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Chapter Text

"Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14," Lance said. [Name] crossed her arms, shifting her weight to her other leg and she has a feeling that Lance and his two friends will fail. "Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission." Lance turned the ship into a deep dive.

 "Lance, can you keep this thing straight?" Hunk questioned.

 "Relax, Hunk, I'm just getting a feel for the stick. It's not like I did this!" Lance said, pulling the wheel up. "Or this!" Lance pulled the wheel to the right, making Hunk groan more.

 [Name] face palmed, shaking her head at Lance's immature tactics. It's not the only time he's acted immature, especially around her as well since he likes to flirt with her a lot. 

 "Okay, unless you want to wipe beef stroganoff out of all the little nooks and crannies in this thing, you'd better knock it off, man!" Hunk said, starting off calm then angry.

 "We've picked up a distress beacon!" Pidge shouted.

 "All right, look alive, team! Pidge, track coordinates," Lance ordered, [Name] bit her lip, staring at the screen of the team.

 "Copy." 

 "Knock it off, Lance! Please!" Hunk begged, the space craft shaking.

 "This one's on you, buddy. We've got hydraulic stabilizer out," Lance stated, looking over his shoulder.

 [Name] always known that Hunk can't take any transportation at all. He'll start to grow nauseous from the slightest rumble of a vehicle at. She watched Hunk look as if he's about to throw up.

 "Oh, no. Fix now, puke later," Lance ordered.

 "I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors," Pidge informed.

 "Come on, Hunk!" Lance whined.

 "It's not responding," Hunk said, getting out his seat. [Name] ponders why he even joined the Garrison.

 "Never mind, fellas. That she blows. Preparing for approach on visual," Lance stated.

 "I don't think that's advisable with our current mechanical and gastrointestinal issues," Pidge claimed, glancing at Hunk as he was about to throw up.

 "Agreed," Hunk input.

 "Stop worrying. This baby can take it, can't you, champ?" Lance asked, sounding confident at first then shocked when the rumbling and shaking continued. "See? She was nodding. She was nodding. Pidge, hail down to them and let them know their ride is here."

 It's not. It really is not and the shaking will continue if Hunk doesn't work faster. [Name] could only sigh, wishing they were properly trained in this. She knows Pidge is smart, extremely smart and [Name] doesn't mind his company at all. Hunk is a good builder and engineer, but he can't handle transportation at all. Lance is a wonderful shot, remembering he had thrown a ball of paper into a trash can from across the room.

 Pidge had gotten out his seat, being too short to actually reach it and he stood on his seat. "Attention, lunar vessel-" He had fallen out of his seat from the shaking of the space craft.

 "What are you doing? Buckle your beat. And, Hunk, stop that shaking!" Lance commanded.

 "I'm try-" Hunk then vomited in the main gearbox.

 "Attention, lunar vessel," Pidge said, sitting in his seat and holding the mic. "This is Galaxy Garrison Resuce Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction, against crew recommendations."

 "No time for your motions comments now. They're going under and we're going in," Lance snapped. Lance pulled the space craft down, an structure of the ice almost like a bridge with an opening under it.

 "Look out for that overhang!" Pidge shouted.

 "No worries," Lance said, looking away from what's in front of him. "My first year in flight school, know what they call me? They called me the 'The Tailor' because of how I thread the needle."  Lance continued to head for the overhang, turning the space craft to make it fit through. "Come around, come around! Come on, come on!"

 Sadly, the space craft didn't fit and lost a wing.

 "We lost a wing!" Hunk informed.

 "Oh, man," Lance grumbled.

 The space craft crashed, meaning Lance and his team failed the simulation. Again. 

 "Nice work, Tailor," Pidge remarked.

 "Roll out, donkeys!" Iverson shouted, the door opening. Lance and his team stepped out, standing in a line and Lance kept his gaze down. "Let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students. [Last Name], can you point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?" 

 [Name] crossed her arms, keeping her gaze on the floor. "The engineer puked in the main gearbox."

 "Yes. As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems," Iverson snarled, making Hunk flinch. "What else, [Last Name]?" 

 "The com spec removed his safety harness and the pilot crashed, ignoring crew recommendations," [Name] finished, glancing at Lance and his team, but quickly looking at the ground.

 "Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they're arguing with each other," Iverson said, turning his attention to Lance and his team. "Heck, if you're going to be this bad individually, you'd bettter at least be able to work as a team! Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astroexplores, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Kerberos Mission."

 [Name] winced to herself, wishing he wouldn't bring that back up. Her brother, Cal, was on that mission with Shiro, Matt, and his father. She was quite devastated that her brother had been killed and she remembers him saying that she should work hard. She did exactly that, having Cal's help before he left and also to make her parents proud as well.

 "That's not true, sir!" Pidge yelled, glaring at the commander.

 "What did you say?" Iverson asked, daring Pidge to continue.

 "Sorry, sir. I think he hit his head when he fell out his chair. But point taken," Lance said, covering Pidge's mouth with his hand.

 "I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is that the first best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out," Iverson stated, walking over to Lance. [Name] knew he's talking about Keith because he is the only one to drop out. "Don't follow in his footsteps. Next!"

***

 "Thank you, sir," [Name] said, nodding her head. She had just finished a conversation with Iverson and he had brought up her brother. She felt uncomfortable as he started to talk about Cal.

 [Name] walked back towards her dorm, the lights out, but she can clearly see in the dark since it's not that dark. She noticed Lance and Hunk walking together, but seeming more in a hurry and she decided to follow after them. She quickly hid behind a wall, noticing that Lance and Hunk did the same since a door opened.

 "Where is he going?" She heard Lance ask.

 [Name] followed after them, landing on the roof of the Garrison and she noticed Pidge sitting by himself with a ton of gadgets around him. Lance walked over to him, taking off his headphones and talking to Pidge.

 Pidge let out a loud gasp, turning around to see Lance and Hunk. [Name] quickly hid, not thinking that they'd want to go on the roof, but she did want to scold the three for what happened at the simulation. Perhaps get a reason out of them for joining in the first place.

 "Oh, Lance, Hunk. No, um, just looking at the stars," Pidge said.

 "Where'd you get this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech," Lance stated.

 "I built it," Pidge stated.

 "You built all of this?" Hunk asked, going to touch it, but he smacked Hunk's hand.

 "Stop it! With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system," Pidge explained, sounding confident and cocky.

 [Name] decides to step out of hiding. "Really? All the way to Kerberos?" The three gasped, seeing [Name] walking over towards them. Lance sent her a wink which she scoffed. Pidge recovered from his shock and pouted. 

 "You go balllistic every time the instructors bring it up," Lance said, [Name] crouching down at the tech. "What's your deal?" 

 "Second warning, Hunk!" Pidge barked.

 "Look, Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets," Lance said.

 "That's what you're going to do? You sneaked out to bond?" [Name] asked, sounding disbelief. "You want to bond after you failed the simulation! I think you should think back on your mistakes that I pointed out."

 Lance was about to open his mouth, but Pidge spoke up. "The world as you know it is about to change. The Kerberos Mission wasn't lost because of some malfuncation or crew mistake. Stop touching my equipment!" Hunk groaned, falling to his side. "So, I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter." 

 "Aliens?" [Name] questioned, walking to Pidge's side and sitting down. 

 "Whoa. What? Aliens?" Hunk asked, sounding scared.

 "Okay. So, you're insane. Got it," Lance said, his arms crossed and he stood up.

 "I'm serious. They keep repeating one word, Voltron," Pidge said, [Name]'s eyes scanning the codes on the tech screens. "And tonight, it's going crazier than I have ever heard it." 

 "How crazy?" Lance questioned.

 "Attention, students. This is not a drill," Iverson's voice came on the PA. "We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice."

 "What's going on?" [Name] whispered, standing up.

 "Is that a meteor!" Hunk yelled, pointing at the bright, circle thing coming towards the Earth. "A very, very big meteor?"

 [Name] grabbed the binoculars and she held them to her eyes. "It's a ship!"

 "Holy cow!" Lance shouted, grabbing the binoculars as [Name]'s hands are still on it and since he's taller than her, his chin rested on the top of her head. "I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's not one of ours."

 "No. It's one of theirs," [Name] assumed, her and the other three watching the ship pass by.

 "So, wait. There really are aliens out there?" Hunk questioned, everyone watching the ship land past a moutain yards from the Garrison. 

 Pidge packed up his stuff, putting on his backpack. "We'be got to see that ship!"

 Pidge and Lance started to run off and [Name] followed them without hesitation. Despite hating them, she really wants to see what's inside that ship. Lance called out to Hunk that he should follow them.

---

 [Name] and Pidge worked together on the tech, Lance lying on his stomach with the binoculars in his hands and Hunk sitting next to him. [Name] bit her lip, her eyes on the screen as Lance scanned out the place.

 "Whoa! What the heck is that thing?" Lance voiced. "And who the heck is she?" [Name] let out a deep sigh, smacking the back of Lance's head and he let out a gasp of pain. "Right, alien ship. Man, we'll never get past all those guards to get a look." 

 "Aw, man," Hunk whined. "Yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do, but head back to the barracks, right?" Hunk stood up, going to leave.

 "Wait! They've set up a camera in there and we grabbed its feed. Look!" Pidge said, looking at [Name] with an approved look and [Name] didn't bother looking at him. 

 [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing a man strapped to a table and people in white body suits and masks. She realized it's Shiro, but why is he the only one to come back? Where's Cal? Or Matt and his father?

 "Hey! What are you doing!" Shiro yelled.

 "Calm down, Shiro," Iverson advised. "We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests."

 "You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds!" Shiro grunted, [Name] stared at him in confusion. "Aliens are coming!" 

 "That's Shiro! The pilot of the Kerberos Mission!" Lance stated, pointing at the screen. "That guy's my hero!" 

 "Guess he's not dead in space, after all," Hunk added.

 "Where's the rest of his crew?" [Name] asked. 

 "Do you know how long you've been gone?" Iverson questioned.

 "I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time," Shiro warned, looking around frantically. "Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron."

 "Voltron!" Pidge gasped, his eyes widening.

 "Sir, take a look at this," another man said, gesturing to Shiro's arm. "It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."

 "Put him under until we know what that thing can do," Iverson ordered. 

 "Don't put me under! No! There's no time!" Despite Shiro's yelling, they still carried out Iverson's order.

 "They didn't ask about the rest of the crew," Pidge said, his eyebrows furrowed.

 "What are they doing? He's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?" Lance asked, knowing the answer already. 

 "We have to get him out," [Name] hissed.

 "I hate to be the voice of reason, always, but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?" Hunk asked, standing up and everyone looking towards him. 

 "That was before we were properly motivated," Lance said, putting a hand under his chin. "We've just got to think. Could we tunnel in?"

 "Maybe we could get some hazmats suits and sneak in like med techs," Pidge voiced.

 "Or we dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary-- little late-night snack," Hunk said, [Name] lets out a sigh and shakes her head.

 "We need a distraction," [Name] groaned, standing up and crossing her arms. 

 [Name] and the others let out a screams, a loud explosion coming out and she noticed it from afar. Her eyes widen in fear, not realizing that would happen at all.

 "Is that the aliens? Is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!" Hunk yelled, starting to panic.

 "No, those explosions were a distraction, for him," Pidge said, pointing at a blue light going towards the structure holding Shiro. "The Garrison's headed toward the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side."

 "No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there!" Lance hissed, [Name] having a feeling it's Keith. "That guy is always trying to one-up me!" 

 "Who is it?" Hunk questioned, watching Lance run towards the structure and [Name] followed after him.

 "Keith!" Lance yelled.

 "Who?" Pidge questioned, having his stuff in the backpack.

 "Are you sure?" Hunk asked, running after his friend and the stuck up [Name].

 "Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!" Lance yelled, [Name] holding back a laugh from the nickname.

 "Who's Keith?" Pidge questioned, running after them.

 Lance slid down the rocks, [Name] following after him with Hunk and Pidge behind her. [Name] picked up her pace, running past Lance and getting closer to the structure. [Name] walked in, Lance walking past her and she noticed the men on the floor.

 Keith had Shiro's arm over his shoulder and Lance walked over to the two. [Name] stayed back, not liking Keith because he flunked out Garrison. 

 "Nope. No, you-- No, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro," Lance said, walking towards Keith and putting Shiro's other arm over his shoulders.

 "Who are you?" Keith questioned, staring at Lance.

 "Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance," Lance said, Keith glared at him slightly then Lance turned towards Keith. "We were in the same class at the Garrison."

 "Really? Are you an engineer?" Keith asked, staring at Lance.

 "No, I'm a pilot! We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck," Lance said, his eyebrows ceased.

 "Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot," Keith said, his eyebrows furrowed.

 [Name] simply glared at him and Keith had caught her stare. Keith quickly looked away, not sure how he should react from the sight, but he could never forget the prodigy in the Garrison at all.

 "Well, not anymore. I'm fighter class now, thanks to you washing out," Lance said.

 "Well, congratulations," Keith said.

 [Name] left the little room, not bothering to say anything to them. Besides, she didn't want to carry Shiro so she'll leave it to Keith and Lance. So far the only thing they can actually do correct.

***

 [Name] followed behind Keith and Lance, glancing over her shoulder she noticed Pidge and Hunk jogging over to them. [Name] smiled excitedly at the space hover, always wanting to ride one or even drive it herself. 

 "Uh, do you mind if we catch a ride with you?" Hunk asked, getting onto the wing part while Keith got on the driver's seat.

 [Name] climbed on, but from the sudden weight added, she was about to fall back until a hand had grabbed her arm. She followed the to where the hand is and she noticed Keith looking at her over his shoulder. [Name] pulled her hand away from him, sending him a quick glare and he turned his attention ahead.

 "Is this thing going to be big for all of us?" Pidge asked, looking at Keith.

 Lance and Shiro on the wing. [Name] notice the lights from the vehicles coming and she bit her lip in worry. Despite being the prodigy in the Garrison, she knew she had to take her own path like her brother would have wanted, but probably not like this.

 Keith turned the handle, the space hover lifted off the ground and turned around, getting away.

 "Why am I holding this guy?" Pidge shouted over the engine of the space rider, holding Shiro's arms.

 "Hey, we did all fit," Hunk said, [Name] notice Lance sitting behind her instead of Pidge. 

 "Can't this thing go any faster?" Lance asked, looking over his shoulder and the cars getting closer.

 "We could toss out some non-essential weight," Keith said.

 [Name] had a feeling he meant all of them. Keith probably just wanted to save Shiro and only Shiro.

 "Oh, right!" Lance said, looking around. "Okay, so that was an insult. I get it."

 "Big man, lean left!" Keith shouted over his shoulder, the Hunk leaned left, but it wasn't fast enough.

 [Name] gripped a a part of the seat where Keith is sitting and she jumped up and over to the left side. She used her weight to add more and the ride leaned left.

 "Whoa!" The disappointment group screamed.

 "Aw, man! Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! No, no. He's fine," Hunk said, Keith drove up a tall rock.

 "Lean right!" Keith ordered, looking over his shoulder.

 [Name] jumped onto the other side of the right while Hunk leaned right, the ride jumping towards the other side with a deep bit between the two roads. The three males screamed, [Name] went back into her seat and the space hover land on the other road. She felt Shiro's chest press against her back, noticing the last two cars still chasing them.

 "Guys? Is that a cliff up ahead?" Hunk asked, everyone looking ahead.

 "Oh, no, no, no!" Lance screamed, Keith leaned forward with a smirk on his face.

 "Yup," Keith said, turning the handle of the space hover.

 "No, no, no!" Pidge screamed, Keith driving off the cliff.

 [Name] screamed, her hands on Keith's shoulders and her nails digging into him. She knows that Keith is reckless, but he won't kill them all. She figures he has a trick up his sleeve. Besides, Keith wanted to save Shiro.

 "What are you doing? You're going to kill us all!" Lance screamed, the space hover falling straight down.

 "Shut up and trust me!" Keith shouted, turning the handle a little and turning his foot upward with the peddle, the space hover hovered above the ground and dust flew everywhere. 

 [Name] let out a big sigh, putting space between her and Keith. She looked back at the top of the cliff, seeing the Garrison vehicles come to a stop.

***

 [Name] leaned against the wall, her eyes closed and her head down. It's extremely quiet and she knows that the disappointment group has questions towards her. She let out a sigh, opening her eyes to see all three of them staring at her.

 "Something the matter?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as if she's asking them-no daring them to answer her.

 "No-"

 "Why did you come along with us? I mean, you're the prodigy of the Garrison," Lance said, interrupting Pidge. 

 [Name] let out a sigh, running a hand through her [Long/Short] hair. "I meant to scold you two-" she pointed at Lance and Hunk"-for what happened at the simulation, but I ended up following. But Shiro is alive, meaning that his mission wasn't a failure." 

 She remembers what Shiro said that he was taken by aliens as well as his crew, but he's the only one to make it back. [Name] is curious and she wants to know, perhaps Shiro might know where her brother is.

 Lance and Hunk nodded their heads. [Name] noticed the door open, Keith and Shiro stepping inside. Shiro glanced towards [Name], but her attention is looking out the window.

 Keith removed the covers from the wall, everyone staring at the markings on the map and pictures added as well.

 "What have you been working on?" Shiro asked, staring at the maps with writings and pictures.

 "I can't explain it, really," Keith said, staring at the maps, "After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn to this place. It's like something... some energy was telling me to search."

 "For what?" Shiro asked, turning his head towards Keith.

 "Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area," Keith said, pointing towards the middle of the map with writings that say Energy Source!. "It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each one tells a slightly different story bout a blue lion. But they all share clues leading to the same event, some arrival happening last night.Then, you showed up." Keith finished, catching Shiro's attention. 

 "I should thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?" Shiro asked, turning towards the tree males and Shiro walked towards the table since Lance is on the other side, holding out his hand. Lance looked down at Shiro's hand, hesitantly shaking Shiro's hand, Shiro held out for Pidge and Hunk.

 "[Name]," [Name] said, not bothering to shake the hand that Shiro is holding out for her.

 "The nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge," Pidge said, shaking Shiro's hand, "So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?"

 "I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces," Shiro said, looking to the side. 

 "Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now?" Hunk asked, making gestures with his hands and slouching his shoulders slightly. "Are they coming? Are they coming for us? Where are they at this very moment?"

 "I can't really put it together. I remember the word 'Voltron'," Shiro said, ceasing his eyebrows. "It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do." 

 "Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and I found this picture," Hunk said, going through Pidge'ss backpack and taking out a picture. "Look, it's his girlfriend."

 "Hey, give me that!" Pidge shouted, taking the picture from Hunk. "What were you doing in my stuff?"

 "I was looking for a candy bar. But, then, I started reading his diary," Hunk said, holding a book in his hand.

 "What?" Pidge screamed, snatching his dairy back. 

 "I notice the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line," Hunk said.

 "Frown who?" Keith asked, his head slightly tilted with his arms crossed.

 "It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only, this element doesn't exist on Earth. It might be this Voltron," [Name] explained, catching everyone's attention.

 "What she said. I think I can build a machine to look for it, like a Voltron Geiger counter," Hunk continued.
 
 "Hunk, you big, gassy genius!" Lance praised, his arms crossed and smiling at his friend. "Nice thinking, [Name]." Lance sent a wink to her, but she only groaned and rolled her eyes.

 "It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this," Hunk explained, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and holding it out.

 "Give me that!" Keith said, snatching the paper and he held it under a picture with giant rocks.

***

 [Name] stood at a canyon with the males, her arms crossed and she had explained to Shiro why she's going to tag along, but he told her he didn't need an explanation. [Name] didn't notice the looks she had gotten from them since she's wearing shorts, but when she felt like someone was staring at her, all of them looked away and focused on the canyon in front of them. 

"Okay, I admit it. This is super freaky," Lance said, his arms crossed and staring at the canyon.

 "I'm getting a reading," Hunk said, holding the machine in his hands while Pidge held up the receiving machine and electronic beeping can be heard then Hunk walked forward. Everyone followed after Hunk.

 The beeping got intense, [Name] looked up to see cave opening and small cliff that anyone can jump from. Her and the males entered the slightly dark cave, noticing the drawings of lions. She stopped in front of the wall, the craving of the lions fantasizing and she felt someone stare at her. She turned her head to see Shiro staring at her, but he was actually looking at the cravings.

 "What are these?" Shiro asked, his voice echoing.

 "These are the lion cravings I was telling you about," Keith explained, not noticing Lance walk towards the cravings.

 "They're everywhere around here," Shiro said.

 [Name] lifted her hand and placed it on the wall, tracing the outline of the cravings. A tiny smile appeared on her features and she removed her hand. Suddenly, the cravings of the lions lit up blue.

 "What?" [Name] whispered, staring at the cravings.

 "They're never done that before," Keith added.

 Everyone walked away from the walls and the light below them shined a light blue color. [Name] stared down at the ground, seeing cracks start to form and she was about to jump away, but the floor had already caved in. [Name] and almost everyone except Keith and Shiro let out a scream, going down a water like slide. She felt the water start to soak her clothes. Lance fell down first, landing in a small river with [Name] landing on top of him next.

 Lance opened his eyes, seeing [Name] start to sit up on him and he started to drool a little. Sadly for him, it was quickly ruined when the other(s) fell onto him, like Keith. [Name] let out a groan and Keith stood up, holding out his hand for [Name]. [Name] put a hand to her head, smacking Keith's hand away and standing up on her own.

 "They are everywhere," Lance said.

 [Name] lifted her head to see a giant, blue, white, and black color lion or cat, but probably a cat. [Name] let out a gasp of amazement, never believing something this advance exists at all. [Name] started to analyze the sphere the cat is inside, the blue force field around it and standing next to Keith with Shiro at her sides.

 "Is this it? Is this the Voltron?" Pidge asked, holding onto the straps of his backpack.

 "It must be," [Name] mumbled, staring at the blue cat robot with widen eyes.

 "This is what's been causing all of this crazy energy out here," Keith said, his eyebrows light furrowed and he walked towards the shield.

 [Name] walked over to the shield, following after Keith, but keeping her eyes on the giant cat.

 "Looks like there's a force field around it," [Name] stated, tilting her head.

 "Is anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?" [Name] heard Lance ask, she looked over her shoulder at him to see him to the left and right. 

 "No," Shiro said, staring up at the giant robot cat.

 "Yeah. The eyes are totally following me," Lance said, walking normally.

 Keith ran up to the force field, [Name] standing slight to Keith's side and Keith placed his hands on the force field. "I wonder how we get through this," Keith said.

 "Maybe you just have to knock," Lance said, knocking on the force field and he yelled, the force field lighting up then the cat's eyes shined.

 The wind pressure picked up, the force field disappearing and the ground below the robot lighting up blue. [Name] heard a gasp coming from the men and she turned her head to see their eyes wide as saucers and their mouths in large 'O's.

 "Whoa," everyone breathed out, the wind pressure disappearing and the lighting below the robot disappeared.

 "Uh, did everyone just see that?" Lance asked, [Name] lifted an eyebrow.

 "Voltron is a robot. Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!" Hunk shouted, sitting on the ground.

 "And this thing is only one part of it! I wonder where the rest of them are," Pidge added, staring up at the lion. 

 "This is what they're looking for," Shiro said, his eyes returning to normal.  

 "Incredible," Keith added.

 "Wait! What the hell did you see!" [Name] yelled, scowling at all of them.

 "There's five other robots like this one," Keith explained, pointing at the cat robot, "All of those five make a giant robot."

 [Name] tilted her head, completely confused from whatever Keith had just said. It's not that she didn't understand how there's five others, but just how is there? She lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes.

 Then, the giant cat robot leaned down towards everyone, [Name] stepped back, but came into a hard chest and she figured it's Shiro, she heard Pidge and Hunk scream. The mouth opened, [Name] looked inside and a plank moved down, Lance standing in front of the plank. Lance hummed, looking at everyone then he chuckles, running inside.

 "Lance!" [Name] shouted, running after him. Lance hummed in approval, an automatic door opening and he looked at the chair, she shook her head in shame at him. "Lance," she warned, seeing him sit down in the chair and sit comfortably. "I don't think this is safe! Have you not learned anything at all from the Garrison?" 

 "Don't worry about it, [Name]. Here we go," Lance said, smirking proudly until he lets out a scream from the sudden movement of the chair moving forward and stop. Lance groaned, "Uh? Huh." [Name] looked over her shoulder, seeing Pidge and Hunk walk in then Shiro and Keith.

 "This is amazing," [Name] mumbled, staring at the blue holographic screens and touch screens. She heard Lance laugh and Pidge and Hunk saying who afterwards. 

 "All right! Very nice!" Lance shouted, [Name] and the others walked over to the chair to see the cave through the screen.

 "Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all aware," Hunk said, catching everyone's attention, "We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now."

 "Whoa. Did you guys hear that?" Lance asked, looking over his shoulder at [Name] and the others.

 "Hear what?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

 "I think it's talking to me," Lance said, staring at the holographic screens in front of him, "Hmm... Um..." Lanced typed with one finger on a keyboard holographic screen, making the robot cat stand on its legs and let out a piercing roar, Pidge and Hunk screaming. "Okay. Got it. Now, let's try this," Lance said, two hand gripping controls appeared on his seat, one on each side and Lance's hands rested on it, pushing forward both of them. 

 The robot cat broke through the large rocks, back flipping and using boosters on its feet to stop itself from hitting the ground. The robot cat shot itself through the sky, flying at a high pace and inside of the head, [Name], Pidge, and Hunk let out a scream, Shiro's arm wrapped around her waist and he held onto the ceiling to stabilize himself and [Name], Hunk and Pidge holding onto Lance, Keith holding onto the seat.

 "You. Are. The. Worst. Pilot. Ever!" Keith shouted.

 The screaming from [Name], Pidge, and Hunk continued as the blue, robot cat flew around then the cat landed on the ground, running at a high pace.

 "This is why I never wanted to be in the same vehicle with you!!" [Name] yelled, scrunching her eyes shut in case they might die. She doesn't want to see how she will die.

 "Isn't this awesome?" Lance asked, a excited smile on his face as the screaming stopped.

 "Make it stop. Make it stop," Hunk pleaded, tears in his eyes.

 "I'm not making it do anything. It's like it's on autopilot," Lance said, then the cat launched itself into the sky with its boosters.

 "Where are you going?" [Name] hissed, holding the arm tightly, but she doesn't know it's Shiro.

 "I just said it's on autopilot! It says there's an alien ship approaching Earth," Lance explained, the robot cat flying towards the atmosphere, "I think we're supposed to stop it." 

 "What did it say, exactly?" Pidge asked, furrowing his eyebrows at Lance.

 "It's not like it's saying words. It's more like a feeding ideas into my brain, kind of," Lance said, raising his eyebrow at Pidge.

 "Well, if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, I don't know, give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone," Hunk suggested, everyone looking at him, "Sorry, lion. Nothing personal."

 "You don't understand," Shiro said, catching everyone's attention, "These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everyone is dead." 

 "Oh. Never mind then," Hunk said, everyone glaring at him and the lion let out a roar, finally out of the atmosphere and into space.

 "That's a giant ship," [Name] gasped, seeing a dark ship with purple window like lights. 

 "Uh..." Hunk said, dragging the word with his mouth open, "Holy crow! Is that really an alien ship?"

 "Obviously," [Name] growled.

 "They found me," Shiro mumbled. [Name] looked up at him, not noticing how close her face is near his and she felt him pull her closer unconsciously.

 Then purple lasers came towards the lion. "We're got to get it out of here!" Pidge shouted, turning towards Lance.

 "Hang on!" Lance yelled, pulling back the two handles and causing the lion to dodge the lasers, everyone shouting at Lance. "All right. Okay. I think I know what to do." The boosters bringing up the lion's speed.

 "Be careful, man!" Pidge yelled, glaring at Lance

"This isn't a simulator," [Name] shouted, her eyes on the ship.

 "Well, that's good. I always wreck the simulator," Lance said, a smirk on his face as the lion dodged the lasers and going towards the ship. Lance thrust the right handle, the lion's mouth opening and shooting out a blue laser, cutting a line into the ship. "Let's try this," Lance said, smirking proudly and pulling back the handle. The lion dodged all the lasers, getting close to the side of the ship and cutting it with the claws, an explosion ringing out from the damage.

 "Nice job, Lance," Shiro said, smiling at Lance.

 "I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet," Lance said, the lion flying away from the ship.

 [Name] didn't say anything and she looked down at her hands. She should probably thank Lance for literally saving them and probably Earth, but that's really out of character for her. Especially since she's hates him and he barely works hard for anything.

 "Oh, no!" Hunk shouted, looking out from the side to see the ship chasing after the lion.

 "They're gaining on us," Pidge shouted, [Name] glanced out to see the ship coming after them.

 "It's weird. They're not trying to shoot us. They're chasing us," Lance said, glancing to the side to look at the ship.

 "Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good?" Hunk asked. "I am not on board with this new direction, guys."

 "Where are we?" Keith asked, scowling at Lance and Shiro dropped his arm from [Name], quietly apologizing to her, but she didn't say anything.

 "Edge of the solar system. There's Kerberos," Shiro explained, noticing the floating rocks and blueish planet. 

 "It takes months for our ships to get out this far," Pidge said, his eyes widening, "We got out here in five seconds."

 "Impressive," [Name] muttered, a small smile on her face then a portal opened.

 "What is that?" Hunk asked, staring at the white and black swirling thing outlined with blue.

 "This may seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there," Lance suggested, she looked down at Lance.

 "Where does it go?" Pidge asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "I don't know," Lance said, glancing at Pidge then back in front, "Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"

 "Whatever is happening, the lion knows more than we do," Shiro explained, looking at Lance, "I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together." Everyone nodded their heads, Pidge place his hand on Lance's shoulder and [Name] stepped away from the group, distancing herself from them.

"All right. Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow," Lance said, the lion went through the portal and closed before the ship chasing the lion went through.

Chapter Text

 Everyone groaned, feeling a force pulling everyone as the blue lion went through the portal. The pulling force went away, [Name] let out a big sigh and notice a planet. "Whoa. That was..." Lance said, his eyebrows raised.

 Hunk grunted, his hands covering his mouth, but he vomited and everyone cringed. "So sorry," Hunk said, his voice raspy.

 "I'm just surprised it took this long," Pidge said, fixing his glasses on Hunk vomited again.

 "I don't recognize any of these constellations," Shiro said, staring at the stars, "We must be a long long way from Earth." 

 "The lion seems to want to go to this planet. I think..." Lance said, the lion used its boosters to pick up its speed, "I think it's going home."

 The lion flew towards the planet, breaking through the atmosphere and [Name] hunched over the chair, holding onto it tightly. "Guys, person space except [Name]," Lance said, winking at her and she scoffed. "Hunk, your breath is killing me."

 "Um, is it me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole?" Hunk asked, furrowing his eyebrows at Lance. "Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?" 

 "It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance asked, scowling at Hunk.

 "I don't know if you notice, but you're in an alien warship," Keith stated, looking at Lance and catching his attention then standing up.

 "Oh, are you scared?" Lance asked, almost taunting Keith.

 "With you at the helm? Terrified," Keith said, glaring at Lance.

 "All right, knock it off," Shiro said, catching everyone's attention. "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

 "Shiro, you're right, but what are we going to do?" [Name] questioned, catching everyone's attention. 

 "First, we find out where we're headed," Shiro said, turning his attention towards Lance. "Lance?"

 "I don't know," Lance answered, looking down and everyone stared at him. "I'm sorry. The lion's not talking to me anymore. Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh! Listen. I think I hear something"

 "I'm hearing it, too," Keith said, you heard a slight loud noise.

 "It's, uh- It's kind of a- a high pitched squeal?" Hunk said, [Name]'s eyes widen and she covered her nose, scowling at Lance and  a smug smirk on Lance's face.

 "Come on, Lance!" Keith yelled, covering his nose and glaring at Lance. 

 "But seriously, there's a castle up ahead," Lance said, her looked ahead and notice a fancy castle.

 "Wow," everyone breathed out. The lion's eyes shined, the blue parts of the castle shined as the lion came closer to the ground and used its boosters to land.

 "Keep your guard up," Shiro warned, narrowing his eyes.

 "Something wrong?" Pidge asked, looking up at Shiro.

 "My team was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again," Shiro explained, everyone leaving from the blue lion's mouth again.

 Suddenly the ground shook, Pidge letting out a scream and [Name] watched as the lion stood up. "No! I knew it was going to eat us! No!" Hunk screamed, slouching his shoulders as the lion let out an ear piercing roar and the doors opened, Hunk whimpering.

 [Name] walked towards the doors, ignoring Shiro and Keith as they called out her name. Since when did Keith ever care about her? Plus [Name] has heard of Shiro, but never met him before. So why in hell are they concern for her? She let out a sigh, not stepping inside at all and she waited for the others to catch up.

 "Hello?" Hunk called out, his voice echoing and everyone turned their heads towards him, Hunk shrugged his shoulders.

"From the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger," Pidge commented, [Name] turned her head to see a large stairway and how dark it is. Everyone gasped, staring up as a blue lights shined down. 

 "Hold for identity scan," a computer said, everyone stuck in a blue light.

 "What?" Pidge asked, everyone covered in a blue hologram like everyone else did.

 "Why are we here? What do you want with us?" Shiro asked, staring up at the computer and the hologram disappeared and the lights turned on.

 "Whoa!" Lance and Pidge breathed out, for the stairs there's two ways to go and a middle way.

 "This way," [Name]  whispered, walking towards the hallway in the middle get lit up with the lights on the wall. 

 Everyone walked into the hallway, the lights turning on as everyone passed by them. "Hello?" Hunk asked, his voice echoing throughout and [Name] walked down the stairs ahead of the others, turning a corner and walking down the stairs. "Hello?" Hunk asked again. After some time, everyone walked towards a door and it open on its one, leading to a large room. "Hello?" Hunk asked again.

 "Where are we?" Lance asked, looking around.

 "It's a control room," [Name] informed, looking at the stand and a blue sign showed up. She turned her head, seeing a pod lift up then another and she kept her space from the others.

 "Are these guys... dead?" Hunk asked, one of the pods has a girl then the other a male.

 The pod shined, the blue part disappearing and a girl stood there with her eyes closed. "Father!" The girl gasped, her eyes snapping open and the girl fell forward, but Lance caught her. [Name] let out a groan, noticing the blush on Lance's face as the girl looked up at him then he smirked seductively, "Hello." 

 "Who are you? Where am I?" The girl asked, looking around.

 "I'm Lance. And you're right in my arms," Lance said, smirking at her as she looked at him with disgust. [Name] smirked, thinking she might get along with the woman if they ever talked.

 "Your ears," the girl said, looking at his ears and Lance glanced at his ears.

 "Yeah?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "They're hideous. What's wrong with them?" She asked, turning away and scrunching her face in disgust.

 "Nothing's wrong with them! They heard exactly what you said about them!" Lance shouted, he screamed when she grabbed his ear and made him turn around on his knees.

 "Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?" The girl asked, glaring at him as Lance is struggling with his arm behind his back. 

 "A giant blue lion brought us here. That's all we know," Lance shouted, tears rising in his eyes and the girl glanced at [Name] and the others.

 "How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to it's paladin?" The girl asked, letting go of Lance and she stood up, "What are all you doing here? Unless... -How long has it been?"

 "We don't know what you're talking about," [Name] stated, stepping forward and she looked at her. 

 "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help," Shiro suggested, Hunk hiding behind him.

 "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea," Allura said, scowling at Shiro. "I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep." Allura walked past everyone, going to the stand and putting her hands on it, a blue holographic screen popping up.

 "Okay, that's how that works," Pidge said, his eyebrows ceased.

 Then the other pod opened, the blue screen disappearing and revealing the man. The man gasped, screaming as he looked at Lance, "Enemy combatants!" The man jumped out the pod, jumping towards Lance and Lance stepped to the side, staring at the man oddly. 

 "Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the old 'sleep chamber knees'," the man said, glaring at Lance and making gestures. "Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so- One, two, three- [snaps his fingers] Sleepy time!"

 "Well, before you'd do that, I'd-," Lance said, making fighting gestures and finishing off by crossing his arms, "Like that."

 "Oh, really? How could you do that when I've already come at you with this?" The man asked, grunting and punching rapidly. "Ha, ha, ha, hey!" 

 [Name] face palmed, shaking her head at Lance's idiotic antics and the man's as well. This two are just so extra that it gives [Name] a migraine. 

 "Man, these guys are good," Hunk commented, staring at Lance and the man.

 "I don't think so," [Name] hissed, Keith chuckled to himself.

 "It can't be," Allura said, catching everyone's attention.

 "What is it?" The man asked, staring at the princess.

 "We've been asleep for 10,000 years," Allura said, her eyebrows ceased and [Name] eyes widen slightly. 

 "Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed," Allura said, turning her body to the side. [Name] flinched slightly, pondering where she's ever heard that name from. "Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization... Zarkon."

 Shiro gasped, his eyes widening slightly with a small sweat on his cheek, "Zarkon?"

 "He was the king of the Galra," Allura explained, her head down then she looked at Shiro, hatred in her voice. "A vile creature and enemy to all free people."

"I remember now... I was his prisoner," Shiro said, looking up at Allura.

 "He's still alive? Impossible!" Allura shouted, her eyes widening a little.

 "I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron," Shiro informed.

 "He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does," Allura explained, staring at Shiro with determination.

***

 [Name] stood at the back, Lance and Keith in front of her, staring at the princess who's standing at the holographic computer while Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge stood in front of the holographic computer and Coran standing next to the princess.

 "Princess, you must eat. It's been 10,000 years," Coran pleaded. 

 "I'm not hungry," Allura said, closing her eyes.

 "Man, 10,000 years? That's like one thousand plus ten," Lance said, [Name] looked at him oddly.

 "That's times ten," Keith corrected, turning his head towards Lance.

 "Whatever, dropout," Lance hissed, glaring at Keith and Keith glared right back at him.

 "I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving," Hunk said, holding his belly.

 "Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times," Pidge pointed out, catching Hunk's attention.

 [Name] walked over to them, turning their heads away from each other and she crossed her arms. She definitely didn't want to listen to them argue about petty things at all.

  "Hmm, good point," Hunk said, scooping up green goo from a floating plate.

 "I can't believe your civilization created such advance technology 10,000 years ago," Shiro said, Hunk making a disgusted face after eating some of the goo, but he took another bite. "It must have been an incredible place." 

 "Yes, it was... but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive," Coran said, his eyebrows scrunched.

 Allura looked down, Coran walked towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder, she looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, crying softly. Allura gasped, walking towards a pod and a blush grew on her cheeks, "Looks like we're not the last, after all."

 [Name] stood on edge, her body tensing and an alarm blaring going off and the holographic computer turned from blue to red, Coran looked over his shoulder at the computer. "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" Coran said, everyone standing around the computer.

 "How did they find us?" Allura asked, walking towards the computer.

 "I'm not sure, but I bet it's Keith's fault," Lance said, his arms crossed and frowning.

 "Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better," Keith said, glaring at Lance from the side of his eye then turning his body towards him. "After getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!"

 "I'll stick you in a wormhole!" Lance shouted, getting in Keith's face.

 Since [Name] was in the middle of them, she was crushed by their chests and she shook slightly from anger. She put her hands on their chest, pushing them away from each other and sending them both hard glares, making them shut the hell up.

 "Thanks, [Name]. This is no time to place the blame," Shiro said, Lance held his hands out and arms up. "It's time to work as a team. How long before they arrive?" 

 "At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two... I'd say probably a couple of days," Coran said.

 "Good. Let them come!" Allura said, furrowing her eyebrows. "By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!"

 "Sorry to interrupt, but I know I'm definitely not part of this Voltron thing, but I can prove to be useful for everyone," [Name] stated, crossing her arms.

 "Of course. You don't have to prove yourself and you are part of the team already," Allura said, smiling at her and [Name] nodded her head, a wide smile on her face. 

 "Princess, there are five of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?" Shiro asked, catching Allura's attention. 

***

 Allura stood on a small stage, a blue light shining down from a crystal while everyone else stood far back. "King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force," Coran explained, everyone staring at her. "She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts."

 Allura opened her eyes, the room being filled with blue circles that almost look like stars and everyone breathed out, whoa. "These are coordinates," Pidge stated, looking at the circles with a certain symbol in them then a picture of a black lion and a planet moved past Pidge.

  "The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion," [Name] stated, staring at the mini black lion with the blue lion.

 "Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage," Coran said, leaning to the side of [Name]'s heigh with his arms crossed.

 "Very observant. That's because the Black Lion is in the castle," Allura explained, smiling at [Name].

 "To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle," Coran explained, staring off into the distance. "It can only be freed if the other four lions are present."

 "As you have found, the lions choose their pilots," Allura stated, staring at the four males. "It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain." 

 [Name] watched Allura move her hand and the map moved also. "The Black Lion is in the decisive head of Voltron," Allura said, the planet that the black lion is on move towards Shiro. "It will take a pilot who is born a leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion." Shiro stared at the holographic picture of the planet showing where the black lion is. "The Green lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring," Allura explained, moving the map once again. "Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion."  Pidge stared at the holographic planet, pinpointing the green lion's coordinates and Pidge smiled. "The Blue Lion-" Allura started, but got rudely cut off.

 "Hold up, let me guess. Takes the most handsome slash best pilot of the bunch?" Lance asked, smirking proudly with his eyes closed then he opened his eyes, could almost see a sparkle from his teeth.

 "The Yellow Lion is caring and kind," Allura said, ignoring Lance and moving the map once again with her arms. "Its pilot is the one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold the team together." Hunk stared at the holographic picture with the green lion's coordinates, Hunk looked around then looked towards Allura and pointed at himself, grunting questionably.

 "The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master," Allura explained, a holographic version of the red lion appeared in her hands. "It's faster and more agile than others, but also most unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone." A happy smile on Lance's face, he's probably thinking that he's the one for the red lion as the holographic red lion moved in front of Keith. "Keith, you will fly the Red Lion," Allura stated.

 "What?" Lance asked, scrunching his eyebrows and Keith smirked. "This guy?" Keith's smirk disappeared, looking at Lance with a glare and Lance glared right back at Keith.

 "Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet," Allura explained, looking sad a little. "There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it might need some work."

 "Don't worry, we'll find it soon," Coran reassured, pointing at himself with both thumbs. "They don't call me 'The Coranic' for nothing. It's because it sounds like 'mechanic'. So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not- It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar."

  Then the red lion roared, all the lions flew upwards and [Name] watched with interest in her eyes. "Once all the lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe," Allura explained, the maps of the universe disappearing and a holographic version stood in front of Allura then disappeared.

 "Awesome," Lance said, his arms dropping to his sides.

 "Oh..." Pidge breathed out, his eyes widen in amazement.

 "Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying lions. Got that part. How do lions turn into legs? Is this going to be a long trip?" Hunk asked, catching everyone's attention. "Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"

 "We don't have much time, Hunk," [Name] hissed, catching the male's attention.

 "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion," Shiro said, looking down at Pidge then turning his head towards Lance. "Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it. And [Name], you can choose who you want to go with."

 "In the meantime, I'll get this castle's defenses ready," Allura said, staring at everyone with determination. "They'll be sorely needed."

 "I'll ready a pod and load the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion," Coran said, looking at Shiro and Pidge. 

 [Name] looked towards Lance and Hunk, thinking they might die on this mission and they're needed for Voltron. "I'll go with Lance and Hunk to make sure everything goes swell." 

***

 [Name] gripped onto the chair, screaming with the two males as the blue lion is getting shot at by red lasers from smaller space ships chased after it. "Oh, no! No, no, no! Oh, no!" Hunk screamed, his eyes shut and the alarms beeping.

 "Lance!" [Name] yelled, gripping the chair. "Watch out for those three missiles!" The blue lion spun to its side, dodging three missiles then turning to its right and getting hit. [Name] screamed loudly, the blue lion falling towards the ground, "I thought Coran said this planet is peaceful!!"

 "Maybe 'peaceful' means something else in Altean!" Lance shouted, pulling back the handles and the lion used its boosters to stop itself from hitting the ground, but the lasers continued to be shot.

 The blue lion paced at a high pace towards the coordinates of the Yellow Lion, a bunch of Galra soldiers standing outside of the cave and shooting at the blue lion. "According to the coordinates, we're right above the Yellow Lion," Hunk informed, turning to look on the side of the view to see the cave down and a bunch of lasers coming from. "It's below there, where they're mining for ore. They don't even know the lion is there. Or maybe they just got here and they're digging for the lion? What do you think, Lance, [Name]?"

 "Who cares? Just go get it!" Lance shouted, looking over his shoulder at Hunk. "I'm dropping you down there."

 "Me? Down there? No. No, no, no," Hunk said, shaking his head.

 "Yes," Lance stated, turning his attention back in front of him.

 "Lance will cover you!" [Name] stated, standing next to the chair that Lance's sitting in. The blue lion flew downwards towards the cave, landing on the ground and running towards the cave with the four small space ships chasing the blue lion. The blue lion smashed two guards down, continuing the fast pace towards the cave. 

 "What if the Yellow Lion doesn't work? What if I can't get in the mine?" Hunk asked, getting anxious and freaking out, tears running down his cheeks. "What if I start crying? Too late. I'm already crying!"

 "We don't have time for that!" [Name] yelled, pressing a holographic seat exit, hearing Hunk's scream as he fell through the ground. The blue lion skidded against the ground, opening its mouth and Hunk falling out the mouth, Hunk spinning in a ball towards the entrance of the cave. "Lance!" [Name] shouted, pointing towards the incoming lasers towards the cave.

 "Got it!" Lance shouted, moving the two handles forward and the blue lion moved in front of the cave, getting hit in the face. Then running off towards the soldiers. "Thanks, [Name]!" Lance said, smiling at her, but she ignored him. The blue lion dodged and attacked the soldiers, the blue lion shot out a blue laser from its tail, but getting hit in the face with a laser making Lance grunt.

 [Name] yelped, falling back onto her butt and putting a hand to her head, looking up to see the holographic screen lock onto the three incoming small space ships. Lance grunted, moving one of the handles forward and she fell back again from the sudden thrust of the blue lion using its boosters to fly into the air towards the space ships.

 "Thanks for the heads up!" [Name] barked, glaring at him and standing up and holding onto the chair.

 "I have to cover Hunk," Lance said, the blue lion shooting out lasers from its tail.

 The blue lion flew up past the space ships, turning the nose of it towards the space ships and adding more power into the boosters. The blue lion roared lightly, grabbing onto one of the space ships by its mouth and cutting it in half, the space ship exploding a little. The blue lion used the boosters to stop itself and just hover in the air to shot a laser, but the three small space ships turning towards the cave opening and shooting. "Oh, no!" Lance shouted, moving the handles to the side and you gripped onto the seat. 

 The lion shot out lasers from its tail, moving around and the lion shot down another ship, but Lance was too late since a missile went towards the cave entrance. "Hunk!" [Name] and Lance screamed. Her eyes widening in fear as the missile hit the entrance and an explosion rang out. The lion stopped moving.

 [Name] stared at the smoke rise from the entrance, feeling empathy towards Lance since he might have lost a friend. She knows he considers Hunk as his best friend probably, but she didn't expect that to happen at all. 

***

 "Hunk?!" Lance screamed, the blue lion dodging the lasers come from the two small space ships. "Hunk, come on! Please, buddy!" The blue lion getting hit and Lance groaned. The blue lion turned around, going to shoot out a laser from its mouth, but got hit in the chest and making it turn on its back then getting hit in the back.

 "No!" [Name] screamed, the lion falling towards the ground.

 "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Going down! We're going down!" Lance shouted, a beeping noise ringing out and Lance grunts, pulling back the handles.

 The blue lion skidded against its side, skidding against its back then landing on its paws, the claws digging into the ground, getting back into a corner almost. [Name] can hear the electric cracking and sparkling, she hunched over the side of the chair and the lights flashing blue and red. "Oh, no," Lance said, his eyes widening and her eyes widen in fear, her body growing stiff as two small space ships came towards the lion. The ship in the middle shot out two missiles, [Name] turned her head and Lance turned his head as well, but the two never noticed how close their faces are.

 [Name[ heard a big explosion and her and Lance open their eyes, [Name] blushing and turning away while Lance held a smug smirk on his features. [Name] turned her head, seeing smoke and the smoke cleared, revealing a yellow lion with a space ship under its chin. "You okay, Lance, [Name]?" Lance and [Name] heard Hunk's voice, a wide smile spreading across Lance's face.

 "Hunk! I thought you were dead! You jumped in front of those shots to save our lives!" Lance shouted, a picture of Hunk appearing on the holographic screen.

 "Actually, I was trying to get out the way. Thankfully, what this lacks is speed, it it more than makes up for in armor," Hunk said, smiling and [Name] stared at the holographic video with Hunk on it. "Man, can it take a beating! Ooh. We've got incoming!" 

 Then another holographic screen showed up with Allura on it, "Paladins, please hurry back. I can't hold the wormhole much longer." 

 "Let's get out of here!" Lance shouted, the yellow and lion used its boosters to launch itself into the air and towards the wormhole.

 "Not this again," Hunk groaned, you looked at the holographic screen with Hunk on it to see him hold his mouth with one hand.

 "Quit screwing around, Hunk!" [Name] scolded, her eyebrows furrowed. "The wormhole is closing!" The two lions went through the wormhole and closing it behind as the lions entered the wormhole. 

***

 [Name], Hunk, and Lance entered the room that Allura, Keith, Coran, Shiro, and Pidge are waiting in, a huge sigh leaving your lips. "You made it," Allura said.

 "Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare," Lance said, cracking his arm. "I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!"

 "Think how I felt. I am Hunk," Hunk said, a hand to his head and catching everyone attentions.

 "Yeah. We had a tough time, too," Pidge said, smirking up at Shiro then smiling at him and Shiro smiled at him. 

  "Did we find the Red Lion yet?" [Name] asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

 "Allura just located it. There's a bit of good news and bad news," Coran said, stepping forward and twisting his mustache. "The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again. We're Arus!"

 "That's not good news!" [Name] barked, clenching her jaw.

  "They're here already?" Shiro asked, stepping forward a little.

 "Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off," Coran said, a smile on his face and you face palmed, shaking your head. "Finger counting- It's more of an art than a science. Hmm?" 

 The a huge holographic screen appeared with a purple creature with cat or dog like ears and a orange eye piece for an techologic eye. "Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire," Sendak said, staring at Allura and everyone gasped. "I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me or I will destroy your planet." Then the holographic screen went away. 

 "All right, let's not panic," Shiro said, catching everyone's attention.

 "Not panic? The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us," Hunk said, clearly panicking. "We only have four lions."

 "Technically, only three lions that are working," [Name] stated, holding up three fingers and catching Hunk's attention.

 "That's right. Thank you, [Name]," Hunk said, slouching his shoulders and he walked towards the middle. "Three working lions and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old."

 "Actually, it's 10,600 years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather-" Coran said, standing proudly, but got interrupted. 

 "Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that. See? Now is the time to panic!" Hunk shouted, putting his pointer finger against Coran's lips to shut up Coran.

 "Wait! This castle has a particle barrier we can activate," Allura said, her eyes widen with her eyebrows ceased. "Like what the Blue Lion had?" [Name] questioned, catching Allura's attention and she nodded her head.

 "Girls, you've already activated my par-" Lance said, smirking seductively at [Name] and Allura.

 "Lance," Shiro said, glaring at Lance and Lance stopped himself.

 "The particle barrier won't hold Sedak's ion cannon forever," Coran said, a picture of Sendak's ship appearing on the holographic screen and showing a part of the ship in red, indicating it's the cannon shooter. "The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."

 "Panic now?" Hunk asked, looking at Shiro.

 "No. We just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly," Shiro stated, looking at Hunk who has his shoulders slouched.

 "I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day," Lance suggested, catching everyone's attention.

 "I second that. Yes. We tried to find all the lions, right?" Hunk asked, looking at everyone. "We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through the hole, Lance, that you were talking about."

 "Then, it's settled," Lance said, walking towards Allura and smiling at her flirty look. "Allura, [Name], you ride with me. One of you take the old guy."

 "We can't abandon, Arus, Lance," [Name] elaborated, stepping forward and crossing her arms.

 "The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them," Pidge stated, his eyebrows scrunched.

 "Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth," Hunk suggested. "We form the snake-worm thingamaijig and we [Hunk hissed] out of here."

 "Sendak could destroy the planet then come after us anyway," Keith stated firmly, his arms crossed and staring at Hunk with his eyebrows ceased. "Staying is our only option."

 "Here's an option: Shut your quiznak," Lance said, making a zip gesture with his fingers.

 "I don't think you're using that word correctly," Keith said, scowling at Lance.

  "What do you know, Mullet?" Lance asked, glaring at Keith.

 "We're staying!" Keith growled, getting close to Lance. "Leaving!" Lance shouted, getting closer to Keith.

 "Staying!" Pidge shouted, [Name] stepping between Keith and Lance, glaring at them and mentally challenging them to step forward and face her.

 "Snake!" Hunk shouted, Pidge and Hunk glaring down at each other.

 "Guys, stop!" Shiro shouted, Keith and Lance turning away from each other and the same with Hunk and Pidge. "Princess Allura, these are your lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before." 

  "You know what we're facing better than any of us know," [Name] stated, staring up at the Princess while Keith and Lance glared at each other above her head.

 "What do you think is the best course of action?" Shiro asked, staring at the Princess.

 "I... I don't know," Allura confessed, her eyebrows raised then looking down sadly.

 "Perhaps your father can help," Coran said, catching Allura's attention.

 "My father?" Allura asked, turning towards Coran. 

Chapter Text

 "You five paladins were brought here for a reason," Allura said, wearing a space suit and standing at the entrance of the door. "The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universes's only hope."

 "We're with you, Princess," Shiro said, furrowing his eyebrows with determination.

***

 The lights turned on in the room, three pods with suits of armor in each one. "Your suits of armor," Allura said, [Name] standing with her while the guys walked towards their suits that matches the same color of the lions they're piloting.

 "Cool!" Lance shouted, staring at the blue armor suit.

 "Outstanding," Keith commented, his hands on his hips as he stared at the red armor suit.

 “Nice," Shiro breathed out, a smile on his face.

 "Oh, neat," Pidge said, a wide, excited smile on his face. 

 “Well, won’t you guys look nice in that,” Name] states, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

 “Thanks, [Name],” Lance said. Lance being the only one not hearing her sarcasm. 

 "Princess, are you sure about this?" [Name] heard Coran ask, she looks towards Allura and Coran. "They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."

 “No, but they're all we've got," Allura said, scrunching her eyebrows.

 “Boys, it's time to suit up!" Shiro stated, everyone smiling at him except Hunk, who's worried about fitting in the suit.

  [Name] turns around, giving them privacy and she kept quiet, feeling like she should be one of the pilots instead one of them being a pilot. She turns back around, seeing them stand in their suits and [Name] smiles to herself. She’ll admit to herself that they don’t look bad, but it definitely suits Shiro in her opinion. 

 Allura placed her hand on a holographic screen, the holographic screen disappearing and revealing the bayards. “The bayards is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each paladin." The bayards floated off the counter, towards the specific color it has on the bayards and Hunk gripped the bayard, groaning. 

 Hunk's bayard turned into a heavy shooting weapon, he grunts as he holds it correctly and a smile on his face. Keith gripped the red bayards, turning into a sword and on Keith's other wrist, a blue holographic shield appearing out his wrist. Lance's bayards turned into a light gun, he laughed and aimed, around. Pidge's bayard turned into a small curvy thing, but still having the shape of the bayard and he grunted, swinging around the weapon. 

 "Aw, you got a cute little bayard," Lance commented, a smug look on his face.

 Pidge hit Lance with the bayard, Lance's body getting zapped and he screamed, falling towards the ground. [Name] laughed to herself, the paladins staring at her with wide eyes.

 “Yeah, it is pretty cute," Pidge siad, smirking.

 "Shiro, I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its paladin," Allura explained, her eyebrows ceased.

 "I guess I'll just have to make do," Shiro explained, snapping out his daze from hearing [Name]’s laugh.

***

 "You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship," Allura said, everyone standing in the access control room with a holographic Galra ship on the screen.

 “How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?" Keith asked, all of them staring at the screen.

 "It's not a matter of 'we'. It's a matter of 'you'," Pigde said, turning his head and smiling at Keith.

 "Pidge is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down," Hunk explained, making a few gestures with his hands. 

 "Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" Lance asked, smirking at Keith with his arms crossed.

 "Yeah. You made fun of me for that," Keith said, furrowing his eyebrows.

 “And I'm proud of that, but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo," Lance said, smirking smugly at Keith.

 "Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental," Allura said, catching everyone's attention. "You'll have to earn its respect."

 “All right. Here's our plan of attack," Shiro said, placing his hand on Keith's shoulder. 

***

 "The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too," Shiro's words rang through [Name]’s head as her, Keith, and Shiro stood in the head of the Green Lion with Pidge as the pilot. "Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up. As [Name], Keith, Pidge, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Green Lion. Keith, [Name], and I will find the Red Lion while Pidge guards our exit." 

 Pidge cut a circle into the ship with his bayard, [Name] wearing a black, skin tight space suit that Allura lend her in the castle and floating close to the space ship.

 Shiro went through the opening, Keith letting [Name] go first then following after her. "Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon." 

[Name] landed on her feet, letting out a sigh and the floating stopped, she observed her surroundings, noticing everything is purple and complex. 

 "Pidge, what's your ETA?"  Lance's voice being heard in [Name]’s helmet.

 "We're in," Pidge said, the bottom of his helmet disappearing and Keith used his booster backpack thing to land on the ground. 

***

 Keith turned a corner, [Name] trailing behind him with Shiro behind her and Pidge. [Name] looked over her shoulder to see Shiro stopped walking. "Shiro?"

  Keith turned around to see Shiro grunt and pant. "I've been here before," Shiro confessed, Pidge walking towards his side. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here." 

 “So, that means your other crewmembers, they might be held captive here," Pidge said, his eyes widening slightly. "We... We've got to rescue them."

 “Pidge, we don't have time. We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus," Shiro said, clenching his jaw and closing his eyes then turning towards Pidge.

 "But we can't just leave prisoners here!" Pidge shouted, furrowing his eyebrows at Shiro.

 “Pidge!” [Name] hissed, making Pidge flinch from her harsh tone. “You're right about the prisoners. I’m not going to lie about that, but Shiro understands that, but we have to make choices that we won't like."

 "Let's get moving," Shiro said, walking up the hallway.

 “No!" Pidge shouted, making [Name] and the two males stop walking. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos Mission with you."

 "Commander Holt is your father?" Shiro asked, his and Keith's eyes widen from the sudden news.

 “Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close. I won't!" Pidge said, turning his back on [Name] and the two males.

 “And Cal is my brother and you think I want to give up on finding him?” [Name] explained, scowling at Pidge. “My brother was on that mission as well. Don’t you think I’m eager to see him? Don’t you think I’m terrified that he could be dead!”

 "Cal’s your... I'm coming with you," Shiro said, stepping forward.

 "What?" Keith asked, turning his attention toward Shiro.

 “I remember where the prisoners are held. Keith, [Name], you two go find the Red Lion," Shiro commanded, looking at [Name] and Keith.

 “You want me to go with this guy?” [Name] groaned, scowling at Keith.

 “Minor change of plans. You'll be fine. I assume the two of you will work together," Shiro teased, smiling at the two and [Name] glare at Keith. “Just remember, patience yields focus. So-" Shiro got cut off by the sounds of doors opening. "Run!" Shiro whispered yelled.

  [Name] and Keith running off while Shiro and Pidge went down the other way. Keith panting as him and [Name] slow down their pace and he slid against the ground, stopping in his tracks.

 "Great. Now, which way?" Keith asked, looking left and right since in front is a dead end.

 “Oh, how should I know? It’s not like I might have a bond with one of the lions,” [Name] states sarcastically.

 “What’s your deal with me?” Keith questioned.

 “The fact that you flunked out while I had to work hard to get where I am,” [Name] barked, glaring at Keith. “You gave up even when you were consider the best pilot in the class.” [Name] let out a sigh, closing her eyes. “Let’s continue. I don’t want the mission to fail.”

Keith nodded his head, turning his attention back to the symbol on the wall. [Name] heard footsteps and she gestured for Keith to take the lead and he ended up taking the right and choosing which hallways to take.

***

 Keith groaned and [Name] panted lightly, staring at that same symbol as the two both end up in the same place the two started after Keith taking some many turns.

 "You've got to be kidding me!" Keith growled, panting and resting his hands on his knees. Keith panted heavily, standing up straight and throwing his head back, "Patience yields focus. Gotcha." Keith smirked. 

 Keith took off, [Name] following after him and hoping he’s going the right away. She has the urge to strangle the mullet boy after ending up at the same symbol for a while.

 [Name] and Keith finally made it to the place where the Red Lion is being kept, Keith jogged up to the particle barrier the Red Lion is being kept in.

 "Bingo," Keith smirked, placing his hand on the particle barrier. "Let's get out of here. Open up. It's me. Keith. Your buddy."

 “Maybe you have dance,” [Name] teased, her hand on her hip.

 “It's me! Keith, your- I am your paladin!" Keith yelled, dragging each word and hitting the particle barrier once.

 [Name] looked over her shoulder, seeing lasers come toward her and Keith. She reacted quickly to use her shield and she stepped in front of him. Soldiers coming towards her and Keith. 

 "Thanks!" Keith shouted, using his holographic shield on his wrist to cover himself and [Name]. “I'm bonding with you! Hey! Come on! We're connected!“ 

 [Name] takes out her gun, shooting at the soldiers coming while Keith use his bayard sword, running towards the soldiers.

 "You're not getting this lion!" Keith shouted, his sword hitting against the soldier's gun and Keith moved the shield in front of him, the soldier pushing the gun against the shield. [Name] shot at the soldier, knocking off the head and Keith stared at her with wide eyes. She flashed him a thumbs up. 

 “Watch out!” [Name] shouted.

  Keith turned his head, only to get a laser hit the holographic shield and Keith fell to the floor from the sudden pressure and the bayard sword went back to being a bayard. [Name] continued to fire at the soldiers, stepping back until she’s near Keith.

 Keith stood up, noticing he's standing at the control counter and his helmet covered the bottom part of his face. [Name] noticed what he’s plans to do next and her helmet covers the bottom of her mouth. Keith hit the button on the control panel, the floor opening and the soldiers being pulled into space. Keith grabbed onto the control panel, holding onto it so he wouldn't be pulled and he held onto [Name]’s arm.
 
 Keith got hit by a metal part, one of his hands letting go and he gripped onto [Name]’s arm, but the two got hit by a bigger metal part. [Name] screamed, feeling Keith's arms wrap around her as both of them got pulled into space. Keith screamed a little, and his eyes darting around for something to give him an idea.

 [Name] heard a lion's roar, a gasp following after from Keith and total darkness engulfed the two. [Name] held onto Keith and Keith smirked, liking the closeness as he got shoved into a chair, moving forward until it stopped in the Red Lion's head.

 "Good kitty," Keith said, [Name] pushed herself out his lap and stood by the chair, staring at the red holographic screen and Keith placed his hands on the handles.

***

  Shiro stood in the middle as the Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow Lions surrounded him, staring down at him, each of the eyes lighting up yellow. [Name] watching the dark door slowly open to reveal the giant Black Lion. Everyone watching the Black Lion's eyes shine yellow and let out an ear piercing roar and all the lions stand on their four legs, roaring with the Black Lion. 

 "Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!" Allura's voice rang through [Name]’s helmet, the bottom part of her helmet gone.

 The Black Lion roared loudly, jumping up and flying up the tube with the other lions following after the Black Lion. The lions landed on the ground in front of the castle, the Blue lion landing first then the Red, then the Black, then the Green, and finally the Yellow.

 "That must be the ion cannon," [Name] stated, seeing the ion cannon charged up with a purple hue to it.

 The cannon hit the particle barrier, the fire surrounding the barrier and everyone groaned, their eyes shut from the sudden movement then it disappeared.

 “Man, those Galra guys repair things fast," Hunk's voice rang through the Red Lion's head.

 “I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!" Allura's voice rang out through everyone’s helmet, the smaller space ships shot lasers at the barrier.

 "Jeez, no pressure," Hunk said, then another shot from the ion cannon hit the particle barrier, fire engulfing around it and disappearing.

 The barrier crackling and sparking, everyone letting out a groan from the sudden pressure and shaking from the blast. "Listen up, Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got!" Shiro shouted. "This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?" Keith nodded his head, [Name] stayed quiet. 

 "I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?" Hunk asked.

 "Yes..." Keith, Lance, and Pidge answered, Keith closing his eyes from the stupid question. 

 “Let's do this!" Shiro shouted, the Black Lion running forward with the lions following next to him and the lions ran out the barrier. 

 "Uh, how?" Lance asked.

 "Good question. Does anyone have any ideas of how to form Voltron?" Shiro asked, the small space ships flying above the lions and shooting lasers.

 "I don't see a 'combine into giant robot' button anywhere on my dashboard," Hunk said. 

 The lions dodging lasers and jumping off the end of the walkway, falling towards the ground. The lions continued running, the lasers completely missing the lions.

  "This is insane!" Pidge screamed, explosions coming behind. “Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?" 

 The Green Lion skidded to a stop, turning around, running forward and jumping to the side to dodge a shot, then jumping up and its jaw grabbing onto a small space ship. The Green Lion threw the space ship over its shoulder, the small space ship hitting another and both of them turning into smoke. 

 The Red Lion jumped, skidding against the ground and shooting lasers out its tail, destroying two small space ships, then turning its head as if its talking.  

 "We've got to do something," Keith said, stating the obvious then [Name] screamed, feeling a sudden movement. 

 "Combine!" Hunk shouted, the Yellow Lion hitting the Red Lion, but the Red Lion fell and got up.

 “Hey!" Keith groans, the Red Lion staring at the Yellow Lion. 

 "Okay, that didn't work," Hunk said, the Yellow Lion's head dropping then getting shot at.

 The Red and Yellow Lion ran away, dodging the incoming lasers. "Quickly, Paladins! Our enemy levels are getting low!" Allura shouted, a holographic screen of her appearing next to Keith's dashboard and she groaned, the screen disappearing. 

 “Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine," Shiro suggested, the Red Lion running next to the Black Lion. "Take off on my cue.” The Red and Blue Lion running on Black Lion's right and the Yellow and Green running on its left. The Lions ran towards the cliff, "One, two, three, Voltron!" The Lions flew into a back V, the Black Lion in the middle and in front. 

 "Here we go!" Keith shouted, clenching his jaw.

 Come on, come on!" Lance pleaded, but nothing happened. 

 "Nothing's happening! And think of something different!” [Name] yelled, the holographic screens turning a red on Keith's dashboard.

 "Hey, wait, wait, wait! I feel something!" Lance shouted, [Name] notice that the lions got stuck in the tractor beam.

 "I do, too. I feel it. It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!" Hunk shouted.

 "Look up you idiots!” [Name] screamed, gritting her teeth. 

 “What the cheese?" Lance asked, the lions being pulled towards the Galra battleship by a purple light. 

 "Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Pidge shouted.

 [Name]’s eyes widen, watching the ion cannon fire another shot towards the castle and breaking the particle barrier. "No! The castle!" [Name] shouted, a holographic screen popping up on Keith's dashboard. 

 "Oh, no!" Shiro added. 

 "I don't care what you say, Shiro. I'm panicking now!" Hunk panicked, a holographic screen of him popping up other the other side of Keith's dashboard, Hunk screamed loudly. 

 "It can't end here!" Pidge shouted, the holographic screen of Hunk disappeared.

 "This is it!" Lance shouted.

 [Name] didn’t say anything, trying to figure out a way they can form Voltron. She doesn’t know how they could possibly form Voltron and she’s never seen anything like this before. 

 "It's been an honor flying with you boys and lady," Keith said, glancing at [Name] while her gaze is ahead.

 After some silence, Shiro decided to finally speak up, "No! We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope. Everyone is relying on us. We can't fail! We won't fail! If we work together, we'll win together!" 

 "Yeah!" Everyone shouted, a determine expression on everyone's face.

 All the lions' eyes shined yellow, all letting out an ear piercing roar and all of them going escaping the tractor beam, flying into the sky. The Black Lion's front arms went to its sides, folding up in its shoulders while both the Green and Red Lions' arms and legs folded with the tail going inside the body. The Yellow and Blue Lions arms and legs did the same, the heads of the two lions forming its chin as its feet. Then the Red and Green Lions' body went into the shoulders of the Black Lion, the nose of the lions' facing downwards as the part of its butt, but not really its butt, formed the shoulders and arms. The legs of the Black Lion's legs went into the Blue and Yellow Lions, the Green Lion letting out a roar.

 The ion cannon shot again, but missing the castle just barely and an explosion going off when it touched the mountains across the large bay of water. Voltron standing on the Galra battleship.

 "I can't believe it!" [Name] whispered, her eyes wide.

 "We formed Voltron!" Pidge shouted.

 "I'm a leg!" Hunk shouted, probably see the wide smile on his face. 

 "How are we doing this?" Lance asked, excitement heard in his voice. 

 "I don't know, but let's get that cannon!" Shiro ordered.

 Voltron put the two lion head hands into a part, pulling it away from the ship and breaking it off, throwing it off to the side. The red lion head arm pulled back, punching through the top and the lion opened its mouth, shooting out a laser and the laser went through the ship's nose, a giant explosion ringing out. Voltron used its boosters to get out the smoke, breaking through the ship and landing inside, the green lion opened its mouth and shot out a laser. 

 Voltron jumped out, flying into the air and back flipping, both lion head arms out in front almost in a Superman flying pose, everyone except you screaming as Voltron went through the ship's top and bottom, the back of the ship making smoke ring out, creating a small explosion inside the ship. Voltron landed on the ground, skidding to a stop and the whole entire ship exploded.

***

 "Good work, Paladins!" Allura said, running out the large entrance doors of the castle with Coran tailing behind her and she held a wide smile on her face. Everyone sighed, Hunk sitting on the ground with Pidge slight bending his knees. Lance took off his helmet and [Name] running a hand through her.

 "Thanks, pretty lady," Lance said, smiling at Allura.

 Shiro walked towards everyone, patting Keith's shoulder and Keith looked at Shiro, "We did it."

 "Heck yeah, we did," Keith said, holding his helmet in his hands.

 "How did we do it?" Shiro asked, smiling at Keith.

 "I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it," Hunk said, standing up and taking off his helmet with a little struggle.

 Pidge put back his glasses on and [Name] raised her arms above her, stretching her back and not noticing eyes lingering on her form.

 "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brothers and father," Shiro informed, putting his hand on Pidge's shoulder and he looks over to [Name]. "Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you two." 

 "We won the battle, but the war has only just begun," Allura said, catching everyone's attention. “I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."

 “Good thing you paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again," Coran stated, holding his hands behind his back.

 "Totally. Wait, what?" Hunk asked, his eyebrows raising.

 "We barely survived forming Voltron this one time," Lance said, raising his eyebrow and leaning forward a little.

 "And you only had to fight one ship," Coran said, stepping a foot forward and crossing his arms. “Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

 Everyone's eyes widen, a short silence until Shiro spoke up. "Defenders of the Universe, huh?" Shiro asked, a smile on his face as he turned to his side and smiled up at the sky and lions with everyone. "That's got a nice ring to it."
 

Chapter Text

 [Name] raises an eyebrow, pondering why the alarms are blaring and she immediately gets up. "Everybody up! Zarkon's attacking!" Allura voice being heard over the PA. She leaves her room to see Shiro running out his and she watches him take off in a sprint. She jogs after him, keeping a slow pace and having a feeling it's just a prank. "The Castle's about to be destroyed! Go, go, go! We need Voltron now! Hurry! We can't survive much longer!"

 "Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off!" Coran gasped. "Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?" [Name] stared at Coran, her arms crossed with a scowl on her features. 

 "Coran," Allura spoke.

 "Oh, yes, Princess, I'm listening," Coran said, not noticing [Name] and the others except Lance.

 "It's over," Allura said, the alarms coming to a stop and the windows turning black.

 "Oh, I know! If only Voltron had been formed," Coran groaned. Coran noticed [Name] and the others. "Oh! Time!" 

 "This isn't an actual attack?" [Name] hissed, raising an eyebrow. 

 "And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you... Coran?" Allura said, turning her attention to Coran.

 "Seventy-five degrees," Coran replied, staring at a thermometer. "Oh, sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer."

 "However long it was, it was too long," Allura stated. "You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon. Look at you! Only Shiro is in uniform. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your bayards? And where is Lance?"

 The doors opened after those last words left Allura's mouth. [Name] turned her head to see Lance in a blue robe with blue cat slippers. She looked at him in disgust, pondering why his face is shiny as hell.

 "Good morning, everybody. What's going on?" Lance questioned. He walked over to [Name] and the others while Coran and Allura stepped forward.

 "Coran and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order," Allura explained. "We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed."

 "Hey," Hunk starts, taking a yawn. "You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird castles. That's a lot to process in, uh.. I don't know. What day is today?"

 "It's the third Quintana of the Spicolian movement. Hump day!" Coran exclaimed.

 "It's a lot to process," Hunk summarized.

 "You must understand the stakes of our mission," Allura started, a hologram keyboard appeared. "Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations." [Name] watched the blue universe started to slowly turn an orange or red color. "So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe." Allura moved her hand. "Earth is here. An attack on your planet is inevitable."

 "Oh, no," Hunk commented.

 "Exactly," Allura stated. "Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the Castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so we can begin fighting Zarkon." 

 "The Princess is right. Let's get to our lions and start training," Shiro ordered.

 "Wait. But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Garla ship," Pidge voiced. 

 "Negative, Number Six. I have you ranked by height, okay?" Coran said, gesturing to Pidge's height. [Name] glared at Coran, not liking that she's the second shortest of the bunch. "The prisoners need to remain in the cryogenic-replenishers until tomorrow."

 "That's right. Now, get to your lions," Allura commanded.

 "Oh, I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out," [Name] chuckled, shaking her head. "Anyways, let's hope you guys break a leg out there." The others stared at her, pondering how she's cold to the heart. [Name] stood back, watching the paladins get to their little doors while Shiro walked towards the middle of the room to his little door.

 "Why do you dislike them?" Allura inquired.

 "Because Keith flunked out, those three"-meaning Lance, Pidge, and Hunk-"just goof off while I had to work hard," [Name] stated, glaring hard at the floor. "I'm just glad I don't have to work alongside them at all." 

 Coran and Allura watched the girl leave the room, both of them having large smirks on their faces as they planned a something together. [Name] walked along the halls, deciding to pamper herself like Lance had done, but this time she'll be in peace. [Name] used a hair tie to put her hair into a high, messy bun and she went back into her room. She knows there's a little bath there and today shall just be a simple lazy day for her.

 She'll probably wear her space suit, only because it feels like she's not wearing something at all. Besides, it's very comfortable. [Name] stepped into her room, grabbing the black, skin tight space suit and a bath towel as well. She walks into the bathroom, turning on the water and letting it fill the sink. She leaves the the bathroom, deciding to undress and she wraps a towel around her. She's been planning to pamper herself for a while, but never had the chance to at all.

 Socializing with them is quite draining for her, but she doesn't mind Allura or Coran at all, they're just extra is all. [Name] walks into the bathroom, stopping the water and she couldn't find any bath bombs at all. Perhaps Allura might have some or she doesn't know a thing might exist at all. She leaves the bathroom and her bedroom, walking in the halls in only her towel because it's not like she's going to run into anyone else besides Allura. Coran probably wouldn't even care at all since he's just an old man from what [Name]'s assuming. Allura is pretty young so she might not be flustered from seeing [Name] in only a bath towel.

 [Name] stops in front of the doors, waiting for them to slide open and a gasp escapes her lips, seeing all the paladins sitting in the lounge area. Allura and Coran stare at her with wide eyes, Allura stopping in the middle of her sentence while the guys just took in her current appearance. A heavy blush erupts on [Name]'s features while she hides behind a wall, motioning for them to continue.

 "Er, um, You formed Voltron!" Allura said, recovering from what happened.

 "No. The, uh, shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in," Keith stated.

 "What?" Allura asked, clearly annoyed.

 "Oh, right. Sorry, Princess," Coran started, Lance staring at the direction where [Name] is standing. "I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors."

 Shiro appeared behind [Name], having enough self control to not look at her and she hid deeply behind the wall and out of sight. "What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break," Shiro said, everyone turning towards him.

 "S-S-Shiro's right!" [Name] yelled, still hiding in the hall from the peering eyes. "You should be training."

 "We've been training. When are we going back to Earth?" Hunk questioned. 

 "You seriously think that we'll be going back to Earth anytime soon?" [Name] growled, stepping out the hallway and into the longue area, "Zarkon is taking over planets and almost has the whole universe. I'm sure Pidge wants to find his family, but Zarkon is out there! There won't be an Earth if you don't figure out how to fight Zarkon."

 "You're a part of this as well, [Name]," Keith barked.

 "No, I'm not. I'm not a pilot for the lions," [Name] stated, crossing her arms. "Sorry, but not sorry." 

 "That's enough!" Shiro yelled, making [Name] pout her lips and look away while Keith groaned.

 "How are we going to fight? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron," Lance stated. 

 "Well, I'm not surprised," Coran started, everyone turning towards him. "You know, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a back of almost liked at the ears."

 "Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us," Lance stated, [Name] mentally agreeing with him.

 "During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far," Coran explained. "You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron, and then beating Zarkon next time. You should try working out on the training deck."

 "There's a training deck?" Hunk questioned.

"[Name], get changed. You'll be accompanying Coran," Allura ordered.

 [Name] let out a quiet groan, walking back to her room.

***

 "Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up, guys and lady. The paladin code demands you put your team members' safely above your own," Coran started, [Name] and the paladins standing in the training deck, all of them in a circle with their backs in the middle. "A swarm of drones is about to attack." [Name] turned her head to see small, ball drones coming into the room. "It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team."

 "Why do I have to!" [Name] screamed, taking out her shields as the paladins did the same.

 "Wait, wait, wait. What's going on?" Hunk questioned, the drones circling [Name] and the paladins. "Whoa. Did you guys get one of these?"

 "Shut up and focus," [Name] growled, staring up at the drones.

 The drones started to shoot and a groan is heard from Pidge. [Name] had a feeling that he's already out and [Name] could only sigh as she knew Hunk had duck from the laser coming to him, but Pidge took the hit without even knowing.

 "Protect your teammates or no on will be there to protect you!" Coran stated, Hunk getting hit and he's out.

 "Back to back!" [Name] ordered, the three paladins left followed her orders. 

 She used her shield to block and lasers coming towards her and she felt someone's back against her own. She lets out a sigh, her eyes darting around and making sure to use her shield to block the lasers coming towards her. She doesn't want to glance over her shoulder to see who is behind her in case she gets hit instead.

 "Time to increase intensity," Coran informed.

 The drones moved fast, sometimes shooting lasers randomly or in sync. [Name] blocked every single one, hoping that neither one of the three paladins will let her down, but she has a very strong feeling one of them is going to. 

 "You keeping up over there, Keith?" Lance questioned.

 "Just concentrate on keeping me safe," Keith stated.

 Lance scoffed. "Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate." 

 The drones went down, [Name] and the two paladins except Lance crouched. Lance lifted his foot, dodging a laser and that laser hit Keith, Keith falling through a whole and the space where he stood closed. [Name] furrowed her eyebrows, protecting the two paladins from the lasers on her side. [Name] let out a scream, feeling something hit her back and she felt the floor underneath her give out.

 "Lance!" [Name] screamed, Lance getting hit as well and falling.

 Shiro fell through since no one was protecting him. [Name] felt like strangling someone, more preferably Lance or Keith because they decided to banter with one another instead of keeping their focus on the drones.

***

 [Name] sat in a chair, a pout on her lips as she stared at Lance in the blue maze, Keith going to be the one to direct him. She's still a little angry about what happened during the first drill. She really wants to tell Keith and Lance off, but now is not the time to say anything.

 "To form Voltron, you must trust in each other," Coran started, [Name] knowing that Lance and Keith don't trust each other at all. "This ancient paladin maze will teach you that trust." The the blue maze disappeared, turning invisible. "Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock."

 "Wait. Who's guiding me through?" Lance asked, looking at the control deck.

 "Take two steps forward," Keith stated.

 "Oh, no. Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic? Why not [Name]?" Lance asked.

 "Fight me!" [Name] yelled, knowing fully well that Lance heard her from Coran's mic.

 "Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn," Coran chuckled.

 "Like I said, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction," Keith ordered.

 Lance walks forward, letting out a scream as he walked into a wall. [Name] chuckles quietly to herself, a smile spreading across her lips. "You did that on purpose!"

 "You're not listening."

 "You said, 'Turn right'." 

 "But before that, I said, 'take two steps forward.'"

 Lance growls, "Two steps." Lance walked into another wall, letting out a scream and turns around to face the control deck. "We're switching places right now!"

***

 "You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with his lion," Coran began, [Name] standing back at Coran's side. 

 "No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real," Lance boasted.

 "Perfect! Then you won't have any issues with this exercise," Coran continued, [Name] staring at the hologram screens of the paladins faces on it. "Everyone, put your lions into a nose dive!" 

 "All of them are going to fail," [Name] stated, Coran raising an eyebrow.

 "This is an expert-level drill you shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go," Coran said, lifting his hand and this screen came up. "Activating training helmets!" The paladins except Lance let out a gasp while Lance screamed, frantically turning his head.

 "Coran, what's happening? I can't see!" Lance shouted.

 "You must learn to see through your lions' eyes," Coran stated. "The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the lion feels!" Coran covered his mic, turning his head towards [Name]. "Why do you assume their failure?"

 "Because I've known them except Shiro. Lance and Keith will probably just banter while Hunk will be too fearful," [Name] explained, her hand on her hip. "Pidge might pass, but there's a very low chance. Shiro, honestly I don't know Shiro, so I wouldn't know about him."

 "Mine feels scared!" Hunk yelled, after a while.

 "Told ya," [Name] commented.

 "You still going, Keith?" Lance asked.

 "You know it. You?" Keith questioned.

 "Going? I'm speeding up!" 

 "Oh, yeah!"

 [Name] could only shake her head while Coran actually looked amused from her predictions. [Name] has a feeling that Keith and Lance might be fearing they're getting too close, but they only want to outdo each other.

 "Must be getting close," Lance added.

 "Must be," Keith voiced.

 "You getting scared?"

 "I'm not scared!"

 And just like that, the two lions crashed and [Name] shakes her head, hearing Lance say he won after letting out a groan. Only those two idiots would have a competition over this.

 "What was that noise? Did they crash?" Pidge asked, his lion still going. Pidge had pulled away as well, the Black LIon being the only one to continue.

 "Shiro seems to be the winner," [Name] comments, a smirk on her lips. 

 The Black Lion hasn't crashed nor pulled away, meaning that Shiro probably has been focusing and the Black Lion did pull away just before crashing. [Name] clapped quietly, knowing that Shiro might just not be human since she hasn't seen him make any mistakes at all. He acts like a true leader should.

 "I think I'm getting it," Shiro spoke.

 "Excellent, Shiro!" Coran praised.

***

 [Name] walked into the room hear Pidge yell something, but wasn't able to hear the full thing. She walks over to where Coran is standing, seeing the paladins sit in a circle on the training deck. She had went to get a snack, but she didn't want to eat the food goo at all so just went with some water instead. She crossed her arms, pondering what cracked Pidge to let him blow up.

 "Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!" Pidge shouted.

 "Oh, come on, Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this," Shiro said, trying to lighten Pidge up.

 "I'm just... I'm just tired, okay?" Pidge stated.

 "Okay. Let's take a break," Shiro advised.

 [Name] and Coran went down to the training deck, [Name] handing the paladins something to drink while they rested. Lance leaning against Hunk while Pidge sat in a girlish way, Shiro looking at the packet of liquid [Name] had just handed him.

 "You have been working hard. Maybe it's time to relax a little. Perhaps [Name] could give you a praise," Coran suggested.

 "Definitely!" Lance exclaimed, turning his attention to [Name].

 [Name] immediately blushed, everyone staring at her and she looked down. She's never had this happened to her at all. She's not really sure what to say. "R-R-Relax."

 "What are you doing lying around?" Allura questioned, stepping forward. "You're supposed to be training!"

 "Just resting a bit. You know, you can't push too hard," Coran stated.

 "What do you mean, 'can't push too hard'?" Allura questioned, scowling at everyone. "Get up, you lazy lumps. It's time you faced the Gladiator! [Name], join them."

 [Name] lets out a quiet sigh.

 ***

  Everyone stands around in different places in the training deck, everyone having their weapons drawn as they looked around. [Name]'s never fight along with the others, only Keith, but she'll probably, hopefully, standing against the Gladiator on her own for a while.

 "In order to defeat the Gladiator, five paladins plus one more must fight as one," Coran stated, [Name]'s eyes scanning the room. 

 She noticed a door at the very top of the ceiling open, letting out a hiss and a robot jumped out. Hunk yelps, turning the heavy shooting gun towards the Gladiator as it run towards Hunk, shooting and completely missing the Gladiator. Keith lifted his arm, the holographic shield appearing and shielding himself from a bullet. The Gladiator spun the spear, hitting Hunk's legs and making Hunk fall to the ground, the Gladiator's spear touched Hunk's chest, zapping him. [Name] kept her distance, shooting at the Gladiator with her pistol that was attached to her leg.

 Pidge ran towards the Gladiator, his bayard clashing against the spear and Pidge stood behind the Gladiator, the Gladiator jumped up and slammed its spear against Pidge's bayard. Pidge grunted, messily protecting himself with his bayard as the spear hit against it and Pidge blocked his face with his arm, letting out a scream as he got knocked down to the floor and hitting Hunk then falling to his side. Lance shot at the Gladiator, the Gladiator running towards Lance and hitting away bullets with its spear, appearing in front of Lance. Lance grunted, getting hit by the spear and Lance kept blocking with his light gun. Keith and Shiro ran towards the Gladiator, the Gladiator knocking Lance's bayard out of Lance's hands. 

 Lance groaned, getting hit in the head and the Gladiator turned to have its spear hit against Keith's sword, hitting Keith's shoulder and Keith fell to the floor. [Name] let out a curse, standing up and running towards the Gladiator, her sword clashing against the Gladiator's spear and it reacted fast, kicking her in her side, but [Name] kept her ground. The Gladiator hit Lance's head again, using the end to hit Lance's stomach and throw him into Keith and [Name].

 [Name] gasped, noticing the Gladiator go for Shiro and [Name] stood up, running quicker towards Shiro. She stepped in front of him, but Keith stood in front of her and blocked the attack with his sword.

 "Shiro, are you okay?" Keith asked, looking over his shoulder.

 "Watch out, Keith!" [Name] yelled, pushing Keith out the way and the Gladitator hit her with the spear, knocking her away.

 The Gladiator turned around, knocking Keith off the ground by its spear and hitting Keith into Shiro, both of them landing on the ground. The Gladiator's blue lights turned off, slouching over until it fell onto the ground, Allura walking over.

 "That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child!" Allura shouted, scowling at the paladins. "You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!"

 ***

 "Ahoy, Young Paladins! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food," Coran said, [Name] sat across from the paladins. "After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement and twice on astral conflux!" [Name], Coran, and the paladins sat in the dining room, five chairs on the right side and five on the left side with one chair at the front and end. Each Paladin has a plate of goo in front of them with a knife, spork, and an extra plate.

 "Smells great, Coran. Thanks," Shiro said, smiling at Coran.

 Everyone grabbed the spork, but Coran pulled out a remote and pushed it, bracelets appearing on the Paladin's wrist and having their wrist connected. Pidge and Shiro are the only ones with an open hand since Keith, Lance, and Hunk are sitting between them.

 "Hold the phone!" Lance exclaimed, turning his head towards Coran.

 "I saw a lot of solid individual performances today,  but you're still struggling to work as a team," Coran explained.

 "So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day. Also, it was my idea as this since you guys just can't get along," [Name] stated, waving her hand a little.

Hunk and Lance grunted, Hunk tried to reach for the sprok, but a blue light pulled Hunk's wrist back to Lance's. Hunk grunted again, trying to reach for the knife, but the same blue light pulled Hunk's wrist back to Shiro's wrist. 

 "Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing," Hunk threatened, scowling at Coran.

 "This one's a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of yalmors!" Coran yelled, making gestures with his hands while everyone groaned.

 Pidge and Keith glaring at each other, Hunk and Lance glaring at each other while Shiro looked down in almost disappointment. [Name] sat there, not a big fan of the food, she watch Hunk try to eat the goo, only to get hit in the face by Lance's hand.

 "Sorry," Lance said, Hunk scoped up the goo and he accidentally bit Lance's hand. "Ew!" Lance pulled his hand back, the goo that was on Hunk's spork went flying. Lance groaned, leaning to his side and Keith's hand got into Lance's goo, Lance notice and glared at Keith. "Oh, nice. You defiled my food goo!"

 :It's your fault! This is ridiculous," Keith stated, glaring at Keith as Allura ate in annoyance.

 "Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?" Allura asked, scowling at Shiro. "Can't you just give them a break?" Shiro asked, scowling at Allura. "Everyone's been working really hard today."

 "Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like... like..." Keith said, standing up and his train of thought leaving him.

 "Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" Lance shouted, holding his fists in the air and also Hunk's wrist, which is connected with Lance's, in the air.

 "Yes! Thank you, Lance!" Keith said, looking at Lance.

 "You do not yell at the Princess!" Coran yelled, furrowing his eyebrows at the Paladins.

 "Oh, the princess of what?" Pidge replied sarcastically. "We're the only ones out here and she's no princess of ours!" [Name] watched in amusement, standing up and taking a few steps back, Pidge getting hit in the head with goo by Allura.

 "Go loose, Pidge!" Keith shouted, picking up his plate of goo and pushing the plate out so the goo launched towards Allura. 

 Coran stepped in front of Allura, using his towel to block then swinging his other arm, which is holding onto a scooper with goo on it and throwing it at the Paladins. [Name] smirked, Hunk shook his head, getting the goo off.

 "Oh, it's on now," Hunk challenged, putting his face into the plate of goo and stuffing his mouth with it. Hunk stood up, his cheeks filled with goo and he used his hands plus Lance's and Shiro's hands to squish his cheeks to spit out goo. Allura and Coran both getting covered in the goo. 

 "You guys are idiots," [Name] commented, but was only showered with goo by the paladins.

 [Name] glared at the paladins, grabbing a bowl of goo and throwing it at them. She teamed up with Coran and Allura, throwing the goo at the paladins while a tiny smile had spread across her features. She was having so much fun and she was loosening up, but she never realized it at all.

***

 Allura sighed, sitting down in the chair and [Name] stared at the paladins. The paladins looked at each other, all of them letting out a laughter. "Enough! Do you see what you're doing?" Allura shouted, catching the males' attention and she smiled. "You're finally working together as one!"

 "Hey, she's right!" Keith said, a smile on his face and he turned his head towards Lance.

 "I actually don't hate you right now," Lance confessed, a wide smile on his face. 

 "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Hunk asked, smiling at Keith and Lance.

 "Let's go form Voltron!" Shiro shouted, a smile on his face too. 

 "Yeah!" Everyone shouted, all of them covered in goo.

 "Actually, I was thinking dessert. But yeah! Let's do it!" Hunk shouted. Somehow, they all fell back and knocking the chairs down, groaning.

 "Clumsy," [Name] commented, a blush rising to her cheeks from the paladins staring at her.

*** 

 [Name] walked into the resting room, seeing the boys in their casual clothes ad sitting on the couch. "I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight," Lance said, smiling at everyone.

 "Not me. When m head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out," Keith said, smiling down then looking up at Lance.

 "I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're brothers, man," Hunk confessed, pulling Keith and Lance close to him, hugging them tightly. "You know? Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Brothers including one sister all the way. I love you guys." 

 "G-forces mess with your head a little bit?" Keith asked, Shiro standing up and walking away.

 "Yeah, maybe a little. I don't know. It's been a tough few days," Hunk mumbled, his hands still on Keith's and Lance's shoulders, but then scratching the back of his head. [Name] shakes her head, leaving the langue area and walking down the hallway, hearing a conversation still going.

 "Going to bed, Pidge?" Shiro asked, stopping in his tracks and turning his body.

 "In a minute," Pidge answered, the mice next to him.

 "Good work today. We're really coming together," Shiro said, flashing Pidge a smile then walking off.

Chapter Text

 "Great job training today, guys. We're really getting the hang of Voltron," Shiro praised, the Paladins except Pidge walking into the dining room and [Name] looked up at them.

 "Seriously, how far do you think my lion kicked that broken alien ship?" Lance asked, stopping in his tracks with Keith and crossing his arms. "Must have been like a mile!"

 "Yeah, that'll come in handy when the Galra challenges Voltron to a soccer match," Keith replied sarcastically and while Shiro and Hunk continued.

 "Hey, I did something cool and you can't handle it. I get it," Lance said, looking to the side then smirking at Keith.

 “Since when could you handle things?” [Name] remarked, sitting up from the table.

 “Since when can you handle your shortness?” Lance joked.

  [Name] sent him a heated glare, stomping over to him, but being held back by a large hand on her upper arm that belonged to Shiro.

 "Your kick ruined our balance. We fell," Keith stated, furrowing his eyebrows at Lance.

 "That falling part was Hunk's fault," Lance hissed, the paladins sitting at the table.

 "Hey!" Hunk whined, taking off his helmet.

 "All right, save your energy for fighting Zarkon," Shiro sighed, walking over to the table. He sat down, leaning back into the chair and the doors open, Coran stepping inside.

 "Hello guys, and lady! How was the Voltron workout?" Coran asked, walking in with a plate covered.

 "We’re getting there," Shiro answered. 

 "Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet?" Shiro asked, sitting up and Coran stood at the table. "I feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus."

 “Just about. In the meantime, to get your minds off those ducks seats you're worried about, I made you guys authentic ancient paladin lunch," Coran said, placing the plate on the table and revealing what's inside.

 [Name] and the paladins groaned, the smell and looks making her cringe and feeling like she might throw up. It’s always the bad food that seems could be healthy.

 "Coran, you just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?" Hunk asked, looking at Coran.

 “This is packed with nutrients," Coran added, ceasing his eyebrows.

 Hunk leaned towards the alien food, taking a sniff, "Oh, it smells disgusting!"

 "I know! That's how you know it's healthy!" Coran stated, taking in the smell while Lance held his nose and Keith making a disgusted face.

 “Coran, we're on a planet now with fresh herbs, spices, and whatever this thing is," Hunk explained, holding a plant in his hand. “A tuber? Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to head back to the kitchen and spice things up."

 [Name] zones out, ignoring everything around her as something starts to make her feel uneasy. She’s ponders what could have happened that made her feel that way, but it’s a gut feeling. What could possibly happen?

 [Name] lets out an inaudible gasp, watching Hunk place a plate onto the table. [Name] stares at the alien food while Lance chuckles. Lance and Keith wolfing down the food and [Name] is lost in her thoughts again.

 "They like the paladin lunch!" Allura said, watching Keith and Lance wolf down the food.

 "I don't want to talk about it," Coran said, holding his head up with his arms crossed.

 "I just got the final nebulon booster working," Allura said, smiling at Coran. "We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Zarkon."

 [Name]’s ears perked up as she’s looks around, hearing the alarms beeping and blaring, red lights flashing. Lance and Keith stood up, Lance slurping the noodles into his mouth as he stood up. Allura swiped her hand, a holographic screen showing the bridge with a small creature trying to be stealthy. 

 "What is that?" [Name] questioned.

 “I don't know what it is. Maybe it's a local Arusian," Allura confessed, everyone staring at the holographic screen.

 The creature with horns yelled, holding a sharp looking dagger or sword and running to hide behind another branch.

 "He's approaching the castle," [Name] stated, watching the small creature. 

 "Aw!" Hunk awed, staring at the creature with smiles.

 "Doesn't look too dangerous," Lance said, shrugging his shoulders.

 “You never know," Keith said, his bayard appearing in his hand and Lance looked at Keith over his shoulder. 

 "No. Alteans believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them," Allura said, her eyebrows ceased then turning her back on everyone as she walked towards the doors.

 "That's adorable," Hunk said, following after Allura.

 "Hey, maybe we can knit him a little sweater!" Lance shouted, following after Hunk.

 “Since when did you knit?” [Name] remarks, the rest of then paladins with Allura Andy Coran following them.

 “Since when did you notice your shortnesss?” Lance jokes. 

 [Name] picks up her pace, grabbing Lance’s arm and twisting it, pressing his arm against his back. [Name] made him fall into his knees and she pressed her foot into his back, forcing him to lay down on the floor with his cheek against the floor. 

 The paladins, Allura, and Coran can only watch as Lance yelled out uncle while [Name] continued to press her foot into his back and holding his arm. [Name] let out a sigh, letting go of the poor boy and continuing on her way while the others followed after her.

***

 "Greetings. We know you're there," Allura said, staring into a bush that the little creature is hiding in. "No harm will come to you."

 "Aw!" Hunk awed, the little creature jumping out the bush and holding the sharp weapon in front of it.

 "Wait! He could be dangerous. Drop your weapon!" Keith said, standing in front of [Name] and Allura and holding his bayard in his hand.

 "No one takes Klaizap's weapon!" The creature said, pointing the weapon towards Keith and probably talking in 3rd person.

 "Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies," Allura said, smiling at the creature.

 "I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors. Our village is over Gazrel Hill," Klaizap informed, pointing to the side and holding his hand out slightly. "I come seeking answers as to why the Lion Goddess is angered with her followers."

 "Followers?" Coran asked, leaning down slightly.

 "Lion Goddess?" Hunk asked, raising an eyebrow and Klaizap gestured to a craved ancient rock of a lion in clothing.

 "The one the ancients spoke of," Klaizap explained, [Name]’s features soften.

 "What makes you think she's angered?" Allura asked, smiling at the creature.

 "Destruction is everywhere. In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens and a giant has danced in the sky," Klaizap explained, making gestures with his hand.

 “I think he's talking about Voltron," Hunk whispered to Lance, whispering quite loudly.

 "Yeah, I got that," Lance said, furrowing his eyebrows at Hunk. 

 “You didn’t angered the Lion Goddess or anyone at all," [Name] chuckled, kneeling down and smiling at Klaizap.

 "How can you be certain?" Klaizap asked, scrunching his eyebrows in worry. 

 "Because I am Allura and this is my Castle," Allura explained, smiling at the creature.

 "Lion Goddess!" Klaizap gasped, getting on his knees and bowing.

 "I'm not the Lion Goddess," Allura said, the creature lifting his head and Allura gestured to [Name]. "She is, [Name]."

 [Name] and the Paladins gasped, [Name]’s eyes widen as she turns her shocked expression to Allura. Klaizap turned towards [Name] and bowed, making the girl flustered. 

 "U-Uh, please stand up a-and maybe take us to your village," [Name] stutters.

 Definitely a new sight to the paladins, especially the blush on her cheeks. Her ears are red and she looks very uncomfortable. She looks quite adorable and cute to the paladins.

 "What about our mission to get off this planet and fight Zarkon?" Keith asked, turning his head towards Allura. 

 “Why make me the Lion Goddess?" [Name] whispered, turning her attention to Allura.

 "Part of the paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy," Allura explained, turning her head towards Keith. "Arus has been our host for 10,000 years. These people deserve our thanks. And [Name] looks like a goddess anyways, right?"

 Allura smirked, staring at the paladins. Keith blushed, looking away from [Name]’s features. Lance smirked to himself, not taking gaze off of her. Shiro crosses his arms, standing tall with a tiny smile on his face as he gazes at her. Hunk smiles softly to himself as him and Pigde think it’ll definitely help her improve socializing.

 "I think she does. She's a goddess in my d-" Lance said, smirking at her and staring at her figure. Lance quickly shut himself up when she sent him a deadly glare.

***

 [Name], Coran, Allura, and the three paladins' stood in the middle of Klaizap's village. [Name] wore one of Allura’s dresses despite her protests that she will wear her space suit. Luckily, Allura still let [Name] wear her space suit underneath just not the helmet.

 "Oh, Lion Goddess, I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness," the King of Arusians said, stepping forward and holding his hands together. “Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings." The King of Arusians clapped, a girl Arusian ran in front and got into position. "Commence Dance of Apology!" King of Arusians shouted, clapping and horns instruments played. “Hoorah!"

 The Arusians cheered, uptempo music playing by the drummers and the female Arusian moved her arms around, using her toes to move to her side.

 [Name] nervously cleared her throat. "There's no need for this."

 "Moontwo, halt!" King of Arusians ordered, holding out his hand and the female Arsuian, Moontwo stopped and froze in her spot, the music stopped. “The Goddess has refused the apology. Start the sacrificial fire." [Name] flinched, her eyes widening as an Arsuian lit wood on fire and it grew bigger. "We must throw ourselves in.” All the creatures looking at the fire burning the wood.

 "No, wait! No sacrifices!" [Name] exclaimed, stepping forward. 

 "So, we may proceed with the dance?" King of Arusians asked, ceasing his non-existent eyebrows.

 "If that’s what’s you prefer,” [Name] said, nodding her head slowly.

 "I’m surprised she hasn’t yelled at them," Lance remarked, smirking at her.

 "She does seem like a goddess," Hunk added, Keith raised an eyebrow at them.

 “An angry goddess,” Lance retorted.

 “I’ll show you my wrath if you don’t shut up,” [Name] hissed, sending a harsh glare towards them over her shoulder.

 Moontwo finished her dance off by on her knees and bowing, the villagers joining her with the bow.

 "Everyone stand. Thank you so much for that, but I am not someone to praise or worship," [Name] started, catching the males' and Allura's attention. "The others and I accidentally put you all in danger and I should apologize. I'm [Name] and this is Princess Allura and the Voltron Paladins. Originally, we came from different worlds and very different traditions and cultures, but we wish to live alongside you as friends and not enemies."

 “But the mighty robotic angel..." King of Arusians said, standing up with his non-existent eyebrows scrunched. "Has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?"

 "Voltron? No, of course not. That robotic angel you refer Voltron as is here to protect you," [Name] explained, smiling at them sweetly and the King of Arusians blushed at her smile. “Actually, let every villager know that Voltron will protect every innocent being throughout the known universe!"

 The Arusians cheered, walking towards [Name] and the others. [Name] tried to keep her distance, but she got engulfed by the Arusians. [Name] laughed quietly, holding a child Arusian in hers arms and she didn’t notice the gazes on her. She felt something being placed on top of her head and she noticed flowers in front of her face. 

 “Oh, thank you,” [Name] muttered, a light blush developing on her cheeks.

 "I don't usually hug strangers, but, uh..." Keith said, sighing and looking at the Arusian hugging him, rubbing its head. "Man, you are cuddly."

 "Thank you," the Arusian said, a very deep voice.

 [Name] chuckles, catching Keith’s attention and she blushed, looking away. Keith smiles to himself, knowing that she was looking at him. [Name] cleared her throat lightly, standing up and letting the children run along. She went off into a direction with less citizens to be by herself. [Name] isn't normally used to people actually liking her because of well, just how she is towards others. [Name] tries not to cross her arms because Allura said it's unladylike while wearing a dress.

  "Shiro?" Allura asked, [Name] looked over at the lady and walked towards her.

 "What's going on?" Keith asked, leaning against a tree trunk in the shade.

 The ground shake, a rumbling sound come from the ground and the Arusians whimpering. [Name] glanced up, seeing something breaking through the atmosphere and her eyes widen. Her gut was right. She should have told either Allura or Shiro about something bad was going to happen.

 "Oh, no. We gotta get to our lions!" Keith shouted, his eyes widening.

 "I'm heading back to the castle!" [Name] shouted, following after the three paladins since she used a cruiser instead of using the lions.

 "You're staying with Princess Allura and the Arusians," Keith stated, turning around abruptly and startling [Name]. She blushed from the close proximity between her and Keith, but she forgets about it and scowls at him.

 "Don't forget I have a plan. Don’t forget about my quick thinking," [Name] hissed, her scowl turning into a glare. "I'm going to be useful since I actually know what happens on battlefields and I might be able to help you guys take that thing down!" Keith didn't say anything, knowing that [Name] is correct and she let out a sigh. "Allura, take care of everyone for me." 

[Name] ran behind the paladins, not watching the robot actually descend to the planet. [Name] took off her dress, leaving it on the floor and she climbed onto her cruiser. She turned the handle, hearing the engine come alive and she took off, going towards the Castle while the boys went to fight off the robot. She's been wanting to test out her military information of her brain since her father was on a battlefield once and he was a commander.

 "Lay down some covering fire so they can get out of there!" Keith shouted. 

 "I'm on it!" Lance shouted.

 "Check this out! Battle-lion head-butt!" Hunk shouted.

 [Name] could only imagine what they're doing as she hurries to get to the control deck of the Castle. She'll need to obverse the robot as well. She doesn't want this to end badly at all.

 "Are you guys okay?" [Name] asked, running at a fast pace. 

 "Still alive for now," Shiro answered. 

 "Are the Galra behind this?" Hunk asked. 

 "I think so, but I've never seen anything like it," Shiro explained.

 "So, what's the plan? Shoot at it with everything we've got?" Lance asked. "Take out its weapons? Call it names?" 

 "If we want to take this monster down, there's only one way to do it," Shiro explained.

 "I have a plan, but I need to obverse the robot until I can think of something," [Name] informed, the doors sliding open as she steps inside the control room of the Castle.

 "There's our plan," Shiro stated. The Black Lion roared, the rest of the lions roaring with the Black Lion and the lion flew upwards towards the atmosphere. "Form Voltron!" The lions forming Voltron and Voltron landed on the ground. "Remember, we are one unit, fighting with one goal." The robot's other not regular hand started spinning and a purple energy ball appeared. Voltron charged towards the robot, using its boosters on its back and the robot threw the ball of energy towards Voltron, but Voltron dodged to the side.

 The Red Lion armed pulled back, punching the robot's, not regular arm that the energy ball was created from. Pidge let out a yell, the Green Lion arm pulled back and upper cut the robot in the jaw, the robot walking backwards from the sudden force and leaning against a desert mountain. Everyone yelled, Voltron jumping up and holding the Red Lion head/hand and Green Lion head/hand above its head and the head/hands hit against the robot's arm. The robot used its not regular arm that the ball energy ball and it spun, the robot pulled its arm away and Voltron fell to the floor by the purple energy ball hitting Voltron's back.

  [Name] racked her brain, trying to figure out the robot's weakness quickly so the others don't have to be toyed with by the robot.  Everyone letting out a huh? and dodging the purple energy ball by Voltron using its boosters to avoid the ball.

 "I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe!" Keith shouted, Voltron moving away from the robot.

 "Yeah, so how is this monster kicking our butts?" Hunk asked. 

The purple ball of energy came after Voltron, Voltron dodging the attack and watching the purple energy ball, but not paying attention to the robot. Voltron turned around, getting a shoulder into its stomach and sending Voltron back, Voltron landing over the mountain and seeing the Arusians village.

 "Watch out for the village!" [Name] shouted, her face clearly frustrated and Voltron stood up.

 Voltron held up is arms, the purple energy ball hitting against Voltron's arms and the energy ball's force made Voltron skid off the cliff. The males' grunted, Voltron using its boosters to stop itself from hitting the ground and possibly destroying the village, flying into the sky.

 "That was close!" Shiro shouted.

 "Too close for my liking," [Name] added, letting out a sigh.

 Voltron flew past the robot, the robot running after Voltron and making sure the robot isn't near the village. "We got him away from the Arusians, but we can't take him down!" Pidge yelled.

 "I got it! I'm going to power-kick that orb thing!" Lance shouted.

 "No! The last time you did a kick, we fell!" Keith yelled, furrowing his eyebrows and Voltron landed on the ground. 

 "Stop living in the past!" Lance whined.

 Voltron boosting towards the robot and the robot threw the energy ball towards Voltron. Voltron boosted upwards, Lance letting out a yell as the Voltron pulled back the Yellow Lion head/leg as the Blue Lion head/leg aimed towards the robot. [Name] watched as the energy ball missed the leg and hit Voltron in the face, Lance letting out a Oh, no! and Voltron falling to the ground. 

 "Pidge, fire lasers now!" [Name] ordered, Voltron standing to its feet. 

 "Got it! Fire!" Pidge shouted, the Green Lion opened its mouth, but the two red parts on the back of Voltron came in front and formed a shield instead, "Oops!"

 "No! Lasers! Lasers!" Shiro shouted. 

 Everyone groaning from the sudden force when the robot punched the shield, Voltron falling to the ground. But the Red Lion slammed its head/hand on the ground, completely stopping Voltron from falling and now crouching, but Voltron got hit by the energy ball which made Voltron fall. Voltron stood up, turning towards the robot and [Name] gasped. 

 "Every time you focus on that orb, you're blindsided by the monster," [Name] stated, crossing her arms. "And every time you focus on the monster, the orb hits you."

 "Then what do we do?" Lance asked, sounding annoyed. 

 "Orb!" [Name] warned, the orb/energy ball came towards Voltron and knocked Voltron down into a mountain. “Let me finish, Lance. Everyone has a weakness, right? I noticed it needs to windup for its attack and it winds up the third time."

 "Shiro, we gotta move! Shiro, are you there? Shiro!" Keith shouted, not getting a reply from Shiro.

 "That sound... I recognize this monster from my time in Zarkon's prison," Shiro answered. "[Name]'s right! That's when we strike the monster. Just listen for the loud sound." The robot went for a swing, Voltron moving out the way and the robot hit the mountain, Voltron landed a few yards or maybe a few feet, depending on how giant Voltron and the robot is

 "Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?" Hunk asked. 

 "Defend!" [Name] ordered, feeling calmer now since she figured out the robot's weak spot.
 
 "Pidge, we need that shield!" Shiro pointed, Voltron putting the shield in front of it and bending its knees a little. The orb hit against the shield, everyone grunting as the orb went back to the robot. "That's one. Two more to go!" The robot wiped its arm above its head, the orb circling around the robot once and coming towards Voltron. The orb hit against the shield, everyone grunting again and Voltron skidded back.

 "I don't think Voltron can take much more!" [Name] informed, staring at the signals on Voltron. 

 "Last one! Everyone brace for impact!" Shiro warned, the orb hit against the shield and the shield flew out of the Green Lion's grasps. 
 
 Voltron standing on one knee as the two parts of the shields landed on each of Volton's sides and the orb went back to the robot to charge. "Now!" Shiro and [Name] exclaimed, the Red Lion head shot out a laser towards the robot. The robot fell, getting knocked down by the laser and the dust disappeared around the robot, revealing a good condition the robot is in. 

 "It didn't work!" Pidge shouted.

 "Did I miss something?" [Name] questioned, everyone groaning as Voltron got knocked down by the orb. 

 "No, you didn't, but when I attacked him before, I had a sword!" Shiro explained, the orb coming towards Voltron again.

 "Orb! Orb!" Hunk shouted, Voltron going deeper into the mountain when the orb hit Voltron then going back to the robot. 

 "We can't take another shot like that!" Pidge informed.

 "Wait a second, guys! I think my lion's telling me what to do," Keith said, staring at the machine and the machine making a beeping noise. 

 "What are you waiting for!" [Name] yelled, watching the robot with fearful eyes.

 "Whatever it is, hurry up and do it! He's about to fire his third shot!" Lance shouted, everyone gasping as the orb circled the robot and coming towards Voltron as Voltron stood up, but getting knocked down again by the orb.

 Voltron standing on its hands and knees as the robot came running towards Voltron and Voltron stood up. The robot jumped up, the orb back to the robot and the Red and Green Lion heads came together, a light shining between and the Red Lion unsheathed a sword from the Green Lion's mouth, slashing the robot. Voltron skidded against the ground, the sword held to the side and having its back to the robot. The robot fell to its knees, a purple spark covering it and then exploding.

 "Yeah!" The males screamed.

 "We did it!" Pidge shouted. 

 "How did you do that?" Hunk asked, sounding surprised and excited. 

 Keith looks at his bayard in the machine, taking it out and staring at his bayard, "Whoa. Thanks, Red."

 "Good job, everyone," [Name] praised, surprising the males.

 "Thank you, [Name]," Shiro said, a sweet smile on his features.

***

 [Name] and the Paladins with Allura and Coran stood in the escape pods room, the prisoners from Zarkon's ship standing in front of the small space ship. "Good luck out there," Lance said, holding his hand up in a goodbye way.

 "Thank you all for everything," an old alien said, bowing his head and staring at you and the others. "We never dreamed we'd see our families again. But you gave us hope. You gave the universe hope."

 [Name] features darken slightly, thinking she might never see her brother again. She looks down, her hands clenched into fists. "Excuse me."

 Everyone watched [Name] walk away, a sullen expression on her soft features. Pidge sends a knowing look towards Shiro and Shiro simply nods his head. Pidge watches [Name] walk away, knowing the exact feeling she is experiencing the loss of a family member. Pidge has some news, but he's not sure how [Name] might take it. Especially after the whole battle today that may have her exhausted.

Chapter Text

 “[Name].”

 [Name] stops in her tracks, looking over her shoulder and seeing Pigde standing a few steps away. [Name] turns around, walking over to Pigde and she tilts her head.

 “Is something the matter?” [Name] questioned.

 “I just wanted to tell you that I found information about where your brother could possibly be,” Pigde informed, [Name]’s eyes widen. “I just wanted to let you know is all.”

 “Thank you for that, Pidge,” [Name] said, nodding her head. “There’s a chance he could be alive, but I’m sure you want to look for your family as well.” Pigde stared at [Name] with wide eyes. “Family is important, but don’t forget the others are now your family as well.” 

 [Name] continued her path, knowing she must get ready for the party the Castle is going to have. Pidge called out, making the girl stop in her tracks. “Aren’t you consider family to us then?”

 “No. I’m merely an chess piece for Voltron to win it’s goal,” [Name] stated.

 Pidge could only stare at her retreating figure, feeling sorry for the girl. Paige knows that [Name] may not like everyone, but she will need to confine to someone at least.

***

  "The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!" King of Arusians said, [Name] standing next to him with Allura standing next to her and a few Arsuians acting out the battle between Voltron and the robot, the Paladins on the lower level with the rest of the Arusians. The two Arusians playing as the robot threw the rock at the four Arusians who are playing as Voltron fell down. "No. I said, "Voltron was victorious!"" The Arusians playing Voltron stood up and the robot Arusians fell down, the crowd of Arusians cheering.

 "Thank you for that amazing play," [Name] said, catching the King of Arusian's attention. "It's sad that we must leave tomorrow, but we have to continue our battle with Zarkon."

 "And spread peace throughout the universe," Allura added, smiling at the Arusians.

 "Your Majesty, please accept this gift," [Name] said, holding out a small remote device and he took it. "This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help."

 "Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance," Allura explained, smiling down at the king.

 "Hooarh!" King of Arusian shouted, holding up the device and festive music started playing as the Arusians cheered. 

 [Name] walked down the stairs, walking towards the three paladins, overheard Lance.

 “I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol!" Lance said, holding a cup in his hand and [Name] watched from afar.

 "Uh... Voltron?" Keith asked, his arms crossed.

 "No! No, no, no. The cheer includes the instructions. I say 'Vol' and you say..." Lance said, smirking proudly.

 "Voltron?" Keith asked again, leaning his head forward a little.

 "[Name].”

 [Name] turned her head to see Shiro walking over to her. She sends him a nod of acknowledgment instead of smiling. She’s starting to crack a little towards the paladins. She’s starting to slowly turn soft.

 “Good evening, Shiro,” [Name] greets.

 “You look wonderful,” Shiro comments, [Name] blushing lightly from the compliment. Shiro smiles. 

 “T-Thank you. I’m not one for dresses,” [Name] confesses, looking down in embarrassment. “I’m wearing my space suit underneath it.” 

 "Try some Nunvill," Coran said, appearing at Shiro's side. "Settles the stomach and brightens your smile."

 "Coran, I'm not sure we should be letting everyone wander in and out the castle like this," Shiro voiced. "It doesn't seem safe."

 "Oh, these Arusians won't hurt anything... much," Coran said, you heard glass shatter somewhere behind you. "Besides, it's only fair to let them see the inside of a castle that's been sitting on their planet for so long."

 "But who knows when Zarkon will attack again?" Shiro asked. Shiro started to walk away, leaving you and Coran behind. "I'm going to do a perimeter check, just in case. [Name], do you want to come?"

 "I can't. I have to be the Lion Goddess for the Arusians," [Name] answered, shaking her head.

 Shiro nods his head and continues to walk towards the exit. [Name] lets out a sigh, Coran walking away and she stood by herself. [Name] turned her head and noticed Pidge walking with a backpack. [Name] heard laughing come from Keith and Hunk, but she didn't pay any attention to them. She stood from afar, watching Pidge dump food into his backpack then he sniffed something, she raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior. 

 She wants to have fun, but she mustn't. Zarkon is out there as well as other terrible things in the universe she didn't even know could possibly exist. [Name] also wants to find her brother, but Voltron must come first despite not being a paladin of one of the lions. She really wanted to be a paladin, but she will push that desire to the bottom of her heart. Cal can wait until Zarkon is over, but who knows if Cal is alive or not. [Name] lets out a sigh, shaking her head.

 [Name] felt her gut start to twist and turn, like butterflies in her stomach or she might have to go to the bathroom. One of the two and [Name]'s certain it's the butterflies in her stomach. Something bad might happen. [Name] looks around, noticing Pidge and Allura talk, Keith and Hunk together, but she doesn't see Lance or Coran at all. She knows that Shiro is looking around and [Name] ponders if Shiro has the same feeling that she had just gotten. 

 [Name] was called over by Pidge, making the girl snap out her thoughts and she walked over to Pidge.

***

 "Pidge, no," Shiro said, staring at Pidge as [Name], Allura, Keith, and Hunk all stood in an empty like hallway away from the Arusians.

 "The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search. I have a pod all ready to go," Pidge explained, staring up at Shiro.

 "You can't leave," Keith hissed, stepping in front of Pidge and catching his attention.

 "You can't tell me what to do!" Pidge barked.

 "If you leave, we can't form Voltron," Keith stated. "And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families."

 "Yeah, I have a family. They live on Earth," Hunk input, breaking the tension between Pidge and Keith. "I want to be with them. Is that, like, a thing that can happen?" 

 "You want to leave?" [Name] asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "Of course I do!" Hunk started. "Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space, fighting aliens."

 "You're putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone else in the entire galaxy!" Keith yelled, stepping towards Pidge which made Pidge step back. 

 [Name] stepped forward, standing in front of Pidge and scowling up at Keith. Shiro had also stepped in, grabbing Keith's arm to stop Keith. "Keith, that's not how a team works. People have a want to be part of it. They can't be forced."

 "Pidge, if you want to leave, I'll make sure no one stops you," [Name] stated, turning around to face Pidge. "You must think what will be the outcomes of you leaving Voltron. Yes, I did say that family is important, but there's a lot at risk right now." 

 Pidge stared at [Name] with wide eyes, never thinking he'd actually see the kind side of [Name] ever since he met her. "I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion. Maybe [Name] can."

 With that, Pidge walked away with his head down. The little robot with him beeping and [Name]'s always wonder where that little robot came from. Allura speaks up, watching Pidge walk away. "I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?"

 [Name] lets out t a sigh, walking back towards the party and [Name] screams, the castle starting to shake as little pebbles from the ceiling starts to fall. The Arusians start to run, hurrying towards the exit while the paladins and Allura follow after [Name] as she suddenly took off towards the source of the loud noise. 

***

 The paladins were able to open the door to the control, black smoke coming out as the whole room was covered in black smoke. [Name] hurries inside, waving her arm around she gets the smoke away from her mouth. She noticed Coran sitting up and she immediately looks around, trying to figure out if there was anyone else inside.

 "What happened?" Shiro questioned.

 "I'm not sure," Coran replied, Shiro and Hunk at his sides. 

 The smoke clears, revealing the broken crystal that was hanging from the ceiling. Allura hurries towards the crystal, "The crystal!"

 "Lance!" [Name] exclaimed, seeing Lance lay on the floor. [Name] hurries to his side and Shiro following after her. Shiro picked up Lance, his eyes widen and [Name] notices the cuts on his cheeks. "Lance?"

 "Lance!" Shiro shouted. 

 "We have to get Lance to the infirmary!" Pidge stated.

 "Without the crystal, the Castle has no power," Allura informed, staring at Lance in concern. 

 "Lance doesn't look good," [Name] stated, her eyes trailing from the marks on Lance's faces.

 "Lion warriors, our village is under attack! We need help!" The King informed.

 "Let's get to the lions!" Keith ordered.

 "Assuming that the Castle has no power, I don't think you can get to the lions," [Name] sighed.

 "We're defenseless," Allura cried.

 "Will you not help us?" The King asked.

 "We'll help you. We just..." Keith said, trailing off and Lance groaned.

 "This is bad," Hunk commented.

 "You think?" [Name] asked sarcastically.

 "We have to get a new crystal to get the Castle working again," Coran informed. "But, to get a new crystal, we need a ship."

 "The pod I was loading, we can use that! I left the bay door open," Pidge exclaimed.

 "I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby," Coran explained. "Hunk, you come with me. I'll need someone big to help me carry the crystal."

 "A Balmera?" Hunk questioned, his eyebrow lifted.

 "It's where the crystals come from. I'll tell you about it on the way!" Coran said, running out the room with Pidge and Hunk following after him.

 "I'll go see what's happening at the Arusian village," Keith informed.

 "I'll go with you, Keith. I brought this on the poor Arusians," Allura stated.

 "I'll tend to Lance and watch over the Castle," Shiro stated.

 "I'm staying with you, Shiro. I have a bad feeling," [Name] stated, Shiro nodded his head while Keith and Allura left the room. "Something isn't right." 

 "What do you mean?" Shiro asked, picking up Lance.

 "That battle with that robot, I knew something bad was going to happen. I had that same feeling again today," [Name] said, walking with Shiro.

***

 "Hang on, buddy. Help is on the way," Shiro mumbled, him and [Name] walking side by side towards the exit of the Castle. Shiro stops in his tracks, [Name] as well as they both noticed a creature with purple skin or fur, walking towards them with robot soldiers behind him. "Sendak."

 "Sendak..." [Name] said, testing the name on her tongue.

 Shiro placed Lance down and [Name] takes off a dress that Allura let her borrow. She has a feeling Allura will never let [Name] borrow another dress after just throwing them onto the floor. [Name] takes a step forward only to be stopped by Shiro.

 "Stay back," Shiro ordered.

 "You'll need the help you can get, Shiro," [Name] stated, scowling at him. "Besides, I excell in all fields at the Garrison so you'll be fighting with the Prodigy."

 Shiro lets out a sigh, him and [Name] running to meet Sendak half way. [Name] and Shiro stand a few meters away from Sendak, blocking his path from entering the Castle. Sendak hasn't noticed [Name] yet, keeping his gaze on Shiro.

 "Stand aside," Sendak commanded.

 "No. You're not getting in," Shiro stated. 

 "Yes, I am," Sendak said.

 Sendak launches his arm towards Shiro, [Name] stepping aside and Shiro is caught by Sendak. Sendak dragged Shiro on the floor, bringing Shiro towards him and [Name] runs after Sendak. Sendak lets go of Shiro, lifting his fist, but [Name] launched a kick into Sendak's side, barely moving Sendak at all. Sendak hits [Name] square in the stomach, sending her back while Shiro gets up and charges towards Sendak. Shiro started to attack Sendak, but Sendak's giant arm kept blocking his attacks. [Name] hurried to stand, running towards the two and she jumped over Shiro's shoulders, pushing Shiro back and landing a kick on Sendak's face. He stumbled back, [Name] landing on her feet and getting knocked to the side by an incoming arm. She skidded to a stop, lifting her upper body with her arms and watching Shiro's fight collide with Sendak's.

 Sendak smirked. "I see you spent some time with the druids. They do love to experiment. Too bad you didn't get the latest model." 

 "Who says they need the latest model to fight you!" [Name] yelled, appearing below Sendak and she sent a hard to his jaw. 

 She didn't notice Shiro being sent back by Sendak's huge, purple and white arm. Sendak could only chuckle, staring at [Name] with amusement in his eyes and [Name] backed up, feeling pain throb from her body. 

 "You sure are an interesting specimen," Sendak remarked, his arm coming back towards his body.

 [Name] jumps back, but she was too late, getting a hard punch in her stomach by Sendak's abnormal arm. [Name] skiddes against the ground, letting out gasps of air as she struggles to breathe correctly. [Name] turns her head, seeing a large hand coming towards Shiro and she hurries to stand up, running towards him.

 "Shiro!" [Name] screamed, slidding against the floor and pushing Shiro out the way. 

 Shiro stands up, pulling [Name] up with him and Shiro starts to run away. Shiro looks behind him and throws [Name] to the side, watching the incoming Sendak. [Name] lets out a scream, falling to the floor and she quickly looks up to see Shiro throw Sendak over his shoulder. [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing Shiro and Sendak charge at each other, but both of their white with a purple outline glowing hands at each other's throats. 

 "Shiro!" [Name] shouted, feeling something being pressed against her head.

 "Let him go or your friends won't make it!" Haxus shouted. 

 Shiro turns his head towards [Name], seeing a robot hold a gun to her head and he looks towards Lance, watching Lance be thrown to the ground. [Name] stared at Shiro, hoping, no, knowing he'll definitely make the right choice in this situation. Since Shiro was distracted, Sendak pushed Shiro towards [Name] and Lance. 

 "Voltron is ours," Sendak said, glowering at [Name] and the two paladins.

 "Voltron will never be yours!" [Name] yelled, a fearless smirk appearing on her features. "You really think Voltron will ever be yours? Hah! Don't make me laugh!" Sendak glared at her, stepping forward and [Name] didn't care, she continued to insult him. "You really are so desperate for Voltron-" A hard object hit the back of [Name]'s head, knocking her out and she fell to the floor.

***

 [Name] let out a groan, feeling something around her wrists behind her back. She lifts her head to see Sendak standing at the front of the control room and talking to what she assumes is Zarkon. The whole room is a light purple, but she noticed the Castle is powered up. Probably from the machine chains attached to the crystal.

 "-along with all of the Voltron lions. I'm currently preparing for launch and will be delivering them all to you shortly," Sendak stated.

 "This news is most pleasing. You have done your duty. Vrepit Sa!" Zarkon praised.

 "Vrepit Sa!" Sendak replied.

 [Name] scrunches her eyebrows at the words. Vrepit Sa? Like, the hell does that mean? Is it like something you say when you're happy? Or could it possbily be like 'Roger out' like Americans say? Is it just this odd thing like how the ants can just randomly appear overnight when you sure as hell didn't see them that night. God, I really hate ants. Why do they exist at all? Do they really have a purpose in life?

 ***

 "Run main cluster activation sequence," Sendak ordered.

 "Activation sequence initiated. Powering up for launch," Haxus repeated.

 [Name] bites her lip in worry, not realizing Shiro had awoken and seen her. [Name] hated that she now has a bad feeling gut thing that tells her something bad will happen. But, she's curious on why the Galra have such animal like ears. Do all of them look like that? Will she possibly ever meet an attractive Garla? I mean....

 "Commander Sendak, we are ready for launch," Haxus informed.

The Castle started to shake, indicating the Castle preparing for launching to outer space and probably to where Zarkon is. [Name] doesn't want to meet this Zarkon at all, especially after what happened to Shiro's arm. Sure, it's cool, but she really doesn't want an artificial, purple glowing hand at all. All of a sudden, the Castle stopped shaking and [Name] let out a sigh of relief.

 "The main engine just shorted out!" Haxus informed. 

 "We have a saboteur. Find him and take him out," Sendak ordered. 

Chapter Text

 "Haxus! I want whoever's in this ship found and terminated!" Sendak shouted. [Name] glares daggers at Sendak, trying to think of a way to get away, but she has noticed the soldiers behind her that's guarding her, Shiro, and Lance. 

 "Commander Sendak, I've receive a transmission generating from somewhere inside," Haxus informed, working at the head of the ship. [Name] glanced to her side, seeing Shiro starting to wake up and she quickly looks away. 

 "There's not much time before they get the ship running again. You must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in." Allura's voiced filled the room and [Name] lets out a sigh of relief. She's glad that Allura is working with someone who must be inside. Keith went with Allura to the village while Coran and Hunk left the planet. Does it mean that Pidge could still be inside?

 "You got it. Tell me what to do." [Name] nods her head, feeling proud of herself that she predicted right.

 Allura's voice came back. "The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull."

 "She's telling the intruder how to take down our defenses," Haxus stated the obvious.

 Sendak lifts his head slightly. "Yes, but she's also giving away his location." [Name] clenched her jaw, wishing she could warn Pidge about the Garla's plan. "Find that room. Kill the paladin." [Name] glances behind her shoulder, seeing the robot soldiers walking out the room. "Repair the engine. Emperor Zarkon has commanded us to bring him Voltron. This ship will rise before day's end."

 'You're wrong!' [Name] shouted inside her head. She continued to glare daggers at Sendak and Haxus. If looks could kill, they'd be dead the moment her eyes had landed on them. [Name] would give up her life if it means to have the Galra get Voltron. She will never let them get Voltron in your life. 

 She has already lost her brother to them, she won't lose anyone else even if Voltron isn't a living being. [Name] desperately wants to look for her brother, but she has to help Voltron and if her brother is alive, he would go somewhere safe and probably return home. Cal is incredibly smart and he knows when to back down from a fight, but Cal can be reckless.

 Hunk and Coran should be coming back soon, but the timing could be wrong. [Name] hopes Pidge will be able to shut down the particle barrier, letting Allura and Keith inside which means more backup. [Name] opens her mouth, feeling a sneeze coming to her and she shut her eyes.

 "Bless you," Shiro whispered, watching the girl besides him sneeze. He chuckles to himself, gazing at her as she sniffles. 

 [Name] turns her attention to Shiro. "How are you feeling, Shiro?" 

 "Tired. And you?" 

 "Seething," [Name] smirks, tilting her head. 

 Shiro nods his head, [Name] glares back at Sendak since Haxus has already left the room long ago. Shiro studies [Name]'s side profile and she looks more calm than angry. Her eyebrows aren't even furrowed in anger, but Shiro's eyes looks away from her features and looks down at her hands behind her back. She's clenching her hands rather hard, Shiro could see every shape of her hand and the bumps of her knuckles.

 "Sub panel energy transducer is go," Sendak informed, his arms held behind his back. [Name] grits her teeth, never feeling so powerless in her life. "The bridge is go." [Name] watched Sendak wait awhile before he spoke and she ponders if something has happen. "Haxus, report in!"

 "Haxus is gone, and you're next!" 

 [Name] lets out a sigh of relief, feeling her body slowly relax. "Oh, thank god." 

 "You've slowed me down, but this ship is mine!" Sendak shouted, clearly angry. "You will turn yourself over to me immediately."

 "Never!" Pidge yelled.

 Sendak walks over to [Name] and Shiro, standing behind them and smirking down at the two and [Name] turns her glare to the floor in front of her. "Well, maybe your friends can convince you." 

 "What do you want?" Shiro growled, scowling at Sendak. 

 "Your friend wanted to hear from you," Sendak said, [Name] looked over her shoulder, watching Sendak step closer.

 "Shiro? [Name]?" Pidge questioned.

 "Don't you dare lay a finger on him!" [Name] snapped, pushing Shiro to the ground with her side as she notice Sendak lift his robotic arm. Sendak intentionally going to aim for Shiro, but since [Name] gotten in the way. She unfortunately was electrified by Sendak's robotic hand and she bit her lip to avoid screaming in pain, but that obviously did not satisfy Sendak. He put more power into the touch, causing a rippling scream to escape [Name]'s throat.

 "Let go of her!" Shiro yelled.

 "No!" Pidge yelled.

 "You can make it stop. Turn yourself in," Sendak commanded, a smirk still laced on his features. "Her suffering is in your hands."

***

 Shiro's gaze is on [Name], her unconscious body laying on the ground and Shiro kept his head down. Sendak stood in front of him, "I'm impressed that you manage to escape. Perhaps it would be worth the trip to your planet to see if the rest of your kind have your spirit." Shiro's eyes widen slightly, seeing [Name] open her eye a little and she sent him a wink. "Of course, they will all end up broken, just like you." [Name] closes her eye again, knowing that Pidge is near by, she just has to wait. "Now, that we have Voltron, every planet, every race, all share the same fate."

 'Wait a little longer...' [Name] mouths, knowing that Shiro's gaze is still on her. Sendak walks away from Shiro and [Name] listens to his footsteps until it's farther away. [Name] lifts herself off the ground and she lets out a huge gasp. "That hurt really bad."

 "Why would you?" Shiro whispered, watching [Name] smile softly at him. 

 "Because it seems you've already been through enough pain, Shiro," she said, tilting her head a little. 

 [Name] looks ahead, seeing Pidge standing at the doorway and a smile grows on her face. Shiro looks into the direction, seeing Pidge and Sendak suddenly launches himself towards the entrance. [Name] saw another Pidge running towards her and Shiro and she realizes the Pidge that Sendak is chasing after is simply a hologram. 

 "[Name], Shiro," Pidge whispered, crouching in front of [Name] and Shiro.

 "Watch out!" [Name] screamed, but was too late, Sendak had grabbed Pidge and pulled him away.

 "You really thought your little hologram trick would work with me?" Sendak asked, holding Pidge above the ground. A smile of relief makes it's way onto [Name]'s features, seeing Keith and Allura running into the room. Keith's takes out his bayard sword. "Stand back!" A quick flash of a bullet passes by [Name]'s side eye and hits Sendak in the back and Sendak lets go of Pidge.

 "Lance," [Name] whispers, staring at the boy in shock.

 Shiro gets up, running towards Sendak, but was quickly pushed away by a punch. Keith also charges towards Sendak and Keith is actually making progress, but Sendak throws Keith which gives the opportunity to Pidge to run towards the purple light connecting to Sendak's robotic arm to his shoulder. Pidge cuts off the light and [Name] quickly stands up, running towards Sendak.

 "No!" Sendak screamed, going to run towards Pidge.

 [Name] roundedhoues kicked Sendak away, knocking him a few paces back and Pidge throws his bayard, letting it wrap around Sendak's ankles, shocking him. Keith brings his sword up, going to slash at Sendak, but Sendak grabs the blade. Keith and Sendak both struggling against each other's strength.

 "Keith, now!" Allura yelled.

 A blue light appeared between Sendak and Kieth, Pidge removing his weapon from Sendak. Keith kicks Sendak away before a particle barrier closes on the two and Sendak is now trapped inside with the crystal. Sendak punches the barrier a few times before giving up, knowing he can't escape with brute strength.

 Pidge cuts the cuffs from [Name] and Shiro, [Name] letting out a quick thank you and she hurries to Lance, staring at him in concern. Keith, who is by Lance's side, doesn't acknowledge [Name] at all and the next thing creeps Lance out, despite knowing that [Name] is concerned for him.

 "Lance, are you okay?" Keith and [Name] asked, the sync causing the two to stare at each other in shock.

 "We did it. We are a good team," Lance said, smiling at Keith and [Name]. [Name] and Keith smile, knowing their actions are starting to become in sync and Lance finds it even more odd, but nonetheless, happy that [Name] is actually concerned for him.

***

 Everyone stands by the healing pod, staring at Lance who's inside the pod. [Name] crosses her arms, pondering why he looks as if he's concentrating, but she has to remind herself that he barely concentrates at nothing at all. Allura spoke up, "After a day in here, he should be fully healed." 

"Pidge, we can't thank you enough for all you did," Shiro said, everyone turning towards Pidge. "I can't help, but feel that you were meant to be part of our team... but I understand if you want to leave."

 Pidge looks to the side. "Dad used to tell me how close he was with his crew members. They were like family. Now, I understand what he was talking about." Pidge looks down then looks up at Shiro with a smile on his face. "I'm staying with you guys. Let's stop Zarkon for all of our families.

 "Good to have you back on the the team," Keith said, smiling at Pidge.

Chapter Text

[Name] Allura, and the four Paladins stared at Lance who's inside the pod with his eyes closed. "I can't tell if he looks healthy or not," Hunk said, squinting his eyes at the pod.

 "I think he's breathing weird," Pidge added, [Name] stares up at Lance's face.

 "Oh, come on!" Keith yelled, poking the pod, but Allura pushed his hand away.

 "Not yet! A few more ticks," Allura growled, glaring at Keith.

 "How much better do you think he's gonna get in a few more ticks?" Keith asked, crossing his arms and pouting, looking away.

 "What is a tick, Allura?" [Name] asked, crossing her arms as her eyes are still on Lance. 

 "You know, a time slice," Allura said.

 "Like a second?" Shiro asked, everyone looking towards the back since he's basically behind everyone.

 "What is a 'second'?" Allura asked, tilting her head and everyone turned away from the pod.

 "Like this," Pidge explained, holding a holographic device with a timer on it, 1 second going by with a beeping noise.

 "I'm not sure. I think ticks are bigger," Allura said, leaning down towards the device. "Coran, do you have a ticker?"

 "Right here, Princess," Coran said, turning around and holding up a device with four lines on it, each facing up, down, left, and right and a beeping.

 "I think ticks are a little slower," Hunk said, Pidge and Hunk looking at the ticker and Allura walking towards them.

 "I can't tell. We have to start them at the same time," Pidge said, looking at the timer device.

 "Okay. Ready, go!" Coran yelled, holding the devices closer and the devices went at the same time, both beeping.

 "Yes! I think we're winning," Hunk yelled, a smile on his face.

 "Winning what? The intergalactic time-measuring competition?" [Name] asked sarcastically, no one noticing the pod that Lance's in opened.

 "Yes," Hunk answered, looking offended.

 "You guys having a clock party?" Lance asked, everyone gasping.

 "Aw, Lance, you ruined it. Hey, Lance!" Hunk yelled, realizing and hugging Lance. 

 "What happened?" Lance asked, groaning.

 "We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat," [Name] stated, glancing towards Lance. "Are you able to walk?"

 "Talking? Eating? Are you asking me out on a date?" Lance asked, smirking at [Name].

 [Name] glares harshly at Lance and she walks away, trying really hard not to throw him onto the ground. Sometimes, she thinks she might actually do it, but she must hold back until the day he says something he will really regret.

 "So is that a no?"

***

 Everyone stood in the dining room, Allura, Coran, and Shiro around Lance's chair with Hunk standing next to the table. [Name], Keith, and Pidge on the other side of the table as Lance is eating goo with a couple of mice on the table.

 "He'd be Sendak's prisoner right now, if not for Pidge," Allura explained, a mouse on her shoulder.

 "Well, you wouldn't have survived the explosion if Hunk and Coran hadn't gotten a new crystal," Pidge explained, [Name] watched Lance feed one of the mice.

 "Wow. Thanks, everybody. Sounds like the mice did more than you, though," Lance said, smiling at everyone. 

 "I punched Sendak!" Keith shouted, his arms crossed and furrowing his eyebrows at Lance.

 "Yeah, apparently after I emerged from a coma and shot his arm off," Lance said, scowling at Keith.

 "We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!" Keith shouted, looking hurt and [Name] noticed his voice crack.

 "Nope. Don't remember, didn't happened. So, what happened to Sendak?" Lance asked, shaking his head then turning towards Allura.

 "He's frozen in a cryo-pod. We're keeping him here in the castle," Allura informed.

 "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "He's too dangerous to be set free," Allura explained, ceasing her eyebrows. "Besides, we might be able to get some information about Zarkon from him."

 "So, what's the plan now?" Lance asked, staring up at Allura.

 "We have to get back to the Balmera and save Shay and her people," Hunk explained, his expression turning serious.

 "Wow! You are really hung up on this lady," Lance shouted, sounding surprised and his goo being eaten by the mouse.

 "No, it's not like that," Hunk said, then he scowled. "Guys, when you see how Zarkon has treated there people and destroyed their home- They've been under this thumb for so long, they don't know what it is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. This is what being a paladin is all about. It's time to man up." 

 "Then let's get moving. Time to go defend the universe," Shiro said, Keith and Shiro walking towards the exit.

 "Wait, I have something to say first. I need to come clean," Pidge said, catching everyone's attention. "And I'm afraid this may change the way you all think about me. Just so there are no secrets between us anymore, I can't 'man up'. I'm a girl. I mean, I can 'man up' because that's just a figure of speech. I don't have to actually be a man to 'man up.' I just have to be tough. But what I'm saying-"

 "Wha...? You're a girl? How?" Lance asked, snapping out his daze.

 "I've known for some time, but I'm glad you shared with everyone," Allura confessed, smiling at Pidge.

 "Why do you wonder I get along with you, Pidge?" [Name] chuckled, sending a small smile at Pidge.

 "Yeah, I figured," Hunk said, smiling at Pidge.

 "Oh, yeah, me too," Keith said, sounding confident.

 "Wait, we were supposed to think you were a boy?" Coran asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "Pidge, owning who you are is going to make you a better paladin," Shiro said, Pidge let out a big sigh.

 [Name] chuckles to herself, knowing that everyone knew except Lance that Pidge is actually a girl. [Name] actually knew Pidge was a girl before she actually knew Pidge. [Name] had seen Pidge once and new Pidge was a female. How clueless could Lance actually be?

 "It's good to get that off my chest. Now, let's launch this Castle-ship!" Pidge shouted, running towards the others.

 "Wait, what? Pidge is a girl and the Castle is a ship?" Lance asked, putting a hand to his head. "How long have I been out?" 

***

 Allura stood on the platform, a faint blue light shining down on her and holographic screens appeared around her, seats for the paladins appeared around the platform. [Name] stood near Allura, her eyes on the holographic screen of the ship and the numbers with Altean writings and other things. "Activate interlock," Allura ordered, two things appearing out the platform next to her and she placed her hands on it.

 "Dynotherms connected," Coran informed, standing at the front with the computer hologram.

 "Mega-thrusters are go," Allura informed.

 "We are ready to depart Planet Arus on your mark, Princess," Coran informed, the black glass turned into the sky of Arus.

 "Firing main engines for launch," Allura said, the Castle/ship shake gently and move towards the atmosphere of Arus. 

 "Okay, so, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and start blasting?" Hunk asked, Keith leaning against the small wall onto the platform with [Name], Lance, and Pidge sitting on the steps and Shiro standing plus Hunk pacing back and forth. "Or do we land and have some kind of public address system, like, "Attention, Galras, this is Voltron. Turn yourselves in"? No, blasting, right?"

 "Hunk, calm down. And, yes, blasting," Keith said, making the calm down motion with his hands then crossing his arms.

 "It's our first big recuse mission. He's excited," Shiro chuckled, one hand on his ship. 

 "Excited to see his new girlfriend!" [Name] and Pidge joked, smirking at Hunk.

 "She's not my girlfriend!" Hunk gasped, then turning his head a little. "She's just a rock that I met and I admire very much."

 [Name] stands up, hearing the alarms blaring and beeping. "Are we being attacked, Coran?" She asked, looking towards Coran.

 "No, it seems to be a distress beacon," Coran explained, standing at the holographic computer.

 "It's coming from a nearby moon. Apparently, a ship has lost power," Allura explained.

 "I wonder who it is," Pidge said, her hand at her chin.

 "Whoever it is will have to wait," Hunk said firmly, his hands on his hips. "Shay has first priority. We can check back on them when we're done."

 "The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need," Allura stated, Hunk pouted and crossed his arms.

 "Wow! This is so cool. It's like we're space cops on space patrol," Lance said, standing up and an excited smirk on his face. "Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?"

 "Uhhh, no, but we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them," Coran explained, looking at Lance over his shoulder.

 "Perfect!" Lance shouted, cupping one hand to his mouth and making siren noises.

 "No! I am not letting you do that," [Name] hissed, covering Lance's mouth with both her hand.

 "Thanks, [Name]," Shiro sighed.

***

 "Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura," Allura said, speaking into the speaker as the Castle/ship landed on the moon. "We are coming to assist you. Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us."

 "Yes, Princess," Coran said, nodding his head.

 [Name] and Allura with the paladins went into a space pod, the space pod getting out the ship and going towards the ground. Once the space pod touched the ground, the doors opened and Allura walked out. "You don't know how glad we are to see some friendly faces," the purple man alien said, standing up and crossing his arms. "Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra."

 "You guys are fighting the Galra?" [Name] asked, her helmet turning to a lighter shade to show her face, but the bottom part open for her to talk as she and the others walked towards them.

 "Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us, but we do what we can," purple alien man said, keeping his gaze on her. "I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, Kye and our cyber-unit, Beezer."

 "Hello," Kye said flirtatiously, his eyes on [Name]. 

 "Hi," Nyma said, [Name] glanced at Lance to see him blushing at Nyma.

 Beezer beeped, his ears going up and Pidge gasped, her eyes widen. "Cool robot!" Pidge yelled, looking at the robot while Lance went to Nyma.

 "Hi! Name's Lance," Lance said, a sparkling aura around him. 

 "Was your ship damaged in a fight?" Shiro asked, Rolo's eyes looking over at Shiro.

 "Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by," Rolo explained, glancing at [Name] and Shiro then looking at the space ship that's his. "Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago. If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I-"

 "We're happy to help, I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be fighting the Galra," Allura said, stepping forward and gesturing to the three paladins. "You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side. Plus the help with [Name]." [Name] nods her head at Rolo, he looked over at Pidge who's on Beezer and Lance who's flirting with Nyma.

 "Okay," Rolo said, tapping his finger on his arm.

 "I don't think they've heard of Voltron," [Name] whispered, glancing at Allura.

 "It has been ten thousand years," Keith said, tilting his head and looking unimpressed.

 "Voltron? Five robot lions that combine into this big robot... guy?" Lance explained, almost questioning himself and making gestures.

 "Sounds impressive. I'd love to see it," Rolo said, looking at Lance then ceasing his eyebrows. "Or him. Them."

 "Why don't we just get to work on your ship?" Hunk asked, catching everyone's attention. "I'm sure we all have places to be."

 "Sure," Rolo said, closing his eyes and smiling, opening the back of the ship. "Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot. I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything like it."
 
"I'm sure we can get you back up and running," Allura said, smiling at Rolo while Lance flexed his arm to impress Nyma and Shiro face palmed. "Give Hunk a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it."

 "Okay," Hunk mumbled, looking down.

 "We'll go with you. Don't want you to have to carry all that yourself. Come on, guys," Kye said, walking towards the ship, but Hunk placed his hand on Kye's chest to stop him.

 "Uh, I don't think so. You can just wait out here," Hunk stated, crossing his arms.

 "Hunk, don't be rude," [Name] said, crossing her arms. She doesn't have a good feeling towards Rolo and his gang at all, but she shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right? 

 "Yeah, mind your manners. There are ladies present," Lance said, winking at Nyma and Shiro sighed. "Hey." 

 "Oh, I'm sorry, but does anyone remember the last time we let our defenses down?" Hunk asked, stating a point. "Someone kind of set off a bomb? Remember, Lance? You were almost killed."

 "Oh, yeah," Lance said, looking to the side.

 "You're right, Hunk," [Name] sighed.

 "Sorry, but we have to be cautious," Shiro said, stepping forward.

 "Hey, I don't take it personal. That's how it is out here," Kye said, smiling at [Name]. Beezer printed out paper, Rolo grabbing it.

 "You've got to look out for your own. You're doing a good job, big man." Rolo handed the paper to Hunk. 

 "Yeah. Thanks," Hunk said, taking the paper and looking at it.

 "My planet was destroyed by the Galra and I was taken captive," Rolo explained, sitting on a box with a fire in the middle. "I managed to escape, but not before I lost something."

 "I'm sorry that happened," [Name] mumbles, gazing at Rolo.

 "I know exactly how that feels," Shiro said, after seeing Rolo's prosthetic leg and Allura standing next to Shiro.

 "Well, I hope there are some parts in here that'll fit," Hunk grunted, pulling a box and catchings the others' attention. "You know, to get your ship moving?"

 "Great thanks!" Kye said, smiling at Hunk.

 "So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's forces?" Allura asked, catching Rolo's attention as Pidge laughed loudly and hanging out with Beezer. "Where are they concentrated?"

 "Well, his command ship sits right in the center of the Empire. He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closet," Rolo explained, turning his head to look out. "This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak."

 "Oh, we've met him," Keith said, glaring slightly at Rolo.

 "How far are we from the center?" [Name] asked, catching Rolo's attention.

 "We're way out of the fringes," Kye explained, keeping his eyes on her.

 "Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo and Kye from working," Hunk said, walking towards Rolo from behind. "It's just that we're in a hurry. A hero named Shay saved my life, and I swore I would return to do the same for her and her people. You understand."

 "Sure. Sorry," Rolo said, standing up and patting Hunk's shoulder then walking off.

 "Hunk!" [Name] hissed, scowling at him and running off towards Rolo. "Sorry about Hunk." [Name] standing next to Rolo and Kye as they opened the box that Hunk pulled out from the Castle/ship.

 "It's fine. I understand," Rolo said, taking out a part from the box. 

 "It's all right, cutie," Kye stated, winking at [Name] and she brushed it off, but unlike two guys couldn't stop feeling a little angry.

 "Hey, bud! Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe about yay long?" Rolo asked, placing the part in the box and making a gesture of how long the pipe should be.

 "On the way," Hunk groaned, walking back towards the Castle/ship.

 "So, are there more freedom fighters?" Shiro asked, walking towards [Name], Kye and Rolo. "Any kind of organized resistance of the Galra?"

 "Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow," Rolo explained, Allura and Keith walking over.

 "We're going to change that," [Name] stated, looking up at Rolo and Kye. 

 "That's good to hear, but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. Even for a lady such as yourself," Kye said, winking at [Name]. "You don't know what you're up against." Rolo went back into the box, [Name] felt someone grab her wrist and drag her behind the ship where no one could see them.

 "I was wondering if we could talk about ourselves for a bit," Kye said, [Name] being pressed into the ship by Kye.

 "Why?" [Name] asked, feeling smaller than Kye because he's a lot taller than her. Taller than Shiro. This has never happened to her, but she hates it when Lance talks to her like this, but why does she not hate it when Kye does it? "I think I should go back..."

 "Or you could tell me more about yourself," Kye suggested, a smirk spreading on his lips. 

 [Name] stays quiet, not liking how Kye is staring down at her and she has no way of escaping due to Kye caging her against the ship. She doesn't want to be rude and throw him against the ground or anything, but she will simply have to wait for something to happen or someone to come by. 

 [Name] starts mentally screaming in her head, seeing Kye leaning closer to her face. She doesn't know what to do! If she pushes him away, will he get angry? [Name] isn't sure if he's teasing her or actually going to kiss her. She doesn't want to kiss anyone at all yet. Dating and all that other stuff never crossed her mind at all. 

 "Excuse me, pal, but I want you to move away from her now."

 Kye stops leaning and looks over his shoulder. [Name] looks over his arm to see Keith glaring harshly at Kye. Kye chuckles and drops his arms, letting them hang at his side and [Name] hurries over to Keith. "Are you her...?"

 "Yeah. I'm her boyfriend," Keith stated proudly, wrapping his arm around [Name]'s waist and pulling her close to him. [Name] blushes at the contact as she's pressed against Keith's side. "I'd appreciate it that you don't do that with her." 

 "Sure thing," Kye chuckles, nodding his head.

 Keith removes his arm from [Name]'s waist and drapes it over her shoulders. The two walk away from the side of the ship to where Shiro and Allura are. "Are you okay?" Keith whispers, glancing at [Name] for a quick second. [Name] nods her head, keeping her gaze on the floor. Allura and Shiro sent questioning gazes towards Keith and [Name], noticing his arm on her and the heavy blush on her cheeks. Keith shakes his head lightly and Shiro dismisses the gaze.

 [Name] noticed Rolo under the ship and Keith walked towards Rolo, leaning against the ship. "I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight," Rolo grunted, getting out under the ship and closing it, walking away. "Beezer, come co-pilot for me. Be back in a tick."

 "That was strange," [Name] mumbled, both Rolo, Kyeand Beezer going into the ship and the door closing. 

 "Uh..." Hunk said, lifting his glasses and the ship starts powering up.

 [Name] covering her face with her hand as the ship slowly got off the ground and dust flying everywhere. The ship used its boosters to fly off the ground and away. "What's going on?" [Name] asked, raising an eyebrow and everyone walked towards the boxes, sitting down. [Name] sits on the box, Keith standing in front of her.

 "Are you sure you're okay?" Keith asked again, staring at her in concern.

 "I'm okay, Keith. Thank you for that back there," [Name] said, looking up at Keith. 

 Keith nods his head, feeling warmth spread across his whole body. Did... Did [Name] just thank him? Yeah, he knows that she doesn't really like him, but she just thanked him! Never in a million years could he have imagine her thanking him. 

 "How many ticks have they been gone?" Pidge asked.

 "I don't know. I hope they didn't break down again," Allura said, concern lingering in her voice.

 "Something ain't right," Hunk said. 

 "Guys? Hello? Little help?" [Name] heard Lance's voice through her helmet, and Pidge jumped off the box, [Name] and Keith walking towards Shiro as Keith put on his helmet.

 "Lance? Lance! Are you all right? What's going on?" Shiro asked, putting on his helmet. 

 "Well, I'm kind of chained to a tree." 

 "I knew it!" Hunk yelled, his arms crossed and his expression turn into a scowl. 

 "And I think Nyma, Kye and Rolo just stole the Blue Lion." 

 "I knew it!" Hunk yelled, his voice turning high pitched.

 "Where are they?" [Name] hissed, clenching her hands into fists.

 "Uh, space?" 

 "Uh, I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!" Hunk yelled.

***

 "At first, it was a feeling in my gut, but when I was replacing that pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged," Hunk explained, everyone getting to their lions.

 "Okay! We get it!" Keith yelled.

 "If the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted," Hunk rambled.

 "Okay! We get it!" [Name] groaned, crossing her arms as she eyed the holographic screens.

 "We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play," Hunk yelled.

 "Okay, we get it!" Everyone yelled.

 The Lions except the Blue Lion left the castle, all of them letting out a roar and flying out of the atmosphere of the moon.

***

 "There's the ship," Pidged commented, seeing Rolo's ship up ahead and the ship flew into the an asteroid field. The Lions roared, stopping at the entrance before they all flew into the asteroid field. "We'll never get through this asteroid field!" Pidge shouted, you gritted your teeth. 

 "Maybe I can just bust through!" Hunk suggested, the Yellow Lion speeding towards an asteroid and hitting it with its back a little, but all that did was push the asteroid into another. "Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea."

 "Keith, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this," Shiro said. "We need you, buddy. Get in there and flush him out." 

 "You got it. See you on the other side," Keith said, smirking.

 The three Lions went around while the Red Lion went into the asteroid field. The Red Lion dodged the asteroids, jumping on some and boosting off, running up an asteroid and Keith locked onto Rolo's ship. [Name] notice an asteroid about to crush the Red Lion, Keith pushed one handle forward and the Red Lion boosted off the asteroid, flying above Rolo's ship as Rolo's ship dodge the asteroids. The Red Lion dived down, dodging asteroids and now right behind Rolo's ship, purple lasers shot out towards the Red Lion. 

 The Red Lion went behind an asteroid, dodging the first two, but once the Red Lion came into view, more lasers were being shot towards the Red Lion. The Red Lion went to the other side, opening its mouth and shooting out lasers towards Rolo's ship. Rolo's ship dodge the lasers, the Red Lion spun to its side and Rolo's ship flew up a big asteroid, shooting lasers at the Red Lion. The Red Lion went towards Rolo's ship and Rolo's ship turned to its side. The Red Lion almost hit the asteroid until the Red Lion used its boosters to stop itself and flew up away from the asteroid. 

 The Red Lion threw a knife like dagger towards Rolo's ship, the knife like dagger cut the laser weapons on the ship and the weapon came back towards the Red Lion. Rolo's ship went towards the open field, going to get out of the asteroid field and the Red Lion shot a laser at the ship. Rolo's other booster got destroyed and the ship spun around due to the only booster working. The Red Lion got behind the ship, using its claws to dig into the ship and Keith grunted. The Red Lion used its boosters on its hind legs to stop Rolo's ship spinning and the three other lions appeared in front of Rolo's ship, growling.

 "Yeah! Hey, Lance, I got your lion back," Keith yelled.

 "Thank you, Keith. Now, can you come and unchain me?" Lance asked

 "What's that? I, uh... You're cutting out. I can't.... I can't hear you," Keith said

 "Oh, come on! I thought we bonded.  Keith? Buddy? My man?" 

***

 "Since your ship really doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue," Keith said, [Name], Allura and the paladins staring at Rolo and his three friends as they sit on the box back on the moon.

 "Thanks for sparing our lives," Kye said, looking up and smiling at you.

 "Now that these guys are dealt with, let's get to the Balmera and save Shay and her family," Hunk said, his arms crossed and looking at everyone.

 "You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon," Rolo said, looking down and catching everyone's attention. "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today." 

 Everyone stayed quiet, watching Rolo and his gang get back onto the ship. [Name] hugs herself, letting out a sigh and she glances at Keith, but he quickly looks away. She smiles to herself, her gaze still on him. 'Maybe you aren't so bad.' 

Chapter Text

 The Castle/ship flew towards the planet, Balmera, [Name] standing away from the others, Coran standing at the front with the hologram computer. "We'll be arriving at the Balmera soon. Liberating these Balmerans from Zarkon's grasps will not be easy," Allura warned, [Name] staring at the planet with pity in her eyes.

 "So, what's the plan? We go in there and just- pow, pow, pow!" Lance shouted, making shooting gestures with his hands then placing his hand on his hip, "And free the prisoners?"

 "What the hell, Lance?" [Name] questioned, pity completely leaving her eyes and disgust flashing in them as she gazes at Lance. 

 "What was that noise?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow and staring at Lance oddly.

 "Laser guns," Lance stated, smirking at Keith.

 "No, Lance, I think you mean-" Hunk said, bending his knees and making laser firing noises. "Pow!" 

 "Technically, they're more like- ba-choo, ba-choo, ba-choo!" Pidge stated, making a shooting motion with two hands.

 "Okay, enough with the bad sound effects," Shiro demanded "Besides, it's more like- blam, blam, blam!" Shiro getting on one knee and making a shooting motion with two hands.

 "Not even, it's like pechu-pechu-pechu," [Name] suggested, her arms crossed on her chest.

 "What?" Keith asked, holding his hands out.

 "You're crazy." 

 "No way." 

 "Wrong."

 [Name] smiles to herself, liking that no one questioned her part into their conversation. Even though Keith just seems confused by everyone's jokes, but he doesn't seem to be pointing out [Name] only about the joke she also made.

 "Paladins, focus," Allura scowled, closing her eyes in annoyance.

 "Besides, we can't just shoot at the Galra. This Balmera, it's, like, alive," Hunk informed, his eyebrows ceased in worry. "And from what we've seen, it doesn't look very good."

 A holographic screen of of the planet in heat vision, only the middle red with the outline yellow, then green and blue. "Yes, it's an atrocity what the Galra have been doing to this grand beast," Coran explained, the holographic screen showing the planet's surface with a bunch of Galra stations around. "Stealing its crystals, its very life force, without ever performing the energy rejuvenation ceremonies to heal it."

 "After seeing Shay's people enslaved, it made me realize how bad Zarkon really is," Hunk confessed, looking at the Balmera planet with determination. "And we're the only ones who can stop him."

 "So, we can't be blazing guns inside the tunnels in case we injury the Balmera," [Name] stated, walking towards the group.

 "Plan B. We figure out how to draw the Galra up to the surface and battle them out there," Shiro explained, turning his head towards everyone.

 "Wait, I know. If we attack all of this big mining stuff on the surface, the Galra troops will have to come out to defend it," Hunk explained with a better idea. "Then we beat them up, head down to the tunnels, Voltron saves the day." 

 "But how will we know how many are left in the tunnels?" Keith asked, his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed.

 "We can track the Galra and Balmerans using Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology," Allura explained, a small pod egg hologram appeared in front of her.

 "Oh, BLIP tech!" Pidge shouted, fixing her glasses and staring at the BLIP tech then turning her eyes to Allura. "It's an acronym."

 "One of you will need to fly around the Balmera and drop sensors into the shafts on each side," Allura explained, ignoring Pidge's acronym and the hologram going towards the windows and expanding to the side of the Balmera. "Then we'll be able to see where the Galra and Balmerans are. There are already senors built into your suits."

 "I can do it. I just modified the Green Lion with the invisible maze's cloaking ability," Pidge explained, a wide smile on her face,."I should be able to fly around unnoticed."

 "That's their main power generator," Coran informed, a hologram screen of the generator appeared. "If you take that down, it will severely weaken their defenses."

 "We'll stay in cloud cover and give tactical support," Allura explained, a hologram of the Castle/ship appeared. "With the Castle's defenses weakened from Sendak's crystal, we won't be much help to you."

 "I'll take out the power generator. Keith, Lance, Hunk, [Name], you take out these big mining rigs around the area," Shiro ordered, looking at [Name], Keith, Lance, and Hunk.

 "Yeah! Okay, let's do this! Let's go kick some alien butt!" Hunk shouted, throwing his arms into the air and everyone staring at him. 

 
***

 [Name] stands next to Lance's side while he's in his chair and [Name] is really trying her best to ignore Lance's flirtatious winks and smiles. "You think the Balmerans will have a parade for us after we've freed everybody?" Lance asked, hearing his voice in her helmet.

 "It's not about the glory, Lance. It's about freeing prisoners from Zarkon," Keith informed, a holographic screen of Keith appearing on Lance's dashboard.

 "No, I know. I know. But still. When they-" Lance got cut off, the screen disappearing and the Lions getting launched out their hangars.

 The Lions breached through the atmosphere of the Balmera, the Galra stations started shooting at the Lions, the Lions dodged the incoming Galra symbol lasers. "This is it. Get your heads in the game. Remember, the Balmera is a living creature," Shiro warned. "Make sure you pinpoint only the Galra installations and not its surface." 

 The Lions went their separate ways, the Black Lion going towards the main generator while the Green Lion flew towards the ground, hovering above it. "Initiating cloak," Pidge informed. The Blue Lion shot lasers at the staffs of the main generator, the Yellow Lion slamming its body into the staffs. 

 "Wow..." [Name] breathed out, watching the staffs explode after getting slashed by a blade in the Black Lion's mouth. 

 "All sensors delivered!" Pidge informed.

 The Red Lion stood in front of one of the Galra laser tower, opening its mouth and shooting out fire, melting a hole through it. "Whoa! Did you guys see that? I got fire power!" Keith yelled, an exited look on his face.

 "Hey! I want that!" Lance whined, a pout on his features.

 "Oh, no!" Keith shouted, the tower falling in and falling to its side. 

 "Hey, we can't let this thing hurt the Balmera," Hunk reminded, the Yellow Lion going under the tower and holding it up before it hit the surface, the Yellow Lion using its boosters to push the tower up, but struggling.

 [Name] noticed the metal parts of the tower falling towards the ground. "I think my lions knows what to do!" Lance yelled, wanting everyone to know. The Blue Lion flew towards the tower, opening its mouth and shooting an ice beam towards the tower, freezing the whole thing and the Yellow Lion moved out the way before getting frozen. "Aw, snap! These rays are super cool, just like me!" Lance yelled excitedly, chuckling. 

 "Great job, team!" Shiro praised, the Lions resting on the ice.

 "Where are all the troops?" [Name] asked, leaning on Lance's chair a little bit. "They're not coming to the surface?"

 "Yeah, I remember seeing a lot of Galra guys down in the mines," Hunk stated, a holographic screen of Hunk appearing on Lance's dashboard. 

 "We've located a hangar full of Galra fighters just below the surface. Someone has to take those out before they can launch," Allura explained. 

 "They're luring us down, but we have no choice," Shiro stated, the Black Lion turning its head towards the Red and Blue Lions. "Keith, [Name], Lance, you guys hit the hangar. Hunk, head to the prison to rescue Shay and the other Balmerans. Pidge and I will track down the Galra soldiers."

 "Good luck, Shiro," [Name] informed, standing straight.

 "Yes, sir," Keith said, the Black Lion running down the ice with the Red and Blue Lion following. 

 "Ten-four."

 "On it!" 

 "Let's do this!" 

***

 The red and blue hover cars came to a stop, both [Name] and Lance jumping out and running towards the end of the tunnel with Keith. She never wanted to be that close with Lance since he is still on her bad side. Only a miracle could happen that will get Lance out or close enough out of her bad side.

 They crouched down, seeing the Galra ships on the ground with a purple light glass covering the ceiling. "The entire hangar's only being guarded by a few sentries," Keith informed, [Name]'s gaze is on the soldiers and Keith used his bayard sword. "Let's go!"

 "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool your jets, Keith!" Lance yelled, pulling Keith back before Keith could run off. "Don't you remember that stuff about this Balmera thing being a sensitive animal?" 

 "Oh, right," Keith said, remembering and his bayard sword disappeared into his suit.

 "We can't just blow up things like a psycho," [Name] scolded, Keith glaring harshly at her.

 "You got a better idea?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "I do! We sneak into that control room to shut down the bay doors," Lance explained, pointing towards the control room then the bay doors. "That'll trap the ships in."

 "That's..." Keith started, staring at Lance with wide eyes.

 "Actually is a decent idea," [Name] stated, staring at him with wide eyes.

 Lance smirked at [Name] and Keith, "Fallen for me yet?" [Name] only glares at him. "Never mind." They start running towards the control room with [Name] and Keith trailing behind, sneaking towards the control room.

 "No, no. It's over here," Lance whispered, pointing to his right.

 "I know what I'm doing," Keith whispered, arguing with Lance and Keith cut a circle into the ceiling with his bayard sword. Lance grunts, jumping onto the cut circle and falling through the ceiling, smashing a robot soldier.

 "Keep an eye out for those guards," [Name] ordered,  jumping into the room with Keith behind her and she stood next to Lance, Keith going towards the windows. "I'll see if I can find a way to shut the hangar doors. This is... different." Her eyes darting around the computer controls and she's not familiar with this.

 "Uh... Hmm. Nope. Maybe. Uh..." Lance muttered, looking around and [Name]'s eyes land on the red symbol on the computer. "Uh... Mm..." 

 Lance pressed 8 little things at the bottom, pressing multiple then sighing, "I don't know what I'm doing here. [Name]?"

 "Like I would and stop pressing buttons," [Name] hissed, her eyes still on the keys and Keith walks over.

 "Let me see," Keith whispered, looking around the placing his hand on the Galra symbol, the computer beeping. The bay doors closing, the doors letting out a whirring noise and [Name] and Lanced glanced at each other, looking back at Keith.

 "Whoa! How'd you do that?" Lance asked, watching the bay doors close.

 "I just put my hand on the hand print," Keith stated, looking back at the 'hand print' on the computer.

 [Name] looks at Keith, pondering how he knows that it's a 'hand print' since he didn't even know how to joke with everyone in about the noise of lasers. [Name] glanced over at Lance and he doesn't seem a bit suspicious towards Keith. How could Keith possibly know it's a hand print? 

 "Paladins, are you there? The Galra troops are moving down the tunnels. It looks like they're going down toward the center," Allura informed.

 "Why towards the center?" [Name] asked, her gaze still on Keith. 

 "They must be headed to the core. That's where they're holding Shay," Hunk explained. 

 "They're drawing us into an ambush, but we don't have a choice if we want to save Shay. We have to follow. [Name], Lance, Keith, get to the core," Shiro ordered, sounding a little panic. "I think we're going to need everyone together to get through this firefight." 

 "Copy that. We're on our way," Lance informed, the bay doors finally closing.

 [Name] and Lance stood up, Keith standing up and slashing the computer, all three  running out with [Name] in front since Lance stopped to shoot the door panel buttons. 

*** 

"Hey, team, be careful. The Balmera is very unstable," Pidge warned, [Name], Keith and Lance running down the cave tunnel.

 She skidded to a stop, seeing four soldiers and Lance suddenly pushed her away, trapping her between the wall behind her and Lance in front of her. She blushed heavily from the close contact, but it seems that Lance is too busy staring at the lasers shooting past them.

 "The shooting is destroying the Balmera! Do something!" [Name] yelled, scowling up at Lance while he turns his head towards her and the Balmera moaned, almost sounding like a whale call.

 "Well, we can't shoot back. It'll just make it worse," Lance yelled, looking at down at [Name]. The ground and cave shake, little pebbles falling onto the ground. "Hmm..." Lance hummed,  removing himself from her, growling and pointing at Keith, pointing upwards and making a sucking his teeth and pointing at the soldiers. Lance grunted, making a look at me gesture then towards the soldiers.

 "Huh?" Keith asked, shrugging his shoulders and [Name] face palmed.

 She glanced around Lance, seeing a ladder and Keith looked back at the soldiers then noticing the ladder. Keith pointed at himself with his thumb, going up the ladder and Lance looked at Keith oddly, [Name] understanding what Keith is going to do.. Lance jumps out, wiggling his arms and making taunting noises, Lance yelped, using his blue hologram shield to protect himself from the lasers the soldiers shot at him. 

 Keith grunted, a shocking noise follow after and the firing stopped. [Name] comes out of hiding, standing next to Lance and he flashed Keith a thumbs up. 

 Once they walked in, the doors behind them closed and [Name]'s eyes widening. "Not an ambush. More like a trap," Hunk stated, Keith suddenly picking [Name] up bridal and used his booster pack to glide towards the bottom floor close to the 'heart' of the Balmera.

 "Whatever it is keep your guard up," Keith warned, continuing to hold [Name] in his arms after landing.

 "P-Put me down," [Name] growled, a blush coating her cheeks. Keith did as he's been told, not wanting to make her upset. 

 "The Galra, they gained knowledge that you would return to the Balmera," Shay explained, looking up as Pidge and Shiro glided towards the ground.

 "How?" Pidge asked, catching Shay's attention.

 "I know not," Shay confessed, looking down.  "But they set this trap just for you. I was the bait."

 "Who could have known that we're heading here to save you?" [Name] questioned, gaining her composure.

 "Rolo and Kye! Those liars must have told Zarkon," Hunk accused, a scowl forms on [Name]'s face while a growl comes Keith when Kye's name is mentioned. 

 "We have to figure out how to get out of here," Shiro stated, looking around.

 "Wait! We have a giant Castle ship hovering in the sky," Lance reminded, everyone looking at him. "Allura, can you please come get us?"

 "How do you expect her to do that, genius?" Keith asked, his arms crossed.

 "I don't know, maybe they got teleporters or something," Lance suggested, glaring at Keith. 

 "We're quite occupied at the moment," Allura explained, you heard her grunt. "We're completely surrounded by Galra ships and we're taking heavy fire! Paladins, you need to get out of there as soon as you can!" 

 "This is it! We're going to die in here. I can say bye-bye to that parade," Lance whined, hanging his head and Shiro glared at him.

 "Get it together, guys. Allura, we'll get there as soon as we can," Shiro sighed, his eyes closed in annoyance.

 "Perhaps my people can help us get out," Shay informed, everyone looking towards her then placing her hand on the core of the Balmera. "This is how we communicate. The Balmera senses our vibrations and sends a message to those in the tunnels." 

 "Are you sure someone will be able to hear your... hand from all the way down here?" Keith asked, looking at Shay with uncertain.

 "The Balmera will deliver the message," Shay explained, closing her eyes and hanging her head a little.

 The Balmera moan softly, the spot where Shay's hand is glow lightly and [Name] walked over to Shay, staring at the glow with amazement in her eyes. "Paladins, the lions are in danger! You must get back to them immediately!" Allura warned, she emphasized the word immediately. "Paladins, do you copy? There's a battle cruiser locked onto us. If it fires with its ion cannon, I don't know if we can survive."

 "We're trying, Allura," Lance said, his hand behind his head. "Shay's pressing her hand against a wall, which apparently sends vibrations to the other rock people, who vibrate back or something? Hand talking? I guess the answer to your question is, "Yes, we copy.""

 "Shay, are you sure the Balmera is sending your message?" Shiro asked, but Shay didn't answer and only scrunched her eyebrows. The Balmera moan again and [Name] hesitantly puts her hand near Shay's. [Name] felt a small connection, but it disappeared when she removed her hand. Everyone gasped, hearing something crash and everyone looked towards the noise, seeing dust. Once the dust cleared, rock people walked into the center. 

 "Rax!" Shay shouted.

 "We must make haste. We know a shortcut through the tunnels," Rax said, his eyebrows ceased in worry.

 "Allura, stand by. We're on our way up," Shiro informed, everyone jogging towards the opening the rock people created by the help of the Balmera.

***

 "Paladins, hurry! They're taking off with the lions!" Allura shouted, [Name] and Lance entering the Blue Lion through the chest. Lance jumping into the seat, [Name] standing next to the seat and glanced at the Red Lion, seeing the yellow eyes shine, indicating that he's inside. 

 "Guys, did everyone make it to the lions in time?" Shiro asked.

 The Red and Red Lion flew out the hole, flying next to the Black Lion as the Green and Yellow Lion joined. "Come on, Shiro," Lance joked, [Name] can see the smirk on his features. "Who do you think you're dealing with, a bunch of amateurs?" The Lions except the Blue Lion flew away from the incoming Galra tower, flying into it and Lance yelped. 

 "You really want me to answer that?" Shiro asked, emphasizing the really.  

 "No."

 [Name] laughs quietly to herself and she covered her mouth, not wanting Lance to see or hear her laugh. She does notice the small smile on his face, but assume it's nothing.

 "Let's go!" Shiro shouted, the Lions using their boosters and the fleet of Galra ships shot lasers towards the lions.

 The Red Lion opened its mouth, shooting out a laser with the Green and Blue Lion doing the same, the Yellow Lion, of course, ram its body into a ship and destroyed it, catching one in its mouth then throwing it. The Black Lion slashed four ships with his jaw weapon, a bunch of explosions ringing out from the damage the lions are doing. More ships from the Galra broke through the atmosphere, the Red Lion shooting a fire beam with the Blue Lion shooting an ice beam. 

 The fire beam melting half of the ships wings while the ice beam freezing half of the ships wings, all of them exploding with the Yellow Lion flying through the explosion. The Yellow Lion bit down one of the ships, flying into a line and more ships piling on the ship in the Lion's mouth, the Yellow Lion throwing it and the ships exploded. The Yellow Lion looked up, seeing three ships coming towards it and firing lasers. 

 "Hunk, watch out!" Pidge shouted, the Green Lion shielding above the Yellow Lion and the Green Lion's shield on its back protecting itself and the Yellow Lion. 

 "Got you covered!" Shiro yelled, slicing the ships with his jaw weapon. 

 "Phew! Thanks, guys!" Hunk said, sighing in relief.

 "Paladins, I need you immediately! Five more ticks and we're finished!" Allura yelled, a panic tone in her voice. 

 "Okay, team, let's form Voltron!" Shiro ordered.

 "Yeah!"

 The Black Lion roared, flying into the atmosphere and the Lions formed Voltron, Voltron flying out the atmosphere and into space. Voltron flew towards the battleship, many small Galra ships around it and Voltron flew under the battleship. Voltron pushed against the nose of the ship, everyone letting out a yell except you and the ion cannon to go above the Castle/ship, the ion cannon stopped.

 [Name] has never been inside one of the lions to know what it's like to be near Voltron. She's always been in the Castle and always helped with their battles, watching their vitals, system, and power, but now it's just feels odd to her. Perhaps next time, she'll be with Shiro and see what it's like to be the head of Voltron.

 Voltron moved out the way, seeing the blue laser beam come towards the ship and go right through, the whole battleship exploding, everything getting engulfed by the bright light and all the smaller ships exploded.

 "Yeah!" Keith and Hunk cheered. 

 "Nice shot, Princess!" [Name] said, smiling in approval. 

 "Yeah! The parade's back on!" Lance yelled.

 Voltron landed on the surface of the Balmera, the Castle/ship breaking through the atmosphere. "Mission accomplished." Keith said, a wide smirk on his face. 

 "And just in the tick of time," Allura added. "The Castle's defenses are battered and will need to fully recharge. Huh?" [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing an object break through the atmosphere and come crashing down into the surface of the Balmera, a big explosion coming when the object made contact with the ground, dust flying by Voltron. 

 "What the heck is that?" Lance asked, [Name] staring at the object with horror and concern swimming in her eyes. 

 "Trouble," Shiro stated, a worry tone in his voice.

Chapter Text

"Oh, no!" Pidge yelled, [Name]'s eyes staring at the giant carrier ship.

 "Please tell me there's not a giant monster in there," Hunk pleaded. "Please tell me it's empty! Or full of space candy! One of those two. Either one is fine."

 "I don't think it's a pinata, Hunk," Lance stated, [Name] rolled her eyes.

 "If it's the same kind of monster that attacked us on Arus, we already know how to beat it," Keith said.

 The Green and Red lion/head came together, a sword unsheathed from the Red arm/lion and the shield appearing in front of the Green arm/lion. "Hold your ground!" Shiro warned.

 "Why would Zarkon send a monster that we already know how to defeat!" [Name] hissed, narrowing her eyes at the carrier ship and waiting for the doors to reveal the monster. She watched the monster, trying to figure out any physical weakness.

 "That is pretty logical," Keith muttered, his eyes widening a laser be powered up from the green light in the middle of the monster's chest. The monster shot out a green hyper beam, Voltron using the shield and being pushed back. 

 "It's not candy!" Hunk whined. 

 "And it's not the same monster! [Name]'s right!" Lance said.

 Shiro grunted, Voltron moving to the side to avoid the laser beam. "We need to draw its fire away from the Balmera's surface!" Shiro informed, Voltron moving to the other side and using its boosters. 

 The monster stopped the beam, floating into the air and shooting another beam towards Voltron, Voltron put the shield in front of it to shield itself. Everyone groaning from the sudden pressure and Voltron moved to the side, dodging another beam. The monster shot another beam, Voltron moving in a circling around and coming towards the monster. The monster stopped the beam, Voltron standing in front of it and going to slash it with the sword, but the monster ducked down and moved behind Voltron. The monster shot out a beam from its robotic eye, Voltron turning around and getting hit in the side, almost falling towards the ground until it used its boosters. 

 Voltron moved to the side, avoiding a beam then into the air and avoiding another beam, flying away from the monster. Voltron turned around as it landed on the ground, shielding itself from another green beam from the monster and getting pushed back a little. 

 "Voltron can't hold on longer!" [Name] warned, her eyes scanning the vitals of the Blue Lion. 

 "My lion is weakening! If the shield sustains structural damage, we're done for!" Pidge explained.

 "Pidge is right!" Keith yelled, his eyebrows furrowed. 

 "Oh, Pidge is right," Lance scoffed, knowing that [Name] said they couldn't hold out longer.

 "Lance, watch your footing!" Keith yelled, Voltron falling back and the shield parting into two and everyone groaned. [Name] gripped onto Lance's chair, not wanting to fall back and hurt herself from falling.

 "Okay, Team Voltron, disband!" Shiro ordered, Voltron disbanding. "Everyone, evasive maneuvers! It can't shoot all of us at once!" 

 The monster opened out its arms, multiple lasers shooting out and [Name] clenched her jaw, feeling helpless since she can't help them figure out how to destroy the monster. "Unfair...." She mumbled, biting her lip.

 The Lions dodged all the green beams from the monster, the lasers stopping as soon as the monster got shot. The monster turned its robotic eye towards the Castle/ship with the particle barrier on, shooting a beam towards it. 

 "Keith, try to draw its fire!" Shiro yelled. "I'm coming in from above!" 

 "Roger!" Keith said, the Red Lion flying towards the monster from the side, shooting out its fire beam. 

 The monster turned towards the Red Lion, aiming all the green beams towards the Red Lion and the Lion dodging them all, the Black Lion flying downwards towards the monster. The Black Lion opened its mouth, powering up a laser and the monster turned its robotic eye towards the Black Lion, shooting a beam towards the Black Lion, but luckily, Shiro dodged the beam. 

 "I'm trying to figure out any weak points, but I can't think of anything," [Name] informed, crossing her arms. 

 "I don't think this thing has a blind spot. It has a thousand eyes," Pidge said. 

 "Laser eyes. Laser eyes!" Hunk warned. 

 "What do we do? Fighting this thing is like fighting an entire fleet at once!" Pidge explained. 

 "I think we've got to aim for those laser eyes and take them out," Keith guessed, his eyebrows furrowed. 

 "Do whatever you can," [Name] said.

 "We'll cover you from up here!" Allura yelled, the Castle/ship shooting lasers at the monster.

 The monster turned around, opening its arms out and shooting a beam out its chest then out its arms. A gasp escapes [Name]'s lips as she watches the lasers coming towards the Castle/Ship. "They're taking heavy fire!" [Name] yelled, seeing the lasers hit the particle barrier. 

 "Pull back! Get out of its range, now!" Shiro ordered. 

 "We will not abandon you!" Allura insisted, emphasizing the not. 

 "You're not abandoning us. We're about to pull back anyway," Shiro explained. 

 "We are?" Hunk asked, sounding surprised.

 "We can't hold out. We have to," Shiro explained. "Lions, to the mine shafts! It's the only place the monster can't get us." 

 "Roger that!" Pidge yelled.

 "Heading into orbit!" Allura informed, the Castle going back into atmosphere without the barrier on.

 [Name] and Lance left the Blue Lion, watching Pidge exit the Green Lion. [Name] runs the image of the monster through her head, trying to figure out what to do. She bits her lip in worry, knowing that there might be a sign that she possibly missed from the monster. 

 A hand is placed on her shoulder, snatching her out her thoughts. “Are you okay?” Lance asked, staring at her in concern. 

 [Name] nods her head. “Yeah. Just trying to figure out how to take the monster down.”

 “I’m sure there’s a way,” Lance said, smiling at [Name].

 [Name] and the others gasped, feeling the ground shake and [Name] accidentally held onto Lance’s arm, the Balmera moaning softly. "Did you guys feel that over there?" Hunk asked.

 "Yeah, we feel it," Lance said, the ground still shaking. 

 "It's that sound again. What is that?" Pidge asked.

 “That great noise comes from the Balmera itself," Rax explained. "Our home crumbles beneath our feet. The Balmera is dying."

 "Coran, Allura, are you there?" Shiro asked. 

 "Shiro, we're here," Allura said, conforming.

 "We already know," Coran stated. “Our scanners are showing the life energy draining from the Balmera." 

 “How does that happen?" [Name] asked, the shaking stopped and Pidge showed a hologram from her wrist of the planet.

 "Removing crystals from a Balmera is like removing a vital part of the mighty beast," Coran explained, everyone staring at the heat hologram screen of the Balmera. “The Balmera needs time to regenerate itself to stay healthy, but the Galra greed may have cost this noble Balmera its life." 

 "So, what's going to happen?" Hunk asked.

 "Its core will collapse, destabilizing the entire skeletal structure. Anything or anyone remaining on the Balmera at that point will be crushed into dust," Coran explained, the blue part of the Balmera holographic screen appearing out Pidge’s wrist.

 "How long before its core collapses?" Shiro asked. 

 "Probably a matter of hours," Coran informed, [Name]’s eyes furrowed into worry. Not only do they have to worry about the monster, but the Balmera too. “The mighty organism willingly gives itself to all, but not all return its kindness."

 "Then our time is short. We'll evacuate the planet," Allura explained. "We need to get all the Balmerans to the Castle of Lions before the planet implodes." 

 "Okay, that sounds like a good plan, but how on earth do you plan on landing the Castle with that monster-thingy on the surface?" Hunk questioned. 

 "You'll need a distraction," [Name] stated, staring at the hologram of Hunk on Pidge’s wrist. “The others can engage the monster in the lions.” 

 “With it distracted, Allura and Coran will land the Castle and load all of its citizens," Shiro explained. 

 "Or~ we could load Balmerans into our lions a few at a time and shuttle them to the ship," Lance suggested, putting his face near [Name]’s. "You know, no engaging ferocious laser-eye guy. How long would that take?" 

 "Days? Weeks?" Coran asked, but the question sounding more like an answer.

 "We only have hours," Keith stated, appearing on the screen.

 “Look, we don't need to beat this thing," Shiro said, Shiro appearing on the screen after Keith. "We just need to bait it away from the ship. Provoke and evade."

 "Okay, here's the thing. I'm worried that we're going to be really, really good at the provoking part, and then, like, really bad at the evading part," Hunk confessed. "But if this is what it takes to save Shay and everyone on the planet, then I'm in."

 “Can you contact the other Balmerans?" Keith asked.

 "I can, but I know not what they'll say. Leave the planet? Our home?" [Name] heard Shay ask. 

 “It's the only option. I'm coming down," Allura stated. 

 "Princess, no! It's too dangerous!" Coran pleaded.

 "Someone has to be there to lead these people out," Allura said.

 “You're coming down? That thing will spot your pod and blow it to pieces," Pidge warned/explain. 

 "Let me worry about that," Allura said, her eyebrows furrowed in determination. “You just focus on keeping the creature distracted."

***

 The Yellow, Black, and Red Lion flew out the mines, shooting the creature and flying away, dodging the lasers. The monster used its boosters to catch up towards the Lions, shooting more beams.

 "Okay, we're provoked. Time to evade!" Hunk yelled. 

 The Lion flying at a high pace and the monster chasing after them. "Princess, we've lured the monster away. It's time," Shiro informed. 

 “I'll contact you all when I'm on the ground," Allura said. [Name] notice the pod breaking through the atmosphere, the Lions turning their head towards the pod. 

 "Is that Allura?" Lance asked, the monster turned its robotic eye towards the pod.

 "Protect Allura!" [Name] screamed.

  The Yellow Lion flying downwards and getting in the view of the beam, and getting hit. The Black Lion pounced on the monster's back, jumping off and flying away, the Blue Lion shooting an ice beam in the monster's face. The monster shot the ground to destroy the ice off its face, shooting a beam towards the Red Lion and the Red Lion dodged.

 "I'm on the ground!" Allura informed. 

 "Hurry! I don't know how long we can hold this thing off," Shiro explained, the Red Lion dodging, twisting and moving to the side to avoid the lasers. 

 "Paladins, how are you holding up?" Coran asked.

 [Name] groaned from the sudden shift of the Blue Lion. She gripped onto Lance’s chair and he looks at her in concern. She gives him a small smile of reassurance to put his worries to ease.

 “I think we've got him pretty distracted. Are the Balmerans in position?" Keith asked, circling around the monster and avoiding the beams.

 "They're making their way to the top," Allura explained.

 TheLions dodging the lasers and firing back once in a while. The Castle/ship slowly breaking through the atmosphere, landing near a mine and finally landing on the ground. The Lions flew together, the beams hitting the ground and the Lions turned.

 "Every hit weakens the Balmera. Have you evacuated yet? What's happening?" Hunk asked. 

 “The Balmerans are trapped. Just keep distracting that beast!" Coran explained. 

 "Uh, do you want us to distract it by dying? Because that's what's going to happen!" Hunk shouted.

 “No need for sarcasm, Hunk!” [Name] hissed.

 "Guys, remember I said we didn't have to beat it?" Shiro asked. 

 "Yes, I remember that," Hunk answered.

 "We might have to beat it," Shiro confessed.

 “I don’t know how you could. I’ve tried thinking of possible ways, but I can’t seem  to find the weakness to the monster,” [Name] informed, letting out a defeated sigh.

 “There’s no need, [Name]. Believe in us,” Shiro suggested, earning a blush from her that he couldn’t see. Lance did notice the color to her cheeks though.

 The Lions flew into the air, dodging the lasers and you glanced at the Castle/ship, seeing a bright blue light underneath it. The Black and Red Lion flew past the monster, the Blue Lion flying in front while the Yellow and Green Lion flew passed its sides. The monster spun in a circle slowly, hitting the Yellow Lion and the Red Lion getting hit. 

 "Guys, this isn't working. We'll never take this beast down in our lions," Keith stated, his eyebrows furrowed and glancing to his side. 

 “Well, forming Voltron didn't work, either," Pidge added.

 “Not without some way to shoot all those laser eyes at once," Lance said. 

 "That's weird. What are you trying to tell me? Guys! Guys, something happening here! I-I think there's a way to take down all those laser eyes at once," Hunk explained, sounding a little confused.

 “What is it?" [Name] questioned, her eyes glancing towards the Yellow Lion. 

 “Do you remember how Voltron formed that sword with Keith's bayard? I think my lion's telling me I can do the same thing with my bayard," Hunk explained.

 “Are you sure?" Keith asked, raising his eyebrow.

 "Let's find out. Form thingy! I didn't work!" Hunk yelled. 

 "Because we didn't form Voltron yet," Shiro stated, you chuckled quietly to yourself.

 “Oh, right. Yeah, I know," Hunk said. 

 “Guys, whatever we're planning, let's hurry up and do it," Pidge said, the Red Lion dodged a beam that almost hit its face.

 The monster notice the Castle behind it, it turned around and opened out its arms, [Name]’s eyes widen and a gasp escaped her lips. "Defend the Castle!” [Name] warmed, staring at the Castle in worry. 

 "Everyone, follow me. Form Voltron!" Shiro ordered.

 The Lions flying into the atmosphere and forming Voltron. Voltron shot a beam towards the monster before the monster could fire a powered up energy ball, Voltron landed in front of the Castle, but far away. A heavy gun appearing on its shoulder, the monster fired up a beam with its laser eyes and Voltron fired the beam. The two laser beams clashed against each other, but the monster's beam slowly came towards Voltron.

 "It's not enough!" Shiro yelled, everyone grunting and [Name]’s eyes locked onto the beam, seeing the beam overpower Voltron's beam and get closer. 

 "We'll have to try something else!" Hunk yelled.

 Voltron moving to the side a little and the monster's laser beam just barely, just barely missed the Castle and went into the atmosphere. The weapon disappeared, Voltron moving to the side to avoid the lasers from the monster, flying into the air and avoiding the lasers, but getting hit in the Red Lion/arm. 

 "Are you guys seeing this?" Hunk asked, a zoomed in screen of the monster appeared on Keith's dashboard and making beeping noises as it locked onto the monster laser eyes.

 "Roger that!" Keith said, looking at his dashboard.

 "Let's see that this thing can do. Engage!" Shiro ordered.

 The heavy weapon appeared on Voltron's shoulder and shot out multiple, multiple lasers out towards the monster. 

 The monster stepped back as it got hit with the lasers, the last laser making the monster kneel down and its arms shock with purple electric shocks. Voltron slowly glided towards the ground as the surface of the planet turned a bright blue.

 [Name]’s eyes widen, feeling a sudden force towards the blue light. For some reason, she feels some sort of connection. She noticed it when she touched the walls of the Balmera. As if she can also do what Shay can do. 

 "Guys, look!" Shiro said.

 The blue light disappeared, Voltron landing on the ground and the monster snarled, standing up and powering up a laser from its chest. Voltron flew to the side, avoiding the laser, but the laser followed after Voltron and Voltron flew into the air.

 The monster shot out another laser from its chest, Voltron flying downwards towards the ground and coming towards the monster, still dodging the beam from its chest. Voltron punched the monster with its Red head/Lion/arm. The monster getting pushed back, falling towards the ground and the lights turned off, [Name] smiled.

 Voltron disbanded, the Lions staring down at Allura, Coran, and the Balmerans. The Lions land on the ground, [Name] walked out the Blue Lion with Lance and towards Allura and Shay with the Paladins.

 “Look at the crystals!" Allura said, a wide smile on her face.

 “Oh, who's a good Balmera? You are. Who are the big monster? You did," Hunk said, praising the planet on his knees and rubbing the surface as [Name], Keith, Lance, and Shiro watched. Yes, you did. Yes, you did."

 "Dude, what are you doing?" Keith asked, raising his eyebrow at Hunk's antics.

 "What? It's alive, and it wuvs my scwatches," Hunk chuckled, continuing his actions and Keith face palmed. 

***

 “Didn’t I tell you to believe in us?” Shiro joked, walking to [Name]’s side. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Have more faith in us.”

 “I do, Shiro. I just wanted to help you guys,” [Name] confessed, looking down at the ground. 

 Shiro smiles to himself, a chuckle rumbling from his chest. He removed his hand from her shoulder and put it under her chin, lifting her head to meet his gaze. “You are helping us. You’ve always have been.” 

 Shiro drops his hand from her chin and she gives him a tiny smile. She appreciated his words. Perhaps she should stop holding a grudge against the others.

 [Name] Paladins stood behind them, the ground started to shake and Keith suddenly pushed [Name] behind him and Shiro, everyone watching the monster get up again.

 “No!" Allura gasped, the monster powered up a laser from its chest.

 [Name]’s eyes widen, staring up at the monster with fear in her eyes. She watched the monster between Keith’s and Shiro’s shoulders, knowing that the Paladins aren’t prepared for another fight. The Balmera started moaning and [Name] felt that sudden tug within her. Crystals engulf the monster from the feet up. The monster stopped the laser, looking down and a crystal grew out its chest, the monster letting out a loud snarl as its body got fully engulfed into crystals. 

 “Amazing,” [Name] breathed out, that feeling disappearing from her body.

 "No way," Hunk breathed out, his eyes widen.

 “The Balmera just saved us," Coran explained, smiling up at the giant crystal.

Chapter Text

  Standing in the detainment room with the Paladins, [Name] watches Coran place a device on the pod that's holding Sendak, hearing the beeping. "Okay, guys, Sendak's almost all hooked up. But, look, I have to warn you," Coran explained, looking at a hologram screen in front of a small containment pod. "This technology was used to keep Altean memories alive, not to interrogate prisoners."

 "Coran, we understand this isn't what the technology was meant for, but if we can extract Sendak's memories, we may gain valuable intelligence on Zarkon's troop locations," [Name] spoke up, standing next to Shiro.

 "Yeah, and we can just be like, "Knock-knock." "Who's there?" "The avenging fury of Voltron, son!"" Lance exclaimed, making gestures.

 "Fascinating. So, how exactly does this work?" Pidge asked, looking into the small containment pod that's going to hold Sendak's memories.

 "As the memories are extracted, they're written bit by bit on individual molecules of the micro-storage strands," Coran explained, typing a few things on the hologram computer.

 "When I go, I want all the stuff in my brain stored into a giant ship," Lance said, his arms crossed with a smile on his face.

 "The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane," Keith replied sarcastically, glancing at Lance from the side of his eye. 

 [Name] chuckled quietly while gazing at the two boys and Shiro only let out a sigh at their stupid fighting.

  "Oh, yeah? Well, the amount of information, you have, Keith, could be..." Lance yelled, glaring at Keith and trailing off.

 "Yeah?" Keith asked, scrunching his eyebrows and slightly glaring at Lance.

 "Uh... it's less than what I have!" Lance exclaimed, smirking proudly and crossing his arms.

 "Oh, good one, Lance!" Hunk praised, Keith rolled his eyes.

 [Name] noticed Shiro face palmed and she crossed her arms, ceasing her chuckling.

"This is how you incorporated King Alfor's memories into the Castle of Lions?" Pidge asked, looking around the small pod and Shiro let out a sigh.

 "Precisely, but it's never been attempted before on an unwillingly participant," Coran explained, typing away on the holographic computer then making it disappear, he and Pidge stepped back. A small light form from the top of the small pod from the inside.

 "Uh, is this what's supposed to be happening?" Hunk asked, staring at the pod.

 "Let's give it some time," Shiro said. 

 Everyone stared at the pod, Lance and Hunk letting out a sigh.  Hunk started to snore while [Name] kept her eyes trained on the pod. Shiro standing in front of the pod that Sendak's in. Pidge's head hung a little and her eyes probably closed while Lance leaned forward with his eyes squinted. [Name] noticed a movement on her side and she noticed Hunk on the floor.

 After some time, Keith leaned against a pod while [Name] sat on the floor with her back against an empty pod. Lance and Hunk sitting on the floor while Shiro still stood in front of Sendak's pod and Coran looked at the small containment pod and Pidge stared at the pod that Sendak is in.

 "Well, I can't wait around anymore. I'm going to hit the training deck," Keith said. 

 Some more time passes and [Name] is still leaning against the pod that's empty. Coran is checking to see if it's clean while Pidge and Hunk are on the floor. Lance is staring directly at Shiro's face while Shiro continues to stare at Sendak.

 "Okay, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the lab," Pidge announced, standing up. "Maybe I can pull information from Sendak's Galra crystal."

 Time passes again, but this time, Lance is doing some stupid exercise thing with his legs moving in the air. Coran and Shiro are staring at the pod, but the only two people who haven't moved is Shiro and [Name]. Hunk is just sitting on the floor.

 "Time to feed the best. I'm going to go make some breakfast," Hunk informed, standing up from his spot.

 Coran stretches his arms. "Well, I'm afraid I can't wait here any longer, either," Coran said, Lance and [Name] standing up from their spots. "I have a million duties to attend to. Between that Galra crystal infecting our system, and then fighting off those ships and performing the Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony, the old Castle of Lions has taken a beating. Every system needs to be recharged and repaired."

 "I'll help you, Coran," [Name] said, earning a grateful smile from the old man.

 "I'll stay. Somewhere in Sendak's mind is information about Zarkon that we need," Shiro said, never taking his eyes off the pod.

 "Let's just hope you don't fall in love with him because you haven't looked away from Sendak since he's been in the pod," [Name] joked, crossing her arms.

 "Okay, well, while you guys do that, I think I'm gonna get my chill on," Lance said, cracking his back. "Maybe kick back with a lemonade or space juice. Something."

 "Hold on there, space juice. You'er going to come and help us," Coran stated, his hands on his hips.

 Lance turns around, looking slightly annoyed which [Name] enjoys. "What? Why? Why me? You already have [Name]."

 "Because you're the last one here and because your activity isn't very important," Coran explained, walking past Lance. [Name] walks past Lance and she sticks her tongue out at him.

 Lance watches [Name]'s back even though his statement is more towards Coran. "Wait, did I say 'chill with a good lemonade'? I mean I gotta do homework."

 "Nope."

 "Fine," Lance groaned, following after [Name] and Coran. "Let us know if anything happens." [Name] looks over her shoulder to see Lance stopping in his tracks and she looks over to Shiro. "Shiro?"

 "You got it," Shiro said. 

 Lance follows after [Name] and Coran. Lance walks right next to [Name] and she glances in his direction, but she quickly looks away. Lance keeps glancing at her though, a smile on his face as he gets to spend alone time with her, but Coran is there. But he's happy about being with [Name].

***

 "Since when did 'you sleep in it, you clean it' become a Voltron rule?" Lance asked, letting out a groan as he's cleaning the pod that he slept in. "Also, how is it these pods have the ability to heal a human from near death, but don't have the ability to clean themselves?" 

 "Shut up and clean the pods," [Name] hissed, cleaning the pod next to Lance's.

 Coran laughs, cleaning the pod opposite from Lance. "Self-cleaning pods. Now, that's a good one!" The pod that Coran was cleaning goes away and he moves onto the next one. "This kind of reminds me of my time as a young cadet. I had just enlisted in the Altean space squad areonautics sub-tech nano-weaponry unit, and I was sent off to boot camp. Our sergeant had us cleaning cryo-pods day and night." 

 [Name] walks over to Lance, checking the pod. "Hey Lance, you missed that side."

 "Wanna help me?" Lance questioned, earning an eye roll from [Name].

 She steps inside and cleans the side that Lance didn't get while Lance gets the other side. The two of them squished inside the pod, cleaning the sides.

 Coran continues with his story. "I got so good at it, I earned my first set of stripes!"

 Lance lets out a scream and [Name] looks over her shoulder to see that the pod closed. "Lance, did you close it!" 

 "No, I didn't!" Lance turns around and starts banging on the pod door. "Coran! Hey!" Coran didn't seem to hear Lance so [Name] joined Lance on hitting the pod door. "Hey!!"

 "Oh, those were the days." 

 [Name] and Lance eyes widen, watching the pod disappear down the floor. [Name] started to breathe heavy while her eyes darted around in the dark space. "Lance!" 

 "I'm right here!" Lance said, placing his hand on [Name]'s shoulder which caused her to flinch. "What's happening?"

 [Name] unconsciously moves closer to Lance, her eyes not being able to adjust to the darkness in the pod. Lance, who knows that [Name] moved closer, puts his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know, Lance, but I need to get out the pod. Like right now." [Name] felt a chill run down her spine. "Hey, is it me or is it getting colder."

 "It is!" Lance yelled, pulling [Name] closer to him to get warmer. [Name] didn't complain because she's shivering and trembling from the cold. 

 Suddenly, the pods moves up and light is shining into the pod. Coran's eyes widen, seeing Lance back hugging [Name], but what's different about them is that they're both blue. Coran opens the pod door, [Name] and Lance walking out together.

 "This pod just shut on us and locked us in while you were rambling on about boot camp!" Lance snapped, him and [Name] shivering, but not moving away from each other.

 "You sure you didn't just trip and fall in? No judgement. It happens," Coran suggested, looking at Lance and [Name] oddly. "Besides, why would the pod automatically lock and start the cryogenic freezing process?" 

 [Name] moves away from Lance and he bends down to grab his jacket. He throws his jacket onto [Name] and she nods at him in a thank you kind of way. "To kill us!" [Name] yelled, putting on Lance's jacket.

 "Don't get your boots in a bunch. My guess is they're malfunctioning," Coran said, crossing his arms.

 Lance scowls lightly. "Okay, I'm gonna float this out here. I think this castle is haunted."

 "The ship might seem like a fantastical, magical creature to you, but it's really just a big embodiment of advanced supernatural technology that cannot be explained by science alone," Coran explained, [Name] warming up a little bit while Lance raises his eyebrow. "Well, that does make it seem a bit haunted, doesn't it? But it's not. Trust me, nothing out of the ordinary is happening here." Coran walks out the room, leaving [Name] and Lance.

 The ship starts to make some noise, causing [Name] and Lance to huddle closer. The pod behind them lets out a noise, scaring [Name] and she screams, running out the room with Lance calling her name. He hurries after her, not wanting to be in the room anymore. [Name] lets out a sigh as she leaves the room, stopping in her tracks.

 "I'm sorry about that, Lance," [Name] said, hugging herself.

 Lance shakes his head. "No. I would have done the same."

 [Name] gives him a smile and the two start walking down the hallway, but Lance suddenly stops. [Name] looks at him then follows his line of sight, but immediately regretting it because the lights are shutting down one by one. [Name] quickly hugs Lance, her legs trembling beneath her and Lance wraps his arms around her, him as well scared of what could be in the dark.

 At the end of the hallway, one of the lights flicker. [Name] speaks up first. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing."

 "Yes, I'm seeing what you're seeing," Lance whispered, but a figure at the hallway flickers which gets a gasp from [Name]. "Coran, is that you? Okay, stop messing with us, guys. This isn't funny."

 "Help! Help!"

 "Coran?" [Name] asked, walking towards the darkness. Lance quickly grabs her hand, stopping her in her tracks. "Lance, it's Coran. We have to help him." 

 Lance lets out a sigh, running towards the darkness while holding [Name]'s hand. The two turn a corner, but down the hallway is still darkness and [Name] seems a blinking red light. Coran is still calling out for help.

 "I'm trapped in the airlock."

 "We're coming!" Lance said, him and [Name] running towards the airlock.

 [Name] and Lance step into the airlock, but they notice that Coran isn't in there. [Name] steps towards Lance, her eyes looking around and not seeing Coran at all. "Lance, I don't like this."

 The door behind them closed and [Name] clutched onto Lance's arm, but since Lance doesn't have his jacket on, he could feel [Name]'s nails lightly digging into his skin. Lance, not wanting to be scared or seem scared, decides to speak up. "Okay, ha-ha. Good joke. You guys got me. Nice."

 "I don't think this is a joke, Lance," [Name] whispered.

 "Airlock opening in 30 ticks."

 "Okay, joke's over! You got me!" Lance said, his eyes looking around.

 "...29, 28, 27..."

 "Guys! Guys, help!" [Name] screamed, hitting the door with her fists.

 Lance joins her, screaming for help with her as well. [Name]'s legs don't stop trembling while she desperately hopes that someone or anyone would come by and open the door. When the countdown ends, her and Lance will be sucked out into space and possibly be killed by the lack of oxygen.

 [Name] and Lance continued to scream help, the AI's voice continuing to count down. [Name] bangs on the door harder, while Lance looks around for anyone that's near.

 "....12, 11, 10...9, 8, 7..."

 [Name]'s eyes widen in hope, seeing Keith battling a robot gladiator. Keith is kicked by the gladiator and he slides across the floor unlit his back hits the airlock door.

 "Keith!" [Name] and Lance scream, the countdown still continuing.

 "...6, 5..."

 "What are you doing in there?" Keith shouted, looking at [Name] and Lance.

 "Watch out!" [Name] screamed, pointing at the incoming gladiator.

 "We need help! Because if you don't get us out of here right now, we're going to be sucked out into space!" Lance yelled, Keith dodging the gladiator.

 "Doors opening."

 The doors opened, Lance running towards somewhere with [Name] right behind him. "We're getting sucked into space!" Lance quickly grabs [Name] before she could actually be sucked into space while Lance grabs hold of something with one hand. Lance and [Name] letting out screams and it's a miracle that Lance is still holding on with one hand. 

The doors opened, the Gladiator getting sucked out into space and Lance and [Name] still screaming. [Name] climbs up Lance, Lance letting go of her hand knowing that she has a firm hold on his shoulders. Lance holds one hand out"Keith! Keith, come on!" Keith pulling Lance and [Name] out. 

 Keith closes the door while Lance and [Name] are sitting on the floor. [Name] and the two boys pant heavily, [Name] putting a hand against her chest to calm down. She almost died! That's probably the worst ways to die out in space with no air.

 Keith sat down next to [Name], [Name] letting out a sigh. Keith noticed she has Lance's jacket on and he felt a bubble of jealousy grow inside him. "What were you doing out there?" Keith yelled, looking at the Lance and [Name].

 "Who was that guy?" Lance asked, yelling at Keith.

 "He was trying to kill me!" Keith yelled, glaring at Lance.

 "Well, is he the Castle? Because that's who's trying to kill us!" Lance yelled, glaring at Keith. 

 "Are you guys okay?" [Name] questioned, looking at Keith and Lance in concern. The two boys eyed her oddly while the three of them stopped up. "Are you guys hurt at all?" 

 "I think something is wrong with [Name]," Lance whispered, getting a nod from Keith. "Get her! We can't take any chances!" 

 Lance and Keith pinned [Name]'s arms on the wall, holding her against the wall. [Name] stares at the two boys in shock while they simply glare at her. [Name]'s confusion turns into anger and she glares harshly at him. "Idiots..."

 Lance's eyes widen and he smiles to himself, looking at [Name] with relief in his eyes. "Nah, she didn't change at all."

 [Name] reacts quickly, jumping and kicking Lance and Keith in the stomach which caused them to let go of her. She stands up straight and she puts her hands on her hips. Lance chuckles nervously while Keith looks away. She rolls her eyes and walks away, Lance and Keith standing up and hurrying after her.

***

 [Name] and the two males found Coran and decided to look for Pidge and Hunk. Everyone going to where Pidge might be first off and the large doors opened, Pidge and Hunk lying on the ground. "How can you guys be taking a nap while this castle is trying to kill us?" Lance asked, [Name] and the three males walking inside.

 "Taking a nap? We've been floating around in Zero G! You know how scary that is?" Hunk asked, standing up and Pidge stood up, cracking her back.

 "That's not scary! That's fun! [Name] and I was almost ejected into space!" Lance yelled, making gestures.

 "Well, I got attacked by killer food, and that's the most horrifying thing you can imagine!" Hunk yelled, [Name] still has Lance's jacket on. "The stuff of nightmares! It'll haunt me to my grave!" 

 "Well, I had a robot trying to kill me!" Keith yelled, catching everyone's attention.

 "I don't care what you say, Coran! This castle has gone apples and bananas!" Lance yelled, glaring at Coran.

 "Perhaps the infection from Sendak's Galra crystal is worse than we thought," Coran stated, [Name] put her hands in Lance's jacket pockets.

 "Well, let's get rid of it," Hunk said, everyone staring at the purple crystal on the ground.

 "It's too late. When Sendak plugged it into the ship, it corrupted the entire systems," Coran explained.

 "Sendak? Wait, has anyone seen Shiro?" [Name] questioned, looking at each of them.

***

 [Name] and the others entered the detainment room, [Name] running towards Shiro as he leaned against the small containment pod that should have Sendak's memories in with the pod next to him with Sendak in side. "Shiro?" [Name] said, standing next to Shiro, her hand resting on his shoulder . "Are you okay?"

 "Where's Sendak?" Keith asked, Shiro held a hand to his face as he looked down.

 "I... I had to get him out of here," Shiro confessed, [Name] sensed a swell of panic and anxiety from Shiro. "I was hearing his voice. He... He can't be trusted on this ship."

 "It is the ship! [Name] and I got stuck in a cryo-pod, then, in an airlock," Lance explained, everyone looking at him. "Keith got attacked by a robot, and Hunk and Pidge got attacked by food. It's been a weird morning." 

  A computer started beeping, everyone looking towards the giant doors and seeing a hologram of the ship entering a wormhole. "What? How is that possible?" Coran asked, squinting his eyes.

 "What is it, Coran?" [Name] asked, looking at Coran and his eyes widen.

 "The ship is starting a wormhole jump!" Coran explained, [Name]'s eyes widen in horror and she reacts quickly, running towards doors with everyone following after her. 

 [Name] and the others entered the main control room, seeing Allura control the ship with the blue light shining above her. "Allura, what's going on?" Shiro asked, no one stepping inside the room yet.

 "We're going to Altea. We're going home," Allura said, smiling at everyone over her shoulder. "My father is taking us."

 Shiro ran inside with [Name] next to him, Pidge running inside with the others coming in. "Stay away from my daughter!" King Alfor screamed, multiple holographic Alfor's faces appeared on the glass. Shiro and [Name] got pushed back as he tried to enter the space that Allura's in, but he got pushed back from the barrier.

 "Uh..." Hunk said.

 "Allura, wake up!" [Name] shouted, standing up from the floor.

 "The crystal must have corrupted King Alfor's artificial intelligence," Coran explained, King Alfor appeared next to Allura. "It's taking over!"

 A bright light appeared, it disappeared and revealed a burning red star. "We're heading straight for a star and it's about to explode!" [Name] exclaimed, her eyes widen in fear and dread.

 "Father, I can see Altea," Allura said, Coran walked towards the barrier and placed his hand on it.  

"Allura! Allura, wake up! What you're seeing isn't real," Coran explained, hoping to reach out to her and Allura was about to look over her shoulder, but it she looked back in front of her. 

 "Allura, please!" [Name] begged, [Name] doesn't beg for anyone.

 "Allura, please! You've got to listen to me!" Coran pleaded, Allura held nothing in her hand and she looked at Coran.

 "Is this real?" Allura asked, King Alfor had his back towards everyone. 

 "Of course it is real, Daughter. That flower you're touching is real," King Alfor said, his holographic figure turning his body to Allura.

 "But where is the fragrance of the sweet juniberries?" Coran asked, holding his arms out slightly.

 Allura lifted her hand, gasping and looking in front of her. "That's not Altea." 

 "When that star goes supernova, it will destroy the entire system," Pidge informed, stepping forward. "Allura, you must reset the course and get us out of here!"

 Allura panted, running back towards the two pillars and placing her hands on it, but only to get shocked and she screamed, getting thrown out the barrier. King Alfor appeared inside, Allura placed her hands on the barrier. "Father, please, I beg you to turn this ship around," Allura pleaded, staring at the holographic form of her father. "If we don't do it soon, we will all perish!" 

 "I know. That is my intention," King Alfor said, his back facing everyone.

 "What? Why?" Allura asked, her limps dropping to her side. 

 "Don't you see, dear daughter? Zarkon can never be defeated," King Alfor said, looking at Allura over his shoulder and the hologram shaking a little with his voice changing. "He's been ruling for ten thousand years." 

 "But we must continue to fight!" Allura stated, her eyebrows ceased.

 "Fight for what? It is all over for Altea. You don't have to live a lifetime of war," King Alfor explained, turning his body towards Allura. "You can be with me and the rest of your people." 

 "Father, please! The paladins and I can still stop Zarkon!" Allura shouted, hoping. "Somewhere in there, you must want that to happen."

 "Allura, my A.I. has been corrupted. You must disconnected my power source," King Alfor pleaded, his holographic form turning to him with his eyes scrunched and his voice turning to a different one. "We can stroll across the Blossom Canyon every morning, just like we used to. Remember how much you loved that?" 

 "I remember. I'll see you soon, Father," Allura said, her facial expression turning sad then she turned towards everyone. "I've got to get into the A.I. chamber to disconnect my father's power source manually."

 "But that means... losing King Alfor forever!" Coran informed, everyone staring at Allura with their eyebrows ceased. 

 "Paladins, get to your lions! I need you to slow the Castle's descent into the star," Allura ordered, then running towards the doors. "I can try to override the system to open the hangars," Coran explained, running towards the front and the paladins, [Name] going with Shiro.

***

 The Lions exited the hangars, flying in front of the ship and pushing against it, all the lions using their boosters. "Good luck, Allura," [Name] muttered, standing next to Shiro's chair.  After some time, a hologram screen of Allura appeared on Shiro's dashboard. 

 "Paladins, get to your hangars! We're getting out of here," Allura ordered, the lions went back into the hangars.

 The ship turned away from the star, flying towards the wormhole that opened open and the star exploded. Luckily, before the ship got engulfed by the explosion it went through the wormhole and escaped from the supernova.

 Shiro, Allura, and Coran sat on the small platform with Pidge sitting in front of them with [Name], Keith, Lance, and Hunk standing up and around them.

 "I'm so sorry about your father, Princess," Shiro said, his hand on Allura's shoulder.

 "We all are," Hunk said, [Name], Lance, Hunk, and Pidge staring at Allura in concern while Keith had his side facing her with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

 "Thank you. But that was not my father," Allura explained, scrunching her eyebrows then standing up. "The real King Alfor was a great man and a great father. He may not be here with us anymore, but his dream lives on through all of us, and his legacy is Voltron."

Chapter Text

 Everyone hovered over Pidge's and [Name]’s shoulders as they typed away on the holographic computer, everyone every close to each other. "Somewhere inside Sendak's memories we should be able to find the inside information that gives us the key to take down Zarkon," Allura explained, Coran's eyebrows ceased.

 “I don't think your father would approve of searching through an enemy's memories," Coran said, looking at Allura.

 "I know, but we have to do everything we can to defeat Zarkon," Allura explained.

 "Once we learn all his weaknesses, we can drive up to his front door and challenge him to a fight," Lance said, smirking at everyone. "Winner gets the universe."

 Everyone stood at Lance, giving him a 'really' face. 

 "Anything good yet, girls?" Shiro asked, everyone turning their attention back to Pidge and [Name].

 “We were only able to salvage bits and pieces," Pidge explained, Lance still in his pose.

 "We need something to work with," Keith said, sighing and catching everyone's attention. "Right now, we don't even have a decent map of the empire."

 "Who needs a map? After 10,000 years of conquering, I could probably fire my bayad at any random point in space and hit a Galra ship," Lance said, his eyebrow raised with his arms crossed.

 "If we could just find troop locations or supply routes, small targets we could hit, then we could probably save a planet one by one," [Name] stated, her eyes trained on the screen. 

 "Borinngg. I want the big kaboom," Lance said, upside down with his fists in the air.

 “Lance, Zarkon has been building his empire for 10,00 years," [Name] hissed, narrowing her deadly gaze at Lance. "We're not going to tear it down overnight with five inexperienced pilots. Hitting him where he lives is a huge mistake and very risky”.

 "Okay, I've crossed-referenced Sendak's memories with the info I got from the downed ship back on Arus," Pidge explained, everyone looking at the holographic computer. “Most of it was a garbled mess, but one thing kept repeating, something called a "Universal Station.""

 "Universal Station?" Hunk asked, his head in the way as he stared intently at the hologram computer. “Like, the kind of station that controls the entire universe?"

 "Well, we are translating it from Galra, so it could be "Galactic Hub"," Pidge explained, pushing Hunk's head away.

 "Or 'Space Base'!" Lance suggested, holding up a finger and everyone looking at him, so done with his antics. "What?"

 “I'm pulling up the location of your Universal Hub Station Base on our screens now," Coran explained, walking over to the main computer and three planets appearing on the main screen.

 "So, where is it?" Lance asked, raising his eyebrow.

 “I don't know. Our long-range sensors are unable to find anything at those coordinates," Coran explained.

 "Maybe he remembered it wrong," Keith suggested, his eyebrows ceased.

 "Or maybe we just stumbled across a top-secret base in Sendak's memories," Pidge suggested, her glasses doing that shiny thing.

 “Only one way to find out. Let's go take a look," Allura said.

 
*** 

 [Name] staring out into the large glass window and hearing Hunk's snoring. "We should be close enough to get a good scan, but far enough away to avoid being noticed," Allura explained, in her space suit and at the controls for the Castle/ship.

 The Castle/ship came around the first peachy color planet, seeing a space station and you bit your lip. "There it is," Shiro said, everyone staring at the space station.

 "It appears the gravitation between the two planets wraps the electron emission spectrum enough to keep the planet off the deep space scanners," Coran explained.

 "So, you can only see it if you really know where to look," Pidge mumbled, a hand under her chin.

 [Name] stared at the Galra battleships, seeing one exit the space station and she grew tensed from the situation. "This place must handle shipments from all over the Galra Empire," Shiro suggested, sitting in his own seat.

 "If this is some big airport where shipments come and go, why is it hidden?" Pidge asked, her eyebrows ceased.

 “There must be more to this than what we're seeing," [Name] suggested, putting her hands on her hips. 

 "Then, we'd better go down to take a look. We'll need to enter here: then central control building," Allura explained, a hologram of the control building from the space center appeared on the screen.

 "I'm sorry, Princess, did you say 'we'?" Keith asked, turning his head towards Allura.

 "I'm going with you," Allura said, holding her hands together. "I've traveled through the Galra transportation hubs many times with my father before the war began. I know more about them than any of you."

 "Princess, I'd rather you stay here," Coran said, stepping forward and staring at her in concern.

 "I'm a part of this fight against Zarkon as much as anyone. I'm going," Allura demanded, then looking around. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

 "Uh..." Coran said, [Name] simply stared at Allura and Lance whistling, Coran turned his head towards Shiro.

 “Fine. Suit up," Shiro said, shrugging his shoulders with his arms out and Coran screamed. 

 "Huh?" Everyone asked, raising their eyebrows at Shiro except Hunk who has his eyebrows scrunched. 

***

 "We'll go in low, fast, and hopefully undetected. Coming around the dark side of the nearest planet should keep them from getting a visual on us. Thanks to Pidge's modifications to the Green Lion, we'll have 30 seconds of cloaking." [Name] remembered Shiro’s words as she stared up at the ceiling in the Green Lion's head and wearing her skin tight, black suit. "I can flood their short-range sensors with a radiation burst. That should buy you a minute or so, while they assume it's cosmic interference. But after that, it's up to you to be out of sight."  

 "Interference clear in three, two, one." The computer said, [Name] and the others jumping into the control room with Shiro walking towards the first guard.

 "Psst! Hey!" Shiro whispered, catching the guard's attention.

 "Hmm?" The guard hummed, turning around and getting punched onto the second floor.

 Hunk, [Name] and Lance shot the soldiers with their bayards and gun, everyone jogging towards the main controls. Keith looked out the window, Allura watching Pidge and [Name] work their magic while Hunk fixed some of the controls with Shiro next to Pidge as Lance came over to the ground. 

 
 "How's it look out there?" Shiro asked, turning his head towards Keith.

 "All clear," Keith informed, looking around.

 "This shouldn't take too long," Hunk explained, standing up and Pidge went to typing on her computer.

 “We'll have all the information we need in a few minutes," Pidge explained, the computer making beeping noises. "Hunk and I have made some improvements since the last time I tried to download Galra info. We should get a nice, clean translation immediately. Hunk had a great idea about how to do it."

 “Yeah, yeah. Do you guys remember when we studied algorithms at the Garrison, and Mr. York told us that joke about the ghost learning symbolic logic and innumerably infinite sets?" Hunk asked, sitting on the soldier. 

 "Boring!" Lance announced, looking at Hunk. “Right, yeah, totally, it was boring," Hunk sighed, looking at Lance and [Name]. "Anyway, the joke goes."

 “Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but I think we got company," Keith stated, a huge shadow casting over the building and you crouched down next to Keith.

 The shadow belonged to a Galra battle ship, the ship landing on the deck and [Name], Keith, and Lance walked over to the ground.

 "Think we should leave?" Hunk asked, looking at Pidge's computer.

 “We just need a few more seconds," Pidge explained, typing away on the computer.

 "Stay low. We need this intel," Shiro said, everyone gasped as the holographic Galra computer beeped. "Get down!" 

 Everyone moved away from the live incoming call, Keith suddenly pulled [Name] to his chest with his arms wrapped around her and she blushed from the close contact. 

 "Huh?" The soldier asked, a surprise look on his face even though only his mouth is shown since he has a mask on.

 “He's still looking. I think he's waiting for a signal or something," Lance whispered, hiding under the dashboard.

 "I got it," Hunk whispered, crawling towards the view with of one of the guards.

 Hunk lifted the guard, lifting its hand and making a few gestures. The soldier flashed a thumbs up, the call disappearing and [Name] sighed in relief. 

 "Nice job, Hunk," Lance praised, standing up and lifting his hand.

 “Good job, Hunk,” [Name] said, removing herself from Keith. 

 “Thanks," Hunk said, high five Lance with the guard's arm and he smiled at [Name] widely.

 “Okay, download complete," Pidge informed, everyone surrounding her.

 "What does it say?" Shiro asked, looking at the computer.

 “Nothing. This place doesn't have any useful information," Pidge explained, leaning closer to her computer then leaning back. "Just a schedule of the ships coming in and out."

 “Well, I guess this mission was a bust," Lance said, shrugging his shoulders.

 "Let's get back to the castle," Shiro said.

 "Hold on. Pidge, do you know where that ship is headed?" Allura asked, catching everyone's attention. 

 "Um, it's scheduled to be here for about a half an hour, then head off to Central Command," Pidge informed, looking at the computer.

 “That's where they have the information we need, and I'm going to sneak aboard that ship and get it for us," Allura said, standing up and staring at the ship with determination.

 “What? No way!" Lance yelled, everyone standing up except for Pidge.

 "How are you going to get in?" Keith asked, Allura smiled and took off her helmet.

 "I'm going to walk right through the front," Allura explained, closing her eyes and her skin color turned purple, plus she grew in height.

 Everyone gasped, Pidge stood up and [Name]’s eyes widen in amazement, seeing the height difference between the paladins and Allura.

 "How the heck did you do that?" Hunk asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "The Alteans are a chameleon-like people who can blend in with the local populations. It's the ability that's made us great explorers and diplomats throughout our history," Allura explained, a smile on her face.

 “So, can you turn into, like, a balloon?" Lance asked, his eyes widen.

 “How many different colors can you be at once?" Pidge asked, her eyes widen.

 "Aren't you afraid you'll rip your pants?" Hunk asked.

 “No, just one at a time, and I'll need a change of costume," Allura answered, then turning her head towards the Galra soldier. “I can use his uniform as a disguise." 

 "I can't let you go in there alone," Shiro confessed.

 "Excuse me? I do not need your permission," Allura said sassily, furrowing her eyebrows at Shiro and everyone looked at Shiro.

 “It's too dangerous. I'm going in with you," Shiro stated, walking forward.

 “You will stick out like a Choferiak's nose," Allura referred.

 “You're going to need that nose, Princess," [Name] explained, then grabbing Shiro's prosthetic arm. "Shiro's hand is made from Galra tech. It's the only thing we have that will allow us to interface with their systems and gather intel. Pidge can monitor the download remotely from here."

 “Fine, you can come," Allura sighed, furrowing her eyebrows.

 "I'm going too as well. I think I might be able to help with you and Shiro,” [Name] said, Shiro nodded his head.

 "Uh, you guys better hurry up if you want to get on and off before the ship leaves for Zarkon central," Hunk informed, catching everyone's attention.

 “How are you going to get [Name] and Shiro on board?" Keith asked, stepping forward. Allura glanced at [Name] and Shiro, the two staring at the Altean Princess and she smiled.

 "I have an idea," Allura said. 

***

 [Name and Shiro laid in the Galra box with parts in it. For [Name], it’s embarrassing for her because she’s so close to Shiro that she could feel his slightly hard stomach and his soft breaths against her face. Good thing he can’t see her blush, but she is fidgeting. Allura walked towards the ship, holding the box that [Name] and Shiro are in and wearing the soldiers' uniform.

 "Halt," a soldier said, holding up his hand and holding his gun in the other.

 Allura stopped walking and she watched the two robot soldiers carry down tubes of a glowing yellow liquid inside.

 "Move along," the same soldier said, making a gesture with his arm and Allura continued her way. Allura let out a sigh of relief.

***

 [Name], Shiro, and Allura looked behind the corner, seeing robot soldiers walk up and down the lighted purple hallways. [Name], Shiro, and Allura hid behind the corner as soon as a robot soldiers walk up and them. Shiro gasp quietly, letting out a small groan and [Name] lightly elbowed Allura to get her attention, nodding at Shiro with her head. "Shiro?" [Name] questioned, staring at him in concern. "Are you all right?"

 Shiro smiles slightly, feeling his heart beat a little fast from [Name] showing concern for him."I just remembered how I escaped from the Galra prison ship," Shiro explained. "Listen, most of the ship's personnel are sentries."

 "And?" [Name] asked, eager to hear more from him.

 "When I was a prisoner, I timed their pattern," Shiro explained, looking to the side with his eyebrows scrunched. 

 "Do you remember it?" Allura asked.

 "Let's find out," Shiro said, grabbing [Name]'s hand, surprising her too, and running down the hallway with Allura trailing behind.

 Shiro turned a corner and turned another corner, taking cover behind it with [Name] at his side and Allura following his actions. Shiro walked back into the hallway after the robot soldiers left, [Name], Shiro, and Allura running down the hallway. Shiro looked behind the wall, [Name] next to him with Allura next to her and hearing the footsteps of the robot soldiers. After hearing it disappear, Shiro took off with [Name] and Allura following after him. They passed by another hallway, [Name] watched the robot soldier with narrow eyes walk up the hallway and not noticing her, Shiro, and Allura as they passed it.

***

 [Name], Shiro, and Allura took cover behind a wall, seeing a doorway in a different hallway with two robot soldiers walking down. Shiro still holding onto [Name]’s hand which she doesn’t mind because his actual hand is warm and soothing her nerves. Once the soldiers were far enough, [Name], Shiro, and Allura ran towards the doorway, running inside. [Name] walked down the small hallway, her back against the wall as they peered inside and seeing two soldiers at the control panel. Shiro lets go of [Name]’s hand and his prosthetic hand glowed purple, he ran inside and hit the first soldier. [Name] walked towards the second soldier, using a special technique that forced the soldier down on the floor with her legs, she quickly slammed her foot down on the soldier’s face. Shiro picked up one while [Name] picked up the other and leaned it against the wall, Shiro threw the other one against the wall. 

 "We only have a few minutes before the next patrol comes by. Watch the door," Shiro ordered.

 "Got it," Allura said, she walked towards the doorway while [Name] jogged over to the dashboard with Shiro. Shiro placed his hand on the Galra hand print. [Name] takes out a small chip, placing the chip underneath the dashboard.

 “What is that chip?” Shiro questioned, his eyes widening from seeing the hologram keyboard below [Name]’s hands.

 “I used some Altean parts to make my own keyboard and also letting it be plugged into anything so I can interfere with it,” [Name] spoke proudly, a smirk on her features. "All right, Pidge, start the download.” The red screen have a another screen appear with a blue on it. 

 "Generating access code," Pidge informed, [Name]’s hands hovering above her keyboard. "[Name], cancel anything that starts or interferes with us.”

 "I got you covered," [Name] said, typing away and cancelling unwanted programs that could stop the download. 

 "We're in," Pidge informed.

 “There’s something wrong,” [Name] muttered, biting her lip in worry. 

 "Pidge, [Name], I think there's a problem," Shiro said, turning his head towards her.

 "Sit tight," Pidge said.

 "I can’t stop it," [Name] cursed, hearing a beeping noise and she glanced at the screen, seeing the Galra symbol on it.

 “I'm trying to work around this," Pidge explained.

 "I get this, Pidge. You'll have to take this one," [Name] sighed, going to let Pidge take care of it and you worked on cancelling other things.

"Pidge?" Shiro asked, turning his attention towards the screen. 

 “I'm on it, I'm on it!" Pidge yelled.

 "What's going on here? Who are you?" A voice asked, [Name] glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widen, seeing a soldier. 

 "It's about time you got here. Where is the rest of your squad?" Allura asked, leaning against the door frame to hide [Name] and Shiro's form.

 "Uh, what squad?" The soldier asked.

 "Hurry up, Pidge," Shiro whispered, turning his attention to the screen.

 "Almost there. [Name]!" Pidge said, [Name] and Pidge working together trying to cancel out the problem.

 "The squad that is to escort me and my associates to our ship," Allura explained.

 "Who's back there? What's going on?" The soldier asked, looking over Allura and Allura placed her hand on the soldier's chest plate. 

 "We are part of Zarkon's high command. Our work must not be disturbed," Allura explained, pushing the Galra man soldier away from the doorway.

 "Where's Chief Information Officer Plytox?" The soldier asked, [Name] continued to bite her lip and Shiro placed his hand on her shoulder.

 "Uh, he's in there. Say hello, Plyrox," Allura said, looking over her shoulder.

 “Uh..." Shiro said, looking around then looking at Alluea. "It's 'Plytox'!"

 “Oh, sorry. See?" Allura said, turning her head towards the soldier.

 "Oh. Vrepit sa, sir! I get his name wrong all the time, too," the soldier mumbled, walking away. 

 Allura let out a sigh, Shiro relaxing his shoulders after that tense moment.
 "Huh?" Allura ask, [Name] and Pisge finally able to stop the problem and the screen went back to normal.

 "Do you think I could get assigned to Zarkon's unit?" Someone ask, [Name] going back to what she should originally be doing. "Nothing happens on this ship."

 "Oh, well, I don't know," Allura answered. "What's your bloodthristiness on a scale of one to five? One being, 'No, thanks, I'm full' and five being, 'Unquenchable.'"

 "Hmm... If I'm being honest, about a three," the voice said.

 "We can work on that," Allura said, the alarms started blaring, causing [Name]'s eyes to widen and she steps back. "Huh?" 

 "Fugitive prisoner 117-9875 detected." [Name] looked at Shiro and he removed his hand. "Remain where you are. Security alerted." 

 Allura walked in with her hands up, the soldier pointing his gun at Allura and [Name] held her hands up. "Uh, help! Intruders!" The solider yelled, looking to his side and Allura pressed the button on the wall, the door closing.

 "I think we're in trouble," Shiro stated, [Name] and Shiro running over to her side.

 "You think?" [Name] and Allura snapped, Allura stepping back then running at the door, breaking off the door and hitting the soldier with the door. Allura held the gun, [Name] and Shiro looking at her with surprised and shocked expressions. 

 "What?" She asked, looking at the two and footsteps approaching.

 "Let's go!" Shiro yelled, [Name], Shiro, and Allura running up the hallway as robotic soldiers ran up the hallway after them and shooting lasers. 

***

 "Pidge, fire up the Green Lion! We're coming in hot!" Shiro ordered, [Name] running between him and Allura.

 [Name] and Shiro skidded to a stop, seeing robot soldiers, standing in front of her and Shiro. A pow noise is heard and she looked behind her.

 "What?" Allura asked, looking behind her and seeing that she was holding the gun wrong and shot one of the soldiers behind her.

 Shiro's prosthetic hand turned purple, attacking the two robot soldiers and destroying them. "Pass me the gun, Allura!" [Name] yelled, holding her hands out to catch the gun. Allura throws the gun and a soldier is running towards them. [Name] jumps to grab the gun and immediately shoots the soldier, a perfect shot to the chest. [Name] tossed the gun the soldier had to Allura and she caught it wrong.

 [Name], Shiro, and Allura stood there, Allura grabbed one of the soldiers and threw it at the incoming soldiers. "I thought you said you'd travel around the galaxy. I mean, you fly a spaceship," Shiro stated, grabbing the gun and holding it. "How could you possibly not know how to hold this correctly?" Shiro positioned the gun right, giving it back to Allura.

Allura turned a corner, dragging you and Shiro up another hallway, "I'm tensed! This is a tense situation."

 "Focus on staying alive!" [Name] hissed, running next to Shiro with Allura running in front. 

 "Secure hatches. All personnel take positions for departure." 

***

 [Name] skids to a stop, shooting the soldiers while Allura and Shiro run past her.

 "The escape pods are up here!" Shiro yelled, taking the lead with Allura following after him with [Name] trailing behind them, the three turning a corner. 

 "Formulating navigation. All crews assume secure hyper-speed positions." [Name] and Shiro shooting at the soldiers behind them while Allura hurried in front of them.

 Allura took off her helmet, "Hurry! We can't leave once the ship goes into hyper-speed!"

 "Let's pick up the pace!" [Name] ordered, her, Shiro, and Allura picking up the speed and the doors opened to the space pod. 

 [Name], Shiro, and Allura ran inside the doors, the alarms blaring and the robots shooting at them. Shiro placed his hand on the panel, running over to [Name] and Allura as the doors slowly closed. Just as the doors were about to close, a robot shoved his arm through and got his body stuck. Allura's eyes widen, running towards the doors and placing her hands on them, struggling to close them.

 "Allura!" [Name] yelled, staring at her with wide eyes. [Name] and Shiro ran over, crouching down and placing his purple, glowing prosthetic hand on the space between.

 "It's taking off! Get in the pod!" Allura ordered, watching Shiro melt the space between the doors. 

 "I'm not leaving you!" Shiro yelled.

 [Name] gritted her teeth, her hands on the doors as she stares at Shiro and Allura. Allura can't be captured because the paladins need them. Shiro can't be captured either because she doesn't want to go through whatever the Galra did to him. She lets out a sigh.

 "You have to!" Allura yelled.

 [Name] kicked Shiro and Allura towards the pod, using probably enough force for them to slid into the pod. [Name] pressed her back against the door, but knowing its not enough for the soldiers. [Name] watched Allura and Shiro stand up, but the doors are already so closed to closing completely.

 "I'm sorry."

 The doors closed completely, Allura and Shiro staring at [Name] with wide eyes and Shiro started pounding on the door. [Name] turns her back towards them, holding the gun in her hands and she immediately starts shooting at the soldiers. The gun in [Name]'s hands is shot out and she is quickly restrained by the soldiers, her arms being hold. [Name] can hear Shiro and Allura screaming her name until the pod detaches from the room and goes out to space.

---

 "[Name]..." Shiro whispered, his eyes still on the doors and widen in shock.

 The Green Lion came towards the pod, Allura and Shiro getting out the pod and using their boosters to get into the Green Lion's mouth. Allura and Shiro entered the head, everyone staring at two and Shiro and Allura look down in frustration.

 "Where's [Name]?" Keith asked, watching Allura and Shiro walk towards the chair. "Allura? Shiro?" Lance asked, his eyes widen in fear at the thought of her being gone.

 "She sacrificed herself to save us," Shiro confessed, Allura hugging herself. 

 "So, she's still on that ship?" Pidge asked, staring at them.

 "The ship that's headed to Zarkon's Central Command?" Hunk asked. 

 "The place that's way too dangerous for us to attack?" Keith asked, adding on.

 "It doesn't matter how dangerous it is. We can't let Zarkon get his hands on [Name]," Shiro stated, a fire burning in his eyes as he looks up at the others.

 "But going there would be a huge mistake," Hunk said, his eyebrows ceased. "[Name] said for us to attack that place head-on would be the dumbest possible thing we could ever do."

 "I know what she said and she's right, but now we don't have a choice," Shiro said.

Chapter Text

 "Pidge, scan the download from the ship," Shiro ordered, him, Allura, and the other Paladins walking into the bridge. "Find out where Zarkon's central command is." 

 Pidge hurries to her seat with Hunk, immediately sitting down and doing what Shiro said. "On it."

 "What happened? Where's [Name]?" Coran questioned, Allura walking towards him. 

 "They captured [Name]. She sacrificed herself to save me, Allura, and the information," Shiro explained, remembering the sadden expression on [Name]'s features when she was captured. "I didn't have a choice."

 "How is that possible!" Coran yelled,  a light scowl on his features.

 "Coran, things didn't go as planned," Allura stated, stepping in.

 Shiro speaks up agian. "We can't focus on what went wrong. We've got to figure out how to make it right. Pidge, anything?" 

 "Guys, look at this," Pidge said, multiple pictures appearing on the big screen. 

 "Look at the size of it!" Coran gasped.

 "I think we should go in right away," Pidge suggested, the Paladins, Coran, and Allura surrounding Pidge's seat. "Every minute we waste gives Zarkon time to prepare for us."

 "I agree. We form Voltron, fly in, fly out, dust off our hands, and walk away," Lance voiced.

 "Um, do you guys not remember the Balmera?" Hunk questioned, but it's more of a rhetorical question. "We could barely take out one fleet. But this... a base this size could hold a thousand fleets!"

 "Or maybe we shouldn't go on this mission at all. Think about it," Keith said, trying not to sound rude at all. "We'll be delivering the universe's only hope to the universe's biggest enemy."

 Hunk speaks up after the silence. "Keith, that's cold, even for you. Yeah, [Name] barely liked any of us, but she's changed. I hope. We can't just let us leave her there."

 "I'm not saying I like the idea. I'm just thinking like a paladin," Keith stated.

 "No, you're thinking of yourself because you're too scared to do what's right!" Lance shouted.

 "Okay, we're all upset because we lost [Name]," Pidge stated.

 "No, they lost [Name]," Coran snapped, looking at Shiro and Allura. 

 "Okay, okay! This isn't helping," Hunk said, cutting off Allura before she could speak. "We can't just sit here and bicker like this."

 Shiro sucks in a breath. "Let's focus. How are we going to get [Name]?"

---

 [Name] hears footsteps approaching and she stands up, holding a defensive position, the doors opening to reveal a hooded person or creature with red marks down their face. [Name] eyes the creatures behind the hooded person and she clenches her hands into fists as she glares at them.

 "Come with me."

 [Name] scoffs, holding her fists up. "You're gonna have to drag me out by force if you think I'd go willingly."

---

 "Anything?"

 "There's just no way in. They'll have us tracked from every direction," Lance informed.

 "There's gotta be something. Keep looking," Shiro ordered.

 Allura looks over to Coran, seeing the man staring at the diagrams of Zarkon's fleet. She looks over to see Shiro and he nods his head, Allura letting out a sigh. She walks towards the man, putting a hand on his shoulder to grab his attention. "Coran, we're just as worried as you are about [Name]. I'm sorry I let her slip, but she pushed me and Shiro away to save us." 

 "I know it's not your fault, Allura. Nor Shiro's. It's just... I've gotten closer to her and..." Coran said, his eyes going back onto the main screen.

 "We'll find a way to get her back," Allura said, Shiro walking over to them and standing next to Allura.

 "If there was just a way to get close to Zarkon's ship unseen..." Shiro voiced, gazing at the big screen.

 "What a tick. I think I've got a way," Coran said, the big screen slightly changing.

---

 [Name] pants lightly after the one-sided little fight she had with the hooded figures. A little elevator like thing lifted her and the three hooded figures to some area. [Name] sees someone quite large in the room and the short hooded figure starts walking. [Name] is pushed by the hooded figures to start walking and she does before sending a quick glare at them.

 "Who is she?" A dark voice said, full of malevolence, [Name] could only freeze in fear the sound of his voice.

 "She knows the Paladins and Princess Allura, Zarkon," the hooded figure stated, Zarkon turning around and facing [Name]. She gasped lightly, her surprise slowly turning into anger and hatred. "She might have information that will be use to us-"

 [Name] runs towards them, knowing that she doesn't have the upper hand at all. The hooded person turns around and thrust her hand out, [Name] noticing the purple and black sphere in their hands. [Name] is suddenly stopped in her tracks and lifted off the ground. She yelps in pain, feeling as if someone is holding her heart, lightly squeezing it.

 The pain leaves as quick as it held her, [Name] falling to the floor and she glares up at Zarkon and the hooded figure. "Just you watch. Voltron is going to end your empire and you as well."

 Zarkon stares down at [Name], making her feel tiny compared to him. "No, it will only make me more powerful. Your new paladins will come for you, and they will deliver Voltron to me, and with it, the key to unimaginable power."

---

 "Everyone, eyes front," Shiro ordered, Coran and Allura at Shiro's side. "We've got a plan to get [Name]. We're going to jump to the heart of the enemy, unseen and undetected."

 "We'll hide the Castle here inside one of these giant gas planets in Zarkon's command system," Allura said, a screen of a planet appeared on the big screen. 

 "The gas is so dense, we'll be hidden," Coran explained, turning back around to the Paladins.

 "From there, we'll use the Castle to scan for [Name] on Zarkon's ship and attack before Zarkon knows what hit him," Shiro said, a fire in his eyes.

 "We'll have enough energy to wormhole in and out," Allura stated, Shiro turning his head towards her.

 "We're not leaving without her," Shiro stated, the Paladins nodding their heads.

***

 The Castle wormholes into the planet's gases, exiting the wormhole and Shiro speaks up. "We're here."

 "I'm detecting [Name]'s energy signature," Coran said, tiny taps opening on the big screen. "From this distance, the signal's pretty weak, but she's somewhere in Zarkon's main ship."

 "Gives us a starting point," Keith commented, watching Coran type away.

 "Once we get closer, we'll be able to narrow down the location where [Name] is being held," Coran explained.

 "Okay, guys, this is it. Voltron is going to come in fast without warning," Shiro started, looking at each Paladin. "We'll smash our way into Zarkon's ship and grab [Name]. Before they know what hit them, we'll have [Name] and be on our way."

 The Paladins formed Voltron, quickly leaving the planet and going towards Zarkon's ship. A purple sphere began to close around Zarkon's little area and Voltron hurried, watching the gap getting closer to closing.

 "What is that?"

 "I don't know, but I hope once we get [Name], we can find a way out of here," Pidge voiced. Voltron is within the purple sphere. "They're gonna fire!" 

 Zarkon's fleets began firing at Voltron, Voltron dodging the lasers and suddenly landing on a fleet, using the Red Lion and Green Lion to punch the fleet. The Red Lion produced a sword, Voltron driving the sword through the fleet, boosting away and the ship exploded. Voltron attacked a fleet with a sword, putting more power into the boosters to push the fleet to the fleets next to it, going through each fleet and destroying them.

 "More trouble, straight ahead!" Lance warned.

 The incoming fleets started shooting at Voltron, but Voltron is too far to attack the fleets. Only option is to defend. "Form shoulder cannon!" But Shiro ain't about that life of defending, so he decides to attack. The shoulder cannon is formed, shooting multiple, bending lasers towards the fleets, destroying them. Voltron takes out the sword, going towards Zarkon's base. Zarkon flies past the debris, getting closer to Zarkon's base. "There's Zarkon's ship!" 

 Voltron thrust its arm forward, but Voltron suddenly stops, the sword suddenly disappearing. Voltron just floating in space while the Paladins screamed and groaned.

 "What's going on?" 

 "We lost the sword! Something's malfunctioning!" 

 "What's happening!" Allura questioned, seeing Voltron on the vitals. 

 "Somebody do something! Voltron's frozen up!" 

 "Shiro!" 

 "I can't hold it!"

 Voltron disbanded into the Lion form.

 "What just happened there! Something tore us apart!" Hunk shouted, the Yellow Lion activating.

 "I don't know, but we've got bigger problems right now. Look!" Lance yelled.

 The Lions turned around, seeing many tiny fleets, like many, coming towards them.

 "Why do I get the feeling these guys knew we were coming?" Keith questioned. 

 The Lions went towards the tiny fleets, not noticing the purple, bright light coming from the bottom of Zarkon's ship. The Yellow Lion attacking a fleet while the Green Lion shooting a laser towards another fleet with a tiny fleet behind it. The Lions gracefully dodged the incoming lasers while attacking both big fleets and tiny fleets. 

 The Blue Lion using its icy laser at the fleets, freezing them while the others hurried to destroy them. The Yellow Lion skids to a stop in space, more fleets joining the battle and shooting lasers.

 "There's no need to these guys!" 

 "Altean Attack!" Coran and Allura yelled, using the Castle to attack the fleets with the practical barrier around the Castle. 

 "I've waited ten thousand years for this!" Coran yelled, excitement laced in his voice.

 The Paladins cheered, Shiro being the only who's quiet and focused. Shiro, who is being dragged towards the purple light at the bottom of Zarkon's ship. He's have quite a difficult time to get his Lion working. The Red Lion continues to fight, dodging lasers and shooting lasers as well, the Red Lion getting close enough to see the Black Lion being dragged towards the light.

 "Shiro, are you okay?" 

 "Something is overriding the controls! My lion is not responding!" Shiro lets out a scream.

 "Shiro's in trouble! I'm going in!" 

 The Red Lion flies over to the Black Lion while Shiro is forcefully shoved out of the Black Lion and into space. Zarkon had override the controls of the Black Lion and Shiro uses his jet pack to stable himself, but he hits a structure of Zarkon's ship, ruining his jet pack. Shiro stares up at the purple light, holding onto the structure.

 "What do we do now, guys? Our plan isn't really working out as... well, planned!"

 "I'm going for the Black Lion. You guys get [Name], now!" 

 "I've identified [Name]'s exact location! Uploading the coordinates to you, now," Allura informed. "In the meantime, we'll provide covering fire from out here."

 "All alone, against an entire fleet," Coran added. "So, yeah, do you mind hurrying?" 

 "My jetpack's damaged. I'll need to go through the ship." Shiro cuts into the structure, getting hit with hot air. 

 The Red Lion dodged the lasers from the tiny fleets, shooting a laser in front of it and leaping up for the tiny fleet to bump into the tiny fleets chasing the Red Lion. The Red Lion shoots lasers around, destroying all the chasers. "You guys get [Name] without me."

 "What? We've got to stick together! What are you doing?"

 "Whatever I can."

 The Red Lion goes towards the Black Lion and smacking straight into the Black Lion, pushing the Black Lion away from the purple light. The Black Lion lands on the structure, the Red Lion following after its pal. Zarkon makes his way towards the Red and Black Lion, skidding to a stop at the Black Lion.

 "Whoa! Who is that?"

 "It's Zarkon!" Allura yelled, hatred filling her voice as she glared at the hologram of Zarkon. "Keith, get out of there, now! Zarkon's too poweful!" 

 "This is my chance to put an end to the Galra Empire! I have to take it!" 

 The Red Lion charges towards Zarkon, ignoring Coran's and Allura's protesting. The Red Lion fires a laser towards Zarkon, damaging the structure, but smoke filled around Zarkon's spot. The Red Lion moves away and the smoke clears to reveal Zarkon holding a purple shield. Zarkon's bayard turns into a sword and he swings, a purple strike going towards the Red Lion.

 The Red Lion, not knowing it's going to be hit, takes a direct hit and Keith regains his position again before drifting too far. The Red Lion growls, legit growls, and the Red Lion stares at Zarkon. 

 While Shiro is fighting that hooded lady, The Green Lion is trying its best to keep the tiny fleets off it and dodging lasers too. The Yellow Lion goes to where [Name] is being held while the Green Lion distracts the tiny fleets.

 "This is it! [Name] is in this part of the ship!"

 "How do we get in?" 

 "Maybe I can try hacking one of their cargo bays."

 "We don't have time for that!"

 "Do you have a better idea?"

 "Actually, yes, I do." 

 [Name] stood up, feeling the area around her suddenly shake.  Unknown to her, the Yellow Lion slammed its head right outside the hallway and the mouth opened to reveal Hunk having his bayard in his hands. Hunk quickly shots the guards, jumping down and he runs over to the doors where [Name] is being held.

 "Looks like we've got to cover Hunk's butt!"

 "Hunk!" [Name] gasped, her eyes widening as she lowered her fists.

 "We're going to get you outta here," Hunk said, walking towards her.

 "What are you doing here?" [Name] asked, staring at him with wide eyes. "Please tell me that Voltron isn't here. At Zarkon's central command..." [Name] hears Shiro's groans from Hunk's helmet and her eyes widen. "We need to save Shiro."

 "Hunk, did you get [Name]?" Lance asked.

 "I got her, but there's a change of plans," Hunk informed.

 ---

 "Now, Champion, your time is over!"

 "Which one is the real one?" Hunk questioned, many of the hooded figure lady. 

 [Name]'s eyes darted around, noticing Shiro on the floor and she noticed a sudden movement to her left. She points at the moving hooded figure lady. "Hunk, fire!" 

 Hunk sends lasers, but the hooded figure lady noticed and used her powers, the shoots deflecting and hitting the ceiling. The hooded figure lady quickly shadows away from the incoming Shiro and he falls to the ground. [Name] runs over to him, helping Shiro stand.

 "Shiro, we need to get out of here," [Name] said, her tone full of concern for the Black Paladin.

 "Where's the scary lady?" Hunk asked, his eyes looking around while [Name] helps Shiro walk.

 "Hunk!"

 "Oh, right."

 ---

 Hunk helped Shiro get to the Black Lion, the Black Lion saving Keith just in time while Hunk dropped off [Name] in the Castle. The Black Lion quickly distracting Zarkon and quickly grabbing the Red Lion, and getting away. The Castle quickly gets away with the Paladins in their Lions and [Name] back with them, but in the Castle with Allura and Coran.

 Allura quickly uses her energy to start a wormhole. "All right, Paladins, time to get out of here now that we have [Name]."

 "Hello? What's going on? I don't see a wormhole," Hunk said, appearing on the big screen.

 "The Galra barrier is jamming our ability to create one!" Coran explained. "They have us completely surrounded!" 

 [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing the purple barrier disappearing. She's happy she's back, but there's that nagging feeling in her gut again. Something is wrong and she noticed that Shiro's injuried on his side.

 "What just happened?" Pidge questioned.

 "Who cares? Wormhole!" Hunk yelled.

 The wormhole opens, the Castle entering the wormhole and [Name] noticed that this wormhole is not like the other wormholes at all. The Castle isn't going through the wormhole as smooth as it should be. [Name] grips the chair that she is currently sitting in which belongs to Keith. 

 "Coran, what's happening?"

 "The integrity of the wormhole has been compromised," Coran explained, panic in his voice. "It's breaking down!"

 "What does that mean!" [Name] shouted, gripping the chair tightly.

 "It means we have no control over where we're headed!" Coran explained.

 Everyone groaned from the sudden shaking of the Castle, the castle exiting their hangars and [Name] screams each of the Paladins' names, fearing what could possibly be happening to them. She stands up from her seat, but she quickly falls to the floor as the Paladins fall into different areas throughout the universe.

Chapter Text

 The Black and Red Lion fell towards the ground after being teleport to a strange planet. The Lions falling in two different places, a large distance between them. Keith tried to get the Red Lion moving again, but it's not working and the alarms are blaring. "Come on, come on, come on!" Keith growled, trying to land the Red Lion. The Red Lion hit the ground and everything turned black. Keith groaned, opening his eyes.

 "You okay, Red?" Keith furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay. We'll fix you up. We had a tough battle."

 The top of the Red Lion's head open a little and Keith got out first. Keith stared off into the distance, seeing a very grey planet that doesn't seem to have any life to it. 

 "Where are we?" Keith asked, scrunching his eyebrows at the dead planet. "Shiro," Keith gasped, his eyes widening and he looks behind him. "Shiro!"

 With Pidge 

 Pidge screamed as the Green Lion crashed through some metal parts. The alarms going off in the Green Lion and finally the Green Lion crashed onto a platform. The Green Lion started to float since there's no gravity where Pidge is.

 "Huh? What's the matter, girl?" Pidge asked, looking around and pressing some buttons. Pidge leaned back into her chair. "Okay, rest a bit. I'll see what I can do." The Green Lion rested on metal debris. "Looks like there's no gravity here. It's like a trash nebula of some kind." 

 Pidge crossed her legs on the chair, looking into the distance. "Okay. Pidge, stay calm. You know what they say. 'When you get lost in space, the best thing to do is stay put and wait for people to find you'," Pidge said, putting her elbow on her knee and resting her head in her hand. "This'll be nice. I'll have some 'me' time." She tapped on her helmet, a smile on her face, but her smile disappeared. "No one to annoy me."

 With Allura, [Name] & Coran

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wormhole is taking us," Coran stated, the Castle moving violently in the wormhole.

 [Name] stands up, gripping onto the chair as the beeping inside the bridge continues. [Name] furrowed her eyebrows in worry as Coran is doing something. 

 "Coran, look! There appears to be something on the other end," Allura suggested, [Name] could see the bright light at the end and she smiles in hope. "We're heading right towards it!"

 "Scanners show that there's no exit," Coran explained, looking down at his dashboard. "It's just nothingness. Find an exit before we run smack into the void!" 

 [Name] watches from afar, sitting in Keith's seat and holding her legs to her chest. She can't do anything, this is Allura's and Coran's specialty. [Name] doesn't know how to help them, but her eyes sparkle at the screens around Allura. The beeping continues and she tightens her grip around her legs in dread.

 "I can't. I've lost control of the Castle," Allura informed, looking over at Coran.

 "Brace yourselves! We're about to hit it!" Coran warned.

 The Castle goes through the void, but the Castle is still within the wormhole, but a few things have changed. The beeping in continuing and the Castle is still violently shaking in the wormhole. Sadly, it seems that Coran and [Name] have both had a dramatic age change to them. 

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wormhole is taking us," Coran said, a hair curl resting against his forehead as he seems slightly younger.

 [Name]'s eyes widen as she looks down at herself, her legs smaller just by a little bit and she looks towards Allura to see that she's still the same. "We're okay!"

 "What are you talking about? We've lost all the lions!" Coran yelled, looking behind him at Allura and [Name].

 "We've just smashed into a black void. Don't you remember? Hmm?" Allura questioned, [Name] standing up from Keith's chair and walking over to Allura. The mice turned into a spurriel like creature. "What happened to the mice? They've transformed." [Name] smiles picking up one of the mice and she hugs the pink one to her chest. Allura looks at [Name] and Coran with wide eyes. "[Name]? Coran?"

 "Why are you looking at me like that?" Coran questioned, turning around to face Allura. "Do I have a boogie stuck in my mustache again?"

 "No. You look younger," Allura said, raising her eyebrow. 

 "Can I keep him?" [Name] asked, holding up the pink mice.

 Allura stares at [Name], nodding her head slowly. "How old are you??"

 "10."

 The Castle shakes and [Name] stables herself as she almost falls to the floor. [Name] sits down on the floor, the mice surrounding her and she pets them, a smile on her features.

 "Scanners show that there's no exit. It's just nothingness!" Coran yelled.

 "You said that already!"

 "Find an exit before we run smack into the void!"

 "I'm entering coordinates to get us out of here," Allura informed. [Name] stands up, her eyes watching Allura's hands get to work and there's sparkles in her eyes as she looks at the advance technology. "The Castle won't accept an end point." 

 "Just enter any coordinates!"

 "I tried, but the system is locked," Allura stated, the holograms turning red. "I can't get a signal out or receive a signal in."

 "Allura!"

 The Castle goes through the void once more, everything is still the same except Coran, [Name], and the mice. It seems that Coran is the only one who keeps forgetting that they're going through the wormhole still and entering the void again. 

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wromhole is taking us," Coran explained, looking extremely younger than before. 

 "Oh, no! You're even younger now!" Allura gasped, she then turned her attention to see [Name]. She's still sitting on the floor, but she looks perhaps about 8 years old. "You too."

 "What's the matter? You look confused," Coran said, flexing his muscles and posing. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll get us out of here. Oh! A child!" Coran strides towards [Name] and picking her up, he holds her in one arm and he walks back to the dashboard.

 "We appear to be in some sort of time loop that's affecting everyone, but me," Allura explained, the mice turned into cows or some type of cattle. 

 "Scanners show that there's no exit. It's just..." Coran said, [Name] tugging Coran's cheek.

 "Nothingness, I know. And we can't find another exit point," Allura groaned.

 Coran turns around and points at Allura with his free limb. "Don't just stand there. We've got to find a way. I'll never give in to nothingness!" 

 "I'm hungry!"

 With Shiro, & Keith

 "Shiro, can you hear me?" Keith asked.  "Shiro? Shiro, are you there?" Keith asked, following the location of the Black Lion's coordinates. "Shiro? Answer us!" Keith continued to hear static as he ran towards the coordinates. "Shiro, it's Keith." 

 "Keith. I'm here. I'm okay," Shiro said, Keith smiled.

 "Shiro, you made it," Keith said, sounding relieved.

 "It takes more than a glowing alien wound, a fall from the upper atmosphere, and crashing into a hard pan surface, at what I'm guessing is about 25 meters per second squared, to get rid of me," Shiro said, letting out a sigh. "How are you?" 

 "Not good. My Lion's busted," Keith answered, using his jet pack to get down a cliff and he stopped on a rock pillar. "Wait, what wound?" Keith continued to jump from rock to rock with his jet pack. 

 "It's nothing," Shiro said, letting out a groan.

 "Hang on, Shiro! I'm coming!" Keith said, running on the flat land. 

 "On second thought, you better hurry," Shiro whispered, Keith picked up his speed.

 With Pidge

 Pidge walked with zero gravity and she grabbed onto a pole, staring at all of the metal scraps and debris. She turned her head, staring into the darkness inside this one structure and blue eyes light up, looking menacing. Pidge yelps, letting go of the pole and holding her bayard in her hand.

 She floats, pointing her bayard at the menacing eyes. "Who's there?" More blue, menacing eyes start to pop up and one of them moves forward to reveal a fluffy, small creature then more of them come out. 

 "Hmm? Aw! Hey, little guys!" Pidge said, watching the little creatures surround her and she held out her finger to let one of them smell her. "Aw, you guys are so cute. Too cute to be found in a dump like this. Are you the only ones living here? I hope my rough landing didn't disturb your day. I'll only be here for a short time. I'm waiting for my friends to find me. We were separated during a wormhole jump."

 Six of the little creatures bumped into each other and lined up side by side. "Yeah, friends!" Pidge said, a smile on her face, but it disappeared as she looked up to space. "I sure hope they find me soon."

 
With Allura, [Name] & Coran

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wormhole is taking us," Coran said, now a teenager with long hair on one side with the other side shaved and his hair in a ponytail and he sighed. "This is so boring. Why am I holding a child?"

Coran puts down 5 year old [Name] and she walks away from him. The Castle continued to go through the wormhole with the dark void at the end. "Coran, please! I don't need any of your attitude right now," Allura said, wiping her face from the slime left from the mice snails.

 "You do't understand me at all! You have no idea what I'mg going through!" Coran shouted, acting dramatic. "I'll be in my control area! Hmmph!"

 [Name] holds her hands up, opening them and closing them as she stares up at Allura with wide eyes. Allura purses her lips and she picks up [Name], settling [Name] on her shoulders. [Name] leans against Allura's head and she holds Allura's head gently. 

 Allura typed on the hologram screens, her eyebrows furrowed. "I can't manually enter coordinates. But the Castle will automatically lock on to the lion's whereabouts, if we can locate them." Allura said, a wide smile spreading across her face and making the holograms disappear. Allura made the area around her into a space hologram and she couldn't find nothing. "It's not working! I'm unable to hone in on their location.” Allura explained, then loud operatic music started playing and the space hologram disappeared. "Coran, turn that down! Our lives are at stake!" 

 "I can only express myself through music!" Coran said, smirking at Allura over his shoulder.

 "Annoying."

 Allura chuckles to herself from [Name]'s comment. "It seems that the child of [Name] hasn't changed and Coran if you don't turn that down, I swear I'll turn this Castle around and-" Allura barked, glaring at Coran, but he cut her off.

 "And what? We're just gonna run into this void that's coming up here," Coran said, as the Castle went through the void. "I hate everybody!"

 The Castle entered the void once again.

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wormhole is taking us," Coran said, a child this time then he looked over his shoulder. "Whatever that means."

 "We've tried everything and nothing's worked," Allura said, watching child Coran as the mice fused together and now a creature with multiple heads. Allura looks over her shoulder to see that [Name] has gotten smaller, but she seems to be 3 years old this time. "A few more ticks down this wormhole and you're going to disappear. We must find a way out."

 "Just blast your way out! Duh!" Child Coran shouted, making airplane noises and running around.

 "I suppose it's worth a try," Allura said, Child Coran got on the mice fused creature of four heads. "The Castle defenses might have enough firepower to destroy the tunnel."

 "Yeah! And it'll go ker-plooey!" Coran shouted. 

 The Castle shot at the dark void which only lead to the Castle shooting at itself from behind.

 "It's not working! It's like we're shooting at ourselves," Allura explained.

 Coran blew a raspberry. "Where's Voltron?" [Name] followed Coran's antics and she blew a raspberry too which made Allura groan.

 The Caslte went into the dark void. Again.
 

 
With Shiro & Keith

 Keith used his jet packs to cover more ground to get to Shiro faster. "Shiro, what happened?" Keith asked, concern lingering in his voice. 

 "There's several creatures." 

 Keith put on foot on the ground and a water geyser broke through the surface. Keith stopped, looking over your shoulders and staring at the water. "Water?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow and soon more water geysers broke through the ground. "Uh-oh!"

 Keith ran, more water geyser pop out the ground. Keith dodging a water geyser, but more keep popping out. A water geyser popped out the ground underneath Keith, skidding against the ground. Keith rolled off the edge of the cliff, falling and Keith used his bayard to stab into the cliff. 

 "Keith, are you okay? What happened?"

 "Just a minor delay, Shiro," Keith said, staring down at the bottom of the cliff. "I'm on the way. How are you?" Keith used his jet pack to lift him out the cliff and onto the edge. 

 "I'm all right, but I'm trapped in a cave, and some nasty-looking creatures have me cornered." 

 "Stay put. I'm on the way," Keith said, staring at the canyon. "I just have to... figure this out." 

 With Pidge

 "'My name is Keith. I'm so emo,'" Pidge said, mimicking Keith's voice and holding the shoulders of a Keith she made. "Shiro, you're our leader. What should we do?" Pidge moved over to the Shiro she made from scraps. "'We'll get through this if we work together. We're a team.'" Pidge moved over to the [Name] she also made from scraps. "'I act like I don't care about anyone, but I secretly do.'" Pidge went over to a made Lance from scraps, "'Look at me! I'm Lance. Hey, is that a cute girl over there?'" 

 The creatures watched Pidge, staring at her oddly as she went over to a scraped made Hunk. "'I don't feel good. The smell of this place makes me want to barf.'" Pidge mimicking everyone's voice and she went over to a scraped made Allura. "'Paladins, please. We must defeat Zarkon."" Pidge went behind a scraped made Coran and had her eye as Coran's. "'Blah, blah, blah! Crazy words. Mustache.' Huh? What is it?"

 The creatures looked behind Pidge and Pidge looked behind her, watching the Green Lion's eyes light up and the particle barrier go around the Green Lion. 

 "Hey, you're working again! Welcome back!" Pidge shouted, waving at her lion and she moved over to the Green Lion, but a wire got stuck on her ankle and she fell into the scraps of metal. She groaned, staring at a large satellite like structure and one of the creatures moved forward.

 "No, it's not my friends. It's just an old, rusty satellite," Pidge said, a frown on her face and she let out a gasp. "Hey! Maybe I can find my friends before they find me."

 Pidge went around the debris to take scraps from metal and wires. She carried all the scraps back to the Green Lion with a wire and all the creatures followed after Pidge, wondering what she's doing. Pidge looked in parts of the debris, digging around hard until she finally found something and she started to build it on the Green Lion. 

 With  Shiro, & Keith

"Patience yields focus," Keith said, walking back a little.

 "That really stayed with you, didn't it?" 

 "You've given me some good advice," Keith said, slamming his foot onto the ground and a water geyser popping out.

 "If it wasn't for you, my life would have been a lot different," Keith said. 

 "Yeah. You wouldn't have crashed a flying lion on an alien planet and be stuck with little hope of rescue. So, you're welcome." Shiro cough.

 "Stay with me, Shiro," Keith pleaded, staring over the canyon and the water geyser went down.

 His bayard sword appearing in his other hand and Keith cut a enough space to be launched towards the other end of the canyon.  Keith chuckled nervously as the water launched him a little forward, but the rocks disappeared underneath his feet. Keith let out a scream, falling towards the fog in the canyon, but he used his jet packs to boost himself towards the edge, but his jet packs stopped. Keith held tightly onto the edge, holding onto it as if his life depended on it. 

 "Keith!" 

 "Hang on. I'm on the way," Keith panted, getting onto the cliff and continuing to run towards Shiro.

 "Good because these guys just started digging." 

 Keith using his jet packs and he finally found the Black Lion. Keith chuckled, a smile spreading across his face. "Shiro, we have a visual on the Black Lion," Keith said, the Black Lion in a valley.  Shiro scream, causing Keith to speed up. "Shiro! Shiro!" Keith yelled, hoping he'd answer. "What happened?"

 

 With Allura & Coran

 "Let's check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this worm goes," 5 year old Coran said, his hands on his hips and his tummy grumbled. "I hungry."

 Coran kept jumping on the dashboard and Allura surrounded by the mice which turned into big balls of something. [Name], who is only 1 years old, has fallen asleep on Allura's. 

 "Coran, no! That is not a toy," Allura scolded, running towards 5 year old Coran and picking him up. "You're going to break the Castle and everything will stop! Wait a second. Perhaps we can simply stop the Castle from moving." Allura put her hands on the dashboard and Coran pulled at her hair.

 "No! Mine!" Coran whined, pulling her hair twice then biting her arm.

 "Coran, you're going to make me drop [Name]!" Allura screamed, falling to her knees then pushing a button on the dashboard and she grabs [Name] with one hand before the baby could drop. The Castle powered down and the lights dimmed. "I've shut down all the power. Why are we still moving towards the void?"

 "My control panel!" Coran whined, the Castle going through the void again. 

  Allura's eyes widen, holding a baby Coran and 9 month old [Name] in her arms and he started crying. "I know. I know. Who wants to check the Rift Exit Positioning Monitor to see where this wormhole is taking us?" Allura asked, her voice in a soft tone. "You do, that's who." Coran cooed, his tiny hands moving. "We have to get out of this loop before the only thing left of you is your mustache and [Name]'s suit."

 Coran spat out his pacifier, "Poopies." Allura groaned, her eyebrow twitching.

 "Why can't you be silent like [Name]?"

 With Shiro & Keith

 Keith finally made it to the Black Lion, but Shiro isn't around. Keith stood on the edge of a small cliff and seeing four large creature beasts running after Shiro. Keith  using his jet pack to go towards the Black Lion and Keith put his other hand on the Black Lion's muzzle.

 "I know I'm not Shiro, but he's in trouble. We need to help him," Keith said, staring at the Black Lion with determination.

 The Black Lion's eyes lit up, opening its mouth for Keith to enter which Keith walked in. Keith sat down in the seat, the Black Lion standing up and Keith placed his hands on the handle, pushing one forward. The Black Lion moved towards the place Shiro is at and right on time the Black Lion stepped onto one of the creatures that was about to pounce on Shiro. The Black Lion turned his body, letting out a roar and Keith let out a grunt. The Black Lion stomping on it and using its tail to smash the creature behind it. 

 Two more creatures are left and Shiro sat up, letting out groans and gasps. His eyes widen as the tail of the Black Lion move above Shiro's head to smack another creature, leaving one more. The Black Lion stood over Shiro protectively, letting out a roar that scared the last creature away. 

 
With Pidge

 Pidge put the satellite onto her structure with the help of the fluffy creatures and she kicked off the satellite to get down and she connected a wire with another. "That ought to do it," Pidge said, a smile on her face and staring up at her satellite thingy. "Now, let's see if we can get a hold of the Castle."

 As the structure lines turned blue, it didn't start and Pidge groaned. "No, no! What's wrong? I need to get out of here! I need to find my friends!" Pidge screamed, holding her head in frustration. "Come on!" 

 The Green Lion let out a roar, Pidge's satellite starting up and shooting a green light into space. Pidge moved down to the Green Lion, smiling at it. "Thanks. Now, let's see if this thing works," Pidge said, getting in the Green Lion and sitting down. She pressed something on her dashboard. "I hope the signal's strong enough to reach the Castle."

 With Allura & Coran

  "Coran, [Name], what are we going to do?" Allura asked, holding baby Coran in her arm and 5 month old [Name] in her other arm, Allura control panel. "If we hit the end of the tunnel again, you'll cease to exist."

 Baby Coran whined, turning to Allura's neck and Allura gasped. [Name] woke up from Coran's crying which caused her to start crying loudly, louder than Baby Coran. Allura held the two babies close to her as she stared down at them in sorrow.

 "I'm sorry. You were like a second father to me," Allura said, her eyebrows scrunched as the Castle got closer to the dark void.

 A hologram popped up in front of Allura, beeping. "Coran, [Name], look! The Castle has locked onto a coordinate. Come on. Come on!" Allura pleaded, she used her other hand on the hologram screen.

 The Castle went through a different wormhole and actually ended up in the same place with Pidge.

 "We made it!" Allura exclaimed, a smile on her face and Coran is back to his normal state while [Name] is just a tad bit older.

 Coran let out a snore, opening his eyes, "Hm? Mom?"

 "Are we still alive?" [Name] asked, looking up at Allura.

 Allura dropped Coran, making him fall to the ground, but she is still holding [Name]. Allura's cheeks puffed, trying to stop herself from laughing, but Coran is already laughing. [Name] looked at them in confusion, raising her eyebrow and she crossed her arms. 

 "What? And why haven't you put me down yet?" [Name] asked, scowling at the two adults.

 "Because you're still a child!" Coran laughed, pointing at [Name]. 

 [Name] looks down at her and her eyes widen in fear. [Name] felt that familiar sting in her eyes and nose, but she immediately covers her face with her arms. Sadly, she starts crying and Allura is quick to send a glare at Coran while hugging [Name] to her chest. 

A hologram screen of Pidge appeared on the main screen. "You saved us, Pidge. We were stuck in a time loop," Allura said, smiling at Pidge.

 "You got us out with this giant trash pile," Coran said, having two bumps on his head from falling to the ground.

 "It's a make-shift communications link that sends out the Green Lion energy," Pidge explained, a smile on her face. "It's similar to the energy that guided the Blue Lion home. Is that [Name]?"

 "No!"

 "Pidge, you're a genius!" Coran shouted, flashing her a thumbs up. "Yeah, that is [Name]. I guess the time loop has a different effect on humans."

 "I know. Besides, it wasn't just me. They helped," Pidge said, the fluffy creatures appearing behind her.

 "Hmm..." Coran rubbed the bumps on his head.

 "Let's go get the rest of the paladins," Allura said, a wide smile on her face.

 "I don't wanna be seen like this!" [Name] cries, earning a few chuckles from the adults.

 With Shiro, & Keith

 "Thanks for saving me," Shiro said, him and Keith leaning against the rocks, the two lions near them.

 "You'd have done the same for me. How's your wound?" Keith asked, looking at Shiro.

 "My wound's great. It's getting bigger all the time," Shiro said, still holding onto his side. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

 "Hang in there, Shiro. When Allura and Coran find us, they'll fix you right up, Keith stated, tpatting Shiro's shoulder.

 "Keith if I don't make it out of here..." Shiro said, Keith's eyes widening. "I want you to lead Voltron."

 "Stop talking like that. You're gonna make it," Keith said, the pain in Keith's eyes and Shiro gave a weak smile to him.

 A light shined in the sky and the two turned their attention to the light, watching a wormhole open with the Green Lion flying towards them. Keith stood up, Keith smiling happily while Shiro still leaned against the rock.

Chapter Text

 "It's nice to have everyone back," Allura voiced, the paladins in the bridge together. Pidge and Coran are standing by Allura's side, both trying to hide their smiles because they're excited to see everyone's reactions to the big surprise. "We should get Shiro to a healing pod rather quickly. His injury seems rather serious."

 "I'm sure I'll be fine, Princess," Shiro groaned, clutching his side.

 Suddenly, 5 year old [Name] appears from behind Allura and walks towards Shiro. The four paladins seemed honestly shocked by their wide eyes and opened mouths. Lance rubs his eyes, thinking he might be dreaming, but [Name] stares up at Shiro with a concerned expression on her very young features.

 "Are you okay?"

 "Even her voice changed!" Lance screamed, pointing at [Name]. Lance snaps out of fear and studies her, a smug smirk appearing on his features. "You know, since she's so tiny, she can't hurt us."

 Keith scowled, crossing his arms as he watched Lance pick up 5 year old [Name] and holding her high up. "It's you that she's physical with."

 [Name] glares harshly at Lance, but her glare is more cute than menacing. Lance finds her cute glare absolutely adorable and he spins around, watching as her glare becomes more cuter. It seems that he can't seem or feel to notice that she is pinching his skin. Lance smiles until he feels the pain start to become more unbearable and he lets out a strike of pain, letting go of [Name].

 The paladins watched as [Name] is falling towards the floor and she's not even screaming as she's falling to her doom. Hunk and Shiro, the two who reacted quickly out of everyone, rushed with their arms out to catch [Name], but instead of catching her, they crash into each other and fall onto the floor. Keith's eyes widen, rushing to catch [Name] too, but it's too late.

 [Name] lands on Shiro's back, staring at the paladins with an uninterested expression on her young features. Keith stares at [Name] with wide eyes, his arms out in front of him while Lance looks astonished that he almost killed, not literally, but you know what it feels when you drop something that's small and could be easily damaged. Imagine how Lance feels, okay peeps. [Name] slides off of Shiro and she's finally back onto the ground and she lets out a sigh.

 "You guys couldn't even catch me," [Name] mumbles, shaking her head. "Anyways, we should get Shiro into a healing pod." 

 "[Name]'s right," Allura voiced. 

***

"Is he okay?" Hunk asked, looking at Allura and Coran.

 5 year old [Name] sitting on Hunk's shoulders to see Shiro. Coran looking at the hologram screen at the control panel for the pods. Shiro continued grunting, his eyebrows furrowed.

 "Sometimes, the healing process can cause involuntary brain wave reactions," Allura explained, looking over to Hunk.

 "He looks like he's having a bad dream," Hunk said, looking over to Shiro.

 "He just got blasted by a space witch and mauled by giant lizards," Keith said, his arms crossed and staring up at Shiro. 

 "What dream could be worse than that?" [Name] questioned, staring at Shiro with concern. "I'm sure he'll be fine once the healing process is done." [Name] glances towards Keith, knowing that he has known Shiro the longest and is close friends with the man as well.

 "Hope you're right, [Name]," Hunk said, softly squeezing [Name]'s tiny legs. 

***

"Are you hungry, [Name]?" Hunk asked, gazing at the child with hopeful eyes.

 [Name] stops in her tracks and she turns around to face Hunk. He lowers himself to at least her height and claps his hands together, his eyes begging her to say yes. [Name] simply nods her head and Hunk lets out a gasp of excitement, picking up [Name] and holding her in the air. [Name] could only feel a pit of worry and fear building in her stomach.

 "What's going on?" Lance questioned, walking towards [Name] and Hunk.

 Hunk smiles widely. "I'm going to cook for [Name]!" 

 Lance stuffs his hands into his jacket pocket, tilting his head a little. "Haven't you cooked for her before? I'm sure her taste buds haven't changed. Not even her attitude."

 "And I realize how low you've become," [Name] remarks, scowling at Lance. "It's even lower than my current height, but I'm sure you haven't noticed."

 Lance opens his mouth to make a retort, but quickly shuts it. Just the most sassiest and devious expression on [Name]'s young features is the most cutest, but scariest thing ever. He fears that if he's going to say something, she'll say something that will ruin Lance or destroy his kneecaps. Lance isn't going to take that risk.

 "Well, I'll come along," Lance said, dropping the insulting each other conversation. "I'm hungry so I might as well eat with you guys." 

 "You carry [Name]."

 "Why do I have to!"

 "Because you've known her the longest."

 "That's-"

 "I can walk myself," [Name] mumbled, jumping out of Hunk's arms and landing on the floor perfectly.

***

 "Do I have to be near Lance or why in his lap!" [Name] yelled, scowling at Hunk.

 Hunk, who's wearing an apron and is making some odd-looking meal, but it smelled wonderful. [Name]'s arms dropped from her side as she gazes at the food with a hungry look in her eyes. Lance's arms are wrapped around [Name]'s tiny frame and he looks at the food too, knowing that the food isn't for him. He'd like some of course, but he knows that [Name] isn't the type to share.

 "Tell me if you like it," Hunk informed, pushing the plate towards [Name] and Lance. "While you're eating that, I can definitely make you come more things to eat!"

 [Name] looks at the food then at Hunk with her eyes widen in horror. Hunk's gonna feed her like what grandparents do to their grandchildren about getting them to eat a lot. [Name] loves food, but she exercises to take off the food too. She's just a 5 year old girl! [Name] hardly remembers what she did as a 5 year old girl besides annoying her brother. 

 "Hey... Lance," [Name] whispered, watching as Hunk keeps making plates of food. "Do you want some?"

 Lance looks at her with wide eyes. "You're asking me? If I want some? Have you changed? What have I done to deserve your kindness?"

 Lance starts rambling, lifting [Name] up then putting her back down. As Lance is distracted, [Name] jumps out of Lance's lap and she hurries towards the doors. She looks over the her shoulder, watching as Lance is scarfing down the food that Hunk is making. She smiles, knowing that Lance wouldn't notice if she's going, but Hunk will notice once he's done making food. [Name] smiles in victory. 

 [Name] walks along the halls, deciding to stop by the healing pod room. She wouldn't mind visiting Shiro to see how he's doing because he did look horrible when she first saw him. She hopes he'll be okay, but she knows there's nothing she can possible do besides wait until Shiro is actually better. 

 [Name] picks up her pace when she hears Hunk and Lance calling out her name. She tenses up when their voices get louder and she curses them for being tall. She hides in a different room, the doors closing behind her once she's inside and she realizes she's actually at the training deck. Her gaze falls upon the emo mullet hair boy and he falls onto the floor, panting with exhaustion. [Name] can hear the distant calls from Lance and Hunk, she hurries over to Keith, but her pace slows down.

 "Keith?" [Name] whispered, peering down at the boy who's eyes are closed.

 His eyes snapped forward and he launches himself to sit upright, accidentally bashing his head with [Name]'s. [Name] clutches her head in pain and Keith does the same, rubbing the spot he hit. "Sorry. You surprised me."

 "I realize that."

 Keith purses his lips, not liking [Name]'s attitude. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous for a..."

 "A child?" [Name] questioned, sitting in front of Keith. "I know, but I'm not a child anymore. I can probably beat you." 

 Keith smirks. "I highly doubt that."

 [Name] scowls. "Wanna bet?" 

 "No weapons, just our fists," Keith stated, standing up to his full height.

 [Name] stands up as well, a pout on her features and her hands on her hips. She's knows for sure that Keith has the advantage because of height and strength and 5 year old probably doesn't really punch really hard. Keith held up his fists and got into his position while [Name] stood there, bending her legs a little while the two of them stared at each other with determination. 

 [Name] will beat Keith. 

 Keith and [Name] ran towards each other, but someone appeared between them. Keith and [Name] skidded to a stop, seeing Coran holding his hands out to signal to stop with a serious expression on his features. [Name] and Keith stopped their fighting stances and looked at Coran for an explanation. 

 "No fighting," Coran stated. "[Name] could hurt herself and no one would like to see her pain, right Keith?" Keith nods his head slowly, crossing his arms and Coran turns his attention to [Name]. "Lance and Hunk are looking for you"

 "I know," [Name] mumbled, a pout on her lips. "I wanted to escape them." 

 "We're meeting at the break room," Coran informed, walking towards the exit.

 [Name] follows after him, but kicks Keith in his leg as she passes him. Keith groans quietly, not wanting to alert Coran and [Name] sticks her tongue out at him. Keith glares harshly at her, following after her and Coran. Keith is definitely doing to get her back after that. No one kicks Keith in his leg and gets away with it.

***

 "Here's one of my dresses for you, [Name]," Allura said, holding out one of her tiny dresses she had. 

 [Name] sat in the middle of the circle, the Paladins except Shiro sitting around her and Allura forces a dress onto [Name]. It's one of the dresses that Allura used to wear when she was younger. [Name]'s arms are crossed as she grumbles unhappy, inappropriate things about them while they treat her like a child. 

 "You remember that one song?" Hunk questioned, smiling at the other Paladins.

 Pidge tilts her head. "Which one?"

 "The color song!" Hunk exclaimed, his smile widening.

 "The Crayon Song?" Lance asked, Hunk nodding his head rapidly.

 "Yeah!"

 "We've never heard of the Crayon Song," Allura said, a smile on her features while [Name] groans loudly, lying onto the floor. "Would you mind singing it for us?" 

 "Sure!"

 "Please no," [Name] whispered, covering her ears. 

 "Hey Kids! Welcome back to the wonderful show's imaginary fun learning emporium-palooza extravaganza hour for kids!" Hunk started, his voice loud and booming.

 [Name]'s eyes are widen. "Please no."

 Keith smirks, happy to know that [Name] is getting tortured about this stupid song that he dislikes himself.  

 "Hello Kids. I'm the color Red and I brought my friends to teach you about them." Lance is taking the first verse, but [Name] is standing to her feet. "They're the colors of all the things you see and Red is me, the color of awesome things-" [Name] glares at Lance with a murderous gaze in her eyes, but he's too immerse in the song "-like: Hearts, and roses, and Mars, but most importantly-"

 [Name] launches herself at Lance and Lance lets out the loudest shriek that anyone has ever heard him. [Name] doesn't realize that she's being held back by something and she's still trying to pound in Lance's face. Lance continues to scream, [Name]'s tiny fists not even coming close enough to Lance's face to do physical harm. 

 "What did you guys do?"

 That familiar voice stopped [Name]'s actions and she looks up to see who's holding her back. Shiro smiles at the others and [Name] smiles widely, but something odd happens. It seems that she and the others realize what is happening and [Name] is starting to get bigger. Shiro removes his hands from [Name]'s body as it's getting to her original size.

 [Name] sits back, staring at her hands as they grow to the its original size and she smiles. She lets out a cheery giggle, looking at her hands while Allura pats her shoulder. Lance, who is under [Name], continues to stare up at her in fear. [Name] looks towards Allura.

 "It seems that the affect wore off quicker," Allura chuckled.

 [Name] stands up, removing herself from Lance and the others stand up as well. She looks down at herself to see that Allura's dress had stretched and tore on her body, her space suit in a perfect condition underneath the dress. [Name] smiles sheepishly at Allura.

 "Sorry about the dress."

 "Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to be wearing it anytime soon," Allura said.

 "It's not like I'm going to forget that traumatic experience anytime soon," Lance commented.

Chapter Text

Everyone stood around Pidge, a wire in Shiro's prosthetic arm that's connected to Pidge's laptop. Shiro explained what he remembered while he was in the pod. How a Galra helped him escape and that he has coordinates in his arm. "I'm not finding any coordinates in here. Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?" Pidge asked, raising an eyebrow at Shiro.

 "I'm positive. Someone helped me escape," Shiro said, a determine look on his face.

 "And he was Galra?" Allura asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

 "Yes," Shiro confirmed, looking up at her then looking down.

 "You know you cannot trust them," Allura said, hatred clearly written on her face.

 "Your father must have trusted them once, though," [Name] stated, Shiro smiling to himself.

 "Zarkon was the original Black Paladin, wasn't he?" Shiro asked, looking up at Allura with his eyebrows furrowed.

 "That was a long time ago," Allura stated, looking to the side to avoid Shiro's gaze.

 "Wait, what?" Lance asked, his eyes widening.

 "Did you not see how the Black Lion was stolen from Shiro?" [Name] questioned, her tone harsh. "Or that Zarkon could do all those things with his bayard? Shiro's bayard? The black bayard."

 "Why didn't you just tell us the truth about Zarkon?" Shiro asked. 

 Everyone looking at Allura since she has her eyes closed. "I wanted to protect you from the dark history of the paladins so that you would have a chance to bond with your lions on your own," Allura explained, looking up with apologetic eyes. "You are the Black Paladin, now, not Zarkon."

 "Yeah, well, the Black Lion may have a different take on the matter," Shiro mumbled, looking down.

 "Wait a second," Pidge's said, catching everyone's attention. "I think I see it now. Some repeating numbers in all this Galra code. Let me extract it."

 A large hologram screen popped up, more pictures and scans appearing on it. "They are coordinates. They lead to the Thaldycon system," [Name] stated, Shiro having a small proud look on his features as he gazed at her.

 "Then, that's where we're headed," Shiro said, standing up.

 "Shiro, are you sure you can trust this?" Keith asked, catching Shiro's attention. "I mean, after all the Galra have done to you-- They-- They took your arm."

 "It's worth the risk. Someone helped me escape. If we can locate some allies in our fight against Zarkon, especially ones from his own side, we might just find a way to take him down," Shiro said, staring at Keith.

 "We can check the location, but I do not like this," Allura said. "The Galra are not to be trusted."

***

 The Castle went through a wormhole to the coordinates. There's floating crystals and soon more than thousands that blocked a way. "Well, this is it. No sign of any activity at all, living or otherwise," Coran said, at his control panel.

 "Can we get in there to get a closer look?" [Name] asked, looking over at Coran.

 "I don't want to bring the Castle any closer," Coran said, the screen having one of the crystals in a circle. "Those xanthorium chunks contain highly unstable nitrate salts. Even bumping one of them can blow us straight to Wozblay."

 "Are you sure this is right?" Shiro asked, scrunching his eyebrows a little.

 "These are the coordinates Number Six," Coran said, his nickname for Pidge is Number Six.

 "Hey! Our decryption is solid," Pidge said, slightly glaring at Coran.

 "There must be something we're missing," Shiro said, sitting in his own seat and staring at the screens.

 "We should get out of here," Allura advise. "We've checked it out, but now, it's time to move on."

 "No. There must be something more to this. I can feel it," Shiro said, he looked up. "I think we should wait."

 Soon the alarm went off and you stood up straight. "There's an intruder in the Castle!" Coran yelled, looking over his shoulder.

 "How could someone just sneak aboard the ship?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

 "I knew coming here was a mistake!" Allura said, screens appearing around her. 

 She typed away on the screens, going to the cameras. "There he is. Level five," Allura said.

 "Everyone, suit up," Shiro said, standing up.

 The others went into their pods, deciding to put on their suits and [Name] just heads over to level five, having nothing, but her own fists to attack the intruder. Keith suddenly walks with her and she doesn't glare at him, surprising Keith. She actually has a calm expression on her features as she's walking with him.

 "I got him," Lance said, she can hear Lance from Keith's helmet.

 "Keep eyes on him, Lance. We're all headed toward you," Shiro said.

 "Don't get in my way," [Name] hissed, scowling at Keith.

 Keith furrows his eyebrows. Maybe she hasn't changed. 

 "Careful, he's faster than an angry klanmüirl!" Coran said through the speakers, watching Lance shoot at the intruder. "But he can jump like a sprightly globinheffer!" 

 "What is that anyways?" [Name] mumbled, her and Keith picking up their pace. 

 "Coran, you're not helping," Lance growled. 

 "Somebody's as mad as a wet chüper," Coran added. "Coming your way, Number Six!" 

 The intruder is close to Pidge, [Name] and Keith picked up their pace again.

 "I got him!" Pidge grunted. "I don't got him!" 

 "He's dragging Pidge away!" Coran yelled. 

 "Come back here!" Pidge grunted. "Hunk!"

 "Huh? Sorry!" Hunk apologized.

 "Oh, Hunk failed the team, guys," Coran said. 

 "Hey!" Hunk whined.

 [Name] and Keith skidded to a stop, waiting for the intruder to show up.

 "All right, it's up to Keith and [Name] now," Coran said.

 "Copy that. We're ready," Keith said, holding his bayard in his hand. 

 "Ooh, this is exciting! They have a sword," Coran said, watching [Name] and Keith. "Two young paladins, one seemingly indestructible foe..." 

 [Name] watching the intruder turn a corner with a bright, green wire in his hand. Her and Keith dodged the wire, running after the intruder and hearing Pidge scream. Keith runs a bit faster and he ran side by side with the intruder, swinging his sword, but Keith missed. 

 "Swing and miss! Oh, another swing and a miss!" Coran said. 

 Keith swung and the intruder dodged and made a turn. Keith rolled to a stop while [Name] accidentally collided into Pidge and held onto her bayard wire that's being dragged by the intruder.

 "He can't touch him! He's too fast!" Coran yelled, [Name]and Pidge looked at Keith. 

 [Name] and Pidge planted their feet on the ground, her shoes skidding against the ground as the two slowed down the intruder. Keith picked up his speed, using his jet pack to launch himself to the wall and using the wall as a boost towards the intruder. Keith swung his sword, his sword clashing against the intruder's sword. The intruder slashed Keith's bayard out his hands and the intruder stood up.

 "He knocked his bayard out of his hands! It's on the ground!" Coran yelled.

 [Name] ran towards the intruder and Keith at her side, the two of them charging towards the intruder. The intruder pulled the wire, Pidge knocking into [Name] and Keith. The three of them fall to the floor, but [Name] picks herself up. She glares at the intruder with a murderous glint in her eyes and she pulls back her fist. The intruder ran towards and turns around, using his arm to get caught in [Name]'s and the intruder spins her around, but [Name] uses her legs to push the intruder away. [Name] pushes off the intruder, but that causes her to go flying into Lance and Hunk who just turned the corner.

 She groans as she lifts herself off of Lance and Hunk and she sees Shiro run past them. When the intruder regained his composure, Shiro acted fast, but so did the intruder. Shiro's prosthetic hand is at the intruder's throat while a sword is returned at Shiro's. [Name] stands up, helping Lance and Hunk then she slowly makes her way over to Shiro, feeling the tension rise.

 The intruder removed the sword from Shiro's throat, dropping his guard and [Name] let out a sigh of relief. The intruder removed his hood, his mask disappearing with a blue light and revealing the face of a Galra.

 "Ulaz?" Shiro asked, putting his glowing, purple prosthetic hand away.

 Allura runs towards the Galra, Ulaz, and push him against the wall. "Who are you?" Allura asked, glaring at him. 

 "Stop! It's him! This is the Galra who set me free," Shiro said, running over to Allura.

 "You've come," Ulaz said, looking at Shiro.

***

 Everyone is in the resting room, expect Coran. Ulaz is sitting on the couch with his arms and ankles in cuffs. "I will not have some quiznak-ing Galra soldier on the bridge of my ship!" Allura complained, [Name]'seyes widen when she said quiznak. 

 "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already," Ulaz said, trying to put Allura at ease, but it did the opposite.

 "Are your Galra threats supposed to win my trust?" Allura asked, glaring at Ulaz.

 "I'm not trying to win your trust. I'm trying to win a war," Ulaz stated, still looking down. "And because of Shiro, we are closer than we've ever been. Our gamble on you paid off better than we could have ever imagined."

 "When you released me, you also mentioned that there were others working with you," Shiro said, staring at the Garla.

 "Yes. We are called the Blade of Marmora," Ulaz said, looking up at Shiro.

 "Uh, others? Are they here?" Huk asked, sounding scared.

 "Hunk, can you try not to act so scared around the chained-up prisoner?" Lance asked, his arms crossed and looking over to Hunk. "It makes us seem a little lame."

 "I am alone on this base," Ulaz said.

 "What is the base you're talking about?" You asked, tilting your head. "Shiro's coordinates just lead us to this-"

 "Quiznak-ing wasteland!" Allura shouted, cutting off [Name] and [Name] glared at her.

 "The base is hidden. Now that I know it is Shiro that has come, you are welcome to our outpost," Ulaz said, everyone staring at him. "It lies dead ahead."

 "Behind all the xanthorium clusters?" Pidge asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

 "No. Right in front of it, in a hidden pocket of space-time," Ulaz explained.

 "Coran, are you hearing this?" Allura asked, looking up and still probably angry. 

 "I am picking up some kind of anomaly on the screen. I suppose it could be a cloaked base," Coran informed.

 "Just fly straight for the center of the xanthorium cluster. You will see," Ulaz said, Allura harden her glare at him.

 "You think you're going to get me to destroy our ship just because you say so?" Allura asked, her tone harsh.

 "We came out here to find some answers. Are we going to turn back now?" Shiro asked, catching everyone's attention.

 "You know I trust you, Shiro, but this doesn't feel right," Keith said.

 "And you know I hate to agree with Keith, but it's a big fat ditto for me," Lance said, his arms crossed with an eyebrow raised. 

 "Galra could have implanted fake memories of the escape in your head," Pidge said.

 "Oh, come on, that would be so evil, which, of course, they are," Hunk said, looking down at Pidge. "But they'd have to come up with some molecular level storage unit, which his hand does have. But to be linked up to memory, it would need a direct pathway to his brain, which... yeah."

 "I agree with Shiro," [Name] stated, her arms crossed as she stands by Shiro. "Ulaz did free Shiro. Without him, none of us would be here at this moment." Shiro flashed you a smile which you returned.

 Allura thought for a while, then she made up her mind. "Fine. Slow and steady, Coran. Head for the xanthorium  cluster." Allura glares at Shiro and [Name], a smirk on [Name]'s lips. 

 "Thanks [Name]," Shiro whispered, giving [Name] a smile.

 [Name] returns the smile. "Of course."

 "Yes, Princess. Beginning approach," Coran said. "Impact imminent in five, four... three, two... Well, that's something." 

 "What is it?" Allura asked. 

 "Putting it up on the screens," Coran said.

 Everyone looked behind towards the only screen in the resting/relax room.

 "Amazing. They're folding space," Pidge said, stars, purple, green, and light blue light pass by the Castle.

 "It's like a space taco. Or a space calzone," Hunk said, a large smile on his face with a blush. "Or a space-time soup dumpling and we're the soup. Hey, is there a cafeteria on this thing?"

 Then a space building appeared, no xanthorium clusters anywhere. "Welcome to the Blade of Marmora Communications Base Thadldycon," Ulaz said, everyone still staring at the screen. "Now, if you'll free me, I need to send a message to the leadership. They need to know I've made contact with Voltron."

 "Go with him and keep an eye on him," Allura ordered, glaring at Ulaz then looking towards Shiro. "I'm staying here."

 "Ooh! Can we go?" Hunk asked.

 "I want to see how they make the space pocket!" Pidge said excitedly, stars in her eyes.

 "You guys go ahead. I'll hang back and protect the princess," Lance said, a large, proud smile on his face.

 "Ugh..." Allura groaned, looking to the side. 

***

 [Name], Shiro, Pidge, Ulaz, and Hunk went into the Red Lion, Keith at the helm. The Red Lion went to the station, a ball of electricity between two structures. "This is the gravity generator that creates the space-time fold that hides the station," Ulaz explained, everyone staring at it. "It was created by a reclusive genius engineer name Slav. His technology allows the Blade of Marmora to remain hidden while we work to take down the Galra Empire. Zarkon would do anything to get his hands on this technology."

 "There are Galra out there that aren't loyal to Zarkon?" Keith asked, driving the Red Lion to the landing space.

 "We thought expanding the Galra Empire would bring stability. We learned too late, a tyrant doesn't seek stability, only power," Ulaz said, the Red Lion landing on the landing space.

 Everyone stood in the control area, [Name] stood with Shiro and Ulaz, Keith staring at the gravity generator. "With our members working on the inside, planning coordinated attacks with Voltron, we may finally have a chance," Ulaz said, working at the control panel as [Name], Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk crowd around Ulaz.

 "So, you have agents working within Zarkon's ranks?" Hunk asked, Ulaz looked over his shoulder at Hunk.

 "How do you think you got away from Zarkon in that last fight?" Ulaz asked, almost glaring at Hunk. "Do you think those shields around Zarkon's command center went down on their own? We've got people risking their lives in this war, just like you."

 "If you have people on the inside, can they tell me where my family is?" Pidge asked, catching Ulaz's attention. "They were taken the same time Shiro was."

 "My brother too. He was taken the same time as Shiro," [Name] informed, the tiniest bit of hope in her eyes.

 "I knew others from Earth were captured," Ulaz stated. "I never saw them, but I have some records of Galra prisoners here. I can transmit them to your ship." 

 "What's that weapon you carry?" Keith asked.

 Ulaz going back to working on his control panel and Ulaz turned his body to Keith.  "It's a ceremonial blade that each member of our order carries." Holding the blade in his hands.

 "Hmm, nice," Keith said, looking up at Ulaz.

 The alarms went off. The screens showed the xanthorium clusters, a moving object moving towards them.

 "Oh, no!" Ulza shouted, he turned around and glared at everyone. "You were tracked!" 

 "What? Us?" [Name]'s eyes widening.

 "If Zarkon knows we're here, it's because you ratted us out," Keith growled, glaring at Ulaz.

 The robot that has a large face with two arms and its bottom a jet pack booster. "It's another one of Zarkon's robot... beast... ro-beasts!" Hunk shouted, coming up with the name last minute.

 "We have to get back to the ship," Shiro said.

 "Shiro, wait," Ulaz said, turning around and holding a card cip in his hand. "These are instructions on how to reach the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Before you got there, find out how Zarkon is tracking you. If you lead him there, our entire underground network, everything we've spent centuries building, will be lost." 

 Shiro took the card chip, nodding his head and everyone went back to the Red Lion, leaving Ulaz in the station. A hologram screen of Allura appeared on Keith's dashboard. "I knew he could not be trusted!" Allura shouted, her eyebrows furrowed.

 "It wasn't him," [Name] stated, her arms crossed.

 "How can you be sure?" Allura asked, a scowl on her face. 

 "It doesn't matter now. What should we do?" Coran asked.

 "Why can't we hide here in the space clam and wait for it to go away?" Hunk asked, everyone looking at him.

 Hunk's right, his idea is pretty good.

 "Everyone get to your lions, but don't launch," Shiro order, everyone looking at him. "We'll wait to see what it does. I don't want to risk fighting it if we don't have to."

 The Red Lion rested in the launcher, the others going towards their lions while [Name] jogged to the control room.

 "We should be safe as long as we're hidden in the space pocket," Pidge said.

 The ro-beast opened its mouth, sucking the xanthorium clusters in its mouth. 

 "He's drawing in the xanthorium clusters," Coran stated, sound panic.

 The ro-beast closed its mouth, opening it and a red beam shot out, hitting the xanthroium clusters and causing them to explode. The ro-beast moved forward.

 "I think he knows we're here," Hunk said, the ro-beast stopped moving. 

 "Hold..." Shiro ordered. 

 The ro-beast opened its mouth, shooting more beams and the Castle got it. "Direct hit! He knows we're here!" [Name] informed, the Castle getting hit twice.

 "Get the particle barrier up!" Allura commanded, the barrier went up, protecting the Castle from incoming beams.

 The ro-beast stopped firing, drawing in more xanthorium clusters. "He's getting ready for another attack!" [Name] yelled, watching the ro-beast. 

 "He's pulling us in as well!" Allura informed, the Castle being pulled towards the entrance of the time-space fold. "Paladins, I think it's time to launch!" 

 "Form Voltron!" Shiro ordered.

 The lions flying out their launchers and forming Voltron as the ro-beast continued to build up its attack. Voltron excited the time-space fold, punching the ro-beast and the ro-beast fired, but upwards. 

 "We're exposed! The space fold has been lowered!" Allura informed.

 "Well, there goes Ulaz," Coran said, a station ship leaving the area. 

 "I knew we should never trust a Galra!" Allura growled.

 Voltron kept punching the ro-beast, trying to dodge the xanthorium. "Let's light this thing up. Fire lasers!" Shiro order. 

 The Green Lion Arm and Red Lion Arm shot a laser towards the ro-beast and hitting it three times.

 "Huh?" Keith asked, his eyes widening.

 The ro-beast turning around and opening his mouth, drawing in more xanthorium clusters.

 "He's pulling in more ammo!" Pidge shouted.

 The ro-beast closed its mouth and turned towards Voltron, opening its mouth and getting ready to fire.

 "Move, move, move!" Shiro shouted. 

 Voltron dodged the laser beam, but the beam kept following Voltron and making the xanthorium clusters explode as Voltron passed by them. Voltron was pushed to the side by an explosion from a xanthorium. Keith groaned, Voltron moving around.

 "Lance, Hunk, give me full reverse boosters!" Shiro said. 

 The Blue Lion Leg and Orange Lion Leg used their boosters to stop Voltron from falling onto a xanthorium. The ro-beast opened its mouth, drawing in more xanthorium clusters and Voltron to its mouth. Voltron used its boosters to escape the light beam that's pulling Voltron to the ro-beast, but a xanthorium hit Voltron and exploded. Voltron is still being pulled towards the ro-beast.

 "This thing wants to eat us like we're a space taco!" Hunk yelled.

 Voltron puts its legs on the ro-beats's mouth, stopping itself from being eaten. 

 "Can't get free!" Shiro groaned, Voltron trying to escape.

 "I'll make him back off!" Keith growled.

 A dagger appearing in the Red Lion's mouth and stabbing the ro-beast on its head.  The ro-beast stopped the light beam, Voltron using its boosters to get away from the ro-beast. 

 "Keep your distance between yourselves and the ro-beast!" [Name] ordered.

 The ro-beast followed after Voltron and shot out red lasers. Voltron dodged the lasers, but the lasers hit the xanthorium clusters and exploded which the explosion hit Voltron. Voltron left the explosions, getting pulled into the light beam again. 

 "It's trying to pull us in again!" Hunk yelled, Voltron escaping the beam, but only getting caught again.

 Voltron used its boosters, trying to escape the light beam again. 

 "I'm burning thrusters at full capacity and it's not making any difference!" Lance informed. 

 Voltron still getting pulled towards the ro-beast. When Voltron was close enough to the ro-beast's mouth, a blue laser was shot at the ro-beast. The impact of the laser causing an explosion that pushed Voltron and the ro-beast away from each other. 

 "Are you guys okay?" [Name] questioned, her tone concerned. 

 "Alive, yes. All right, no," Lance said. 

 The light beam of the ro-beast drawing xanthorium clusters and the Castle towards it. The xanthorium clusters exploded against the Castle's particle barrier.

 "It's going for the Castle!" [Name] shouted, her eyes widening. 

 "We need someway to stop its tractor beam!" Pidge shouted. 

 "I've got an idea. Pidge, form shield!" Shiro ordered, Voltron formed its shield and went towards the Castle and ro-beast. "We can use the shield to block the beam!" 

 Voltron put the shield in front of the ro-beast, punching the ro-beast away.

 "We stopped the beam. Now, what?" Keith asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

 "Now, we go on the offensive," Shiro stated.

 "The xanthorium clusters! We can use them!" Pidge shouted.

 Voltron pushing against the shield and using its boosters to help push the ro-beast towards the xanthorium clusters. Voltron gave the ro-beast a final push, making it move towards the large xanthorium clusters and getting its shield back. The large xanthorium cluster exploded, everyone smiled. The happy moment was ruined when a red laser beam is fired at Voltron and Voltron used its shield to protect itself.

 The vitals from Voltron kept flashing and [Name] bites her lip in worry.

 "The shield can't handle this much power!" Pidge informed. 

 The shield went away and Voltron moved around. Voltron used its boosters to stabilize itself and it was drawn into the tracker beam once again. Voltron used its reverse boosters to escape, but it keeps getting closer and closer to the ro-beast. 

 "We might not be strong enough to beat this thing!" Hunk said.

 "I can't think of anything to beat the ro-beast," [Name] informed, running a hand through her hair. 

 "Hang on!" A familiar voice shouted, the voice belonging to Ulaz.

 "Ulaz?" [Name] asked, shocked and she noticed the station ship coming towards Voltron and the ro-beast. 

 "I'm going to take it down from the inside!" Ulaz said.

 [Name]'s eyes widen. "If you do that, you'll die!" 

 "Ulaz, no! Let us handle this!" Shiro shouted, getting closer to Voltron and ro-beast. 

 "Voltron is to valuable. The universe needs you," Ulaz said, the small, station ship go inside the ro-beast mouth. 

 The ro-beast was pushed back a little, the tracker beam stopped. The ro-beast used its boosters to get closer to Voltron, everyone letting out a gasp. 

 "Get ready!" Shiro shouted. 

 Voltron putting up its defense and the ro-beast stopped moving. The ro-beast open its mouth then close it, the arms disappearing.

 "Ulaz opened up the space pocket from inside! It's falling in on itself!" Pidge explained.

 The ro-beast got smaller and smaller until it disappeared. A light engulfed it, but disappeared, revealing a gaping hole in the xanthorium clusters. 

 "He did it!" Hunk said, a smile on his face.

 "Ulaz saved us," Keith said, a shock expression on his face.

 "He's dead," [Name] whispered, her shock state then turning to anger. She looks over at Allura. "Guess you can't trust him, huh?" Allura doesn't say anything and she looks away.

 ***

 Everyone returned back to the ship. [Name] standing next to Shiro as he stares out the window. Keith walks in, his gaze lowered to the ground. 

 "Sorry we doubted Ulaz, Shiro. He saved all our lives," Keith said, staring at Shiro's back.

 "I still have so many questions," Shiro said, sounding depressed.

 [Name] heard the doors open again, but she doesn't bother looking behind her.

 "Do you really think Zarkon is tracking us?" [Name] questioned, glancing towards Shiro.

 "We cannot know for sure. Only Ulaz knew our whereabouts," Allura said, [Name] and Keith looked behind. 

 "You don't really think Ulaz gave us up? After he sacrificed himself?" Shiro asked, looking at Allura with his eyebrows furrowed.

 "Yeah! Maybe Zarkon found out about this place on his own," Keith said, getting a little offended by what Allura said. "He's probably been searching for the Blade of Marmora."

 "It's clear the loss of Ulaz has caused you great concern, but regardless of how Zarkon located us, we cannot stay here any longer," Allura said, glaring at the three of them. "It isn't safe." 

 "We should meet up with the rest of Ulaz's group, finish what we started," Keith said, clenching his hands into fists.

 "No. We're going to figure out how Zarkon found us, first, Keith," [Name] stated, her features harden. "Ulaz said to figure out how Zarkon is tracking us first before we head to their headquarters. We can't risk losing our only allies."

***

 [Name] lets out a yawn, covering her mouth, but she stops in her tracks. She noticed the lights on in Shiro's room still on and she ponders what he's doing up so late. She walks over to the doors, knocking on them softly and the doors slide open to reveal Shiro standing there. He beckons for her to come in and she does, leaning against the wall.

 She yawns. "What are you doing up so late?" 

 "Couldn't sleep," Shiro stated, giving her a kind smile. "What about you."

 "I'm thirsty," you chuckled, watching Shiro sit down on his bed. "Are you still upset about Ulaz?" 

 Shiro nods his head. "Yeah. He saved me. Twice."

 "He did, but is the reason why you can't sleep?" [Name] asked, raising her eyebrow.

 Shiro's smile drops. "Just thinking about my time when I was taken. It's hard to sleep with those thoughts running through my head."

 [Name] pushes herself off the wall and she walks over to Shiro. She pushes him back onto the bed, Shiro's face turning red until he's lying on the bed. [Name] walks over to the lights and Shiro's face flushes more when he sees that she's just wearing a t-shirt. Shiro looks away immediately. 

 "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep if you're okay with it?" [Name] questioned, turning off the lights.

 Shiro clears his throat when he feels the bed dip. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine with it."

 "Then scoot over," [Name] whispered.

 Shiro did as he was told, scooting over and [Name] gets under the blankets. Shiro's lying on his back, his eyes focused on the nothingness since its dark. He feels [Name]'s smaller hands compared to his reach out and hold his hand, giving it a little squeeze. Shiro is glad that it's too dark to see anything because his face is as red as a tomato.

 "Good night," [Name] whispered.

 "Good... night."

Chapter Text

 "Let's hurry up with these repairs. Zarkon could be here at any moment," Shiro said [Name] and the paladins being outside the Castle in space.

 Hunk turn the thing, lifting it up and revealing a twist of blue light. "Okay, panel's off. Now, what?" Hunk asked, the twist of blue light. 

 "Very simple. Just loosen the blaxums on the somoflange," Coran said, [Name] could only ponder what he said.

 "Could you be more specific?" Hunk asked, deadpanning at Coran's words.

 "Sorry, Hunk, he means the poklones on the agroclams," Allura said, which is more confusing.

 "I don't think that helps," [Name] informed, floating around in the space. 

 "Easy, Hunk. I got this," Lance said. A smug smile on his face and Lance started to mess with the small touch pad on top of the twist of blue light. It started to whir then the alarms went off, the lights turning red. "Uh-oh. That can't be good." 

 "No, not the smalters, the poklones!" Allura yelled, getting irritated.

 "No, no! It's the blaxums!" Coran corrected.  "What are you talking about?" Keith asked, [Name] and Pidge looked at the controls.

 [Name] turned two knobs while Pidge pushed some buttons, [Name] then turning the handle. "There," she said, the blaring noise stopped. 

 "Well done, Pidge and [Name]!" Allura praised, the twist of light turned blue.

 "The tech on this ship never ceases to amaze me," Pidge said, admiring the tech with stars in her eyes."It's so mathematically elegant. Its fit is a 100 times more frictionless than any exoskeleton we have on Earth. It's... beautiful."

 "It's not a sunset, Pidge," Lance said, not understanding Pidge's love for technology. 

 "You're right. A billion sunsets just happen every day," Pidge said, her eyebrows scrunching. "Some genius engineer actually built this."

 "You just had to ruin Pidge's excitement?" [Name] growled, glaring at Lance.

 The twist of blue light went back into the Castle, a smile on Hunk's face. "Kinda looks like a big, delicious curly fry," Hunk said, getting hit in the face with some space snowball. "What the...?" The Castle entered an area with floating, space snowball.

 Shiro's shield appeared on his arm. "Okay. We're prepared for this." [Name] used her shield, blocking the incoming snowballs. "Remember your rogue projectile cluster training from the Garrison. First, we need a temporary shelter. Wha-?" 

 Shiro got hit in the head by one of the space snowball. 

 "Oh, sorry, Shiro. I was trying to hit Keith," Lance said, a smirk on his face and Lance got hit in the face.

 "Like that?" Keith asked, chuckling to himself and holding another space snowball in his hand. 

 "Yes! Squishy asteroid fight!" Hunk yelled, holding two space snowballs. 

 [Name] opened her mouth to say something, but she was hit in the face with a snowball. She looked at the person which turns out to be Lance and a smirk spreads across her features. She grabs one of the snowballs, launching it at Lance and hitting him square in the face.

 "All right, guys," Shiro said, Lance and Hunk throwing the space snowballs at [Name], Keith, and Shiro,

 "Oh, oh! Okay, now, it's on!" 

 Lance used Hunk as his shield, moving forward. "Oh, come on!"

 "I don't think these are asteroids," Pidge said, grabbing one of them. "Coran, I'm going to need a containment unit."

 "Just a tick," Coran said. 

 "They appear to be some sort of hyper-resilient spore," Allura said, [Name] throwing a snowball at Shiro and Keith. 

 "This bioluminescent pulsing doesn't seem natural," Pidge said, Lance and Hunk throwing the space snowballs at Shiro, [Name] and Keith. "It appears programmed. I think it's a code."

 "A code? From who?" Hunk asked, stopping his fire and [Name] hitting Hunk in the head with a snowball.

 "I don't know. I mean, it makes no sense. You can't program a spore," Pidge said, holding a containment pod in her hands with the spore in the glass. 

 "If anyone can figure it out, it's you, Pidge," Shiro said, looking at Pidge and he got hit in the head by Lance and [Name]. 

 She smirked in victory while Shiro returned the smirk, but he doesn't grab a snowball. He watches as [Name] crosses her arms in triumph and Shiro chuckled to himself. 

 "Before that, everyone needs to come in for decontamination," Allura said, [Name] and the paladins standing in a room.

 The alarms flashed red, Hunk having the most of the space snowballs on him. Water sprayed from all directions, Pidge letting out a yelp and Hunk arching his back from pain. Shiro and Lance scrubbed themselves with their hands while Keith stood there with his arms crossed. After the water, soap filled up the room, Hunk laughing and [Name] formed a beard on Hunk. After the soap, water filled up the room and [Name] floated in the water, holding her hands behind her head.

 After the water disappeared, hard air blew into the room and Pidge fell from the pressure of the air. The air pressure was too much for [Name] and she lost her balance, Lance catching her in his arms and he holds onto her until the air pressure disappears. 

 ***

 [Name] had walked out of Shiro's room because she wasn't sure if she had forgotten anything in his room. [Name] walked down the hallway and she noticed Keith speaking with Coran, but she didn't say anything. She eavesdropped in their conversation though. 

 "The Blue Lion was there. Did a Galra pilot the Blue Lion, too?" Keith asked, his eyebrows scrunched.

 "Hey, why are you asking about my lion? How many lions do you need?" Lance asked, the doors to his room opened and revealed Lance with his hair wrapped in a towel, a face mask, and his pjs on.

 "What? No, I-I was just--" Keith said, stuttering and getting cut off by the grumpy Lance.

 "Don't 'What? No, I-I was just--' me!" Lance said, scowling at Keith and pointed at Keith's chest. "You've had your eye on the Blue Lion from day one!"

 "Well, yeah. It's the first one we found--" Keith said, getting cut off again by Lance. 

 "Ah! Bah-bah-bah-bah!" Lance said, making the talking too much gesture with his hand. "The Blue Lion's with me and we're very happy together! Very happy!" Lance went back into his roomed, the doors closing.

 [Name] let out a sigh, face palming at Lance's actions. He's so dramatic, but [Name] has soon gotten used to his antics and find them quite funny, but she'd never admit to anyone, not even Lance.

 "Guys! Check this out!" Pidge said in the overhead and the doors opened to Lance's room again.

 ***

 [Name], Coran and the paladins are in the Green's Lion's hangar, at Pidge's work space. Lance and Hunk stared at the floating spore that's over a small structure. "Oh, oh! I've seen this experiment," Hunk said excitedly, scrunching his eyebrows. "But, question: Why do we need to get electricity from a potato?"

 "What? No, no. I was able to crack the 'sporse code'," Pidge said, standing by her laptop while Keith, once again, hanged back from the others. "I ran the bioluminescent pattern through a variety of code-breaking sequences, including this homemade virtual Turing machine. Of course, I had to make a few tweaks to the original design, because, obviously, there have been several advancements since he designed it. Although, you have to admit, Turing was a shining light in the world of science in an age far too many were still--"

 "Pidge," Keith said, cutting off her rant about it and she yelped. "What does it say?"

 "Oh, yeah. 'Under attack. Galra. Help.' And then, there are coordinates," Pidge said, smiling at the others.

 "It's a distress signal," [Name] stated, her eyes widen slightly. 

 "Good work, Pidge," Shiro said, turning to Coran. "Get those coordinates into the castle-ship's navigation system."

***

 "The signal came from Olkarion, home to the Olkari, a proud class of engineers, builders of vast cities that could change shape at the whim of their creators," Coran said, standing at his control panel with everyone in their suits. The main screen showed the Oklari's homes and buildings.

 "They had a seemingly magical ability to manipulate solid metal," Allura explained, the Castle heading towards their planet. "With just a wave of their hands, they could build a computer inside a block of steel."

 "Whoa," Pidge said, being the only one interested. 

 "An Olkari once gave me this!" Coran said, holding a cube, but letting it go and the cube started to float.

 "What is it?" Lance asked, [Name] and the paladins, expect Shiro, getting a closer look at the cube.

 "Uh, hello? It's a floating cube!" Coran said, crossing his arms and laughing. "Oh, this guy. And watch! My name is Coran and I'm a gorgeous man."

 The floating cube beeped then mimicked Coran's voice and words exactly.

 "Why would a society full of literal tech wizards use spores to send a distress signal?" Keith asked, Pidge freaking about over the floating cube. 

 "Who cares? When do we get to see that city?" Pidge asked, an excited expression on her face.

 "Actually, Pidge, the distress signal isn't coming from the city," Allura said, the main screen showing a smaller screen of the forest. "It's coming from... the forest."

 "Oh..." Pidge gasped, her excited expression disappearing.

 [Name] went with Shiro into the Black Lion since she wants to see what this planet is like, the lions leaving their hangars and going towards the forest and following the coordinates. The Castle stayed in the atmosphere, not wanting to be found by the Galra. 

 "Why doesn't anyone ever send a distress signal from a cool place?" Pidge asked. "I hate the outdoors. Nothing, but sunburn and poison oak."

 "I like it out here. It's quiet," Keith said.

 Arrows passed by the Lions.

 "What was that?" Hunk asked.

 "Are we being attacked?" [Name] asked. 

 "I don't know, but something's dragging my lion down to the surface," Shiro said, the Lions going into the forest. 

 "Yeah, something's pulling Blue down, too," Lance said, the Lions soon landed on the ground and you noticed figures front of the Lions.

 "Are those wooden mech suits?" Hunk asked, a smile spread across [Name]'s features as she gazed at the wooden mech suits. 

 "Are you kidding me? We got taken down by a bunch of tree people!" Lance whined, a hologram screen of Lance appearing on Keith's dashboard.

 "We come in peace!" Shiro said, using the speaker.

 One of the tree people stepped forward, taking off their hood.

 Pidge got out the Green Lion's head, standing on top of it and holding up the containment tube of the spore, "We found your distress signal!" 

 "Praise Lubos!" The woman tree person said, a smile on her face.

 "Lubos!" The rest of the other Olkair praised. 

***

 [Name] stood next to Shiro while the others catch up to the two and the Olkair some-what leader. "When the Galra attacked, only a few of us escaped the cities. We were forced to flee into the forest," the Olkair some-what leader, Ryner, said, everyone on a large stairs that spiraled around the trunk of the tree.

 "How long have you lived like this?" [Name] asked, sounding sympathetic.

 "Many decafeebs," Ryner said, many buildings that were building onto the trees, "But, as you can see, our people are resilient. We never stop evolving. Instead, we adapted our skills to the environment."

 Ryner lead [Name] and the paladins to the bottom of one of the trees. Pidge ran over to this structure with a glowing ball in the middle. The structure is made of wood, [Name] watched one of the Olkair make a dragonfly out of wood and two large leafs wings.

 "Coran was right, Ryner," Pidge said, the wooden dragonfly fly past her. "You really are the most incredible engineers in the universe. To be able to switch from working with precision machinery to a bunch of sticks!"

 "Nature's designs are superior to any that we could devise," Ryner said, [Name] staring up at the sky. 

 "No offense, but I'll take my computer over a tree any day," Pidge said, a smirk on her face and Shiro furrowed his eyebrows.

 "You two can talk science later. Let's assemble Voltron and get rid of those Galra invaders," Shiro said, catching everyone's attention.

 "It's not that simple, I'm afraid. The Galra have our leader, Lubos," Ryner said, her expression falling.

 "Lubos," the other Olkair said, sounding depressed.

 "If you attack, who knows what they'll do to him?" Ryner said, you stepped forward.

 "Then, we'll just have to rescue him," [Name] stated. 

***

 "Um... Ryner, where are we?" Keith asked, [Name] and the paladins staring at bunch of large trees with different kinds of plants around.

 "This is the armory," Ryner said. Olkair put their hand inside a flower planet, the flower engulfing their arm and turning into a firing arm.

 "Whoa..." Everyone mumbled.

 Ryner touched the trunk of a tree, a light going up the tree until it went to a branch then a fruit. The fruit turned into the wooden mech suits, landing in front of everyone and scaring the crap out some paladins.

 "Huh?" Hunk asked, staring at the wooden mech suit.

 "Cool!" Lance said, a smile on his face.

 "Uh, can I get one of those?" Keith asked, his eyes widen.

 "Of course. You can each have one," Ryner said, her hand hovering over a blue plant and it opened, revealing six headbands that's wooden with blue light around it. "Now, the key to operating it is understanding that the nanocellulose responds to electrical impules from the neural pathways connected through this." Ryner handed the headbands to [Name] and the others, [Name] putting one on her head.

 "Do what now?" Lance asked, looking at Ryner.

 "Mm, Mm! Makes my tongue itchy," Hunk said, giving it a small lick.

 "That's your interface?" Pidge asked, putting on the headband.

 "Of course, all commands need to come as binary coded messages," Ryner said, Pidge walked over to the trunk of a tree.

 "So like this?" Pidge asked.

  Pidge putting her hand on the trunk and she closed her eyes. A light energy collected at her hand then went up the tree until it made contact with a fruit. The fruit transformed to a wooden mech suit and landed on the ground. 

 "Yes! Excellent!" Ryner said, Lance, Hunk, and Keith went to a trunk of the trees and put their hands against it.

 [Name] decided to give it a try. She puts her hand on the trunk and she closes her eyes, focusing on the energy from the free and [Name] felt something warm on her hand. She opened her eyes to see the fruit transformed into a wooden mech suit. [Name] felt someone pat her on her shoulder and she looked to see who. Shiro smiled at her proudly which caused [Name] to blush.

 "I think mine is just a tree," Lance said, Ryner ignored Lance's statement.

 "You must have a deep connection with nature," Ryner said, smiling at Pidge and [Name].

 "Not really. My allergies and pale skin don't mix with outdoor livings," Pidge said, getting inside the wooden mech suit.

 "I decided to give it a try," [Name] chuckled sheepishly.

 "Pidge is our resident tech expert," Shiro said, translating what Pidge said to Ryner. "[Name] is our prodigy and she excels in all fields. It's no surprise she was able to do that." [Name] blushes, lowering her gaze to the floor.

 "Well, that explains it," Ryner said, nodding her head. "Like the Olkair, you understand that, at the deepest level, trees, metal, you, me... we're all made up of the same cosmic dust, all arranged by the laws of mathematics."

 "Does this mean I should start gardening?" Pidge asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

 "It means you're going to need to give your friends a ride," Ryner said, the others.

 Keith went with [Name], Shiro went with Ryner in the wooden mech suit while Lance and Hunk rode with Pidge. The two wooden mech suits went towards the edge of the forest.

 "This way! To the edge of the forest! To save our king!" Ryner said, clearly happy to have her home back. 

***

 The three wooden mech suits stopped at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the city and multiple screens on the dashboard appeared. "Their headquarters are impenetrable from the ground, but there is one way in, a small opening in the roof," Ryner said, a screen showing the opening on the headquarters roof. "It goes all the way down to an open courtyard."

 "That's quite a drop," Keith said. 

 "But there you will have total access to the building," Ryner said. "The hard part will be getting onto the roof undetected." 

 "That won't be a problem, actually," [Name] informed, getting Ryner's attention.

 "Hey, hey, what's that? Is that part of the building?" Hunk asked, a screen showing a large cube.

 "My Lubos! It can't be!" Ryner said, her eyes widening.

 "Hey! That looks like the cube Coran gave me!" Pidge said, a hologram of her, Lance, and Hunk appearing on [Name]'s dashboard and holding up the cube.

 "I haven't seen one of those in many decafeebs," Ryner said, Pidge stared at the cube in her hand. "We used to play with them as children. But this... Only King Lubos could have designed one that size." 

 "Why would he do that?" Keith asked, looking at Ryner.

 "They must have forced him to reveal his designs and reconstruct it as a weapon. From the looks of it, I'd say it's almost finished," Ryner said, a scowl on her face.

 "Okay, we need to act fast. Everyone, back to base I have a plan," Shiro said, his eyebrows furrowed. 

***

 [Name] and the paladins went inside the Green Lion. Shiro's plan went through her head. The Green Lion flew over to the city, turning invisible from the cloak and over to the roof of the headquarters. Once the small opening opened, [Name], Shiro, Keith, Lance, and Hunk left the Green Lion and down the drop. [Name] and the others used their jet packs to slow themselves down from fall and [Name] landed on the ground perfectly. [Name] placed a sensor on the ground, watching the blue light scan up the building. A map to Lubos's location appeared inside her helmet and Shiro took the lead. 

 [Name] and the others leaned against the wall, waiting for the Galra robot soldiers to pass by and Shiro took off. [Name] and the others stopped in front of a door. [Name] heard moaning and sobbing on the other side and the doors opened. Shiro followed by [Name], Lance, Hunk, and Keith went inside, seeing a movie being played and the Lubos sitting in the chair with a Olkair standing next to him.

 "Betrayal!" Lubos shouted, holding a piece of food in his hand. "She loves you!" 

 Shiro stood up, [Name] and the others following his lead. "King Lubos?" Shiro asked, catching Lubos's attention and the Olkair's attention.

 "Yes? Who are you? The jesters I requested?" Lubos asked, looking at [Name] and the others.

 "Um, we're here to, like, rescue you?" Lance asked, sounding confused.

 Lubos hummed, his finger sliding on the arm rest of the chair and the alarms went off, larges doors opening. Galra robot soldiers aimed their guns at [Name] and the others with a Galra soldier walking forward.

 "You could have just said, 'No, thanks,'" Hunk whined, his heavy, bayard gun in his hands.

 "Looks like someone came to rescue you, Lubos," the Galra soldier said, a smirk on his face.

 "You turned your back on your people to save yourself?" [Name] hissed, glaring at Lubos.

 "I'm doing this for my people!" Lubos said, gesturing to the Galra. "They wanted to fight the Galra, but they are too powerful! The Galra could destroy us!"

 "So, you helped enslave your people to build some super weapon?" [Name] questioned, her glare becoming intense and pointing her sword at Lubos.

 "Don't make me the bad guy! He forced me to do it!" Lubos shouted, pointing at the Galra.

 "Did he force-feed you, too?" [Name] snapped, her glare becoming darker.

 The Paladins glanced at each other, stepping one foot back to give [Name] space. They're never seen her like this at all and this new [Name] is kinda scary. Even Shiro feels intimidated by her and he's not the one who made her feel upset. They're just glad that her anger is on Lubos.

 "Uh..." Lubos said, scrunching his eyebrows.

 "You're no king," [Name] growled, glaring at Lubos and she ran over. Lubos tried to escape, but the Ulkair punched him and [Name] caught the Lubos. "Okay, we're walking out of here! Anyone tries to stop us and Lubos gets it!" 

 "[Name]!" Keith yelled, his eyes widen.

 "Whoa, [N-Name]!" Shiro yelled, the two of them concerned for her.

 "That came out of nowhere!" Lance shouted, everyone shocked from her actions. 

 "La-sai, what are you doing?" Lubos asked, looking at the Olkair, La-sai.

 "You betrayed our people. I can't live this lie anymore," La-sai said, glaring at Lubos with hatred.

 "You don't want me to hurt your genius engineer, right?" [Name] questioned, her sword against Lubos' neck.

 "Oh, be my quest. His work is done. The cube is complete," the Galra said, his smirk widening.

 "What? But-But I thought we had a deal!" Lubos shouted, his eyes widening with shock.

 "Guards, put them all out of their misery!" The Galra shouted, the Galra soldiers pointed their guns at [Name] and the others, but a laser cut through the building and smoke filled the rooms. 

 Once the smoke cleared, a giant hole appeared in the wall and the Green Lion's head. 

 "Your ride is here!" 

 "Engage the cube! Take down the lion!" The Galra shouted. 

 [Name] and the others ran towards the Green Lion while Shiro shielded everyone with his hologram shield. Once everyone got on the Green Lion, the Green Lion moved away and [Name] notice smoke come out under the giant cube.

 "The cube is operational!" Shiro shouted. "We've got to get back to the other lions and form Voltron!" 

 "On it!" Pidge shouted, the Green Lion going back towards the Castle. 

***

 [Name] and the others made it back to the Olkair people, [Name] pushing Lubos forward and Lubos fell to his feet. "Lubos..." The Olkairs mumbled, staring at their king.

 "What's going on?" Ryner asked, waiting for an explanation.

 "While your people starved, King Lubos was well taken care of by the Galra," [Name], glaring at Lubos and he gulped in fear. "He willingly helped them build the cube, willingly helped enslave his own people. I know you're devastated, but now is the time to be strong and use your Olkair spirit to fight alongside Voltron and take back your planet!"

 "Lubos, how could you?" Ryner asked, looking down at Lubos.

 "I... I was only trying to--" Lubos was cut off.

 "Enough! We must free our people!" Ryner shouted, getting the Olkair to cheer.

 [Name] paired with Shiro, following him to the Black Lion. Shiro patted [Name]'s shoulder and gave her a kind smile as he gazed at her. "Good job, [Name]. Your speech was amazing."

 [Name] blushed. "Thank you, Shiro." 

 "All right, team, let's take that thing down!" Shiro shouted, Voltron watching the cube from above.

 The cube shot out a laser towards Voltron, but Voltron dodged the laser. "Form shield!" Shiro said, Voltron forming its shield and used the shield to protect itself from the lasers. 

 "Let's see how tough this magic cube is," Keith said, the Red Lion Arm shooting a laser at the cube, but the cube just shot the laser back. Voltron held the shield in front of itself.

 "Did it just absorb our lasers?" [Name] questioned, sounding astonished.

 "We need to increase firepower! Hunk, use your blaster!" Shiro ordered.

  "I'm not sure this is a good idea," [Name] advised, but no one listened.

 "Got it!" Hunk shouted. 

 Voltron landing on the ground, but hovered above the ground and the shoulder cannon appeared on Voltron. Voltron used the shoulder cannon to fire the power laser towards the cube, the laser continuing to fire. "

 Yeah, I think it's working!" Hunk yelled, a smile on his face.

 Once the laser ended, the cube shot the same laser back at Voltron and Voltron used its shield to shield itself. Voltron was pushed back from the force, but still held up its guard. 

 "It's giving back whatever we fire into it, like Coran's echo cube," Shiro said, Voltron still protecting itself from the powerful laser.

 "That's what I was trying to tell you guys! It's learning!" [Name] exclaimed, standing behind Shiro's chair. "Making its own versions of our weapons to use against us!" 

 "We can't just sit here. We've got to move!" Lance shouted. 

 Voltron moved to the side, but got hit by the laser. Voltron fell to the ground, but got right back up and flew away from the cube. The cube followed after Voltron.

 "How do we beat it?" Hunk asked, [Name]'s eyes analyzing the cube. 

 "Maybe, if we form our sword, we can cut through the surface and hack right into the center of the thinking point place?" Lance asked, questioning himself when he said it.

 "Can't be any worse than what's happening now," Keith said, his eyebrows furrowed.

 "Let's do it. Form sword!" Shiro ordered.

 Voltron formed the sword and Voltron went towards the cube, dodging the purple lasers and Voltron sliced the cube from the top. Voltron landed on the ground, looking up to see two pieces of the cube.

 "It's working!" Pidge shouted, the two pieces of the cut cube made itself a cube.

 "It's still operational! Re-engage!" Shiro shouted.

 Voltron flew up and sliced the two cubes, cutting them into fours now. Voltron watched the cubes fall to the ground. "We did it! They're going down!" Hunk said happily, probably a smile on his face.

 The four cubes stopped falling, flying towards Voltron and surround Voltron.

 "Uh-oh!" Lance shouted, Voltron dodging the lasers from the four cubes.

 "We've got to move! Move!" Shiro shouted, Voltron flying upwards and the cubes following after Voltron. 

 A cube appeared in front of Voltron, shooting a laser and Voltron blocked and redirected its way, but only to get hit in the back by another cube. 

 "We can't fight them like this! We need to split up! Back into lions!" Shiro ordered. 

 Voltron disconnecting and going back into Lion form. "Let's see if I can freeze these guys!" Lance shouted, the Blue Lion using its freeze laser and freezing one of the cubes. The freeze broke off from the cube and the cube returned the freeze laser. The Blue Lion's face froze. "Oh, no! So cold, so cold!" The Red Lion used its fire laser to melt the ice off the Blue Lion's face, "Oh, oh. Thanks, Keith." 

 "You got it," Keith said, the Red and Blue Lion going back to attacking the cubes. 

 "Shiro, what are we going to do?" Hunk asked, the Yellow Lion dodging the lasers. 

 "There doesn't seem to be any way to stop them, but we can't let this weapon get into Zarkon's hands!" Shiro said, two cubes ganged up on the Green Lion and shot it down.

 "Pidge!" [Name] and Shiro yelled. 

 The Green Lion fell into the forest, the Black Lion dodging the two lasers. 

 "Pidge, are you okay?" Hunk asked, the Yellow Lion dodging the lasers. 

 "Where are you, Pidge? We need you!" Shiro groaned, the Black Lion dodging the incoming lasers. 

 "Pidge!" Keith yelled. Keith let out a groan when a direct hit the Lion. The Red Lion getting hit with the laser and falling towards the ground. The Blue and Yellow Lion fell to the ground too.

 The Black Lion was hit and Shiro let out a groan, the sudden shaking movements in the Black Lion caused [Name] to fall to the floor. The Black Lion fell to the ground, getting back up as well as the other Lions.

 The four cubes hovered above. 

 "Guys, hang on!" Pidge said.

 "Pidge!" [Name] and the others yelled.

 The Green Lion swooped down, dodging the lasers from the cubes and the Green Lion caught the cubes' attention. 

 "Whoa, Pidge! What's going on? You're booking!" Hunk yelled, everyone watching the Green Lion. 

 "I'm not sure, but I feel more connected with my lion than ever!" Pidge shouted, dodging the lasers with super sonic speed. "I know what I have to do!" The Green Lion let out a roar, a cannon appearing on its back and shooting a green laser at one of the cubes. The cube's purple light turned green, roots sprouting from the cube. 

 "Whoa! How'd you do that?" Lance asked, his tone filled with surprise.

 "That's right! Circle up, everybody! Get some of this!" Pidge shouted, getting cocky and dodging the lasers. 

 Pidge shot one of the green lasers at the cube, roots sprouting from the cube and Pidge moved onto the next cube. The Green Lion shot the cube, skidding against the top of it and dodging the last cube's laser then shooting the last cube with the green laser. Roots sprouted from the cubes, the cubes falling to the ground. 

 "Vines..." Hunk chuckled, everyone smiling. "Well, that is not the way I thought a giant cube of death would go down."

***

 [Name] and the paladins met up with the rest of Ryner and Olkair. "I want to thank you all. You helped us get our home back," Ryner said, giving everyone a smile. "And for that, we will never be able to repay you."

 "Just promise me that when it's time to take the fight to Zarkon, we can count on the Olkair for help," Shiro said, smiling at Ryner and Shiro and Ryner shook hands.

 "Now and forever," Ryner said, she turned to Pidge."And you... The spirit of the Olkair resides in you. The bond between you and your lion has grown stronger than ever."

 "Without you, I would never have been able to unlock my lion's hidden power," Pidge said, smiling at her then looking over to the Green Lion.

***

 "Nice job, Pidge," Shiro praised, everyone back at the Castle and inside the main control area.

 "You know, it's weird," Pidge said, sitting at the helm. "I've always been a tech junkie. That's how I connected with the world. But, for the first time, I feel connected to everything. I guess it's like Ryner said. We're all made up of the same cosmic dust."

 "So, that means we're all related," Keith said, everyone looking at him. "This ship, those stars, the Olkair. Even the Galra."

 [Name] stared at Keith, pondering why he mentioned the Galra. She figures he only mentioned the Galra simply because Ulaz sacrificed himself to save Voltron. She confirms her thoughts, but later in the future will she know why he mentioned the Galra.

 "Uh-oh. I think Keith just blew his own mind," Hunk said, everyone including [Name] laughed. "What?"

 "Well, that was a productive trip. Look at all these cubes they gave me!" Coran said, holding a small cube in his hand and threw it up. The small cube turned into smaller cubes. "Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man!" Coran said, the smaller cubes copying Coran's voice and words, "Ah, sounds pretty good." The cubes copied Coran's words again. 

 Hunk pushed his cheeks together, making a fart noise with his mouth. The cubes mimicked the noise, making everyone laugh while Shiro looked like he wanted to slap someone for the idiocy. [Name] gives Shiro a helpless smile and he smiles, letting out a sigh of defeat. Everyone needs that comic relief. 

 "Whoa!" Hunk yelled, the alarms going off and the screens flashing red.

 "What's that?" [Name], the cubes mimicking her voice and words. You gasped, seeing Zarkon's ship and his fleet appearing behind the Castle.

 "Oh, no!" Coran yelled, the cubes mimicking his voice and words.

Chapter Text

 "Zarkon! How did he find us?" Allura asked, her eyebrows furrowed and her hands clenched into fists.

 "His commanders must have radioed him from Olkarion," Keith said, everyone turning their heads towards him.

 "We need to wormhole, now! Everyone to your stations," Shiro ordered, everyone going to their station. "We've got to put some distance between us and Zarkon. This could be the fight for our lives." [Name] stood next to Coran, gripping onto the dashboard from the feeling the Castle shake from the lasers hitting the Castle.

 "That's sure a lot of fires," Hunk said, his eyebrows scrunched. 

 "Allura, can you evade those fighters?" Shiro asked, everyone on edge and tension filling the room. "We can't have them following us through the wormhole."

 "I can try," Allura said. 

 The Castle using its boosters to get away and the particle barrier going up. Zarkon's fleet continued to go after the Castle.

 "Keith, Lance, let's lay down some covering fire," [Name] commanded, looking over her shoulder at them and three little pods leaving the Castle. One of the pods is purple, red, and blue.

 "Lance, incoming, 12 o'clock high!" Pidge shouted, the pods shooting lasers at Zarkon's smaller robot ships.

 "Got it!" Lance shouted, Keith pushed Lance's pod out the way. "Hey!"

 "Sorry! Gotta be quick!" Keith responded, shooting down the small ships and Lance bumbled his pod into Keith's.

 "How's that for quick?" Lance asked, glaring at Keith's pod.

 "You..." Keith growled, Keith's and Lance's pod bumped into each other.

 "Knock it off! This isn't a competition!" [Name] yelled, glaring at the two. "Stay in your area!" 

 "Yeah, Keith!" Lance said, [Name] glared in Lance's direction.

 "Keep calling out those fighters, Pidge," Shiro ordered. "Hunk, how are the defenses holding?"

 "I don't know. Ten percent? Fifteen maybe?" Hunk asked, looking at his screen. "Everything's a blur. I've been up too long. I have tired eyes!"

 "I know we just came off an intense battle, but we've got to stay focused, just until we jump," Shiro said, you made a ponytail with Keith's hair. "And when's that?"

 "They're still too close? We need to gain more speed!" [Name] yelled, the Castle dodging the lasers from Zarkon's small ships.

 "I've got an idea! Hold on!" Allura shouted.

 The Castle dipped down, going toward's a moon that almost looks like a planet. [Name] might have fell onto the floor if it wasn't for her death grip on the dashboard. She stabilized herself, scowling at Allura over her shoulder.

 "Allura, what are you doing?" [Name] questioned.

 "I'm going to use this moon's gravity to gain speed and put some distance between us and Zarkon," Allura said, going around the moon.

 Everyone groaned.

 "We're clear to wormhole!" Coran yelled, holding onto his control panel so he wouldn't fall either.

 Allura closed her eyes, a wormhole appearing in front of the Castle and the Castle entered the wormhole, escaping from Zarkon and his fleet. The alarms still continued to go off as the Castle travel through the wormhole.

 "We got away from Zarkon, how come we're still on alert?" Lance asked.

 "Coran, what's going on?" [Name] asked, looking at Coran. 

 "Oh, no! Teludav lens malfunction!" Coran said, panic in his voice. "We're about to exit this wormhole a lot sooner than we planned!"

 An opening for the Castle to go through opened, the Castle appearing in a place with ice floating. "Whoa. Where are we? Looks like some sort of iceberg graveyard," Lance said.

 "Coran, what's the status?" Allura asked, sweat dripping down her face.

 "Checking that now," Coran said, his eyebrows scrunched. "We didn't make it to our exit point, but we're several galaxies from Zarkon's fleet." 

 "Allura!" [Name] exclaimed, watching her fall to the floor.

 [Name] and the others ran over to her, seeing how tired she looks and the sweat on her face. "Oh, no, you look exhausted," Coran said, crouching down next to her. "You must rest. You've been exerting way too much energy. I'll go check on the main turbine and figure out what's going--"  

 Everyone watched Coran slip on water and crash into the wall.

 "Whoa! Are you all right?" Lance asked, standing up after crouching.

 Coran groaned, putting his hand against the wall as if nothing happened. "I'm fine. Look, I tell you what, I've probably hit a slippery spot on the ground there. Someone please wipe that up there!"

 "You're sweating. You might have a case of the slipperies," Allura said, her eyebrows scrunched in worry.

 "What? No! No, that's an old person virus, and I'm not old. I'm young," Coran said, his face wet with sweat and he held up his hand, a water ball growing on his head and he hid his hand. "Well, young-ish."

 "What are the slipperies?" Lance asked, everyone looking at Allura for an explanation.

 "It's a common Altean virus that occurs later in life," Allura said, tilting her head. "It's not harmful and usually only lasts a couple of days, but it causes one's body to secrete extremely slick fluid."

 Coran moved to a new spot, slick fluid appearing underneath him and he moved again and was met with the same thing. "Ew! Gross!" Everyone said, stepping back and huddling towards each other.

 "Yes, it is gross, so it's a good thing I don't have it!" Coran said, tricking himself into believing he doesn't have it.

 "Coran, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Allura said, smiling at the old man.

 "I'm not embarrassed because I don't have it!" Coran yelled, holding his arms out and the dripping slick fluid from his arms, he walked towards the exit, but not making progress. "And now, I'm actually going to leave because I've got to fix the main turbine!" Coran tried to walk, but the slick fluid made he slip back and Coran kept doing it until he slipped and started to slid towards the exit. "Quiznak!" Screaming loudly as he slid down the corridor.

 Everyone stayed silent as they watched Coran disappear and Shiro broke the silence first. "All right. Since Zarkon has no idea where we are, this is the perfect time to focus on our next step," Shiro said, everyone looking at him. "Maybe we can find that secret group, the Blade of Marmora. Pidge, where are those coordinates?"

 "Wait, hang on," Pidge said, leaning forward on her chair the screens popped up and she typed away. "I'm so tired, my brain's not working."

 "Yeah, neither is mine," Lance said, slouching his shoulders. 

 "Hello, all. I've checked the engines," Coran said, a screen of him appearing on the main screen.

 "That was fast," [Name] yawned, covering her mouth as she did so. 

 "Well, I slipped right down-" Coran said, literally slipping when he said that. "I mean, hurried down. Anyway, the good news is, the Galra fighter did minimal damage. I flushed the turbine and it's fine. The bad news is, the teludav, or wormhole, as you Earthlings call it, is in bad shape. Several scaultrite lens-stones of the magnifying beam generator are cracked."

 [Name]'s eyes closed and she felt herself falling back, but she bumped into someone's chest. She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing Lance smiling softly at her. She returned his smile and she stood up, gently removing herself from Lance. "Thank you," she mumbled, Lance smiling wider. 

 "As you know, the magnifying beam generator uses a crystal to convert Altean energy into usable fuel. That supplies the power needed to wormhole. Well, anyway, I need to remove the cracked lenses and readjust their tracjectory temporarily until we can replace them," Coran explained, pushing the bump back into his head. "I'll also need to divert power to make up for the lost energy. Anyway, it's going to make at least a quintant." 

 "All right. We'll hide the ship and get some rest," Shiro said, Hunk's stomach groaned and he covered his mouth. "While Coran comes up with a work-around. Tomorrow, we'll be sharper and refocused." 

***

 [Name] walked out of her room, a towel wrapped around her body as she's heading to the showers. She wants to clean herself up before she decides to sleep even though she's pretty sure that she might fall asleep whiling showering. She just wants to take her time and relax because tomorrow she's gonna be focused and all that. 

 She turned a corner and smacked into someone. She let out a yelp from the force knocking her back, but someone gripped her wrist before she could even fall to the floor. [Name] looked up to see Keith in a pair of swim shorts and a towel wrapped around his neck as he once looked tired, but shocked. His eyes doesn't look away from [Name]'s because he wouldn't want to be smacked in the face for looking somewhere he shouldn't.

 Sadly, Keith couldn't help himself and he looked down, a blush rising to his cheeks. [Name] glared harshly at him, tugging her wrist away from his grasp and she clenched her hand into a fist, pulling it back. She punched Keith in his cheek and he fell to the floor, rubbing his sore cheek while [Name] stomped away, looking heated. 

 Keith watches as she leaves, his hand on his cheek from feeling the throbbing pain. He knows he understands that he deserved the punch to the face and he lets out a sigh, standing up. He walked down the halls, turning a corner and the doors to the pool were about to close until he put his hand between. The doors opened, revealing Lance in a pair of swim trunks and a towel around his neck.

 "What the heck do you think you're doing?" Lance asked, scowling at Keith.

 "Allura said there's a pool. I'm gonna go check it out," Keith said, stepping inside the elevator with a towel over his head. "What do you think you're doing?"

 Lance noticed the red mark on Keith's face. "Same thing," Lance said, dropping his scowl.

 "Look, you stay on one side of the pool, and I'll stay on the other, and we'll be far, far away from each other," Keith said, turning his tired eyes at Lance then looking in front. "Very... far... away."

 "What happened to your face?" Lance asked, looking in front of him.

 "[Name]..." Keith simply said, Lance's eyes widen.

 Soon the elevator stopped working and just stayed there, the lights going off.

 "Uh.." Lance said, looking to the side at Keith and Keith did the same.

 Both of them sighed, not wanting to be in the same space with the other. 

***

 "Uh, I thought you were exhausted. Why are you making cookies?" Pidge asked, sitting on the counter and looking at the baking things Hunk made.

 Hunk pulled out a batch of 'cookies' from the oven and Hunk placed the 'cookies' on the counter. "Because baking clears my head, Pidge. Okay?" Hunk asked, hoping Pidge will understand and Pidge grabbed the container. "I thought you were gonna help Coran with the wormhole."

 "One mention of the slipperies and he got all sensitive and kicked me out," Pidge said, reading the label. "I hate not being able to read Altean. What is this stuff? Are you sure you're making food?" 

 "You're gonna try and tell me that these aren't cookies?" Hunk asked, holding the clear blue circle 'cookie' in his hand. Hunk took a bite, making his teeth rattle and Hunk put the cookie down, covering his mouth. Hunk kicked the wall, punching the wall and he came back to the counter.

 "Okay, I might have overcooked them," Hunk said, hanging his head down then Pidge got down from the counter, walking away. "Wait, where you going? You don't want to wait for the next batch?"

 ***

 Lance and Keith went back to back, holding each other's arm and using their legs to get back up. They slid down a little since the pathway up wasn't narrow. "It's right, then left. You're off," Keith said, glaring at Lance over his shoulder.

 "You're off! And shoving too hard!" Lance shouted, returning Keith's glare and using his back to shove Keith forward.

 "You're not shoving hard enough!" Keith growled, shoving Lance with his back.

 "I should be at the pool right now!" Lance whined, handing his head.

 "Would you stop whining?" Keith asked, looking up and he noticed an outline of a vent. "Look!" 

 The two boys glanced at each other, Keith kicking the vent open and the two slid down the vent. Keith kept himself composed and calm, his hands behind his head. Lance screamed, sliding down. The two boys exited the vent, both of the screaming and falling to the floor. Keith landed on his butt and Lance landed on his face. The towards the ceiling.

 "What the heck?" Lance screamed, shocked from the pool being up so high.

 "Stupid Altean pools," Keith grumbled, his arms crossed.

***

 [Name] let out a sigh of relief, walking back into her room and she already dried off. She changes into a shirt and shorts, drying her hair and combing it out. She walks over to her bed and she sits down, gazing up at the ceiling. After taking the shower, she doesn't even feel tired, but she knows that she should get some shuteye at least. She's going to be put tomorrow and working a lot just to get Zarkon off their tails. She lets out a yawn, getting under the blankets.

 She ponders what the others are doing except Keith. She already knows that he's going to the pool and the little meet-up was rude. He didn't have to look down at her, but she didn't like that his eyes lingered for a second too longer for her liking. She doesn't regret punching him in the face at all. He deserved it.

***

 Pidge sat at the training deck, sitting with her legs crossed and a hologram computer appeared in front of her. "Welcome to introductory Altean," the computer said, Pidge held a smile on her face.

 "Awesome! I'm finally gonna learn the Altean language!" Pidge said excitedly. 

 "Level, beginner. Safety, off," the computer said, Pidge raised her eyebrow when the computer said safety off.

 "Safety? That's weird," Pidge said, looking to the side and ignoring it.

 A bear like creature appeared, looking cute and adorable. 

 "Klanmüirl," the computer said, pronouncing the world correctly.

 "Klan-mural," Pidge said, not saying the ü correctly and the alarms beeped. "Hm? Uh, what's that?" 

 The bear growled, glaring at Pidge.

 "Klanmüirl," the computer said, wanting the correct saying.

 "Klan-mirl?" Pidge asked, staring at the bear creature with wide eyes.

 The bear turned red, long claws and stood up on its two feet. Pidge screamed, the bear roared in front of Pidge. "Klanmüirl! Klanmüirl!" Pidged screamed, the roaring stopped and the bear creature went back to being cute and disappeared.

 Pidged sighed, another strange creature hologram appeared. "Xznly Squiwl," the computer said, and at that moment Pidge understood the safety.

 "Oh, quiznak."

***

 Shiro stayed in the main area, sitting in his seat and he heard the doors opened. Allura walked in, he looked around his chair and stood up. "What are you doing here? You should be resting," Shiro said, walking towards her and they met at her station in the middle.

 "I cannot sleep. Zarkon is out there. He's searching for us," Allura said, putting up a hologram screen with her finger and Shiro stopped her hand from moving.

 "I know how you feel, but you have to step away for a while," Shiro stated, looking at Allura with concern. "It's what's best for everyone." 

 Soon a sudden of fleets from Zarkon started to attack the Castle and the ice that the Castle is hiding in. The alarms started blaring and Shiro's eyes widen. "We are several galaxies away. How could they find us so soon?" Allura asked, her eyes widen. 

***

 [Name] quickly sat up, her eyes widening as the Castle starting shaking. "They found us that quick?" [Name] questioned.

 [Name] jumps out of bed and runs out her room, almost slipping from the process, but she keeps her face pace. She ran into the main area, seeing Allura and Shiro at their own station. Lance and Keith right behind her and she noticed that both of them are wearing swimwear and towels around their necks.

 "They found us again?" Lance asked, him and Keith running to their station. "How is that possible? Is that possible? That doesn't seem possible!"

 Pidge and Hunk ran in also, going to their stations. "Right now, we must figure out a way to get out of here," Allura said, Zarkon's fleet shooting lasers at the Castle's particle barrier. 

 "Or we can stay and fight. Now's our chance," Keith said, his towel around his neck. "Form Voltron. Enough running!"

 "It's too dangerous, Keith," [Name] stated, walking over to the control dashboard. Unaware of the lingering looks.

 "[Name]'s right. We can't take on Zarkon and his entire fleet," Shiro said, looking at Keith. "Remember what happened at Zarkon's command center. We wouldn't have escaped if the Blade of Marmora hadn't shut down the shield."

 "The turbine's up. Still working on the worm--" Coran said, a screen of Coran appeared and he slid back and forth and he fell, laying on his stomach. "Uh, guys. I think I'm realizing now that I do, in fact, have a case of the slipperies. I'm sorry I yelled at you, Pidge. I may need your help, after all." 

 "I'm coming down!" Pidge said, nodding her head and getting out her chair.

 "Let's clear a path!" Shiro said, the Castle leaving the giant ice and getting away from the fleet.

 "Lance, there's a fighter advancing on your nine!" Keith informed.

 "Thanks for the heads-up! And you've got one going for the low barrier," Lance said, turning the handles.

 "Good eye!" Keith said, shooting at the one Lance talked about.

 The Castle passed by many floating ice, dodging the ice and the lasers from Zarkon's fleet.

 "Okay, buddy, you're mine," Lance said, a smirk on his face and the hologram handles and screens disappeared. "What's going on? I lost control of my defense drone!" 

 "I got you covered! Uh, I don't got you. Oh, there must be a system failure," Keith said, his own hologram handles and screens disappeared too. 

 "Nope, that was us!" Pidge said, a hologram of her appeared and Coran screamed in the background. "We're diverting power from non-essential systems to get the wormhole generator working." 

 "Shooting bad guys is pretty essential!" Lance shouted, standing up from his seat.

 "We lost secondary controls! Thermal regulator's offline!" Hunk informed, the Castle leaving the ice graveyard and Zarkon's ship following after the Castle, the particle barrier going down. "Oh, no, there goes the particle barrier!" 

 "Okay, try it! We should be able to make one very small jump... I hope," Coran said, Allura closed her eyes and a wormhole opened in front of the Castle.

 "The wormhole's open!" [Name] yelled, letting Coran and Pidge know.

 The Castle went through the wormhole, escaping Zarkon and his fleet again. "Oh, no! The lenses are breaking down even more!" Coran said, the hope disappearing from Coran's voice, "We'll be out of the wormhole even sooner than this time!" The Castle left the wormhole, there's a large, brown and light brown planet. 

 [Name] sat on the floor, leaning against the dashboard as she's exhausted. "Zarkon keeps finding us," Shiro said, she looks over at him. "It's like he knows how to track us down. Maybe he planted some kind of tracking device."

 "Well, it is nothing on the ship," Allura said, a hologram screen of the Castle appeared next to her. "The Castle would have detected any tracking devices."

 "Until we figure out exactly how he's doing it, we should assume that he could show up at any minute," Shiro said, he looked over his shoulder. "So, stay alert." 

 Hunk snored, leaning against his side and he woke u., "Oh, man! Oh, what's going on? What are you guys doing? What are you looking at?"

 "You woke yourself up snoring," Keith said, looking at Hunk.

 "My bad," Hunk said, hanging his head and sitting back down.

 "Coran, what's our status? Any good news?" Shiro asked, a hologram screen of Coran and Pidge showed up on the main screen. 

 "Actualy, there is a bit of good news. I'm finally getting used to these slipperies," Coran said, using the slick fluid to slid on one foot.

 "That's not good news for us!" [Name] yawned.

 "My mucus glands are working at an incredible rate!" Coran said, Shiro deadpanned at Coran.

 "Any good news about the teludav?" [Name] asked, Coran stopped sliding like an ice skater. 

 "I'm afraid not. The last jump overloaded the lens-stones," Coran said, a little sad. "Now, even more of them are broken. I'm going to try some readjustments to change the beam trajectory. Until then, wormoling away will be impossible."

 "Hey, there's a giant metallic storm ahead of us," Pidge said, referring to the planet in front of the Castle. "I think we can hide in the eye of the storm. It should give us off enough interference so we can't be tracked." 

 "It's worth a shot," Shiro said, the Castle went towards the planet and entered through the eye.

 "Brilliant, Pidge. We're essentially invisible to any radar, raido waves, universal scans, or any other known technology," Allura said, a smile on her face.

 Then the alarms went off, Zarkon found everyone and [Name] noticed Zarkon's ship at the opening of the storm. "No!" Allura said, her eyes widening. Zarkon's fleet came towards the opening of the storm and a hologram screen of Pidge and Coran appeared on the main screen. 

 "Okay, I don't know how he found us, but it definitely wasn't with normal instruments," Pidge said, a panic look on her face.

 "It's me," Allura said, looking down. "It's been me all along. That's how they found us on planet Arus."

 Zarkon's fleet shot at the Castle, entering the storm.

 "It doesn't matter, Princess," Shiro said, standing up. "We're in this together. We're gonna get out together."

 "Uh, how? We're trapped," Hunk stated.

 "Form Voltron and go through the storm," [Name] suggested, standing up. 

 "The storm? What are you, nuts?" Lance asked, standing up and staring at her.

 "Yeah! What do you mean? Yeah, why would we do that?" Hunk asked, stammering.

 "[Name]'s right. It's risky, I know, but it's our only chance," Shiro said, [Name] smiled in Shiro's direction and he nodded his head. "We have to go through the storm, then lure Zarkon's ship away, giving Allura some time to get into open space."

 "Then, what?" Allura asked, looking at you and Shiro.

 "Wormhole away," [Name] said. 

 "Coran, remember how you said getting this Castle to wormhole is impossible? Well, I need you to do the impossible," Shiro said, staring at Coran with a serious expression. 

***

 Everyone got to their lions, the lions leaving their hangars. [Name] tagging along with Keith. "Form Voltron!" Shiro yelled, the lions forming Voltron. "Team, let's draw those fighters out!" 

 Voltron flew upwards towards the fleet, going towards the storm with the fleet following after Voltron.

 "I think it's working! They're following us!" Keith shouted, Voltron in the storm with the fleet after them. The ships started to explode from the planet's storm and you smiled. "They can't follow us in the storm! It's tearing them apart!" Keith yelled, Voltron being pushed in all directions from the storm itself and Voltron dodging the debris in the storm too.

 "The debris!" Hunk yelled, Voltron getting hit by a debris. "It's gonna tear us apart if we don't do something!"

 "Pidge, we're gonna need that shield!" Shiro said.

 "On it!"

 "And, Keith, the sword!" Shiro ordered, Keith nodded his head.

 "Yes, sir!" Keith said, Voltron forming the shield and sword. Voltron moved forward, slicing the debris that came toward it or using the shield to protect itself from the debris, but Voltron got hit from behind.

 "Legs, I need everything you got!" Shiro yelled, Voltron being pushed around by the storm.

 "Rogger! Engaging lower thrusters!" Hunk said, letting Shiro know.

 "I'm right there with ya!" Lance said, Voltron using its lower thrusters to stabilize itself.

 Voltron left the planet, leaving the atmosphere and entering space. Voltron faced Zarkon's main ship. Zarkon's main ship slowly moved towards Voltron, making a clear exit for the Castle and Voltron moved away from the ship. "They escaped!" [Name] informed, seeing the Castle leave the planet.

 Everyone screamed, a purple light engulfing Voltron.

 "What's going on?" Keith asked.

 "My lion!" Hunk yelled, Voltron being pulled towards Zarkon's main ship.

 "Zarkon..." Shiro groaned.

 "Zarkon's taking control of the Black Lion again! Fall back!" Keith said, Voltron using its boosters to escape Zarkon. 

 The Lion's eyes light up with blue, Zarkon's ship getting hit with blue lasers from the Castle. 

 "Paladins, now's your chance! Get out of there!" Allura demanded. 

 Voltron using its boosters to get away from Zarkon's ship. 

 [Name]'s eyes widening

 "I forgot how intense Zarkon's connection to the Black Lion is," Shiro said, Voltron getting farther away from Zarkon. "We have to keep our distance, or risk losing Voltron. Let's disband and get back to the Castle." 

 [Name]'s eyes widen, realizing how Zarkon keeps finding them. Zarkon used to pilot the Black Lion and from what Shiro said, there might be a possibility that Zarkon has a stronger connection with the Black Lion. [Name] runs a hand through her hair, Zarkon was a paladin of Voltron.

 The Lions went back to their norm self, going back to the Castle and the Castle got away. The lions went to their hangars, Keith furrowing his eyebrows. "Why haven't we wormholed yet?" Keith asked, a hologram of Coran appearing on Keith's dashboard.

 "Because we can't! We're missing several scaultrite lens-stones!" Coran said, his eyebrows furrowed. "They've shattered! Gone! Don't exist! Sloven-day-ho! That's Altean for 'gone.'"

 "Wait, did you say 'scaultrite'? I've seen that somewhere before," Pidge said, her eyes widening in realization. "I think Hunk was making some terrible cookies from that stuff!" Hunk groaned from Pidge's insult. 

***

 [Name] and Palainds went to the room Coran is in and he scanned the 'cookies'. "Unbelievable! These cookies do have trace elements of scaultrite," Coran said, staring at Hunk's 'cookies'. 

 "Could they work?" [Name] questioned, still feeling uneasy from her realization of Zarkon.

 "They might be able to hold for one jump," Coran said, looking back at the 'cookies.' "but we'd still need several people actually physically holding them." [Name]'s and the others' eyes widen, hoping that no one won't have to hold them. "And, if the trajectories were calculated just so..." Coran said.

 [Name] stood there completely straight, holding one in her hands while the others either hanged or stood/sat in a strange way. "It just warms my heart that people are enjoying my cookies," Hunk said, a smile on his face.

 "Okay, there. Now, nobody move if you want to live," Coran said, putting one of the 'cookies' on Hunk's feet.

 "I think I moved! I think I moved!" Lance said, hanging from one of the scaultrite lens with two of the 'cookies' in his hands.

 "Well, then move back to where you think you were!" Coran yelled, Coran exiting the area of scaultrite. "Okay, now, I'm going to monitor the beam from out there." 

 "Wait, Coran! How dangerous is this?" Hunk asked, laying on his back with his legs at 75 degree angle with one 'cookie' in his feet and one he is holding. Coran's back faced you and the others. "Honestly, this is the most dangerous think I've ever seen, or heard of, but since we're probably going to die anyway, what the heck, let's give it a shot!"

 [Name] scowled at Coran's sudden outburst and he stood on the other side, saluting everoyone as the doors slowly closed. "Good luck, gentlemen and gentleladies. It's been a pleasure," Coran said, the doors about to close/ "Don't touch the lasers!" 

 The Castle moved around, dodging the lasers from Zarkon's fleet and a hologram of Allura appeared on the dashboard. "They're in position!" Coran said, letting Allura know and Allura closed her eyes. At the end of the tunnel, lights turned on.

 "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Lance said, repeating those words as he stared at the light.

 "Hold tight, Lance!" Pidge said, standing sideways and holding the two 'cookies' sideways.

 [Name] closed her eyes, seeing multiple lasers come towards everyone and Lance scream. However, the lasers and lights turned off. 

 "It's not working!" Coran screamed, a hologram screen of Allura appearing in front of Coran. 

 "Coran, what's happening? Zarkon's right on top of us!" Allura said, her voice filled with panic.

 "The stones aren't reflecting properly! I need something to shine them up! Coran yelled, wiping his forehead then he looked at his arm. "Oh... Wait a second. I think I've got it. Hit the wormhole in ten ticks!"

 "Ten..." 

 Coran ran in and used his slick skating skills to make his slick appear on the scaultrite.

 "What's going on, Coran?" [Name] questioned, standing completely still. 

 "... nine..." 

 Coran stopping a the end of the tunnel.

 "No one move! I've got to shine these stones!" Coran said, having slick on his hands and face. "Good think I've got a case of the slipperies!" Coran shined the 'cookies' [Name] and the paladins are holding.

 "...six..."

 Coran doing his magic on slicking the whole stones. 

 "... five... four... three... two..."

  Coran slicked the 'cookie' in Hunk's hands and he looked at the one in Hunk's feet.

 "On."

 Coran finished slicking the 'cookie' in Hunk's hand and he looked up at the one in Hunk's feet. 

 The end of the tunnel's lights light up, multiple lasers coming out and bouncing off the stones. [Name] closed your eyes, waiting for the whole thing to be over and everyone screaming, including [Name]. Coran grunted, moving in the last second and using his face to shine the 'cookie' in Hunk's feet with slick and Coran dodged the laser by a milisecond and he hid behind the scaultrite. A wormhole opened in front of the Castle, the Castle moving towards it as Zarkon's ion cannon came towards the Castle. The Castle entered the wormhole, escaping Zarkon and his ion cannon. 

***

 "Great work, team! We made it! Huh?" Allura asked. 

 The doors to the room [Name], Coran, and the paladins are in opened. [Name]'s shirt is half burned while smoke is rising off her body and shoulders. The others got burned and [Name] fell onto the floor, but what she didn't realize is that Lance was hanging above her. Lance lost his balance, falling on top of [Name] and she lets out a groan of pain.

Chapter Text

 "There's no point in debating this further," Allura said, everyone in the main control room. Keith standing off to the side. "Zarkon is clearly tracking us through me."

 "What?" Shiro asked, his eyes widening.

 "Aww, space baloney," Lance mumbled, a pout on his face.

 "That's not possible," [Name] stated, Allura scowled her.

 "Why would that be so hard to believe? Zarkon's forces showed up on Arus only after I awoke," Allura said, looking down with her eyebrows scrunched. 

 "She's got a point," Lance said, you glared at him. "I would absolutely travel across the galaxy to find you."

 "It's not you, Princess Allura. It's me," Keith said, everyone looking at him and your eyes widen.

 "How?" [Name] questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 "I just think Zarkon must've imprinted on me during our fight or something," Keith said, his eyes darting around. 

 "Look, the fact is, we don't know how Zarkon is tracking us," [Name] assumed, gazing at Shiro. "It could be through the Black Lion. Every time Zarkon gets close to it, Shiro has to fight him for control."

 "That's only when Zarkon is nearby," Coran said, standing up. "No Paladin has ever been able to connect with a lion over a vast distance."

 "So, what are we going to do?" Hunk asked.

 "Look, it doesn't matter how he's tracking us because we're gonna take the fight to the Galra soon enough," Shiro said, glancing around at everyone. "They've been chasing us from galaxy to galaxy. The last thing they expect is for us to come after them."

 "The hunters becomes the hunted, hmm? Awesome!" Lance yelled. "That's the tag line from like six of my favorite movies."

 "As it happens, I took our list of recent Galra attacks and analyzed it for both commonalities and anomalies among the attack sites," Pidge said, at her chair and typing away on the hologram screens. "I was hoping to create an algorithm that would, within a statistically acceptable margin of error, provide a list of target-rich Galra environments-color-coded, of course, because what are we, animals?" Everyone waiting for an explanation.

 The galaxy appeared in the room and [Name] seeing the planets and stars. "Cool! What is it again?" Lance asked, staring up at the map of the galaxy.

 "It's a Galra finder?" Hunk asked.

 "Well, 'finder' suggests that it locates the Galra, whereas it would be more accurate to say that my model predicts their likeliest..." Pidge said, looking at everyone looking lost from her explanation. "Fine. It's a Galra finder."

 "So, where are the Galra?" Lance asked, an indicator appearing on one of hologram planets. 

 "The nearest onesare right here. A planet called Traujeer," Pidge said.

 "Then that's where we're headed," [Name] informed.

 "Everyone should get some rest," Shiro said, turning around to the others. "Tomorrow, we'll find that Galra fleet and take it out."

***

 [Name] walks out of her room, hearing a door open and closed, but she knows that it isn't hers. She hides in the darkness, seeing Keith walk around in the halls with a bag. She ponders what he's doing and she walks towards him. She knows she doesn't have a good friendship with Keith, but she's not like how she used to be. 

 "Keith?" She whispered, Keith stopping in his tracks. "What are you planning to do?" 

 Keith turns around with a solemn expression on his features. "Please [Name]. Don't try to stop me."

 [Name] walks over to Keith and stands in front of him. "I'm not going to, Keith. You have a theory and you wanna follow through with it." She lets out a deep breath and she wraps her arms around Keith's neck, hugging him tightly.

 Keith's eyes widen as he stands there in shock. He slowly lift his arms and wraps them around [Name]'s waist, pulling her close. [Name] able to see over his shoulder while Keith's gaze is on the floor. The two of them stand there, holding each other and [Name] lets out a sigh, giving one last squeeze and Keith returns the same amount of strength.

 "Be careful, Keith," [Name] mumbled.

 Keith nods his head and he's the first to part. [Name] gives him a smile and he returns the smile. [Name] chuckled, Keith raising an eyebrow and she blushes sheepishly.

 "You should smile more. You look cute," [Name] giggled.

 Keith watches as she disappears around the corner and he continues to his journey. Keith made it to the pod room, running over to a pod and he stopped in his tracks, staring at the pod. He heard the doors open and he hid behind the space pod. He noticed Allura get into the pod and Keith revealed himself.

 "Princess, what are you doing here?" Keith asked, scaring her and she fell back, but Keith caught her.

 Allura jumped away from him, standing up straight, "Oh, I might ask you the same thing."

 "Nothing. Just walking," Keith said, raising an eyebrow at her suspicious behavior. "Late at night. Near the pods." 

 "In full Paladin armor, with a bag of your belongings?" Allura asked, looking at the bag on Keith's shoulder.

 "I have to know if Zarkon is tracing me. This is the only way. Don't try to stop me," Keith said, giving Allura a glare.

 "I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to join you," Allura said, furrowing her eyebrows.

***

  [Name] let out a yawn, walking into the control center and seeing the rest of the paladins except Keith. [Name] smiled to herself as she remembers her conversation with Keith. Perhaps Keith will smile more, but anything could happen. 

 Coran walked over to his control panel, "It appears that one of the pods launched in the middle of the night."

 "Wait a minute, Keith and Allura? In the middle of the night?" Lance asked, the others at their own seats. "You don't think they're sittin' in a tree?"

 "Lance!" Shiro growled, shooting a glare at Lance. "Contact the pod."

 "Yes! Contact that pod!" Lance yelled, earning a groan from Shiro.

 [Name] wasn't expecting Allura to go as well. She knows for a fact that Allura isn't the reason why Zarkon is able to find them and neither is Keith, but [Name] didn't want to interfere with his plans. Besides, [Name]'s theory of Shiro being the reason is only a theory and she hasn't tested it yet. 

Keith & Allura

 "Princess, Keith, where are you?" Coran asked, his voice being heard in the pod.

 "Exactly where we should be, far away from the Castle," Allura said, Keith being the pilot with Allura in the passenger seat.

 "What? Why?" Shiro asked, concern lingering in his voice.

 "We must know if we are the ones Zarkon is tracking," Allura said, her eyebrows furrowed. 

The Others

 "They're isolating the variable. Well, isolating two variables," [Name] informed, crossing her arms.

 "In English, please?" Lance asked, looking at [Name].

 "In order to test a hypothesis..." [Name] started, but Lance cut her off.

 "I said in English!" Lance yelled, starting to annoying [Name]. 

 [Name] scowled at Lance and she started to walk towards him, but Shiro wrapped an arm around her waist to restrain her. Lance held up his hands, looking brave to fight [Name], but he knows that she'd easily take him down.

 Keith & Allura

 "[Name] is right. If Zarkons finds you despite my absence, we will know with total certainty that we are not the ones he is tracking," Allura explained, looking at the dashboard of the pod.

 "Splitting up the group makes us far more vulnerable. Come back to the Castle immediately," Shiro demanded.

 "I'm sorry, Shiro, I cannot do that," Allura said, scrunched her eyebrows.

 "If Zarkon does find us, I can pilot us to safety," Keith said, deciding to speak up. "We're in wide-open space with plenty of room to maneuver."

The Others

 "Plus, we'd be able to outrun him. Pidge added that booster rocket," Keith said. 

 "That thing's still on there?" Coran asked.

 "We need both of you back here now!" Shiro said.

 [Name[ and the others screamed, the Castle shaking and the alarms going off. "What's going on?" [Name] asked, walking to standby Coran and her eyes scan.

 "We're in some sort of debris field," Hunk said, the Castle bumping into one of the debris.

 "I believe it's coming from Taujeer," Coran said, looking over his shoulder and a indicator appeared on the main screen on the planet. "Correction: I think it is Taujeer!"

 "Coran, what's going on--" Allura asked, the call cut off.

 "Some kind of radiation from the planet is interfering with communications!" Coran yelled, looking over his shoulder.

 "Move the Castle away from the planet and reestablish the link. Everyone else, get to your lions."

***

 [Name] went with Shiro in the Black Lion, the Red Lion left in the hangar. The Lions went towards the planet, leaving the Castle to be in the debris field. The Lions dodged the debris, using their boosters to get closer to the planet. The Lions entered the atmosphere, going towards the large structure and the Lions went towards it. [Name] gazed at the green liquid that almost looks like acid of some sort. The Lions landed on the ground, one of the creatures things running over.

 "I don't see any Galra," Hunk said. 

 "Looks like that fancy Galra finder doesn't work. Nice try, Pidge," Lance commented, a smug smile on his face as he insulted Pidge.

 Shiro got out the Black Lion, [Name] walked beside Shiro as she debates whether she should have stopped Keith or not. She didn't think things would have turned out this way.

 "Thank goodness you're here! I am Baujal, the leader of the Taujeerians," Baujal said, standing in front of Shiro and [Name]. "The Galra just destroyed our ship's engines and left." 

 "So the Galra were here, Lance," Pidge said, a smirk on her face.

 "Mmm," Lance hummed, looking to the side.

 "They've taken everything. We must get everyone off the planet before it dissolves completely!" Baujal said, his voice sounding like a robot's. "Please, help us!"

 "How long do we have?" [Name] questioned, tilting her head.

 [Name] felt the ground rumble, a crack appearing on the side of the Lions and the other side of it rose up.

 "Not long," Hunk said, Shiro's eyes widen.

 "How did this happen?" Shiro asked, the ground continued to rumble. 

 "We've known for years that our planet would eventually lose its outer layer," Baujal said, Shiro looked back at him.

 "Like a snake shedding its skin?" Lance asked, making a good example of the situation.

 "Yeah, yeah, that doesn't sound so bad," Hunk said, sounding a little panic. "Beneath that old skin is a new, healthy layer, right?" Then the ground shook sharply.

 "Nope. No, I--I think the next layer is acid," Pidge stated. 

 "The plan was to evacuate the population to our nearest moon, where we have built a colony to wait out the shedding process," Baujal said, looking over at his home and watching it crumble. "So we relocated to higher ground and constructed that ark."

 "What happened?" Lance asked, curious about the ark.

 "The Galra attacked, led by a vile commander named Morvok," Baujal said, everyone looking at the ark. "He robbed us of vital resources and left us with only one operational engine, stranding us here." 

 "You're not stranded anymore. We will save your people," Shiro said, Baujal turned towards Shiro.

 "I believe you, for I have heard many legends of the valor of Voltron. Five brave Paladins dedicated to this... Wait, wait I count only four of you. Are you not Voltron?" Baujal asked, looking at the four Lions and [Name] bit her lip in worry. Keith's not here.

 "Uh... almost?" Lance questioned.

 "Where is the fifth Paladin?"Baujal asked, raising his eyebrow suspiciously.

 "He's not here, but we can still help you," [Name] stated. 

 "I would feel more comfortable with all five Paladins," Baujal said, she rolled her eyes.

 "Duly noted," Shiro said, he turned his body to the Lions. "Pidge, Hunk, take a look at the ark and see what we're dealing with."

 "Piece of cake. We'll get it flying in to time," Hunk said, the ground rumbled again. Part of the legs on the ark broke off and the body of the ark landed on the ground. "Would you settle for upright?" Hunk asked. 

 Keith & Allura

 Keith pressed the screen on his dashboard, an arrow on the screen indicating them and Keith held a mad expression on his face. "We've been here for hours. Still no sigh of Zarkon," Keith said, he looked around.

 "Well, I'm glad I don't have to wait here alone," Allura said, her arms crossed then she looked at Keith. "You understand, I could never live with myself if Zarkon was finding us because of me. I must know. We faced such a dire threat from the Galra."

 "Well, sure, they're bad. No doubt about that. But at the same time, couldn't at least a few of them be fighting for good?" Keith asked, looking down then at her. "Just look at Ulaz. He sacrificed himself to save us."

 "For all we know, his sacrificed was a ploy," Allura said, glaring at Keith. "One life means nothing to Zarkon."

 "It means something to me. It means some of them are actually willing to help," Keith said, getting defensive. "And we could use all the help we can get!"

 "Any offer to help from the Galra is merely a prelude to a trap," Allura said, crossing her arms and looking to the side. "I know all too well how quickly they turn."

 "It just seems crazy to lump everyone together," Keith said, looking at her. 

 "Listen, if there are any good Galra, they have had 10,000 years to take down Zarkon," Allura said, glaring at Keith and she harden her glare. "I would never count on them for help."

***

 The Lions hovered around the ark. "Assuming we can get it back up, the repairs will still take time," Pidge said, the ground rumbled again.

 "Which would appear to be the one thing we don't have," Lance stated.

 "We need to slow down the shedding," Shiro said, [Name] watching the paladins work. 

 "How do you stop a planet that's coming apart at the seams?" Pidge asked, confused at Shiro's statement.

 "By sewing it back together!" Hunk yelled, excited by his idea.

 "What do you mean?" Shiro asked, confused and shock by Hunk's idea.

 "That new Green Lion weapon causes vegetation to grow, right? Well, I was thinking that if you aim it at the cracks in the planet... the vines could act like stitches," Hunk explained, a smile on his face.

 "But won't the stitches get dissolved by the acid?" [Name] asked.

 "The stitches might hold longer if they're frozen," Pidge added, as the ground continued to rumble and crack.

 "It's a plan," Shiro confirmed. "Hunk, you and I will take our lions and get this ark upright while Pidge and Lance buy us some time." 

 As the cracks formed in the ground, the Green Lion used its green laser to make vines bring the cracks together while the Blue Lion used its ice laser to freeze the vines. While the Blue and Green Lion did that, the Black and Yellow Lion pushed the legs of the ark down.

 "My side's clear, Shiro," Hunk said, waiting for the Black Lion to be done.

 "Almost done," Shiro said, the Black Lion pushing the last leg down and it slowly fell to the ground.

 "Yes! It worked!" Pidge said, looking towards the Black Lion.

 "It won't hold forever. Keep going!" Shiro ordered, the Yellow Lion and Black Lion trying to push the ark up. 

 Hunk groaned, the Yellow Lion giving its all to keep on pushing the heavy ark up.

 "Come on! Give it all you got," Shiro said, glancing towards the Yellow Lion and [Name] notice cracks in the ground coming towards the Black Lion. "That's it! We're almost there." [Name] gasped, seeing the acid come up, but quickly the vines stitched into the ground and ice freezing it. "Thanks, guys."

 "You got it," Lance commented, a smirk on his face.

 "Anytime," Pidge said, nodding.

 The Blue and Green Lion pushed the pegs of the broken legs of the ark against the ark. The Lions landed, staring up at the ark. "All right, Hunk, time to work on those engines," Shiro ordered.

***

 "So, what happens if Zarkon does come for us?" Keith asked, looking at Allura.

 "You said you could pilot us to safety, right?" Allura asked, her eyebrows scrunched turning her head towards Keith.

 "Sure, but after that, could we even go back to the group?" Keith asked, looking down then back at her. "And if we don't, who would pilot the Castle or create wormholes?"

 "Well, what about you? Without you, the team cannot form Voltron if you aren't there," Allura said, Keith looked down with a sad expression on his face.

***

 [Name] stayed inside the Black Lion, watching Hunk use his heavy bayad gun to fix the ark while Shiro and Baujal watched Hunk do it too. The Yellow Lion held up the the part, and Hunk stopped his laser. "Well, it ain't pretty, but it should get you airborne--" Hunk said, the ground rumbled and stopped.

 "Just in time," Shiro said, looking towards the Baujal.

 The ark tried it the first time, only getting a little bit of power, but then the boosters started working and lifting off the ground, but a purple laser hit the other engine. The ark landed back on the ground, the booster turning off.

 "What was that?" [Name] questioned, her eyes widen and Shiro furrowed his eyebrows as the two glare the Galra ship.

 "The Galra. They're back," Shiro stated, the ship fired more lasers around the ark, making the ground fall into the acid and the ark started to slid towards the acid. 

 "Hunk! Take the Yellow Lion and hold up the ark. If it falls into the acid, the Taujeerians are doomed," [Name] ordered, standing in front of the dashboard.

 "Not to mention the guy beneath them," Hunk said, the Yellow Lion under the ark and trying to stop it from moving. "Which would be me, in this particular scenario."  

 "Lance, Pidge, we've got to draw the cruiser's fire," Shiro ordered, the Green and Blue Lion going towards the Galra ship. "Coran, we need you here now. Attack the Galra cruiser!" 

 "I'm on my way!" Coran yelled, the Castle breaching the Taujeer's atmosphere.

 Keith & Allura

 "Keith, Allura, are you there?" Coran asked, Keith and Allura hearing Coran's voice in the pod.

 "We're here, Coran. What is it?" Allura said, her eyebrows furrowed.

 "Zarkon is definitely not tracking us through either of you," Coran said, the communication a little static.

 "He's not?" Keith asked quietly, his eyebrows widen.

 "How do you know?" Allura asked, wanting answers.

 "Because you're out there, and a Galra fleet just showed up here!" Coran explained, Allura and Keith looked at each other. "We need you now!" 

 Keith pushed the handle for speed up, the pod turning a little and going back to the Castle. "We'll be there in two doboshes," Allura said, Keith pressed the booster on the screen on the dashboard.

 "Even faster than that," Keith said, his eyebrows a little furrowed.

 "What is that?" Allura asked, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

 "It's the booster fuel Pidge added to this pod," Keith explained, pressing it again and it turned red.

 The engines charged, turning a bright orange then exploding. Allura and Keith screamed, being exited from the pod before the whole thing can explode. Both of them screamed, getting farther away from each other and Keith stopped spinning.

 He used his jet pack to get closer to Allura, "Allura! Grab my hand!" Allura and Keith grabbed hands, spinning around more in space and Keith used his jet pack to stabilize themselves. "Princess, are you okay?"

 "I believe so. Is your radio still working?" Allura asked, looking to the side then at him.

 "Let's find out," Keith said. "Coran, can you hear me?" On the other end, Keith could only hear static. 

 The Others

 The Black, Green, and Blue Lions came towards the Galra ship, dodging the incoming lasers from the ship. The Black Lion opened its mouth, shooting a laser at the side of the ship. While the Black, Blue, and Green Lions attacked the ship, the ion cannon turned towards the ark. "They're aiming the ion cannon at the ark!" Shiro yelled, [Name]'s eyes looking at the Galra fleet. "Lance! Pidge! Attack the ship with your jaw blades!" The Blue and Green Lions used a jaw blade and cut the side of the ship, the outside exploding from the hits. 

 Keith & Allura

 "We'll never get there at this rate," Keith said, using his jet pack to get back to the Castle that's so far away. He held onto Allura's arm and had his hand on her upper back.

 "This was a terrible mistake. Shiro was right. We should have never left them," Allura said, looking down and they continued their way back to the Castle. Keith scrunched his eyebrows.

 The Others

 Just as the ion cannon charged, the Black Lion flew by with its jaw blade in its mouth and cut the side of the ion cannon. The ion cannon missed the ark, but hit the frozen vines and cut into the ground. The Yellow Lion still tried to stop the ark from falling into the acid waters and rocks came falling towards the Yellow Lion.

 "Rocks! Big, big rocks!" Hunk yelled, watching the rocks come towards him.

 "We got you, buddy!" Lance yelled, the Blue Lion jumping onto the rock and pushing it away and the Green Lion shooting the rocks. 

 The Black Lion dodged the incoming purple lasers, moving away and soon enough the ship was attacked by the Castle's multiple lasers and destroying the ship's lasers on one side.

 "Nice, Coran!" [Name] exclaimed, a smile on her features. "Hunk, what's your status?"

 "Mostly just trying to not fall into a bubbling pot of acid," Hunk said sarcastically, still underneath the ark and the Yellow Lion close to the edge.

 The ship fired back, shooting the Castle's particle barrier.

 "We're being overwhelmed!" Lance shouted.

 "We need Voltron!" Pidge shouted. 

 Coran

 "Oh, if only there were another who could pilot the Red Lion," Coran said, his eyebrows furrowed and he looked over his shoulder. Coran went off to the hangar of the Red Lion, wearing a white and gold suit of Paladin armor with a large red cape on. He stared up at the Red Lion, "Finally Alfor. I will walk in your footsteps! Oh, Red Lion, I am unworthy to be your Paladin, but since you have chosen to bestow this honor upon me, Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, I humbly accept."

 The lights in the Red Lion's eyes turned off, lifting its hind legs off the ground a little. The Red Lion growled lowly at Coran. "Oh, yes!" Coran said, the Red Lion stood up and left the hangar, "Right. Okay. Just a quick lap." Coran cracked his back three times, looking at where the Red Lion left. "Uh, okay, guys? So, yeah... the-- the Red Lion ran away," Coran said, scratching his head.

 The Paladins

 The Yellow Lion continued to hold up the ark and still close to the edge of the ground. "I can't hold it any longer!" Hunk grunted, a some bit of the ground fell into the acid waters.

 "Hunk, you have to! If you let go, the Taujeerians will die!" [Name] informed, trying to sound encouraging. 

 The Yellow Lion's front and back legs getting close to the edge again. Hunk groans, his groans turning into screaming and the Yellow Lion let out a roar. The paws on the Yellow Lion turning bigger and an extra large part appeared on the Yellow Lion's body.

 "Oh, whoa! Armor claws!" Hunk yelled, a booster appearing on the side armor of the Yellow Lion and somewhat stopping the ark from moving any closer. "Guys, I can keep this thing from falling any farther, but I need your help to get it back up."

 "We're on our way!" Shiro shouted, the Black, Blue, and Green Lion going back towards the ark.

 The Black Lion went on the ground to push it back up and the Blue and Green pushing it from the upper part. 

 Keith & Allura

 "Keith, look!" Allura shouted, making Keith open his eyes and seeing the Red Lion coming towards them. "The Red Lion found you!" The Red Lion let out a growl, getting closer to Keith and Allura. 

 The Paladins

 The Castle continued to attack the ship as well as the ship attacking the Castle. The ion cannon charged up, aiming towards the ark and Lions, but a laser that wasn't the Castle hit below the ion cannon. The Red Lion came in, a jaw blade appearing in its mouth and cutting all around the ion cannon, making the ion cannon come off and fall into the acid waters. "All right!" Lance cheered with everyone.

 "Good to have you back, Keith," Shiro said, a smile on his face. 

 "Good to be back," Keith said.

 "Is the Princess with you?" Lance asked, glaring over at the Red Lion. "Like 'with you' or..."

 "Lance," Shiro growled, wishing he could smack Lance right about now.

 "Uh, Keith? Little help?" Hunk asked, all the Lions expect the Red Lion holding up the ark.

 "On my way, buddy!" Keith said, the Red Lion coming over to the rest and pushing up the ark.

 The Lions got the ark onto even ground, all of them moving away from the ark.

 "All right, everybody. No time to relax. Let's show them what they're dealing with," Shiro ordered. "Form Voltron!"

 The Lions formed Voltron, the ship came towards the ark and Voltron.

 "They're heading for the ark!" Pidge yelled. 

 "They're gonna ram it!" Hunk shouted, sounding a little panic.

 "We'll have to meet them head-on. Form sword!" Shiro ordered, Voltron formed the sword and went towards the ship. 

 "Will the sword be able to cut through an entire battle cruiser?" Lance asked.

 "It will have to!" Shiro yelled.

 "Guys, I think my lion is telling me something," Keith said.

 "Yeah, mine too," Lance said.

 "I can feel it too," Pidge added.

 "Same here," Hunk said.

 "Then do it!" Shiro demanded.

  Voltron's sword turned into a long, blue blade and [Name]'s eyes widen, a smile on her features. Voltron went under the ship, holding the sword above itself and slashing through the ship. The ship cut in half when Voltron was done and exploded.

 "Yes!" Hunk yelled, a smile on his face. 

 "Yeah!" Pidge screamed, everyone cheering.

 "Now let's get the Taujeerians to safety," [Name] said, a hologram of Hunk appearing on Shiro's dashboard.

 "How are we going to do that? Their booster rockets are shot," Hunk said, half of the ark almost falling into the acid waters.

 Voltron went underneath the ark, lifting it off the ground and away from the planet to the moon the Taujeerians built the colony on.

***

 [Name] and the others gazed at Allura and Keith. "I'm so sorry for leaving," Allura said, looking down in shame.

 "Me too. We thought we were doing the right thing," Keith said.

 "It's partly my fault too," [Name] confessed, gazing at Keith. "I had the opportunity to stop Keith, but I decided not to."

 "But clearly you were correct, Shiro. We are always stronger together," Allura said, looking up and smiling at Shiro.

 "At least we learned that Zarkon isn't tracking us through you two," Lance said, his arms crossed and his head a little tilted.

 "Plus, I learned that my lion can grow armor and extend its claws like that... Ting!" Hunk said, making a gesture with his hands. "Which will come in handy if we ever needed to, say, I don't know, slice up a giant steak while getting beat up." Everyone looked at Hunk with a 'really' face. "Or fight evil and save innocent people. That too. That would work," Hunk said, looking  to the side.

 "The fact that the Red Lion came to help Keith from so far away is a vital piece of information," [Name] stated, crossing her arms. "We now have proof that a lion and Paladin can, in fact, connect over a far greater distance than we realized. Which means we finally know how Zarkon is tracking us. It's through the Black Lion. Hey Keith, can I talk to you for a second?"

 Keith looks at the others, but they simply shrug their shoulders while Lance glares at Keith. [Name] and Keith stand in the halls and she leans against the walls while she gazed at Keith. He just stands there, pondering why [Name] wants to talk to him and [Name] lets out a sigh as she lowers her gaze.

 "If there's anything bothering, you can talk to me, Keith," [Name] informed, meeting his gaze.

 Keith takes a deep breath and he gives her a pained smile. "Thanks, [Name]."

Chapter Text

 [Name] and Keith returned back to the others, but [Name] has a feeling whatever is bothering Keith, he'll confess when he feels like it. She doesn't want to push him, but she's starting to worry about him. Perhaps keeping an eye on him would maybe relieve her worry for the mullet boy.

 "Okay, look. I now know for certain that Zarkon is tracking us through the Black Lion," Shiro said, everyone looking at him. "We have to find some way to stop him."

 "But how are we gonna do that?" [Name] questioned, crossing her arms.

 "We've never had this situation before. Two paladins battling for the same lion," Allura said, sounding shock.

 "Well, unless we want Zarkon taking control of Voltron every time we get close... I'll have to forge a new bond with my lion," Shiro said, he looked down. "One that's stronger than his." 

 "Well, while you're working on that, the rest of us need to find some new teludav lenses... otherwise we won't be able to travel via wormhole," Coran stated.

 "Is that something we have to mail order?" Hunk asked, a hand under his chin.

 "I don't think that's how it works in space," [Name] chuckled, rolling her eyes.

 "Does anyone even make those anymore?" Keith asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

 "I don't know," Allura said, everyone looking over to her. "Only a few Alteans could use the teludav 10,000 years ago. They may not exist anymore."

 "I think I may know where we can get some," Coran said, after pulling his mustache. 

 "Where?" [Name] questioned, her and the others following Coran over to his control panel.  [Name] stared up at the main screen, seeing a picture of Coran in his younger years with other creature people.

 "Coran!" Allura exclaimed. "You're not suggesting going to one of those filthy swap moons! The last time you went, those space pirates took you for everything you had."

 "Space pirates?" Lance asked, everyone confused.

 "The Unilu were traders and pirates that roamed the galaxies and dealt in black market goods," Coran explained. "Umvy spice, by-tor water, little bottles of infinity vapor. Of course, you had to bargain. No one could bargain like the Unilu. Last time, I ended up giving away three quarters of my shipment of lango in exchange for a used polo oscillator."

 "Father was not pleased about that," Allura laughed, a smile on her face as she remembered the memory.

 "Well, while Coran is picking up his lenses I'll take you shopping for something sparkly," Lance said, sliding up next to [Name] with a smirk on his face.

 "This isn't shopping!" Coran yelled, getting between them and glaring at Lance. "You're not wandering around saying 'Ooh! What a lovely pink hat! This is so becoming.' No!" 

 "But I'd love something sparkly," [Name] teased, a smirk tugging on her lips. "Is Allura going to come along?" 

 "No, she's the only one who can operate the Castle," Coran said. "You need to be resting after all you've been through. Now, let's ready a pod for our mission. We need to get in , find the scaultrite lenses, and just get out."

 "Shotgun!" Lance yelled, running over to Coran.

 "What? No, you have to be in the pod bay to call shotgun," Hunk yelled, running after Lance. 

 "Since when?" Lance asked, Pidge running after them and you giggled.

 "Since forever? That's shotgun etiquette!" Hunk yelled back, Coran, [Name] and Keith following after them. "I wrote the book."

***

 Keith leaned against the wall, his leg resting on the seats while [Name] sat on the seat. Hunk and Pidge sitting across from the two while Lance is sitting shotgun while Coran drove.

 "Hello? Back passengers? Can you hear me?" Coran asked, his voice filling the slightly small space.

 "Oh, it's so comfy up here," Lance said, Hunk crossed his arms and pouted. "Extra leg-room, heated seats! Oh, man!"

 "Stupid Lance. Stupid shotgun," Hunk grumbled, closing his eyes.

 "Now, these swap moons are very dangerous environments. So be on your toes," Coran informed. "No weapons or communication devices of any kind! Also, I've brought along some disguises." 

  [Name] raised her eyebrow at the word disguises. 

***

 Everyone stood inside the mall. [Name] glared underneath the disguise because Coran made it seem like its pirates and stuff like that. She wasn't expecting the mall to look like the malls on Earth. The others in the mall are dressed so casually while [Name] and the others just stand out too much.

 "Coran? This Unilu swap meet looks an awful lot like a regular mall," Pidge stated, Coran looked around.

 "It doe seem to be a little cleaner than I remember," Coran said, a hand under his chin then he turned the others. "Still, be vigilant. The Unilu are cut-throat wheeler-dealers. So keep your hands on your coin satchels." 

 "My satchels are empty," Hunk said, gesturing to his satchel on his hip.

 "Good," Coran said, crossing his arms proudly.

 "Let's just get this over with," Keith sighed, irritated probably.

 "Yes, right," Coran said, [Name] crossed her arms. "Everyone, let's fan out, search the area for teludav lenses. We'll meet by the giant ticking clock here in one vaga. Don't be late, and try to blend in."

 Once Coran was away, everyone took off the ridiculous disguise and threw them in the trash. Everyone walked away from the trash, Hunk going off somewhere on his own, Lance Pidge going off somewhere and [Name] is left with Keith. 

 [Name] and Keith walked around the mall, [Name]'s eyes darting everywhere to see if the lenses are anywhere visible. [Name] and Keith don't even speak to each other as they walk around. Keith stopped walking, staring at an alien man with two pairs of arms and [Name] noticed he stopped walking, she walks over to him. She follows her gaze to see a salesman.

 "Let me show you this wonderful workings of the Galasu X-90 Extreme Blade System," the salesman said, holding two knifes in his hand and two other creatures waited at the counter.

 Keith walked over, [Name] let out a sigh, thinking why is this boy into knives? She stands next to Keith and watch the salesman twirl the knife in his hand.

 "It slices, it dices, it kills, slaughters, and skins and constantly stays razor sharp!" The salesman said, trying to convince the two man crowd. "Look at it cut through this bloato fruit." 

 The fruit is the size of cantaloupe and the salesman threw it into the air. Just the bloato fruit came close to the salesman, he slices the fruit many times and caught it in his hand and placed it on the counter. The salesman did a trick with one of the knives then he slammed the blade part into the counter and the fruit fell apart.

 "Paper thin," the salesman said, a smirk on his face and he looked at [Name] and Keith. "How much would you pay for this knife?"Keith raised an eyebrow and the man removed the fruit. "But wait, there's more!" The salesman picked up a rock with his other two open hands while still holding the two knives with his other two hands. "How many times have you had to fight off a charging rock monster and then go immediately to a picnic? All the time, right?" 

 No one answered the salesman, and he went ahead and started to slice the rock. "The Galasu can cut through rocks and still cut bloato fruit paper thin," the salesman said, getting another bloato fruit and slicing it, then making a money gesture. "Now how much would you pay? Seriously, how much?"

 The two aliens walked away, leaving [Name] and Keith to stand there. "I have a lot of these to unload," the salesman said, looking at [Name] and Keith.

 "I just had a question," Keith said, the salesman pouted and crossed his arms.

 "Fine! What do you got?" The salesman asked.

 "Have you ever come across something like this?" Keith asked, taking out his blade and putting it on the counter. [Name] eyed the blade, raising an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything.

 The salesman put on his eyescope on and picking up the blade. He examined the blade. "Whoa, this craftsmanship is incredible! And is this a luxite blade? The planet they mine that from hasn't existed in decafebes. Where'd you get this?"

 "Someone gave it to me," Keith answered.

 "Okay, that's vague. Tell you what I'll give you 1,000 GAC to take it off your hands," the salesman said, crossing his top arms and still holding the blade.

 "It's not for sale," Keith stated, glaring at the salesman.

 "Two thousand," the salesman said, holding up two fingers. 

 "No, thanks. Give it back," Keith demanded, acting rather calm.

 "How about this? I keep the knife and you two beat it before security gets here," the salesman said, smirking at the two. "I know it's stolen."

 "It's not stolen," Keith barked, glaring at the man.

 "Then tell me where you got it," the salesman stated, leaning forward.

 [Name] grew angry and she grabbed the man's wrist, the salesman grabbed one of his knives. [Name] and the salesman in a little knife fight as she glares at the man. "He said it's not for sale. You should listen to him."

 The salesman tries to swing at [Name]'s face, but Keith grabbed his fist and [Name] elbows the salesman in the face. The man drops everything, using his multiple hands to cover his face and [Name] jumps back, holding Keith's blade in her hands. Her and Keith back up, [Name] noticing the man reached underneath the table.

 "Catch!" [Name] exclaimed, tossing the knife towards Keith. 

 Keith catches the knife, looking at [Name] with a shocked expression and he looks to the salesman.

 "Hey! Come back with that!" The salesman shouted, pressing a button under the table.

 [Name] and Keith ran next to each other. "Thanks," Keith said, giving her a smile.

 "No problem. The man just ticked me off," [Name] confessed, their fast pacing slowing down. "Hopefully, we won't get the security on us that fast."

 [Name] and Keith started walking, no one running after the two. [Name] stops walking, taking a seat and she lets out a sigh, looking up at Keith with a teasing smirk on her features. "Why do I keep saving you?" 

 "What are you talking about?" Keith questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. [Name] rolls her eyes playfully and Keith takes a few steps away from her. "I'm gonna look around."

 "Sure, have fun," [Name] joked, waving at Keith. 

 [Name] glanced around, noticing a alien male gazing at her. She smirks, feeling confidence run through her and she stands up, waltzing towards the man with a kind smile. The man stands up straight, a confident smirk on his features as he eyes [Name] up and down. [Name] holds her hands behind her back, gazing up at the alien man.

 "This is my first time here and I was wondering if you could help me," [Name] said, batting her eyes.

 The smirk widens on his features. "I'd gladly help a pretty lady like yourself."

 [Name] smiles widely as she tilts her head. "I was wondering if you've ever seen teludav lenses. I need them for a ship of mine."

 The man looks away from her a second, but he shakes his head. "I haven't seen anything like that, but do you need anymore help?"

 [Name] drops her flirty demeanor as she shakes her head. "No. I really needed those lenses though. Thank you for the help."

 [Name] walks away and waves over her shoulder at the man, but the tug on her wrist stops her in her tracks. She looks over her shoulder to see the man gripping her wrist rather tightly and she turns her body to face the man. She raised her eyebrow at the man.

 "Can I help you?" [Name] asked, speaking slowly.

 "I can give you a ride," the man suggested, never letting go of her wrist. "You said you had a ship, right? I can give you a ride to wherever you need to go."

 [Name] shakes her head. "No, thank you. I need to get going now."

 The man tightens his grip on [Name]'s wrist. "But you owe me something."

 "Owe you something? I don't owe you anything," [Name] stated, seeing the angry expression on the man's face. 

 The man glared at her. "You wasted my time!"

 "And? I was asking you if you could help me which you have," [Name] informed, scowling at the man.

 "What are you doing with my girlfriend?" 

 [Name] and the man turned their heads to see Keith glaring harshly at the man. The man lets go of her wrist and Keith wraps his arm around [Name]'s shoulder, putting space between them and the man. The man scoffs as he walks away and Keith removes his arm from [Name]'s shoulders, Keith letting out a sigh as he gazes at [Name].

 "Thank you, Keith," [Name] mumbled, pursing her lips. "I almost had everything from control."

 Keith smirks. "Why do I keep saving you?" [Name] scowls at Keith and he laughs. "Just be careful of those around you. Anyone would probably want to talk to you since you look cute."

 [Name] dropped her attitude as she looks at Keith with wide eyes. Did he just call her cute? [Name] wasn't even able to ask Keith what he meant because he's heading towards the bathroom. [Name] walks into the girls bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror as she ponders what's so cute about her?

 She's wearing a simple red shirt with a black and white striped sweater underneath. She has high waist shorts with the red shirt and sweater tucked in. She has mid thigh length leggings and regular converses. She didn't think she'd look cute, but she didn't want to leave the Castle wearing her space suit because she feels comfortable wearing that in the Castle or in space. 

 [Name] walks out the bathroom as her gaze is lowered onto the ground. She noticed Hunk standing out there with a panicked expression on his features. 

 "[Name], He's right behind me!" Hunk yelled, her by her shoulders. Keith walked out the bathroom at the right time. "Keith!" 

 "Who?" [Name] questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 The three heard beeping and Hunk let go of her, all three turning their heads to see a Galra security guard. "Pirate number two and three!" The Galra security guard shouted, pointing at [Name] and Keith and he turned his space hover towards the three. "My lucky day!"

 The three yelped, running away from the security guard and the guard chasing after them. [Name] notice Pidge and Lance walk out of a store. "Time to get moving guys!" Hunk shouted, [Name] and Keith trailing behind Hunk.

 "Security's on our tail!" [Name] yelled, pointing over her shoulder. 

 "There's the rest of the crew!" The Galra security guard shouted, a lot slower.

 Lance and Pidge yelped, running after [Name] and Keith. [Name] looked over her shoulder to Lance has a space cow with him.

 "Everyone up on Kaltenecker!" Lance shouted, jumping onto the cow. Pidge jumped on with Hunk next, Lance held his hand out for [Name] and she grabbed it. 

 "Did you buy a cow?" Hunk asked, the cow going over the railing and Pidge held onto Keith's hand.

 "It was free with purchase!" Pidge shouted, [Name] fell against Lance's chest and Keith got on with Hunk actually on the cow. 

 Everyone screamed, Lance holding onto [Name]'s waist and Pidge holding onto his. The cow hovered above the ground just a little bit, going off in some direction and the Galra security guard still chasing [Name] and the paladins. [Name] held onto the horns of the cow, Lance gripping [Name]'s waist with Pidge holding onto Lance and Hunk holding onto Keith. The cow went up into the air, everyone noticing Coran walk out a shop.  

 "Coran!" [Name] yelled.

 "We gotta go, Coran!" Keith shouted, the cow landed on the ground with Coran catching up to it.  Keith helped Coran get onto the cow.

 "I got the scaultrite lenses!" Coran informed, the shop owner getting out his shop.

 "Scaultrite? Hold on a tick!" The shop owner shouted, running after everyone.

 "No take-backs!" Coran shouted, the cow turning.

 Everyone screamed as the cow took a sharp turn, going towards the mall's exit. The cow entered the exit, leaving the mall and the security guard stopped chasing everyone. "Doggone it! You better run! Don't let me catch you in my jurisdiction again, pirates!" The Galra security guard shouted, glaring at [Name] and the paladins. 

 "Oh, so you can't follow us outside, huh?" Lance asked, slightly kneeling on the cow and making a taunting noise.

 Just as Lance turned his head, he got hit by a building part and he fell off. The cow stopped moving, [Name] started laughing and she used her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed.

 "Nice going, Lance!" She laughed, throwing her head back.

 "That's one for Varkon," the Galra security guard said, a smile on his face.

***

 [Name] and the others entered the control area, Coran carrying the bag of lenses. "We got our lenses!" Coran exclaimed, a smile on his face and Allura having many different hair styles.

 "Excellent! Now, we can get the teludav up and running," Allura said, looking pretty happy.

 [Name] and the others walked towards her, [Name] noticing that Shiro isn't in the control deck.

 "Where's Shiro?" Keith asked.

 The doors open and [Name] looked over her shoulder to see Shiro walk in.

 "What did you do? Take a nap?" Allura asked, everyone looking at Shiro.

 "Not exactly," Shiro said, a smile on his face and crossing his arms, he looked over at Lance and the cow. "Is that a cow?"

 "Mm-hmm, his name is Kaltenecker," Lance said, smiling at the cow and the cow mooed.

 "You actually named the cow," [Name] whispered, shaking her head.

 "So, did you find a way to bond with your lion?" Keith asked, his eyes widen in curiosity.

 "Yes, and we need to get moving," Shiro said, turning serious. "We're headed for the Blade of Marmora's headquarters."

 Everyone stared at him, silence filling in the room and Coran broke the silence. "I'll plot a course," Coran said, running over to his control panel.

 "While you're doing that, I'm gonna hook up the video game Lance and I bought," Pidge said, holding a box in her arms.

 Pidge and Lance sat on the floor, Pidge opening the box while Lance held a gameboy in his hands.

 "Yeah! Let's get this baby set up," Lance said excitedly, a smile on his face.

 Pidge held a gameboy in her hands and the wires, she looked around. "Where can we... How do... No!!!!" 

Chapter Text

 The Castle went towards the coordinates to the Marmora's location, Coran at his control panel with Shiro right behind him. "How soon will we get to the Blade of Marmora's base?" Shiro asked.

 "Based on the coordinates that Ulaz gave us, we should be there within a few doboshes," Coran said.

 "I can't wait to see it!" Pidge exclaimed, a smile on her face. "I mean, they were able to fold space-time and that was just at an outpost!" 

 "Mm, the space taco. It left us too soon," Hunk said, putting a hand to his stomach and rubbing it.

 "Well, sure, but my point is, imagine how amazing their home base will be!" Pidge said, turning her body towards Hunk and holding her arms out.

 "Exactly. It could take on any shape," Hunk said, a wide smile on his face. "Like a space jelly donut. Or long, like a space éclair. Or a space cheese blintz with a cherry sauce on top. Maybe a little dusting of powdered sugar. That's the stars."

 "Aw! Now, I'm hungry for breakfast," Lance whined, looking over to Hunk.

 [Name] chuckles. "You always get hungry when Hunk talks about food."

 "Good point." Lance smiles over at [Name], a warm feeling engulfing his chest. 

 "Guys, this is a serious mission. We need to focus," Keith sighed, scowling at [Name] and Lance. 

 "'We need to focus'," Lance said mockingly, making a disgusted face and [Name] laughs, Lance smirking.

 "The base is in range," Coran informed, [Name] gazing at the base.

 "Take us in slow," Shiro ordered.

 "That might prove the tiniest bit of a challenge," Coran stated, the base is in a middle of a giant blue star. The blue star having two black holes that the sides of the black holes.

 "Is that a black hole?" [Name] questioned, standing next to Coran.

 "No, no, no, no, no. It's two black holes and a giant blue star," Coran explained.

 "That's not better," Hunk said, everyone staring at the base.

 "No kidding. Just inside a black hole, the temperature is one millionth of a degree above absolute zero," Pidge said, furrowing her eyebrows. "But, just outside of that, it's hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius."

 "Okay, it's like when you try to nuke a frozen burrito in the microwave, and it comes out all scorching hot on the outside, but it's still frozen in the middle, right?" Hunk asked, explaining Pidge's statement into something simple and with food.

 "Now, I'm hungry for lunch!" Lance whined, looking over at Hunk and [Name] chuckles.

 "Guys, quiet!" Keith yelled, scowling at the others. "Coran, where's the base located?" 

 "In between those three deadly celestial objects," Coran said, the screen zooming in until the base appeared.

 "The perfect defensive position," [Name] suggested, crossing her arms over her chest. 

 "Or the perfect trap," Allura hissed, a glare on her face.

 "Yeah, I'm with Allura. Maybe we shouldn't, like, go in there at all?" Hunk asked, Keith blowing a fuse.

 "What are you talking about? We have to go in!" Keith yelled, everyone gazing at him. "This is the whole reason we came out here! There is no other option!" 

 "Keith, calm down," [Name] ordered, walking towards Keith and she looks at him in concern. "I know this means something to you, but just calm down for us." 

 Keith looks away, crossing his arms over his chest and [Name] heard the computer beep, soon purple writing in a different language appeared on the screen. "Identify yourself," the computer said.

 "Open a hailing frequency, Coran," Shiro ordered, Coran opening the frequency. "We are the Paladins of Voltron sent here by Ulaz." There's silence after what Shiro said, then the writing changed on the screen.

 "Two may enter. Come unarmed," the computer said.

 "Why would they insist we come unarmed? Shiro, this doesn't feel right," Allura said, a frown on her face.

 "We've come too far to turn back now," [Name] stated, looking over at Allura.

 "They just sent us a route to the base, but we'll have to make move quickly," Coran said, he looked up at the screen. "Because of the solar flares, it's only open for another varga." The screen highlighting the base, and showing a pathway to the base. "Then, it will be closed for two quintants.

 "They're gonna close it for two years?" Hunk asked, tilting his head.

 "Two days," Pidge stated, correcting Hunk.

 "Oh," Hunk said, deadpanning with Pidge. 

 "So, any thoughts on who's gonna join you on this little mission?" Lance asked, a smirk on his face as Shiro walked towards them. "I'm thinking things might get a little hot, so you're gonna want someone who can stay cool."

 "You're right. Keith, you're coming with me," Shiro said, looking at Keith.

 "Keith's a hothead! He's probably going to shoot first and ask questions later!" Lance shouted, glaring at Keith and Keith glared at him. "And they're not gonna be able to answer his questions because they'll be dead!" Lance got close to Shiro's face and Shiro furrowed his eyebrows at Lance.

 "We haven't yet severed Zarkon's link with the Black Lion, so it has to stay here," Shiro said, pushing Lance away from his face by Lance's shoulders. "And the Red Lion can withstand the heat from that sun. So, yes, it'll be Keith."

 "The course to the base will be quite treacherous, to say the least. You're walking a razor's edge between the gravitational pull of the black holes and the sun," Coran explained, the screen showing the circled parts on the base. "One false move, and you'll either be crushed into infinity or burnt to crisp."

 [Name] followed Keith and Shiro to the Red Lion's hangar. [Name] seeing the two of them standing in their space suits and she has a bad feeling that something is going to happen. She lets out a sigh and puts a smile on her features, not wanting the two to worry about her and Shiro steps towards her, a smile on his lips.

 "Be careful," [Name] advised, Shiro nodding his head. She turns her attention to Keith. "You better be cool headed about this, Keith, but other than that. Be careful."

 [Name] wraps her arms around Keith's neck, embracing Keith as he returns the hug as well while Shiro stands there. He stares at the two with so much question in his eyes as he ponders when did [Name] and Keith become so close to even hug. Heck, when did she even stop holding a grudge against him! Shiro controls his jealously when [Name] pulls away from the hug first. [Name] hugs Shiro too, but not as long as she did with Keith.

***

The Red Lion followed the pathway on the screen, Keith extremely tense and Shiro noticed. "Keith, is everything okay?" Shiro asked, looking at Keith.

 "I'm fine," Keith said, furrowing his eyebrows. 

 "You kind of blew up at everyone back there. You'll have to control your emotions if you're going to lead this group someday," Shiro said, his words surprising Keith.

 "Lead the group?" Keith asked, chuckling nervously.

 "When we were stranded, I told you and [Name], if anything ever happens to me, I want you to lead Voltron," Shiro stated, looking at Keith seriously.

 "I thought you were just delirious with pain. Why would you make me the leader? [Name] would make a better lead than me," Keith asked, glancing at Shiro.

 "Because I know what you're capable of, if you can learn some self-discipline," Shiro said, somehow burning Keith with his words. "[Name] is probably capable, but she has more walls up than any of us. She's working on changing herself which is good, but she will still have those walls up."

 "Why are we even talking about this? Nothing is gonna happen to you," Keith hissed, glaring at Shiro then looking ahead of him.

 "It's just in case. I need you to get focused," Shiro said, putting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "When you and Allura ran off, it put us all in jeopardy. If you're going to be a leader, you've got to get your head on straight."

 "I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind," Keith said, looking to the side.

 "I know. We all have," Shiro said, looking forward.

 Both of them groaned, the alarms blaring as the Red Lion got pulled towards the black holes. "We're getting drawn in by one of the black holes!" Keith yelled, Shiro holding onto the chair.

 "Get us out of here!" Shiro ordered. 

 Keith pulled the handle and the Red Lion turned its back on the black hole, using its boosters to get away. The Red Lion dodged an incoming bolder, going around it and using the surface as a boost away from the black hole. The Red Lion back on the pathway, entering the safe place of the base before the gate could close.

 "Great job! That was close," Shiro praised, a smile on his face.

 The Red Lion went over to the base, landing on one of the ledges and the two males exited the Red Lion. Both of them looked around, seeing nothing.

 "There's nothing here. This place just looks like a plain asteroid," Keith said. 

 They heard doors rumbling open and they notice the doors on the ground. Two Galra soldiers, one with a small build that almost looks like a female build and one with a large build, definitely a male. The two raised up, staring at the two paladins and the paladins returning the stare. 

*** 

 The two paladins and Galra went down on the platform, the highlights purple and the platform stopped at the end of the floor. The door opened upward, revealing a grand hall with someone standing at the very end with multiple Galra soldiers standing off to the sides of the walkway. A hologram design that's on Keith's blade. Shiro and Keith looked around as they walked towards the person sitting on the chair.

 "I am Kolivan, leader of the Blade of Marmora," Kolivan said, his arms held behind his back. Keith and Shiro stopped walking until they stood a couple of feet in front the set of stairs.

 "My name is Shiro and this is Keith. We are Paladins of Voltron," Shiro stated, slightly glaring at Kolivan.

 "I know who you are," Kolivan said, Galra soldiers also standing on each stair and his voice sounding of a robot.

 "Then you know we were sent by one of your own," Shiro said, his statement sounding obvious.

 "Ulaz was a fool to divulge this location to you," Kolivan said, not feeling remorse for Ulaz. "He had a penchant for ignoring orders and following his impulses. That's what got him killed."

 "He gave his life to save us!" Shiro yelled, glaring harshly at Kolivan. "What he did brought us here today and Voltron is ready to assist you. Are we welcome here or not?"

 "You were told to come unarmed," Kolivan said, Keith blew another fuse.

 "You also told us to identify ourselves. The lions are about close as we come to an ID," Keith stated, thinking Kolivan meant the lion as a weapon.

 "If anything happens, believe me, you'll be happy to have the Red Lion on your side," Shiro said, also believing that Kolivan meant the Red Lion.

 "I imagine we would. However, I wasn't referring to your beast," Kolivan stated, a Galra soldier appeared behind Keith.

 The Galra soldier twisted Keith's arm, putting his arm behind him and kicking Keith's ankle, making Keith fall to the floor. The Galra soldier put his knee on Keith's back, holding Keith down.

 "Keith!" Shiro shouted, going to run over, but another Galra stopped Shiro.

 The Galra soldier on Keith took out Keith's blade and holding it out.

 "He has one of our blades! Who did you steal this from?" The Galra soldier on Keith asked, looking down at Keith.

 "I didn't! I've had it all my life!" Keith shouted, looking over his soldier.

 "Lies!" The Galra soldier growled, Shiro looked at Keith with wide eyes.

 "Can you corroborate your friend's statement?" Kolivan asked, Shiro looked over at him. "Does this blade truly belong to him?"

 Shiro looked back at Keith. "I... I don't know," Shiro mumbled.

 "Shiro, you know me. I promise you I didn't steal it," Keith groaned, still on the floor. "I've had this knife as long as I can remember."

 "We can't trust them," the Galra guard said, pushing Keith down more.

 "I'm telling the truth," Keith stated, he looked up. "I saw Ulaz had a knife like this. Tell me what it means."

 "Our organization is built on secrecy and trust," Kolivan said, not telling Keith what he wants. "You two should leave. Now."

 The Galra guard got off of Keith, Keith stood up and put a hand to his arm. Shiro walked over to Keith, both of them looking at each other.

 "We came here to form an alliance, but obviously, we're not welcome," Shiro said, glaring at Kolivan then looked at Keith. "Come on Keith, we're leaving."

 "Not without some answers," Keith said, making Shiro stop in his tracks. "Somehow, one of your knives ended up with me on planet, Earth. Tell me how."

 "Your friend is right. It is time for you to go," Kolivan stated, still holding his arms behind him and Keith blew a fuse again.

 "Where did it come from? I have to know," Keith demanded, furrowing his eyebrows.

 "You seek knowledge? There is only one way to attain knowledge here," Kolivan stated.

 "How? I'll do it!" Keith shouted, his eyes widening. 

 "The trails of Marmora," Kolivan stated, the trails sounding serious with a name like that. "Should you survive, you may keep the blade and its secrets will be revealed."

 "Survive?" Shiro asked, not liking the sound of that and he walked over to Keith, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Keith, this is crazy. If they're not going to help us, let's get out of here."

 "I'm not going anywhere. I have to do this," Keith stated, he turned his head towards Kolivan.

 "Antok, give the boy the blade," Kolivan ordered.

 Antok, the Galra who held Keith down, handed Kieth his knife back. Keith put his hand on the blade, staring up at Antok. "We will meet again," Antok growled, probably a glare behind that mask of his.

 "Can't wait," Keith said, furrowing his eyebrows at Antok.

 "These trails result in one of two things," Kolivan said. "Knowledge or death." 

***

 Keith stood in a training deck, wearing a Galra suit and holding his knife. In a far distance from him, a small spot on the floor went into the ground, but came back up with a Galra fighter.

 "Surrender the blade," the Galra fighter said, reaching behind him and grabbing his sword, pointing it at Keith. "You cannot win."

 The Galra fighter did a trick with the sword, holding it in front of him defensively. Keith ran towards the Galra fighter, his knife clashing against the fighter's sword. Keith went for a kick, but the fighter dodged and Keith went to stab the fighter's head, the fighter dodged with his blade. Keith switched the way he held the knife, but the Galra fighter pushed his hand down and Keith went to punch him, but his fist being met with the Galra's forearm.

 Keith went to slash the fighter's face, but the fighter grabbed Keith's arm and hit Keith in the face with fist then his palm. Keith was pushed back, skidding against the floor, but he got up. The fighter charged towards Keith, going to slash Keith and Keith blocked. Keith blocked the fighter's blade, but the fighter kicked Keith in the arms since Keith blocked, but right went Keith's arms moved away from his chest. The fighter slashed his shoulder and Keith screamed in pain. Keith covered his shoulder with his hand and held out his knife.

 Keith skidded against the ground, getting back up and he thrust his knife forward to the fighter. The fighter put his arm under Keith's, turning around and turning Keith's arm slightly to the wrong way. The fighter's blade is on the back of Keith's neck and Keith panted heavily.

 "Surrender the blade and the pain will cease," the fighter said, holding Keith's arm in one hand.

 "I won't quit," Keith stated, the blade getting closer and Keith glared at it as he kneel on the ground.

 "Then the pain continues," the fighter let go of Keith's arm and removed the blade.

 Keith stood on his hands and knees, his head down. Keith stood up, turning around to face the fighter.

 "You are not meant to go through that door," the fighter said, turning his body to the side and revealing the door behind him.

 Keith ignored him, walking past the fighter then jogging over to the door. Once Keith went to the door, he entered the same looking fighting area, but this time with two Galra fighters coming out the ground. Keith held the knife defensively, one of the fighters twirled the sword around them and charged at Keith. Keith blocked the blade, the other fighter jumping over Keith and going to slash his head. Keith ducked, dodging the blade, but the other fighter attacked Keith and Keith did the best he can to block each attack. Keith got kicked, making him groan.

 Shiro

 Shiro, Kolivan, and Antok stood in a room, two screens on Keith and the fighter and one with just Keith. "This is not a fair fight!" Shiro stated, watching the fight with Keith and the two Galra soldiers.

 "Nor is taking on the Galra, yet that is the fight we face," Kolivan stated, his statement being true.

Keith

 Once the two Galra fighters made Keith kneel on the ground, they stopped attacking him and one of them pointed their sword at him. "Surrender the blade and the pain will cease," the fighter stated, Keith glared up at them.

 "Never!" Keith yelled, panting.

 "You are not meant to go through that door," the fighter said, turning his body to reveal the door behind him.

 Keith went through the door again, being in the same fighting area, but in a different room like always. This time, three Galra fighters appeared out the ground and Keith charged towards them. Keith earned hard bruises, feeling sore and he kept hearing the same words from the Galra fighters, but he kept going through the doors. Each door he went, the numbers of the fighters increased by one and he soon faced 5 Galra fighters then 8 Galra fighters.

 Shiro 

 "How long does this go on?" Shiro asked, scowling at Kolivan.

 "Sometimes, the greatest challenge is knowing when to stop," Kolivan stated wisely, watching Keith.

 "He'll never quit," Shiro said, knowing Keith.

 "One way or another, this will end. Knowledge or death," Kolivan said, watching Keith charge towards the fighters.

 [Name]

 "How long has it been?" Allura asked. 

 [Name] sitting on the platform with Lance next to her and Hunk standing next to the two. [Name] and Lance playing rock-paper-scissors to pass time, but whoever loses gets a smack on the wrist. She promised to hold back her strength for Lance. 

 "Roughly ten vargas," Coran said, at his control panel.

 "We cannot just wait here," Allura said, crossing her arms.

 "The path is closed for, like, I don't know, 30 more vargas or something?" Lance asked, throwing rock as [Name] had scissors. [Name] groaned in defeat while Lance ready to smack her wrist and Hunk  yawned, watching them play.

 Coran typed away on his control panel. "That's actually correct," Coran said, surprising them.

 "Really?" Hunk asked, his eyes widen.

 "Yeah, I wasn't born yester-quintant," Lance said. The little game between him and [Name] coming to an end as the two stand up. 

 "You just learned that word," [Name] chuckled, crossing her arms. 

 "I-I have to know what's going on down there," Allura said, a hologram screen appearing in front of her.

 "There's no way to get a read on their base," Pidge said, sitting at her chair and looking at the solar flares and black holes on the screens around her. "Too much interference from the solar flares and the black holes."

 "If we account for the gravitational lensing maybe we can reduce the noise and intereference and connect with the Red Lion's sensors, right?" Hunk asked, Lance throwing his arm over [Name]'s shoulders and leaning against her. Surprisingly, she didn't throw him off. "Th-That's right, right?" 

 Lance looked at Coran then back at Hunk, pointing at himself, "Are you looking at me?"

 "We can give it a try," Coran said, a hand under his chin.

 "Get on it," Allura demanded, her eyebrows furrowed.

 Keith

 Keith held his upper arm as he entered another training area, watching about 7 more Galra fighters come up from the ground. He breathed heavily, watching the Galra fighters step off the pad and towards him. Keith sharpened his glare, running forward and throwing his knife towards the floor. The knife caught in the pod just in time to stop it from closing. One fighter swung his sword, Keith dodged and kicked the fighter away. Keith kicked another fighter, trying to push the fighter back, but the fighter threw Keith. Keith got back up again, grabbing his knife and jumping into the pod.

Shiro

 "Keith!" Shiro yelled, staring at the fighters stare at the pod Keith went through. Kolivan didn't say anything. Not even to reassure Shiro that Keith's okay.

 'This is the opposite of being careful.' 

 Keith

 The door opened and Keith walked out. The room different from the fighting area and looking like the same one him and Shiro met Kolivan in. "Guess I really wasn't supposed to go through that door," Keith said, holding his shoulder with his back hunched.

 As he walked, his vision started to move and make doubles of things. He fell onto the ground, passing out from being too exhausted. Keith opened his eyes, looking up to see one figure standing above him. He blinked slowly, seeing the two figures instead of one crouch down at him.

 "Hey, man. You did it," Shiro said, holding out his hand for Keith.

 "Shiro's right, Keith. You did it," [Name] said, her hands on her hips as she stands proudly.

 "Shiro? [Name]?" Keith asked, putting his hand in Shiro's and Shiro helped him up stand up.

 Keith doesn't take his gaze away from [Name] as she stands next to Shiro. "Kolivan let me see what's going since the two of you were taking your sweet time and he told me you lasted longer than anyone ever has in those battles," [Name] informed, patting Keith's shoulder.

 "You don't have to keep this up, Keith," Shiro suggested, a smile on his features. 

 "What are you talking about?" Keith asked, looking at [Name] and Shiro.

 "Just give them the knife and let's get out of here," Shiro said, a smile on his face.

 "I can't give it to them, Shiro," Keith said weakly, holding his arm.

Shiro

 Shiro stared at the screen, seeing himself and [Name]. He turned his head to Kolivan, "Is that a hologram?"

"His suit has the ability to create a virtual mindscape, reflecting its wearer's greatest hopes and fears," Kolivan explained, not bothering to look at Shiro, "And at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you and her."

 "[Name]..." Shiro said, scrunching his eye focused on the hologram of [Name].

Keith

 "What is it with you and that thing?" [Name] groaned, furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

 "It's the only connection I have to my past," Keith said, his eyebrows scrunched in worry and he looked at the knife. "It's my chance to learn who I really am."

 "You know exactly who you are, a Paladin of Voltron," Shiro said, looking at Keith with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

 "Shiro, you're like a brother to me and [Name], you're starting to understand me and be there for me,"  Keith said, hurt in his eyes. "But I have to do this."

 "No, you don't. So, just give them the knife," Shiro said, glaring at Keith.

 "I can't do that," Keith said, not backing down.

 "Just give up the knife, Keith! You're only thinking of yourself, as usual!" [Name] shouted, Keith's eyes widen. 

 "I've made my choice," Keith said, lowering his gaze to the floor.

 "Then you've chosen to be alone," Shiro said, him and [Name] turning their backs on Keith and walking away.

 Keith looked down at the knife, looking back at Shiro and [Name]. "[Name], Shiro! Wait!" Keith pleaded, running after the two, but Keith's plea turned on deaf's ears. Shiro and [Name] walked towards a bright light, and as they entered it. Keith appeared back in his house on Earth. 

 Keith's eyes widen, staring at his house and the orange, yellowish light lighting up the living room from the sunset. He felt the ground grumble, he looked behind him and looked out the small windows on the front door.

 "Huh?" Keith asked, not noticing the man behind him.

 "Keith..." The man said, Keith's eyes widen and he looked at the man.

 "Dad?" Keith asked, watching the man stand at the radio.

 "You're home, son," Keith's dad said, turning to face Keith and a smile on his face.

 The ground shook again and Keith looked outside the window that's behind the couch. "What's going on outside?" Keith asked, curious about outside, but the windows' are covered with blankets.

 "Don't worry about that. We'll be fine as long as we stay in here. Don't you want to catch up?" Keith's dad asked, Keith scrunched his eyebrows.

 "Of course I do," Keith said, a crack being heard in his voice.

 "Son, so many years have passed," Keith's dad said, letting out a sigh. "I have so much to tell you."

 Then the ground shook again, but larger and the sounds of loud rumbling can be heard. "What is that?" Keith asked, turning his body to the covered window.

 "Everything's fine," Keith's dad said, watching Keith walk over to the windows.

 Keith removed the blanket, letting out a gasp and his eyes widen. Outside is a Galra ship, using its ion cannon on the planet's surface and destroying everything in its path. Keith could hear people screaming and he noticed the Red Lion on the edge of a cliff.

 "Dad, I-I'm sorry. I gotta go. There's people that need me out there," Keith said, looking at his dad and he notice the blade in his hands.

 "Don't you want to know about where you came from? Your mother gave it to me," Keith's dad said, Keith's eyes widen.

 "Mom?" Keith asked, the ground shook again and people screamed. Keith noticed the robot soldiers come marching from afar. 

 "She'll be here soon," Keith's dad said, his eyebrows furrowed. 

In Reality

 Keith laid on his back, his eyebrows scrunched and his eyes moving around with his eyelids closed. He still held the blade in his hand and Shiro started to get a little mad.

 "You need to get him out of there," Shiro demanded, worried for his friend.

 "He can decided when to leave," Kolivan said, Shiro glared at him.

 "You're messing with his mind. You're going to get him killed!" Shiro growled, and finally Kolivan turns his head towards Shiro.

 "Knowledge or death, Shiro," Kolivan stated, Shiro gritted his teeth and walked away. 

 "I'm calling this off," Shiro said, two Galra guards blocked his way of leaving. 

In Keith's mind

 "You gotta tell me, Dad. I have to know," Keith said, turning his body towards his father. "Where did the knife come from? What does it mean?"

 His father looked down. "Your mother is almost here. She'll tell you everything."

 The ground shook again, a loud explosion going off and Keith looked out the window. "I-I can't wait around anymore. I have to go," Keith said, walking towards the front door and he placed his hand on the handle.

 "If you go out that door, you'll never find out who you are," Keith's dad stated, making Keith's eyes widen.

 Keith looked down, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought of his decisions and another explosion went off. Keith looked over his shoulder, hurt in his eyes.

 "Goodbye, Dad," Keith said, his voice wavering and he walked out the house. 

 [Name]

 "The Red Lion is moving!" Allura informed, everyone gazing at the Red Lion. 

 "We gotta get down there!" [Name] ordered, gritting her teeth.

 "It won't be ready for five more minutes," Hunk stated, sitting at his chair.

 "They'll be fine," Lance assured, his arm still around [Name]'s shoulders and he ruffles her hair.

Keith & Shiro

 The base shook, the cameras on Keith cut off and static. Shiro is held by the two Galra guards. Bits of the ceiling fell down and another Galra ran into the room.

 "The Red Lion is attacking the base! It's trying to break through!" The Galra informed.

 "It has a link with Keith. It knows when he's in danger. It's coming for him," Shiro stated. 

 Everyone groaned when a larger ceiling part fell. Shiro elbowed the guard next to him and he took off running, leaving the room. The four guards went after him.

[Name]

 "The Red Lion has started attacking!" Coran yelled, his eyes widen.

 "What!" [Name] yelled, her eyes widen as the paladins get to their seats.

 "Wait, what does that mean? Why would the lion attack? Unless..." Allura trailed off.

 "Allura?" Lance asked, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

 "Everyone, stay focused," Allura ordered, a glare on her face.

Keith

 Keith opened his eyes, hearing explosions and footsteps. He turned his head, seeing Shiro run towards him and he helped Keith stand up. "Keith, are you okay?" Shiro asked, concerned for his friend.

 "Stop what you're doing!" Kolivan shouted, Antok and other guards stood behind him and stood at the only exit for Shiro and Keith.

 "What are you talking about? What's going on?" Keith asked, Shiro putting Keith's arm over his shoulders and the building shook.

 "Call off your beast!" Kolivan shouted, more rocks falling from the ceiling. 

 "Move out the way! We're leaving!" Shiro yelled, glaring at them.

 "You're not leaving with that blade," the guard said, referring to Keith's knife. "It does not belong to you. You failed to awaken it!"

 "What does that mean?" Keith asked, glaring at them.

 "Give up the blade!" The guard yelled, grabbing his sword and running towards Keith and Shiro.

 Shiro pushed Keith behind him, his prosthetic arm turning purple and Shiro charged towards the guard.

[Name]

 "Coran, how much longer until we can get in?" Allura asked, her tone serious.

 "Just a few more ticks, Princess," Coran informed, looking over his shoulder.

 "Get ready," Allura ordered, clearly upset. 

 Keith & Shiro

 Shiro's arm and the guard's blade clashed, both of them glaring at each other.

 "Wait! Just take the knife!" Keith shouted, holding out the knife and Shiro and the guard put away their weapons. "It doesn't matter where I come from. I know who I am. We all need to work together to defeat Zarkon. If that means I give up this knife, fine. Take it."

 A light shined over the light of the design, shining brighter and brighter. Keith stared at it, getting engulfed by a bright light.

 "You've awoken the blade!" Kolivan shouted.

 Shocked written on Keith's features. Shiro stared at Keith, wondering how the others will react. The blade in Keith's hand changed into a longer blade and into a knife, the light disappearing.

 "The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins," Kolivan stated, Keith's eyes widen.

 [Name]

 "Five... four... three... two... one!" Coran yelled, you could feel the tension rise.

 Luckily, the Castle spot the Red Lion coming back towards the Castle.

 "Princess, we're coming back, and we're bringing someone you should meet," Shiro said, [Name] let out a sigh of relief.

 "They're all right!" Coran yelled, informing the others.

 "Yes, they did it!" Pidge said.

***

 [Name] and the others waited in the Red Lion's hangar, seeing it come towards everyone. It landed on the ground, it opened its mouth, revealing Keith, Shiro, and someone else. [Name] smiled at Shiro and Keith, but Keith looked to the side. The someone else turned out to be a Galra, his mask disappeared from his face and he stood in front of Allura.

 "Princess Allura, it's good to see that the rumors are true," the Galra said, he bowed, taking off his hood. "You're still alive after all these years." 

 Keith and Shiro took off their helmets.

 "So is Zarkon. Can we consider you our ally in the fight against him?" Allura asked, glaring down at the Galra.

 "Yes, but we have little time to discuss this," the Galra said, standing up. "I just received word from our spy inside the Galran hierarchy. They gave become aware of our presence, so the timetable for our plan has been moved up."

 "How soon do we need to start?" [Name] questioned, the Galra's attention.

 "Now," he stated.

 [Name] and the others headed towards the control room, but a tug on [Name]'s wrist stopped her from walking. She looked over her shoulder to see Keith holding onto her wrist and his gaze lowered to the floor. [Name] turns around to face him and she waits for him to speak because it seems there's something troubling him. 

 "[Name], I need to tell you something," Keith said, looking up to meet her gaze. "You said I can speak to you about anything, right?" [Name] nods her head and Keith lets out a sigh. "Turns out I'm half Galra and I know Allura is going to hate me for being half Galra."

 "Who cares what she thinks?" [Name] questioned, surprising Keith. "You didn't know you were half Galra, but just because you're half Galra, won't change my view about you. Sure, I did hate you in the beginning, but I could care less what race you are. You're still Keith... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm still here for you, Keith. No matter what." 

 Keith stares at [Name] with wide eyes and he engulfs her in a hug. He doesn't say anything as he holds her close and [Name] returns the hug. She rubs his back, a smile on her features as Keith rests his forehead on her shoulder, hugging her tightly. She doesn't mind because Keith needs the comfort and the support right now. 

 "Thank you for telling me, Keith."

Chapter Text

  "What? What'd I miss?" Hunk asked, letting out a gasp as he woke up.

 "Oh, nothing important. We've just figured out a way to defeat Zarkon," Lance said, a smirk on his face.

 "Really? I dozed for ten minutes, and you guys figured out how to defeat the forces of evil?" Hunk asked.

 "Hunk, you've been asleep for three hours," [Name] stated, her arms crossed. "You were being lazy while we were working on a plan." 

 Hunk glanced over to the hologram of Zarkon's ship. [Name], Keith, Coran, Shiro, and the two members of the Blade of Marmora standing around the hologram. Pidge and Lance stood near Hunk.

 "I think we've got something here," Shiro said, staring up at the purple hologram. "It's dangerous, and there are a lot of moving parts, but if we can coordinate everything just right, then-"

 "Zarkon's reign will be at an end, and the savagery that's poisoned our universe can finally be cleansed," Kolivan said, then glancing at Shiro. "You've done it, Shiro."

 "We did it together," Shiro said, holding out his hand. Kolivan turned to face Shiro, holding Shiro's elbow and shaking hands.

 "As long as we stick to the plan, it should work," Allura said, scowling at the two Garla.

 "It will work. Perhaps, then, you'll learn that not all Galra are as bad as Zarkon," Kolivan stated, [Name] glanced at Keith who is at her side.

 "I hope not," Allura whispered. 

 "Ulaz was right to trust you all," Antok said, glancing at Shiro and still having his mask on his face.

 "He sacrificed everything to bring us together. Let's honor him by taking down Zarkon," [Name] said, her eyes on the hologram.

 Hunk stood up, walking over a little bit with Pidge. "So, what's the plan?" He asked, looking at everyone.

 "The plan is amazing!" Lance said, running over to the hologram and throwing his arms up. "First, we infect Zarkon's ship with a virus. Then, we make an extra-large wormhole and lure Zarkon inside of it, zapping him a bajillion light-years away. Then, when he pops out on the other side, all like, 'Oh, why doesn't my ship work?' Voltron kicks his butt! Pew, pew, pew! Womp, womp, womp! Huh! Hi-yah! 'I'll form the head!' That's what you say, Shiro." [Name] rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Yeah! We won for all time!" 

 "Wow. So, this is it," Hunk said, his eyes widening.

 "I guess the only question is, when do we strike?" Pidge asked, Coran opened up a hologram computer screen.

 "As soon as we build a teludav big enough to wormhole Zarkon's ship," Coran said, the main computer putting up a bigger hologram form of the teludav.

 "Oh, man. The teludav again? Does that mean we need more scaultrite?" Hunk asked, groaning. 

 "That's actually just one of the many things we need," [Name] informed, gazing at the screen.

 "Am I, uh... Am I sensing a trip back to the space mall here?" Hunk asked, raising his brow.

 "I"m afraid not," Coran stated, Hunk frowned and Coran scrunched his eyebrows. "This is gonna take a lot more scaultrite than we can find at any Unilu shop. For this plan to succeed, we're gonna need to split up. We all have a task to do. [Name], Keith, Hunk, you'll be in charge of getting the scaultrite. If any one of us fails, the entire plan fails."

[Name], Keith, and Hunk went to the hangar of the Yellow Lion. [Name] said goodbye to Pidge while Lance decided to be sneaky and back hug her. [Name] let out a gasp of shock as her feet were lifted off the ground and she looked over her shoulder at Lance. He puts her back onto the floor and she has a smirk on her features, ruffling his hair. Shiro has his arms cross his arms while he waits for his turn patiently. [Name] gives Shiro a tug hug and Shiro returns the favor, but he lifts her off the ground slightly.

 [Name], Keith, and Hunk entered the Yellow Lion, Pidge waving goodbye to her and the other two. She glanced at Keith and noticed the conflict look on Keith's face. The Yellow Lion left the Castle, going to the coordinates of the scaultrite. The Yellow Lion went through a wormhole, appearing in a different area. 

 "Why does Allura get to take a leisurely visit to the Balmera while we have to fly into a belly of a giant space worm to get scaultrite?" Hunk asked.

 "You heard Coran. Building a huge teludav isn't easy," Keith stated, his sound so monotone. "Everyone has a job to do and this is ours."

 "But I always get the worst jobs," Hunk whined, [Name] gazed at Hunk in question. "Go to a Galra-occupied planet to get my lion. Go to a Galra-occupied Balmera to get a crystal. Go into a belly of a beast with the only Galra alien team member and [Name]."

 "Keith's not an alien, Hunk," [Name] stated, crossing her arms.

 "Well, he's kind of an alien. He's way more alien than you and me, [Name]," Hunk stated, looking over his shoulder. "You're at least some alien. I'm-I'm none alien."

 "Hunk, let's just concentrate on the job here," [Name] hissed, hoping Hunk would drop the topic.  

 "Yeah. Was-Was your mom the alien? Your grandpa? How Galra are you?" Hunk asked, genuinely curious.

 "I don't know," Keith said, raising his brow and looking at Hunk.

 "Did the Blade of Marmora, like, teach you the secret handshake, or something?" Hunk asked, looking over his shoulder at Keith.

 "No. No one said anything," Keith stated, looking at Hunk.

 "The Blade of Marmora... They're real tight-lipped, aren't they?" Hunk asked, wanting more answers. "I get that your society is secret, but is everything a secret?"

 "Okay, look, it's bad enough that Allura hates me now. Can you just lay off?" Keith asked, furrowing his eyebrows at Keith. 

 "Allura doesn't hate you. You just need to give her time to accept the fact that you're Galra, the race that destroyed her entire planet and all of her people," Hunk said, looking to the side then blinking a few times. "Yeah, she might hate you a little bit."

 "Let's just watch the video Coran uploaded and stay on task," Keith said, starting the video. "We need to find out how to collect this stuff."

 Hunk pressed the circle on his dashboard, a static video of Coran, in his younger years, appeared on his dashboard. "Hello, brave Altean," Video Coran said, [Name]'s eyes widen in shock.

 "No way. Is that Coran?" Hunk asked, his eyes as wide as saucers and he started to laugh. 

 "So, you're about to go into the belly of a weblum to harvest scaultrite," Video Coran said, holding his arms behind his back, "Good for you! Scaultrite is an important substance, with thousands of commercial and industrial uses, including fabrication foam, insect night vision goggles, teludav-"

 "Uh..." Hunk said, the video skipping ahead and static being heard.

 "anti-fungal klamuirl lotion and other such lubricants."

 "What's wrong with the video?" Keith asked, looking at Hunk for an explanation.

 "Well, it's ten thousands years old, maybe corroded," [Name] suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

 "I could go on for days. But you'be got a weblum to enter and some scaultrite to collect. Oh, look! There's a weblum now. Hello, big fella! "Hey, Coran! I'm off to eat some planets. There's one now!" The cartoon weblum shouted, going off screen. "Nyum, nyum, nyum, nyum! We'll see you soon!" Video Coran turned his head to the camera. "As you probably remember from school, the weblum is an enormous creature and an integral part of keeping our universe functioning. It survives off of the--"

 The video started to skip, getting staticy and soon revealed a xray of the weblum.

 "...left over from dead planets. It then revonverts the quintessence remnants by--"

 The video skipped ahead and you and Keith glanced at each other. The video showed Video Coran pointing a sun with planets circling it.

 "...becoming the building blocks of new solar systems. Incredible, isn't it?" Hunk, and Keith whimpered nervously, having no idea what Video Coran is talking about, the two glanced at each other as the video skipped ahead again. "Of course, these are no gentle giants. They're actually giants that are quite deadly, which leads to rule number one. It's an important one, so listen closely," Video Coran stated, you scrunched your eyebrows, "Stay away from its-- You got that?" 

 "No. No, I didn't!" Hunk shouted. 

 "It's like a rhyme. Say it with me. Stay away from its--"

 "Oh, come on!" [Name] exclaimed.

 "Other things to remember include avoiding the poisonous--"

 "...eye sockets--"

 "...could lead to certain death!"

 “Whoa. What are those?" Hunk asked, looking out the window.

 [Name] eyes gazed at the planets, seeing debris from dead and broken planets. "They look like dead planets," [Name] said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

 "That's strange," Hunk said, looking at a scanner on his dashboard. “The charts I'm looking at show these planets should still be thriving. Wow. What do you think happened to them? Asteroid strike?"

 "Something tells me they died an unnatural death," Keith said, looking sad once again.

 [Name] let out a scream, seeing a enormous worm go past the Yellow Lion. Hunk and Keith glancing at [Name], shocked that she’d scream after seeing the worm. 

 “Are you scared of bug-“

 “Shut up!” She yelled.

 "Guess that ancient Altean weblum tracker put us right on the money," Keith laughed, averting his gaze from [Name] to the worm. 

 "We gotta get out of here! We haven't watched the entire video yet!" Hunk shouted, being concerned and scared. "We don't know that to do!" 

 "We're not leaving," Keith said, going to the video. "You fly, keep our distance. I'll skim through the video.” 

 “So, you've made it into the weblum's first stomach!" Video Coran said, sounding enthusiastic.

 "Rewind!” 

 "I know!"

 “So, you've identified a weblum. Great! Now, remember rule number one Stay away from its face.” 

 Yellow[Name]’s eyes widen as her mouth is agape as the Yellow Lion went in front of its face.

 “Wait, that's rule number one?" Hunk asked, the Yellow Lion flying in front of the weblum. 

 "Sorry, Past Coran, we broke rule one!" [Name] screamed.

 The weblum opening its mouth and a bright light coming from it.

 "Oh, no! What's it doing!" Hunk shouted, trying to get the Yellow Lion away from the weblum's face.

 “Get us out of the way, now!" Keith shouted. 

 The weblum shot out a huge laser and the Yellow Lion went upwards, dodging the laser beam. The alarms beeping, Hunk grunting as the Yellow Lion dodged the huge laser. The Yellow Lion circled around the laser the weblum shot again.

 "Weblum's natural defense-- venomous laser, deadly acid-- total annihilation-- death monster--" 

 "...to find its blind spot on the back of its neck, just below the gills," the cartoon weblum appeared next to Coran. "That's your way inside! If I can't see ya, I can't kill ya!"

  The Yellow Lion turned, going towards the weblum and jumping between the tiny, compared to the weblum, large, compared to the Yellow lion, spikes.

 "This isn't good. This isn't good!" Hunk screamed. 

 The Yellow Lion skidded against the weblum, using its claws to stop itself, but it continued to slid. [Name]’s grip on Hunk’s chair loosen and she almost fell back until Keith wrapped an arm around her. The Yellow Lion used its armor claws, coming to a stop.

 "We're attached to its back, in its blind spot. We should be good," [Name] informed, a blush rising to her cheeks as Keith let go of her.

 "Good. We're going in," Keith stated, looking at Hunk.

 "Wait, what do we do when we're inside the beast?" Hunk asked.

 "A quick recap of what do do when you're inside the beast. One, avoid things that want to kill you. Two, get to the third stomach and find the scaultrite gland. Three, activate the weblum's defense mechanisms and collect the excess material from the gland. That's the scaultrite!" Video Coran explained, putting his hands on his hips.

 "Thank you past telling Coran,” [Name] mumbled.

 "Seems simple enough," Keith said, looking at Hunk.

 "Seems under-explained," Hunk stated, his eyebrows scrunched.

 “Come on," Keith said, looking towards the exit.

 Hunk sighed, her and Hunk following Keith out the Yellow Lion. Keith held out a hand for [Name] to take and she’s gazed at it. [Name] let out a quiet sigh as she accepts Keith’s help to get down from the Yellow Lion’s jaws. Hunk jumped out, [Name] and Keith using their jetpacks to get towards the opening in the weblum. The three of them landing in front of an opening and closing fleshy thing.

 "Got it. Got it," Hunk said, the three entering the weblum.

 The three went down the narrow tube, seeing the tube a dark shade of pink. Leaving the tube, ascending down into some place with green smoke and holes here and there with green light. [Name]’s feet touched the bottom, Hunk's foot slipped and feel into one of the holes.

 “Uh, yuck!" Hunk grunts, lifting his foot out the hole and green liquid is on it. “What am I standing on? A mucus pocket? I do not like mucus! And is that steaming stomach acid? Lookit, right over there. Oh, man, I really ope I don't see any blood." 

 "Knock it off!" Keith growled, hoping Hunk would stop complaining.

 "No, standing inches away from a pus-bubble is freaking me out," Hunk said.

 He pointing to the one that is literally a few inches away from him and he stepped in it on purpose. The liquid came out, steaming coming off the floor.

 "Look, we're inside a disgusting worm. There's no way to sugarcoat it," Keith stated, Hunk making random noises. “We're gonna need that big brain of yours if we want to make it through. Will you be all right?" Hunk groaned, looking around and Keith deadpanned. "I said, will you be all right?"

 "Uh... Okay, okay," Hunk said, inhaling deeply to calm himself. "I'll be okay.” 

 “Good. We gotta be able to count on you," Keith said, putting his hand on Hunk's arm then walking away. “Besides, no one knows an explosive digestive tract like you."

 "Wait, wait, wait. Did you just make a joke?" Hunk asked, Keith stopped walking and looked around, Hunk letting out a chuckle

 "Seriously, that was a joke, wasn't it?" [Name] asked, a smirk tugging on her lips.

 Keith used his jetpack to get across to the other platform and not trying to land in the acid liquid. 

 "You're saying I throw up a lot. I get it. It's funny," Hunk said, a smile on his face, [Name] and Hunk following after Keith. Hunk laughed. "I do. Wow. Galra Keith is way funnier than regular Keith."

 "Okay, we need to find a way around the stomach acid," Keith stated.

 [Name] heard a noise above them and she looked up to see jelly fish looking creatures leave the holes in the walls.

 “What are these things?" [Name] asked, staring at the creatures.

 "Uh... Uh..." Hunk said, you three s as the creatures circled around you three, "I don't know. Maybe they're bacteria? Uh... Oh..." The creatures made noise and two approached Hunk. "Wait, wait, wait. They seem friendly.” Two jelly fish looking creatures settled themselves on Hunk's head. “They seem friendly. Maybe they're good bacteria." Three others went over to Hunk, Hunk holding out his hands with a smile on his face. "They like me. They're-- They're tickling me... Wait, that's not tickling! That's hot acid!"

 Hunk threw the creatures off him, panicking. "They want to kill us! They want to kill us!"

 "I think they're part of the weblum's digestive system," [Name] explained, holding a sword in her hand while Keith and Hunk held their weapon bayard. “They're trying to break down the food and sadly, we're the food."

 [Name] and Keith slashed at the creatures, Hunk shooting them down and [Name] realized how easy it is to slice through them.

 "I can't see anything!" Hunk shouted, his helmet covered and he walked backwards.

 "Hunk!" [Name] shouted, slashing the creatures. 

 Hunk walked into the walls of the weblum's stomach, getting pulled into the stomach walls.

 “Hunk!" Keith shouted, his eyes widening and [Name] sliced the creatures coming towards Keith.

 “I'm here, surrounded by blood. I hate blood!" Hunk shouted, [Name] and Keith standing back to back and slashing the creatures.

 "You've gotta find a way out of the circulatory system," Keith said.

 Her and Keith getting pushed towards the edge by the incoming creatures. Her foot hit the edge, she looked behind herself and Keith standing next to her.

 "Keith," [Name] mumbled, looking into the stomach acid and he furrowed his eyebrows.

 "Hunk! We're outnumbered here! Meet us in the third stomach!" Keith yelled, grabbing [Name]’s hand and jumping into the stomach acid.

 [Name] felt Keith’s tighten his hold on her hand and she squeezed back. She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact and when she looked above, she noticed the creatures didn't follow them into the acid.

 "We gotta get out of this acid," Keith muttered, looking down and going towards the opening.

 He still held [Name]’s hand as they swam towards the opening.  [Name] and Keith left the acid, falling down and her eyes widen. [Name]’s eyes darted around until she felt herself being pulled towards an area. Keith trying to get towards the ledge, using his jet pack and [Name] used her jet pack, using it as an extra boost.

 The two groaned, Keith landing on something metal while [Name] fell on top of him. He let out a groan when [Name] had landed on him.

 "What the-?" Keith asked, sitting up slightly.

 [Name] blushed heavily as she fell back in his lap. She sat up slightly and she looked underneath them, seeing someone in the pod their on. 

 "Impossible," Keith whispered, his eyes widening.

 "We have to get him out, Keith," [Name] stated, standing on the large end of the pod/space ship.

 Keith nodded his head, using his sword bayard to cut the fleshy like vines wrapped around the ship.

 "Don't move. We're here to help," Keith warned, stabbing his sword into the glass and his sword almost hitting the person's head.

 Keith got to open the glass all the way, holding out his hand towards the person. The person accepted Keith's hand, the hands of the person, noticing the person is Galra. Keith noticed a symbol on the Galra's shoulder, pushing the Galra away from him and Keith managed to grab his space gun.

 "You're Galra," Keith stated, glaring at the Galra and the noises from the jelly fish looking creatures return. 

 The creatures balled up at the opening [Name] and Keith exited from. "Not those things again," [Name] muttered, looking up at the creatures.

 The Galra made a hologram screen appear on its arm, pressing on it and beeping.

 “What are you doing?" Keith asked, sounding more demanding than anything.

 The glass [Name] and Keith are standing on started to beep, flashing red. "You're turning the ship into a bomb?" You asked, glaring harshly at the Galra.

 She turned her head, seeing a lot of the creatures shooting towards them from the ball. Keith grabbed her hand again, the three jumping off the ship and using their jet packs to get away. Once the creatures hit the ship, it exploded and Keith used his shield, having [Name] behind him.

 The three falling towards the feel passed the wall, entering another area within the weblum. The three fell down until you hit the floor, [Name] landing on top of Keith and the Galra's landing far from the two. [Name] groaned, apologizing to him as she got off of him and she heard footsteps coming.

 Keith opened his eyes, but he’s not able to stop the attack coming from the Galra. [Name] pushed the Galra away from her answer the Galra grabbed his gun, shooting towards her. The Galra didn’t actually shoot her shield, but the three creatures that were coming towards them. 

 “I guess you can keep your weapon," Keith said, looking at the Galra and standing up. 

 ***

 The three entered another area, [Name] noticed Hunk and she guess he found the third stomach on his own.

 "Keith! [Name]! You made it! We both made it! Who is this?" Hunk asked, using his jetpack to get to them.

 The Galra went towards the opening of the third stomach.

 “Someone we found. He doesn't talk much. Also, he's Galra," Keith explained briefly, looking at the Galra.

 "What, do you guys all know each other?" Hunk asked, chuckling to himself and Keith glared at him.

 “Hunk.." [Name] warned, scowling at Hunk.

 "Are you sure we should be rescuing a Galra soldier right now?" Hunk whispered, looking at Keith. 

 "You’re Paladins of Voltron. We can't just leave people to die even if they are Galra," [Name] stated, watching the Galra then looking down. "Now, come on. Let's get what we came for and get out."

 “Okay, well, that- that might be a problem, too," Hunk said, putting a hand under his helmet. “The scaultrite gland somehow secretes mucus, or saliva, or something gross, which becomes crystallized. The only problem is, I think that we have to trigger the weblum's defense mechanism."

 The area started to rumble, th three looked behind you to see more of the jelly fish looking creature come out the walls.

 “Not again!" Keith groaned, the rumbling continued and the creatures formed into a giant ball. 

 [Name] and the others used their jet packs to dodge the incoming creature attacks, being chased by them and she used her sword to cut them. The others followed her actions, Hunk shooting them down, using a laser to cut into the circle, but the creatures made it grow back.

 “They're everywhere!" Hunk shouted.

 “Oh, whoa," Keith said, another opening open and sucking in the creatures.  

 [Name] screamed, getting pulled towards the opening as her legs were lifted off the floor. Her eyes land on Keith as he’s the closet one to her and she holds her hand out to him. Keith grabs her hand before she could get any farther away from him. 

 "I think this thing is getting rid of the excess gas produced from its multiple stomachs," Hunk explained, her and the others looking at the opening.

 Keith putting [Name] against the wall and his hand at the side of her head. "What?"

 "It's going to fart!" [Name] screamed, Hunk laughing at her words.

 After the opening closed, everyone stood up and Keith looked at Hunk.

 "Hunk, what do we gotta do to get that scaultrite gland to goop?" Keith asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

 "Uh, oh. Uh... Wait a second, wait a second, wait second. 'Stay away from its face'. The blue laser," Hunk muttered, a smile on his face. “Ah! I know what to do!" Hunk went towards the opening, using his jet pack.

 "What?" Keith shouted, looking at Hunk oddly.

 "If we want that third stomach gland to secrete the ooze, I need to get farted out of the weblum's butt and attack the face, getting it to fire its laser puke," Hunk explained, the creatures circle building up behind him. [Name], Keith, and the Galra looked at each other. "For the sake of the universe, I'll provoke the beast! You three stay here and get that scaultrite!"

 [Name] watched the creatures' tentacles come slowly come towards them. 

 "Hurry! I don't know how long we can hold these things off," Keith said, Hunk dodging the incoming attack and going towards the exit.

 [Name], Keith, and the Galra dodge the attacks, the opening sucking up the creatures and she held onto Keith. Hunk got sucked up with the creatures, the opening closed and there's still more of the jellyfish looking creatures in the same area. The creatures circled [Name], Keith, and the Galra. Her and Keith slashing at the creatures while the Galra shot at them.

 "Hunk, whatever you're gonna do, please do it now!" [Name] yelled, slashing a creature coming towards her.

 "Roger that. Provoking giant space worm now," Hunk informed. 

 Keith slashed around until he noticed a large incoming attack going towards [Name]. "Come on!"  He pushed her behind him, using his shield to protect [Name], him, and the Galra from the large incoming attack. "Hunk!!"

 The large attacking hitting against Keith's shield. 

 "Let's see you ignore me now," Hunk said. "Yoo-hoo! Over here!"

 The large attacked finished, the creatures stopped circling around them and Keith stood in front of [Name] protectively. 

 "Yes! Yes, it's gonna do it! Oh, no, it's gonna do it!" Hunk yelled.

 The creatures went back towards the large circle and [Name] looked behind her, seeing blue lights shine in the tube of the third stomach. "It's working!" [Name] shouted.

 The opening covered with a light blue light, Keith's eyes widening.  

 "I think it's about tog get hot in here," Keith stated. 

 Keith grabbing her hand and the two followed after the Galra. The Galra hid in the opening of the walls, [Name] trapped between the wall and Keith and Keith using his shield as a cover. She covered her eyes, not wanting them to be damaged by the bright light passing by them.

 "Oh, yes! Oh, no!" Hunk yelled, [Name] heard him yelling and probably dodging the laser from the weblum. "Oh, yeah! He's out! Tell me you got the scaultrite." 

 Once the light faded, her, Keith, and the Galra went towards the third stomach opening.

 "Grabbing it now," Keith said, grabbing one of the floating scaultrite. 

 ***

 After getting a butt load of bags of scaultrite, [Name] heard a weapon whirring and she looked behind her, seeing the Galra point his gun at Keith.

 "Keith!" [Name] yelled, her sword in her hand as she stood up.

 "So, you're just like the rest of 'em," Keith growled, glaring the Galra with hate.

 The Galra didn't say anything, grabbing one of the bags and running off, using his jet pack to boost himself towards the opening of the third stomach.

 "We're coming out," Keith said, sounding a little hurt.

 "On my way," Hunk informed.

 [Name] noticed Keith's sadden expression and she walks over to Keith. She placed a hand on his arm as she smiled at him kindly. "Keith, thank you for protecting me. I really appreciate it, but I hope you know I can defend myself."

 "Sometimes I wanna show off my skills," Keith chuckled, looking a bit better.

***

 [Name] and Keith went into the pilot room with Hunk, seeing him sit on the chair after they left the weblum. "Where's your buddy?" Hunk asked, smirking at Keith and Keith furrowed his brows.

 "He's long gone by now, and he got a bag of scaultrite," Keith informed, Hunk's smile disappeared.

 "What? Should we go after him?" Hunk asked, looking at Keith.

 "No. Whatever the Galra are planning won't matter after we defeat Zarkon," Keith stated, [Name]'s face flushed when she glanced at Keith.

 "Copy that," Hunk said, a smile on his face.

 Keith walked over to the chair, smiling down at Keith. "By the way, Hunk, you really came through in the clutch back there. Without you, the mission would have been a failure."

 "Aw, thanks, Galra Keith. You're all right," Hunk said, smiling up at Keith. "I think turning Galra has made you a better human."

 "I didn't just turn Galra!" Keith shouted, glaring at Hunk.

Chapter Text

 Hunk piloted the Yellow Lion away from the Weblum. [Name] noticed that Hunk is observing Keith, but she could only guess he's curious to see if he has any Galra traits to him. [Name] felt a smile tugging on her features as she looked between the two.

  "I just didn't turn Galra!" Keith yelled. "Are you trying to see if my skin is purple?" 

 "No..." Hunk claimed.

 [Name] chuckles to herself. "Why you always lyin'?"

 The computer starts beeping.

 "[Name], Hunk, Keith, are you there? Can you here me?" Allura questioned, a live video appearing on Hunk's dashboard. A trouble expression plastered on Allura's features.

 "We're here, Allura. What's going on?" [Name] questioned, leaning over Hunk's seat.

 "You must return to the Castle! I need you!" Allura stated, [Name] glanced at the two Paladins. "That monster attacked us on the Balmera before has returned!"

 "We're on our way," Keith affirmed. 

 ***

 A portal opened up, the Yellow Lion going through and appearing at the planet with the Balmera. [Name] recognized the monster and she gritted her teeth. The monster shooting a green laser towards the Blue and Yellow Lion, but luckily the two dodged. The laser hit the Castle's particle barrier, but didn't damage the Castle. 

 "Whoa! How is that thing operational? It doesn't have a head!" Lance yelled.

 If [Name] remembers correctly, the paladins had a difficult time with trying to fight the monster. The monster could possibly be stronger than before. 

 "I don't know, but I'm sure it has something to do with those crystals," Pidge informed, the laser still hitting the Castle's particle barrier. 

 "Guys, just forget that for now and focus on protecting the Castle!" [Name] ordered, her eyebrows furrowed.

 "How did we beat it last time?" Keith asked.

 "We formed Voltron, then stuck my bayard and shot it with my blaster right in its arm lasers," Hunk explained. "But that didn't stop it so then we had to punch it." 

 "So, we're gonna need Voltron," Shiro summarized.

 "But we only have two lions," Pidge stated.

 "Well, maybe we can form the legs and kick it?" Lance suggested.

 "You want to kick it! You remember the last time you tried to kick something!" [Name] yelled, feeling anger and frustration building inside of her. The monster charged another attack, a laser beam coming out and moving towards the Yellow Lion. "Watch out!"

 The Yellow Lion and Blue Lion dodging the attack. The laser disappeared, but hit the two moons and destroying them completely. The two moons exploded, making a quite large explosion and [Name] covered her eyes from the light.

 "That new laser is much more powerful. We're definitely gonna need all the lions," Shiro stated, The beeping going off and on in the Yellow Lion. "Hunk, you distract it so we can fly into the Castle. Once we get our lions out, we'll cover you so you can fly Keith in for Red." 

 "Wait, wait, wait," Hunk stammered, the Blue Lion flying back to the Castle. "I have to hold that thing off by myself?" 

 "You have Keith and [Name]," Pidge said.

 "Yeah, but they're in here with me!" Hunk yelled, a pout on his lips.

 "There's no time to argue. We got to do this now," Shiro said. 

 "Oh, Quiznak," Hunk sighed.

 The Yellow Lion went over to the monster, shooting multiple lasers at the monster, but the monster used its crystals to block each fire power.

 "The crystals are blocking the attacks. What are we going to do if that's in the way?" [Name] mumbled, her eyes observing the monster. 

 The monster shot a laser towards the Yellow Lion, hitting the Castle's particle barrier and [Name]'s eyes followed the laser, watching as the laser hit the particle barrier. The barrier shut down, leaving the Castle vulnerable to any direct hits. [Name] gritted her teeth. 

 "The Castle is doomed unless we distract that beast," Hunk said. 

 The Yellow Lion using its boosters to get to the monster. The monster put the crystals in front of it, the Yellow Lion running into it and knocking crystals away. Sadly, the monster chased after the Yellow Lion. 

 "Good, it's chasing us," Keith said. The monster shot its laser towards the Yellow Lion. "Bank left!" The Yellow Lion doing that. "Barrel roll!" The Yellow Lion dodged the laser, but another laser quickly coming. "Nose dive!"

 "Quit back lion driving!" Hunk yelled, the Yellow Lion dodging the laser.

 A incoming call from Lance appeared on the dashboard. "I'll distract it! Go get the Red Lion!" Lance ordered. 

 "Oh ho ho, good timing, Lance!" Hunk praised. 

 The Yellow Lion turning around and also getting away from the laser that's following it. [Name] gripped onto the chair in frustration as she continues to rack her brain to figure something out. All of a sudden, the Yellow Lion getting hit with the laser [Name] let out a gasp, feeling herself start to fall back and an arm wrapped around her, pulling her to someone's side. Keith glances down at her, but once he sees that she's okay, he looks away. The Yellow Lion stopped working, falling to the planet.

 "Hunk, do something!" Keith screamed, the Yellow Lion hitting up and almost entering the atmosphere of the Balmera. 

 "I can't move! I'm hit. Nothing's working!" Hunk yelled. "Come on, boy. Come back to me."

 Before the Yellow Lion can actually enter the planet, the Black Lion grabbed on and went back to the Castle. The Blue and Green Lion are distracting the monster while the Black Lion still getting to the Castle. 

 "Shiro, it's on its way to the Castle!" Pidge screamed. 

 The Black Lion turning around to face the monster. "I got it!" Shiro assured, the Black Lion holding on the Yellow Lion, but the Black Lion let go. 

 "Well, who's got me?" Hunk asked, concerned on who's going to get him back to the Castle.

 [Name] heard someone running and she looks over her shoulder, seeing Keith run out the cockpit. "Where are you going? Keith!" She runs after him and grabs his wrist, stopping the mullet boy from running as she looks at him in worry. "Keith..."

 "I'll jump out and jetpack over to the Castle," Keith explained, gazing into her eyes.

 [Name] groaned, her concern expression turning to more of a smile as she gazed at Keith. "I'll be joining you in that."

 Keith smirks and he continues to run towards the exit of the Yellow Lion, sometimes looking over his shoulder to see if [Name] is actually going to follow him. [Name] smirks to herself, missing this time of adrenaline coursing through her veins as she picked up her pace. 

 "Good one. Wait, serious?"

[Name] and Keith exit out the head, standing on top and she looks around, seeing the Black Lion fighting the monster. 

 "Got to hurry," Keith informed, [Name] nodding her head.

  [Name] and Keith jumped off, using their jet packs as they went towards the planet. [Name] didn't see the laser coming towards them and Keith pushed her away from the laser, but the laser just barely missing her. The pressure of the laser caused [Name] to be pushed away as she's drifting around in space. 

 "Keith!" [Name] yelled, everything in her vision spinning.

 [Name] drifted around in space, her hands frantically moving around as she uses her jet pack to stabilize herself. She lets out a sigh of relief when she's not moving around and just floating in space. She heard a lion's roar and everything around her turns black, but her feet touch the ground. She lets out a sigh of relief as she walks towards the cockpit.

 "Are you okay, [Name]?" Keith questioned, seeing her walk inside.

 [Name] nods her head. "Yeah, but I was worried for a second since I didn't see you."

 Keith smirks. "Worried? Since when has [Name] ever been worried about me?" 

 "Shut up and help Hunk," [Name] hissed, a blush appearing on her features. 

 The Yellow Lion being held by the head from the monster and the others shooting at the monster, but the monster having the crystals protect the monster. The Red Lion shot a fire laser at the face of the monster, stopping the laser from hitting the Yellow Lion.

 "Sorry I'm late, guys." Keith said, the Red Lion boosting towards the fight with the other lions and the monster.

 "Okay, let's form Voltron and take this  thing down like we did last time," Lance said.

 "I don't think the Robeast is gonna sit around and wait for us to transform," Keith stated.

 "Keith's right. We'll need to think of something else," Shiro said.

 "Hey, at least we outnumber those crystals shields," Hunk said, the lions hitting either the crystal shields or the monster itself. 

 "Yeah, he can only block two of us," Lance said, sounding happy.

 A laser from the middle of the monster's chest came out, trying to hit one of the lions. 

 "I think I've got an idea," Pidge said, the lions moving away from the laser and the monster. "Guys, see if you can get me an open shot at its chest."

 "Got it!" Shiro affirmed.

 The other lions expect the Green Lion going straight towards the monster and shooting at it. The monster used its crystal shield to protect itself from the attacks. The Blue Lion using the Ice Ray, freezing the crystal shields and the monster arms. The Green Lion came up behind the Blue Lion, using its nature ray and hitting the monster's chest. Plants came out the monster's chest, wrapping itself around the limbs of the mosnters.

 "Now form Voltron!" 

 "Yeah!" The others yelled. 

 The lions forming Voltron. Voltron held a sword, going towards the monster that is using its lasers to free itself from the plants. Just as the monster turned around, the others started yelling. The monster used its crystal shield to protect itself, but the sword already went through and hit the monster in the chest. The crystals fell, the monsters body sliding off the sword and exploding. 

 "Great work, Paladins. Now return to the Castle so we can get back to Olkarion," Allura commanded.

***

 "Allura, have you heard from Coran?" Keith asked, Allura looked over her shoulder. 

 "Yes." Allura said, her arms crossed.

 "So we ready to pop through a wormhole and get back to Olkarion?" Lance questioned.

 "Yes, I've checked in with Coran and the teludav is nearly complete," Allura said, more with glee.

 [Name] raised an eyebrow, seeing how Allura changed her personality a little bit with Lance. [Name] crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at Allura, thinking if she stares long enough, she might apologize or a hole might burn into the back of her head.

 "Hunk, [Name], thank you for getting the scaultrite." 

 [Name] deepened her scowl since she didn't even mention Keith's name. "You know that Keith was there, right?" 

 "No problem," Hunk said.

  Allura glared at Keith. [Name] opens her mouth, but a hand on her shoulder stops her from saying anything. [Name] sucks her teeth as she walks out the room before she might explode. Shiro watches her leave and he looks over at Keith, but he doesn't say anything. 

 ***

 [Name] and the others arrived to Olkarion, noticing a large structure in the ground almost. [Name] and the others stared at the large structure, Coran standing in the front. "We've made great progress while you were gone. And now that we have the scaultrite, we should be finished in less than a quintant."

 "Wow. That is one giant teludav," Lance breathed out. 

 "Nice work, Coran," Keith praised, Coran standing proudly with his arms crossed. 

 "Good job, Coran. Fist bump," Hunk said, holding his fist out. Coran bumped Hunk's fist with his known, not knowing this weird human greeting and praise. "Now blow it up."

 "Oh, don't you dare! It took forever to build this teludav," Coran hissed, taking Hunk's words a different way. Everyone either shocked, confused, or just surprised. "And let's not forget it's a pivotal piece that we need for our plan to defeat Zarkon."

 A computer screen popped up, Coran letting out a yelp.

 "I've made some improvements to your design," Slav informed, hitting a rock on material. "This will increase our chance of survival in this reality 205 percent." 

 "Is this guy a little--?" Coran asked, everyone turning away with their arms crossed and looking away.

 "Yes." 

 "No doubt." 

 "Not a fan."

 "Stop hitting the teludav!" Coran screamed.

 An explosion occurs and appears on screen, [Name] snickering to herself while the others laugh lightly. She's glad she's never really had to deal with Slav because she'd be positive that he'd be thrown out into space. 

 "Ow..."

***

 [Name] and the Paladins stared over the scenery, Pidge sitting on the ledge. [Name] looks at the scenery, a blank expression on her features as she admires the beauty in front of her. She's standing next to Lance as he's standing next to Hunk. 

 "What's everybody thinking about?" Pidge questioned,

 "Zarkon," Shiro answered, everyone became tense.

 "Calzones," Hunk answered, all the tension that was in the air disappear as everyone gazed at him. "I met an, uh, heck, yeah, I'm thinking about calzones, okay? I mean, does it always have to be about Zarkon? He's a bad guy. We're trying to defeat him. I get it. I'm hungry." Hunk's stomach rumbling.

 "We've come a long way," Keith stated.

 "Yeah, remember when Hunk used to throw up from riding in the elevator?" Lance asked, a smile on his face. Hunk groaned. 

 "You guys remember that Arusian? Klaizap, I think his name was? Cool name," Hunk claimedt. 

 "Yeah, Keith tried to beat him up even though he's the size of a peanut," Lance joked, Keith glared over his shoulder at Lance, ticked off.

 "He was their bravest warriror!" Keith argued.

 "Remember when [Name] used to be all cold and rude?" Lance questioned, [Name] looking away when all they eyes are on her. "She's the one who changed out of all of us, but she has her moments."

 "Sometimes I can't believe it when she join us in the laughing," Hunk added.

 [Name] glared at them as she pouted. "Shut up..." 

 "How about the time the food goo machines attacked us in the kitchen?" Pidge asked. "That was the scariest thing that's happen to me the entire time I've been here," Hunk confessed. 

 Lance leaned over, elbowing Hunk's arm. "Oh, come on." 

 "What? It's the truth!" Hunk suggested. 

 "We faced sentries, a haunted castle, giant Robeasts, a mall security guard," Lance listed, Pidge standing up.

 "And don't forget that cool cube thing," Pidge added, a smile on her face. 

 "Yeah, and that awful cube thing," Lance repeated.

 "You realize once we defeat Zarkon, the universe won't need Voltron anymore," Shiro claimed, turning around to face [Name] and the other Paladins. 

 "We can return to Earth," Lance realized.

 "Home, huh?" [Name] questioned, looking up into the sky.

 "I can look for my family," Pidge mumbled, looking down. 

 "I guess I could look for mine," Keith said.

 "This is it. As long as everything goes according to plan, we can't fail," Shiro said, looking back at the scenery.

 That's if everything goes to plan. Even if [Name] does return to Earth, she literally ran away and she'll probably won't be allowed back into the Garrison. She lets out a sigh as she lowers her gaze, pondering if her brother is really alive out there. 

Chapter Text

"All rights, guys, listen up," Shiro commanded, standing on the platform. "I'll use the Black Lion to lure Zarkon's fleet to our current location and make sure he's within the teludav's area of effect. Keeping the teludav hidden behind the space-fold until the last possible second is essential. We can count on you, right, Slav?"

 "Absolutely. I'll be fine," Slav said, he scrunched his eyebrows as he looked to the side and mumbled. "I'm not sure about the gravity generator, though."

 "What? What was that last thing?" Hunk questioned, catching Slav's mumbled words.

 "Hiding a ship is one thing, but I've never had to build a gravity generator for something this large before," Slav elaborated, a hand under his beak chin. "I know it'll work, but I'm not really sure for how long."

 "It's going to a risk we'll have to take," [Name] stated.

 "Once Zarkon's ship is in position, Kolivan and Anton will coordinate with Thace," Shiro explained, looking over to the two Galra. "Together, they'll take down Zarkon's security system and upload the virus."

 "And then, he'll be a sitting du-flax," Pidge remarked, a smug look on her face as she crosses her arms. [Name] and the others looked at her oddly. "What? A du-flax is an Altean creature with a beak and webbed feet."

 "We'll wormhole Zarkon 500 million light years away-" Coran jumped past Pidge, ending the awkwardness that might have been in the air and he did a demonstration with the hologram then threw it like a freebie-"and he'll be in the Yggiz Galaxy before he knows what's hit him!"

 "What about Thace?" Shiro questioned, looking back to the two galra.

 "He should be getting into position now," Kolivan claimed. "We received his last communication three quintants ago. We should hear from him soon."

 "Let's do it," Shiro commanded, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

 Shiro left the room and [Name] gazed at him, watching his back. She bit her lip and she hurries after him without anyone noticing her disappearance and she catches up until her gaze lands on Shiro's back once more. [Name] continued herr fast pace, using the full extend of her legs to get to him quicker. 

 Shiro must have heard her footsteps because he turns around, but he wasn't expecting [Name] to crash into him. Shiro hesitates for one second before he realizes who's in his arms and he looks down, seeing [Name] gazing up at him. He felt his body tense, seeing the desperate expression on her features and the shine on her lips. 

 "Shiro, please be careful," [Name] advised, tightening her arms around him. "Promise me you'll be careful." 

 "Of course. What's gotten into you-"

 Shiro wasn't even able to finish his sentence when he felt her lips press against his. Shiro's eyes widen and he just stands there, completely shock of the outcomes of what just happened. He, of course, doesn't want to ruin the moment and he quickly embraces her, closing his eyes and deepening the kiss. Shiro has ponder how soft her lips were and he's glad to know they're extremely soft.

 [Name] pulls away first, letting out a light gasp as she rests her forehead against Shiro's chest. "Please, be careful, Shiro." 

 "I promise." 

***

 The paladins get to their stations and [Name] walks back into the room, only catching Keith's attention, but he looks away from her. [Name] had a blush on her features and she knew that Keith had caught that blush. She wouldn't want to tell him what had happen between her and Shiro. 

 "Zarkon took the bait. He's got my location," Shiro informed. "Is everybody in position?"

 "We've not yet heard from Thace," Kolivan stated, his expression hard. "He was supposed to contact us two vargas ago."

 "He could've been captured," Antok suggested, Kolivan looking over his shoulder at Antok.

 "Or killed. We need to abort the mission immediately," Kolivan advised, Allura's eyes widen.

 "Abort? No! We cannot back away now," Allura said.

 "The Blade of Marmora does not take chances. It's how we've survived for so long," Antok stated, turning towards Allura.

 "It's held you back. Your caution is the reason Zarkon is still in power," Allura hissed.

 "Allura!" [Name] hissed, catching everyone's attention. "We need to proceed with caution and Thace is the only way we could upload the virus."

 Kolivan turning towards Allura. "Besides, it's too late to get someone else on the inside."

 "I'll do it," Keith said.

 "What!" Allura gasped, turning towards Keith.

 "I'll sneak onto Zarkon's ship," Keith started, a determined expression on his features. "I'm Galra, so I'll be able to interact with their technology. Pidge, you can rig up one of those pods with a cloaking device, right?"

 "Well, yeah," Pidge answered.

 "Going onto Zarkon's ship is a suicide mission," Kolivan stated. "I would never command someone so inexperienced to go on a mission so dangerous."

  "Pidge, get that pod ready," Shiro ordered, listening on the conversation. "Keith... let me know when you're on your way. I'll give you cover."

***

 [Name] had waited until Pidge and Allura left the hangar and she makes her way towards Keith. [Name] watched as Keith was ready to go inside the pod and she hurried her steps towards Keith. Keith looks over his shoulder to see [Name] approaching him and she immediately jumps into his arms, shocking the mullet haired boy. 

 "[Name]?" Keith questioned, not hesitating to wrap his arms around her. "Something up? You normally don't do this."

 [Name] chuckles. "I know. I'm just worried about you, you know." [Name] pulls away slightly to look up at Keith and she gives him a smile. "Please be careful, Keith. Promise me."

 "I'll be-"

 "Promise me." 

 Keith stops talking, gazing down at [Name] to see her eyes flicker between both of his eyes. Keith lets out a sigh, lowering his gaze slightly and he lifts his gaze to look at her, seeing the desperate look in her eyes again. [Name]'s hands trail up Keith's shoulders and settles there, gazing into his eyes. 

 "I promise."

 [Name] smiles and she stands on her tippy-toes, pursing her lips. Keith notices this and he takes the opportunity, leaning closer to [Name] to close the distance quickly. [Name] let out a noise of surprise when Keith's lips molded against [Name]'s, but she relaxes. Keith's arm wraps around her waist, pulling her closer to him and [Name]'s hands rested on his chest. 

 [Name] pulls away with a gasp, a heavy blush on her cheeks as her lips look slightly red from the kiss. Keith smiles, removing himself from her and he gets into the pod. [Name] stands there in a slight shock and she walks towards the exit of the hangar, her hand resting on her lips as she keeps replaying the kisses. 

***

"They're here.  I've got Zarkon on the hook. Bringing him your way. Keith, you ready? We've only got one shot a this!"

 "Engaging cloaking device. Moving toward the fleet now."

 "Roger that. I don't see you, but I'm locked on your signal," Shiro stated. "I'll clear a path."

 "Thanks, Shiro! I'm coming in hot!" Keith exclaimed. "I'm in!" 

 "The plan is working. Keith is on board and Zarkon's fleet is on the way," Allura informed.

 "The Castle of Lion defenses are up and ready to go," [Name] informed, gazing at the vitals.

 "Starting gravity generator now," Slav added. "Commenseing cloak!"

***

 "Okay, you've made it to the lower communication deck," Kolivan informed. "Head left down that corridor." 

 [Name] continues to listen to the instructions as she's trying not to focus on the events with Shiro and Keith. Every time she thinks of it, her heart starts to beat faster and she thinks deeper about her feelings towards those two paladins. [Name] quickly shakes her head, moving her attention somewhere else and the somewhere else happens to be Lance.

 "Based on the schematics from Thace, there should be a large door up ahead," Antok added. "This is the central hub for the Galra fleet." 

  "I see it," Keith informed. "Kolvian, I'm in. Now what?" 

 "Now you need to reset the system, using the codes that Thace obtained," Kolvian explained. "It'll be down for a dobosh. That's when we'll upload the virus." 

 [Name] shakes her head. "It couldn't be..."

 [Name] hasn't really thought of Lance that way at all. She knows that Lance likes to flirt with girls and she's flirted with her as well, but [Name] isn't into guys like that. [Name] does think Lance is cute, but she won't admit it and he's flirted with her during the cadet days, but that was a long time ago. 

"This is gettin' hairy! How ya doing, Keith?" Lance questioned, almost yelling.

 "The Galra switched the codes. We're trying to work-around," Keith answered. 

 "We? Who's 'we' besides you?" 

 "Thace. I found him. I'll explain later," Keith said.

 "Copy that," Shiro said.

 [Name] let out a sigh of relief, seeing Zarkon's ship, fleets and little pods shut down, the purple light disappearing. She watched Zarkon's ship and fleet disappear, going through the the giant wormhole that Allura had made. Using the giant wormhole had caused Allura to use most or almost most of her energy. Coran had caught her before she fell to the floor. 

 "Everyone, hang on! Here we go!" Coran said, the Castle going towards the wormhole. "Hurry, Paladins! We must make it in before the wormhole closes!" The Lions followed the Castle, going into the wormhole.

 "Coran, how's Allura?" Shiro questioned.

 "She's weak, but okay," Coran replied, holding Allura in his arms. 

 "You take care of her. We got it from here," Shiro reassured. 

 Zarkon's ship slowly exited the wormhole, the lions following after it and the Castle exiting the wormhole. [Name] smiled to herself, knowing that everything had went to plan with a different outcomes, but everything is going fine. 

 "We did it! I can't believe we did it!" Pidge exclaimed, sounding cheerful.

 "See, I told you we could do it," Slav said.

 "It's not over yet," Shiro stated. "Everyone, form Voltron!" 

 The Lions formed Voltron, preparing to carry out the rest of the plan. [Name] has faith in the paladins that they can take down Zarkon and she knows it. They've come a long way with a lot of practice to take down Zarkon and she's glad to see them progress all this way to get where they are now. Hopefully, they'll be able to go back home and she can finally give James Griffin a answer.

Chapter Text

"You've gotta act fast. The power will only be down for 20 minutes," [Name] informed, her hands resting on the dashboard. "The Blade of Marmora's schematics showed four targets yo u need to hit. The weapons system, the engines, the bridge, and the shield generators."

 "Let's put an end to Zarkon for once and for all," Shiro ordered.

 "Yeah!"

 "Form sword!" Shiro commanded.

Voltron started to attack, tiny explosions going off on the ship as Voltron continued to drag the sword into the metal of the ship. 

 "Hit the engine systems!" Shiro ordered.

 Allura let out a gasp. [Name] looks over her shoulder to see Allura is awake and she stares at Voltron attacking Zarkon's ship. "We've done it. This is the end of Zarkon's reign."

 "Yes, Princess," Coran said, looking down at her.

 "We'll be putting an end to 10,000 years of fear," [Name] mumbled, lowering her gaze as she realized this. "I can go back to Earth?"

 Voltron used its boosters, coming towards the engine system and once close enough, Voltron slammed the sword in. Explosions came out, Voltron moving away and Voltron continued to stab the sword into the ship still. Voltron continues its rains of attacks on the ships, more explosions creating. Voltron moved away, using its laser to attack the ship and adding more damage. Voltron didn't stop there at all. Continuing to slash up the large ship and trying to do the most damage as possible. 

 "Stay focused. We've neutralized the engines," Shiro stated, Voltron moving up towards the bridge of the ship. "Let's target the bridge."

 Voltron didn't notice the dark purple, ball of magic appear towards the bottom of it. Everyone heard a noise from below and Voltron looked down. [Name]'s eyes focused on the dark purple ball of magic underneath Voltron. [Name] wasn't the only one that noticed either.

 "What is that?" Lance questioned.

 "Oh, no," Klovian said.

 "No!" [Name] and Allura screamed. 

 A laser from the ball of magic came up towards Voltron, hitting it and everyone screamed. The blue light coming out of Voltron and moving towards the magic circle as if the energies from Voltron and the magic ball switched. [Name]'s mouth stood agape, gazing at Voltron drifting slowly in space. [Name] felt the cold shiver of fear consume her.

 "Shiro? Lance? Keith? Pidge? Hunk? Anyone, can you hear me!" [Name] shouted, panic could be heard in her voice. [Name] narrowed her eyes at the two Galra in the deck. "I thought the virus shut down all of Zarkon's power!"

 "That blast was not from the ship's weapons," Allura stated, she then looked to Klovian. "It was magic."

 "It must have been Komar," Klovian suggested, [Name], Coran, and Allura turning their attention to him. "Zarkon has been trying to develop a device to extract the quintessence from planets. It appears he succeeeded."

 "If it destroys plantets, what did it do to the paladins?" Coran asked.

 [Name] turn her attention back towards Voltron, praying the paladins are okay. She ponders what would it do to them, but she knows this isn't the end for them. It can't be. They're strong. They've dealt with worse, hopefully. [Name] feels as if there's a hand gripping her heart, squeezing it as she and the others wait in anticipation for the Paladins to say something.

 "Paladins! Anyone, can you hear me?" [Name] asked again, looking at Voltron on the screen.

 "Yes. We're alive," Shiro said.

 [Name] let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand over her chest. She smiles softly, having a short moment of relief knowing that they're okay. 

 "Oh, thank the ancients!" Coran said, a relief expression on his features.

 "Is Voltron operational?" Allura questioned, the baby blue florescent lights shining down on her.

 "It's not working," Hunk added.

 "I can't move my lion," Keith grunted.

 "You've been hit with some kind of witchcraft that draws the quintessence out of you," Coran informed, walking to stand beside [Name]. "You need to get out of there! Another blast like that and you may not survive!"

 "Wait. What's that?" Lance asked. 

 [Name] watched a door slowly open, light coming out of it. It's some sort of robot with large like pillars for wings and [Name] could only hope this fighter that Zarkon is sending out to be easy to defeat. She's never really figured out how Zarkon's devices have worked before. [Name] has never seen anything like that before, but she feels dread swell in her stomach.

[Name] spoke first. "You guys need to get moving. Remember every training and battle you've had."

 "Voltron is still not responding," Shiro stated. Shiro then let out a groan when the robot was out of the door. "It's Zarkon."

 "We must buy them more time. Get us in closer," Allura ordered, looking at Coran and [Name].  "Divert all power to our weapons system. [Name], do what you must."

 "What? Princess, we'll be defenseless!" Coran stated, he turned to look at her.

 "It's the only way," [Name] said, gazing at Coran. "We're the only backup, Coran."

 "Listen to me. You are true paladins now," Allura stated, Zarkon moving towards Voltron. "Connect with your lions, reach out to each other! Fight! This cannot end now!" The Castle powered up a laser, moving slowly, but still moving towards Zarkon. "Fire!"

 The Castle fired the laser, Zarkon blocked the laser with one of the pillars moving to make a shield in front of him. The pressure of the laser pushed him down and the Castle continued to move towards Zarkon. The laser bounced off Zarkon's laser, but the reflecting laser started to move back towards the Castle. 

 [Name]'s eyes widen and she lets out a scream, but Allura's is more loud than hers. [Name] feels a burning white pain consume her body and she had seen white, but that white had turn to black as she and the others inside the Castle start to float. The Castle has been shut down.

 "Allura!" Shiro shouted. "[Name]!" 

 "Everybody, listen. We have to fight. We have to channel all our energy," Shiro started, breaking the silence. "Visualize five becoming one. We have to focus everything we have into moving Voltron. We are the last thing standing in the way of Zarkon's total universal domination. I'm not giving up that fight. Are you, Hunk?"

 "No." The Yellow Lion turning on and letting out a roar.

 "Pidge?" Shiro asked.

 "Never!" The Green Lion turned on and let out a roar.

 "Lance?" Shiro questioned.

 "Let's go down swingin'." The Blue Lion letting out a roar and turning on.

 "Keith?" Shiro asked.

 "I'm all in." 

 "Then let's get Voltron back in this battle," Shiro ordered.

 Zarkon coming towards Voltron and Voltron forming the sword. Zarkon crashed into Voltron and Voltron was pushed back, but used the boosters to move away from the pursuing Zarkon. Zarkon's sword clashed with Voltron's, trying to strike with any given moment, but Voltron blocks the attacks with the sword. Zarkon used a boost and pushed Voltron back more, but Voltron quickly regains composure and used its boosters to put space between him and Zarkon.

 Zarkon is hot on Voltron's tail though and Zarkon starts to fire lasers at Voltron. Voltron uses lasers against Zarkon, but Zarkon is quick and dodged the lasers quick.

 "All right, let's hit him with the big guns," Shiro commanded. "Hunk, form shoulder cannon!" The cannon appeared on Voltron's shoulder. "Fire!"

 Voltron fired the cannon, the large laser going towards Zarkon and Zarkon used the pillars to form a shield, protecting him from the cannon. The laser barely did a thing to Zarkon and a dark purple magic came towards Voltron. Voltron dodged the magic, but was quickly kicked by Zarkon and everyone let out a scream.

 Coran opened his eyes, letting out gasp as him, Allura, [Name], Antok, and Klovian are floating inside the deck. Everything is shut off. "Allura!" Coran gasped, and he used the wall behind him to launch himself towards him. He grabs Allura by her shoulders. "Are you alright, Princess?"

 Allura lets out a sigh. "I'm fine. How badly is the Castle damaged?"

 [Name] opens her eyes, letting out a groan. She watch Coran make his way towards the dashboard and she lifts her gaze to the ceiling, floating around in zero gravity. 

 "Our power levels are decimated. Communications aren't working," Coran informed, the dashboard beeping. "We can't reach the Paladins. I'm afraid we can't fight anymore."

 "We can't give up," [Name] stated, looking towards Coran. "We need to help them."

 [Name] heard the doors open behind her and everyone looks towards the noise. Slav is having a difficult time trying to open the doors and he grunts, using his body to keep the doors open as he looks towards everyone.

 "Did we win yet?" Slav questioned.

 "Coran, you, [Name], and Slav do what you can to get the Castle functioning again," Allura ordered, looking towards [Name] and Coran. "Kolivan, can you get me to the komar?"

 "It will be dangerous, but I know a way," Kolivan informed.

 "You and Antok come with me," Allura said, pushing her way towards the door and the two Galra follow her. "We're going to have to attack the witch directly if we hope to stop that thing. [Name], the bridge is all yours."

 "No! You've been weakened by operating the teludav," Coran exclaimed, looking over his shoulder. "You can't face Haggar directly!"

 "We don't have a choice," Allura stated.

 [Name] makes her way towards Coran, grabbing the dashboard to stop herself from floating. She gives Coran a smile. "She'll be fine, Coran. Let's just trust her and do what we can."

 Allura, Antok, and Kolvian leave the deck, Coran and Slav immediately get to work. [Name] listened to all the instructions Coran shouted at her and she continued to work, knowing that time is of the essence. She just hopes that the Paladins are holding their ground for now until they have backup.

 No one didn't see Zarkon coming since everyone was focused on dodging the magic coming. Voltron kept sending lasers to Zarkon, but Zarkon kept dodging them simply and Voltron quickly took out the sword. Zarkon's and Voltron's swords clashed against each other, but Zarkon used a booster that only made more pressure add and Zarkon pushed Voltron wide away. 

 Voltron stabilized itself and fired a laser to an incoming Zarkon, but Zarkon used a shield to protect himself. Zarkon continued to make his way towards Voltron and he lifted the sword, bringing it down on Voltron, but Voltron blocked. Voltron was pushed away, but used the boosters to stabilize itself again. Voltron quickly moved away, trying to put enough distance between him and Voltron.

 "We've never faced anything this powerful before," Pidge stated.

 "One way or another, this may be our last battle," Shiro claimed. "We've got to give everything we have. Dig deep and fight!"

 Voltron stopped moving, facing towards Zarkon and going towards him. Voltron and Zarkon clashed, moving away from each other and clashing again, but never landing a powerful attach on either one's part. Voltron kept sending lasers and Zarkon dodging the lasers as well or blocking the lasers. Zarkon's sword and Voltron's swords clashed, creating a ring of purple light that disappeared as it got farther. 

 "He's trying to control my lion. I can feel him in my head," Shiro informed. 

 "Fight it, Shiro!" Keith yelled. 

 Voltron pulled back then going back towards Zarkon and thrusting the sword forward. Zarkon grabbed the sword, leaving Voltron vulnerable and Zarkon used an electrical chain on Voltron, pushing them out. Zarkon used the electrical chain, shocking the others inside and everyone let out a scream. Voltron turning back into the five lions and the lions floated around. 

 Keith let out a groan. "Shiro!" The lions looked towards the Black Lion, seeing the Black Lion being unresponsive. "Shiro! Something's wrong with Shiro. Guys, we can't let Zarkon get the Black Lion."

 The lions stood on guard, the Black Lion behind them all and Zarkon came towards the lions. The lions started to fight against Zarkon and the lions struggled against Zarkon. Zarkon being too powerful for the four lions on their own. 

 "Keep Zarkon away from the Black Lion!" Pidge screamed.

 "Come on! We can't give up!" Keith shouted.

"I'm running out of strength, man," Hunk input.

 "Look out!" Lance shouted.

 Everyone let out screams, the lions being hit with Zarkon's lasers and trying their best to hit Zarkon with their own lasers. The lions didn't stand a chance against Zarkon, everyone letting out screams and grunts from being hit by Zarkon. The Black Lion coming towards Zarkon, the wings on the Black Lion being engulfed in a blue light and growing bigger and the Black Lion let out a roar. The Black Lion zoomed past the Zarkon, the wings going back to the normal size.

 "Whoa... What did you do?" Lance questioned.

 "I've got Zarkon's bayard," Shiro informed.

 "You mean you've got your bayard."

 "We've only got a few minutes left before power returns to Zarkon's ship," Shiro started. "Form Voltron!"

 The lions formed Voltron. Voltron and Zarkon stare at each other, continuing to slash against each other and dodging the lasers either one of them are sending.  

 [Name], Coran, and Slav continue typing, trying their best to get the Castle back online. The three of them have their legs floating as they continued to work, a beeping noise followed by each button they push and type. [Name]'s eyes widen when the black screens now revealed the outside space and she let out a gasp, a smile on her features.

 That was short lived when she had fallen to the floor. She let out a groan and she picked herself up and Coran stands up, Slav wrapped around him. Coran and [Name] let out a laugh, the two of them giving each other a high-five and they then threw their fists into the air.

 "We're back!" Coran cheered. "Paladins!" 

 "Yeah!" 

 "You're alive!" Hunk added.

 "Is everyone okay?" Shiro questioned.

 "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry, guys!" Slav said.

 "Oh, great. Slav made it," Lance said, sounding disappointed.

 Voltron and Zarkon clashed once again. [Name]'s eyes went to Zarkon's ship, seeing the lights coming back on and she let out a gasp, turning her attention back to the battle between Voltron and Zarkon.

 "The power on Zarkon's ship is returning!" [Name] informed. "We need to get out of here!"

 "I'm going to get Allura!" Coran said, immediately typing away on the dashboard.

 Voltron and Zarkon came towards each other, their swords clashing and the force pushing them away from each other. Voltron and Zarkon came at each other again, Voltron holding the sword out in front of him.

 "This is our last chance! Let's finish this!" Shiro yelled. 

 Voltron and Zarkon clashed against each other, but this time, Voltron's sword made contact with Zarkon's suit. Zarkon grabbed Voltron's head, a purple electricity being created at the head of Voltron. The sword was engulfed in a bright gold like color, dripping with fire and Keith turned the handle then moved it forward. Voltron pushed the whole sword through Voltron, all of them letting out a scream and Voltron pulled the sword out.

 A bright light started to erupt in Zarkon's suit and everything turned white. The force of Zarkon's suit being broken and erupt caused Voltron to separate, but the lions floated around. [Name] looked up to see the lions floating around and she felt proud, feeling a sort of relief wash over her when she saw Zarkon's robot.

 "Did we do it?" Lance questioned, staring at the debris of Zarkon's suit and the lions floating.

 "Is it over?" Hunk questioned, the Yellow Lion moving to look where Zarkon was.

 "I have Allura and Kolivan. We need to go!" Coran informed.

 The lions started to make it's way towards the Castle, but [Name] noticed that the Black Lion didn't move at all. [Name] felt her heart drop and she grew scared that something might have happened to Shiro. She hopes and prays he's okay, but the gut feeling is telling her otherwise. 

 "Shiro!" Keith gasped.

 "We need to tow him back onto the shop!" Pidge stated.

 The Red and Green Lion made their way to the Black Lion, taking a hold and going back to the Castle with the Black Lion between them. The lions made it on board. [Name] immediately left the deck, running towards the Lions' hangar because she needs to check herself that Shiro is okay. She needs to confirm it. 

 "Princess, we're all onboard," Pidge informed. 

 The Castle went through a wormhole, getting away and appearing into a different area in space. 

 Keith left the Red Lion and [Name] noticed him. The two of them glance at each other, but they immediately went towards the Black Lion as the others followed them. Keith yelled out Shiro's name, but he didn't respond at all. [Name] entered the Black Lion with Keith next to her, waiting for the door to the main control of the Black Lion to open, but when the doors open... 

 She wasn't expecting Shiro to be gone.

 "Shiro?" Keith questioned, probably the only one terrified. 

 "He's gone," Lance stated.

Chapter Text

 "They haven't figured out their flatbread situation, but what they do with those centipedes is just out of this world," Hunk informed, everyone relaxing in the main room. 

 "And they're totally ready to join the fight against the Galra," Lance adds, seeming satisfied about their mission.

 "Nice!"

 "We brought back a few of their leaders to join the coalition," Hunk informed.

 Allura smiled. "That's splendid. Excellent work!" 

 [Name] hasn't really spoken to anyone. Ever since the disappearance of Shiro, she's been shut off of everyone and she hasn't really talked to anyone about. She knows she shouldn't be like this, but the disappearance had everyone on edge and [Name] knows that Keith is affected the most out of it. He's know Shiro longer than anyone here. 

 "You know, I gotta say, this is what it's all about... freein' the people, lovin' the ladies, then bomin' down the road again looking for adventure, Voltron-style," Lance said, showing his phone to Pidge and [Name]. 

 [Name] groaned, pushing Lance's face away from hers and she crossed her arms. "Seems like an issue because you guys can't form Voltron." [Name] kept her gaze lowered, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze at the moment. 

 "Yeah. They all want to see Voltron, only we don't really have Voltron anymore," Hunk stated.

 "We don't have Shiro anymore, either," Keith snapped, closing his eyes. "Everyone seems to have forgotten that." 

 "It may be difficult for us to all accept, but it is time to think about finding a new pilot for the Black Lion," Allura announced, surprising everyone.

 Keith speaks up quickly. "No! I'm gonna find him." He stands up and scowls at Allura. "Shiro is the one person who never gave up on me. I won't give up on him." Keith walks away.

 [Name] lets out a sigh, shaking her head and she stands up as well. She isn't going to bother talking to Keith, but she does want to be alone at the moment. When [Name] had walked out, the doors behind her had closed, but she wasn't expecting the doors to open again. [Name] looked over her shoulder to see Lance jogging towards her. 

 "Lance?" [Name] questioned, raising an eyebrow as she stops in her tracks. 

 Lance catches his breath. "[Name], is there something wrong?"

 [Name] blinks twice and she shakes her head. "O-Of course not. Everything is fine, you know. Been busy with helping Coran-"

 "That's not what I mean, [Name]," Lance stated, loosing his goofy expression to a serious one. "You've been distance ever since Shiro had disappeared on us. I'm, uh, I mean we're here to talk to you, you know. Even listen to you. So, if you need help I'd, we'd, gladly help you-"

 Lance stopped talking when [Name] had hugged him, burying her face in his chest. Lance's eyes widen, not expecting a girl that has hated him to hug him. Lance returned the embrace, holding [Name] as she just stands there and hugs him. He doesn't mind, but he feels his chest swarm with heat. 

 "Thank you, Lance," [Name] muttered, tightening the hug. 

***

 "It is our honor to have you all here together," Allura started, [Name], Coran, the paladins, and the leaders of different planets sitting at a table in the dining room. [Name] sitting next to Allura and Coran is on her side.

 "I had the biggest bunker back on Puig, but it wasn't nearly this nice."

 "Well, I spent the last decade sleeping in a spiny thistle thicket. You look wonderful though, Princess. I'm glad I put on my best tarp. Who's the beautiful lady sitting next to you?"

 "I'm [Name]," [Name] stated, her arms crossed as she has a stern expression on her features.

 "Welcome, everyone. Welcome," Hunk said, wearing an apron with a plate of food in his hands. He placed it onto the table. "I've prepared a few Earth canapes for our distinguished guests to enjoy while we talk galactic diplomacy."

 "The Blade of Marmora has gathered this intelligence," Kolvain said, standing up from his chair. A purple hologram appears in the middle of the long, rectangle table. "As you can see, the Galra Empire is still the most massive ruling force the universe has ever seen. The sheer size of it is almost incomprehensible. It seems like it could rule another 10,000 years." The man lets the information sink in. "However, we are beginning to see signs of increased rebel activity from within the Empire."

 The holograms changes a color for few places, the leaders letting out gasps. [Name] speaks up. "We have a strategy to bring the forces together, free more planets, grow our numbers and accumulate an army that can defeat the Garla in major battles. But without your help, it will be impossible."

 "The forces will all fight behind Voltron, right?" 

 "Yes, where is Voltron?"

 [Name] glanced at the others, seeing that no one is going to speak up because they're too nervous. [Name] had a feeling they'd bring up Voltron, but it's only understandable that the leaders would ask about the robot that could stand against Zarkon. 

 "The people you see are the Paladins of Voltron," [Name] stated, looking at each leader with stern eyes. "Together, they pilot the mighty lions that form the warrior."

 "Excellent! Can they form Voltron now?"

  "Well..." Allura voiced.

 "We cant form Voltron, okay?" Keith spoke up, speaking loudly and his eyes closed, his arms crossed on his chest. "We can fly lions, but Voltron is not happening."

 The leaders gasp and [Name] interferes.

 "What he means is that right now, they can't do it, but-" [Name] was cut off.

 "But nothing. Shiro is gone. He was the Black Lion," Keith snapped, leaving everyone shocked. "And until we find him, there is no Voltron."

 "The lions are still a substantial fighting force and this Castle is also a considerable weapon," Kolvain said, trying to give reassure towards the leaders. "The Blade of Marmora can lead you."

 "My people have been enslaved for centuries by soldiers who look exactly like you."

 "Yes! Our people have heard the legend of Voltron, how he defeated Zarkon. That is what gave them hope. What are we supposed to tell them now?"

 Keith has snapped. He slams his hands on the table and stands up from his seat, scowling at the leaders. "Tell them to stand up and fight for themselves! Voltron is gone!" 

 [Name] and everyone else watch Keith leave the room. She lets out a sigh as she rests her elbows on the table and hold her head. Allura stands up and begins to speak with the leaders while [Name] stands up after excusing herself. [Name] heard the doors open from behind her and when she looked over her shoulder, Lance is following after her. 

 "Lance-"

 "You know, you don't have to be strong in this situation," Lance stated, walking over to her. "You've always put up a wall around since the Garrison, but sometimes, you have to let that wall down. You're not the only one hurting."

 [Name] wasn't expecting Lance to comfort her, but just hearing the words about her not having to be strong seem to do it in. [Name] let out a small gasp, tears swelling in her eyes and Lance wrapped an arm around her hand and waist, pulling her towards him. Lance stood there, hearing the soft cries from [Name]. 

 "Thank you, Lance!" [Name] cried, her tears wetting Lance's Paladin armor. 

***

 [Name] and Lance with the others behind them walk into the Black Lion's hangar. She gazed at the Black Lion, remembering the kiss between her and Shiro and the promise she forced him to make. She forced him to promise that he'll be careful, but [Name] isn't even sure if he was careful. [Name] continues to gaze the Black Lion as they walk towards Keith.

 "Hey man. Listen..." Lance started, staring up at the Black Lion. "...we all miss Shiro. I remember what a thrill it was to meet him for the first time when the two of us carried him out that garrison hospital."

 Pidge stands next to Lance. "I grew up with my dad and Matt telling me stories about him. He was a legend at our house."

 Hunk stands at Pidge's side, everyone staring up at the Black Lion. "The guy taught me everything I know about being a pilot. Which isn't much, but that's more on me."

 "My brother, Cal, would tell me these amazing things about Shiro and at some point, I admire Shiro for being able to set the scores," [Name] confessed, lowering her gaze. "Shiro meant a lot to me and he still does." 

 "You're not the only one hurting, man. We're all right there with you," Lance informed, turning his attention to Keith. "But you know that he would be the first to tell us that we have to move on."

 Keith turns his attention to Lance, having a sort of sour expression on his features, but Allura speaks up. "Keith, I know exactly how you feel. But our mission is bigger than any one individual. Even those who are completely irreplaceable."

 Keith looks at Allura and looks down in sadness. "I know you're right." Everyone looks towards the Black Lion with a new fire in their eyes. "It's time to figure out how to reform Voltron."

Chapter Text

"I wish Shiro were here to tell us how to go on without him," Lance said, everyone in the main relaxing chambers. 

 Keith the only one who's standing away from everyone. [Name] just sat there, her mind blank as she zones out and she could only wonder what had happened to Shiro. [Name] let out a quiet sigh, not wanting to be put into a negative mood because of her thoughts so she forces herself to focus on the others.

 "Allura, when we came here, you told me I would fly the Green Lion, and I thought there was no way," Pidge started, looking towards Allura. "But then, I found it and I flew it. And then, Hunk flew the Yellow Lion and he's' not even a pilot. In fact, you told everyone who would pilot which lion."

 "Yeah, how did you do that? Did we ever find out how you did that?" Hunk questioned. "Can you do that now?"

 "Sadly, no," Allura stated, shaking her head. "When you arrived at the Castle, I immediately recognized the special qualities in each of you. But I don't know how to search the entire universe for a new paladin.'

 "Keith, you piloted the Black Lion when you had to save Shiro," Coran voiced, everyone glancing towards Keith's way. "Perhaps you're the one."

 "Keith would be the worst leader of Voltron," Lance commented.

 Pidge speaks up. "Yeah, we all have our thing. Keith's the longer. I'm the brain. Hunk's the nice one. Allura's the decision maker. [Name]'s the overachiever. Coran's the wise old guy. And Lance is the goofball." 

 "How am I an-"

 "Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. Totally right--Wait a minute," Lance said, looking towards Pidge. "I'm not a goofball! I'm like the cool ninja sharpshooter."

 "Are you joking?" Keith scoffs, a pleasant expression on his features.

 "I'm being completely serious when I say I do not want you to lead me anywhere," Lance snapped, standing up from his seat.

 "I don't want to be the leader! That's just what Shiro wanted!" Keith said, raising his voice. Keith's eyes widen and he looks down, avoiding everyone's stares.

 "What are you talking about?" Hunk asked.

 "Nothing."

 "Shiro wanted you to be his successor, didn't he?" [Name] questioned, looking towards Keith.

 "Well, I never heard Shiro say that, and how convenient that you're bringing it up now, when Shiro is gone," Lance said, scowling at Keith. 

 Keith pushes himself off the wall, returning Lance's scowl. "You want the job so badly, you can have it."

 "Now, now, hang on," Hunk said, stepping in. "I've called the head from the very beginning."

 "What about me? I picked up on the radio waves that led us to Voltron in the first place," Pidge voiced, standing up from her spot. 

 Coran steps in. "Hold your gazurgas, everyone! It's not our decision to make. We must allow the lion to decide."

 "Coran is right," Allura stated, standing up from her seat. "We must all present ourselves to the Black Lion to see who will bear this glorious burden."

 "What? You, Princess?" Coran asked.

 "My father created Voltron," Allura started. "How can I allow others to risk their lives in battle and not be prepared to do so myself? I must try."

***

 Everyone stands in the hangar, staring up at the Black Lion. [Name] wanted to be a Paladin, but not she really doesn't want to. She doesn't want to feel as if she's pushing Shiro's duty away and making the others forget that Shiro used to the the Paladin of the Black Lion. Even though the others would tell her that she's not, she just doesn't want to be the Paladin of the Black Lion. 

 "So, who goes first?" Hunk asked.

 "Should we draw straws?" Pidge questioned.

 "I have it! I'm thinking of a number between one and 50!" Coran exclaimed, he snapped his fingers. "Allura, you go first, [Name] is second, and Pidge is third, then the others."

 "Wait, don't we get to guess the number?" Lance asked.

 "But I already know the number," Coran stated.

 "I just came to see who could activate the Black Lion," [Name] stated, stepping back as they all look at her. "Besides, being a leader isn't really my strong point at all. I'm horrible at making quick decisions like Shiro." 

 Allura walked towards the Black Lion, stepping inside. [Name] stood in the back, her arms crossed on her chest as she stood next to Lance and Lance kept glancing towards her. [Name] had caught him and he quickly gave her a smile which confused her. [Name] could only ponder what's going on inside Lance's mind, but she rather not take a look.

 Pidge went next after Allura since she couldn't activate the Black Lion. Hunk goes in next after Pidge comes out. Hunk walks out almost immediately when he went inside and [Name] smiled to herself. 

 "What are you doing? You didn't even try," Coran said, Hunk walking towards him.

 "Yes, I did. I sat down," Hunk stated, looking over his shoulder. Coran stared at Hunk, staying quiet until Hunk decides to speak up. "I don't want to leave the Yellow Lion, okay? I mean, it's big, it's got this super armor, it's safe."

 "But you called the head."

 "Yeah, I now. I wanted to form the head with the Yellow Lion," Hunk stated. Hunk looks down, a defeated expression on his features. "Fine."

 Hunk goes back into the Black Lion. 

 "All right, you're not the one. Out of the lion," Coran yelled. 

 Hunk walks out, Lance going in.

 "So, how long are we gonna let Lance sit in there?" [Name] asked, gazing up at the Black Lion.

 "Yeah, it's been like half a varga," Hunk voiced.

 Lance comes back, but with an attitude. He puts his helmet down and sits on it, his arms crossed as he glares at the ground. You smiled, rubbing his back in comfort to help him feel better. "It's useless. The Black Lion hates all of us."

 "[Name], get up and go in there."

 [Name] shakes her head. "Nope. It's not meant for me, guys. Besides, I know my weaknesses and my strong points are and leading isn't one of my strong points. Keith is the last one to go inside and try."

 "Keith, the Black Lion hasn't responded to any of us. You have to try," Allura sighed, looking towards him. 

 Keith lets out a sigh and walks towards the Black Lion. [Name]'s mouth opened in amazement, the Black Lion standing up and letting out a roar. [Name] hasn't really talked to Keith, but it seems like he doesn't want to be the Paladin for the Black Lion. The Black Lion lowers its head, Keith walking out the mouth.

 "I'm proud of you, Keith," Allura said, the Paladins studying their new leader. "I wish you were getting the job under better circumstances, but congratulations."

 "Congratulations, Keith."

 "Yeah, man, ditto."

 Keith stares hard at them, but lowers his gaze. "No, I don't accept this."

 The Paladins gasp.

 Allura speaks up first. "You must. The Black Lion has chosen you."

 "I can't replace Shiro! You guys were right. I'm the loner," Keith said, he looks away from them. "I'm not the leader Shiro thought I was."

 "Keith, no one can replace Shiro. But the Black Lion wouldn't choose anybody it didn't feel was worthy to lead Voltron. I respect its choice. And you should too," Lance said, placing his hand on Keith's shoulder.

 "But who's gonna fly the Red Lion?" Keith questioned, looking at the Black Lion.

***

 "I'm sorry, Princess. I know how much you wanted to pilot the Red Lion," Coran said, Allura walking inside the room.

 Allura quickly looks up with a smile on her features. "I'm fine. Let's move on. We must find a new paladin... again."

 [Name] isn't meant to pilot the Lions which she'll accept. There's probably something else that she's meant for, you know. There's a bigger purpose for her that'll be helping the Paladins and finding her brother if she has the time. [Name] lowers her gaze to the floor as she crossed her arms. 

 "A new paladin? I mean, where would we even start looking?" Pidge questioned, everyone sitting on the couch. 

 "Well, I vote for getting some alien diversity on the team, and I know some cool mermaids who could be good at it," Lance suggested, a smirk on his features.

 "You just want to see them again," Hunk stated, scowling at Lance.

 "Yeah, exactly."

 "How about those Blade guys?"

 "Or the Olkari."

 A sudden static fills the room and everyone looks towards the screen. A leader of a new free planet appeared on the screen. "Voltron, we need your help. The Galrans have returned. Once you left, we were defenseless. My people are trying to hold out, but the Galra are too powerful." 

 "The lions will be on their way," [Name] stated, her eyes locking onto the screen.

 Allura stands up as well. "Hold your ground and protect your people until we arrive. Voltron stands with you." 

 "Thank you."

 Everyone goes to the bridge and [Name]'s eyes fixated onto Keith. She watched his every movement and it seems that Keith felt someone staring at him. He notices her gaze, but he quickly looks away and [Name] removes her gaze from him, letting out a sigh.

 "Keith," Allura said, the boy/man looking at her. "The Black Lion has chosen you. You can do this."

 Keith furrows his eyebrows as he walks towards the elevator for the Black Lion. [Name] gazed at the screens of the Paladin on the main screen, seeing the vitals of each lion as well. She mentally wished them luck.

 "All right, guys, we're not about to let the Galra take back this planet, so follow me."

 "Where's Lance?"

 "What?"

 "Lance, where are you?" 

 "My lion's not responding to me," Lance groaned.

 "Well, figure it out and catch up with us as soon as you can." 

 "We've been set up!" 

 "Evasive maneuvers! Everyone, watch your back!"

 An image of Lotor's ship appeared, watching the tiny ship troopers attacking the Black, Yellow, and Green Lions. [Name] bit her lip, her eyebrows knitting together as she sees Lotor's ship. 

 "Coran, we have to get there immediately," Allura advised. "Lance, we need you. The lions are being attacked." 

 "I'm trying!" 

 "I'll go see what's wrong," Allura said, running towards the exit.

 [Name] kept her gaze on the vitals and she could only wonder what's taking Lance and Allura so long. [Name] walks over to Coran, placing a hand on his shoulder and Coran glanced at her, but he looks away. She looks over her shoulder, pondering if something wrong has happened with the Red Loin.

 "Allura, what's going?" [Name] questioned.

 "I think I might be the pilot of the Blue Lion," Allura whispered, [Name] smiled for her. "Lance is the new pilot for the Red Lion."

 "Congratulations, Allura," [Name] mumbled.

***

 "I'm okay, but we can't fight this guy alone," Keith said, the Black Lion regaining its composure. 

 "You won't have to!" Lance informed.

 The Red Lion coming in and shooting lasers at the fighter ships. The other three Lions watched, seeing the Red Lion zip around and destroying the fighter ships, but there's more fighter ships. 

 "Need some help?" Coran questioned, the partical barrier around the Castle and shooting lasers.

 "Thanks, Coran," Keith said. 

 The four Lions started fighting alongside with the Castle, attacking the fighter ships. [Name] noticed the Blue Lion flying backwards and [Name] has a feeling that this might be Allura's first time flying one of the lions. It's sort of understandable why she wouldn't know how to fly the lion, but she piloted the Castle though.

 "All right, let's see if we can turn our attention on that ship," Keith said.

 The ship fired two powerful shots towards the Castle, the Lions too busy to stop the actual ship and rather paying attention to the fighter ships. The Red Lion zipped past the Green and Yellow, moving faster than the rest of the lions. 

 "Whoo-hoo! Boy, this lion can move!" Lance shouted, excitement in his tone. 

 The Red Lion accidentally got too close to the ship, the claws barely touching the ship. The Red Lion slowed down, moving away from the ship as the Black Lion moved close to the ship.

 "Hey! Be careful with Red."

 "Oh, fly your own lion, Keith," Lance said, not paying attention to what's around him.

 A fighter ship flied into the Red Lion, accidentally destroying itself and the Red Lion moved around in space. The Green Lion watching the Red Lion spin around in space.

 "I mean to do that!"

 "Wow, we're really kind of a mess," Pidge stated. "We need to get organized. Keith, what should we do?"

 "I don't know. We need to form Voltron, but we're short a lion," Keith stated.

 "I'd like to differ,"Allura. commented, sounding cocky in her tone.

 "Huh?" 

 The Blue Lion let out a roar, entering the battlefield.

 "Allura?"

 "Yes! Awesome!"

 [Name] watched the ship suddenly disappearing with incredible speed as the fighter ships followed the ship as well. She knits her eyebrows together, wondering why the fighter ships had left with the cruiser. Did the Lions do a good job at defense and offense? Was there a malfunction?  

 "We did it!" 

 "I mean, it was a little touch and go there for a second, but, yeah, we made it."

 "Allura, you and the Blue Lion? How cool is that?"

 "I was surprised, but I can get used to this."

 "Now, we know that Zarkon has a son," Keith voiced.

 "This is... deeply disturbing," Allura said.

 "We need to find out more," Keith said.

***

[Name] walked into the bridge, seeing no one inside. She let out a sigh of defeat when she realized that she may not be able to accept that she's not a Paladin. She misses piloting a ship and the simulator from the Garrison! How sad is that that she misses the piloting simulator? [Name] shakes her head as she sits down onto the step. 

 [Name] heard a beeping noise and her head snapped up, her eyes widening. She stands up and walks towards the dashboard that Coran uses as she watched the Black Lion leave the Castle. She pressed a button, "The Black Lion is leaving the Castle! Keith, where are you going?"

 "I put a tracer on Lotor's ship. Tell everyone to get their lions. We're going after 'em. You wanted me to lead Voltron? This is how I lead."

Chapter Text

 "Guess they're not coming back early," [Name] stated, walking towards the exit of the bridge. "They'll be awhile and I'm going to relax when they come back. Call me when you get any signal from them."

 "Sure thing," Coran said, but [Name] stops in her tracks.

 [Name] lowers her gaze to the floor, as she sort of has a lot on her mind. She looks at Coran over her shoulder and she walks over to Coran, and he glances at her. She kept her gaze lowered to the floor until she decided to look Coran in the eyes. She lets out a sigh as she crosses her arms. 

 "Coran, can I talk to you about something?" [Name] questioned.

 Coran smiles. "Of course, [Name]."

 [Name] smiles and she lets out another deep sigh. "Before we came out into space, there's a boy back on Earth that's probably worried about me and I feel bad because he asked me an important question. I don't want him to think that I stood him up, but I can't go back to Earth and leave everyone here." 

 "If you don't mind me asking, but what's this boy's name?" Coran asked.

 "James Griffin," [Name] chuckled, a smile on her features. "I was in the same class with him almost every year as kids, but we had separate classes and we still would hangout when we had the chance. He... asked me to be his girlfriend a day before I came out into space." 

 "I see! A lover is waiting for you back on Earth," Coran voiced.

 [Name] shakes her head. "I... I'm still not sure about my feelings towards him, but we used to kiss and cuddle. He was my first kiss and he was really sweet. I think the reason we started to hangout was because he had a crush on me and he was smart. He's probably the top in his class right now." 

 "He seems like a fine gentleman," Coran commented, [Name] snickered.

 "I remember the time when he wanted to sneak out at night to take me onto a date," [Name] sighed, a smile adored her features as she reminisced about the past. "He was so nervous about getting caught, but we had a fun time out in the city. He glared at every guy that looked at me and he still did when we were together."

 "Sounds romantic, but do you have any feelings towards the Paladins?" Coran asked.

 [Name] stopped talking as she looked away from Coran. She lets out a deep breath. "I haven't really thought about it. I've.... started to care about them and it sounds embarrassing to say it out loud, but I did kiss Shiro and Keith."

 "Shiro and Keith!" Coran exclaimed, his eyes bulging out of his eyes.

 [Name] blushes and nods her head. "Yeah. I was worried about them and I wasn't thinking straight at all. They all treated me so nice, besides Keith for the most part, but I got to know them and see them as friends. I guess.... I misunderstood them and it was wrong of me. But please don't tell them, Coran."

 Coran laughs, nodding his head. "Of course, [Name]. Whatever you tell me will be kept as secret."

 "Thank you, Coran," [Name] said, smiling at the older Altean. She starts to walk towards the door of the bridge. "Thank you for letting me talk to you." 

 Coran nods his head, watching [Name] make her way towards the doors until they open and close. Coran turns back to his dashboard, a smile on his features as he thinks of the girl that had just confessed to him about her feelings of the others. She's definitely in a pickle with a few of the paladins. 

 Coran had noticed the love struck gaze of at least three Paladins, but Coran won't call them out. Knowing that there's another person in the picture might cause more tension in this odd love shaped thing. Definitely not a love triangle. A different shape of a triangle. Maybe a love square or pentagon. Definitely a love pentagon.

***

 [Name] had fallen onto her bed, causing up at her ceiling as she thinks back to Griffin. She remembers that the two of them had a competition for almost everything and it's either [Name] would win or Griffin would. It's hilarious to see the look of defeat on Griffin's features, but that's in the past now. She could only wonder what Griffin is doing right now.

 He's the only one waiting for her to return home. Her mother is out the picture and so is her father. She has no family on Earth and if she did, she doesn't know them. Her mother had left and her father was almost never around so it was just basically her and her brother until Cal had left for that mission and never returned. 

 Griffin has been there for [Name] and he's one of the people she trusts. Did [Name] betray him now that she wasn't around. [Name] and the others might be marked as missing and the others' families must be worried about them. Having your kid or friend going missing without a trace is definitely stressful and the thought of something terrible happening to them is even worse.

 [Name] can only imagine what Griffin's going through. [Name] hasn't really thought of Griffin until her and the others talked about going back home when this is all over. [Name] looked forward to going back home and sorting everything out with Griffin, but [Name]'s feelings are all over the place. She must know who she has feelings for and give them all her answer. 

 She's been leading the others on and she doesn't mean it all. She just wasn't thinking straight when she kissed Keith or Shiro and it was just the spur of the moment for her. She feels horrible for leading Keith on and she's not even sure about Shiro. He's been gone and [Name] has become concerned for the retired Black Paladin. She just hopes that he's okay.  

 [Name] even turned to Lance at some point and she's glad to have talked to him. Just being around the flirtatious boy has caused her heart to flutter sometimes and she's even laughing at her jokes. She doesn't remember a time where she would laugh at his jokes in the past. [Name] has known that she's changing out of her apathetic state to more of a compassion.

 [Name] let out a sigh, turning onto her side as she fixates her gaze onto something else as she zones out. Her mind is just too occupied about Lance, Keith, Shiro, and Griffin. She was the first to accept Keith with no questions. She had turned to Lance when she had bottled her feelings. [Name] had told Shiro about her brother being Cal and even remembers the time she's spent with Shiro. [Name]'s first kiss was Griffin and they have made out before as a little experimenting.

 [Name] let out a groan, rolling onto her stomach and screaming into the pillow as she kicks her legs on the bed. She's wrapped up into too much things and she now has to figure a way out of the hole that she had dug for herself. 

Chapter Text

 "What's going on?" Keith questioned.

 "These have never gone off before," [Name] stated, standing next to Coran at the dashboard. "Allura, what is it?"

 "Looks like you guys saw a ghost," Hunk commented. 

 Allura's complexion looking a little pale. [Name] looked over her shoulder, seeing Allura's eyes widen and she could only ponder what has the Altean so shaken up. [Name] looks towards Coran, knowing that he'll explain the situation. 

 "That's just the thing. It's an old Altean distress code," Coran informed, his eyes glued to the screen. "One used by King Alfor's ships."

 "Could it be? Are we not the last Alteans alive?" Allura questioned, her question rhetorical.

 "Wait. What if someone's cloning the signal to try and lure us in?" Keith asked.

 "The signal is from an Altean ship, and we're going to find it," Allura stated.

 The Castle goes through a wormhole, arriving in a new area with meteoroids. Something like a a wormhole, but it's a golden whitish color and it seems there's a ship that's exiting it. [Name] ponders if Keith was right about this being a trap because she isn't sure if she call what she's seeing a black hole.

 "That looks like a Tel-Galax exploration shuttle," Allura explained, everyone gazing at the wormhole. "One of my father's deep space vessels."

 "According to the ship's identification code, it's Commodore Trayling's ship," Coran informed, working his magic on his dashboard. "But I don't see any records of its destination or mission."

 "What happened to it?" [Name] asked, gazing at the wormhole.

 "Is it stuck in a wormhole?" Hunk questioned.

 "That's unlike any wormhole I've never seen," Coran stated, more graphs appearing on the main screen.

 "There's a massive amount of energy emanating from it centered right where the ship is stuck," [Name] informed, looking at the vitals of the wormhole. 

 "We have to see if anyone is aboard. They may need our help," Allura suggested.

 "We could send a probe over to it to see if we can get some kind of idea what this thing is?" Pidge suggested.

 "Do it," Keith ordered.

 "The energy shows no signals of radioactive decay and it's not thermal," Pidge explained, looking at her scanners.

 "It's not gravitational, our probe is steady on course, and the light is radiating out, not in, like it would be in a black hole," Hunk added.

  "But out from where?" [Name] narrowed her eyes, looking at the ship.

 "That energy is signature, I know it," Coran mumbled. He raised his voice. "It's radiating quintessence!" 

 Everyone watched the probe make contact with the wormhole, but it disappeared in a blue light. [Name] doesn't like the vibes she's getting form the vessel and just watching the probe disappear was even more weird. There's just something not right here and [Name] is going to find out.

 "Ooh! That's weird," Hunk said.

 "Okay, well, let's not go anywhere near there," Lance suggested.

 "We must," Allura stated.

  [Name]'s eyes widen. She looks towards the Princess and points at the vessel. "Did you not see what just happened?"

 "Voltron's compositional strength far exceeds anything else in this universe," Allura explained, not backing down from the argument. "We received an Altean distress call, which must mean that someone is alive on the ship. As Paladins of Voltron, it is our duty to help."

 "Princess, I still think there's a chance that this whole thing might be a trap," Keith advised, looking over his shoulder at Allura. 

 Coran turns around to face everyone. "Even if it's not a trap, it's far too dangerous to go in there."

 Allura looks away from them. "I'll do it myself if I have to."

 Keith stands up and [Name] stands up, wanting to join the Paladins on this adventure. [Name] follows Lance to the hangar of the Red Lion, she didn't want to ride with Keith because it's been a while since she's spoken to him and that was the time she kissed him, I think. Besides, her relationship with Lance has improved and she could use his company. 

 Voltron flies towards the vessel. [Name] could see part of the vessel sticking out.

 "All right, let's take it slow," Keith ordered. "Pidge, any chance you can explain what I'm seeing right now?"

 "The Euclidian space around the ship is obviously some kind of anomaly," Pidge started, looking at her scans. "But the energy source doesn't originate from anything that registers with my understanding of how reality works."

  "I'll take that as a no."

 "I'll scan the ship for biohythms," Hunk informed, beeping followed next. "That's strange. I'm not showing any signs of life on the ship."

 "Maybe not on this half, but there is more to this ship than we are seeing," [Name] suggested, leaning against Lance's chair.

 "We need to go through there," Allura said.

 "The glowy, explode-y area?" Lance questioned, Voltron moving to the vessel.

 "Pidge, keep an eye on Voltron's vitals," Keith ordered. "Everyone, be prepared to abort if things get hairy."

 "Roger that. Ready to abort immediately."

 Voltron gets closer to the wormhole and [Name] could only watch. She's prepared to hear the vitals from Pidge, but she doesn't say anything negative about the vitals. [Name] feels as if she's gazing into her doom, a bright light that will anyone as they're on their deathbed. [Name] just hopes this isn't how her adventure ends. 

 "Guys, my sensors are going crazy," Pidge informed. "Technically, we should be torn apart the same way the probe was. But somehow Voltron is completely unaffected by the stress of the spatial distortion."

 "He-Hello??" Coran's voice is static and broken.   

 Voltron went though the wormhole and for a second, blinding white is all anyone could see. [Name] wasn't expecting to see the front of the vessel and stars around and she felt her body relax, knowing she wasn't crushed into tiny pieces from the blinding light. She heard Lance let out a sigh of relief, his body going limp in the chair and she chuckles.

 "We must have crossed through because that's the front of the ship," Pidge informed,

 "Wait..." Allura said, Voltron turning around to face the wormhole. "The back of the ship is gone!" Voltron flies over the wormhole, but the Castle isn't there. "Coran! Coran! We're lost sight of the Castle. Coran, are you there?"

 "Where did he go?" Keith questioned.

 "I don't think Coran went anywhere," [Name] stated, leaning closer to get a 'good look' on the vessel. Lance blushed slightly, seeing how close [Name] is to him. "I think we left him."

 "And where did that planet come from?" Lance asked.

"According to my sensors, we're still in exactly the same place we were before," Pidge informed.

 "Guys, this is gonna sound strange, but now I'm detecting multiple biorhythms aboard the ship," Hunk informed.

 "Alteans," Allura whispered.

 Voltron gazes down at the front of the ship. "It seems like we've got one clue to help us figure out what's going on, and it's floating right over there," Lance said.

 [Name] and the others left the Lions, going towards the opening above the ship. Allura somehow got the doors to open and [Name] and the others jump inside, her eyes adjusting to the darkness in the ship. Her and the others floated in the ship, looking for some Alteans that might be on the vessel. 

 A light from Allura's wrist shines. "Hello? Is anyone here?" 

 Allura's voice echoes throughout the ship, [Name] and the other paladins follow after her. [Name] and the others continue to explore the ship if anyone is here, but the noise of doors opening and [Name]'s body tensed. She grabbed onto the closet person to her and that happened to be Keith. He glanced at her then turns his attention down the hall like the others.

 "Oh, man. This place is totally freaking me out," Hunk informed, Allura going down the hall. "Does it feel like a haunted ghost ship to anybody else? Is it just me?" 

 [Name] and the others continued down the hallway until another set of doors open. Her eyes darted around, finding themselves in some kind of room and Allura approaches a dashboard. The noises from the ship are starting to scare [Name] and she continued to stay near Keith, she never let go of his arm since she was first scared.

 Allura puts her hand on the dashboard and everything lights up, the zero gravity disappearing. [Name] would have fallen on her butt, but her grip on Keith's upper arm stabilized her. [Name] looks at Keith and she blushes, pulling herself away from him. 

 "So, did the crew abandon ship?" Keith questioned.

 Everyone noticed a space suit right behind Lance that's leaning against the wall. Lance takes hold of the helmet. "I don't know, but they couldn't have gotten far without their spacesu-" [Name] and Lance let out screams, seeing a skeleton head. Lance steps back and bumbles into [Name], the two of them holding each other. "Those aren't empty!" 

 A sadden expression on Allura's face as she walks towards the dashboard. She puts her hand on the dashboard again and a hologram screen of an Altean with a beard and furry eyebrows appear. [Name] and Lance pull away from each other when they noticed that they're okay for now.

 "We located the second comet based on King Alfor's information. We managed to get it aboard, but it seems to be causing massive disturbances. We're heading back to Altea, but I don't know if we'll be able to make it that far. At this rate--" The Atlean lets out a scream as a bright white light appears in the video and it cuts out.

 [Name] gaze landed on the skeleton, seeing that the Altean in the video was wearing the same exact specks. "What happened here?" 

 Lance looks at the skeleton then looks over his shoulder. "Something deadly."

 "This still doesn't explain the biorhythms I picked up in this area," Hunk stated, looking at his scanning. 

 [Name] heard something hit the floor and she turn her head to see a creature with multiple arms and a normal figure with two arms and legs. Both of them are wearing the similar suits of being black, grey, and a grey light on the helmet. Lance is the first to react as he has his bayard in his hands and he runs towards them.

 "Look out!"

 Lance shoots the floor by the creature's feet and Hunk slams the creature to the floor. [Name] runs towards the person and the person points their gun towards her, but she plans to disarm them. Keith had other plans though. He cuts the sword before the person could shoot and Keith elbows the person in the face, but the person counters Keith by kicking him in the back. 

 [Name] jumps up, roundhouse kicking the person and they grab her by the leg. [Name] lets out a slight yelp when she was thrown across the room. Lance is shooting the floor and the person throws their broken gun at Lance, hitting him square in the face. The person jumps into the air, using a green sword and falling towards Lance.

 Pidge used her bayard to stop the person from getting to Lance and [Name] stands up, ready to charge towards the person, but half of the person's helmet is broken. The person jumped back and he looked up, a gasp escaping and [Name] gazed at the person as his helmets breaks. 

 Tears rise to [Name]'s eyes as she covers her mouth in shock. "Shiro?"

 [Name] and the others stare at Shiro as Hunk closes the fight to the tiny creatures and the creature rolls back towards Shiro's side. Shiro grabs the broken gun and aims at everyone. [Name] noticed that Shiro had white parts on his sides, but this Shiro has completely black hair. 

 "No way! Shiro?" Hunk asked, lying on the floor. 

 "How...?" Keith questioned.

 "Stay back!" Shiro ordered, speaking with an accent.

 "If you've come for the comet, you'll never get it," a familiar voice said, one of its pair of hands on its sides. [Name] unfortunately recognize the creature as Slav, the one who helped with the plans of taking down Zarkon. "I'll die before I let it fall into Altean hands."

 Keith puts away his sword bayard. "Shiro, please."

 "My name is not Shiro," 'Shiro' said, still pointing the gun.

 Hunk stands up. "What the heck is happening right now? Did everyone get amnesia and then wake up with weird accents?"

 "You know us?" Slav questioned.

 "Of course we do!" [Name] said, walking towards Shiro. "You're Shiro, the leader and Paladin of the Black Lion."

 'Shiro' looks towards [Name] and his eyes widen. He hurries towards her and he wraps one arm around [Name]'s waist, pulling her towards him. He gazed at her with kindness and love in his eyes, leaning down towards her and planting a long kiss on her lips. [Name]'s eyes widen, not knowing how to feel. [Name] pushed against 'Shiro''s chest, gazing at him with guilt.

 "Are you not [Name] from this universe?" 'Shiro' questioned, gazing at her in confusion. "I thought you'd be with the others." 

 "I'm not your [Name]," [Name] mumbled, looking away. "Sorry about that." 

 'Shiro' smiles, shaking his head. "Don't be sorry."

  Lance grabs [Name]'s hand and pulls her away, scowling at 'Shiro'. "And you're Slav. I rescued you from a space prison. You're also slightly crazy."

 "I may be crazy, but you've never rescued me from anything before," Slav said, glaring at everyone. "Unless...you're from an alternate reality."

 "This is an alternate reality," Pidge stated, both her and Slav speaking at the same time.

 "Uh, what's that now?" Hunk asked.

 "I think, when we passed through that glowy, explode-y area, we entered an alternate reality," Pidge explained.

 "You mean, like, what Slav was always talking about?" Lance asked, glancing towards Pidge. "Well, not you. Well, you, yeah, but a different you. One that talks about alternate realities a lot."

 "Oh, that's him," 'Shiro' said, cocking his head at 'Slav.'

 "Why did you attack the captain and his crew?" Allura demanded, taking a step forward.

 "Stay back, Altean," 'Shiro' ordered.

 "We found the ship this way," 'Slav' informed. "But I can't say I'm sorry they're gone." His wrist started beeping and he lets out a gasp, his eyes widening. "Oh, no! More Alteans!"

 "Wait! More Alteans?" Allura asked.

 "Their scanner must have picked up your arrival," 'Slav' explained, looking at his scanner with worry. "Sven, let's go! If I were you, I'd run!" 'Slav' helps 'Shiro' up into the ducks again and everyone watch as they went back into the ducks air vents.

 "What the heck was that?" 

 "Did he say we're being boarded by Alteans?" Allura asked.

 [Name] and the others heard the clanging noise outside the doors. The noise continues and [Name] prepares herself for a fight if there's going to be one. Everyone gaze at the doors, the tension rising in the air and a beeping noise then the doors open. Robots entered the room, pointing their guns at everyone. There's three Alteans that walk into the room and [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing one of the Atleans being tall. There's one woman with pinkish, short hair, the tall Altean, and an older Atlean. 

 "Put down your weapons!" The pink hair ordered, her voice holding authority. 

 "Alteans!" Allura whispered.

 "It can't be," the pink hair said, her eyes landing on Allura. She gets onto one knee as [Name] and the Paladins step back to reveal Allura more. "Empress!" The robot soldiers follow the pink hair's lead and the other two Alteans do as well.

 "Uh, I'm confused. What is going on?" Hunk asked, everyone looking at Allura.

 "Are you Empress Allura?" Pink Hair asked, lifting her head.

 "I am Princess Allura," Allura stated, looking a bit conflicted. "Please, stand."

 Pink Hair stands, the others with her stand as well. "I am Commander Hira, Empress. How can you be here? You put down the Galra Uprising and established the Altean Empire 10,000 years ago."

 [Name] crossed her arms, gazing at the Alteans. "Where we're from, all the Alteans were wiped out by Zarkon when he destroyed your planet."

 "Where did you come from?" The older Altean questioned. 

---

 "But you're taking away their free will," Keith stated, scowling at Hira.

 [Name], Keith, and Allura decided to stay in the control room while Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and the other two Alteans went to see the comet. Hira was telling a story about the Altean empire, but Keith isn't pleased with the outcomes at all. [Name] has a bad feeling and she stayed only to see Hira's true intentions. 

 "The same will that would end your life with no remorse," Hira said, her gaze on Keith. "Thanks to us, no innocent will lose its life to the free will of an evil being. Empress Allura, let me show you something." Hira tapped her wrist and a hologram of a planet with many rings appeared. "This is our Altea. Come with me. Allow me to show you the magnificence it has achieved."

 "Returning to Altea..." Allura trailed off, the hologram disappearing. "It seemed like such an impossible dream I could never allow the thought."

 "Allura, that might not be the Altea you remember." [Name]'s eyes snapped towards Allura, a slight glare present on her features. "This is a different reality. Keep that in mind, Princess." 

 Hira glares at [Name] and [Name] gladly returns the glare. "You're right. This Altea is home to people who made sure that the Galra scourge was unable to spread across the universe, as it did in your reality." Hira looks to Allura. "Empress, I assure you, we will do everything in our power to help. The comet in this ship's hold possesses the ability to travel between realities. If you will activate this ancient ship's power, we can fly forward and remove the comet from the tear. We can use it to travel to your universe and bring peace there, even to the Galra." 

 A large smile on Allura's features as she walks over to the screen. [Name] and Keith glance at each other as Allura walks towards the screen. [Name] steps closer to Keith, making sure to whisper to him. 

 "Keith, this doesn't feel right to me," [Name] mumbled, gazing at the Alteans. "Could it be flipped in this reality? Instead of Galra ruling it's the Alteans?" 

  Keith stares at [Name], her beautiful eyes looking into his and he forces himself to look away. "Maybe you should think about this, Allura. It wasn't that long ago that we thought all Galra were bad. Maybe things aren't as black and white as she's making them out to be."

 "Keith, these are my people, and they may be the strongest allies we have in this war," Allura said, looking over her shoulder at Keith.

 She continues to walk until she's underneath the crystal and she starts the same process she does on the Castle. The black windows now show outside the castle and [Name] could see the glowy white light. Hira continued to glare at [Name] and Keith and [Name] shoots a hard, icy glare towards Hira. The lights disappear and Allura removes her hands from the stand. She turns around to [Name], Keith and Hira. 

 "You've done it, Allura," Hira stated, gazing at her. "Soon, we'll use the comet to spread peace throughout every reality."

 [Name] and Keith turned around to see Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Slav, and even Sven stand there with their arms tied behind their backs. The robot soldiers standing t the side while the older Altean looks disgusted by their actions. 

 "What's going on?" [Name] hissed, glaring at the Alteans.

 "Empress, the Guns of Gamara have infiltrated this ship," the older Altean informed. "These people are working with them."

 "Let out friends go!" Keith growled.

 "Hira, you and the rest of the Altea have turned this universe into an army of slaves," Slav said. "Peace at the sake of freedom!"

 "Slaves? Is this true?" Allura questioned.

 "Non-cogs are not slaves!" The older Altean argued. "You're the ones who spread chaos and destruction! We're going to scan that little brain of yours and get every last rebel location. Finally, our wars can end."

 Keith turns to Allura. "Allura, we cannot let this happen."

 "Hira, please," Allura begged, her eyebrows scrunched. "We both want the same thing. Peace."

 "Do we?" Hira questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Your weakness has brought nothing, but pain and suffering to your people at the hands of the Galra. We have brought peace and order to ours. And with this comet, we will bring our peace to every reality. You're no empress of mine."

 Allura glares at her. "And you're no Altean."

 Allura gets out her weapon, [Name] takes out her daggers, holding them in her hands as she glares at the robots who aimed at her, Keith, and Allura. Slav starts laughing as the tension is rising and [Name] glanced at him for a hot second, but she returns her gaze to the enemies in front of her. 

 "Why are you laughing?" Lance asked, staring at Slav in concern.

 "Because this is the reality where everything works out fine," Slav informed.

 The ship starts to shake and [Name] let out a gasp, almost loosing her balance. Everyone let out screams, but the shaking of the ship stops and Keith throws his sword at the robot soldier at Lance's side. 

 "Dogpile!" Sven exclaimed, him, Pidge, Slav, Hunk, and Lance using their bodies to slam the soldier robot at their side to the floor.

 [Name] runs towards Hira, pushing the Altean down and using the butt of her daggers to knock Hira out. She stood up, glaring harshly at the Altean and she looks towards the others, putting her daggers to her sides where there's a strap on her thighs. She turned to the others, a smirk on her features as she gazed at them.

 "Let's go," [Name] said.

 Everyone run down the halls, but they skidded to a stop. More robot soldiers are at the other end of the hallway and their shooting at [Name] and the others. Lance and Hunk being the only ones to take them out due to the long distance. Pidge and Keith use their shields to dodge the incoming fire.

 "Pidge, which way are the lions!" [Name] yelled over the incoming fire.

 "To the left!" She informed. 

 Lance took down the robot soldiers in front, but when he looks to the left, there's more of them. [Name]'s eyes widen, landing on Lance and seeing the robot soldiers coming. [Name] yelled out Lance's name, knowing she doesn't have enough time to save Lance or do anything to stop the robot soldiers.

 Sven jumped in front of Lance to save Lance. He falls to the floor and Lance starts dragging him out of the way while Pidge and Keith use their shields to let everyone walk by. Hunk starts shooting at them and [Name] is at Sven's other side, holding his hand as she looks at him. Even though Sven isn't Shiro, he still looks like Shiro.

 "Sven! Are you okay? You saved my life!" Lance exclaimed.

 Sven lets out a groan, opening his eyes as he gives Lance a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. Just get me to Space Hospital."

 "They're blocking our way to the lions!" Keith yelled.

 Slav looks at everyone. "Everyone, hang on!" 

 Slav dodges the incoming fire, but he jumps to the side and pulls a lever. [Name] heard the alarms blaring and the doors behind the soldiers open, the soldiers getting sucked out into space. [Name] grab onto the part of the wall, not wanting to get sucked into space and Lance put his arm over [Name], also holding her down.

 "Does he do this in every reality?" Lance asked, holding onto Sven.

---

 "I'll take care of Sven. You just get to your lions!" 

 [Name] and the others get into the lions and Allura hurried into her seat, activating the Blue Lion up. [Name] couldn't get the image of Sven being injured. She imagined Shiro being injured like that or worse than Sven.  

 "This is all my fault. I activated the ship," Allura said. "They're going to dislodge the comet and have the power to terrorize every reality."

 "No, you can still get the comet away from them," Slav said, appearing at the side of your dashboard. 

 "Pidge, can you scan for the comet," Keith commanded.

 "Yep. Already picked up on its elemental signature."

 "Everyone, we're going back in to get it. Form Voltron!" 

 The Lions formed Voltron. Voltron moving towards the ship and using its sword to cut into the ship. Voltron flies inside, circling around the comet and stopping in front of the comet. Voltron grabs hold of the comet, using its mega boosters to fly out of the ship. You noticed grey smoke appearing when Voltron left the ship.

 "Okay, now what?" Lance asked.

 "We need to find the exact spot we came in or else we might not make it home," Pidge explained. Multiple lasers passed by Voltron. "I found it!"

 Voltron flies forward, the same glowy wormhole opening and Voltron pushing the comet through the wormhole. You let out a scream when a laser hit Voltron on the back and Voltron goes through the wormhole, the wormhole closing behind Voltron. Voltron makes it back to your reality, but you and the others weren't able to control Voltron.

 The blast from the ship was able to deactivate Voltron for a short while, but while that was going on, Lotor came in. Lotor's took the comet before returning back to his ship. 

 "Paladins, can you hear me? Are you okay?" 

 "We're here, Coran."

Chapter Text

 While the Paladins went onto the mission, [Name] decided to see how Shiro is doing and he's currently in his room. She walked along the halls, getting closer to Shiro's room and she pressed a hand against the doors, the doors automatically opening. Shiro looked up, seeing his doors open and [Name] gives him a warm, kind smile. 

 Shiro stands up and [Name] already runs towards him, jumping into his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. She lets out a deep intake of air, her eyes closed as she basks in the feel of Shiro being around once again. She's missed him and his snarky remarks, but she definitely missed Shiro in person. 

 He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him and letting out a deep exhale. Shiro rests his head in the crook of [Name]'s neck, taking in her smell and her warmth as well. He could feel her heartbeat and he's pretty sure that [Name] could feel his as well. He breathes out of his nose, giving [Name] a squeeze.

 "I thought you were actually gone," [Name] whispered, opening her eyes to see slightly above his shoulder. "I was so scared, Shiro." 

 "I was scared too," Shiro mumbled, pulling [Name] impossibly closer to him. "I broke your promise."

 [Name] scoffed. "Forget the stupid promise. You're back and that's all that mattes."

***

 "Great job out there, everyone," Shiro said, a smile on his features. "You've really turned the tide in this war. I'm glad you never lost sight of the mission while I was gone."

 "You're looking better. How are you feeling?" Lance asked, looking relieved to see Shiro.

  Shiro smiled. "Good. Just trying to get rid of this weird headache."

 "Guys! I think I have something here!" Pidge announced, everyone gathered around Pidge. "So, I downloaded intel from the Galra base we just defeated. I united the quantum-folded encryption, and I found something on Lotor."

 "Do you know where he is?" [Name] asked.

 "Well, not exactly, no, but the last three sightings of his command ship have been in the Va'Kar quadrant," Pidge informed.

 "Nice work, Pidge," Shiro said. "Although, those quadrants are massive. How will we pinpoint his location?"

 "Hey, that comet is made from the same material as Voltron. Maybe I can scan the emission spectrum for Fraunhofer lines like when I found the Blue Lion!" Hunk said, his eyes widen in realization.

 "But you know those emissions are subject to free induction decay. Those are exponential drop-offs," Pidge informed.

 "Yeah, but if you could find a way to amplify the sensors- No, there'd be way too much interference. What if, instead, we increase the SA magnitude?"

 "The spires of the Castle!" 

 "Genius!" 

 Pidge and Hunk stood up, quickly leaving the bridge and [Name] smiled, watching them leave the bridge. She understood what they were talking about, but she doesn't want to bother them at all. It's been a while since the Castle has been back to normal and she ponders if it's because Shiro's back. 

 "I have no idea what either of them just said," Lance informed, looking at everyone. 

 "Let's set a course for the Va'Kar quadrant while they get started on that detector," Shiro ordered. "We need to work fast. Who knows what Lotor has planned for that comet?"

***

  "Uh, guys! Guys, I found the comet, but it's booking it away from us! Coran? Allura? Can someone Altean come move this Castle?"  

"Okay, we're gaining on it," Hunk informed.

 "Make sure we stay far back enough to be undetected," Shiro ordered.

 The Paladins are sitting in their chairs while Shiro stands next to where he used to sit when he piloted the Black Lion. [Name] stood next to Coran and she looked over her shoulder to see Shiro. She wonders if he misses piloting the Black Lion and how will things turn out with two pilots of the Black Lion. 

 "Looks like the signal stopped in the Ulippa System," Pidge said, electrical beeping being heard in the room. "Activating long-range scanners."

 The main screen had a planet, but the scanners zoomed in on a base, but a Galra cruiser landed on the deck of the base.

 "That's not Lotor's ship," Keith stated.

 "But the comet is in there," Hunk informed. 

 "Okay, team, we need to get that-"

 "Here's the plan, everyone."

 Keith and Shiro spoke at the same time, but they glanced at each other. The current leader and the former leader of Voltron had clashed and [Name] snickered, a smirk on her features. Keith looks at Shiro as if he did something bad while Shiro just stares at Keith with a blank expression.

 "Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Shiro," Keith said.

 "We need to get that comet. They must be transporting it into that base," Shiro said, gazing at each Paladin. "It'll be vulnerable during the transfer. That's the best time to strike."

 Everyone watched as the cruiser shot at the base. [Name]'s eyes widen, she stepped closer to the dashboard and placed a hand on Coran's shoulder, gazing at the cruiser is attacking the base and destroying it. Why would this happen?

 "What's going on?" [Name] asked, her voice low in a whisper. 

 "Who the heck are these guys?" Lance asked.

 "I don't think they're moving the comet to that base," Shiro suggested. "We need more information."

 "You're right. You take the Black Lion," Keith said, putting his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "I'll stay with Coran and [Name] in the Castle and provide support."

 "Keith, are you sure?" Shiro questioned.

 "I'm sure."

 The Paladins left the bridge and Shiro stood next to [Name]. She glanced at him from the side of her eye and she can only guess what he's thinking of because he has a blank expression. Shiro isn't normally one to show his feelings on his features for the most part and [Name]'s still trying to figure out what he's trying to think. 

 "Something wrong?" Shiro asked, catching her gaze.

 [Name] blushed, shaking her head and looking at the vitals. "No."

 "Shiro, where are you?" 

 "We need you right now!" 

 "The most important thing is for you to get eyes on that comet. Second is figuring out who we're dealing with," [Name] stated, her arms crossed. 

 "[Name], we've just boarded the ship. There's no crew in sight," Keith informed. "Moving forward with the search."

 [Name] began to type on the dashboard, Coran and Shiro watching her hands work on the dashboard, but she suddenly stops. She removes her hand from the dashboard and she looks at Coran with a shocked expression. Coran raised an eyebrow, standing at her side and he lets out a gasp. 

 "What?" Shiro asked. 

 "There's a teludav in that ship," [Name] informed, turning her sharp gaze to Shiro. "Call the Paladins." 

 Shiro does what she said. "Guys...There's a piece of the teludav inside the Galra base."

 "The one we used to wormhole Zarkon's ship?" Lance asked. 

 "But they would never be able to operate it without an Altean--" Allura said, cutting herself off with a gasp. "Zarkon's witch! She had Altean markings."

 "Is anyone else kind of freaking out?" Hunk questioned, looking around. 

 "Yep, mark me down for one freak-out," Lance said.

 "Lotor must be nearby. We need to find him and take him out for good," Keith advised.

 "You can't let Lotor get that ship," [Name] stated, her tone sharp and her eyes narrowed. "Get back to your lions. You need Voltron!" 

 "Why take out one ship when we can stop all of this by taking out Lotor himself?" Keith asked. "We can't let him keep outsmarting us." 

 "That's exactly why we can't risk letting Lotor have that ship. This is too important," [Name] snapped, scowling at Keith. "Lotor keeps tearing us apart on this and things go down hill. Listen to me, Keith."

---

 "Keith barely listens now," [Name] let out a sigh, her arms crossed. "He's put Lotor above the team, but I think he's slowly understanding his role as a leader now. He's just..."

 "I know what you mean--"

 "The cargo ship!" Coran yelled. 

 [Name] pressed a button on the dashboard, "Paladins, where are you?" 

 Voltron fired a laser towards the ship, but the ship dodged easily. Voltron followed the ship, seeing that the Castle's particle barrier has multiple open pockets and Voltron forms the sword. Voltron went to clash the ship, but the ship evaded and moved away. Voltron easily trailed the ship, slashing at the ship, but the ship easily dodged.

 "It's too quick!" Keith said. 

 "Guys, ,the cargo ship is escaping with the teludav inside of it," Shiro reminded. 

 "I thought taking down the ship made from the comet was the most important thing," Keith remarked.

 "We still can't let Lotor get away with the teludav," [Name] snapped, anger laced in her voice. 

 "They're right. We need to destroy it," Allura said. 

 "But the comet is right here! We need to take it down!" Keith argued. 

 Voltron continued to strike the comet ship, but the ship continues to dodge. The comet ship gets away and Voltron comes to a stop, looking to the side to see the cruiser with the teludav below it. Voltron went to pursue, but sudden fire stops Voltron. Voltron using its shield to block the rapid fire from the comet ship. [Name] watched as the teludav is getting away with the cruiser.

 "Guys, the teludav's getting away!" Hunk informed.

 "Keith, what should we do?" Lance asked. 

 "You're going to have to lower your shield, shoot the cargo ship, and deal with the consequences," Shiro demanded, his eyes narrowed.

 "We can beat this ship first, and then get the cargo ship," Keith argued. 

 "There's not enough time! You need to make a decision!" [Name] yelled. "It's either the cargo ship or the ship! Think reasonably, Keith!"

 "Hunk, get your bayard ready," Keith ordered. "On my cue, we're gonna lower the shield and shoot the cargo ship. Ready?"

 "Ready!"

 "Go!" 

 Voltron puts the shield away, the laser cannon forming on its shoulder and charging up its fire. [Name] eyes widen when Voltron moved away from the massive fire that came from the comet ship and the laser cannon disappeared. [Name] watched as the massive laser that came from the comet ship hit the teludav. 

 Sadly, Voltron was hit by the laser and [Name] let out a sigh. She heard the Paladins scream in pain and she glanced over at Shiro, seeing a look of impression and disappointment as well. [Name] was definitely not expecting Keith to do that, but he got what he wanted and sadly put a lot of things in danger. 

 "So, Lotor was attacking the Galra base and trying to steal the teludav?" Lance asked. "None of this makes sense."

 "We can talk about this later. They're getting away!" Pidge exclaimed. 

 "We need to go after them," Keith voiced.

 "No. Get back to the Castle," [Name] ordered, her tone full of authority.  "Something strange is going on here, and we need to figure it out." She removed her finger from the button, looking to Shiro. "You have to admit what Keith did was impressive though. He thought quickly and he killed two birds with one stone despite facing the consequences of his choice." 

 "He still put the teludav in jeopardy," Shiro sighed, walking away.

Chapter Text

 "He fought us here, his generals were here, and he stole the comet here," Pidge explained, everyone gazing at the map. 

 Lance raised an eyebrow. "So Lotor could be anywhere."

 "We'll never be able to find him unless we can figure out his plan," [Name] stated, crossing her arms. "We're totally misisng the big picture. And how about this question?" She looked to the map. "Why was Voltron made out of the same materials as that comet? What's so special about it?" 

 "My father discovered another comet like that before I was born," Allura confessed, lowering her gaze to the floor. 

 "Your father... and Zarkon," Coran said. 

 "This is back when Zarkon was the Black Lion's paladin?" Hunk asked.

 "Before that. Before Alfor built the lions," Coran confessed.

 "I know this is painful to talk about, but if we're going to stop Lotor, it's time we heard the rest of the story," Shiro said.

 [Name] looked to Coran, him being the oldest out of everyone. He knows the story about Voltron and Zarkon even Alfor. 

 "In the beginning, the paladins were just five leaders, who despite coming from cultures which were vastly divergent and in some cases, had been warring for generations... managed to past their differences in an effort to protect their common interests. What was initially a formal agreement to work alongside each other soon blossomed into a true friendship. A warrior's bond was forged, and together, they worked to rid their system of those who would do it harm.

 "The original paladins were Zarkon from Planet Daibazaal, King Alfor from Altea, Gyrgan from Rygnirath, Trigel of the Dalterion Belt and Blaytz from Nalquod. They could have never known that, that very night, the fate of the universe would be changed forever. 

 "King Alfor experimented with the comet's ore in his lab on Altea, as Honerva continued her research of the rift on Daibazaal. But Alfor visited often as the years passed.

 "King Alfor and Honoerva erected a particle barrier around the crater, containing the creatures. But it wouldn't hold forever.

 "Honerva continued her experiments on the rift. Despite their differences, Zarkon and Alfor along with the other paladins, established a new era of peace and prosperity. It was an age of exploration, and Voltron became known as the Defender of the Universe, establishing the legend that would live on this day.

 "Alfor's compassion for his old comrade blinded him to Zarkon's true plans.

 "Zarkon's attempt to save Honerva was in vain. They both succumbed to overexposure of the quintessence. The paladins had been deceived by Zarkon. They had an unwittingly enlarged the rift, which further destabilized Planet Daibazaal. King Alfor was forced to evacuate the planet. He, then, closed the rift the only way he knew how. By destroying the Galran homeworld.

 "King Alfor held a state funeral for Zarkon and Honerva in his royal hall. But what happened next, he could have never guessed.

 "Zarkon had become pure evil, obsessed only with quintessence. In order to open a new rift between realities, he needed Voltron. And so, the war began. The Galra immediately responded to their leader and attacked. The peaceful planets of our system were not prepared. Soon, they had all fallen except for Altea. In a final attempt, to keep Voltron from Zarkon's hands, the lions were sent to the far corners of the universe. Zarkon flew into a rage. He killed King Alfor then avenged the loss of Daibazaal with the destruction of Altea.

  [Name] is the first to speak up, looking at the others. "So that's Lotor's plan. To cross into other universes and get the purest quintessence possible."

 "No matter what, we have to stop him," Keith stated.

Chapter Text

 "Okay, everybody, today, we'll be heading to Reiphod, a planet recently liberated from Galra forces," Coran informed, everyone gazing at him. 

 "This is embarrassing. We're basically the grand marshal of a parade," Keith remarked.

 [Name] smirked. "Not a parade. A show of arms!"

 "This is the second one of these we've done just this week," Pidge added

 "I know it's not exactly battling the Galra, but believe it or not, this helps us boost morale and strengthen alliances," Allura informed.

 "Right, right, strongholds, blah-dy, blah-dy, blah," Lance said, being sarcastic as he spoke. "Now, I say we go over our lion choreography one more time. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time, Hunk." Lance narrows his eyes at Hunk.

 Hunk placed a hand over his arm. "I thought my lion had more room."

 "Shiro, my apologies for interrupting, but this is an urgent matter," Kolvain said, appearing on the main screen. "A Galra supply ship has been spotted passing through Quadrant Omega-Raylar-Six."

 [Name] had a feeling Kolvain might appear. Keith has been going on these missions with the Blade and he was late when the paladins were escorting some allies. Luckily, no Galra appeared, but it might happen next time. She hasn't said anything to Keith, but she has a feeling he might be up to something. 

 "What's it doing so far from the normal supply routes?" Shiro asked, his arms crossed on his chest. 

 "We can't be certain, but taken together with the fact that Lotor hasn't been seen in quite some time and the emergence of this new form of quintessence, we feel compelled to investigate," Kolvain informed. "Normally, we would wait for better intel, but I believe we should act on this now."

 "I'll send Voltron to intercept," Shiro informed.

 "An infiltration mission makes more sense," Kolvain advise, scowling slightly. "We can plant a tracker and see just how far the supply route extends. With all the Galra activity as of late, my agents are spread thin."

 "Not anymore. Count me in," Keith voiced, everyone looking towards him.

 "Hey, what about our performance?" Lance questioned, scowling at Keith. "We can't razzle-dazzle the crowd with just four lions."

 "This mission is more important than a show of arms," Keith snapped, narrowing his eyes at Lance.

 "Shiro? [Name]?" Lance asked, looking to them. 

 [Name] lets out a sigh, looking to Kolvain. "How long will it take?"

 "Not long, but we must act fast, or we risk the ship jumping on hyperspace," Kolvain informed.

 "Go. But when you're done, meet us on Reiphod," [Name] stated, turning her attention to Keith

***

 "Citizens of Reiphod, on this day, we honor you for your perseverance. Your refusal to bow down in the face of such adversity its a testament to the fighting spirit of your people," [Name] spoke, holding a microphone in her hand. Shiro and Coran standing on both sides of her "You've put aside your differences and united to dispel the oppressive Galra regime, bringing freedom to all!" The crowd begins to cheer. "We thank you for joining the coalition and continuing the fight against the Galra that began with the reemergence of the five Lions of Voltron."

 The Lions flew over the crowd and it's quite obvious that there's only for lions. [Name] rubbed the back of her head, looking to Shiro and Coran. They shrug their shoulders and she groans internally. She should have Coran be the speaker when the Lions performed. 

 "Right, uh... four lions," [Name] chuckled. "By joining the Voltron Alliance, you are joining up with the Defenders of the Universe, who will do whatever it takes to spread peace and freedom to every galaxy."

 The Paladins did multiple tricks while piloting the Lions. The Paladins flew the Lions straight into the air and [Name] smiled to herself, watching the Lions. She's noticed that Allura has gotten better with piloting the Blue Lion. [Name] just wished for Keith to be here and she figures that she should speak to him when he comes back.

 The Lions crossed over and flipped to go back towards the ground, until they flew over the crowd once again. 

 "And just as Voltron has shown what can be done when five individuals combine their powers together, so, too, can we combine our powers with those on Planet Reiphod and grow even stronger. For it is the individual willing to take up arms that strengthens the whole. And with that strength, we will be unstoppable!" [Name] exclaimed.

 The crowd stops cheering as the Lions float over the crowd. [Name] smiled nervously, her hand held high above her head. Someone clapping, but that's the only person who is clapping. 

  Coran grabs the microphone from [Name]'s hand. "Uh, well, when he's together, he's like a big man. Like this." Coran standing on his tippy-toes and holding his arm out to show how tall Voltron is. "But you have to imagine it with a sword and a big laser cannon." Coran imitates the gunfire. "Look out, Zarkon! I'm Voltron, and I'm the biggest, baddest robot around! No, he doesn't talk actually like that, but I-- that's what I imagined him saying if he did."

***

 [Name] helped the Paladins hand out supplies to the citizens. She offered them smiles and thank yous to them as well, glad that she's still able to help them. [Name] felt someone stare at her and she lifted her gaze, her eyes locking with Keith's as he stands in the crowd. He's wearing the Blade's uniform and he gazed at her. 

Kolvain walked in front of Keith, but Keith continues to gaze at [Name]. She felt her cheeks burn from the long eye contact and the mask turned on, concealing his face. [Name] watched him disappear into the crowd and she let out a sigh, lowering her gaze. She focused on the task until they were done.

 Everyone returned to the Castle, entering the bridge. A beeping noise entering the room and the others looked to Coran.

 "What's going on?" Allura questioned.

 "We received a distress signal," Coran informed, his eyes locked onto the hologram. "One of our convoys has been ambushed by a squadron of Galra cruisers."

 "Our medical supply ships," [Name] elaborated, standing next to Coran. "We can't allow the Galra to get them. You must leave immediately.  Voltron can keep those cruisers occupied long enough for the supply ships to make their escape."

 "Actually, Voltron can't," Pidge stated, looking toward at [Name]. "Keith is gone."

 "They're probably on a mission. I knew this would happen sooner or later," Shiro stated, looking to everyone. "You'll have to go without Keith. The convoy needs you immediately. I'll send him to help as soon as I find him."

***

 [Name] waited in the halls, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at the floor. Everyone is in the bridge waiting for Keith while [Name] is waiting for Keith, but she wants to speak to them in private. She heard footsteps and she looked up, seeing Keith in the Blade's uniform and he has a sad look on his expression. He stops walking, gazing at [Name].

 He opens his mouth, but she cuts him off before he speaks. "The others are waiting for you, but I'd like to speak to you in private. Keith, what's going on? Why do you keep going with the Blade?" 

 "I-"

 "Don't give me some bullshit excuse too," [Name] snapped, pushing herself off the wall. She stood in front of him, lifting her hand and placing it on his cheek. "Just tell me the truth, Keith. I'm here for you." 

 "Since Shiro is back, he can pilot the Black Lion," Keith stated, lowering his gaze to the floor. "And there's a mission with the Blades that could take months. It's time for him to pilot the Black Lion." 

 [Name] lets out a sigh, lowering her head. Keith heard her sniffle and his eyes widen. She looks up, a smile on her features as tears are in her eyes. "You better visit when you can, Keith. You're still important to us. To me, you know."

 [Name] immediately latches herself onto Keith, her arms wrapping around his neck and she holds him close. Keith doesn't hesitate to return her embrace, his arms making home around her and his chin resting on her shoulder. She shakes lightly in his arms and Keith can only stand there and hold her, wanting more than to comfort her.

 "I do have a question though," Keith stated, pulling away and [Name] looks up at him. He wipes her tears away with his thumb. "Do you... like me? Like not friend like, but-"

 [Name] chuckled, sniffling. "I knew this would come up, but my feelings at the moment are mixed. One day, I will tell you my answer." 

 "Can I kiss you?" Keith questioned, [Name] staring up at him and he blushed. "I mean... you don't have to or any-"

 [Name] leans up, pecking her lips against Keith's and he stops talking. She pulls away, a smile on her features and Keith smiled too. [Name] cups Keith's face, leaning up once more and puckering her lips. Keith places his hands on her hips, closing his eyes and waiting for the moment when her lips touches his.

 Keith melts when he feels her lips against his once more. He holds the back of her head gently, his hand tangling itself in her hair and he makes the kiss deeper, earning a noise of surprise from [Name]. He wasn't one to shy away from a moment like this with [Name]. Especially since he won't be around her until he gets back. 

 Keith is the first to pull away and [Name] leans her head against his chest, panting lightly. She chuckled, pulling herself out of Keith's arms and he misses her warmth despite her being near him. She points to the doors that leads to the bridge and she smiles at him. 

 "You should explain to them," [Name] stated. "And I'm sorry about being rude to you, Keith."

 "I'm sorry too." Keith nodded his head.

 Him and [Name] walking towards the bridge. The doors open and all eyes are on the two of them, but everyone pays attention to Keith. A look of disappointment and anger are on the others' face and [Name] walked towards them, winking at Keith. He looks sad and guilty, but she knows she'll defend him to the end. 

 "Guys, I...." Keith trailed off, taking in everyone's looks and he looks to the side. "I heard what happened. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help."

 "You keep saying you're sorry, but your actions say otherwise," Allura snapped, Keith looking at her with widen eyes. "Do you realize that your absence put the team in jeopardy?"

 "And not just the team, the refugees as well," Lance added.

 "Matter of fact, the entire quadrant was in danger," Pidge added.

 "This is not the way I wanted this to happen, but if there's a bright side to any of this, it's that my absence allowed Shiro to reestablish his bond with the Black Lion," Keith confessed, avoiding to meet everyone's gaze. "He can finally be the leader I was unable to be. I'm not meant to pilot the Black Lion."

 "Is that why you've been pulling away from us?" Allura questioned.

 "Yeah, I suppose that's part of it," Keith sighed, lowering his gaze.

 "Part of it? What's the other part?" Hunk questioned, his arms crossed. 

 Keith avoids to meet anyone's gaze. "The Blades have been making headway tracking the source of this new quintessence. They've been able to piece together a large network or hidden supply lines that have been secretly transporting it for who knows how long. And there's good reason to believe it could lead us directly to Lotor. A mission is being planned to infiltrate the supply line. It could take weeks, maybe months to pull off, but... if there is a chance... we have... I have to take it. I need to be on that mission. Shiro, you are the rightful leader of this team. And you proved it today by reconnecting with the Black Lion. It was always meant to be yours."

 Shiro walks towards Keith, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Keith... if this is what you feel is right, then we won't try to stop you. But just know that we're here for you whenever you need us."

 Keith smiles. "I know you are. And I can't tell you how much that means to me.

 Keith and Shiro clasp opposite hands and bro hug. [Name] smiled, knowing that even Shiro will be supportive of Keith's choice. He won't even stop him because it's Keith's choice. 

 "I can't be left out of this," Hunk sobbed, fat tears rolling down his eyes.

 Everyone besides [Name] goes to hug Keith and some of them start crying or have tears in their eyes. She watched them, standing off to the side, but she gives and walked towards them. Somehow [Name] is in front of Keith and he gives her a soft smile, pecking her forehead and she blushed. She wasn't expecting Keith to do that in front of everyone, but with how close they are it might seem like an accident. 

 "We're really going to miss you," Pidge cried.

 "Yeah, who am I gonna make fun of?" Lance joked. 

 "I know you'll make us proud," Allura said, smiling.

 Everyone removes themselves from Keith and Keith walks towards the doors. He stands there, the biggest smile of appreciation on his features as he looks at everyone. The smile drops and he walks through the door, the doors closing behind him. [Name] still gazed at the door, wishing he was here once more. 

Chapter Text

 "[Name]."

 [Name] stops walking in her tracks, looking over her shoulder to see Pidge standing in the hallway. She was about to go to her room for a few moments with herself before she leaves her bed. She turns around, facing Pidge and [Name] raised an eyebrow. 

 "I'm going to look for my brother," Pidge stated, gazing at [Name]. "Do you want to come with me? We can look for your brother too."

 [Name] bites her lip and she lowered her gaze to the floor. She lets out a deep breath before she looks back at Pidge. She offers the girl a kind smile as she spoke. "Thank you for the offer, but I must refuse. I... I want to look for him, but I don't want to face the reality if he's dead. It'll.... It'll hurt me." 

 Pidge studied [Name]'s features, seeing the sadden expression with the small smile on her lips. [Name] is holding herself back because she doesn't want to know if her brother is dead. Pidge understands, but Pidge needs to know if her brother is out there because she has evidence that he's alive. Pidge scowled at [Name], hoping she might make the young woman come to a realization.

 "This is the first time I've seen you weak," Pidge remarked, [Name]'s shoulders tensing up. "I thought you were stronger than this."

 Pidge walked away and [Name] clenched her hands into fists, gritting her teeth together. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down before she might do something she'll regret. Sadly, Pidge's words echoed throughout [Name]'s head and her anger is starting to engulf her. She opened her eyes, glaring at Pidge's retreating figure.

 [Name] ran towards the short girl and grabbed Pidge by the back of her suit, surprising the pilot of the Green Lion. [Name] used her strength to push Pidge against the wall and hold her above the floor with her hands. Pidge's eyes were widen, gazing at [Name] with shocked and fear that [Name] might harm her. Pidge didn't think her words would make [Name] this angry.

 "Don't ever call me weak!" [Name] yelled, glaring harshly at Pidge. "I have been strong for too long and I will not have something like my brother possibly being dead bring me down!"

 "[Name], put her down!"

 [Name] heard Lance's voice and she put Pidge down. Lance put his arm over [Name] and pulled her away from Pidge, but [Name] didn't do anything. She continued to glare at Pidge while Lance stood between the two of them in case [Name] is going to do something to Pidge again. She gritted her teeth, walking away from the two of them.

 She heard Lance ask Pidge what did she do to [Name], but she definitely wasn't ready for Pidge to provoke her like that. [Name] will look for her brother just to prove to Pidge and herself that she herself isn't weak. She will prove everyone wrong that she isn't weak at all.

---

 "Allura, I'm going on a mission and I promise to be back," [Name] informed, walking into the bridge. The Princess and Coran looking over their shoulders to see [Name] enter. "I'm taking one of the pods and I'm not sure how long it will take, but I will come back."

 Allura raised an eyebrow. "A mission? What for?" 

"To find my brother," [Name] stated, crossing her arms. "It's something I must do, Alllura. If it was your family member, you'd want to do the same."

 "I wasn't going to stop you, [Name]," Allura said, a smile on her face. She walks towards [Name] and embraces her. "I know much family is important for everyone and I know you've been putting Voltron and the paladins first before yourself. I think it's time for you to put your desires first."

 "Thank you, Allura."

 [Name] and Allura smile to themselves and they pulled away from each other. Coran flashes [Name] and she smiles sheepishly, Coran wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly like a father would do when he sees his child after so long. [Name] enjoys the hug, wishing it was her actual father hugging her.

 "Than you," [Name] said, nodding her head at Coran.

 "Of course. Take anything you need," Coran suggested, gesturing with his arm. "And if you need anything, just contact us."

 "Sure."

 [Name] walked towards the exit, waving over her shoulder to Coran and Allura. The two Alteans holding wide smiles of encouragement on their features and [Name] felt better herself. She feels like there's hope and faith in finding her brother and she can't wait for the journey ahead. She'll find out where he is.

---

 [Name] had transferred the coordinates on where her brother could be from Pidge's stuff. It wasn't really that hard and [Name] had placed a backpack into the pod, hearing footsteps behind her. She looks over her shoulder to see Lance and Pidge walking towards her and [Name] makes eye contact with Pidge, but she looks away.

 "You're leaving now?" Lance asked, a look of concern on his features. 

 "Yeah. I'm going to look for my brother," [Name] stated, nodding her head. "I'm terrified if I find my brother dead, but at least I forced myself to find him. I won't be weak."

 Pidge lets out a sigh, looking at the young woman. "[Name], I didn't mean it like that. You told me that family is important and I've thought about it for a while, but if family is important why haven't you looked for your brother. He's been missing since the Kerberos Mission and I'm sure you miss him."

 "I do," [Name] assured, adverting her gaze. "I'm going to go look for him. Pidge, I'm sorry about being physical with you. I was angry and I couldn't contain my anger anymore."

 Pidge shakes her head. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have provoked you like that." Pidge smiles. "I hope you find your brother."

 "You too," [Name] said, returning Pidge's smile.

 "Good luck," Lance commented, a sweet smile on his lips.

 [Name] smiles at him then she climbs into the pod and she presses a button, the roof to the pod closing. [Name] taps a few buttons, hearing the pod charge up and [Name] grabs the handle of the pod. She glances to her side, seeing Lance and Pidge still standing there and she waves at them, a small smile on her lips.

 She takes off, the pod leaving the bay and [Name] held a look of determination and resolve. She will find out where her brother is and bring him back to the Castle of Lions. She will find out what happened to him and questions that has been on her mind since it was always them living together without a mother nor father. 

 [Name] in fact has never seen her mother nor seen pictures of her mother. When she asked about her mother from her brother Calvin and he'd always say how [Name] looks exactly like their mother. [Name] knows her father had died from smoking and she was only 6 years old, having faint memories of her spending time with her father.

---

 [Name] had the pod on auto-pilot, sitting back in the chair with her arms crossed over her chest. She has made somewhat progress of where Calvin might possibly be, but if Calvin was saved by some rebels along with Matt then Calvin would probably be stuck on a planet somewhere. [Name] stared at the dashboard of the pod, seeing the course that's been sent and she isn't quite sure how to find where her brother could possibly be.

 The alarm within the pod started to blare, [Name] tensed up and she sitting at the edge of her seat. A shadow passed over [Name] and her eyes widen, seeing the Galra cruiser come go over her and she wasn't able to do anything at the moment. A purple beam shining down on the pod and halting the pod at its spot. [Name] unable to do anything unless she was to drift in space until someone finds her. 

 The pod is carried into the Galra cruiser and [Name] clenched her hands into fists, reaching over to the backpack that held her sword inside. She felt her heart hammer in her chest, this is the first time where she's facing Galra by herself in a cruiser. She should definitely call for backup and [Name] went to press a button to contact the Castle.

 "Hands up."

 [Name] silent cursed to herself, seeing that the roof of the pod is already open and the robot soldiers already have their guns trained onto her. She flashes them a glare, slowly putting her hands up and she gritted her teeth.

 "Step out of the pod," a robot soldier ordered. 

 [Name] quickly reached behind her, grabbing the sword and immediately throwing the sword at the robot. She had gotten the sword to impale the robot's head and it shuts down, falling to the floor. She jumps out of the pod, grabbing the handle of the sword and pulling it out of the robot, using her shield to block the incoming fire. 

 She stands up, pressing a button and contacting the Castle. "Coran! Allura! Is anyone there!" 

 [Name] let out a grunt, a laser hitting her shield and she snarls, throwing her sword at one of the robot soldiers, hitting it square in the chest. She used her hologram shield to block the incoming fire, knowing she's at a dead end right now. She really needs help from the Paladins because she can't take down a cruiser by herself.

 "I need some backup!" [Name] screamed. "I've gotten caught by the Ga-"

 She let out a scream, feeling something graze her leg and a burning white sensation engulfs her leg to her whole body. She groaned and grunted, sweat forming on her face and her hands are starting to get moist. She doesn't have any weapons to defend herself and if she is going to go down, she's going to go down fighting.

 [Name] let out a yell, running forward to the shooting robots despite her leg screaming in pain at her for her to stop. Her hologram shield disappeared and [Name] punched a robot soldier, stomping on its head and she roundhouse kicked another robot down, the robot being knocked into another. [Name] held up her shield, more lasers coming towards her and she gritted her teeth. 

 She let out another scream, being hit behind and her shield disappears. [Name] falls forward, being met with the cold and cool ground and her body is sprawled out. She pants heavily, gazing at the floor as her cheek rests against it and her back being incredible pain. A pair of legs came into her view and she looks out the corner of her eye, her back in pain. 

 "She's neutralized." [Name] gazed at the Galra that's standing above her. "Take her to Commander Reen." 

 "Yes, sir." 

 [Name] felt herself being lifted by underneath her arms. She groaned, the pain increasing as the robot soldiers are dragging her body across the floor and [Name] felt her eyelids become heavy. She would close her eyes for a moment and they're getting deeper into the cruiser. For a second she was in the bay of the cruiser and now she's in the bridge.

 [Name] is thrown onto the floor, letting out a hiss and a grunt and she sends a glare over her shoulder at the robot soldiers. They aim their rifles at her, ready in case she attacks them and [Name] is honestly thinking about ending them because they handled her so roughly. She tried to move her hands, but they're bound together. She turned her attention back to the heavy armored Galra who's back is towards her. 

 "That pod is one that belongs to Alteans," the Galra stated, looking over his shoulder at [Name]. "Are you perhaps allies with Voltron?" 

 [Name] didn't respond, seeing the Galra come towards her and she can only assume this is the Commander Reen. She glares up at him, keeping her mouth shut and he returns her glare, reaching out to her, but [Name] turns her head away. Commander Reen scoffs, a scowl pulling at his lips. 

 "Of course you are," Commander Reen stated, he walks away with his back turned to her. "I'm sure Zarkon will be pleased with this. I hope he appreciates the gift I'm going to give him. Take her away."

 Hands wrapped themselves around [Name]'s upper arms and they lift her off the ground only a little bit. Her legs are being dragged against the floor as the robot soldiers carry her away and she isn't sure how she's going to escape this one. She just hopes the others in the Castle had gotten her message because if they didn't she's going to be given to Zarkon. 

 [Name] was taken down to the cells and she struggled against the hold on the robot soldiers until she felt the barrel of a rifle be pressed against her back. She stopped struggling to restrain against them, but she tried to stop them by trying to make her legs heavier and that didn't work. 

 "Let me go!" [Name] screamed at the top of her lungs. "If you don't fucking let me go I will tear you piece by piece!" 

 One of the robot soldiers opened one of the cellars, the two of them throwing [Name] in and the door closed before [Name] could even stand up. She let out a sigh, falling to the floor and she gazed at the door in disbelief, never thinking she'd somehow end up here without any help. She's going to have to rely on herself for now. 

 "I am weak," [Name] scoffed, pulling her knees to her chest. "I couldn't even find my own brother by myself."

 "[Name]!" 

 Her head snapped up, her mouth agape and her eyes widen. Was she hearing things? Has she already lost her mind in her self doubt that she imagined hearing Calvin call out her name. She scoffed, rolling her eyes and resting her chin in her arms, thinking that she definitely misheard things.

 "[Name]! Is that you?"

 She couldn't be hearing things. The burning pain on [Name]'s leg and back is a constant reminder that [Name] is not dreaming. She heard the echo when her name was called out and she knows for certain that she isn't hearing things. [Name] stood up, walking towards the door with a limp and she looks out the small rectangle space. She sees other cells, but no one has passed by. 

 "Calvin! You're here!" [Name] exclaimed, a wide smile on her lips. "You're alive! You're actually alive! Where are you?"

 "Right here." 

 [Name]'s eyes widen, seeing those familiar eyes of her brother in the cell directly across from hers. She felt relief and happiness wash over her, she let out a sniffle as tears rise to her eyes and she couldn't stop herself from crying. She's finally found her brother, but she's in the worst place ever. 

 "What are you doing here?" Calvin asked.

 [Name] chuckled to herself. "I was looking for you. How did you end up here?"

 "After some rebels saved me and Matt, I decided to stay on a planet," Calvin explained, a solemn expression on his features. "Sadly, I was found by the Galra and I've been here ever since. [Name], there's something I need to tell you." [Name] sensed the urgency in his voice and the desperate look in his eyes. "[Name], I wish I could have told you before the Kerberos Mission and I didn't think the Galra would have came all this way to Earth."

 "What are you talking about, Cal?" [Name] questioned, gazing at him with suspicion. 

 He lets out a sigh. "Our mother is Altean, [Name]. The two of us are half-breeds and I'm sorry I didn't tell you when you were at the age of 10 only because I didn't want you to feel as though you're different from the others. Our mother escaped Altean before Zarkon destroyed the planet and she used to be an Alchemist before she left Altea."

 "Wait...." [Name] said, staring down at her hands. "I'm Altean? But I don't have the ears nor the facial markings!" 

 Calvin chuckled. "Because our human genes are dominate, [Name]." 

 [Name] dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hands as she gazed at the floor. She's Altean? But how? Nothing she's ever done has lead to any signs of being a half breed of an alien race. She couldn't understand nor make any connections, but if her brother is telling [Name] that she is half Altean then [Name] must believe him.

 There's no way Calvin could be informed about Alteans because they were killed so it's only reasonable that he knows about Alteans. [Name] lets out a sigh, standing up and she looks at Calvin, noticing the pastel purple sickle-shaped blemish underneath his eyes. [Name] knows those markings can only belong to an Altean and she lets out a sigh, knowing she has to believe him now.

 "So I'm Altean, huh," [Name] stated, looking at him. "I know two more Alteans that are alive at the moment. Princess Allura and Coran are on the Castle right now. I've been with them since I left Earth in a Blue Lion."

 "Voltron, right?" Calvin asked, [Name] nodded her head.

 "I'm not one of the pilots if that's why you're asking," [Name] stated, letting out a sigh. "I hear someone coming." 

 [Name] and Calvin stopped talking, hearing footsteps coming and [Name] looks out, seeing a few robot soldiers and a Galra officer outside of Calvin's cellar. [Name]'s eyes widen, hearing the beeping noise and the doors open to Calvin's cell, [Name] barely being able to see Calvin and some of the robot soldiers entered his cell.

 "Bring him down to room and see what else you can get out of him by torture," the Galra officer said.

 [Name]'s eyes widen and she slammed the wall with her hands. "No!" 

 She watched as Calvin was dragged away despite his screaming and his struggles out of [Name]'s view. She grew angry and frantic, pacing around her cellar as she thinks of ideas to break out of her cell. She's half Altean right? Her mother was an Alchemist too? So that means [Name] must have some sort of magic ability?

 [Name] let out a breath, closing her eyes and she focused on something, anything that could draw out her magic ability. Calvin didn't really explain what else their mother could do, but it wouldn't hurt in trying. [Name] furrowed her eyebrows, growing frustrated as she didn't feel anything coming to her at this moment. 

 [Name] let out a yell of anger. 

 She calmed herself down, feeling something around her fingertips. It felt fuzzy and tingly. [Name] opened her eyes, looking down at her hands to see bluish sparks appearing around her fingers. She lifted her hand in amazement, seeing the electricity around her fingers and she pointed a finger at the door, a bolt of electricity coming out of her finger.

 The door breaks down and [Name]'s eyes widen. Unfortunately, she isn't able to bask in the moment of having magic abilities even if it's a little bit. [Name] hurries after her brother, the alarm blaring and she's sure anyone on the ship knows that [Name] is out of her cell. She just really hopes the Castle is on its way now. 

 [Name] let out a yelp, seeing a sword coming towards her face and she ducks her head, hearing the swoosh of the blade that had almost cut of her head. She skidded to a stop, turning around to see Commander Reen standing there and [Name] glared at him. Commander Reen is standing in the way of [Name] and her brother. 

 "You aren't getting away that easily," Commander Reen said, a smirk appearing on his lips. "That Altean breed we have is certainly a rare one no less. Human and Altean, I think Haggar might have a little fun with that one."

 [Name] glared at the Galra, gritting her teeth. "Like I'd let you." 

 "Really now!" Commander Reen shouted.

 Commander Reen reached behind him, firing a gun and [Name]'s eyes widen. She barely dodged the laser that came towards her and right now she's defenseless. Her magic ability won't help her here at all because she could barely understand it herself. She had gotten a feeling and she was frustrated and angry. 

 "You should pay attention to our fight!" Commander Reen yelled.

 In a flash, the Galra commander appeared in front of [Name] in a second and her eyes widen in horror. The Galra lifted his arm, raising his sword up high and swinging it down towards [Name]. She was barely able to jump back, but the feeling of her flesh being cut caused her to flinch and take many steps back. 

 [Name] let out a scream of agony, her hand covering the wound she received over her eye and she felt her own blood touch her hand. She looked at Commander Reen, walking backwards until she tripped on herself and fell to the ground. Commander Reen stood above [Name], holding a sword in one hand and the other a pistol. 

"I thought you were going to put up a more of a fight," Commander Reen mocked, his smirk widening. "You seemed to have a lot of defiance in you before I sent you off. I wonder where all that went." 

 [Name] felt scared for once in her life, her body trembling as the Galra stood above her. She's injured and exhausted, also asking herself where did all her energy had gone. She gazed at the Galra with an eye because her other eyelid is wounded, but not the eye itself. She dropped the hand covering her injury to hold it up as Commander Reen raised his sword. 

 "Glad to know more defiance is dying more now," Commander Reen said. 

 He swung down at [Name], but he was knocked to the side. Calvin pushed Commander Reen down despite the Galra being a lot bigger than a human. Commander Reen fell to the floor and Calvin breathed heavily, seeming like he was in a hurry to get to where is. Calvin looked at his little sister in concern, crouching in front of her and grabbing her arm.

 "We need to leave," Calvin stated, throwing her arm over his shoulder. "Your pod is still in the bay." 

 [Name] nodded her head, but for a second she felt the world slow down. She turned to look at her brother, his actions halting and she looked down, seeing a sword had impaled him. Her eyes widen in horror once more, watching the sword be pulled out of him and Calvin falls to the floor, holding his wound. 

 [Name] lets out a scream of terror, dropping to her knees and holding her brother. Tears freely rolled down her cheeks, fearing she'd lose her brother and she noticed something move towards her. She looked up, Commander Reen standing above her once more with the most malicious smirk on his lips. 

 "One less thing to worry about," Commander Reen remarked, showing his pearly whites. 

 [Name] glared up at Commander Reen through her tears. "How dare you!" 

 [Name] let out a scream, holding her brother's head in her arms and slouching over him, crying loudly. She wasn't ready to lose another family member. Her only family member left. She wants to be able to spend more time with her brother. She wants to be able to talk to her brother again. She wants to be able to argue with her brother like siblings do.

 [Name]'s pent up anger, frustration, and sadness swelled in [Name] to the point she needed to release. She lets out another scream, the cruiser shaking and a bright light engulfs [Name] and her brother, filling up the halls and almost every place on the cruiser. She cried loudly, her brother gazing up at her with wide eyes and he grabs her hand, squeezing it softly. 

 When the light is gone, Commander Reen stares at [Name] with a shock of amazement. [Name] is still crying over her brother and he smiles up at her. [Name] and Calvin could hear a few explosions within the ships and [Name] stood up, helping her brother stand up. She must hurry before the cruiser explodes and Commander Reen is left standing there, watching the two walk away.

 [Name] looks over her shoulder, directing her glare at the Commander Reen and his eyes widen. He noticed the pastel purple sickle-shaped blemish underneath her eyes. Commander Reen's mouth is left agape, watching the two half human and half Altean siblings walk away from him. 

***

 "Coran? Allura?" [Name] called out, the tiredness obvious in her tone. "I'm on my way back." 

 "[Name], are you all right! We received your message and Lance is on his way right now," Coran said, the worry prominent in his voice. "Did you succeeded in your mission?" 

 [Name] looks to her brother who's sitting next to her. She has figured a way to stop his bleeding or at least slow it down for now. "Yes, I did, Coran. I'm sure you're going to be delighted about this news though."

 "What do you mean?" Coran asked.

 "Me and Calvin..." [Name] paused, looking away from her brother. She hears a Lion's roar and she knows that the Blue Lion is near, she smiles. "We're Altean."

Chapter Text

 [Name] and Calvin made it back to the Castle before Pidge could. Allura and the Paladins hurried [Name] and her brother into the medical pods, not wasting any time. [Name] and Calvin were exhausted, but Allura and Coran glanced at each other. Even the Paladins are concerned about [Name]'s condition as well.

 They've never seen her like this before and the scar has Lance worried. Allura and Coran will speak to [Name] and her brother about their Altean markings and simply ask them a few questions. Everyone knows they'll be fine once their in the medical pods, but the injury on [Name]'s eyelid will be a permanent scar.

---

 The medical pod opens and [Name] steps out, falling to the ground and she sits on her knees. She gazed at the floor, looking up to see Allura, Coran and the Paladins gazing at her with tears in their eyes and smiles. She let out a gasp when all of them grab her into a group hug and Hunk cries, rubbing the top of her head. 

 [Name] glances to the medical pod that Calvin is in and she lets out a sigh, knowing her brother is safe and he's okay. Coran, Allura, Hunk, Lance, and Shiro pull away from the hug and they give [Name] some space. Lance helps [Name] stand up and he holds onto her elbow, a hand behind her back to make sure she doesn't fall. 

 "How are you holding up?" Shiro questioned, gazing at [Name] in concern.

 "I'm happy," [Name] stated, looking to her brother. "I found him and he's going to be okay." 

 "We're glad you're okay," Lance stated, gazing at [Name] with a frown on his face. "We got your message last minute and I thought you were gone."

 [Name] smiles at Lance. "I'm okay now, Lance. You don't need to worry anymore." 

 "You must have went through a hard time," Allura said, pointing at her eye. [Name] touched her eyelid, feeling the scarred skin. "But how do you have the Altean markings? I thought you were human."

 "Cal told me that our mother was an Alchemist," [Name] explained, looking at Allura and Coran. "You're going to have to ask him about, but he'll be in there longer than I have. I don't even recall getting the markings at all, but Calvin had them before I did. He didn't have them when we were kids nor when he left for the Kerberos Mission."

 Allura embraces [Name], letting out a sigh of relief. "Though it's nice to know it's just not me and Coran the only Alteans left."

 "It is a bit odd to see a half Altean and half human," Coran added, looking at [Name] then his eyes flickering to Calvin. "It's rare! Probably more rare Keith's half Galra." 

 [Name] nodded her head. "Yeah."

 Allura pulled away from [Name] and [Name] looks over to Shiro. Her gaze is fixated on the scar that runs over the bridge of Shiro's nose and [Name] is curious to see how big her scar must be. She should look into a mirror, but she smiles and walked towards Shiro, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 "We're scar buddies," [Name] giggled, gesturing to her nose.

 Shiro smiled. "Seems like we are."

---

[Name] watched Coran get toppled over by the guests and she smiled. She had been zoning out on whenever Calvin would come out of the medical pod and she was just worrying about him. [Name] and the Paladins were waiting for Coran and he walks over to them, a black eye present on his features. 

 "Just right int there. They'll get you sported out," Coran stated.

 "Is that the last of them, Coran?" Allura questioned.

 "That's it," Coran answered. "A few hundred more souls looking for a new home."

 Shiro smiles. "A few hundred more soldiers in the fight against the Galra."

 [Name], Coran, and the Paladins heard a roar and they looked into the sky, seeing the Green Lion fly over. [Name] remembered that Pidge had also went looking for her brother and she hopes Pidge had luck on her side in the search of her brother. [Name] still does feel a little bad about how she treated Pidge before she left. 

 "Hey, Pidge is back," Hunk stated. 

 [Name] and the others run towards the Green Lion as it lands on the ground. The Green Lion lowers its mouth, the mice running towards the Green Lion. Pidge walks out and she crouches down, holding out her hand for the mice and [Name] noticed a person behind Pidge. The boy has the same color hair as Pidge, but longer and he's taller than Pidge too.

 She looks up with a smile. "Hey, everybody. This is my brother Matt."

 "Hey everybody," Matt said, walking forward.

 "Matt, this is Hunk, Lance and this is Princess Allura," Pidge introduced, gesturing to the others.

 "Hey."

 "Nice to meet you."

 "Pleasure."

 "Hello."

 Pidge places a hand on [Name]'s shoulder. "And this is [Name]. She's like our commanding officer." 

 [Name] waves at Matt, never recalling meeting Matt ever despite her brother must know him. She wonders if Calvin has ever talked about her, but he probably hasn't because Shiro was shocked to know that they're siblings.

 Matt lets out a gasp and he runs over to her, grabbing her hand as he places a hand on his chest dramatically. "Oh my gosh! You are so beautiful! It is my honor to meet you, [Name]." 

 [Name] chuckles nervously and she smiled, pulling her hand out of his grasp. Without [Name]'s knowledge, Lance is standing behind her and giving Matt the nastiest death glare ever. Matt looks from [Name] to Lance, looking a bit nervous himself.

 "Thank you for the compliment," [Name] stated.

 Matt notices that Shiro is behind [Name] and Lance. He stands up, looking nervous and he holds his hand out for Shiro. "It's so good to you, um, sir."

 "Pidge never gave up on finding you." Shiro grips Matt's hand and pulls him in for the broest bro hug ever. 

 Matt smiles, looking over his shoulder at Pidge. "Yeah, she can be pretty stubborn at times."

 "And I want you to know that all of us will help you find your father," Shiro confessed, looking at Pidge's brother. 

 "Thanks."

 "Did Cal make it?" Matt questioned, looking to Shiro.

 [Name] smiled. "He did. He's' healing up in the medical pod right now." 

 "They're siblings," Shiro stated, noticing Matt's confusion. "[Name] is Calvin's little sister."

 "Seriously?"

 "Matt, this is the Castle of Lions," Pidge informed, gesturing to the Castle. 

 "Whoa. Nice ship," Matt commented. 

 "Let me take you on a tour," Pidge said, grabbing Matt's hand and running off.