"Alright, let's not panic!" Lelouch said as soon as Sendak's transmission ended.

"Not panic?" Shirley asked, her voice already shaking, "Th-the scary purple alien thing is driving his battleships toward us! We only got five Lions-"

"Technically, only four working Lions," Suzaku pointed out.

"That's right, thank you, Suzaku. Four working Lions and a castle that's like ten thousand years old!"

"Actually, it's ten thousand, six hundred years old," Coran informed them and adjusted his collar as if to give an important presentation. He always loved speaking about his proud family line.

"You see, it was built by my grandfather-"

"Thanks, Coran, thank you for that," Shirley interrupted, pinching Coran's lips shut, much to the man's shock and irritation, "See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"

"No, it isn't!" Milly argued back, "If anything, now's the time to put our heads together and come up with a plan! We won't win this battle if we act like a bunch of wild dogs chasing their tails."

"Wait!" Allura exclaimed in realization, "This castle has a particle barrier we can activate!"

"Okay," said Kallen, "and how long will that hold?"

Coran pulled up an outline of the Galra ship on the screen in front of them. The main cannon on the battleship was highlighted in red. "The barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."

"Panic now?" asked Shirley, still trembling.

"No," Lelouch said firmly, "we just need to figure out our plan of attack and figure it out fast." Lelouch's brain was working in overdrive to try and figure this out. However, there were so many unknown factors that he was struggling to think of a proper plan. After all, this would technically be their first official battle with the Galra. He didn't count their scrimmage on Earth or Rivalz and Shirley's retrieval mission since the first didn't count as a battle, and Lelouch wasn't present in the latter.

Rivalz raised his hand, "I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day."

"I second that, yes," Shirley agreed immediately, "I mean, we tried to find all the Lions, right? Gave it the old college try but couldn't do it. We only have four; we can't form Voltron. I-I mean, I guess we could form a snake? Or a worm! To go through the hole Rivalz was talking about."

"Then it's settled," Rivalz said before smirking flirtatiously at Allura, "Allura, you ride with me." He then leaned toward Coran, "One of you take the old guy." Coran began fuming in rage at the comment.

"Wait! We can't just abandon Arus!" Rai protested, "The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them!"

"That may be true," Suzaku said, "but if you think about it, the Lions are ultimately the Galra's targets. If we leave Arus, the Galra may follow us and leave the planet alone. That's what happened on Earth, remember? There must be some planets the Galra are willing to let be."

"Yeah!" Rivalz nodded, "Then we form the snake thingamajig, and we sliver out of here!" He made slivering motions with his arms for emphasis.

Milly spoke, "But now Zarkon knows the Lions are back. Even if we run, how far will we get before they catch us, not to mention the number of planets and people he'll kill just to do it? It's only going to get more dangerous from here on out!"

"Exactly!" Rai agreed.

"Besides, why don't you use your quiznacking head for a moment," Kallen protested, glaring at Suzaku. Coran and Allura flinched and gaped at Kallen as if she had just said a foul word. "Did it occur to you that Sendak could just destroy Arus and then come after us anyway? Staying is our only option!"

"First of all, I don't think you used that word correctly, and second you don't know that!" Suzaku objected, gritting his teeth.

"We're not abandoning these people!"

"We're leaving!" Suzaku shouted.

"We're staying!" Kallen yelled back with more vigor than they had ever witnessed at school, but everyone was too caught up in the situation to notice.

"Leaving!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"Staying!" Milly and Rai proclaimed together.

"Snake!" Shirley cried in panic.

"ENOUGH!" Lelouch roared with finality, showing fury on his face, "Listen to yourselves! Arguing isn't getting us anywhere! I've said it once, and I'll repeat it. If we want to survive this, we need to work together!"

Everyone else turned their backs to one another, the votes to leave and stay divided in half. Suzaku, Rivalz, and Shirley stood on one side, wanting to go, and Rai, Milly, and Kallen on the other, wishing to stay and fight. C.C. stood off to the side, observing.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lelouch turned to the one person in the room who may know what to do, "Princess Allura, these are your Lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

For the first time since the new Paladins arrived in her castle, Allura felt doubt and fear swell inside. For truth be told… she didn't know what to do. It had literally been thousands of years since she had faced the Galra. As much as she hated to admit it, Shirley was right. Without the Red and Purple Lions, they couldn't unlock the Black Lion to form Voltron, and she knew they needed Voltron to win this war. With Sendak on his way to destroy the planet and only four working Lions, there was no way of knowing if it would be enough to beat them.

"I-I don't know," Allura admitted, looking down at the floor in dismay.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Kallen exclaimed in frustration, which only seemed to make the princess falter more.

"Perhaps… your father could help," Coran said, catching their attention.

"My father?" Allura asked in confusion.

"Wait," Rivalz said, "I thought you said her father was dead?"

"Well… not exactly."


Allura followed Coran down a dark corridor, pitch black except for the neon blue glow of the Altean symbols on the walls and ceilings. A large door slid open, revealing a holodeck interface inside—a glowing light in the center.

"Coran," Allura gasped, "what is this?"

"King Alfor knew there was a chance he might never see you again. So his memories, his very being, were stored in this computer for you." Coran explained as Allura approached the glowing orb of light.

Allura reached out her hand to touch it as the orb rose into the air. Suddenly, blue sparks expanded, growing in size, turning from blue to yellow, showering the dark room, filling it with light. The pretty scenery changed from a dark room to a field of lush green grass and beautiful magenta flowers — mountains formed in the distance and white puffy clouds floating in the crystal blue sky. If the inside of the room still didn't smell metallic, Allura would have thought it was real. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she never imagined she'd see anything of Altea again.

A metallic ringing filled the air. A ray of blue light arose from the holodeck, forming the body of a man. It was transparent as a ghost, but he still looked as sharp and regal as when he was alive. His skin tone was identical to Allura's, with icy blue eyes, silvery-white hair, and white and yellow battle armor with a long blue cape adorning his form. Despite this, King Alfor's eyes looked tired and worn but still held the immense love they always had.

"Father!" Allura gasped and ran towards the holoform, "Father, it is so good to see you!"

"Allura, my only child, how I've missed your face," the image said with a sad smile.

Despite her happiness, Allura could barely hold back tears of despair. "I'm so frightened! A Galra ship is set to attack, and I don't know what to do," the princess explained, all but collapsing at the image's feet, "Please, Father, I need your help."

"I would do anything to take this burden from you," Alfor responded sadly.

"I don't know if we should run, to preserve what we have, or stay and risk everything! I want to fight, but the Paladins of old are gone… I know what you would do," she said, gazing up at the man as if she were only a child.

"I scattered the Lions of Voltron to keep them out of Zarkon's hands. You urged me to keep them and fight, but for the greater good of protecting the universe, I chose to hide them."

"I think I understand," Allura said.

"No, daughter," Alfor said, and Allura turned back in muted surprise, "You were right. I made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives. Forming Voltron is the only way to stop Zarkon. You must be willing to sacrifice everything to assemble the Lions and correct my error."


It didn't take long for Allura to exit the room where her father resided. When she entered the control room again, she wore a full-body white jumpsuit with purple, black, and pink outlines. Her hair was styled into a messy bun with ringlets by her ears. The look on her face and the fire in her eyes told the Earthlings and Coran her answer.

"You seven Paladins were brought here for a reason," Allura said, no tremor in her tone whatsoever. "The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you, and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope."

Lelouch responded with a sentence he never thought would come out of his mouth again in his lifetime. But it still held the same finality as when he commanded the Black Knights as Zero. It was a tone that left no room for argument. "We're with you, Princess."

C.C. only grinned in anticipation as the other Paladins nodded, some reluctantly, in agreement.

This just got interesting…


Allura led the seven Paladins to a dark room that suddenly lit up with light as they entered. Within it, in a semi-circle against the wall, were seven pods almost identical to the ones from which Coran and Allura woke up. Only instead of people inside, there were seven identical suits of armor. They looked almost like the armor that medieval Britannian knights wore, just with a bit of a sci-fi flair. They consisted of dark gray to light black full-body undersuits and topped with stiffer segments of white armor, and just like Allura's suit, they each had a large 'V' on the chest plates. The only differences between them were they each had a different color outlining it: blue, red, yellow, black, purple, green, and orange.

"Your suits of armor," Allura presented as the Paladins walked up to their corresponding color, examined it, and mumbled in admiration and amazement at the design.

"Cool!" Rai said.

"Nice," Kallen grinned.

"Outstanding," Lelouch breathed.

"Neat," Shirley said.

"Love it!" Milly exclaimed.

"I'll take it," Suzaku said.

"This is going to be awesome!" Rivalz squealed like a fangirl as he looked at his blue armor with stars in his eyes.

"Princess," Coran said, pulling at his mustache as he eyed them with skepticism, "are you sure about this? They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."

"No, but they're all we've got," In any other situation, Allura would have shared her caretaker's same opinion, but time was of the essence.

"Paladins of Voltron!" Lelouch proclaimed with a smirk, shared by all the others, "Suit up!"

Armor was placed, belts were buckled, plates were adjusted, helmets were mounted, and (for Shirley and Milly) hair was pulled up in buns. It wasn't long before the new Paladins of Voltron stood before the Alteans, an air of confidence surrounding them all.

Allura placed her hand over a glowing table in between her and them, a symbol glowing brightly in the middle. The blue outline then vanished to reveal six handle-like objects which levitated before them, each corresponding to a color of the Paladins.

"The Bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron," she explained as the Bayards all floated towards their respective wielder, "it takes a distinct shape for each Paladin."

Once the Orange Bayard landed in Shirley's palm, the object glowed a bright orange before narrowing and widening to form a sturdy and versatile bow. A quiver of arrows appeared behind her back. She hummed in slight skepticism as she never really used a bow or any other weapon in her life. Still, if the princess said it took shape depending on who wielded it, she'd have to figure it out.

The Red Bayard found its way to Kallen's hand, which immediately shifted into what looked like a gloved gauntlet with what appeared to be a silver opening that was closed in the middle. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and nearly leaped back in surprise as three long claw-like blades appeared between her fingers. They looked almost identical to Wolverine's claws from the X-men. Smirking, she raised the clawed cestus to her face the same way she'd seen the famous X-men do on the movie covers, a matching wolfish grin spreading across her face.

When Milly got hold of the Yellow Bayard, it also glowed until she felt what appeared to be metal in one hand and a handle of something in another. After the light cleared, she quirked her eyebrow in intrigue as a scythe attached to a silver chain appeared in her hands with yellow outlining it. Milly had seen ninja from old Japanese anime and movies wield a weapon like this. A kusarigama, she recalled. Grabbing hold of the chain just below the handle, Milly twirled it around in a tight circle before grabbing hold of the handle to stop it.

"Stylish, functional, and deadly," the Yellow Paladin smiled mischievously, "the perfect combination."

Suzaku reached for his Bayard, which took the form of a traditional Japanese katana blade but seemed to have the handle of a longsword, mixing both Japanese and Britannia sword styles. Then the purple band on his wrist created a transparent blue shield, making him look like a sci-fi knight in shining armor. The Honorary Britannian smirked as he swung the katana around a few times before striking a finishing battle pose.

Rivalz held his Bayard as it shifted into the form of a rifle. Confidently, he laughed as he aimed the gun around, pretending to shoot at oncoming enemies.

Rai's Bayard turned into an arrow-like blade, glowing a bright forest green. He swung it around, pretending to slice at an invisible threat. It was the smallest of the Bayards, but it also seemed to be the most agile and comfortable to control.

"Aw! You got a cute little Bayard, Rai," Rivalz teased. Rai smirked and struck Rivalz with it, which sent out an electric shock through the secretary's body, causing him to cry out in pain before falling to the floor, twitching slightly. Milly and the others all laughed.

"Yeah," the platinum blond said, smiling smugly, "it is pretty cute."

The only one who hadn't received his Bayard was Lelouch, whom Allura turned to with a show of regret on her face.

"Lelouch, I'm afraid your Bayard was lost with its Paladin."

The former prince simply shrugged. He probably would be useless on the front lines anyway with his lackluster body unless he was inside his Lion. And if all else failed, he could always use his Geass. "I'll just have to make do then."


Back on the bridge, the Paladins, Allura, and Coran pulled up the image of the battleship once again, planning their course of action.

"You'll have to retrieve the Red and Purple Lions from Sendak's ship," Allura explained.

"That's a pretty big ship…" Suzaku said.

"Yeah," Kallen said, "how are we going to know where the Lions are?"

"Well, it's not a matter of we," Milly said, "it's more of a matter of you two." Suzaku and Kallen blinked in confusion.

"The Prez is right," Shirley said, "once you get in, you'll be able to like feel its presence and track it down."

"Yeah, you know how Rai felt that crazy energy back on Earth by the lake?" Rivalz asked.

"Yeah…" Kallen said with Suzaku slowly nodding.

"Hey! Didn't you make fun of me for that?" asked Rai accusingly.

"Yep! And I'm proud of it, but it turns out it's exactly like that mumbo jumbo."

"Kallen, Suzaku, remember, though the Red Lion is more than the Purple, they are both extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn their respect," Allura said.

Kallen and Suzaku both tensed, Lelouch and C.C. being the only ones noticing. Unlike everyone else, who had just found their Lions and poof instant connection and new mechanical cat to ride, they would both have to work to ride their Lions, just like everything else they had to do in their lives, whether against or for Brittania. They had to earn it.

However, they received some reassurance when Lelouch placed his hands on their shoulders. They could do this.

"All right," said Lelouch, "here's our plan of attack..."


Shirley and Rivalz soared above the atmosphere of Arus, approaching the Galra battleship cautiously.

"The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Orange Lion…"

Meanwhile, Milly and Rai flew in with their Lions from behind, carefully so that the battleship didn't notice. They weaved in and around the asteroids before them.

"...However, the advantage we have is that they don't know we have the Yellow and Green Lion as well. Shirley, Rivalz, you two will act as decoys by pretending to give yourselves up…"

"Attention, Galra ship," Rivalz said after seeing the Galra had picked up their signal, "do not fire. We're surrendering our Lions."

Shirley gulped, "I hope this works…"


"...While Sendak is distracted, Milly, Rai, Suzaku, Kallen, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Yellow and Green Lion. Suzaku and I will find the Purple Lion, while Kallen and Rai will find the Red Lion. Milly will guard our exit. Rivalz, Shirley, find some way to take down that ion cannon."

Milly and Rai both landed on the underside of the ship. Making sure that the Lions would stay in place, Rai exited and used his Bayard to cut a clean hole in the wall, allowing the five to sneak in.


Meanwhile, giant doors opened in front of the Orange and Blue Lion. Not knowing what would happen next but remaining calm as he could, Rivalz spoke through the commlinks in their helmets, "Milly, what's your ETA?"


"We're in," came the reply as her helmet's lower mask vanished, sensing oxygen was available around the Paladins inside. The team deduced that they were in a power room, as several bolts of purple lightning connected to the roof and floor. The walls and place, in general, were dark. The only light present was the faint glow of dark purple light along the walls. The team could immediately feel something off about the ship even without the dim lighting. Lelouch, out of habit, activated his Geass as if he anticipated an enemy leaping out behind the metal walls. Like the castle, it felt alive, but with a much more sinister and evil presence surrounding them, making them all the more eager to get the Lions and just. Get. Out!


"Activator tractor beam." Sendak ordered from his position on the ship's bridge.


Outside, a bright purple light emerged from the opening doors in front of the Orange and Blue Lions.

"What's that thing?" asked Shirley.

"I think that's our signal to get out of here!" Rivalz shouted. He yanked on the controls of his Lion, causing it to leap out of the way of the purple beam that came shooting out, just in time. Shirley followed suit, the beam hitting nothing but space.


Sendak grit his teeth angrily, "They lied to us! Launch fighters!"


Hatches opened on the sides of the ship as dozens of fighter jets were launched out, already firing at the duo.

"Shirley, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these jerks on a space ride!" Rivalz said, grinning in anticipation as he launched his Lion into the pool of fighters.

"Copy that!" she replied, tightening her grip as she too sped off, this time straight towards the ship. Rivalz began to give her covering fire, maneuvering, and dancing around fighters, blasting beams while also getting them to shoot at each other from time to time.


Back inside the ship, Suzaku cautiously looked around the corner in search of patrols. Finding none, he gestured to the others to follow him. Lelouch, Kallen, and Rai emerged after him while Milly squatted to the ground behind them, covering their exit as planned. She gripped her kusarigama tightly in her palm, giving off a faint golden glow.

Rai suddenly stopped, looking down the dimly lit hall. It suddenly seemed to get larger and more prolonged the more he stared. A vast array of disturbing images flashed before his eyes. A dark cell, surrounded by several other creatures, robots dragging him along the hall someplace, the screams and cries of others filling his ears. The feel of a surgical needle impaling his left eye.

Rai gasped and nearly stumbled backward. He panted as he attempted to regain his composure.

Milly acted fast and steadied him before he could tip over. "Rai, what's wrong?"

"I-I've been here before!" Rai realized as everyone else stopped moving to listen, "After I was taken away from Earth, somehow, they brought us here."

"Wait, 'us'?" asked Lelouch, alarmed. Rai made no mention before of there being others with him.

"My mom, and my sister and I, we were all captured," Rai nodded, holding his head, before snapping his head up in realization, "They could still be here! I have to rescue them!" he tried to run down the hall, but Lelouch stopped him for a moment.

"Do you know where they could be located?" the exiled prince asked seriously. This was the first time Lelouch honestly felt genuine empathy towards Rai. If he were in Rai's shoes, he would do the same, especially for Nunnally and maybe even Euphemia.

"Yes," Rai nodded vigorously, "I remember where the prisoners are held!"

"All right, we'll get them out," Lelouch said, but Kallen grabbed his shoulder.

"Lelouch," Kallen said, "I hate to be the nay sayer, but do we even have time to do this? Who knows how long Shirley and Rivalz can keep them distracted!"

"We have to! We can't just leave prisoners here!" Suzaku exclaimed at the Red Paladin, "They have families and friends waiting for them!"

"Suzaku's right, Kallen. Besides, we can free prisoners and still get the Lions if we split up," Lelouch said firmly, "Milly and I will go with Rai to get the prisoners out of here. You two go find your Lions."

"By ourselves?!" Kallen exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's just a minor change of plans," Milly said, "and like we discussed back at the castle, you two are the only ones who can find the Lions anyway. You'll be fine. You just have to keep focused on the goal. Those are the words I live by."

"In both a good and evil way," Lelouch muttered. Milly, fortunately, didn't hear him.

Before the topic could be discussed further, the sound of opening doors to their left filled the area. Their time was up for now.

"Run!" Lelouch half-whispered, half-shouted as he, Milly, and Rai ran in one direction while Kallen and Suzaku ran in the other.

The Red and Purple Paladins panted as they ran down the hall, having no real idea where they were supposed to go.

As they ran, a thought came to Suzaku as he watched Kallen easily keeping up with him. Unusual, especially for someone not allowed to participate in P.E. due to health problems.

"You… you've never been sick from school, have you, Kallen?"

The redhead scowled in annoyance. Were they talking about this now?

Fortunately, Kallen was rescued from having discussed this as the pair came to an intersection leading down three halls. "Great, now which way?" Kallen growled.

Suzaku looked from one hall to the other, just as frustrated. His eyes eventually fell onto one of the two identical symbols between the chambers. The glowing purple Galra emblem. He couldn't look away from the image, no matter how angry it made him feel inside. The sharp edges and sinister formation embodied the race's ruthless and cruel nature to near perfection. No matter how reluctant, Suzaku already noticed that this race was a lot like the Britannian Empire back on Earth. He could tell that Kallen, and especially Lelouch, also saw the parallels and already hated the Galra for it.

No, he shook his head. Brittania can still change for the better; there is still hope. The Galra have been doing this for thousands of years longer. This. Is. Different… but for some reason, no matter how much he repeated this mantra, he couldn't quite bring himself to fully believe it.

"Suzaku, hide!" Kallen's urgent whisper broke him from his thoughts as he was shoved to the left, away from the center hall, while Kallen leaped to the right. Not a moment too soon either, a pair of Galra droids emerged from the center hallway before walking past them, remaining unaware of the two Paladins. Suzaku and Kallen made eye contact afterward, nodding before continuing down the hall they had hidden in. As Lelouch said, it may be riskier, but splitting up gave them a more significant chance of finding the Lions.


Back outside, Shirley grit her teeth as she sent her Lion into a nosedive straight for the ion cannon. If she could get a good hit on it at least once, it would still take a while for it to get fixed, so it would be able to buy Allura and Coran some time. Shirley was sure with the amount of armor on the Lion, it could probably even smash it to pieces. Just as she was about to hit it, she felt herself and her Lion bounce off something. It was almost like they had run into a flexible steel wall. Flipping backward to regain balance, Shirley flew around to see why she had bounced off. Then she saw it.

"What the quiznack?" she gasped, seeing a translucent purple barrier surrounding the ion cannon, "What is that? A forcefield?"

This was going to take longer than she thought.


"Particle barrier up!"

A transparent orb of blue energy surrounded the castle at Allura's command. It remained solid for about two seconds before it suddenly vanished.

"Is… that what's supposed to happen?" asked C.C. curiously with a raised eyebrow.

Allura shook her head. Something was wrong as the barrier should have remained on. Coran and the princess quickly rushed to a small control panel where the energy to power the dome should be. Opening the hatch, they looked inside, and Coran promptly spotted the problem.

"Oh, the barrier crystals are out of alignment!" he gasped.

"You use crystals to power your technology?" asked C.C.

"Yes," Coran said, "Don't you Earthlings?"

C.C. was about to answer no when she remembered that the sakuradite mineral was what helped provide the main power for Knightmare Frames. She shrugged, "I suppose, to an extent."

"We have to fix it immediately," Allura said, "without the particle barrier, we'll be defenseless!"

"We're all too big," Coran said, referring to C.C. as well. "What could we do?"

C.C. was about to say they must have some tools to fix this, obviously, but found that it was not needed as the four space mice squeaked and scampered into the hatch.

"The mice!" Allura smiled.

"How do they know how to do this?" Coran asked.

"I can hear them talking to me," Allura explained, as the mice worked together to get the crystal back in alignment, "I think our minds are connected! It must be from sharing the sleep pod for ten thousand years!"

C.C. raised an eyebrow minutely at this. While she couldn't call anything impossible anymore, this was a first in her book. Then again, she hadn't expected to be transported with Lelouch and his fellow classmates to a far-off planet either.

After the crystal was realigned, the controls lit up, and the barrier finally manifested around the castle, in full power this time. The critters squeaked with joy, waving their paws happily.

"Thank you, friends," Allura said with a smile.

Coran then placed his fingers on his temples, his eyes comically wide as he stared intently at the mice, straining so much he began sweating.

"Coran, what are you doing?" Allura deadpanned to her assistant, while C.C. could only look on in amusement.

"I'm trying to get them to make me a sandwich."


Kallen and Suzaku each ran down hallway after hallway, neither of them having luck finding their Lion. Shouldn't they have at least felt their presence, or whatever the others said by now?

Suzaku made a sharp turn around the corner, only to run headlong into someone, knocking them over. Suzaku scrambled to his feet, Bayard in hand, just to put it away right after seeing that he had run into Kallen. Kallen mirrored his actions as she realized who had crashed into her.

"Come on, Kururugi! Watch where you're going!" Kallen snapped.

"Sorry," Suzaku swiftly apologized until he registered just where they had run right back into each other… It was the same intersection they had split up from, Suzaku coming in from the right and Kallen from the left this time. They had been going in circles!

"Oh, come on! You've got to be quiznacking kidding me right now!" Kallen cursed in Altean as she caught onto what Suzaku noticed.

Suzaku regained his composure and took a deep breath before closing his eyes in concentration, "Okay, let's just calm down. We're the only ones who can really find them. We just need to focus. I'm sure we can find them."

Huffing in irritation, Kallen relented before doing the same. The Paladins waited and listened, then they both heard the sound of a growling purr coming from two areas of the ship.

"There you are!" Kallen smirked as she sprinted down the hall they originally came from.

"Got'cha!" Suzaku said shortly after, smirking as he took off down the hall he had just exited from.


Lelouch, Rai, and Milly made a turn to the right down a corridor, the lights changing from purple to green as they traveled. They stopped abruptly when a hovering prism-shaped drone flew before them. The markings covering it glowed a cool red as did the small light at the corner of it, moving up and down as if to scan them. But before it could alert anyone, Rai shot it down with his wrist laser that had been built into their armor. The robot short-circuited and fell to the floor with a clank.

"That thing saw us," Lelouch said as Rai approached the little droid, "we should get out of here."

"Wait," Rai said, removing the robot's hood and messing with the wires, "I think this could come in handy." Lelouch and Milly watched in awe at how easily Rai understood this technology. Even Lloyd Asplund would be jealous of his skill.

He flipped the covering closed after finishing the last wire, "Now I'll just reset the controls..." The robot leaped back to life, but instead of red and purple lights, "...and it's working for us!"

"Rai! You little genius, you!" Milly grinned. She would have given him a noogie had he not been wearing his helmet. Lelouch nodded with a smile before turning serious again and glancing down the hall to ensure no one was behind them.

Rai smiled at their new companion as they turned down another hall, "I'm gonna call you Rover. Follow me!"

The three made their way to a large pair of metal doors that were sealed shut. Rai recognized it pretty well. This was a prison cell that very likely held many innocent aliens inside.

"Open up," he ordered Rover, to which the little drone happily complied. A beam shot out from its lens and scanned its ID before the door opened.

"Nice job, Rai," Lelouch nodded. The doors to the cell opened with a groan, one side rising up and the other going down.

As light entered the cell, it nearly brought Milly to tears as the distressed cries, whimpers, and moans of the alien prisoners inside.

"Mom? Sophronia?" Rai asked as the three entered. The prisoners only cowered in fear, all different types of alien species; some were green, red, blue, and yellow. Some had claws instead of hands, and others had multiple arms. One alien, a slender gray one with a fish-like face, was hugging what appeared to be an adolescent alien with a single eye and yellow skin.

As Rai slumped in disappointment, seeing that his mother and sister weren't present among them, Milly and Lelouch came up behind them.

"Don't be afraid," Milly said with a kind smile, "we're here to help you escape."

The gray alien scanned over Lelouch and Milly before his eyes fell on Rai again. His eyes widened in shock and… awe?

"It's you!" the alien gasped as Rai brought his head back up, his eyes widening in confusion, "It's you, the Champion. If anyone can get us out of here, he can."

"Wh-wait, what did you call me?" asked Rai. He didn't remember any of these aliens at all. And the champion of what?

"We don't have time to wait," Lelouch said as he exited the cell, "Let's get them to the escape pods and meet up with Kallen and Suzaku. Quickly!"

"Right," Milly nodded as she and Rai started waving prisoners out, "let's get going."


Rivalz made a sharp turn around the ship, laughing and whooping as he avoided a shot from two more vessels. Even though he was technically in a life or death situation right, he couldn't help but feel how exhilarating flying the Blue Lion felt.

"Yeah!" he grinned, "This is way more fun without anyone puking on me!"

On the other hand, Shirley wasn't having much success breaking the particle barrier surrounding the cannon. She attempted to break through by slamming against it with the Orange Lion, only to be bounced off and drift away again. She had hit it so hard she had nearly hit her head on the controls, and she already felt a massive headache forming.

This is going to hurt in the morning, she thought miserably.


Kallen followed the energy of the Red Lion until she reached her destination. Taking out her clawed cestus, she cut through the doors that led to the other side like butter. Rushing inside, she was soon confronted by a warm red glow from the end of the room. There it was, the Red Lion, hovering a little above the floor inside its particle barrier, its eyes faded and dark, indicating it was still asleep.

"Bingo," she grinned as she ran up to it and placed her hand on the particle barrier, "Let's get out of here. Open up!"

Unlike the other Lions, though, who lowered their barriers the moment their respective Paladin made contact, this Lion was stubborn and refused to connect to Kallen. The Red Paladin knew getting the Red Lion's trust would be more complicated than the others, but she had hoped it wouldn't be this way.

"It's me, Kallen, your pilot," she insisted, trying to use a tone she would use if she spoke to a friend of hers or even her brother Naoto. Kallen scowled in frustration. Come on! What would it take for this thing to like her?!

"It's me! Kallen! Your-I. Am. Your. Paladin!" she exclaimed loudly, but the Lion still didn't move.

Kallen grit her teeth as she banged on the barrier. She must be doing this wrong; there was something she was missing. However, she didn't have any more time to think as several Galra droids started to fire at her from behind. She activated her wrist shield to protect herself from the blasts as she tried to wake up the Lion.

"I'm bonding with you! Come on! We're connected! Or whatever you want to call it!"

Still no response. Snarling in a fury, Kallen reactivated her Bayard, the three cestus claws shining menacingly from the lights in the hanger, and charged the droids. She wasn't necessarily angry with the Lion; she knew she would have to make it trust her… somehow, but she was far more than annoyed with these droids firing at her.

"You're not getting this Lion!" she shouted as she blocked one of the droid's strikes before slicing its legs off. She sliced another droid to pieces right through the middle. She ducked to avoid another attack from above and reached up, grabbing the droid's head, intending to crush it.

She then heard a click in her gauntlet hand, and what followed she could only describe as a significant robot malfunction. The palm of her gauntlet glowed a bright red, and the droid expanded and melted simultaneously before going up in a little inferno, blasting Kallen back against the control panel. The blasts kept coming, but Kallen stared, astounded at her gauntlet. The center with the silver circular opening still smoking before closing shut over a red light.

"Whoa-" Kallen couldn't finish her sentence before one shot nearly nicked her head. She looked around frantically before eyeing a glowing square button at the bottom of the control panel. Following her instincts, she lowered her mask to cover her entire mouth so she could breathe before slamming her fist onto the button. The hatch beneath them opened, sucking all of the Galra droids into the soul-sucking darkness of space.

Kallen held onto the control panel with all her might, looking up desperately at the Lion, almost pleading with it to do something. Debris and other parts of the ship zoomed past her face, one of them hitting her hand. She yelped as she lost her grip on her left side. She attempted to reach back and get another hold, but another piece of debris hit her square in the face. She knew that if she hadn't been wearing the space helmet that surprisingly remained intact from the blow, she probably would have been knocked out cold. She lost her grip, screaming in terror as she was sucked into space.

She floated in zero gravity, her eyes flickering frantically, unsure what to do now.

To her surprise, though, it turned out she didn't need to do anything. The Red Lion came swooping out with a mighty roar, nipping her up and settling her in the safety of its mouth.

Despite the initial shock of the experience, she smirked as she sat down in the pilot seat and was brought to the head of the Lion, where the controls rested.

"Good kitty," she said, placing her hands on the control handles, "Let's roll!"


Suzaku sliced through another droid as he continued to charge toward a hanger door that he felt the Purple Lion was in. Unlike Kallen, who didn't run into any droids until reaching the hanger, droids were hanging around every corner!

"Seriously! Don't you guys have something better to do?!" Suzaku complained as he pushed through another pair of droids. Panting, Suzaku looked around, seeing nothing but droid scraps surrounding him, some still short-circuiting from recent wounds. Looking at the door, he saw a hand-scanner of some sort.

"I wonder…" Suzaku said aloud as he squatted next to one of the droids before taking its hand, which was only dangling by a few wires, and held it against the scanner. The scanner glowed a faint violet before the door in front of him opened. Looking inside, he almost didn't see the Lion, as the purple lights nearly matched the views of the ship itself, but it was there as he could just barely make out its outline.

"There you are," he smiled as he began running toward the Lion. Before he was even halfway there, a blast flashed by his head, nearly hitting the side of his neck. His military training was the only thing that probably saved him from certain death. He whipped around. His Bayard activated, and he saw that it wasn't a droid that had shot at him but an actual Galra officer. And he was HUGE!

He grinned, lowering his rifle that almost claimed Suzaku's life. His hair and fur were brushed neatly, and hard, cold amber eyes stared into his soul.

"So," he said with a deep voice that sent shivers down Suzaku's spine, "you're one of the new Paladins. You must be the Purple Paladin. Obviously, of course, why else would you be seeking our Lions."

"They're not your Lions!" Suzaku snapped, his Bayard still at the ready, "They belong to Princess Allura of Altea. You have no right to any of them!"

The Galra could only laugh a hearty, belly laugh as if mocking the boy. More droids fell into the room, surrounding him, "On the contrary, we did find it first after ten thousand years. As the saying goes, 'finders, keepers.'"

"Finding it doesn't make it yours! And besides, I don't see that Lion coming over to defend you right now. It only helps the one it chooses!"

The Galra stopped laughing before sneering at the Purple Paladin, "So, you're the know-it-all type, are you? I hate know-it-alls." The guard swung his rifle outwards, causing what looked like a hidden compartment to open, turning the gun into a wicked-looking scythe-like weapon.

Suzaku's eyes widened as the Galra charged at him. Suzaku barely had time to bring his Bayard up to block him, but even then, the strike from the Galra was strong enough to throw him back at least a yard. He slid backward, nearly losing balance before bringing his sword up to block again, the Galra soldier bearing down on him. The metal underneath them creaked at the strength of the Galra above him, sweat already dripping down his face.

"Well, well," the Galra grinned, his yellow teeth baring, "you've got some spirit, I see. I might just let you live if you give up."

"Never," Suzaku grit out as his grip on the Bayard began to shake. Seriously, was this alien made out of boulders?!

"You do realize if you don't quit now, you'll die. Not much help to the princess dead now, are you?"

"That doesn't matter," Suzaku grunted, "there were Paladins before us. If I die, they can find another. All that matters is getting the Purple Lion back to the others."

"Tch, how pathetic," the Galra mocked, "throwing your life away for something so worthless. Fine then, if you're so eager to die, I'll grant you that wish!"

The Galra pressed his weight down on Suzaku even harder, Suzaku nearly losing his grip on his Bayard. Suzaku could swear he heard his bones creaking as he yelled in pain and righteous fury.

Death, however, was not Suzaku's destiny that day, as a mighty roar suddenly filled the room. The particle barrier around the Purple Lion dissipated and began charging straight for Suzaku and the Galra soldier. The soldier and Suzaku looked up in shock, though the soldier in fear. The Galra, in sheer terror, tore himself away from Suzaku and made a run for the door. Suzaku was too stunned to move as the Lion leaped above him, standing proudly with him protectively between the Lion's front paws.

"SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM!" the Galra ordered frantically to the droids. Before the droids could even raise their guns, the Lion roared, and its tail shot out beams of energy, hitting each droid dead on. It wasn't long before they were nothing more than scrap metal.

The Galra, now terrified, attempted to run for the exit but didn't get far as he felt sheer agony tear through him, from his back to his torso. Looking down, he stared in horror at the purple and white blade protruding from his gut.

"You're no soldier," Suzaku muttered, pulling his sword out from the Galra, "you're nothing but a coward. Why you decided to become a soldier, I'll never know!" The Galra gurgled before slumping forward, his scythe rifle falling limp from his hands.

Suzaku panted as he stared at the dead Galra, already feeling bile rising in his throat, painful, unwanted memories rising to the surface of his mind. His right hand was trembling to the point he nearly dropped his Bayard.

A soothing purr soon filled his mind, pushing the memories away. Suzaku turned to face the Purple Lion in apprehension. Did she see that? Did she now know what he did? Another purr filled his mind as the Lion lowered its head to let him in.

Suzaku smiled in absolute relief, he knew he would have to reveal his secret to the others, but right now, he just wasn't ready.

"Let's head back," he said as he gripped the controls in the pilot seat.


Lelouch, Milly, and Rai led the prisoners through the ship to the escape pods as fast as possible. The aliens were moments away from freedom. They had been locked up for so long that they nearly forgot what it felt like to be free.

"Halt!" a droid called out, followed by four more. Milly kept herding the prisoners into the pod as Lelouch and Rai prepared to face the droids. Rai activated his Bayard while Lelouch raised his fists. His body may not be the fittest, but he would do everything he could to get the prisoners out safely.

Lelouch and Rai suddenly felt a jolt of pain in their left eyes, and it wasn't long before they saw red, clutching their Geass eyes in pain, collapsing to their knees.


C.C. blinked as she suddenly felt a pulse of energy run through her body. The red mark of the Geass Code flashed across her forehead before fading. It did leave a stinging pain in her head, though.

What was that?


"Lelouch? Rai? What's wrong?" Milly's voice was nothing but a muffle in the background.

What's going on? Fear was suddenly gripping Lelouch. He didn't remember calling upon his Geass; he wasn't even planning to use it as he wasn't sure it would work on droids.

And when did Rai get a Geass as well? Did C.C. give him one as well? And if so, when? Wait... Lelouch suddenly realized that Rai was in pain back at the castle too, right before he got some of his memories back. What was going on…?

Before Lelouch could think anymore, his mind suddenly went blank, the blazing red seal of his Geass shining brightly in his left eye. Had he looked at Rai, he would have seen the same thing happening to him. They both looked up, looks of pure murder on their faces.

Rai shot forward while Lelouch squared his shoulders, a red-tinged aura surrounding his wrists and arms, crackling red electricity seeming to surge from them.

Rai quickly blocked the laser shots with his Bayard and armor before slicing and dicing the droid to pieces. Two more droids broke through Rai's guard, but they didn't get far as Lelouch reigned his arms backward before shooting them forward, red energy erupting and blasting through the droids before rushing forward to meet more. Rai flipped over one of the droids that were shot backward and sliced the heads of three more droids off, and Lelouch slid under him and, with his bare hand, stabbed straight through the chest of the last droid, hand still crackling.

Milly could only watch slack-jawed at the now useless pile of droids that surrounded the two boys. Since when could Lulu do that? He's been holding out on us!

Lelouch and Rai blinked and shook their heads, the Geass in their eyes disappearing. They both looked around in confusion at the now fallen droids. What the heck just happened?

The sound of the escape pod doors closing shattered the illusion as the trio looked at the prisoners in the pod as it drew away from the ship.

"Thank you, Zephyr," the gray alien smiled at Rai as the pod reeled away, the aliens being escorted to safety. Rai reached out to them, confusion on his face.

"Wait-who's Zephyr?" Rai asked before realizing that now wasn't the time for questions; they could wait until they returned to the castle.

"Rai, who were they talking about?" Lelouch asked suspiciously, in which Rai could only shake his head helplessly, just as confused.

"Lelouch. Lamperouge." Milly harrumphed, "Explain yourself, young man! What on earth have you been doing to compensate for missing gym class?"

"What?" Lelouch asked, now the confused one.

"Just a minute ago, you two were completely wiping the floor with those things. And last I checked, Lulu, you can't even run two feet without looking like you ran a 5K afterward! Much less throw Sith lightning from your fingertips!"

Rai still looked completely confused while Lelouch slowly covered his left eye and looked down at his right hand.

"I-I don't know…"


Finally having enough, Shirley yanked down on one of the handles as hard as her hands could muster. A bright blue beam of energy shot out of the Orange Lion's mouth and directly at the particle barrier, purple cracks beginning to form.

"Come on! Just break, you stupid thing!" she exclaimed. Finally, after putting everything she had into the blast, the barrier shattered, leaving the ion cannon wide open for attack.

"Score one for Shirley!" Not wasting another second, Shirley zoomed down and slammed the Orange Lion into the side of the ion cannon, leaving a significant dent. Not exactly the most excellent example of vandalism, but it should at least buy them some time before it was fixed. Looking up, she saw four more Lions swiftly pass overhead, Milly's, Rai's, Kallen's Red Lion, and Suzaku's Purple Lion.

"You guys made it!" Shirley cried in happy relief.

"Kitty Rose has left the stage!" Milly replied with a grin.

"Let's get the heck out of here!" Rivalz said as he directed the Blue Lion to fly back to Arus.

"I hope I stopped that cannon," Shirley said, "I could barely make a dent in it!"


"They stole both the Lions!" one of the Galra officers said to Sendak back on the ship's bridge.

"After them!" Sendak snarled, "Either we get those Lions, or we blow this whole planet to cosmic dust! Fire the ion cannon!"

"Sir! The ion cannon has been damaged!" the officer, Haxus, said.

"Then send the drones to fix it!" Sendak ordered in exasperation as the Galra ship began approaching the Arusian atmosphere.


AN: Well... this came out a little later than I thought. Not going to make excuses. Let's just say I misjudged how long this would take to write (I'm honestly shocked how long this got!)

Also, in case anyone is confused, Sophronia is the name of Rai's younger sister. She, Rai, and their mother were abducted by the Galra a little while before the official Code Geass series began. Won't say anything else as more of Rai's past will be revealed as we go.

The next chapter will finish off the 'pilot' episode of Voltron, in which, after that, I will (as promised) go back and write a chapter for one of my other stories. They are halfway done, but as I said above, I can't predict when they'll come out, so just be patient with me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you disagree with the Bayard choices and think a different weapon would suit them better, just let me know. And why did Lelouch, Rai, and C.C.'s Geass/Codes react like that? Are the Galra connected to the Geass power somehow?

Also, before I forget, there is a new poll that I posted on my profile regarding this story. Please do so for those who haven't answered it yet. The results may well affect the plot majorly.

I'm also stuck in a bit of a pairing war right now... I honestly think Shirley/Lelouch is a cute couple in cannon CG, but I also love Kallen/Lelouch as well (And before you ask, NO, I'm not going to make this a harem! I have plans for C.C. as well.). So please let me know in the comments which pairing you prefer. The one who doesn't win will end up with Rai, as one of the paths in the game allows him to merely pursue anyone as a girlfriend.

So, if there are any further questions, PM me or leave a comment so I can answer them for you!

R&R!

Edited and revised: 07/05/2022