The Castle of Lions was quiet. The resident Paladins were resting up before the next phase of the mission. The Black Lion's hanger in particular had been very quiet as of late. With the recent developments, the Black Paladin hasn't had much time to spend with his Lion. But the Black Lion is a patient being. She waited for her Paladin for ten thousand deca-phoebes and she was no stranger to solitude.

But then, she suddenly wasn't alone.

She registered the quintessential anomaly and corrupted energy before it appeared. Her eyes flashed as the infinite swirling portal snapped open only long enough for a siliving presence to drop through before it vanished from existence. She rose from her haunches and growled a warning as she registered the infectious corruption from the person as they straightened up from their crouch and turned to her. She hadn't felt something so dirty and broken since—

"Sorry, girl. . ."

Wait . . . she knew that voice. In fact, if she looked past the corruption—

The growling cut off as she recognized him. Her old friend. One of her Paladins. Broken. Hurting. Corrupted.

What happened? She tried to ask, tried brushing against his mind, but there was a defensive wall spawned from dark energy that she knew couldn't be broken so easily. She could only watch in silence as Keith, clothed in dark robes and disguised by an ominous mask, darted out of her hanger without a sound.

". . . Keith?"

Keith froze and glanced back at the Black Lion, but nothing moved. He frowned before turning around again. He didn't have time to be hearing things that weren't there. Especially voices that sounded suspiciously like Shiro . . .

He snuck through the familiar halls and passed by familiar rooms. He slowed as he approached the Green Lion's hangar because, despite the late hour, the light was still on. Of course, Pidge was still awake. She barely slept on a good day. . . and he hadn't seen her on the mission at the Mountain to retrieve the Fire Relic.

Against better judgement and before he could clearly think it through, he was pressed against the door frame and craning his neck to glimpse inside. Sure enough, there she was behind her desk, but her nimble fingers sat unmoving on the keyboard as she was lost in deep thought. Keith couldn't help but notice how her shoulders slumped more than usual and her glasses were perched on top of her head instead of on her face.

Finally, she moved. She reached up and rubbed at her eyes in a practiced motion and grimaced before reaching down to rub at her leg. He ducked back when she groaned and let her arms fall to her sides as she stared up at the ceiling.

He should go. He should really go. He shouldn't have stopped.

"Quiznak," her voice cracked, and Keith froze at the tears in her voice. "Where the hell are you, Lance?"

Yeah, he definitely shouldn't have stopped. Now he was trembling because he knew the answer to her question but couldn't bare to tell her. His head hit the wall. Of course, they're still looking for him.

The Green Lion's eyes suddenly flashed, and the growl finally snapped him out of his turmoil. He stumbled away from the hanger and deeper into the castle.

"What is it, girl?" Pidge asked, casting a look around the hanger for what had irked her Lion. "There's no one there. It's okay."

After a moment, the Green Lion settled down and her eyes went dark again.

"Guess we're all a little on edge," Pidge rubbed her eyes and got back to upgrading her search program with renewed vigour.

Oo-oO

Except for almost turning onto the training deck out of sheer habit, Keith somehow made it to the Red Lion's hangar. He stood in the doorway and there was Red, sitting as regally as ever. For the first time in a very, very long time, Keith felt like he was home.

Then he stepped into the hangar.

Immediately, the Red Lion's eyes flared, and she growled a warning, just like the other Lions had done. Keith froze and the feeling of home was ripped away as suddenly as it appeared.

That's right. He doesn't belong here anymore. He's no longer a Paladin of Voltron, but he still had some measure of a connection to the Lions . . . to Red. He could feel it was still there. So he swallowed past the lump in his throat, because he was doing this for Lance . . .

It was all for Lance.

He would fix everything.

Everything would go back to norm—back to the way it should be.

"Red," Keith spoke softly and slowly approached the Lion. She growled louder and raised her particle barrier.

Okay, Keith grimaced, that hurt.

"Red," he tried again and reached out to brush against her quintessence. She stilled at the contact but didn't lower her shield. "It's me, girl." He pushed further into their connection as he drew to a stop in front of the barrier.

Wrong, Red whispered. She could recognize him, but the Black Lion was right. Something was very very wrong.

The word echoed in Keith's head and he laid a hand against the particle barrier. "I know I've changed. But it's me, Keith. I—I need your help. It's Lance, he—he gave you something, didn't he? I—he needs help, Red, and I'm the only one who can bring that idiot back!" His voice cracked as his emotions snuck up on him. He tried to bury them and lock them away, but he could already feel the tears behind his mask.

"Red, I . . . I—" Keith's words failed him. So instead, he let the torrent of emotions that stormed inside of him flood their connection. All the frustration, all the anger and the hurt and the confusion. He didn't know where one feeling started and the next one stopped. He was a mess, so he rested his forehead against the barrier as he bore himself to her. "Please," he begged. "Please, let me save him."

Red's growl deepened into a rumbling purr. She wrapped him in her quintessence and tried to sooth away the corruption that stained him . . . her Paladin.

Keith felt her fill him. Felt the aches and pains of the recent exhaustion dull. The tearing of his corrupted soul soothed by her touch. It didn't heal him, but he was able to stand without shaking.

The particle barrier dropped so fast that Keith was almost sent sprawling on the floor. He wanted to stay there, feeling safe in her embrace, but he couldn't. An image of Lance laying on a cold table, too still, too quiet, forced him to pull away.

"You'll help me, girl?" he whispered, emotion clear in his voice.

The Red Lion opened her mouth and lowered her ramp

Oo-oO

The scene played over and over in Egal's head, picking out each and every mistake from the encounter with the Apprentice.

Let guard down around the Stranger.

Slow reaction time.

Hesitated when Enemy was vulnerable.

Froze up when it counted the most.

Lost the Relic of Fire.

Now the Enemies are one step closer to total universal destruction. It all could have been avoided, if only Egal had been able to think clearer, move faster, been better . . . if only Egal had been a Paladin that Voltron deserved.

A rumble vibrated through Egal's mind, dislodging the train of thought as the Red Lion called. The soft tickle persistently poked until Egal sighed and gave in to the Lion's beckoning.

Egal rolled out of the bed that was used for sleep and flicked on a portable light source. Egal's eyes squinted in the sudden brightness, but quickly adjusted as chloroplasts stared feeding energy into Egal's muscles. After another moment, Egal started wandering the halls with the small floating light following behind.

This had become somewhat of a reoccurring thing; when the self depreciating thoughts would build and swirl into a hurricane that would rip apart what little confidence there was, the Red Lion started buzzing incessantly until Egal relented and finally wandered through the castle to the Red Lion's hangar where the night would then be spent with melded minds and traded stories.

Every now and then, within their connected minds, Egal will see a humanoid figure that Egal assumed was an incarnation of the Lion. A being who had a smile like the sun and would encourage Egal and offer the occasional advice on how to better connect with the other Paladins.

Other times Egal would share stories about the planet where Egal grew up, X3. It was a planet whose species evolved from ancient flora and thrived in the sunlight while falling drowsy in the dark. The young mature in the soil until their flowers bloom and they break to the surface. The sprouts would play in the fields of wildflowers and the adults watched on as the sprouts chased bumble berries and caused mischief. It was a very peaceful existence where the most pressing issues included skin care, heartbreak and what to eat for dinner that night.

But in this peaceful world ruled by beauty, Egal's uneven complexion caused to other sprouts to look the other way. Egal didn't fit in, despite what the Cultivators would say.

The humanoid incarnation of the Red Lion would help to sooth Egal's tormented mind, reassure that Egal has what it takes to be a Paladin, and lighten the mood with a smile that looked like sunshine. They were always the best nights that had Egal waking up the next morning with new determination and ready to take on anything. In all honesty, Egal almost thought of the Red Lion and the human apparition as separate entities, even though they must be the same.

But those were thoughts that didn't quite fit into Egal's crowded mind that night. Egal was ready to hunker down in Egal's Lion and get some true rest . . . if only fate were so kind.

The door to the Red Lion's hangar slid open soundlessly and Egal walked in. Egal brushed against the Red Lion's mind. There was a sliver of acknowledgement but . . . it was almost like the Red Lion was preoccupied. . . with someone else?

"Red?" Egal called out tentatively. The Red Lion was laying down and the ramp was already extended. An cold inkling had Egal thinking it wasn't because the Red Lion had called out to Egal. Something had happened since Red had called.

As Egal stood there frozen, someone came out of Egal's Lion. Someone who Egal knew from a previous encounter. An encounter that had left Egal reeling and doubting Egal's potential and abilities to complete missions. Egal stands frozen as the Enemy's Apprentice walks down the Red Lion's ramp with a brightly glowing light cradled in the Enemy's hands.

Oo-oO

Keith noticed too late. The new Red Paladin was right there. He's already taken a hit from the gun side of his weird bayard before it even registers. Keith yelps and grabs hold of his injured shoulder and shields the fragment of Lance's soul from view.

This is bad. He was really hoping he wouldn't run into anyone, let alone this guy.

"Why is the Enemy's Apprentice here?!" Egal demanded and Keith tightened his hold on the soul fragment.

"Forgot about you," Keith muttered and winced as his new wound throbbed in time with his old ones.

"Why has the Enemy come here?" Egal asked, calmer now that both twin pistols were pointed at him. Keith grit his teeth in frustration. He didn't have time to fight against this kid again. Lance's soul fragment couldn't stay out in the open for too long or it would become vulnerable to decay. And he still had to recover the Fragment left to the Blue Lion, too.

The Red Lion roared, shaking the castle and waking up anyone who had been asleep. The split-second distraction gave Keith the chance mutter a sloppy barrier hex and shove the fragment in the storage box in his cloak, it should protect the Fragment for now.

Before he could reach for his weapon, Shiro was bursting into the room. It was too quick for him to have been responding to the Lion's roar. Something else must have tipped him off. Did the Black Lion give him away?

Shiro took in the scene and the new Red Paladin began firing again. Keith leapt and rolled out of the way, taking cover behind the maintenance unit. He couldn't go for his luxite blade, Shiro would recognize it.

Instead, he clenched his teeth together and took his losses. He activated the portal. The next second he was gone, falling through the floor into the Pocket Dimension. One fragment would have to be enough for now. He'll just have to come back for the Blue Lion's fragment later.

Oo-oO

"How did he manage to get aboard the Castle?" Allura asked, baffled. Everyone had gathered on the bridge to debrief and discuss the recent events.

"Our scanners haven't picked up any sign of a ship anywhere in our proximity," Coran reported as he scanned the Castle's logs of the past few varga. "There's no way they could have gotten aboard since we left Firannial."

"So what? This guy somehow managed to hitch a ride on one of the Lions and stow away once we left?" Hunk asked.

"Impossible," Coran answered. "Unless they didn't bring the Fire Relic along with them when they left the planet, which I think we can all agree is highly unlikely, then our power readings would have detected something that powerful. The whole system would have gone haywire!"

"I also find it hard to believe that the Lions would simply allow an intruder passage without kicking up some sort of fuss," Allura added.

"No," Shiro said, "the way he just disappeared . . . He might have some sort of teleportation ability. It would also explain how he vanished after falling from the Mountain."

"But to accurately teleport from such a distance directly into the heart of the Castle, without a position to lock onto? It's not as if we're remaining in one spot."

"Maybe not so impossible," Coran drew everyone's attention to a security feed from the Black Lion's hanger. They gathered around and watched the clip. A swirling portal snapped into existence and a darkly cloaked figure fell through and landed in a crouch.

"So he can warp," Pidge leaned forward with interest, replaying the clip and taking note of the distortion that the ripple of energy caused. "Wonder how that works."

"Wait a second," Shiro frowned. "Coran, keep it playing."

The Black Lion reacted to the intruder. Her eyes lit up and she rose . . . only to settle back down when the intruder ran from the hanger.

Coran switched the feed to another camera and followed the intruder as he navigated through the Castle's complex twists and turns. "Seems to know where he's going," Coran noted aloud.

"Some sort of mapping technology?" Pidge suggested.

"Perhaps . . ."

They watched the Green Lion react similarly to Black, settling down just as quickly, then he got to the Red Lion. Like the other's the Red Lion stood and even went as far as to activate her particle barrier. He approached, placed his hand on the barrier as if asking permission . . . then the barrier fell! The Red Lion let him in! The rest was just as Egal described.

Silence reigned as Coran switched off the terminal.

Hunk eventually broke first.

"Okay, I can't be the only one thinking it, buuuuuuuut," he drew out the word, reluctant to voice his suspicions. "There's only two other people who have a connection to the Red Lion and one of them's busy on a top-secret mission for the Blade of Marmora."

"What are you suggesting?!" Pidge snapped even as doubt swirled in her mind. "He wouldn't just—he'd have said something . . . Why would Lance be working for the bad guy?"

She was met with silence. This couldn't be her fault . . . right?
"Umbra has a way of weaving his words to entrap even the strongest of wills," Lux spoke from out of no where.

Pidge jumped, "God! You have got to stop popping out nowhere!"

"Don't underestimate the abilities of a word smith," the Guardian of Light finished.

"Okay, okay," Shiro tried to divert the discussion. "But what if it isn't Lance? What if they just used some kind of controlling magic to make the Red Lion obey?"

"Is that even possible?" Hunk muttered.

"Makes more sense than Lance going rogue," Pidge glared at Hunk for even suggesting the idea. He was supposed to be his best friend!

"I sensed no residual energy in the hanger that would imply such a thing occurred," Allura furrowed her brows in thought. "And the Red Lion doesn't seem distressed about the ordeal. Egal, have you noticed anything wrong?"

Egal wasn't expecting to be called upon and took a moment to answer. "The intruder took something from the Red Lion. Some sort of glowing energy orb. Egal doesn't know what it was, but Egal has yet to find any discrepancies in the Red Lion. Whatever happened, the Red Lion let the intruder in willingly. There was no coercion. It's likely that the Red Lion has a connection with the intruder." Egal finished softly and felt like curling up somewhere dark.

Pidge's hands tightened into fists on her arm rests. Allura noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't like the idea any more than you do, Pidge. It saddens us all greatly but Lance made his choice. I know it's hard to accept, but we can't ignore the possibility that—"

"There it is again," Pidge slapped her hand away and pushed herself to her feet. "You know, when someone you cared about leaves, not all of us can just keep going like nothing happened!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Allura gasped.

"Oh, nothing! Just you, being your usual heartless self and refusing to even try to look for him—"

Allura tried to rebut but Pidge doesn't give her a chance.

"And don't even try to tell me you have been. That pathetic little sweeping program you have set up with facial recognition isn't doing jack and you know it! After all, you have your replacement, so who cares that Lance left on bad terms! Who cares about making up? On this ship we just throw away our friends when we're done with them!"

"That isn't what's happening!" Allura snapped. "Of course I worry. But we have an entire universe to defend! We're fighting a war! We don't exactly have time to chase after Lance's dramatics. He left because he chose to!"

"He left because we made him!"

"No, he left because you pushed him away." Allura's voice was icy.

Oo-oO

It's times like these that Egal couldn't help but feel out of place. Allura and Pidge screamed at each other, arguing about the missing Paladin while the rest could only watch.

"No, he left because you pushed him away. Now look what's happened."

"Because you won't let me go look for him! Besides, we don't know for sure that Umbra's Apprentice is Lance! We don't know anything about this guy! Yeah, sure, Egal says that Red's all fine and dandy, as if Egal could actually tell if anything would even be wrong with one of the Lions."

Egal's chloroplasts throbbed in irritation. It was one thing to let the girls fight out their frustrations. It was another thing when Pidge starts directing anger towards Egal. It was nothing new, but to be frank, Egal had had enough.

"Well, it's no surprise the Missing Paladin left if this is how Pidge treats comrades," Egal simply spoke, reining in anger and turned to leave. Egal was only met by a stunned silence. The door closed behind and Egal didn't loiter around to listed to the shouting and scolding that erupted from the control room.

Rampant emotions flooded through Egal and Egal, for once, let them have their way. It was hard to distinguish each of them. There was anger at Pidge for not believing in what Egal reported, but that shouldn't be surprising at this point. There was a sense of disappointment when none of the others thought to stand up for Egal, too caught up in loyalty for the Missing Paladin to want to help. All of it culminated into a sense of alienation that was all too familiar to Egal.

Egal didn't belong here. No one wanted Egal here. It would be better if the Missing Paladin came back after all. Everyone would be happier. Egal has never been one to forge bonds and make connections with others. Egal was used to being pushed away and shunned. Back on X3 it was for Egal's discoloured skin. Here, it's because Egal is a substitute, a fill-in until the true Paladin returns. Pidge has said so ever since the beginning. Why is Egal only realizing it now?

Egal doesn't belong here.

Egal doesn't belong on X3.

The only place Egal ever belonged was with Zin, traveling among the stars and trading whatever interesting merchandise happened to come by. But Zin in dead. Killed by the Galra. Egal thought that Egal could do something about it, but Egal was wrong.

Now Egal doesn't belong anywhere.

The door swooshed open to the Red Lion's hanger. Egal felt the Red Lion brush against Egal's mind in apology. Egal's stomach dropped at the admission.

"So, the Red Lion really did let the intruder in?" Egal felt lost. "Was it . . ." Egal let the question drop as Red's presence retreated. That was confirmation enough. Red knew who the intruder is. But if Egal tells the rest of the team, would Egal be believed? Pidge certainly wouldn't. Hunk would probably be saddened. Would Shiro get angry? What would Allura do? Or Coran?

Egal really doesn't know the team all that well. . .

But Egal couldn't just leave. Not yet. Perhaps when the Missing Paladin returned, Egal would be kicked out. It's only logical. Until then, Egal will bide time and do what Egal can. But for now, Egal curls up in the pilot's chair and shut's Egal's eyes. The usual sense of comfort didn't come. The warm reassurances, the XX, the kind smile that shone like the sun . . . it was all absent.

Egal didn't belong with the Red Lion anymore.

As her Paladin's eyes closed, the Red Lion despaired. Why couldn't she seem to keep any of her Paladin? First Keith left, then Lance. Will Egal leave next? It wasn't fair. . . why do they keep leaving? It's not fair.

All throughout the Castle, the Lions all felt their sister's sorrow.