Oooooooo M G. Guys I promise you, I NEVER meant to take this long to update. I have a new full time career as a teacher and it has been kicking my butt! I promise I have not forgotten about any of my stories and have every intention of completing them. I love my stories and my readers too much to leave y'all hanging. ^.^ I really appreciate those who are still following this story and everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I love hearing what y'all think. Anywho, I won't keep you any longer. Here is Chapter 2!

Chaper 2: The Newcomer

*7 months previous*

A familiar planet came into sight as the castle ship exited out of the wormhole. The paladins all looked to be in shock.

Lance looked ready for murder. "Arus?! You brought us all the way to Arus?" Pidge and Hunk had to physically hold Lance back from attacking the princess. "You brought us halfway across the Galaxy!"

Shiro approaches with an air of hostility. "Allura, you can't just do this. You can't abandon Keith no matter what you think of him!"

"I am not discussing this again! You saw what happened. He went with her willingly." She punctuated each word of that last sentence. "I will not repeat myself again."

Before anyone can retaliate, the castle suddenly begins shaking. An ear splitting roar vibrated the air around them, filling them with a feeling of both fear and anger. The paladins and Alteans all covered their ears.

"That's the red lion!" Coran yelled over the noise.

The roar stopped but another came shortly after. Everyone rushed off to the Lions' main hangar. It shocked everyone to find Red in a fighting stance, staring down the paladins and Alteans. The roaring stopped, but she continues to growl threateningly.

"Why is she acting like this?" Pidge gestured to Red's obvious hostility towards them. "This can't just be because of Keith going missing, she's acting like she is blaming us."

"Maybe she's mad at us for leaving him behind," Hunk suggested, with a subtle, angry hint at Allura.

Without a word, Lance began to approach. There was a warning from Shiro, but Lance paid no mind. He began speaking to Red, calmly and quietly, the others almost didn't hear him.

"I know why you are so upset. I'm feeling the same way. You are blaming us for leaving him behind instead of trying to search for him." He looks down to the ground for a moment, before looking back up to Red, who seems to have calmed a bit. "I'm sorry we left him, but I promise you it wasn't by choice." He shot an angry glance to Allura at that before speaking the next part a little louder. "You still trust him, don't you? We all do. Well… us paladins at least, and I promise you we will bring him home." At this point Red was in a lying position and Lance had his hand resting on her muzzle. "But… we're going to need your help to bring him back. Which means, you are going to have to let someone else pilot you."

At that, Red immediately opens her maw to let him in. Before Lance could react however, Allura decides to interrupt. "You can't pilot the red lion. What about blue? We are
still one paladin short." Her voice was laced with spite and an almost desperate tone.

As much as he hated to admit it, Lance knew Allura was right. By the looks on everyone else's faces, they thought the same thing. He turned to look at Blue, who gave him a soft whine in his mind. Allura is the only other one of us who can pilot. Lace reached out to Blue telepathically. He knew it was true. Someone has to stay with the castle and Coran is the best one to do that. Blue gave a defiant growl at that. Lance was sympathetic as he turned to the others to relay his thoughts. "It's gonna have to be Allura." He showed no effort to hide his distaste. "She's the only one of us left that can pilot. Coran has to stay with the castle.

The others reluctantly showed their agreement. However, as Allura began to approach, Blue showed her own reluctance with a vicious growl. She paused and backed up, shooting a glare at Lance. "And exactly how am i supposed to pilot a lion who refuses to let me in?" She crossed her arms in a huff. She watches Lance turn to Blue. The two must have had some kind of silent exchange, because Blue finally allows accepts Allura. She can feel the reluctance coming from the leg of Voltron.

"Well…" Shiro finally cut through the tense silence. "It seems we have five Paladins again-"

"Temporary paladins," Lance interrupted.

Shiro coughed a bit. "Right, 'temporary' paladins. I think we all need to have a team meeting and figure out our next move."

Everyone nodded.

His arm was starting to bruise, and he really wasn't sure where he was being taken. After being taken from the Paladin's castle, Keith (at least that's what he was told his name was) was now being dragged through a Galra ship by the druid who came for him. Although, he wasn't sure if he could consider himself 'taken' from the castle; he left with her
willingly. Her dragging, however, was beginning to leave marks on his arm. Unfamiliar yet similar faces stared at him as they passed, whispering to one another and pointing.

Finally, the druid stopped in front of an empty room. It looked like a simple bedchamber with a small bed and table beside it, a desk and chair, a dresser, a floor length mirror, and a door to perhaps a restroom. Keith was roughly shoved into the room before the door was shut and locked. He picked himself up off the floor and sat at the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure what was going to happen or what they wanted him for. He wasn't even sure if this was where he should be. Those others… the paladins?... they seemed to want him there. Their leader tried to talk with him, even took off his cuffs as a sign of trust, but then the druid came. Haggar? He thinks that's what they called her. She seemed to want him. She looked more like him than the paladins did, and so do the others on this ship. Maybe this is where he should be? He just wasn't sure what to think. Logic told him he should be here, where the others actually looked like him. However, another feeling… somewhere deep within him… told him this wasn't right.

Sighing, and deciding to just go with logic for now, he stood up and walked to the long mirror hanging next to the dresser. He looked himself up and down, taking in his appearance that seemed so alien yet also somehow… not. The tips of his large furry ears reached just above his head. He could move them independently from one another, picking up every sound in the room. Curiously, however, he couldn't hear anything beyond these four walls; they must have soundproofed the room. His eyes were a solid yellow, almost glowing. He reached up one hand to his face, brushing his fingers across his cheek. He paused halfway through the gesture noticing he didn't have fingers; he had claws. Why did he think he was supposed to have fingers? His momentary confusion caused his tail to whip around in front of him, flicking back and forth. He shoved his tail aside and dropped onto his bed. Being locked in this room didn't leave much else to do but wait.

Zarkon's throne room was large and vastly empty save for two posted soldiers and Emperor Zarkon himself. The only sound heard through the room were footsteps approaching the emperor. Haggar was approaching hastily with news she hoped would please her emperor. She stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to his throne and kneeled.

"Emperor Zarkon," she began with a raspy voice, "I have brought the half breed paladin." She left it with that simple statement, awaiting the emperor's response.

Zarkon's heavy breathing was the only thing heard for a moment. "He better be as good as you say he is for you to use up my on this… 'experiment' of yours."

"His quintessence is strong, my emperor. After being able to examine him and force his transformation to complete, I know he will make a strong soldier."

Zarkon's huff could have easily been mistaken as a growl. "I will be the judge of that. Bring the half breed to me." Haggar bowed and took her leave.

Keith's ears perk forward, jolting him out of his daze, when he hears the door to his bedchamber slide open with a hiss. He sat up on his bed- Huh? When had he laid down? -to find the witch back. With no warning, she gripped his arm and dragged him unceremoniously from his bed and out the door. There was more staring and whispering from the others on board as they passed and made their way through the ship. Where they were going, he had no idea.

After a few moments more of being dragged, the two finally came to a large set of double doors. With a heave, Haggar pushed them open and proceeded down the vast room. A large throne sat at the end of the room with an even larger Galra sitting atop the throne.

Haggar stopped at the foot of the throne and thrust Keith forward to his knees. "I have brought him, Emperor Zarkon," he heard the witch say from behind him. Emperor? Was this Galra the leader? He looked up to see the emperor standing from his throne. His steps seemed to almost echo through the room as he approached.

"Stand," Zarkon growled and Keith did as he was told. Zarkon was nearly twice his height. Keith noticed he was very short compared to most Galra onboard. The emperor circled him, slowly and deliberately. Inspecting every inch of him. He felt the hulking man grab his tail and shove it aside as though it offended him. Keith held in a flinch at the harsh pain.

"He still has a tail," Zarkon growled with disgust, "and he is too old for it to be amputated now; it will be seen as a sign of weakness by the other soldiers." He circled around to the front of Keith, staring down his nose at him. "His height is nothing more than that of a child's and he is far too skinny." He turned and dropped back into his throne, not even bothering to look at Haggar when he addressed her. "You have brought me nothing more than a child." He waved her off as though he wanted nothing more to do with Keith.

"Please, my lord. He as strength beyond his weak appearance. You mus-"

"I must do nothing!" Zarkon bellowed. "You have forgotten your place, witch!"

Haggar bowed deeply. "My apologies, my lord." She seemed to speak through gritted teeth. Zarkon huffed and seemed to think for a moment. "I will see how strong he really is," he said at length. "He will be tested in the Gladiator Arena."

Keith's ears flicked in confusion, wondering what that could possibly mean for him. Haggar, however, showed a very toothy grin. "Yes, my lord."

I know this isn't near as long as the first chapter, but I really wanted to give y'all a second chapter. Like I've said before, I have a lot of plans for this story! And I figured a slightly shorter chapter was preferred over no chapter at all. Please tell me what you think! I love reading reviews, even if it is friendly constructive criticism.

Also, A/N, for the purposes of this story, Haggar is a full blooded Galra, not Altean. She is still a druid. The druids are just considered a rare but powerful ranking among the Galra and druid powers have to be inherited; they cannot just be learned.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the new chapter. I look forward to reading your reactions! Until next chapter,

NyteXade