A/N: No klance in this. It's all Team Voltron because they needed some attention. Also, plot required it. But don't worry, there's a hint of klance at the end. There's also the beginnings of shallura. But mostly this is Team Voltron with a highlight on Allura. But do not fear, klance will return in full force next chapter. I'm currently working on the next chapter so that should be up tomorrow. Oh yeah!

BTW: In case anyone's curious, whenever I work on this fic, I'm listening to Ivan Torrent's album Reverie on Youtube. I HIGHLY suggest y'all listen to it. Ivan Torrent is amazing.

IMPORTANT EDIT!: I can't reply to my reviewers for some reason. I keep getting an "Invalid Message 3." So I'm replying to y'all's reviews here.

FrostIrony: Squeal all you want. There's more coming~

Triscribe: Yep. In fact, the awkward introductions begin in chapter 13. I've already written it so I know this for sure.

AirenLag: If you think Keith's possessive now, just you wait till Lance starts baiting him.

3: I'm glad you liked last chapter so much. Emotional complexity is my favorite thing to write, but it hurts when I'm the one reading it. It's an awkward situation to be in. ^^;

Chapter summary: In which Team Voltron prepares for battle, Allura gets her chance to have feels, and hope appears on the Castle's scanners.


12: Fierce Hope

Shiro was crouching down on the floor of what he thought was the main control center of the Castle. A huge, rough hewn, glowing blue crystal hung from the ceiling like an organic chandelier. It was beautiful and, according to Coran, served as the Castle's main power source.

"Just a bit more," Coran said slowly, working with what looked like tweezers. A thin green wire was pinched between the tweezers Coran held in one hand while his free hand wound the cords together and sealed them. It took a lot of concentration because one wrong move would mean an unpleasant shot. Fortunately, Coran had only experienced one shock since he began and that proved to be surprisingly useful. It had allowed him to find the faulty wire on the second try.

Shiro kept still, holding the heavy piece of machinery on his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, he was actually glad he had his Galra-made mechanical arm. Coran had not said a single word of disgust or given any indication that the mechanical arm bothered him. In fact, Coran had even complimented it and made use of it in a way that made Shiro feel useful and inclusive.

"Got it," Coran said proudly. "If you could slide that back into place now please."

"Sure thing," Shiro said, standing. His knees creaked a bit from holding that crouch for so long but otherwise he felt fine. He hefted the device back into its slot, sliding it along his shoulder until it clicked into place. "You need anything else?" he asked, half hoping there was more to do.

"Plenty," Coran said with a smile. "Always will, I think. But right now, I think we've earned ourselves a break, hm? Come on. To the kitchen we go."

Shiro's eyebrow flew up. "There's a kitchen here?"

He felt slightly dumb for asking that question. Of course there was a kitchen on board. This was a Castle after all. Where was the food prepared if there wasn't a kitchen? Without pondering that thought too deeply, Shiro fell into step next to the advisor and rolled his shoulders, pleased when he managed to get a few satisfying pops out.

Subsequently, he all but jumped out of his skin when a klaxon suddenly began blaring throughout the Castle. Shiro reacted instantly to the deafening sound, falling into a battle pose balancing on the balls of his feet expecting an attack.

"Paladins! Report to the bridge immediately. The Galra have arrived at Arus," Allura's voice said over the speakers. She sounded anxious.

"What?" Coran gasped. "But that's not possible. I calculated the time it would take for them to get here myself."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Coran," Shiro said, placing his mechanical hand on the advisor's shoulder. "It's been 10,000 years after all. I would be surprised if the Galra hadn't found a way to increase their speed and engine power."

Coran's shoulders slumped and his face looked distraught. "Oh dear, why didn't I think of that?"

"Don't dwell on it right now," Shiro said. "Let's just get to the bridge and figure out what's going on."

Coran visibly shook himself. "Right. Too much to do, too little time to do it. Let's go." And he was off. For such a stick-thin guy, Coran could run.

Shiro arrived on the bridge a couple seconds after Coran and was promptly greeted by the familiar image of a Galra battlecruiser on the main view screen. It appeared to be slightly damaged, but not enough to be considered substantial. But something about those particular marks…

"Wait a second," he whispered. "Is that the same ship that chased us from Earth?" he asked louder.

Hunk, who was already on the bridge with Pidge, straightened and stared at the screen closely. "I-I don't think so?" he said, sounding unsure of himself.

"I think it is," Pidge said. He pointed to the scratched hull. "That was probably from where Hunk got a few hits in when we all first escaped Earth."

"But that can't be," Allura murmured, her eyes flickering down to the star chart on the large panel nearest her. "There's no way a Galra battlecruiser could get from Earth to Khonsu to Arus in two days."

"It got from Earth to Kerberos in a few minutes when it chased us in the Yellow Lion," Pidge said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "What're you basing your assumptions on anyway? If you're basing them on the information you remember from 10,000 years ago, then that's just stupid."

"While I wouldn't put it like that," Hunk said, holding his hands up in a placating manner, "I have to agree with Pidge here. Ten thousand years is a long time. It's hardly fair to assume the Galra haven't improved their technology during that time."

Allura visibly wilted. "Of course," she said, turning her gaze up to the battlecruiser. "I suppose that was foolish of me."

"No one's blaming anyone here," Shiro said quickly, stepping up to the princess's side. "We all make mistakes. No one's perfect." He offered Allura a reassuring smile which she returned. "Let focus on defending ourselves and fighting back against the Galra. That's our main priority right now. Got it?"

"Pidge and I can get to our Lions if you need us to," Hunk offered.

"That's a good idea, Hunk," Allura said, straightening her shoulders so she appeared every inch the princess she was. "You two go to your Lions," she ordered. "I'll contact you with further information when you get there. Be ready to launch on my mark. Shiro," she turned to the older paladin next to her and her face saddened in regret, "I think it'd be best if you stayed with me for now. Without the Blue and Red Lions, we can't free the Black Lion so there's nothing for you to pilot. I'm sorry."

Shiro smiled gently. "Don't worry. It's not your fault." He glared at the battlecruiser. "If anyone's to blame, it's them. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

The princess nodded. Then her eyes widened. "Wait. Hunk! Pidge! Wait a tick."

The yellow and green paladins paused just outside the bridge and looked back at the princess, ready for more orders.

"I have something to give all of you first," Allura said. "Coran, stay here and let me know if anything happens."

"As you wish, your highness," the advisor said with a salute.

Allura gathered up her skirt and hurried down the hallway. "This way paladins. Quickly."

The ragtag group hustled through several hallways before the princess came to a halt by an unassuming doorway. She waved her hand by the access panel and an unseen lock snicked free allowing the door to hiss open. Inside was a plain room that lit up when the princess and the paladins entered. The room's contents garnered gasps from the paladins who stood staring at the sight in shock.

"Are those…" Hunk whispered.

"Uniforms?" Pidge finished.

"I-I think they're armor," Shiro said, stepping into the room followed closely by Pidge and Hunk.

The far wall was lined with five tall, cylindrical tanks. The tanks lit up from the inside revealing their contents to the group. In each tank was a set of armor color coded for each paladin. A large, rectangular table stood in the center of the room. Its top was a translucent panel that glowed white from below. The princess walked right up to the table and placed her hand on the glowing surface. It split down the middle and slide open revealing four simple, hand-held devices that matched the colors of the paladins' armor.

"You're correct, Shiro. Those are indeed the paladins' armor," Allura said. "Each color corresponds to a Lion. Hunk, you get the yellow armor, Pidge, you get the green, and Shiro-"

"I get the black armor," Shiro said, placing his flesh hand on the tank. He pulled his hand back when the glass lifted allowing him access to the armor.

"Please put them on as quickly as you can," Allura said. She tried not to gaze at the blue paladin's armor hanging uselessly in its tank as she waited for the paladins present to fully suit up. Lance should be here for this. She needed to find him.

"Princess?"

Startled from her thoughts, Allura blinked and saw her paladins all dressed in their armor. She shook herself and dropper her gaze to the devices on the table.

"These are your bayards," she said. "Again, their color is coordinated with their corresponding Lion and paladin." Two devices rose up from the table and floated to their respective paladins when she keyed in the code. The blue and red bayards remained disconcertingly still. Allura bit her lip and focused on instructing her paladins. "Each bayard takes a unique form for its user," she said. "The form is usually something its paladin's will find particularly useful."

Hunk took hold of his bayard first. He gave a grunt of surprise when the small device changed its form to a huge cannon in a flash. He hefted the cannon, finding it lighter than he expected it to be and grinned. "Nice."

Inspired, Pidge grabbed his bayard and watched it flash into a 'V' shaped, glowing green blade that buzzed with electricity. "A taser blade," he said, smirking. "I can slash and electrocute. Oh yeah."

Shiro smiled at his companions' reactions to their bayards before looking back at the princess, waiting for his bayard. Allura's amused smile faded when she noticed Shiro's attention on her. Her whole demeanor drooped. "I'm sorry, Shiro," she said regretfully. "The black bayard was lost with its paladin in the Great War."

That stung, but it wasn't Allura's fault. Things happened during war. Shiro nodded and smiled. "I guess I'll just have to make due," he said with a shrug. "It wouldn't be the first time."

The princess winced but nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm going to change into my own armor and get ready for the attack. I'll meet all of you back at the bridge in a few ticks."

The group nodded and Allura rushed out, presumably to find her own armored suit.

"Is it just me," Pidge mused aloud, "or are any of you getting a serious Power Rangers vibe thing going on?"

"Oh yeah, totally am," Hunk said.

Shiro sighed. This was going to be a long day.


Allura hurried down the hall to what was once her room. Technically, it was still her room but she hadn't entered it since she'd woken from her 10,000 year long slumber in the cryopod. She didn't want to sleep. There was a lingering doubt that what she was experiencing wasn't real, even though a part of her wanted it to be. She wanted to wake up and find herself back on Altea at a juniberry festival with her father and siblings. At the same time, she wanted to stay here. It was confusing and convoluted and this was no time to be pondering such things. She arrived at her door, waved her hand over the access panel, and walked through the door to her chambers.

"Princess."

Pausing, Allura turned to see Coran running towards her. Instantly, she feared the worst.

"What is it?" she demanded. "What's happened? Have the Galra attacked?"

"No, no, they're still in orbit," Coran said quickly. "I set the auto-alert system to sound the alarm if they begin to enter the atmosphere."

"You got the auto-alert system to work?" Allura said in surprise.

"With Shiro's help, yes," her advisor said with a proud smile. "It was the last system we completed before you called everyone to the bridge. With that arm of his, we were able to fix a lot of problems that would have required a drone to help with back then." He chuckled, then his smile faded as the implications of what he just said set in. He sighed sadly. "But that's neither here nor there. Princess," he said, meeting her eyes seriously. "There's something I think you need to see."

Intrigued, Allura nodded. "Of course," she said. "Just let me get changed into my flight suit and-"

"Erm, I think you might want to see this first," Coran said gently.

Allura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she nodded in acquiescence. "Very well."

Coran was oddly silent as he guided the princess down a hall towards the bridge than branched off into a side room. When Allura recognized their destination, she became even more confused.

"Coran, I don't understand," she said. "Why are you taking me to the holodeck? What-"

Her words trailed away when the low pedestal in the center of the room began to glow. It grew upwards before taking a form she would recognize anywhere. She covered her mouth with her hands as tears of love and shock pooling in her eyes overflowed down her cheeks. Her breath stuttered and her heart ached.

"Father," she whispered.

The hologram of King Alfor smiled tenderly at her and she sobbed.

"Father!" she cried. Her body moved of its own accord. She threw herself at the hologram, forgetting holograms had no solidity. When her body actually made contact with something semi-solid, she wept.

"Allura, my precious daughter," her father murmured, running a semi-solid hand through her hair. "I'm so, so sorry I left you behind."

Coran quietly wiped a tear from his eye and made a discrete exit, not wanting to disturb this family reunion. He would have to show this to Lance when the young prince returned. He wished he'd done this as soon as he'd found the king's memory core program during his sweep of the Castle's main systems. With one last look over his shoulder, he left the room, taking care to close the door behind him. He would get the princess's flight suit and leave it inside the door for her to change into when she was good and ready.

Allura meanwhile clung to her father's image like a little lost child. "Father," she said, her voice broken and shaking. "Why did you leave? Why did you have me put in the cryopod? Why didn't you join us? Why didn't you let me stay with you?"

Alfor's tender gaze saddened and he knelt so his daughter could sprawl across the floor and still cling to him. At his will, the room glowed. A tick later, he and his daughter were surrounded by the juniberry field that used to be just beyond the boundaries of the capital city of Altea. Allura's breath caught as she turned her head in all directions, taking in the memorable sight.

"Please understand," Alfor began, "I never intended for this to happen." His daughter turned her gaze back to him and he pressed a fleeting kiss to her forehead. "I wanted you and Lance to live, even if I didn't make it. You two are my lasting living children. The last of my family. I couldn't bear the thought of losing the both of you too." He lifted his gaze and looked around curiously. "Where is Lance?" he asked. "I had hoped to see him as well."

Allura flinched and bowed her head. "He…" She sniffed. "Forgive me father," she whispered. "I failed. I sent him to find the Blue Lion, but the Galra were there. He ordered the Yellow Lion's paladin to escape before the Galra had the chance to capture it, and we haven't heard from him since."

Alfor's eyes widened in dawning horror. "No," he breathed. He shook his head. "Lance isn't gone," he declared firmly. "He can't be." He felt like he was attempting to convince himself of that more than his daughter. When he noticed Allura's shoulders begin to shake, he placed his hands on either side of her head and lifted her face so he could see her watery eyes. "Fear not," he said. "Lance is clever and stubborn and does not typically boast without reason."

Allura snorted in an unladylike manner, a smile twitching her lips. Alfor smiled in return. "I did say 'typically' did I not?" he teased. Allura nodded, wiping her tears away. She grimaced when she realized her nose had begun to run. She flushed when her father chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be back," Alfor said sincerely. "He never did stray far from your side."

Allura's smile softened. "He always followed me around like an imprinting benu bird," she said snickering. "He always wanted to be the center of attention. He used to tease me all the time and pull my hair."

Alfor laughed. "He was good with the younger ones though," he said fondly. "But you were always the leader. You could keep Lance under your thumb."

Allura pouted, sticking her lower lip out in a childish manner. "Not when he flirted," she grumbled. "Whenever I told him to stop, he'd flirt with me." She shuddered playfully and rolled her eyes. "He could never take anything seriously except flying."

"He was a great pilot." Alfor agreed. "He still is, I bet. Don't give up on him just yet. If there's one thing I'm sure of," he said with a wink, "it's that you should never underestimate Lance's ability to surprise."

Allura snickered. "I know that, believe me." She stared up at her father, glowing against the holographic Altean juniberry field and felt her heart swell. Her father may be gone from the physical world, but she still had his memory and now this in a memory core. She also had Lance, when that idiot brother of hers ever decided to show up, that is. "When I find him, I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind," she said primly, tossing her long white hair over her shoulder.

Alfor threw his head back and laughed from his belly. "I'm sure you will," he said gaily. "Whether he'll listen to you or not remains to be seen, but I'm sure you'll give it your best."

Allura rolled her eyes. "I have to get back to the paladins," she said reluctantly. "The Green and Yellow Lions have been found and the Black Lion's paladin is here but we couldn't find Lance. When we went to look for him, we also looked for the Blue Lion and couldn't find it either. I'm not really surprised by that, but still… Father," she said slowly, "I can't find the Red Lion. Not anywhere."

The former king's eyes grew solemn. "We will hold out hope," he said at last. "With you alive and your new paladins by your side, I'm sure you'll find your brother and the Red and Blue Lions. Who knows, they may find you."

The princess nodded and stood. "There's a Galra battlecruiser in orbit around Arus," she declared. "We've been able to restore power to the Castle's particle barrier, but it's nowhere near full power and we won't be ready to leave Arus for a few more cycles at least." She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath to steady herself, dawning the air of the princess she was. "We're ready to defend the Castle," she said boldly. "The Lions will not fall into the Galra's hands." She narrowed her eyes. "I won't let it."

Alfor smiled proudly and stood as well. "That's my girl," he said. He lowered his chin in acknowledgement of his daughter's declaration. "Go with my blessing."

Allura smiled and waved. The last she saw of her long lost father was a return wave, then the holographic Altea vanished taking her father's memory core image with it. She took several ticks to gather herself before turning to leave. She stopped when she saw her flight suit resting on the floor by the door, neatly folded and ready for her. Another tear slipped down her face and she quickly brushed it away.

When she emerged from the holodeck, she was suited up and ready to fight. Her dress was folded where her flight suit had been. She'd retrieve it later, after all this mess had been taken care of. For now, she made her way to the Castle's bridge. It was time to make the Galra wish they'd never entered orbit around Arus.

When she stepped onto the bridge, her three remaining paladins were currently in a deep discussion with Coran. Pidge was holding something that looked like a small time keeping device and Coran was holding a ticker next to Pidge's device.

"Most interesting," Coran said, rubbing his fluffy mustache with interest. "It seems a tick is a bit longer than one of your seconds."

"Yeah," Hunk said, leaning over Pidge to get a better look at the two devices, "but your tecks are shorter than our minutes. And your tocks are longer than our hours."

"But they're close enough to not get too confused, I guess," Pidge said, pulling his device back and strapping it to his wrist.

"Honestly," Shiro said, a faint flush of color in his cheeks, "I'm more familiar with the tick, teck, tock thing than the seconds, minutes, hours thing due to my time with the Galra."

Pidge blushed awkwardly and scratched his head. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Don't worry, Pidge," Shiro said, mussing Pidge's hair affectionately. "I may not remember much about my time under their control, but if I let everything that reminded me of that time bother me then I'd be completely useless." He smiled, flashing his teeth. "Can't have that, now can we?"

"Yeah," Hunk said, pumping his fist in the air. "We have to eat first."

Pidge snickered and Shiro sighed. Coran looked simply enthused. "I think that's a wonderful idea Hunk," he said. "After we've defeated the Galra though. Consider it your reward."

Hunk hesitated, then grinned and pounded his fist in his open hand. "Anything that gets between me and food is my enemy," he said.

"Good thing," Coran said. "Defeat the Galra and I'll have a delicious and nutritious meal waiting for all of you."

"Oh heck yeah!" Hunk shouted, hopping excitedly.

"Ready to fight, I see," Allura said, stepping forward.

"Oh hey prince- Woah! You look awesome!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Yeah," Pidge agreed. "Nice suit."

The princess smiled. "Thank you. It's my old flight suit."

"You flew?" Shiro asked curiously.

"Oh yes," she said. "I used to fly with my brother all the time back on Altea. Lance was the better pilot, but we both loved to fly."

Shiro smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Good to know," he said. "Maybe we can all go flying together one day."

For some reason, that brought an unfamiliar warmth to Allura's cheeks. She cleared her throat and directed her gaze to Coran who was watching her with the same gentle gaze she remembered from her youth. She wrapped her arms around her advisor's neck, startling him.

"Thank you," she said. She tightened her hold, smiling when she felt Coran hug her back. "Thank you."

"Anytime princess," he said.

They parted and Allura took a deep breath. "Alright paladins," she said, stepping up to the pedestal in the center of the bridge. Two command towers rose from the floor, stopping at her waist. She placed her hands on the tops of the towers and a screen appeared in front of her. "Pidge, Hunk, head to you Lions. Be ready to launch on my mark. Shiro, stay here and help Coran. The Castle has defenses other than the particle barrier. With you and Coran manning them, I can control the particle barrier and keep an eye on the battlefield."

An alarm sounded and everyone looked up to the main view screen. The Galra battlecruiser was finally descending into Arus' atmosphere. Allura frowned, determined to win this.

"Be ready," she commanded.

"Yes ma'am," Shiro answered.

"We got this," Hunk said.

"Gotcha," Pidge shouted, running to the elevator with Hunk.

"Wait!" Coran shouted. "There's something else on the scanners."

Everyone paused and turned back to Coran who was bent over a panel studying the signals flashing on a gridded coordinate map of Arus' atmosphere and surrounding space.

"What is it?" Allura demanded.

"More Galra?" Shiro asked, leaning over Coran's shoulder. The signals were blue and red respectively.

"Oh god no," Hunk groaned.

"Ha!"

Shiro jerked back at Coran's exclamation and stared at the advisor in confused amusement as Coran began doing what Shiro could only liken to an overly enthusiastic version of the chicken dance.

"Uh, Coran?" Hunk called uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

"It's them!" Coran shouted gleefully, throwing his arms up in the air. "They're back?"

"Who?" Pidge asked, totally confused.

"Lance!"

"What?" Allura gasped, pulling up that quadrant of Arus' space on her three-dimensional map in front of her.

"Lance is the Blue Lion's paladin," Coran said. "And that," he said, pointing to the flashing blue signal on the map, "is the Blue Lion's signal. That means-"

"It's Lance," Allura said, an excited smile filling her face. "He made it." She gasped. "Coran, is that-"

"It is indeed, princess," Coran said, turning to the flashing red signal. "That is the Red Lion's signal. Lance found the Red Lion and its paladin."

"That means we can free the Black Lion," Pidge gasped.

"We can form Voltron!" Allura said, her face glowing with joy. "Pidge, Hunk, get to your Lions and give the Red and Blue Lions cover. Do not let the Galra touch them."

"Yes ma'am," both paladins said with a salute.

Allura did not watch them go. She was too busy staring at the Blue and Red Lions' signal and trying not to cry from relief. Her brother was back. And somehow he'd found the missing Red Lion and its paladin. She looked forward to meeting the newest paladin. She sincerely hoped Lance hadn't let his recklessness and flirting be the first thing the newest paladin experienced. She couldn't wait to hear their story.