Allura's face showed only grim determination, but Lance saw the glimmer of fear in her eyes, how her form flickered and became more transparent. She was losing. Lotor had somehow fused with the dark entity, and now he was a being that seemed to be made of pure dark quintessence.

When Allura saw the Lions, relief lit her face and renewed her spirit. While Lotor was distracted, she threw a solid left hook that sent him flying. He flopped to the ground like an old sock.

Then the puddle of darkness boiled and reformed as a massive eagle. It lunged for the Lions, who scattered in all directions as they dodged.

Lance plugged his bayard into its slot, activating Blue's sonic roar. It stunned the dark entity, allowing Pidge to hit it with vine bombs that trapped it in a thick web of vegetation.

The creature grew again, becoming a dragon that looked to be torn from the pages of a medieval fairy tale book. It roared at the Lions.

Red roared back, spewing fire into the dragon's mouth and causing it to flinch before tearing through its middle with her claws.

The dragon whipped its head around to attack Red, only to collide with Yellow head-on.

It dispersed.

The lions barely had time to regroup before it reformed as a swarm of birds.

Black swept through the swarm, dispersing dozens of birds with her razor-sharp wings. Then she circled her teammates, stopping in front of them, facing the swirling mass of darkness.

"Alright, team. Form Voltron!"

The five Lions flew in formation until they came together with a few fluid transformations and a flash of light, forming the massive humanoid mech.

Lance didn't even have time to see what the darkness was trying to become. Voltron had already dashed forward, slicing it in half.

Behind you!

Something slammed into the back of the mech before Lance could begin to relay the message. He grit his teeth against the impact. Voltron fell to the ground, crushed beneath the foot of the kaiju.

Voltron struggled under the weight of the darkness. It seeped across the mech like a paint spill. Lance felt his energy and will being sapped away.

Why was he fighting so hard? For who? For all he knew, the Lions were the only force holding the retired Paladins together. Without their identity as Paladins, there was nothing to stop the group from drifting away. Lance would be alone again. And it would be even worse than before because he had gotten a taste of true friendship. True love. He didn't want to lose that. He wasn't ready. He would never be ready.

Meanwhile, Keith hung limp in his chair, fighting the urge to just fall asleep and never wake up. Why was he sacrificing so much for people who took so long to accept him? When he had left to join the Blades of Marmora it was like they didn't miss him at all, even though they welcomed him back with open arms when he came back. He and Red could go their separate ways.

Pidge shook with rage and sadness. Her bond with Green had opened her mind to the real secret behind the greatest technologies: connection. Inventions were never made in a vacuum. Human connection gave her inspiration and motivation that led her to discover new possibilities that continued to amaze her. If she lost this connection, would she lose that inspiration? It was better not to risk it.

Hunk trembled with fear. Always fear. Fear was constant for him, no matter what. But Yellow had made him feel safe enough to test his own boundaries and become more than he ever thought he could be. Yellow had even helped him protect and lift up others. Without his connection to her, would he still be as strong as he was now?

Shiro cried out as memories came flooding back to him. The capture. The torture. Being forced to fight. Being molded into the ultimate killer. Escaping, finding a place where he belonged, where he could make a difference, then dying and being replaced by a puppeted clone. He had lost his connection to Black and become helpless, relegated to the sidelines. Without his bond with Black, he was weak.

Then Lance remembered his days on board the Atlas during the mission, bouncing around between his former teammates, sharing jokes, playing video games, or sometimes just talking for hours. They wouldn't do that if there was nothing between them but the mission. Before they had even met the Lions, he was friends with Pidge and Hunk. Whatever had brought them together in the first place was strong enough to withstand this loss.

Then Keith remembered the look on everybody's faces when he returned. Even if they sucked at communicating, they had genuinely missed him. They were relieved to see him come back. So overcome with joy that they had gathered him in a group hug. Having so many people on his side was overwhelming, scary, but the closest he'd ever come to pure happiness. He could never abandon his team after that, and he knew Red felt the same way about her team. Because he cared about both, he had to do the right thing.

Then Pidge remembered how her family had helped her with her homework and various projects ever since she could remember. She would have failed out of school if it wasn't for their support. And when she was trapped in the Castle of Lions and had to take down a Galra invasion by herself, it was her love and loyalty to her Voltron family that encouraged her to keep going and find solutions. She searched Green's feelings and knew that the Lion was immensely proud of her for forming those connections. Through those bonds, Green's own connection to Voltron had grown stronger. Green was ready to keep learning and keep growing with her team by her side, and so was Pidge, even if it meant going their separate ways.

Then Hunk remembered how he had finally awakened Yellow in the battle to save Earth. He had been the first to connect to his Lion in the distance between the ship and where the Lions were hidden. His first day as team member, he never would have dared try that. He never would have been able to be calm enough to try. That was all him. If he stayed behind Yellow's shield all his life, he would stop growing. He was brave enough to solve problems without violence and without needing armor.

Then Shiro remembered when he stole Black's bayard from Zarkon's hands by passing through the astral plane with the Lion. They had done it together, but Shiro was the pilot. He was the one who made the jump. Black had followed his lead. He realized that as long as he had his friends by his side, he could face whatever came next. The people who had hurt him, the bad things that had happened, couldn't take away his ability to choose his own path.

With a chorus of shouts, the Paladins focused their will.

Light washed over them, driving away the darkness.

When Lance could see again, he was floating in the void of space. He thanked his lucky stars that Pidge had suggested they all wear the Atlas's EVA suits instead of their Paladin armor, in case this exact thing happened. They had been teleported out of the cockpits of the Lions when the rift had sealed. Now they were back on their own side of space, drifting between the Lions and what the dark entity had left behind.

Lotor's body.

Thankfully it didn't show any signs of the damage it had taken during their last encounter. The Galra prince was as Lance remembered him in life, except for the layer of frost that covered him.

Allura floated nearby, also unconscious, though she showed no signs of exposure to the elements. She was translucent. Lance could see the stars behind her shining through.

The Atlas loomed over them, and transport pods hurried to bring everyone inside.