There was some news no one could suppress. Not even the empire. Zarkon was dead. Everybody at the academy had been telling Razkha and Alsa that everything was okay, and it was all just enemy propaganda, but they had noticed how many of their classmates had slipped out citing some family emergency.

Even then Razkha had tried to believe that everything was alright. That it was just enemy propaganda.

That spell had been broken when her parents had begged her to come home. There was no reason for her to throw her life away fighting against a monster even Zarkon couldn't beat. She had considered it, but she had stayed. Alsa wouldn't leave. Not after what the Blue Lion had done to her uncle and if Alsa stayed… Razkha would stay too.

Few shared the sentiment, and it wasn't long that the teachers outnumbered the students.

"Cowards." Razkha would hear Alsa mutter darkly after every roll call with fewer people.

Not knowing what was coming was the worst of it all. Voltron could be tearing down their walls at any moment, but no one was telling them to prepare to defend Velka from Voltron. They were just told to be on standby. Being brave would have been so much easier if she'd had something to do but now everyone was paralyzed by fear. Unlike Alsa, she couldn't blame people for it. Everything had just… worked out when they'd had emperor Zarkon but now…

How could they possibly beat something that had been too much for emperor Zarkon?

This went on for weeks until the barracks were all but abandoned with only a few loyal souls haunting it but at least it meant that they had something to do. Razkha and Alsa had taken up manning the kitchen and preparing food for the few people who were left.

Alsa cut into the vegetables like they were the Blue Paladin's back.

"Those bastards. They were never loyal to the empire. Just its power." Alsa said and cleaved a tomato in half: "Where the hell is Lotor?"

"You think he's… dead? Maybe… Voltron got him too." Razkha suggested.

Alsa just stared at the vegetables and then got back to cutting them but all the strength had left her.

When the meal of the day was in the oven, one of their classmates rushed in. A fresh-faced rookie called Gerron whose hands were still uncalloused. Razkha had always had a soft spot for him. Both had Velka and Galra blood in them. Plus… he had stuck around and wasn't half bad at running communications… what little they had.

"Razkha! Alsa! You need to see this!" Gerron said.

"See what?" Razkha asked.

"Turn on the monitor! Direct order form above." Gerron said.

Razkha fumbled to find the remote to the great monitor in the mess hall and finally it was Alsa who pulled it out. She didn't need to ask for the channel. The same thing was running on every one of them. A heated debate in a war room with all the empire's top generals. Their chests gleamed with awards and their faces were marked by scars. Their most accomplished soldiers. The best the empire had to offer.

And they were all squabbling like spoiled children.

It was a miracle that they weren't frothing at the mouth when they brought up all the failures and losses of their colleagues while puffing up their own chests with their many, many accomplishments. Razkha looked nervously at Alsa and Gerron while their generals were making fools of themselves. Protecting a commanding officer's dignity was one of their duties and this was anything but dignified. A failure at your duties could mean facing a firing squad.

"Turn it off." Razkha said.

Alsa didn't hear or her… or more like chose to ignore her. She was entranced by what she was seeing. Their leaders trying to grab power while their empire was collapsing around them. They were losing so much territory and lives… but to the generals this was more important. Who got the biggest pile of ash to call his own.

Razkha tried to grab the remote but Gerron surprised her by pulling her away.

"The order came from the prince." Gerron whispered.

"… Lotor?" Razkha gasped.

They watched together Gerron still clinging to her arm and then she noticed something. The camera was positioned subtly in a way that your eyes sought out instinctively one of the few female generals in the war room. A tall, elegant, mixed-blood whose short hair had been slicked back with a sole bang hanging over her face.

"Who's that?" Razkha asked.

"General Acxa. One of prince Lotor's confidants." Alsa said.

For the longest time general Acxa watched the war room turn into a schoolyard brawl with a composed, neutral expression but slowly a bemused smile crept on her lips. As the arguing became more heated the smile grew wider and wider until it burst into laughter.

A scythe slashed through the room and silence followed. The only sound was general Acxa's laughter. The other generals' faces were flushed with rage and humiliation and more than a few reached out for their weapons.

"Did you just…?" One of the largest generals hissed.

"Laugh? Yes. Can you blame me? This is all so… laughable. I understand now why prince Lotor sent me here as his proxy." Acxa said.

"And where is Lotor? Where is he hiding?" The large general said.

"Prince Lotor. And he is not hiding. While you have all been making fools of yourselves, he has been busy avenging our emperor. I would like you all to see this." Acxa said and a new image took over the monitor.

Image of the Blue and Yellow Lion. Driving their forces away from one of the empire's outposts.


Lance had learned a long time ago that it was easier to be brave when you had friends around you. Even when you were outnumbered which wasn't uncommon for him. The curse of a man who talked a bigger game than he could play but with Hunk around he always knew that he had someone watching his back and with Voltron… anything had seemed possible. With Shiro around… it felt like everything would turn out alright.

But now…

Kolivan was every bit as skilled as a man who had been fighting his whole life could be… but he was no Shiro. Still… he had kept them afloat. He had kept them busy. He had made full use of the momentum they had when news of Zarkon's death had spread across the universe but… Kolivan couldn't change the fact that they were spread so… so very thin.

The planet he and Hunk had bee sent to free was called Puig whose inhabitants wouldn't have been all that out of place on Earth with only their horns setting them apart. A dedicated rebel force had been working underground for decades and it had been ready to strike but even when the Galras motivation was gone… even when just the sight of two Lions made them turn tail and run… even when the rebels acted with scalpel like precision…

… even then freeing Puig had been a grueling two-week slog.

Missions could last fourteen hours at a time. Maybe even more and Lance counted himself lucky if he got five hours of sleep at night. Even when the Galras were only putting up a show of resistance… it was still almost enough to crush him. Without Hunk there to watch his back it would have been.

But after two weeks, Puig was free and the Galra had lost a bit more foothold which would make the next planet all the easier.

Also… there was the after-victory party… and the groupies.

"Paladin!"

Despite not having slept in thirty hours, Lance felt his exhaustion melt away somewhat when the young Puigian women surrounded him, demanding to take a picture with him.

"My pleasure, ladies." Lance said.

The camera on his phone flashed and Lance hoped the shadows around his eyes weren't too visible. Heroes weren't supposed to look exhausted. He listened and smiled while the girls fuzzed over him, asking if he'd like to come with them to a more… private setting. A large part of him wanted to say yes… but another part that was never too far from Keith shook its head.

He started looking for an out and found one when he saw Hunk talking to a Puigian war hero. Looking awfully flustered.

"Excuse me, ladies. Paladin business." Lance said and left the disappointed women.

Hunk was at the end of his rope when Lance came to his rescue.

"Mind if I join in?" Lance asked.

Hunk sighed in relief when he saw him, and the hero nodded.

"Not at all, Blue Paladin."

"Call me Lance and you were… N'ar?"

"Yes. I'm honored you remember me." N'ar said and looked at Hunk: "I was just hoping that Voltron could visit Puig. It would mean a lot to all of us."

"About that…" Hunk said.

"Not really possible at the moment." Lance said.

Hunk turned pale and N'ar… just looked at him.

"Why?"

Lance looked around to make sure no one was listening and then leaned in closer to whisper in N'ar's ear.

"You didn't hear this from me but… the Black Paladin has sent us out all over the place to help as many planets as possible. If the Galra knew the Lions were so far apart…"

N'ar's face shone with pride.

"I am honored that you trust me with this and… I am sorry. You have already done so much for us."

"You might see Voltron sooner than you think. Princess Allura is looking representatives from Puig in her new coalition if you catch my drift."

N'ar nodded.

"I think I do… Lance. I think I do."

"Good man. We'll talk more later." Lance said.

When they were alone, Lance led Hunk further away to make sure they had some privacy.

"Hunk…"

"How long do you think we can keep this up?" Hunk asked: "We'll have to tell them eventually that Shiro… that he is… that he…"

"Look, Hunk. Look at me. Eventually but not now. We have too much riding on this."

"They'll figure it out at some point." Hunk said.

"We'll come up with something. Look… why don't you go and get a drink and some rest? Not like we can do anything more now."

Hunk snorted.

"You almost sound like an officer."

"Maybe I've gotten a taste for rank and file." Lance said.

Hunk was more than happy to take his advice and return to the party like Lance knew he would. Hunk had always been most comfortable following someone else's lead. As for him… he just wanted someone to lead him home.

Lance sat down with a heavy sigh and rubbed his face.

When he looked at the party he had walked out of, he almost resented the people he had helped to save. He had given so much, but he would still have to give so much more before he could go home.

Or could he?

When you had this much power… at what point could he finally put down the gauntlet and say no one could ask more from him? And the universe had already asked… so very much. He couldn't even be there for Keith who felt their loss more than any of them. He did have Krolia but… Lance wondered how much good she could really be right now. Even if she was Keith's mother… in every way that mattered she and Keith were strangers. How could she guide him through his sorrow at a time like this?

Lance took out his phone and started flipping through his album. The picture of the Puigian groupies. More recent pictures of Keith when they were alone. Pictures where Keith looked relaxed and almost happy. Older pictures before Keith's transformation in which they were posing together as a team. Keith looked so stiff and awkward… standing on Shiro's right side.

A shadow fell over him and Lance realized Blue had snuck up on him. The mechanical Lion looked up and Lance saw it too. A lone Galra fighter pilot. Fast and sleek. It was military ware but looked custom made. The kind you gifted to an ace.

"Good girl." Lance said and climbed inside his Lion.

When he was in, he took out the radio.

"Hunk?"

"I see it." Hunk said from inside his own Lion.

"I guess someone didn't get the memo. Cover the civilians. I'll go scare him off."

Lance took off to the sky while Hunk stuck around for security duty. When the Galra fighter stuck its ground, Lance wondered if this was a suicide mission. A bitter last stand. Victory or death. Or just a bit of bravado. Someone wanting to be the last man to leave the battlefield.

Lance looked at the enemy ship… and he could feel his enemy gazing back at him. Their eyes were connected by a livewire. Lance floated in the air for a moment to give the hapless moron a chance to flee but when he didn't… well, that left him little choice.

"Fine. Let's do this."

They weren't in space so he could safely shoot him down without trapping the Galra in a steel coffin. An ace pilot as a prisoner wouldn't be a bad end for the mission. Maybe it would be enough to make even Kolivan smile. Wouldn't that be something?

The pilot wasn't going to give him an easy fight and flew circles around him like a particularly stubborn fly. Not that Lance was too worried. With Voltron and… Shiro's tutelage he had become a better pilot then he had ever dared to dream of being and he was riding one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe. He felt a bit bad for the poor Galra.

The feeling didn't last.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. That much was obvious. The Galra's ship couldn't match his. Not even close but… it was almost like the enemy was moving when Lance was still considering his next move. A paranoid man might have suspected that his opponent knew what he was going to do before he did. The fight felt practiced, but no one had told him about the rehearsals.

They danced around each other trying to get the upper hand and feeling each other out but while Lance started finally feeling his exhaustion and got sloppier with every twist and turn, the Galra… the Galra just got sharper. The bastard was wearing him down.

Then the enemy ship disappeared entirely.

"What the…?"

When the shot hit Blue in the back he knew exactly where the Galra was. Too bad it was no use to him knowing now. Every alarm inside the Lion went off but Lance didn't have time to listen when he tried to stop his dead fall and straighten Blue.

He tried.

He really did.

Too bad it wasn't enough.

The ground embraced him with terrible force and then there was nothing.


A deadly silence fell over the war room when the generals saw their aspirations go down in flames with the Blue Lion. Razkha could almost feel the impact in her bones when the Blue Lion crashed to the ground with enough force to leave a crater. Gerron was squeezing her arm hard enough for it to hurt and he wasn't the only one. Alsa was clinging to her as well like it was the only thing stopping her from being sent adrift. Tears and snot were running down her face.

"… uncle…" She sobbed.

In the war room general Acxa stood up and smiling victoriously. She threw her fist in the air.

"All hail emperor Lotor!"

The smarter generals stood on their stiff feet and threw their fists in the air.

"All hail emperor Lotor!" They echoed with feigned enthusiasm.

It wasn't long that everyone in the war room had joined the chant.

"All hail emperor Lotor!"

Razkha looked at Alsa and Gerron and for the first time in weeks it felt like there was hope. That everything would work out in the end. She hoisted both Alsa and Gerron in the air who were still holding on to her hands when she threw them in the air.

"All hail emperor Lotor!"

Alsa spat out snot before joining her.

"All hail emperor Lotor!"

Gerron had always been quick to mimic his elders.

"All hail emperor Lotor!"

The cry rang through the universe.