Journey to the Center of the Forest

Four Years Earlier

"Can I sit here?" A voice that was familiar to the dark haired boy asked.

Keith Kogane looked up to see the [H/C] haired girl who was his co-pilot. Normally at lunch, you would sit with your friends which was a girl with too much energy, a boy who always talked about some hot new show or song he got into, a girl with a snobbish attitude and a soulless personality, and another boy who spent all lunch talking about anything and everything. You never made a move to talk to him outside the simulator.

"Don't you have friends you would rather talk to?" Keith asked you coldly.

You seem to ignore his question and slid into the seat in front of him. The boy raised his eyebrow at you.

"Get lost, [Y/N]!" He snapped at you.

"Keith, we're going to be spending a lot of time near each other. I think it's about time our wavelengths were in sync." You told him.

Keith had no idea what you were talking about. "Wavelengths?"

"Yeah. You know get our ideas in sync. Mrs. Mionene used to tell me that when people think in sync, then their wavelengths are the same." You explained.

"And how does that work in our favor?"  Keith asked her.

"You're the pilot. I'm your co-pilot. How about we get to know one another since we're supposed to be the closest people on the team?" You suggest.

Keith scoffed at your suggestion. You seemed to pick up on his displeasure of the idea. It wasn't like you weren't going to figure it out eventually. He knew you had a reputation about finding stuff out. It was like you wanted to be a journalist or something and you only believed you were when you figured everything out. Granted, you wanted to be a journalist, but that's besides the point.

"I'll go first. My name is [Y/N] [M/N] [L/N]. I'm 15 years old. I live with my adoptive family, the Mionenes. My favorite anime is a tie between Blue Exorcist and Fairy Tail. My favorite cartoon from Cartoon Network is all of the Ben 10s. My favorite Nickelodeon cartoon is Danny Phantom. My favorite Disney cartoon is Phineas and Ferb. My favorite cartoon ever is the Avatar series, so the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra.

"I like fantasy, science fiction, and adventure movies, TV shows, and books. I grew up with Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, and Doctor Who. My favorite color is both red and black (A/N: this is a reference to my favorite characters on Ninjago). My best friend is Missy, and I know a lot of people give her crap about being too energized about everything, but shes the best engineer than I know and her soul is pure gold and lined with silver and she's the most intelligent person I know." You explained.

"You're rambling, [Y/N]." Keith informed you.

"Sorry." You apologized to him. "Are you going to tell me about yourself now, Keith?"

"Maybe some other time, [Y/N]." He replied.

Present

You woke up three days later. Keith was still asleep besides you. You looked at the digital clock. It read 5:25 in bright green bolded letters. You groaned to yourself seeing as this was the earliest you've ever woken up. You looked over at Keith who had his hair in front of his face still sleeping soundly. You looked over to your window to see the screen was still on the programmed night.

"[Y/N], why are you up? Its not even six yet." You heard Keith mutter from besides you as you had sat up.

You turned towards him. "I just got up. That's all."

"Come here then." Keith said grabbing your hand.

You sighed to yourself before crawling over to him and rested on your side. You rested your head in the crook of his neck.

"Go back to sleep, Keith. You're exhausted." You whispered to him.

"You're exhausted too. I'll go back to sleep if you-." Keith smiled as you snuggled into him and fell asleep.

Keith Kogane went back to sleep. It wasn't until around 7 o'clock that they were finally awoken.

By none other than Pidge knocking on your door.

"Hey, [Y/N]. Can you show me where the library is?" Pidge asked after knocking on the door.

You rubbed your eyes before looking over at Keith to find him still asleep. You kissed his cheek before getting out of bed and putting on an orange camp half blood hoody. You walked over to the door and opened it.

"You needed something, Pidge?" You asked.

"Yeah, and by the way, when Lance finds out you and Keith are sharing a room, he's going to be pissed." Pidge warned you.

"Who cares what he thinks, Pidge! He's not my brother!" You exclaimed.

Pidge agreed with you there. "Yeah, but he likes to think he is since you turned him down the first chance you got."

"So, what are you looking for the library?" You changed the topic.

"I hear theres this place called the Enchanted Forest that Coran was talking about. I just want to read up on it to see if it'll come in handy." Pidge explained.

"There's the Pidge I know and love!" You came to a door. "I grant only few with this room. The only other sacred one is..."

"Your bedroom where only you and Keith are allowed inside? I get it." She crossed her arms.

"Here I bestow upon you, the honor of being one of only five people allowed in here, the library." You opened up the door.

"If you weren't a good pilot, I would say you should be theater person. You have a flare for the theatrics, [N/N]." Pidge said before rushing inside.

You chuckled to yourself. Pidge was the same old Pidge you knew her as. Keith was still his sleepy, moody, emo self.

"Hey, [Y/N]! Is that a library I see? You know you can always check my catalog? Maybe find something you like?" And Lance was still his flirty, womanizer self.

You slammed the door shut behind you. "What do you want, McClain?"

"Do you know where your boyfriend is? He said he would help me with the tricks to my bayard sword." Lance explained.

"He's probably still asleep in...  bed." You had almost said our bed before stopping yourself from saying anything. "I can go get him if you want."

"That's fine. Have you found anything about Annouk, Honora, and Cressida yet?" Lance asked you.

"No. Not about Wilhelm, Easton, or Dariella either." The two of you had found yourself in the lounge where Hunk and Shiro were eating popcorn while watching the credits for a movie.

"[Y/N], your movie collection is lame. We had to put in the LEGO Ninjago movie, because that was all we could find that interest us. I judge you for your Disney movies and My Little Pony stuff." Hunk said.

"Whats wrong with my Disney collection?" You crossed your arms.

"Nothing love." Keith came in still with his bed head and kissed the side of your face wrapping an arm around your face (Lance still gagged).

"The only reason I only have animated kids movies out is because I keep my Marvel and DC stuff away from you! I have Harry Potter, Divergent, Maze Runner, Hungar Games, Porates of the Carribean, John Green, and Scooby Doo movies in another part of the lounge." You explained.

"How is your Scooby Doo collection, [Y/N]?" Shiro asked.

"Oh god. Here we go." Keith groaned.

"Well, I have every animated movie, and the live actions. The first two from the early 2000s and the Mystery Begins movies. I have every series in the video library next to my scrapbook collection." You said waving your hand and Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School appeared in it. "Does Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School sound good?"

Everyone agreed and you got the movie set up before going to the couch and cuddling up into Keith's side.

**

"Guys, I think I know where the Enchanted Forest is!" Pidge exclaimed running into the lounge. "Apparently, it's on someplace called the Blue planet."

"This is the Blue planet though. Why has no one found it yet?" Keith asked.

"You know how in some fairy tales or old books, the magical places are hidden? It could be that." Hunk interjected.

"Did I hear something about an Enchanted Forest?" Allura asked walking into the room.

"Yes. I think I found where its located." Pidge said.

"But the Enchanting Forest is just an old fairy tale. It doesn't exist!" Coran said coming in.

Romelle and Krolia came into the room as well upon hearing the conversation. When they entered, you made a beeline to run out of the room. You tried to sneak off. Head towards the hangar where four Buffalo Yaks were being held.

"Where are you going?" You sighed.

"Why did you follow me, Shiro? Shouldn't you be resting?" You asked him.

"Answer my question and maybe I'll answer yours. I'll leave you alone. Where are you going?" Shiro asked.

"Somewhere to go shopping." You lied straight through your teeth.

"Come on, [E/C]. You know I know when you're lying. You know I know when Keith had that fight with what was his name, that he was doing it to protect the person he cares about most: you, so why are you lying?" Shiro said.

"I'm going to the Forest. They call it a mirage, but it's real. I know it is, but they call me crazy. I've been there. I've seen the treasures they hold. I've seen what they're trying to keep hidden. Plus, she would have my head if I went against what she wanted." You ranted.

"What forest?" Shiro asked.

"I know how to get to the Enchanted Forest." You revealed.

**

You knocked on the door of the tree that would led you into the Enchanted Forest. The paladins of Voltron along with Shiro and your imp friend, Jardin, were with you. The little mail joke opened up like at a special place for brothels and stuff like that.

"Oh, [Y/N]. I see you brought guests with you today. The password?" The nymph on the other side asked.

You placed your hand against the tree, but she stopped you. "Guests. Verbal password. Please."

"It's embarrassing, Cicely!" You hissed at her. "And a little long."

"You should have thought about that when you made the password. Password?" Cicely asked once more.

"When the stars glisten, I feel like I'm looking into your eyes. When the moon shines, the life around me stops and all I see is a moonflower. Right in front of me." You whispered.

"Its not that embarrassing. You could have said the other one. Now, that one is horrible." Cicely commented.

"Just opened the door, Ci!" You exclaimed.

Cicely opened the door to allow you and your friends to walk through. Everything was beautiful. Everything was magnificent. Put into place. It was more beautiful than they had ever imagined it could be. It wasn't until six roars were heard that startled everyone except you.

"Oh, great. They know I'm here." You muttered to yourself before the six lions toppled over you.

"[Y/N]!" Romelle shouted. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay." You shooed the six lions away to get up.

"Why are there six lions? Mostly males, but two females. Isn't a pride consisted of one Male lion, many female lions, and cubs?" Hunk asked.

"Well, this is the Enchanted Forest. Maybe the animals function differently here." Allura said.

"Are you going to explain to them, [Y/N] or will I have to?" Cicely asked.

"I guess I'll have to explain it to them." You told the nymph with forest green hair and navy blue skin.

One of the lions with a red body, but a black mane started to walk up to Keith. The rest of them stayed back. But the blue male lion with a red mane wanted to walk up to a paladin.

"Well, uh, these are the guardian spirits." You started.

"Of what?" Pidge asked.

"Well, she should've had a better wording to it." Cicely said.

"Okay, let's start over." You looked over to the nymph giving her a glare. "From what you told me, in the beginning Shiro was the Black Lion, Keith was the red lion, Pidge was the green lion, Hunk was the orange lion, and Lance was the blue lion. Then, when Shiro disappeared Keith went to Black, Lance went to Red, and Allura joined the group and became the blue paladin."

"Yeah, you remember what we told you. What's so grand about that?" Hunk asked.

"Well, most celestials believe that in everything even in the most man-made items, there are guardian Angel's more commonly known as spirits. Now, I've named most of them, but I want so sure on the others." You started to go off topic.

"[Y/N], you lost us." Keith admitted.

"She should start from the very beginning." Cicely muttered to herself, but you glared at her.

"If I'm going to do that, I'll need a volunteer." You pulled on Keith's arm. "You'll volunteer for my demonstration, won't you Keith?"

"Don't look at me like that, [Y/N], but, yes, I'll be your volunteer." Keith grumbled to himself.

"Perfect! Sparky, come here." You called for the red lion with the black name who came running up to you. "Now, Keith I want you to pet it."

"I'm not going to lose my hand, [Y/N]! Are you just doing that so you could say you're Emma Swan?" Keith crossed his arm.

"Just pet the damn cat, Keith!" You snapped.

That startled everyone including the lions. Sure, yoive raised your voice before, but you've never snapped before. At the look of everyone's face at your strange behavior, you stuffed your hand into your pocket when you noticed the dark purple and black swirl start to appear on your hands.

Keith did what you told him and pet the lion who acted more like a housecat that a wild animal. "This isn't so bad. Ah!" Keith jumped back.

You smirked softly to yourself. "What's wrong, Keith?" You asked innocently.

"The lion is talking! Inside my head!" He exclaimed.

That's when Princess Allura and Romelle gasped in unison. Everyone looked over at them at they stared at you. It was the look on your face that told them you knew all along.

"I always thought the stories were just legends. I never thought they were real." Romelle said.

"I grew up hearing about the deeds that the celestials did concerning voltron. I always thought they were just stories told to little children." Allura added.

"I never thought I would see it in person." They said in unison.

"And what is that exactly?" Lance asked.

"That the celestials succeeded in creating the lions of voltron as guardian spirits." Princess Allura explained.

"Or that they would be lions themselves." Romelle added.

"These lions are the spirits of our lions?" Pidge questioned.

"Then, who's that lion hiding behind the tree?" Hunk pointed to the lion that was surely hiding.

It was a female lion with little constellations on her back. Her coat was like a sandy color mixed with what appeared to be wispy little clouds.

"Come on out, Loke. They're aren't going to harm you. I told you about them. These are my friends." You looked over to the lion.

She, shyly, walked out from her tree. The other lions roared trying to encourage her. It wasn't until a pegasus walked in pushing her to the group of people did she finally move. You rolled your eyes at her.

"This is Loke also known as Leo, the lion constellation. She fell onto this planet by accident when two of the constellations were fighting. And I've been taking care of her and keeping an eye on her." You explained. "Go on. Go play, talk. Anything you want with the lions. They are yours anyway."

You went to the edge with Romelle as Loke followed you. "You seem to know a lot about this forest, [Y/N]." Romelle commented.

"I found it accidentally, and I learned as much as I could as fast as possible. In truth, this is only one enchanted forest. There is many more spread throughout the world. You just need to know where to look." You replied.

"I hear bounty hunters try to find the Enchanted Forest because of various reasons. One is the wood. Another is the water and the soil. And the other is the animals." Romelle said.

"Well, the main reason is the animals. If a bounty hunter found the animal. Now, to understand why this is important, you need to know that the Enchanted Forest is an oasis where the spirits of everyone lives, breathes, and dies. An animal is connected to one living being. If a bounty hunter took hold of the animal, then its employer would have control over that one person. You understand?" You asked her.

"Yes, but where is yours?" Romelle questioned as she reached to pet Loke.

"I don't understand."

"You said every living being has a spirit. Where is yours?" Romelle asked.

"Celestials are already spirits of planets, stars, and other spatial objects. I don't have one because of that." You explained. "Do you want to make flower crowns?"

Romelle looked at you before seeing where your eyes had landed on. A tree stood a couple of feet away from you two with twigs and many kinds of flowers around the base.

"Let's give it a try. I have never actually made a flower crown before." Romelle admitted.

"I'll teach you. It's easy." You explained.