"...Zarkon?"
"He was the King of the Galra," replied the princess. "A vile creature, and enemy to all free people."
"Sounds like someone we knew," said Ben. "Vilgax was a conqueror of worlds and one of my first enemies. If Zarkon was even a little similar, the Galra Empire would be massive."
"About that," began Shiro. "I just got some of my memories back. I was his prisoner."
Stunned silence was the reply, before Allura spoke up. "He's still alive?! Impossible!"
"Yep," said Kevin. "Definitely like Vilgax."
"They never seem to disappear for good," finished Gwen.
"Please tell me he's not searching for some kind of superweapon," was the reply from an exasperated Julie.
"I- uh- yeah," was Shiro's reply, clearly surprised at the deduction. "He's looking for something called Voltron."
"And Voltron is the only thing that can stop him?" Ben asked, clearly more experienced than he let on.
"Are you sure you're not spies of some sort?" Allura skeptically replied.
"We're- uh oh," was all Julie managed to get out before she and Ship disappeared in a flash of blue. They had been replaced by a note.
Keith walked over, picked up the note, and read: "Hello to you all. Team Voltron, your universe is unstable. As a result, I sent five individuals from another to change history and stabilize the world. However, the instability was greater than expected, and I had to pull out Julie and ship. Rest assured; the fate of the world is in good hands. Signed, Professor Paradox. P.S. No Alien X, there's too much instability?" Keith finished. "Who is this guy?! What does any of that mean?! And what is Alien X?!" Meanwhile, Pidge and Hunk had stars in their eyes. Aliens were cool, sure, but people from another universe were cooler! They immediately began bombarding the trio with questions, until Shiro and Keith dragged them away.
"First thing's first," said Shiro. "We need to find Voltron before Zarkon does."
Galra Fleet
Aboard the dark ship, purple crystals floated in the air, ominously glowing with an otherworldly light. In the floor, there was an indentation in the shape of a pentagon, with a runic circle inside. Kneeling within, the lone altean let out a disturbing moan.
Approaching her leader, Haggar told of the blue lion's return and of something else. A familiar energy in the cosmos, heralding the return of her kin.
"King Alfor's daughter lives? How?" spoke the leader of the galra, gazing over his massive fleet.
"I know not," replied the witch, "but it is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours."
"Yes," said the towering form of Zarkon. "I shall wipe that foul race from the universe forever and take back Voltron. Contact my commanders."
Galra Ship, Location Unknown
As the ship floated through the void of space, mechanical whirring could be heard as an arm flared to life. It was attached to a one-armed Galra with a beam of pure energy. "Emperor Zarkon requests an audience," said a robotic voice.
As the commander approached the screen, it flared to life. "Commander Sendak," spoke the emperor, " the Princess of Altea is alive and hiding in your sector. We believe she alone holds the whereabouts to the remaining lions. Your battle fleet is the closest to her location. Retrieve her and the lions. With them all, the Galra Empire will be unstoppable."
The kneeling Sendak spoke up. "I fight for the empire. I conquer in the name of Galra. No foe has ever stood in my way, and none ever will. Vrepit Sa!"
As the screen returned to normal, Sendak got up. He turned around, and in a booming voice he said, "Set a course for Arus."
Castle of Lions, Arus
A green plate of... something... floated by the command center. "Princess, you have to eat," said Coran. "It's been 10,000 years!"
Everyone was looking at Allura, as she said, "I'm not hungry."
As Lance and Keith bickered like Bellicus and Serena over whether 10,000 is 10+1,000 or 10*1,000 (Keith was right), Ben spoke up. "You know, if your father was anything like mine, he would have given his life for yours. Given that he's not here and you are, he did."
"So, are you going to survive, or will his sacrifice be in vain," finished Gwen, seeing where her cousin was going.
The two smiled at each other, and Allura acknowledged her stomach's needs and reluctantly ate. Kevin smiled, Coran, Pidge, and Shiro were shocked, and Hunk gagged on a plate of his own food.
Snapping out of it, Shiro said, "I can't believe your civilization had such advanced technology 10,000 years ago. It must have been an incredible place."
"Yes, it was..." replied a saddened Coran, "but now it is gone and we're the last alteans alive."
Allura had finished her food, and nearly broke down sobbing, but she heard squeaking. She gasped, looked into her stasis pod, and saw four brightly colored mice making the noise. "Looks like we're not the last, after all," she said, a smile coming to her face for the first time since waking up.
Unfortunately, it was at this moment that the alarms went off. "A galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" shouted Coran, reading the command screen.
"How did they find us?!" replied Allura.
"I don't know, but I bet it's Keith's fault," said an annoyed Lance, still salty over their little discussion from before.
"Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better," was the man in question's answer.
The two then yelped in pain as Kevin grabbed their ears. "Both of you, knock it off!" he said. "If you want any hope of surviving, you have to work together, so put aside whatever petty little rivalry you have going on, or the galra are going to be the least of your problems." Neither argued with the man.
"How long before they arrive," said an impressed Shiro.
"At their speed?" said Coran, doing some finger math. "A couple of days."
"Nah," said Kevin. "With those engines, I say two hours, tops."
"Either way, let them come!" replied an enraged Allura. "By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!"
"Hey, hey HEY!" said Lance. "I already have dibs on the blue lion!"
"Besides, we can't," replied Gwen. "We're not from here, so we can't pilot the lions."
"Like it or not, you're stuck with Lance, Keith and Hunk," finished her cousin.
"Now where are the other lions?" asked Kevin.
In another room, Allura stood under glowing lights. "King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force," explained Coran. "She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts."
It was at this moment that a star chart appeared throughout the room, leaving the paladins with one word: "Woah." Everyone else was used to this sort of thing.
"These are coordinates," Pidge deduced. "The black lion looks like it's in the same location as the blue lion."
"Look at your primitive syn-OOOWWW!" said Coran, who was being pulled by the ear by Kevin, much to Pidge's amusement.
"Very observant," said the princess, ignoring Coran's plight. "The black lion is within the castle. However, to keep it out of Zarkon's hands, it is locked away, with the other four lions acting as keys. As you have seen, the lion chooses its pilot. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in the lion."
"What's quintessence?" asked Kevin
"It's essentially life energy," said Coran, rubbing his ear. "It-"
"Binds the universe together?" finished Ben.
"We call it mana where we're from," said Gwen.
"Anyways," started Allura, "The bond between paladin and lion forms something greater than science can explain. The black lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a born leader, someone who is in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro you will pilot the black lion."
She continued, assigning the science loving Pidge to the green lion, the loyal Hunk to the yellow lion, and the instinctive Keith to the red lion. The blue lion's qualities remained unknown due to lance, but Team 10 had a suspicion, based on Lance's similarities to Ben at 10 (they were right).
The red lion couldn't be located, until Kevin stood up and said, "Your thermal regulator was busted. Try now." Coran started to protest, but without the overload of heat, the red lion's location was revealed. Everyone but Team 10 was flabbergasted at the man's knowledge of alien tech, but they had more pressing matters to attend to. The red lion, unlike the others, was captured by the galra.
"Anyways," began Coran, "When the lions are together, you can form Voltron, the greatest warrior ever known, defender of the universe!" The hologram showed the completed robot, and all of the non-alteans gasped in awe.
"Wait," said a nervous Hunk. "Okay, we're going to be in there and flying lions. Got that part. How do lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"
"We don't have much time," Shiro replied. "Pidge and I will go after the green lion. Lance, you take Hunk to get the yellow lion. Keith, stay here. First group back takes him to the red lion."
"In the meantime," started Allura, "I'll get this castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed."
"I'll ready a pod and load in the coordinates of the green lion." Said Coran.
"I'll go with Lance and keep an eye on him," began Ben. "Gwen, you go with pidge. Kevin, with Keith."
"And what exactly do you plan to do there, hmmm?" asked an amused Coran.
"Yeah, I don't need babysitting from someone younger than me," stated an indignant Lance.
"These guys clearly have experience in the field," started Shiro, "so they come."
Team 10 smiled, while Lance just grumbled, "Fine." The two active groups then took off and wormholed away, with Lance and Hunk screaming, and Ben regretting his choice of group already.
Unknown Forest Planet
Pidge and Shiro yelped in surprise and fear, leaping backwards into each other's arms. Gwen, on the other hand, just said a friendly hello.
"The green lion is this way. Come, I will take you there," was the reply.
"She says it's this way," translated Gwen, much to the others' shock.
"How-" started Shiro.
"Universal translator," replied Gwen, holding up her Plumber's badge. "Now, you coming, or what?" A confused duo followed her.
Along the calm river, the three were enjoying themselves. "I wonder if group two is having as good of a time as us," said Pidge. Gwen chuckled. Knowing Ben's luck, they probably weren't.
Galra Mining Operation
Gwen was right.
Gwen was so, so, right.
High above the ground, the blue lion was under attack. The paladins screamed, while the universal savior muttered under his breath. He knew that they were new pilots, but that didn't help him activate the omnitrix. He couldn't even see what alien he would get! When the missiles came, Lance managed to dodge five out of six! That was impressive for a first-time pilot, but they still got hit. "I thought Coran said these planets were peaceful!" shouted Hunk.
"Maybe peaceful means something else in Altean!" retorted Lance as he pulled up. Suddenly, there was a flash of green light inside of the lion. The jostling had activated the omnitrix, and when Hunk looked back, there was no ben. Instead, there was a blue, bipedal-
"MOTHMAN!" Hunk screamed, as Big Chill phased through the floor. "G-G-G-GHOST MOTHMAN!" he screamed.
"Ben, please tell this guy to STOP SCREAMING IN THE PILOT'S EAR!" shot lance.
"IT ATE BEN!" replied Hunk. Suddenly, the enemy ships exploded, leaving two confused paladins. They quickly got over it when the mine guards spotted them and started shooting.
Ben's P.O.V
Ben immediately saw the blue lion dive down. Figuring he had to help them, he flew above, stopped flying, and slapped the omnitrix dial, transforming.
"LODESTAR!" he shouted as he landed. Seeing Hunk get ejected, he summoned his powers of magnetism. Lance and Hunk watched as all of the enemy turrets and robots were crushed. Speaking into the omnitrix's built-in comms, he said "Hunk, Lance, this is Ben. Get the lion, I'll cover you!"
Hunk ran into the cave, shouting "You have some explaining to do, you know!"
"I know, I know," replied the transformed teen as reinforcements arrived, switching to Jetray to better combat the aerial reinforcements.
They flew overhead, shot, and left. Ben knew better, but Lance ignored Ben's calls and chased after them, much to Ben's dismay. It was only when more flew the other way that Lance realized his mistake. They had baited him! He turned around and fired, praying that he could shoot them down in time. Just as he shot one, however, it shot a missile headed straight for Hunk, and there was nothing he could do. Jetray, on the other hand, knew what they were doing and shot the missile out of the sky, much to Lance's relief. Any other reinforcements that came were no match for the two.
With Group One
The trip had been serene. Gwen had taken the time to answer most of Pidge's questions, and even a few they didn't think to ask, like her and Kevin's alien ancestry and all of their powers. Even Shiro was impressed with their work. Since Ben didn't get any ancestral powers from their grandma, Pidge was really inspired to do a good job with the green lion, especially since she probably wouldn't start a forest fire like Ben. All in all, it was a pretty smooth trip, with an easy lion grab.
With Group Two
Lance was doing great. With Ben showing him the ropes of combat, they took down all of the attacking ships. Ben even found two new transformations: one galra, and one altean. Though he couldn't use them at the moment, it showed that the new DNA scanner was both fast and subtle. Upgrade was MVP, though, since the drones were tech. When Hunk left the cave, he was wobbly, but soon got the hang of it as they left for Arus, with Ben joining Hunk to let the possessed drone crash. When Ben got on board, however, he was in for a shock. Hunk was chewing gum, which could really only have meant one thing.
"I'll bite, what did Paradox leave this time?" Ben asked.
"Oh, uh, a note, a present, and a gumball, which I am now realizing was probably for you," Hunk said sheepishly.
"It's fine, I'm not really one for gum anyway," Ben replied, curiously reading the note. "Dear Ben," he began, "my apologies for what happened with Julie and Ship. I felt that I should try to make up for the loss of power, so here it is: an omnitirx upgrade. Nine new aliens, on old one that Azmuth felt you were ready to regain, and a surprise function you will most likely find use for, given your luck. Insert the chip in the box whenever you feel you need a power boost. Best regards, Paradox." He was definitely curious now. However, it would have to wait, as they were back at the castle.
Castle of Lions, Arus
As everyone returned, Allura and Coran were concerned. The galra squadron had arrived, proving Kevin correct, much to Coran's disappointment. However, before the now full team could leave, a transmission came through, shocking everyone.
"Princess Allura," it began, "this is commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. In addition, it has come to our attention that there is a powerful shapeshifter among you. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet." The transmission then ended as abruptly as it began.
"Alright, we're doomed," said a scared Hunk.
"Not necessarily," started Ben, an idea forming. "Group one, was your planet taken over by the galra?"
"No," replied Shiro, seeing where this was going.
"How does that help?" replied a confused Allura. "They seem to think we have some sort of shapeshifter. Nobody here can do that other than me and Coran."
"You can shapeshift?" asked a curious Gwen.
"Yes, but there are limits," answered Coran. "Not only that, but we don't get stronger when we do. Who-"
"Ben/Me," replied groups one and two, along with Kevin. Needless to say, Keith, Coran, and Allura were shocked.
"Alright, listen up," said Shiro. "Here's the plan."
"NONONONONONONONONONONONO!" said Hunk and Lance.
"I don't wanna get destroyed by the galra," said Hunk. This quickly devolved into theoretical Voltron Worms and arguing.
"ENOUGH!" shouted an enraged Ben. Gwen and Kevin, knowing how dangerous an enraged Ben could be, stepped back. "All of you are clearly not going to be swayed, and that's that. I say, we vote on it. All in favor of staying, raise your hand." Keith, Pidge, Shiro, and Team 10 raised their hands. "Good. If we've learned anything with Vilgax, Aggregor, and our other enemies, it's that they won't stop until they win, so neither can we. Six out of ten says we stay. That's a majority. Shiro, the plan, please." Shiro was impressed. He had seen commanders back down from similar situations before, yet this kid just got these adults to stop whining with nothing but his words. He was suddenly less incredulous of Ben fighting alien warlords at ten.
"Alright," Shiro began, "the plan."
In another room, after the plan, Allura broke the new silence. "Your suits of armor." In five glass cases were five identical suits of high-tech armor, color coded to match the lions. Everyone voiced their approval but Hunk, who was concerned about fitting.
"Princess, are you sure about this?" asked Coran. "They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."
"No," began Allura, "but right now, they're all we've got."
"Boys, it's time to suit up!" shouted Shiro. Once they were done, Allura opened a container. Inside were four handles, but they weren't attached to anything.
"The bayard is the traditional weapon of the paladins of Voltron," began the princess as the bayards floated toward their color-coded paladins. "It takes a distinct shape for the paladin who wields it." Hunk's became a massive, heavy machine gun. Keith got a sword, activating his armor's built-in hard light shield. Lance got a blaster, and Pidge got an electric grapple gun.
"Aw," Lance teased, "you got a cute little bayard."
Pidge immediately zapped him and said, "Yeah, it is pretty cute."
"Shiro," began Allura, "I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its paladin."
Shiro forced a smile and said, "I guess I'll just have to make do."
Galra Ship, Arus
"Attention galra ship, do not fire," said the paladin on the screen. "We are surrendering our lions, and the shapeshifter is on board." Sendak could see the shapeshifter in its moth-like form and smiled as the transmission ended. Soon he would have gained three lions and a new toy for Zarkon, replacing his witch as second in command. As the tractor beam fired, however, the lions dodged! It was a trick! As he ordered the fighters to be launched, the alarms blared. A yellow sphere was destroying the troops and crew! The shapeshifter was on board! The blue lion was destroying all of the ships, leaving the ship open to attack from the yellow lion! And to top it all off, there were two lions nowhere to be seen! More alarms blared. The prisoners were escaping, and the red lion was out! Could anything be going worse?! Apparently, as the ion cannon was damaged! They had gotten away!
Casthe of Lions, Arus
It was an incredible sight. A black lion, bigger than any of the others, with wings to boot! On top of that the plan had worked better than anyone could have hoped, and Kevin had even managed to upgrade the particle barrier with an electric charge, preventing intangibility shenanigans. "Oh, quiznak," Coran said as alarms blared.
"Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere," Shouted Allura on comms. "We need Voltron, now!"
As Shiro got in his lion, Ben added Paradox's chip to the omnitrix and said, "Time for a power up!" Then, to his dismay, the hourglass on his watch turned blue. "No. No no no NONONO NOT NOW!"
"Ben, what's wrong?!" asked Kevin, hopeful Way Big could help.
"PARADOX MADE THE WATCH REBOOT!" was the reply, dashing Kevin's hopes.
"Alright team, Ben's out of the fight," came Shiro's voice. "That means it's down to Voltron."
When Voltron got out, they were shocked to see a repaired ion cannon. One blast caused the whole castle to shake. "Man, those galra guys repair things fast!" exclaimed Hunk.
"I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while," replied Allura, "but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll all be destroyed!"
"Jeez, no pressure," was Hunk's response, very scared. Another ion blast came, shaking the ground beneath them.
"Listen up, Team Voltron!" was Shiro's levelheaded answer. "The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?!" an affirmative response came from all four other lions. "Let's do this!"
As they questioned how to form Voltron, Ben looked down to see the omnitrix was almost done rebooting. He hoped they were going to form soon, because the castle couldn't take much more. Suddenly came a spark of hope... and a cause for dread. The omnitrix was done! In fact, it wasn't an omnitrix anymore, but an ultimatrix (see Albedo's Omniverse ultimatrix for a design. Just one difference: Ben's is an emerald green)! The terrible news was that the lions were getting pulled in by a tractor beam!
The moment Ben was clear of the tower, he transformed. Standing in his place was a 120-foot-tall white humanoid, with red markings and fins on his arms and head. Kevin smiled to see Way Big joining the fight. However, everyone was shocked when ben tapped the ultimatrix dial. The to'kustar grew. When he was done, Allura and Coran noticed something. This thing was bigger than Voltron! At 360 feet tall, the blue, red, and white being with three head fins flew toward the galra ship. This was Ultimate Way Big. Before the lions could be captured, Ben threw a disc of energy at the enemy ship, causing it to explode in azure flame.
And that was it. The battle was won. A round of questions later, Ben was hoping for a distraction. Fortunately for him, Allura came. We won the battle," she said, "but the war has only just begun. We haven't even formed Voltron!" She began to cry. "We had to be bailed out by someone who doesn't even have a stake in this fight!"
The others were down too. They could see how hard the princess was taking this. That is, until Coran spoke up. "Maybe we could ask your father for advice."
As the two walked away, Team Voltron reflected. They had almost lost that day. If not for Ben, they would have. Some "Defenders of the Universe" they were. They couldn't even form Voltron.
Team 10 was concerned as well. These people were about as good at their job as they were at age ten. Considering one of their own was a former criminal... yikes. What Team Voltron needed was someone to guide them. What they needed was a Grandpa Max. Team 10 would have to do.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Episode one is officially complete! I wanted to keep a consistent schedule, but I'm posting early. That's what I'll do every episode. Now what are you waiting for? Either vote in the poll or comment other ideas! I may not accept them all of the time, but I will read them all and consider them. Have a great day!