The Lionhearts (Voltron KH rp with Stardustblade)

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

(I couldn't come up with a badass name using Lionheart so whatever)

 

The endless night forever coated the world of Traverse Town like small blanket, taking in refuge those who suffered the fate of having their worlds lost. That was all there was in Traverse Town: victims of the cruel creatures known as the Heartless. Luckily such occurances was rare, although recently more and more worlds have been lost; causing the population to surge drastically. Local officials feared that there would be no more room for any more people.

A young boy by the name of Pidge- a false identity for a persona named Katie sat on a small box on the roof to the orphanage she was apart of. Every single night the girl snuck out to take close watch on the stars. She always knew there was other worlds out there- and still do. She believes there's trillions of them out there, going against the teachings of the orphanage that there was only a few.

"Darkness... It's Darkness...! What are these things...?! Matt! Father! Where are you?!"

The girl jolted awake, almost knocking down her telescope onto the ground. She has barely gotten any sleep due to her 'work' but it was well worth it. She took a close look at the constellations, marking down any different patters in her log.

"This area is different... Another star went out. That's the fifth one this week. By tomorrow we're going fo have a least five new people with how things are going..." She uttered to herself, nibbling at her pen.

 

Meanwhile, a small grunt was heard as a young teen awoke from the top bunk of his bunk bed. The teen- a young man named Keith wasn't really a heavy sleeper. Move a piece of paper in the room and he'll notice it. It was no wonder then that he noticed Pidge missing from the top bunk of the bed across the room.

Keith wipped his hand on his face tiredly and picked up his pillow to whack it at Lance's face down below. Harsh yes, but Lance could sleep through a fire.

"Lance." Keith uttered, smacking Lance again with the pillow. "Lance. Where's Pidge?" Honestly that was a stupid question, but oh well. Waking up Lance in the middle of the night was fun. The only thing bad about it was hearing the male complain.

(I didn't really know what sleeping arrangements you wanted but bunk beds are always fun)

[Stardustblade358 806]

The sun was starting to set, and it was just like any other day when it happened. Lance and Hunk sat on their surfboards, looking off into the sunset as they sought out to catch any remaining waves for the day, even if they were small.

 

"Lance, should we head back soon? It'll start to get too cold and we could get sick!" Hunk suggested, glancing up as his friend lay on the surfboard with incredible balance, looking up at the orange sky and his arms behind his head.

 

"Just a little longer! The sunsets are always the prettiest part, you know." Lance said, his carefree attitude beyond showing. "Oh by the way, mom asked if you would like to stay over for dinner? She's making pasteles."

 

"Really?! Well...maybe~" Hunk hummed, smiling at the tempting offer. His smile quickly faded, however, as something...awfully odd caught his eye. "Hey, did the forecast say it was going to rain today?"

 

Lance sat up, following his friends gaze to the shore. In the sky, above the line of tropical trees and palms, the sky had turned an eerie black. It was quick, the dark rapidly covering the sky above them to the point that the light of the sunset was slowly suffocated out by the thick, black clouds.

 

"Lets head back." Lance muttered, quickly paddling back to the shore alongside his friend, rain beginning to pour down, and the nonexistent wind suddenly picking up its speed. Something was wrong. Something felt wrong. Suddenly he felt something grab his leg, pulling him off the board with a scream. As quick as it grabbed him it let go, Lance frantically swimming back up and gripping onto his board.

 

"Lance?!"

 

"Something grabbed me!!!" Lance coughed, scrambling as Hunk swam over and helped him onto his board.

 

"Are you ok?!"

 

"I don't know I...it grabbed me, Hunk! And it had these big, yellow eyes!" Lance said, disbelieving his own words as he tried to bring sense to what he had seen.

 

"...like...those...?!" Hunk spoke, his voice squeaking by a sudden lack of oxygen. Lance snapped his head up to the water, seeing as the sea beneath them seemed to be turning black, bright yellow eyes glowing in contrast as it seemed to be everywhere at once.

 

"What the..."

 

"LANCE!"

 

From further off, the largest of waves could be seen coming their way. Its water as black as the night, and the yellow eyes emerging from its surface out like entities, claws reaching out for anything they could reach. The two didn't hesitate, frantically screaming as they began to swim with all of their might to reach the shore. They wouldn't make it. The wave came down upon them, swallowing them whole as the last bit of light of their world disappeared from their eyes, the dark water surrounding them in what could be felt an endless abyss. Neither of them remembered when they lost consciousness. They knew they were underwater, when suddenly they could breath again, and just like that, the rest was a blur...

 

Lance groaned in complaint as he felt the pillow smack him for a second or third time. He couldn't really mind enough to keep count.

 

"Keith..." Lance yawned, opening his eyes as he caught the pillow about to hit him again, pulling it away from Keith's grip. "Keith, buddy, I need my beauty sleep man!" Lance hissed. However once he did manage to hear the question, he glanced to notice that Pidge was indeed missing. It didn't take him much to figure out where. "Not again." Lance yawned, looking up at Keith. "He's looking at the stars again. You know. On the roof. He does that like all the time." Lance insisted. Ever since getting hands on a telescope Pidge barely ever slept anymore. He would just wait for the sun to go down and stare at the stars and do an accounting of them or something of the sort. "We should go get him. If he's found up there he could get in trouble." Lance sighed, his drowsiness now fading away, much to his dismay. He picked up the same pillow Keith used on him and threw it at Hunk. "Hunk, Pidge went to the roof again. We're going to look for him."

 

Hunk groaned, looking up with drowsy eyes. "Again? Doesn't he ever sleep? That's not good for him." Hunk said, quickly sitting up to go with them. Lance threw on the first of his clothing he could find, before waiting for the others and heading up to the roof to find Pidge.

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Keith rolled his eyes at Lance's comment, finding it completely ironic that he was getting 'beauty sleep.'

"It's too late at night to start with you, so I'm not even going to say anything about... Whatever 'beauty' sleep you're getting. And I thought we hid that good this time from him..." Keith uttered. Honestly at this point it was impossible to hide anything from Pidge. Luckily Hunk had woken up so they were all ready to go. Keith jumped down from his top bunk and threw on a jacket, honestly not giving a shit about going outside in pajamas.

"Hunk, be ready to drag Pidge and hold him in bed with you until he sleeps again." Keith said, opening the door to check if anyone was there.

"Coast is clear."

Pidge hummed in thought as she continued to jot down her findings, sure to draw out any conclusions she had in the margins.

"Each star blinking out gives an average three new residents... Aaaaand as always they try to hide to us where they're from. But I know exactly where they're from; this isn't just one big world. There's millions out there."

Keith climbed up to the roof, holding it a hand for Hunk and Lance to get on. As he saw Pidge rambling, the teen grinned.

"Okay..." Pidge continued. "At this rate, in a few more months ten more stars should blink out and this town will suffer unrest due to overpopulation-"

"Pidge."

"WHO-" Pidge screamed, having a hand clamped around her mouth a moment later by Keith. She held her heart and broke away, glaring at her roommates.

"What are you doing?!" She demanded.

[Stardustblade358 806]

Hunk yawned as Lance crossed his arms. He wasn't even wearing shoes.

 

"What are we doing? What are YOU doing? It's the middle of the night, Pidge." Lance hissed, hugging himself at the cold breeze. You could see the lights of the town shining bright here and there, and above them, despite the lights of below, the stars shone even brighter.

 

"You're looking at the stars again. The ones that are going missing, right?" Hunk asked, rubbing his eyes gently. He had heard Pidge talk on and on about his theories. That the stars were disappearing and that there were other worlds out there and so on. Of course everyone thought it was just a kid's imagination trying to create an explanation for the trauma he had suffered.

 

"This again." Lance shrugged, deciding to take a seat next to Pidge. "Even if what you say is true, Pidge, what can we do about it?" Lance asked, trying not to sound as rude, but damn, he was sleepy. "We're students at a place that's not even our home by choice. You might as well just give up and actually sleep for once. Otherwise you're going to get bag under your eyes."

 

"And if one of the professors finds out, you could get in really bad trouble, maybe even expelled!" Hunk said, worry in his voice for his friend. Yes. Students could get expelled, even from the orphanage, despite being children. People kept appearing. The small town was slowly becoming overcrowded, and resources scarce. The orphanage and academy hoped to create diligent adults out of the children that had ended up there to provide for whatever future experiments or plans that they could possibly have and were simply hiding for the sake of not causing mass panic.

 

"Keith wakes me up every time we have to get you too. He's messing up my beauty sleep." Lance said rather dramatically as he glanced at Keith.

 

(The crash will come up in my next post)

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

"I dont care if I get expelled from the school! What I'm doing is important! I don't know how, but I'll prove to you all that what I'm saying is true; there are other worlds out there and something is making them dissapear." Pidge protested, not even pausing in her studies. She took another peak through her telescope, jotting down notes after. Keith shook his head and took a hold on the telescope.

"Pidge, that's enough." Keith uttered. "You do care if you get expelled from the school and we care. So cut the crap and go to sleep."

Pidge hissed and pulled her telescope close to her chest.

"No. This orphanage is not my home. My home is Hollow Bastion."

[Stardustblade358 806]

Lance gently facepalmed. "Pidge," Lance began. "We can't possibly let you get yourself expelled like this. We're stuck here. If you get expelled you might end up starving to death for all we know." Lance hissed, trying to bring any sense into Pidge. Hunk softly got a hand on Pidge's shoulder.

 

"We're just worried for you, Pidge. You're our friend. We've already lost allot. We don't want you see you hurt too." Hunk said, frowning a bit. Before Lance could add to that, something strange happened. Fork above, one of the stars seemed to be...moving...and growing in size and brightness.

 

"A shooting star?" Lance asked, standing up to get a better look.

 

"It looks like a...meteorite?" Hunk suggested. Honestly neither of them had a clue. They watched as the falling item breached the stratosphere, leaving a plume of white smoke behind, before dashing right into the town, and crashing somewhere in the plaza with a loud CRASH and THUD. It was so loud, so powerful the crash, that the ground beneath them shook softly for a second.

 

"...WHAT WAS THAT?!" Hunk asked, his eyes wide as he watched.

 

"I have no idea." Lance breathed, a smile forming on his lips. "But we should find out!" With that, he scrambled off to hurry. "Come on! I think it landed on the plaza!!!"

 

"Wait for us, Lance!"

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Pidge wasn't having it. She utterly hated the school and orphanage and wanted nothing more but to go home and be with the familiar faces she loved. But no, she was here- suck in a town where the world around her was cruel.

"Guys, I can take care of myself. I don't want to be stuck in this prison forever and I want to find my family." She uttered, rather aggravated. Her aggravation was cut short however at the shooting star. Her eyes widened; that was no star.

"That's... No way!" She exclaimed jumping up and looking towards the plaza. "Come on guys! We have to get there before Léon does!" Already she went to climb down the roof.

Keith watched the light coming from the plaza in extreme interest. What could this mean? A part of him knew if they go see what it is... Their lives may never be the same. He went forward as well.

"Let's go!"

[Stardustblade358 806]

As the group reached to the plaza, it wasn't hard to see where it had landed. It was a Gummi Ship, fairly large enough to contain a whole crew, and had crashed right onto the fountain...well, what was left of it. Water sprayed up into the air from the broken pipes, creating quite a mess as it mixed with any fuel that leaked from the ship.

"Holy crap." Lance gasped, running over to it with the rest. "Is that a Gummi Ship?!"

"No way! I thought only the Garrison's teachers have access to one of these!" Hunk said with gleaming eyes. There were very few of these, three at the max, and were constantly guarded with the highest of security in case anyone tried anything. Locked underground and everything. "This one looks different, though. Look at the patterns, and the shape. It's way more advanced." Hunk added, the group only getting closer by the second. The closer they got, however, they began to hear something. Or someone. Groaning. Someone was groaning. From the inside.

"I-I think there's someone in there!" Lance ran up, his bare feet splashing in the water mixed with oil, reaching over to the glass despite getting showered by water. "Hunk, help me open this thing!" Lance said, hurrying to the side as he looked for a door of some kind. Hunk ran over, following Lance's movements as they searched for a door. They found it, underneath the wing. Hunk pulled it open, allowing Lance to climb inside. "He's alive!" Lance called from the inside. Soon he stepped back out, dragging someone out with him. Hunk quickly helped Lance, wrapping one of the stranger's arms around his shoulder as Lance grabbed the other one. The two brought the pilot of the craft out of the wreckage and into the light. For them, it was a stranger, however for Keith, it was an all too familiar face, with a new scar on his face, part of his hair white, and a brand new arm made out of metal and...something else.

"He's barely conscious." Hunk said worryingly, looking up at the Pidge and Keith. The pilot, Shiro, could barely stay awake, glancing up as his eyes landed on a familiar face, much to his own surprise.

"...Keith...?" Shiro didn't manage more than that before falling unconscious right then and there.

"...dude." Hunk's eyes widened. "He said your name!"

"Keith, do you know this guy?!" Lance asked, glancing around as he shivered slightly. It wouldn't be long before someone came along to see what had crashed.

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Keith immediatly went over to the crash site, looking on in utter awe. Where could this have come from? What is the story about it? He wanted answers and luckily he was going to find out.

Keith watched as the boys pulled the pilot out from the Gummi Ship. His eyes widened and almost immediatly recognized the face before the pilot even said his name.

"It's... He's from my town, Twilight Town! He just dissapeared and never came back..." He went forward to take a hold of Shiro, trying his best to make the male wake up.

"Shiro! Come on, it's me!"

Pidge settled down her equipment to get scans of the crash right away. She knew this ship had to be from another world, could it be from her home?

"Hollow Bastion... Hollow Bastion..." She uttered, jumping as the door suddenly opened go reveal the pilot being carried out by Lance and Hunk. The fact that he recognized Keith made it even more shocking.

"Shiro...? I can't believe it- he's from another world-"

"What are you kids doing?" Came a quiet yet deep voice. Pidge whipped her head around to see none other than Leon, a male who was known to protect everyone in Traverse Town. Pidge was never able to fully talk to him, to get answers.

Léon crossed his arms and once he saw the pilot Leon's eyes widened. He went to take Shiro into his arms, looking at the kids with a stern expression.

"You can't be out here at night!"

[Stardustblade358 806]

If Leon thought he was going to get Shiro that easily out of the boys' grip, he had another thing coming.

 

"Hey Keith look, it's your estranged emo relative." Lance joked, his sass never ending regardless how strange the situation. While Hunk allowed Leon to hold Shiro, Lance had yet to give him up, if he was ever. "What do you think? A ship fell from the sky and crashed into a fountain. I think we have good enough excuse to be out here." Lance said as he stuck out his tongue.

 

"Lance! Don't fight with Leon!" Hunk hissed. Leon was known to be somewhat of a veteran of Traverse Town. He and his friends would roam the town, make sure everything was safe and secure, and overall helped with the income of refugees that ended up here for one reason or another. A good fighter, too.

 

"Keith..." Shiro murmured under his breath. He still wasn't fully conscious. He was in between awake and knocked out, his head hanging down as his eyes tried to stay open but failed every time.

 

"Listen, this guy knows Keith! So where he goes, we go!" Lance insisted, still refusing to let go of Shiro. Leon cursed under his breath. These four...they were quite the bunch as they were already. Now they were involved in this, willingly or not. He sighed, shaking his head lightly before glaring at the group.

 

"Fine." Leon huffed, beginning to carry Shiro away to his place. "Follow me, then. It's dangerous at night. The Garrison isn't the only one that bumps in the night." Hunk looked back at the others and shrugged, following Leon to his place to help Shiro out.

 

"Keith," Hunk began, looking over at his friend. "Is...is he really your friend?" Hunk couldn't help but to be curious...especially with that robotic arm.

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Keith kept looking back and forth between Shiro and Leon, not really knowing what was going on. Where has Shiro been? Shiro looks so different... Keith honestly was unsure if that even was Shiro anymore.

"He changed..." Keith uttered, placing a hand on Shiro's back. "But he's from my town... Everyone used to challenge him to Struggle tournaments because of how good he is at fighting. No one ever beat him though." As he went to follow Leon, Keith punched Lance in the shoulder.

"Would you just shut up?" Keith growled. Lance always had to start something with his big mouth. "And we're not related."

Pidge followed along with Leon, stairing at him the entire time. Pidge knew something was up and she was going to find out exactly what.

"You mean those black creatures, right?" Pidge asked, stairing hard into Leon's eyes. "The ones that took away our homes... And this guy- Shiro- he's from another world isn't he?"

[Stardustblade358 806]

Leon pursed his lips, deciding to keep quiet for the moment. He led them all back to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Headquarters, which was just a small apartment that she shared with his friends. He quickly laid Shiro on the bed.

 

"He should come to soon." Leon said as he turned to the group of teens. "Some of you aren't even properly dressed." He groaned. He shook his head and pulled up a chair. "To answer your question...even though we aren't suppose to tell anyone...yes. This man is indeed from another world, it seems." Leon said as he crossed his arms. "And so is his ship."

 

"Wait, so...there ARE other worlds out there?!" Hunk asked. Leon gently nodded his head.

 

"Yes. There are. You're all here because your own worlds were consumed." Leon sighed. "We had agreed to keep such information minimum...to avoid having people flying out trying to play the part of the hero and get themselves hurt, or worse. But the town is slowly becoming overcrowded...and I guess there is no need to hide it from you guys any longer."

 

"Wait, so Pidge was right?!" Lance asked. "Those creatures...the one from the water with those big yellow eyes-!"

 

"They're part of the problem, yes." Leon said. "They're called Heartless and are extremely dangerous."

 

"Heartless..." Hunk hummed. The name alone sounded rather scary. "But what do they want? Where do they come from?"

 

"They come from the darkness." A new voice spoke. All eyes turned to the source, Shiro, as he now sat up on the bed, though in a slight haze. "And they are after the hearts of the people. They consume them, killing people in the process."

 

"You're awake!" Lance gasped, hurrying closer. Shiro looked up, his eyes softening as he saw a familiar face.

 

"Keith, you're alive." Shiro spoke, sounding glad as he reached out one hand out to him, but suddenly stopped himself, retreating his robotic arm. "It's...been a long time hasn't it?"

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Pidge couldn't help but feel rather prideful at the fact that she was right. She /knew/ she was right, after all.

"I'm right...?" She asked at first, before shaking her head to ward off the mild shock. "I-I mean- I knew I was right! All this time I've been studying the stars and I noticed they keep blinking out, one by one... After that we get new people here. And those things... Those Heartless are the ones eating up all the worlds." She turned her head over to see Shiro awake and couldn't help but grow silent as she watched him interact with Keith.

Keith didn't really know how to react. Honestly a part of him wasn't really too excited to see Shiro. It only served as a reminder that his world was gone. Besides- for all Keith was concerned, Shiro just left.

"It has." Keith uttered. "And it looks like you're alive too." He paused, looking down at Shiro's arm. What was that?

"What, you left because you knew what was going to happen to Twilight Town? Not that I care..."

[Stardustblade358 806]

"I didn't plan to be taken away." Shiro quickly spoke. He stopped himself and shook his head.

 

Leon stood up. "I've got to look around and see that no one else ended up being led out by the crash. I'll give you guys a few minutes." Leon said, deciding that maybe it was a good idea for this Shiro guy to be able to catch up with his friend or so. With that, he stepped out of the room.

 

"Alright, would someone mind explaining to us what is going on?" Hunk asked, utterly confused.

 

"Well," Shiro mused. Where to start? "Pidge, right? He is correct, about the theory of the worlds. Each star is a different world, and in each world different beings lived. The worlds...they used to be separated, which is why no one knew of the other worlds out there. But...something has broken the boundaries of it." Shiro sighed, looking at Keith. "I didn't mean to leave. It was just a simply mission out of curiosity. Something was being marked odd in the town's astrological center. Something wasn't right. So an impromptu team was made up and I just happened to be swiped up with it. We were suppose to just reach the stratosphere, check what's wrong and return but...something was already there waiting for us, approaching Twilight Town. It swallowed our ship whole and...before I knew it, I was at the hands of something so much more sinister." Shiro explained, trying his best to not sound delusional or crazy, though that was hard to do considering the situation.

 

"The Darkness?" Lance asked.

 

"Yes. The Darkness. It's...been instigated and led by...something, or someone, or at least, manipulated to advance. It swallows worlds whole, leaving nothing behind in its path. From what I've learned, once the Darkness swallows the world, it swallows its citizens with them, however, as proven...a few manage to end up being transported to another world, just as all of you have." Shiro added.

 

"Wait...then that means Destiny Islands is...is..." Hunk began, his expression paling.

 

"Gone." Lance gasped, his eyes widening. "Mami, Papi, my brothers and sisters, everyone...they're...gone?" Lance asked. Shiro looked down.

 

"I'm sorry..." Shiro gently felt his prosthetic arm. "There are...people who know more of this, but they are not on the good side. They are cruel, and experimental...which explains my arm." Shiro said as he extended it to show Keith. "I'm sorry I left you back there."

Edited September 8, 2016 by Stardustblade358

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Keith growled and look down. It was evident that he wasn't really accepting Shiro's apology any time soon.

"Yeah, cool, whatever." He uttered. "I'm used to people leaving anyway." When he heard the news of Twilight Town, he didn't seem shocked nor upset. Yeah, Twilight Town had good people, but it was to be expected of the world. Keith didn't need to know about the Heartless to know that some things just happen.

Pidge let out a sigh in aggravation at Keith being all edgy again. Still, the more information Pidge got, the more she needed to know. She had to do something.

"Shiro..." Pidge began, voice somewhat quiet and nervous. "You... Have you ever heart of a place called Hollow Bastion...? Or have you ever met anyone by the name of Samuel and Matthew Holt?" She paused, heart slowly sinking in anticipation. There was always that underlining fear of what could possibly be.

[Stardustblade358 806]

Shiro frowned at Keith's response, but his attention was quickly diverted to Pidge. "I haven't, Pidge. I'm sorry." Shiro said. He stood on his feet. "But I have heard of one place called The Land of Departure that is immune to the Darkness. I escaped in hopes of reaching there in look for answers, but I was taken down by a Heartless on the way...and now I'm here." Shiro seemed to quickly become agitated. "I'm sorry, Keith, everyone. I thank you for saving my life, but I have to get back out there. I need to find Land of Departure and see what it has that can be used against the Darkness before its too late." Shiro insisted.

 

"Whoa hold it right there!" Lance mused. "You just crashed from the sky! You want to go back out there?!"

 

"Yes. I have to. This world, every world out there is in danger. It won't be long before this world becomes consumed too." Shiro insisted. He was obviously upset. He had many experiences to speak about, yet too worried that the time was running out for them to talk about it. Hunk and Lance looked at each other, and then back at Shiro.

 

"...then take us with you!" Lance said.

 

"...huh?" Shiro blinked.

 

"This whole Darkness thing involves my world! My family! I want to know what happened to, if it means of finding a way to return home!" Lance said as he crossed his arms. "So, if you go, take me with you."

 

"Then, I'm going with Lance too." Hunk said, looking over at Pidge. "We can try to find your dad and brother, Pidge." Hunk suggested. Shiro looked around, sighing slightly, but his determination never wavering.

 

"Understood...I won't object. But I warn you that I have no idea if we'll even survive the voyage to reach this place." Shiro said as he glanced at Keith. "Would you come along too?"

Edited September 9, 2016 by Stardustblade358

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Pidge appeared instantly deflated at Shiro's response. So the man hasn't seen her family... But then he spoke of the Land of Departure. There were billions of stars out there, billions of worlds. One of them had to have the answers she's looking for. Her key to those answers lie in the very stranger infront of her.

"Ye...Yeah. I'm going to." She said, her final answer. There was no way she was staying at this wretched school. There was no way she was going to stay like a sitting duck. She was go out there.

Keith continued to look at the side, quite surprised that everyone wanted to go. Then again, who wouldn't? Not only would it be the opportunity to find their homes, it was also the opportunity to escape this world. It was only a matter of time before things got worse, especially since what Pidge said was right.

"I'll come along." He said, looking to his friends. "I want to see the outside worlds... One of them is my home." As he was talking, a small black creature in armor appeared. Keith whipped his head around, stairing into it's cold yellow eyes.

"Is that...?!"

"A Heartless!" Pidge yelled, taking a step back. Those yellow eyes were all too familiar.

[Stardustblade358 806]

Lance and Hunk gasped as the Heartless began to pop up around the room. They were small in numbers, maybe around four or five, but they were still a threat as they were. Their giant, round yellow eyes brought fear to everyone. The same eyes that tried to drag Lance beneath the water. The same eyes that took away Hunk's home. The same eyes that swallowed Shiro whole and watched over as he was experimented on. These were the reasons why no one was allowed to wander off at night. Because if they got you, you were done for. Shiro was quick to try to protect them, even though there was nothing he could do himself. Even if they kiled them, they would just pop up again.

 

"What do we do?!" Hunk asked, looking around as they group was pinned with the bed in one side, and the heartless in all the other sides. "The door's all the way over there and they're kind of in the middle of it."

 

"They cannot be killed. I've tried. Even if you kill them they will just re-appear, near or far." Shiro explained.

 

"Then what do we do?!" Lance asked.

 

"Keep them away from your chest. If they get your heart, you're done for." Shiro insisted as he moved his mechanical hand, having it beginning to glow purple as electricity seemed to crackle around it. "Try to get rid of them and make a run for it."

 

"Easier said than done." Hunk murmured, looking around as he backed away. Well, this sucked. They barely got away this time. Now they could possibly end up dead in Leon's place. He glanced around, picking up the nearest lamp on the bedstand as he waved it around. "I should have practiced more baseball when I had the chance!" So the Heartless tried to attack, aiming at them and trying to scratch at them, or take them down. Shiro smacked a few away while using his mechanical arm. Lance tried to kick them away, one of them grabbing at the edge of his pajama pants and pulling hard, causing him to fall over. Hunk quickly slammed the lamp on the Heartless' head, helping Lance to his feet before he could get hurt. Suddenly, one Heartless launched straight at Pidge.

 

"Crap, Pidge!" Lance screamed. Would they make it in time?!
 

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Keith growled as the Heartless appeared, grabbing onto whatever he could find. He pushed himself into the front lines along with Shiro, ready to fight and do whatever it takes to escape.

"If we kill them fast enough, it can give us an opening to leave before they reappear again!" Keith called, grabbing absolutely anything, a... A... Pillow. It was literally the only thing he could grab.

"For a guy with a gun sword thing that protects the town, he doesn't keep anything in his room!" He tossed the pillow into the Heartless, deciding to just straight up tackle the things. He lunged forward and collided right into the pillow, attempting to wrestle them into the ground.

"RUN!" He yelled.

Pidge backed away, looking around herself to see if there was something they could do, some sort of way to escape or fight back. But there was literally nothing. Pidge couldn't go down here. She refused to.

"Keith!" She shouted, reaching a hand out for her roommate as he lunged forward. She didn't realize a Heartless lunge for her and the girl fell back as the Heartless attacked her.

"Agh!! Get off me!!!" She yelled, struggling as the Heartless began to claw at her, trying its best to reach her chest. It broke through her defenses and went straight for her heart.

"GET OFF!" She roared. Suddenly a flash of blinding light emitted from the girl, the force sending the Heartless all the way back right into the wall. The Heartless that was ontop of her was no more- instead she was laying on the floor like she was with something in her hands. Something that wasn't there before.

The light from the room glimmered brightly on what she held- some sort of sword which was shaped just like a key. It was green with a tree sprouting from the hilt and all the way to the teeth where the head of a lion roared, green mane magnificently fluttering to and fro. Pidge's eyes widened.

"What's... This...?" Her question seemed to be answered by something only she heard. "It's a... Keyblade...?"

[Stardustblade358 806]

All of them could only watch breathlessly as Pidge managed to summon something...unusual.

 

"A key what?" Lance asked, eyeing the sword that had suddenly appeared in Pidge's hands. On itself it was a masterpiece. Hell, it was way too pretty to be a sword! Was it even sharp enough? Regardless it seemed to kill the heartless, so that was good. "What the hell is that?! Where did you even get it?!" Lance asked confused, stepping back as he kicked another Heartless.

 

"A keyblade." Shiro gasped, his head pounding with memories that seemed to him nothing like a blur. It was important. But he couldn't remember how. Had his trauma been so much that he had gotten amnesia? Maybe it was the crash? Either way, it felt wrong. Very wrong.

 

"Well maybe you could have summoned it a bit earlier?!" Hunk asked as he kicked another Heartless away, trying to keep them off Keith. Suddenly the door opened up, Leon stepping in as he pointed his Gunblade forward. With a click, he began to shoot. Bullets went flying, swiftly killing off the Heartless and causing them to disappear into a mist of black and purple. They would return. But it was only a matter of time. He slowly retreated his Gunblade.

 

"Whoops." Leon murmured. They were safe...for now.

 

"Whoops?!" Lance looked up. "We almost got killed!" But he was ignored, Leon walking over straight to Pidge and her keyblade.

 

"You wield a keyblade." Leon said, kneeling down to take a closer look of it. It was obvious that he knew more about it that what he led on. "...do you know what this is? What you are holding?...could you do this before?" His tone absolutely suerious as he simply ignored the rest.

 

"Oh my god." Lance whispered under his breath. This had been too much for once night. For a moment, he just wanted to sleep.

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Everything happened so fast. Leon came in and thankfully got rid of the rest of the Heartless. Even then however, Pidge was still very confused by the... /Keyblade/ in her hands. Everyone was looking at her and the girl couldn't help but shrug as she inspected the weapon in her hands.

"Hey don't look at me! I never saw this thing before in my life..."

Leon approached her and began to inspect the weapon as well. As Pidge always speculated, it was evident that Leon yet again knew more than he was letting on.

"No..." Pidge uttered. "I just... This thing just appeared in my hands just now. A Heartless was going to take my heart, but this thing protected me I guess. I didn't know what it was, but... I just heard the word Keyblade... Like it told me what it was." She couldn't help but rub the back of her head. She was used to sounding crazy for her theories, but this was ridiculous.

Keith was utterly aggravated at Leon. Especially with his he ignored everyone- although he did understand him ignoring Lance. So many things were happening. He almost got killed by creatures, just now.

"Okay Squall," Keith uttered venomously, not even caring if he pissed the elder off. "Tell us what's going on."

[Stardustblade358 806]

Leon sighed, helping Pidge up to her feet. Things have gotten from bad to worse in a matter of less than an hour. "Well, so much for keeping it secret." Leon murmured under his breath. He turned to face the group. "Listen. What I am about to tell you may sound crazy, but you must understand that it is true. You must also understand that it has been kept as a secret history...to avoid what happened once before to occur again." Leon explained, rubbing his brow. "As far as I know, from what I have learned, and been told, the Darkness has always been a threat to the worlds, and the universe as a whole. It's always there, lingering, waiting for a chance to pounce. However." Leon gestured to the keyblade in Pidge's hand. "There is only one weapon that is capable of defeating the Darkness; a weapon known as the Keyblade. I have limited knowledge of its origins but...the Keyblade is a weapon created from the heart. Whether it be of darkness or light, the keyblade is created on circumstances that not even I know about. It can only be wielded by someone with a strong heart, therefor, not everyone can wield it, as it will only disappear and return to its original owner." Leon looked around at the reminants of the shadows around the room. A dark mist that simply lingered against the floorboards. "The keyblade has always been there in order to save the people from the darkness. But one day, at one point in history, the keyblade vanished along with its wielders. It was never seen or heard from again. When the darkness began to swallow worlds again, we all hoped that the keyblade would choose someone in hopes of fighting back. But no one ever showed up, and as you've witnessed, more and more worlds have slowly been swallowed up, sometimes with survivors while other times with none." Leon explained, taking a pause to allow his words to sink in. He then turned to Shiro. "If what you say is true, then it means that this darkness is not something created out of instinct, and that someone, or something, might be controlling it, which would explain its rapid rate of expansion across the worlds." Leon said.

"Ok ok ok wait wait wait," Lance began, eyeing at Leon. "You are telling me, that this isn't the first time this darkness has swallowed worlds, and the only thing that can defeat it is a...key?" Lance asked. This sounded even more crazy than before. By now, Lance was 100% sure he was losing his mind.

"Yes." Leon said simply. He turned to Pidge. "The keyblade chose you for a reason. Just as your friend has returned for a reason. It all can't be coincidence that you all have met up together only for the keyblade to appear once more after centuries of it being missing." Leon insisted. Silence. None of them really knew what to say, honestly. They just found out that Pidge could possibly hold the greatest weapon ever, and to be honest, Leon didn't have more information to go on, which only made it worse.

"...then what now?" Hunk finally asked, looking around at the group. Leon paused, looking over at Shiro once more.

"You said that you have heard of some place. What was the name?" Leon asked.

"Land of Departure." Shiro answered. "They...they always talked about it. How the light was too powerful to swallow."

"Then maybe there you will find the answers you seek." Leon said as he crossed his arms. "Very well. It's decided. You will all leave for this Land of Departure. Seeing that your Gummi Ship is...in a terrible dissaray, I will offer you mine." Leon said.

"Wait, really?!" Lance asked. "Are you serious right now? You're asking us to LEAVE this world in hopes of finding...ok I need a smoothie or a garlic knot this is too much like what the cheese man." Lance sighed. It was to late for this shit.

"Yes, and if you don't wish to go, then you don't have to. But I must insist for Pidge to go, at least." Leon insisted. Silence.

Shiro spoke up. "I will be going. I have made it a promise to find answers to what is happening. I don't plan to stop now."

Lance tapped his foot. He then groaned, shaking his head. "Fine." Lance said, getting his hands on his hips. "You know. This may sound crazy...but flying across space in order to find a mystical world of light doesn't sound bad at all." Lance added, a smirk spreading across his face. "Count me in!"

"Count me in too." Hunk said, smiling at Lance. "Can't leave you to have all the fun to yourself, Lance." Leon nodded. Shiro turned to Keith and Pidge.

"Pidge, Keith, will you be coming?" Shiro asked.
 

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Pidge stood there blankly as she listened to Leon's words. Honestly at this point it sounded like a total dream. All of it. The whole galaxy thing was okay. She figured out some of it. But the fact that there's an ancient weapon called the Keyblade and SHE has it? The most powerful weapon, the only weapon that can fight the darkness? That was insane.

"This thing isn't mine!" Pidge claimed, looking to it. She looked around, eyes settling on Shiro as she quickly forced the weapon into his hands. "It's probably his! I can't go and save the Galaxy- I gotta get back to my home!" As she was speaking these words, the Keyblade dissapeared out of Shiro's hands and went straight to hers. She went silent, looking to Leon and Shiro. What made it worse was that everyone else was going to.

"I... I'll go." She said softly.

Keith watched the Keyblade appear back into Pidge's hands, extremely intrigued by the event. He reached out to touch it, ripping his hand away as if the weapon growled at him.

"This thing is... Something." Keith uttered. "I'll go too. Traverse Town isn't for me."

[Stardustblade358 806]

"Then it's decided." Leon said, looking around at the group, and then back at Shiro. "Your ship will be useless. Not to mention that it will most likely be confiscated by the Garrison...lucky for you guys I have one Gummi Ship of my own." Leon scratched the back of his head. "I have been keeping it hidden in case of an emergency...I think this qualifies as one." Leon sighed. Though he seemed to not be happy about giving up his saved up Gummi Ship.

 

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Lance said cheerfully.

 

"The Garrison will be distracted by the crash. You boys need to return to the Garrison Dorms and get your stuff. Get dressed in proper clothing and grab what you think you might need. When you are done meet me at the abandoned railway tunnel, the one that's sealed up with boards and covered with graffiti." Leon said as he looked up at Shiro. "You come with me." He added. Shiro nodded and looked back at the group.

 

"You heard him, we'll meet there. Be ready to leave...we do not know if we'll ever get to return here." Shiro warned. Lance and Hunk gulped. With that, the group hurried back to the Garrison. They changed out of their pajamas and into standard clothing, leaving their Garrison uniforms behind. Like Leon had said, the officers were so busy with Shiro's wreck they weren't around to guard the place, so they could sneak out with ease.

 

"I don't think I'm going to miss this place." Hunk said truthfully. When they woke up here, Lance and Hunk only had their swim shorts and broken surfboards, the only thing that had survived along with them. Traverse Town was kind enough to clothe them properly, and get them in the Garrison. Other than that, this wasn't home. It was temporarily, but it never will be.

 

"You guys ready?" Lance asked. His glanced turned to Pidge, smiling warily. "Hey, cheer up Pidge. You get to be a hero like in the comic books."

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Pidge followed along and packed up in utter silence. The future was unknown- all that she knew was that she was going to find her home... One way or the other.

She packed very light; the only thing that she was going to take with her really was just her equipment she needed. Everything else was just to be... Left there. Pidge didn't need it. She just needed her home back. Everything else could be left behind. As she was packing, she picked up a picture of her and her brother standing in front of the Hollow Bastion main gates. She remembered that day. With a clutched hand, Pidge put it away in her bag. She quickly changed into her regular green outfit (away from the boys as she always claimed she just simply had a privacy issue) and when she got back, she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm ready." Pidge said, sighing as Lance reached out to comfort him.

"Comic books aren't exactly similar to real life." Pidge said.

Keith didn't even need to pack much. New change of clothes and he was ready to go. With a small hum, Keith picked up Lance's piggy bank and threw it on the ground, glass shattering loudly as munny scattered throughout the floor.

Pidge jumped. "What was that about?!"

"We'll could use some munny." Keith mused, picking up the pieces of munny from the floor. "Hopefully most worlds use the same currency. Plus, I always wanted to break that thing."