**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)


The next morning, after an uncomfortably silent breakfast, the team gathered on the bridge of the Castle. There was so much they'd discovered yesterday concerning Lotor, yet there were still so many questions left unanswered. No one knew where to start or what exactly to ask first, so they began with what they did know.

Upon Pidge's request, Coran pulled up the universe map, flooding the air with holographic images of countless star systems and sectors. She began to highlight certain areas on the charts, calling them out one by one. "Lotor fought us here," Pidge said, pointing out Thayserix first. "His generals were here, and he stole the comet here."

She frowned in thought as she stared at the map, mulling over the information displayed before her as if there were some sort of pattern or secret code to be found. Lance shifted uneasily at the edge of the room, shoving his hands in his pockets when she said no more.

"So…Lotor could be anywhere," he concluded for her.

"We'll never be able to find him unless we can figure out his plan," Shiro agreed, his arms crossed in front of him. "We're totally missing the big picture."

"How about this question: why was Voltron made out of the same material as that comet?" Pidge wondered. "What's so special about it?"

"My father discovered another comet like that before I was born," Allura admitted slowly, unable to provide anymore information on the topic.

"Your father...and Zarkon," Coran piped up. His words were hesitant and heavy with an untold knowledge.

"This is back when Zarkon was the Black Lion's paladin?" Hunk clarified, and the Altean advisor nodded.

"It was before that. Before Alfor built the lions."

"I know this is painful to talk about, but if we're going to stop Lotor, it's time we heard the rest of the story," Shiro prompted, gentle but insistent.

Coran was silent, thinking long and hard before eventually agreeing. He stared nostalgically out the window, suddenly looking much older as he watched the stars outside glide past the ancient ship.

"In the beginning, the paladins were just five leaders, who, despite coming from cultures which were vastly divergent, and in some cases had been warring for generations, managed to look past their differences in an effort to protect their common interests," he began, honest and deadly serious. "What was initially a formal agreement to work alongside each other soon blossomed into a true friendship. A warrior's bond was forged, and together they worked to rid their system of those who would do it harm.

"The original paladins were Zarkon of planet Daibazaal, King Alfor from Altea, Gyrgan from Rygnirath, Trigel of the Dalterion Belt, and Blaytz from Nalquod. One day, after emerging victorious in a particularly difficult battle with Lambonite scavengers, they gathered in Zarkon's halls on Daibazaal to celebrate. They could have never known that that very night, the fate of the universe would be changed forever.

"Out of nowhere, a comet crashed into the planet. When it was moved, King Alfor discovered it was made of a material that could pass between realities. What's more, it had left behind a crater in Daibazaal's surface, a hole that had opened up to another reality. While King Alfor began to experiment on the comet's ore in his lab on Altea, he assigned his best alchemist, an Altean woman named Honerva, to continue researching the rift on Daibazaal. But he visited often as the years passed, checking in on his friends and their progress. It was around this time that he began to build the lions. And…Princess Allura was born."

Coran paused in his story, casting Allura a sad smile. The princess returned it with one of her own and she gave his hand a kind squeeze, encouraging him to keep going.

"It was also around this time that Zarkon married Honerva. She continued her research, even conducting experiments with Alfor to discover quintessence as an endless source of energy. But above all else, she worked non-stop studying the reality rift. She sent a signal into the rift, causing monstrous creatures to emerge and wreak havoc on Daibazaal. King Alfor and Honerva erected a particle barrier around the crater containing the creatures, but it wouldn't hold forever.

"When Alfor completed the lions, he showed them to Zarkon and the other paladins. Nearly indestructible and always evolving in their mysterious power, the lions formed a psychic link with their respective pilots. They departed from Altea and arrived at Daibazaal just as the creature broke free. Alone, they could not defeat it. But together, working as one unit, they stood a chance. And thus, Voltron was born.

"After Voltron destroyed the dark creature, Alfor insisted the reality rift be closed. But Honerva and Zarkon disagreed. They believed there was more to learn from it, more power to be discovered. With Voltron now protecting them, they were certain they could continue their work without fear. So, Honerva continued her experiments on the rift. Despite their differences, Zarkon and Alfor, along with the other paladins, established a new era of peace and prosperity. It was an age of exploration, and Voltron became known as the Defender of the Universe, establishing the legend that would live on to this day.

"Many more years passed. Zarkon's empire grew along with the technology for his army. But Daibazaal itself was weakening. The planet was gradually fracturing and destabilizing, much to Alfor's concern. Still, no matter how hard he pressed, he could not convince Zarkon to stop Honerva's destructive research. Her experiments with quintessence were testing the limits of life itself, and they wanted Voltron to open up the reality rift to give them even more knowledge. Zarkon and Honerva were obsessed. After being exposed to such raw quintessence for so long, it had begun to poison their minds. They were spiraling into madness, and King Alfor would have no part in their desire for power and immortality.

"Not long after, Honerva fell gravely ill. And with Daibazaal on the brink of collapse, Zarkon was forced to seek the aid of his fellow paladins. He claimed he wanted to close the reality rift and he needed Voltron to do it. Alfor and the others agreed to help. But his compassion for his old comrade blinded him to Zarkon's true plans. Using Voltron, they entered the rift. It was then that Zarkon revealed he had brought Honerva with him, and together they fully exposed themselves to the rift's quintessence.

"But in the end, his attempt to save her was in vain. They both succumbed to overexposure of quintessence. The paladins had been deceived by Zarkon. They had unwittingly enlarged the rift, which further destabilized planet Daibazaal. King Alfor was forced to evacuate the planet. He then closed the rift the only way he knew how — by destroying the Galran homeworld. King Alfor held a state funeral for Zarkon and Honerva in his royal hall. But what happened next, he could never have guessed.

"Back from the dead, Zarkon had become pure evil, obsessed only with quintessence. In order to open a new rift between the realities, he needed Voltron. And so the war began. The Galra immediately responded to their leader and attacked. The peaceful planets of our system were not prepared. Soon they had all fallen except for Altea. In a final attempt to keep Voltron from Zarkon's hands, the lions were sent to the far corners of the universe. Zarkon flew into a rage. He killed King Alfor, then avenged the loss of Daibazaal with the destruction of Altea."

No one spoke for a long time as they absorbed this onslaught of new information. Coran sagged a bit, slightly breathless and overwhelmed after reliving so many painful memories. He coughed and cleared his throat, pinching his mustache anxiously as he composed himself before the others. "And that…is how we came to where we are now," he concluded with finality.

"I know this happened millennia ago, but wow…" Scarlett murmured. "That's some heavy stuff, Coran!"

"I, for one, am still reeling over the fact that he's married," Lance stated.

"Lotor had to come from somewhere, Lance," Mari said with a roll of her eyes.

"I know that," Lance huffed. "But like, Zarkon's just so mean. And scary. And unlikable!"

"He wasn't always like that," Coran said, the sadness still lingering in his voice. "Zarkon loved Honerva more than anything."

"Wait, wait, we don't know for sure that Honerva was his mother, right?" Hunk piped up. "That would make Lotor, like, super old too, wouldn't it? And…half-Altean?"

Allura stiffened at the suggestion and her frown deepened in dismay. Taking notice of her disturbed expression, Lance immediately intervened. "Nah, he can't be. Zarkon may have come back, but she definitely died," he said, quickly brushing away the thought. "Lotor probably came from some Galra concubine."

"Who cares where or who he came from!" Pidge exclaimed, exasperated as she steered them back to the main topic at hand. "Lotor's plan is to cross into other universes and get the purest quintessence possible!"

"Oh…Oh yeah, right," Hunk said, the realization dawning on him, "Yeah, that's not good."

"No matter what, we have to stop him," Keith said, and the others nodded in determined agreement.


That being said, there was currently little the paladins could do concerning Lotor and his plans for his comet ship. With no clue of his whereabouts, they had no choice but to keep liberating planets and dismantling Galra bases in the meantime. A week later, the Castle of Lions finally landed on Olkarion where Team Voltron would be setting up their headquarters as the coalition grew.

"Ahh Olkarion!" Scarlett beamed as they walked through Ryner's main building of operations. "I'm so glad to be back. Finally, I can start building that!"

"No! Don't start it without me!" Pidge begged, but Scarlett was already shaking her head.

"You have your meeting with Ryner and the other paladins. And then you have a mission to go on," she reminded the Green Paladin. "I've already been waiting long enough. I'm gonna start today."

"Aww man…" Pidge slouched, her face twisting into a pout. "No fair."

Mari stared at her, dumbfounded. "Wait, you know what this mysterious secret project of hers is?"

"Duh. I'd be an idiot not to tell Pidge about it," Scarlett said matter-of-fact. "Obviously I asked her for design input."

"Hunk knows about it too," Pidge added. "Actually, everyone knows about it except you."

"What? Even Takashi?" Both younger girls nodded and Mari frowned. "But he just got back! How does he know but not me? Is it meant to be super obvious or am I just an idiot?"

"Oh? Wouldn't you like to know?" Scarlett mused nonchalantly.

"It's a surprise, so I guess you'll have to wait and find out!" Pidge grinned teasingly. She split off from the lagging duo to catch up with her fellow paladins as they entered a conference space with the Olkari leader. "Don't get too far with it! I wanna help as soon as I get back!" she called back to Scarlett before disappearing through the doors.

"Well then. I don't know whether I should be scared or not," Mari stated flatly as she and Scarlett continued down the hall.

"Trust me. You'll love it once it's done," Scarlett assured her. She hugged her laptop closer to her chest and practically began to skip as she rushed down the corridor. "Oooh I'm so excited! I'm gonna go down to the lab right now!"

Without another word, she turned the corner and was gone, leaving Mari on her own. Unsure of what to do with herself, she found her way back to the main entrance where Coran was standing outside and talking to an Olkari and a young boy.

"…been waiting here for the past quintant," the Olkari was explaining, their eyes flicking to the boy unsurely.

"That's quite alright. We know this young lad!" Coran beamed as he patted the kid's back. "Thank you for looking after him!"

The Olkari nodded before excusing themself, and the boy's hair instantly shifted from orange to brown.

"Mitsubishi!" Mari realized and the Thollan turned to face her. His expression was as unwavering and neutral as ever, but his brown locks turned yellow upon seeing her.

"Mari," he said as she hurried to meet him. "It's good to see you again."

"You too. You're all healed up," she observed, taking note of his lack of bruises and scratches. "What are you doing here?"

"Scarlett said I could stop by when I was ready," he said simply. "I'm ready."

"Are the recovery plans already finished on Vurelle?"

Mitsubishi nodded, absentmindedly adjusting the small bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Mostly. There's still much to be done, but Ellosh and Korlis allowed me to come here."

"It seems Te-freya and her rebel friends have lent their help to the Vurelleans," Coran elaborated. "They've provided them with cargo ships to begin travel to other planets. One dropped him off a quintant before we arrived."

"That's great! Are Treble and the others here?" Mari wondered, already looking around for the energetic Flouwan girl and her Vurellean parents.

"Nope. It's just me." Mitsubishi glanced behind her at the building she had just exited. "Is Scarlett here?"

"She's somewhere deep inside there by now," Mari replied. Her own gaze landed on the doors, uncertain if she could navigate their halls successfully to find their Utearen comrade. "Um. She's a little busy right now. I don't know if I can get you to her."

"That's fine. I can look for her myself," Mitsubishi assured her. But before he could head inside and begin his search, a loud gurgling noise came from his stomach. He slapped a hand over his belly and his hair turned an embarrassed shade of pink.

"Mitsu, have you eaten anything since you came here?" Mari asked, her eyebrow ticking up in concern. She knew he wasn't a child and should have been able to take care of himself, but this was his first time away from home. On a strange planet. Where no one knew him.

"Not at all," Mitsubishi shrugged as if this were no big deal, and she sighed. Coran smiled though, his eyes crinkling in amusement as he placed a hand on the youth's shoulder.

"Well, we can change that no problem. It's not good for a growing young man to skip a meal," he asserted, already guiding him towards the Castle. "Let's get something into that rumbly tummy of yours first!"


An hour and several plates of food goo and leftovers of Hunk's cooking later, Mitsubishi's hunger was satiated. He sat with Mari in the Castle's great dining hall, taking in the clean and sleek aesthetic of the Altean architecture while Coran cleared the table.

"We've been taking in refugees, former slaves are being returned to their families, and Korlis has been making plans to build up our defenses," he was explaining, catching them up on Vurelle's recovery progress. "Now that we've become a part of the coalition, he wants us to be ready in case the Empire targets us."

Mari hummed in agreement. The last thing she wanted was for their friends on Vurelle to become the next target of Galra fleets. At least now they would be prepared to take on potential attackers.

"Te-freya and her people are helping us a lot with that," Mitsubishi continued. He patted his bulging tummy in satisfaction before adding, "Actually, she and Ellosh have been considering establishing an official rebel base on Vurelle."

"That's good! The more allies we can gather, the better," Coran piped up. He stood behind their chairs, the last of the empty dishes having been whisked away to the kitchen. "We need all the help we can get in this fight against Lotor."

At that moment, the main doors swished open and Shiro entered the room. He smiled when his sister waved and Coran turned to greet him.

"Welcome back, Number One!" he chirped. "How was the meeting with Ryner?"

"It went really well. We'll be able to start expanding the coalition in no time," he said, placing his hands on his hips in satisfaction. "The paladins left to bring back the supplies from Kaloran. Hopefully it won't take them too long"

"Kaloran is right near Olkarion. Shouldn't take them more than a varga or two," Coran estimated.

Shiro's gaze fell on the new face sitting at the table. "Hello. Who's this?"

"This is Mitsubishi. He's the Thollan I told you about who helped us on Vurelle," Mari introduced him. "Mitsu, this is my older brother, Takashi. But most people just call him Shiro."

Mitsubishi stared at the human towering over him, his eyes lingering on Shiro's tuff of white locks and his metal prosthetic. "So you're the one Mari was looking for. I'm glad you were found," he said, his tone monotone despite the expressive flickering of his hair. It shifted from brown to white to yellow in seconds. "I like your arm. And your hair."

Shiro's eyes widened at the change. "Oh. Um…Thank you?" he managed, unsure of how to respond. He quickly recovered though as he held out a friendly hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mitsubishi. Your hair's pretty neat too."

It turned a brighter hue of yellow as he took Shiro's hand. "Thanks," he said, shaking it firmly. When he was released, he turned to Coran. "Can we look for Scarlett now?"

"Of course. Right this way, my boy!" Coran was more than happy to comply, and Mitsubishi followed him as he led the way out of the dinning hall.

"He's an…interesting kid," Shiro noted, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. "Are all Thollans like that?"

Mari shrugged. "I think so."

"Hm." He stood there for a moment longer before pulling out the chair next to her. "So. How're you holding up?" he asked, taking a seat.

She eyed him suspiciously, wondering if this was the opening to some sort of lecture. What had she done wrong this time? She replayed every interaction she'd had with him in the past week, but she couldn't think of anything that might've even mildly ticked him off. "I'm okay," she drawled, casual but cautious. "Why do you ask?"

A small smile played on Shiro's lips as if he knew what she was thinking. "It's been a rough few days for everyone. Just wanted to check in with you."

Some of her wariness receded, but she was careful to keep her guard up as she asked, "What about you? Still have a headache?"

"It's actually gotten a lot better," he admitted, instinctively rubbing the back of his head. "I think staying on Olkarion will be good for the team. It'll give us some time to breathe and focus on what we can do next."

"And you'll be okay managing things from here?" she asked. With the way he'd been fervently hovering over Coran's control panel the last several days, monitoring every minute of the paladins' missions, she could tell he still wasn't used to sitting on the sidelines.

Shiro nodded, tired but sure. "I'll be alright. Someone's gotta hold the fort down and keep everyone on track." He cast her a knowing look before saying, "Besides, I'll have you as my right hand to help me out if I need it."

Mari couldn't help but smile at that. They'd make up for their lost time and she'd help him adjust to not being a paladin. Finally she was going to be able to help him with their Voltron work. And she didn't have to worry about him getting lost to the mysteries of space ever again…she hoped.

"That reminds me…I've been meaning to give this to you." She unhooked the chain around her neck and held the rings in the palm of her hand to show him.

Shiro blinked at the jewelry, uncomprehending. "What are they?"

"Quintessence Rings. I got them on Vurelle. When two people who are really close wear them, they track their quintessence signatures. They let each person know that their other person is alive," Mari briefly explained. "I thought I'd give one to you just in case we ever get separated again."

Shiro was quiet as he stared at the rings. His smile was gone and the amusement behind his eyes faded the longer he looked at them. "You don't have to give me this," he said, careful but firm.

"I-I know," she stammered, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I know this kind of stuff isn't really your thing, but…it'd give me peace of mind knowing you're okay."

"But I don't need it," Shiro insisted, and when he met her gaze, he was dead serious. "I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere."

She scowled at him. "That's what you said last time and you ended up disappearing on us."

"Nothing's going to happen to me this time," he huffed, an unmistakable harshness creeping into this tone. He was frowning at her now, his brow furrowing in stubborn irritation.

"But you don't know that!" Mari stood her ground despite the way her heart involuntarily sped up inside her chest. "Could you please just — "

"I said I don't want it, Mari!" Shiro snapped so loudly, it made her flinch. His voice echoed off the Castle walls as he continued, "I'm not a child, I don't need you to constantly be worrying about me. Don't ask me again."

A tense silence settled over them. Shiro's eyes were burning with a rare anger and a shiver ran down Mari's spine at how much he reminded her of their mother. She sat rigidly in her seat, her hands curling into fists and she gripped the rings.

"…Okay," she said quietly, unable to look at him as she glared at the floor. "I won't. I'm sorry I even asked."

Shiro's expression immediately softened, the fire dying from his eyes as it was replaced with regret. "No, I…I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice back to its normally calm cadence. He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. "I know you just want to look out for me, but I can take care of myself. Isn't it my job as the older brother to be the one looking out for you, anyways?"

Mari slowly brought her head up to look at him, her own annoyance bubbling. "I'm not a kid anymore, either," she muttered, and a weak chuckle escaped his lips.

"I know. But you're still my precious imouto. I'll always worry about you." A strained smile graced his features as he rose to his feet. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you for thinking of me. But I really don't need it. Save it and give it to someone you trust and care about more than anything else. Okay?"

But that one person is you, she wanted to argue. But it was clear that he was ending their conversation and there was nothing more she could say to try and change his mind.

"Okay," she reluctantly relented, and that was the end of it.


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