A/N:

Okay, Season six absolutely destroyed me... I'm not gonna lie, I loved it with all my heart, but DAMN! I would totally rant for hours on end about it, but I'll leave it here for my own sanity's sake. This story takes place post-S6 while the paladins and their new friends are making their way home. (Side note, I'm so happy for them! Lance and Hunk are going to see their families! Pidge is gonna see her mom and dad again! Ahh! So happy!) They still stop and help when they get distress calls because that's what paladins do! Normally, they're fine, but where's the fun in writing something like that? No, there's some bumps on this rollercoaster... *Smiles evilly* Let's begin, shall we?

The sacrifice of the Castle of Lions left the five lions to fend for themselves on their journey home. For the most part, the trip was quiet. At one point, Coran set up his Monsters and Mana board on the floor of the Blue Lion, and everyone played through the comms. Thankfully, Shiro chose something other than a paladin this time. Even Krolia got into the tabletop game, though her character was a little unimaginative. Since everything they had was stuffed into the lions, the paladins were forced to travel slowly. They stopped often for meals and distress calls, but all of the calls were simple problems that were fixed quickly and easily. Well, almost all of them...

Suddenly, a signal lit up the cockpits of all five lions, startling the paladins and the passengers. The coordinates pointed them to a forested planet nearby. It looked a lot like Earth, except completely covered in trees "Just another broken-down ship…" Pidge muttered.

"Who's turn is it now?" Lance said with a sigh.

"Yours, Lance." The red paladin groaned at Pidge's flat reply but approached the green-covered planet anyway. A ship had carved a path through the trees, an ugly scar that cut through and ruined the otherwise flawless forest. Lance circled the wreck before hailing the ship.

"Calling damaged ship. Is anyone there?" No response came from the wreckage below. Cautiously, Lance brought the Red Lion closer. He landed in an open patch that was just large enough for his Lion.

"Lance, what's going on?" Hunk asked. "Why did you land your Lion?"

"No one answered when I hailed, so I'm going in to take a closer look."

"Be careful," Allura insisted.

"Nothing's going to happen, guys!" Lance laughed. He pulled his helmet off and inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of the woods and thinking of home. A nostalgic smile crawled onto his face as he came toward the crashed ship, helmet under his arm. He pried open the door with a grunt and heard a discouraging thunk from inside. Lance's heart dropped as he heard a hiss, then the awfully familiar sound of a fire starting.

"Oh, fuck..." he said as an explosion rocked the forest. With sickening clarity, Lance felt the concussive blast. He felt the air leaving his lungs, and the hard dirt he landed on, and the trees shaking all around him.

"Lance!" he heard faintly. His helmet, blown away from him, was broadcasting Pidge's voice, along with the worry it carried. "Lance, what happened?!" He groaned as the pain spread slowly, starting at his back then moving across his entire body. A sharp, searing pain in his stomach alerted him to a nasty cut he'd gained. He heard a loud, animal-like, and clearly agitated noise from the trees, but he couldn't place its source It was like nothing he'd heard before. Blood rushed to his ears as darkness gnawed at his consciousness, and since the explosion had stolen his strength, he gave in. The forest melted into blackness. Just before he fell into unconsciousness, the roaring stopped and a strange shadow passed over him. Melodic sounds that could have been words floated into his damaged eardrums as the shadow carefully moved him into the trees.

"Lance, we're coming to get you!" shouted Keith. Lance didn't hear it. The four remaining Lions all rushed to the planet's surface. The Red Lion seemed unfazed by the flaming wreckage at her feet, but the paladins couldn't worry more. Everyone jumped out of the Lions and began searching the debris.

"Lance, where are you?!" Pidge yelled.

"Uhh… Guys?" Hunk called. "You should see this…" Keith, Allura, and Pidge rushed over to him. He turned to the other three with Lance's blue helmet in his shaking hands. A long, vicious crack ran down the visor. Suddenly, the air around them seemed heavy. Hunk bit back tears, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the helmet in his arms.

"God damn it..." Pidge choked out with a cough. Her knees threatened to give out as she thought of the damage to the sturdy helmet and what that may mean for her friend. Allura looked like she was going to vomit. Keith stared blankly at the sunrise as they all realized the same thing. A new day was beginning... and their red paladin was gone.

A/N:

Please let me know if you want me to continue this story! I can't guarantee when the next chapters will come out, so please stay tuned to see what happens! I'd love some feedback on this and ideas for other stories are always welcome!

P.S. I really want to include Keith's new wolf (In my mind, it's a girl) in the story, but I can't decide on a name and I don't want to keep saying 'the wolf' over and over. I was thinking something like Nova? Maybe Comet? I don't know, so help!

Until next time...