Find your element

Darkness and light (edited)

"Before we start 'the awakening,' I think we should talk." Shiro said placing a spoonful of food into his mouth. The paladins exchanged worried glances wondering who did the wrong this time. (yes I know this is improper but still!)

Hunk stopped chewing and gave Lance a side eyed glance. The two seemed to having a silent argument. "About?" the Cuban drawled his eyes gaurded.

"Lance," pidge whined.

"What Hunk went through was definitely more specific and vivid. I talked with Allura and she said that it is possible for the machine to pull and alter memories."  Keith said.

"I don't see why it would matter." Lance said stubbornly.

The table was silent for a moment. "I think we can tell 'em. Bro this could bring us closer as a team.  Hiding things is the reason we take so long to form Voltron." Hunk looked up his voice barley hitting the whisper mark.

Lance pressed his palms into his eyes. "fine." it was a short answer. Dull and slightly sharp in tone. "Where to start."

"The beginning," Allura answered seating herself at the head of the table.

"Our first year at the garrison. Lance and I were roommates. I'd seen him around a lot but we never talked. He was always so quiet and distant." The pair shared small smiles. Chuckling at how much that had changed.

"I came here when I was thirteen," Lances smile grew. "I was homeschooled until I was accepted into the Galaxy Garrison. So I was still working on my English." 

Hunk giggled, "Bro your accent was amazing!"

"I guess. It seemed like only you thought so." suddenly the feeling in the room grew sad. Pidge watched as both her friends struggled to maintain their happy glow. "I wasn't the best pilot but Commander Iverson said I was a quick thinker. I scored high on all the written exams but I couldn't pass the simulations. First time I failed I went to the library to practice my English. And well, To study what all the fancy buttons did. I ran into a couple of guys who had been..." he searched for a word. "Giving me a hard time."

"A bully?" Keith hissed.

Lance shook his head. "No. Just jerks. They weren't always physical."

"Bull!" Hunk slammed his palms flat against the table. "You would come to Class with makeup to hide the bruises. You had a limp for the first two months I knew you!"

"It wasn't that bad," Lance groaned.

"Lance you flinched everytime someone moved near you yet you never did anything to stop it." Hunks voice softened.

Once again the table was silent. "why?" Keith whispered.

"Why wouldn't you defend yourself? Why didn't you tell someone?" pidge couldn't believe this. Lance didn't take anything from anyone. He loved a challenge but beyond that Lance hated bullies he always stuck for anyone he saw that needed help.

"The last time I defended myself..." he stopped and sighed changing the sentence. "My mom used to tell me that violence was never the answer. People were going to treat me different because of the way I talked and looked. It was just my life."

"What happened. When you defended yourself?" Coran coaxed his mustache twitching as he chewed.

"I was, I was almost arrested. This man was trying to take the little money I had earned from working. So I fought back. One of my sisters was in kickboxing so I learned a thing or two. If it hadn't been for cameras I would've been in jail. " Lance closed his eyes reliving the dark night in is mind. 

"I also didn't feel like I was worthy of help. I wanted to prove I could handle myself." He mumbled.

"They left him alone after I started to hang around." Hunk finished.

"I don't see why this matters now but there's the story. How me and Hunk became friends."

Allura nodded. Shiro stood collecting the plates before they all trudged to the training room. There sat the metal menace itself. The cool iron chair that devoured their thoughts.

"Let's just get this over with," Shiro placed the mask over his eyes leaning back as the shadows swirled before him. The only light coming from his Gallra arm.

He couldn't see. He felt like he was falling. The room smelled like blood. Shiro thought about light, the sun, his families smile. Anything to ease the anxiety of the unknown. Slowly the room grew to a dull grey shapes and blobs becoming people and crates.

The room brightened like the a rising sun. He noticed the blood wasn't his. Matt lay sleeping next to him a gash on his right arm. They were escaping. Sneaking away on a cargo ship.  Someone approached and the light went dark. The shadows wrapping themselves protectively around it's passengers.

The scene changed he was running his team far ahead of him. The door to the pod was closing he wasn't going to make it. He shouldered his way past the Gallra tripping into a patch of darkness. When he opened his eyes he was safely in the arms of Lance and Hunk.

They stared at him with admiration. "You just teleported." Pidge told him an impish grin pulling at her lips.

"Holy Quiznack! That's soo cool!" Hunk laughed as Keith piloted them back to he castle.

It was over as soon as it began. The mask was pulled from his head and his eyes adjusted the room. Plunged half in dark the other in a warm white glow. His team smiled up at him. "So cool," Hunk said helping space dad from the chair.

"That was quick." Allura stretched letting her back pop.

"Shiro's a fast learner." Keith turned on his heels following Hunk and Shiro out of the room. It was faster than Pidge's and hunks but longer than Lances.

"Tomorrow Keith will go. Soon after we will be landing on planets better suited for specific training." Coran said.

"Right. After you get better control we can help you all work on summoning them from nothing." she paused a moment mumbling to herself.

"Wait! I almost forgot. Before any of that you paladins must form a bond. Like the ones you have with your lions. It will allow you to locate each other and share emotions or speak telepathically."

The remaining paladins nodded before leaving to do their own things.