Hello everybody. How are you doing today? I know I am very new to this fandom but I am writing a story that is very personal to me and it is something I, myself have experienced and the idea for this project was something that had been rotating at the back of my mind for different fandoms before it settled with this idea. Now, for trigger warnings, this story contains an **ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP** and this includes all forms of abuse and may be triggering to those who have been through this type of relationship. This is post-season 7 just after the defeat of Sendak, so no Robeast stuff or any of the things that occurred in Season 8. That said, please enjoy the story!

1. Beyond the Veil

Everything had started off as so perfect at first. Pidge had been so happy that she had found someone who accepted her for who she was even in a romantic relationship. She had gained a lot of acceptance from her friends since joining Team Voltron but anyone else besides them had still been a struggle for her. Now, 20 years of age, she was in a relationship with James Griffin, leader of the MFE pilots. They had been together for 1 whole year now and it had started so well. They had gone out on dates, discussed the best ways on how they could get back into space and everything was so perfect. Something every girl would dream of. How that had changed so quickly, Pidge still didn't know.

It must be because I can't do anything to help the Atlas or my own team. Pidge had begun thinking to herself on more than one occasion. Shiro and Keith constantly reassured her that this was not her fault but her fights with James told her another story.

"Can't you do anything? Was the genius thing just an act?"

Her boyfriend's voice taunted her loud and clear, as she sat in her bedroom, wrapping her arms around herself when she heard a knock on the door and jumped a bit as her Mom opened the door.

"Katie, are you alright?" Colleen asked. "You've been locked in your room since your meeting with James."

"Yeah, I'm alright, Mom," Pidge said, smiling at her softly, having learnt to fake her smiles pretty well over this past year. Even she was beginning to believe her own words that she was alright. "We're all just a little frustrated since we still can't find a way back to space. It has been four years since Sendak has been defeated, after all."

Colleen sighed. "I know. The Atlas being unable to cross through into space is less concerning for your father than Voltron being unable to, because its made of a completely different material than any ship."

"Yeah, that is pretty puzzling," Pidge agreed quietly, although a part of her could not help but wonder if that was her fault too, regardless of what Shiro and Keith said. Maybe, because I'm part of the team, even with Voltron, we can't…

"Sweetheart?" Colleen said softly. "You've been a little bit withdrawn lately anyway. I know I can be harsh with you sometimes but if there's ever anything you need to talk about, you know you can come to me."

"No, I'm okay," Pidge assured her mother. "I've just been worried about things, that's all." That wasn't exactly a lie, it just wasn't the complete truth but her mother didn't need to know that even though she looked as if she didn't really believe her. Thankfully, her father's voice cut through before her mother could ask her any more questions.

"Katie, Colleen!" Sam's voice called out to them. "We've managed to figure out a way with Katie's new program on how Voltron can enter space again. Katie, can you install that new program onto the Atlas as well?"

Pidge's eyes widened at this new piece of information and she immediately jumped to her feet. "Yeah, of course. Let's go!"

Watching Pidge work on solving something filled Hunk with a feeling of confidence that everything would be okay. He liked being back on Earth with his family and everything being so peaceful but he was also worried about his friends back there in outer space. Was Shay okay? Had the Balmerans been enslaved by the Galra? He wouldn't be surprised – it had been 4 years after all and a lot could change in that time. The Coalition had probably lost faith they would ever return but they had to be able to fix things, no matter how much time had passed.

"Anything, Pidge?" he asked his female best friend.

"Yeah, I'm almost done," was the automatic reply. "I'm adding the same add-ons to the Atlas that I did to the lions so we should be able to pass through now. All of us, the Atlas and Voltron should be able to get through the barriers blocking us. It might be a bit of a rough road but we should be able to make it safely across given it did work in Dad's trial machine." The brunette stood back up. Her hair had almost reached shoulder-length in this time so she had her hair tied in a tiny ponytail to keep it from getting in the way.

"Well done, Katie," James said, reaching over and pulling his girlfriend into a hug and kissing her cheek. "I always knew you could do it." He beamed at her, sounding proud and Hunk couldn't help but laugh at that. He was glad his little sister had found someone who appreciated her for who she was. She deserved that and he was sure Matt would be really happy to see that too.

"Thanks James," Pidge said smiling as she leaned into the hug for a moment before James released her and she turned to Keith, who had been watching the whole process. "We should get ready to launch as soon as possible. We could go as Voltron or we could stay in the Atlas until Voltron is really needed."

Keith looked thoughtful, glancing at his whole team before nodding. "We should save our lions' strength for Voltron in case we do need to fight right away," Keith said finally. "It has been 4 years and since there's been no contact with anyone from space, we don't know what kind of situation we should be expecting."

"I agree," Shiro said softly. "Voltron will most likely be needed soon though and it will be needed at full strength."

"Should we call like a final meeting or something before we go say goodbye to our families and stuff then?" Hunk asked Keith, knowing if they were leaving soon, they probably wouldn't be back for awhile.

It wasn't Keith who answered but Shiro.

"Actually, no," Shiro said to him. "We're going to call a meeting just before the Launch, so everyone has enough time to spend with their families. We've been away from space for years now, so a few hours more won't hurt the mission too much."

Hunk nodded. That made sense. He didn't want to leave his family again but he knew they really had no choice and Pidge had reassured him that Earth had enough resources to protect itself now in case anything did attack. Still, he had no idea when they'd be back but one thing was for sure. He wasn't going to break his promise to Shay, to all of their friends who were believing in them – Voltron had the power to protect them from the Galra and protecting them was what they would do.