Chapter Text
“Errghh!” Shiro groaned. Voltron was fighting several small battleships and a few of Haggar’s druid cronies – the ships hovered above the large robot, evading its reach like mosquitos in the summer. The druids stood in a circle beneath the fight, chanting faintly and waving their arms in synchronization.
“Shiro, shouldn’t we go break up whatever magic they’re doing down there?” Hunk asked, scanning the ground for pods trying to sneak up on them. Pidge pulled the shield in front of Voltron’s face, blocking incoming fire.
“If we don’t focus all our attention on these fighters they’re going to find the chinks in our armor, Shiro,” she informed. She grunted as the enemy fire struck their shield.
“We should try splitting up, the battleship they came from seems pretty far now – “A large blast of magic interrupted the strategy session. As the jolt of quintessence rushed through Voltron, the team realized that the druids had chosen for them. The Voltron Lions were blasted apart, each landing harshly on the grassy ground of the planet they were on. The paladins groaned while the small pods retrieved the druids, retreating quickly.
Shiro was the first to push off the daze. His lion lay on her stomach, a few football fields away from the other lions. She appeared to be offline.
“Hey, is everyone – uh,” he began, startled by the sound of his own voice. He sounded like… Pidge? He quickly glanced down at his body, shocked to see her small frame and green armor.
“What the QUIZNAK, ” he heard Keith’s voice yelp.
“Keith, Keith, are you okay?” he asked. Pidge’s voice sounded alien coming from his own throat.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hunk’s voice answered.
Shiro heard his own voice crackle through the comm. “Was that me? Oh god, what’s going on?”
Keith began yelling incoherently, something about himself? He heard Lance start rambling in a matter-of-fact tone, and it sounded like he – Shiro - was crying. Except he wasn’t, he was here, in Pidge’s body, trying to understand what the hell just happened.
“Alright, everyone be quiet for a tick,” Shiro said. No one, besides whoever had Hunk’s voice, seemed to have heard. “Hey, team!” He said, a little more determined. No response. “GUYS, SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE.”
The chatter died quickly. A voice mumbled, “…Pidge?”
“No, I’m Shiro,” he responded. He heard a nervous ramble start from Shiro’s voice. “Shh. Everybody calm down. Deep breaths, Hunk.”
He heard Shiro’s voice mutter a compliant sound, then quieted again. “I think that druid spell switched our bodies. I’m going to rollcall, so we can clear up who’s who,” he said. Thankfully, the younger paladins remained quiet. “Pidge?”
“Here,” Lance’s voice piped. Shiro took note.
“Lance?”
“Here,” Keith’s voice cracked. Shiro smiled. He thought so.
“Keith?”
“Present,” Hunk’s voice grunted. Wow, that was a change. He had never heard Hunk sound so… husky?
“And Hunk.”
“I’m here,” Shiro’s voice bleated.
“Okay. Everyone get that?” he asked. He was answered with a chorus of tentative ‘yes’s and ‘I think so’s.
Allura’s voice rang through the comm. “Paladins, I suggest you return to the castle immediately, the Galra and druids are still out there,” she instructed.
“Hang on, Princess, my lion is offline,” Shiro said. He was followed by agreements from the other paladins. He could feel Black in the back of his mind, like always, but she felt like she was asleep. He mentally nudged her. As she activated, lighting up the consoles inside, he felt a confused purr. She showed him images of her now-green snout, and alarming lack of wings. He sent her comforting vibes, like she had done for him so many times before. He did his best to explain the predicament – soon she had relaxed and was prepared to lead her pride back to the castle.
In the distance, he could see the other lions rising to take off. They flew to the castle silently under the confused and comforting purrs of their lions.