So this originally started as a kidge week prompt, then quickly evolved into a multi-chapter fic. Yes, I do pull elements from SAO, but since the plot isn't exactly the same and none of the same characters are features, I'm not listing it as a crossover. I mean, it doesn't even take place in Aincrad.

Chapter 1: A New Way to Play

"I win again. Pay up, Kogane."

Keith groaned and handed Pidge the candy bar. One of Keith's fellow blades hailed from a planet that created a candy that was so similar to chocolate, Keith could have sworn that the bar he handed to Pidge was a Twix, just with a different name. Once he'd told the paladins about it, they'd made sure to stock up on the familiar treats.

And that's what they used to gamble when it came to playing video games.

Keith had picked up gaming shockingly fast, which was why he often competed against Pidge. Ever since they got that first game system, they'd found ways to get others. Currently, they were playing Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64.

Pidge munched happily on the candy bar as the victory music played.

"I'm confused. The point of this game is to…fight each other?"

Keith and Pidge turned around to see Allura standing in the doorway, a confused expression on her face. "It seems rather violent, if you ask me."

"We don't really have any games where two players can work together. I mean, they exist, we just don't have them." Pidge shrugged, taking another bite of the candy.

"What about that 'Fantasy Quest' game I keep hearing about?"

"Fantasy…Quest?" Keith asked, confused.

"It seems to be common among the Olkari people. Though I'm afraid it's unlikely to work with your Earth equipment."

Keith and Pidge looked at each other. "They have video games here?" They asked in unison.

In minutes, the duo was in the streets, looking around for a place they could get more information about Fantasy Quest.

"That looks like a game store," Pidge said, pointing to a place across the street.

As they walked towards the shop, Keith asked aloud, "Don't you think Lance would have liked to be here for this?"

Pidge shrugged. "He seems pretty busy with his new girlfriend. If he came, he probably would have brought her with him, and those two being together just makes me gag. They're so…"

"Disgustingly sweet?"

"Exactly." Pidge decided to leave out the fact that she felt a little lonely whenever she saw other couples, because she'd accepted years before that she'd be single for life.

Boys don't like nerds. They especially don't like girls that are both smarter than them and way shorter than them. She'd never even been on a date, much less had a boyfriend. She'd just resigned herself to the fact that being a genius came with a price.

"Don't like being a third wheel either, huh?" Keith asked as he pushed the door open.

Pidge would have responded if her jaw hadn't dropped.

The store was huge, filled with games in a writing that Pidge didn't recognize. But what stood out most were the systems.

Throughout the store were a variety of different VR headsets in varying prices and quality. The posters on the wall showed people lying in bed with the headset on, dream bubbles showing that the people were inside of a game.

"This…this is…full dive virtual reality."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Essentially, you put on the headset and lie down. Your body is put into a sleep-like state while you are basically put into the game. The headset connects with your mind, so it interprets actions such as movement and speech. It's like you're living a game."

Keith's eyes widened. "You mean…we can be part of the game?"

Pidge grinned, then it faded. "I mean, we could, but I doubt we can afford anything he-"

The shopkeeper laughed. "You kids are Voltron paladins! You're heroes! I'll give you two copies of Fantasy Quest, a brand new game that just released TODAY, and the two headsets you'll need, absolutely free."

Pidge and Keith both attempted to argue, but the shopkeeper had already bagged the items and thrown them into Keith's arms. "Happy gaming!"

"I…what just happened?" Pidge asked, clearly confused.

"We just got some free stuff. I guess that's good, isn't it?"

"I still feel bad for not paying for it."

"We can make it up to him by buying some DLCs or something." They both laughed, happily walking back to the castle to get the systems set up

Setting up the new systems was much easier than any of the old Earth systems. Thanks to some work Pidge had done with the Olkari a while back, the castle got an update, and was compatible with the new gear.

Pidge and Keith got set up in their own rooms, since they figured they'd be out for a while and didn't want to get in the way in the gaming room.

Pidge started up the system, going through the calibration that was required. She got her username, which she just left as Pidge, since it was already a nickname, and set up her password. Finally, she designed her character. She was impressed with the variety of alien races present, but ultimately chose human. Off she went into the fantasy world.

Pidge found herself in a courtyard of sorts, in the middle of a town. An unfamiliar figure stood next to her. But the username? Now that was something she recognized.

"Okay, so neither of us are good at coming up with names. Great."

Keith looked at Pidge, confused even with the name. She was…

"Holy cow, Pidge, you're…taller!"

"And you managed to make your mullet even more disgusting. Holy cow, how long is that ponytail?"

Keith reached up and touched the back of his head, shocked to find a long ponytail there. Then he looked back at Pidge. "You're hair's long too, Pidge. It's almost unsettling seeing you look so girly.."

She punched his arm, and they both jumped back in alarm. "I…didn't feel that. I mean, I felt my hand hit your arm, but it didn't hurt or anything."

"It didn't hurt me either, but that's normal."

"Hey!"

They laughed, then looked at themselves. "Man, it's been a long time since I've worn clothing this…form-fitting. But it's even weirder that there's no discomfort. It doesn't feel tight or anything. It's like the outfit was made specifically for my body."

She was wearing a tight green top with sleeves to the elbows, made with a flexible material so she could move more easily. It was accompanied by brown leggings that reached midway to her calf, and tall, dark brown combat boots. Her long hair fell in waves down her back, reaching almost to her waist. She was equipped with a short sword and a dagger.

Keith, on the other hand, wore a loose red tunic with short sleeves. His black pants were tucked down into his own boots, which were almost identical to Pidge's. His hair was tied back into a high ponytail, reaching down to his collar. A longsword was strapped to his waist.

In short, they looked completely different.

"Come to think of it, I think you're a bit taller too, Keith." Pidge took a step forward, then stopped. "What in the world…I feel like I'm falling forward. Like there's an extra weight on my chest…" She looked down, shocked to find that she had much larger breasts than she was used to. "What in the world?"

Slowly, her expression shifted from surprise to joy. "I have boobs! Keith, I actually have boobs! This is the best game ever!"

"I swear, Pidge, you get excited over the strangest things." He took his own tentative steps forward. Walking took a bit to get used to, but soon enough, both of them were running through the streets, admiring the amazing graphics.

"Wow, the Olkari know how to make a game," Pidge gushed, "These graphics feel so real, it's like we're actually in a city!"

"New players, stop here!"

Keith slowed down, grabbing Pidge's arm and snapping her out of her excitement. "Hey, I think that guy might be talking to us."

Pidge looked in the direction Keith was pointing. There was a large building with the word TUTORIAL written on it in…English?

"Woah, wait. That's in English, Pidge. How is that in English?"

"We set up language settings, remember? I bet the game translates all signs and names and stuff to English so we can read them."

"But that raises another question. Human? English? What, did they know we were coming?"

"Keith, we've made humans incredibly popular as paladins. Look around, there's other players that picked human as their race. And as for the language, I bet there's language detection software built into the helmets. Once they realized that English is our native language, they found translations in the Olkari databases, which, thanks to both my own work and my dad's, contains not only English, but a variety of Earth languages."

Keith looked a little confused, but nodded anyway. He turned back to the guy who was pointing to the shop. "Should we talk to him?"

Pidge looked at him. "I don't know. His name reads NPC, or Non-player Character, so he probably has automated responses. I doubt there's a whole lot we can talk to him about."

The NPC began talking once the duo walked close enough. "Welcome, new players! Step through this door to begin the tutorial! Without it, playing the game will be difficult!"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, user!" Then the NPC fell silent.

"Should we go inside?" Keith asked, already moving towards the door.

"I don't see why not. It'll probably be helpful."

Keith pushed open the door, both of them walking through. A disembodied voice began giving them commands.

"Welcome, new players. To begin, open your menu. Use your right hand, unarmed, and swipe to the left."

They both followed suit, taken aback by the menus that appeared in front of them. Floating boxes with different options were displayed.

The voice proceeded to walk them through menu navigation, then teach them the basic movement mechanics, such as jumping and climbing, through small obstacle courses that were easy to get through.

"Please draw your weapons," the voice commanded.

They both drew their swords. The voice taught them basic sword fighting techniques, which Keith found to be incredibly easy. Even Pidge didn't have much trouble with them.

"To use weapon abilities, pull back into a prepared stance, wait for the weapon to charge, and swing or lunge forward."

They both did so, destroying the dummies that appeared in front of them in single hits.

"Congratulations. Tutorial completed." They found themselves warped back out on to the street they were on before, except this time the NPC ignored them. They both got notifications for completing the tutorial.

"Dude, this game rocks!" Pidge swung her sword a few times, using a few different weapon abilities.

"As fun as this is, and I'm not saying I'm not having fun, because you're right, this rocks, we should probably head back out. It's almost dinner time."

Pidge sighed. "You're right. We ought to eat something. But can we play more after dinner?"

"You're asking me like I'm your dad. That's Shiro's job." They both laughed. Then Keith abruptly stopped.

"Pidge," he asked, looking at his menu. "Where's the logout button?"

Before I get a bunch of hate for "ruining" Voltron by tainting it with SAO (since people either love SAO or they hate it), remember that for the most part, the stories do not align. Yes, they will be trapped in the game, but that's where the similarities stop. Yes, I know I'm using SAO elements, and no, I don't care if you have some big opinion about it. I wanted to explore how video games work in space. I figure that was the most likely example.