Chapter 3: The Way Forward

Out in the void of space, a Galra cruiser was in flight as the hangars now held seven decommissioned lions of Voltron as they were deactivated with countless Galra pirates standing guard over them as the leader of the Pirates marched in, his mechanical arm clenching as he took notice of the lions before checking with his first mates, Zethrid and Ezor as he spoke.

"Zethrid, report."

"The lions are locked in the hangar and the Paladins have been taken to the brig."

"Excellent. And what of Lotor?"

Hearing his name sent chills down Ezor's spine as she remembered what Lotor said he'd do to the Galra once he defeated Voltron. Zethrid took notice of that and soothes her as she brushed her hand on her shoulder before she replied.

"He was unconscious inside the pod. We had to move him to the brig, too, just adjacent to the Paladins."

"Good. If what you've told me is anything to go by, Lotor is as much a criminal as they are. No one threatens the Galra and lives. Splintered though we may be, Lotor will beg for death when he wakes."

Scared of what Lotor could attempt upon waking, Ezor didn't think it wise.

"Are you sure? Why not just kill him now?"

"Engaging in his death so impatiently would rob me of seeing the look of terror upon the young prince's face. Don't tell me you don't desire vengeance?"

Before Ezor could counter, she held her tongue and held her head down as she answered before Zethrid spoke.

"I don't know."

"Well, I do. And he's got a point; if we're gonna kill him, we're gonna do it properly."

Seeing her determined look, Vaxel smiled as he spoke.

"That's the spirit. But until then, you are to interrogate the Paladins and find out what Lotor's plan is. Understood?"

"Vrepit Sa."

Meanwhile, in the brig, Lance was sliding on the wall as Keith, Ayame, Belle, Jenny, Pidge, Hunk, Sandra, Allura, Xarnas, Adea, Atchiam, Luzria, Xanthia, Shiro, Lapis, Babak, Romelle, and Krolia watched before Jenny spoke up.

"Uh, Lance? What are you doing?"

"I'm felling for a secret passage."

Knowing the futility of the plan, Keith and Ayame only spoke up to him.

"You've watched too many movies, Lance. There's no secret passage."

"If there were, don't you think we'd have noticed by now?"

"Oh, really? Then how do you explain this?"

With that, Lance tried to kick a wall down with his leg, only causing it to break as he groaned before muffling his yell as he grunted before trying another wall.

"I meant, uh, this!"

As a result, his other leg ended up getting just as bluntly injured as he hopped on his leg while cradling the one that recently took the blow as he exclaimed before Xarnas.

"Will you please stop that incessant noise?"

As Lance whimpered at this, Krolia looked out of the very thin window the door offered as Lapis inquired of her.

"How's it looking?"

"There's only one guard patrolling out there. If we can get this door open, we can overpower him."

"Great. Any ideas how to do that?"

"Not so far."

This made Lance groan before Babak felt the room to be oddly quiet.

"Wait. I haven't heard any incessant chatter from someone else. Where is Coran?"

This made Krolia turn to him before she replied to Lapis.

"He must have managed to hide when we were captured. What about Cilia and Sapphire?"

"I told them to hide in the bunker when the Galra came in. Somehow, they ended up back where they started in transportation."

Looking on the bright side of things, Allura saw the positive in Coran, Cilia, and Sapphire being able to evade the Galra as she spoke.

"At least we have three allies out there still able to fight for us."

Pidge, however, saw the downside, knowing how goofy Coran is as she spoke before Babak.

"Are you saying our fate rests in Coran's hands?"

"And Cilia's. And Sapphire's."

This made everyone's faces blanch before Pidge looked up to Lance, not willing to trust Coran on that.

"I will help you look for that passage."

In the hangar, Cilia peeked her head out of the Violet Lion before noticing the guards around them before she went down, making sure they didn't see her before looking back to Sapphire as she spoke.

"Stay here, Sapphire. I'll see what I can do for the others. Can you do that?"

"No! I'm coming, too!"

"Look, Sapphire. There are guards out there. If they catch you, who knows what they'll do to you?"

"I don't care! Uncle Coran and the Paladins need our help!"

This made Cilia confused as she blinked her eyes before resuming her stance on her willingness to go on.

"Sapphire, this is a serious situation. You can't come along this time."

Despite this, Sapphire was just as adamant in her own standing as she poured before she spoke.

"I'm going, too!"

Seeing that there's nothing she could do to change her mind, Cilia only sighed before she spoke.

"Okay. But stay on my back and be quiet, okay?"

Satisfied that she got to come along, Sapphire nodded with a smile before she hopped on her and Cilia proceeded to get out of the hangar as she tiptoed quietly before hearing the wolf's whimpers from far away as her ears pricked up while she gasped. This gave her an idea. Due to recent events, she and Sapphire found out that the wolf could teleport. If they could find it, they could rescue the Paladins and Coran. And so, Cilia acted on that instinct and quietly walked around the lions as she avoided the guards and the cameras towards the Black Lion where the wolf's whimpers could be heard.

Little did they know that someone else was trapped in it as Coran banged on the door as he grunted and growled after his efforts proved to be in vain. Despite this, Coran persisted as he comically tried to pull open the door like a regular one. Nevertheless, it did not budge as Coran panted before he spoke to himself.

"Quote the sticky wicket I find myself in, hmm? Absolutely True Tales of an Incredibly Humble Hero. Chapter Fourty-Three: A Hero's Escape. I find myself in the cargo hold of the Black Lion, a strategic and very conscious choice on my part. It's on me to free my compatriots and save the day. Luckily, I'm up to the task. Some men shrunk in the face of danger, while others stand up and say..."

Just then, Coran heard a loud clanging as he exclaimed before taking his flashlight and looking around for any sign of what caused the clattering, only to find Alura's mice there as they squeaked at him before he became relieved.

"Oh! Uh, hello, little friends. I didn't see you there. Oh, uh, just so yo know, I didn't scream because I was scared. That was a shriek of intimidation, by which I mean it would intimidate you. Well, anyway, I'll get us out. Hmm. And then the world will read about us in my memoirs, Absolutely True Tales of..."

However, fate had other plans as the door suddenly opened before he suspected that the Galra gave infiltrated the Lion and sat up straight before reacting.

"Aah! You'll never take me or my friends alive, you quiznacking pirates!"

As Coran made swift punches of intimidation, Cilia only blinked her eyes in confusion before she cleared her throat.

"Ahem. It's us, Coran."

Upon realizing what he'd just done in front of Cilia and Sapphire, Coran began to blush before he spoke.

"Oh. So it is. Cilia! Thank the ancients you're alive! Wait. Where's Sapphire?"

As an answer, Sapphire giggles before she peeked her head out from her mother's neck.

"I'm right here, Uncle Coran."

Seeing Sapphire behind her, Coran quickly realized that as if his 'punching' wasn't enough, he'd also cursed in front of Sapphire. This realization made him go in a deeper shade of red as he spoke.

"Oh! Right. Uh, how much did you hear?"

"Just that you wouldn't be taken alive by those quiznacking pirates."

As Sapphire said the curse so casually, Cilia made an unimpressed scowl at him, making Coran shrink as he spoke.

"Maybe I'll try thinking of more... appropriate words next time, Hmm?"

Despite having missed the mark, Cilia only smiled at him as she spoke.

"Good."

Just then, Coran noticed the wolf just beside Cilia and Sapphire as he spoke.

"And where were you this whole time? We could've really used some help in there."

To answer for the wolf, Cilia showed Coran its injuries as she pointed to its back.

"He wasn't in any position to help. It looked like he was hurt during the attack."

As the wolf whimpered, Coran felt bad for it as he rubbed its head before he spoke.

"Well, you just sit tight. Old Coran is on the case."

This made Sapphire ecstatic as she spoke up.

"Yay!"

"Which means you and Sapphire will have to stay behind, Cilia."

"Aw."

As Sapphire moaned, Cilia tried to change his mind as she spoke.

"But we came all this way to help, Coran. I'm not going to stop now."

"But who's going to look after the wolf? Who knows if the guards would even think about looking in the hangars to be sure they didn't miss anyone? Besides, you didn't exactly have any training in the ways of combat. But I on the other hand..."

With that, Coran engaged in junior us poses as he made random noises reminiscent of one performing King Fu. Seeing this, Cilia didn't exactly believe that he'd truly defeat them. But faced with that possibility, Cilia realized he did have a point about her training. With that, she was forced to concede as she spoke.

"Okay. But only because the wolf needs help."

Hearing this, Sapphire didn't want to stay without Coran as she spoke.

"But I thought we were going with him?"

"Well, it's okay, Sapphire. Uncle Coran will keep us safe."

"Really?"

As an answer, Coran knelt down to her and rubbed her little head as he spoke meaningfully.

"That's right. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Sapphire. I'll protect you and your mum."

This thankfully earned a smile from Sapphire as she hugged him and spoke.

"Okay. I trust you, Uncle Coran."

With that, Coran began to hug them, too before he spoke.

"Okay. Now, I best be o—"

Before Coran could move outside, however, Sapphire was revealed to have clung onto Coran before he and Cilia spoke.

"Oh. Looks like I've got a stowaway."

"Sapphire, let him go."

"Aw, Mom!"

Later, after having sorted out the situation with Sapphire, Coran moves out of the hangar of the Black Lion with the mice as he noticed a guard just in front of him with his back turned before he spoke to them.

"Now you stay here. I'll take care of the enemy combatant."

However, the mice had different ideas as they ran off the lion before jumping onto the guard, making him take off his mask before he ended up bombarded by the same two mice that landed on him by the mask as they made him panic before the rest joined in the chaos. As Coran tried to join in, he tripped and fell of the lion before inadvertently smashing his crotch into the guard's face as a ding dong sound was made. Shortly afterward, Coran stripped the guard of his outfit and tried them on himself as he looked at himself.

Meanwhile, Zethrid walked in the room to see Ezor by herself. After Vaxel gave the order for interrogation, Ezor had been feeling jittery about it, worried about what they'd find out, if not about Lotor, who could be bound to wake up any moment. And so, it came as a relief that she found her.

"There you are, Ezor. If you're worried about Lotor, him and his pod are locked down in the cargo hold, so he can't get to you."

"Are you sure, Zethrid? Lotor's made it out of far worse than a door. Don't you think that maybe... he's actually capable of worse?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

"What if he does wake up? What do you think he'll do to us?"

"I will always take care of you, Ezor. Don't worry. We'll be fine."

"Do you really believe that? The officials were withered away to dust. What if we end up the same way?"

"Just look at what we've done already. We just took down a Galra cruiser. And we have him and the mighty Paladins of Voltron locked in our brig. Well, Vaxel's brig, but that's beside the point. We are destined for greatness, Ezor. Trust me."

This earned a small smile from Ezor as she spoke.

"I do. Now let's go torture some prisoners."

"That's my girl."

Just then, Vezek appeared behind them as he spoke.

"There you two are. Lost your nerve already?"

To answer, Ezor stood up and spoke to him.

"For a while. But it's passed."

"Good. This inconvenience had better not happen again."

Meanwhile, Coran was sneaking in the hallway as two pirates were talking to each other.

"And then, I heard they was giving away free Kalteneckers with every purchase."

"Wait, did you say 'free?'"

Just then, Coran moved upward to speak to them.

"Greetings, fellow scallywags. How's the booty?"

This made the pirates confused as they spoke intermittently.

"Booty?"

"Anyhow, how's— how about capturing those Paladins, eh? Ha ha. Remind me where you're— I mean, uh, we're keeping them."

Upon closer inspection, the female pirate became suspiciously as she spoke.

"Wait a second. That's Blofar's scarf! He stole it from that Valdostian before we flushed him into space."

This made Coran try to talk his way out of the situation as the male pirate surveyed him further.

"That's right, and I won it from Blofar in a game of Gorblonthian Checkers."

"But Blofar hates Gorblonthian Checkers."

"Yes, that's right, which is why we used the Melmakian Rule set."

This made the female pirate increasingly more suspicious than before as she spoke.

"Did you say 'the Melmakian Rule set'?"

"Did I? What— what I meant to say was..."

"Who are you?"

As an answer, she felt a vent grating hit her head before looking up to see Acxa jump on her before leaping off and attacking the other as she kicked him back, knocking him unconscious before Coran took off his mask and recognized her.

"Wait, aren't you one of Lotor's generals?"

"Acxa."

In the brig, the Paladins, Belle, Lapis, Romelle, Adea, Atchiam, Luzria, Xarnas, Sandra, Krolia, Xanthia, Shiro, and Babak looked up to see Vezek, Zethrid, and Ezor walk in the room as they showed looks of surprise as Ezor, Vezek, and Zethrid spoke.

"Look at that. It's Voltron."

"The fact that you're actually here strains belief."

"We're going to have a little talk."

Upon seeing them, Adea became relieved as she spoke elatedly, confusing Ezor while Atchiam spoke to Zethrid as she glared at her, knowing that somehow or another she's changed. Whether it was for better or worse, she couldn't say, so Atchiam had to keep her distance to be safe.

"Yay! You guys are okay! I'm

so happy!"

"Hello, Zethrid. How you holding up?"

"Well, you get a lot of free time, you pick up a thing or two."

After which, Lance recognized them as he spoke before Pidge, Hunk, and Adea.

"Hey, you're the guys that Lotor shot into space."

"And the ones that were trying to kill us."

"Yeah, sure, but we're all friends now, right?"

"Yeah, Ezzy. You can relax. I, for one, am glad you survived."

"I'm glad you survived, too. It's no fun torturing a dead person."

This made Adea surprised as she spoke.

"That's not what I wanted to hear."

At that moment, Lapis saw why Atchiam was so cautious and could already guess what they're here for as she spoke up to them next, trying to reason with them, for Adea's sake.

"Guys, listen. You don't have to do this. We come from a line of true warriors. We don't turn on each other; we stand for each other. How can you just ignore that?"

This made Vezek scoff at Lapis' attempt to reason as he spoke.

"Imagine that. A Galra turning out to be less than trustworthy."

At that moment, Ayame spoke up in Lapis' favor as she stood up and walked by her.

"We weren't always that way. We used to have a strong sense of right and wrong, but you let Zarkon take that honor away!"

This made Zethrid snap as she spoke to Lapis.

"Honor?! Where was your honor when you and Lotor slaughtered Narti?!"

This made Ayame confused as she widened her eyes before she spoke.

"What?"

"We're referring to you and Lotor's assassinations at the Karl Zera. Narti was one of the people you killed."

"Answer the question! Why did you and Lotor do it?!"

This made her stunted as she spoke.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about."

This made Adela confused as she spoke before Ezor and Zethrid replied.

"Hey. Wait a minute. How do you know she did it?"

"She's Lotor's brother, after all. She had to be conspiring with him to exterminate us. I think there's a little confusion with how the 'we ask questions, you give us answers' scenario works."

"Enough of your games. Why did you do it?"

As Ayame was still stunted, Keith spoke up to them next.

"Ayame had nothing to do with it. She and Lotor were in the Quintessence Field when it happened."

Vezek didn't believe him as he spoke.

"That doesn't add up, boy. If what you say is true, then why did Ezor and Zethrid see you just outside the Quintessence Field before the assassination?"

Hearing this, the group became shocked as Vezek spoke onwards.

"Thanks to them, we know that your attempt to hide yourselves via explosion was linked to the Assassination of Karl Zera, so you can keep that lie to yourself."

"It's not a lie—!"

Before Keith could speak further, Vezek thrusted his first at his chest, causing a dark purple gust of concentrated wind hit him in the chest, making him groan as Ayame grew worried.

"Keith!"

Having dealt the blow, Vezek spoke before Zethrid and Ezor as Atchiam showed a frown to them.

"That was a warning shot, boy. Lie to us again, and I won't hold back."

"Which reminds me. I'm going to ask you one more time, and then we're going to have to take a more extreme approach."

"The fun part."

"Yeah. I'm sure it is."

Hearing Atchiam's sarcastic comment, Zethrid became flustered as she spoke.

"For the last time, why did you assassinate the Galra at the Kral Zera?!"

Meanwhile, Acxa and Coran were hiding away as the former kept an eye out so that the guards wouldn't see them as they passed by. When she was turning back to Coran, Acxa was utterly surprised by Coran's close up as he spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

In a reaction to the close up, Acxa backed up while putting her hand in front of his face. Fortunately, he wasn't attempting to get a kiss, nor that he wanted to, so Acxa went back to her normal position as she replied.

"I picked up the signal you were sending to your home planet. I assume that's how Ezor and Zethrid were able to intercept you."

"But why are you helping us?"

"We don't have time for that now. Your friends and Lotor are being held in a detention cell several floors below us. We have to find a way to free them, get to your Lions, and most likely blast our way out."

This made Coran remember how weak the Lions were when they got in as he spoke.

"Well, that'll be a challenge. The Lions are nearly too weak to fly. They'd be little help in a fight."

"So if the entire pirate fleet comes after us?"

"We'd be right back here or shot into space."

This gave Acxa an idea as she got out a holo map on her gauntlet as she spoke.

"We're gonna need a distraction, not to mention an escape route."

As Coran looked at the cruiser's schematics, he noticed a way to provide both as he spoke to Acxa.

"Oh, there's an ion cannon in hangar one, right next to the Lions."

"That should work. In the event of a hull breach, these cruisers are designed to seal off the other hangars in order to maintain the ship's integrity. We can use the ion cannon to blast a hole in the hangar door. The other doors will seal."

"So the pirates would only have escape pods to chase after us until they override the system."

"You free your friends and find your helmets and weapons. Once I blow open the hangar, you and your Lions will be sucked out into space."

"Right. We'll be ready to go in five doboshes."

With that, Acxa and Coran split up, the latter unaware that a crucial part of his disguise, a helmet, was left behind.

In the brig, Zethrid spoke to the Paladins and their allies as her patience had reached its end before Ezor spoke up.

"If you insist on maintaining this charade of ignorance, you leave us no choice but to apply pressure."

"Finally. Who's our first victim?"

As they looked around, Zethrid had an idea where to start as she spoke while focusing on Ayame.

"You. I bet half my fleet you're right about this one being Lotor's sister."

"Well, let's go find out."

As Ezor walked towards Ayame, Keith became protective as he spoke.

"Don't you touch her!"

When he tried to intercept Ezor, Vezek swiftly punched him in the gut before kicking him to the wall in almost a second as Ayame and the others grew worried as she spoke before Vezek coldly mocked him, making her just as protective.

"Keith!"

"Your defiance is admirable... but at the same time, it's your weakness."

"Leave him out of this!"

Just then, Ezor grabbed Ayame by her hands with her antenna and pulled her in before holding her by the collar as Shiro shouted.

"Ayame!"

As Ayame was now caught in Ezor's grip, Belle tried to help as she spoke.

"Leave her alone!"

As Belle said this, Vezek got in between her and Ezor as he vanished and reappeared with superspeed as Ayame groaned in her grip.

Meanwhile, in the Black Lion's cargo hold, Cilia and Sapphire were brushing on the wolf's fur as it whispered before the child looked up to her mother.

"Mom? Do you know how to make him feel better?"

As Cilia looked at the injured wolf, all she could do to answer was such as she spoke.

"I don't know. All we can do is keep an eye on him. I don't know how long he can recover."

As the wolf looked up to Cilia, she drew her face closer to it as she spoke.

"It's okay. You can rest."

However, the wolf had other plans as it weakly barked before trying to stand up on its feet, to which Sapphire noticed before she tried to catch it in case it fell down on the ground.

"Wait! You can't go. Not yet."

Despite the pain, however, the wolf still pressed onward slowly as it tried to leave the door before Cilia looked out and knew that the guards would come for them soon as she spoke to the wolf in whispers.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. You haven't rested enough yet."

Given its condition, the wolf seemed to lay itself back down on the ground before it slept. However, seeing the wolf's recovery, Cilia began to have an idea as she spoke.

"Hold on... how did the wolf get here when he's injured?"

Witnessing its teleportation firsthand, Cilia could figure that it most likely would've been hurt in trying to save the Paladins. The fact that it could teleport despite it was a feat in itself. And it could be the answer she needed to take new action. Truth be told, Cilia didn't quite like the idea of being left behind, even if she didn't know how to fight (not that she could say Coran did either). But of course, she didn't want Sapphire to get hurt or to be at a bigger risk of being noticed. That's where the wolf came in as she spoke.

"Hold on. I think I've got an idea."

"Hmm? What is it, Mom?"

"Sapphire, hold on to it. When it's ready... we're going to help Coran find our friends."

What they didn't know, however, is that at that very moment, Acxa was landing on an ion cannon and saw it beeping red before it opened up the commands and she integrated the commands to her gauntlet before proceeding to activate it. Unfortunately, at that same moment, the guard who was knocked unconscious woke up from being knocked out and noticed he was naked before he panicked while covering his undergarments and headed off to the alarm before pressing it.

"We've got an intruder in hangar one. Send backup!"

With that, the alarm beeped in the halls, making Cilia and Sapphire concerned as they spoke.

"Oh, no!"

"Did they find us?"

Fortunately, the wolf, injured as it was, knew how to fix that as it suddenly teleported along with the two. Unfortunately, Acxa didn't have that luxury as she was being blasted by the guards before Acxa moved in to attack them as they shot at her and missed before one of them used a whip to try to incapacitate her. However, it was in vain as she dodged it and the gunfire before she took care of them quickly.

Meanwhile, Coran snuck to the halls before realizing his blunder when they split up.

"Where did I put that helmet? Huh, just gonna have to do this the old fashioned way."

With that, he changed his skin color to dark purple before suddenly, Cilia, Sapphire, and the Wolf appeared out of the blue beside Coran, surprising him as he exclaimed before covering his mouth and whispered to them before Cilia replied.

"Cilia? Sapphire? What are you doing here?"

"The alarm went off. We had to do something."

"So, you somehow got the wolf to teleport you to where I am?"

"Well, uh, technically no. It did that on its own."

"But it was injured. How could it possibly—?"

Just then, he took notice of a guard just passing by before he shut himself up and whistled casually before he wanted to put an end to the argument so he could move on.

"Okay, look. You guys can come along, but stay put until I say it's safe. We can't have the pirates catching us."

With that, Cilia and Sapphire nodded as the former whispered.

"Okay."

With that, Coran moved forward before looking left and right and then aimed to open the door on his left. However, in doing so, he attracted the attention of a colossal Galra pirate as he looked up to see him and spoke up.

"Ah, hello, there. It looks like your shift is up. I'm here to replace you."

However, the pirate was unconvinced as he spoke.

"My shift just started. Who are you? Hey, is that Blofar's scarf?"

As steam began to exhume from the pipes on the pirate's collar, Coran was left with no choice but to engage in battle as he spoke.

"Fine. I challenge you to a battle of fisticuffs!"

Seeing this in action, Sapphire became eager as she peeked her head out and whispered.

"Go get him, Uncle Coran!"

With that, Coran tried to combat the giant as he threw his first punch to the chest, only to break his hand as he screamed before the pirate moved closer, making him worried.

"Easy there, big fella. Simmer down now."

As Sapphire grew worried as she spoke, Cilia took notice of the mice scurrying off to the Paladins behind the pirate before she put her focus back on Coran.

"Oh, no."

"It's just a little scheduling conflict."

"We need to help him. But how?"

With that, Cilia looked to the wolf before it looked up at her in confusion.

"I don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

This made the wolf grumble in confusion as she sighed.

Meanwhile, in the brig, Acxa was knocking out the guards as one fell to the floor she ran from the rest that are firing at her. As she took cover, she opened up the commands on her gauntlet and pushed a button before she ran off as the guards noticed that the ion cannon was powering up as purple electricity was coming online.

Meanwhile, in the brig, Ezor was pushing Ayame up the wall as she groaned while she moved her legs before Ezor spoke, making Keith speak to Ezor to save her.

"Answers!"

"We told you, she—"

Suddenly, an explosion shook the cruiser and the people in the brig before a computerized voice spoke its current problem.

"Hull breach in hangar one. Lockdown sequence initiated."

As Vezek growled at this, Ezor had a feeling who was behind it as she whispered.

"No..."

With that, she dropped Ayame to the ground as she, Zethrid, and Vezek ran out of the brig before the door closed on them as Krolia and Lapis moved closer to it as the former spoke.

"This is it. The next time that door opens, overwhelm the guard."

With that, they went to the left and right sides of the door before they heard a guard groaning as he came under attack before the door opened and they looked to notice the mice on top of the guard as they squeaked, making Allura relieved as she spoke.

"Hello, little friends."

With that, the mice began squeaking to Allura, detailing to her what's going on since they've been captured as she spoke.

"What? Where?"

This made Luzria curious as she spoke.

"Where? What's going on, Allura?"

"Coran's trying to rescue us. And he's got help. Cilia, Sapphire, the wolf, and Acxa."

Hearing her name, Keith and Ayame became puzzled as they spoke.

"What?"

"She's really here?"

Meanwhile, Coran just got punched to another end of the hallway before he tried groggily to stand up and head back at the colossal pirate as he began to see double from the concussion as he shook his head before speaking.

"Joke's on you! I've got you right where I want ya."

With that, Coran swung his punches and missed before steam hissed on the pirate's armor. It was at that moment that Cilia hopped on the Pirate's back and blinded him as she covered his eyes with her hands, making him teetering all over the hall, trying to shake her off, at which point, Allura pulled a big sucker punch on his back, knocking him out before she shrank back down to normal size as Cilia helped Coran up before looking to Allura while the latter spoke to the pirate.

"Thank the ancients you got here, Allura."

"See? You got lucky."

With that, Ayame and Keith went to Coran before the former spoke.

"Coran, where's Acxa?"

"I don't know. Where am I?"

Seeing his condition, Cilia became worried as she spoke.

"Are you sure you're okay, Coran?"

"Never better. Now let's get our 'belmards' and 'hayards.'"

This made Cilia smile at him as Sapphire went to them while helping the wolf walk.

"It's okay, Coran. We got you."

"Oh, thank you, Princess Allura."

This made Cilia surprised as she widened her eyes before a blush cane over her and gave a smile as she helped him walk forward.

Meanwhile, as the alarms came on, Ezor, Zethrid, and Vezek were running to the hangar as Vaxel spoke to them via communicators on their gauntlets before Zethrid replied.

"Would either of you care to explain to me what exactly is going on?"

"We don't know. Somehow, there's been a breach in hangar one. We suspect the intruder might've pulled this trick."

"Then find him and keep him from leaving alive. I'll head out to intercept."

As Vaxel said this, the Lions were now floating out in space before the doors began to close just as Acxa left that door and stood in front of Ezor, Vezek, and Zethrid as the second and first of the three spoke.

"Acxa, what are you doing here?"

"I should've known you'd show up once we got the Paladins. She's always been sweet on that one with the flippity hair."

In retorsion, Acxa spoke to Ezor, reminding her of her relationship with Adea.

"So? You cared about someone against us, too. Whenever you talked about Adea, she made you happy before Lotor tried to kill us. How could she mean nothing to you now?"

This made her blush as Vezek looked to her with a growl before she tried to explain before Acxa proceeded to Zethrid.

"What? She was so cute back then."

"And Zethrid, Atchiam respected you as a warrior, but you didn't care enough to act that way. What has happened to you two?!"

This made Zethrid furious as she shouted.

"Enough! I don't need anyone to tell me what makes a warrior! Not Atchiam, not you!"

With that, Acxa was left with no other choice but to fight as she entered a stance while grunting as they charged at her before she jumped over them and used her whip to trip Ezor as it caught her leg before Vezek moved in to punch her, only for her to dodge his assault, allowing Ezor to recover before she grabbed Acxa, only for her to lift herself up and toss her at Vezek and Zethrid before she ran away from them as the trio of danger gave chase.

Meanwhile, the Paladins and the others found their way to the helmets and bayards before they noticed that the guards were playing with them as one of them put Hunk's helmet on top of his head.

"Hey, how do I look?"

"Mm, kinda dumb."

As his partner groaned, the guard was curious about how the bayards worked as he held Pidge's green one.

"Do you think there's a switch on here or something?"

"I cannot wait until that thing turns on and cuts your head off."

As they noticed this, Keith spoke up in a whisper before Jenny.

"Our bayards."

"Great. They have weapons and they don't. They clearly don't know how to use them, but still. Any ideas?"

Just then, Coran popped out from behind Jenny and in front of Lance as he shouted, still punch drunk from fighting the colossal pirate.

"Unhand those bayards, you scallywags!"

As Jenny pulled Coran back, they were too late to shush him as the guards looked behind them as Coran muffled his shouting while Lapis and Adea spoke.

"Well, there goes the element of surprise."

"What do we do now?"

Fortunately, Keith knew what to do as he closed his eyes and was concentrating on getting his bayard back as the black bayard glowed purple before he obtained it from where it was as it suddenly appeared in his hand before turning it into a sword as he prepped his shield before charging in as Coran, Cilia, Babak, Lapis, Atchiam, Ayame, Lance, Allura, Pidge, Adea, and Hunk watched in terror as Keith fought the guards as he slashed at them and missed before a guard shot at him and failed to hit him as he blocked the fire before Keith lowered his shield and landed a few punches before summoning his sword to slice through his armor, wounding him as well as piercing the armor as the thin slash caused purple blood to come out in a very small amount before he knocked the other one down by smashing his head against the wall, making him groan before he was dropped to the floor. While this happened, Sapphire tried to see what was going on as she peeled from Coran's shoulder only for Cilia to lower her head quickly. After the altercation, Keith put on the black helmet of his armor before he turned and spoke to the group.

"Lance, lead the way. Keep the team together."

With that, Keith began to head out as Lance became worried about where he's headed.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Acxa saved our skin. I'm not gonna leave her behind."

Just then, Ayame, who'd just now retrieved her helmet, came up to him as she spoke.

"Neither am I. I'm going with you."

"Alright. But keep on your toes. We'll be back as soon as we can."

And so, Keith and Ayame took off in the hall, looking for Acxa as the rest of the group got their armor back, with the exception of Babak, Coran, Romelle, Cilia, Sapphire, Belle, and Shiro as they had extra suits to wear in order to survive the vacuum of space, except for Cilia and Sapphire as Lance spoke up.

"Let's get to the Lions."

With that, the group headed off to a gate as Lance was about to pull a switch before Cilia spoke up as Coran had an idea.

"Wait! Sapphire and I don't have space suits."

"No, but you have the wolf."

This made Cilia look to the wolf as it looked at her before she spoke.

"Okay. Think you can do this?"

As an answer, the wolf began to stand up as straight as it could get before Sapphire and Cilia hung onto it before they were teleported into the Violet Lion's cargo hold before Lance opened the air lock, sending him and the rest of the group out of it before they headed to the Lions as Lance and Jenny spoke to which Pidge replied.

"You guys all saw that, right?"

"Did any of you know the wolf could teleport?"

"Yeah. It's been crazy."

Just then, they were suddenly being shot at by the pirates before Lance, Jenny, and Pidge turned around to fire at the Galra coming at them as the middle of the group had a blaster that she took from a guard.

Meanwhile, inside the cruiser, Ezor ran up on the wall to kick Acxa back before using her antenna to whip at her just as Vezek moved in to punch her back at superhuman speed, knocking her away before Zethrid moved in on her like a truck as she rammed her, knocking her back. With that, Ezor moved in with flips, ready to deal the final blow before Keith showed up, blocking her with her shield before he pushed her back as Ayame arrived with him before Ezor and Zethrid spoke.

"Oh, look, Acxa. It's your favorite Paladin."

"So do you guys actually know each other?"

"Yeah, don't you remember how she never wanted to kill him?"

"Aw. I guess it is true love."

This made Keith very anxious and angry as he spoke to move on with the conflict.

"Can't we just fight?!"

With that, Keith moved in on the three before a mechanical arm popped open through the hall before grabbing his face and chucking him to Acxa and Ayame as they grunted before the owner of said arm spoke.

"No, my friend. This is no mere fight... it'll be your execution!"

Outside, Hunk was moving at lightning speed before he went behind a guard and blinded him with his own cape before kicking him. After which, he turned his bayard into a machine gun and scattered the pirates before Acxa snuck up on one of them and pulled off a component on the jet pack, making him fly out of control before Coran, with the mice in his helmet, put up his dukes as he saw two pirates behind him before they took notice of the Green Lion behind him, making them run away as he smiled.

"Hmm, must not have wanted any more."

However, as he turned around, he saw the Green Lion coming towards him as it opened its mouth before swallowing him in it.

Meanwhile, Ezor kicked Keith back before she attempted to plant her foot in his chest with her flips before he dodged her and she moved in towards him. All the while, Ayame was using her bayard to counter Vezek's advances with her dual naginata, only for him to sidestep her swings very easily before he moved in to punch her, only for Ayame to dodge it and trap him with her staff as she put his arm in between her weapon and her shoulder before flipping him to the wall. All the while, Zethrid and Vaxel engaged Acxa as she punched the former and kicked her back before moving on to Vaxel, who ended up kicked in the face first before Acxa used the momentum to do so again. However, Vaxel blocked her kick as he snarled before punching her with a grunt knocking her to the doorsteps as she grunted before Keith used his jet pack to push Ezor to the wall, knocking her down before she fell to the floor just as Zethrid rammed Keith and Acxa through the door just as Vezek countered Ayame with a hard and vicious punch when she moved in to strike, only for him to appear behind her and deal the blow before Ayame joined Keith and Acxa as Vaxel, Ezor, Vezek, and Zethrid moved in while Keith, Acxa, and Ayame took notice of the compound around them as they spoke.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Synthian Nitrate."

"But how do we detonate it?"

This gave Keith an idea as he spoke up to the group.

"Guys! Zero in on our location and fire on the ship."

In the Blue Lion, Allura became worried as she spoke.

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it!"

With that, the Paladins took notice of Keith and Ayame's current location before they all fired at their location just as Keith, Ayame, and Acxa took off quickly before Vaxel snarled as he knew they had something up their sleeves. And he was right as an explosion came at them, knocking Zethrid, Vezek, and Vaxel back while Ezor was seemingly engulfed in the explosion. After a moment, the explosion spread through the rest of the cruiser before Keith, Ayame, and Acxa got out of the ship just as Ayame noticed Lotor's pod just outside in space, presumably knocked out into orbit from the explosion as she gasped.

"Lotor..."

Desperate in trying to save him, Ayame reached her hand out for him while trying to move towards him, only for Keith to hold her back so that she doesn't fly off course.

"What are you doing?"

"Lotor's out there! I have to save him!"

As Ayame held her hand out, a dark purple mist swirled around her hand before it extended it flowed a purple light on her hand, making the pod float over to her, Acxa, and Keith before he looked on in surprise as he spoke.

"Whoa... how are you doing that?"

"It's part of my powers. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have to use it."

With that, the trio absconded with the pod into the Black Lion before they took off from the self-destructing cruiser.

Later, the Paladins and the others landed on a rocky planet that seemed to be covered in dust as they took refuge in a cave with Hunk and Sandra bringing in firewood as they spoke.

"Uh, Sandy and I just looked at the Lions, and they're in worse shape than ever."

"The battle with those pirates must've worn them out."

Shiro has an idea how to remedy that as he spoke up.

"We should give them some time to recharge before we head back on our way."

With how much had happened on their time with the pirates, Adea was surprised by how cold Ezor had been to her.

"I just can't believe how much has changed those past few weeks."

This confused Acxa as she spoke.

"'Weeks'? What are you talking about?"

Allura found it confusing as well as she tried to explain it to her.

"The last time we saw you. You were fighting us alongside Lotor."

"That was three deca-phoebs ago. No one has seen you since your fight with Lotor."

This made Jenny, Ayame, and Keith surprised as they spoke to Acxa.

"Wait. For real?"

"We were gone for that long?"

"That's impossible."

"It's true. After Lotor jettisoned us, we managed to make it to cover in a meteoroid. There we saw both the Voltrons and Lotor disappear. Eventually, the Voltrons re-emerged... alone. But then, there was an explosion, and after that... nothing. That was three deca-phoebs ago."

This blew Jenny and Lance's minds as they spoke intermittently before Allura spoke.

"Whoa..."

"So, as far as everyone else on the universe is concerned, Voltron has been gone for three deca-phoebs?"

As Hunk dropper most of the firewood in shock, Pidge knew it explained a lot about their situation.

"That explains the discrepancies in the star charts in our Lions. I thought they were off because of our inter-dimensional jumping, which I guess they were, in a way. Because when you think about it, that must have been the cause of the time slippage between our experience and that of the rest of the universe."

Keith was curious about something else as he turned to Acxa.

"So how did you end up here, helping us?"

Zethrid, Ezor, and I were marooned on the meteoroid for days. Finally, a Galra ship came to investigate Lotor's last known whereabouts. We took it over. Shortly after, we heard about those that tried to take his place as ruler of the Galra, including Narti, Syn, and Kurziam. Those that arrived there... never came back. Because of that, it was clear that there was a power vacuum in the Galra Empire. Zethrid and Ezor wanted to exploit that for their own gain... but I knew I had to find my own path. And it led me to you."

"Thank you... for saving us."

This made Acxa smile at Keith before she spoke onwards, making Allura and Jenny tense at what Lotor had done.

"I hope that this makes up, in some way, for the wrong I've done. I realize now that Lotor wasn't the man I thought he was. He preached unity, but in the end, he sought only power."

"I understand how you feel. I fell for Lotor's lies as well."

"No kidding. At least you're the one who admits it. But Lotor? He's nothing but a monster, just like his father. It's because of himthat Alphus is gone forever. Lotor played Alphus for a fool... He should've been left to die instead of her!"

As Jenny said this with a shout, Ayame gasped at her words before tears began to stream down her face, making Jenny realize that her words were those that were never meant to be said out loud as she tried to take them back, only for Ayame to interrupt her as she spoke.

"Excuse me. I'm gonna be outside for a moment."

With that, Ayame took her leave and went out of the campfire before she walked to a ledge and sat down before she began to sob as she covered her hands over her face, ashamed of what Lotor had done. When Jenny looked outside to notice this, she saw her upset and felt bad for saying it in front of Ayame as she held her head down before she noticed the mice scurrying outside, confusing her before they went up on top of her shoulders, making her cease her tears as she looked at them while they cuddled next to her, making Ayame smile at them before Jenny sighed as Acxa spoke with the group in the meantime with Hunk, Pidge, and Allura responding.

"You got it."

"I'll do everything I can out here to help the Voltron Coalition."

"Wow, so everyone that was helping us thinks we're dead."

"Wait. I haven't been able to get ahold of my dad on Earth or Matt and the Rebels. What's happened to them in the last three years?"

"And if Ezor and Zethrid became warlords in that time... what else has changed?"