Author's Note: This takes place after the original Season 1, ignoring the events to follow.
Darkness settled peacefully on the planet of Arus. The land was silent except for the sounds of a content forest in the distance. With the forces of Doom destroyed and Lotor without an army, the Voltron Force was granted an undisturbed, full night's sleep. The team accepted the gift gladly, all except the princess Allura. With one worry gone, others gladly filled the vacancy and sought her attention far more then Doom ever did. Would the team and Voltron be called elsewhere? Would Blue Lion lose yet another pilot? Voltron was the property of Arus. Sending it elsewhere would be a bit of a task, but the team had military connections in Galaxy Garrison. If they were sent for, she could do nothing to stop them. Her title held little power against them, as her planet primarily kept to itself and did not seek to be the most advanced in the universe. Most of the treasury was dedicated to defense purposes only, and the people were simple farmers and merchants. A peaceful life, it was all they wanted, and as their princess, she was damn determined to give it to them.
All the conflicting thoughts and worries kept the princess rolling around in bed, and around midnight, she finally gave up on obtaining sleep. She went to the window, looking out over her kingdom. Not a soul rustled as a breeze swept through, barely brushing the grass. If she couldn't sleep tonight, at least she had fought and sacrificed so others may sleep peacefully tonight.
She lost track of time as she stood there, maybe it was minutes, but maybe it was hours. The only thing that disturbed her from her trance was the sound of a Lion as it dashed across the plain. The Black led the pack as the others followed in line. "What are they doing?" She wondered aloud. "I was never alerted of an attack." Her heart raced at the thought of someone attacking her planet after they found so long and so hard for a time of peace. Before she could move to go for her Lion, the Blue hovered near her balcony, the hatch invitingly open for her. Absolutely confused as to what was going on, she fearlessly climbed onto the head and entered the Lion, expecting to find a soldier at the helm, but there was no one!
She took her seat and assumed control of her Lion, following the other four. "Blue Lion to Black Lion, do you copy? What are you doing?" Silence followed. "Black Lion, answer me!" Still nothing. She tried the other three, but they would not respond either. The whole affair was quite strange. She could feel Blue Lion adjust its course to follow the others milliseconds before she manipulated the controls. Nervously, she experimented by removing her hands altogether, but still the Blue moved as fluidly as if she was in control. Had all the Lions been possessed, but for what purpose? What power could efficiently control five complex mechanical beasts? Did a new and more powerful villain discover Voltron and now wished to use its power for himself?
She debated using the Blue's weapons against the others, to destroy them before they could be used against Arus. No, she decided, she would wait to see where the Lion would take her. A villain would never summon her inside Blue Lion and give her free will and control over the beast. The Blue responded beautifully to all her commands, but it was drawn, almost magnetically, to follow the others. Perhaps another force was at work here. Her father would often tell her stories of the ancient days, how magic and sorcery ruled and everyone had access to the magic. The people banded into factions and engaged in a war that nearly destroyed everyone. The magic returned to the earth and hid itself away as the people started anew. Thousands of years later, the deep magic lied dormant, but those with great dedication and great sorcerers could learn to harness it once more. Has a great ally come to lend his powers to the Voltron Force?
Time had lost all sense of meaning as the Lions finally stopped in a large plain fenced in by mountains and a great forest. There were no signs of human inhabitance for miles, only pure, unbroken wilderness. The Lions moved gracefully about, assuming the characteristics of actual lions and less then robots. Their metal jaws could not smile, purring was never a part of their programming, yet Allura could tell, the Lions were happy. She descended from her beast and stood upon the damp, cool grass as the Lions, including the now-pilotless Blue Lion, sat in a circle around her, each in their respective position of the great mech Voltron.
"Do not be afraid, Princess Allura," The Black said with a deep, comforting male voice, nothing like the tones of its captain pilot. "We would never do any harm to our great ruler."
"Who are you?" She demanded. "How dare you commandeer the Black Lion?"
Soft laughter came from all sides of her as the five crouched before her, their hatches open. "No one is piloting us, princess. Check for yourself."
She moved from Lion to Lion, discovering no one inside. "How can this be? You are robots with no AI programmed within you."
"We are intelligent, princess," The Blue corrected with a gentle female voice that reminded Allura of her mother, "But not of man-made means."
"Centuries ago, lions lived alongside humans, during the time of magic," The Yellow explained. "We were a sacred animal, never to be killed for any reason. The sages would use the bones and skins of the lions that died naturally for religious ceremonies. We were entrusted with the protection of our land, when the only world we knew was our own."
Now it was the Green's turn to explain. "In the days before the Great War came, power-hungry humans and lions sought to turn the two species against each other. Some sorcerers and other magic users thought the lions were gods and wished to eat us to obtain our power. Suddenly the strongest lions were cut down in their prime, all 'accidents,' and their bodies dissected without the rituals to honor the soul within. Skins were used as trophies, our muscle eaten, our bones turned into weapons, and our blood used in dark magic rituals."
"Some lions felt that we should be the dominant species, eliminating the human race. Instead of honestly hunting our prey, domesticated livestock was slaughtered as they were penned in their stables. Humans, afraid to harm the animals they so dearly loved, fell by the dozens to the claws of our brothers and sisters." The Red finished.
"Lion against lion, human against human, and human against lion," The Black said sadly. "It is truly a wonder that humans have survived such a great and terrible war. Your ancestor, a man named Camaban, emerged as a leader of the surviving humans, who had given up their desire of war to save themselves from extinction. The greatest magic users of both sides had all died in combat. Only apprentices had survived, and without learned masters to teach them to control their powers, the magic within them had died. But Camaban knew that the magic of the land had not died simply because no human remained to bend it to his will. He was deemed a wizard by his magic teachers, but he had not participated within the battles. He wanted peace among the planet and fought to protect every innocent he could. His courage and strength overshadowed his magical abilities and soon not a living soul knew that he possessed magic."
Allura sat down, mesmerized by the story. "None of our history books ever spoke of this. They only alluded to the magic users and the Great War, nothing more. Please, how did the lions become extinct?"
"In due time, princess, you will find out," The Blue assured her. "The surviving humans wished to blot out such a bleak period of our history, and partially they succeeded. With each passing generation, more and more was forgotten until the bare bones of the war was remembered and committed to paper. Camaban was the first king of Arus, the first one to unite the whole planet into a single kingdom. Before the war, humans banded together in tribes, finding allies and enemies among neighboring tribes."
"Not much is known about Camaban's early days except he was an orphan and spent years living on his own in the forest, traveling around the land. His destiny was clear early on, as he claimed to communicate with the planet's very spirit, sensing her wants and needs. When he reached his maturity, he found a sorcerer and said 'Arus herself has sent me to learn of your holy and powerful ways.' The sorcerer took him under his wing immediately." The Red continued.
"With the magic he had learned and his connection to Arus herself, he sent the magic of the world deep within the soil, returning it to the spirit of the planet." The Yellow explained. "It aged him terribly, but he knew he could not rest. He was still the servant of Arus and needed to unite the people forever. Thirty years had passed since the end of the Great War. The human race was recovering; Camaban had married and sired two daughters and a son, but the lions, the lions were dying out. Nothing could save our species, we were cursed."
"People from other planets traveled to Arus, teaching Camaban and his children about the universe, the neighboring planets, and exchanging technology for gold. The king set about at once mastering the technology, but only for defense and trade purposes. A higher power had almost destroyed the planet once. He would not let it happen again." The Green added.
"Camaban, old and gray, found the five remaining lions: us. He reminded us of the old ways, how lions were the protectors of the planet, and offered us the chance to protect it forever. We accepted, and combining magic, technology, and his life together, we became mechanical beasts and were given the ability to become one robot, the great mech Voltron." The Black finished.
This untold history left Allura shaking, feeling closer to her planet than ever before. "But if you had this intelligence all along, why are you only controlling yourselves now? Why did the Voltron Force have to pilot you?"
"Hagar's magic blocked our souls as she split us apart and sent us into dormancy," The Blue informed her. "As you and the others began to pilot us and lead us into battle, little by little our souls returned."
"Now that we are once again a sentient being," The Black interrupted, "Voltron cannot and will not be summoned elsewhere, and neither will the team. We will function for no one else. Arus is our home and we are sworn to protect it and our monarchy."
All of Allura's fears vanished at the Black's declaration and the roars coming from the others. Though she lost her parents, she would not lose the men and machines that had become her family. "And Arus and I shall stand behind you forever, our blessed Lions!" This sudden burst of energy cost her as a wave of sleepiness finally crashed over.
"Come, Allura," The Blue coaxed as it crouched to let her enter. "It is time to take you home." Allura collapsed in the pilot chair as the Lions took off, sleeping the entire way home. She had no memory of returning to her bed, as the ghost of the oldest of monarchs carried the youngest and tucked her in. "You do your line honor, Princess Allura." He praised. "Tell my story so others may learn of the lessons to be found in the Great War, and of the Lions and why they became Voltron, defender of the universe."