This is the last chapter until further notice
XxXxXxXx
The Lions flew through space.
"Come on, everyone up." Keith's voice came through the comlinks. "Everybody up."
Celestia grumbled as she snuggled deeper in her blankets on her makeshift bed inside the cargo bay of her Lion.
"What's the point?" Lance's voice came through the coms. "We're just floating in space. There's no day or night out here."
"I must agree with Lance." Allura agreed. "We should sleep for fifteen more doboshes."
"Sounds good to me." Celestia agreed, then yawned and made herself more comfy on her cot.
"Guys, we can't let this long journey make us soft or dull our skills." Keith's voice came through again. "Routine will keep us sharp."
"Keith's right." Shiro agreed. "Routine is what got me through being Zarkon's prisoner."
"I guess that does make you an expert at killing time." Lance grumbled.
Celestia yawned and stretched, she felt really good and healthy again. She grabbed her bathroom supplies and went about the bathroom routine which is hard when you're stuck inside a lion for who knows how long.
Standing up, she looked around before she moved her arms and her Paladin uniform magically appeared on her, making her smile. She ran for her cockpit.
XxXxXxXx
"Ok everyone, to your stations." Keith ordered. "Running battle simulations now."
All the Paladins grumbled.
"Can't we - can't we have breakfast first?" Hunk whined.
"I programmed a new battle simulation." Krolia informed as all the consoles in each Lion began to flicker to reveal a a volcano planet. "I think it's going to be especially challenging."
"Why do you sound happy about that?" Hunk questions.
Lance sighed. "Like mother like son."
"Focus!" Keith growls.
"Here's the scenario. Your on a planet with double gravity." Krolia explained. "Dense volcanic fog and eight blover raptors are attacking. What do you do?"
The scene changed and the lions are now in a volcano like planet that have beasts with wings.
"This is gonna be good." Keith comments with a smile.
Celestia sighs, she finds herself really hungry and her stomach starts to growl making her place a hand on her stomach.
"Do these Raptors have eggs?" Hunk asks. "I say we steal some and we make breakfast." He then suddenly screams and his beaken disappears.
"A blover raptor just melted your face off, Hunk!" Krolia calls out.
"Breakfast sounds heavenly right now." Celestia said with a smile, also not paying attention. She then named off a lot of breakfast foods, making Hunk even more hungry. Celestia suddenly screamed when her Lion shook a little and her beaken disappeared.
Soon Keith's beaken disappeared too.
The team continued till the simulation disappeared.
"Wait. What happened?" Pidge asked.
"You focused too much on the Raptors and forgot about the volcano." Krolia answered.
"That fictional planet seemed harsh." Lance commented.
"I programmed the simulator to unbeatable." Krolia explained. "I wanted to see how long you'd survive."
"Well I hope your happy." Lance sighs.
XxXxXxXx
"Food incoming!" Hunk calls. "Aw, what a good wolf ... fella ... guy." He trails off. "Gosh, we really gotta come up with a name for this wolf."
"Not gonna happen." Keith quickly rejected the idea.
"Oh come on!" Hunk pushes. "I vote Cosmo."
"I like Cosmo." Allura said.
"Cosmo is cool." Lance agreed.
"Yeah, it's nice." Pidge added.
The wolf appeared inside White Lion, Celestia smiled as she pulled out her breakfast. "Who's a good boy?" She cooed as she scratched his ears and petted Cosmo's face. "You are! Such a good boy!" She coos.
"Hey Keith, sounds like you just got replaced!" Lance teases brightly.
"Shut up!" Keith snapped. "And we're not calling him Cosmo!" He ads.
"Oh come on Keith!" Hunk pushes "We gotta call him something."
"I figure when he's ready, he'll tell me his name." Keith said.
"So Cosmo." Lance said simply. "Got it."
Keith sighed, giving up.
Celestia quickly dug into her breakfast and was soon finishing and asking for seconds.
"Whoa! You polished that off already?" Hunk asked, impressed. "Give me a few minutes please."
"Oh! Hunk, this is delicious!" Lance exclaimed.
"Yes, thank you Lance." Hunk said proudly. "I made it by collecting fungus paste from the dung of beetles on the last planet we stopped at to pick up supplies."
Lance spit out his food. "Hunk! Please! I don't wanna know what it is." He said as Celestia turned and threw up in a bag she uses for waste after her stomach turned. "I just wanna eat it and pretend that it's my meemaw's home cooking."
Suddenly a beeping came from Green Lion. "A signal!"
"How did you get a signal?" Allura rapidly questioned.
"I've been running a passive scan so I wouldn't give our location away, looking for any signs of communications." Pidge answered as she began to explain. "And I just picked up something!"
"Well, what is it?" Keith asked.
"I'm patching it through now."
A small screen appeared on each of the Lions' console's, it was static at first until Pidge was able to stablize the signal. Suddenly an alien sitcom appeared on the screen. Quickly followed by Coran's loud laughter from Blue Lion.
"That bii-boh-bi sold the other's flizblaznator!" He howled with laughter.
"Wait, shh shh shh shh!" Hunk quickly said. "What's that noise?"
Celestia frowned as she leaned forward and frowned to try to listen. "What is that noise?"
"I'll try to tune it out." Pidge said. "It sounds like some interference."
"No, wait." Krolia quickly said. "Pidge, can you amplify that signal?"
"On it."
The alien show disappeared, and Coran wailed as the sitcom was replaced by signal waves, Pidge continued to work her magic as the signal became clear.
"Judging from the intermitten sound structure, it's just deep space interference." Pidge informs. "Most likely a radiation pulse from a nearby star."
"No. That's just what it's suppose to sound like." Krolia replied. "Listen to the sounds in between the pulse." She told them. "There's a unique pattern."
The Paladins closed there eyes to concentrate on the signal.
"She's right." Allura said.
"Before the Blades were unified, we would use this crude way of communicating with each other." Krolia informed. "Not many Blades know this code. It must be a senior member."
"Kolivon?" Keith asked hopefully.
"Possibly."
"What does it say?" Shiro asked.
"It's a distress signal." Krolia answered. "Whoever is sending it is in trouble."
Pidge brings out a star map on the console's. "It looks like it's coming from this sector."
"Do we know anything about that section of space?" Shiro asks.
"Not without the Castle Of Lions' research library core." Coran answered. "We would be flying in blind."
"We must go!" Krolia insisted.
"That's a severe detour from Earth." Hunk comments.
Celestia closed her eyes, she knew her friends were very homesick. She reopened her eyes. "I'll go!" She decides. "Krolia can come with me." She turns her Lion to the side. "Pidge send me the signal."
Cosmo and Krolia suddenly appear in White Lion, then Cosmo disappears to return to Black Lion. Celestia looked up at Krolia when she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"If Kolivon is there, then maybe there will be more Blades." Keith said as Black Lion moved to White Lion's side. "We need all the help we can get to reach Earth."
Celestia turns back around to the front. "If I could create a wormhole with my magic, I would." She informs. "But I do not have that kind of power. Hunk, we are still."-
"I know, I know." Hunk gently cuts her off. "It's the Paladin code."
XxXxXx
Green Lion led the way. "The signal is coming from this planet." Pidge said as the Lions fly towards a planet. "I'm detecting remnants of a civilization, but I don't see any signs of life."
"Is that a good sign or a bad sign?" Romelle asked as she stood next to Hunk.
"In all of my space experience, there have never been any good signs."
XxXxXxXx
The Lions landed at the edge of a city that looked like there was an ambush. Walls were crumbled like pieces of stone as it lined the road.
"What happened here?" Romelle asked as the team had grouped, she shivered and stepped closer to Hunk when a cold breeze brushed the team.
"The same thing that happened to the Blades." Keith answered as they followed Pidge down the dusty and destroyed city.
Pidge was scanning for any signs of life from her wrist computer as she lead the way. "I still can't tell exactly where the signal is originates." She told Keith. "I'll keep trying to triangulate it's location."
Krolia walked over to a wall. "The signs are all around us. There was a massacre here."
Allura pressed a hand to a wall. "Some of this damage looks like it's from magic."
Keith looked around. "Keep looking. We need to find whatever Blade is broadcasting that signal."
Suddenly Cosmo sniffed at the air and stared at something, then growled.
Keith turned to him. "What is it?"
Cosmo took off running, charging up a broken wall and leaped into the air, landing on a humanoid and has an off insect face. Cosmo continued to stand on the creature as he lowered his head and bared a mouth of teeth.
Keith and Hunk pulled out their bayards to stand on either side of Cosmo. Keith placed his gloved hand on the wolf's back. "Good job." He turns his attention to the creature. "Who are you? Who's broadcasting the signal?"
The creature stared at them. "It was me."
Keith's eyes narrowed. "Impossible. You're no Blade of Marmora."
"I will explain all, if you would put away your weapons and call of your pet."
Krolia turned to her son. "Let's see what he has to say."
Keith hesitated, then de activated his bayard before giving a whistle to Cosmo, who moved away and walked up to his master's side.
The alien sat up, then pushed himself up.
"Who are you?" Celestia asked.
"My name is Macidus. I have a camp not that far from here. I will explain what has transpired here."
XxXxXxX
The alien led them to the ruins of a building where a fire was lit. Boxes and planks littered the ground around the fire. Macides feed the fire while water dripped from pipes.
"This place is disgusting." Romelle voices.
"And it smells." Celestia quickly added.
"I have called this place home for the past two deca-pheebs."
"Oh, well, 'desgusting' is Altean for 'lovely.'" Romelle quickly said as she took a side step to hide behind Keith. "You don't speak Altean, do you?"
Pidge's wrist computer beeped and she lifted her wrist up. "This is where the signal is coming from. Somewhere below us."
The alien sat down on a box and looked at Pidge. "Are you clever. But I wouldn't expect less from the Paladins Of Voltron."
Lance lowered his bayard. "You recoginze us?"
"Of course, of course." The alien chuckled. "Though I am surprised to see you, all were certain you parished."
Lance lowered his bayard even more as he slowly relaxed. "Yeah, we found that out. But we're back."
"And I am so greatfull that you are." The alien said. "It's been so long since I've seen another being."
"Thank you for your hospitality." Shiro said. "What happened here?"
"Bloodshed happened here. Death happened. This is my home planet. And now I am the only one left alive here."
Krolia suddenly spun around as she pulled out her energy pistal, it clicked and hummed as she prepared to fire at the alien creature. "What are you doing with these?" She reached behind her and pulled back a cloth revealing a wall decorated with fallen Blades Of Marmora members swords.
Team Voltron gasped with horror as the whole wall is covered.
"I have them in honor of their sacrifice. They died trying to protect the universe."
Krolia continued to glare at Macidus. "How did it happen?"
Macidus sighed. "This all started when Voltron disappeared, when - when you disappeared. The power vacuum that ensued destabilized much of the universe. Galra turned on each other. Warlords and pirates became the rulers of the land."
Allura turned to him. "What happened to Haggar, the witch? She would not have let the empire crumble."
"No one knows." Marcidus shrugged. "But her druids continued her work, carrying out her final orders. They set out to destroy every Blade."
Pidge's eyes grew. "After Lotor took over the thorne, almost every Marmoran agent was exposed!"
"And that's when the slaughter began. All the Blades were called away from their assignments and sent here. Kolivan knew they were being hunted, and he wanted to make a stand against them. He believed it was thier only means of survival."
Romelle turned her gaze to the ground. "That must be why they abandoned that base we found."
"Indeed." Marcidus finished what happened.
Keith turned to him. "There are still of few of us alive."
"Good."
Krolia gazed down at the Blade in her hands, it shimmered. "Kolivon? His blade is flickering."
Pidge turned to her. "Flickering? What does that mean?"
"A Marmorian's agent life force is connected to the blade. I just saw it glow. He must still be alive."
"Just barely."
Team Voltron turned to Marcidus.
Celestia grabbed Romelle and pushed the Altean behind her.
Marcidus turned his attention to Keith. "Your hand is looking much better."
Keith looked confused. "My hand?"
"You don't remember our fight?"
Keith growled. "You've been using that signal to draw Blades in!" His rest of his sentence is drowned out when the zinge of the Paladin's bayards appear and they aim at the alien who laughed.
"Kolivan proved to be useful after all." H dropped something.
"No!" Krolia shouted, Marcidus disappeared as the container shattered once it hit the ground and something broke out, causing the team to go in ver slow motion. Buth Keith with the aid of Cosmo was able to escape.
Celestia closed her eyes to concentrate and she slowly started to glow, and suddenly the dome of slow motion shattered and the team stumbled. Celestia fell to the ground, breathing heavily and her face sweaty.
"Celestia!" Pidge cried as Lance knelt down to the Princess.
"Pidge, lock on Keith's location!" Celestia wheezed out.
"He's directly below us!"
Allura grew to Galra size and raised her arms. "Stand back!"
Both Lance and Krolia helped Celestia stand and the three backed away, when they did Allura slammed her arms down, creating a large hole.
Celestia dropped down on a crate, still feeling weak. She watched as the Paladins dropped down through the hole.
Coran turned to her with concern. "Princess. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes." She nods. "I just need to rest after obsorbing all that, whatever it was." She leaned her back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes.
"What do we do now?" Romelle asked, looking at Shiro.
"Only thing we can do right now is wait." He answered gently.
XxXxXxXx
Pidge knelt by Kolivan as Keith and Krolia knelt on either side of Kolivon while the youngest ran a medical scan.
"He's in pretty bad shape." She informed as she reads the scan from her wrist. "But it looks like he's gonna be ok."
Kolivan turned to Keith. "I'm sorry my code lured you here."
"There was nothing you could do." Keith told him. "The coordinates I gave you. The Altean colony, were you able to find it?"
Kolivon gives a nod. "I sent a team. There was nothing there. Just an empty facility. They were gone."
Krolia gazed at him. "Judging from the Blades that Macidus collected, he may have delivered a critical blow to the Marmora. But he did not defeat us entirely."
Kolivon sighed. "I must find the others. The universe needs us now more then ever."
Krolia looks at Keith sadly, then looks back at Kolivon. "I will join you. We will revive the Blade Of Marmora together. We'll just need to find a ship."
"The druid has a cruiser store not that far from here." Kolivon said. "We can use it to recruite the Blades."
Shiro escorted everyone out so Keith could have a few moments with his mother.
XxXxXx
The team stood in front of the Lions, they watched as Keith walked over to them. Celestia took a step forward.
"Are you ok?" She asked with worry.
"I am." He nods. "I just found her, and now." He trailed off.
"It's not forever Keith." Shiro told him. "She found her way to Earth once, she can do it again."
Keith took a few deep breaths. "You're right." He nods. "Pidge, sent a course towards home."
Pidge smiles brightly. "On it!" She runs towards her Lion.
