Summary: Kagome, a sweet and caring girl who was destined to fall into the past at the young age of 15, is now a cadet at the Galaxy Garrison. Without warning, she's swept up in a new adventure with a new team. Her docile nature is shed away and is replaced by a trained warrior. Inherently strong and a formidable force to be reckoned with, she's not what her appearance makes her out to be.

Pairing: [Endgame] Kagome x Keith; lots of minor shipping, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter Eleven

Though her intentions had been to go with Keith, preventing the group from getting too badly separated on the enemy ground, they somehow ended up getting separated anyway. She could still feel his aura, so she wasn't all too worried. He wasn't in any sort of danger, not that she could feel, and she let her attention swap focus some.

Standing quietly in the empty hallway, she tried to gather her bearings. This place had so many… odd auras, and it was hard to sort through all at once. But the one that had caused her to diverge from her prior path still stood out to her, as bright as day. She didn't know why, but it almost felt… familiar. A frown pulled her lips down in an apparent curve, and she slowly started to tail after it once more on quiet, tracking feet.

As she skulked around the corners, she felt the aura drawing nearer and nearer. For some reason, it felt as if she'd felt it before, but it wasn't anything she knew she knew. The face appeared in her mind, somewhat hazy. She didn't understand as a flash of long, dark hair and warmth-filled emerald eyes so briefly flashed through her eyes. It came so suddenly that it stunned her into motionlessness. She pressed a hand over her heart as it started to beat erratically in her chest, and she worked on calming it back down. As she did, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and, cursing quietly under her breath, she jumped into an empty room and hid away, hoping that none of them had any sort of tracking ability as she did.

Kagome stayed silent, holding her breath as they went by. She listened as they walked past the room she hid away in, and she let out a sigh when they completely overlooked her hiding spot. She stood back up from where she'd crouched down and exited the room, peering down both sides of the hall before fully emerging from the temporary safe space she'd utilized. Once she was sure the coast was clear, making sure with her senses, she finally stepped back out into the hall. As she did, her attention automatically swapped back to the aura she'd been following behind. It hadn't gotten any further away, from what she could tell, and if she got back on the path, then she'd come across it any moment.

Her steps felt borderline hesitant as she resumed the path she'd been taking. She wasn't sure why this aura felt so familiar, a full mental image not appearing as she thought more and more about it. Just dark hair and vibrant emerald eyes…

She rounded the corner at the end of the hall, only to freeze when the door at the back opened without warning. There was no time for her to jump back behind the corner as a pair of emerald eyes landed on her. She was stuck like a deer in headlights as her eyes landed on a figure that definitely didn't look like he was Galra, despite wearing the colors and clothes that showed his alignment.

Suddenly the familiarity made sense. The memories she'd all but pushed to the very back of her mind to forget came rushing back without her wanting them to. This… it couldn't be, could it?

Long, black hair tied back in a high ponytail, emerald eyes with wine-red marks just below on his cheekbones. It was, wasn't it?

"You…" she spoke, but she didn't feel like she was truly in control of the words that left her mouth. "You're…-"

Ciyras.

She didn't say the name out loud, but she was sure she was right. If that were the case, then why was he here? … how was he here?

He looked at her as if he was seeing a phantom, and, deep down, she wondered if he was really aware that she was actually there. He came closer, but her feet refused to move. Her soul practically forced any thought of running far from thought, and she didn't understand why. He came closer and closer, still, until he'd stopped right in front of her.

"A better look, perhaps," he mused quietly, not talking to her directly, she knew. Without warning, he shot a hand out and rested it on the side of her face. The touch was gentle, and she could feel the way his hand trembled against her cheek. "I see, you've finally returned, dear sister."

"... wait," Kagome tried to shake her head, but she found herself frozen when he gripped her by her chin, forcing her gaze upwards to meet his own. The multitude of emotions swimming in emerald waters nearly drowned her that second.

Sorrow, remorse, hate, anger, pain, relief, anger, anger, so much anger.

She closed her eyes and tried to push the emotions she could feel radiating off of him away. "No…! You've got the wrong person," she tried to say, but it didn't seem to make a difference any.

"Azilu, you should know better by now than to lie to your big brother like this," he stated coldly. "I know you're in there. I can feel it." He looked her over, the armor she wore all too familiar, as it was. If it wasn't her, then she wouldn't be able to even wear this. "This part took you from me once before, and I refuse to allow it to happen a second time."

"W-What…?" She didn't have time to process his words before he lifted his other hand. He pressed it against the rise of her chest, and a numbing pain shot through her body, starting from the point of contact his hand had. A sharp cry left her lips as her world ran black, and her body fell forwards into his awaiting arms.

He gathered her into his arms and looked down at her resting face. Of course, he knew this wasn't the Alizu he could remember, but it didn't really matter. They were one and the same, and she would make the perfect vessel for reawakening Azilu.

When Voltron finally made a reappearance after so long, he knew there was no chance that they had formed it without Azilu's presence in some way. No matter the day and age, she would always be needed.

"I don't see why you're even bothering with this Voltron business," he said, eyeing the girl who had her back turned to him. "You're destined for so much more. You're meant for great things, Azilu. This is a waste of time."

"Says who?" she retorted. "You?" As she finally turned to face him, he was able to see the strain in her eyes, the exhaustion that weighed her down. "You keep saying I'm destined for great things, yet what makes Voltron separate from those things?" She folded her arms over her chest and gave a mild huff. "I have faith that Voltron will be far greater than I ever will be," she stated resolutely.

"Azilu…-"

"After all," she looked at him, a somber smile replacing her pout, "life is a grand story. Once this life of mine is gone, this legacy will be what remains for this story of my life."

The memory was fleeting as he looked down at her resting face. "... I wonder, how many stories have you lived since we were last together? Did any of them ever have that fairytale happy end you always dreamed of as a child, or were you always the same, sacrificing your chance of happiness for the sake of others…?"

Ciyras sighed and shook his head.

He could remember the way her eyes lit up when he read her fairytales. She'd always been hopeful to have her own one day. Perhaps in the past, he'd gotten in the way, too… Always wanting the best for her hurt her more than it helped, he knew.

"Well, maybe it's not too late for your fairytale ending, Azilu."

When Allura was captured, she was taken to a holding cell. She didn't expect someone to already be in there by the time she arrived. Cautiously, she crept over to the sleeping figure, only for her eyes to go wide when she realized who it was. She dropped to her knees beside the out-cold girl, giving her shoulders a gentle shake at first.

"Kagome!"

"Mm…"

Allura huffed and shook her harder. "Come on! Kagome, wake up!"

Finally, after enough shaking, Kagome gave a second pained noise, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She lifted a hand to rub the side of her head, pushing her hair back out of her face, as she looked at Allura. For a moment, she had to stop and wonder if she was really there, but that wonder faded when Allura leaned in closer.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's… a long story," Kagome said in response to Allura's question. "Where is here?"

"We're in a holding cell, presumably on a ship heading straight for Zarkon," Allura stated, sitting back, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall.

"Oh…" Dread filled her at hearing that, and she pulled her knees up to her chest.

A part of her wanted to tell Allura about the Altean man she'd run into on the ship, but… Kagome peered up out from under her bangs before downcasting her gaze once more. She didn't want to tell her that there was an Altean who was alive, and had joined forces with the one who'd brought destruction to their home.

For now, there was little to do other than sit around and wait for the moment they'd be brought aboard Zarkon's ship…

Waiting for Allura to be brought back was nerve-racking. She was alone in the dark room, and she stood up automatically when the door opened next. The person on the other side wasn't the Altean princess, and Kagome backed up out of caution. Still… she knew that if she tried to run, she wouldn't get far. Security was heavily patrolling, and, no matter how strong she was, she couldn't take them all on- especially when she was unsure of how safe Allura currently was.

She swallowed her urge to fight as she was seized by her arms and brought along. She tried to search for Allura's aura, but she couldn't get a clear map to where she was. She didn't seem hurt, at least… That was a relief.

She'd been so distracted by trying to figure out Allura's location, that, when she was brought to a specific area, she was pulled from her distracted state by the imposing aura that suddenly collided against her senses. She frowned and sought it out, and her eyes landed on a figure seated on a throne. Another stood just to his right.

Both of them bore such… ill-fated auras. They felt almost dead, but, clearly, that wasn't the case when they seemed perfectly alive right before her eyes. She frowned as she was finally let go, and she cut her eyes back to the one who'd escorted her along. Before Allura had left, she'd been handcuffed, yet, her hands were left free? Surely it couldn't be that she wasn't seen as a threat, could it?

She turned from the departing figure to focus her attention on the towering figure on his throne. She didn't have to be told his name to know just who he was.

Zarkon.

Seeing him as he currently was made her heart clench painfully in her chest. It almost felt as if her soul was crying out at seeing him in such a state… Memories she'd pushed away flashed through her head at lightspeed, nearly making her dizzy. For a moment, she felt Azilu's feelings towards him from so long ago, all tied into the pain of how it felt to see him now.

In her memories, he looked so different. Alive, strong, and kind.

Looking at him now… he looked like a husk of all he was before, all else replaced by anger. Or, perhaps it was pain? Seeing him, she felt pity surge through her chest. She didn't want to pity him after all he'd done, but she couldn't fight it off.

"So, it's true," he finally said something. His voice was heavy and commanding. She was unable to look away as he stood up from his throne, taking a few steps to come closer to her. She tensed up as he approached. "You've finally decided to return to us, Azilu."

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not the Azilu you knew," she denied.

"Perhaps not," he stated, "but it matters not," Zarkon responded, and she frowned. "You harbor her soul, so that means, somewhere inside you, she still resides. In one form, or another."

She knew she couldn't deny that he was right, and she glanced down at her feet as he closed the rest of the space between them. His shadow fell over her, but she refused to meet his stare.

"All it will take is a little outside force to bring you back to the surface, Azilu," he said. "Do not pretend that you'd rather sleep within this little human."

Little human?!

"Awaken, and take your rightful place at my side once more as the heart."

She remained silent at his request, not daring to answer.

"After all, Azilu, your heart will belong to me until the end."

C.R: I really need to start updating this consistently again. I don't mean to take so long in between chapters, really, and I'm sorry. I might go back to 2K length chapters because those are easier to manage than the super long ones. There will still be long ones in between the moderate ones, though, so don't worry. It just takes way too long trying to make each chapter longer than a certain amount of words.

Anyway…! Ciyras is still alive! How? How is he and how'd he stay the same? Only time will tell- but it might have to do with the jewel… or perhaps the rift? Or maybe both…? Bad news, Kagome was caught by him and she ended up as Zarkon's captive for the moment, so he's not exactly a good guy (yet…) Also, a little minor spoiler for later, Ciyras isn't exactly aligned with Zarkon, but he is aligned with Lotor. Hrm also… he might be the only one to want her with Lotor out of the bunch…

I've finished the first two playlists I'm doing. They're up on 8tracks. (Same username as this account. Just copy and paste in the search bar, and it should be in the drop-options.) There is already one each for Azilu and Kagome so far, and I'm planning a few more for fun.
Depending on how it goes, I might put a version of them up on my youtube channel.

To make up for the long delay, here's a little snippet preview of the next chapter! Nothing too long;

…

Kagome narrowed her eyes at the beast before her, standing strong and resilient. Her heart felt heavy as she did so, however.

"I've had enough of being called Azilu!" she snapped. "My name is Kagome, get it right already!" She wasn't her past self, and she never would be! "I don't care how much you miss her! I won't fill in as her replacement to make that pain feel any less suffocating!" She leveled icy eyes on the figure glowering at her. "You had your chance back then, and it killed you that you let it slip away, I know, but I'm nobody's replacement."

Silence answered her enraged outburst, and she stood firmly in her place.

Kikyo, Azilu… she was neither of them, and she refused to suffer, to be forced into a them-shaped hole in order to make another feel better about their own suffering.

…

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed! Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now!