So dear readers, we have reached the end of our journey. A final thanks to all of the reviewers, I'm glad you've enjoyed the story. As to the question of a third story in this series, I have no plans at this time. But never say never...you never know when the muse will strike.

Until next time.

Mertz

Chapter 26

Relief fills Romelle as her home planet grows in size on her screen. Home, something she never thought she'd see again. A light on the panel between her and Sven begins to blink. He reaches over and flips it off then starts pressing buttons on his control panel. Looking over, Romelle asks, "What is it?"

"There are ships in the area. However, without the proper codes to decrypt the system, I don't know if it's your brother, Voltron or Doom."

Frustration fills her. To be so close, yet so much can still go wrong. Her eyes move over Pollux, taking in the deep blue of the planet's atmosphere. Her eyes drift over to the moon. The moon! That's it! She pulls back on the yoke only to hear Sven demand, "What are you doing?"

"We can't communicate with anyone. So, we can't fly right to Pollux. If it is a trap, we need to be able to see it first," she explains, her eyes on the screen as the ship approaches the Polluxian moon.

"Come around from the blind side and surprise them instead?"

His tone shows how impressed Sven is with the thought. She looks over to find him nodding before he smiles at her, "Good plan."

Romelle smiles back then turns back to the screen. They begin rounding the moon and spot all the ships in the area. Voltron stands with energy beams wrapped around it, unable to move. Her brother's ships show heavy damage as Doom fighters continue to attack. Romelle gasps and slaps her hand over her mouth. They watch the golden robot approach Voltron.

Beside her, Sven yells, "NO!"

He turns to face her, "It has a drill, it'll use it to destroy Voltron. We have to stop them!"

Panicked, Romelle asks, "How?"

"The crown, we need to knock it off Voltron's head!"

Taking a deep breath, Romelle looks out again. Two Doom battleships stand between them and saving Voltron. Looking back at Sven, she asks, "Do we have any weapons?"

"A couple of laser canons, but not much. Why?"

Squeezing the controls, Romelle turns the ship in the direction of Voltron, "Fire on the two battleships as we go by to distract them."

He nods, "And the crown?"

"Give me the coordinates to hit it, Sven. We need to be right on."

Sven's expression changes to one of determination. He looks back at his controls and begins reading off coordinates. Flipping the dials to match the numbers, Romelle changes the ship's flight path and heads for the battleships. As they fly under them, Sven cries, "Fire!"

Paying no attention to the firefight, she watches the screen as they approach Voltron and the robot robeast. Desperate to ensure she is still in-line, she calls out, "Coordinates!"

Twisting in his seat to turn back to the navigation system, Sven looks at the screen then calls out, "Bear left, two degrees. Five degrees down. You're veering too far to the left, bear right one degree. Increase velocity to full D-11."

Continuing to make corrections, Romelle stares intently at the screen. So close, she feels like she can reach out and touch them. The sensation when they first hit the robeast, then the crown on Voltron's head, is jarring. The entire ship shudders with the collision. Romelle grasps the arm of her chair in an effort to maintain her seat.

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"NO!" Lotor screams as the crown breaks from around Voltron's head. Made inoperable by the blow, the Iron Maiden stands idle with its head split open. The energy beams disintegrate around Voltron, freeing him. He watches in disbelief as Voltron kicks the Iron Maiden away then rises in the air and comes down with the blazing sword to destroy the remains.

Shaking his head as it blows apart, Lotor can't believe his luck. The entire ship shakes the next moment. He turns to his navigator to demand, "What was that?"

"Debris from the Iron Maiden, sire. It has caused a breach in the hull."

The second battleship explodes, causing a brilliant flash on the main screen.

"Get us out of here!" Lotor calls out, afraid his ship might be next.

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On the screen, Romelle watches the remainder of the Drule ships turn and fly away. A mix of joy and disbelief fills her. Free at last. Free from Zarkon, Lotor and all the horrors of Planet Doom. She looks over at Sven. He watches the monitor intently, his eyes on Voltron as the robot loops around Bandor's fleet, assessing damages.

"We're free, Sven."

His expression shows none of the joy she feels. His eyes are impassive as he stares at the monitor. Sven turns his attention to her, gestures toward the planet, and says in a flat tone, "We better land. Your brother will want to see you."

Worried about his lack of emotion, Romelle can only nod. Looking back out, she watches Voltron break down into its individual parts. Pulling on the controls, she directs the ship toward the planet. Landing within the courtyard several minutes later, she releases her tense hold on the controls and stands. Through the monitors, she watches the lions land nearby, the pilots opening their side hatches and jumping to the ground. Looking over, she finds Sven appearing edgy as he stares at the monitors as well, his hands balled into fists. Stepping toward him, Romelle takes his hand within hers, strokes it until he relaxes it, and says, "They are your friends."

"Once."

"Still," Romelle insists as she squeezes his hand. "They came when you called. They are still your friends."

"I let them down," Sven whispers back in a barely audible tone.

"No more than I let Bandor and the people of Pollux down," the princess argues back. She tugs on his hand, "Come, we'll do this together."

She leads Sven down the passageway until they reach the side door and presses the button to open it. They walk down the ramp together, Romelle only releasing Sven's hand when Bandor comes racing toward her while crying out her name. Meeting him halfway, she accepts his hug while trying to push away the feelings of discomfort his nearness brings.

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Watching Romelle embrace her younger brother, Sven notes the relaxed state of her body before turning his attention to his approaching friends. Waiting, he ventures no farther forward, fear sliding through his veins. He watches Princess Allura squeeze Keith's arm, and he nods to her before she moves over to take Bandor's place, hugging Romelle.

His gaze moves back to the others, noting the smiles on their faces as they reach him. Before he can say anything, Hunk pulls him into a bone-crushing hug while exclaiming, "We never gave up that you were alive!"

Feeling a ghost of a smile starting to slip across his face, Sven looks over at Keith as his oldest friend finally approaches. The commander studies him closely, his dark eyes warm with affection as he starts to smile then holds out his hand. Taking Keith's hand, he barely gasps before being pulled into another hard hug. At least able to breathe past this one, Sven says, "Thank you for coming for me."

Releasing him, Keith pulls back before answering, "I would have come sooner if I knew how to reach you."

"I know," Sven answers solemnly, his features grim, "but I couldn't face myself, much less you."

"What changed?"

Looking over to find the princesses arm in arm as they start to walk toward them with Bandor in tow, Sven answers, "She changed me. Helped me to trust myself again."

"They have a way of doing that."

Turning his attention back to his friend, Sven asks, "So, you have accepted Allura then?"

Keith turns to look back, smiles at the sight of the two women walking together, and answers, "Yes, I love her, though we aren't married." He looks back at his friend with an arch of his eyebrow, "I'm not ready for that yet."

A smile flits across Sven's face as Allura stops beside Keith. The commander wraps an arm around her waist while pulling her against his side. His lips press against the side of her head before Keith turns his attention back to him to ask, "So will you be returning with us?"

Looking over at Romelle to find her eyes full of fear, Sven holds his hand out to her while answering, "No, I belong here, with my own soul mate."

Romelle rushes forward and ignores his outstretched hand to wrap her arms around him. Holding her close, Sven look back at Keith to find a bright smile on his friend's face as he replies, "I thought you might say something like that."

Returning the smile, Sven holds his princess close to him as she whispers into his ear, "I love you. Thank you for staying." Tightening his hold on her while lowering his head to rest it near hers, he whispers so only she can hear, "I love you too. There is nowhere else in the universe I'd rather be."