Voltron: Accelerating

by Undead Saturdays

Whether already a fan of Voltron, or new to the lore, Voltron Accelerating is a retelling of a beloved saga. Death, emotional hardships, (romance?), and action are known through this saga, as told from the eyes of the paladins and antagonists themselves! As the fights and drama accelerate, so does this story in Voltron Acceleration! New chapter coming August 17!

2. Chapter 2

Allura sits on a round sofa. Her pale blue hair makes a million tiny waves, constantly moving as she speaks to four small mice taking comfort in the folds of her dress.

"Yes, the lions did choose these paladins. Who else would have that power?"

Thud.

A sliding door closes behind her, its movement seemingly reflecting the emotion of those walking into the room.

"One moment. Speak of the devil."

She picks up the mice one by one, allowing them to cling to her arms, then places her hand to the table in front of her, letting the creatures scurry out of her gloved hands, onto the glass-like surface. She stands on her knees on top of the couch cushions. "Have you formed Voltron again?"

Five boys are crowded in front of her face. All wear white armor with small, colorful markings covering all over.

Shiro, standing in the middle has black armor markings winding around his torso. "No, we haven't," he says, hanging his head in shame.

"Then why the quiznack did you come back inside?!"

Shiro puts his right hand on the shoulder of the boy to his right. His armor markings are red and wrap around his right arm. "Keith here was getting a migraine from all the flashing lights and Lance's screaming."

"I don't have a migraine," Keith deflects quietly.

Allura looks at the two suspiciously.

"The one time you're not complaining about a headache..." Shiro mutters. "Okay, I was the one getting a headache."

Lance, all dressed up in blue armor with patterned markings on his right leg, rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that." He looks at the woman. "Hey though, it takes a real man to show fear. And tiredness. We're real men now, right? Can we sleep?"

A look of unamusement washes Allura's face. "Fine. You will get two hours to rest. After that, you will resume training."

Pidge, green armor adorned, groans. "Hooray, two more hours of sleep. You know, the human body can totally live off of that." He rubs his eyes. "Where's my motherducking space coffee?"

Hunk clears his throat and holds out his hand.

"What? I didn't even cuss that time," Pidge says.

"You implied it," Hunk answers.

Pidge scowls and reaches under his armor, pulling out a wallet. He places a five dollar bill in the larger boy's hand.

"Thank you," Hunk says smugly. "Allura, look, I'm almost as rich as you!"

-V-

Voltron - Princess

-V-

"Paladins, to your hangars!" Allura yells. She sits on the front right paw of the black lion as if it were a bench. She holds what appears to be a microphone, then hands it to a small blue mouse.

Moments of silence. The mouse holds the microphone up to her.

She takes the device and says, "I am sorry. I should have specified now." Her words echo through the room and no doubt, the rest of the castle.

Shiro shows up first, looking clean and proper. "Sorry ma'am, I was asleep and-"

"You were the first to show up. You are on my good side today."

Next is Pidge. His hair sticks up in infinite directions, but it isn't an unusual occurrence for him. His headphones are still over his ears, and his glasses are pushed up the way one may place sunglasses atop their head. "Sorry, needed my...what is the space coffee called?"

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, there you go. Coffee."

Allura facepalms. "No, I mean, what is...nevermind."

Hunk comes in next, a nervous look on his face. "Miss Allura, I am terribly sorry for being late. I asked Coran how to make space coffee. I was the one who made the space coffee, I cleaned it up. And then I started talking to Coran a little more. Did you know he had a son? He's really-"

Allura motions for him to stop all the while giving a glare. "Enough. If this was a real emergency, neither of you would need 'space coffee.'"

"Man, a world without coffee is a world I don't wanna live in," Pidge says tiredly.

Lance walks in. His armor is clean, his hair is well kept. He presents himself much like Shiro, except he was asked:

"Why are you so late?"

Lance's overly confident smile falls. "I hit snooze. A lot. Sleep is valuable, don't you know?"

Keith walks in last. His hair is disheveled, though not as badly as Pidge's. Despite being suited up in his bright armor, he rubs the tiredness from his eyes still.

"Let me guess, 'snooze button?'"

Keith gives a blank stare. Every word to tumble out of his mouth is flat and deadpan. "I hardly got sleep. I was half asleep. Then you called and I thought to myself, 'what are the chances that the Princess is just messing with us? Yeah, she's just messing with us.' Then I half-slept to the sound of Lance's alarm next-door."

Allura takes a breath. Under her breath, she mutters, "Father, give me strength."

"Miss, our mission?" Shiro asks calmly. "You've never come into the hangar with us for training..."

"That's because it is not training!" Allura announces in a very chipper tone as if she were gushing over a product in an infomercial.

Lance throws his hands up. "Woahwoahwoah. What? We haven't even formed Voltron yet? And you're already putting us out there?!"

"Yeah, you haven't even told us what the hell we're fighting against," Keith adds.

"That is because it is not a mission that should not involve combat!" She was really trying to sell them this mission.

"Aww, that sounds nice," Hunk responds.

Shiro looks around. "And the mission is?"

"For the last seven years, Coran and I have been the only people living here. Now there are three point five times as many people aboard. We must restock on food, hygiene products, clothing- if you would like, that is. We also need a few new parts for the ship, since functions such as the training room have hardly been used in just as long." She continues with the chipper tone, only to softly muter at the end, "And I may or may not have destroyed a few training robots the last time I went in there..."

"So, we're going to what? A space mall? Space flea market?" Pidge asks.

"A swap moon!" Allura almost squeals.

"So, a flea market." Keith states.

Allura shrugs. "You can find a swap moon in about every other solar system. What makes them great is the inconsistency. In one solar system, the swap moon may be broken down and a breeding ground for crime, but in another, you may find something shiny."

Shiro claps his hands together. "And you're excited about that because?"

"Bargains."

Lance cocks his head to the side. "But you're a princess..."

Allura's eyebrows fall into heavy, flat lines. The words to come out of her mouth sound as if they came from Pidge. If Pidge managed to make his remarks sound oddly formal, that is. "You are absolutely correct. As your commander, the highest authority, I can simply pull an infinite amount of currency from where the sun does not shine."

Pidge cracks a large grin, trying not to laugh loudly. Lance stares, taken aback.

"Now, to your lions."

-V-

"Keep going straight. Keep going straight. Keep traveling further into the abyss that is space- wait, no, turn right ever so slightly," a man says. Coran, the man with bright orange hair and blue markings under his eyes, is leaning over Shiro as he flies his lion through space. Shiro does not seem happy.

In front of Shiro are four screens, two on the left, two on the right.

On the upper left screen, Pidge is talking. A white blur on his glasses hides his eyes, but his crooked smile shows enough.

"...so when ship wars broke out, I was always the one moderator who was quick to respond, call 'em all idiots, and then clean up all the messages," Pidge says as if he's reminiscing over something fun. In front of him, there is a screen in the middle, and the upper left one is missing. Lance is in the lower right.

"I miss internet access," Lance mutters. "I miss the crapposts. I miss getting annoyed by that one family member who thinks that their life is so fascinating. 'Oh look, I ate a freaking sandwich! Ooh, ah, praise me!' At least then I knew they were okay."

On Lance's lower left screen is Hunk. "Maybe there's a space internet?"

On Hunk's upper right screen is Allura. Keith is awkwardly trying to look past Allura, leaning this way and that. "What you yearn for sounds like the Universal Communication System. I would not recommend slacking off on it. It is a never-ending black hole of regurgitated jokes and meaningless thoughts."

"Great, just like Earth's internet," Keith grunts, trying to gently push Allura out of the way while giving minimal contact. He was failing at this paradoxical action.

The commander finally moves. "Thank you," Keith sighs.

Pidge, Hunk, and Lance go back to talking and laughing. Shiro keeps giving Coran confused glances as the elder man points forward.

"You slouch a lot," Allura remarks.

Keith rolls his eyes. He sits up straighter.

"You have a bit of an attitude, don't you?"

He says nothing, just presses his lips together, loosens, then tightens his grip on the levers controlling the lion.

"I think one of my mice would like to play with you."

The red paladin hangs his head and takes a deep breath. "Commander, what do you want from me?"

"Reassurance. Hope." She leans over, the small pink mouse resting in the palm of her hand. She pets it with her thumb. "Voltron must be reawoken. I know you can do it. You have done it."

"I know that, but what do you want from me?"

"Reassurance that you can live up to the paladins of old."

He groans. "I know that. But why are you here with me?! Sometimes you're harsh on all of us, sometimes you give me fricking death glares. And now you're playing nice but also not really? What is it, woman?!"

Allura places the ball of fur on Keith's shoulder. "I want to ensure that this lion is in good hands." Her mouth seems to make a slight frown. "It was my father's," she says solemnly.

His eyes go wide, eyebrows knitting together. "Oh," is all he can manage for a moment. "I'm sorry." He taps his thumbs on the levers, trying to create some sort of background noise other than the almost static-like sounds of laughter from the intercoms. "That reminds me. In my closet, I found some clothes..."

"Don't touch them!"

"I wasn't going to!" he says quickly, leaving his thumbs hooked around the levers but flaring his fingers out as if he were putting his hands up. "I just wanted to let you know."

"...Thank you for telling me."

The mouse nuzzles his cheek with closed eyes in silence, as if giving reassurance for something. Then, it stops movings its head. It begins nibbling. He lets go of the levers and reaches for the pastel-colored rodent. It runs up his neck, leaving him shuddering. It settles down atop his head, resting in his hair. He reaches for it, stopping short as Allura puts up her hand.

She claps her hands and puts her right hand to Keith's right shoulder. The mouse scurries back to its owner, taking comfort in silk gloves.

"My apologies," she says, stroking the thing, "They do play differently with different people…" she makes a noise, like a quiet chuckle of sorts. "The last person I have seen them play with like that was Lotor..." The mouse runs around the woman's body, eventually disappearing into her puffy hair. She reaches forward to touch the paladin's neck. "Does it hurt?"

He flinches at the contact. "A little, but I'm not bleeding or anything. Should be... Wait, am I bleeding? Is that why you're asking?" His eyes go from Allura to the 'road' in front of him, consisting of millions of stars, then back to Allura, eyes narrowed. "Wait, who the hell is Lotor?"

"You do not know basic Universal History?" She asks ever so innocently.

"No, because you never tell us anything!"

"He was the son of Emperor Zarkon and Empress Honerva." She locks her eyes on the ground. "He was my lover."

He looks up at her with sympathy, the word 'was' sticking out to him. This person was somebody's child, not is. "I'm sorry. I am. I understand what it's like. I mean, you can talk about it if you want. I suck at talking, but I can listen."

She shakes her head and takes a step forward and looks at the lion's pilot, positioned slightly to the right, her back turned to the stars and holographic screens. "Every moment we are fighting, we are fighting in the name of him, my father, his father, our mothers, the Paladins of Old. For them, we must be strong. There is no room to let emotion blur our vision in the middle of battle, lest we let them down. We let ourselves down. We let the universe down."

"But wouldn't it be nice to talk though? Maybe not to me, but Shiro maybe? He's level-headed, he can give advice. Or Hunk, since he seems to be good with people. Or Pidge can rationalize things. Or even Lance, he would probably eat up spending time with you."

She looks down at him with raised eyebrows. "Do you ever talk to anybody? Anyone at all."

"I read books."

"King of hypocrisy," she snickers.

"Hey, what's going on in the Red Lion over there? Looks nice," Lance snickers over the intercom.

Allura twirls around, her face hardening once more. "And why is that?"

"I dunno. I mean, I kinda wanted to be the one who gets to have a moment of peace with the princess...You know, I'll gladly take up on Keith's offer to listen to you."

Keith looks around. "How long have you been listening?"

"Long enough to know you're stealing my girl!"

On the upper left and lower left screens, Pidge and Hunk can both be seen burying their faces in their hands.

Keith opens his mouth, but Allura immediately shushes him. "Firstly, I belong to nobody. Even when I was engaged to Lotor, I did not belong to him. Secondly, I am no princess- princesses have kingdoms to rule over. Finally, there is no room to cry on shoulders in war."

Both Keith and Lance stare at her, mouths agape.

"What?"

"You were engaged to this guy?!" They say in unison.

"That is the part you are curious about? My love life?"

Keith leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. "I don't think it's so much that as it is-"

"How old are you again?" Lance asks.

Allura opens her mouth, but Coran yells over Shiro's intercom. "The Ruimtellaan Swap Moon is just up ahead."

Keith squints and shields his eyes slightly. "It's really...bright."

Sure enough, the moon was covered in bright lights and neon signs.

-V-

Five paladins out of their lions. No armor, just street clothes. Plus a butler.

The commander stands in front of them. Her long pink dress flows as she walks back and forth. The collar of the cape she wears seems to give her the allusion of size, making her intimidating.

"Alright. Some ground rules," she announces with a boom.

"Rule one- stay together. The paladins of Voltron must stay together at all times as a safety precaution."

Pidge snickers. "That's a mighty fine load of bull there, Allura. I'm not staying with these dumbashes. I been stuck with them in a castle for two weeks, you really gonna limit our one day of freedom?"

Allura gives him a cold look and moves on. "Rule two- stay within close proximity to Coran. If you do wish to wander off, check in with him. Ensure you can make it back to him quickly if necessary."

"Will do, ma'am," Hunk says innocently.

She smiles. "Rule three- spend responsibly. I do not have endless money."

Shiro gives her a nod. "I'll keep track of purchases."

"Rule four- keep your keys on you at all times."

Lance nods with a smirk. "In case we need a huge robot to uncover crime in a mall. Nice."

She shakes her head. "They can be used for defense. However, above all else, should you be split apart, should you be unable to activate your keys, I hope that you have brought a backup means of defense. And if not...well. Anything can be a weapon."

Keith pats the pocket of his jacket. Pidge pulls out a pair of scissors from his hoodie pocket.

Allura smiles with pride.

"Now go on. I have my own affairs to attend to," she says, putting up her left hand as she walks off.

Keith turns to watch her. "Wait."

She stops. "What?"

"You're not staying nearby? What about safety? The rules you made?"

She laughs as if this was the darndest thing. "You are the paladins of Voltron. Not my paladins. If anything, I protect you. I do not need your protection."

"But you're royalty dressed in fancy clothes. Doesn't that kind of make you a target?" Hunk asks, poking his fingers together.

"Or, it visually enforces my authority and the consequences of putting your hands on someone of high status. Now, I will see you here in an hour." She turns back around to face the path to the Swap Moon. Her sheer cape flows behind her like smoke.

"This is like some crooked fairy tale, I swear." Keith mumbles. "Got a princess, aliens that look like elves, five knights, a magical destiny…"

"Nah, think we're grounded enough in reality," Lance whispers, giving the red paladin a nudge and pointing to a scene unfolding.

Coran counts several bills, which are transparent blue and impossibly thin, then places them in Shiro's hand. "...and ten! Now, to the Casino!"

Shiro suddenly looks lost. "Wait, what?!"

-V-

Allura walks through automatic sliding doors. A bell rings, but there is no bell above the door.

Somebody can be heard talking. Something like a television hangs above the register. A laugh track plays.

A short, green creature stands behind a register. Many tentacles sort metallic pieces behind the counter, putting them under glass.

She places a notepad on the glass counter. "Hello. I am here to buy some materials."

The creature looks up at her. It stares at the ringlet on her forehead. It grins and pops the cash register open with a tentacle.

-V-

Shiro looks around warily, following Coran closely.

There are no ceiling lights, but many, many machines light the way.

"...this is how you get the proper funds for a trip through the mall. Now, try not to bet too much, that is how I lost my son!" Coran explains, laughing hard at the last part.

"What?!" Shiro asks. He looks back at the rest of the group, then pats himself down. Were they also on the table for betting? Nobody's stolen his kidneys yet, right? No puncture marks. Okay. Coran isn't betting them. Hopefully.

"What about what?" He asks back, twirling his mustache.

Shiro pulls his hand away from his torso. "Your son."

Coran laughs. "I did not bet him. But that is what I would have preferred happened! Then I would be allowed visits! Now I only see him and my wife in my dreams."

Shiro looks confused. He turns his head to the rest of the group.

Keith it seems is just as confused. Pidge's glasses conceal however he feels. Hunk looks rather sad.

Lance, wedged between Keith and Pidge, whispers, "Okay, on the count of three, we run and tell Allura that her butler is f'ing nuts."

"I second that," Keith whispers. He bumps past an alien resembling a triceratops, doing a double take.

"I betcha twenty that I can hack the system and we walk out with at least twice as much money," Pidge says with a smirk.

"Guys, we can't just abandon Coran. We're not cheating at gambling either," Hunk says sternly.

"I heard something about cheating back there," Coran says cheerfully. He begins taking a turn, no longer heading to the back of the room, but in between two machines that seemed to have long been broken, a fine layer of dust coating them.

He motions for the five to come near. They huddle together awkwardly.

"Now, Pidge, cheating is wrong," Coran says calmly with his palms together, "which is why my number one word of advice to survive the casino is: do not get caught." He cracks a rather mischievous grin.

-V-

The slimy thing behind the register grins, showing Allura rows of sharp teeth. "Nine thousand UC."

She looks at a small metal piece in his tentacle. It appears to be a gear. It's the size of her palm, covered in rust. "No."

"Ten thousand?"

She glares at him. "It is not worth that much."

"And how do you know that? Royalty keeps clean hands."

She forcefully places a palm on the glass counter. Blue ripples form, implying that it isn't glass. "You are correct. I do not know why it is worth what it is or even what it does, but my trusted aide does. What you are selling looks below that price."

"Then why are they not here?" A tentacle reaches out for one of her earrings. The cash register goes off again.

She quickly clamps her hand around the appendage and narrows her eyes. "Because he lacks the backbone to stick to his own prices."

-V-

"Five glasses of numvile please," Coran requests, sitting at what looks like a bar.

The being behind the counter is robotic, wires running along an exoskeleton like veins. It whirls and twirls, mechanically grabbing bottles and cups. It spins with five cups balanced across its palms.

With a clang, five metal cups hit the counter.

Coran takes a sip. "Come one, try it."

To the right of him is Shiro. He takes a sip, then covers his mouth. Keith takes a sip and sticks out his tongue. Lance tries it and starts coughing. Hunk watches and slides his cup back over to Coran. Bullet dodged.

"Humans, eh?" The mechanical being asks.

Shiro seems taken aback for about the twentieth time today. "Yes?"

The mechanical being gives a small hum. "I was born on Earth. Haven't been in a couple hundred years. How's New York?"

"What solar system is New York in?" Coran asks.

Hunk chuckles. "It's not a planet, it's a place on Earth."

"Ah, I see. What is it like?"

Hunk pauses. He looks at Lance, who gives him a deadpan look, as if to say 'come on man, you know the answer.' And he did. Keith shakes his head. Shiro shrugs. "Sorry, none of us have been."

"I see. What a shame," the thing says sadly. It then places a chrome bar on the counter. A wall of holographic text floats above. "This is your bill, by the way."

Coran snaps his fingers. "We will pay it by the end of the night. You see, we have a money maker in the back there..." he twirls around and points to the back of the room.

Pidge sits at a table, surrounded by aliens at least three times his size. He scoops piles of transparent blue bills closer to his body.

"Damn," is all Lance can say.

Pidge's mouth makes a straight line, the glare on his glasses making him unreadable. Then, he puts down a card and smirks. An alien, thin and pale, with long, long arms, slams its fists on the table with only a light thud. It tosses the thin sheets towards Pidge, then crosses its arms.

Pidge takes his prizes with a grin.

Some of the aliens lean in close, snarling and growling. Pidge pulls the scissors out of his pocket and twirls the handle around his finger. Some stay in his face, some flinch. All are angry moments later. He laughs and hugs the pile closer to himself.

At the counter, somebody pulls up a seat next to Hunk. A red being resembling a fox. He turns to look at them.

They smile. "Mind if I buy you a drink?" They- she says.

"No thanks," he answers happily.

The fox woman leans closer. "Are you sure? A big, strong man like you should relax."

"I am relaxing. I'm with my friends."

Lance leans forward and looks past Hunk. "I wouldn't mind it if you bought me a drink though. You're muy bonita."

A yellow clip on the woman's dress blinks red. A similar clip on Lance's jacket does the same. "I'm what?" She asks.

Lance's face seems to fall on the floor, surprise hitting him like a slap. "The translators don't pick up Spanish, do they?" His voice comes out like a deflating balloon.

The fox woman looks around nervously. "You all are weird." And just as suddenly as her arrival, she disappears.

Lance buries his face in his hands. "Hunk, I am so, so sorry. I just ruined that for you, didn't I?"

"I thought that was the point. So she would go with you. I wouldn't have taken up her offer anyways though." He pats his friend on the back. "I was surprised though. I know I'm not the most attractive, so I try to compensate with my personality. But she just…am I crazy or was she...was she really...?"

"She hit on you, Hunk. A girl was hitting on you. Because she did think you were muy guapo. Handsome."

"Why do you do that anyways?" Keith asks. "The Spanish thing."

"Because people think it's hot when you're bilingual. Tell me, what sounds better- 'my abuela made pan dulce,' or 'my grandma made sweet bread?'"

Keith just gives him a blank stare. He slowly opens his mouth. "Is that really such a good idea? What if people don't know-"

Hunk interrupts, saying, "Don't bother, I've been having this debate with him since fourth grade."

"I mean, even if I wasn't such a beautiful man, I would be using some Spanish. Old habit from talking to my grandma. And now? I bet it could be used to my advantage in the future."

Keith laughs. "How?"

"Pretend you're interrogating me."

Hunk and Keith laugh together.

"Ooh, I'm interrogating you," Keith says with a grin, playfully throwing up his hands like a monster.

"What was that? No, you gotta do this-" Hunk starts playfully hitting Lance in the arm- "Gib us tha info," he giggles, playfully nudging the thin boy.

Lance starts speaking quickly. "Hombre, no te estoy diciendo nada. ¿Me entiendes ahora mismo? Apuesto a que no. Me estoy riendo a tope en este momento. Pero no realmente. Apuesto a que lo estás haciendo."

Hunk claps. "That was a success. Known you since we were what, five? And I had no clue what you were saying."

"Now we just need to know why we would have to evade translators," Keith says dryly.

Lance shrugs. "I dunno. Maybe we pretend we can't afford working translators. Get some pity. Get some free stuff. You know, take advantage of shopkeepers."

-V-

"Twenty thousand!"

"No." Allura slams her hands on the counter.

A small coin purse sits on the counter. It's blue with a single gold button keeping it closed. The creature wraps its tentacles around it. She grabs the limbs, tugging her bag away. Still, it fights to keep a grip.

"Come on, you got money to spare…"

Allura takes a step back and pulls. Hard. The thing finds its face slammed into the counter, ripples forming on the not-glass again.

"You know very well that a scaultrite lense does not cost that much. Especially a used one!"

It laughs. "How do you know?"

She adjusts her cape over her shoulders. "Even fools know that they are cheap. Mass produced."

It continues to laugh. "Imagine how your planet must feel. Their cheapskate ruler. You must not let them eat, right? For budgetary reasons?"

She clenches her fists. She says calmly, "I am no ruler. No royalty. Not a princess or a queen. Because in order to be any of those things, one needs a place to rule over."

"Then why don a crown and flaunt the gold you own?"

She leans forward and puts her elbows on the counter. "It is I have left."

"If you had nothing left, you would have sold that gold so you could afford food. But, you don't look like you're struggling. Are you?"

She takes a deep breath. "You're right. I'm not. But I also do not wish to venture close to that."

"So, twenty thousand?"

She sighs. "Tell you what, while I prefer paying using orthodox methods, royals families do often have a knack for alchemy-"

"You just insisted that you're not royalty."

"Not anymore, but I was once." She pulls out a strip of blue from her purse. A dollar bill, it seems. It's glossy as if it were plastic, but too thin the be staying in its shape the way it is. She bends it, and it makes a crunch in her fist. Beams of light shine from between her fingers.

A diamond falls to the counter with a clink. "What will this buy me?"

-V-

A woman with blue-grey skin and pink hair sits down at a table along with a young man with purple skin and white hair.

"So, tell me, Lotor, what am I working with? Last I checked, your empire was fractured. How many branches are there?" the woman asks.

"Merla, why worry about such matters? You have me, my faction," he responds.

"Your only benefit to me at the moment is power. Either you answer, or you fall."

The man, Lotor, sighs. "Alright. Six factions. There is the main empire. The Galra Empire. But it appears you destroyed most of it."

The woman, Merla, leans back in her chair. "Continue."

"Then there we have the Drule, led by Zeppo. Then the Galveston, led by siblings Hazar and Dorma."

"And why did they split off?"

"Differences in ideals after my parents' deaths. You see, not everybody felt safe knowing that their newly crowned ruler was only ten years old. Although I suppose we were on slightly better terms before my 'death.'"

She nods. "Continue."

"The Fire of Purification, led by Sendak. He is the most difficult to negotiate with."

"And why is that?"

"His ideas were far harsher. While I suppose the Drule and Galveston do commit awful acts under the guise of good deeds, Zeppo and Hazar tend to be more forgiving, more lenient. Sendak...he never liked me."

Merla runs a hand over the shaved side of her head. "Because?"

"He is not fond of half-breeds. Hence, 'Fire of Purification."

She nods. "Keep going."

"Then there is the Deathblack group, led by Throk." There is a moment of silence. "I personally do not like Throk much, given his arrogance, but I hear that he has tried to mend relations with the others- even the Empire, even Sendak. I was open to merging factions, aside from the Fire, but then, I was forced to fake my death, so surely they have fallen into hell and chaos once more."

"You very well could have announced to the universe that Daaibazal's prince is indeed alive, live happily ever after with your princess."

"But then, I would have no guarantee that my people survive. By allying myself with you, I am afraid even Sendak would be disappointed with me."

"Then why do it?"

"You wouldn't have stopped the attacks until I died. But by providing a valuable resource, such as knowledge and what military I have left, you are at my mercy. You cannot kill my empire, lest you lose the war to Altea."

"You know, you and your princess will die either way, no?"

"But if I remained against you, would you have spared my people?"

Merla nods, then sit up straight in the chair. "Noble, aren't you?"

Lotor shakes his head. "If I were so noble, I would not be here aiding you. I am simply trying to salvage what I can."

She smiles. She counts on her fingers, then looks at him. "You only listed five factions."

He gives a nervous smile. "I did? Because that is all there are."

"You said there were six."

"Well, the last one is debatable, I simply assume it's a faction now…"

"I can mine your mind for the information," Merla says, holding her hand up.

"Then why don't you?"

"Trust. I want you to trust me. Just a little bit." She holds out her hand.

He slowly grabs her hand. "...They were initially a group of soldiers in the main empire, I often sent them to infiltrate the other factions. But now that I'm 'dead', and the main empire has mostly fallen, I suppose they are their own branch now."

"They were allied with you, yes?"

He nods. "Yes. But where you're going with this, no, they cannot help. They believe I am dead. I believe that they are aiding Allura now."

She rests her chin in her hands. "Name?"

"The Blades of Marmora."

She gets up from her chair. "I see. Come, let us see how the raid on Arus turned out."

-V-

A television is shown. Alien creatures of all shapes and sizes are seen running around a field, throwing balls at each other's faces. Half are dressed in green, half in blue.

"You have any clue what's going on?" Lance asks, looking up at the television.

"Nope," Keith answers.

"Which team are you rooting for?"

Keith squints at the screen. "There's teams?"

"I think there are?" Lance plays a cup of water between his hands. "I'm rooting for the blue team."

Keith laughs. "Yeah, I think I'm rooting for them too. Look at that little guy," he points to a small creature, half the size of its opponents, running, trying to take cover.

Lance smiles. "Man, I love underdog stories. Like, against all odds, they came out on top!"

"...I just thought it would be freaking hilarious if they won."

Lance looks at him. "You're sadistic."

"And you're petty. Your point?"

"I'm not petty, I just care a lot!"

"Green team won," Hunk mumbles.

Keith's face goes pale as he looks at the screen. He reaches over and tugs on Shiro's shirt. The slightly older boy has his back turned to the counter, watching Pidge in the back of the room. He looks at Keith, then turns around as he's pointing to the television. On reflex, he shows a cringe when seeing the screen.

Shiro then nudges Coran. "Sir, I'm sorry but um, what just happened?"

Coran shrugs. "Universal translators can break. Sometimes, the brutality in sports is given a blind eye under the guise that there was a communication error."

"Looks like it was so brutal that is was taken off the air," Lance says. The screen is filled with static.

The static clears to show two figures. A blue humanoid being with webbed ears, yellow markings running along its blue, pupilless eyes. Pink dots run along the yellow streaks. Next to them is another humanoid resembling a snake. In between them is a short, pink thing. An Arusian.

"Greetings, universe. This is Princess Coral and Prince Bokar," the blue one announces. "Live from Arus. We have a bounty up for you." She lifts the Arusian up slightly. "Go on, describe them."

It goes blank-faced for a moment. "Lions."

"Come on, you just described them to me."

"Robots."

The snake man leans forward. "You know what we mean. The paladins."

"They call themselves humans." It sticks out its tongue.

"Draw them," the man, Bokar, hisses.

The Arusian looks down at its hands. "I don't have anything to draw with."

The woman, Coral, hands the poor innocent a stick. "Draw in the sand."

The Arusian takes the stick and begins making long strokes across the sand.

It draws a lopsided circle with a smiley face.

"Fine. We were given direct orders to not harm. At least not on purpose," Coral says, throwing up her hands. "Call her."

"She has been trying to call…" Bokar whispers.

"And you didn't answer?"

"No, because I can't! You try."

He throws the silver object at her. She rolls her eyes as it hits her hand, then presses a button. She blinks. A hologram pops up with a message in an unknown language. The text is red and flashing.

She scowls, then freezes. Everything is still. The screen flickers.

Hunk looks at Lance, mouth agape. Lance turns to look at Keith, his eyes wide. Keith looks at Shiro as if consulting him for help.

Shiro whispers, "Coran?"

"Keep it down," he responds.

The television goes blank, but a voice comes out. A woman. "Greetings. There have been some technical difficulties on tonight's broadcast. Yes, there is a bounty."

The primary color paladins all lean forward onto the counter and share concerned glances.

"The bounty is for Princess Allura Raimon of Altea. You may know when you see her. Fallen kingdom. Often travels without protection. Long blue hair. These hideous pink blemishes all over her skin."

"I would not call them hideous blemishes. They are more like gorgeous lights embedded in her skin," a man says, his voice broken up by static.

"Of course you find them beautiful. You have the same things."

"You may see her with the paladins of Voltron. We have no data on their appearances, but I believe it may be a safe bet to guess that they are so dense that they're all conveniently color coded. Black, red, green, blue, and yellow."

Lance looks down at his blue t-shirt. He zips up his jacket.

The robotic bartender looks at them. It turns around and throws up its hands.

"If you happen to find them, please, report the news to the Universal Communication handle Dark Queen Of Amue."

-V-

Allura watches in shock. She drops a diamond on the counter and grabs several bags. "ThankyouImustgonow."

She runs out the door. People turn to look at her, a fluffy purple one seemingly taking some interest as he walks through the door. She pushes him aside as she pulls a silver communicator out from a space between the layers of her dress.

An image of Coran pops up.

-V-

All eyes are on the figures at the bar.

"Which one do you think is the most valuable?"

"Probably the big one-"

"Really? Not the black paladin?"

"What if it's not even them?"

"Who cares. We could ask for money first, then hand them over, then run off."

Everyone slowly stands up.

Pidge climbs on top of a table, then jumps down, almost falling on his face. He takes a handful of money and places it in the pocket of his hoodie.

He runs up to the bar, then grabs Hunk's vest. "We oughta go now."

Hunk begins walking with the small boy, trying to keep up to his pace. "Pidge, what did you do?"

"No time; gotta go."

Five paladins and one butler speed walking out of a door. Some people give them confused glances. Some grin.

"What do you mean they don't have communicators?!" Allura yells through static.

"I mean that before today, they have not left the castle without you, and have not needed one!" Coran yells back.

"You couldn't remind me or attend to the matter yourself?"

"Hey, while you have Allura on speaker phone, you find asking her you know...what our mission is?" Shiro asks.

"I won too many times, okay? Okay?" Pidge yells at Hunk.

"Hey, who's saving Allura?" Lance asks, trying to keep up with Keith as he looks back at Hunk and Pidge.

"It depends if she even needs saving. You said it yourself, we're not living a fairy tale," Keith answers.

"Coran, please, you can't tell us?" Shiro asks.

"Look, Coran, I am almost to the lions," Allura pants.

Static.

The screen of the communicator goes blank. Everyone quiets down.

Keith starts running ahead, weaving his way through crowds of people. "Okay, I take it back. We're saving her."

-V-

Allura backs against the blue lion. A bow in her hand. She looks around. One step away from the lion. One step into the bright lights.

Rustling.

"Come out you coward!"

SCREEEEE.

Something just scratched a lion.

Inhale. Exhale.

An arrow forms in her hand.

Pull back. Release. Into a dark void it goes.

Screaming.

A being falls. Purple fur covers it. It clutches one side of its face, shaking.

-V-

"Lance, you tend to her wounds while I fight off whoever-"

"Keith, you're assuming the worst here."

"Because if she's dead, then what? Hate to admit it, but for everything she puts us through, she's probably the reason we haven't just died in the middle of space trying to run back home..."

Pidge rolls his eyes as they walk through the door. "Look, I bet she's...fine…"

"Did she just kill a man?" Shiro asks.

Allura is crouched by the being on the floor. Her dress pools around her in tatters as the being- man?- grips the fabric. She looks over the man's face, inspecting the wound. She looks up at Shiro as he walks up to her, wiping red on her dress. "Mortally wounded at best," she says dryly.

"And what's the worst?" he asks.

"He lost an eye."

Hunk kneels down next to her. "And it doesn't concern you that you just...what did you do?"

"I defended myself. He was after the bounty."

She gives a cold chuckle. "I wasn't even aiming for his eye."

She gets up and dusts off her dress. The white silk covering her palms is stained red. "Let's go. We should move the Castle of Lions away from Arus. Alert someone that this man needs medical attention. We can't leave him to die."

Pidge grabs his scissors. Keith grabs a knife. Shiro clenches his fist. Hunk points behind Allura.

Lance takes a stance, and a gun forms in his hands. White with blue markings all over. He has it aimed at the figure rising behind her. Then his eyes go wide with a realization. He drops it, and with a flash of light, a small disk falls down to the ground. His key.

Allura looks at him with surprise. Then it dawns on her why everyone took defensive stances.

"I-" coughing, "I'd rather die than live knowing that one of the tyrants responsible for this war helped me survive."

A staff forms in Allura's left hand. She looks over her shoulder ever so slightly. "You're placing your blame on the wrong person."

He lunges at her. Claws scrape across the smooth surface of the staff.

On the ground. Shreds pink and white of fabric seem to engulf purple fur. The pink and white staff is held across his chest.

Whispers. Everything seems darker.

"You're only winning because you're fighting a crippled man."

"Then you shouldn't have picked a fight," she replies. "What faction are you?"

"I won't tell you."

She gets up. His hands grip at the bottom of her dress. "Very well. I won't call for medical attention then."

"Fine by me."

She turns around, yanking her dress away with a tear. The swap moon's lights seem to have died down. All five paladins look shocked.

"What?"

"What about mercy?" Shiro whispers.

The staff seems to dissolve into light. "I am giving him mercy by not outright killing him. Somebody will find him, I'm sure."

"Actually, your highness, it appears that the swap moon is on lockdown," Coran points out.

She looks around. Only now did she notice the emptiness of their surroundings. Only now has she really thought about the lights being dimmed.

She takes a breath. "We will leave, then."

The Red Lion bows down for Keith. He steps onto the ramp, then stops to watch Allura.

"Aren't you a gentleman."

"No, I'm just here to make sure the lion doesn't close on you."

She cracks a small smile. "Thank you, Red Paladin, but you need not worry."

She takes one last look at the scene. Poor man. There is no time to cry or be mad.

The purple alien on the ground picks up a silver object. "General Sendak? This is Commander Yurak- no, I didn't get your errands done. I need help though."

-V-

Merla looks over a screen. Many screens over a control panel. It beeps at a constant rate. She scrolls through messages quickly.

She grins, then turns to face Lotor, who stands idly by.

"Reports are coming in. There are several locations being reported, but the most common appears to be the Rumitellian Swap Moon. Would you be a dear and maybe go after them?"

"Why must I?"

"Because my second best lackeys are out and the best are tasked with looking after you. And I haven't sent out the best in some time because I don't want you running off."

"You haven't introduced me to anybody...

Four beings walk up behind Lotor quietly. A large one with blue skin. A small one without eyes. A slender pink one. A pale purple one.

The largest one puts an arm around his neck and grinds her fist into the top of his head. "Welcome to the family!"

The small one opens her mouth and lets out some sort of strained noise. She's smiling. Laughter?

The big one lets go.

"...the hell," Lotor wheezes.

The pink one pulls him into a side hug and pinches his cheek. "Awww, this is a cute one, Merla! He's a keeper."

The purple one stands off to the side. "You're forgetting who this is. He isn't cute."

Merla smiles. "These are the best of the best. My generals. And your generals."

He turns to look at them.

Merla begins pointing to them. The big one, "Zethrid." The small one, "Narti." The slender one, "Ezor." The pale one, "Acxa."

Lotor nods and bows. "Well, nice to make your acquai-"

"Cut the formalities," Acxa says. "We can be formal later, but right now, come on Merla, tell us the plan"

Merla turns around and walks back up to the screens. "Honestly, the fact that she remained on Arus for so long kind of threw a wrench into everything. Yet, it's so much easier. Go, kill the paladins. Bring Allura back. I want to be the one to end her."

"You underestimate her," Lotor grumbles.

"Really? She didn't even move the castle after defending Arus!"

"She had her hands full!"

"Who are you siding with?!"

"The remainder of my people!"

Silence.

"Look," Lotor continues, "when it comes down to it, I must protect them, loyalty to either one of you be damned. My loyalty is to my planet."

She nods. "I understand that. Do not think I don't." She taps a screen. "Feuds aside, go, get in the ships. We shouldn't be far from Arus or the Swap Moon. In the name of your people, you can't turn on me."

-V-

"Okay, so can somebody please explain what's going on? I've been asking questions all day. We've all been asking questions since day one. No more vague answers. Please?" Shiro says from the Black Lion.

Coran raises his hand. "The universe is so vast that bounties can be held. To catch one criminal, you must catch them all. Authorities are limited to their planet. Places like Swap Moons? No security. Laws tend to be lenient if they exist at all."

Shiro looks up at him. "And?"

"Somebody wants me dead," Allura mumbles.

Pidge sits back and crosses his arms on the screen. "So, we're not really defending the universe, huh? Just you?"

"And who the quiznak said that?" she deflects.

Pidge adjusts his glasses. The glare bounces off, then his pupils are seen. "You just did." He looks off to the side, then back at Allura. "You sent out motherducking mechanical lions to capture people, tear them away from their homes, and for what? To protect your a-"

"Pidge, chill. Come on, let's hear her out," Hunk asserts.

"But she hasn't told us anything else! Nobody finds that suspicious? She wouldn't be ashamed to tell us if it truly was something on a massive scale, like the war she keeps telling us about. But there is no war, is there Princess?"

Silence.

"It is a little fishy that she's not telling us anything," Shiro whispers, his voice slicing through the silence.

"Yeah, no ish. And think about it. You can almost say she abducted us. Remember that one mission? The recent one to explore that new planet, fricking, what was it-"

"Kerberos?" Hunk answers calmly, in contrast to Pidge's upset ramblings.

"Yeah, that one. Remember that mission?"

"...people died." Hunk whispers.

"Or they disappeared," Pidge continues, glaring at Allura. "What, did you need more mechs? Is that what's making you so ashamed? Are we not the only ones?"

Allura seems cold. Her face is aloof. "Pidge-"

"Princess, tell me, did you take my brother? How many people have you dragged into this? The fact that Voltron seems to be a well-known legend, and that the Arusians welcomed us when we were ducking up their home. Clearly, there's more people in on this plan that us- maybe they're even more involved!"

"I think the biggest take away from all of that was this is- Hypocrisyyy," Lance starts in a sing-songy voice over the intercom. "I mean, what do we know about you, Pidge? You're asking Allura to explain herself when you just barely mentioned that you have a brother."

"You know stuff about me. You know my favorite color is green."

"All valid points," Shiro points out. "Yes, Pidge, you have some explaining to do, although I'm sure your correlation between Allura and the Kerberos mission is just coming from a place of frustration. Lance, I think Allura should tell us her situation first, that way we can figure out what the hell we're even supposed to be doing."

Allura stands behind Keith, her chin resting on the back of the seat. "You only asked for an explanation on today's events, not a whole tragic backstory. In short? Somebody wants to kill me right now. Why?" she pauses to look at her gloves. She flicks off a strand of fur. "Maybe that is why we need Voltron."

Keith looks up at her. "Why do we need Voltron?"

She opens her mouth, then closes it. "There is no time to cry."

"Then don't cry," the red paladin insists.

"I thought you were on my side."

"Because I felt sorry for you?"

"Yes."

"Allura, there's more at stake here than whether or not you cry in front of us."

Shiro looks up at Coran. "Can you tell us?"

Coran claps his hands together. "I can. It is some awful history, so please do not be upset with the princess-"

"Please do not call me that," she mumbles.

"-at the commander for not wanting to talk about it."

"So, long, long ago, there was a man named Alfor-" the mustached man is cut off as his body is thrown to the side.

Everything shakes. The Red Lion is thrown to the side as well.

Keith grips onto his chair.

There's a thud.

He gets out of his chair to look at Allura. "You okay?"

"Yes." She moves the folds of her dress out of the way.

He awkwardly offers his hand to help her up.

"Thank you-" she says as she gets up, ignoring his outstretched hand- "but I don't need your help."

"Hey, lovebirds," Pidge barks, "we're being shot at!"

"Don't call them that!" Lance yells.

Alerts all over. Over the dashboard. Next to the video chat screens.

Allura looks over the notifications. "Scanners show five extra ships."

Shiro slams his hands down. "Form Voltron."

"But we don't know how!" Keith yells, looking at Allura, who seems distant.

"You can," she says quietly.

"Then tell us how," Lance insists. "Look, lady, a pretty face can only go so far. We need real answers now."

The yellow lion is seen. It rams into a ship. "Look, we're about to die, how about we save the exposition for later?" Hunk cries.

Allura pulls out her communicator. She scrolls through lines of strange letters. She selects one.

Static. A man not unlike the purple one from the mall appears. Cat-like ears and orange markings decorating the fur on them. "Princess, you interrupted a meeting," he hisses.

"It can wait. Kolivan, I need your assistance. We need extra defenses as we travel to Arus."

"But you have Voltron," he states flatly.

"Yes. Please come?"

He lets out a long, gravelly sigh. "What happened to your paladins?"

"You assume something awful happened to them."

"It is just a question worth asking, given the history."

"They are alive, just...undertrained."

Another sigh. "Arus in one hour."

The screen disappears.

"Alright, paladins, in your armor!" She announces.

Shiro falls back and his chat screen shakes. "How would that work?"

The red lion tilts, and she holds onto the back of the seat again. "You still don't get it, do you? The lions are sentient!"

"Wait, if they're alive, then doesn't that mean…" Shiro takes a moment to look over his hands, then slam down on the dashboard. "Form Voltron!"

"...they need paladins for a reason," Allura follows up. "It was a nice attempt at strategy, however."

Shiro hangs his head in disappointment, then gets up out of his seat.

Pidge can be sitting back, arms crosses, armor adorned already. His camera shakes as he bounces up and down ever so slightly. "So, we're guaranteed to survive then, huh?" He looks down at the ground. "I mean, I get it, it just takes away all of the tension."

Hunk plops down in his seat. "Does that mean we can just do nothing?"

"I would not say do nothing, simply that it is okay to move from time to time," Allura answers, sitting in Keith's seat.

Lance comes rushing back to his seat and yanks on the lever with a scream. There's a flash of light. He stays still and wide-eyed.

Shiro is standing up, pressing buttons with his left hand, trying to put on the pieces of his armor with the other. Coran is behind him, leaning over in his chair, rambling on about something. Shiro looks down at the screens, confused, then at Coran.

Allura smiles, running her hand along the levers of the Red Lion.

Somebody clears their throat behind her.

RIght. Keith.

With a sigh, she gets out of his chair.

He takes her place, then panics slightly upon seeing whatever's in front of them. He pulls a lever, slams his hand on a button, looks over the foreign language of the screens. He whips his head around to look at her.

"Go with what you feel is right."

He takes in a breath. "Go with your gut, got it." He places his hand on a holographic screen.

There's a rumble. She grips the back of the seat.

The Red Lion plows forward into an enemy ship. Some sort of blade is in its jaw, sparking against the exterior of the ship.

The enemy ship spins slightly from being hit.

Shiro looks at everyone's faces over the cameras. "So, we have to run off of instinct?"

Allura shrugs. "Is not every battle like that? Even if you strategize, it comes from a desire to survive."

Shiro takes a breath. He steps back, then presses his hand to a screen.

The Black Lion reveals a pair of large, blue wings. It runs through the enemy ships, wings scraping the sides like blades.

All of the ships begin turning around and flying back to wherever they came from.

"They're retreating? This early?" Hunk can be heard over the intercoms. "Yay?"

"Okay...if I learned anything from last time, it's that it can't be that easy," Shiro says, watching skeptically.

The ships stop. The three in the middle lock together and begin folding like some sort of 3D puzzle.

Allura can be heard gasping. "They have their own…" She clenches her fist and hits the back of the seat.

Keith looks up at her. "...Allura? Answers?"

She shakes her head. "Later. Step on it."

He places his hands on the levers. He leans forward and closes his eyes.

Pidge does the same over his camera, but with his eyes open. He starts rambling, yelling over the intercom, "If they have their own Voltron, we should take advantage of the-"

A flash of light blows them all back.

Pidge looks wide-eyed and scared. Keith is frozen.

Shiro's voice crackles over the intercom, "You all see it too, right?"

Hunk and Lance nod.

"Evil-tron," Lance whispers.

"Draco-tron," Hunk murmurs.

The enemy ships are now one. Rusted scrap metal, shiny blue strips that must have been a part of something more impressive. Gold is embedded along the long tail- it has a tail. Long and spiked at the tip, with a pair of orange wings slightly above it.

Shiro begins hitting buttons. "Form Voltron," he says weakly.

The large ship comes charging at the Black Lion.

Shiro keeps slamming buttons. He looks back at his chair. "Coran!"

The elder man is sound asleep.

He begins shaking. "Allura, how do we-"

His camera shakes.

The larger ship has a grip on the lion, flying away, ready to slam it into something.

"You have to agree on an objective," Allura states firmly. "Voltron is built off of teamwork."

"Okay, that's great, fine and dandy. But who the hell is thinking we shouldn't beat the crap out of that thing?!" Lance yells.

The Black Lion comes hurdling back at the Yellow Lion, sending sparks flying.

Shiro's hand is the only thing visible from the camera as he reaches up. Then he grips the dashboard and hoists himself up. He groans. "Am I dead yet? I think I'm ready to die."

Everyone takes a moment to look at him. Blink.

Lance claps his hands together. "Yeah, I think I envy you waaayyy less than I did weeks ago, man."

"The universe's only hope," Allura reminds them. "The universe's only hope."

The Green Lion is lunging at the large ship.

It grabs the lion, twirls around, and throws it.

The Yellow Lion comes up behind it and chomps at the larger mecha's leg.

It shakes off the Yellow Lion.

The Black Lion speeds into the mech's chest. The Red Lion flies past and runs a blade across the mech's neck from the back.

The larger mech grabs the Black Lion by the tail. If it could snarl, it probably would have.

The Blue Lion is slightly beneath and behind the mech as if sneaking up. The Black Lion crashes into it.

"Defend the Universe, right…" Shiro huffs, gripping the dashboard. He looks over at Coran. Still asleep. Maybe it's for the best.

"Form Voltron!" he yells.

The five lions come close together. The mecha stays still as if contemplating its next move.

It spins around and begins flying away, picking up speed until clink.

A thick, glowing blue blade hooks into its shoulder. A long glowing rope trails from it.

Voltron was formed.

The other mecha grips the rope and attempts to pull back. Instead, Voltron yanks it backwards.

The other mech lets go, floats while flying back for a moment, the comes rushing at Voltron.

Pidge can be heard murmuring, "Oh, shi-"

Everything seems to go at light speed.

-V-

A fair skinned woman is seen. She has puffy pastel pink hair and two blue dots under each eye. She sits at a table.

To her left is a boy who appears older than her. He has one blue dot near the corner of his eyes and dark pink, almost red hair that comes to small curls.

To the woman's right is a boy who appears younger. Three small blue dots are lined up under his eyes. His hair is hot pink and sticks up messily.

"Prince Avok, since the death of your father, you have been avoiding addressing certain issues," a well-dressed man with blue hair states. He holds onto some sort of transparent tablet.

The older boy seems to slouch in his seat. "Why should we break relations with Altea? They are all dead. It should not affect us."

"Sire, you are aware that the princess is still-"

"I am well aware, but what can she do?"

The younger boy slowly raises his hand.

The blue haired man points a stylus to her, "You may speak, Prince Bandor."

"The Altean Princess may still be alive and well, and she may be the only major power left from her kingdom, what of the Blades? She is guarded by them, the Arusians, and I suppose us."

The older brother, Avok, gives a slight chuckle. "My dear brother, that is a fraction of a dying empire and a planet of spineless cowards. Against what? How many kingdoms has Merla allied herself with?"

The woman raises her hand.

"Princess Romelle may speak," the man with the tablet announces.

"We must be allied with the stronger side. I do not think that it is about abandoning a dead alliance so much as this should be about the best way to protect our kingdom. The Galra factions are unaffiliated with either of them. All we need is protection against them, right?"

Avok frowns. "I was supposed to come up with a plan like that."

BOOM.

Everything shakes. Light flicker. The three siblings huddle together.

The formal man looks over his tablet. He taps around, pulling up several images. He throws the tablet down on the table for the three to view.

The enemy mech has Voltron pinned beneath it in the middle of several buildings. There are several surrounding buildings, which people are running to.

The three siblings glance at one another.

Bandor looks at the screen. He stares at it. "You know, if we are historically so closely tied to Altea, how come we don't have robots to defend ourselves?"

"Budgetary issues," Romelle answers.

"But, we are the government here!"

Avok looks down at him. "Again, budget."

The man with the tablet clears his throat. "I am glad to see that you three are able to take a tragedy so lightly."

"Show us the live feed," Avok requests.

The enemy mecha raises a fist, Voltron still pinned beneath it. A canon forms in place of its hand.

-V-

Lights flash red inside of all lions. Paladins scramble to press buttons, make the lions do something.

Shiro grips the levers, finally sitting in his seat as Coran looks on in shock.

Pidge is slamming his hands down on things.

Hunk is carefully poking and prodding at buttons.

Lance runs his hands along the screens, making sure he presses everything.

Keith still grips his levers. Allura stands to the right, gripping one lever with both hands, feet firmly on the ground.

She pushes forward with closed eyes. The markings on her face glow brightly. Somethings pink glows beneath her gloves.

Keith looks at her, surprised, pushing the levers with her.

She places one hand on top of his. Her eyes open. They're solid blue and glowing. She looks at him, then through the window.

The levers give way.

Voltron begins to push back.

The mecha backs away as it is hit with something blue.

Slowly, the five lion mech gains footing. In the Red Lion's maw is a sword. Blue flames swirl up to the tip.

Both giant robots seem to hesitate as if they too were shocked.

"I thought...you said you needed us...meaning you couldn't…" Keith stammers, looking in awe.

Allura slouches, leaning against the side of the pilot seat. "I cannot pilot the Red Lion, yes. I still cannot. I simply gave you a nudge."

Shiro looks at Coran. "Can you do that?"

Coran puts up one finger and happily answers, "No!"

Voltron comes running at the other mech. Every step seems to shake the ground.

It swings its sword, colliding with the other mech. The other mech catches it and uses its other hand to punch Voltron.

"I would like to see this guy's weapons," Lance mumbles. "How are they kicking our butts so hard?"

The other mech charges at Voltron. Metal slams against metal and Voltron stands its ground, dirt gettings kicked up as its pushed back. It begins pushing back harder until eventually, Voltron is shoving the other ship. Dirt gets kicked up. A building begins crumbling. And another. And another.

Screaming. A lot of screams are heard.

Finally, Voltron stops, the enemy mech lodged half into a structure.

The other mech slowly rises up, stumbling.

The other mech has its own sword.

The other mech begins strikes. Voltron blocks with a shield.

The mech now has a mace and swings again, harder this time. Voltron is pushed back slightly.

"Hunk, shields down," Shiro orders.

"But-"

"But we can't do anything hiding behind a shield."

Voltron takes a step back. The shield falls. In Voltron's left hand is a grappling hook.

"Wait...Pidge, is that your weapon?" Lance asks, the slightest hint of a giggle in his voice.

"I guess so," Pidge says smugly.

The hook is spiked all over like thorns. Voltron slowly swings it.

The other mech is pulled closer, and Voltron uses its right hand to punch it.

The other mech skids through the dirt and grabs the grappling hook. It spreads its orange wings. If it could smirk, it probably would have. It takes off flying.

Voltron get dragged along. The string of the grappling hook fizzles away and Voltron falls slightly before spreading its own blue wings. The enemy is still flying up.

"Do you think he didn't notice?" Hunk asks, leaning forward to watch.

"Maybe?" Shiro answers. "I hope so."

The enemy mecha stops in its tracks. It swoops down.

Voltron is slammed into the ground again.

The mech is gripping Voltron's neck tight as if it would do something.

It tears the right arm off of Voltron. Sparks fly as the Red Lion unfolds back into a lion. It tosses the lion to the side, and it skids into a building, sending people running.

The Red Lion lays there.

"That's possible?" Keith groans. He looks up at Allura. She's shaking. "'Lura?"

"I didn't think so either," she whispers.

The rest of Voltron lets out beams of light. The enemy ship is holding down a single Black Lion.

The Yellow Lion rams itself into the enemy, which is seemingly trying to pry open the Black Lion.

It drops the Black Lion on top of the Yellow one.

The Blue Lion begins shooting at the enemy. It turns around and looks down. It raises its fist and- hesitates. Something wraps around its right shoulder.

The Green Lion has a grappling hook trailing from its mouth. The hook is in the mecha's shoulder.

The Green Lion begins running, pulling at the arm.

The arm is severed.

The mech begins falling back into five pieces. Each piece crashes to the ground, sending dust everywhere.

The Black Lion comes face to face with what Shiro assumes is the middle piece. It's shaped like a dragon. The Lion begins slashing at the other robot. Sparks fly. The lion begins pressing down. A dent is left in the opposing robot.

Out of the Dragon's snout stumbles a figure. The lion stops. It bows its head. Shiro steps out.

Slowly, everyone but Coran starts climbing out of their ships.

Allura takes place in front of everyone, now wearing her own suit of solid white armor.

The two teams stare each other down in silence. At least, the enemies were probably staring, as their helmets made it hard to see faces.

The largest of the enemies delivers the first blow, right to Hunk's helmet.

"Damn, I was hoping to shatter the damn thing," she laughs, watching him recoil from the hit.

Pidge jumps at her, screaming, hitting aimlessly.

"I've been so fudging done all fothermucking day! Don't you dare put your hands on him!"

The smallest enemy comes over and grabs Pidge's leg. He stops dead in his tracks.

When she lets go, he falls to the ground, shaking.

Lance looks down at him. Now he looks down at her. He pulls back his fist for a punch but doesn't hit her. Instead, he hits another armored person, presumably another woman. She is tall and slender. She pulls his fist away from her waist and twirls him around, putting her left arm around his neck and pulling him closer, pressing against his throat.

Shiro helps Pidge up. Something small and bright almost hits them.

Another female figure stands there holding a gun.

Keith runs past the slender woman, grabbing the hand placed near Lance's neck, pulling her off balance as he runs towards one with the gun.

Allura and the remaining figure look at one another. He doesn't get involved with the escalating fight. He just watches. Slowly, she backs away from him to fight.

Hunk pats Lance on the back, holding a transparent blue shield up for the two of them.

"You can't do much from behind a shield," Lance whispers at the large lady looks at them, waiting for them to make a move.

Hunk sighs. He lets it down. She has a mace. He raises his fists. She grabs his arm and swings him into Lance.

Pidge pulls a pair of scissors out from underneath his breastplate. He jabs them at the large woman's back. The one with the gun grabs his hand and buts the handle of the scissors into his helmet, making a loud crunch.

Keith hits her in the side with a sword. A red, glittering sword.

She holds her side and looks down. There's a sharp dent in her armor. She looks up, then at something else. Allura.

Allura is shooting arrows at blurs. It jumps from location to location until finally, she grips the bow. In a flash of light, it becomes a staff. She swings it low until the thing trips. It was the small one.

The small one scrambles to the rest of the fight. She tugs at Hunk's armor from the back.

"Pidge, you can just ask me for a shield," Hunk says, reaching back. His eyes go wide as he grips some abnormally shaped limb and he shudders. It's not Pidge.

She sits atop his shoulders and hugs his helmeted face. Pidge runs up and tugs at the thing's tail. He stops panicking and puts up a shield, pushing the small paladin away. He sort of stumbles around, the small woman still holding onto him.

Allura runs up to the shield and runs a sword across its surface. It cracks, then starts fizzing away.

Lance and Keith both stop in their tracks and yell in unison from across the battlefield, "You can do that?!"

She grunts as she pulls the small woman off of Hunk. "Yes, I can do that."

The small enemy slips away from her arms, quickly yanking off her helmet, revealing a face with no eyes and a wide mouth. She opens her mouth wide, letting out a high pitched noise. Glass cracks and warning signs pop up all over Allura's helmet.

She hesitates. "Dismiss," she says. When everything clears, the small one is already running around again, tripping up paladins.

She gets ready to run after her again, but freezes as something hits her back.

Gun woman.

Allura turns around, staff forming in hand.

The gun woman's gun turns into a sword.

CLING

Sword meet staff. The staff gets pushed back.

Allura twirls her staff and knocks the sword away. Gun woman grabs the staff and pushes it into Allura's chest, knocking out her breath.

Gun woman has one knee on Allura's chest, one hand on her throat. In the opposite hand, her sword reforms. It glitters in the setting sun as she holds it up. She brings it down upon the princess' neck.

But it doesn't.

Instead, she clashes with another sword.

The male enemy is blocking gun woman. His sword is a silvery color with purple gems embedded here and there. Allura looks at it in shock, then at the man.

He pushes the woman away, leaving her in confusion.

Allura begins backing away, still barely sitting up. "You're...you…"

The man's head hangs. Something red glows inside the helmet, like some sort of signal to her.

"Traitor," she whispers. She pushes herself off of the ground.

The gun woman looks at the man. She shakes her head. She yanks off her helmet, revealing purple hair. She yells, "Retreat!"

All enemies stop in their tracks. The large one drops Shiro and Pidge. The small one jumps down from Keith's shoulders, leaving him disoriented. Hunk catches him. The thin one is dipping Lance over, then drops him.

All rush to their ships. The man looks at the middle ship. The gun woman follows him. "Busted, huh?" She sighs. "I'll call Merla."

Lance dusts the dirt off of his armor. "Hey, commander, you alright?"

She stares off at the man and woman.

"To your lions," she says in a low and bitter tone.

Shiro walks up behind her. "Shouldn't we offer the locals some help?"

She whips her head around. "I said to your lions."

-V-

There's an air of awkward silence on the way back. Allura just rests her chin on the back of Keith's chair. Sometimes her eyes are closed, sometimes she's staring at the floor.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Keith asks.

"You never talk about anything," she mumbles. "Of all the paladins, I know nothing of your family or what you miss about home."

"Yeah, but alsooo, the universe has never depended on my ability to talk about my feelings." His voice goes quieter, "I know you saw something out there."

"Later," she mumbles, closing her eyes.

Upon arriving at the Castle of Lions, Allura weakly makes an announcement as she follows Keith out of the Red Lion, eyes still on the ground. "Five minutes. You all have five minutes to get in some comfortable clothes, then I will explain."

-V-

The same cat-like creature that Allura called earlier is sitting on the round sofa. Several Arusian are brushing his fur, weaving in a flower here or there. He holds a tiny teacup in one hand. An Arusian is sitting next to him, hugging a teapot and rambling on about something.

Four more large figures wearing masks are also on the sofa, contently listening to the Arusians talking about local legends.

The one holding a teacup, Kolivan, looks down at the teapot Arusian.

"I promise, you don't look stupid!" the Arusian says in a high pitched voice.

"Okay," he answers flatly.

The Arusian holds up the teapot. Her face is lit up.

He looks at his reflection. "Beautiful. I like it," he says in a monotone tone.

The Arusian frowns. "You don't sound like you do."

He gives a small smile and reaches out to pat her on the head. "I do like it."

Her face lights up again.

"Haven't I said for you to not sneak in like this?" Allura asks.

"Then don't make it so easy to hack open, especially if you're forcing us to wait three hours later than intended."

Allura rolls her eyes and sits down across from him. "Honestly, I'm not sure what disturbs me more- the fact that you people broke into my living room, that you all broke into my kitchen, or seeing the result of both happening."

"You have to be a heartless behemoth to tell them no," Kolivan says flatly.

"Would you like some flowers?" the teapot Arusian asks Allura.

"Not now, but thank you for the-"

She starts to whimper. She drops the teapot.

Allura sighs. "Come here."

She hugs the Arusian.

There's a whistle. "You should go around like this more often," Lance says, leaning over the back of the couch. "I like girls with tattoos. I like people with tattoos. Tattoos are cool." He gives a small smile while blushing.

Keith is next to Lance. He tries not to stare. "Yeah, they're pretty." Lance gives him a death glare. "Nice," Keith adds on. "The tattoos are pretty nice, I mean."

Pink markings run up Allura's arms. A collection of dots and swirls going down to the back of her hands. Her dress has noodle straps, showing that the marks go up her arms and possibly down her back.

"Thank you," she says quietly. She lets go of the Arusian and pats the cushion next to her as a signal to sit down.

Keith sits down next to Allura. Lance tries to wedge himself between them. Keith lets out a long, long sigh and scoots over.

"Are they all cubs?" Kolivan asks.

Keith looks confused. "Do you mean kids?..."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I am well over eighteen!" Lance shouts.

"I thought you were eighteen," Pidge says from halfway across the couch. Everyone looks at him with wide eyes.

"You have potential," Kolivan says, pointing to the green paladin.

Shiro comes over and sits between Keith and Pidge. He looks just as lost as ever. "You're the people Allura called for protection?"

The Arusians continue to rush around with teacups and brushes. Kolivan stares blankly. "Yes."

"This honestly has to be one of the cutest things ever," Hunk cries as he flops down next to Pidge.

Kolivan looks all of them over. He nods. "I see your problem now, Princess. They are all children."

Allura nods slightly. "Yes, and we can talk about it later. Right now, other things have to be addressed."

She looks down at the ground. "Coran is working on upgrades right now. Tonight, we're leaving Arus."

"I mean, we kinda put that together," Pidge snickers.

"But it is time that I tell you why-"

"You haven't told them why?" Kolivan asks.

"It has been three days, I wanted to leave it Coran, but he prefers to dance around it just as much as I."

She takes in a breath. "Once upon a time, the Galra empire was a single planet allied with many others. Then-" Keith raises his hand. "Yes?"

"Okay, slow down. Galra? We know Altea and Arus, now there's another culture or place or race or whatever?"

Kolivan clears his throat.

Allura motions to him. "Galra." She traces her markings on her right arm and continues the story. "Anyway, the Galra empire suddenly had blood on their hands. A handful of generals rebelled and did awful things to assert dominance over the ruler at the time, Zarkon."

Her voice suddenly goes so, so quiet. "They destroyed a planet."

"Wait, how do you destroy a planet?" Lance asks.

"Same way we ducked up Doom," Pidge answers.

Allura opens her mouth slowly. "I am unsure what you are talking about, but if you mean by pillaging, then yes. They burned cities to the ground, did ungodly things to the remaining citizens, then killed them. And when all was said and done, they salted the earth so nothing may grow there again."

"No way in hell this was a small rebel group," Shiro says.

"Oh no, by then, it was a conspiracy. And when confronted, the leader of the resistance, Sendak, said it was to prove himself. And you may ask, prove what? Well, you see, Zarkon's son was born several years prior." She pauses. Several breaths. "The child was a half-breed. His mother was a beautiful Altean named Honerva. She was empress. So you see, Sendak had thought that the empire was tainted by allowing half-breeds and foreigners to rule. He wanted to take the throne."

She picks at a few strands of hair. "The rebellion broke off. Now they call themselves the Fire of Purification. But you see, it was not the rebellion who paid the price. The few refugees from the planet blamed the empire. They vowed vengeance."

She pauses. She takes another breath. "The planet was called Amue."

"As in, the Dark Queen lady?" Shiro asks.

"Yes. The king raised hell. He attacked relentlessly, not daring to give up. He fought so, so violently. One refugee by the name of Alec Sigil created an alliance with others. He advocated peace and attempted to reach out to the Galra and their allies."

"Sigil sounds like a wonderful man," Hunk says with a small smile.

Allura looks at him sadly. "When the king found out, he was executed, and the alliances he forged were taken over and used against others, held together by threats of destruction." Hunk can be heard giving a small whimper. "But, he did leave us with an idea. A weapon to defend the universe."

"Voltron?" Shiro asks slowly.

"Yes. You see, the basic concept was intended to be something that can protect all. All defense. The Galra and their closest allies, the Alteans, got to work on this weapon for peace."

All of the mice pop out of Allura's hair. They know what's coming. They all skitter into her lap.

"Over the course of years, they had built the Lions. Alchemy was used to bring them together into one defender." She pauses and pets the blue mouse. "They gathered a handful of other allies to pilot the lions. The original line up consisted of King Alfor in the Black Lion, Queen Fala in Blue, King Blaytz in Red, Lady Trigel in Green, and King Gyrgan in Yellow."

Keith looks at her sadly. "Fala was your mom, right?"

She gives a sad smile. "She died in battle. She died honorably."

"After her passing-" her voice seems to quiver a bit- "Alfor fell into a bit of a depression. He was always on edge, always upset. The Lions thought he was no longer fit to lead. He moved down to Red, and Blaytz moved down to Blue. And Zarkon, who had previously not been accepted by a Lion, was chosen as the new leader. He had stayed the most level-headed of all."

Everyone stays quiet. She looks like she's trying to keep herself together, covering her face.

"Are you okay?" Keith asks.

Lance gives him a condescending look. He turns back to Allura. He reaches out as if he's going to put a hand on her shoulder, but hesitates. He puts his arm over the back of the couch.

"It'll be okay," the red and blue paladins say together.

"Commander, if it hurts you that much, you can stop. Kolivan is it? Can you explain it?" Shiro asks.

Kolivan opens his mouth, but Allura puts her hand up. "I'm alright," she whispers. She takes a deep breath. "Upon the final battle, the king of Amue fell. And so had the paladins of Voltron." She pauses one more time. Tears roll down her cheeks, but she doesn't sob. She tries to control it by wiping them away and breathing slowly. Keith and Lance both look at her sadly. They both reach towards her slightly, then put their hands down.

Kolivan sits up and opens his mouth. "It is highly speculated that their spirits rest in the Lions. Honerva was also killed. In the same battle, she had been trying to fend attackers away from planet Diabazaal, and the simple foot soldiers had overwhelmed her," he continues. "The heirs were then crowned rulers of their respective planets. Except, there were only three heirs. Allura, daughter of Alfor and Fala; Lotor, son of Zarkon and Honerva; Coral, daughter of Blaytz."

"Allura tried her best to hold Altea together. With the looming threat of the Fire of Purification, the Galra Empire fractured over what should be done to protect themselves. Few remained with Lotor, most fearing that he would fail spectacularly, given that he was just a child then. But among those who stayed, the Blade of Marmora was formed to infiltrate the more… aggressive factions."

"You're the Blades, right?" Shiro asks.

Kolivan nods. "And then that brings us up to the last several months. The heir from Amue, Merla, has vowed to avenge the death of her father. Coral very quickly surrendered and joined forces with her. Meanwhile, Allura and Lotor refused to back down and she attempted to murder them. Only Allura got away."

"It's a lie," she mutters.

"What, Princess?"

"He motherquiznaking lied to us," she says angrily. "That son of a biibohbii has been alive this whole time." She gets up and curls her fist. "All those people that died in an attack solely intended for us. All the innocent people. He lied to us about being dead." She begins walking up to the wall right behind where she was sitting. "He stabbed us in the back and-" she pulls her fist back- "he's helping her!" Her fist collides with the cold, metallic wall. She grits her teeth, takes a breath, and laughs. "It felt good to let that out."

"Ma'am, you're scaring us," Hunk squeaks.

"I'm not scared," Pidge deflects.

"Ma'am, you're scaring me."

She laughs again. "Lotor was my fiance. I loved him. And he just...my feelings be damned, have you any idea the pain he put all of us through? The lives lost? Now he lives guilt free." The tears still roll down her cheeks.

"Princess, how do you know all of this?" Kolivan asks.

"I saw him in battle today. He saved me."

"They were all wearing dark helmets," Shiro points out.

"The one male soldier had a sword. Guess what? Weapons like that are tied to their holder. Some people may have the same type of weapon, some people may have several weapons, but embellishments will differentiate them and tell you who the holder is. It was his sword. And I saw his Altean markings glow through the helmet." She rests against the wall. "I guess he sold the secrets of Voltron to her too because guess what? Go ahead, guess."

Kolivan looks at the paladins.

"...They had their own Voltron," Pidge answers.

-V-

Lotor and Acxa sit inside of the damaged ship, Merla's face on a holo-screen.

"How did you make it work like Voltron?" Lotor asks.

"Somebody in your ranks released the plans for it. Granted, they were hard to read, but I could tell that they were the real deal."

"But, my mother's name was a pseudonym, how did you-"

"Don't underestimate me, boy. Did you really think that hiding her work under the alias of 'Haggar' would make it any less obvious of whose handiwork it was?"

Lotor sits there in shock. "Okay, and the plan? Surely you knew I would hesitate, that I would be unable to hurt her."

"All I needed was for our generals to get rid of the paladins of Voltron. Then from there, it's easy work."

"But the plan didn't work," Acxa chimes in.

"Acxa, one day, my main plan will be fulfilled. Lotor and Allura will be gone. I will be gone. The cycle of vengeance will be over and you will do what you can to fix everything we all caused. So come on, be clever. I know you are. The plan didn't work, but think of a positive."

Acxa takes a moment to think. "We offer to help Pollux and bring them into the Coalition?"

Merla gives her a smile. "Yes. There is strength in numbers. Defend them."

Someone is heard faintly yelling from outside the mech. "This is Prince Avok of Pollux. Reveal yourselves, you miscreants!"

"See that? The opportunity just fell into our lap," Merla says with a smirk.

-V-

Allura is back on the couch, tears still flowing. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner," she mumbles. "I'm just as much a part of this team as you are. I have to guide you to do right."

"I'm sorry for pressing so hard earlier," Pidge replies. "If I knew it would be this ducked up…"

Allura wipes her tears away. "No, no, it's alright. I'll be fine." She cracks a small smile. "In honor of this newly formed bond, how about a little training? There's still so much I haven't taught you."

-V-

"Welcome to the holo training room!" Allura announces.

"Someone please kill me," Shiro whines. He's in armor again.

Allura is smiling again as she speaks. "I know my paladins, you may be exhausted, but tell you what. After this, I will allow you a whole day to relax...given there are no emergencies. This stuff here is important."

"Alright Kolivan, give me your criticisms," she says.

Kolivan stands next to her. For the first time, everyone realized how big he is.

He looks over them all. "The Black Paladin seems like he doesn't wanna be here."

"I really don't. I just wanna rest, then come back to the fiiight. I want to be a hero, but you can't just drive your hero into the ground."

Kolivan looks at Allura. "How long do you let them rest?"

"I...I've hardly given them any breaks."

He nods, then turns to Shiro. "And you, where's your willpower?"

"I think I left it in my bed."

Kolivan nods again. "Both of you should work on that."

He looks down at Keith. He tilts his head. "You remind me of this agent we had. She was a scrappy little thing, but her determination always beat out what she lacked in size."

"Thanks?" He takes a moment to think. "Hey. Wait, did you just call me little?! And what do you mean had?!"

"She died on a mission. Work on your temper and impulse control."

"You hardly know us?"

"Firstly, watch that attitude, cub. Secondly, your lions chose you for a reason."

Keith looks confused and somewhat annoyed, throwing his hands up.

Kolivan is whispering something in Allura's ear. She looks at Keith, then back at Kolivan. She shakes her head and gives a motion of dismissal.

Next, he looks at Pidge. "Keep fewer secrets."

The glare on Pidge's glasses masks his emotion. His headphones are on. "Why? It shouldn't affect anything as long as I work with others. Besides, isn't it a little hypocritical coming from a freaking space ninja?"

"Yes, but it's difficult to work with one when you cannot gauge them. Are you exhausted? Are you afraid? No one can tell. Do not be afraid to let others know how you feel."

"Didn't you tell me I had potential?" Pidge snickers.

"I am not saying that you do not, simply that you would waste it if you don't work with your team."

He moves over to Lance. "Don't let your heart outweigh your brain."

He squints his eyes. "...Are you calling me dumb?" He stands up straighter. "You just called me dumb!"

"I never said that but that may be the case," he responds with a slight smirk. "I think I take back my assumption about the red paladin having a bad temper. Or perhaps that's just it. Your heart took a hit from my statement, and your brain didn't pick up quite what I said."

Lance crosses his arms. "But it's only human to use your heart."

"I did not say to not feel, just to think a bit more."

Lance rolls his eyes.

Kolivan moves over to Hunk. He places his hands on his shoulders.

"Yellow Paladin, I recall something that haunted your precursor."

"What?"

"People are awful. All of them. Even yourself in some ways. But you must not lose faith in the world. Strive to make it better, even if it seems impossible."

Hunk looks like he's about to cry. "Is that all?"

"That is all. The former Yellow Paladin never got in much trouble."

"Thank you for the life advice, you truly are worthy of your title as a royal caretaker, but what do you think about their fighting prowess?" Allura asks.

Kolivan looks down at her. "Well. What do they know?"

She walks in front of all five paladins all lined up. She stops and motions to the paladins who make up the right side of Voltron. "Alright, Lance, Keith, quick, how did you form your weapons and can you show our guest?!"

"...You mean the gun scare?" Lance asks. "I don't know, I just wanted to protect you…"

She nods. "Keith?"

He shrugs, putting his hands up.

Her smile dies. "Where are your keys?"

Everyone either holds it up or puts their hand out. She nods, then closes her fist around her own. A staff rests in her hand now.

"Do this."

Hunk looks at her as if she's crazy. "You didn't tell us-"

"Don't think, just do," Pidge answers. He closes his eyes. There's a slight flash of green light. When he opens his eyes, he has a grappling hook.

Allura smiles. "Hunk, I am aware of how well acquainted you have become with our shields. It's just like that."

Hunk closes his eyes.

Nothing.

She turns around. "Tell you what- how about I make something for you to fight?"

"One training bot, please!" she yells to the room.

A robot pops out of a panel and clunkily walks to her. She puts a hand on its shoulder. "Holograms up; opponent only!"

Screens pop up. She scrolls through so many strange words, tapping every few lines. An image glitches around the robot.

She steps to the side. The robot has an image of a purple-skinned man with long, white hair.

"Is this the evil ex?" Pidge asks.

Allura nods.

Lance looks the image over. "Okay, okay. Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah, screw it, no way I can live up to that." He nudges the red paladin, "You should probably give up too, Keith."

Keith looks at him, confused. "Who said I like her?"

"Your face does. And my jealousy. Mostly my jealousy."

Keith rolls his eyes in response.

"Training, start!" She yells.

The robot still moves clunkily, breaking the illusion that it's alive. It throws itself at Shiro. He grabs its arm. It twirls around and twists his right arm. He hisses in pain and pulls away.

The robot is yanked back and thrown into a wall by something.

A glowing green rope is wrapped around its neck. Pidge yanks it back down to the ground. The image on it glitches out.

Allura shakes her head, looking at the image. She backs away, trying not to look. Kolivan covers her eyes.

The robot gets up slowly. Something blue hits its torso, leaving a small trail of smoke.

Lance has a gun.

It turns around, giving Lance its attention.

Shiro comes up behind it slowly. A gauntlet is over his fist. He winds up for a punch and clank. A large dent is left in the back of the robot's torso. The image turns to static.

The robot twists around unnaturally, face half glitched out.

It creeps closer to Shiro. Something explodes in its face.

Hunk looks down at his own large gun in shock. He grins. "I did it!"

The robot is in the ground, twitching, trying to crawl. It sparks from every joint.

"Kill it with fire!" Keith yells, running up to it and slicing through its neck. The image of Lotor is completely gone as it collapses.

Shiro looks at him. "You just had to be extra."

"Okay, we defeated one...where do you think the six other evil exes are?" Lance laughs.

Kolivan leans down and whispers, "Should we tell them that that was one of the ones you broke and it was on the lowest setting?" She tries to hide a smile and shakes her head.

Allura comes back up to the paladins and claps. "Congratulations, you just performed alchemy."

"What?" Shiro asks. "I thought alchemy was something about souls…"

"Gold. Using other metals to create gold or other materials," Keith answers. "Right?"

Allura nods happily. "Yes. That is how Voltron is formed. It takes a new shape, but the same materials are still there."

"Wait, but our keys are tiny," Lance points out.

"Consider the rest of the matter an extension of your soul." She turns to Shiro. "And to answer your question, no. You can create a body, but not a soul. You can recreate a loved one's looks, but not their soul. And if you try, well. I can't tell you. Nobody has ever tried."

"Altean magic sounds fascinating," Keith says.

"Altean? No, any species can do it, Alteans just have it more ingrained in their culture." She gives a proud smile like she knows all about the topic. "There's all sorts of magic. Illusion, for example. Sometimes, you are stuck with this small object that looks like a big object, but when you touch it, it's still a mere pebble. But if you train hard enough, you can make it feel real- you can even make it seem that things are smaller! It takes someone truly in tune with the universe to see it for what it really is. Then there are telepaths- I think the one small soldier we fought was one, and-" she cuts herself off, realizing that she was rambling. She looks embarrassed. "Sorry."

"You smiled. You really smiled," he says with a chuckle.

"Should do that more. You're beautiful when you're happy," Lance says. Keith elbows him.

She continues smiling.

"The ship is ready to take off," Coran announces over speakers.

"Alright, let's tell the Arusians goodbye," Allura says contently.

-V-

Allura is bowing down to two Arusians outside of the castle. Both appear to wear warpaint and have rocks strung around their necks.

"King Alor, Queen Ariella. Thank you."

Everyone looks rather happy.

Shiro leans over and whispers to Coran, "Hey, so why does Allura have a key?"

"It goes to the castle. Although, she does like to joke that there is a secret White Lion hidden somewhere."

Shiro nods. "Cool. cool."

"Hey, Pidge?" Hunk asks.

"Yes?"

"I never did tell you that you owed me for swearing earlier."

His face falls. "Shoot."

"Ca-ching."

"Son of a witch!"

"Thank you."

"Fothermucker!"

"Woah, your pockets are just lined, huh?"

"You know damn well they are."

Hunk gives a giggle. "Thanks for standing up for me earlier. You don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you."

Keith stares at the ground. "So, if the mice treat me the same way they used to treat Lotor, does that mean that I'm destined to turn evil?"

Lance bends over and picks up a rock. He tosses it from hand to hand. "Or it means you're destined to become her boy...friend…" he drops the rock.

Keith chuckles at the notion. "Yeah, most stories don't play out that way." He starts laughing a little harder, "I bet I'm more likely to turn evil."

"Don't say that," Shiro says.

"Since when were you superstitious? You've been joking about death all day," Keith responds.

"Fair enough."

Allura hugs the two Arusians. She gets up, dusts herself off, and walks away, looking back over her shoulder at them.

"Why did you come to Arus of all places?" Shiro asks.

"My father trusted them to care for me in the event Coran did anything...foolish. Now, obviously, Coran is still alive and well, but we needed someplace to hide. So Arus reached out."

"So, basically godparents?" Shiro smiles at the familiarity of the concept. "Nice."

-V-

Allura steps into the living room wearing a long blue gown. The paladins are all spread across the couch, talking about whatever. They all look up at her.

"Blue looks nice on you," Lance says.

She smiles. "Thank you. Pink is the Altean color of mourning. I don't want to mourn anymore."

"So what I'm hearing is that you were a goth for a while there," Lance says, eyebrow raised. Keith elbows him, trying to ask his own smile at that statement.

Shiro looks at them, then looks at her. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you're doing better, commander."

"Actually, call me Princess."