Rise of Voltron Pt. V

Songs Used: Daughtry - It's Not Over / Paramore - Crushcrushcrush

After Voltron, a total of ten bands came on thereafter, and while they were good, Allura hadn't seen anyone like Voltron. She saw that while performing, they were having fun. Especially the two guitarists. The two males danced across the stage, wide grins on their faces. She loved the interaction seen, and even Coran was smiling at their performance.

"The bands are not bad this time, right Princess?" Coran said, fiddling with his moustache. "I like the quartet, uh, what was their name again?" He tapped an index on his chin, trying to remember.

"Quartet? Which one?" Allura asked.

"Ah! M.F.E!" The orange haired man perked up. "They weren't too bad, were they?"

"Yeah, they weren't but Voltron held me more." Allura replied.

Coran laughed. "Well Princess, I'll go get us something to eat. What will it be?" He asked, rising to his feet.

"Anything is fine." Allura replied. "I'm so excited that I don't have an appetite."

Coran chuckled before he moved off.

It was now a break in the program since the first half had finished. Allura remained in her seat, being that she wanted to approach Voltron but, in this crowd, it would only end in a disaster. Everyone was milling about, exchanging words and being friendly, but most of the crowd tried to get close to Thace. While his other bandmates were nowhere to be found, spectators and participating bands alike flocked the man for an autograph, and it had gotten so bad that he had to be escorted away until the next half began.

"Damn…" Lance started, sipping on a soda. "…if I wanted Thace's autograph, I wouldn't be able to get it." He hissed as he watched the security guards whisked the man away. "This is insane!"

Pidge raised her eyebrow at him. "Well, won't that be us some years from now?" She smirked. "We are going to take over the world, right?"

Right now, they were outside the auditorium, sitting under a gazebo until the second segment started. At first, they were out and about like everyone else, but then Keith got hungry, Lance wanted to ask Thace if he could meet Krolia, Hunk was uncomfortable with all the stares, Pidge didn't care about her surroundings and Shiro was just being a dad to all of them. So, after the man managed to coerce them that food was more important, (and in Lance's case, tell him that he'd meet Krolia sooner than he thought), the quintet settled for some food and found an empty gazebo to stay in.

Of course, they chatted like normal, as thought they were back at the Castle, but since they didn't want anyone nearby to know who they were, the quintet had to be using their agreed stage names, which were simply, their lion colours.

It wasn't until an hour and a half later that it was time for the second half to begin.

…

…

Voltron were extremely nervous this time around.

During the break, they heard that Zarkon —member of the group The Paladins had arrived with his wife, Honerva and son, Lotor. It made the entire auditorium erupt in a frenzy, Zarkon being from a famous group and owner of a musical empire that he and his wife built. Hunk nearly threw up, but he choked it back down. The others were worried about him, but he reassured them that he was fine.

So, now, they watched the band before them interact with the judges before leaving the stage.

"Damn…their song is good." Pidge murmured out.

"Psshh…but not as good as ours." Lance said with an arm wave. However, he was still nervous. He stole a glance to Hunk who kept during breathing exercises in order to calm himself down. Frankly speaking, he sounded like he was in labour. When the others saw his disposition, they huddled around him into a large group hug, each saying something.

"Don't worry, big man," Keith started. "You got this."

"We're here for you." Pidge added.

"Don't worry about anything. Tune out everything else and focus on the music. We'll do everything we can to draw the attention away from you," Shiro soothed. "In a good way, I mean."

"Hunk…" Lance started with a smirk, "…you're a Lion, so go out there and let them hear you roar."

"Thanks guys." Hunk whimpered out, almost bursting into tears. He had the best friends that anyone could ask for, ones who weren't going to leave him to deal with this on his own, ones who throw him aside beside of his stage fright. They tried to work with him, tried to help him overcome…with friends like these, Hunk was not going to let them down. "That's right, let's show them how we roar. Go, Voltron!"

"Yeah!"

The other band exited the stage, so now, it was Voltron's turn. And like Hunk said, they were going to let the whole auditorium hear just how loud their roars were. They walked onto the stage with an air of confidence, and as soon as they finished setting up, Voltron sprang into action.

The sounds of a guitar came in first for a split second before Shiro started singing in a low baritone voice that had the judges nodding:

I was blown away, what could I say?
It all seemed to make sense
You've taken away everything

Both Keith and Lance were the only ones playing their instruments; Keith switching to rhythm and playing melody which had a more profound effect since Lance was matching him and playing harmony with his bass. The latter male only played a few bass notes at timed intervals, giving the song a great deal of depth and creating an air of solemnity.

And I can't deal with that,
I try to see the good in life
But good things in life are hard to find
We'll blow it away, blow it away
Can we make this something good?

The other instruments came in at the start here, livening up the song some more. However, when Shiro sang "good", Keith switched from playing rhythm to lead, moving his hand closer to the middle of the fretboard for more stronger notes, and Pidge came in with her keyboard, adding the harmonic accompaniment to the others.

Well, I'll try to do it right this time around

Here, the two guitarists played power chords that created a powerful sound leading to a build towards what most, if not everyone, watching deemed to be the chorus.

Let's start over
I'll try to do it right this time around
It's not over
'Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground
This love is killing me, but you're the only one
It's not over

Using his chest voice, Shiro's singing was strong, powerful, and rich, and the more the chorus carried on, he raised the notes higher to belt at the first two "over", and then again when he sang "killing me". But he still sounded relaxed instead of aggressive which would have turned the song into something they didn't want. And thanks to this, when Shiro sang "is killing me" it sounded more like "ehz kelling may" so that his voice would sound somewhat darker and maintain the tone. However, when he sang the final line, he descended into his head voice, creating a soft and tender mood, and easing into the next verse.

Taken all I could take, and I can not wait
We're wasting too much time
Being strong, holding on
Can't let it bring us down

As the instruments simmered down into calmer music, Shiro sang to match the tone and mood.

My life with you means everything
So I won't give up that easily
I'll blow it away, blow it away
Can we make this something good?
'Cause it's all misunderstood

At the start here, Pidge played a set of chords to add flavour to that part of the song, but as the verse progressed, Keith and Lance played riffs to build towards the chorus, Pidge matching them accordingly.

When the chorus came back, nothing much from the first time Shiro sang, but even so, the audience was wowed. He knew how to sing certain melodies, he knew when to use vibrato and alternate between head and chest voices, but most importantly, Shiro knew how to connect with the audience. Montgomery was constantly fanning herself, not because she was hot (in fact, she wasn't due to air conditioning), but because Shiro and by extension, Voltron was blowing her away with their performance.

Iverson stared at the band in awe and excitement, feeding off their energies as they rocked out. Thace leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and entwining his fingers before placing his chin on them. His eyes were wide with excitement like Iverson, and almost every second, he whispered out "wow".

In the crowd, Allura and Coran were mesmerized.

The first time Shiro hit his high notes Coran stopped fiddling with his moustache and gawked at the band on stage. As for Allura, she was fidgety in her seat, eager to meet them and give them an offer she hoped they wouldn't refuse. She loved Voltron, their performance was engaging, their energies were something she'd never get tired of, and their vocalist's voice was one she could listen to for forever. But even though she sought after them like this, she paid attention to the lyrics of the song. It was meaningful, her interpretation at least.

Silently, she made a mental note to thank Romelle after this was done and upon returning to Arus City, she definitely had to give her a tangible thank you. If it weren't for her, she would've missed Voltron.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the chorus end, but immediately following was a guitar solo.

The Red Lion took centre stage when the Black Lion ripped the mic out of the mic clip and rocked out, going closer to the Green Lioness. The Blue Lion came and flanked the Red Lion, playing his bass furiously but not so much to take away attention from Red.

We can't let this get away
Let it out, let it out
Don't get caught up in yourself
Let it out

Shiro returned to centre stage, but instead of placing the mic back into the stand, he held it and placed a foot on the speakers before him. At the last line, Shiro used a legato vocal technique to give the word some emphasis without hitting high notes and belting.

Shiro sang the chorus again and unlike the previous times, when he reached the fourth line, the music suddenly cut at "is dead and in the ground" while Shiro sang this in a staccato style to create a punchy sound, and with the music suddenly stopping, it's almost as though he wanted the audience to see just how much importance the phrase had. The instruments came back in at "this love is killing me".

Let's start over
It's not over, yeah, yeah
This love is killing me, but you're the only one
It's not over

With powerful instrumentalists backing him up, Shiro filled this final verse with smooth legato, powerful yet somewhat laid-back high notes, and perfect tone to close out the song. However, when Shiro was done, using his sustain pedal, Keith's final note was prologued for a couple more seconds before fading out to an end.

The entire auditorium was stilled.

Jaws dropped, eyes popped, but lastly, when everything finally registered, the entire place gave erupted in a series of screams and hoots and cheers and whistles. Allura and Coran rising to their feet and applauding. Even the judges gave them a standing ovation, and the five couldn't have been prouder.

"Judges?" The MC started, although everyone was in a daze. Even he himself still haven't recovered fully; he had a schedule working with. He couldn't stay shell-shocked forever.

"Like damn," Thace said, it sounded more like a gasp than anything else. "You guys are…" he trailed off, placing his fingertips together, trying to find the word. "…I can't even find the right words to use! From the start you guys were amazing, the guitarists, hats off to you." He looked at Lance and Keith who both grinned incredulously. "Your riffs, power chords, hammer ons, pull-offs…everything you did was smooth and flawless, but your energy…" Thace made a chuckle here, "…your energies are infectious. Even if you were bad, trust me, your performance would've probably cancelled it out. And that's what a performance is. The audience was definitely pulled in and you did a good job keeping us there.

"Thank you." Keith and Lance said simultaneously.

Iverson chimed in, "I want to add as well, the drummer and the keyboardist," he looked at Hunk and Pidge before sweeping his eyes at all of them, "are amazing. Never once did you fail and mess up, especially you, Yellow Lion. Your drumming held them together, and you were so fierce I thought you were gonna smash the drums to smithereens."

Hunk smiled his bright smile that could put the sun to shame. Girls in the audience screamed.

"And Miss Green Lioness," Iverson continued, "Your skill with the keyboard is truly phenomenal. You house the chords so well and played the right ones to bring out the other instruments and it was just…perfect."

Pidge's face heated up at the compliment and she covered her face shyly. Keith, who was beside her, placed a hand over her shoulder and pulled her close, trying to tell her that she didn't need to be shy.

Montgomery stood up and clapped. "Well, let me talk about the vocalist." She seemed quite eager. "Black Lion, you are freaking awesome! Your chest voice can be aggressive and, on the edge, but you came across so, uh, relaxed sounding which I liked. Some bands here were so all up in my face with their vocal aggression, but you…your sound was balanced, it wasn't overconfident or perfectly musically accurate." She paused and inhaled a breath, "Honestly, if I could marry your voice, I would've just proposed."

"Well, thank you." Shiro said, trying to hide the blush that crept up on his face at the praise.

"I'd like to say, this band is just superb." Thace added. "I hope you guys don't stop here but decide to take it to the world. While I don't know if you guys are the next generation of The Paladins, I'm sure you guys could be right up there with them."

Voltron did not know to verbally respond at that, so instead, they looked and sounded shrieking fangirls who jumped and hugged each other at the sight of their favourite artistes. After a few more words of encouragement and interaction, Voltron's time on the stage expired, they packed up their instruments and headed back to the waiting area.

The rest of the competition continued as smoothly as it could go, Voltron liking and disliking some of the bands that came after them. Keith wore a scowl when he saw James's own band —M.F.E. and refused to admit that they had sounded well. Shiro rolled his eyes at his brother's behaviour when Lance had asked what the band's name had meant, and being the disgusting bastard that he is sometimes, Keith mumbled out, "motherfuckers' ensemble."

Of course, everyone had to restrain themselves and could only chuckle to not let the other bands around them think ill of them. Lance and Pidge ended up in a fake coughing fit, Keith, Hunk and Shiro using the opportunity to make it seem like they were laughing at them.

When everything was done and all the bands had performed and the audience had cast their votes, it was time for The Blades of Marmora's performance. The area where the judges had been cleared out and the bands had to come around to see their performance. The entire auditorium was turned into a mini-concert venue, Lance losing his shit the moment he saw Krolia walked on the stage.

"Hello Plaht, how are you doing!?" Krolia said with a wide smile as she made her way onto the stage. The entire crowd erupted in mad cheers of raucous screams and hoots, the others sauntering their way to their instruments — a tall man with bleached white hair by the name of Ulaz settled on his throne around his drums, picking up his sticks and making a few beats. Next were the guitarists —Thace, who had now slicked back his dyed purple hair, revealing his face. Regris was the bassist, who dyed his hair a bluish colour.

When they were all settled, an air of seriousness enveloped the band on stage, signalling that the performance was about to start. Lance couldn't contain himself anymore, so he screamed out, "Krolia! Have! My! Babies!"

The rest of Voltron and the others nearby them looked at him incredulously, but he didn't give a shit. Krolia couldn't even start her singing, instead she burst out in laughter. Ulaz wore a grin so wide, some people thought that it would've come off his face. Regris chuckled, and Thace shook his head in amusement.

"I don't think my son would approve." She chuckled out.

Lance deflated. He had totally forgotten that Krolia had a son, even more so, one that was the same age as he. She had spoken about him in numerous interviews, so the whole world knew that her son —Keith was hotheaded and stubborn with a fiery personality to boot. But at the same time, in the right situations, Keith is calm, cautious, and quick-witted.

Lance made a gasp.

He slowly turned his head to Keith and narrowed his eyes at him. In hindsight, Krolia's son matched the Keith standing beside him and his suspicions were further heightened when he remembered Keith telling them that he was going to introduce his mother to them when she returned from her business trip.

"Ke —" Lance didn't get to finish when the sound of a guitar filled the area. Thace played constant chords while everyone else was still and waiting. Krolia then took the mic out of the clip and began singing.

I got a lot to say to you

Krolia sang here but then she turned her mic to the crowd and not missing a beat, the crowd sang the next line:
Yeah, I got a lot to say

Krolia came back in and continued to sing the rest of the verse.

I noticed your eyes are always glued to me
Keeping them here
And it makes no sense at all

Lance, like many others in the auditorium, were jumping and singing along in joy.

They taped over your mouth
Scribbled out the truth with their lies
Your little spies
They taped over your mouth
Scribbled out the truth with their lies
Your little spies

The crowd sang this part, even though Krolia had stopped singing and the guitar was still the only thing playing. Then, she sang in a smooth voice:

It makes no sense at all.
It makes no sense at all.

She added a harmonic "oohh" at the end of it, and with a couple seconds of pausing, the rest of the instruments came in, explosive.

Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone
Just the one, two of us who's counting on
That never happens
I guess I'm dreaming again
Let's be more than this

Krolia danced across the stage, going to Thace at one point and then to Regris. She then returned to her spot centre-stage and stood atop one of the speakers and pointed her mic towards the crowd.

"Alright, Plaht!" She cheered during the music interval. She then said, "The young man who wanted me to have his babies, where are you?"

Music played, and she still rocked to it, awaiting Lance's arrival. The young man was so shocked that he was slacked jawed, Shiro had to be the one to yell that Lance was on his way up. With an encouraging shove from the other four, Lance found the strength to go on stage and stand before the musical love of his life, Krolia Bailey.

When Krolia saw him come up, she had to stifle down a laugh. Keith had told her all about the band he joined, including their concept and what they had planned to wear. So, to see Voltron's Blue Lion standing before her was quite amusing.

"Uh, hi…" Lance uttered out, his face red.

"So, Blue Lion, wanna sing with me?" She asked, her smile making Lance melt like butter against a hot knife.

"Of course!" He squeaked out, surprised at the sound that came out of his throat. Regris and Thace nodded to each other before playing the chords for the song and not just something to hold the music together as they were doing.

If you wanna play it like a game,
Well, come on, come on let's play"
'Cause I'd rather waste my life pretending
Than have to forget you for one whole minute

Krolia had held Lance in his collar and stepped closer to him, locking their eyes together. In the crowd, Keith snickered at his mother's behaviour, but more, at Lance's facial expression. The boy looked awkward, standing ramrod straight and having a grin that would give Joker a run for his money. Even his tail was swishing all over the place, reminding Hunk of how his tail had been earlier on in the day.

Krolia then pushed the mic towards Lance, indicating that he should sing. Which he did.

They taped over your mouth
scribbled out the truth with their lies (x2)
your little spies

Many in the audience stared on in shock. The Blue Lion can sing. While his voice isn't smooth like the Black Lion's, there was a raspy and edginess to it that many loved. Soon, Lance was slowly getting into the groove in performing with the Blades but what he noticed was that Krolia's movements were tamed in comparison to what he knew.

The chorus came back again, Lance and Krolia singing together and in-between, she jumped on the spot, and pointed the mic to the crowd, urging them to sing. Even Thace and Regris were each on either side of stage, interacting with the crowd closest to them.

Rock and roll, baby
Don't you know that we're all alone now?
I need something to sing about

This was the bridge and Krolia alone sang it, facing Lance and using an index finger to point at his chest. For Keith, it looked odd because his mother was a tall woman, and Lance was shorter than her.

Rock and roll, hey
Don't you know, baby, we're all alone now?
I need something to sing about

This time, Lance sang, and similarly to Krolia, he drew closer to her and locked eyes with her while singing. He circled her, his tone setting the right mood for this part of the song. Keith was glad that his friend was having fun, but the images of his mother and Lance were not something he wanted to see.

Rock and roll, hey
Don't you know, baby, we're all alone now?
Give me something to sing about

Krolia and Lance harmonized here, voices making a smooth blend that's easy on the ears. Hunk sounding like a proud parent when he commented that Lance was putting Montgomery's class to good use.

The performance continued, Lance and Krolia really putting on a show. Even though he was quite put-off by what Lance shouted to his mother, Keith had to admit that once Lance found his groove, the boy can perform. And sing. The Red Lion made a sinister grin as he hummed and tapped his feet to the beat of the music, but his idea would be for later, far later.

When the song came to an end, Lance returned to the crowd, looking as though he was drunk. He failed to speak coherently when Hunk asked him how was singing with Krolia like. Shiro was laughing at their antics, but soon paid attention to the Blades when a guitar solo entered.

The crowd erupted in a frenzied state, screaming at the recognition of the song.

He looked to his other bandmates, Lance was a given since he was a hardcore Blades fan, Pidge and Hunk were music lovers, so seeing them rock and sway and occasionally headbang was within expectations. Keith…looked like he was going to headbang his head off his neck. But this was something Shiro was used to. He and Keith have gone to numerous Blade Concerts and the boy was always wild.

So, seeing him now, all Shiro could do was laugh.

…

…

"What powerful performances by the Blades of Marmora!" The MC sauntered onto the stage, the Blades waving to the crowd before them. "Damn…! Don't you guys want an encore!?"

The crowd roared.

"Well, let's see if the schedule allows it, shall we?" MC chuckled. He then pulled out an envelope from out of his jacket's pocket and said, "Now, this is the time that we've all been waiting for. Who will win this year's Battle of the Bands!"

Lance kept his fingers crossed, seeming to be whispering a prayer, Shiro stood behind Keith and placed both his hands on the young man's shoulders, Hunk and Pidge clasped their hands together in anticipation.

"Now, the votes are in, coupled with the judges' tally, so without any further ado…" The MC undid the envelope and pulled out a black card. "…in third place we have —" The man cut him off as his eyes widened. "Uh, is this correct?" He spoke into his earpiece. It appears he got some feedback as he nodded his head. "In third place…" the MC's voice descended but as soon as he realized he sounded dejected, he perked right back up. "…we have the fierce, ferocious Lions! Give it up for Voltron!"

The five Lions deflated at the announcement.

Even some spectators ere hurtling insults at the MC saying that there should be a recount. Even Thace looked shocked at the revelation.

"Third Place gets a cash prize of $2,500 plus a one month recording membership free in the studios at Harmonix and a set of Yamaha STAGEPAS 600BT PA system!"

"Come on guys, let's go collect our prize." Shiro said, his voice clearly wasn't chipper. So, he gave a nudge to the others and the five headed onto the stage, Shiro heaving a relief that the glasses were so heavily tinted. If people could've seen their faces…

Shiro did most of the talking although he made it really short since he could feel the disappointment oozing out of the others in waves. Hunk stood behind Pidge and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, Lance and Keith stood next to him but both had their arms crossed their chests.

When Voltron exited the stage, the MC announced second place which was M.F.E, James' band. Even they were shocked when they heard that Voltron had gotten third place, and before they had gone up, James looked to Shiro and said, "If we could've traded our prizes, I would've. You guys were the better band."

Hearing that, Keith started to think differently about James. Their rivalry at school was almost hostile sometimes, but Keith thought, maybe it was his fault. Maybe he was looking at his rivalry from a bad angle.

Then, the first place winner was announced along with their prizes. They got a one-year contract with Galra, a tour van, $10,000 cash, and to be an opening act for The Balmerans.

Keith was seething, as did many in the spectator crowd. Boos were heard, bottles were thrown, and insults were shouted. The MC tried to calm down the crowd, but it took Thace to actually get them calm. Of course, he voiced his disagreement with the outcomes, but he had also said that the true winner will go on to dominate the world.

Voltron took his words to heart.

And dominate they will.

…

…

The bands and spectators alike milled about, some wanting to see the Blades, while the participating bands interacted with each other. Voltron was all over the place, Hunk testing out the foods that were present, Keith and Pidge were chatting with another band's lead guitarist and keyboardist, Shiro had gotten mobbed and was now surrounded by his new fans, Lance was off roaming about.

Allura had somehow gotten separated from Coran, but that didn't stop her mission. If anything, she could call him and vice-versa, however, right now, she was hellbent on finding Voltron before anyone else tried to snatch them up, more specifically, Lotor. When the MC had made the announcement that Zarkon and his family were here, she knew that if Lotor found an interest in Voltron, he'd try to sign them with Galra.

The crowd was thick in all the wrong places, and it made navigating way too hard. Her blue eyes scanned the crowd for any signs of cat ears or a tail sticking up in the air —she was glad that Voltron had such a unique wardrobe.

"Oof!" Allura found herself slamming into someone when she rounded a corner, feeling hands on her as they helped her up.

"Be careful." The person said in a worried tone. When she looked up and met their gaze, a flirtatious grin formed on their face. "Well, hello." He said in a suave voice.

Allura was going to leave when she took in his clothing. On top of his short brown hair were two blue cat ears, a fuzzy blue tail behind him swishing around playfully. On the chest of his white shirt had a stylized blue "V" with an open diamond in the middle.

Well, she'd be a monkey's uncle, she found a Lion of Voltron!

"Blue Lion?" She asked in disbelief.

"That's me." Lance said, "So what can I do for you, fair lady?"

Allura's face turned serious. "I need to speak with you. Are you interested in signing with Altea Entertainment's label?"

Lance spluttered. He was rendered speechless, and frantically, he looked around for the others. He never wanted to say anything on everyone's behalf, but he was sure that they would've agreed, nonetheless. So, Lance messaged the others in their group chat, wanting to know their locations. He couldn't let Allura slip through his fingers, at least, not until she meets Shiro.

Group Chat
Voltron

Saturday, March 13

Lance (6:25PM)
Guuyyysss! Where are you! I have a serious EMERGENCIA!
Hunk (6:25PM)
I see you. What's the emergency? Is it related to that Chiquita you have?
Pidge (6:26PM)
Keith and I are by the gazebo near the parking lot. It's pretty calm on this side.
Shiro (6:27PM)
Okay. Let's meet at the gazebo where Keith and Pidge are. I wanna escape this.
Lance (6:28PM)
yes Hunk the emergency is the chiquita, but it's not what you think.
Keith (6:28PM)
I think you're using Chiquita incorrectly, though.
Lance (6:28PM)
I'm not talking about the bananas, mullet-head.

Lance gently pulled Allura behind him, and not before long, they exited the crowded auditorium and made their way in the direction of the parking lot. Allura never asked him where he was going, she surmised that he was taking her to where the others were. Soon, the duo could see the gazebo, and already, the other four Lions were present.

"Hey guys." Lance said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He then side-stepped so that Allura could come into view, and when Shiro saw her, his eyes widened in recognition. Not that she'd know since he still had on his glasses. "This is…uh…"

"I'm Allura Altea of Altea Entertainment." She introduced herself, stepping forward. "And I'm here to ask if you are interested in signing with the company."

Gasps rang out in the gazebo, the others looking at each other in shock. Lance quickly scooted to sit beside Shiro. As it was, in a semi-circle were Lance, Shiro, Hunk, Pidge and lastly, Keith.

Pidge leaned over to Keith and whispered, "Am I hearing correctly?" She asked. "Did she just say she's from Altea Entertainment?"

"Yes…" Keith drawled. "…and she seems like a relative of Alfor's. She did say she was an Altea."

Lance looked at Shiro and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Shiro, you're the leader here, what should we do?"

Shiro spluttered and looked at the others. They had expectant gazes, and spending the time that he did with them, he knew that they agreed to what Lance said. A small chuckle escaped his lips, and he nodded.

"We're a team, so we have to go about this, together." Shiro said before turning to face Allura. "Miss Altea, we would like some time to think on your offer. Do you have a —?"

"I have a business card." She said, handing the Black Lion the small card. He took it and nodded. "I'll be in Plaht for a little while, but you can contact me even if I return to Arus."

"Alright."

An awkward silence befell them and being unable to handle it, Keith said, "So…what made you interested in us?"

Allura grinned. "Mind if I have a seat?"

Lance said, "Girl, you can sit right —"

"Lance." Shiro said sternly, cutting the boy off before the sentence went further.

And so, Voltron ended up in a conversation with Allura Altea that spanned over an hour.

…

…

"Man…what a day this had been." Lance sighed as he dropped himself into his blue beanbag chair and threw his head back. He remembered singing with Krolia and he felt like he was on cloud nine. He'd never forget that experience for as long as he lived, and thanks to Pidge, who had caught the entire thing on camera, he got to relive the experience for as long as he wanted.

"I'm beat." Pidge groaned out, plopping herself into the green chair. "Now that the adrenaline has worn off, I'm feeling everything in my bones."

Keith and Shiro looked okay, since the two would usually jog in the mornings. The two only slumped in their chairs, Keith wearing a scowl that could chase away any monster. Shiro looked relaxed, Hunk looked upset.

"I can't believe we didn't win." Hunk sighed. "I can't…"

Shiro stretched before he replied, "Of course we did. Allura wants us, remember?"

"Ah, that." Hunk nodded. "But are you sure it isn't a scam?"

"I've worked with them before, I produced a few tracks in Nyma's album My Everything."

"You worked with Nyma?!" Lance screeched. "Can you get her autograph for me?!"

"If we decide to go with Allura's offer, you'll be seeing a lot more of her." Keith snickered. "Plus, I thought you wanted Krolia to have your babies."

"Keith!" Lance shouted, throwing his shoes at the male in Red. Of course, he didn't throw it to hit Keith. The others broke out in laughter, the mood in the Castle lightening up a bit.

"How about we go over that offer tomorrow, when we have more strength and is thinking clearly." Pidge yawned. "I'm seriously beat."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too." Hunk hummed.

"Seeing how you all look terrible, let's get some sleep. We've got a lot to think about."

Lance shot up and said, "I call dibs on the top bunk this time!"

"Go on ahead, I just want to put the AC on 16. No bitching from you." Keith grumbled out, rising to his feet. Shiro and Hunk got up as well, Pidge stumbled onto her feet. Being the closest, Keith held her under her arm and followed the others back to the spare room that they had remodelled into a shared bedroom.

"Whatever, by the time I hit the bed, I'd be out like a light." Pidge said. "Knock right out."

The others laughed, knowing full well that they'd do the same.

Thanks for reading!