Here we are the start of a brand new adventure! This sequel won't be nearly as long as I'll Take Her Place, but I hope everyone enjoys this little continuation!

.

.

Chapter 1

After eight years of marriage, Katie didn't need their bond as paladins to tell when Keithir was frustrated by something. She tried to hide her amusement as he sighed, glaring at the back of Slav's head as he rambled on about something he called a "trans-reality extrapolater". (She honestly wasn't sure what Slav was talking about anymore. Sometimes it was best to just smile and nod.)

Katie gently nudged Keithir's arm to get his attention and then mouthed the word "sorry".

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Some of his frustration ebbed away, but not enough to keep it from his voice as he addressed Slav. "Is there a point to any of this?"

The tiny, eccentric genius turned and gave Keithir a withering stare. "I was just about to explain it and then you interrupted!"

"Sorry, Slav," Katie apologized placatingly. "We just have some plans that we're eager to get to, is all. This is our first vacation alone together in a few years."

Slav begrudgingly accepted that as a worthy answer. "Then I'll be brief. This device will allow us a glimpse into other realities! I've gotten it to work a number of times for me so far, though never the same one twice. You see, its all highly dependent on numerous variables like weather patterns, star placement, what food you've eaten, time of day, humidity, how many times you flip the blue switch, the color of your socks..."

They let Slav ramble on for a moment and then Katie cleared her throat.

"You're saying that there's no way to pick the exact reality that you get to see," she said, redirecting him back to the topic.

"Precisely!" Slav agreed. "It's all very fascinating and I'm sure with a few more tests, I'll have it figured out in no time! So, do you want to try?"

Katie hesitated. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Are you saying you doubt my technological achievement?"

Yes. Katie kept that thought to herself. "Of course not, Slav. If you say it works, then it works. What do we need to do?"

Slav brightened and directed the pair to each grip one of the handles. After a moment of consideration, he flipped a few switches and twisted one of the knobs. The machine hummed to life, vibrating strangely, but Slav didn't look alarmed or worried, so Katie figured that was what it was meant to do.

"Now what?" Keithir asked warily.

Slav was about to respond when the machine emitted a popping noise and a visible spark shot out of the top. He scuttled backwards with a quiet, "oh no."

That was the last thing Katie heard before everything went dark.

.

.

Pidge groaned as she started to wake up. Strange, considering she couldn't remember falling asleep. What was the last thing she remembered?

Something about Lotor giving up information? No, that wasn't right. Well, it wasn't wrong, but it didn't have anything to do with what she had been doing. That was Allura and Shiro; they were drilling Lotor for inside information. She was sure that Hunk was stress baking after everything that happened on Naxzela and Lance was... off doing Lance things? (Of everyone, Lance proved to be the hardest for her to predict. She assumed wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he found it relaxing.)

Pidge winced as she sat up, fighting a rush of disorientation. She reflexively reached up to adjust her glasses, but her fingers only met skin. Frowning, she looked around for them, only to find someone unexpected laying on the floor near her, slowly coming to.

"Keith!" She crawled over to him and helped him sit up, her brow furrowed in concern. "Are you alright? When did you get here?"

Keith blinked as he looked around and took in his surroundings. "Is this the Castle of Lions? How did I get here? I was just at the Blade headquarters! Kolivan called me in to-" He abruptly snapped his mouth shut and looked away from her. "Pidge, what's going on?"

"I wish I knew," Pidge responded honestly. She forced herself to her feet, wobbling a bit as the disorientation returned. It faded quickly and she held out a hand to help Keith up. "Maybe there's something wrong with the Castle again. I bet Coran would know."

With Pidge's help, Keith unsteadily got to his feet as well. One thing was for sure, their equilibrium had been messed up by something – likely whatever knocked them out and teleported Keith all the way from Blade headquarters. They needed to find the cause and make sure it wouldn't happen again.

"Do you think he's on the bridge?" Keith asked.

Pidge nodded. "That's the most likely place."

They set off from the room, but didn't get far before a small figure scampered down the hall toward them. Slav froze at the sight of them and then wailed, reaching up to grip at his tufts of hair with two of his eight hands. "Oh no, it's even worse than I thought!"

Pidge gaped at him. "Slav?!"

"What the hell is going on?" Keith demanded.

Slav was too busy having a melt down to be of any use to them. Keith and Pidge likely would have ignored him and moved on to find someone who was actually helpful, except at that exact moment, Allura and Shiro rounded the corner, both looking frazzled.

And with them they brought a whole new round of questions.

Keith stared at Shiro, opening and closing his mouth for a moment, before blurting out: "What happened to your hair?"

Pidge was a little more focused on the very Altean toddler in Allura's arms. She lifted a hand to her head, already feeling the start of a migraine as her brain worked overtime to try and comprehend everything that was happening.

Allura and Shiro exchanged alarmed glances as they took in the situation. They seemed to come to an agreement through eye contact alone and then Allura was urging Slav to calm down and breathe, while Shiro walked forward to handle Pidge and Keith.

"I think it'd be better if we go someplace quiet until we figure out what's going on," Shiro told them. "Follow me."

Keith took a step forward, paused to make sure Pidge was coming too, and then they obediently followed Shiro to another room, both hoping he had the answers they needed.

.

.

Tears dripped down Katie's face as she knelt with her head bowed over the nearest trash bin, hoping her stomach would settle after its last wave of nausea. "I'm going to kill Slav," she grumbled to herself.

She didn't know what the machine was supposed to do, but she doubted that knocking her out and teleporting her to a different part of the Castle of Lions was it. Her head spun and her stomach rebelled after such treatment. Worse than that, Keithir wasn't with her and she could no longer feel him through the bond they shared, which meant he was either still unconscious or had been teleported very far away.

Katie sat back and rubbed her eyes dry, no longer feeling as though she needed to throw up again. Just in case, she took a few extra doboshes to rest before getting up and starting her search for Slav.

He was probably right where she last saw him, heading into a full blown panic over the possibility of killing the crown prince of Daibazaal and his wife with his new invention, something the Galra would not take lightly.

She's feel bad for him, but a more vindictive part of her thought he deserved to panic.

Katie reached the room without running into anyone else, which was a little odd, to say the least. There was always someone around, even when they were using the Castle in her spaceship form, but they weren't due for a journey for another few phoebs! Despite that, it wasn't until she reached the room where she last saw Slav that he began to think something was seriously wrong.

The room was completely empty. There was also a fine layer of dust coating everything, indicating that it had been quite some time since anyone was there.

Katie swallowed and backed away. She once again tried to reach Keithir through their bond, but there was nothing. With her anxiety rising, she tried to communicate with the Green Lion.

Nothing.

Katie spun on her heel and ran for the bridge. There was no time to stop and slow down, to consider the implications of what was happening. The bridge was the center of the Castle of Lions and she knew that by accessing the system there, she would be able to figure out exactly what was going on and where – or when – she was.

She kept an eye out for anyone else as she ran, but as before there was no one.

It was unsettling.

The bridge doors easily parted for her, sliding open as she approached, and it was there that she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Standing at the helm was the ever reliable form of Coran.

"Coran, thank the stars," Katie breathed, hurrying over to him. "There's something really weird go- why are we in space?" She finally slowed down to look around.

It was only Coran on the bridge. Another checkmark on her list of really weird things. And he was looking at her as though she'd grown a second head.

"Pidge?" he asked, his voice raising in alarm.

Katie took a half-step back. "Y-yes? Who else would I be, Coran?"

"But you can't be!" Coran protested, shaking his head. "You're too old to be Pidge! Who are you really?"

Katie had a sinking suspicion that she knew what was going on. And on the one hand, knowing that she was dealing with time travel brought her one step closer to not having a mental breakdown, but on the other it meant she wouldn't be able to relax until she found a way to fix things.

She took a deep breath. "Coran, it's really me. You can check! Ask me something that only I would know and I'll answer."

Coran stared at her for a moment, his surprise hardening into suspicion.

"Coran, please. I know it sounds crazy, but I think Slav accidentally built some kind of time machine and it sent me back in time to this moment," Katie explained, hoping he'd believe her.

He had to.

Why wouldn't he?

"I have all of the paladins ranked in order of something. What is it?" Coran asked.

"Height," Katie responded promptly. "I'm number five."

Coran hummed thoughtfully. "How about a harder one? I once arranged a quest for the five of you to complete. What was the goal of that quest?"

The one gave Katie pause. He'd set up a number of bizarre training exercises over the years, but it had to specifically be one after she and Keithir found the Red Lion. Unless he was counting Allura as one of the five? She had been with them for the only one she'd consider labeling a "quest". Katie would just have to go for it and hope she was right.

"You told us there were special planets for us to train on, but all along it was to beat the monster born from the Yalexian pearl."

"You're missing some of the details there, but close enough," Coran agreed after a moment.

Katie exhaled softly in relief. It was hard to remember everything after so many years had passed. She'd have to hope the rest of his questions didn't rely on knowing some passing detail.

"Last question! If you're from the future, how many years does it take for us to defeat the Galra empire?"

"What?" Katie asked, flabbergasted. "That's a joke, right, Coran? We're not... we're not at war with Daibazaal. We've never been at war with them. They're our allies. Why would we...?"

With every word she spoke, Katie's dread grew. Coran wasn't smiling. The sheer wrongness of everything returned tenfold, along with a violent wave of nausea.

She took a step back, shaking her head. "No. No, this isn't right."

Coran began walking towards her, holding his hands out in a reassuring manner, but there was something in his eyes that spoke the opposite.

Katie swallowed her queasiness and ran, thought she didn't get far. The moment she set foot past the doors, she collided with a broad chest.

"Pidge?" Shiro asked, bewildered.

"Catch her!" Coran cried out.

Katie's heartbeat was thunderous to her ears as she tried to side-step Shiro, but he was too fast. Even while taken off-guard by the sight of her and Coran's strange command, he still managed to grab her by the arm and hold her in place.

"Coran, what's going on?" Allura's voice floated down to them as she approached. "Who is-? Wait, is that Pidge?"

Katie ineffectively tried to yank her arm from Shiro's hold, but he only tightened his grip. "Please, I can explain," she begged, twisting to face Coran. "I swear, I'm not here to hurt anyone. If you would just let me explain, maybe we can make sense of this!"

Coran's suspicion lessened as he looked at her, his gaze softening. "Perhaps it would be best if we put you down in one of the cells for now. You did just tell me that you believe we're allies with Daibazaal."

Allura gasped sharply.

Katie nodded once and then bowed her head, refusing to let them see her cry. She'd been so relieved when she found Coran, but all she felt at that moment was terrified and alone.

Wherever she'd ended up, it certainly wasn't the past.

Keithir, she thought desperately. Where are you? Please be safe.

She sniffled as Shiro and Allura escorted her down to the Castle's holding cells. Tears prickled at her eyes.

I'm scared.