1. Hole in the Sky

"I'll take care of Sven. You just get to your lions!"

Lance woke up, head spinning. The blue-lit sleeping quarters were definitely Altean, but less grand than the Castle. The last thing he could remember was jetting to the lions and… nothing. He manifested the bayard - better safe than sorry.

The quarters opened into an empty passageway, unintelligible chatter coming from the door at the end. Lance formed the rifle - looked like he was going to have to save everybody, as usual.

"Freeze!" he yelled, storming into the bridge with rifle fully charged.

"Glad you could join us," Keith said as the other paladins snickered.

"Oh," said Lance, dispelling the rifle, "I thought you were, I mean…"

"C'mon, sharpshooter," said Hunk, patting the console beside him. "Saved you a seat."

"Where are we?" asked Lance.

"Yoo-hoo," Sven called weakly, bandages across his chest.

"Oh no," said Lance, "don't tell me…"

"Exactly," said Slav, counting on 32 fingers, "it's a complete disaster."

"You said this was the reality where everything worked out fine!" cried Lance.

"Unfortunately we're also in the 1% of realities in which I was wrong," said Slav.

"Okay, so new plan is just the old plan, right?" said Lance. "Get the lions, get the comet, get the quiznak out of here."

"Tiny hiccup," said Pidge. "Hira has the comet. And the lions."

"She blasted us before we could reach them," said Hunk. "She would've gotten us too if it weren't for Slav and Ikea-Shiro."

"Won't do us any good if we can't get off this jävla centuries-old relic," said Sven. "She destroyed our ship."

"If half the legends are true," said Slav, "it's only a matter of time before she uses Voltron to crush the rebellion."

"The lions would never work for her!" said Hunk. "Would they?"

"Black worked for Zarkon," said Pidge.

"It also worked for Keith," said Lance, "maybe it just likes bad boys."

Keith frowned.

"We need to alert the Guns," said Slav.

"If she figures out the lions," said Keith, "regular weapons won't cut it. Where would she take them?"

"Altea Prime," said Slav. "But there is a 60% chance I would die in a recovery attempt."

"I can live with those odds," said Lance.

"There is a 90% chance one of you would die as well," Slav said flatly.

"So we can wait to be caught and turned into zombies," said Hunk, "or die trying to infiltrate Altea. Any other ideas?"

"We get the lions," Allura said suddenly. Lance realized she'd been staring out the viewport. This evil Altean empire thing was really getting to her. He should say something supportive.

"Um," said Lance, "isn't that the option that involves dying?"

Allura looked hurt. Quiznak.

"Not our lions," she said.

"Slav," said Keith, catching on, "what happened to this reality's Voltron?"

"It disappeared after the Galra Genocide," said Slav. "Hasn't been seen in ages - until your alternate version showed up."

"Hey, you're the alternate version!" said Lance.

"Actually," said Pidge, adjusting her glasses, "from a Schrodingerian multiverse perspective…"

"...all versions are equally original," said Slav.

"OG Voltron," Lance muttered under his breath.

"Some say Altea locked it away," said Slav. "Others that Zarkon destroyed it in his final stand."

"Somehow I don't think he'd have it in him to destroy it," said Keith. "He was obsessed."

"Even if he did," said Hunk, "Is it even possible?"

"When I activated the vessel," said Allura, "I felt a familiar presence. I did not heed it at the time. I was distracted, a foolish jubjub bird drawn to a utopian tumtum tree."

"Alternate Blue!" said Lance. "Where?"

Allura nodded. "Earth."

#

"Earth?" said Hunk. "We're finally going home?"

"Wait," said Pidge, "the Milky Way's gotta be millions of galaxies away. Without the Castle it'll take us like…"

"Fifteen phoebs," said Slav.

"That's not so bad," said Lance. "Phoebs are days, right?"

"Months," said Pidge.

"What?"

"Aren't there any closer lions?" asked Keith.

"Possibly," said Allura, checking her console. "I don't sense any. Wait..."

"Guys, it's obvious," said Lance, interrupting. "Get to Arus, get the Castle, boom: wormhole."

"Except in this reality the Castle is still on Altea," Pidge said flatly.

"Oh. Right."

"Paladins…" said Allura.

"It's going to be a very long and difficult voyage," said Keith, "but it's our best bet to face Hira."

"Paladins, please!" shouted Allura. Everyone finally looked. "The Yalmor is equipped with a teludav."

"Thank the ancients!" said Lance. "I was not looking forward to a decaphoeb-long space trip with Keith."

"Why didn't monocle-dude just wormhole home?" asked Hunk. "Is it damaged?"

"It appears operational," said Allura, checking the console. "It could have been interference from the comet. I'm running a full diagnostic, of course. Altean engineering is good, but it's not magic. Well, it's also magic, but… you get the idea."

"There were times when I thought I'd never see Earth again," said Sven.

"When the Gal... sorry, Alteans took you," said Pidge, "did anyone else from your crew make it out?"

"Pidge," Hunk said softly, "it won't necessarily apply to our own reality…"

"I'm sorry, I don't know," said Sven. "The Guns broke me out before I was hokked. I've been fighting with them ever since."

"If Blue's still on Earth, that means the Alteans don't know it's there!" said Lance.

"Or they've taken Earth and are keeping it there," said Keith.

"It's going to be what Keith said, isn't it?" Hunk said morosely. "The President is probably flying a jet fighter as we speak."

"That's Independence Day," said Pidge. "What is it with you and pre-WW3 movies?"

"It's a classic!" said Hunk. "C'mon, punching a multi-limbed alien in the face? No offense, Slav."

Slav frowned.

"Do you have any intel?" asked Keith.

"Your so-called Milky Way is too much of a backwater," said Slav. "While this has been a blessing regarding the Alteans, it also means we do not have recent information."

"Then let's collect some," said Allura, resting her hands on the control pylons.

The blue portal shimmered open.