Metamorphosis

by Quinn73

Summary:

This is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about Pidge and her space caterpillars, a trio of mysterious creatures which are gradually undergoing a strange metamorphosis right along with Pidge herself.

The first chapter is the beginning of a longer story which will slowly emerge...

Chapter One: LARVAE
Chapter Two: APOLYSIS
Chapter Three: CHRYSALIS
Chapter Four: IMAGO
Chapter Five: About this Fanfic...

Chapter 1: LARVAE

Notes:

LARVAE:

1. a. The newly hatched, wingless, often wormlike form of many insects, developing into a pupa in species that undergo complete metamorphosis.
b. The six-legged immature form of a tick or mite.
2. The newly hatched, earliest form of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in appearance from the adult.
—from thefreedictionary.com

The three space caterpillars Pidge had brought back from the nebula stared at her as she read aloud from the Altean Encyclopedia Galactica.

“Space Caterpillars live in colonies of several dozen and are often found in starship graveyards. Individual members of this species are covered in thick fur that is either bright pink, yellow, blue, or green in color. The smooth, tan underbellies of these creatures are furless, with four short crimson legs on bottom of either side of their segmented torsos.”

“They are cute little guys, aren’t they?” Hunk observed. The yellow one had floated away from Pidge to stare at him with its large, unblinking eyes. It nuzzled Hunk’s cheek as he stroked its furry back. “You are a sweet fella, aren’t you?” He asked it rhetorically, knowing that the affectionate little creature could not speak.

”These particular naiads might actually be the larvae of some previously uncatalogued species of space vermin, similar to the Pholoxian Scavenger Beetle, which is also capable of thriving in areas of zero gravity, with or without an atmosphere.” Pidge continued. ”This eight-legged beetle, like the Space Caterpillar, has the ability to cling to solid objects, to avoid floating away into deep space.”

“So they are basically fuzzy trash bugs that are going to morph into scavenger beetles one day,” Lance said with a grin. “Pidge, you just infested the castle with space roaches.” He laughed at his own remark. Pidge stopped reading and frowned at him.

“Lance—“ Shiro began with a glare. The blue Space Caterpillar, which had been floating closest to Pidge, flew to Lance and head butted him.

“Take it, easy, little guy,” Lance said to it as he gently batted it away from his face. “I was just joking around,” he added, glancing at Pidge with a soft smile. “They actually are kinda cute—in a creepy-crawly, grotesque sort of way.” The blue one’s cheek marks glowed slightly, as if blushing and mimicking Pidge’s emotions. Then it head butted Lance more aggressively than before.

Pidge snickered. “They are intelligent enough to understand what we are saying.” The green one’s cheek marks glowed brightly, as if agreeing with Pidge’s assessment.

“You’d better watch your mouth then, Lance,” said Keith. “If they do morph into disgusting beetles of some kind, I say we quarantine them in Lance’s room.”

“Hey!’

“Boys,” Shiro warned with a stern glance.

Pidge sighed. “They do understand what we are saying, but Lance misinterpreted what I just read. The entomologist who wrote this entry merely speculated that the Space Caterpillars are a species analogous to the Pholoxian Scavenger Beetle—“

“Ugh, in English please!” Lance whined.

“The trash bugs understand what Pidge is saying better than Lance does,” Keith added with a chuckle.

Pidge ignored them and continued reading. ”On either side of the caterpillar’s tiny mouth are a pair of glowing pale blue triangular-shaped markings that increase and decrease in luminescence as a form of communication, and are similar to Altean markings in appearance.”

“That part is fascinating,” said Allura. “Only creatures who have the potential to manipulate quintessence have such glowing marks. I can see why this scientist took such an interest in studying these gentle creatures.” The green one floated over to Allura and stared at her unblinkingly, its marks glowing warmly as if to affirm her hypothesis. Allura gave it a little pat, stroking its soft, thick fur.

Smiling, Pidge continued to read the entry. “For thousands of years, space travelers have had few opportunities to encounter this elusive species, so it it unknown what kind of sustenance these creatures thrive upon. It is assumed that they usually subsist upon the dust particles, hydrogen, helium, and other ionized gases that are found in emission nebulae...”

Chapter 2: APOLYSIS

Notes:

APOLYIS: the first stage in the moulting process.

APOLYSIS I & II

“That smells like peanut butter!” Lance swiped one the homemade cookies from the platter of snacks Hunk had been preparing. “Tastes like it too!” Plachu glared at him from the countertop, which was littered with crumbs and bits of yellow caterpillar fur. Platt stopped gnawing on the cookie he had swiped to look up at Lance.

“Those aren’t for you!” Hunk said, snatching the platter away from Lance. “Those are for Pidge. She’s turning sixteen today.”

After the party, Lance invited Pidge to sit next to him as they played Killbot Phantasm in his room. The green caterpillar was draped over her lap, sound asleep.

Bits of blue fur rained down upon him from the caterpillar that hovered above his head.

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed, brushing the fur from his hair. “Pidge, your trash bugs keep shedding all over the place.”

“Oh! Sorry about that. They’re molting. I’ll vacuum your room when we finish this round.“

“It’s okay. We can clean up when we’re done playing.” Pidge blushed when Lance slipped an arm behind her back and shoulders, then frowned when she realized he was only swiping another cookie from her platter of snacks.

APOLYSIS III

There was a bit of fluff clinging to the gown Pidge had discarded, which meant one of her beloved pets was shedding again. She hastily brushed the fine fabric before hanging the dress back on the rack. It felt strange to be trying on evening gowns with Allura. Pidge hadn’t worn a dress since she had cut her hair and joined the Garrison.

“Don’t shed on that one!” she told her green caterpillar, but it was too late. The dark green dress was covered with light green fur.

“Oh no!” Pidge moaned as she tried to dust off the silky fabric. When she finally managed to brush off the clinging fur, she heard Allura’s voice from outside of her dressing room.

“Pidge? Did you try it on yet?”

“Working on it!”

Pidge was about to exit her dressing room when she heard other voices besides Allura’s outside of the door.

“Wow! You look great, Princess!” said Hunk. Pidge peeked through a narrow crack in the door. The gown Allura was modeling was made of a pink fabric that clung to her slender figure in a manner that enhanced her curves, which is probably why Lance was gawking at her as if he had never seen a female before. The sleeves of the dress reminded her of gossamer wings.

“We’ve been fitted for our suits for this fancy shindig,” Keith said. “We’re just waiting for you girls.”

“Wait, is Pidge gonna wear a dress? This I gotta see!” Lance said gleefully.

“You guys go on without me,” Pidge said through the door. “I might be a while.” Which, strictly speaking, wasn’t true. The green dress fit her well enough, but with the boys waiting outside, she suddenly felt shy. Her reflection in the mirror showed that she was no longer flat-chested, but she was still too skinny. She frowned. The three caterpillars stared at their own reflections in the glass, their expressions neutral.

Pidge glanced downward when she felt a tug on the long hem of her gown. Platt, Plachu, Chulatt, and Chuchule had pulled the long skirt towards the door and managed to get the fabric stuck underneath it. She would have to unlatch the door to release it, or risk tearing the expensive material. She opened her dressing room door slightly, attempting to dislodge her hem.

When her three fluffy pets suddenly head-butted the door, Pidge lost her balance and tumbled through it, directly into Lance’s arms.

“I knew you’d fall for me sooner or later, Pidge,” he said with a grin, pleased with his own joke. Pidge felt as if her face were radiating more heat than a supernova.

APOLYSIS IV

Keith found Pidge in the embassy’s gardens, curled up on a bench near a pond that reflected the light of the planet’s triple moons. Two of her space caterpillars were missing. Pidge was crying softly as she held the green one in her arms.

“Pidge, are you all right?”

“No,” she replied with a sniffle.

“It’s okay,” Keith said as he sat down next to her. “I know why you’re upset.”

Pidge looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. She looked lovely in the green ballgown. Her hair was beginning to tumble down from its elaborate updo as she swiped at the wetness on her cheeks.

“He didn’t even notice—“ she began. “I spent the entire day getting ready, and he didn’t even notice! He spent the whole evening sulking and watching her dance with Prince Lotor!” She couldn’t say his name aloud, but they both knew who she meant. “And even worse, two of my pets have gone missing!”

Keith slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure they’ll turn up sooner or later. I can get Kosmo to help us look for them if you like.”

“Thanks,” Pidge said with a tearful smile, then she stared off into the darkness.

They sat there for a long time as the triple moons rose higher in the sky.
Keith finally broke the silence.

“I know this isn’t the best time, but you need to hear this, Pidge. If you really love him you have to set him free. If he doesn’t come back to you, he was never really meant to be yours.”

Pidge sighed. “I know.” Green stirred in her lap then began to drift away. Once again there was green fur all over her pretty dress.

Keith walked her back to her guest room at the embassy that evening. Pidge decided to go to bed early. In the morning, Kosmo awakened her by suddenly teleporting into her room. He deposited the two faintly glowing cocoons at the foot of her bed, one blue and one yellow. Pidge and her one remaining space caterpillar stared at them in wonder.

Chapter 3: CHRYSALIS

Notes:

CHRYSALIS: A form which insects assume when they abandon the larval or caterpillar state. It is a form they assume before they arrive at their perfect state.

CHRYSALIS

“Hunk, are you sure about this?”

“I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life,” Platt and Plachu gave him an appraising look from Hunk’s dresser as he straightened his tie. Chuchule and Chulatt were too busy playing hide-and-seek, then chasing each other around on Hunk’s desk to notice anything else that was going on around them. Lance was glad that Allura’s mice had found a happy home with his best friend, but he was still worried.

“She’s not even humanoid.”

“To me she’s beautiful,” Hunk replied. “Inside and out.”

“Okay. Look, I’m really happy for you, buddy, but—“

Hunk put his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “An attraction based only on appearances is just an infatuation. Those feelings will fade away over time, but true love is a choice that endures. Shay and I have chosen each other, for better or worse.”

Lance nodded solemnly, pondering the meaning of Hunk’s words.

The yellow space caterpillar had been in a cocoon for a couple of years, but the determined creature broke free with ease on Hunk’s wedding day.

The blue one, however, had remained frozen in transition. At first his fledgling wings struggled with the chrysalis, but then, after they lost Allura, he stopped trying to break free altogether.

*****
Green had gone missing on the morning following Allura’s memorial service. When Pidge frantically searched the newly rebuilt Castle of Lions for her beloved pet, she found Green in the most unlikely of places.

She had gone to Lance’s room to check on him, and there she found him lying on his side in his narrow bed with Green slumbering peacefully in his arms. Their cheek marks glowed faintly in the early morning light.

“You can keep her for a while if you like,” she told him at breakfast, and Lance gave her a watery smile. She turned her face away, not wanting him to see her tears.

Lance decided to follow her around the castle that day, neither of them saying much, but both of them taking comfort in the other’s presence. Pidge had kept Blue in a netted crystalline box in her room, and when Lance saw that the pitiful creature had not yet broken free of his chrysalis, he wanted to intervene.

“We could cut him free,” Lance suggested.

“No,” Pidge insisted. “If we cut him free, he’ll spend the rest of his life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It’s the struggle to get out of the cocoon that makes his wings strong enough to allow him to fly.”

As the months passed quickly into years, Pidge devoted herself to working on the Defenders Project while Lance remained in Cuba, taking care of Kaltenecker and tending the Juniberry fields. The two of them had a weekly routine of Friday and Saturday night online gaming that came to an end when Lance finally accepted the long-standing job offer from the Garrison. He volunteered to be a test pilot, but only for Pidge’s experimental aircraft.

The Friday night gaming sessions continued, now at Lance’s small apartment, with the green caterpillar hovering over them as the blue one slowly began to emerge from his cocoon, the tips of his translucent wings visible.

With Green’s incandescent cheek marks lightning their way, Lance walked Pidge home one Friday night, insisting upon carrying Blue’s cage for her as well. They lingered over their usual goodnight hug, neither of them wanting the embrace to end.

When Lance returned to his apartment, he realized that Green was missing. Where was she? Panicking, he grabbed his phone and called Pidge.

“She’s here with me, no worries,” she said with a yawn.

“I guess she followed you home, then. She probably missed you, just like I do when we’re not together.”

Pidge smiled at his remark. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow for our Saturday night gaming session. I can bring Green with me.”

Lance swallowed, trying to summon his courage before it was too late. “Actually, your pets can stay home tomorrow night. I don’t think they allow them at Club Milky Way.”

“Wait—are you saying you‘re ready to get back into the dating scene again?”

“Yeah, and that place is really fancy. Maybe you can wear that pretty green dress that you’ve been hiding in the back of your closet.”

Pidge was silent for a long moment, then she spoke carefully. “Lance...did you just ask me out?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven. “ He hung up before Pidge could question him any further.

In the morning, Pidge discovered that Green had snuck into Blue’s cage and spun herself into a cocoon beside him.

Chapter 4: IMAGO

Notes:

IMAGO: an insect in its final, adult, sexually mature, and typically winged state.

IMAGO

When Lance carried his bride over the threshold of their new home nearly a year later, Green flew for the first time. Pidge released her into the garden to be with Blue, and for a blissful moment the young newlyweds just marveled at the brilliant light that passed through the translucent jewel toned wings of the giant butterflies as they danced in the sky above.

“She’s beautiful,” Pidge remarked.

“Yeah, she is,” Lance replied, not looking up. He couldn’t stop gazing at the lovely young woman standing beside him.

“She was the last to transform. I wonder what took her so long.”

“She’s just a late bloomer, that’s all,” Lance said with gentle affection.

“Blue took even longer to emerge from his chrysalis,” Pidge continued. “I was worried that he would never find the motivation to break free.”

Lance slipped his arms around Pidge, who turned her full attention toward him at last.

“I think he was just waiting for her all this time,” Lance murmured softly as he tilted her chin up to brush his lips against hers.

Notes:

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”—Maya Angelou

🦋 If you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment. 🦋

 

Note:

Chapter 5 contains background information about this story and the fanzine for which it was written.

Chapter 5: About this Fanfic...

Summary:

Here’s some information about the fanzine.

“Metamorphosis” was originally written for the Whiskers Across the Galaxy fanzine, a project which evolved a bit over the last year or so. It was initially planned to be a printed charity fund raiser zine. Over a long period of time, the project became what is now a free digital download with a full color cover and illustrations. The stories and art are simply adorable, and I highly recommend you download the file to enjoy them all.

Here’s the link to this lovely FREE fanzine. If you follow any of the creators on Twitter, Tumblr, AO3, etc., and you enjoyed their work, please let them know. We all worked so hard on this project. 😊

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I_1DFp7ip909zcxfCJGduHFtmgZUruWJ

The link is also on Twitter at @Voltron_Pets if you prefer downloading it from there. Please give their promo posts a retweet.

The link is also on my Tumblr (quintessenceofdust73) if you want to download it and/or reblog my promo posts for the zine.

All of the contributors and mods on this project did a spectacular job and should be commended!

 

—Quinn73

Notes:

The version of Metamorphosis that is published here on AO3 is longer than the fanzine version. I had to keep my story within a specified word limit for inclusion in the zine. The additional material I included with the AO3 version consists of chapter notes and the beautiful Maya Angelou quote at the end of the story. The quote was the inspiration for this bittersweet tale about maturing, loving, and mourning the death of a loved one who was gone far too soon.