Spirit of the Lioness (Keith x OC): A Voltron Fanfiction

Chapter 6: The Rise of Voltron, Pt 3

Nifa and Keith made their way down to the hangar of the warship. Nifa had no idea how Keith knew this was the way they needed to go, but judging by the strength and volume of the Red Lion's snarls, he had it right.

They approached a small cubby in the hangar deck, and inside sat the Red Lion. It was in its dome, and its angered roars ceased in Nifa's mind once they approached it. It continued to growl, but it was slightly less irritated.

"We got it!" Keith cheered, stepping up to the lion. "Now, let's get out of here. Open up."

But the lion didn't respond. It just continued to sit and stare off into space. A little annoyed by this, Keith tried again.

"It's me, Keith. Your buddy. It's me! Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeith, your—I. AM. YOUR. PALADIN!"

Still the lion did nothing. Keith gave a frustrated snort, then turned back to Nifa. "Hey, is it talking to you? What's it saying?"

Nifa shut her eyes and listened in, but they snapped back open once she heard its response. "Well..." she said, trying not to laugh. "It said something, but I don't think I can say what out loud."

At first, Keith was confused. But once he realized what she meant by that, he turned back to the Red Lion, his own face going red with steadily growing anger. "Hey! Not cool!"

"Why are you and this impulsive human bothering me?" the Red Lion spat in Nifa's mind. "Isn't it bad enough that I've already been captured by a greedy and cruel race?!"

"That's just it: we're here to set you free," Nifa replied calmly, trying to keep an even voice. "This boy is your new paladin. He's going to-"

"Going to what?" the lion interrupted. "Get inside my head and steer me into danger? Play me like a puppet?!"

"No!" Nifa shook her head, not believing that the lion was actually resisting them. "He is going to guide you down the path to forming Voltron, the most powerful weapon in the universe!"

"And why should I be wasting my time with other lions, anyways? They're weaker than me, slower than me, and too quick to trust strangers! Why should I be the same?!"

"Uh, Nifa? We got company!" Keith warned her of the incoming robot sentries. Getting anxious, he started knocking on the force field. "I'm bonding with you! Hey! Come on! We're connected!"

"Cut that out!" Nifa said, ducking past a laser blast. "That's not how it works! You need to earn its respect!"

"And how am I supposed to do that?!" Keith asked fiercely, running in front of her and summoning a clear blue crystal-like shield to block the patrol's blasts.

"I don't know, just protect it for now! I'll try to get through to it!"

Knowing Keith would hold off the robots for a little while and buy her time, she turned back and continued speaking with the Red Lion. "Please, I know you've been locked away for a long time. But you must listen! This is your destiny! We need you on this team to help save the universe!"

"And what happens once the universe is saved?" the lion replied curtly. "I just go back, destined to be sealed in my underground prison?"

Just then, a large hissing sound erupted from in front of them. Nifa whirled around to see that Keith had opened the hangar's airlock, sending the robots flying out of the ship. All seemed well, but Keith began to get sucked in too! He managed to grab the control panel to stop himself, but he was slipping fast.

"No! Keith!" Nifa quickly reached out to grab him, but the force of the wind behind her forced her to stay glued to the wall of the lion's force field to prevent being sucked outside too.