Voltron- beyond the stars

6- Lost treasure

I drum my fingers against the steering wheel while humming along, admiring the thousands of stars surrounding us. Keith and I were following the coordinates Coran had programmed into the pod which was currently on autopilot. How handy.

Coran's words play over in my head. 'The wormhole can only stay open for two of your Earth hours, so you better hurry back. If not, you'll be stuck there forever and end up dying on that planet!'
He had said it so cheerfully. It was antagonizing.

What if Keith and I got stuck on some random planet forever? We'd live out our measly lives there. What would happen to Voltron? And Zarkon? The universe? I sigh, stopping my tapping which had sped up as my thoughts had progressed.

"Hey, are you okay?" Keith asks in a soft tone. Oh, how that tone always made my heart melt.
"Yeah, I'm just nervous," I say, looking at my hands on my lap.
Eye contact was hard for me. My eyes tend to flit around, never really settling on anything. I either space out and stare at one thing or constantly look around. There's no in between.

"Don't worry. We'll get your lion and get back to the castle before Lance and them," he promises, giving me a gentle smile.
I nod, and turn back to viewing the stars.

I jump out of the pod and dust off my pants. Thank goodness we could breathe here. I look around, observing my surroundings.

The landscape was basked in a purpleish red hue with a countless amount of crystals embedded into the ground. They're so pretty. I can't tell if they're what's emitting the faint light or if it's from something else. Can I take a crystal?

I go under our ship, and begin inspecting the ground for any uprooted crystals.
"Um, Luna?" I hear Keith ask.
I ignore him, and continue scanning the ground.
"Aha!" I yell, coming up victorious.
I hold it out for him to inspect between my thumb and pointer.
"Hold this please," I state, placing it in his hand.
He looks at it resting in the palm of his gloved hand, and nods before placing it in one of his belt pouches.

I turn to the landscape and begin taking it in. Strange poofy objects are scattered every here and there. I walk up to the nearest one, and tentatively poke it with my shoe. It folds in on itself but quickly returns to its original shape. It feels like foam.

"So... What now?" Keith inquires.
"Well Allura said that I should be drawn to the lion. Whatever that means," I shrug.
"So we just wander around until you get a feeling?" Keith raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah... I guess."

We silently walk a few yards forward.
"You feel anything yet?" Keith asks.
"Nope," I mutter.
"How do we even know if we're going in the right direction?" I huff, putting away the mini map Allura gave us.
"Don't ask me, I'm just as lost as you are," he replies.

I stop walking and close my eyes. I hear Keith's footsteps stop but keep my eyes shut.
Look for the lion. Reach out for it. I have a bond with it. I will be able to feel its presence. I can feel its presence.
Even though my eyes are still closed I see the landscape. A white line appears twisting and turning over the ground.
"Got it!" I yell, and set off in the direction the path guides.

"It should be right about here," I share, coming to a stop.
As we progressed the crystals seemed to get thicker. I close my eyes and look at the path. A dot is laying right in front of me.
"Right.. where?" Keith asks.
"Hold up," I mutter, and step towards the agglomeration of crystals.
I eye every inch of it. How did we find Lance's lion? He placed his hand on the drawings.
"Here goes nothing!" I shout, and place my hand down on the batch of crystals, praying none cut me.

I leave it there a couple seconds before stepping back to stand beside Keith.
Nothing happens.
"Oooookay, well that was a long sho-"
A deep rumbling sounds erupts, and the crystals start shaking. They vibrate even faster and begin to sink into the ground.

"Smart," Keith smirks.
I laugh and step towards the gaping 10 foot hole in the ground. I close my eyes and look down seeing that the path did lead down there.

"We have to go down there," I report.
"How?" Keith asks.
"Jumping?..." I trail off.
I walk to the edge of the hole and peer down. I pick up a rock from near my foot, and drop it down and listen.
One second later I hear a plink! So the hole's should be abouuuuut 6 feet deep.
"Okay, so, we can just jump down," I remark.
Keith stares at me.
"You sure?"
I nod.
"It's not that deep, c'mon," I say, waving him over to the hole.
I sit on the edge ready to throw myself down. Keith does the same.
"One, two, three!" I count, jumping down, bracing for impact.

My boots slam into the ground but my posture made the force bearable. Go Luna.
I look around but everything is dark now. The only light was coming from the hole above us.

"Luna?" Keith calls.
"I'm here," I reply, reaching around for him.
I feel a hand and  grab it.
"Don't let go, okay?" I ask, not wanting to separate.
I can barely make out his silhouette but I see him nod. Thank goodness it's too dark for him to see my red cheeks.

I close my eyes and follow the path given. We slowly make our way forward due to the ground slanting downwards. After about five minutes I see a maroon light up ahead, which was clearly visible in the darkness. As we near it I make out the honeycomb pattern in the center along with a lion.
"There it is!" I shout, running and dragging Keith along.
I carelessly make my way forward expecting Keith to steady me if I trip and vice versa.

I skid to a stop, and look up at the robot lion.
Omg omg omg

"Hello," I start, my voice echoing off the walls.
"My name is Luna. I-I'm going to be your new paladin. I hope that's okay with you."
"Why are you talking to it?" Keith whispers.
"Shh!" I order, wriggling my hand out of his and taking a step forward.
"This is my, friend, Keith. He's friendly too, for the most part. Anyways, can you please open up so that-whoah!"
As soon as I had asked for it to open the shield dropped, the lion bent down, and opened its mouth.
"Why, thank you!" I cheerfully say, proud of my achievement.
I turn around to Keith.
"Let's go," I grin.