Allura dried her hands on her skirt, grimacing as she realized what she'd done. "Well, that was my fourth best dress anyway. Now, tell me more about these Taksgarrians."
The Paladins had made their way back to the Castle, where Coran had prepared the usual food goo.
"Pretty nice. Hunk found his girlfriend though." Lance quipped, stuffing his face full of food goo. "Wow, I didn't even realize how hungry I was."
"Yeah, Taksgar has a synchronous orbit so it never gets d - " Hunk stopped himself. "Hey! She's just a girl that my lion gave memories of!"
"Well she clearly likes you if she gave you her name." Lance argued.
Allura sighed. "Shiro, what can you tell me?"
Shiro blinked and swallowed the mouthful of food. "She's human, for starters. There's no other humans on the planet,"
"Or so she says." Mumbled Keith, poking at his plate.
"...lives with the Mayor, and her name is Elane. Not very talkative,"
"She avoided every question we asked!"
Kieth added.
"...and she works as some sort of medic." Shiro glanced at Keith, who fell silent.
Allura pouted a little. "This is definitely strange, but not something unheard of. People all over the galaxy take in alien refugees. Surely this Elane is among them."
Pidge shook her head. "Allura, the time it would take for someone to get out here from earth with our technology would be... hundreds of years. It took my dad nine months to get to Kerberos."
Everyone pondered this for a moment.
"Well, we're meeting her tomorrow. Maybe she can tell us more then." Shiro stood, taking his plate in one hand. "I'm gonna go spend some time with Black."
Coran nodded at Hunk. "Going by how your lion seems to want you to go after this young lady, perhaps it would be wise for you to talk to the yellow Lion as well."
The other Paladins watched as Shiro and Hunk left. Lance leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "So I know I totally lied to get to talk to Elane, but do you think I've still got a shot?"
Pidge groaned audibly and hit her head on the table, making Allura jump.
"Hey Yellow." Hunk entered the hangar, raising his hand as though he were greeting a friend.
Yellow purred back, and Hunk smiled. Rather than climb inside to pilot it, he sat cross legged in front of it.
"Hey buddy. I found the girl you sent me to find, Elane."
Another purr.
"She's really smart, I guess. She's got this whole crazy medical station set up in her garage... or I guess it's the Mayor's garage... if it is a garage." He reached up to pet Yellow's nose. "But now that I found her, what do I do?"
Without warning, Yellow roared. A deafening roar that made Hunk shield his ears and slide back a little.
And then, a vision.
Five teenagers in Altean dresses walked down a hallway.They were varying heights, different shapes, different skin tones.
They each had their own personality, evident in the way they carried themselves. One carried herself daintily, but with a fierceness. She had orange hair, cut into a long bob. Her dress was a deep orange, with silver trim. It trailed behind her as she went, her lips sent into a straight line underneath dark blue markings and flashing green eyes.
Another practically strutted, shoulders back and a grin on her face. Her hair was pink and fluffy, she'd tied it up into a thick braided bun. Her eyes were a pale blue, almost translucent. It contrasted sharply with her deep brown skin and dark blue dress.
A tall girl with a skinny face and slight figure had her arms folded against her chest, and took surprisingly solid and even steps. Her skin had a reddish hue to it, but was very much concealed by her wavy silver hair. Her eyes were the most striking feature about her, amber colored with flecks of green.
The shortest one had long, straight white hair. She wore a purple dress that matched her eyes and had red face markings. She tried desperately to keep in step with the tall figure beside her.
Allura.
The short girl was standing by Allura.
They opened a pair of double doors, to a crowd of Alteans. People of all ages cheered, clapped.Coran was there on the balcony with them. "People of Altea," he began. "the Daughters of Altea."
The girl who pink-haired girl leaned to Coran and whispered through clenched teeth. "I don't remember agreeing on that name."
Coran twirled his moustache. "I came up with it myself. King Alfor liked it."
The dainty girl with orange hair smiled and patted Coran's shoulder. "It doesn't matter what we're called. We know what we're here to do."
And then the vision ended.
Scrambling to his feet, Hunk called out.
"Coran! Allura!" He ran to the door, waving at Yellow. "Thank you, oh my gosh, thank you! I don't know what any of that means but I'm sure - " He opened the door- "It's very important and I'll use it!"
Shiro intercepted Hunk as he left the hangar. "Hunk! What's wrong?"
Hunk gestured wildly with his hands. "Yellow gave me a... vision, dude. Like a vision of Altea! And, Allura was there. Coran too, but like... there were a whole bunch of Alteans!"
Shiro's eyes widened. "We gotta talk to the rest of the team."
"...and there were other girls, and Coran, you called them the Daughters of Altea. What does that mean?"
Shiro had quickly gotten everyone into the lounge part of the castle, bright eyed and proclaiming Hunk had had a vision like some sort of apostle.
The color in Coran and Allura's faces had drained throughout Hunk's retelling, to the point where Shiro had needed to physically help Coran sit down.
Allura spoke first. "They... we... were servants of the people. My father was the King, but it was the Daughters of Altea who created the public image."
"But why would the Yellow Lion show Hunk the Daughters of Altea?" Keith asked, shrugging his shoulders.
Coran spoke next, softly. It was such a stark difference from the usual Coran that all the Paladins paid close attention. "Because the Daughters of Altea were more than public servants, they were close to the Paladins of Voltron. They were family or loved ones, and they held secrets of Voltron." He looked down, and Shiro grasped his shoulder. "The Daughters of Altea were supposed to be vessels."
"Vessels?" Pidge asked.
"For the souls of the Lions." Coran shook his head. "But it failed."
Keith stood, and began to pace. "What happened? How do you move a soul?"
Red Paladin, please!
The lions cried out to him. They were scared, terrified.
My Paladin has fallen!
That was the blue lion. The last paladin, other than himself and Zarkon, had fallen.
King Alfor felt tears prick his eyes. His friends were falling around him. And his closest friend had turned on him.
With a mighty yell, he drove Red into the castle.
"Lions!" he reached out to them. "Bring your fallen paladins. Return to the castle."
Allura was waiting in the hangar, her eyes wide. Alfor had already told her his plan.
She would take Red's soul.
"Meet me in the control room once you're finished." He told her. "I love you."
"King Alfor!" The other Daughters of Altea ran to meet him as he ran out of the hangar. They were all in disarray. Some of them were soaked with blood. Some of it was their blood, most of it was from other Alteans. They must've been exhausted, tending to all the wounded. They looked at him expectedly. They didn't know. Their loved ones, their husbands and brothers, the Paladins. They were gone.
"The Paladins have fallen."
They were too shocked to cry. They let out a few dry sobs.
King Alfor gathered them to him. His biological daughter, and the others, they were all like daughters to him. "I need to send the lions away. To keep them out of Zarkon's hands. I want to place their souls with people I can trust." He let them go, and they huddled together.
They were more than scared girls though, they were the bravest people he knew.
"I'd like to place the souls of the Lions in each of you. The Red Lion is already entrusting it's soul to Allura."
They each agreed.
They ran, bloodied skirts held high, to the hangars.
Each of the Lions readily agreed, and began the transfer. Energy in each of its colors flowed between them.
Coran's panicked voice sounded over an intercom. "King Alfor! The Galra are on board!"
"Lions! You must leave! Black Lion... secure your hangar!"
The girls looked frightfully at him. "They're not done!" Yelled one.
"So be it." King Alfor murmured. "Daughters, to the Control room!" He turned and ran, and they followed him.
Only to be intercepted on the way by Galra soldiers. Zarkon's own people. They fought. Those girls were excellent with weapons.
Only Alfor and Allura made it. Every other girl was holding off a platoon, promising they'd make it.
"We must form Voltron!" Allura yelled.
Oh Allura, sweet child. She didn't know the Paladins were gone. She didn't realize what the Red Lion had done.
Gently, he held his daughter. She would carry the soul of the red Lion on. She collapsed in his arms at his touch.
"Coran, help me." He ordered, and Coran opened a cryopod, and gently the King placed the Princess inside.
"Coran, you next."
Coran looked at him in shock. "King Alfor?"
Alfor looked him in the eyes. "You've lost a son today, Coran. I will save your daughter. When we all wake, we'll see each other again."
Coran nodded, and entered the pod.
But the other Daughters never made it.
And with them, the souls of the Lions were lost.