The universe map is fully displayed and Pidge is marking coordinates. "He fought us here, his generals were here, and he stole the comet here." She explained as Lance, Shiro, Lea, Keith, Sakura, Hunk, Coran and Allura stand behind her.
"So ... Lotor could be anywhere." Lance said.
"We'll never be able to find him unless we can figure out his plan." Shiro said. "We're totally missing the big picture."
"How about this question." Pidge suggested. "Why was Voltron made out of the same material as the comet? What's so special about it?"
"My father discovered another comet like that before I was born." Allura said.
"Your father ... and Zarkon." Coran told her.
"This is back when Zarkon was the Black Lion's Paladin?" Hunk asked, making Sakura shiver.
"That is still hard to believe." She said.
"Before that." Coran said. "Before Alfor built the Lions."
"I know this is painful to talk about." Shiro started. "But if we're going to stop Lotor, it's time we heard the rest of the story."
"In the beginning, the Paladins were just five leaders, who, despite coming from cultures which were vastly divergent, and in some cases had been warring for generations, managed to look past their differences in an effort to protect their common interests. What was initially a formal agreement to work alongside each other soon blossomed into a true friendship. A warrior's bond was forged, and together they worked to rid their system of those who would do it harm."
Lea sat down in the Keith's seat, sitting sideways to look towards Coran. Both Shiro, and Keith stood on either side of her.
"The original Paladins were Zarkon of Planet Daibazaal, King Alfor from Altea, Gyrgan from Rygnirath, Trigel of the Dalterion Belt, and Blaytz from Nalquod." Coran continued. "They could have never known that that very night, the fate of the universe would be changed forever. King Alfor experimented on the comet's ore in his lab on Altea, as Honerva continued her research of the rift on Daibazaal. But Alfor visited often as the years passed."
XxXxXx
Hunk had disappeared and reappeared with popcorn. He gave Lea a bag, and the two now were munching on salty and buttered popcorn.
"Honerva continued her experiments on the rift. Despite their differences, Zarkon and Alfor, along with the other Paladins, established a new era of peace and prosperity. It was an age of exploration, and Voltron became known as the Defender of the Universe, establishing the legend that would live on to this day." Coran continued. "Alfor's compassion for his old comrade blinded him to Zarkon's true plans."
"Zarkon's attempt to save Honerva was in vain. They both succumbed to overexposure of quintessence. The Paladins had been deceived by Zarkon. They had unwittingly enlarged the rift, which further destabilized planet Daibazaal. King Alfor was forced to evacuate the planet. He then closed the rift the only way he knew how—by destroying the Galran homeworld. King Alfor held a state funeral for Zarkon and Honerva in his royal hall. But what happened next, he could never have guessed."
"Zarkon had become pure evil, obsessed only with quintessence. In order to open a new rift between the realities, he needed Voltron. And so the war began. The Galra immediately responded to their leader and attacked. The peaceful planets of our system were not prepared. Soon they had all fallen except for Altea. In a final attempt to keep Voltron from Zarkon's hands, the Lions were sent to the far corners of the universe. Zarkon flew into a rage. He killed King Alfor, then avenged the loss of Daibazaal with the destruction of Altea." Coran finished.
Keith, Lea, Shiro, Lance, Sakura, Pidge, Hunk and Allura were all silent.
"So that's Lotor's plan - to cross into other universes and get the purest quintessence possible!" Pidge exclaimed, being the first to break the silence.
"No matter what, we have to stop him!" Keith said firmly.
Sakura bobbed her head. "Agreed!"
XxXxXxXx
That night, Sakura is in her room, leaning back and relaxing on her bed as she read a paper back book of a Heather Graham book. A knock had her looking up, she put a book marker in her book before closing it and setting it down on the bed. "Come in." She said as she stood up, an her door slid open to reveal Keith walking in.
"Hey." He stood by the door. "I think we need to talk."
She sat back down on her bed. "No girl likes to hear those words." She said as she looked down.
"No, no, no!" Keith rushed up to her, he sat down next to her. "I didn't mean it like that." He gently placed his hand on her knee, Sakura looked up at him.
"Then what did you mean?" She asked.
He hesitated. "The Blades." He started. "Kolivan, he asked me if I wanted to train with the Blades."
Sakura stares at him. "What, what did you say?" She stands up, and walks up to a wall, leaning against it.
"I told him yes."
Sakura lowers her head. "What about Voltron?"
"I can handle both the Blade training, and Voltron."
"What about us?"
Keith stood up, and walked over to her. "Kura, look at me." He said gently, but she wouldn't. He gently placed a hand under her chin and gently lifted her face up so their eyes locked. "This changes nothing. We'll still be us." He tried to reassure. "You and me. Me and you."
Sakura pulled away gently and looked away.
"I'm not leaving the team." Keith told her. "Kura." He tried in a pleading tone.
She took a shaky breath. "This is about your Galra heritage, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, not only will I be training. But maybe I'll find a relative." He tries to take her arms. "I want to know my Galra heritage ... well, this could be my only chance."
She turned to him. "Just don't put it your number one to do list."
He grinned. "You know, I really don't need your permission. I just wanted you to know what I was planning to do."
Sakura nodded. "I know. You do what you do. I'm not gonna stop ya." She finally turned to him.
He smiled, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her gently. "Thank you for understanding."
She locked her arms around his neck. "We both come from broken families, I know what it's like to want answers."
He kissed her again. "One day things are going to change."
Sakura hugged him tightly. "Just don't forget about Voltron." She rests her head on his chest. "And me."
Keith smiles. "You? Never!"
XxXxXxXx
Not entirely happy with the ending. But it'll work! Hope you like it!
