The Paladins have finally come back to Earth and will be there until the new castle is built. Allura and Coran are staying with Pidge's family so that it's easier for them to deal with the castle stuff, since Pidge's dad was in charge of that. Shiro and Keith decided to stay with Hunk's family, which made Lance kind of sad because he so totally wanted them to meet his family. The plan is while the castle is under construction; Allura and Coran are going to try to get the Garrison in on the Alliance. Lance said his temporary good-bye's to his friends before heading to his family home in Cuba. Allura had asked him to look after the mice for some reason and Coran supplied him with enough space goo to last them a month. Lance agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea to feed the space mice Earth food because no one knows what kind of effects it might have on the mice. Lance was afraid that his family was going to try and hurt the mice. So when he arrived in front of his one story, family home, he told the mice to hide in his bag for now, so they wouldn't get hurt. They did as they were told and Lance braced himself for what his family's reactions were going to be. He went up to the door and knocked. He thought it would be weird to just walk in. His mom answered the door and she was very shocked to see Lance. She immediately hugged him, tears streaming down her face. "Lance!" She cried as he hugged her back.
"Mama, I'm home." He said weakly. Allura requested that the Paladins tell their families what's been going on. Lance missed his family so much. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes and he couldn't hold them back any more. "I've missed you so much!"
"Where have you been? We were so worried!" She said as she pulled away from him a bit. She wiped some of his tears away.
"I need everyone to be here, so I can explain it." Lance told her, sniffling. She nodded and immediately went to the phone. Lance walked into his childhood home and closed the door. Everything looked like it did when he left to go to the Garrison. He wiped his tears away with his shirt. As soon as you walk into the house, there's the living room. Off to the left is an archway that leads into the kitchen. Towards the back of the living room, there were three separate hallways that lead to different bedrooms, a few bathrooms, and to the back porch. He looked around at all the family pictures and noticed a lot of recent ones. They were of family get-togethers mostly. It made Lance sad to know that he wasn't there for any of that. He saw his brothers and sisters all grown up and his aunts, uncles, and cousins were older and barely recognizable. He saw his sister, Veronica, holding a little girl in her arms. She looked a lot like Veronica. She must be her daughter. Lance thought wanting to cry again. He missed so much, how was he going to make up for all the lost time?
"Lance, I've gotten a hold of everyone. Come to the kitchen, so I can make you some tea." His mom said coming up to him. He nodded.
"W-What did the Garrison tell you?" Lance asked not really sure he wanted to know. "You know, when I was... gone..."
"They said you had run away from campus and they couldn't find you after searching for you for weeks. They said that you and your friends were considered missing unless they find evidence otherwise." His mom said quietly. She sniffled. "I-I knew you weren't dead, but I couldn't help thinking that something had happened."
"Oh, Mama, I'm sorry." Lance said hugging her again. "I didn't mean to worry you or the others."
"I know, Lance. We all know." She said kissing his check. "Now sit down and have some tea. You need to be calm for when the others arrive."
"They're angry with me, aren't they?" Lance said feeling guilty.
"They will be, yes. But I'm sure once you tell everyone what's happened, they won't be as angry." His mom said in a soothing tone. It didn't take long for the rest of his family to show up and he was right to assume they were angry with him. He'd calmed down a lot after drinking the tea and he sat there thinking of where he was going to start with explaining Voltron to his family. He watched as Veronica put her sleeping child in one of the rooms and come back, scowling at him. He grimaced. Yeah, he was in for an earful.
"Hey guys." Lance said weakly.
"Lance, where have you been?" Marco asked crossing his arms.
"Okay, I'm going to explain to everyone what happened at the Garrison but before that, I need to tell you something." Lance said and they all just stared at him. "Okay, don't be scared." Lance let the mice come out of his bag and sit on his lap. There were some gasps and looks of terror. "Guys, calm down. These mice are harmless and are in my care until I have to... I have to leave again. So please don't hurt them if you come across them."
"You're leaving again?" Luis asked shocked.
"I kind of have to." Lance said shrugging. "Okay, so here's where I explain everything." That seemed to get everyone's attention. "What do you know about the Kerberos mission?"
"There was a pilot error and everyone died." Marco said frowning.
"Okay, so the pilot, Shiro, he's alive. He crashed near the Garrison and they basically tried to experiment on him. Um... while that was going on, Hunk, Pidge, and I were on the roof because Pidge was trying to find information about her brother and father who were also a part of the Kerberos mission. We saw the crash and decided to check it out and ran into one of the pilots that dropped out, Keith. We "saved" Shiro and hid out in Keith's little desert shack." Lance said rolling his eyes. "That thing was horrendous. Anyways, Shiro told us that he and the crew that was with him were kidnapped by these aliens called Galra. Now, have you ever heard of Voltron?"
"Isn't that some kind of space myth or something?" Veronica said frowning.
"I'm so glad you heard of Voltron. That would've been awkward to explain." Lance said in relief. "Voltron isn't a space myth. It's a giant robot made up of five lions. I'm one the Paladins. Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself." Lance said shaking his head when everyone just stared at him like he had three heads. "Okay, so after Shiro told us about the Galra, Keith brought up the fact that he knew where one of the lions is. So we head over to where he said it was and it was there. It responded to my touch and we got into the lion and then the next thing I know, the lion takes off on its own and we're in space. And then we were brought to this place called the Castle of Lions and..." From there, Lance explained everything, minus the near death experiences. When he was finished, no one said a word and it made him nervous.
"So let me get this straight. You get into a robotic lion and it takes you to a 10,000 year old castle IN SPACE, and now you have to stop this Galra whatever to keep the peace in the universe?" Marco asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, when you put it that way it sounds ridiculous, but it's true." Lance said sighing.
"I want to see the lion!" Luis said excitedly.
"What? It could be dangerous." Veronica said scowling at him.
"I mean, it's possible to see it." Lance said shrugging. "I hid it near a cove at the family beach where no one can see it."
"Really? We can see it?" Lance's cousin, Ariel, asked excitedly.
"Yeah, if you guys want to. I'm sure Red won't mind the company." Lance said smiling. The mice crawled up to his shoulder so he could get up. The rest of his family followed him to the beach. Lance had missed the beach and the water. He felt really comfortable being around it. That's why when he and Hunk had crashed onto that water planet that one time, he liked it a lot. He wished Red was as comfortable in the water as Blue was, but he knew that would never happen. He felt the soft hum of Red enter his mind as if Red was confirming his thoughts. Lance looked around the beach a bit, trying to remember exactly where Red was and located the spot. Once he and his family were in front of Red, Lance noticed the wide-eyed look on their faces and smiled. "Do you believe me now?"
"What the actual fu," Marco started to say but was hit over the head by Veronica.
"Language." She said scowling at him. Lance had forgotten that was a thing and was glad he hadn't said anything like that so far.
"So what's going to happen with the Garrison now that you guys are back?" His mom asked curiously.
"Well, Allura and Coran are going to try to get them to join the Alliance while the new castle is being built." Lance said shrugging.
"Wait... you said Allura is a princess right?" Luis asked grinning.
"Yeah?" Lance said wondering where his brother was going with this.
"Shouldn't you be calling her 'Princess' instead?" Veronica asked smiling.
"Nah, she said it was okay since we're friends." Lance said shrugging. He wasn't going to get into the fact that he had a crush on her, because he didn't want to think about it. The memory of her kissing Lotor still hurt. He hoped the mice didn't say anything her about him actually loving her. He'd be mortified if that happened. He didn't want to ruin their friendship. It was obvious she didn't return his feelings and he didn't want to make their friendship awkward.
"Just friends, huh?" Luis said grinning.
"Yes, just friends." Lance said rolling his eyes finally realizing where Luis was headed with that.
"So you have to leave again..." Veronica said frowning.
"Yeah, we took down the main threat, but there are a few groups of Galra that are in rebellion and we can't have them causing any more chaos." Lance explained as the family made it back to the house. "Allura said that once we get the Garrison to join the Alliance, it should be easier to communicate with everyone here while we're out in space. Before, we were worried the Galra would attack Earth if we tried to make contact. But now that Pidge's dad helped build some defense stuff against the Galra, there's a better chance that we can talk to you."
"Really?" His mom asked eagerly.
"Yeah." Lance said grinning. "I'm excited. Being away from everyone was hard." He muttered the last part a bit, looking down at the ground.
"So you didn't stop thinking about us?" Luis asked.
"Of course not!" Lance said looking at him in shock. "I think about you guys all the time."
"Aw," Veronica said grinning before hugging him. He returned her hug and soon it turned into a McClain group hug. After their group hug, Lance's mom offered to make dinner for everyone and Lance was very excited.
"Oh my God..." Lance said after taking a bite.
"What?" Marco asked curiously.
"I almost forgot how good Earth food is." Lance said before taking another bite and swallowing it. "I missed it so much!" Luis rolled his eyes.
"What have been eating then?" Veronica asked curiously.
"Space goo." Lance answered and they didn't get any more answers out of him the rest of the dinner because he was too busy enjoying the food.
One month later...
The new castle has been built and Allura succeeded in getting the Garrison to join the Alliance. Allura contacted all of the Paladins and asked them to come to the Garrison for an official announcement that would be broadcasted across the world. Lance woke up on the morning that he had to leave to Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and Keith waiting for him in the kitchen. Lance's family was talking to them and asking questions and what not. "Hey buddy! You ready to show the world what Voltron is made of?" Hunk asked him as soon as he noticed him. Lance grinned.
"You know it! Razzle dazzle time!" Lance said grinning. Shiro and Pidge just groaned. Keith rolled his eyes. "What?"
"It's nothing, Lance." Pidge said shaking her head. "Anyways, we landed our lions next to Red."
"That beach is privately owned right?" Shiro asked nervously.
"Yeah, dude. Don't worry about it!" Lance said grinning.
"Oh, Lance. My grandma totally made us some food to take with us! I mean it won't last long, but we'll have it for a little while at least!" Hunk said lifting up a bag.
"Dude, yes! I love your grandma!" Lance said excitedly.
"I've made you some food to take with you as well." Lance's mom said holding up a pretty big bag.
"Whoa, Mama. You didn't have to make a whole lot." Lance said shocked. "But thanks!"
"Yeah, Lance's mom's cooking is the best!" Hunk said excitedly.
"Oh, thank you, Hunk." Lance's mom said smiling at him.
"It's no problem, Mrs. M!" Hunk said grinning. Lance got to eat some breakfast and tell his family good-bye for now before the Paladins took off to the Garrison.
"Do you know how weird it's going to be walking into the Garrison?" Lance said as the team flew pretty high in the atmosphere so no one spotted them.
"Dude, it's going to be so weird, especially for you Shiro." Hunk said feeling a little worried about what was going to happen now that the happiness he felt from seeing his family and being with them had finally worn down some.
"I think it'll be fine." Shiro said sounding determined. "Besides, Allura and Coran took care of everything and I trust them."
"Even so, it's still going to be weird." Pidge said as the Garrison finally came into view.
"Yeah," Keith said frowning.
"It's not like they can do anything, right?" Lance asked feeling a bit uncertain.
"Guys, it's going to be fine." Shiro said shaking his head. "Don't worry so much."
"That coming from the guy who almost got experimented on the last time he was at the Garrison." Hunk muttered.
"Can we just drop it please?" Keith said sighing. "Everything will be fine."
"Says the dropout." Lance muttered under his breath.
"Lance!" Four voices said causing Lance to grimace.
"Sorry, dropping it." Lance said feeling a wave of annoyance coming off of them. He stayed quiet for the remainder of the short trip and everyone else started talking about other things. The Paladins all got out of the lions (Black, Red, Green, and Yellow. Keith went with Shiro) and were met by Allura, Coran, Pidge's father, Matt, and the guy in charge of the Garrison. Lance's nerves came back as they all entered the Garrison to do the announcement. Lance knew everything would be okay because like Shiro said, Allura and Coran took care of it. He just hoped that whatever happened afterwards would lead to something good.