That evening, Allura opened the Castle doors to the Arusians.

The small creatures put on a display of how they viewed the story of Voltron defeating the Galra monster.

Nova stood next to Allura. "Why did I have to dress like this?" She hissed.

Allura looked to her. "Like it or not, you are an Altean princess, second in line. The least you can do is dress and act like one at something like this."

Nova pouted.

The Arusians had finished their display.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for that wonderful production." Allura swallowed. "It saddens us to say that we must leave your planet tomorrow."

"But we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe." Nova added.

Allura smiled a little, before turning to the king of the Arusians. "Your Highness. Please accept this gift." She held out a communication device.

"It will allow you to contact us if you ever need assistance." Nova explained. "Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance." She gave a dazzling smile.

The Arusian king nodded. "Hurrah!"

The Arusians cheered too.

"Do you think this is wise, Allura?" Nova asked, under her breath.

"You're the one who said take risks..." Allura huffed.

"I know, but I know when to take them, and now isn't the time! Leaving the Castle doors wide open... on a strange planet, when Galra know we're alive and here?! That's just a death sentence." Nova snapped.

"We'll be alright, don't worry."

Nova bit her lip and walked off to find the paladins. She found Hunk, Lance and Keith talking in a corner. "Hey..." She waved.

"Great job up there." Lance turned. "You look amazing!"

Her cheeks turned rosy. "Thank you." Her formal dress was a lavender colour with white accents, that fell to her knees.

Keith stared a little too.

"I was just saying to Lance and Keith that we should have our own cheer... since we're a team." Hunk injected.

"Really?" Nova raised a brow. "What have you come up with?"

Lance thought for a moment. "How about... I say 'Vol' you say 'Tron.' Vol!" He pointed to Keith.

The red paladin looked a little confused. "Voltron?"

"No! The instructions are in the cheer... I say Vol you say?"

"Vol... Voltron?" Keith tried again.

Nova giggled watching him stumble.

Keith glanced towards her and blushed.

Lance frowned. "It's not that difficult." He looked to Nova. "You try it, Nova! Vol..."

"Tron?" Nova quirked a smirk.

"Yes! See, she's Altean and even she understands!"

"Half-Altean, actually." Nova corrected him.

"Half?" He blinked.

"Oh, so Hunk does know how to keep his mouth shut." Nova grinned, looking to the yellow paladin.

"I didn't know it was a secret." Hunk shrugged.

"What's the other half?" Keith asked, curiously.

"Human." Nova smiled slightly. "Why do you think we keep human food aboard?"

Lance mock face-palmed. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

A waiter walked by with drinks.

The boys picked one up.

"Don't drink that." Nova warned.

Too late. Lance had already taken a big gulp. He looked like he wanted to be sick.

"Told you, that stuff is nasty."

"Coran! What is this stuff?" Lance demanded.

"Oh, this is Nunvill, the nectar of the gods!"

"What part of them... between their toes?" Nova remarked.

"Ah, young princess, you still have that wit about you." He patted the top of her head.

She glared at him.

Coran retracted his hand. "And the power to make a grown man wet his pants."

She snorted.

"This tastes like hot dog water and feet." Lance blanched.

"Interesting notion... can't say that you're wrong." Nova nodded.

"It's works as a good hair tonic as well." Coran used the drink to curl his moustache. He walked away to go and talk to Shiro.

Lance heaved.

"Are you alright?" Concern was written on Nova's face.

He met her gaze. "No..."

"One tick... wait here." She went off into the crowd.

"She's a weird one, that's for sure." Hunk remarked.

"Yeah, it's like one minuet she seems so sweet and adorable, the next she's scaring Coran out his skin." Lance chuckled.

Keith stayed quiet.

"Keith. What's your thoughts on Nova?"

He sighed. "She's clumsy, smart mouthed and stubborn."

"Sums her up well I think."

"But..."

"Hmm?" Lance raised a brow.

"She still seems like she doesn't trust us as much as Allura does."

"Maybe... she's been hurt before because she trusted someone blindly?" Hunk stated.

"She seems good with you." Keith looked to him. "You knew before us that she was half-human."

Hunk shrugged. "I dunno why."

"Because you're you." Lance patted his back. "You have that way about you that makes people feel at ease around."

Hunk grinned. "Awwh, thanks."

"I wonder who it was that put a wall up around her." Keith sighed. "Why do I care anyway?" He grumbled to himself.

"Because, she's cute." Lance flung his arm around Keith.

Keith glared at him.

"Lance!"

They looked to see Nova weaving through the crowd, holding glasses.

Lance stood straight, still feeling nauseated. "What you got there?"

She handed him a glass. "Try it." She gave a smile.

He took a deep breath and took a sip. His eyes lit up. "Wow! What is that?"

"I found some fruit in the forest earlier this morning. Thought I'd try juicing a few different ones together." She handed the other two a glass.

"Wow, Nova this is really good." Hunk grinned.

"Maybe we should harvest some more before we leave?" She suggested.

"Definitely."

Nova blinked and looked to Keith.

He looked away. "What? Its good."

She looked to Lance. "Has it settled you? You're not feeling sick any more?" She asked him.

"Nope, thank you Nova." He smiled down at her.

"You're welcome." She gave a real smile in return. "I'm glad it helped."

"At least we don't have to get too used to the yucky space juice." He sighed, looking into the vibrant liquid. "Who knows when we will get back home again."

Hunk's mood seemed to falter. "Yeah... If ever."

Nova dropped her head a little.

Lance looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if this Zarkon guy has been ruling for ten thousand years, how long do you think it'll take us to fix it? If we live that is."

"Right that."

"What do you think our chances are of landing on a nacho planet?"

Lance gave a sad smile. "Well, theres only one planet with Veradera Beach, the pizza shack looking onto the ocean and the garlic knots and my mom's hugs..."

Nova could hear the pain in his voice. She looked up. "You will go home." She stated.

They all looked at her.

"We will beat Zarkon and you will return to your home. By my honour as an Altean princess and your friend... I promise you this." She put her hand onto his shoulder. "Trust me." She felt her left eye sting with tears.

He sniffed and patted her head. "Yeah... sorry I think that Nunvill has got to me more than I thought... I gotta go..." He brushed past her.

She watched him ascend the staircase. She caught sight of Allura coming down them and approaching Pidge. She looked to Hunk. "One tick." She muttered and headed towards her cousin.


"So, Pidge, we haven't really had the chance to talk!" Allura said. "Tell me about yourself!

The green paladin looked a little confused, but proceeded to reply with random information about how she liked peanut flavoured things but not peanuts, and that she sweats a lot.

"Allura?" Nova approached them.

Allura nodded to her then proceeded to interrogate Pidge. "I was thinking something a little more personal..." She winked.

Nova frowned. Looking between the princess and Pidge.

"We have a lot in common, right Nova?"

"What?" Nova frowned, thinking. Oh, jeez... she thought that too... and only just realised?!

"Like what?" Pidge looked confused.

Nova snorted.

"Oh... well all of us had our fathers taken away by Zarkon." Allura covered.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna get mine back..."

Allura's face fell.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, I understand. I just want you to know that you can confide in Nova and I."

"That's right." Nova stated.

"If there's anything you ever wanna talk about..." Allura paused, waiting for Pidge to say something. "Anything..."

Pidge bit her lip. "Okay, I do have something I need to tell you."

"I had a feeling, what is it?" Allura's eyes sparkled.

Nova stepped closer to hear too. Pidge seemed tense all night... I thought it maybe because we don't know where her dad is... but maybe it's something more than that.

Pidge sighed. "I'm leaving Team Voltron."

Nova's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"I decrypted the data from the Galra ship about where my family might be or at least where they were."

Nova and Allura looked at each other.

"I'm leaving tonight."

"You can't! You're one of five paladins. Without you there is no Voltron!" Nova exclaimed.

"You have a sacred trust to defend the universe!" Allura added, putting her hands on Pidge's shoulders.

"My priority is to find my family! I thought you two of all people would understand!" Pidge looked to Nova. "If the two of you had the chance to get your families back, wouldn't you?"

Nova stepped up beside Allura. "That's unfair." She stated. I knew I couldn't trust these new paladins to see it through.

"Sorry... I'll go and tell the others." Pidge sulked off.

"Allura." Nova took her hands. "Everything will turn out alright."

Allura squeezed her hands. "I hope so."

"I hope Lance is alright too."

Allura frowned. "What's the matter?"

"I think he and the others are a little homesick."

"It's understandable."

Nova looked over to Keith and Hunk.

"You... still don't trust them one hundred percent do you?"

Nova sighed.

"They're not like him."

Nova closed her eyes as images from her past flashed in front of them. "I know... but what's to say something like that won't happen again?"

Allura put her arm around her. "It won't." She kissed the top of the younger girl's head. "I promise."

Keith looked over to the two Altean girls. He noticed the unease in Nova's face.

"Hey."

Keith blinked and looked to Hunk.

"She'll trust all of us in time. Don't worry about it."

Keith snorted. "Who said I was worried?"

Hunk smiled. "We all are."

Keith sighed and folded his arms.

The girls walked over to them.

"What's up?" Hunk asked.

"Well..." Nova looked around and spotted Shiro and Pidge. "Come with us." She said, leading the way.

Pidge explained to the others that they were leaving.

"Pidge, no!" Hunk said, his face dropping.

"The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start looking." Pidge explained. "I have a pod all ready to go."

"You can't leave." Keith rounded them.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Pidge, please. If you leave, Voltron will be minus a paladin and won't be able to form!" Nova argued.

"That means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon." Keith injected. "You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians, everyone in the universe has families."

"Yeah, I have a family, they live on Earth." Hunk piped up. "I want to be with them, is that, like, a thing that can happen?"

"You want to leave too?" Allura asked, disheartened.

"Of course I do!" Hunk moaned. "Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space, fighting aliens."

Nova looked to Keith. Oh, no...

Snap! "You're putting the lives of two people above everyone else in the entire galaxy!" Keith barked.

"Keith." Shiro caught his arm. "That's not how a team works."

Nova sighed. "He's right. People have to want to be part of it. They can't be forced."

Shiro nodded.

Keith yielded, looking to the ground, anger evident in his posture.

"If you want to leave, Pidge, we won't try to stop you." Shiro said to them.

Nova stepped forward. "But please... think about what you're doing."

After a few moments, Pidge sighed. "I'm sorry. You're gonna have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion." At that they walked away, Rover the robot following them.

Allura sighed. "I can't believe it, the team is falling apart." She looked to Nova. "How will we ever form Voltron?"

"You know I would if I could." Nova ran her hand through her hair.

"It's just so frustrating that you have high influence on the Lions yet, they all refuse to let you pilot them."

Nova looked down. "I'm sorry." She breathed.

Allura's eyes widened. "No no! I'm not blaming you."

Nova suddenly became alert.

"What?" Allura noticed Nova's change in body language.

"I sense something bad-"

At that moment, there was a gigantic explosion coming from the floors above.

"The bridge!" Nova exclaimed.

They all raced towards the explosion, telling the Arusians to leave as they went.


They all, including Pidge, arrived at the bridge to be met by a lot of smoke.

Nova used her eye to pick up heat signals. She rushed forward. "Coran!"

Coran eased himself up.

"What happened?" Shiro demanded.

"I'm not sure." Coran groaned.

The smoke cleared.

"Oh, no! The Crystal!" Allura gasped.

Nova looked around. "Lance?!" She rushed to the blue paladin's side. She lifted his head. "Hey?" She shook him gently.

Lance gave a groan.

Nova exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"We have to get him to the infirmary!" Pidge stated.

"That crystal is the source of the Castle's power." Nova informed them. She looked down at the boy in her arms.

Shiro knelt beside her. "He doesn't look good."

"Lion warriors!"

They all looked to see the Arusian king running in.

"Our village is under attack! We need help!"

"Let's get to the Lions!" Keith looked to the rest of the paladins.

"I'm afraid that you can't." Nova said. "They're sealed in their hangers, there's no way to get them out."

"We're defenceless." Allura hung her head.

"Will you not help us?" The Arusian king looked close to tears.

"We will help you... we just..." Keith looked down at Lance.

Lance groaned in pain.

"This is bad." Hunk whined.

"We need a new crystal to get the Castle working again." Coran stated. "But to get a new crystal, we need a ship."

Pidge's face lit up a little. "The pod I was loading, we can use that! I left the bay door open."

"I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera near by." Coran looked to Hunk. "You come with me, I need someone big to help me carry the crystal."

"A Balmera?"

"That's where the crystals come from, I'll tell you about it on the way."

"I'll go see what's happening at the Arusian village."

"I'll go with you, Keith. I brought this upon them."

"In that case, I'll accompany you too." Nova sighed. "Shiro, keep an eye on Lance." She told the lion's leader.

He nodded. "I'll stand watch over the Castle too."


At the Arusian village they were met with smoke and flames.

"Oh, no." Allura breathed.

"What's happening?" Keith asked.

"Look! Attackers!" The Arusian king pointed.

Keith looked to the girls. "I'm going in for a closer look, you stay with them!"

"Keith!" Allura called after him as he raced down the hill.

Nova went after him.

"Nova!"

"Don't worry!" She called back.

They got to the bottom where the flames were thicker.

"Why did you follow me?!" Keith exclaimed.

"Because!" She used her eye to scan around. "That's weird..."

"What is?" He looked up to see something falling towards them. "Watch out!" He pulled her back towards him and they stumbled, landing on the ground.

Nova opened her eyes to find herself on top of Keith, she looked up and met his.

"Are you alright?" He asked, winded from the impact.

Her eyes widened and she jumped up. "Sorry!" She held out her hand.

He took it. "For once it wasn't your fault we fell." He chuckled, dusting himself off.

Nova blushed, looking down.

"Now, tell me... what is it?"

Nova walked behind a building and looked through the window. She could see silhouettes of Galra soldiers. "They have no heat or digital signatures... they're fake..." Her eyes widened.

He looked too, and watched as each Galra soldier fell over. "Oh, no!"

"Quaznack! I knew something was wrong!" She grabbed his hand and lead the way back. "Allura! This was a diversion!"

"It's to separate us and thin the Castle defences!" Keith swore under his breath. "I knew it was a strange coincidence. First the crystal, now this!"

"It's not anyone's fault, Red." She assured him. "With all the arguing before... I couldn't pick up any warning signals from the Lions or the Castle. I should be more alert, regardless of what I'm doing."

He watched the worry within her eyes. He was suddenly pulled towards her, feeling her arm wrap around his middle. "What?!

"Hold on!" Nova summoned her staff.

"Um..." He could smell the fruit from the juice she had made earlier.

She used the staff, extending it about six metres, vaulting up to the top of the hill. She held Keith's waist tightly with one arm.

Keith clung to her, biting back a yell.

They landed in front of Allura.

Allura looked at Keith, clinging to Nova with his arms around her neck.

"What the hell?!" Keith exclaimed, finally letting go.

"Let's go!" Nova urged.

Keith shook himself and followed the girls.

"Look! They're putting up the particle barrier!" Nova yelled.

"Nova go ahead! You're faster!" Allura commanded.

Nova gave a nod, and with what seemed like a burst of speed, ran about a hundred metres in front of them, using her staff to vault herself further, using it as a propeller to stop her landing hard on the ground. She had managed to slide under the barrier in the nick of time. She turned around. "Allura!"

Allura and Keith were seconds too late.

Keith hammered the barrier in frustration. "No!"

"They have control of the Castle. They're taking Voltron!" Allura whined.

"Not if I have anything to do with it!" Nova said.

Allura looked to her cousin. "No!"

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous."

"Oh, so this is dangerous for me but you want five humans to fly the most powerful weapon in the universe? Thanks for the boat of confidence." Nova huffed.

Allura met Nova's eyes. "Nova... I dunno what can be done."

Keith summoned his bayard that transformed into a sword. "Can we break through the barrier?"

"No." Nova sighed.

"And whoever has taken the Castle has a crystal. Which means they'll be able to fly the ship." Allura added.

"We have to stop them somehow."

"How are we gonna do that? Even with Nova on that side, we dunno how many Galra are inside."

"Keith? Can you hear me?" A voice came through the intercoms.

"Pidge?!" Nova exclaimed.

"Where are you?" Keith asked.

"I'm inside the Castle. Sendak has taken over and is getting ready to launch." Pidge replied. "He's got Lance and Shiro."

Keith met Nova's eyes. It was evident that she was getting a little afraid and was eager to bust into the Castle and defend it.

"Pidge, listen, if they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before lift off to stop it."

"What do I have to do?"

"You have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the central energy chamber."

"She's right, Sendak will have to reset the whole system. It might just give us enough time to stop them." Nova added.

"Got it."

"Pidge. I'm gonna send you a map with the safest route, if they haven't discovered it, it should be plain sailing to get there." Nova focused her golden eye to send some information. "Did you get it?"

"Wow! I haven't seen a route like this on the main map."

"Well... I used to sneak out of the castle a lot, so I know the inner walls like the back of my hand." She smirked, watching Allura's disapproving expression. "Be careful, Pidge."

"Will do, Nova."

Nova exhaled and leaned against the side of the castle wall. Hidden from any Galra troupes. "I'm gonna go and distract him somehow, or at least thin out his party." She mumbled, looking around the corner. "I can see three standing out front." She scanned the rest of the castle wall. "I can get in through a secret passageway that leads directly to the bridge."

Keith stared at her.

Allura sighed. "It might be a good idea."

Nova met her gaze in shock. "Oh, my, Allura! Are you agreeing with my totally reckless idea?!" She mock gasped.

Allura folded her arms.

"It'll put my mind at ease to know that Shiro and Lance are alright too." Nova summoned her staff and extended it to a metre.

"Nova."

She looked to her cousin.

"Be careful."

Nova saluted. "Always am." She walked out. "Stay hidden." She headed towards the entrance of the Castle. "Well, well... looks like some Galra scum has invaded my Castle." She smirked, feeling the adrenaline pumping throughout her body and her staff crackling with electric energy. "Who's first?" She looked up as she got the Galra soldiers' attention.


Keith watched in mild awe as Nova made short work of the soldiers. "That staff...?"

Allura cleared her throat. "My father created it when he created Voltron and gave it to her father. It never... connected with him. Her father died of a broken heart, as they say, when her mother passed. So, it was handed down to her. Only she can harness and control the energy that comes off it. I can't handle the shocks, but she could be covered it an electric field and not blink."

"And she's half-human?"

Allura smiled. "Yes, but she's every bit Altean as I am."

They watched as she veered off to a part of the wall, about ten metres from the main entrance. She placed her hand against one spot and it opened up a small hole. She looked around before crawling in, the wall closing behind her.

"So, she used to sneak out a lot?"

Allura sighed. "Yes. My father gave up on trying to make her stay put."

Keith smirked. "Always been stubborn and not doing what she's told?"

Allura laughed. "Understatement." She sighed. "But in most situations, her recklessness saves the day."

Keith thought for a moment. "So... how did she damage her eye?"

Allura swallowed. "She... put trust into someone... they betrayed her." She looked down.

Keith stared at the space where Nova had disappeared. "So, her trust issues isn't just about us."

"No, not at all." She assured him. "She was just betrayed by someone she cared for deeply. I don't think she trusts her own judgement any more."

"You make it sound like she was in love."

Allura blinked and met his gaze. "Well... I think she may have been."

"Was he Altean too?"

Allura shook her head. "He was Galra. They were friends before Zarkon's uprising, she thought she could trust him."

Keith gritted his teeth. "Why do you think he betrayed her?"

"I guess power was more important to him, Zarkon had it. Nova is half-human. Galra frowned upon halflings when Zarkon came into power."

Keith had an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"He ended up using her devotion to him, almost killed a whole platoon of Alteans, including her. But she twigged that something wasn't right and fought him, giving the rest of the soldiers a chance to escape." Allura felt herself shake. "Stubborn, selfless and kind. That is Nova."

Keith put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry I asked."

"No, it's fine. You have a right to know why she's so standoffish with you."

"Well... it does make a lot of sense now." He sighed.

Inside the Castle, Nova crept through the passageways.

A few minuets later the Castle launch sequence powered down.

"Well done, Pidge." She whispered. She came to a grate that looked down upon the bridge. "There..." She breathed.

"Commander Sendak, I've picked up a transmission signal from inside the Castle." Haxus said, patching in the communication.

"Hurry, there won't be much time until Sendak gets it up and running again! You need to lower the particle barrier so we can get inside!" Allura's voice echoed through the room.

"Right! Tell me what to do." Pidge replied.

"The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull..."

"She's telling them how to disarm our defences!" Haxus stated.

"Yes, but she's also giving away their location." Sendak turned to his robotic troupes. "Find that room and kill that paladin." He ordered.

Nova bit her lip. Oh no! She closed her eyes and tried to sense Allura. "Allura... I dunno if this still works... Sendak has hacked into your coms!" She opened her eyes. I sure hope we still share a telepathic link. She looked to see that Shiro was awake, Lance was still out for the count.

Allura must've heard her, as she went quiet.

Nova focused her golden eye and sent Pidge instructions digitally. She gave a small sigh of relief when Pidge sent a reply.

Got it.

Nova swallowed. She crawled back over through her tunnel to where the sentries were sent. I can at least take these ones out and give Pidge more time. She found another exit and climbed out. She spotted the them. "Hey!" She called. She readied her staff. "I think you may be lost. This is an Altean ship." She smiled.

Pidge made her way towards the generator. She heard shooting from behind her. "Oh, no!"

"Pidge!?" Allura couldn't help herself.

"I'm alright! Nova is here holding them off." Pidge smiled. She looked around. "Allura, Nova sent me some information but this looks so advance I don't know if I can do it."

"Pidge. Believe in yourself. I know you can do it... ughhh!" Nova growled.

"Nova?!"

"I'm fine. Just keep talking to Pidge." She added, blocking the next attack. "Now they're gonna know I'm here too, thanks guys."

"Sorry!" Allura exclaimed.

Pidge turned around. "Nova I'm coming to assist you."

"No! Get to the generator! Who knows what Sendak will do to Lance and Shiro now. Just go, I'll hold them off for as long as possible."

Pidge paused. "Okay. Thank you!"

"No... problem... get off me, creep!" There was a crash heard through the intercoms.

Allura looked to Keith. "We need to be in there as soon as possible. No matter how skilled a fighter she is, there's no way she can defeat Sendak by herself."

Keith groaned. "I know, but how?!"

She thought for a moment. "Maybe the mice can help!" She snapped her fingers. She concentrated very hard to send a message to her small friends.

Nova took down the last remaining Galra troop. She looked between the corridor Pidge took and towards the doors leading to the bridge. What do I do? She sighed and found a hidden door to a passageway within the wall and crawled inside it.

She crawled through it towards the bridge. Lance and Shiro could be in danger knowing we're inside... I must get to them.

"Nova?" Pidge's voice came through. "I've done it and taken out Sendak's second in command." She whispered.


Nova let out a breath. She crawled to the opening above the bridge and looked down.

"Turn yourself over otherwise... your leader is gonna get it." Sendak said through the microphone.

"No!" Pidge yelled back.

Oh, no... I need to move now!

Sendak shocked Shiro, who let out a scream.

"Hey!" Nova kicked the grate, which landed on top of one of Sendak's sentries. "Leave him alone!" She dropped down, summoning her staff.

"Nova?!" Shiro stared.

"Don't worry, Keith and Allura should be in soon." She twirled her staff, looking at Sendak. "It's over!"

"Oh, I don't think so!" He chuckled, chucking Shiro to one side. "An Altean soldier?"

She snorted. "Princess actually."

"You're Allura?" He asked.

"Nah... I'm the other one." She waved away the comment. "Not that it matters, you won't remember soon." Electricity crackled around the staff and worked its way up her arm.

He stepped forward. "I doubt you can single handedly take both myself and my men down though."

She looked around to see about two dozen Galra soldiers. "Hmm... is that a challenge?" She laughed. "I can take them all."

"Nova!"

She looked to see Pidge standing in the doorway. "Pidge I've got this!"

"No way am I letting you fight alone!"

"You!" Sendak launched his arm towards Pidge, who dodged the blow. He went after them, leaving the troupes to deal with Nova.

Pidge ran in and beelined for Shiro. "Hey, Shiro... it's me!"

Nova was fighting two Galra soldiers at once. She glanced over. "Pidge!"

Sendak had grabbed her with his bionic arm.

Nova electrified the soldier. "Let her go!" She yelled, running towards him.

Pidge's eyes widened. She knows?!

Nova vaulted towards them, swinging her staff towards Sendak.

Sendak smirked and held Pidge in the line of Nova's swing.

Nova gasped and lowered her staff.

Sendak ceased this opportunity to swing for her, smacking her away, fist landing in her stomach.

She flew, back hitting the wall. She eased up, clutching her middle, panting. She looked up at Pidge. "Don't you dare hurt her!" She growled, launching her self towards them again.

This time, one of the soldiers stood in her way.

"Nova! Pidge!"

Allura and Keith ran in.

Sendak held Pidge up, facing them. "Stand back-"

Lance had shot him in the back, before passing out again.

Nova took out the last soldier. Sendak was the last one standing. "Like I said... it's over!" She growled, pain shooting throughout her body.

Allura headed to the control panel to stop the launch.

Shiro, hands tied behind his back, raced forward, only to be knocked back again.

Keith tried using his sword but to no avail.

Sendak looked towards Nova and grinned, sending his bionic arm towards her.

She blocked it with her staff and sent an electric current through it.

He yelled in pain.

Pidge cut the cord attaching the arm to his shoulder.

Sendak stumbled back.

Keith ran to him again, swinging his sword.

"Keith now!" Allura called.

Keith kicked Sendak into the magic circle that Allura had created around the Galra crystal.

Nova made her way to Lance, who was in bad shape.

"Now I remember you..."

Nova paused, looking to Sendak. "What?!"

Keith looked to her, then to Allura.

Allura's expression was that of unease.

"The Altean princess, known as the Lightning Empress, who fell in love and had her heart torn out by the hands of the Galra..." He chuckled. "Guess that's what you get when you fall for the enemy, eh, princess?"

Nova felt herself shake. "Shut up!"

"I met him, trained him myself actually... I assigned him to take care of you."

"I said..." Nova raised her hand, feeling the electricity of the staff coursing through her. "Shut up!" She practically screamed. Pure lightning shot out from her hand, passing through the barrier, hitting Sendak in the chest.

He keeled over.

Nova felt her chest tighten and her legs give way.

Keith rushed to catch her. "Hey?"

She met his violet eyes. "Red..."

"It's alright..." He patted her back.

Pidge cut Shiro loose.

Shiro looked over to the girl. "Nova..."

Allura finished powering down the castle and looked over to Nova. "What he said... take no heed."

"But it's true isn't it..." Nova sniffed.

"No it isn't!" Allura argued. "Nova, you are the bravest, most honourable Altean there ever was. Nobody has ever doubted your instincts. You fell in love, there's nothing to be ashamed of! You were tricked, it could've happened to any of us."

"That's it though... I was tricked. Me."

"Listen."

Nova blinked and looked to Keith.

"Don't worry about the past now. You're alive and fighting. Yes, you went through something really heartbreaking, but you're here, and you're stronger than ever."

Nova stared at the red paladin for a few moments. "Thank you..." She looked down. "Keith."

He blinked. "Did that electricity fry your brain or something?"

She gave a small smile. "Dunno what you mean, Mullet." She stood up straight, groaning as pain shot through her.

Lance sat up a little. "You know, Nova. You can trust us." He smiled crookedly. "We make a pretty good team, eh?"

Nova giggled, before hissing as it made her ribcage hurt. "Lets get you to the infirmary." She said.

"I think you need a spell in there too." Allura stated.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises."

"Nova..." Allura folded her arms. "Please."

She gave a sigh. "Fine!"


They successfully got Lance into the healing pod.

"A day in there and he should be all healed up." Nova sighed. She looked to Pidge. "Thank you for all that you did." She smiled.

"Wasn't just me... thank you." Pidge replied.

"You really put your neck out for the team, we'll really miss you." Shiro added. "But if you still wanna go, we won't stop you."

"No... my father once said that working with you was like a family. I can't turn my back on mine." Pidge looked up. "I'm staying to help defeat Zarkon and save all our families."

Nova hugged the small paladin. "That's amazing, I'm so glad!" She pulled away. "We will get your father and brother back. I promise."

Keith smiled a little. "It's nice to have you back on the team."

Allura looked to Nova. "You. Get in." She pointed to another vacant pod.

Nova grumbled. "Alright!" She stepped into the pod. "Just a few hours okay." She said.

Allura nodded and powered up the pod.