Chapter 2

At first, Shiro wasn't sure if he was actually sleeping and what he was witnessing was a dream. Allura was standing waist deep in the ocean, hands braced against her Lion, blue light completely engulfing her. It seemed to swarm around her body. The light swirled in the air around her, but also danced on the waves making the illusion even more intense.

"Whoa! What's going on over here?"

Shiro turned to see Lance, with eyes as wide as saucers, approach him. Shiro wasn't sure if he was relieved or not to know this was reality and not a dream.

"This, apparently, is Allura's plan for helping the Lions."

The light show had attracted the others and they all gathered on the beach.

"Should we go in and help her?" Hunk crossed and uncrossed his arms nervously, unsure of how to act in this situation.

Pidge was recording the events with a device in one hand, and getting energy readings with a device in another. "And how exactly would we help? Are you going to hold her hair so it doesn't get wet?"

"Okay", Lance puffed his chest and stepped toward the water, "I volunteer. I will help keep her hair up."

Both Shiro and Keith put up an arm to stop him.

"You would probably cause more harm than good. Leave her be. She knows what she's doing." Keith commanded.

"Uhh...do you think that is supposed to happen?" Krolia's face was full of concern as she pointed toward Allura.

The princess was obviously utilizing the remains of her reserves of strength and energy. Her face was set in a painful grimace and her arms were shaking with the effort of holding herself up. The energy that had been gently swirling around her just a moment ago now seemed to pulse from the water, through her, and into the Blue Lion. The pulse was not gentle, but a rapid beating that seemed to push Allura with every pulsation.

Suddenly the light vanished, seeping into the Lion and leaving Allura completely. Her legs seemed to finally give out and she slipped beneath the water, knocking her head against the hull of Blue as she went under.

"Allura!"

Everyone on shore rushed into action. They all reached for a limb and carried her limp form back to the shore.

The suns had lowered in the sky, and darkness was beginning to spread over everything. Allura's white hair was a stark contrast against the purple sand, and caught the remaining light of the sun. Her skin, which normally glowed with her energy, was pale. Her markings fairly blended in when they normally stood out upon her cheekbones.

Coran pushed his way through the group. He pressed his fingers to Allura's neck, desperately checking her pulse.

"Princess!" He shouted, and it was evident from the desperation in his voice that he was terrified that he might have lost her. "Allura!"

Her body shuddered violently as she coughed and spit out a fair amount of water. Coran was quick to brace her into a sitting position and she continued to hack. Her eyes, normally a beautiful swirl of purple and pink, seemed to stand out even more with her pale skin and the bruise already forming on her forehead. She searched the faces around her and quickly turned her attention toward the Blue Lion.

"It worked?"

No one seemed to heed her question, instead they were more concerned for her well-being.

"What was that?"

"Are you okay?"

"Lay down. Should I get a pillow? A blanket?"

"Should we give her CPR?"

"She's clearly breathing"

"But should we anyway?"

"Quiet!" Krolia was the one who shouted, glaring them all into a quiet submission. She knelt on the other side of the princess and helped Coran support her. It was evident that she lacked the energy and the strength to hold herself up. Her whole body seemed to be shaking. Krolia unconsciously began to rub Allura's back in an attempt to settle her. Allura turned toward the Galra warrior.

"It worked. I can feel that it worked." Her voice was a raspy whisper.

Shiro kneeled down next to her on the sand. He could see a tinge of purple around her lips.

"What did you do, Allura?"

"I...I channeled the quintessence of Blue's element."

"You mean, the water? You channeled water?"

Allura's eyes were drooping, but she nodded slowly. "I channeled the energy that the water creates."

Pidge scanned the Lion, and sure enough it showed that Blue's energy levels were at full capacity. "Whatever you did, it worked. Blue Lion is all fueled up and holding."

The princess smiled, and both Coran and Krolia could feel more and more of her weight sinking into the sand and against them. "I can...do more."

Coran frowned. "You've done enough, Princess. The Blue Lion has a full supply of energy."

"No…"Her eyes were fully closed now and the weight of exhaustion was slurring her speech, "I can help the other Lions."

Her head sunk against her chest, but Coran shook her.

"Princess. You've got to stay awake. We need to take care of that bump on your head." He looked up toward the group. "Paladins. Help me get her into the Blue Lion so that we can check out her head and get her warm and dry."

They worked together to get her to the Lion without jostling her too much. Coran kept her conscious, however slightly, and got out various pieces of equipment.

The space was much more cramped than the medical bay of the Castle. The Paladins and Romelle left the Blue Lion while Krolia and Coran attended to Allura.

Outside, the suns had dipped below the horizon and all was dark except for the flicker of the fire that Hunk had created to make dinner. The group unconsciously gathered in a circle. Pidge had out another device, running it over the Blue Lion.

"Every diagnostic proves it. It's fueled and ready to go."

"So…" Hunk scratched his chin, glancing around at everyone.

No one really seemed comfortable speaking up.

"So…" Hunk started again. He had never been a fan of long, drawn-out silences. He preferred to fill them with anything: Jokes, laughter, banter, compliments on a well-prepared meal, "Looks like we have a solution?"

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. But look what it did. That seemed to totally wipe her out."

Romelle, who had been passive and unconsciously petting the head of the cosmic wolf next to her, chimed in: "I take it she has not done that before? Are those not her normal powers?"

"Kind of", Pidge spoke up, " She's channeled energy before. Heck, she's saved an entire Balmera. And she...well I guess you could say she brought you back to life, Shiro."

"So she'll be okay?"

The group collectively shrugged. "She has always recovered." Keith answered, "Sometimes it takes a while, but she's always fine. So, yes Hunk. I think this is a possible solution."

Lance glanced at him angrily. "Uh...not until we know she's okay. Just because she has been fine before, doesn't mean she'll be fine now. We don't even know anything about what she can do. I don't think we can just assume that she'll be able to be our jumper cable."

Shiro sighed and felt the reserves of his own energy quickly begin to dwindle after that pass of adrenaline. "No one here would say that, Lance. We all care about the Princess. Keith is merely pointing out that a few hours ago, we had no hope. Now we have something. Of course, if this proves to be too much for the Princess, we go back to the drawing board."

"She's going to be okay." Krolia said, approaching them from the mouth of the Blue Lion, "She's exhausted and might have a slight concussion, but she's already adamant."

"Adamant about what?"

"To finish what she started. Coran is going to make sure that she rests, but she wants to start work as soon as she is able."

"Start work?" Hunk questioned.

"Yes. Start work fueling up each of the Lions. She says Yellow Lion is next."