The three young men had been waiting in the holograph-covered room for a few minutes now, as Allura pulled up various coordinates and scoured through the possible locations of the other lions. Luckily, before her father had put her into stasis, he had given her a link to the lions so that she may find them once more, when the time was right.

Tross, in the meantime, was rapidly taking notes in a small notebook of all the new fascinating tech that he saw. He really hoped that he would get a better look at the castle's insides later, since he seemed to be in this for the long haul now.

Eric sat beside his roommate, vaping and taking in the new sights. Occasionally, he would interject Allura's focus with a question like, "What's on that spiky planet?"

"The Zagonoids."

"What about that swirly one?"

"Kalinda. It was a peaceful planet. I'm happy to see it still standing."

Daemon is probing Coran for Altean history. He'd never met an Altean born on Altea before and was trying to learn everything he could about his lost culture. That and the scavenger was also checking the castle for valuables to steal. He already has Coran's wallet

"You know we're going to live here, right?" Tross asks him offhandedly, noticing his pilfering of the castle's supplies.

Daemon's eyes look quickly back and forth.

"I don't know what your referring to... small alien."

He quickly shoved what looked like a set of alien silverware into his bag.

Tross raises an eyebrow and says nothing.

"Alright paladins, It looks like everything is ready for you to go!" A happy shout is heard from the Altean woman,

This seemed to spark a smile from Coran, "The Balmera? Why, that's perfect! We can stock up on extra crystal for the engine while we're there. Remember to ask the locals about that, you three."

"My thoughts exactly, Coran," She responded, turning to the three men behind her, "It looks like it's time to send you out. I'm uncertain which of you will become the yellow lion's paladin, so both of you will be accompanying Daemon."

"Cool beans." Says daemon. looking up quickly form his conversation with Tross. "But, it might be a tight fit in my lion."

"I hope I get the yellow lion." says Eric between vape puffs. "That's my favorite color."

Tross gets up from his spot on the ground, "Let's get this over with," He says with a huff.

"Alright. here we are." says Daemon leading the three of them down in blue. He's started to get the hang of the controls. They descended rapidly at 90-degree angle. Tross and Eric thought they would collide with the ground. All they've seen so far from Daemons piloting has been him crashing, but at the last moment he pulled up and the giant robot cat landed smoothly and began trotting along the earth.

"DONT KILL US BEFORE WE FIGHT ANYBODY!" Yelled a dismayed Tross.

As they had landed, they noticed what appeared to be the remnants of a Galra basecamp. And, remnants, Tross thought, was exactly the right word. The large, square building had a large, jagged hole in one side of it, and the blasters that had been mounted on its perimeter were smouldering caricatures of their former selves.

"What happened here?" Eric asked.

"It seems that the Galra were run out. But how? Their armies should only have advanced in strength over the centuries..." Allura sounded perplexed, "This must be the work of the yellow lion," She determined.

"Which means it already has a pilot?" Tross inquired.

"It's quite likely. Stay on your guard, paladins. We can't be sure that all of the Galra have left."

So, the five of them exited blues butt. Tross armed with Daemon's gun, and Eric, with a large pipe he found on the ground.

The two human men slowly advanced, while Daemon waited in the lion. Allura's instructions were ringing in their ears via tiny headphones, and thus far they seemed to be moving forward without incident.

There was a small, barely noticeable creak from an ajar door next to them as they slunk beside the base's main building. Tross jumped, aiming his gun at the door and hoping that he wouldn't have to fight so soon.

From the rubble, there rushed a tiny fuzzy critter with large ears and yellow fur, sort of like a desert fox but with stripes and a much longer tail.

Tross breathed a sigh of relief.

"Paladins? Is everything all right?" Allura's voice spoke. She had heard Tross' sudden gasp, and had gotten worried.

"False alarm. Sorry. Everything's fine." Tross responded, hoping that no one else had noticed his little flub.

"What's the matter. Never see a skag pup before." Daemon called teasingly over the intercom.

"As a matter of fact I haven't. If you recall this is only the second alien planet we've ever been to."

"Lighten up shorty. I'm just teasing."

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" Called a strange sounding voice.

Tross and Eric ran towards it to discover what looked like a purple cat monster with a leg pinned under a fallen support beam.

"Please help me!" It cried

Eric using his giant arms for something other than flexing lifted the beam off the alien. "Are you okay, Mr. Furry." He asked once the beam was safely removed.

"Its my leg. I think its broken." The creature sounded in pain. "and my name is not Furry its...It's Forrin," he wheezed.

They gasped sharply as Eric lifted them up from the rubble.

"Your leg is not supposed to be bent at that angle. Unless it's like an alien thing and you can just sorta... Do that." Eric commented.

Daemon says over the intercom "Guys, what's that. What's going on?"

Tross and Eric do not know what a Galra looks like. They have a very vague idea, seeing as purple seems to be a recurring color, from what little they've heard, but they still weren't quite able to identify the species of the person before them.

So, naturally, they both flanked Forrin and began to support him as they walked.

"What happened here?" Tross asked.

"The Balmerans put up more of a fight than we thought. Nobody could've guessed they had a weapon like that on their hands. We let our guard down for just one night, and suddenly everything was crumbling on top of us. I got stuck in the rubble while the others escaped."

Just then, Tross heard Daemon over the intercom.

"We found an injured alien. He says his name's Forrin."

"Out of curiosity...what kind of alien?" says daemon

"Purple kitty," Eric responds bluntly, "But more humanoid."

"Leave him. Or better yet put him out of his misery. He's Galra."

"This is a Galra?" Tross asks, eyeing Forrin.

Forrin coughs up what looked like blue blood. "Yeah. hundred and eight division. we were stationed here collecting balmera crystals to send to command central."

"I'm not killing him Daemon. He needs our help, and he doesn't seem that bad to me." Said Tross

"Who are you taking to?" said Forrin.

"Our idiot pilot."

"I HEARD THAT!" Daemon yelled through the intercom.

"You were meant to." Tross smiles smugly.

"So you have no problem shooting me in the shoulder, but the moment that someone actually dangerous comes along, you're all sweet and merciful?" Daemon retorts bitterly.

"You knocked Eric and I unconscious. You're not exactly harmless, you know."

"I'm not a genocidal maniac." Daemon replied.

"Didn't you say earlier that you were part galra?"

Daemons tone of voice changed "that...thats different."

Tross could tell that he struck a cord with Daemon.

"Look. I don't know to much about what the fuck is going on. But what I do know is that there is a person that needs help. And I am not gonna be the asshole that walks away from him!"

Daemon went silent.

"I don't want you to bring him on blue. I'm coming down with some gauze. We'll patch the douche bag up. But, that's it. If his people abandoned him that's their fault."

"Alright," Tross slowly agreed. It was better than nothing. And he figured that he wouldn't be able to get much better from Allura and Coran, either. Though if this fellow was really so dangerous, maybe they ought to interrogate him on the castle nevertheless. However, he couldn't voice that idea in front of Forrin, lest he alert the Galra soldier.

The blue lion's mouth slid open, Daemon walking out with a med kit under his arm.

"Keep my gun aimed his way," Daemon told Tross pointedly. Tross reluctantly aimed the weapon, keeping his finger off the trigger.

"Forrin, will you be able to get home like this?" Tross asked.

"I don't know. If I can find any working ships, maybe. But I'm not sure if going home is even a good idea."

"Why?"

"The Empire doesn't respond well to failure. I may be just a grunt, but getting taken down by a crazy balmeran chick riding a robot is a pretty big failure from anyone's eyes."

Eric vapes.

Daemon enters through the building and began work on patching up the soldiers leg, refusing to speak to, or look at the soldier.

"what exactly happened here?" asked Tross.

"Well we were just going about our usual mining operations when our hailing frequencies got hijacked. A balmera chick came on the screen and said she was gonna kick our assess."

"Then what?"

"she showed up in a giant robot cat and kicked our assess."

Tt that comment Daemon let out a quiet giggle.

Tross gave a half-grin. "Well, the Balmerans seem honest, at least."

"Daemon? What's going on? Why have you left your lion?" Allura's voice chimed in Daemon's ear piece.

"You'll want to ask our little. what was it? Human? was that what you called yourselves."

"Yes."

"You'll want to ask our human friends."

"Tross? Eric? What is happening?"

"We found someone in the rubble," Tross says, "We're trying to help them."

He gave Eric a look, which Eric quickly understood as "ex-nay on the alra-gay". He was hoping to avoid making that particular piece of information known to Allura until he was away from Forrin, and could suggest his interrogation plan to the princess.

"A balmeran?" Allura inquired.

Shit. There it was. The un-dodge able question.

In an unsure voice Tross answered "We don't actually know what kind of alien it is."

Daemon glared at them

Allura wasn't certain why she heard Tross hesitate before speaking.

"Do they seem hostile?"

"No." Tross answered honestly.

"Do they seem like they're associated with the Galra? Daemon, you would be able to tell, right?"

Daemon frowned, "Oh, they're Galra alright. And we're wasting time and supplies on them right now."

Tross winced. At least the alien man hadn't ratted him out for his lie.

He accidentally met Daemon's eyes. He glanced quickly away. The other's gaze had been too intense to keep without flinching, partially in guilt, partially in surprise. He hadn't expected that look on the alien's face.

"A Galra soldier?" Her voice rose a touch in volume, "Why are you helping them? Are there any others?"

"No. just the one. The others seem to have fled the yellow lion." Said Daemon

She sighed, half in relief and in frustration, "Alright, I want you all to stop interacting with this soldier as soon as you can. The instant that you heal them, I want you to pick up the pace and get to the yellow lion. Daemon, you are going to get back into blue, and if you have to leave it for any reason, you are not to let it out of your sight. We cannot afford to risk losing one of the lions to the Galra."

with that daemon finished with the soldier's leg. "later asshole." he said before returning to blue. "I'm gonna fly around in blue see if I can spot our mysterious yellow paladin. are you guys gonna come with me or what?"

Tross was just about to agree when, out of nowhere, several lasers blasted above their heads. Everyone instinctively ducked down, Daemon halfway back to blue but not quite at the mouth yet.

A woman's voice cut through the sudden noise, and commanded, "Drop your weapons or else!"

Looking around, the four of them realized that while they were distracted, several camouflaged figures holding what looked to be repurposed Galra firearms had snuck up to surround them. With slight fear, Tross realized that all these people had seen were three strangers clearly allying themselves with their sworn enemy.

'Ah, fuck.' He thought to himself.

"Paladins? Is everything alright?" Allura's voice chimed again.

"We're surrounded!" Eric responded.

"It's okay," Tross reasoned, "Just do as they say for now." He slowly lowered Daemon's gun to the floor. Eric reluctantly set his metal pipe down too.

"THIS IS WHY YOU DONT GO AROUND HELPING RANDOM GALRA SOLDIERS,YOU FUCKWADS!" Daemon yelled. "BALMERANS, LISTEN PLEASE! WE ARE NOT WITH THE GALRA WE ARE PALADINS OF VOLTRON. CAN YOU PLEASE DIRECT US TO THE ONE WITH THE YELLOW LION ROBOT"

"If your not with the Galra then why were you helping them" yelled an armed balmeran

"This pitiful creature" Daemon gestured to Tross "Is mentally challenged."

"You were the one helping the galra. and your purple like them."

"I assure you we are not with the galra."

"I don't give a crap. Hands behind your head!"

"Listen, this is an honest misunderstanding. I didn't know he was Galra. I'm from a planet that's never interacted with them before," Tross claimed.

"Yeah, likely story," The Hornery Balmeran from earlier poked him in the back with a pistol.

"Look," Daemon said, "We can prove that we're on your side, just let us talk to the person in charge of the yellow lion!"

The same voice as before spoke, but this time the tone was almost... Playful? Still commanding, the hidden woman said, "That would be me. Yellow told me we'd have some fun if we came here today. Looks like I'm about to get a shiny new lion for my collection."

"Okay. nice to meet you. I'm Daemon. Now how's about we talk things out like civilized species."

"Or I could kill you and take your lion."

The woman stepped into the middle of the clearing, revealing a muscular frame and a weapon close to her side. For a second, she seemed to tilt her head and close her eyes, as though she were listening to something.

"Damn it!" She exclaimed, moving to glare at the captives in front of her, "Look's like today is your lucky day. Yellow's telling me not to kill you just yet."

Tross let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Good," Daemon stated confidently, "Maybe now we can finally talk. Pilot to pilot."

"Yeah, sure," She said with a grin, "Rope 'em up, guys!"

Within seconds, the four captives were ensnared with ropes and ties along their limbs, carried by the Balmerans like dead weight into a hiding spot amongst the ruined buildings.

once inside the balmeran pilot lifted daemon up from the ground and onto a chair. "Okay, you wanted to talk. Here I am. Say what you got to say"

"About a day ago I crash landed on a alien planet and I found blue. Blue took me to a castle somewhere I've also never been before to meet a princess and her...actually i don't know what coran is."

he heard Coran yelling something through the intercom

"Apparently these lion things are part of a larger weapon. something we can use against the Galra and end Zarkons rule, once and for all. We came here in search of the yellow lion for one of my mentally stunted human compatriots" he gestured with his head at the now bound and gaged Eric and Tross. "We didn't expect that the lion had already chosen a new paladin. So, I guess, did you want to make a truce and help us kill more Galra in the long run?"

"You sure are chatty." She replied.

"Its part of my charm." Daemon gave the balemran a charming smile, that reminded Tross of Flynn Rider from the movie Tangled.

Tross, much like Rapunzel, was unimpressed.

He also felt more or less pissed off. How was he supposed to know what a Galra looked like? And he still had very little scope of field on how dangerous they are. Forrin seemed less dicey, when it came down to it, than either of the arguing pilots before him. Speaking of Forrin... He was no longer there. 'I guess he's a prisoner of war now..." Tross thought, with a touch of guilt. If he'd only been more vigilant, none of them would be stuck here like this.

"Alright. If you're really the pilot of the blue lion, you should be able to fly it, no problem. If you can prove that the lions trust you, I might consider letting you go." The leader of the squad offered.

Now, Daemon knew that as far as piloting the lion went, he was still pretty new at it. But he wasn't one to miss an opportunity, "It would be my pleasure," He flashed a toothy grin her way.

"Great. Remember, we keep your friends if you try running away." She warned casually.

"There really more like acquaintances. But that is a risk I'm more than willing take."

the balmerans walked daemon bound by the wrists back to the blue lion. He looked up at the robot cat and said "Hey girl. I'm ready to go for a ride."

The cat leaned down and opened its mouth allowing him inside. He turned to yellow pilot and raised an eyebrow. "Still don't trust me."

She placed two fingers into her mouth and let out a sharp, screeching whistle. With a huge distant rumble, the yellow lion erupted from the ground a way's off the area, probably from some hidden cavern. It flew quickly at them, before landing just behind the balmeran woman. It opened its mouth for her.

Before climbing inside, she looked down at Daemon.

"Ready for a race?" She asked, excitement clear on her face.

"wait what?" the look on daemons face dropped. He knew how the basics of how to operate his lion. he was not in anyway prepared for a race.

"You ready for a race." the paladin reiterated.

"Hell yeah." daemon replied. ego getting the better of him.

Daemon sat down in his lion, waiting for the command of the referee below. Apparently, he was supposed to go forward, duck underground, navigate the caves of some abandoned mines, come out the other end , and then circle back around. All while avoiding the copious amounts of crystals protruding everywhere.

'Fuck' he thought to himself.

"Hey, Allura?" He spoke.

"Daemon! What is going on? I haven't gotten a response from any of you for the past twenty minutes!" Allura told him urgently.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I don't have much time to chat. I need your help. I'm in a race with the paladin of the yellow lion. Some balmeran chick. Her grunts surrounded us and took us hostage. I need you to tell me how to really fly this thing, and fast."

"Are you serious?" began the princess

"Yes."

"I'm afraid I don't have any tips for that. I've never actually flown one of these before myself."

"Well Fuck."

"I beg your pardon."

daemon watched as the referee waved the flag signaling it was time to go.

"Gotta go, its race time, bye!"

"Daemon wait, what race. This is incredibly irresponibl-" he hung up on the princess. hoping she wouldn't be too mad about it in the future.

With a burst of power, Daemon took off. Blue was a bit faster than the hardier yellow lion, which gave him the lead for about all of 30 seconds. Then they hit the crystal field.

Protrusions of blue spikes scraped the sides of blue, sending them both careening this way and that. He fumbled with the controls as the yellow lion whizzed expertly between the formations.

"Come on, come on!" He ranted at nothing, trying to pull himself back up from his sudden dip.

He rushed forward, trying to gain altitude, but the crystals seemed to wind and swerve above him now, too, forcing him to navigate this veritable labyrinth.

He swore under his breath as another rock seemed to clip the lion's side.

A few more cracks along the way, and he was finally out of the field. However, the yellow lion was nowhere in sight. In front of him, there was a deep, dark chasm. He wasn't build for the dark, not like a member of an underground civilization would be. He almost quit right then and there, but there was a pulsing feeling on the back of his neck that pushed him to keep on going.

Not bothering to think of a landing strategy, Daemon dove for the pit. To his relief, it seemed as though the whole thing had some dim lighting instruments scattered throughout it, but not nearly enough to make this an easy trip. Worse yet, he had no clue which way to go to get through the tunnels. He picked one at random.

Then another.

Then another.

Before he knew it, he had looped himself around, into the same cavern as before. Same, same, they all looked the same!

His frustration was growing with every minute, but that urging pulse in his mind wouldn't leave him be. Keep going, you can do this. Keep going, it's worth it.

This was the moment that he realized that this pulsing urge was not his own.

There was a small flash of blue light inside the lion, and Daemon closed his eyes.

"Hey, girl..." He hesitated, "Guess I haven't been listening to you all that well, huh? Sorry about that." He let his body relax into the chair. "Between you and me, I'm a little stuck right now. Got any bright ideas?"

Daemon's mind burst with split-second images. Someplace deep, deep under the sea, where the light barely reached. Just like this place. He let the lion probe into his mind further.

How to find his way in such a place? In the bottom of the sea. Another image, this time of some odd sea creature, one that he didn't know was called a dolphin. They were playing in the water, the blue lion drifting along with them, searching for a place to hide away until its next paladin rose to their calling. The dolphins let out a screech, barely audible, but still there, and for an instant, he felt the lion respond in kind.

Echolocation.

Of course a lion built for the deep sea could echolocate!

As he emerged from the caverns he saw just ahead of him and still in view a large cloud of dust. the yellow lion was just ahead of him closing in on the finish line. "Come on blue. we've got this. give it everything you got." The blue lion, being lighter than the yellow accelerated with astonishing speed. he had caught the balmeran, at her tail. literally. the finish line was in sight. "Just a little farther girl! You can do it!" Daemon and blue charged past with everything they had and crossed the finish line alongside yellow. It was a tie.

As he landed the lion back at the starting point, Daemon wondered if a tie would be enough to win their freedom. The yellow lion's pilot jumped out of its mouth, landing with a rough thud, feet planted firmly on the ground. She walked over to him, her face stone cold. Her figure seemed to tower over him, despite her height actually being slightly less than his own. She reached him and tilted her head up to look him dead in the eye.

"Not bad, newbie," She suddenly grinned.

Daemon realized, with astonishment, that she was only acting intimidating to fuck with me.

He had to admit, he could respect that.

"so you'll consider my offer, and come with us so we can form Voltron and defeat Zarkon?" said daemon with a cocky smile.

"If we're gonna work together, there's two things you need to know about me. Number one; My name is Mara, because you never asked, you asshole!" She half-joked, "Number two: I am always ready to kick Galra ass."

She held out a hand to shake on it.

"I think you and I are gonna get along just fine"

daemon said as he shook her hand