Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Well… that just happened.”

“I am so sorry.” Chip slumped back into the seat of the green lion. Since finding out he could fly it, Pidge had been working with him, getting him to practice more. They were out doing some training, checking in on some of the planets already helped. There was one problem though.

“It’s not your fault, Chip,” Pidge assured, “we just didn’t expect to come across a giant fire breathing space dragon.” She scrunched up her face a bit. “Figuring out how that thing breathed the fire at us in the vacuum of space, though… It kinda reminds me of a video game. But that was underwater.”

“How are you so calm? I just crashed Green! In what looks like a space junk yard!”

“Remember, I crashed her into an unstable and crumbling ravine just moments before I met you.”

“Oh yeah.” Chip tested the controls. “Green’s down… she’s not responding. I bet she hates me.”

“She did the same thing to me, too; she just needs to rest a bit.” Pidge informed. She got up from the back seat, Green having had it brought up for her while Chip was flying, and stretched. “Well, good news is that we were supposed to go through the wormhole. So when they see we didn’t come through, they’ll start trying to track Green to find us.” She moved to the back of the cockpit.

“Huh? Where are you going?” Chip inquired.

“To explore. Not like we can do much with Green resting.” Pidge shrugged and walked out, Kosmo teleporting after her.

Chip sighed. “This is why she keeps getting hurt.” he told Rover. He then got up and went after his sister, Rover following after him. They went outside, helmets secure. Due to whatever type of wolf he was, Kosmo was perfectly fine without any sort of helmet or protection. “It definitely looks like a junkyard...”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty cool. Look at all this amazing junk!” Pidge used her jetpack to get over to an area, picking up what looked like a computer monitor. “I bet a little cleaning, a bit of tweaking, some of this stuff could be functional.”

“Do you even have room for all of the stuff you can find?” Chip questioned, smirking a bit.

“I’m sure I could make room.” Pidge hummed. She stopped and looked when something caught her attention. It looked like two glowing eyes. “Whoa!” She jumped back and brought out the small, handgun-like blaster she had, leaving her bayard with Chip during his training. “Who’s there?” More of the glowing eyes appeared. Kosmo was at her side, snarling.

“Maybe they’re friendly?” Chip suggested, sounding rather hopeful.

The eyes drew closer. Then they showed that they weren’t eyes at all. They were glowing marks on what appeared to be fuzzy, pastel coloured space creatures. Caterpillars? It was hard to really know.

“Oh! Look at these guys!” Pidge grinned as they drifted over towards them. Kosmo had stopped growling and sniffed at one of the caterpillars as it went to her. “Aw, look how cute these little guys are.”

“Wow, these glowing marks looked like aggressive eyes at first.” Chip chuckled. “I guess it’s part of their evolution to ward predators off.” He chuckled when some nuzzled against him, one even against his helmet.

“I think they’re pretty harmless. And Kosmo stopped growling, so that’s a good sign.” Pidge added.

Kosmo sniffed at a green caterpillar, the creature seeming to study him. He then licked its face, its already wide-eyed gaze looking rather stunned and confused by what just happened.

“Sorry if we disturbed you guys with the crash.” Pidge told the caterpillars. “Kinda had a bad hit as we entered a wormhole. Now we’re just waiting on our ship to power back up, then we’ll be on our way.” She giggled when the creatures nuzzled her more. “Aw! You guys are just too cute! I wanna take you back with me!”

“More pets?” Chip looked stunned. “You already have Kosmo, Rover, Kaltenecker, those pentapuses, I swear even the mice are yours in part, then there’s Kova who is fond of you whenever Lotor and his team are around, you can’t possibly need more, can you?”

“You can never have too many companions.” Pidge hummed. “Anyway! I’ll figure it out later. For now, I want to explore.” She then bounded off, wanting to look around.

“I swear you’re a kleptomaniac.” Chip sighed as he followed his sister. The caterpillars were also following them, seeming curious about what they were up to.

Pidge led the way around the trash heaps. She stopped when she saw an old Galran battleship. “Whoa!”

“Holy crow!” Chip yelped. “Okay, back to the lion. Hey!” Pidge pulled him back by his belt. “What’s the big idea? It’s an empire ship!”

“Look at it; it’s old and covered in rust. Judging by its appearance, it’s been out here for a long time. And looking at old files Ulaz was able to share with me for my studies, that style of ship hadn’t been used in a couple of centuries.” Pidge explained. “Let’s go explore it!”

“I know this cartoon.” Chip stated. “Exploring old ships is a bad idea. It’s probably booby-trapped, we’ll trip over a wire and get trapped and trigger a signal, then next thing you know this moody teen shows up thinking he’s looking for an all-powerful old man-”

“Dude, that’s just a cartoon.”

“Says the klepto who actually found pentapusses!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. She then bounded off, heading to the ship with a blown out side. She got in through the massive hole and looked around. Seeing the ship like that, it was amazing. “Wow! Look how beautiful it is!”

“Pidge, I like ships and technology as much as the next person but… it feels like you’re the one truly amazed by junk.” As worried as he was, Chip was amused by his sister’s excitement. “This thing could hardly even be used as scrap. At best, it’s a shelter for critters like these guys.”

“There was an old scrapyard I liked to go to when I was in elementary school; looking at old cars and tech, seeing what I could work with, it was amazing.” Pidge informed. She made her way further into the ship, stopping when she noticed that it progressively got better. “This part looks less affected by whatever conditions affected the rest...”

“It could be because it’s more protected and inside.” Chip rationalized. He jumped when he heard creaking. “Just an old ship. Just an old ship. Just an old ship.” More creaking. “Okay, it’s just an old ship, it’s not haunted. Ghosts aren’t real.” He did his best to be rational about the situation.

“Hmm, normally I would agree with that, but given the fact that Kosmo can breathe fine out here and we got blasted by a space dragon who could breathe fire in the vacuum...” Pidge wasn’t as bothered as Chip. Yet. While she didn’t think it was haunted, there was no telling what was lurking. However, a deep rumbling noise caught her attention and made her scoot closer to her brother. “Ghosts, maybe not. Space monsters...”

“Children.” Pidge and Chip both screamed at the eerie voice behind them. Terrified, Chip jumped up into Pidge’s arms. Pidge spun around to see who was there, only to be met with jovial cackling. “Ha ha! Oh stars that was the most fun I’ve had in years!” The twins looked to see that they were in the company of an older looking alien with bluish skin seen around her eyes and past her face mask.

“Um… hi?” Pidge gave a nervous smile.

“Oh, I love visitors. These guys don’t scare easy, but others?” The old woman pet some of the caterpillars. “Oh, and who is this?” She pet Kosmo, the wolf cautious at first before wagging his tail.

“Who are you?” Chip asked, getting down from Pidge’s arms.

“Oh, just call me Granny.” the alien hummed. “Hmm, I could have sworn you were Alteans at first. But You lack the marks.”

“Um… no. We’re Earthlings… wait!” Chip was alerted. “You know about Alteans?” He looked to see Granny shuffle off. “Can you tell us where you saw them? Or heard of them from?”

“Come, come with Granny.” the alien called, shuffling through the corridor of the battleship. She led the way to another section, one that was sealed off. Once they entered, it sealed itself, saying that the environment was stable in several different languages, one of which Pidge recognized as Galran thanks to the Blade of Marmora members; even spoken English was there.

“Whoa, you turned part of the battleship into a home.” Pidge removed her helmet since it was safe. She watched as Granny did the same, the tendrils on her head looking like dark blue dreadlocks. “You thought we were Alteans...”

Granny went over to Pidge, motioning for her to go closer since she was shorter than the twins with her hunched posture. “Let me get a look at you.” Granny hummed, looking Pidge over. “Oh, pretty eyes. Your ears are rounder than those of Alteans. No markings.” She gave a toothy smile. “Yes, yes, I’ve seen Alteans. It’s been a couple of centuries, though.”

“Centuries? Not a thousand years?” Chip asked.

Granny went over to a kitchenette, checking on a kettle before pouring it into some cups. “Here, some tea to warm you. I’ll get some water for your friend.” She got a dish of water for Kosmo to drink. “Goodness, Granny’s old, but not that old. I’ve seen some here and there for the past six centuries, but the most recent was two centuries ago.”

“That means they aren’t all gone!” Pidge got excited. “I can’t wait to tell Allura and Coran!” She looked hopeful. “Do you remember where you saw them?”

“During my travels. They were nomadic at the time, looking for a safe home.” Granny stated. “Odds are they aren’t there anymore. But I can mark on a map where I saw them, perhaps there are clues.” She smiled softly. “Allura and Coran… so you know Alteans?”

“Yeah, they’re our friends.” Chip informed. “They’ve been asleep for a thousand years, stuck in stasis. But they’re alive, well, and sad about the lost of Altea; they’ve been hopeful that there are still Alteans.” He sipped on the drink, smiling at the fruity flavour. “Mm, that’s good!”

“Ah, to know you know some, that warms my heart.” Granny nodded. She set her drink down and went to a storage box. She rummaged through it until she brought out a sack. She returned to the twins and dumped the bag’s contents onto the coffee table she had, showing crystals with a sort of flower imprisoned in each of them.

“Whoa, these are juniberries.” Pidge picked one up, seeing the flower.

“You know of them?” Granny questioned.

“Allura used to simulate them on the holodeck. She said they used to grow on Altea, that they were the planet’s identity flower.” Pidge explained.

“Yes. When I met Alteans about some centuries back, give or take some deca-phoebs, one had a bunch of these, having them saved as markers of hope. She gave me a bunch to share with other Alteans if I ever come across more, which I did.” Granny explained. “Please, take some. Keep some to show other Alteans if you meet them, show them you’re a friend, and to give to the two you know, to strengthen their hope.” She shoved a bunch closer to the two. “Please, please.”

“Are you sure?” Chip asked. He took a crystal and examined it; it was beautiful.

“I won’t be around forever, who knows when I’ll meet more.” Granny admitted. “Besides, I’m done traveling. I just want to live here in my ship, visited by some friends.” She smiled when some of the caterpillars nuzzled her. “It’s time to just rest. But you children seem more active out there.”

“We’ll make sure Allura and Coran get these, and when we find more Alteans, we’ll share with them, too.” Pidge assured.

“Good, good.” Granny nodded. “Now then, while you rest and drink your tea, how about you tell me about your journeys? You’re travelers, I assume. I bet you have tales to tell.”

“A lot of stories, that’s for sure.” Pidge chuckled. She and Chip settled in, happily telling Granny about what they do, their missions, their adventures. The older alien was definitely entertained and enjoyed their company.

Pidge and Chip spent a few hours with Granny, happy to spend time with her. When it came to check on Green, pleased to find she was back online, they had to get ready to leave. They offered for Granny to join them, to meet their team, but she was content to stay with the caterpillars, amused that some even left to join the twins.

When they got back to the castle, the others were happy to see the twins were fine. Ulaz, though, was quick to check Pidge over.

“No injuries?” Ulaz questioned. “You didn’t get any strange sicknesses? Stick out your tongue.” He squished Pidge’s face. “Can you feel your toes? Do you feel dizzy? Is there any ringing in your ears?”

“Ulaz, she’s fine, she’s not hurt.” Chip chuckled. “Though we crashed, we did well. We weren’t even hurt by that dragon that botched our wormhole attempt.”

“A dragon!?” Aki yelped, rather startled to hear that there was a dragon. Surely that was an exaggeration, right? Then again, given all the strange creatures out there, it was probable.

“Oh, those are still around?” Coran asked, looking more amazed. His statement was proof to those who didn’t witness it figure that it definitely wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Anyway, we crashed in this trash nebula. Pidge got more pets.” Chip motioned to the caterpillars that were drifting around the green lion’s hanger, some even settling on Kosmo’s back.

“Figures.” Colleen smirked.

“And we met this woman, Granny.” Chip smiled. “She saw Alteans two centuries ago!”

“She what?” Allura and Coran were astonished.

“Yeah.” Chip brought out some of the crystals he was given, handing them over to the Alteans. “She had these as signs of hope to give to Alteans. But she saw them as few as two hundred years ago. That means there’s a chance.”

Allura took the crystals, smiling when she saw them. “There really is hope.” She nearly started crying before handing them over to Coran. She then hugged Chip. “Thank you for bringing these back.”

“Granny wanted us to.” Chip said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t convince her to come with us. She’s really wonderful, though.”

“I’m sure she was. I’m glad you two-” Kosmo huffed and Rover beeped, “-four got to meet her.” Allura smiled as she let go of Chip. “I always hoped we weren’t the last, and now that hope is stronger.” She accepted a crystal from Coran, looking it over. It was beautiful, a real juniberry sealed away. “A piece of home… and a stronger hope. One day, we’ll find those Alteans, I’m sure of it.”

Chapter Text

Lance sighed. No one would say it, but he was certain the mission was his fault. Sure, they succeeded in the end, but at what cost? He wasn’t paying attention and they nearly got taken down. In the end, Hunk, Krik, Modoch, and Hutch ended up in healing pods, all badly injured.

All injured because Lance couldn’t get himself to focus on his surroundings and keep watch over the others on the mission. All he could do was focus on Pidge, constantly watch her back as she worked. If he had done his job right, he would have seen the sentries slip in and stage a counter attack. Had he done his job right, he would have been able to shoot down most of the sentries while giving the others a heads up.

But he didn’t. He failed. All because he was distracted by Pidge.

But he would never blame Pidge. It wasn’t her fault that he had a massive crush on her. And sure, she reciprocated those feelings, though she refused to date him for a couple of valid reasons, but it wasn’t her fault. And though she had the same feelings, she didn’t even let herself get distracted. She was aware of her surroundings, though her mother often teased that it was just because she was always paranoid.

But it wasn’t Pidge’s fault that the others got hurt out there.

If anything, she was the one who helped get things back in order, going after the sentries without missing a beat while she had Kosmo take the others to safety. She was able to hold out until the other members of the teams were able to reach her location.

“Lance?” Colleen walked into the observatory to see Lance sitting and watching the stars. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi, Professor.” Lance mumbled. Colleen went over and sat beside him. “I messed up...”

“You made a mistake and you recognize that.”

“But I could have gotten the others killed...”

“And they weren’t.” Colleen reminded. “No one is blaming you.”

“Out loud...”

“At all.”

“Well… I blame me.”

Colleen put an arm around Lance and hugged him. He may not have been her child, but she was still caring towards him. “The others are out of the pods. They’re doing fine now.”

“That’s good.” Lance nodded. “This is a mess… I just… I don’t mean to get distracted but...”

“You’re in love with my daughter.” Colleen reminded. “It’s easy to get distracted, especially with her track record of getting hurt. You’re hardly the first to get distracted.” Lance gave her a look. “When Sam and I were cadets, we had this massive exam coming up. I’ll admit, I never got first rank in exams thanks to him. But… he got distracted. Ended up as seventh rank while I got first. Because he was distracted by me and worried since I had a cold and still pressed on.”

“Yeah, but an exam isn’t life or death, war is.” Lance pointed out.

“My point is, people get distracted when they’re in love.”

“Not Pidge...”

“Pidge’s mind is different.” Colleen kissed the side of Lance’s head as she hugged him. “It’ll be fine. You just need to grow and learn from this.”

“I can… try… if the others will even continue letting me.” Lance mumbled. “I know I’m the red paladin now, but… if this keeps happening, who knows… maybe they will look for a replacement. Or when Shiro’s found, they’ll insist I step down so Keith’s back in Red and Shiro’s in Black...”

“You worry too much.” Colleen stated. “You’re just like my daughter.” She smiled. “Don’t fret too much. It’ll all work out.”

“How do you know?”

“A mother’s intuition.”

“You sure about this?” Keith asked. “This plan...”

“It’s literally the best we’ve got so that he has a chance to adapt, learn, and overcome.” Pidge stated. “Besides, it’s not like we’re jeopardizing the teams like this. And it’s also the perfect opportunity to go out and work on this line of occupied planets.” She showed a highlighted section of the star map, showing several galaxies.

“And you’re okay with this, too, Chip?” Aki looked to the Air team member.

“I’m nervous, actually. But… I think it’s our best shot.” Chip admitted. “Plus, it’d be a good learning experience for Pidge and me, too.”

“See?” Pidge motioned to her twin.

“What do you think, Keith?” Aki asked.

“Looks like we’re calling a meeting.” Keith nodded. “I know this is your choice to make, but the team should be informed as soon as possible.”

“Of course.” Pidge nodded. “We just wanted you guys to know first since you’re the leaders.”

“I wanted you to know first, Pidge was ready to say screw it and switch places without any notice.” Chip stated.

“Would’ve been more amusing to see the shock on Aki’s face, the frustration on Cliff’s, and Krik trying to get the situation calm.” The green paladin had that mischievous green on her face.

“Now I get why Shiro had white hair starting.” Aki sighed.

“His hair was white before he met me!”

“You know that, I know that,” Keith sighed, “Hunk and Lance know that… but there is no other proof.” He smirked a bit, showing he was playing around. “Anyway, let’s get this meeting called.”

When the news of the transfers were given, it was to be expected that the others were in shock. They had not expected it, especially Lance.

“Dude!” the red paladin glared at Keith. “I get it, I screwed up, but this doesn’t give you the right to just change around the teams like this!”

Keith huffed a bit. “Blame me all you like, but I’m not the one behind this idea. You have a problem, take it up with them.” He motioned to Pidge and Chip.

“What?” Lance blinked.

“It honestly may be for the best, Lance.” Pidge stated. “It’d be good to split up. And like this, you guys can still easily form Voltron since Chip is able to pilot Green and form Voltron with you all.”

“But Pidge...”

“Don’t but Pidge me.” Pidge snapped. “Look, Chip and I’ve already decides. Besides… you need to learn that you can’t always protect me. It’s endearing, yes, but you’re going to get yourself hurt if you’re not careful.” She wasn’t going to mention that he got others hurt because of it, she knew he was already beating himself up over the last mission. “Besides, this is actually a good learning opportunity for most, if not all, of us. Chip and I can have experience working with other teams and you guys get the chance to work with someone new for a while.” Lance sighed. Pidge made some good points and he knew he couldn’t argue with that. He also knew that even if he could, it was best not to since Pidge was stubborn as could be.

“So… for how long?” Hunk asked. “This isn’t permanent, right? I mean, no offense to Chip, but we’re gonna miss Pidge...”

“None taken.” Chip chuckled. “I’ll be missing my team, too.”

“Aw! We’ll definitely miss you.” Ginger hugged Chip. “We’ll enjoy having an extra girl among us, but we’ll miss you lots.”

Pidge grinned. They definitely had their places among their teams. “It’s definitely not a permanent thing.” she stated. “It may be a couple of months, though.” She brought up the star map of the sector they would be working with soon. “This was the next plan. We were already planning to split off and start on different sides, working along this line until the middle.” She highlighted a certain section. “This would cut off other military bases from supply runs and make it easier to liberate more planets in this sector. When we meet in the middle, we can see how well things are going and then play musical twins again and switch us back.”

Hawkins was observing the data and plan. “While it could take a bit of adjusting, it doesn’t really put anyone out.” he stated. “And you’re certain you two want to do this?” The twins look to each other before nodding. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’m all for it. Princess?” Though a paladin herself and not the leader, Allura still had some say since she was a part of bringing the team together and it was her castle.

“It could prove beneficial.” Allura admitted. “Though Pidge, do everyone a favour? Don’t go adopting every creature you find while away?”

Pidge snorted. “I make no promises.” she hummed.

With that, the plan was in motion. They would work on getting belongings transferred so that Pidge and Chip could comfortably live on the other ships. The next day, they planned on splitting off.

“Goodness, you wanted me to travel in the castle and when I finally decide to, you two decide to switch places.” Colleen chuckled as she sat down with the kids. She had already decided that Chip would be her child and she happily accepted Matt, too.

“Don’t worry, Mom, think of this as an opportunity to get to know your son more.” Pidge reminded.

“Oh, Mom time sounds nice.” Chip chuckled. “You’re still going to be on the Arcadia, right, Matt?”

“Yeah, I’m enjoying working from there.” Matt stated. “And this way I can make sure Pidge doesn’t get herself hurt.”

“Oh c’mon, I’m not that bad.” Pidge whined.

“I raised her, and I know that’s a lie.” Colleen informed. “She always got hurt. She just attracts danger.” She smiled. “But, she grew up happy and adventurous.” She looked to Kosmo when he put his head up on the table, sniffing for treats that Pidge shared with him. “I’m guessing Kosmo and Rover are going with you?”

“Probably. I mean, Rover’s my buddy and Kosmo really likes me. Don’cha, boy?” Pidge ruffled his fur a bit. “Sorry for taking them, Chip.”

“It’s no worries.” Chip chuckled, not minding one bit. After all, Rover was Pidge’s first and she was the one who found Kosmo; she held a different bond with them. “You guys just be sure to look after her, okay?” Kosmo huffed as he nodded, understanding that mission, and Rover beeped a chipper tune. They would definitely have Pidge’s back.

Pidge looked to the shell she had found, remembering that day. She had met Kosmo in that cave where the stones glowed upon the rocky walls. The shell had stood out to her, its colour a beautiful shade of blue. It reminded her of Lance’s eyes, but with a glow since his eyes weren’t illuminated. “I never did get the chance to give this to Lance.” she told Kosmo as he laid on Pidge’s bed, chewing on a stuffed toy Lance made for him. “What do you think, buddy? Think I should before I depart?”

Kosmo lifted his head, a small whine emanating from him. He then disappeared, reappearing by the door. “Yeah, I’ll take that as a yes.” she said as she got up. She left with Kosmo. “Okay, buddy, sniff him out, will you?” Kosmo made a huffing noise before walking ahead of her, sniffing around to find Lance’s scent. He led her to where Kaltenecker was, the red paladin getting her some fresh grass and making sure she was okay for the night.

“Looks like we’re both good with animals.” Pidge hummed.

“Huh? Oh! Pidge!” Lance yelped, jumping in surprise. “Um… Kaltenecker is...”

“She’ll be staying here; she seems content in the castle and you know more about caring for a cow than I do.”

“Yeah, but you’d be able to learn easily knowing you.” Lance looked away, trying to hide his blush. “So um… we part ways tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah. But it’s only temporary.” Pidge reminded. “Hey, I have something for you.”

“Hmm?” Lance looked back over and saw Pidge holding out the shell. He was able to tell it was glowing, even in the well lit room. “It’s pretty.”

“I found it on the planet where I met Kosmo.” Pidge stated, handing it over to Lance. “It felt like something I thought you’d like. And it reminded me of your eyes.”

Lance flushed, his cheeks a deep red. “I… I don’t...” He smiled softly. “Thanks, Pidge.” He held it close. “It’s really nice.” He chuckled. He held it close. She thought of him when she found it? It made him feel blessed. “Thank you.”

Pidge smiled. “I’m glad you like it.” she said. “Anyway, I should finish up with getting ready. And make sure there are notes left on caring for my pentapuses and my room is tidy.” She went to turn away, but stopped. She had a small plan in mind. She then turned back and grabbed Lance by the shirt, catching him by surprise.

Lance didn’t expect to be pulled down so his face was down by Pidge’s. More than that, he was stunned to feel her kiss his cheek. She was the one who said she wouldn’t date him yet. But there she was, leaving a gentle kiss on his cheek. She then pulled back. “You just...”

“Try not to think much of it.” Pidge mumbled. “Anyway, good night, Lance.” She then took off running out of the room, Kosmo following after her.

Lance watched in shock. He then smiled and leaned against Kaltenecker. “She kissed me. She actually kissed me.”

Pidge had donned the uniform of the Air team of DaiRugger while Chip was sporting the green paladin armour. It was the day they would part ways with different teams. With her, Pidge had the standard energy pistol used by the teams, but also a staff she decided to carry around, wanting something to bludgeon someone with if needed; Allura had given her a sturdier one from the armory as opposed to letting her go off with her collapsible one. She then held out the bayard. “Well, it’s yours now.”

“Hooboy.” Chip sighed as he accepted the weapon. He let it settle in his hand before activating it, getting it to change into a small, pistol-like gun, something he was used to.

“Aw, yours is cute and little, too.” Lance cooed.

Chip scowled before the bayard shifted again, this time taking on a staff appearance; ah, leave it to the siblings to have staffs. He then used it to trip Lance and knock him down, making him yelp. “Yeah. It is cute.” he hummed.

“You two are definitely related!” Lance groaned.

“Well, this is it.” Pidge said. “See you guys soon.” She went to hug those working in the Castle of Lions, Thace and Ulaz included; Ulaz was put out that Pidge was leaving the castle for a bit, but he knew it was for the best. He was tempted to transfer, having taken a shine to the girl as though she was his kid, but he was sure she would be fine on the Arcadia.

As Pidge bid her farewells, Chip did the same with the rest of the vehicle team, especially the air team since he was closest to them. “I’ll miss you guys.” he said.

“It won’t be forever, buddy.” Rocky assured.

Pidge and Chip gave each other a final hug. With that done, they parted way, the teams separating. Allura opened up a wormhole to send the Arcadia to their starting point.

The change in the Voltron forces had been made.

Chapter Text

Chip sighed as he sat on the bed. He had his own room in the castle, leaving Pidge’s disaster zone to wait for her; in his new room, the caterpillars from the trash nebula decided to stay with him. He looked to his knee, seeing three of the four mice there. “Okay, first official day, huh?” he asked. “What if… what if I mess up? What if the team can’t do well with me… or we can’t form Voltron anymore?”

Chuchule rested her paws on his hand and squeaked at him, trying to reassure him. He smiled softly. “I can’t understand you, but I assume you’re trying to comfort me. And it’s helping.” he said. He then nodded and moved the mice up to his shoulder. “Okay, let’s get this started.” He left his room, heading up to the bridge to meet with the others. When he arrived, he wasn’t too surprised to see Hawkins on the screen. A little more surprising was Pidge right next to him; due to how she came up to him in height, she was standing on something. Simultaneously more surprising yet not at all, she had one of the mice nestled in her hair. Chulatt.

“Well, I’m glad Chulatt is fine. Though really, sneaking off to stay with Pidge.” Allura sighed. The mouse squeaked and nestled in further. “Well, as long as he’s safe. If anything, he’ll help in keeping an eye on Pidge.”

“Yeah, we were surprised, too.” Hawkins admitted. “I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry so much.”

“And for that, I thank you.” Allura nodded. “We’ll keep in touch.”

“Of course, Princess.” Hawkins confirmed. With a small farewell, communications were cut.

“Huh, so that’s why only three were with me.” Chip chuckled. “They may be your mice, Princess, but they’re definitely fond of Pidge, especially Chulatt.”

“Next to Allura, they get along with Pidge the most.” Lance responded.

“Well, on any given quintant, we can trust the mice to look after; I’m sure Chullat, though without the others, will keep that up.” Allura couldn’t help but laugh, amused. She then smiled at Chip. “Now then, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. So let’s get to work and start getting planets liberated and bases taken down.”

They went straight to work, helping the nearest planet who was facing empire occupation. Though Chip had his concerns, he did rather well flying the green lion and forming Voltron; it helped that the others were doing their part in reassuring him, giving advice and suggestions when needed, helping to instill confidence, and being patient, especially since they all knew what it was like to be new to piloting the lions and Lance and Keith even changed to different lions and had to re-learn everything.

But they managed. While it was overwhelming for Chip to be a paladin, he got the hang of things, helping out to the best of his ability. And it didn’t take too long for the planet to be saved and the enemy to be dealt with. When done, he went with Thace to the command station, checking on data.

“Hmm? Peculiar...” Thace mumbled.

“What is it?” Chip asked. He checked the monitor, but he couldn’t read the Galran writing or data. One thing he could recognize, though, was an image of a ship; it didn’t look Galran, though. “Wait… a ship? Um… now I don’t know too much on the different styles, but that looks less Galran… and more Altean.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Thace nodded. “It’s been picked up by their radar… but we’re not picking up anything further on it.” He decided to call it in to Coran, wanting the Altean to check further with the castle’s sensors and even try to contact them; if there were anyone on board, they would respond better to an Altean vessel than a Galran base.

There was no response and Coran was able to collect more data on the vessel. With an Altean ship within reach and no response to be had, Allura set off with the other paladins, heading towards its location. As they went, Coran gave them the data.

“Looks like the ship itself is older, around a thousand deca-phoebs.” Coran reported. With that knowledge, the odds of others still there weren’t likely. “I’m not picking up on any activity around it, Galran or otherwise… Ah! It’s one of the fighter ships. But I can’t find anything on their mission from here.”

“Fighter?” Hunk questioned. “I thought the Alteans were peaceful.”

“They are.” Allura assured. “But we also had fighter ships. Sometimes they were needed to defend other ships, especially from attacking pirates. They would accompany many other ships, not just Altean ones. Commonly, they accompanied passenger ships and ships with precious cargo, such as needed supplies like food and medicine.”

“Sounds like a good reason to have fighters; though peaceful, you need defensive measures.” Chip chimed in. “It’s easy to be attacked and while not fully on the offensive, you need to be able to defend. Even if you say you’re on a peaceful mission, not everyone respects that.”

“Exactly.” Allura nodded, appreciative of Chip’s quick understanding.

“Well, look alive, team, we’re nearing its location.” Keith informed.

The ship was damaged, but it wasn’t too badly destroyed; it was still held together at the hull. It was definitely larger than the Galran fighter jets, but smaller than the battleships. With them unable to establish any possible communications, they set off, going to check out the ship.

Chip looked around when inside. The ship had definitely seen better days though it held up well since it seemed to go offline. Altean technology was remarkable since it didn’t look rusted save for where some of the more extensive damage was. As they went about, hoping to get up to the bridge or find any evidence of what happened, it creaked.

“Oh man!” Hunk ducked behind Keith. “Is this ship haunted? It seems like a haunted ship. I really don’t want to find any ghosts!”

“Please don’t say that, Hunk; I don’t want us to be jinxed.” Lance whined as he shuddered. Spooky ships? That was mostly fine, he liked some spooky things, like scare houses made for Halloween. But a literal haunted place with actual ghosts? Count him out.

“When Pidge and I were at a creepy ship back in that trash nebula, I was worried about it being haunted. But it wasn’t, just occupied by critters and an alien who made it her home.” Chip explained. “I’m pretty sure there aren’t ghosts here. Actually, at this point, I’m sure they don’t even exist.”

“I don’t know, Ulaz once told me a story of his younger days when he had first infiltrated the empire as a medical officer. He couldn’t fully explain it himself, but he was sure he saw a ghost of a fallen lieutenant.” Keith stated.

“I don’t think you’re helping much.” Chip told the leader as he went on ahead, hearing Lance and Hunk whine a bit. He came to an abrupt stop when a transparent figure appeared before him. He let out a high pitched scream as he scooted back. Just when he thought they didn’t exist.

“GHOST!” Lance and Hunk cried out, Hunk getting up into Lance’s arms with ease thanks to the artificial gravity generator being offline.

“Actually, she’s a hologram!” Allura assured the boys as she went over. “You okay, Chip?”

“I was just caught by surprise.” Chip tried to justify his scream as he rested his hand to his chest. “Phew!”

“State your name and business.” came the distorted voice from the hologram as she flickered. “State your name and business.”

“My name is Princess Allura, daughter of Queen Melenor and King Alfor; I want to know what happened here.” Allura informed.

The hologram, though still flickering, was still for a moment. “Welcome, Princess Allur-zzt.” She fizzled out. After so long and the damage, it was no surprise that the hologram struggled to continue to show. The lights then started to turn on in certain halls, seeming to lead them. It reminded Hunk, Lance, and Keith of when they first arrived at the castle, though this time the lights flickered, showing its damage in comparison to the castle’s pristine condition despite it being the same amount of time for both.

“Looks like we’re going that way.” Chip declared.

“You and Pidge really are related.” Hunk stated, looking a little suspicious of Chip. “You guys enter an old Altean ship thing and the first thing you decide when the lights come on is to follow them.”

“Well, how else are we going to get answers?” Chip countered.

“Pidge wanted answers, too!” Hunk yelped.

“Hunk, take a breath; I’m sure it’s okay.” Allura assured her fellow paladin. “Anyway, I agree about following; the answers are probably further in.” She led the way through the halls, reaching a location that seemed to be the bridge. In the middle of it from the pilot’s station, much like where Allura often stood on the castle’s bridge, the hologram appeared again; she still flickered, but she seemed more stable.

“This is a pre-recorded message; queries and responses will be limited.” the hologram announced. She flickered more before coming into view again, showing to be a bit more worn out and even injured some. “This is General Vriyler of Caul-Egis Five.” she reported. “We won’t be able to make it to our destination. Commodore Trayling has requested our assistance, but before we could get there, we found ourselves under attack. I managed to get much of my crew evacuated, but...” She grunted as she went down on one knee, holding her side that, even in the hologram, was visibly bleeding. “We took heavy fire from the Galra… we did our best to fight them off, but they met us with full for-” She stopped and looked up in horror as another holographic figure stepped into view.

Sendak.

Or at least they assumed that was Sendak. He wasn’t sporting the mechanical eye or arm yet, definitely giving insight to how long ago the event took place.

“So, this is where you were hiding.” Sendak snarled. “You didn’t get very far.” The hologram showed him reaching and grabbing Vriyler by the throat, lifting her off the floor. She did her best to kick and get herself away, but his grip didn’t relinquish. “Now tell me, what was this important mission, hmm? We intercepted your transmission; Trayling has requested your assistance.”

“Screw… you… you quizna-!” She gave a choked cry when he squeezed her throat more.

“Access the logs; we’ll find out what they’re hiding.” Sendak ordered someone that the hologram didn’t pick up on. It did pick up on something else, though. Vriyler let one of her arms drop. And to a small sidearm on her person. Though in pain and on the verge of death, she still had some fight left in her; she decided to draw the weapon and shoot at Sendak, catching him in the eye. Sendak shouted in pain as he chucked her to the side. He swore at her, but soon the hologram dissipated.

The transmission was over.

Allura and the others stared in shock. There was a lot to take in. “Please, General Vriyler, what was your mission? Why did Commodore Trayling need your help? Was he taken over, too? General!” She hoped that the hologram would return and answer her questions, but there was nothing.

“Sorry, Princess.” Keith sighed. “It doesn’t look like we’re getting answers that easily...”

“But we can still get answers.” Allura nodded. “We need to get the data from the ship; Coran and I should be able to sift through it.”

“Assuming it’s not been destroyed or corrupted after all the years.” Chip informed, plugging in his gauntlet to the ship’s console. “It may need piecing together and cleaning up, some data may even be at risk of forever missing, but if there’s anything there, it’ll be found.”

“That’s good to know.” Allura nodded.

Chip worked, nodding when he got the data finally pulled. “Okay, that’s all of it.” he said. He looked around when the lights dimmed before going out.

“Looks like the ship has no more power.” Lance pointed out. “Which I’m surprised it had any after all this time.”

“It was probably enough of a trickle that was on reserve.” Hunk suggested.

“That seems right.” Allura nodded. She sighed. “I had hoped we’d find Alteans still using this ship but...”

“There’s a chance we’ll find some on our journey.” Keith assured. “C’mon, we should get going and return to the castle.”

Allura nodded. “Right.”

Chip followed behind the others as they left the bridge. He stopped and looked back when a slight glow caught his attention. He wondered if a light was trying to turn back on, but he realized that wasn’t the case. He looked to see a blue translucent figure of Vriyler standing there. She offered a gentle smile before disappearing.

“Holy shit… ghosts do exist?” Chip was left stunned.

“Chip! Hey! Let’s go!” Hunk called, pulling the green paladin from his stupor.

“Huh? Oh! Right! On my way!” Chip went and caught up to the others.

“What’s up? What had you distracted?” Lance asked.

“Huh? Oh, just admiring the craftsmanship.” Chip responded, deciding to keep the detail about the ghost of the general to himself, especially from Hunk and Lance who were already on edge about a haunted ship.

Chapter Text

“There isn’t much available data on the planet. There’s no sign that it’s been taken over exactly and no military establishments, but there are definitely Galra.” a Blade informed Hawkins. “There’s a chance that it could be a civilian planet, but...”

“So they very well could not be the enemy.” Hawkins nodded. He had an understanding and acceptance that not all Galra were bad; he gladly even worked alongside the Blade of Marmora agents aboard the Arcadia. “Captain, any word yet?”

“No, they aren’t responding to any attempts at communication.” Olia informed. “They could just be on guard, though, and not sure if we’re planning on harming them or not.”

“There’s also the probability that, if they are civilians, they may not actually be utilizing the tech to communicate with others, cut off from anyone and everyone in the universe.” the Blade suggested. “There are many possibilities with this.”

“That’s right.” Hawkins nodded. “But we shouldn’t give up; we need to know more.”

“We could scramble the team.” Olia pointed out. “Have them do a check on the surface and try to make contact.” She looked back at the commander. “Though they may also attack back, even if they are civilians, perceiving the team to be a threat.”

“If that happens, the others can retreat, show a sign of good faith that we have no intentions on actually fighting.” Hawkins nodded, liking the plan thus far.

It was a simple mission, really, especially to figure out what was going on on that planet and establish communications. At least until Marvin’s ship started malfunctioning. Pidge figured she could help out, having had experience working with different ships. She ended up landing on the ground with Marvin, Hutch, Modoch, and Ginger, the air and land teams splitting up a bit.

“I don’t see why my work didn’t go well; I was only sprucing her up the other day.” Marvin admitted.

“And you didn’t think to ask any of the Olkari for help?” Pidge asked, checking out the vehicle.

“Well, I also studied to be an engineer back at the Garrison and I’ve worked with plenty of Garrison ships.”

“News flash, Marvin, this isn’t just a Garrison ship anymore.” Pidge sighed. She couldn’t help but chuckle, though. Marvin seemed to enjoy getting hands on with his vehicle. “Okay, well, good news is it may not be your fault. Bad news? My hands aren’t small enough to get in there to fix the damage. It’s minor, but if left too long, it can get worse.”

“So we should get it back to the Arcadia?” Modoch inquired.

Pidge looked to see Chulatt pointing to himself. “Maybe not.” She nodded. “Okay, buddy, let’s get this done.” She explained what needed to be fixed up and done and then the mouse was off, going in. When he emerged after several moments, Pidge ran the diagnostics. “Okay! She should be good to go.” She let herself teeter back until she could slide down and land on her feet.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Marvin went back over. “You do well with ships, huh? But weren’t you studying as a communications tech back at the Garrison? Or did you also have rotating courses?”

“Rotating courses?” Pidge questioned “And yeah, I was studying as a comm-tech. But I also studied Lance and Hunk’s materials to help them when needed. And because I was interested.”

“Rotating courses is where others take more courses.” Marvin stated. “I studied both for a pilot and an engineer. It helps us get needed skills at the base we trained at.”

“Huh, interesting.” Pidge nodded. Thinking it over, her base didn’t have that sort of schedule set up; cadets had their plans and focused on their needed courses and the simulator.

“Yeah, but engineering on Earth doesn’t help much out here it seems.” Hutch sighed.

“Yeah...” Marvin shrugged it off.

“How are you so good at it?” Hutch looked to Pidge as she closed up the ship.

“Hmm. Dunno. I just adapt well to different forms of tech, I guess.” Pidge dusted off her hands before getting her gloves back on. She stopped and looked across the river they were near. “Huh? Oh! Look at that!” She had spotted a sort of deer-like animal walking around, nibbling at some flowers. “It looks so cute!”

“Aww! It’s a little deer!” Ginger cooed.

“Well hey now, ain’t that little guy adorable.” Hutch smiled. He then ran over to the river, jumping along the rocks sticking out of it.

“Hey, you’re gonna scare it off.” Marvin called after him.

“No I ain’t, see?” Hutch was sure of himself with that. “Hey little guy, c’mere. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” He held his hand out, letting the small creature sniff it before letting him pet it. “Hey, that’s it.”

“He really does like animals, huh?” Pidge asked as she patted Kosmo’s head, the wolf pressing in close. “He even was pretty quick to pet you.”

“Hutch may be rough around the edges, but he does have a soft spot.” Ginger giggled. “Especially when animals are involved.”

Kosmo watched where Hutch was for a moment. He then noticed something and started growling, catching the others’ attention. “Huh? What’s the matter, buddy?” Pidge asked. She looked back over when she heard Hutch call out in surprise and a bit of pain as he got a kick to a head, a kid jumping down from a tree. “Whoa! A kid!”

“And a Galran one judging by their looks!” Marvin yelped.

Indeed, the kid that showed up was a Galran. They glared at Hutch as they went to the deer. “Go away! This is supposed to be a safe place! You’re not welcome here!” the kid shouted. They then scooped up the deer and ran off, heading over towards the rock facing where a waterfall was. They were quick to climb it, aiming to get away.

“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Hutch shouted at the kid. “Damn brat.”

“You may be be good with animals,” Modoch laughed, “but you sure aren’t with kids.” The others were laughing with him at Hutch’s misfortune.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Jerks.” Hutch grumbled. He was brought out of his frustration when he heard a squeal. He looked up to see the rocks near the falls crumbling and the Galran lost their grip, both them and the deer falling down into the river.

“No!” Ginger cried out.

“Shit!” Pidge wasted no time in diving into the water, neither did Hutch. Both went after the deer and kid, able to get to them quickly before the river could sweep them too far away. They were able to get to the edge on the other side that Hutch previously was on, Kosmo taking those waiting there to help them out.

“Phew, that was a close call.” Pidge sighed as Modoch helped her out of the river.

“Hey, kiddo, you okay?” Ginger asked, checking on the Galran. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” She offered a gentle smile as she checked them over. “Hmm, I’m not noticing any immediate injuries. That’s good.”

“You know, kid, you should be careful climbing cliffs. It can be dangerous.” Hutch reminded. “Y’hear me?”

The kid glared at Hutch. They then kicked him, aiming for the ten point region and sending him crumbling to his knees. The kid then grabbed up the deer again and took off, this time going across the rocks and escaping to the other side.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me!” Hutch whined.

“Hey, Cliff wouldn’t like that language around Pidge.” Modoch chuckled.

“Yeah, well, he can shove it up his a-”

“C’mon, let’s go find that kid.” Marvin went the same way as the kid. “If we’re lucky, we can calm them down and find out about the others, let them know we’re just here on peaceful means and find out what this planet’s about.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hutch grumbled as he went after Marvin, followed by Modoch.

“Try not to get into trouble!” Ginger called. “We’ll let the commander know of what’s going on!” She sighed as she looked down at Pidge. “I mean, they should be fine, right?”

“They’re fast runners, right?” Pidge questioned. “Eh, after we check in, I’ll go after them.” Kosmo took them back to the ships. “You gonna join or stick here?”

“I’ll join you in a minute.” Ginger assured. “Someone has to help make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“Hey now, I don’t have that much bad luck.” Pidge couldn’t help but laugh, though. She went and picked Chulatt up off of Marvin’s ship, letting him slip into her hip pouch. “Rover, hey buddy, c’mon.” Rover beeped and left the helicopter-like ship she was piloting, joining her. “We’re gonna go look for the guys; they chased after a kid. You think you can locate them for us to make it easier?” Rover beeped and started the search, taking off towards the forest that the others ran for.

Ginger left her ship soon after. “Commander Hawkins said to tread lightly but that we’re good to go.” she said. “He thinks us being on the ground may be good, too. If this is a civilian location, they may not see us as much of an enemy as before if we’re not in ships.”

“Hmm, possibly.” Pidge nodded as she walked off. Rover beeped at her in the distance. “Yeah! We’re coming!”

They walked off, heading to find where the three boys went. After about ten or so minutes, though, they could hear shouting. It didn’t sound fully like they were under attack by enemies, but something was attacking them. Coming to another section of the forest, they could see the guys trying to seek refuge in trees, an older, deer-like creature trying to attack them.

“Oh, that must be the fawn’s dad!” Ginger covered her mouth. She didn’t know if she was going to worry about Modoch, Hutch, and Marvin’s safety or laugh about their situation.

“Yeah! And daddy here is pissed!” Hutch called, pulling himself up more before he could be gored by those antlers.

“I’ll say; you were chasing the fawn with the kid.” Pidge sighed. She stepped up. “C’mon, buddy, leave the idiots alone.” The buck looked to Pidge and snorted. He then charged at her, the others calling for her to move. Kosmo appeared next to Pidge and snarled at the buck, startling him at first. There was a back and forth interaction of snorting and snarling before the buck gave a few final stomps.

“See? We mean no harm.” Pidge smiled as she reached up, cupping his snout in her hands. “You’re a pretty big fellow, huh? And rather handsome, too. We’ve got creatures like you back on our planet, though half the eyes and their fur isn’t a bluish colour like yours.” She smiled as the buck nuzzled her. “See? It’s fine.”

“You may like animals,” Marvin looked to Hutch, “but animals definitely like her more.”

“Apparently.” Hutch was stunned. “No wonder she was able to tame a wolf.” With the buck at ease, they were able to leave their places of refuge. “Man, and we lost the kid...”

“Huh? Oh!” Ginger looked to see the Galran lean out from behind a tree. “There they are!”

“Oh!” Pidge looked. The kid then started to run off. She held onto Kosmo’s fur and the wolf teleported, taking her to cut them off, startling the kid.

“You couldn’t have done that sooner!?” Hutch shouted at her.

“Glad I didn’t; it was amusing seeing you guys cower from a deer.” Pidge smirked. She then crouched by the kid. “Hey.”

“Please! Don’t hurt me!” they cried, their arms up and covering their face.

“I’m not gonna hurt you.” Pidge assured. She moved to sit down, Kosmo laying beside her. The kid lowered their arms from their shielding position. “We actually mean no harm.”

“But you guys have been attacking other Galra, haven’t you?” the kid inquired.

“Well, it does look like that, huh?” Pidge thought it over. “We only attack military bases and liberate planets taken over by the empire, helping those who are oppressed.” She smiled. “But this planet doesn’t seem like a military planet.”

“Then why are you here?” They looked up when the buck joined them, sniffing them. “What do you want?”

“To try and establish peace.” Pidge informed. “We may be fighting, but our overall goal is peace.” She looked curious as she watched the kid. “Is there a town or city near here? A civilian base? We’d like to meet others and establish communications so we can have a better understanding of your situation before moving on.” The kid looked a leery at the idea, but they soon nodded.

Chapter Text

“Zhen! What were you thinking!” Pidge went pale when she saw the Galran that scolded the kid, her arms crossed. “Going off like that when I told you to stick around home! You’re lucky these people don’t mean any harm. Had they been pirates, they’d have wasted no time harming you or taking you hostage!”

“Sorry, Mama...” Zhen mumbled as they hugged onto Kosmo’s side.

The Galran woman sighed. “Sorry about that; kids often don’t listen to their parents and just run off.”

“Yeah, that sounds like our planet, too.” Hutch chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

“So… you’re Voltron?” the Galran inquired.

“Well, not exactly.” Ginger informed.

It didn’t take long for some things to be explained and to get permission to land the Arcadia near the town. Seeing the Galrans there, even soldiers that protected the planet or were on leave to see their families, it definitely added to a new perspective. The Galrans there were much like anyone else, families and friends just getting by.

The children were very curious, asking the vehicle team several questions and wanting to check out the ships they had, amazed to see them. Seeing and listening to them, even the somewhat bitter Shannon couldn’t deny they were adorable and much like children on Earth.

As the others talked, getting an understanding of the situation, Pidge couldn’t help but feel nervous. Zhen’s mother looked way too familiar. She had hoped it was a coincidence and nothing more, but the sinking feeling in her gut wasn’t leaving her anytime soon.

“So you plan on serving, too?” Lisa asked Zhen. They had stuck around for a bit, not minding the socializing. Had Allura been among them, she’d remind them that talking with people was part of their diplomatic mission. Hearing that Zhen wanted to serve, it made the others’ hearts sink; they hoped the war would be over before then.

“Yeah, I plan on training to be a medic when I’m older.” Zhen informed. “Some think that the Galra are all soldiers, but lots are medics; someone has to help with injuries after all.”

“Oh.” Pidge perked up. “I know a couple of medics.” She wasn’t going to mention that Ulaz was actually a rebel Galran, but he still counted. “One even helped with some injuries I had when I got thrown into a prison. She was nice, even the other prisoners seemed fond of her.”

“Yeah!” Zhen cheered. “I want to be a medic others can be happy about!” They bounced a bit as they got giddy. “My main goal, though, is to be stationed with Commander Sendak!”

“Huh?” Aki looked curious. “Why him?” He heard enough about the commander to know he was definitely not a good fellow. From nearly taking the castle to attacking his friends and capturing Pidge, he didn’t leave a good impression.

“Because, that’s where Uncle Haxus works. I wanna work with him and make sure he’s okay.”

Pidge felt like her heart stopped. Uncle Haxus. Lieutenant Haxus was the child’s uncle. Their mother looking familiar was not a coincidence.

“Aww, that’s sweet that you want to look after your family.” Ginger cooed, happy to hear that.

Pidge, though, couldn’t feel the same joy her fellow pilot could. She got up and went to leave.

“Pidge, what’s wrong?” Aki questioned, catching Pidge’s movement.

“Ah, sorry, I just need some fresh air; I don’t do well in large groups.” Pidge quickly responded. She then walked out, not wanting to be inside any longer.

Matt, who was with them while they were getting to know the civilians, moved to go after Pidge, sure something was wrong. Zhen’s mother, though, put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll check on her.” she said. She then went out to where Pidge was, going to where she sat down, Kosmo curled in close and Rover down on her lap. “Mind if I join you?”

“Oh um…” Pidge was at a loss for her name.

“Zodra.” She went and sat down next to Pidge, looking up to the moon that orbited the planet. “I never tire of this view. And this is even after having done my dues and served for a time like most others.” She looked down at Pidge, seeing her fiddle with Rover. “You’ve not been able to look at me properly; at first I thought it had to do with being Galran, but you respond well to the others, especially the kids.” she pointed out. “You even have a drone.” She sighed. “It was after Zhen mentioned Haxus that you decided to leave, though. I’m guessing you’ve met my brother.” Pidge looked to the side, not wanting to meet her gaze.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Zodra questioned, looking back up at the moon. “That’s the life of a soldier… of a warrior. Even I understand we’re in a war, have been for a thousand deca-phoebs… give or take. Death happens.”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry...” Pidge started crying. She let go of Rover to cover her face. “I… I didn’t mean to… we were in a fight and…” She thought she got past it, even if the guilt would always linger. She was sure she had come to terms with what had happened, but she never expected to finding out that he had a family. Of course he did, he had to be born somewhere. But having a sister? Perhaps more siblings? And having a nibling? At least one? It really changed things. “I’m so sorry...”

Zodra had a look of compassion glistening in her golden gaze. She then put her arms around Pidge, hugging her. “It happens. He knew the life he was getting into and odds are, he fought until the end. And I’m going to guess, you didn’t kill him out of spite, right? It wasn’t cold blooded, I’m sure.” This was a child; she was certain that the youngest member of either teams wouldn’t have been a cold and calculated killer. Not that she couldn’t be one, but rather she wouldn’t go that route.

“I… I don’t know...” Pidge admitted through her sobs. “I was… feeling so many emotions. I was trying to keep the castle safe, help my team, stop him and Sendak from stealing the castle and lions, but I lost myself when he destroyed Rover...” She felt like a child. She wanted her mother to hug her, her brothers to reassure he things were fine. Zodra did a good job of trying to comfort her, though.

“You were protecting others and yourself. You were doing your job. Just as he was doing his.” Zodra showed to be very understanding. “A child pushed to having to fight...” She snuggled Pidge. She was sad her brother was dead, but that wasn’t a surprise. He was a soldier. Soldiers died all the time. She was at least grateful that he didn’t die due to the negligence of their emperor or some other commander; they tend to push soldiers through situations that were bound to be a loss no matter what. Too many have died in needless fights and quests.

“I’m so sorry...” Pidge couldn’t help but constantly repeat herself. Some other Galrans would probably question if she was genuine, but the first apology was enough to tell Zodra that she was honest about that.

“You don’t need to be, this is war and it happens.” Zodra assured her. “But I still accept it.” She then pulled out a handkerchief she had on her person. “Now, let’s clean up this mess, hmm? Goodness, you’re covered in mucus.” She wiped up Pidge’s face, showing her parental side. “Now, I know it’s upsetting, but you had your justified reasons. I’m not at all upset. I’ve lost other siblings to worst reasons that have left me bitter about some commanders and the empire.” She got the pilot cleaned up. “But this? This is a part of war, not that a child should be fighting. But… you’re fighting for a good cause.” She cupped her face a bit. “It’s going to be okay.”

“What about… Zhen?” Pidge asked between hiccups as she tried to steady her breathing. “They seemed so happy about Haxus...”

“One day I’ll tell them. When they’re old enough to understand more.” she assured. She looked up when she noticed the deer and the fawn approached, checking on Pidge. “I’ll head back in, let them know you’re okay and just relaxing with the animals, okay?” She got up. “Do you need anything brought out?”

“No thank you.” Pidge smiled softly. “And… thanks.” Zodra smiled before departing. Pidge sat there for about ten or so minutes before she heard someone calling for her. She then found Rover hovering by her head and her lap occupied by none other than Zhen.

“Mama said you just needed to be outside for a bit, but I wanted to see you!” Zhen informed. They fixed their position to sit next to her, the fawn going over and laying across their lap. “The ninka really like you. Normally they keep to themselves, at least until the baby decided to follow me around.” they said.

“Ninka? Is that what you call them?” Pidge asked. She smiled as the buck laid down near them.

“You called them deer, right?”

“Yeah, that’s one of the species that’s similar in appearance to these guys on our planet.” Pidge informed.

“Maybe one day I can see them too.” Zhen leaned in close to Pidge, snuggling in against her side.

Pidge smiled. She still felt the guilt of being the reason their uncle was gone, but she still managed to be happy around the kid. She was sure it was Zodra’s help, too, that got her to smile again. “Who knows, maybe one day things will be better, peace easier to grasp, and you can visit Earth.” she admitted. “It’s got a lot to offer, the sights, the animals, the food.”

“Do you have medics, too?” Zhen asked.

“Yeah, we do.” Pidge nodded. “Whole locations of them all over the planet. We look after our people.” She smiled. “And now we’re working to help look after others since we no longer are isolated from the rest of the universe.”

“I wanna help others around the universe, too. I wanna be the best medic I can be.” Zhen yawned as they snuggled in more. “Maybe I don’t need to work on a ship really. I can travel, help others in need.”

“Anything is possible, especially if you put your mind to it.” Pidge assured softly as Zhen dozed off.

“I don’t know how much we are able to help, but...” A leader looking out for the civilians looked unsure.

“Just knowing you’re safe and this planet is truly a home in a civil manner, that’s good enough for me.” Hawkins stated.

“We’ll do what we can when others come and go.” the leader assured. “If this war can end and families can be reunited, it seems like a good option to work with.”

Zhen pouted as they hugged Kosmo, the ninka fawn sniffing at the massive wolf. “You really gotta go? Can’t you stay longer?”

“Sorry, buddy.” Pidge chuckled as she knelt down. “But we’ve got a job to do.”

“You’ll come back, right?”

“We’ll try. It may be a while, but we’ll try.” Pidge assured. “But don’t worry, we won’t forget about you.” She smirked. “Especially Hutch.”

“Yeah, kid’s got a strong kick.” Hutch chuckled a bit.

“You be good. And study hard.” Pidge hugged Zhen, the young Galran returning the gesture.

“Be safe out there.” they told her.

They then part ways, the others returning to the Arcadia and talking off. Pidge went to the observation deck, sitting on the floor with Kosmo, Rover hovering near and Chulatt on her lap. Matt entered the room and sat with her.

“Everything okay after last night?” he asked. “Zodra told us you were fine but...”

“I’m fine now.” Pidge assured as she leaned over and hugged her brother. “I… all this work, fighting to protect the universe… some things may always affect me but… I think I’ll make it.”

“Good.” Matt nodded as he returned the gesture. “But remember, you’re not alone. You have people to talk to. Adults. Parental figures. Your team. Even me.”

“Yeah.” Pidge nodded. “Thanks.” She just sat there, hugging her brother. She didn’t want to move until she absolutely had to. Until then, she was content. Even Matt was content there, sitting in silence and watching the view.

Chapter Text

“Why, this is planet Zelvolla!” Coran declared.

“Zelvolla?” Hunk asked. “Do you know of it?”

“Yes, it was one of many planets I’ve visited with King Alfor.” Coran explained. “It was a great place to rest, try new cuisines, and see a deep culture. Literally.” He smiled. “The planet is mostly water and the locals are practically aquatic, though they can easily go up on land and breathe there just as easily.”

“Father and Blaytz took me there when I was little.” Allura reminisced, thinking of the trip. “It was fun. And the family hosting us just adored me.” She smiled. “Then again, they seem to always adore children.”

“So it’s a planet to visit?” Lance asked, looking excited. “I mean, we’ll really need to suit up since it’s underwater stuff, but still.”

“We can’t waste too much time idly visiting planets.” Keith reminded. “We’re on a mission.”

“We may have to visit this planet, though.” Chip spoke up. He brought up the data. “There’s a Galran base underwater and cruisers at the ready. My guess is that they conquered this planet, too.”

“Oh no! The poor Zelvans!” Coran looked worried. “They’re hardly a warrior race, especially in terms of being able to defend themselves from invaders.”

“Chip, are there any settlements close to the base?” Keith asked. “With civilians we can talk to?”

“I am picking up on a lot of biorhythms in the water… and there’s a village of them, a few hundred at least in that one.” Chip explained. “I’m not picking up on anything other than Galran biorhythms and sentry signatures within the base, though.” That was good news; it implied that they didn’t have any prisoners locked away.

“Then we should head there, hopefully we won’t be noticed by the Galra.” Keith pointed out. “Everyone, suit up. Time to head out.”

The paladins went and got ready. They took off from the castle, leaving it to orbit the planet for the time being. They went down and entered the planet’s atmosphere and seemingly endless oceans, heading for the settlement where many Zelvans lived.

“I’m not seeing any Zelvans out.” Allura pointed out.

“What do Zelvans even look like?” Hunk asked.

“Well, on land, they’re bipedal. Depending on the region, they’re typically brightly coloured and splotched looking or black with bright stripes that glow. Of course, regions vary and traveling plays in effect.” Allura explained. “I really don’t know what type would be here… and they have tails nearly as long as their bodies to help them swim.”

“Considering the situation, they could be in hiding to avoid confrontation with the Galra.” Keith suggested.

“Or afraid of us.” Lance added. Silence. “I mean, think of it, five strange lions enter their waters? They may think we’re enemies, too.”

“Lance could be right.” Allura confirmed.

“Well, why not go out and check out the area, show them we mean no harm.” Chip suggested. He made sure his suit was secure and his helmet was in place. He then left the green lion, using his thrusters to get himself around more easily. It didn’t take long for the other paladins to join him.

“If it weren’t for the occupation, this would be nice.” Hunk stated. “I sure hope after the Galra, we don’t deal with something like the carnivorous Baku Garden on that frozen planet with the mermaids. That was scary.”

“C’mon, we’ve dealt with that, we’ve dealt with Galra, we’ve dealt with Pidge, we can handle anything thrown at us.” Lance declared.

“Reminder, only the blue lion can move well underwater.” Hunk deadpanned.

“Oh….” Lance froze for a moment. “We’ve still got this.”

Chip chuckled as he shook his head. He then swam off, Allura and Keith going with him as they explored the seemingly empty village. “Hello? Anyone here? I promise, we don’t mean any harm.”

Keith looked to see glowing eyes looking out from one of the dark, stone homes, seeming to observe him. Then they vanished. “Maybe I should return to the lions.” he mused. “They may be afraid of me in particular.”

Allura looked worried. “Please, come out and talk with us. We mean no harm.” she pleaded. “I know one of us is Galran, but he isn’t a threat to you. Not all Galra are evil and Keith is one of us; he’s a paladin of Voltron.”

Nothing. No responses. No visible movement. Until one small, black with cyan stripes Zelvan swam out through a window. They looked much like a child, even smaller than Chip. “You said Voltron?” they asked.

“Yes!” Allura smiled. “Have you heard of it?”

“Grandpa always told me stories.” The little Zelvan swam closer, looking over the others. They glanced over when Lance and Hunk joined them. “Then are you here to help us?”

“That’s right.” Keith nodded. “You are in danger, right?” He looked to the base that was easy to see. “They conquered you, right?”

“Yeah.” the Zelvan nodded. “But they don’t directly bother us much if we don’t try anything.” They settled down in front of Keith to talk. “But… their base and ships… they make the water bad. Some get really sick because of them...”

“Coran, did you catch that?” Allura asked into the comms.

“We copy.” Coran stated. “Thace has been running scans but… it’s definitely not good.”

“The base and ships produce energy waste and it’s slowly polluting the waters.” Thace explained. “Thanks to the natural microbial bacteria in the water, it’s not as bad as it could be, but if it continues, it could overwhelm the bacteria. If the ships and base are gotten rid of, the water will return to normal in a matter of a few deca-phoebs.”

“All the more reason to destroy them, right?” Lance asked. “That won’t cause any damages, right? Right?” He grew nervous when there was no response. “Thace?”

“Sorry, I was running the numbers.” Thace responded. “It looks like there would be some minor pollution, but given the nature of the waters and how the Zelvans are in their world, it wouldn’t make a lasting impact. Though if possible, it could be best to destroy the base and chase off as many of the battleships instead.”

“Then that’s what we’re going to do.” Keith nodded. He looked when more Zelvans had come out, checking on what was going on. “I need you guys to stay in your homes and keep safe. We’re going to get rid of the base and those hurting your planet and people.”

The paladins made sure that the Zelvans were back in their homes before returning to their lions. There, they got ready to attack the Galra.

“Okay, I’m just going to say this here and now, when Hunk and I were with the mermaids, Yellow wasn’t moving well in water, unlike Blue.” Lance stated. “I don’t think Voltron’s gonna do much better. Unless there’s some way the blue lion can be the head of Voltron and that affects our movement underwater?”

“As much as we don’t know about the lions, I do have a feeling that’s not possible.” Allura admitted.

“Worth a suggestion.”

“Well, we can at least act separately.” Keith pointed out. “We may not need Voltron, especially if the blue lion moves well underwater. Lance, you’re with me. We’ll hit the battleships, destroy them or get them out. Hunk, Chip, you two handle the base. Allura, you’ll be faster and more agile than us, they’re bound to have fighter jets that can maneuver in the water, you keep them off our tails.”

“Copy that!” the team chorused, getting to work on their missions.

Chip maneuvered Green through the ocean. While not as quick or agile as Blue, Green definitely fared better than the other three lions. He was able to utilize the vine cannon, getting the dense foliage to puncture parts of the base, especially at the bays were the fighter ships would take off from; it helped keep some in.

He noticed ships taking off, but they weren’t fighters. “Looks like they’re utilizing the escape pods.”

“Let them go.” Keith instructed. “They can’t attack us in those and it makes our work more efficient.”

“Right.” Chip nodded. He continued his attack on the base. Between him and Hunk, Allura joining in at times when she wasn’t busy taking down fighter jets, things went smoothly. At least until some of the battleships started mobilizing, raising up out of the ocean.

“They’re taking off!” Lance cheered. “Yeah boy! We ran them off!”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Lance.” Chip stated.

“What’s a chicken and what does it have to do with the situation?” Allura questioned.

“It’s a figure of speech, Princess. Meaning to not get ahead of yourself.” Chip informed. “These guys may not be going for a retreat.”

Attacks from ion cannons rained down upon them, even through the water. “Oh yeah!” Hunk started panicking. “Definitely not retreating!”

“They’re going to hit the Zelvans!” Allura cried out.

“Then let’s form Voltron and put an end to them!” Keith called.

The team formed Voltron underwater. Creating quite a literal splash, they burst past the surface and with their sword formed, they rammed into one of the battleships. They cut through it, quickly destroying it. They went at the others. They had hoped to take them on outside of the atmosphere, hoping the debris would remain off the planet, but things didn’t always go according to plan. At least they were doing their part to protect those of Zelvolla.

They took down one battleship after the next, utilizing what weapons they could. When it came down to the last two, the enemy chose to retreat, fleeing. Keith called for them to let the Galra flee.

“Good work, team.” Keith praised. “Let’s separate and let the Zel-” He was cut off by the sensors going off. “What’s going on? Another attack?”

Something came soaring through space and breaking through the atmosphere. It then came down and crashed into the water, creating massive waves. Unsure what it was at first, they dared to dive down as Voltron. There, sinking to the bottom of the ocean, was none other than a robeast coffin.

“Oh man… that can’t be good...” Chip mumbled, eyes wide. The coffin opened up and a robeast emerged, showing to be aquatic, perfect to fight in such environment.

“Where the quiznak do they even keep getting these things?!” Allura questioned.

“I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter right now.” Keith stated as Voltron got ready with their sword. “We need to take that thing down. Looks like we’re going to try fighting as Voltron underwater.”

Chapter Text

A robeast. Of course there was a robeast right after they had destroyed the base and gotten rid of the conquering Galra. Why wouldn’t there be? It was just their luck. And on top of that, whoever made it, most likely Haggar, knew where they were and just what to send. A serpent-like robeast meant to fight in the water.

“Okay, Lance? You’ve played an underwater alien planet game, right?” Hunk questioned, panic showing in his voice. “What do we do?!”

“In my experience? Abandon ship, swim for the surface, and pray that it doesn’t happen again.” Lance admitted.

“I mean… yeah, that’s understandable considering the game.” Chip mused, knowing exactly what Lance was talking about.

“Well, this isn’t a game. And we need to take that thing down.” Keith reminded.

“First we need to get it away from the village; it’s too close and the Zelvans could get hurt.” Allura added.

They went further out, the robeast thankfully following after them. Before it could grab hold of them with its mandibles, they turned on it and tried to attack. It was able to dodge with ease, moving better in the water than Voltron had been.

They tried to turn on it, but the robeast was quick and agile. It got itself wrapped around Voltron and bit into the red lion.

“Guys, I can’t get Red to move!” Lance announced.

“Hunk, use the shoulder cannon!” Keith ordered.

“Copy that!” Hunk slammed his bayard into its port and got the cannon active. He had it set and the projectile fired at the robeast. It was thankfully enough to get it to let go and leave them. Leaving them wasn’t the end, though, for it returned at full force. Hunk tried firing again, but with it weaving through the water, it was able to dodge most of the attacks.

“We may not need this pointed out, but we’re not doing well.” Chip reminded the team.

“Yeah, we’re big and bulky down here.” Lance added. “If we can grab this thing and fly to space, maybe we’d stand a chance, but…”

“We might not be able to do that.” Chip admitted. “We actually may need to separate for this.”

“Separate?” Keith inquired. “But we’ve not been able to defeat a robeast separated; we’ve had to be together.”

“And this time we’re out of our element.” Chip pointed out. “Or rather most of us are. Allura can move the best down here and I can move fairly well. You guys also have your long-distance attacks, such at lasers. You can utilize those without having to move much.”

“Chip’s got a point, and with Blue’s ice and Green’s vine cannon, it may prove to work in our favour.” Allura chimed.

“Okay, team, let’s try that.” Keith confirmed, going with the idea.

They split off from Voltron. From there, the blue and green lions utilized going through the ocean to handle direct attacks on the robeast. Allura utilized the blue lion’s ice to try and freeze it in place; to damage the structure of the robeast, Chip would get the vines working. With the addition of the other three attacking to the best of their abilities, they had hoped it would be enough.

But the robeast was resilient. It kept coming back at them, tearing through the vines and crushing the ice.

“Okay, okay, this isn’t working one bit.” Hunk stated. “I mean, it’s working a little, it’s slowing down with the attacks, but everything else...”

“Okay, we can get it slowed down.” Lance mumbled. “What if we attack its inside? What if it’s weak there? Out here, it looks like it’s covered in armor, but the armor can’t possibly be inside.”

“You mean like with Ulaz having the generator going inside that robeast from the Thaldycon system to take it down?” Keith questioned.

“Yeah, but unlike having the generator, we’d need a lion’s attack. And to get its mouth pried open.” Lance explained. “I mean, I think I can get enough literal fire power even underwater to burn it from the inside.”

“Yeah, but we’d need to keep its mouth open.” Allura reminded.

“Hmm, that may not be too hard. Keith and Hunk can pry it open.” Chip pointed out. We can trap its body fully in ice and vines, even get the mandibles stuck. Once its mouth is open, Lance can get in close and attack full force.”

“So we’re going to have to get up close and personal?” Hunk asked, worried about that. So many things could go wrong, starting with the red lion getting its face chomped by a sea monster-like robeast.

“It’s our best choice.” Keith pointed out. “Okay, team, let’s do this!”

They went into action with their new plan, Chip and Allura working hard to get the robeast to slow down and even get stuck with enough vines and ice. Once it was pinned for however much time they could manage, Hunk and Keith went at its mouth. Hunk with the top and Keith with the bottom, they pried its mouth open.

“Now, Lance!” Keith ordered.

Lance directed the red lion face first into the robeast’s maw. “How about something spicy to chew on, huh?” Lance had the red lion’s fire attack powered up and just as the ice was cracking and giving way, he struck. He attacked its insides, causing the robeast to thrash and even expand a bit at the force of power. It managed to get away and writhe. “Um, guys? It didn’t work! That thing is still operational!” Lance whined.

“But it’s been weakened!” Allura pointed out.

“Okay then! Let’s form Voltron!” Keith ordered. They were quick to form Voltron. “Form sword!” With their sword at the ready, they went at the robeast, slicing through most of its length. They stuck there for a moment, hoping things would go well for them. It then burst along the incision they caused before completely exploding.

The robeast had been defeated and they managed to do so for the most part being separated.

With the robeast gone, the others returned to the village, leaving their lions at the edge. They went out to let the Zelvans know that their home should be peaceful again, the robeast and the Galra gone.

“Man, it’s nice to help people.” Hunk declared.

“We did well.” Lance grinned. “Way better than in a video game.”

“Well, no time to celebrate yet.” Coran instructed. “We’ve located a few other bases around the planet.”

“Considering we just took down a robeast?” Hunk mused. “I think we can handle those.”

Keith nodded. “Okay, team, let’s handle those bases.” he instructed.

With Coran’s help in running the scans, the bases were located with ease. Back in their lions, the paladins took off, dealing with the structures and ending the empire’s control over Zelvolla. It didn’t take long since they knew what they were doing to ensure victory. With that and finally checking on the Zelvans, making sure they were all okay, the team could relax a bit before setting off on their next destination.

Chip found himself in the green lion’s hanger, communications set up so he could talk with his sister. “Yeah, and Hunk was able to get some new ingredients there. He’s making a sort of dish with some fish and seaweed.” He grinned. “I had to vacate the kitchen, it was smelling really good.”

“Lucky! I’m missing Hunk’s cooking.” Pidge chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, food here on the Arcadia is good, too, Olia’s a really good cook when she has time, but Hunk’s is just… I like it, you know?”

“Yeah, I hear that.” Chip nodded. “Anyway, how are missions going? And how are you doing with the team?” He was genuinely curious. Sure, they hit it off well and got along, but Pidge wasn’t with them full time prior. Now she was a member and fighting alongside them.

“Eh, about as well as when I’m with the others.” Pidge hummed, clearly amused. “Bickering at times, someone having to step up and be the common sense, feels like I’m right at home.” She grinned brightly. “Though I got a good laugh. We were on a planet and we saw these deer-like animals. Some of the boys were chasing after a kid with a baby deer, trying to talk with them. But the deer’s parent didn’t like that and went after them instead.”

“Man, I wish I saw that.” Chip couldn’t help but laugh. “Let me guess, Hutch was one of them?”

“Ding, ding! We got a winner!”

“Yeah, that seems like a Hutch thing.” Chip was definitely amused.

“Pidge, time to hang up, we’ve got another planet!” Chip could hear Aki call off screen.

“Yeah! Got it!” Pidge responded. “Well, you know what that means.”

“Sure do. You be safe out there.” Chip said. “And give Matt and the team my regards.”

“Copy that, you do the same for me.” Pidge smiled. “Talk with ya later. Ciao.”

“Ciao.” They ended their call and Chip sat back. He looked to the remaining three mice on the table before holding out his hand, letting them run up it and his arm to get to his shoulder. “I miss Pidge. And I miss the team.” he admitted softly. “But this has been fun. Being able to work with others. Though I look forward to getting back to my ship, I miss flying it.” He smiled when he felt Chuchule nuzzle him. “Thanks.” He reached up and gently patted the three. He then got up from the table. “Anyway, how about we see how Hunk’s going? Last I checked, Mom was helping him out a bit.” He then walked off, happy to have gotten a check-in with Pidge. Most of all, he was pleased to know that she was doing fairly well and safe. That was definitely a relief.

Chapter Text

Pidge was breathing heavy as she struggled against her restraints. “No! NO! Unhand me you bi-”

“You will never rise up past the empire, little paladin. Keep that in mind.”

Pidge felt herself get thrown forward to the ground, her back exposed. Where was Haggar? Where was the ship? Where was her team? She then felt searing pain course through her.

“You will always be brought back like the prisoner you are. There is no winning. Give in. Give up. Surrender.”

She wanted to cry out for help. But she felt her voice get smothered. She felt pressure all around her. Water. She was sinking. Drowning. She tried to reach for where she thought the surface was. She desperately tried to cry out for anyone. Even one last bit of defiance.

“NO!” Pidge sat up as she cried out, accidentally launching Chulatt off her chest, making the mouse land by her feet with a squeak. She had a tight grip on the blanket as she struggled to catch her breath.

Kosmo, who had been curled in against his human’s side, sat up. He licked her face, whining a bit. Chulatt scrambled back over and patted one of her hands, trying to help calm the pilot down. Even Rover gave saddened beeps as he bumped into her head. They continued giving her comfort until Pidge finally pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She started sobbing.

Kosmo whined a bit as he nosed his human. He then sniffed her back, seeing the brand past the camisole strap. He gently licked her back, hoping that would comfort her.

Pidge looked over a bit, eyes swollen from crying. “It’s okay, buddy, it doesn’t hurt.” Not physically, at least. She didn’t want to admit it, but it still haunted her. So much still haunted her. She wouldn’t tell anyone, but she hadn’t fully come to terms with what she endured. From the injuries she sustained before Sendak captured her to the interrogation she tried so hard to hold out during when she was with the druids and Haggar. Ending up in the prison and branded and then pretty much dying didn’t help, either.

No one should have to endure any of that. Least of all a fifteen year old child who truly had no place in a war but fate decided differently.

Chulatt squeaked up at Pidge before patting his stomach. Food. Was he hungry? Pidge watched for a few seconds. Correction, he was suggesting food. If Hunk were there, he would suggest food, too; food, according to the yellow paladin, worked wonders, from bringing people together to taking one’s mind off of stress. He was right, though, it did work wonders. Even Lance and Keith could hardly bicker when it came to sitting down to a good meal. So long as Allura didn’t handcuff them to their chairs or each other again.

“Yeah, you may be right.” Pidge nodded. “Food would do me some good, I think.” She scooted to get out of bed, dragging her blanket with her. “You guys get back to bed, I’ll be fine.” Chulatt didn’t hesitate to run up the blanket to get up to her shoulder and Kosmo teleported to be in front of the door. Rover beeped as he hovered near her head. “I guess this means you guys are coming with me. Thanks.”

Pidge had Rover lead the way, following his lights; she didn’t want to cause any disruption or bring attention to herself by activating the lights on the ship as most were fast asleep during the night cycle. She went to the main common room, checking around the counter and finding some things to snack on. Preparing them, she sighed. She had them fixed up, some crackers with peanut butter, but she just didn’t feel up to eating.

Kosmo whined at her, nudging her arm and pushing it closer to the snack. She shifted and pet him. “Sorry, I guess I’m not up to it.” she mumbled. Even that surprised her, she was always up to having peanut butter. But she just didn’t feel the best.

Pidge went over to one of the windows looking out over the expanse of space, seeing the clusters of stars that were lightyears upon lightyears away, just looking like specks. She sat down and pulled the blanket it closer around her as she stared out the window.

Kosmo looked to Chulatt and Rover, the two making sounds to show that they were worried. Chulatt perked up and squeaked when he noticed someone enter. Looking over, Kosmo saw Ginger step in.

“She’s not doing well, huh?” Ginger asked Pidge’s companions, going over and petting the wolf. “We heard her cry out… I suggested I come and talk to her.” The teams were separated in terms of living quarters, having their rooms closer to their appropriate vehicle bays. When Pidge did cry out, it was enough to stir the rest of the air team. There were no other shouts, no sound of urgency, they came to the mutual conclusion that she perhaps had a nightmare. Who could blame her for that? She had faced one trauma after the next since being thrown into a war.

Ginger picked up Chulatt and walked over to Pidge. “Pidge?”

“Huh?” Pidge was startled, drawn from her thoughts. “Oh! Sorry. Did I… wake you?”

Ginger hummed, not really answering. She sat down next the younger pilot. “How are you doing?”

“Fine. Just… struggling to sleep.” Pidge mumbled. “I don’t sleep well anyway, even before entering space. Nothing much. Sorry if I disturbed you. I’ll go back to bed soon, you should head back, too. It’s a long day tomorrow, too.”

Ginger was saddened. She could tell Pidge was anxious and trying to give excuses, especially with how she spoke quickly. “It’s okay to talk about it, you know.” she reminded. “It could help more.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Pidge muttered.

“You made a snack with peanut butter that you abandoned. And your friends here are worried about you.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not.”

“It is.” Pidge scowled. “Hey!” She turned on Kosmo when her wolf pulled the blanket from her, even with enough force to pull her over some. “Kosmo! Give that back!” She jumped at the wolf, but Kosmo teleported further from her. More than that, he got Pidge to show her back to Ginger.

At first Ginger was tempted to laugh, amused that Kosmo got Pidge to take her mind off of something, then she realized what he was doing. He was getting her to show the brand right next to the scar she had from when Sendak captured her. She was still haunted by that, among other things.

Ginger had honestly never seen the brand before, not like Pidge went around in sleeveless shirt and showed it off. She kept it hidden, whether it was a coincidence or on purpose, she didn’t know. She then got up and placed a gentle hand on Pidge’s unmarred shoulder, catching her attention. “C’mon, let’s sit and settle down.” she said softly. She smiled at Kosmo. “Kosmo, return her blanket.”

Kosmo huffed and did as told. Pidge was quick to wrap herself back into it, even covering her head some. Ginger sat back down, getting her fellow pilot to sit with her; Chulatt climbed down and sat next to Pidge while Kosmo nestled down behind them; Rover hovered close behind the group, keeping watch over them.

“It’s okay to hurt.” Ginger reminded. “The wounds may have healed, but the scars do remain, both physical and emotional.” She hugged onto Pidge, keeping her close in a comforting embrace. “I don’t know personally what you went through, all you’ve endured, but I do understand trauma and it coming back when we least expect it.”

Pidge was silent, save for a bit of sniffling, so Ginger continued. “When I was little, I watched the Transport Ship Zenith take off.” Zenith, Pidge remembered hearing her mother talk about that ship. Her mother was supposed to go on that to take off for the station orbiting Earth, but little Pidge had gotten ill so she stayed behind to take care of her. Had her mother gone up on the Zenith, she would have perished. “It was so awe inspiring to be at the base and watching it take off. But… there was an unexpected malfunction. And it exploded.” She sighed. “My mother was on that ship.”

“I couldn’t sleep for weeks, not without waking up in fits of fright, always envisioning the ship exploding.” Ginger kept going. “At one point, I feared I would never recover from witnessing that. But… I did.” Her hug tightened a bit, though it wasn’t uncomfortable for Pidge. “My father talked about it with me, helping me cope. My friends also helped me cope, giving me time, helping to take my mind off of things, and giving me space to express my emotions freely.” She glanced down at Pidge. “What I’m getting at, Pidge, is that we’re here for you. If you need or want to talk about it, then talk. If you need to express your emotions and just scream or cry, then do that. If you need a distraction, you know you can always come to any one of us. We’re a team, not just on the battlefield. We’re here to help each other out.”

Pidge couldn’t keep it in any longer. She just let loose on her emotions and straight up sobbed. Ginger continued hugging her, reassuring her that it was okay to cry.

“Haggar may have struggled and even failed in getting much information from you, but I shall not.”

“NO! Stop it! Get out of my mind!”

“You will submit, I assure you.”

“STOP IT!”

Krik was startled awake, thankfully with much less force than Pidge had been. He sighed as he rolled over in his bed, trying to will himself to go back to sleep. The crying and screaming he dreamed of and the ominous voice he heard did not sit well with him. With a sigh, he gave up; perhaps a stroll around the Arcadia would do him well.

Krik took his stroll, having no real goal of where to go. Perhaps the common room for a drink or snack? The Earthlings tend to comment that sometimes that would help them to go back to sleep. He continued walking until he stopped, seeing Aki leaning against the wall near the doorway.

“Aki?” he asked. “Looks like I’m not the only one having a rough night, hmm?”

“Oh, Krik.” Aki looked up. “Hopefully it’s just restlessness.” He looked back towards the doorway. “Pidge is having a bad night...”

Krik went closer and leaned against the wall across from the air team leader. “Earthlings call it PTSD, right?” Aki nodded. “It must be hard for anyone, but a child to endure all that she had...”

“Ginger’s with her now, consoling her.” Aki listened, hearing Pidge cry. It pained him, but he hoped that crying on someone’s shoulder would help her a bit, let her get those emotions out. He looked back when he heard Krik sigh, noticing that he looked troubled. “One of those dreams?” Krik nodded. “Please… it can’t be...”

“We need to keep an eye on Pidge.” Krik stated. “I couldn’t see it clearly… but someone captures her… or could capture her.”

“We’ll do what we can to prevent that.” Aki assured. Or at least he hoped they could. “Your sixth sense seems to like Pidge.” he mused.

“Not enough, we keep getting there too late...” Krik muttered, seeming to be upset. He was. He didn’t want to show it much or speak about it, but he was pissed off with himself. What good was having such feelings and premonitions if he couldn’t stop them? If he couldn’t protect his allies, his friends? It seemed so unfair. But that was fate for them; it was always unfair.

“We’ll make sure she’s safe this time.” Aki went and stood next to Krik, nudging him a bit. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Yeah.” Krik nodded. “But we can’t just focus on her, we have our teams to look after.”

“We will, don’t worry.” Aki nodded. “Anyway, when the commander’s up, we’ll talk with him about this; it’s best to let him know.” He pushed himself from the wall. “Anyway, I think Ginger has this handled, so I’m going back to bed so I don’t disturb them.”

“I’ll wait a bit longer. Good night, Aki.”

“Night.”

Krik waited a while longer, listening as Pidge’s crying died down and all he heard was her sniffling. He hoped, for her sake, that they could keep her from being captured again. Already she endured so much; much more than that, it could break the poor girl.

Chapter Text

Aki was in the common room, leaning against the counter and talking with Matt as he drank some sort of alien equivalent to coffee. He seemed to be enjoying himself until he jumped, feeling something touching him.

“Whoa, what’s up?” Matt asked, confused.

“I don’t know. Something… touched me.” Aki looked around, nothing, no one, was near him. He didn’t even have Chulatt on his shoulder looking for snacks. Seeing the room, the others were minding their own businesses, even Pidge was chilling at one of the tables with Hutch, Marvin, Ginger, and Kosmo.

Aki found himself jumping again and backing off; something touched him, he was sure of it. “Okay, something’s here.”

“What’s going on?” Cliff walked in with Krik. “You’re rather jumpy, Aki.”

“There’s something here that keeps touching me and I can’t see it.” Aki jumped back again.

“You sure someone didn’t spike your coffee?” Cliff raised an eyebrow, utterly confused. He then stepped back at a hidden touch. “What the hell?!”

“See!” Aki cried.

Krik looked to his fellow leaders in confusion. He then glanced over when he heard a snort, noticing Pidge with her head down at the table; Hutch and Marvin looked like they were shaking. Even Ginger, who was sitting with them, was trembling. Cold? No, laughter. They were up to something.

“Okay, what if there’s a ghost on this ship?” Aki tried to rationalize the situation.

“A ghost? The ship isn’t that old.” Cliff reminded.

“It doesn’t have to be old, ghosts don’t always haunt locations. They can haunt people, too.” Aki pointed out. “It...” He stopped. At that point, Pidge was in hysterics. “Wait a sec...” He scowled. “Pidge...”

Hearing her name said, Pidge just lost it. She was laughing, leaning to the side. She stopped briefly to cry out in surprise when she fell over and off the booth she was sitting on. When on the floor, a leg still up on the booth, she continued her laughter.

Ginger did the best in containing herself until Pidge fell, then she just let out her laughter. Hutch and Marvin were in tears, unable to compose themselves.

“Wait! What were you doing!?” Aki shouted. He yelped and jumped back when Rover suddenly appeared with an alarmed beep and hovered over to Pidge, checking on her. “Wait… Rover? Since when can he go invisible?!”

“Looks like Pidge was working on cloaking with the drone.” Matt chuckled. “Good news, the ship nor you seem to be haunted. Except by Pidge with Rover.”

Cliff let out a sigh of relief. “That was getting pretty worrisome.” he pointed out. “But cloaking the drone, that’s rather impressive.”

“It could be of great use.” Krik nodded in agreement.

“That’s the point!” Pidge managed to get herself into a handstand position before getting back onto her feet. “With this, Rover’s virtually invisible.”

“He was pretty damn invisible to my eyes.” Aki pointed out.

“Maybe you need glasses then.” Cliff hummed.

“Shut up, you couldn’t see him either!”

“Quit fighting, you’re both pretty.” Pidge sighed, catching the two off guard and making Hutch and Marvin laugh more; even Krik couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “By virtually, I mean that even on sensors, he won’t be detected right away. It’s not enough that he’s invisible to the naked eye, but I want him to go undetected as much as possible. With the right tech, someone could pick up on his location. So I’ve been tweaking with him to hide his electromagnetic energy signature from most sensors. Thank the universe for Altean tech and reverse-engineering.”

“Does he still count as Galra tech, though?” Krik felt that was the most important question to ask.

“Indeed he does, which means he can still help out in getting through their systems and past doors.” Pidge took hold of Rover and hugged him as though he were a toy. “He was already helpful, but with this, it just boosts that tenfold!” Rover let out a few, jovial sounding chimes.

“Great, just when I didn’t think she could be more unstoppable.” Cliff sighed.

“And it gets better.” Pidge continued. “I’ve managed to synchronize him with my tech, so I can send him in on a reconnaissance mission and I can see what he sees.” She smirked. “Which, by the way, your faces were so comical when he had you spooked.”

“Wait! You were seeing that?!” Aki yelped.

“Yup! And I plan on sending the lion team the pictures!” Pidge held up the tablet she had, clearly having been using it to see what Rover saw.

“Don’t you dare!” Aki wasted no time in running towards Pidge. The youngest team member yelped and held onto Kosmo, the wolf teleporting her to the other end of the room. “Get back here!” From there, he gave chase, Pidge mixing running, teleporting with Kosmo, and even jumping and flipping over booths and tables to get away from him.

“Pidge really has been busy, huh?” Matt couldn’t help but laugh. He was proud and amused by Pidge’s work with Rover, then seeing Aki give chase to the young pilot was definitely amusing.

“It may be for the best.” Krik mused as he went to get some coffee, grabbing a mug and letting Matt fill it for him since he was closer to the pot. “It will take her mind off of her stress. Even this could help.”

“Yeah.” Matt nodded. “It’s nice seeing her get along with this team. I can only hope Chip is doing just as well with the lion team. He says he is but...”

“You’re still worried about your brother, huh?” Cliff inquired, getting his coffee next. “I don’t blame you, that’s how family is. But I’m certain he’s doing well. He’s got Professor Gunderson with him, they got along well when we first started off on the Explorer, and he’s rather social and gets along well with others. Didn’t take him long to bond with the rest of us, not just the air team.”

“WHOA!” Pidge cried out, catching the others’ attention. She wasn’t watching where she was running and had no idea that Commander Hawkins had entered the room. She went down and skidded on her knees, going under and between the commander’s legs; Kosmo was quick to teleport to the other side of him.

Aki, though, wasn’t as lucky. He crashed right into the commander, sending them both to the ground and Pidge scrambling away so they wouldn’t land on her.

“Sorry about that, Commander.” Aki quickly responded as he sat up. “Um… I was...”

“I don’t know if I want to know the reason.” Hawkins admitted, though he gave a slight chuckle. “At least you guys are keeping active and in shape. And impressive slide, Pidge.”

“You were a bit tall to jump over.” Pidge snickered. “You guys okay?”

“A little sore, but overall...” Hawkins shrugged. He smiled when Kosmo nosed him; he pet the wolf. “Next time you two decide to play tag, keep an eye on your surroundings.”

“Copy that.” Aki and Pidge responded in unison.

“All vehicle team members! To your ships!” came Olia’s urgent voice over the ship’s comm systems. “We have a rebel outpost under attack!”

“Sorry Commander, duty calls!” Aki was quick to spring up and run off, Pidge hot on his heels. Kosmo ran over to the table first where Chulatt jumped onto his head, then the wolf disappeared. The other pilots in the area also took off, those of the different teams going to different doors to be closer to their vehicles’ hangers.

Pidge got to the blue helicopter-like ship, Rover hovering near her head and Kosmo sitting next to her seat. “Okay, Rugger four ready to take off.”

“Okay, let’s get ready to launch. Air team, good to go!” Aki reported.

The air team launched from their bay first, though sea and land weren’t far behind. They were quick to get into action, speeding off to where the rebel outpost was before the Arcadia could get to it.

“Oh, that’s a lot of ships.” Marvin pointed out as they went in, taking down the fighter ships.

“Agreed. We’ll form the Land Rugger and work on the battleships with the rebels.” Cliff informed.

“Copy that, Sea and Air will remain separate and cover you.” Aki confirmed.

Pidge went around, flying and taking down what ships she could. At times, she sent Kosmo to play fetch, having the wolf enter some of the ships and attack the sentries piloting them.

“Wait a sec! Who took that one down?!” Shannon asked pulling to the side when a ship he was ready to strike was taken down.

“That would be Kosmo.” Pidge hummed. “He’s such a good boy.”

“I agree.” Lisa chuckled. “Good boy, Kosmo.”

They continued attacking the Galra who had struck first, giving some rebels a window of opportunity to escape, getting their supplies and any wounded or refugees with them away and to safety. Other rebels utilized their own weaponized ships, helping to attack and take down the few battleships.

Pidge was doing her part in helping out, keeping the fighters back. With the combined efforts, it didn’t take too terribly long to put a stop the enemy ships. Even the battleships were rendered inoperable within half an hour.

Coming from Pidge’s blindside, though, a fighter ship ended up crashing into her ship with enough forced that it shoved her into a partially destroyed battleship, causing more parts to crash in and collapse around her. It was enough force to jostle her around, even causing her to smack her head on the main console; she was grateful for the full helmet giving her some protection.

“Ooh, oof.” she grumbled. “Okay, you guys still good?” she asked. Kosmo grumbled before nudging her arm, letting her know she was fine. Chulatt, who ended up down in her hip pouch, popped out with a squeak. Rover beeped a positive tone. “Good to hear.” She looked around. “Hmm, I guess I got shoved inside the battleship.” She tried to get her ship to budge, but it was pretty well wedged in there, some beams even threatening to crush her ship. Or at least try to.

“Ah man, looks like we’ve got a problem.” She sighed. “Hey team, do you copy? I can’t get my ship to move, I think I’m stuck.” She listened. Nothing. No, there was something. Static. She listened as she tried to make out any sign that someone was contacting her. “Did it knock out my comms, too?”

Pidge checked the system. She then froze and her eyes widened. There was a sort of radiation surrounding her ship. While she was safe inside, it would have been dangerous exiting normally. “Oh, that is definitely not good.” She went to work, trying to get the right frequency to get through the static.

“Zzt-idge? -o you c-zzt-y?” she could barely make out Aki’s worried voice.

“I copy, I’m here!” Pidge called. She worked on the frequency. “I’m here! Do you copy? I’m here!”

“Pidge! Are you okay? What’s your status!?” There was still a lot of static, but she could pick up on what the air team leader was saying.

“It’s not the best.” Pidge reported. “We’re physically fine, but we’re surrounded by radiation. On top of that, we’re pinned; I can’t get the ship to budge.” She checked the data, or at least what she could. She found some of the systems were down while others were disrupted. “The radiation is messing with the ship’s system’s, I can’t get a good read on anything. And comms are full of static.”

“Pidge, are you listening?” She heard Commander Hawkins’ voice. “We’re running a scan now. You’re right under the generator for the hyper drive. And it’s showing malfunctions and signs that it’s being overloaded.”

“Oh quiznak.” Pidge grumbled.

“Are you and Kosmo able to teleport out of there and to another ship? We’ll work on getting Rugger four out of there afterwards.”

“Buddy?” Pidge looked to her wolf. Kosmo seemed to try, he even showed the blue glow and sparkling of the distorted space he would cause when he would teleport, but nothing happened. Upon realizing it wasn’t working, he whimpered. “That’s a negative. The radiation must be affecting his ability.”

“Okay. And getting out of your ship is not a good idea.” Hawkins grumbled.

“Okay, can’t we just go in there and get her?” Cliff suggested.

“From what I can tell, we’re pretty well stuck in here.” Pidge stated. “I don’t know if it’s fully that or the disrupted power that’s keeping me from moving much. Another ship would get stuck most likely.”

“What about blasting your way out or our way in, giving you an opening?” Aki hoped that would work.

“Okay, taking into consideration the size of the average battleship and its components, suggesting where I’m at and I assume I’m in towards the middle… in theory the ship would probably weigh over two thousand US tons… so I could be under any given three hundred to a thousand tons of material give or take?” Pidge tried to figure out what she could, but the situation was stressful and she didn’t have the exact measurements of the ship. “If I’m not careful, then several tons of material will end up falling on me and I don’t know how much pressure this ship can take.”

“We may have to destroy parts of it from the outside, pushing away debris and work our way in towards you.” Krik offered up that idea.

“We’ll need to act quick but cautiously.” Matt said, his voice popping up on the comms. “That drive core is highly unstable and it’s only increasing.”

“Okay, Krik, get the Sea Rugger formed and help in getting debris and more of the ship cleared. We need to get her out ASAP.” Hawkins ordered. “Pidge, sit tight. As they clear, if it feels like you can get the ship out, then get out.”

“Yeah, copy that.” Pidge nodded. “Hoo boy. This is… something. I didn’t even roll a seventeen today… but… Um… guys? A couple of theories. That drive core is going into overload and I can only assume it’s critical. If we’re not careful… in theory, one of two things can happen. One, it just straight up explodes.”

“Can any of the Ruggers withstand that sort of force?” Ginger inquired.

“We’re not entirely sure.” an Olkari aboard the Arcadia, one of those who helped work on the ship and even maintain them when they’re docked, reported. “The ships are relatively new and not fully tested with things like this. On top of that, drive cores for hyperjumps aren’t fully understood, especially in an unstable state. We don’t know what sort of power it could hold.”

“Right… Pidge, what’s the second theory?” Hawkins questioned. “You said a couple.”

“Yeah. Theory two, I get yeeted to who knows where.” Pidge informed. “With it destabilizing and getting worse by the second and absolutely no control over where I’d go… there’s no telling how far I’ll get thrown or where I’ll end up.” She hummed as she thought it over. “Honestly? I’m hoping for the second one. It feels like the likelihood of me surviving is substantially better. Keep in mind, though, these are only theories. I don’t have the sufficient data on this matter so there’s no telling exactly what could happen. For all we know, there could be a third option I know nothing about. Heh. In the end, if I survive this, it would be a good learning experience. And quite a story to tell. But that’s assuming… And I’m really hoping for the preferable of surviving. Because I have literally been fighting in this war, I’ve been nearly crushed by Sendak before with ribs breaking, I’ve been shot, I’ve been interrogated by a space witch, more or less I’ve been tortured, I have literally died but thankfully got resuscitated, if I get killed by an unstable drive core exploding, that’s going to be the most bullshit way to.”

Back on the Arcadia, Matt was up on the bridge, monitoring Pidge’s ship as well as the battleship. The teams were doing their best in clearing the debris, hoping to get to her. But something came to his attention. “Oh no.”

“Matt, what’s wrong?” Olia asked, looking back.

“It’s the radiation. It’s suddenly spiked. The drive core is going to react and do something within the minute.” Matt reported.

“Team, do you copy? You have one minute!” Hawkins ordered.

“No! Get them out of there!” Pidge countered, her voice barely getting through the increasing static.

“What the hell are you getting at? We’re not leaving you!” Aki snapped. “We’re not abandoning you!”

“And I don’t want to risk you guys getting caught up in this if it goes wrong!” Pidge snapped.

“Sir...” Matt looked to Hawkins, worry in his eyes.

Hawkins had to make a desperate call. He didn’t want to have any pilot abandoned. But if it was the worst outcome, he would rather lose one rather than several. And if it was the preferable outcome, Pidge was pretty much a genius; she would find her way through a situation and get back to the team. “Fall back!” he ordered the others.

“But commander!” Krik yelped. He had told the commander about his vision earlier. He had a sinking feeling. He didn’t know if things were changing and this would be the young pilot’s demise or if it would lead her elsewhere where she could get hurt.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t take the risk.” It tore the commander up on the inside. If Pidge died, what would he tell Colleen, Chip, and the lion team? If she survived and went missing, he would still have to report the news to them. He was damned either way. “Pidge...”

“Bracing for this. Wish me luck.” Pidge voice was nearly drowned out by the static.

None of the others wanted to back away, but they did follow orders in just the nick of time. With a few seconds to spare, the core blew up, sending a pulse of energy around and momentarily taking the primary systems of the ships offline. When the static cleared, though some of the radiation remained, they found that the battleship was mostly gone, a few parts that were loose remaining. But most of all, Pidge was missing, no sign of her ship, not even debris, lingering. Commander Hawkins could only hope that she was really okay. At least with being missing, if she was okay, then Kosmo most likely would be, too. At least that situation, she wouldn’t be alone.

Though there were some hopes, he was worried for the pilot. And he was sure the others would be, too. But he stood by his response; it needed to be done to keep the others safe. Even Pidge understood the situation.

“I’m sorry, Pidge…” Hawkins whispered to himself. “But be certain of this, we will find you.”

Chapter Text

“Hmm?” Chip looked up, nudging Platt back up to his shoulder as he walked in. “What’s up?”

“Oh, hey, Chip.” Hunk smiled. “Apparently we’re going to meet up with Lotor and some other Blades.”

“Lotor got in touch with us.” Allura spoke up. “He said his group located something strange. And Altean. The Blade of Marmora have been working to get it secured.”

“Strange? Altean? Sounds interesting.” Chip went to his station where the mice slid down him, landing on his lap. “Did he say what it was?”

“He says it’s a ship, but that it’s in a peculiar position.” Allura explained. “We’ll get there soon, though and see what it is.”

Allura got a wormhole ready, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary. When they exited the wormhole, they saw a few ships around the area, some larger and acting as mobile bases. It was easy to assume, what with how calm things were, that those ships were with the Blade of Marmora.

“Hmm? Well, what do you know, it is an Altean ship!” Coran exclaimed, looking in awe.

“But… what is it stuck in?” Thace inquired, seeing the glowing rift that was pretty much engulfing the ship. From their angle, they could see that it was going through, much like a wormhole. “Is it a wormhole?”

“I don’t think so; if it is, it’s certainly not one I’ve seen.” Coran informed. “And believe me, I’ve seen many in my time.”

“Hmm, it looks like one of Father’s Tel-Galax exploration shuttles.” Allura informed. “He would use them for fast paced travels, especially in transporting supplies.” She looked to Coran. “Can you tell who was in charge of the ship?”

“Right on it, Princess.” Coran nodded and performed a scan. “Hmm, here we have it. According to its identification code, it’s Commodor Trayling’s ship.”

“Commodore Trayling” Lance asked. “I feel like I’ve heard that name...”

“Yeah, when we were on Caul-Egis Five.” Chip responded. “That was run by General Vriyler. She was supposed to rendezvous with Commodore Trayling

“Yes, that’s right.” Allura nodded, remembering the other Altean ship they had found and went aboard. “Sendak got on board and said that they were on an important mission, but the general wouldn’t tell him.”

“So… we don’t know what that mission was.” Lance hummed. “Okay, so then… what happened to it?”

“That’s what we’re hoping to find out.” Kolivan popped up on the screen, Lotor standing next to him. “We’ve been running scans of the area and whatever that ship is stuck in, it’s surging with energy. Quintessence, to be exact.”

“Quintessence? You mean that stuff that the empire’s been working with to get?” Hunk asked. “What could cause that much quintessence then? A black hole?” He thought it over. “No, wait, that’s wrong. A white hole maybe?”

“Perhaps some anomaly not yet recorded.” Chip mused.

“Yeah...” Hunk nodded.

“Kolivan, are you able to pull the ship out?” Allura inquired.

“We were just about to test that probability ourselves.” Kolivan nodded. “But we need to be cautious. Anything that gets too close gets destroyed. We don’t know exactly what’s destroyed the probes we’ve sent, but it’s enough to tell us to not take too many risks with our ships.”

“Of course.” Allura confirmed. “Do what you must, but keep your people safe, too.”

Kolivan looked to the side when someone off screen seemed to talk to him. He nodded in response. “Be on standby, Princess, we’ll be trying to pull the ship out in a few doboshes.”

“Good luck.” Allura nodded. She continued watching where the other ships were getting into position, setting up with energy tethers to try and pull the ship back out. In theory, it would work. With the power they had, they could haul a ship that big; however, the rift was full of mystery.

As the others waited, Coran was left in thought. He felt like he had seen that sort of thing before, not exactly a ship caught in a strange rift, but rather the rift in general. He couldn’t quite place it, though.

“Coran?” Thace inquired. He was standing next to the royal adviser, working alongside him and even learning a bit in how to operate the castle.

“Oh, it’s just… something about it feels familiar.” Coran admitted. “I’m sure it’ll come back to me soon...”

Those in the castle watched as the ships tried to pull the Tel-Galax shuttle out of the rift. They started to sway as they tugged, but there was no give from the larger ship. There was a close call when there was too much tension on one ship that it bounced back towards the Altean shuttle; another ship smashed into it on purpose to keep them from hitting the rift.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Kolivan sighed “but with what we have, we cannot get it pulled out.”

“No, I understand.” Allura nodded. She observed the ship. “I wonder if there’s a way to go in through the ship to see if we can bypass that opening...” She contemplated the idea. “If so, we could perhaps get to the helm and pilot the ship out of the rift.”

To get through it to the ship. It finally hit him. “Princess! There may be a way… but… it is highly risky.” Coran spoke up, startling Hunk with his initial exclamation. “I thought I had seen something like this before… and I did. Over a thousand deca-pheobs ago.” He sighed. “The same thing appeared on Daibazaal, long before the war. It was caused by a comet that King Alfor referred to as the Trans Reality comet.”

“A trans reality comet?” Colleen inquired. “What’s that?”

“It’s a strange comet believed to be passing through the realities. When it finally collided, the rift was studied… as was the comet. King Alfor studied the comet… and used its ore to create the lions of Voltron.” Coran explained. Hearing that, the others were stunned. They did not expect to learn that the lions were made from the comet. “Many deca-phoebs later, the rift kept growing. In an attempt close the rift from the inside, the paladins of old entered it. So long as they stayed in their lions, they were safe.” There was something about his words that made the others wonder if something more happened, but no one spoke up. “It… is risky, so much could go wrong, but… it’s possible that Voltron could make it through.”

Allura thought it over. If there were more clues about the Alteans and even finding out about the ship, that could help and would be worth the risk. On top of that, the ship was stuck in a rift. Was it possible that it had another comet on it? If that were so, then it would be bad for Zarkon to get his hands on it. “I think we should go through.” Allura informed.

“Princess, with all due respect,” Keith spoke up, “but inside the rift, we shouldn’t leave Voltron, so we can’t get inside it to pilot it.”

“No but… we could potentially be able to push the ship back through.” Chip stated.

“Yeah, we were only focusing on pulling, it may need a bit of both to get it out.” Hunk added, agreeing with Chip. “That makes sense.”

“We need to try.” Allura stated.

“Princess, remember, this is risky. If you try, I implore you, practice extreme caution, please.” Coran begged.

“Of course.” Allura nodded. She looked to the others. “But we won’t unless we decide as a team.” The other paladins looked to one another before nodding. If there was a chance to find out more and ensure Zarkon would never get that comet, then they were going to take it. With that decided, they were off, suited up and in their lions.

Once Voltron was formed, they went to the ship. “Remember to take it slow and be cautious.” Kolivan reminded over the comms. “When you’re ready to try again, just let us know and we’ll start pulling the ship.”

“Copy that.” Keith stated. “Okay, guys, let’s take it slow and easy. Chip, keep an eye on Voltron’s vitals.”

“Right.” Chip nodded. He was checking on the data he was receiving from the scans as they started to enter the rift. “Whoa.”

“Chip? What’s wrong?” Keith inquired.

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was wrong.” Chip stated. “But the energy I’m picking up is tremendous. The Euclidian space is a truly an anomaly that doesn’t coincide with my understanding of how reality works. And there’s no exact origin of the quintessence we’re picking up on; it’s remarkable.”

“Huh, leave it to him to get excited over this.” Lance snickered.

“When Pidge finds out what we’ve done, she will flip and be jealous.” Allura giggled. “Anyway, Hunk, we’re going in; can you find any biorhythms?”

“I’m scanning, but I’m not getting anything.” Hunk responded. “But if there are any, they could be in the other half.”

Assuming there would be any. The rift was dangerous and something only Voltron could go through, apparently. The odds of someone being alive in the other half was not promising.

“Oh man, we’re really going through that zone, right?” Lance asked. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“If things go wrong, we abort.” Keith reminded. They started to press through the rift.

Chip kept an eye on the data. “Now that’s something.” he stated. “Guys, the sensors are going crazy with this. With all this energy, we should technically be torn apart, barring the fact that Voltron’s believed to be the strongest thing ever.”

“Isn’t it the strongest?” Lance asked.

“I don’t think so, buddy, we’ve been wrecked by robeasts.” Hunk reminded.

“Oh… right...”

“Anyway, Voltron’s unaffected by the stress of the spacial distortion.” Chip pointed out. “It’s remarkable. While in theory one would think it’s because Voltron was made from the ore of a comet that caused a similar thing, but we must also think that other materials would be needed to make the ships. That being said, we shouldn’t be as safe as we are if we go by logic. Yet here we are.”

“That’s a long winded way of saying we should be screwed but we’re actually safe.” Keith sighed.

Coran kept watch over the others as they went through. He frowned when he heard the comms distort and go to static. “Team? Paladins, do you copy? Do you hear me?”

“I’m trying to clear up the interference, but nothing’s working.” Thace stated.

“Paladins, pull back now!” Kolivan ordered. Nothing. “We’re unable to get through to them either.”

“Oh no...” Coran looked worried. They couldn’t contact the team. A part of him wished he never mentioned the probability of Voltron making it through.

“We have to trust them to handle themselves.” Colleen smiled as she went over, resting a hand on Coran’s shoulder. “They’ll make it back.”

“Right… I hope so.” Coran nodded.

“Huh?” Chip looked in shock. He expected more bright, glowing energy like they saw, not space. There, he and the others saw the front half of the Tel-Galax shuttle. “Okay, um… guys? I’m not getting any readings of the others...”

“And there’s no castle… what happened?!” Lance sounded worried.

“I… well… if I didn’t know any better, then I’d say we just entered another reality.” Chip informed. “Just like what the comet was assumed to do.”

“Oh man… that is… It’s really happening, isn’t it?” Hunk started to panic.

“Deep breaths, Hunk.” Keith instructed. “Okay… so we’re here. Are we clear of that energy, Chip?”

“Very much so, especially now that we’ve drifted closer to the front of the ship and away from the rift.” Chip confirmed. “Which means it’s technically safe for us to enter the ship.”

“Wait, we’re going to enter it?” Lance inquired.

“We may be able to find answers if we do. And perhaps put it to autopilot to get it to pilot itself out of the rift.” Keith suggested. “But first… Hunk, what’s the status on the biorhythms?”

“I’m actually picking up on a few, but without the BLIP tech, I can’t identify what they are right off.” Hunk responded.

“Then we need to be cautious.” Keith said.

“Then let’s do this, let’s find some answers and get the ship through.” Allura stated in agreement.

Chapter Text

“Okay, it’s just an old ship. It’s not haunted. Ghosts definitely don’t exist.” Hunk mumbled as he looked around. He listened to the creaking of the ship; it was definitely ominous sounding.

“C’mon, you heard Chip back at the last ship.” Lance waved it off. “There are no ghosts. And I bet Ulaz told Keith that story to scare him.”

“I would counter that, but… yeah, he would.” Keith sighed.

“See?” Lance grinned. He looked to Chip. “Right, Chip? C’mon, you said it yourself.” Chip had a look of worry. How could he deny ghosts when he swore he saw an actual apparition, and not a hologram, of General Vriyler. “Um… Chip? Buddy? That’s not reassuring...”

There was a clatter up in the ship somewhere that made Lance, Hunk, and even Chip scream in fear as they huddled together. Allura and Keith stopped to look back at them.

“Boys, settle down.” Allura tried to calm them. “It’ll be fine. This ship had probably been here for the past thousand deca-pheobs; a shuttle in this situation is bound to start breaking in some areas. Or it could be a sort of critter living in the vents, like those strange colourful fluffy things that Pidge and Chip brought back.”

“Oh… that… actually makes sense.” Chip chuckled nervously.

“Let’s keep going; if we’re going to find out what happened and even get the ship back online, we need to get to the bridge.” Keith ordered. “Allura, you know these ships better.”

“Right.” Allura nodded as she took the lead, locating the bridge with ease. To be expected, it was fairly empty. There was one suit that was seemingly discarded. “This is the bridge...”

“Do you think the crew abandoned the ship?” Hunk inquired.

“I don’t know, I mean, if they did, they wouldn’t get far without their sui-” Lance had gone over to the suit and picked up the helmet. “Shit! That’s not empty!” he cried out as he stumbled back and into the console to the side. Inside the suit was a skeleton with a monocle still stuck to the face.

As Lance stumbled back and hit the console, he seemed to activate something as a video recording was brought up. There, they saw the image of another Altean, this one wearing a monocle, looking frantic; it was easily assumed that he didn’t survive since he most likely the skeleton that Lance revealed.

“This is Commodore Trayling. Following King Alfor’s instructions and collected data, we located and extracted the second comet.” the Altean informed. “We were expecting to rendezvous with General Vriyler, but she didn’t reach the rendezvous point. On top of that-” Trayling was interrupted by an explosion. “Something occurred and we are struggling to get back to Altea. I fear we won’t make it back, though… this comet is causing severe disturbances...”

“Commodor! A sort of opening it being torn into space!” another voice shouted from off screen. “It doesn’t look like a wormhole!”

“Get the others to evacuate now!” the commodore ordered. He looked back to the screen. “We’re doing what we can, but the power of the comet is too much. I hope to get this data back to-huh?” He looked off screen. “What’s that? No!”

The recording went to static. Trayling definitely did not meet a good end and the others didn’t know what became of the other Alteans on board.

“What… what happened?” Hunk asked.

“If I had to guess? I’d say the comet tried to enter another reality while on board of the ship.” Chip deduced. “And it probably tried to take the ship with it, too. But the ship couldn’t handle going through.”

“Okay, so we know the comet was here then.” Keith stated. “So it could be in the cargo hold then… we just need to get this ship back through and out.” He looked over to Allura. “Do you think you can get the ship up and running?”

“It’s worth a try.” Allura nodded, getting over to the console to check. Before she could get anything activated, a vent cover on the ceiling was dropped, alerting the others. First one figure dropped down, followed by two more, one with multiple arms and another much smaller than either of them. They were clad in dark gray and black uniforms, the visors on their helmets blacked out, keeping their faces obscured. Without warning, the figures struck, the two more humanoid looking ones utilizing blasters and the multi-armed getting in close for combat.

“Whoa! Who the quiznak are these guys!?” Hunk cried out in surprise.

There weren’t any answers, neither from his team nor their foes. Fighting easily broke out. Chip went at the smaller figure, tripping them with his staff, trying take them down while the others were preoccupied with the bigger foes.

“Just who are you? What do you want?” Chip demanded. He shouted in surprise when the figure managed to kick him off and into a wall with considerable force. He turned in time to see them flip themselves over with ease, much like an experienced gymnast; not that he knew much on gymnastics, but he did see Pidge train a few times and saw how she could move. The figure then resumed trying to shoot at him, but Chip managed to dodge the projectile.

Chip did what he could to ignore the others; he couldn’t get distracted by them, he had his own foe to deal with. And honestly? Though a bit smaller than even him, this mysterious person was definitely tough. Chip, though, had been spending some time training; he was in a war and had to be ready.

He managed to slide in with ease and get up close to the figure. He then used his staff, smacking them right in the helmet with enough force that they knocked them back and the helmet off. Chip knew not to call his victory there, though; he took the next step and pinned the foe down with his staff across his chest.

“Why did you atta-” Chip stopped himself. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing as honey brown eyes stared right back at him. “What the… Pidge?” he asked, recognizing that face anywhere. He didn’t look up until he heard a whir, causing him to notice that the other humanoid figure, whose visor broke, had a blaster trained on him.

“Whoa… what the heck?” Hunk asked.

“Wait… Shiro?” Lance questioned as the Shiro look-alike removed the remainder of his helmet.

“I do not know who this Shiro is.” he said, his accent thick, perhaps Norwegian. “But you have three seconds to get off of Pidge.”

“Whoa, Shiro, hey, chill!” Lance yelped. “C’mon man, you know us! You know Chip!”

“I don’t know you.” Not-Shiro shook his head.

“Clearly it is some sort of trick of the Alteans.” the multi-armed alien stated, his helmet fading a bit to reveal him to be Slav.

“Wait, Slav?” Lance was confused. “What is happening here?”

“That’s what I want to know. On top of that, Pidge is here, too. But isn’t she supposed to be with the vehicle team?” Hunk asked.

“She? I’m not a girl!” the other Pidge stated, sitting up and pushing Chip back; it was easy to push him back with the pilot in shock at seeing who he was fighting. “And I want to know what’s going on, too. Chip! You’re supposed to be on Balto, helping with security! Unless… Ah! You’re from another reality!”

“We’re definitely in another reality!” Chip said at the same time as Pidge. He got up and offered his hand, helping Pidge up. “That’s what we figured already. But with this interaction now...”

“So we seriously are in another reality?” Lance asked. “Like what Slav is always talking about?” He blinked before looking to Slav. “Er, not you, well… I mean, yeah, you. But a different you, one who talks about realities all the time.”

“Oh, ja, that’s him.” Not-Shiro nodded towards Slav; he earned a glare in response from his multi-armed ally.

“Please, why are you here? Why did you attack?” Allura asked, stepping up.

“Stay back, Altean.” Slav snapped, pointing his weapon, a blaster he brought out, at the princess.

“Wait, hold on, she doesn’t mean any harm. None of us do.” Keith rushed in front of Allura, shielding her. “Let’s just settle down and take a breather, okay? We don’t know what’s going on; we’re just trying to find out fully what happened to the ship and how to get it back through.”

“For what, that comet?” Slav inquired. “I’ll never let it fall into Altean hands.”

“Altean hands… you say that like there are more Alteans around.” Chip stated.

“There are.” Pidge responded. “And they’re the enemy.”

“What?” Allura was shocked. “Alteans would never-”

“Princess, hold up.” Chip interrupted. “We’re in another reality, things probably differ here.” Allura shut her mouth, realizing that Chip probably had a point. “Sorry. Our reality, Alteans are our allies. At least the only two we know; we’ve been keeping our eyes out for others.”

“For your sake, I hope they are good.” Pidge grumbled, eyeing Allura. He really didn’t know if he could trust her or the others. It was a strange situation. But then again, Chip was there. That wasn’t his Chip, sure, but Chip from another reality couldn’t be evil, right? He stopped when he heard something, his gauntlet starting to beep. “Oh no! Slav! Sven! We’ve got a problem! An Altean ship has just arrived!”

“What? Not good!” Slav yelped. “Sven, let’s go.”

“Ja.” Not-Shiro, Sven, nodded as he went back to underneath the vent. “Pidge, up!”

“Right!” Pidge nodded. “But what about the others?” He looked to Chip. Though not his Chip, he still worried.

“If they know what’s best for them, then they’d get out of here, too.” Slav pointed out. “Now go.”

“Yeah.” Pidge ran over to Sven, the other presumed human using his hands to bounce the smaller male up into the vent. Slav went over and got Sven up there, too, before the other helped him up.

“Okay… that happened.” Hunk blinked. “But um… did they say that more Alteans were here?”

“More Alteans...” Allura whispered.

“Princess, we need to be on guard, they may not be the same as the ones as you knew in the past.” Keith reminded. Under his helmet, his ears twitched. He heard something coming down the halls. Before they knew it, the doors opens, showing sentries, though they looked like the ones from the Castle of Lions rather than the Galran empire. Keith went on the defense, weapon ready; Hunk, Lance, and Chip all had their weapons ready.

“Drop your weapons!” an Altean woman with magenta hair demanded. She looked, seeing Keith. “What the… A Galran?”

It was Allura’s turn to protect Keith; she pulled him back behind her. “Wait, it’s okay, he’s an ally and friend.” she spoke up. “You… you’re Altean.”

“Of course I… am...” The Altean woman stopped and stared. “Empress Allura?” she asked. Her words hit hard as everyone just stared. Empress? Allura? What sort of reality did they walk into? The woman then went down on her knee, another larger alien nearby, another Altean, and the sentries all doing the same. “Empress Allura, how could it be?” The Altean stood up. “You put down the Galra uprising over a millennium ago and established the Altean Empire.”

Altean Empire? That sounded rather worrisome to the others. Keith then stepped up to Allura’s side. “Where we’re from,” he spoke up, “the Alteans were wiped out by Zarkon.”

“Hmm?” The other Altean, this one with glasses, looked intrigued. “And where is it that you come from?”

Chapter Text

“I don’t know...” Lance mumbled. “Something doesn’t sit well with me.”

“You mean about the Alteans?” Hunk asked, looking over.

“Yeah, something’s just not right. And I think Not-Shiro and Shorty and other-Slav had good reasons to bail.”

“Um… Shorty? But wasn’t he also called Pidge?”

“Yeah, but we have a Pidge. Shorty felt like an equally fitting nickname.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Hunk nodded. “I wonder what other nicknames would have suited us.”

“Hmm...” Lance thought it over. “I don’t know, I get a feeling that if we were some cartoon show, the fandom would take from the wrong contexts and call you Hothead.”

“Aw, why do I gotta be Hothead, I’m sweet. Sometimes literally, depending on if there are alien honey bees and a hive drops on me again.”

“Hey, just a thought.” Lance shrugged.

“Well the fandom would probably call you Moody.”

“I ain’t moody!” Lance whined.

“You’re a little moody.” Chip chimed as he had a small piece of the comet set up in a containment unit. He had gone out in the green lion and collected a small sample from the comet that was resting in the middle of the ship, just barely out of the rift. “Or you at least have mood swings.”

“Dude...” Lance mumbled as Hunk snickered. “Anyway, finding anything good?”

“Finding everything remarkable.” Chip smiled. “The comet is exactly the same material as what was used to make Voltron! I mean, after what Coran said, I expected it, but seeing the data for myself? It’s still remarkable.”

“Which would explain how you were able to pass from your reality to ours with no damages to your ships.” The others looked over when the glasses wearing Altean walked in with the hulking alien that obediently and rather silently followed behind.

“So, it’s why Voltron is so strong?” Hunk inquired. While they weren’t quite sure of the Alteans, Hunk did decide to be civil. “I mean, Voltron’s the most powerful thing in the universe.” He grumbled when Lance elbowed him. “What?”

“Powerful?” The Altean thought it over some. He then shook his head. “Hmm, it might be. Though given the size of your ships, it’s possible that other materials were used, too, to help give them their strength. Unless that comet was especially massive.” He smiled. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to report this to Commander Hira.” Hira. She was the magenta haired Altean. Keith and Allura stayed behind on the bridge to talk with her while the others went to get a piece of the comet. He brought up a holographic screen on his gauntlet. “Commander Hira.”

“Is something the matter, Vellan?” Hira inquired. “Is it the Guns of Gamara?” Guns of Gamara? The paladins looked to one another, confused as to who that was. Perhaps the trio they met earlier?

“No, thankfully they haven’t shown themselves here.” Vellan hummed. “But we’ve found out more about the comet in the ship’s hold. Indeed, with it, I do believe that we could secure Altea’s rule for millennia to come.” That definitely didn’t sound good.

“Good, we’ll figure out a way to get out.” Hira responded before communications were cut.

“Altea’s… rule?” Lance asked.

Vellan looked over. “Ah, yes.”

“Like how Zarkon’s been ruling our reality’s universe?” Hunk was worried.

“Goodness, no.” Vellan shook his head. “Our rule is simply a measure of peace, expanding to help quell the rage and end the wars of others clear throughout the universe. We’ve been aiming for peace across the universe.”

“Peace? Throughout the universe?” Hunk questioned. “That doesn’t seem possible...”

“But it is.” Vellan hummed. He looked to the massive alien waiting behind him. “Moxilous here is proof of that. His people lived a futile existence, constantly warring with the other planets in their system. However, that all changed and now they live peacefully.”

“So how did it happen?” Lance looked to Moxilous, expecting him to give the answer.

“The hoktril.” Vellan motioned for Moxilous to turn around and he did. There, the paladins saw some sort of device implanted into the back of the alien’s head.

“What the hell is that?” Lance yelped, worried. Sure, he grew accustomed to aliens and technology, but the device made him think of something bad from some sci-fi movie.

“It’s the hoktril. Using these, it quells their urge to fight and hurt others, making them peaceful and compliant.” Vellan explained. “In a way, I suppose you could say it saps them of their will to fight. And they help us further our grasp for peace.”

“So you’ve enslaved them.” If Chip wasn’t skeptical at first, then he definitely was by then. He eyed Moxilous and the device implanted in him. Hearing what it did, it definitely did not sit well with him.

“Goodness, no.” Vellan chuckled a bit. “Slaves constantly try to escape or revolt. Non-cogs, as we refer to those under the influence of the hoktril, lack the will and are therefore compliant.”

“That’s pretty much the same as breaking someone’s spirit to make them comply with what you want, or break them to the point that they just can’t bring themselves to fight back!” Chip snapped. “It’s horrible!”

“But you must understand,” Vellan pressed, “without this, casualties of war would be far greater. The hoktril may seem bad to a child such as yourself, but it has helped with so much.”

“I may be a child, but I’ve studied enough to know slavery when I see it!” Chip snapped. “Ugh… I need to go on a walk.”

“Chip? Buddy?” Hunk asked. Chip stormed out of the room, shouting that he couldn’t slam the damn door shut. “Oh. He is definitely pissed...”

“Yeah...” Lance nodded. He wanted to go after Chip, but if he was anything like Pidge, it could be a hit or miss. Literally if one didn’t tread lightly. There was no telling how he would respond.

Chip wandered the halls. He just wanted to get away from Vellan. Vellan. More like villain. He was horrible and a less violent version of Zarkon and those who supported the tyrant in his reality. He stopped and turned to a wall before kicking it several times out of frustration. While next to his sister, he did seem to be a bubbly teen with a few gremlin moments, but even he couldn’t bottle up his emotions for too long; he had to get them out.

“This is stupid… these Alteans… they’re just...” Chip mumbled when he stopped, resting his forehead against the wall he just assaulted.

“Yeah, they’re bad.”

“AH!” Chip jumped and spun around, looking up at the voice he heard. He looked to see the other Pidge there, staring at him. More than that, he was hanging upside down out of a vent. Then his twin’s counterpart’s glasses fell from his face.

“Ah! Snap!” Pidge yelped.

“Got them.” Chip picked up the glasses. “They’re not broken.”

“Phew! Yeah, my brother got fed up with me constantly breaking my classes, so he designed durable ones for me.” Pidge snickered. “Maybe he should make a pair that don’t fall off.”

“Goggles would work, you can even replace the lens for prescription if needed. Or tape the glasses to your face.” Chip suggested with a shrug. He then looked a little curious. “What are you even doing up there?”

Pidge looked around. No one up or down the halls. “Setting explosives.” He pulled himself out of the with strength and flexibility, reminding Chip of his twin with how she would move. Must have been a Pidge thing. Pidge dropped down. “So, don’t turn me in to those Alteans, please? We’re trying to stop them; there’s an important comet in the ship and Slav says it’s really bad if they get it.”

“Yeah, the last thing I want is for those tyrants to get the comet.” Chip responded. “That scientist… he’s horrible! I should have thrown something at his face!”

“Yeah! That’d be awesome to see!” Pidge grinned brightly. Chip blinked. Though not her, he was definitely so much like his twin, though the mention of explosives made him feel that this Pidge was perhaps more chaotic. “I hope you get the chance.”

“Doesn’t matter if I do or don’t, what does matter is getting that comet out of here.” Chip mused. “It would be bad for it to fall in the wrong hands… but...” He looked over. “Does your group have a means to protect it if we get it away? You are a group, right? The Alteans mentioned Guns of Gamara, so I assume that’s you guys.”

“Wow, leave it to Chip to be smart.” Pidge smiled. “My brother’s bright, too, and can easily figure out stuff, too. Anyway, yeah, that is us.” He nodded. Sure, he didn’t know this Chip, but something told him he could trust him. “As for protecting it… I… don’t know. Slav knows the most since he knows all this reality stuff, so...”

“Well, we’ll figure something out la-” Chip stopped himself when he jerked a bit, feeling the ship shudder. “What the quiznak?”

“This can’t be good.” Pidge brought up a screen on his gauntlet. “Sven, do you copy? What’s going on?”

“Hira seems to have found a way to get the ship out of that rift.” Sven responded. “It’s not good, Pidge, the comet is now on this side of the rift.”

“Ah snart.” Pidge grumbled.

“That’s definitely not good…” Chip grumbled. “One, they now have a chance to get that comet. Two… that means the rift is probably gone… and we can’t get back. Oh quiznak…”

“In theory,” Chip heard Slav through Pidge’s comms, “it should be probable to get back through with the comet. But you have to go through the exact coordinates that you came in through, otherwise you would find yourself in a different reality from your own.”

“Wait, is that advised?” Pidge inquired. “I mean, we can’t let that fall in the wrong hands. I wanna trust this group, too, but I’m probably biased because they have their own Chip.”

“I am certain now, in their hands, the comet would be safest than anywhere in this reality.” Slav assured.

“Coran seems to know a bit about the comet, and the Blade of Marmora especially would be able to find a way to keep it from falling into enemy hands.” another voice stated. Chip perked up.

“Wait! Hunk?!” Chip asked.

“Oh! Hey Chip!” Chip could just imagine Hunk’s smile. “You’re with their Pidge?”

“We were found by Not-Shiro and other-Slav.” Lance chimed; Pidge’s teammate could be heard in the background saying that his name was Sven. “And it seems they’ve got a plan to keep these evil Alteans from getting that comet.”

“Pidge, finish up and get into posi-oh no!”

“Slav? Slav! Sven!?” Pidge called.

“Perfect, I had a feeling that the Guns of Gamara were on this ship.” came a more distant voice, but Chip knew it was Vellan’s. “But I didn’t expect Empress Allura’s friends would be working with them. No matter. Detain them.”

Pidge closed the comm quickly. “Oh snart, that is not good.” He nodded. “I may need your help. I have to finish getting the charges placed. Then we need to figure things out to save our teams… sounds like they’re taking them to the empress… but...” Pidge looked confused. “Jerk face said Empress Allura. But she died a long time ago. There’s no other empress. Unless he meant that Altean you were traveling with? Wait, she’s called Allura, too? I’m so confused. She’s part of your team but she’s the empress. Is that even safe? Is it good? Can we actually trust the comet with you then? But what if she’s not corrupted. I heard the empress from long ago in this reality wasn’t really corrupted, but she did rise up against the Galra and nearly had them eradicated. But so she’s an ally, right? But you have another, too. The purple guy in red armor. He wouldn’t turn on you guys, right?”

“Pidge? Pidge. PIDGE!” Chip smooshed Pidge’s face between his hands. “Hey, breathe.” Had the situation been better, he would have been amused; the two Pidges were so much alike with how they got worked up and rambled. For a brief moment, he wondered if all Pidges were like that. “We have a job to do, okay? We can’t panic. So, breathe. C’mon, breathe with me. In. Out. In. Out.”

“Yeah.” Pidge nodded, breathing with Chip for a short moment. “Thanks for that.” He looked when he heard metallic steps. “Oh snart, sentries.” He put his hands together, fingers intertwined. Chip knew what that meant and went to him, letting him bounce him up into the vent. Chip got turned around and reached out, grabbing hold of Pidge when he jumped up. They got pulled in and safe in the vent by the time the sentries passed. They looked down to see them going past, seeing Lance, Hunk, Sven, and Slav with them. They waited silently until they were clear before either spoke.

“Oh man, they’re in trouble.” Chip mumbled. “But we can do this. We can handle the situation. For now, what do we need to do exactly?”

“Finish putting the explosive in place. Then detonate them; they won’t completely destroy the ship, but they’re in crucial spots to render it inoperable.” Pidge stated. “But then to find the others...”

“The explosives may distract the Alteans.” Chip stated. “So they may find an opening to escape. And odds are they’re going to the bridge. That’s where Allura and Keith are.”

“Okay, then let’s get our work finished.” Pidge nodded.

Chapter Text

“Get wrecked!” Pidge swung himself from the vent and into a sentry, taking it down before it could shoot either the paladins or Guns of Gamara operatives. He sprung off of the sentry and flipped himself over. “Yeah! That was awesome!”

“I swear it’s a Pidge thing to make me have a heart attack and worry...” Chip mumbled as he leaned out of the vent.

Moments prior, Pidge had set off the explosives. This helped to damage part of the Altean ship as well as cause a diversion for the others to try and deal with the Alteans of that reality. In that time, Hira and Vellan took off elsewhere, perhaps to the ship they came in on to attack? Or to ambush them elsewhere? Either way, they weren’t in that room with the others anymore.

“I think it’s a Pidge thing with any Chip then.” Sven hummed. “Nice save though.”

“Here, buddy, I’ve got you.” Hunk reached up, helping Chip down from the vent. “So, now what?”

“We need to get to the lions.” Keith pointed out.

“And get the comet.” Chip reminded. “I’ve got the locations of our lions and the comet all mapped out.”

“Right, lead the way.”

Chip nodded and took off, getting them through the halls. He turned one of the corners, but Keith yanked him back as fires were shot out. “Oh quiznak...” Chip grumbled. “We need to turn left to get to the lions.”

Lance, Sven, and Slav dashed across, getting to the other side a bit to take sentries down from a different angle.

Sven couldn’t help but laugh. “Hah! Is like planet Krydor all over again.” he mused.

“You and I remember Krydor differently.” Pidge gave his comrade a dumbfounded look. “You nearly died there. Again.” He looked to Chip. “Can you believe this guy? He nearly dies a lot more than I’d like.”

“Oh, like you’re one to complain. How often do you get shot?” Sven bit back. “Or blown up. Or captured.”

“Will you two bicker later?!” Lance snapped at the two. “I just met you and I’m probably certain you two argue more than our Pidge and Not-Sven.”

“We need to get past these guys.” Allura said, helping to get them back on track. “Chip, are there any other alternative routes?”

“I’m looking, but we kinda damaged the ship and some would take us too far out of the way, we’ll just be cut off again.” Chip explained.

“I have an idea! But hold on! Literally.” Slav bounded off towards the sentries, getting around them and even getting one to shoot another. He went to where the controls were and activated them, getting the airlock there to open up and pull the sentries out.

“Does he do this in every reality!?” Lance cried out, bracing himself with Sven.

“I don’t know other realities, but he always do this every six missions.” Sven informed.

Pidge, who was being held onto and protected by Hunk, counted his fingers. “Really? Has it been six missions?” he asked. “What was the last place he did this?”

“Planet Ariel, I think.” Sven remarked.

“No, no, Ariel was where I couldn’t pry Chip away from their strange form of tech, I’m sure.” Pidge stated. He looked over to Chip. “Er, not you. My Chip, my twin.”

“No, no, that was Pollux he did that.” Sven waved it off.

“Will you two figure it out another time when none of us are in danger in this ship with a crazy Altean who wants to enslave the universe?!” Lance snapped. “We still need to get out of here!”

“We have a way out.” Chip leaned around the corner and pointed to the airlock where Slav was still holding on and waving. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, Chip!” Pidge smiled. He pulled Chip into a hug. “Good luck. You’ve got this.” He grinned. “Can’t wait to tell my twin I met another him, though.”

“Can’t wait to tell mine I met a male version of her. With more explosives.” Chip hummed. “Er… maybe I should leave out the explosives… she may want some.”

“You won’t be able to tell her anything if we don’t get going, so c’mon.” Keith pulled Chip along and they went out of the ship and to their lions.

“Chip, you have the comet’s location?” Allura asked.

“And the coordinates to where we go to get out of here and back home. We have to be precise, though.” Chip informed. He worked with the green lion’s systems, locating the spot he needed and sending the data up to Keith. “The black lion should be able to lock onto that with ease.”

“Copy that. Now let’s get that comet and get out of here.” Keith confirmed.

Getting the comet was surprisingly the easy part, as was making sure they were lined up to escape. However, getting out was trickier. While Pidge and Chip managed to sabotage the ship just enough so it couldn’t go anywhere, it was operable enough for part of its weapons systems to go online and be used to attack them. That along with the ship that Hira and the others presumably came on, Voltron was under attack. The Alteans of that reality tried to pursue, but something didn’t go well for them as they started losing ship functions.

“Hey! That big other-reality ship stopped!” Hunk pointed out.

“Good to know, but not really important right now. We need to get going.” Keith reminded. He then got them to the right spot, the comet starting to tear its way through the fabric of reality. As they were pulling through, they were fired upon from one of the ships, weapons still functioning.

Back in their original reality, the others were concerned. First they fully lost communications with Voltron after they entered the rift, next the ship was unexpectedly brought through to the wrong side of the rift; the Blade of Marmora had to act quick to ensure no one was accidentally pulled with it and through, too. Once the ship was through, the rift was gone.

“This isn’t good… what if they can’t find a way back through?” Coran asked, worried. “Oh no...”

“Give them time.” Colleen patted Coran’s back. “Keith understands the dangers of space travel well, as does Allura, Hunk has more than enough common sense to keep the team safe and on their toes, Lance is rather creative and can find his way around, and Chip is a genius and good at figuring things out. They’ll get through this and return.” She couldn’t deny that she was worried, too, but she knew that worrying wouldn’t do anyone any good. She had to have faith in the team.

“Thank you, Professor.” Coran nodded. He then looked back to where the rift once was, a flash catching his attention. He saw the flash again, and then it grew. Something was breaking through seemingly nothing and it was Voltron with the comet. “Oh thank the ancients!” Just as they got through, something on the side they came from shot them. Before it could fire again, the rift closed. “Paladins! Paladins, are you okay? Princess? Keith?”

“We’re fine, Coran.” Allura assured.

“Oh thank goodness, we’re back!” Hunk sighed in relief.

“Coran, Kolivan, we’ve got the comet. We need to have it properly secured so what happened to that Tel-Galax doesn’t happen to another ship.” Keith pointed out.

“Yes, we’ll get right on it. And get you lot to the infirmary, too; we need to make sure you’re okay.” Coran stated.

Once the others were in, Coran, who had some experience due to the comet used to make Voltron, worked with the Blade of Marmora to properly secure it. Meanwhile, Colleen went to the infirmary with Ulaz, getting the others checked on. Or rather Ulaz did the examinations, Colleen just squished Chip’s face and checked him over like the caring parent she was.

“You’re certain you didn’t get hurt?” Colleen inquired.

“What’s hurting is my face right now, Mom.” Chip whined a bit.

“Colleen, please behave, we can’t have Chip hurt.” Ulaz sighed as he gave Hunk the all clear. “Like the others, Chip is fine. No one is hurt.”

“Good.” Colleen released Chip’s face, but she wasn’t fully done. She hugged him close. “I’m glad you all are safe.”

Ulaz chuckled a bit. “She kept strong all this time, reassuring Coran even. Then you lot return, and she just melts and dotes.”

“Sounds like a good mom to me.” Allura giggled. “Anyway, we’ve checked out well. We can probably return to the bridge, right?” Ulaz nodded, giving them the say so since they weren’t injured. Once up on the bridge, they were working out what to do about the comet. With Voltron out fighting and with Alfor not being around anymore to help them understand the comet and no found documents, it was decided that it would be best with the Blade of Marmora.

“Are you certain of this decision, Princess?” Kolivan inquired.

“Yes, I can’t imagine anyone better who could keep it safe as well as try understand it more.” Allura assured, smiling softly. “Perhaps it’s possible to even make more ships from it.”

“More ships?” Kolivan looked stunned. “Though I suppose you are right. There is still much to do and ships made from the comet could prove beneficial.”

“Kolivan, sir, we could also get Slav to help out. And I think I may have some old notes I was able to save before being hidden.” Lotor suggested.

“That could help.” Kolivan nodded, glancing over to the other Marmora agent.

Allura nodded. “Thank you. And good luck with the work.” she said. “For a bit, we’ll stick around since Coran knows a bit more in hiding and transporting the comet.”

“Indeed, and I’ll be happy to share my experience and knowledge with you!” Coran declared, looking rather proud of himself.

“Hmm?” Thace looked over to Allura. “Princess, Commander Hawkins is contacting us.”

“Right, bring him up on screen.” Allura looked up when a second screen was brought up, showing the commander of the Arcadia next to Kolivan and Lotor’s screen. “Commander, it’s nice to hear from you. I hope you don’t mind, but we’re connected with Kolivan, too.”

“That… may be good. Kolivan, perhaps you can provide assistance, too.” Hawkins spoke. “I wish I was here with better news but… a mission did not go as planned. As a result, Pidge went missing.”

The others were in shock, fear and worry even showing. Pidge was missing? Again? Hearing that, Chip covered his mouth and did all he could to not break down.

“Hawkins,” Colleen stepped up, somehow managing to look strong as she stared at the commander, “what happened? Please explain.” She did her best to not cry or lash out, but she was worried. She kept her voice calm and unwavering, but the slight tremble in her hand showed she was anything but calm.

Chapter Text

“Damn you!” Aki went at Hawkins and tried to punch him, but the commander managed to grab hold of him and swing him around before directing him to the floor. “You left Pidge! You abandoned her, Commander!” He got back up and went at the commander again, but he was met with the same thing. Before he could try for a third time, Cliff and Krik grabbed hold of him, the other team leaders managing to grab hold of him.

“Knock it off, Aki.” Cliff shouted, doing his best to rein in the air team’s leader.

“Aki, please. It’s not the commander’s fault.” Krik did his best to calm Aki down.

“Like hell it isn’t!” Aki snapped. “You told us to fall back! We could have stuck with her, we could have fought harder!” He stopped struggling against Cliff bracing him, though the land team leader didn’t let go of him yet.

“Commander Hawkins wasn’t the only one who wanted us to back off, though.” Cliff reminded. “Even Pidge told us to back off.”

“I don’t give a quiznak what she said!” Aki yelled at Cliff. “She was our teammate. My teammate! I should have stayed with her and made sure she would be safe! If anything, I should have stayed with her!” With his frustration, it was hardly a surprise to see Aki tear up. He was stressed and worried about one of his pilots. “I was in charge of her. I should have kept her safe… I...” His shoulders shook as he leaned against Cliff. “I should have stayed...”

“Aki...” Cliff may have found himself butting heads with Aki at times, Krik being the more sensible and calm of the three team leaders, but he felt for Aki. He felt that if he were in his position and one of his teammates went missing on his watch, he would be upset too. He didn’t know if he would be able to contain himself or if he would lash out like Aki did.

“I know you’re upset, Aki,” Hawkins sighed, “but I made a judgment call. I didn’t want this to happen, either, but we couldn’t take the risk. And you know Pidge, she wouldn’t have made the call lightly, either.” He went over, resting his hand on the air team leader’s shoulder. “We’re going to get her back. It may not be right away, but we will.”

“What if… she didn’t survive, though?” Aki asked. “Pidge isn’t indestructible. She gets hurt. She even can die…”

“I may not have Krik’s ability in clairvoyance, but I do have a feeling she’s still kicking. Especially if someone tries to apprehend her.” Hawkins assured.

“I’ll try to keep my senses open, pay attention and hope to get something about her.” Krik added.

Hawkins nodded. “That’s appreciated.” he said. “I need to report and let Princess Allura know what happened.” He also needed to inform Colleen that her daughter was missing. That wasn’t going to be easy.

“Commander… with your permission, I want to go back out there. I need to. I have to find Pidge.” Aki pleaded.

“We will be getting out there, but first we need to try and figure out a general idea of where she could have been sent.” Hawkins pointed out. “Otherwise we would be blindly searching and would take longer to locate her.” He sighed. “I know you don’t want to wait, any of you don’t want to wait,” he looked to see the remaining fourteen members, their worried expressions rather grave, “but we need to be patient if we’re going to find her more efficiently.” He turned away. “I don’t want anyone leaving the Arcadia without prior authorization, no excuses.” He walked off, leaving the pilots. He went off to return to the bridge, passing Matt in the corridor. “Matt...”

“I know you’re doing your best.” Matt stated. “You and Pidge made the same call in a situation with minimal data.”

“I’m still sorry.” Hawkins sighed. “I wish more could have been done.”

“As do I… but… we’re not giving up.”

Hawkins nodded. “Is it possible to try and track where Pidge went? The direction and possibly distance?”

“Hyperjumps can go across quite a distance, sir.” Matt reminded. “But...” He thought it over. “We may be able to get a general guideline. Especially if we...” He perked up. “Check the radiation signature! We can try and track that to find Pidge! We may not get her exact location due to the decay of the radiation, but we can get a general idea and of how fast she’s going, thus giving us a chance at finding a more precise zone!” He smiled. “We’re going to find her, sir!” He then ran off, calling into the comms for some of the rebels to meet with him in another section of the ship.

Hawkins just stared in shock. “That was… something.” he commented. He shook his head, smiling. It was upsetting that they lost Pidge, but he felt even more that they had a chance. He then continued his path, returning to the bridge. “Establish a link to the Castle of Lions.”

“Yes, sir.” the Earthling at one of the communications stations confirmed, doing as instructed. It didn’t take long.

Hawkins waited unil the screen came up. He didn’t get to say something yet for it was Allura who spoke first. “Commander, it’s nice to hear from you.” He wished it was nice; he wished it could have just been a social call or general update. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re connected with Kolivan, too.”

Kolivan was there. That could be beneficial. “That… may be good.” he said, his heart heavy. “Kolivan, perhaps you can provide assistance, too.” His heart broke; he knew he had to report what happened. “I wish I was here with better news but… a mission did not go as planned. As a result, Pidge went missing.”

Hawkins did his best to remain strong. He saw how stunned the others were to hear of that. He wondered how Chip would react; he was young, seeing war from the front lines, and had to witness his sister get hurt on a number of occasions. It couldn’t be easy. And then Colleen stepped up.

“Hawkins,” she spoke, keeping her tone level, “what happened? Please explain.”

And so Hawkins did. He explained how Pidge ended up stuck in the ship of a malfunctioning hyper drive core. “We couldn’t get her out in time.” he said in the end of his explanation. “But Matt feels he can try and track the radiation from the core and get a general idea in what direction she went and how far she could have gone.”

“We’ll be able to find her then.” Allura nodded. “It’s premature compared to our original plan, but we can meet up with you and assist; you’ll need the help you can get.”

“But what about the comet?” Keith inquired.

“Don’t fret about that.” Coran assured. “I’ve got it handled and can work with the comet with Slav and the Blade of Marmora. Allura can open a wormhole and go through while I stay with the castle; if needed, we’ll have enough energy for me to bring you all back and send you to other coordinates.”

Hawkins watched Allura nod in agreement. “Thank you, we’d appreciate it.”

“I can spare some agents, too.” Kolivan assured.

“Send Regris! Send Reg-oof!” Matt ran in and slammed against Hawkins by mistake, but thankfully neither of them fell. “Sorry! Um, we’re working on reading the radioactive decay of the energy trail to get an idea of understanding what direction she went, the full trajectory, and the pace Pidge was thrown in. I’m sure Regris will be of help with this.”

“That’s doable.” Kolivan confirmed.

“We’ll be there in a few moments, Hawkins.” Allura declared.

“We’ll be ready to receive you.” Hawkins nodded. “Thank you.”

“I’m going with.” Colleen said as she got ready, grabbing some supplies. She stood with Ulaz.

“Professor, I know you’re worried but...” Allura was worried.

“Regris isn’t the only one who understands radioactive decay. I have plenty of skills to offer and I’m going to find my daughter and no one is going to stop me.” Colleen declared.

“Yes ma’am!” Allura couldn’t explain it, but the professor seemed a little intimidating with that. Perhaps it was the worried mother energy? Or maybe it was just a Colleen Gunderson thing. Either way, the princess didn’t want to get in the way.

“I will be assisting as well.” Ulaz nodded his head.

“Okay, then we best get going.” Keith stated.

The paladins went to the lions, Colleen and Ulaz joining Chip in the green lion. It didn’t take long for them to meet up with some of the Blades and go through the wormhole, reaching the Arcadia.

“Mom! Regris!” Matt called, finding the others when they arrived.

“Hey, kiddo.” Colleen greeted, hugging Matt. Like with Chip, she definitely saw him as another one of her children. She even hugged Regris; he might as well have been her child with how well he got along with the others. “We’re good to go and help.”

“Thanks. We’re doing what we can, but more minds on the job can help.” Matt nodded. “I’ll show you to where we’re working. We’ve been collecting readings of the area and studying, them, too.”

“We’ve got our work cut out for us.” Ulaz nodded.

“We’ll get it done.” Regris assured.

“Chip? Sweetie?” Colleen looked to where Chip was standing. “Are you heading down with us?”

“I...” Chip sighed. “I don’t know if I can focus...” He looked down when he heard squeaking, seeing the mice run past Allura and to him. He scooped them up. “Hey guys, how about we go find the team, okay? And Chulatt.”

“They should be in the lounge.” another crew-mate informed.

“I’m heading up to the bridge, see if I can provide any help up there.” Allura stated.

“I’ll go up and help, too.” Keith nodded.

“Well, Chip,” Lance put his arm around Chip’s shoulders, “let’s head on over to the lounge.” Chip nodded. He went there with Lance and Hunk, finding the land, sea, and air teams sitting around.

“Chip!” Ginger called, looking over to see him. She ran over and hugged him, careful to not squish the mice. “I’m so sorry…”

“We’ll… we’ll find her, though.” Chip did his best to smile. He looked down to the squeaking mice. “Oh, right, Chulatt. Is he...”

“I think he was with Pidge; he often sticks with her.” Hutch admitted from a nearby booth.

Chip nodded. “Okay.” He looked to the mice. “Don’t worry, guys, we’ll find Chulatt, too. Pidge won’t let anything happen to him.” The mice squeaked and made gestures. “Yeah, he’ll keep her safe, too.”

Aki went over and rested a hand on Chip’s shoulder. “We’re going to get her back, I swear it.” he promised. “Nothing’s going to stop us.”

“I haven’t a doubt.” Chip smiled softly. He was still worried, but he was also grateful. Sure, Pidge constantly found herself in trouble, but she also had a supportive team ready to help her. Sure, some things took time, but they weren’t going to give up.

Chip went to talk with the others, catching up with them and hearing what they had to say about what happened during the mission. Lance, on the other hand, went and leaned against a wall. Hunk went to him.

“Hey buddy,” Hunk leaned against the wall, “you’re worried, too.”

“Pidge is a strong girl, she’s got this handled.”

“You’re trying to delude yourself.”

“Yeah...”

“It’s okay to worry.”

“I know.” Lance sighed. “But I can’t let this distract me. I have to be alert and at the top of my game, ready to go out there and find her. Protect her if she needs it, too.”

“Just… don’t hurt yourself. Physically or mentally.” Hunk reminded. “And it’s okay to cry. And be scared and worried.”

Lance leaned against his friend and teammate, the yellow paladin wrapping his arm around him. “What if this time is different. I want to remain optimistic, but… what if she never comes back? Even if we find her…”

“We’re going to find her. And she’s going to be okay.” Hunk assured. “I’ll be optimistic for us both.” He pulled Lance in more for a hug. “We’re going to get her back. And then we’ll make peanut butter cookies for her.”

“Followed by video games and no work for a day or two.” Lance mumbled.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Hunk nodded. “It’ll be well earned.”

Chapter Text

“Who’s not dead, sound off?” Chulatt poked his head out of Pidge’s hip pouch, letting out a dazed squeak. Kosmo grumbled as he clambered to his paws. Rover sounded off with a concerned whirring. “Good, we’re all accounted for.” Kosmo nosed her arm, whining. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Pidge turned and checked on him. “Are you hurt?” Kosmo nosed her again. “Oh, me, you’re worried about me.” She smiled and pet him. “Don’t worry, buddy, I’m fine.”

Rover beeped at her. “I don’t know where we are yet.” Pidge responded. She checked the ship’s systems, finding them to be down. “Can’t get a reading yet and can’t contact the team through here.” She looked to Rover. “Can you pick up on anything?” Rover beeped several times as he computed the data before responding. “Interference, huh? Must be the radiation from that messed up hyperjump.”

Shrugging, Pidge got up out of her seat. “Well, we’re not going to learn anything from here, so we might as well investigate. Thankfully we’re not in a rocky gorge.” Chulatt made a small squeak as he wiped off his forehead; he remembered the crash just before meeting the vehicle team for the first time. “Let’s do this.” Pidge went to the door and got it open, jumping out. Kosmo and Rover were quick to follow and Chulatt climbed his way up to Pidge’s shoulder.

“Huh, it’s not bad out here.” Pidge mused, seeing how nice it looked. Soft green grass. Gentle pinkish-orange skies skies, though the lighting told her that the sun she could at least detect was not setting. “I’m not seeing any signs of Galra right off.” She looked to the top of the helicopter. “Hey Kosmo, can you get me up there?” Kosmo pressed in close and disappeared, reappearing where Pidge wanted to be. “Thanks!”

Pidge looked around more, taking in her surroundings. She stopped when she saw further on what looked like an old city. “Looks like it’s in ruins.”she said. “I think we should check it out. There could be signs as to what caused it, and if they look Galran, we know we’re in a hostile location.” She pulled herself up onto Kosmo’s back. “Okay buddy, yip yip.” Kosmo disappeared, reappearing on the ground. He then took off running, heading right for the old city.

When they entered it, Pidge saw well crafted structures. Homes. “Must have been a residential location.” she responded. “But… huh...” She got down from Kosmo’s back and checked out one of the buildings, running her hand across one of the crumbling walls. “I don’t know everything about it but… doesn’t this kinda look Altean? I mean, it doesn’t hold the same pristine white and technological look, but still.”

Chulatt went to Pidge’s other shoulder and climbed down. He got into her other pouch and rustled around in it before pushing something up out of it a bit. Pidge picked it up and check it, seeing the juniberry flower imprisoned in a crystal.

“Yeah, Altean.” Pidge looked back up to the building. “I wonder what happened. Did they stop here for a bit? But were attacked?” She looked around the buildings as she continued to walk around. “But this doesn’t hold the same destruction that the empire would cause… it doesn’t even look destructive enough for pirates, you’d expect more fire damage and explosions, right?” She went along a crumbling wall that didn’t seem to border any particular home. Perhaps the town’s aesthetic or for a garden or park? She couldn’t say for sure. “I wonder what happened here. It doesn’t seem to have been too terribly long ago, nature hasn’t taken over enough for that.”

Kosmo started snarling as his fur bristled up. Pidge decided to act like nothing was going on. “Okay, buddy, why not hide for a bit, then you can play fetch if they’re a threat.” she whispered. Kosmo disappeared, finding another spot to watch Pidge from. Meanwhile, the pilot went around, checking the ruins further. If she was going to lure in whoever would potentially cause her harm, she was going to have to look like she was vulnerable and unaware.

While Pidge did expect someone to show up, she didn’t have any sort of expectation how. She especially didn’t expect to have something sharp jab her in the back, though not enough to actually hurt her. It was moved and she saw a sword come up alongside her; Rover was beeping wildly in concern. “Oh...” She looked back to see someone behind her, a figure in armor not looking much older than her. But there was something about him that stood out more than the sword and armor. His face. He had Altean markings!

“You’re not from here.” the boy grumbled. “Who are you and how did you find this place?”

Pidge spun around, taking a step back from him. “Wait a sec… you’re Altean?!” She grinned. “That’s so awesome!” She put her hands up in a sort of placid motion when the boy raised his sword. “No, no, I don’t mean harm. I’m Pidge, former paladin of the green lion of Voltron and present pilot of Rugger Four of DaiRugger. Former paladin for good reasons, though. Or, well, mostly good. I wasn’t disgraced and Voltron wasn’t destroyed, so there’s that to it.”

“You think giving Galra tech fancy names will make you seem less suspicious?”

“Galra? No, no no no!” Pidge sighed. “They’re not Galra tech. Why would you thin...” She looked to Rover. “Oh! Rover! Him! Yeah, he’s Galra tech, but that’s just formerly part of the empire. I stole him from the empire and had him reprogrammed to assist me in combat and technology, especially getting into Galran systems on ships and bases. He’s a great asset to the team. But no, Voltron and DaiRugger are peace bringers. We’re working hard to take down the Galran Empire.”

The boy wasn’t convinced and didn’t feel he could trust the pilot. Without any warning, he went at Pidge with force, intent to end her. Pidge jumped back in time and pulled out the staff she carried around, not wanting to shoot him with her handheld blaster.

“Whoa! Hey! I’m not your enemy, I swear!” Pidge yelped, blocking the Altean’s strikes. “Dude, can we just talk about this or something? I’m not the enemy. Hell, I even know some Alteans. I don’t know if you’d know them, they’ve been in stasis for like a thousand years, but still.”

“You think I’m a fool, Galra spy?” the Altean questioned, not letting up on his attacks. “Alteans have been tricked in the past for assuming the good in someone when told that they also knew Alteans, but it never went well. I won’t be like them!” The Altean nearly got Pidge in the arm, but she got out of the way in time for him to just slice the sleeve of her uniform and barely nick her; it wouldn’t even scar, she was sure.

While Pidge wasn’t upset about a minor injury, Kosmo was. Kosmo came charging and tackled the Altean to the ground, snarling in his face.

“What the...” The Altean froze. Being face to face with a giant blue wolf could be rather frightening, especially when that wolf is angry.

“Kosmo, it’s fine!” Pidge rushed to her wolf, trying to get him to back off as he was biting into the Altean’s forearm, breaking the metal with ease. Pidge looked. The others had moved in quickly, surrounding her the moment Kosmo struck the Altean. “Kosmo, easy boy.” Kosmo backed into Pidge, pushing her closer to the wall she was investigating moments ago. He snarled at the others, clearly Altean, who had them surrounded. Like the boy, they were all wearing armor; they were clearly a sort of security force. “In Kosmo’s defense, he thought I was in danger when he,” Pidge nodded her head toward the Altean boy, “caught my arm a bit. I swear he’s a good boy.”

“I doubt that.” a tall and well built Altean said. He had similarly coloured hair to the boy and it was pulled back. “Weaponized pets of the Galra and their allies are never good.”

“I swear it, I’m not the enemy.” Pidge assured. “Look, see? I had gotten some of these from another who had met Alteans.” She pulled out the crystal again and tossed it over to one of the Alteans, this one with dark hair put into several braids and pulled back into a ponytail. He caught it with ease.

The Altean looked the crystal over. “It’s a juniberry; we don’t have them growing, but I’ve heard they’re from Altea.” he said, looking to the broad Altean. “Perhaps we should talk and figure things out.”

“You know the laws to maintain the safety of our people.” the broad Altean responded. “However, Merla can decide if he’s safe or not. For now, detain him.”

“Nope!” Pidge yelped, flinging herself over Kosmo’s back, the wolf jumping away in time. “Kosmo, buddy, I think we need to get the hell out of Dodge.” She grabbed hold of Rover as Kosmo jumped away again before one of the Alteans could attack. The wolf then disappeared, teleporting for a new location.

“What the… that thing just vanished!” another Altean, one with sea green hair, yelped.

“I’m not picking up on any readings right off.” another Altean with reddish hair pointed out, checking the data on a device with her. “I don’t think they went invisible. Teleportation maybe?”

“It’s probable.” the broad Altean said, going to the smaller and younger one among them. He helped him up. “You okay, Bandor?”

“I’m fine.” the youngest, Bandor, assured. “We need to go after him; he could be a danger to our people!” He tried to run off, but the dark haired Altean snagged him by the back of his armor. “Tavo!”

“You’re injured, Bandor. And don’t try to hide it, that creature had an impressive bite.” Tavo responded. “Partulius,” the sea green haired Altean looked over, “get Bandor back to the city and some treatment. And make sure they check the wound fully; that creature could have fractured some bones.”

“There are no breaks or fractures.” Bandor pouted.

“I’ll listen to you say that as soon as you take several medical courses.” Tavo stated. “And Luka,” the redhead looked up, “report back to Merla, okay?”

“Yes, sir!” Luka nodded. “C’mon, Bandor, I’ll walk back with you and Partu.”

“Fine...” Bandor grumbled.

“C’mon, it’s not that bad. And it’s better to go when Tavo tells you instead of pushing it until Avok makes you.” Partulius hummed.

“I hope that’s not a borderline insult!” Avok called after them. He then sighed. “It was too soon for Bandor to work. And he got hurt on his first job.”

“Getting hurt happens, especially when intruders show up.” Tavo reminded. “Besides, ever since Romelle disappeared, he’s been wanting to help more and more. And it’s better to keep him close and train him than to risk him going off on his own and getting himself in a worse spot.” He then looked down to the crystal that Pidge tossed to him. “I’ve seen these before. My grandmother had a few.” He smiled softly. “She told me that she had given a bunch to other aliens in the universe to pass onto other Alteans; this was long before Pollux was settled.” He looked to Avok. “What if that child is an ally?”

“We cannot take the risk, he had Galra tech with him and a strange beast that attacked Bandor without warning.” Avok responded. “He could easily be the enemy.”

“I can’t shake the feeling that he’s just a child.”

“Had I been the enemy, I would work with children, too. People always let their guards down for children, but I will not.” Avok grumbled. “Anyway, Luka’s going to report to Merla; I want to investigate that crash that brought that boy.” He motioned for Tavo to follow. “Let’s go.”

“Right with you.” Tavo nodded, finding a place to put the crystal so he wouldn’t lose it.

“At this point, I think we lost them.” Pidge sighed in relief. Rover beeped as he left her lap. “Man, this was not how I expected to find Alteans. I mean, I can’t blame them for thinking I’m an enemy, they don’t know me or anything, but still. This was… something else.”

Chulatt climbed out of Pidge’s pouch and went to climb up Kosmo’s head. He looked around before looking back to the pilot.

“Yeah, I don’t know where we are. But hopefully we’re safe for now in these cave systems.” Pidge stated. Though she spoke too soon as Kosmo started growling. “Hold steady, buddy.” she whispered. She saw an Altean woman step out of another tunnel.

The woman had blonde hair pulled back into twin tails at the back of her head. She watched Pidge for a few seconds before smiling. “I’m so glad to see another Earthling. And that you’re safe.” she said.

Pidge blinked. First off, this Altean was kind, that was good. But did she hear her right? “Wait… what?” Pidge jumped off of Kosmo’s back. “Another Earthling? You’ve seen others?”

“Yes.” the Altean nodded.

“How do I know I can trust you?” Pidge asked. Sure, she was hopeful she met a friendly Altean, but as the saying went, once burned, twice shy. She didn’t want to take the risk of being attacked again.

“I know it must be hard, my brother Avok can be relentless in his desire to protect our people, but...” The Altean sighed as she carefully stepped forward. She held out her hand to Kosmo. “I mean no harm.” Kosmo sniffed her. As he did so, Chulatt ran across his head, onto the Altean’s hand, and up her arm to her shoulder. Kosmo looked back and nodded.

“Kosmo trusts you and Chulatt likes you, so I’ll listen to them.” Pidge nodded.

“Good. Let’s get to my hideout. You’ll be safer there and it’s where I’ve been helping the other Earthling.” she said. “I’m Romelle, by the way.”

“I’m Pidge.” Pidge responded. “The mouse on your shoulder is Chulatt. The wolf is Kosmo, one of my partners. And the drone is Rover, another partner.”

“Sounds like a fine team.” Romelle giggled. “Though Rover is Galran, right?”

“Yeah, but he’s a good drone.” Pidge assured, patting her robotic partner. “And believe it or not, not all Galra are bad. I’ve made some good friends who are Galran and I learn from some of the adults I’ve met.”

“I do believe it.” Romelle nodded. She led the way. “My guest has brought up Galran rebels to me. To know there are good Galra helping out, it is nice.” She got them to a hidden door that she got opened, letting Pidge in. “He’s been helping out so much. I just wish I could help him more, though.”

“Him. So, who is he?” Pidge asked. Romelle led her past the entry way and to what looked like a living room. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw just who was there, recognizing the white poof of hair anywhere. “Shiro?!”

The man himself looked up and was shocked to see Pidge. He stood up from the sofa, hand going to the stub where his arm used to be; the prosthetic must have been removed for some reason. “Pidge? Is… that’s… you’re...”

“Holy crow! Shiro!” Pidge cried, running over and tackling the former black paladin back onto the couch. “Oh my god! You’re here… you’re alive… and you’re here...”

“I’m here. I’m fine.” Shiro got his arm free and hugged Pidge. “Romelle found me and helped look after me.” He snuggled the smallest pilot of either team. “I don’t know how you got here, but damn, I’m so happy to see you.”

“As am I.” Pidge mumbled.

Romelle smiled softly. It was nice seeing the heartfelt reunion between the two. “I’ll go fix some drinks and snacks so we can have them with our talk.” she told Kosmo. She went to the next room, leaving Pidge and Shiro be for a moment.

Chapter Text

Shiro was alive and well. He had survived and he wasn’t a prisoner. He was a guest to an Altean named Romelle; in addition to being her guest, she was keeping him safe until he could find a way back to his team. Pidge had not expected to be thrown across perhaps several galaxies, only to crash on an Altean occupied planet and find Shiro.

“I can’t believe you’re really okay.” Pidge sighed in relief. “I mean, you’re unarmed-”

“Really, we’re reunited two minutes and you break out the puns?” Shiro couldn’t help but laugh; oh how he missed the team’s horrible jokes.

“But… you’re okay. Why… why haven’t you contacted us?”

“It wasn’t for lack of trying.” Shiro responded. “Had things gone well, I’d have gotten in touch with you guys, let you know I’m find and where to find me.” He let out a sigh. “But there’s an energy field or signal around the planet, keeping signals from going out. More or less, it’s kind of being off the grid.”

Pidge nodded. “That makes sense.” she mused. “Which means me contacting the team won’t be easy unless I figure out bypassing the signal and can get a message with more coordinates out.”

“Speaking of team,” Shiro looked perplexed, “you’re wearing the vehicle team uniform and not the paladin armor. What happened? My absence...”

Pidge waved her hands. “It’s all fine, the others are okay.” she said. “Voltron was even able to still reform. Keith was able to pilot Black. Blue kinda kicked Lance out, but only because Lance was needed to pilot Red. And Blue accepted Allura. So we’ve still got a full team there.” She was quick to explain, not even seeming to take a breath, but Shiro was used to hearing that with Pidge. “But some things came up, details not necessary at the moment, and Chip and I ended up switching teams since he can fly Green, too. So, I’m part of the vehicle team, he’s with the lion team. Ah! We’ve also been finding more members from the Explorer; they’ve been rescued and helping out on Olkarion, with the rebels, and some are back to work on the Arcadia. And we found Mom! She’s working in the castle, helping out there. She was quick to accept Matt and Chip as her children. Chip and me switching places has been good, too, because he gets to bond with Mom more. Also! I adopted some new friends. Some little pentapusses and these fuzzy space caterpillar things and-”

Kosmo appeared between Shiro and Pidge, startling the former black paladin and nearly making him fall off the couch. Pidge grinned and hugged the wolf. “Kosmo! We found each other on one planet when I got separated during a mission; this was before Keith succeeded you. Anyway, Kosmo’s a teleporting cosmic wolf who can actually move around in space with no need for a mask, which is super awesome and helpful when Chip and I crashed in a trash nebula while he was practicing flying the green lion; he didn’t exactly crash because of his practice, it was some space creature and things didn’t go well; in all honesty, an experienced pilot would crash, too. But Kosmo was able to go around there with us. But I found him in the same cave I found the pentapusses. He’s really amazing and a good friend. And a nice warm source of heat to sleep next to. Until he rolls over on top of me. But I don’t mind. Unless I have to go to the bathroom. Then it’s a bit of a problem.”

“I think she’s saying this all in one breath.” Romelle giggled as she walked in with a tray of drinks and snacks.

“She does that when nervous or excited.” Shiro snickered. “Thankfully it’s the latter this time.” He knew his friend well enough to know she was excited.

“Oh, I was doing it again, huh?” Pidge looked nervous.

“Don’t be worried.” Romelle chuckled. “I think it’s cute.” She smiled softly, giving Pidge the sense of an older sibling or parent. “My younger brother does the same thing at times. Normally he talks endlessly about our brother, Avok, but he still does it.”

Shiro smiled fondly at Pidge. “I’m glad things went well. And that Keith was able to succeed me. I hate that I disappeared like this, even I don’t understand it, but...”

“We were able to get things done. And at least you just vanished.” Pidge nodded. “It wasn’t worse than that.” Shiro nodded in agreement, appreciating that blessing in his life. She then looked to Romelle, starting in on the drinks and snacks, sharing with Kosmo and Chulatt. “Hey, you called this a hideout and you’re keeping Shiro safe. And then unable to get signals out… is something going on here?” She sighed. “Seeing other Alteans earlier, they didn’t take well to me...”

“Indeed.” Romelle nodded. “There is something wrong. I don’t know what fully, but…” She sighed. “We were able to investigate a little, Shiro recognizing the technology. But we couldn’t go further since it wasn’t safe enough and we had no backup. But there’s Galra tech here… and I know some of the Alteans know of this. Especially Merla.”

“Merla… yeah, she was mentioned.” Pidge nodded. “She sounds important.”

“Yes. Technically she’s in charge; many look up to her as a leader.” Romelle informed. “There are other leaders, but Merla stands out above the rest, trusted. But she’s up to something… and it’s with that Galra tech. I remember finding my way to another section and she was there. She ended up spotting me and looked alarmed; after that, I hid away.”

Pidge thought it over. Something definitely could be going wrong and she wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a case of an Altean betraying their own people; she had seen it with the Olkari when Lubos betrayed his people while living in the lap of luxury. “It is definitely something to look into.” Pidge mumbled. “Is there an area near I can investigate? I want to see this for myself, and maybe find more proof that something is going on.”

“Of course, I can show you where.” Romelle nodded. “I know these tunnels well.”

“I’ll go with.” Shiro got up.

“No offense, Shiro, but I think you should stay here.” Pidge stated. “You’re down to one arm; if for any reason we’re caught, I can’t risk something bad happening to you.”

“And I’m not letting you go alone.” Shiro responded.

“I’m not alone.” Pidge pointed to Rover hovering near her and then Kosmo. “I’ve got backup. Plus Chulatt.” Chulatt squeaked from Romelle’s shoulder. “If things get dicey out there, Kosmo can get us to safety.”

“Pidge...” Shiro was worried.

“I’ve got this.” Pidge assured.

“We won’t go too far, either.” Romelle added. “Just to where I showed you before.”

“I doubt that knowing Pidge.” Shiro sighed. “But… stay safe, okay?”

“We’ll do our best.” Romelle nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Tavo, Avok!” Partulius cried, looking worried. “I should’ve kept a better eye on him.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Avok sighed. “I should have had him more disciplined than this… he knows better than to run off, especially after receiving orders.” He rubbed his eyes and grumbled in frustration.

“We’ll find him; he can’t have gotten too far.” Tavo assured.

“I’m more worried about what that outsider may do, though.” Avok admitted.

Tavo wasn’t sure if he should be worried or not. Sure, the wolf attacked before, but that seemed to be because it was defending the outsider. “Let’s not fret too much; we need to focus on finding Bandor.”

“Right.” Avok nodded. “Partulius, stay here in case he comes back.” Avok ordered.

“Yes, sir!”

Meanwhile, Bandor was trying to find where Pidge went. She couldn’t have gotten far, right? Especially since the ship she came in on was still where she crashed. Then again, she did have a giant wolf she could ride on and it could even teleport. With that knowledge, there was no telling where she went. Though Bandor had a feeling.

The tunnels.

There were tunnels running through the planet; Bandor remembered exploring them a bit when he was much younger. However, due to the risk of cave-ins, he was banned from doing so; the Alteans in general were told not to enter and they obliged. If there was any place to properly hide where no one would think to look, it would be the old tunnels. Certain he could find the outsider there, Bandor started there, finding an entrance and beginning his investigation.

Bandor didn’t know where to really find her, at times the tunnels seemed more like a labyrinth; if someone wasn’t caved in, they could risk getting lost instead. He knew it was dangerous, but he had to take the risk for the sake of his people. And sure, Avok was going to scold him for it later, but perhaps finding the outsider would soften the blow in the end.

“I hate to question your expertise on these tunnels but… are you sure it’s this way?” came a voice. The outsider! And she was clearly with someone. Or perhaps she was talking with the wolf?

“I’m certain. Though it is easy to get turned around in these tunnels.” came another voice. Yup, she was definite with someone. But wait… Bandor knew that voice! That sounded like Romelle. Last he knew, she was missing; she just vanished one day without a trace, like many others. Did the outsider kidnap her?

Bandor crept his way through the tunnel, peering around the corner to spot the mass of blue fur. There was Kosmo. Taking a chance, he tried to see where the outsider was and check to confirm if his sister truly was there. What he didn’t expect, though, was for Kosmo to notice he was there, even without looking. Of course Kosmo didn’t need to look, he could smell the Altean.

Bandor let out a cry of alarm when the wolf teleported and suddenly tackled him to the ground; he was thankful that he wasn’t bitten again, but the wolf still had him down and was snarling. He went to grab his sword, but Kosmo managed to grab it with his jaws and fling it to the side. Great. Unarmed and stuck under a giant wolf.

“Bandor!?” Romelle exclaimed, looking to see her brother there.

“Kosmo, down boy. Down.” Pidge ordered, going over. She petted Kosmo’s face, gently pushing him back and away from the Altean. Once free, Bandor scrambled back and away.

“Bandor, what are you doing here?” Romelle asked.

“Romelle, it really is you!” Bandor was relieved to see her. He then got up and went to his sister, pushing her back and shielding her from Pidge. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. I’ll have him captured and taken back to Merla.”

“Bandor, wait! Pidge isn’t the enemy.” Romelle tried to quell her brother’s fiery spirit. “Please, settle down.”

“But aren’t you his prisoner?” Bandor asked.

“I literally just crashed on this planet today, dude!” Pidge sighed. “I couldn’t have taken her prisoner with that.”

“Just stay put, outsider.” Bandor snapped. “It won’t take me long to take you down.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. Did he really just think that when he got tackled and disarmed by a giant wolf. “Yeah?” Pidge tested him. “You and what army?”

“I...” Bandor stopped. He didn’t think to take anything with him to call for backup and he didn’t think Romelle would actually assist him in the matter. “I don’t need an army!” He ran at Pidge, ready to fight her the old fashioned way: with his fists and own strength.

“Bandor! Knock it off!” Romelle called. “That’s enough!”

Bandor wasn’t listening, even Pidge could see that with ease. With that, she decided that it was best to just let him work out his frustrations until he wore himself out. Utilizing what she had learned in the past months since becoming a paladin and her gymnastics training back on Earth, Pidge did her best to get around him and dodge his attacks. Her best was rather good and truly efficient as she was able to throw him off balance a few times. She even opted to bend backwards and brace herself on her hands to dodge a punch; she kicked her feet up and got him in the jaw as she flipped herself over.

One final punch, Pidge grabbed his arm and flung him to the ground. “Kosmo, lay down.” Kosmo followed her orders as he laid across Bandor, leaving his head exposed on one side and his feet trying to flail on the other side.

“Get it off of me!” he cried, trying to get lose. Though strong enough in general, Kosmo made movement tricky from that position.

“Not until you calm down.” Pidge huffed. “Anyway, we may have to put off checking out the Galra tech in these tunnels.”

“You’re right.” Romelle nodded.

“Wait… what Galra tech?” Bandor tried to sit up. Pidge patted her side, Kosmo getting up and freeing the Altean. “What are you talking about?”

Pidge looked to Romelle, an idea going on in her mind. “I think we should return to Shiro and explain it to him.”

“Wait… who’s Shiro?” Bandor was confused.

“C’mon. Let’s go.” Romelle told her brother, helping him up. “We’ll get your questions answered.”

Chapter Text

“And what?” Bandor nearly snapped. “You want me to believe all of this?” He looked to Romelle. “Okay, I can believe you decided to hide away for some reason, though I don’t get why. But having them around?” He first motioned to Shiro and then Pidge. “Especially him! We don’t know who he is, but he’s clearly with the Galra. He has one of their drones.”

They were back at Romelle’s hideout and with Shiro again. There, Romelle tried to explain to her younger brother what was going on, but he was not taking the news very well.

“Yeah, that I reprogrammed to work with me instead.” Pidge countered. “Rover’s a good drone!”

“And you sent your beast to attack us!” Bandor turned on Pidge, facing her.

“Bandor, knock it off, that’s enough!” Romelle ordered.

“Pidge, stand down.” Shiro chimed in. However, their commands practically fell on deaf ears.

“You attacked me first and he was defending me.” Pidge pointed out. “He was only doing what he felt was right.”

“Well it definitely didn’t leave a good impression.” Bandor stated.

“Nothing was leaving a good impression, really. You wouldn’t listen when I told you I wasn’t a spy and I was friends with other Alteans.”

“All things that could be said to try and trick others. There is no proof that you aren’t the enemy, that you aren’t in league with the Galra.”

Pidge opened her mouth then shut it. Proof? Surely she had proof, right? She then looked to Shiro, physically scarred by the Empire, even his arm gone. “You want proof? Fine!” She stepped away and turned her back to the others. She undid the top part of her uniform, showing a black and green sleeveless shirt underneath; she then pull that up in the back, revealing some of the injuries she had sustained, most visible being the scar left behind on her shoulder where she had been shot before and the brand right next to it. Even her arms had some scarring here and there, and lower on her back was her first scar from when she was shot after meeting the vehicle team.

Romelle covered her mouth in shock. She had seen Shiro’s scars before, some being hard to miss, but seeing them never made it easier. And seeing them in a child like Pidge? It broke her heart. Even Shiro’s heart was broken, especially when he saw the brand. He knew that brand very well for he had the same thing.

For many, showing scars would mean nothing, anyone could get scarred anywhere else. But Bandor did know the Empire sigil, having been shown it while training so he could recognize it in the future. Unless Pidge was some sort of glutton for pain, he didn’t think she would do that to herself to make a point. And who in their right mind would brand another kid? Surely she wasn’t older than him, and he himself was still considered a child.

“You think I’d be in support of the Empire with all that I’ve face? And this is only a small part.” Pidge stated. She pulled the tank shirt back down and turned to Bandor. “I have been thrown into this war suddenly and fighting against them. I had to protect my planet from them. My mother was captured by them and the team was able to rescue her. I’ve been captured myself, too. I’ve been beaten, bruised, shot at, sometimes successfully hit, and dammit, I was even tortured. Detained by the quiznaking druids and tortured for information! I even died out there at the hands of an Empire affiliated Galran! But I was lucky because a dear friend of mine was able to resuscitate me.” She was showing her anger, but no one dared speak up and interrupt her. “So if you still think I’m with the Empire and a spy for them, then you can just f-”

“Pidge.” Shiro dared to cut Pidge off. “It’s okay. Just breathe.” He went over. “Sit down and breathe.” He guided the young pilot over to the couch. “Um, Romelle, do you have a pillow we can borrow?”

“Sure, but… why?” Romelle asked as she started to walk off.

“No need.” Pidge motioned for Kosmo to go to her. He went over and she smooshed her face into his mane and screamed, the sound muffled by his fur.

“That’s why.” Shiro stated. He then dared to touch Pidge’s back, not blaming her for flinching away at first. “It’s okay, Pidge. You don’t need to make anymore points about not being with the Empire.” He looked to Bandor. “Bandor, right?” he asked. “I get it, it’s hard to trust after your people have suffered so much in the past and were nearly wiped out. But we’re not with the Empire, especially Pidge. And sure, we do know some Galra, but not all are with the Empire, either; they’re rebels fighting it, too. I understand that trust is hard to earn, but I ask that you trust us a bit. At least enough to get more information and learn for yourself.”

Bandor sighed and looked away. Romelle saw this and went to him. “Please, Bandor?” she pleaded. “At least don’t turn them in.”

“There’s Galra tech hidden here, right?” Bandor asked. “I need to learn of this myself.” He nodded, determined. “It was near where I found you, right?”

“Yeah.” Romelle nodded. “I’ll show you the way.”

“No, Romelle, I want you to stay here.” Bandor was worried for his sister. “If there really are Galra, I don’t want you getting hurt. Besides, I’m sure I can find it from there.”

“But going alone is risky!” Romelle protested.

“He won’t be alone.” Pidge got up and pulled the upper part of her uniform back up and on. “I’ll go with him. We may not be getting along, but surely we can have each others’ backs long enough to figure out what’s going on and how bad it is.”

“Are you sure, Pidge?” Shiro asked. “I don’t want you going too far...”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.” Pidge stated. “Rover’s got us handled with Galra tech, plus I have new features for him to help out in investigating, Kosmo can get us out in a pinch, and don’t underestimate the strength and intelligence of Chulatt.” She grinned, doing her best to push away the moment where she snapped at Bandor and showed her back and what she endured. “We’ve got this.”

Bandor watched Pidge for a moment. She was really pushing past his distrust over her to work with him and find out the truth? He knew to still be on guard, but perhaps she wasn’t as bad as he initially thought.

“Okay.” Romelle sighed. “And Bandor, you be good. Don’t cause Pidge any trouble while out there and don’t start fighting; she wants to help our people as much as you do.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be o-wait… she?” Bandor looked to Pidge in shock. And she even willingly exposed her back as she did.

“Yup, but my pronouns and sex aren’t important, what is is finding the tech.” Pidge went to the door and pulled herself up onto Kosmo’s back. “Let’s go.” She got Bandor up on the wolf’s back, too, the creature able to support them well. He then took off, teleporting past the door and running through the tunnels.

“I hope they’ll be okay.” Romelle sighed.

“I know it’s worrisome letting kids go out like this, but I’m sure they have this handled.” Shiro assured. “Bandor seems like a determined sort; that with Pidge’s own stubbornness, they’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

It didn’t take long for Kosmo to get them to where Bandor found Pidge and Romelle earlier. From there, they dismounted from the wolf’s back, continuing on foot. They did their best to check the tunnel, hoping to find what they were looking for. Or rather Bandor was hoping to not find Galra tech. He didn’t want to think his sister was lying to him, but the idea of Galrans being right under their noses worried him. As they went further, they found the tunnels smoothing out, eventually coming to a door that Pidge could bypass and right into an empty hall.

“I’m going to be honest, I’ve never seen Galra tech in person until I saw your drone.” Bandor admitted, keeping his voice down as he ducked around a corner with Pidge. “What I’ve seen has been in pictures when I was studying and training.”

“Hmm, it’s hard to tell without finding the tech.” Pidge stated. “But this hall definitely does feel like it has some Galran influences. And the pipes and wires in parts of the tunnels we saw outside the door looked Galran, too, but...”

“What?” Bandor could tell that something was bothering Pidge.

“It also feels integrated. Like, combined with another form of technology.” Pidge looked around. “If I can find an area where I can get into the computer systems, then I can find out more.” As they went further, Rover eventually turned and bumped right into a wall, beeping a few times to get their attention.

“It’s supposed to be helpful, right?” Bandor asked. “Because it’s hitting a wall.”

“Him, not it.” Pidge sighed. “And he is helpful. He says we can access data from there.”

“Wait, you understand him?”

“Yeah, through a pattern of beeps and tones.” Pidge checked the wall, scanning it. “There is an emergency system behind here, used if other sectors can’t be accessed most likely in the case of an accident or disaster. Like fire, flooding, or cave-ins.” She got the panel opened up, amazing Bandor a bit.

“I don’t have clearance for much of the systems or tech, so I can’t get us in.” Bandor admitted.

“Don’t worry, I should be able to crack it.” Bandor eyed Pidge as she knelt down and started working. “I’m used to cracking data. I get into varying systems to collect data from the Galra, I’ve also gotten into systems at the castle to reverse engineer Altean tech. Because of that, I’ve been able to make some great upgrades to some of the tech at the castle. Even to Rover, integrating Altean tech with Galra tech.”

“Wait… you really do work with Altean tech? But the Alteans...”

“Were mostly wiped out, yeah.” Pidge nodded as she kept going. “And while others found refuge here, which I’m glad they did, at least two others were hidden away in stasis.” She didn’t want to bring up Lotor being Altean, that was his secret to keep and she had no place to blab. “Allura and Coran. Allura’s the daughter of Alfor, the king of Altea. He had Coran hide away with Allura, keeping them safe and the black lion of Voltron secure so Zarkon wouldn’t get it. Or Allura and Coran.”

“You really… know Alteans...”

Pidge was tempted to be snarky with Bandor, pop off with a sarcastic quip, but she weighed the options and felt it wasn’t the right time; they weren’t that far in their non-existent relationship for that. “Yeah, I do. And they’re really amazing. And sad because they spent a thousand years since Altea’s destruction in stasis. When they woke up, their planet and people were gone. But they’ve maintained hope that they could find more survivors. Imagine my surprise that I’d crash land on a planet occupied by Alteans.” She smiled. “And we’re in!”

“Great! What’s it say?” Bandor asked, leaning in close to read the data.

“It not only needs to be translated, but also decoded.” Pidge responded. “But… let’s see...” She got it translated with ease and then went on to the decoding process. She stopped when she got one message.

“Komar output, one hundred percent?” Bandor asked, the Altean translation right above the language Pidge could read.

“That’s what it reads, too? It wasn’t mistranslated then...” Pidge felt her blood run cold and her heart drop. “That’s not good.”

“What is it? What’s a Komar?”

“The Komar was Galra tech designed to extract quintessence from planets.” Pidge explained. Bandor was confused. “Um, okay, quintessence is more or less life energy. It’s in everything. You, me, plants and animals, even Chulatt and Kosmo, and it’s inside entire planets. It can also be a massive power source and the Empire uses it to run their ships and technology. It’s got the most energy output per unit of volume. But...” Pidge was perplexed. “This Komar… is it siphoning from this planet? Or another?”

“Can’t you find out?” Bandor urged.

“I can try.” Pidge nodded as she tried to get more of the data extracted. “This doesn’t seem right… it says it’s drawing the quintessence right from this facility… I’m trying to find out where...” She perked up when she heard metal clanking. “I’ll translate on the way, we gotta go.” She got disconnected and closed up the panel before getting away, hiding around another corner with Bandor as sentries walked past; they reminded Pidge a bit of the training robots in the castle, but they also had some Galran touches to them.

“I’ve never seen things like those before.” Bandor whispered.

“Most likely if we don’t draw attention to ourselves, they won’t pursue or attack us.” Pidge responded. “C’mon, I think I can find where the Komar is functioning from.” Bandor nodded, ready to follow. He worried about what they would find and how bad it was, but he had to know what was going on.

Chapter Text

“We’re not going right in?” Bandor asked.

“The door’s sealed for a reason and we don’t know if there are sentries or guards on the other side.” Pidge declared as she got a vent open. “And though sealed, there are vents and Rover can get through.”

“He’ll be noticed.” Bandor was proven wrong when Pidge got the drone to turn invisible. “I stand corrected. How did you do that?”

“Something I learned by reverse engineering the invisible maze in the castle.” Pidge hummed as she got things set up. “Okay, Rover, time to show us what’s inside. If it’s clear, we’ll join you.” Chulatt stood on the edge of the vent, patting his chest. “Okay, you can go, too. But you need to be safe.” Chulatt nodded and ran on in, scouting to make sure they could get to the other room with ease. When he returned, he motioned for Rover to follow, falling back when the drone bumped into him.

“Get along, you two.” Pidge chuckled. “And be careful. Good luck.”

Chulatt nodded again and ran off once again, leading Rover through the vents. He then got the vent on the other side open and got out, jumping down the wall and into a long hallway.

“Huh? What are those?” Bandor asked, seeing the video feed on Pidge’s tech. “I’ve never seen anything like them, but they look like some of the technology we use.”

“Yeah. They look like pods.” Pidge stated. “In the castle, they’re used for various things, primarily healing. They can help others recover from life threatening injuries or even hold others in stasis, as they had for Allura and Coran. We’ve even used them once to detain a Galran who tried to steal the castle and the lions.”

“So they’re good, right?”

“It depends.” Pidge mumbled. “When we had Sendak detained, though questionable in the ethics department, it was set up to try and tap into his memories, copy them so we can learn more about him and the Empire to eventually stop them. It was also used on King Alfor, though he was a willing participant, so that an AI of him could be created and help Allura out with what she needed to learn.”

“Okay, so that isn’t too ba-wait! Have Rover go back!”

“Don’t shout, numbskull.” Pidge bonked Bandor on the head; at that, he glared but didn’t react any further. “But yeah, on it. Rover, go back a bit.” Rover beeped and did so, settling on one of the pods he had passed. “Wait a tick, there’s someone in there.”

“I can’t tell well but… that looks like an Altean. And a child...” Bandor’s eyes widened. “Can we get in there?”

“Rover, Chulatt, do you copy?” Pidge asked. “I need you to check and ensure everything is clear.” They did as told. When they reported back, informing her that it was clear, Pidge got Kosmo to take her and Bandor in. There, they were able to investigate further.

“It’s Yazi!” Bandor went right for the pod he saw the Altean in, seeing her suspended in animation. She wore a different jumpsuit, primarily black and purple; seeing it, Pidge was reminded of the prisoner uniforms she had seen others wear, and that even she had been in before.

“You know her?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah. We were friends. But she went missing a phoeb ago.” Bandor looked up in disbelief. “Why is she here though? I thought she was captured...”

“You said you’ve never seen Galra tech before… have you even seen a ship in the distance?” Pidge asked.

“Well… no… not that I recall...” Bandor sighed. “Everything was in the form of images from the past shown during my studies...”

“Then how could she have been captured?” Pidge was suspicious of the situation. She then noticed that the pod was hooked up to technology of sorts, a canister held into it and filled with a strange, glowing substance. “What the quiznak is this?” Pidge got things set up to scan it.

As Pidge investigated the substance, Bandor looked around some of the other pods that were nearer, Rover’s cloaking dissipating as he went and hovered near the Altean’s head. Most of them were filled, all Alteans and most he personally knew. The more he saw, the more horrified he was. For the most part, he could even identity who went missing when, all longer than Yazi.

“What are these lines on their faces?” Bandor asked, hand up to the pod of one of the older Alteans, perhaps around Tavo’s age. He remembered him, he was missing for the past four deca-phoebs.

“Oh no...”

“Pidge?” Bandor dashed over to check on her. “What’s wrong?”

“These pods… they are the Komar.” Pidge looked worried. “The Alteans are having their quintessence siphoned from them.” Hearing that, Bandor was horrified. “More than that, this quintessence, I’ve seen data for it before. Some allies of ours were following a peculiar quintessence trail, finding an unusual one with strange readings; none of the rebel groups have come across it before. This is where it’s probably from.” She looked back up at Yazi. “The quintessence is Altean quintessence...”

“Surely there’s something we can do, right?” Bandor asked. “Can’t we shut this down? Save them?”

Rover went back to Pidge, giving her some data he obtained while with Bandor. Pidge checked it over. “Most of them… it’s already too late it looks like.” Pidge admitted. “But...” She nodded and worked with Yazi’s pod. “We can try and help those who aren’t too far gone. There’s a chance.” She got past the security keeping the pod shut and activated it, putting it into emergency shut down and open up. She and Bandor were quick to catch hold of the Altean girl and support her as they carefully brought her down to the floor.

Yazi shifted and grumbled a bit. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Bandor. “Ban… dor...” she rasped out.

“It’s okay, Yazi, I’m here.” Bandor promised, taking her hand. “We’re going to get you help and treatment.”

“You can’t… trust… Merla.” Yazi barely got the words out before losing consciousness.

“Yazi? Yazi!” Bandor was worried.

“It’s okay, she’s still alive.” Pidge was performing a health scan. “She’s really weak, but her chances of survival are good. Especially if we can find a way to contact the Castle of Lions and get her into a proper pod. That may help her further.”

“I thought I heard something.” Pidge and Bandor looked up in alarm when they heard a voice.

“Oh no, security.” Bandor whispered. “What do we do?”

“Kosmo, get Bandor and Yazi back to Romelle and Shiro.” Kosmo whined at Pidge’s order. “You can’t take all of us. And I can evade others until you return.” Pidge moved to get Yazi up on Kosmo’s back, Bandor getting behind her to support his friend. “It’ll be fine.” Kosmo huffed a bit and licked his human before disappearing, fleeing with the two Alteans. Pidge picked up Chulatt and put him in her pouch before ducking behind another pod. “Time to play hide and seek then.” she whispered, getting Rover to go in close.

Pidge found another hiding spot, thankful for the vents and being small enough to hide up inside them. While such trick wouldn’t work on Earth, she was glad the tactic of vent hiding worked with alien tech. She waited patiently until she saw sentries and an Altean.

“Merla,” a sentry spoke up, “it appears that someone has tried to access one of the pods.”

Merla, the Altean, went to check on the pods. She stopped at Yazi’s, seeing it empty. “And succeeded.” she grumbled, not at all pleased with that. “Have the facility locked down; the intruder is still here somewhere. And you,” she looked to one of the sentries, “stand guard. The intruder may be near here, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Pidge waited until Merla was gone with most of the sentries, leaving the one still there. Nodding, she brought up her tech, hoping to get into its systems. If she could shut it down, that would be great. But without being directly linked into anything, that was proving a little bit more difficult. She was sure she could figure something out, though.

Or Chulatt could.

Chulatt got up in front of Pidge and squeaked up at her. He then pointed to the sentry before patting his own chest.

“You think you can take it down?” she asked softly. Chulatt nodded. “Okay, be careful.”

Chulatt scurried off, getting down from the vent and over to the sentry without being noticed. He climbed up onto the robot and went up to where he could find his way inside. Once in, he was able to chew through some of the wires, making the sentry first glitch and twitch, then pace around until it walked into a wall and fell back;with that, the sentry finally shut down. Chulatt got out and squeaked in joy.

“Wonderful job, Chulatt.” Pidge jumped down, Rover following behind her head. She scooped the mouse up. “Okay, I don’t have time, so I need to get all the data from that sentry.” She got into its system and hooked up. From there, she downloaded what she could. Once she was done with the sentry, she investigated the pods, hoping there was anyone else she could save. Their readings weren’t good. She hated the idea of leaving them all there, but she didn’t know what more she could do.

“Pidge!”

Pidge spun around when she heard Bandor’s voice, seeing him back with Kosmo. “What are you doing here?”

“Yazi’s with Romelle and I wasn’t going to leave you behind; if trouble came, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt.” Bandor pointed out.

“There’s no response. Check over there.”

Pidge looked back when she heard a sentry speak. They must have picked up on the other one being taken down by Chulatt. “Well, your timing’s great.” Pidge went for Kosmo but stopped. She went to Yazi’s pod and messed with it.

“What are you waiting for? We need to get out of here!” Bandor exclaimed in as much of a whisper as he could.

“I’m taking this. Less power for Merla, something for the team to investigate further, and who knows, maybe it can help.” Pidge got the canister free and ran over to Kosmo and Bandor, pulling herself up behind the Altean. Just as the sentries arrived, she had grabbed hold of Rover and Kosmo teleported, getting them out of there before the situation could get worse.

“This is not at all what I expected to happen in investigating this further.” Bandor admitted as Kosmo worked on their escape.

“Galra tech, yes. Galra tech with Altean pods siphoning quintessence from other Alteans? Definitely not.” Pidge stated. “And trust me, I’ve seen plenty in my time out in space. And it hasn’t even been a deca-phoeb. Of course, that isn’t to say I’ve seen everything. I definitely haven’t though one would think I have at this rate and with what I know.” Rover beeped in her lap. “Of course I’m nervous, we were pretty much found out right after discovering the biggest conspiracy ever.”

Kosmo got them back to Romelle’s hideout. Inside, Romelle was checking on Yazi, having her laid out on the couch.

“How is she?” Pidge asked as they entered.

“Weak. I don’t know when she’ll wake up.” Romelle admitted.

“If we can find a way to get her back to the castle, she can be given proper treatment.” Shiro pointed out. He looked to Pidge to see the canister in her hands. “What’s that?”

“Quintessence, this one being what they were siphoning from her.” Pidge stated. “It’s pretty much pure energy… but with it coming from her, I wonder if returning a part of it to her would help her.” She thought it over. “Remember when Allura healed the Balmera? She, with the castle, was able to replenish its life force, its quintessence, so it could heal? I think it’s a bit like that.”

“Given her state, it’s best to not do too much; that could overwhelm her.” Shiro suggested.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” Pidge nodded. She was able to get the canister open and poured a small drop onto Yazi’s chest, letting it soak in. Yazi took in a deep breath before sighing, shifting a bit and snuggling into the couch more.

“Her colour’s improved, as has her breathing.” Romelle smiled. “Thanks.”

“Not much I did.” Pidge shrugged. “But we still need to get her out of here and to safety. Coran would know more on treating her.”

“But how?” Romelle asked. “You crashed and we can’t safely get a ship out of a hanger.”

“I crashed, true, but… the ships are sturdier than when we first met the vehicle team thanks to the Olkari.” Pidge thought it over. “If it hasn’t been taken in yet, I could see how it is and what repairs are needed.”

“You’ll want the cover of night if it’s still there.” Bandor stated. “And while I trained to be a soldier, I do know some things in mechanics and tinkering, I could provide some help.”

“Hey, look at us.” Pidge punched him in the arm. “We’re getting along now.” She smiled when Kosmo nosed Bandor, demanding to be pet; the Altean obliged.

“And what if the ship’s not there?” Shiro asked.

“Then we’ll formulate plan C.” Pidge responded.

“C? Then this is B? What was plan A?”

“Wait for rescue.” Pidge shrugged. “Anyway, how long until nightfall?”

“A few more vargas.” Romelle replied. “So you should rest a bit. It’s been a long quintant.”

“Right.” Pidge nodded, yawning. It definitely had been a long day. Though there was much to do, an hour or two for a nap wouldn’t hurt.

Chapter Text

“All systems are back online.” Bandor reported. When nightfall came, he and Pidge set out for the ship, thankful it was still where it had crashed and wasn’t being guarded. More than that, it held together well and only needed minimal repairs.

“Thank goodness for the Olkari.” Pidge stated. “Rugger Four’s power is nearly full, having been able to collect and convert solar energy to the power cores. That with it’s regular charging from when it was last on the Arcadia, you guys are good to go.”

“Wait, what?” Bandor looked back at Pidge. “Us? But aren’t you coming with us?” he asked. “You’re the pilot.”

“And the moment they see the ship take off, they’ll probably attack or pursue it. Then we’re all screwed.” Pidge responded. “I thought about it... I need to stay behind and divert their attention. If they’re chasing me around, then you guys can clear the planet and get away.” She patted Rover. “Don’t worry, I’ve set things up so if needed, Rover can take over.” She went to the cockpit and sat down. “For now, I’m giving you the basics on this. A crash course if you will.” She snorted a bit, finding amusement with the ship already having crushed. Rover let out a long, low beep before ramming into her head. “Okay, okay, no puns, got it.”

“Wait… you’re teaching me how to fly this thing?” Bandor asked. “I’ve never flown anything in my life.”

“And? C’mon, if Hunk can learn to fly a technologically advanced, semi-sentient lion, you can learn to pilot this. And it’s just the basics. Rover can handle the more difficult stuff.” Pidge assured. “You’ve got this. And don’t worry about crashing, we all crash sooner or later. Some more often than others.”

“I don’t know if you’re trying to make me feel better or scare me off of this thing...”

“Hmm, moving on. Anyway, the gauges here...”

Pidge spent a while explaining the ship to Bandor before they returned to Romelle and Shiro. Romelle was getting some supplies together; it would be a bit of a journey until they located the Arcadia, while Shiro got ready, Pidge explaining some things to him.

“Wait, you’re not coming with us?” Shiro asked, astonished. “Pidge, you can’t just stay here.”

“And if I go with, they’ll pursue the ship.” Pidge stated, holding Rover in her arms. “You need to get Yazi to safety and the data back to the castle or Arcadia.” She sighed. “I know it’s not my best idea, but it’s what we’ve got. I can keep them occupied with chasing me.” She handed over Rover. “Just take care of him, okay? He can help with the ship in getting you guys to safety, but he also gets lonely.”

“You’ll have Kosmo with you to help, right?” Shiro asked. He looked to Pidge’s shoulder, seeing Chulatt there stamping his paw down as he squeaked. “I didn’t forget you, but I figured you’d want to come with us and get home.” Chulatt shook his head and pointed to Pidge. “Guess you’re sticking around, huh? Okay.”

“Don’t worry, with Chulatt and Kosmo to help, they’ll never catch me.” Pidge assured. “I’ll have Kosmo help you guys with getting to the ship unnoticed, then he can join up with Chulatt and me.”

“I still don’t like this… but it’s our best option, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Just stay safe and don’t do anything reckless.”

“C’mon, Shiro, I’m a paladin of Voltron, a pilot of DaiRugger, and a gymnast from Earth. Since when was I reckless?” Shiro cast Pidge a look. “Okay, best not to answer that. But don’t worry, I’ve got this.” She smiled. “Good luck out here.”

“You, too.” Shiro said softly as he hugged Pidge. “I know you’ve endured so much. I don’t want you suffering more.”

“I’ll be fine.”

As daylight started to shine, the others got into position, Romelle carrying Yazi in her arms while Shiro and Bandor carried the supplies. Kosmo took them in two groups, getting them inside the ship so they could leave. Once done, he went off to search for Pidge.

Pidge on the other hand was getting into position, waiting for the right time to get the attention of any guards, especially Avok. She was sure if he saw her again, he wouldn’t hesitate to pursue her. “I’m in position, guys.” she reported into her comm. “Wait for my say-so before you take off.”

“Okay. Be safe.” Shiro confirmed.

“And watch out for Avok. He’s the strongest in the forces and pretty fast, too.” Bandor chimed. “In most cases, I’d cheer him on. But this time… I feel bad for not cheering for him...”

“I’m new to this sibling thing, but I’m pretty sure I’d bet against my own brothers if need be. Like if they challenged Regris to anything. I’d bet on Regris all the time.” Pidge hummed. “Well, spotted Avok. Hopefully my gymnastics training and smaller form will help me out in eluding him.” She got herself pulled up on a low, decorative wall. She let out a whistle, catching the guards’ attention. “Hey guys, looking for someone?”

“You!” Avok shouted at Pidge.

“Yup!” Pidge jumped down and took off running, getting around others out on the streets.

“You three get ready and be on guard, that creature of his may be lurking somewhere! The rest with me. We need to cut him off!” Avok ordered. As they went to pursue Pidge, he had them split into three teams, aiming to catch her off guard and apprehend her.

Pidge was finding it relatively easy to get around the city. She even was able to find some ledges to climb to get up onto the rooftops, running across them like some character in a video game. “This is so badass.” she chuckled. “I can’t wait to tell this to Lance and Chip.” Chulatt squeaked at her from her pouch. Though she didn’t actually understand him, she could venture a guess. “I know, more evading, less quips.” She kept an eye on her surroundings, well aware of the group of guards splitting off. “Okay, guys, time for you to take off. Good luck out there.”

“And to you. We’ll be back with reinforcements ASAP.” Shiro assured.

“Copy that.” Pidge got up to another rooftop and stopped for a short moment. She looked to see the ship taking off and leaving the planet.

Pidge wasn’t the only one to stop and see that. Avok skidded to a stop with those he was with, Tavo included. They looked to see the ship leave.

“But we’re pursuing him… who has his ship?” one Altean asked.

“He must have had something planned.” Tavo responded. “That’s probably why he’s leading us around, he was meant to be a distraction.”

“Regardless, we’ll still end up catching him.” Avok went right back at it, set on catching Pidge and detaining her.

Pidge took off again, getting herself around with ease. Before ending up in space, she never figured her skills in gymnastics would help her at all, but there she was utilizing perfect balance, proper timing with her jumps, and easily getting herself vaulted from one location to the next, especially when going higher up.

Pidge kept several steps ahead of the Alteans. Once she was sure things were clear, she knew it was time to call off the chase, reunite with Kosmo, and then go into hiding. However, her body had different plans as she tried to jump three feet down from a small ledge onto the ground near the outskirts of the city.

When Pidge was in Kadomia, she worried about the damage she sustained to her leg and how it would last. Sure, Lalnir was able to treat her and the castle’s healing pods finished healing her, but there were some things she worried about lasting, especially since she didn’t get medical treatment right away to help with the damage. With that being said she landed wrong on her right leg and felt shooting pain go through it. She ended up collapsing onto the ground, doing her best to not cry out in pain.

Kosmo thankfully appeared just in time to support her. “Thanks, buddy.” she said. Before he could teleport or Pidge could even climb on, there was a noise, followed by a sort of energy net seemingly out of nowhere. It hit Kosmo and pinned him to the ground. “Kosmo! Are you okay?!” Pidge tried to help him, but she was grabbed hold of.

The Altean guard.

They managed to catch up to her.

Avok had gotten Pidge restrained, finding the pilot to not struggle as much. Of course she couldn’t, her leg was still throbbing with pain. “We have him.” Avok announced, pushing Pidge down to the ground. “And the creature.”

Kosmo snarled and tried to get up. He couldn’t budge, the net, whatever it was made from, was somehow too strong for him. He tried to teleport but found he couldn’t. Someone was able to create the needed tech to keep him from disappearing. He finally attempted to chew through it, but that didn’t work either.

“Have him locked up.” Avok ordered.

“Don’t you hurt him!” Pidge snapped.

Avok eyed Pidge closely. “You’re in no position to make demands.” he reminded.

“We’ll have him brought in.” A couple of the Alteans brought Pidge to her feet, the pilot hissing at the discomfort and pain she felt, especially in her leg; thankfully, though, it was starting to feel better.

“Wait.” Avok bent forward a bit, his face close to Pidge’s. “Tell me, the Altean your wolf attacked yesterday, Bandor, have you seen him again?” he asked. “He went in search of you again but we haven’t been able to find him.” Pidge kept her mouth shut. “You think you’re tough just because you’re silent? Your silence won’t mean anything once Merla begins her interrogation.” Again, nothing. “If you speak, things will go so much eas-” He was cut off when Pidge actually maneuvered enough to smash her head into his face, causing his nose to gush blood as he staggered back. “You little...” He glared. “Have him taken away. And lock the wolf up, too.” He covered his face and checked, seeing how much blood fell. “Hard headed...”

“Are you okay?” Tavo inquired, checking on Avok. He felt along his nose. “I don’t think it’s broken, but he definitely hit it hard enough for this.”

“I’m fine.” Tavo grumbled. “He didn’t say anything about Bandor. What if he’s...”

“We’ll keep searching, I’m sure he’s fine.” Tavo assured. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up.” Avok nodded and went with him back into the city. As they walked, there was something Tavo noticed that no one else seemed to. He saw ahead of him where Pidge was being guided and something move in her pouch. Then a mouse crawled out and climbed down Pidge’s leg. He kept silent about it, but he definitely found it to be an odd sight.

Pidge was taken to a large structure and put into a room. It reminded her of an interrogation room, though there was no mirror; perhaps those on the outside had another way of watching those inside. Within ten minutes, an Altean went in and checked on her; it was reported that she seemed to have an injury to her leg. After a few more minutes, a different Altean walked in. Merla.

“How is he?” Merla inquired.

“There’s no physical injury, but there is some damage from a prior injury.” the medic reported. “Most likely from a previous fight.”

“Yeah, with the biggest, fuzziest, jerk in the universe.” Pidge grumbled.

“Ah, he does speak.” Merla stated.

“Yeah. And I guess you’re Merla.” Pidge huffed. “I don’t have time for mind games or anything and I’ve dealt with terrible interrogations. I doubt what you have planned will work. Let alone be impressive.”

“We’ll see about that.” Merla hummed. “If he’s fine, you’re dismissed.” The medic nodded before excusing herself. “Now then, I’ve heard of you. You’re the green paladin, name being Pidge apparently. I think we have a mutual acquaintance. Haggar.” Pidge went rigid. Merla knew Haggar? Oh, that was bound to be bad. She went around the table and to Pidge. “Now then, how about you tell me what I want to know, hmm?”

“I’m not giving up that easily.” Pidge snapped.

“You don’t have much choice, I’m afraid.” With Pidge restrained, Merla was able to take hold of her head, resting her hands on either side; her grip wasn’t so firm that it would hurt, but she sure kept Pidge from being able to pull away. “Haggar may have struggled and even failed in getting much information from you,” she admitted, somehow knowing about that, “but I shall not.” She focused, trying to get through to Pidge’s mind.

“NO! Stop it! Get out of my mind!” Pidge shouted. She tried to struggle against the Altean and her ability, but Merla was persistent. However, she held out against Haggar fairly well, surely she could do the same with Merla. But there was only so much one could do with having their mind probed.

“You will submit, I assure you.” Merla seemed so sure of herself as she tried to gain access.

“STOP IT!” Pidge shouted, feeling the tension and pain that came with being probed for her memories and thoughts. She knew Shiro and the others only just left, but she really hoped they could get back to the team and send backup as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

“What?!” Avok exclaimed. “You couldn’t get through to his mind? Is that even possible?”

“He’s strong willed and very protective.” Merla sighed. She walked with some of the others, Tavo and Avok included. “Have you located Bandor, yet?”

“No.” Avok looked troubled. “That intruder, Pidge was it? His ship took off… I fear he may have had an accomplice and they took Bandor...”

“It’s probable… but only Pidge could tell us. However, he’s not talking.” Merla pondered, trying to figure out a plan. “I do have another method. We’ve used it in the past to draw out the memories of prisoners. He wouldn’t be able to hold out against that.”

Tavo was on alert. “Merla, with all due respect, he’s just a kid.” he reminded. “There’s no telling how a child would handle.”

“And what other choice do we have, Tavo?” Avok questioned. “We don’t have time to waste; we need answers now!”

“Avok, calm down.” Merla sighed. She looked up at Tavo. “Though I agree with him. We can’t risk wasting time.”

“Yes, but he’s a child. And he may not even be the enemy.” Tavo pressed. “Give me time, I can talk with him, try to earn his trust.”

Merla seemed to consider the idea. She finally gave him. “I’ll give you a quintant.”

“That’s hardly enough time.”

“That’s too much time if you ask me.” Avok grumbled.

“It’s all the time I can spare. If he continues to be stubborn, then we must consider him a full enemy and we do things my way.” Merla stated. “Good luck, Tavo. And be careful; we have no idea what tricks he has up his sleeve.”

“Right.” Tavo nodded as he broke off from the group. He went to the room where Pidge was kept, the girl sitting in a chair and restrained. No one was taking a chance with her. He went over and sat across from her at the other side of the table.

“So, round… um...” Pidge sighed as she was able to lean forward enough to rest her head on the table. “Ugh. Does this count as round two? Or what?”

“You wouldn’t have any trouble if you just spoke with Merla.” Tavo informed. “So, your name is Pidge, right? What is a child even doing here, hmm?”

“You guys captured me, duh.”

Tavo raised an eyebrow. Cheeky. “Look, I’m not going to dance around the subject. If you answer my questions, things will go much easier.” Pidge sighed and glanced away. “I want to believe that you’re not our enemy, but I need to be convinced so that I can tell Merla. Do you understand that?” Pidge remained silent. “Okay, this crystal.” He fished out the juniberry sealed in a crystal. “Where did you get it?” Silence. “We need to start somewhere, Pidge. If you don’t talk or help me, I can’t help you. Merla will get answers from you… and it won’t be pleasant. Please.”

Pidge sighed. “Another alien. I met her in a trash nebula.” she responded. “She thought my brother and I were Alteans at first. Our two races look alike, I can see why she’d make a mistake. When she found out we knew other Alteans, she offered us those crystals as symbols of hope and to share if we find more.”

“You’ve worked with other Alteans?”

“Yeah. Princess Allura and her adviser, Coran. He advises us all; he’s like this cool space uncle.” Pidge hummed.

“Princess?” Tavo trailed off. He then shook his head. “Okay, the next question. Bandor. Your beast attacked him. After he was treated, he went to pursue you. Did he catch up to you? Did you do something to him? Is he prisoner on that ship of yours that took off?”

Pidge was silent for a moment. “That beast. His name is Kosmo and he’s my friend and companion.” she said. “How is he?”

Tavo was ready to remind Pidge that she wasn’t the one asking questions, but he held his tongue. Perhaps she’d be more open to answer if he answered some of his. “He’s fine. He’s just been detained and his abilities suppressed so he doesn’t escape. But he’s safe and unharmed.”

Pidge let out a sigh of relief. “Anyway, Bandor’s fine, too. I didn’t do anything to him.” she said.

“Where is he?”

“Safe.”

“Where is safe? Your ship?” Silence. “Why is he there?”

“I can’t say...”

“Pidge...”

“I don’t know who I can trust, only who I can’t trust.”

“What do you mean?”

Pidge eyed Tavo. She then sighed as she sat up more. “I can’t trust Merla.”

“Why not?” Tavo inquired. “She’s only done what she can to protect our people. Some of her methods may seem… questionable, even I have my reservations against prying into someone’s mind like she can, but she does her best for all of us.”

Pidge shook her head and laid it back down. “Things go deeper than that…” she mumbled. “I can’t trust her… and I don’t know who I can trust.”

“Pidge, I need to understand what’s going on if I’m going to convince the others you’re an ally, and this? This isn’t helping.” Tavo reminded. “Why can’t you trust Merla?” Pidge was silent. Tavo just sighed. “Can’t you trust me enough? I’m doing what I can to help; I’d hate to see a child be an enemy.” Nothing. “This is going to be a long quintant...”

Tavo did his best to get through to Pidge, but she went completely silent, keeping from answering his questions. He kept trying to press, but she was resistant. He even attempted to get her to settle down with food, but she didn’t accept anything. Perhaps she was worried if they would poison it? He didn’t know; all he knew was that for a child, Pidge was very stubborn.

Before he knew it, his quintant was up. He stepped outside of the room to meet with Merla.

“He’s not giving in.” Marla sighed. “We’ll do things my way then.”

“Merla, he’s jut a kid. If I had more time...”

“He’s hardly given anything in the time you had.” Merla pointed out. “Tavo, it’s for the best.”

“I don’t think it is.”

Merla smiled as she reached up, gently touching Tavo’s cheek. “You have a good heart, Tavo; you care for others, especially children.” She lowered her hand. “But it does not always work when we are dealing with enemies.” She looked to the others. “Have him taken down.”

Pidge was brought out of the room, thoroughly restrained. She didn’t let them take her so easily, though; like the pain in the ass she was, she struggled, trying to pull away, kick, and even bite until she was finally muzzled. Merla led the way as she went down to another room.

In the new room, there were pods; they reminded Pidge of what she and Bandor found under the city. Pidge worried that she would be drained of her quintessence; she hoped that Shiro would get that backup soon and they would get back to her. She didn’t think it would be like Kadomia where she could trick her way out of a cell and shut things down.

“This is your chance now to tell us what you know.” Merla said after Pidge’s muzzle was removed. “Well?”

Pidge spat at Merla. “Piss off!”

“Ugh.” Merla wiped the saliva from her cheek. “Vulgar brat… Very well.” She had the pod opened up. “Now then, I’m going to explain what this does to you. I figured you’re curious.”

“Why bother?” Pidge grumbled.

“Hmm.” Merla smirked. She patted a sort of canister hooked up to the pod. “This here will hold your memories. We’re going to draw out your memories; they’ll be data we can study. With that, we will find out what you’re planning, what you know, what you did with Bandor.”

Pidge realized she knew what it was, if Merla wasn’t lying to her. They had done something like that to Sendak. They couldn’t get too much, especially since he wasn’t a willing participant, but they got some memories out of him. “I’ll be as resistant in there as I am out here. This tech may look a bit different, but it’s nothing new to me.”

“Ah, familiar with Altean tech?” Merla inquired. “Hmm. Well, we’ll see how resistant you are once you’re in.”

Pidge was put into the pod and it was closed on her. As much as she tried to struggle and look defiant, deep inside she was terrified. What if Merla was lying about the purpose of that pod? What if her quintessence was drained? Would she be rescued in time? She was worried. The pod was activated and Pidge slowly lost consciousness.

Seeing Pidge lose consciousness, Tavo was worried. He dismissed himself, stepping out of the room. Avok followed right behind him.

“This is wrong.” Tavo grumbled. “How can even you stand by and watch it happen? That’s a child in there. He can’t be any older than even Bandor!”

“He could be an enemy; we can’t take any unnecessary chances with him.” Avok informed. “And we don’t know if he is a kid; he could just look like one.”

Tavo shook his head. “Either way… and we don’t know how this will affect him...” He looked when Merla stepped out.

“We’ll check in a quintant; he’s a stubborn one, so he may take longer to give up his secrets.” she said. “Until then, I don’t want you checking on him.”

“Merla, please, he’s a child. He may need monitoring and-” Tavo stopped when Avok pulled him back a bit.

“You’re caring, Tavo, but I don’t want you interfering and messing things up.” Merla reminded. “You can check with me tomorrow. Until then, go rest; you’ve been up for so long, you need to sleep.”

Tavo sighed. “Yes, ma’am.” he mumbled. He shook Avok’s hand from his shoulder before walking off, returning to his quarters. He was worried. Was Pidge really an enemy? And why couldn’t she trust Merla? He shook his head. He didn’t know what to do in such situation.

Chapter Text

“Hmm.” Merla sat in front of the holographic monitor, looking at the data on the screen. “Damn.” She had the data from Pidge’s mind. Her memories, her secrets, everything she could need. There was a problem, though. Pidge’s mind was a series of numbers and codes. Nothing made sense and while she had plenty of the translators and decoders available, none of them worked in the end. “You really do have an intriguing mind, little one. Never before have I struggled with someone’s mind, not like this.”

Sighing, she closed out of the data and got up. She left the room and went through the corridors, going up to where Tavo was waiting outside the cell Pidge had been placed in. “How is he?”

“Still asleep.” Tavo stated. “Did you find what you’re looking for?”

“Not yet; his thoughts were coded. Impressive, really.” Merla mused. “However, I’m bound to crack it; it’ll just take time.” She looked into the cell, Pidge passed out on the cot, shackled to the wall to prevent her from running when she came to. “If possible, I want you to talk with him when he wakes up. He may be more inclined to give something up, or at least an understanding to his mind so the data can be decoded faster.”

“Right.” Tavo nodded. Merla walked off, leaving the man to wait. He decided to go inside the cell and lean against the door as he waited. He didn’t have to wait long as Pidge started to stir and sit up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She stopped when she heard the clanking of the shackles, looking to them. “It’s to keep you from running off.”

“Running off?” Pidge blinked.

Tavo took note of her tone. She sounded dazed. “You must be exhausted; I can’t imagine what it feels like to have your memories scanned and copied like that. It must have taken a lot out of you.” he sighed. “But you should be fine.”

“My memories?” Pidge was confused as she sat up fully, hands down in her lap. “Um… then you know something? Because I can’t really remember anything.” Tavo looked alarmed. “Can we start simple? Do you know who I am?”

“Um...” They didn’t just obtain the data from Pidge’s mind, but they straight up took her memories, leaving her fairly empty. “Oh no...”

“Merla! Merla!” Tavo ran to catch up to the Altean, reaching her as she was going over some plans with other guards, making sure things were safe and secure. “We have a problem!”

“Tavo, I’m a bit busy.” Merla responded. “Give me a few moments-”

“This can’t wait!” Tavo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down the hall a bit. “Merla, you took Pidge’s memories.”

“Yes? That was already known.”

“No, you literally took them. There is nothing in his mind. I mean, he knows how to move and talk, form sentences, is coherent, but he doesn’t even remember his name. He doesn’t know where he is, how he got here. He can’t even remember Kosmo, that beast he was with.”

Merla looked up, alarmed a bit. “I didn’t expect that...” she admitted. “Previous times it was used, the prisoners maintained their memories.” She shook her head. “But...”

“Merla, you took them. Can’t you return them?”

Merla eyed Tavo for a moment. “It… may be best to not do that.”

“What?”

“If he was our enemy, now he has a chance to learn different and be our ally. This may be for the best.” Merla admitted. “It may even be possible that his memories will be restored on their own, that the stress and his stubbornness did this. Let’s give it time.” She smiled softly as she reached up and touched his cheek. “And you can watch over him if you feel the need. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Tavo pulled away. “I’ll look after him.” he grumbled. “But Merla, I don’t like this. This is just wrong.” He turned on his heel and stormed away.

“Tch. He’s a tough one to get through.”

Tavo returned to Pidge’s cell, the girl with her shackles removed. He didn’t think she was a threat anymore, so he saw no need to have her restrained. She was still on the cot, confused and looking around.

“This is… definitely a bad situation.” he sighed. He went over and sat next to Pidge. “I don’t know how to help you with your memories. So… for now let’s start with names. My name is Tavo. Yours is Pidge.”

“Pidge.” Pidge blinked and nodded. “Well, if you say so.”

For a while, Pidge had to remain in her cell. When the day came to an end, Tavo got her set to go to bed. Once she was asleep, he went to wander around, his mind running amok. He was stressed. Pidge lost her memories and wouldn’t be much help with the code that Merla needed. More than that, she was a child. She had nothing going for her anymore and he didn’t know how to help her.

“Damn, this just...” Tavo shook his head as he returned to his quarters. He went to sit down. “I don’t know what to do...” he mumbled. He went alert when he heard a squeak. Looking up, he saw a mouse up in a vent. “What the… wait… you jumped out of Pidge’s pouch when we took him in.” Tavo lifted his hand up, letting Chulatt onto it. “What are you doing here?” He set the mouse down on the table.

Chulatt motioned with his paws to make it look like he had glasses. He then pinched his ears to be more pointed and wagged his tail. Finally, he pointed to the door and ran in place.

“Hmm, I think I get it.” Tavo nodded. “Er… no. Actually, no, I don’t get it.” The mouse smacked his paw to his head. He looked around before finally finding something so he could draw. Clever as he was, he was able to draw Pidge, or at least a crude doodle to her likeness, but it was enough for the Altean. “You mean Pidge… he’s...” Tavo sighed. “He’s in trouble. He has no memories… Merla took them. And I don’t know how to get them back in him.”

Chulatt looked panicked at learning about Pidge’s situation. He then nodded. He was sure Allura could figure something out. He then drew a crude design of Kosmo.

“That beast, Kosmo. He’s locked up.” Tavo said. Chulatt nodded and drew his attempt at a space ship. “A ship…” Chulatt drew Allura next. “Another person…an… Altean?” He blinked. “Pidge mentioned other Alteans. Wait! You think if we get Pidge and Kosmo, we can go find this other Altean?” Chulatt cheered, jumping up and down. “But… we may need the data from Pidge’s memories… Merla has that in her office.”

Chulatt thought it over before nodding. He then pointed to himself. “Hmm?” Tavo tried to interpret the mouse’s actions. “You think you can help?” Chulatt nodded. He then pointed to his head and then Kosmo. “You… Kosmo… oh! You’ll get Kosmo and then….”

Chulatt sighed. He drew an arrow to the doodle Pidge’s head. He then pointed to himself and the Kosmo. doodle He finally pointed to the Pidge doodle and Tavo.

“Okay… give me a moment...” Tavo mumbled. He examined the doodles, trying to understand what the mouse was meaning. He was also questioning why he was talking with a mouse and coming up with planns with it, but Pidge was actually more important than that. “Okay, I’ll get Pidge and get to a ship. You’ll find a way to free Kosmo and get Pidge’s memories?” Chulatt nodded. “Do you even know where Merla’s office is?” Another nod. “You’re not an average creature, huh?” Chulatt looked proud of himself. “Okay then, but we need to act quick…”

Tavo didn’t want to betray his fellow Alteans or run away, but he had to help Pidge. More than that, he felt he was understanding a bit of what the young teen meant by not trusting Merla. What she was doing didn’t sit well with him. He picked up the mouse and got ready, going back to get the plan in motion. He got Chulatt near a vent close to where Kosmo was locked up.

“Okay, good luck, little guy.” he whispered. Chulatt saluted before scurrying off, heading to go break Kosmo out of his own cell. Meanwhile, Tavo went to Pidge’s cell. He was careful as he went in and picked her up.

“Huh?” Pidge stirred from her rest. “Tavo?”

“Shh, just go back to bed.”

“What’s going on?”

Tavo got Pidge pulled up and supported in one arm, leaning over his shoulder. “I’m just getting you moved to another location. It’s going to be okay.” Pidge just grumbled and hugged him around his neck, dozing off again. “Good.” With that, he took off, careful to get around the corridors and to not get spotted. With it being late, it wasn’t a difficult feat; what would be was taking off in a ship to leave the planet. Most hadn’t been used in so long and there was a chance he would be shot down instead. Well, some chances needed to be taken.

Chulatt was able to get into Kosmo’s cell. There, the wolf had a collar around him and chained to the floor. It would normally mean nothing, but the room kept him from teleporting. The mouse got down to the wolf, the larger creature happy to see him. Chulatt put his paw up to remind Kosmo to be silent, then he went to work on the collar, able to reach into its lock to work with it and get it broken into.

Once he was successful, Chulatt got up on Kosmo’s head. He pointed to the door and the wolf took him over, letting him work with the electronic lock. It opened up, surprising the Altean on guard. Before they could report that the wolf was out, Kosmo tackled them, knocking them into a wall and rendering them unconscious. With that out of the way, Kosmo disappeared, going through the halls and heading for where Chulatt was guiding him.

Kosmo got into Merla’s office with ease, the Altean thankfully not in there. He sniffed around, making sure they were safe. Meanwhile, Chulatt went to the computer systems, looking for the data that held Pidge’s memories. He was able to bring it up on the monitor, though it was hard to tell what was really there. Though he did come across the codes.

Squeaking happily, he found it was on a small datachip. He closed out of things and took the chip out of the system. He checked to make sure it was the only place that had the information, nodding when satisfied. He went back to Kosmo and squeaked at him, the wolf nodding and teleporting.

Kosmo didn’t take long to find Pidge’s scene trail, disappearing and reappearing along it, following it to locate his human. He reached the ship Tavo got ready, appearing in it.

“Ancients be damned!” Tavo yelped in surprise when the wolf was suddenly next to him. “Does Pidge always put up with that?” Chulatt went to the console, letting Kosmo go to the back and check on his human. Tavo looked back, watching as Kosmo laid next to her and whimpered. “We’ll get him help, don’t worry.” He looked back to Chulatt. “Did you get it?” The mouse showed the chip. “Then let’s go. I haven’t flown in deca-phoebs, so hopefully I know what I’m doing.”

“What do you mean a ship took off?” Merla asked, walking through a hall.

“Merla!” another Altean ran up to Merla as she went with some of the guards. “That wolf, it somehow escaped.”

“Merla! Merla! We have a problem!” Another was sprinting down the hall, trying to catch up to them. “I went to check on the prisoner… but he’s gone!”

“WHAT?!” Merla was alarmed. She then took off, heading for her office. She got to it and checked the systems. Nothing. Pidge’s data wasn’t there. She went through everything, even around her office. “Dammit! He must have had an...” No, she realized what was going on. She sat down and chuckled as she rested her forehead against her hand. “Of course. Tavo must have been behind this...” She stood up and slammed her hands on her desk. “Damn him...”

Chapter Text

“How is she?” Shiro asked, checking on Yazi and Romelle, the younger Altean still unconscious.

“She’s doing better already.” Romelle responded. “But I’m still worried. What if this isn’t enough?”

“We’ll get her medical treatment soon.” Shiro assured. He looked over to where Bandor was piloting the ship, keeping them on course. On occasion, Rover would push his hands, guiding him back if they strayed. When Bandor would thank the drone or even seem to strike up a conversation with him, it was adorable; it reminded him of Pidge. “He’s learning well. Taken a lot off of these past few days of flying.”

“He’s pretty adaptable.” Romelle smiled, happy to see how well Bandor was doing.

“He reminds me of Pidge.”

Romelle looked to Shiro, not missing the worried gaze upon his features. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. She seems clever. Plus, she has Kosmo with her.”

“I hope so.” Shiro nodded. “War is no place for a child...”

“Then why was she allowed out here to fight?”

“It wasn’t that we had much choice in the beginning. The lions chose us. But after that… I don’t know.” Shiro sighed. “I kept going because I felt it was my duty. But the others… they stuck with it. Even Pidge. She was probably the most headstrong and stubborn.”

“Um, Shiro? This thing is beeping!” Bandor called back.

“Hup!” Shiro got up and went up front. “Hmm, what’s going o-wait!” He grinned. “It’s the comms. We’re up and running fully.” He activated it. “This is Takashi Shirogane. We’re in one of the ships deployed by the Galaxy Garrison, the ship Arcadia.”

“Wait, Shiro!?” came Hawkins’ voice. Shiro got the link fully established and he came on screen. “It’s really you? As happy as I am to see you, where is Pidge.”

“She’s back on a planet; she used herself as a diversion so we could escape.” Shiro informed. “I don’t know the coordinates of where we came from...”

“The team should be able to figure it out by checking the ship.” Hawkins informed. “We have a lock on your present location and we’ll get to you.”

Shiro looked back to where Romelle was taking care of Yazi. “We have a patient with us. She’s recovering, but she needs medical attention.”

“We’ll have the medical team on standby, don’t worry.” Hawkins assured. “And then we’ll figure out where Pidge is exactly and go pick her up.”

“Right. And if possible… can you contact Allura?” Shiro asked. “I think she’d like to know… we found Alteans. And I’m coming back with three of them.”

Pidge was left behind on another planet. Shiro was coming back. He had Alteans with him. There was so much to take in. She was both worried and excited. She was afraid for Pidge’s safety, but she was relieved to know Shiro was safe and he was with more Alteans. She anxiously waited for Shiro’s return.

Then he arrived, the ship being brought in, though a bit shakily, to the vehicle bay where it was landed. The medical team went out to greet them, Ulaz with them. Romelle left with Shiro, carrying Yazi in her arms.

“She needs a thorough check. She was having her quintessence drained.” Shiro reported as the medics helped Romelle put the younger Altean on a stretcher.

“We’ll do our best.” Ulaz assured.

“I want to go with her.” Romelle pleaded. “Please. But Bandor...”

“I’ll look after him.” Shiro promised.

“Let’s go.” Ulaz told the team. He guided Romelle with him as he followed after the team.

“They’ll take care of Yazi?” Bandor asked.

“Yea-whoa!” Shiro was tackled to the ground by not one but four people. Allura, Keith, Hunk, and Lance all tackled him into a hug, crying out the former black paladin’s name. Bandor yelped and jumped back to avoid the mass of people.

“Um… Shiro?” Bandor looked down at them. “Should I call the medical team back for you?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Shiro assured, trying not to laugh at the sudden, albeit forceful, affection.

“Shiro, you’re actually okay! And back!” Keith cried.

“Most of you; you’re missing your arm.” Lance chuckled a bit as he wiped away his tears. “Man, and I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.”

“I didn’t, I anticipated full on sobbing.” Hunk didn’t bother wiping his face. “But you’re okay. You’re back.”

“Shiro… I’m glad you’re back.” Allura said. “Are you okay? Have you been well? Where… have...” She looked to see Bandor, the young Altean going rigid. “You’re… Altean.” She got up and went to Bandor, cupping his face. “You’re really Altean.”

“Yeah, his name is Bandor.” Shiro got up with the help of the others. “The others were Romelle and Yazi; they went to get Yazi treated.” He looked to see a team go to the blue helicopter, getting to it to check on it. “Anyway, we need to get Rover checked, too; he holds vital information that was found on that planet.”

“We can get him to Regris, he should be able to get into his data.” Lance said, holding his hands out. Rover went to him. “C’mon, buddy, let’s see what you know.” He went off to locate the tailed Blade.

“Meanwhile, let’s get you settled.” Keith told Shiro. “The others will figure out where the ship’s been.”

“Right.” Shiro nodded.

Shiro was taken in and cleaned up. He donned a Garrison uniform for the time being, extras being on board. He then went to find Matt and Chip; he wanted to talk to them. When he did, was at a loss of words. How was he supposed to tell them that their sister was left behind on a planet where an Altean was draining the quintessence of other Alteans?

“I’m sorry...” was all he could say. “She did what she could to ensure we could safely get away and get Yazi treatment… and bring back the information. And we’re going to go back and get he-” He was cut off when he was hugged by the brothers.

“I’m sure you did what you could. And as worried as we are for Pidge, we’re glad you’re okay, too.” Matt assured.

“And you’re right, we’ll get Pidge back.” Chip added.

“I’m still so sorry guys...” Shiro sighed.

“Shiro, Matt, Chip?” Colleen checked in on them. “Hey, I know this is a touching moment, but we need to go over the information. Regris was able to get the data from Rover and translated.”

“That was quick.” Shiro said.

“Regris is amazing and quick.” Chip informed. “Hey Mom, anything about my ship?”

“Not yet, the team is still working with it.” Colleen stated. “It had some damage when it crashed and Pidge and Bandor didn’t get everything up, but they’re sure they’ve got this.” She motioned for them to follow her. “Anyway, let’s go.”

They gathered together in a conference room, sitting down to listen to the data found. Romelle and Bandor even gave their accounts on the situation and what they had seen, especially since Bandor had seen all the pods alongside Pidge. Regris even went over the data from Rover.

“That reading, it’s the same quintessence that Lotor and his team were trailing.” Allura covered her mouth in shock. “Then… it was from Alteans? But why? Why would an Altean be using her fellow Alteans?”

“We’ll figure it out when we go and rescue Pidge.” Chip said. He looked to Hawkins. “Right? We are going to rescue her?”

“As soon as the team finds the coordinates to that planet.” Hawkins assured. “Until then, we’re heading the direction the others came from.” Chip let out a sigh of relief. “Ulaz, what about the young Altean? Yazi.”

“She’s in stable condition.” Ulaz reported. “She was under a lot of stress from what she went through and it’ll take time, but she’ll make a full recovery.”

“Good.” Hawkins let out a sigh of relief; he didn’t need to know her to feel sad for her situation, especially since she was a child betrayed by one of her own. “As soon as we know Pidge’s whereabouts, we can either use hyperjumps or contact Coran and get help with getting us to her loca-”

“Commander, sir!” Olia called from the bridge.

“What is it, Captain?”

“Another ship is nearing our location; ETA would be four vargas.”

“Is there any data on the ship? Or did they make contact?”

“Yes. He says he’s an Altean; his name is Tavo.” Olia informed. “And he says he has Pidge with him!”

They had Pidge back. Tavo was able to take off and even find the Arcadia. The others were relieved, excited even. What they didn’t expect was to receive the news four and a half hours later. When Tavo arrived, he had explained what happened, handing over the data chip to Pidge’s mother.

“She can’t remember anything?” Chip asked. He looked into the medical bay, Pidge sitting in one of the rooms and curled up with Kosmo and Chulatt.

“She can talk and move, she’s coherent.” Tavo explained. “And inquisitive. When she fully woke up, she was asking as many questions as possible, many I didn’t know how to answer.”

“That is definitely Pidge.” Colleen sighed. She looked to Allura. “Allura, do you think it’s possible to put her memories back? Semi-Altean tech did this, didn’t it? Can Altean tech reverse it?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve not heard of memories truly being removed before. It was always data copied down.” Allura admitted.

“Well we can’t just ignore this, right?” Aki asked. “We have to try. Or maybe Coran knows something?”

“But what about the Alteans?” Cliff questioned. “They’re in trouble...”

“And we may need Pidge’s help to save them.” Aki pointed out.

Allura thought over the matter as she looked to where Pidge was, seeing her play with the mice. Even without her memories, she was still close to them. She then looked to Bandor. “Bandor, I’m sorry, but we have to put off helping the other Alteans, we do need Pidge.”

“I understand.” Bandor nodded. He wanted to help the others, but he did understand Pidge’s importance. “But… um… how are we going to help Pidge? If you don’t know if Altean tech can reverse it...”

“I don’t know if we can at the castle… but I do know that the Olkari can figure something out.” Allura said. “They’re the most clever people there are.”

“We’ll contact Coran and have him activate a wormhole for us.” Hawkins said.

“Thank you.” Allura nodded.

“Wait… the Alteans… our people are in trouble?” Tavo asked, looking down at Bandor.

“I’ll explain on the way.” Bandor responded.

After the others dispersed, getting ready to join back up with Coran and go to Olkarion, Colleen, Chip, and Matt went inside the room to visit with Pidge. Lance lingered outside, watching them and listening to Colleen try to explain what’s going on to Pidge and who they were. He was happy that Pidge was taking the lack of memories and meeting her family well, but he was sad. She had to endure so much; there seemed to be no break for her.

“Lance?” Lance looked over when Krik walked up to him. “You’re worried. Not that I blame you.”

“Pidge just can’t get a rest, huh?” Lance asked. “Crushed by Sendak, shot by a fighter ship, bitten by a wolf, though she befriended that wolf, captured by Sendak, probably tortured by the Druids and Haggar, literally died… now her memory’s gone...” He looked sad. “It’s like the universe is out to get her or something...” He let out a sad. “It’s like there’s some sadistic god writing her life and purposefully making her miserable.”

Krik wasn’t sure about that last part, but it did make some sense, he supposed. He pushed it aside and gave a soft not. “It is bad, yes.” he said softly. “But there has been some good, too. She has learned lots, made friends, and discovered her family out here, too. I don’t want these things to happen to her, either, but she keeps pulling through.”

“Yeah… but what if she doesn’t pull through the next time? Or what if we can’t get her memories back in her?” Lance asked. “I don’t want to lose Pidge...”

Krik watched Lance for a bit. “We’ll do our best to be there for her. We may be two separate factions, but we’re still one team.” he assured. He nudged Lance. “C’mon, let’s leave them be.”

“Yeah.” Lance nodded. He looked in on Pidge and smiled, glad to see she was adjusting. “At least she’s in good hands.”

Chapter Text

“Hmm...”

“Well, Ryner?” Coran asked. “Do you think you can put her memories back?”

“It shouldn’t be impossible.” Ryner nodded.

“I sense a but here. A really big one.” Lance looked worried. Understandably, those lingering in the lab were all concerned.

“Well, we have no way of confirming if these are her memories.” Ryner sighed. “And I don’t know how long it would take to decode this to be sure.”

“Just how coded is Pidge’s mind?” Allura inquired. Ryner brought up the data.

“And that’s just a small portion. I don’t know how her mind is coded; this isn’t a standard binary code.” Ryner admitted. “It’s actually impressive. I mean, we can take a chance and hope no mistakes were made.”

“What if we just get Pidge to read some of this and see if she can?” Lance suggested.

“Dude, she didn’t even remember her own name; what makes you think she’d remember this mess of numbers?” Aki questioned.

“What makes you think she can’t?” Lance countered. “Look, this is Pidge’s mind. Maybe some part of it still remembers a code or something so she can read it.”

“I think that’s a good suggestion.” Colleen nodded. She slugged Lance in the arm. “Good work.”

“I’ll go get her.” Chip offered. “Or… try to? She went off somewhere… but Olkarion is safe and she has Kosmo…” He froze. They thought other locations were safe, too, but that screwed them over. “Shit! Pidge!” He ran off as fast as he could. “Where are you!?”

“All things considered?” Cliff hummed. “I’m not even going to call after him for his language.”

Pidge was out in the forest with Kosmo, Rover, and the mice, just relaxing. To help ensure she was fine, Regris was nearby, reading something on a datapad. Chip was grateful that he was able to find them with ease.

“I am… so glad… you’re… okay...” the pilot gasped out. He went over and sat down next to Pidge. “Oh man, as much as I’m able to do and move around, that was a lot of running.”

“Why were you running then?” Pidge questioned. “You okay?”

“Yeah...” Chip nodded. “Anyway, we needed you to confirm something with us.”

“With her memory? Or there lack of?” Regris asked.

“Lance’s idea, Mom agreed with it.” Chip admitted. “Just… let me catch my breath, then we can go back.” He rested against Kosmo and sighed. Pidge had gone through so much. Sure, she came back each time, but what part of her was left behind each time. However, she survived. And she had friends and family to get her through it. “By the way, your brain is complicated.”

“That, for some odd reason, brings me satisfaction.” Pidge smirked.

“Of course it would.” Chip chuckled. “Too bad we weren’t raised together, otherwise I’d probably understand it.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Regris asked. “You have seen her codes in her computer. I don’t think even if you could read her mind you’d understand it.”

Chip couldn’t help but laugh, his gut hurting from that. “Okay, fair point.” he admitted. “But a brother can hope, right?”

“Yeah.” Pidge nodded.

Once Chip caught his breath, he went back to the lab with the others. Ryner was already working with a few other Olkari, trying to design something to put Pidge’s memories back where they belonged. She had left the data up.

“Hmm?” Pidge looked at the number sequence that was up. “Oh, that’s about the rare unlockable character in Killbot Phantasm twenty-two. That way you can get Angel Minuet.”

“Wait! They were unlockable!” Ginger cried out. “I’ve been wanting them in my party for ye-” She froze when she realized most were looking to her, confusion and possible judgment in their eyes; at least when Pidge looked to her, she just smiled. “Um… I’ll talk to Pidge about Killbot Phantasm another time.”

“Okay, assuming Pidge read it right, then we have her mind.” Coran declared with joy. “Or at least I hope so. I don’t know what this Killbot Phantasm is, but it sounds like an Earthling thing.” He shook his head, trying to get his mind back on track. “Goodness, that’s an interesting set of things to say.”

“It could be another varga or so, but we’ve got this.” Ryner assured, returning to the others. She smiled at Pidge. “Before long, you’ll have your mind back.”

“Great, then we’re back to the sassy little green gremlin.” Cliff sighed, though he did end up smirking.

“I look forward to have my mind back, even just to sass him,” Pidge motioned to Cliff, “out of spite.”

“Until then, just stick close.” Ryner chuckled.

Pidge nodded. “Right. I guess I’ll walk around close by.” She shrugged and walked off, Kosmo going with her to make sure she was fine. She stopped momentarily to look to Lance. Smiling softly, she walked off; Chip and Regris went to join her. “Hey, so there’s time.”

“Yeah.” Chip nodded.

“Before I get my mind back, I have to ask.” Pidge sighed, not sure how to say it. “But there was someone… he has some funny looking ears. And even from where I was, I could see his eyes; they’re a nice shade of blue, like Kosmo’s mane. A little deeper than that, but nice and noticeable.” She looked to Chip. “He’s cute.”

Chip stopped and choked on his saliva. He held onto Regris so he could brace himself, the tailed Galran patting his back.

“Um… was it something I said?” Pidge inquired.

“Maybe?” Regris shrugged. “But Lance. He’s-”

“No, no, I don’t wanna know what my mind thought beforehand.” Pidge shook her head. “I just wanted to get it off my chest while I’m still as mindless as a newborn.”

“That’s one wordy and curious newborn.” Chip commented as he managed to regain his composure. “Anyway, let’s just… play video games. That’s a good way to spend the next hour. And you have a Killbot Phantasm game. It’s dated but...”

“Well, since the game was on my mind, I think I’ll like it.” Pidge hummed.

“In short, your mind is a computer and this will download the data to it.” Ryner explained. “There is one issue, though.”

“Can’t be any worse than what I’m going through now, right?” Pidge asked.

“Well…” Ryner thought it over. “It may or may not be as bad as some things you have already faced. It’s going to hurt putting this in your mind. A lot.”

Pidge nodded. Pain just to get her mind back? Well, that seemed doable. “Okay. Let’s do this.” she said. “Then I can tell you if I’ve faced worse or not.”

“Okay.” Ryner nodded. “Now, the others are outside waiting; this will take a few doboshes, half a varga at most. Then you may need to rest for a bit; Ulaz and I will be here to monitor you.”

“I’ve got this. Just… don’t tell me when you start? I don’t want to know when it’s coming because logic tells me that I’ll anticipate it and it’ll be wor-AH!” Ulaz caught Pidge off guard and got the headpiece put on and activated. Ryner shot him a look.

“She didn’t want us telling her.” Ulaz pointed out. “Some people do well with that.” He held onto Pidge, supporting her as she cried out in pain, cursing herself for being so smart. “It’s like ripping off an adhesive bandage. Or pulling a prank on another Galran covered in fur during basic training because you got fed up with them.”

Ryner chuckled as she shook her head. She then looked to Pidge, the young paladin whimpering. “It’s going to be okay, dear. You’ll get through this.”

“Why did I have to be so damn smart? This freaking sucks!” Pidge cried. “I swear, I’m going to punch whoever took my memories to begin with.”

“Just hold on a bit longer.” Ryner coaxed. “Is there anything you remember yet? Anything to help us know this is working?’

“I… I don’t know. I’ve broken my wrist during gymnastics. I’ve fallen off a roof before. I’ve punched a guy named Shannon for some reason I can’t recall yet but apparently he was being a grade-A bastard.”

“Progress.” Ryner chuckled.

Pidge took several minutes, but she finally settled down. The stress of her memories returning took a lot out of her and left her exhausted. Ulaz checked on her vitals.

“Elevated blood pressure and heart rate, but that’s to be expected.” Ulaz stated. “How’s your mind?”

“I have a headache and a desire to really punch Merla in the face.” Pidge responded. “But, good news, we found more Alteans and Shiro.” She looked to Ulaz. “An Altean I sent back with him, though. Yazi. Is she okay?”

Ulaz smiled. “Yeah, she’s fine. She hasn’t woken up yet, but she’s doing well.”

“Good, it worked.” Ryner let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll go let the others know she’s fine.” She looked to Pidge as she relaxed, laying down on the cot she was on. “And let your family in to see you.”

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that. I could use some brotherly and motherly hugs. And Kosmo.” Pidge informed. Ryner nodded and stepped out, going to tell the others about the success and send her family in to visit with her. It didn’t take long for Kosmo to teleport into the room and suddenly jump up onto the cot, laying down on his human and licking her face. “Kosmo! Down boy! Down! I’m fine!”

“Looks like he’s missed you.” Matt laughed as he walked in. He went over. “C’mon, buddy, you’re going to crush her; she just got her memories back, we don’t need her having her bones broken under your weight.” Kosmo finally teleported off of her. “Hey, how do you feel?”

“Like crap.” Pidge responded. “My head felt like a game of Dig Dug on the inside and like there was a point of gravity on the outside trying to crush it.”

“Ouch.” Matt winced. “But… other than that? You’re okay? From being thrown across the universe?”

Pidge nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” she said. “A little sore in the leg, but I’m fine.” She sighed. “We need to get back to those Alteans… we need to help them; Merla’s a hazard to them...”

“We’ll get things taken care of as soon as you’re better, honey.” Colleen assured as she ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “You need to rest.”

“Yeah...” Pidge nodded. She yawned. “Who knew getting memories back could be so tiring.”

“Rest.” Colleen kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Perhaps we’ll have a plan by the time you wake up.” Colleen left with Matt, leaving Chip to sit with his sister. Chip hopped up on the cot, sitting on the edge.

“I was worried about you.” Chip said. “When I found out you went missing and how and why, it really scared me. But… I’m glad you’re okay.” Pidge scooted over, giving her twin room to lay down next to her.

“It’s going to take more than a freaky mind tampering Altean to get the best of me.” Pidge smirked. “Anyway, what’d I miss with you? Surely you were up to something.”

“We went to another reality.”

“WHAT!?” Pidge sat up quickly, looking down at her brother. As quickly as she sat up, she laid back down. “Ugh… my head…”

“Yeah, take it easy.” Chip chuckled. “Anyway, yeah. And I met another you. But not a girl. A boy. He was also called Pidge and has a twin. And we saw someone who looked like Shiro but wasn’t Shiro; he was called Sven. And he had this thick accent, I think more so than Slav’s.”

“Man, that would have been trippy if I were there.” Pidge chuckled. “Can you imagine? Pidge meets Pidge. The realities collide. Oh, that’d be fun.”

“Good heavens, no; that’s a horrible idea!” Chip laughed out, snorting a bit. Pidge laughed with him. “I don’t think a reality can handle two of you.” he said when he settled down. He then smiled softly. “Anyway… I’m glad you’re fine and back here.”

“I’m glad, too.” Pidge nodded. “Also, don’t tell Lance I thought he was cute when I had no memories, okay?”

“Aw, c’mon, it’s cute.”

“Yeah, but I don’t need too many knowing and teasing me about it.” Pidge chuckled. She then yawned again.

“Rest.” Chip instructed. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“If neither of us fall before then.” Pidge hummed. She then snuggled in, grateful to just sleep. She had gone through so much and she had a lot to do when she woke up again, sleep was going to be good for her.

Chapter Text

“Merla, you wanted to talk with me?” Avok inquired. “We need to hurry, though; I need to get back out there and prepare. The prisoner has escaped and we must assume he’ll return to his allies; they could easily show up and attack us.”

Merla nodded. What harm could Pidge do, though? She had no memories. But Tavo took her away along with the datachip that had her memories stored on it. Would her allies be able to return them?

“It’s about that.” Merla hummed. “I know a way to make you stronger. However, there are risks.”

“Risks?”

“You may… lose yourself, in a way. But you will be powerful, even our greatest enemies won’t be able to stand a chance against you.” Merla looked a little downcast. “However, even if we find Bandor, bring him home, you… may not be able to meet with him. Not like this anymore.”

Avok thought it over, weighing his options. He may never get to meet with his little brother again? That tugged on his heart. But in the process, he could protect his people. He could fight off any enemy who would dare pose a threat. He knew his brother would be sad to lose him like that, but he was sure he’d also be proud of his brother for doing his best to protect others, even if it meant noble sacrifice.

“What do I need to do then?” Avok inquired. “I will do anything to protect my people. And if it means Bandor can be saved and brought back, I will even live with never meeting him again.” He smiled. “I will do my best; I will be the warrior he can look up to.”

Merla smiled. “Wonderful.” She nodded. “Now then, you will only need to take a little trip to visit a friend of mine. As skilled as I am, I lack the power but my mentor is capable.”

“I understand that you will probably be under attack,” Tavo pointed out, his tone showing he was concerned, “but these are my people we are talking about. They don’t know what’s been going on under their noses and they won’t respond the best to outsiders showing up. And I can’t risk them getting hurt.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t be going in as a fighting force.” Allura assured. “I want to talk with them. And apprehend Merla as peacefully as possible.”

“And if we’re attacked?” Hawkins inquired.

“We defend against it, but we won’t be on the offensive.” Allura informed. Hawkins nodded in response.

Tavo let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Princess.” he said. “I understand that Merla’s done wrong all this time, but the others… they’re innocent.”

“We’ll do what we can.” Allura took Tavo’s hands. “We’ve got this.”

“Mostly.” Hawkins added. “We still need the coordinates to Pol-”

“We got it!” Pidge cried, running down the hall. “We have the coo-whoa!” She slid on the floor and went right towards the others, the group jumping out of the way. When she crashed into a wall, they winced.

“Is um...” Tavo looked worried.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Hawkins responded.

“I’m okay!” Pidge called.

“See?” Hawkins then smacked his palm to his forehead. “Who am I kidding? That kid is a disaster...”

“At least she has energy.” Allura chuckled. “Pidge, what were you saying?”

“We’ve got the coordinates to the planet!” Pidge sat up. “Which means when we’re ready, we can head there!”

Allura nodded. “That’s wonderful news!” she exclaimed. “Then we need to get ready.” She looked to Hawkins. “If possible, I’d like you to keep the Arcadia back; seeing it may not go well for the others. But the castle is Altean; it may be more reassuring to them.”

“Copy that.” Hawkins nodded. “I’ll keep the pilots back unless needed. We’ll be on reserve to back you up.”

“Thank you.” Allura then looked to Tavo. “And if you, Romelle, and Bandor would join us in the castle?” she suggested. “We may need your help so we can assure the other Alteans that we really mean no harm.”

“Of course.” Tavo nodded. “I’m more than glad to help with that.”

“Then let’s get ready.”

Pidge went off to prepare. She stopped for a moment when she wondered what uniform she was going to don. Was she a DaiRugger pilot? Or a Voltron paladin?

“Hey!” Pidge was startled when Chip shouted at her and threw a helmet at her. Quick with her reflexes, she caught it before it could hit her. Pidge looked down at the helmet; it was her paladin helmet. She then looked to her side when Kosmo teleported beside her, the green bayard in his jaws. She looked back up at her twin. “I’m taking my helicopter back.” Chip chuckled. “You’ll probably only crash it again.” Pidge could tell he wasn’t angry; he was just teasing her.

“At least Green doesn’t mind if I get yeeted through the universe and crash.” Pidge joked. Getting flung and crashing. It seemed to be how remarkable meetings occurred for her. First when she found the vehicle team stranded, then when she found Shiro and other Alteans. She even crashed down into a cave where she met Kosmo, though that was more dropping in as opposed to being flung. “And good things come when I crash. Better than Lance.”

“Hey!” Lance called as he walked past, hearing the twins. “I’m a great pilot!”

“You kept crashing the simulator.” Pidge reminded with a laugh. She then held up her helmet. “Okay! Let’s do this!” Pidge went to her hanger and got inside the lion. She situated herself in the cockpit, smiling. “I missed you, girl.” She looked when Kosmo nosed her. “Yeah, we’ve got this, boy. Now let’s go put a stop to Merla.” she said as she pet the wolf.

Allura stayed on the bridge of the castle-ship for the time being. If they needed the lions for defense, then she could quickly get down to the hanger to reach the blue lion; until then, she was up on the bridge to keep an eye on things. Shiro had taken his spot back at the black paladin’s station; he may have been down to one arm, but he could help out with that much. For the time being, Bandor, Romelle, and Tavo sat at the other paladin stations, ready and waiting for when they would be needed.

“Shiro, are you sure you’re fine?” Allura inquired. “You just got back and...”

“I may not be a paladin, but I can do my best here.” Shiro assured. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Allura nodded. “Okay, let’s take the castle up.”

“Right away.” Coran, back in the castle for the mission, confirmed. He got the castle moved. He waited until Allura opened up the wormhole for their next destination. Once it was open, they went through, the Arcadia with the vehicle team right behind them.

Pollux. A planet where the Alteans have been living. Allura was relieved to know there were more, but she was worried that they were suffering by the hands of one of their own.

“The city is around there.” Tavo pointed out, getting up and going to where Thace and Coran were working. “That’s where Merla is. There are city ruins a relatively fair distance from it; that could be an ideal place to land.”

“Right.” Coran nodded, bringing the castle in to land.

“Hmm… something doesn’t seem right.” Bandor said. “We’d have been noticed pretty quickly, I’m sure. And with this being a new ship, I’d actually expect some sort of attack.”

“Perhaps they recognize it as Altean?” Coran suggested.

“Wouldn’t that be all the more reason to be on guard?” Thace suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they’ve lived with the Galran Empire being their enemy. In the past, the empire’s used tricky methods to take down others, even other ships that don’t look Galran.” Thace explained. “If I were in their position, I’d be cautious of a ship that is new but looks like technology I know.”

“That’s a good point to make.” Allura nodded.

“Princess, what’s the order?” Keith asked, his face coming up on screen.

“Be on standby.” Allura responded. “We’re trying to figure out what’s going on. And I don’t want to risk sending the wrong message by having us go out there too soon.”

“Copy that.” Keith confirmed.

“Ugh… waiting. Can’t I just go in with Kosmo and punch Merla? Please?” Pidge asked.

“Is she always...” Bandor asked.

“She can be rather spiteful when wronged.” Colleen, who was still in the castle, hummed. “Pidge, behave. This is an important mission. Maybe you can punch her after she’s apprehended. And after I’ve punched her.”

“Yes, Mom.” Pidge chuckled.

“Okay, I may be developing a new fear of Earthling ladies...” Bandor mumbled.

“Princess Allura, we’ve picked up on an incoming object!” Hawkins contacted them from the Arcadia. “We’re trying to get a lock on what it is, but it’s large and coming in fast.”

“What could it be now?” Allura questioned, looking a little worried. “Commander, do you know its estimated arrival?”

“Twenty seconds or less and… huh?” Commander Hawkins was confused by something. “Princess, it looks like some sort of coffin.”

“A coff-” Allura froze. “Oh no… Coran! Take the castle up! Paladins! Get ready to launch, but don’t attack yet!” She ran off to the elevator that would help get her to the blue lion.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Bandor asked. He looked when he saw the object crash into the land and right into the ruins, crushing them. “What the heck is that!?”

“Oh no, it’s a robeast coffin!” Coran cried out as he got the castle moved.

“A what?” Tavo inquired.

“Robeasts.” Shiro spoke up. “Robotic beasts. The Empire’s sent a few after us since beginning our work as paladins. We don’t know where they keep getting them, though.”

“I do.” Thace nodded. “They’re made from technology and druid magic, especially Haggar’s.” He was worried. “I didn’t witness it fully, but Commander Prorok was blamed for my action to bring down the barrier to help you guys escape back when you rescued the princess; he was used for one of the robeasts. And back when you were on Arus, the gladiator known as Myzax was also used.”

“She uses others to create monsters?” Romelle asked, looking horrified. “That’s horrible!”

“What about the Alteans?” Tavo questioned. “Won’t that thing hurt them?”

“Don’t worry, the paladins will do what they can to keep it away from the city.” Coran assured. “And the vehicle team will back them up, I’m sure.” He then looked ahead. “I just hope they can take it down quickly.”

With the castle scanning the area and showing what was on the surface, they could see the coffin clearly. Then it opened up and the robeast emerged. It had a relatively humanoid look to it, based off of what it originally was. But there was something more to it, something that Bandor was able to notice.

“Wait a tick… is that… was Avok turned into a robeast?!” Bandor exclaimed.

Chapter Text

“That bitch!”

“Pidge?” Keith questioned.

“Merla! She’s a bitch! She really doesn’t care who she hurts! And she had Avok turned into a robeast!” Pidge shouted. She heard what Bandor said, the Altean noticing what she saw, too. The robeast looked too much like Avok, even if a bit more monstrous, mechanical, and bigger in size, to not have originally been the Altean warrior. And Thace’s explanation on where the robeasts come from helped confirm that, pushing away any hopeful doubts.

“Pidge, I get that you’re upset, but now is not the time to lose yourself.” Allura reminded.

“But she-”

“Pidge, we’ll stop her. But first we need to disable the robe-… Avok. We need to stop him.” Lance said, his voice calming to the green paladin. “We’ll do what we can, but we need to stop him first to help ensure the safety of the others.”

“Right...” Pidge nodded. “You’re right...”

“Okay team, let’s form Voltron!” Keith instructed. Without hesitation, they formed together. “DaiRugger, we may need you guys to back us up.”

“Copy that.” Aki reported.

“But what about our brother?” Romelle asked from the castle. “What if he… isn’t there a way to save him?”

“Thace, you know more about Robeasts, right?” Keith asked. “Is there a way?”

“I honestly don’t know...” Thace admitted. “The only ones who know everything about the robeasts are the Druids and Haggar. Other than that...”

“Right… well, for now, we’ll try to at least keep him at bay.” Keith sighed.

“Starting with blocking!” Hunk cried.

Pidge got the shield activated as Lance got the sword. She blocked the attack, the robeast hitting the shield with an energy sword of sorts. He went at them with enough force that they were pushed back.

“Holy crow! This guy is strong!” Lance grunted.

“Guys, this may be a good time to come in.” Keith grumbled.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got your back, Voltron.” Cliff assured as three ships flew in, going at the robeast and firing upon him; they decided to utilize the three rugger formations rather than DaiRugger fully. Upon being shot, Avok backed off a bit, but he still went at them in combat, even trying to hit the other ruggers with a laser port on his chest.

“We’ll cover you in our battle formations.” Krik assured.

“Many thanks, guys.” Keith responded. “Okay, Voltron, let’s go on the offensive.”

They did what they could to go at Avok, trying to fight him and push him back, especially keeping him from the city; thankfully he didn’t seem to show any interest in traversing near the city anyway. He did, however, fight hard.

Back up in the castle, Bandor was watching in fear. He was worried for his brother, but also the twenty pilots out there all working hard to stop him. Avok was a master with the sword and a true warrior. He was skilled. He didn’t want to doubt them, but he didn’t think that Voltron or the ruggers stood a chance against him.

“This isn’t going to work.” Bandor said. “That thing is using Avok’s skills, his moves.” He looked to Tavo. “You know how Avok fights… do you know any weaknesses? I’ve never taken him down during training so...”

“No, Avok’s style is unique; he wasn’t referred to as the best for nothing.” Tavo admitted. “Maybe there’s a common weakness in robeasts? This clearly isn’t the first one...”

“No… each robeast differed.” Shiro shook his head. “Myzax we had to find an opening when he had to charge his attack. The one from the Balmera was trickier, but we finally were able to slice through and destroy it. The one from Zaiwei, we had to cut it off from its supply of quintessence before also cutting through it.”

“And I’m not picking up on any indications of external storage canisters for quintessence.” Ginger reported.

“And Mr. Gulpy who tried to eat us like a space taco back in the Thaldycon system imploded on itself when Ulaz sent his ship with a space-time generator inside of it.” Hunk pointed out.

“That one would have been Prorok.” Thace explained. “Each robeast is unique… which makes it harder to determine how to fight them… and with Avok even having a style that Tavo and Bandor don’t fully know...”

“Wait a sec… that thing is using Avok’s abilities.” Pidge declared. “Whoa!” Voltron brought up the shield again to block Avok’s sword before going in to clash against him. A duel with swords and Avok was doing his best to defeat them; for a moment, the others worried he would win. “Anyway, a part of him is inside that thing. Or even fully. He could be controlling it in a way.”

“What are you even getting at? Are you suggesting he’s piloting it?” Coran inquired.

“It’s possible.” Pidge responded.

“So can we patch in with his comms and talk to him?” Lance suggested. “Like have Romelle and Bandor speak to him? Maybe they can stop him then.”

“I don’t think it’d be that easy...” Pidge mumbled.

“Okay,” Chip spoke up, “does anyone have any ideas with that? Because I’m running on nothing right now...”

“And here I thought you were a genius.” Rocky sighed.

“I am, thank you very much. But genius doesn’t cover skilled swordsman as a giant freaking robot in the heat of battle where there’s hardly any time to think !”

“Chip, settle down.” Aki ordered.

“Well… I have an idea… but it’s also not gonna be easy.” Pidge admitted. “If anything, it’s really risky.”

“Okay, so what is it?” Allura asked.

“Well, for starters. Matt, you copy?”

“Yup, I’m here.”

“What are the odds that you can pilot a ship? A rugger to be precise.”

“I’d say that’s within my skills. I mean, I don’t have the training, but it should be possible.” Matt responded.

“Pidge, what are you getting at?” Cliff inquired.

“Patience. And cover our asses, will you?” Pidge inquired. She cried out along with the paladins when they got knocked back. “Man, this sucks. Anyway, we need to play a game of musical ships. I need Matt in Rugger Four, Chip, I need you in Green. And Bandor? I need you to get ready; we need to see if we can get inside that robeast and find where Avok is. Assuming my theory that he’s inside piloting it is accurate. I’m about eighty-seven percent positive he’s inside.”

“Pidge, that’s risky!” Chip cried; he either didn’t hear her or ignored his twin when she muttered about already saying that. “We just got you back! We can’t risk you getting hurt with that stupid move! And then there’s dragging Bandor into this...”

Bandor stared at the screen, watching Avok fight the others. And even successfully. He was going to win. And then what? Merla would succeed; she would be able to continue hurting Alteans. His people! “Okay! Let’s do it!” he exclaimed. “Kosmo can get us around, right?”

Pidge nodded. She looked to Kosmo. “I think he’s got this. Ready Kosmo?” The wolf huffed before disappearing.

Kosmo got to one of the ruggers first. The air rugger, where he went, took him up higher to get back to the Arcadia where he was able to get Matt. Matt was taken to Chip’s rugger where the elder brother took the younger’s place.

“You sure you got this?” Chip asked.

“I’ve flown a couple of rebel ships and I’ve studied manuals.” Matt assured. “I’ve got this. I think.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be easier since we’re working as a team.” Wolo assured.

“Thanks.” Matt nodded. “You be careful out there, Chip.”

“We should be telling Pidge that.”

“I can hear you, you know.”

“Then hear this! You’re the dumbest genius I know!” Chip shouted. Kosmo teleported again, taking the younger brother to the green lion. Chip swapped places with his sister. “Pidge, before you go...”

Pidge offered a smile. “Don’t worry, Chip. I’m not gonna let this defeat me.” she said.

“But can’t someone else do this? Or maybe if we brace long enough, we can come up with another plan?” Chip was worried for his sister. “Please, Pidge, think this through.”

“I am… I think.” Pidge smiled and hugged her twin. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. If not, you can tell me I told you so or something.”

“Just… don’t get hurt; I don’t wanna have to tell you that.” Chip returned the gesture. He looked to Kosmo. “Take care of her.”

Kosmo nodded before teleporting again, getting to a rugger that took them closer to the castle. From there, Pidge went to meet up with Bandor.

“Ready when you are.” Bandor stated.

“Bandor, maybe someone else should go instead of you?” Romelle asked. “I can’t risk you getting hurt...”

Bandor shook his head. “I’ll be fine, Romelle. Besides, Pidge and I make a good team. We’ve got this.”

“Why does he say that with such confidence?” Lance asked.

“Now’s not the time to feel like a jealous boyfriend, Lance.” Shannon reminded.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Pidge sighed. “Yet...” She shook her head. “Okay. Let’s do this. We’ve got a brother to stop. Or knock sense into.”

“Pidge?” Colleen asked. “Be careful. You and Bandor watch out for each other, okay? And Kosmo, too.”

Pidge nodded. “Will do, Mom.”

“And if you get hurt, I’m grounding you.” Colleen reminded. “Both of you.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Good. Now… be careful. And go stop Avok.”

The two teens nodded before Kosmo disappeared with them, getting them back to the rugger. The rugger team took them closer to Avok, doing a fly by as the wolf got the duo out and on the robeast’s shoulder. Avok didn’t seem to notice them, or perhaps he didn’t care. Either way, they were safe. Mostly.

Pidge and Bandor had to brace themselves and hold on as Avok went to attack Voltron again, pushing the giant robot back.

“Okay, I don’t want to tell you how to do your jobs, but you need to be on the defensive; try to hold onto Avok, keep him from jerking around.” Pidge informed. “I’d hate to get thrown off of a giant robeast.”

“We can form DaiRugger and help with that, can’t we?” Cinda inquired.

“Yeah, it would help in pinning him.” Cliff confirmed.

“Do it.” Pidge nodded. She watched as the Ruggers separated and then reformed, going into their DaiRugger formation. “Meanwhile, we need to find a way in.”

“I didn’t question it then but… um… Is that possible?” Bandor asked. “I mean, this thing seems impenetrable. I’m not seeing any gaps.”

“Hello, giant blue teleporting wolf.” Pidge motioned to Kosmo.

“Oh yeah.” Bandor pet Kosmo. “Good boy. Sorry about forgetting you.”

“Okay, Kosmo, I know we’re doing this blind. We need to get inside. There’s bound to be space, right?” Pidge asked.

Kosmo whined a bit, scratching against the robeast’s shoulder. He then huffed and pressed in between the teens. Without much more of a warning, he disappeared, reappearing inside a small area of the robeast. Mechanical components that seemed to make no sense were found within, shifting and turning as Avok moved.

“Whoa...” Pidge looked around. “Oh my god. This is just… so cool! A giant robot like this… we’re really in here!”

“Pidge, gawk about robots some other time, please.” Keith pleaded.

“Right, sorry about that.” Pidge chuckled. “Okay, now to find where Avok is.”

“The head would be logical, right?” Bandor inquired.

“Hmm… but it’d be less fortified, which would make defeat easier.” Pidge stated. “Below us, around the robeast’s chest.” She took the lead, going further down into the robeast, hoping to find where Avok would be. As she expected, they found him there. “Got him!”

“Be careful, Bandor may be with you, but Avok may still be hostile towards you, Pidge.” Tavo reminded.

“I don’t think so.” Pidge got herself situated in front of a pod, not too unlike the ones used to drain the quintessence of the Alteans, but there were some differences. He was hooked up, both in body and the pod. “He looks to be unconscious.”

“Avok, hey! C’mon, you gotta wake up!” Bandor called, pounding on the pod. “Can’t we open it like we did Yazi’s?”

“I’m trying to look into that.” Pidge worked on the pod, hoping to get it opened up. “C’mon, c’mon...”

“He’s not responding to me.” Bandor looked worried. “Pidge, you don’t think...”

“We’ll find out his status more in a moment. Just give me… a little bit… longer… and… Yes!” Pidge cheered. The pod hissed as the front of it disappeared, letting them gain access to Avok. “We have to be careful, we don’t no the extent of his connection to th-whoa!” Pidge braced herself when the robeast jerked. “What the hell, guys?”

“Hey! He’s making it hard to just pin him, so we’re kind of defending ourselves against him!” Aki called back.

“Well take it easy.” Pidge shook her head. She then ran a scan over Avok. “Okay, if my theories are right… then getting him out of here would make the robeast weaker and easier to take down.”

“And if they’re wrong?” Bandor asked.

“Then… this thing has enough quintessence to continue functioning.” Pidge explained. “Or… we can’t get Avok out… but...” Pidge evaluated her scan. She then gave Bandor a look. “I don’t know how he’s going to be regardless…”

Bandor looked in shock. He felt that it was Pidge’s way of telling him that Avok would most likely not survive. But they still had to do something. “Okay. Well… will getting him out of here make things worse? Like it could cause the robeast to self destruct and destroy the planet kind of worse?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay.” Bandor nodded as he looked to his brother again. He was sure there was a chance that he wouldn’t survive, but at least they’d separate him from the robeast and save their people. They had to take it. “Let’s get him out of here.”

Pidge nodded. She and Bandor got Avok unhooked from the robeast and out of the pod. “Kosmo, get them out first.” Kosmo whined. “Kosmo, taking three people together would be too taxing, I’m sure.” The wolf huffed.

“I don’t speak wolf, but I think he wants to try.” Bandor said.

Pidge sighed. “Okay. Do your best, buddy.” Kosmo nodded and got braced against them. He then teleported, getting them all outside of the robeast. He even dared to go further, getting them down to the ground in that same move.

“Yeah! He did it!” Bandor cheered. He then looked up, seeing the three robots. “Oh, that is intimidating from down here.”

“Team! We’re out! And we’ve got Avok!” Pidge called. Kosmo huffed and teleported a few more times, getting them away from where they were. “Take down that robeast!”

“Copy that!” Keith confirmed.

“Right! Let’s wreck it!” Aki chimed.

Pidge watched as Voltron and DaiRugger went at the robeast. While it was still functioning, having enough energy to run, it seemed weaker. After several moments, the two were able to run it through with their swords. They then sliced through, destroying the robeast and causing it to blow up.

“They did it.” Bandor smiled. “They did it! They actually defeated it! Avok! They defeat… ed… it...” He trailed off when he looked down at his brother. Avok was still. “Avok? Avok, please… please open your eyes.” he pleaded. “We won. We got you out… please...” He felt the tears fall down his face. “Avok?”

Pidge performed another scan, checking his vitals. Nothing. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Bandor… the robeast… it was too much on him...”

Bandor rested his head on Avok’s chest and sobbed. He had hoped that they would be lucky, that Avok would be strong enough. But that wasn’t the case. Pidge put her hand on his back and sat with him silently. She had no words to offer; she felt words would mean nothing. The best she could do was to be there for him. Even Kosmo snuggled in close, licking Bandor’s cheek to remind him that he was there for them.

They may have won that battle, but there were still losses.

Chapter Text

“Tavo! Tavo!” Partulius ran up to Tavo. It had been nearly a quintant since Avok’s robeast was stopped. In that time, Merla was sought out and the trapped Alteans having their quintessence drained were located. Many had suffered too much and lost their lives; a good number of them were in bad conditions, but they were being helped medically so that, like Yazi, they could recover.

“Partulius, what’s the matter?” Tavo inquired.

“It’s Luka. I can’t find her anywhere.”

“What?”

“She’s missing. Along with Merla.” Partulius shook his head. “And others. They’re missing.” He looked worried. “You said that Merla was doing wrong… the others being found in their conditions… what if she took the others? What if she took Luka?”

“We have to think more positively.” Tavo reminded. “Merla’s charismatic. And she has a way of influencing others… I don’t think she’ll hurt them.”

“What’s wrong?” Allura approached Tavo and Partulius.

“Princess.” Tavo nodded in acknowledgment. “It’s Merla. No one can find her… and others have gone missing since.” he explained. “I think it’s possible that they followed her. It’s probable because so many look up to and respect her… and she’s always been tricky with peoples’ minds...”

“Princess,” Partulius looked desperate, “can’t we go after her? We have to help the others, we have to save them. Save Luka!”

Allura nodded. “I understand you’re worried, as am I.” she said. “But we don’t know yet where Merla went. We’re having scans done around the planet to see if she’s hiding nearby, but we also have the rebels and Blades helping in finding evidence that she left and where she went.”

Partulius nodded. “Yes… thank you...”

“We’re not going to give up.” Allura promised. She rested a gentle and reassuring hand on Partulius’ shoulder. “We’ll find and stop Merla. And we’ll protect the others, make sure they’re safe.”

Partulius smiled. He was worried, but Allura helped to reassure him. “Yes, thank you.” He then sighed. “To think, all of this was happening. And Merla… I trusted her. We all did. But she was doing cruel things to us and blaming the disappearances on enemies like the Galra… but in fact… We were blind to it. I was blind...”

“But now you know. And now you can grow stronger from this and truly work to keep each other safe.” Allura reminded. “But before we start that, we need to heal. You all need to heal.”

Partulius nodded. “You’re right.” He let out a sigh. “Losing so many, though...”

“We’ll give them a proper service so that they can rest.” Allura assured.

Bandor sat up on top of the green lion with Pidge and Chip. He looked ahead to see where the service was going to be held, honouring and remembering those who had passed. Not everyone being drained of their quintessence could be saved; the Alteans were grateful that some could and that they could lay those who couldn’t to rest. The loss was sad, but they at least had some closure in knowing what happened to their loved ones.

“So let me get this… you’re twins but you didn’t know and met rather recently for the first time?” Bandor asked. He was learning about the others, especially about the twins. According to Pidge’s calculations, they were around the same age, Bandor older by a few months. Though he started on the wrong foot with Pidge, the two put things behind them and she even introduced him to her twin. “And then you discovered you had an older brother? And met him by chance on a mission to break out a reclusive genius from a seemingly impenetrable prison?”

“Definitely a story to tell at a family reunion, huh?” Chip asked.

“And now you’re looking for your father.”

“Well, kinda.” Pidge responded.

“Biologically he’s not our dad. He adopted Matt.” Chip informed.

“We were all adopted by different folks.”

“And maybe adopted again since Mom is happy to call me her own.”

“And fun fact, Mom and Commander Holt knew each other and even were a couple at one point.”

“Apparently Mom intimidated him.”

“Can’t blame anyone for being intimidated, though, she’s a frightening force.”

“True that. But we’re hoping to find him soon.”

“Maybe he’ll like the idea of having us all as his kids.”

“You’d probably just worry him further, though.”

“Hey, at least I didn’t get hurt this time so Mom didn’t ground me.”

“Your mom even threatened to ground me.” Bandor sighed. “And she was ready to punch Merla, too.”

“Only because she doesn’t have a gun, I’m sure.” Pidge responded. Bandor and Chip looked to Pidge, questioning if she was joking. “Remember, we’re called Gunderson for a reason. And Mom’s upheld that.”

“I barely met her… and I already don’t want to piss her off.” Bandor gulped, nervous. “But I don’t mind Merla pissing her off. Hopefully she’s found...” He glared ahead of him. Merla had done so much wrong; she led to the deaths of many others, including his brother. Avok. He was a loyal warrior who only wanted to protect his people. And Merla was pretty much the reason he died.

“She’ll be located.” Chip assured. “She won’t get away with this.”

Bandor nodded. He looked off at the sky. The sun was setting. When it was down, they planned on having the service. Except for when he went to the Arcadia to deliver information and get Yazi help, he had never left Pollux. He would love to leave again, help with the search for Merla. More than that, he would love to help the others fight to defend the universe and end the thousand year long war.

“I wonder… maybe… I can go out there, too.” Bandor said softly.

“Huh?” Chip looked over. “You mean out into the universe?”

“Yeah.” Bandor nodded. “I’m young, but so are you guys. And I’ve been training. Though… yeah, I see now, I got a lot to learn, too. But… I’d like to go out there and help out.” He smiled. “I want to make sure no one else suffers like the others had, like Yazi, like Avok...” He looked to Pidge. “Like you had… those scars. The memories. You’ve gone through so much… I don’t want to see others suffer like that, but I can’t sit idly here. Not anymore.”

Pidge smiled and shoved Bandor, nearly knocking him over. “Yeah. I think you’ve got what it takes.” she said. “And I think you’ve got choices. Help out in the castle.”

“Even the Arcadia can use extra help.” Chip chimed.

“And let’s not forget the rebels.” Pidge nodded.

“I’ll think it over. But yeah, I definitely want to go out and help in the universe.” Bandor nodded. “We Alteans have been hiding for so long; the princess and Coran have been kept in stasis, too. They’ve already stood up to make a difference, it’s time for some of us to follow suit.”

“We’ll be glad to have your help out there, regardless of which force you work with.” Chip assured. “Speaking of forces, Pidge, please tell me you’re back on paladin duty? Because I really like my helicopter.” He smirked. “Or are you avoiding Lance still.”

“I wasn’t avoiding him!” Pidge shouted.

“Lance… Yeah, that tall guy that wasn’t colour coordinated with his lion, right?” Bandor asked. “Are you two… dating.”

“Oh, they are.”

“We’re not!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Complicated?”

“Definitely.”

“No, not definitely!” Pidge let out a frustrated sigh. “We just don’t have time for dating. We have other things to focus on.”

“But… you like him?” Bandor asked. He smiled. “I think that’s nice, finding someone you like.”

“He’s cute and adorable. Funny. Fun. Kind. Friendly.” Pidge smiled. “He’s definitely a good person. It’ll be nice to stop this war. And even try out dating. Plus, I’m sure he’s completely stopped his flirtatious ways with others. He was civil and casual with meeting Romelle, after all.”

“Hey guys!” Lance called as he and Kosmo appeared behind the group, startling them all. More than the boys, though, Pidge freaked out and jump; considering everything she had gone through, it was understandable that she was spooked. She yelped and jumped up and turned. Perhaps it was not for the best as she lost her footing and tumbled off of the lion’s head.

“PIDGE!” everyone shouted, though Kosmo just yelped with them, watching Pidge fall. They dove to see where she was, relief filling them as they saw the paladin hanging there, her bayard hooked onto Green’s lower jaw.

“First off, this is why we should keep our bayards on us at all times.” Pidge shouted. “And second, don’t scare me like that!”

“Sorry.” Lance called.

Pidge huffed and held her hand up, giving him the middle finger.

“Why do I get the feeling that that’s not a friendly gesture?” Bandor inquired.

“It depends on the context.” Chip sighed. “Pidge, you okay?”

“If we keep taking these years off my life and put me in an early grave, I’m going to come back as a ghost and haunt you all!” Pidge shouted.

“Yeah, she’s okay.” Lance chuckled. “Um, hey, we’re about to start the service. That’s what I came up to tell you guys.”

“Okay. Well, you guys go with Kosmo; I’m going to take this route down.” Pidge called back up as she lowered herself further and down onto the ground. The others got Kosmo to help them. From there, they went to the clearing outside the city where the others were gathering.

Loved ones hugged each other. Some did their best to remain strong, others cried openly. Many had suspicions that the others were dead, but to find out the truth and find them in their condition, it was truly a lot to handle. Pidge stood with her brothers, Lance standing behind them. Next to them, Bandor and Romelle stood together; Colleen stood behind them, hands on their shoulders in motherly comfort. Bandor did his best to not cry, but he gave in, hugging Colleen and crying into her clothes; she hugged him, doing her best to comfort him.

“We have learned of a dark fate that had befallen our loved ones. Brothers. Sisters. Mothers and fathers. Friends. Everyone.” Allura announced, standing at the front with Tavo. “Our fellow Alteans have lost their lives. But they are still loved. They are still remembered. We will never let them be forgotten and we will rise up from this. We’ll grow from it. We will not let their deaths be in vain.”

Candles were lit for the others, honouring their lives. It was a sad evening, but there was closure. The Alteans would finally be able to put their loved ones to rest. Yes, it was sad, not everyone survived, but at least some questions were answered.

“It’s okay, Avok.” Bandor sighed as he set down the candle he lit. “I’ll take everything you taught me and apply it to protecting our people. Protecting this universe.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is gonna fit?” Hunk asked. “We could have asked him for his measurements.”

“I want to surprise him.” Pidge responded. “Besides, I already know his measurements.”

“How do you know his measurements?”

“He’s our teammate. It’s easy to see him and take mental note about his measurements.”

“You can’t possibly know his measurements just by eyeballing him.”

“Wanna bet?”

Hunk squinted. He wasn’t sure if he did want to place bets with Pidge.

“Don’t fall for the trap.” Ulaz said from the other side of the table. “I have no doubts she’s right and she will make you regret challenging her.” He looked up. “I’ve known her for less time and even I know that.”

“Yeah, point taken.” Hunk sighed. “So, this will work?”

“Yeah.” Pidge nodded.

“And we’ve applied Galra tech to it, too?”

“It’ll be beneficial out there.” Ulaz stated. “Okay, I think I’ve finished with the programming for Galra tech.”

“And if Pidge’s measurements are right-”

“Fight me, I dare you!” Pidge hissed.

“-then I think we’re just about done with the rest.” Hunk smiled. “Now we just need to put the final programming in and apply it all. We’ll want Shiro for that.”

“Hell yeah! We’ve got this!” Pidge cheered. She then spun around, Hunk mirroring her. They stopped in front of each other and high fived one another. Seeing the action confused Ulaz a bit; he figured it may have been an Earthling thing.

“Yeah! Team Punk does it again!” they called out.

“Children...” Ulaz sighed, shaking his head, though he couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“Whoa.” Shiro flexed his arm as he looked at the new prosthetic. It was remarkable. It wasn’t too different from his old prosthetic in terms of shape, but it was white with orange coloured lights up near the shoulder and on the back of the hand. It had an Altean look to it, but with some Earthling touches. And it was capable of interfacing with Galra tech. It was perfect for being out in the war.

“This is what you’ve been working on?” Allura asked. It had been nearly a week since they stopped Avok. In that time, they became fully allied with the Alteans of Pollux; unfortunately they had lost track of Merla. She was nowhere on Pollux and they didn’t know where she went off to. During that near-week, Pidge, Hunk, and Ulaz had been hard at work on some sort of secretive project. After it was applied with Shiro’s permission, it was revealed to the others what they had been working on. “It’s remarkable! I was wondering when we’d figure out a new prosthetic for Shiro, but you three had gotten to it before us!”

“Jeez, Pidge, leave it to you to figure out how to make something like that.” Chip chuckled.

“Wasn’t just me; Hunk and I are pretty good with tech and building and Ulaz was teaching us further so we could learn to make robotic prosthesis.” Pidge pointed out. “It’s really amazing, learning how to properly set up the sensors throughout the limb! It doesn’t simulate pain, but it does help to simulate touch so that Shiro knows he’s feeling things. And then having it connected to the neuropathways so that he can control it as flawlessly just like the rest of his limbs! It’s just so wonderful to learn! And the technology is seamless and moves with such fluidity it-”

“She was excited to work on this project.” Ulaz interrupted, pulling Pidge over and covering her mouth.

“Heh, maybe when I need a new leg, I should get you guys to design it for me.” Matt chuckled.

“She probably has your measurements already noted.” Hunk sighed.

“Huh?” Matt looked over, confused.

“We didn’t even need to measure Shiro to outfit him with this new arm. Pidge had that all known just by eyeballing him.” Hunk explained. “It’s remarkable!”

“Wait… eyeballing?” Lance asked.

Pidge pulled Ulaz’s hand away. “Not that I’m using him as eye candy, Lance.” she grumbled. “That’s not my way. I just memorized everything about him to better fight him in training or impromptu combat if you guys get possessed by spores again or something. It’s good to know the height, weight, and limb lengths of those I’m fighting so I know best how to dodge their strikes, elude them, use them against themselves, things like that.”

“You know what? I’m super glad your brain is like super hard to understand and Merla couldn’t decode it… because you hold a lot of scary data.” Lance admitted.

“Pretty useful data if you ask me.” Keith chuckled.

“You would say that...” Lance sighed.

“I’m glad it didn’t fall into the wrong hands, too.” Shiro nodded. “Or rather they couldn’t figure it out.”

“Even having it as data… something tells me we wouldn’t even be able to create an AI in the castle with it… at least not without her understanding to utilize it.” Allura stated.

Pidge chuckled a bit. “Yeah… even I admit, my mind’s a bit… different.”

“I mean, so is Chip’s, he could think in binary for that plant tech on Olkarion, but you… your brain, Pidge...” Lance reminded. “Well, at least it’s safe.”

“Mm-hmm.” Pidge nodded. She then looked to Shiro. “So, how’s the arm feel?”

“Pretty good.” Shiro nodded. “And it moves well.”

“We’ll see how you are over the next few quintants, make any minor adjustments if needed.” Ulaz informed. “But it is good knowing you’re doing well with it.”

“Not my first robotic arm, after all.” Shiro chuckled a bit, though it sounded rather distant and sad. “At least this one… it seems better. On an emotional level, you know?”

Allura smiled. “I’m glad things are going well.” she said.

“Anyway,” Lance spoke up, “I don’t want to rush us, but how long are we staying here on Pollux? We still have to find and stop Merla. On top of that, Zarkon’s still out there.”

Allura nodded. “You’re right. I’d like us to stay a few quintants longer. I want to make sure the others will be fine.”

“Princess,” Keith said, “don’t take it as me being rude, but if needed, you can stay longer.” Eyes were on him. “Keep the blue lion here, I’m sure we’ll be fine since DaiRugger’s on our side. You can stay longer to look after the Alteans and help make sure they’ll be okay; we can handle things for a while with just four lions.”

Allura had considered it, especially after Keith suggested it. Seeing the other paladins nod, she wondered if she really should stay behind. She was tempted to accept, but she shook her head. What more could she do? She could do better out in the field.

“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “but the universe needs Voltron, too.” She smiled. “So please be patient for a few quintants, then we’ll get going.”

“Okay then, a few more quintants.” Keith nodded. He looked to Pidge who was sitting up on Shiro’s cot, working with his arm, getting him to flex his elbow, wrist, and fingers. “Besides, it may be good for Pidge so she can rest more.”

“I’ll rest after I spend a few days working on some programming and randomly pass out next to a plate of peanut butter cookies.” Pidge responded, not even looking up.

“Well, at least she didn’t say the usual line.” Chip sighed in relief. “Anyway, I’m going to check in at the Arcadia, let them know how things are. Pidge, don’t pass out, actually go to bed, please. Or I’ll get Mom to ground you.”

Pidge stuck her tongue out at her brother. “I make no promises.”

Over the next few days, the paladins got things situated on Pollux, making sure the Alteans remaining would be able to handle themselves, keep their planet safe. The vehicle team and Arcadia took off sooner, heading back out to get more work done; with Pidge’s disappearance, though no one would blame her, they were set back quite a bit in work. Some of the Alteans left with the Arcadia, ready to help there; others left on other rebel ships; Bandor decided he would leave with those in the Castle of Lions, Romelle joining him. The siblings were ready to help the teams as best as they could.

When the time came, Allura got ready to pilot the castle away. It saddened her to leave Pollux, to leave the Alteans, but she had a duty. A desire. She wanted to keep them safe and the best way to do that was to stop Merla and Zarkon and end the war. They had a universe to defend.

“Merla, are you sure about this?” Luka inquired softly, leaning ahead and whispering to the other Altean. “They’re Galra. They’ve wronged us, destroyed many. They even destroyed Altea.”

“Not all are the same; these ones are our allies.” Merla responded, her voice level. “Don’t worry.”

“Right.” Luka nodded and backed off a bit, walking with the others.

Merla entered the next room and went before none other than Zarkon, emperor of the known universe. To his right was Haggar, to his left, Sendak. Zarkon didn’t move, not even as he addressed the witch next to him.

“Haggar, what is the meaning of this? I thought the Alteans were wiped out.” Zarkon stated. Most of the Alteans stiffened, but Merla remained calm.

“They have managed to hide away and survive.” Haggar responded. “And have been helpful to the empire in providing energy. Merla is one I have taught these past deca-phoebs.”

“You taught her.” Zarkon leaned forward a bit. “And yet you still let one paladin escape you, let alone all of them to invade your planet and take over.” Sendak smirked; he already knew which paladin eluded her. Sure, he wanted her captured, too, but there was some satisfaction to know that he wasn’t upstaged by a wannabe Druid in the form of an Altean.

“I underestimated the little one.” Merla admitted. “A mistake I won’t make twice.”

“What makes you think I’d let you have another chance?” Zarkon inquired.

“Merla...” Luka whispered, grabbing her arm.

“Hush, it’s fine.” Merla assured. She smiled at Zarkon. “Because, if we are to truly succeed and stop Voltron, return the black lion to you, my emperor, then we need to work together. And my skills are ones that could prove useful.”

“Hmm.” Zarkon sat back, his finger tapping on the arm of his throne. “Very well. We shall work with you.”

“Thank you.” Merla bowed her head.

“However,” Merla straightened back up, “I will have Sendak in charge and keeping an eye on you. Do not disappoint us.”

“Of course, sir.” Merla smiled when Sendak walked to her. “Hopefully we’ll get along.”

“Double cross us, Altean, and I won’t even need orders or time to think about crushing you.” Sendak snarled. “And if we catch the green paladin again, I will deal with her personally.”

“Goodness, quite the brute, aren’t you?” Merla chuckled. “Now then, we best work on a plan if we’re going to stop Voltron.”

“I may know an idea to slow them down.” Haggar stated. “A very specific prisoner who was close to the ones captured some time back. The one he was closest with looks much like the green paladin, in fact.”