We Are Kitron!
An explosion of sparks shredded across the sky as Voltron’s sword crashed across the comet’s shield, a shrieking grind rattling through the very bones of the giant inside, and a whirlwind of fire consumed the two robots as a single roar echoed across the universe like a rainbow springing to life for the first time, or like six hearts combining into the one they were always meant to be.
For, as the stars spun around the astral plane in a swirling dance of colors, a single figure reached throughout the Lions to stand tall within Voltron. Their eyes flashed with rainbows, a galaxy rippling throughout the visor of their helmet, and a black crown stood proudly on their helmet with a ruby, sapphire, and charoite shining atop the three spires towering up from the crown. Their paladin armor was tinted golden, but green veins ran throughout the entire suit while each color flickered across the joint guards like a mirage, and a sunset red cloak swept into pink across their back. Blue ripples of energy swirled at each joint, catching the light of the sparkles dotting the cape, and a sunshine battle grin tore across their lips.
“So, uh, what am I? now” They asked, all six voices compressed together, and the suit of Voltron fitting over them like a second layer of armor. “Um, am I an I or a we? Am I Voltron? Nortlov? Alfor? Starkid? Kyle Jenner? Dios mios, no! Disowned, blocked, unfriended!”
A snicker ran through their nose, and a grin quirked up their lips. “Uhh, Gaynbow Paladin? Rainbow? Din? DinDin? Seriously, that’s the best you could come up with? DinDin?”
They shrugged, and a snort passed up through their throat as they raised their flaming sword and spread their wings to prepare for another barrage. “Paladin? Could you be any more on the nose? Dude, seriously, I say Vol and you say Tron, it’s not that hard!”
Black purred softly, nuzzling them, and they let out a giggle. “Kitron? Noooooo, Blaaaaaaaaack. Oh, alright, we’ve got better things to deal with than finding a truly fabulous name for ourself, I guess,” they teased haughtily, booster rockets flaring and a shoulder cannon springing to life on command. “For now, Kitron works just fine.”
Kitron’s bayard burst apart into the six bayards each of their separate forms governed, and they flung each one into their compartments with a flick of their wrist. Reaching out, they could feel each arm within extend to grasp their bayard within the astral plane, fingers tight and eyes unwavering. After all, the distance between the paladins was over. They weren’t just friends or teammates or paladins or even family anymore. Kitron was everything that made them up; they were Hunk’s stability, Shiro’s consideration, Pidge’s drive, Allura’s faith, Keith’s iron will, Lance’s passion, they were everything the paladins had ever believed in, had ever fought for, had ever wanted, and everything they had ever loved. They were the unconditional trust the team had in one another, the determination they all shared to end this war and, most of all, the love they held for each other.
Kitron was just as unbreakable as the bond that had brought them together.
They punched forward as the comet whipped toward them, engaging all of the bayards at once, and a smile flickered over their lips. The first time they had done this, so long ago, all that had appeared was a scimitar the size of a Galran battleship. The second time, they had phased through a battleship. Both times, it had given them exactly what they had needed, neither of them things that would have helped in the other situation. Who knew what would appear this time, when they were so much more than that raggedy team of misfits just wanting to survive or the family that still hid in their own rooms to cry?
This time, they were all just one heartbeat thundering through their own Voltron.
The comet threw back its head, letting out an earsplitting shriek, and a shudder ran right through the veins of Kitron even as their booster rockets boomed to life and their shield raised high. Fire crackled beneath the lightning storm dancing in their eyes, and the sun-shaped halberd that fell into their hand lit up with a rainbow of pure quintessence.
“You will never touch my family again!” Bellowed Kitron, their shoulder cannon firing off smaller comets in rapid succession. “On my tina’s pies, I will protect them this time!”
The comet spun its sword over its head like a discus, slashing apart the rocks thrown at it, and let out another screech as it flung itself directly at Voltron. Green flared across Kitron’s joint guards, a bellow shook Voltron, and they skyrocketed away from the attack with a single supersonic beat of their wings. The comet pivoted with a snarling flash from their golden eyes, and black consumed Kitron’s armor as a growl licked through their throat.
“This will be your grave!”
Their golden halberd, with two massive blades exploding out of the top and front side of the sun connecting it to the rod that lay perfectly balanced in their palm, spun across the speckled sky, smashing against the comet’s guard. Lightning designs crackled from the rod, purple flickering snakes springing to life and lunging into the comet to stun the knight into submission as vines swirled up the hilt, trapping their enemy while flames burst out from the metallic sun’s rays and blasted over the comet’s head in a tidal wave. Kitron snarled, an eruption of quintessent lightning ripping through the knight as each gem atop their crown glowed, and their cape swirled into a tornado about to burst free.
The comet spun, delivering a searing side kick to the unarmored side of Voltron and sending them reeling. It dove forward, smashing an uppercut into their jaw and throwing their head back just in time for the comet’s hook punch to crack against their cheek. Kitron staggered, and the comet raised its hand, draining black swirling quintessence into a crackling whirlpool around its arm.
“Come on, buddy!” Roared Kitron, booster jets engaging and wings billowing outwards almost like sails as Voltron pounced, teleporting behind the comet and swinging their halberd around to stab the snarling knight. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
The comet spun, throwing the whirlpool of lightning directly into the attack, and two flowers flared white on Kitron’s cheeks as their grip tightened on the halberd. They let out a battle cry, slashing the halberd through the vortex of lightning as their blade exploded like a volcano. Light and lava flooded the lightning, sending tendrils of the white-hot electricity spitting across space, flickering like the wispy hands of death reaching out for Voltron only to be cut down by Kitron’s onslaught. They slashed away at the whirlpool, fire burning away and redirecting the lightning, and light rippling across the abyss of space in waves.
The comet materialized behind them and body-slammed Voltron directly into the vortex just as the final strike of lightning erupted from the whirlpool. Electricity coursed through Kitron, purple sparking through their veins and ripping at the seams of their armor as they threw back their head with a bellow of agony. It seared into their bloodstream, eating away at them from the inside out and frying every nerve until their screams overpowered even Voltron’s roars of pain. Blood seeped from the edges of their eyes and splattered their controls as their wail flung the red tears of their mortality into the cockpit. Their entire body convulsed, the Lions let out a collective howl that pierced the sky, and the comet drew back its sword for barrage.
“Don’t…Don’t you dare touch her!” Shrieked Kitron, every atom in their body erupting into lava as they flipped their halberd and dove, knocking the knight’s sword out of his grasp and headbutting the comet with a roar. “This universe isn’t yours to wreak havoc on whenever you feel like it! And, so help me Altea, if you so much as think of touching our little sister again, we will bring the full wrath of the most powerful family in the universe down on your head!” Kitron growled, slamming the handle into the comet’s stomach and shooting above to bring the blade of the halberd down directly onto the knight’s helmet, shattering the stone like it was nothing more than glass. “She may not be our flesh and blood, but make no mistake, she is our pack! And you do not want to mess with a pride of lions.”
The comet twisted its disfigured face to howl at them, the shredded shards of its helmet falling away to reveal black quintessence pumping through the cracks sewn throughout the knight. Kitron snarled, their words from so long ago springing to the tip of their tongue as they raised a gauntlet flashing with black and green symbols. The comet is kind of just this slimy, terrified ball of vengeance. When it breaks out, it’s going to be the nastiest quiznaker we’ve ever fought.
Teeth gritted and lightning flickering in their eyes, Kitron smashed their gauntlets together, and four giant discs sprang free to orbit around Voltron like planets around the sun. Black carvings dug themselves into the green discs, rainbows flickering through the lines flashing with a light so bright that even the comet froze. And, for just a tick, a flare of white laced through its eyes like the dying embers of a once blazing fire.
Kitron let out a roar, each disc erupting in light as a shield slammed into position between them and the comet. It slid over one of their arms while the other hand twirled their halberd, rainbows dancing in their eyes and the galaxy in their visor bursting at the seams. The comet let out a howl, clawing at its sword as Kitron’s wings billowed out behind them. A shield for those they fought to protect.
After all, even in this merged state, they could still feel the hands of their families on their back. From Coran’s apricot eyes turned towards the sky from Mars, hands tight in his pockets, to Lotor’s silent prayers as he waited with his generals for Acxa to come out of the healing pod, to Matt and Adam’s hurried whispers with Shay between emergency treatments of their comrades, to every one of their parents, siblings, and kids back on Earth who were huddled close together with the same wishes on their tongues and question cascading through their hearts.
Who would come back alive when all this was over?
It was the one question Kitron couldn’t afford to ask themself.
“Come at me!” They roared, diving towards the comet with stardust streaming from their back and a rainbow made of all their flashing in their eyes. “I won’t let you touch my planet. No one will ever threaten this universe again as long as I am alive and, believe me, you haven’t seen the best of Voltron yet!”
The Lions roared, eyes flashing a searing gold, and their presence burned behind Kitron as they drew up their guard and braced for impact. “Your time here is up!”
The comet screeched, thrusting its sword at Voltron’s head and wheeling to the side to avoid the attack as lightning charged in its hand. Kitron ducked beneath the strike with a hiss, the tip of the sword smashing through their visor and raking across their temple in a spray of blood, and let out a battle cry as their grip latched onto the comet’s wrist. Lightning tore through their body, ripping apart their nerves from the inside out, and set their eyes ablaze as their teeth snapped together and fingers went taut around the halberd.
“This is my universe! And I will protect it, no matter the cost!” Bellowed Kitron, yanking the comet close and smashing the rod of the halberd across its head.
Booster rockets flared, and they drove their knee into the knight’s core, twisting to knock the comet back with their shield. They raised their halberd high, right under the glittering red and blue stars that had guided them to their Lions in the first place, and time stood still for a precious tick as quintessence swirled around the tip. Black flickers of light snaked toward the beacon of hope, red light flaring across the sky, blue tendrils swimming towards Voltron, pink light streaming into the vortex of pure quintessence, green bursts of energy darted towards the source, and gold quintessence was drawn into the whirlpool of light fighting for the existence of their universe. Purple wisps darted through it, orange puffs of light flying into the eye of the storm to join the battle, brown energy pinwheeling through the attack, and Kitron raised their head as tears swelled in their irises. A thousand hands reached out, grasping their outstretched hand tightly, the smiles of all those they had helped returning to help them save their universe.
After all, it wasn’t just the paladins’ dreams that made up Kitron.
The comet howled, bracing its sword against its arms as lightning flooded the blade. White electricity crackled across the sword, ethereal light tearing apart space and time just to ripple around the knight’s weapon, and the faint echo of a lion’s roar snapped a sneer to the comet’s face. Stars screeched around the comet as it sucked their light into the whirlwind, the knight’s breastplate flashed pitch-black, and Kitron’s markings pulsed against their cheeks. Electricity exploded from the sword’s tip, carving a scimitar into the sky, and the comet’s tormented lips curled up into a smirk. Kitron drew back their halberd, the light of the universe rippling out from its tip, and locked eyes with their enemy for the first time as they each pointed blades at one another for the final charge. Everything they had, everything they would ever make themselves into, every tiny speck of quintessence they possessed, they all poured into this one, final attack. The one that would decide who survived and who died.
“That’s what makes us Voltron, and this is what makes me Kitron!”
The comet screeched, black lightning exploding out from its chest, and Voltron’s wings exploded with rainbow light as Kitron hurtled down towards their enemy, a cosmic roar thundering from within them as their halberd crashed into the knight’s sword. Black lightning exploded against the prism of colors, flashes of quintessence tearing across the sky until it burned away their surroundings, transforming their world into nothing more than pure white light around the two superpowers. Nothing but the fate of the universe hanging in the balance between the two greatest powers of the universe. It hung between a team of six teenagers and one tortured comet destroyed by corrupted quintessence.
Kitron stared at the knight across from them, their halberd nicking the comet’s chestplate, and their words of a few quintants ago sliding into place as the knight’s eyes flashed white and it let out a bellowing snarl.
“So, basically, if the comet tried to reach out to Pidge, it has to have some kind of consciousness,” summarized Lance, eyes darting to Allura to catch the reassuring tilt in her lips before continuing to address Lotor, “and was trying to forge the same connection with her that we have with our Lions. It’s not just some space rock, it’s a living creature that Haggar experimented on and tortured into hatred and violence.”
“Yes, I understand that,” admitted Lotor with a grimace. “But, I’m afraid, I don’t exactly see much chance of recourse in that. The comet has seemed to lose its mind to the corruption even more than my father did.”
“It’s a being made of far more concentrated quintessence than you or I,” replied Allura. “It is more susceptible to corruption, but the reverse of that is also inherently true. It must also be easier to purify.”
Kitron snarled, smashing the comet’s sword aside with their shield and sending the knight reeling as they raised their halberd.
“Princess, not to disrespect your abilities, but the level of quintessence needed for purifying that much evil…”
Lotor trailed off, forehead creased and lip caught between his teeth. “It is more than any one being possesses. Might I instead propose that you reverse the energy flow? Quintessence cannot be destroyed, but the darkness that corrupts these beings is only one side of a very large spectrum. To flip that…it might not be impossible if it is the six of you. Voltron is known for the impossible, after all.”
Kitron caught the comet’s shoulder and, just for a tick, a memory flowed between the two entities. One of two paladins, a soft hand on the other’s shoulder, and an even softer hey man hanging in the air, like a bridge between two worlds. Like a chance.
Like change.
“Yes, we do specialize in that, don’t we?”
“It’ll all be over in a tick.”
And, with that, Kitron drove their halberd through the comet’s chest.
Rainbow lightning exploded from the tip, skewering the black crystal lodged in the knight’s center, and the full force of the attack that the comet had amassed detonated in Voltron’s face. Kitron screamed, the quintessence tearing into the bonds that made them up, ripping into each fiber that had brought them together, and the Lions cried out as their energy and life force was shredded. Kitron’s helmet exploded, shards smashing into the cockpit and blood tearing at the seams of their armor as they choked on blood and lightning. They couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend anything but the darkness creeping towards the beating heart that was the only thing holding Voltron together.
The only thing standing between this agony and their family.
Kitron bellowed, a windstorm of pure magma erupting through their body as they flung their shoulder forwards, the joints shattering and black lightning consuming the cockpit as their halberd tore out the other side of the knight, ripping out the core that Haggar had dyed black with poison. It glittered in the light of the stars around it, already bursting at the seams of its cage, a howling bundle of lightning crashing against the walls keeping it in, an endless stream of destroy it all, burn it down, reduce it to rubble, blow it up destroy it don’t let anything remain they know nothing but cruelty so repay themdestroythemburnitalldownreduceittorubbledestroydestroydestroydestroyitalldestroyeverythingthathaseverhurtusdestroyitall!
Kitron bit back the blood streaming down their chin, cradling the knight’s head to their shoulder, and a final glint of light ruptured in their eyes as the black lightning dissolved them from the inside out.
“Don’t worry,” they rasped, holding the comet close as it began to dissolve into a faint white light inlaid with a silvery glow belonging to Oriande, “I’ve got you.”
The last of their quintessence fizzled out on the spear, and the corruption let out a gleeful howl as Kitron’s eyes fluttered closed, a final red tear sliding down their cheek. Finally. It was free. It had won.
The universe belonged to it.
Let’s go home.
Voltron exploded, the Lions hurtling away from one another with open cockpits as the paladins tore into outer space, blood streaming from their eyes and battle cries on their lips as the quintessence that had bound them together broke free. Pidge roared, jet pack blasting her into the corrupted core, and Hunk let out a booming scream as he spun into the black center. Allura descended on it like a falcon, and Shiro tackled it, their screams piercing the sky itself. Keith and Lance smiled at one another as they laid their hands on the corrupted gem, the final shattered atoms of their quintessence pulsing in unison with the heartbeat they all now shared.
Because, separate or not, they were still Kitron.
“We’re going home!” Roared Kitron and, as one, the paladins fired the last of their quintessence, the life force holding their hearts together, into the core.
Fire tore away the outer shell, dissolving it into thin air while water doused the black mist the core tried to expel into their world. Stones clawed away the inner layer, shredding it into pieces, and vines sprang up from the ruins to lock the corruption in place. And, as the final rainbow lightning strike shattered the core within, a White Lion broke free from the comet with an echoing roar, and the six paladins that had saved not only it, but the entire universe, latched hands for what might be the last time.
“I love you.”
The core exploded, shrapnel tearing towards Kitron, and the paladins held tight to one another as the black lightning turned a misty white. If they went down, they went down together. If they died, it would be as Kitron.
And, smiles unbreakable across their lips, the family who had changed the face of the universe, stood proud.
For, as long as Earth survived, they had gotten their happily ever after. And, for the six of them, a happy ending to this crazy adventure was all they wanted. So, as pure white exploded across their vision, only a final truth was left behind with the heartbeats of the greatest heroes the universe had ever known.
“It’s been an honor flying with you all.”