victory_road | [video]

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[video]

[Unfortunately for the current residents of Johto, they might be unfortunate enough to find what might be one of the worst video feeds ever on the network. It seems to cut in and out at first, and even after it manages to stay on for longer than ten seconds, the video is really just... the world spinning endlessly. Ground, leaves, sky, ground, leaves, sky -- Occasionally a tree is visible for half a second and the direction of movement seems to change, but other than that, it's an endless loop of ground-leaves-sky.

It might eventually be obvious that the camera appears to be attached to something that is rolling quickly down a hill. It probably helps that the entire feed is accompanied by the sound of what's clearly a Pokémon "hooting" over and over - rather excitedly, at that - and a voice somewhere in the distance. Pay close enough attention and the words being yelled out are things along the lines of--]

Wait!! Come back!! Just-- Spread your wings and stop rolling already!!

[Does that sound like a new trainer in need of help? That's probably because that's more less exactly what it is.]

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Pokémon. [That must be the word that lady used earlier before she got ushered out of the building. Pidge hadn't known what in the world that meant at the time, but it sort of makes sense now. Pokémon are what the animals of this planet are called. She can roll with that.

What is surprising her is what Shiro says next. Two years? And on top of that he completely calls her out on the questions that sat at the very tip of her tongue, leaving her sitting there wide-eyed and slightly slack-jawed, staring at the camera.]

...You're-- You're not joking, are you. [It's a statement, not a question. Shiro can probably see the way her eyes wander a bit, taking in details that she must've missed the first time. The slight tan. The relaxed shoulders. Is his scar even slightly more faded than she remembers it being?]

But Allura hadn't-- I don't remember-- We couldn't have-- [Was she walking before? Because she's stopped now, back pressed to the nearest tree while she processes.

Rowlet doesn't seem to care about her current issues, though. Ghost friend!]

Easy. Sit down if you need to.

[Maybe he should have waited until they were face to face for this conversation. He'll just do what he can to reassure her in the meantime. Keep his tone even. Level. It's a lot to take in. It had been even more for Lance, since they were closer in timeline.]

I'm not joking. You can search my user ID in the 'gear if you want. [Which probably means she's going to see every embarrassing thing he's ever done while he's here, but oh well. That might help her.]

It's okay to feel disoriented. That... happens a lot when people get here. [And now time for the other bombshell.] You're in a better place than Keith. He doesn't even remember finding the Blue Lion in the first place.

[Pidge shakes her head again, stubborn even when she knows on some level that he's right. She should sit. But standing feels better, because then she can walk, and walking could get the blood flowing and help her think. Maybe.

Or it'll just fluster her more. One or the other.

Her gaze snaps back to the 'gear when Shiro mentions Keith, her eyes somehow even wider than before. Before the Blue Lion? Before Voltron. Before- Before everything. She doesn't even know what Keith was like before all of this started.]

What about everyone else? What do the others remember? Does anyone remember- or know about Lotor?

[She starts walking again, and he blows out a tired breath. Well, he tried. Now he'll get in motion, too, pausing to scribble out a note to stick on a fridge. And start heading outside. The 'gear captures all this, of course.]

[Right down to the fact he's walking out of a house onto a beach. What sound like seals and gulls in the background.]

Hunk and Matt I think are closer to where you are. Lance remembers the space mall, and nothing afterward. [But her question... He stops in the sand, frowning.]

... Lotor? Who's Lotor?

[Which. Probably should answer her question right then and there. Whoops.]

[His reaction to Lotor's name should make Pidge snort in amusement. It only doesn't because concerned about all this... timey-wimey oddness. How can all of their memories be so different?

Still, she just waves a hand dismissively at Shiro's question, and Rowlet even hoots in a way that makes Pidge wonder if he can read her mind.] That's not really important, I guess.

Do you remember exactly what Hunk and Matt remember? Or would it be better if I just asked them directly?

[It sounds like some fantasy character to him. Like something from an old draft of King of the Bracelets or something. But Pidge moves on.]

[Pidge moves on, and a giant metal bird pops up. Pecking idly at Shiro's right arm as he reaches up to smooth his other hand over the pointy face. Not even a little concerned.]

It would probably be best if you did. I... didn't really get too much of a chance to quiz either of them.

I was too busy pinching myself. [Especially when Matt Holt waltzed back into their lives again.]

[Pidge nods to herself, putting that on the mental To-Do list. There's a lot going on in her brain right now, so excuse her while she fails to notice that Shiro has apparently gone and wandered up to a giant metal bird.

She's kind of occupied by remembering the way Shiro had pulled Matt in for a hug when they'd first been reunited. In fact, she remembers the way she felt when she found her brother in the first place. But still...]

Wouldn't part of pinching yourself include asking them how they got here? It'd definitely be the first thing I ask.

[It's okay, Pidge, there will be plenty of time to meet Shiro's crew of pokemon. Just wait until you get to meet Green. The banana dinosaur. For the moment, he stays stroking Skarmory's head.]

They got here the same way as everyone else. One minute you're doing something important, the next, you're waking up in that house.

[He looks back at the camera.] Two years, Pidge. I've heard it too many times already. I've lived it.

[She looks back at him, just the tiniest hint of a frown on her lips. There are another million questions in her head again, but she can't ask them. Mostly because Shiro might not even have the answers to them. So instead they just sit there at the forefront of her mind for a moment until she figures out how to mentally shake herself and save them for another time.

Two years. It's so hard to believe.]

..I'll talk to them, then. [The haze of questions fully vanishes from her eyes as Pidge refocuses, walking a little faster now.]

I guess you have a place to stay, right? Is everyone with you there?

That's probably for the best. I'm sorry, Pidge. It... really did slip my mind.

[There's a lot going on here, for the most part. Then Keith happened and trying to fix everything with him... And figuring out where he stood with Matt and Jean and Armin and Sasha --]

[There's a long list of things throwing him off track.]

We've got a house. In the Sevii Islands. We usually come and go, but... it's our base of operations.

[She shakes her head slightly (a motion that Rowlet really doesn't enjoy and protests to quite loudly) and shrugs a shoulder.] No no, it's okay. I mean, I get it. Seeing Matt again after so long was kind of mind-blowing for me, too.

[Pidge even offers him a small, lop-sided smile. Everything's fine, Shiro. No need to apologize to her.]

Is it... okay if I stay there too? At least until I figure out an alternative, if necessary.

Yeah... yeah, I can imagine.

[Skarmory swings her head around to stare at the 'gear. Hissing like a giant metal goose at the Rowlett. Hush, child!! Adults are talking. She's an old lady and deserves her respect!]

[The hissing doesn't even seem to faze her trainer.]

Pidge, if you didn't come stay with us, I'd be offended.

[Not really, but you know what he means.]

Edited 2018-07-15 00:06 (UTC)

[Rowlet's head swings back around toward the 'gear to look at the big metal bird, feathers floofing up even more in some clear attempt to look threatening. Fight me, the trainer's messing up my perch!!]

[Pidge's smile grows slightly, but then falters when she realizes that something is going on between her little owl friend and the--]

Holy crow, Shiro, what is that? [Look who's finally noticed the other bird.]

What is -- Oh. This is Skarmory.

[She's one of the other pokemon who won't let Shiro name her. Or else she'd end up with a name like Iversona. For her cranky, irritable personality. She hisses at the Rowlett one more time, rattling metal feathers.]

... she may have an attitude problem. But she's the fastest flight I've got right now.

We'll get to you soon.

[Pidge can really only stare, but Rowlet keeps right on with his angry trills and hoots and feather puffing. He's not impressed, dammit.]

...How many kinds of, uh, Pokémon are out there?

[She shrills, clacks her beak at the screen. At least until metal fingers rap on her neck. Then she quiets, obediently. But she's still glowering.]

Hundreds. Probably close to five or six hundred, total. Here...

[He'll swing the camera around, showing her the beach. The Spheals rolling through the surf. The Wingulls and the Wailmer out further. The occasional Voltorb poking out of the sand.]

That's just here, where we live.

[Rowlet will just glower right back, then. Because HE CAN. SO THERE.]

Whoa.

[If Pidge sounds impressed, it's because she kind of is. She's also just plain amazed by how similar and yet different this place is from Earth. Some of the creatures that she's seeing look vaguely similar to animals from home, and then there are the giant red and white balls with eyes. How do animals like this even come into being?]

Wait, you live on an island?

[SO THERE. Tiny orb, you will fear your elders.]

Yeah. Whoa.

[He's smiling. He's actually smiling at her reaction. It's so good to see her -- to see that look on her face. He wishes, right then, he could be right there, to actually see her in person now. He's missed her.]

We do. The whole team, and the friends we've made here.

[Never.]

[For a good, solid minute, all of Pidge's attention is on all the Pokémon spread out on the beach, an amazed sort of smile tugging on the corners of her lips as well. Before even being a Voltron Paladin, she's always been kind of a space nerd. Discovering aliens and other life forms beyond earth is a dream of hers and her family's that continues to be fulfilled.

Eventually she's back to focusing on Shiro, still grinning a little.] These new friends better be cool. You know I'm picky.

[And socially awkward. Kind of shy. You know the drill, Shiro.]

[you rude orb]

[He just waits. Watching her expression. And smiling. That look on her face is worth it. It's exactly what he was hoping to see. Like that day on the sloth planet. His face creases in a grin of his own, looking back at her.]

[And then shakes his head.] You'll like Armin. I already know you will. And probably Sasha, too.

[Armin, socially awkward and brilliant. Sasha, the only other girl, who might be good for Pidge to be around, after all the time stuck with guys.]

[meet me in the pit]

[That's already two new names too many, Shiro. Her smile is already waning a bit out of nerves. She hasn't even seen these people and she's worried about not fitting in, not meeting Shiro's expectation.]

I'll try to be nice.

[It's half-teasing, just because that's how she tends to communicate, but it's still half-true. People are hard. It's a miracle she gets along with the rest of the team.]

[BOI YOU WILL GET EATEN]

[Look, Pidge would have to suddenly develop extreme anti-social tendencies, spurn all her current friendships and constantly insult the new people here, and otherwise not be herself for Shiro to be let down.]

Hey, I wouldn't say it if I didn't think you could do it.

[He really wouldn't. New world doesn't matter -- he still believes in all of them.]

[DID I FUCKIN STUTTER]

[If those words came from pretty much anyone else, Pidge wouldn't believe them. But it's Shiro, someone whose opinion honestly kind of means the world to her. Even after everything that's happened, this moment right here means so much.

So she'll do her best, Shiro. Even if she doesn't actual say that out loud.]

Well, for now I'm just looking forward to getting somewhere that's not practically the middle of a forest.

[MMMMMBOY.]

[He knows she will. She always does. And she always exceeds expectations. All of them do. All the more reason to keep on believing in them, no matter the location. Besides... there's no war here to dog their steps.]

[They can rest. Recover a little.]

Okay, okay, I get the message. [The camera jostles around as, without further ado, he's hopping onto the giant metal knife bird.] We'll be there soon. Hang tight.

[8D]

[Watching him climb up onto that bird, just... brings so many more questions into Pidge's mind. Things like "doesn't that hurt?" and "is that safe without a saddle?"

She'll keep them to herself for now and just nod.]

Okay. Let me know when you're close.

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