Quarters Combat, Firearms Intuition, Vehicular Intuition, Empathy.

「Abilities 」<Alchemy lv.1> <Energy Manipulation lv.1> <Magic lv.1> <Mimic Lv. MAX>

「Inventory 」Beginner Kit.

「Quintessence Points」0

「Experience Points」0/500

「System Commands」<Inventory> <Status> <QShop> <EXPShop>

He let out a quiet groan as he was able to roll off of Pidge, his hand brushing across her chest as he did so. He could tell she held in a squeak, but he didn't pay much mind to it. He already knew Pidge was actually Katie Holt, Matthew Holt's little sister.

"Is he okay?" Lance helped Pidge to her feet, brushing the dust out of her hair before kneeling over and looking over the elven man. "He seems... hungry?"

His vision was going in and out, he felt heavy, but he knew he shouldn't pass out right now. Slowly, he pushed himself up, sitting there and coughing dryly. "Wa-water..." He pronounced english rather well, though he sounded as if he was from the Americas, the T sounding like a D.

Blinking a few times hearing him speak more english, other than the apology earlier, she took knelt down and opened her pack. Taking out a bottle of water, she handed it to him and unscrewed the cap before he grasped it in his hands.

Feeling the flimsy cheap plastic, he snickered quietly to himself at the sensation and began to slowly sip at the water. It was best if someone was considered dehydrated or sick, to drink slowly.

After a few minutes, he cleared his throat, wiped the bottle's mouth and handed it back to her. She took it, and rescrewed the lid. Then took out a pen and marked it before putting it back in the bag.

They sat there silently for a few moments before Pidge let out a sigh.

"I'm going to keep this short... Nemoi, who are the Galra? Where are my brother and father?" Her voice was sterious, she leaned in towards him as she spoke. She had both hands on his shoulders as he weakly watched her. His eyes narrowly centered on her lips, while she kept watch on his face.

"And Shiro?" Lance butted in, wanting to know where his Hero was off to.

"The Galra... Are a warmongering species of purple skinned humanoids with devilish yellow," He responded with a frown visible across his lips as he reached up and placed a hand on her wrist. "All I know, is they're likely still alive, if they were found during the Galra's search for Voltron, then they're likely being used by the Galra in some form or another."

His eyes then moved towards the control module which was coming out of the ground. This castle was different from the Castle of Lions. This one in particular was designed by his father. Though it had very much the same capabilities and followed the same laws of architecture.

"What... What do you mean by used?" Pidge didn't like the sound of that, but at least her family was still alive. Though she noticed he didn't say anything about Shiro, but dismissed it. He probably included Shiro without being explicit.

"Everything, everyone, has a use." His hand moved along her arm, her eyes darting over to his hand as it reached her shoulder. A smile breached his lips, his tired eyes seemed to become warm. "Speaking of..." His eyes darted over towards the nervous Hunk and then towards Lance. "Can Pidge and I have the room for the moment, I promise it won't take long." His voice was polite, noble even.