Chapter 1 - Into the Vault

The ground below showed nothing but grassy knolls and the occasional forest. Untouched by civilization, the peaceful planets only reaction to the roar of the jet engines above it was for the trees to rustle and the grass to blow in the wind. It should have been perfectly safe and inviting.

Both Lance and Pidge had seen enough traps to know that didn't guarantee anything.

"Where is it?" Lance asked.

"Looks like the structure is underground," Pidge answered. "About twenty clicks ahead. I guess whoever built it didn't want to disturb the natural beauty."

"Natural boredom is more like it. There's nothing but grass for miles. And you're sure this place has it?"

"Coran seemed pretty sure."

Ah, the Equis System! That planet there is supposedly home to a collector known as the Living Archive!

Living Archive?

So the records say. You see, no one's actually seen the man, but his, or her, agents are known to go throughout the cosmos, trading for items and knowledge. It's presumed they all come to this planet.

And no one's ever found them, right?

Right-o! But if anyone's going to have the plans to Zarkon's master fortress, it will be him! Or her. Whatever.

"So we go in and we get the plans?"

"You think I volunteered for this mission for PLANS?!" Pidge asked, her voice indignant at the suggestion.

"Well, they did say this guy would have everything. Including…"

"Including the TV we need to play Killbot Phantasm! The plans are just, you know, a bonus."

"A 'bonus' we need," Lance said even as the Green and Blue lions reached their destination, a clear plain of grass with a small forest nearby. As both Paladins disembarked their lions, Lance asked the question that was gnawing at him despite Pidge's enthusiasm.

"You know, you shouldn't be so sure this guy has a TV. What if he was never near Earth?"

"Oh he has a TV," Pidge answered, walking towards the forest. "How do you think we found this place?"

"…Come again?"

"I figured the best person to contact about getting a TV is the person who sold us the console," Pidge said. "He didn't have it, but he knew about some weird people who would regularly go to his store and other stores for new movies and games. From there it was just a matter of following the trail."

"How did you know how to contact him?"

"He left a business card on Kaltenecker. You would have noticed it if a certain someone was mysteriously absent when we had to clean the poor cow off!"

"I was doing a supply run!" Lance said. "You can't blame me for working!"

"Sure, 'work'. How many girls turned you down during the course of 'work' that day?"

Instead of answering the question, Lance went into the forest, looking on at a small device on his armor.

"Blue's sensors noticed the hollow point around here. There's gotta be an entrance that leads underground."

"You're not getting off that easy. You're cleaning Kaltenecker next time."

Rather than acknowledge Pidge's answer, Lance began to knock on the ground in the hopes of finding something. She did not take it lightly.

"You're ignoring me."

"No," Lance replied. "I'm listening. I'm just choosing not to answer you in the hopes you forget later."

"Not gonna work."

"Oh come on," Lance said, knocking on the ground all the while. "I came with you, didn't I?"

"Because you knew I wouldn't let you touch the console otherwise," Pidge answered. "You want to play, you put in the work."

"I did it out of the kindness of my heart," Lance said, before adding, "Also yes."

Pidge had little time to appreciate the confession rung out of Lance as his knocking revealed a hollow sound associated with metal. Smiling, he pointed by where the hollow knocking came from.

"Well, I found the entrance. How do we get in?"

Shaking her head, Pidge lightly shoved Lance out of the way.

"Let an expert handle it."

Soon enough, Pidge had moved to a corner, finding a small console. Pressing it, a mechanical whirring noise was heard as a large panel retracted, revealing a long staircase that led underground. Walking down it, Lance couldn't help but say, "You would have never found that switch without me."

"Just keep telling yourself that."

Miles below the surface, a noise beeped in a massive control room, altering its sole living resident. As he turned to the screens, he was flanked by numerous beings, some completely mechanical, some only partially so. Their stares were focused on the reaction of their master as he looked on at the monitors.

"How did they find this place?"

No response came from the legions behind him, allowing their master to reflect on his own thoughts. Looking at additional cameras monitoring the outside of the facility, he gasped heavily.

"The…The Voltron Lions? Well, well, perhaps they didn't come empty handed after all. Let's see how they far they get."

The stairs led the pair deeper below the surface; an overly long setup for a punchline Lance was getting impatient to see.

"How much longer?"

"Got me," Pidge said. "There's no signs or welcoming committee."

Right as she said that however, the stairs finally ended, leading to a long, wide corridor. On its sides were clear glass planes, which the curious Green Paladin couldn't help but knock on.

"Feels like fiberglass," Pidge said. "Probably bulletproof. And before you ask, please don't test that theory."

Lance groaned, but lowered his rifle, instead choosing to look through said windows. What he found shocked him, made him giddy, and slightly unnerved him.

"Look at all that stuff!"

Carefully placed on individual shelves so as to show them off through the hallways were dozens of vehicles, tools, and other random objects, most too alien or unfamiliar to the eyes of either Paladin.

"If he has all this, he's gotta have a TV lying around somewhere, right?" Pidge asked.

"Yeah, sure," Lance said. "Probably down the hall from the Gundam."

"The Gu…wha?"

Three shelves down from what looked like an alien transport was a white, bipedal robot with multiple rifles hanging off of it and two 'V' shaped antenna protruding from the camera in its forehead. Its face was covered by a silver faceplate with several horizontal vents in it. She looked on at the machine in awe, having recognized it from watching videos online.

"The Gundam F-91?!"

"Hah, nerd!" Lance said, only to feel a hard kick to his shinbone. As he began clutching it in pain, Pidge continued to stare on the white bipedal mecha, which until yesterday, Pidge assumed was a fictional creation from a Japanese animation studio.

"That shouldn't exist. It's not real."

"You know what's real? This pain! It hurts!"

"No, I'm serious! Why would this grand alien collection have a robot from a cartoon? Is there more stuff around here that's fictional?"

"Looks real to me," Lance said. "Hey, you think they have hoverboards too? I always wanted one. Or maybe self-tying shoes!"

I don't like people coming here uninvited.

"Cute, Pidge," Lance said, however, Pidge was quick to reply.

"That wasn't me."

Breathing deep, Lance turned around to see what had called him out on his gawking. Sure enough, he regretted looking.

The two creatures looked humanoid, with pale white skin, but said skin was only on certain parts of their bodies. On others, including their arms and a portion of their heads, chrome mechanical components could clearly be seen. Among said components were what appeared to be laser cannons on their raised mechanical arms.

"RUN!"

The pair took off through the tunnel, dodging the laser blasts that came their way. All the while, they passed by countless more items from the collection, from endless cultures. Had Pidge not been running for her life, she would have seen fit to examine pretty much all of them.

Instead, the pair went to the end of the hallway, with a sole door guarding its exit. With no escape, Pidge raised her shield while Lance began to look for an exit. The cyborg guards moved in closer, firing all the while, with Lance's eyes darting and dashing, looking for some, any escape. However, it was Pidge who spoke first.

"Shoot that corner!" she yelled, pointing to a section of the glass about three feet away.

"You sure?"

"Do it!"

Nodding, Lance clutched his weapon and fired, the beam bouncing to and fro between the laser-proof glass, and directly into their two cyborg pursuers. Seeing them fall to the ground, Pidge stood up, smiling.

"Thank me later. Actually, thank me right now. I totally deserve it."

"I guess you do," Lance answered, lowering his rifle. Turning to the door in front of them, they were both surprised to see it open suddenly. The same voice that had chastised them before spoke again as it did so, a deep tone hiding a sense of annoyance.

Well, I suppose if you're going to be touching my things, we should meet face to face. The elevator to the main control room is just ahead.

As promised, in the next room, past the glass bridge that went through the rows and rows of items were several elevators. Said elevators were in tubes made of the same glass that covered the hallways, allowing the occupants to look at the various collected items as they stood still. It was clear that whoever built this facility specifically designed it to show off their collection.

"They have all this other crap, you think they have a TV?" Lance asked.

"I know they do!" Pidge answered, pointing outside. "Look!"

Outside the window, tucked away between what looked like an alien clock and a table was an LCD television, and alongside it, an older CRT. The pair smiled.

"Well," Lance said, "we found it. How do we get it out of here?"

You don't, interrupted the voice, even as the elevator went past the various shelved items into a black room. The elevator opened, with a pathway of light leading to a door that slid open.

"We're not hostile," Pidge said. "We want to discuss a trade, but we were attacked."

Of course, you were attacked. You tried to sneak into here to liberate some of my items.

"How about you come out and show yourself?" Lance said aloud to the voice. Silence dominated the room for a minute before the voice responded.

OK.

The lights in the room suddenly turned on, causing the two to adjust their vision. In front of them was a massive flat monitor, revealing the face of an older dark skinned man with gray hair and wrinkles.

"Hello. Now, I suppose you're wondering who I am."

"I'm wondering why you're using that face," Lance said. "I've seen enough movies to know who that really belongs to."

"Perhaps then," the man replied, even as the face on the monitor began to twist and contort, "you would prefer this one."

"Zarkon!" Pidge yelled, but the face of "Zarkon" shook his head.

"No. I simply assumed a form that you would respect, even if out of instinctual fear. Now, what business do you have here?"

"What are you?" Pidge asked. 'Zarkon' chuckled slightly at the question.

"I suppose it's fair to tell you what I am before I ask you a question. I am an artificial intelligence code named EXEL, which in the language of my creators is an acronym that means Intelligence Gathering and Archival. I was designed for the sole purpose of archiving and preserving the collected products of all cultures throughout the universe, so when the time comes that they die, their creations are not lost. In the archives above us are countless items recreated, infinite amounts of data collecting art, music, entertainment, and science, all kept so that they not die. I've even gone beyond the original boundaries of my programming, creating real items from fictional programs."

Pidge nodded, realizing how that explained the presence of a robot from a Japanese cartoon. But if EXEL had the power to make that, what else could he do?

"And judging by the conversations you were having, I understand you want a television from the planet Earth with audio-visual outputs."

"That," Lance said, "and the technical readouts of the Galra's main warship."

"Why?"

"You know who Zarkon is," Pidge said, "or you wouldn't be using his face. We need the readouts on that battle station so our friends can defeat it. As for the television, I need it to play a game console of Earth origin. The game Killbot Phantasm is on them, but we don't have a TV that has the console's audio-visual output format. You do."

"Well," EXEL began, "you answered my first and second questions. My third is, 'why should I give you anything?' This archive is no place for tourists, and especially not for stupid hu…"

"Call humans stupid again," Lance said, pointing his rifle directly at the monitor, much to Pidge's shock. "Do it. I dare you."

"You wouldn't. Even if you did, it wouldn't destroy me. My central processor is kept underground safe from sabotage."

"Then you won't mind if I…"

"Ok, let's calm down," EXEL said. "Perhaps we can…work out a deal. You have two of the Voltron Lions outside. I can give you the items you desire in exchange for them."

"Not for sale," Pidge said rather emphatically. "Green isn't going anywhere."

"How about the weapons or armor of the Voltron Paladins?"

"Not giving them up either," Lance said.

"Then we are at an impasse. My men will escort you from the property."

From two doors, one on each side of the monitor, several cyborgs, similar to the ones who chased Lance and Pidge earlier, began to advance on them. Both Paladins raised their weapons, but at the last moment, the cyborgs stood still rather than attack.

"You both have fighting spirit. Perhaps we can do something fun instead. I have a new proposal. Would you like to hear it?"

"Proposal?" Pidge asked.

"I would like to test humans to run alongside the psychological and physiological notes that my subordinates have obtained from your planet. To that end, I propose a contest. The three of you will engage in three trials, one individual for each of you, and one as a team. Succeed, and I will give you the items you seek. I'll even throw in a complete library of games for that game console and some accessories." While Pidge's eyes lit up at having enough games to keep her occupied for years, Lance was a bit more skeptical.

"And if we fail?" Lance asked.

"You won't have to worry. You'll be dead. But don't worry; I'll take good care of your Lions. They will be protected long after the civilization that made them is gone, and long after your petty war is over."

Both Pidge and Lance looked at each other, realizing that if they were going to get the plans, they would have to play along with EXEL for now.

"OK, fine, we'll play your game," Lance said.

"Excellent. The first trial is in there for Lance. Just follow my men."

One of the doors opened, and Lance followed the two cyborgs into it. Pidge began to follow as well, but one of the guards stood in front of her as the door stopped.

"No, no, no," EXEL said. "This is a one player game. Don't worry, you'll get your turn. Now please, sit." With an icy tone added to his words, EXEL said: "I insist."

Nodding, Pidge sat down as the monitor focused on Lance, who stood on what looked like a grid made of wireframes.

"What is this?" Lance asked, looking up at the area he was in. The floor was made of black tiles separated by blue lines like a grid, while the walls were completely white.

This is a simulated environment based on the technology from the Arco of Origin IX. I can create any obstacle course I like in this room to test your abilities.

Lance nodded, a bit curious at EXEL's tone. For an artificial intelligence, it sounded more like a child bragging about how cool its toys were.

"So what do I have to do?"

Simple. All you need to do is make it to the end of this obstacle course. About 3km. Take as long as you need. At the end, ring the bell, and you win.

"It's not just me running in a straight line, is it?"

Perceptive.

The sky and ground around Lance seemed to shift and change, revealing a forest with green grass underneath and trees in front of him. However, Lance didn't move.

Do you want that television or not? I imagine your Gamestation is quite useless without it.

"You mentioned the catch. You didn't show it to me."

Very well.

One of the cyborgs began running forward in the forest in a straight line for two minutes when without warning, a loud CRACK was heard. Turning to the sight, Lance saw the Cyborg reeling from a blast to his chest, before completely vaporizing into nothingness.

Snipers on the trees will shoot to kill. There are also natural predators in the forest that will also kill.

Nodding, Lance began walking forward, rifle at the ready.

Good luck, as you humans say. You're going to need it.