Hello everyone, I'm back with the next chapter! In which I get to engage in one of my favorite activities... world building! But I promise that's not the only thing that happens in this chapter, so no worries if you're not as hyped by that sort of thing as I am. As always, thanks for reading, and until next update!

ignis

chapter two

the fall of the black lion

The capital city, Shiro had to admit, was grander than he had been expecting.

They got an excellent view of it as they landed the Castle. The first thing that caught his eye was what had to be the capital building- it rose high above all the other structures, and seemed to be the only building in the area that was actually made out of stone. It looked to be black at first glance, but the closer they drew to it, the more he realized it was actually a deep violet, fittingly enough. It must have been at least twenty or so stories high, spiraling into a sharp point at the very top. Here and there, he could make out pockets of greenery on what looked to be balconies jutting out of the structure.

It was far from the only green he could see. Despite the moon being one vast desert, the city itself was full of it, the streets lined with trees. Krolia had referred to the cities as an oasis, and he could see why- in addition to all the green, the city was built around a vast lake, gleaming a bright blue under the desert sun. The capital building sat to one end of it, while the other end was flanked by what almost looked to be some kind of amphitheater. Market stalls bordered either end of the lake on a raised platform, the kind that looked like they could be taken down quickly if needed. He was willing to bet flooding was an occasional issue, but one that they seemed to have handled.

Unlike the capital building, what he assumed were residences appeared to have been made out of clay brick. Single story homes seemed to be the most common, but here and there he could find ones that looked to have two or three stories. These followed the trend of the capital building, in that most appeared to have green roofs- though true to the fact that they were in space, not all of the roofs in question were literally green. Space plants, he'd found, came in all sorts of colors.

And just about everywhere he looked, there were people.

"Huh," Hunk let slip, "-not what I was expecting."

He couldn't exactly argue with that. They had visited dozens of civilian colonies within the Galra Empire since joining forces with Lotor, and while not all of them were completely devoid of interesting architecture or sometimes even beauty, it definitely wasn't the norm. So this... this was something else.

The Castle was too big to land within the city limits, so the coordinates they were given were on the outskirts. Even before they landed, he could make out what appeared to be some kind of reception party, with a pair of shuttles that he assumed were meant as transport waiting behind them.

Exchanging a glance with Allura, she merely gave him an uneasy shrug, her thoughts clearly on the same page as his. He wasn't wild about being so far away from the Castle, but he knew they could call their lions to them if they really needed to.

Hopefully, they wouldn't need to.

Once the Castle landed, he turned on his heel to look at the paladins. Everyone was on their feet, waiting to hear their orders. He looked towards Allura, inclining his head, to which she responded by doing the same. He might be the leader of Voltron, but she had more experience with diplomatic endeavors. This was a mission she was better suited to lead. As much as he hated to admit it, his unstable temper could sometimes make him a diplomatic risk. He'd managed to keep it in check for the most part, but the last thing he wanted to do was cause an incident because of these stupid headaches of his.

No. Better to let Allura handle this one.

Straightening her back, Allura switched to her most authoritative tone, the one that never failed to make the rest of the paladins snap to attention. "Let us go and greet our greeters. Coran, can I ask you to stay with the Castle?"

"Of course, princess." Coran said.

Allura gave him a brief smile, before turning back to the rest of the paladins. "As you know, this is a delicate situation. We will all need to be on our best behavior."

"That means no wandering off." Shiro chimed in.

Allura nodded in agreement. "Remember, our goal is to reduce tensions, not raise them. We want to work out an arrangement that is beneficial to both parties."

"Copy that." Lance said, his tone so light that Shiro couldn't help but wonder if he actually understood or not. "If it's about looking good, then old Lancey-Lance is all over it."

"What are you going to do, flirt with the Viridi extremists until they agree to stop being dicks?" Pidge cracked.

"Hey, it could work." Lance shot back. "I'll have you know that the ladies love me."

Shiro had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything. Maybe Lance just didn't understand how potentially serious this situation was just yet. He was sure that once they started discussions, he would. If not... well, then maybe he'd have a word with him.

"There will be no flirting with anyone." Allura cut in, thankfully before Shiro lost his patience. "Is that understood?"

Properly chided, Lance just meekly nodded. It didn't stop him from making a face at Pidge when she nudged him with her elbow, so he wasn't too hung up on his scolding. Allura was pretty good at that.

He used to be pretty good at that too, but somewhere between being captured by the Galra for a second time, the headaches, and losing Keith, he seemed to have completely lost the trick of it. It bothered him more than he was willing to admit- he didn't want to think that his very personality was being reshaped by his trauma, but he couldn't deny that was what appeared to be happening. He remembered shrugging off all of Adam's attempts to get him to speak with a therapist about his condition back on Earth, and now he couldn't help but wish for one.

It was funny how life worked sometimes.

Too bad nobody was laughing.

It was just a short ride down to the surface of the planet, where their greeting committee was already waiting. Despite Krolia's assurances that there wouldn't be any problems, he couldn't help but feel tense the entire time. These people obviously weren't fans of the Empire, and practically everyone knew at this point that the Voltron Coalition had been working together with Lotor's Galra Empire for nearly a year now. He couldn't help but be wary.

Thankfully, his worries proved to be for naught. The greeting committee was just that- greeters. Compared to the frosty reception they had gotten from Linum, the quartet of Galra sent to greet them were much more welcoming, even to Krolia. In short order, they were loaded into the transports, and were on their way into the city proper.

The towering building was the capital building, just like he'd thought. The Galra man driving the transport informed them that the name of the city was Rida, a word from Old Galran that roughly translated into unity. There were five other cities of note on the moon, plus scattered settlements here and there, but for their purposes of their visit, they would spend most of their time here.

Shiro listened with one ear to the information being given, looking out the windows as they made their way into the capital. Up close, it was even more of a sight to behold. He hadn't noticed it from the air, but although most of the residences were the same uniform sandy color, the doors were all brightly painted. A few buildings had colored poles stuck outside, which he was informed meant that they were actually shops, and not residences. The colored poles served in lieu of signboards.

And everywhere they went, there were people.

To his surprise, they weren't all Galra. Some of them were clearly just mixed, but others appeared to be completely different species. When he asked about them, their driver gave a somewhat cagey answer that they had come here to escape the Empire, but he got the feeling that there was more to it than that.

It didn't take that long for them to arrive at the capital building- it had probably only been around fifteen minutes since they had left the Castle of Lions. The two shuttles came to a stop in front of a grand staircase that lead up to the building proper, where another reception party was waiting to greet them.

Linum stood at the head of this one.

She was tall, taller than he had expected. Height-wise, she was probably shorter than Antok, who still remained among the taller Galra he'd seen, but her horns put her over the edge. She had a lithe frame, with legs that reminded him of the fauns from ancient Roman mythos, easily visible between the triple gaps in her long, almost silk-like skirt. They were covered in a fine coating of violet fur, the only trace of hair on her otherwise hairless body. While she wasn't wearing armor, she was still armed, a wicked looking pair of daggers hanging from either side of what was otherwise an ornamental belt. On her wrists, she wore two golden gauntlets, so elaborately detailed that he was almost positive they were indicators of her rank- either that, or she just liked fancy accessories.

To say that she was imposing was definitely an understatement.

She was flanked on either side by a trio of bodyguards, all Galra, though not all full-blooded. Behind them were a pair of attendants, each trying to peek past the guards to get a better look. They caught him looking and instantly froze, trying to pretend they hadn't been doing anything of the kind.

"Paladins," Linum's voice boomed out across the steps, commanding their full attention in a way that reminded him of both Allura and Lotor, "-we welcome you to the city of Rida."

"Oh, so now she wants to act all friendly." Lance muttered underneath his breath.

Hunk quickly hushed him, and thankfully, none of their attendants seemed to notice. Shiro shot him a look that the blue paladin seemingly failed to notice, or had otherwise just decided to ignore.

"Governor Linum," Allura strode forward, "-I am Princess Allura, a paladin of Voltron. We thank you for welcoming us here today, especially given the short notice."

"We wish we could greet you under better circumstances." Linum said. "Come. We have much to discuss."

She turned on her heel, heading inside the capital. Taking that as their invitation, they began their hike up the stairs. The Galra that had greeted them remained with the shuttles, he noticed, glancing back at them out of the corner of his eyes. They were chatting amongst themselves, and once he was certain they didn't seem to be acting suspiciously, he looked away.

"Stairs," Hunk grumbled, half to himself, "-why does it always have to be stairs?"

"It's likely for flood control." Allura remarked. "Quite sensible, if you ask me."

"I wonder if the lake is man made." Pidge mused, glancing over her shoulder towards it. "Do you think I could ask?"

"Don't see why not." Lance shrugged. "They seem friendly enough. You know, their leader aside."

"That leader is the one we want to make the good impression on." Shiro reminded him. "Don't forget that."

"I know." Lance said. "You don't have to remind me."

"I just want us to stay on task." Shiro said quickly, wondering if he'd said that too harshly. He didn't think he had, but well... sometimes what he thought didn't actually match up to the reality.

"She's probably just tense because of the whole possible mass exile situation." Hunk said. "I mean, who wouldn't be?"

"No, she's always like this." Krolia chimed in.

Shiro almost jumped at the sound of her voice. Honestly, she was so quiet that he'd nearly forgotten she was there. She had her gaze fixed straight ahead, not looking any of them as she ascended the stairs.

"Oh yeah, you've been here before, right?" Hunk asked. "So, uh... any tips you can give us?"

"Don't say vrepit sa." Krolia remarked- and for a split second, he swore he saw the edge of her lip curl up in a smile.

"Got it. No vrepit sa." Hunk said, giving the lieutenant a firm nod of his head.

"Hey, who knows?" Pidge shrugged, an almost impish grin on her face. "Maybe these Galra aren't as big into palen-bol as Dayak is."

At the mention of Lotor's governess, Hunk turned several shades paler. "Oh man, I hope not. I think she still wants to fight me to the death for leaving early. I'm telling you, Galra education is intense."

"I still can't believe Lotor's nanny wants to beat you up." Lance said.

"Not beat me up." Hunk corrected. "Fight me to the death. There's a big difference between the two."

"Paladins," Allura lightly interjected, "-focus."

The paladins jerked to attention, and not a moment too soon, since they had arrived at the top of the steps. Linum and her party were waiting for them in front of the entrance to the capital, though this time, the pair of attendants stood out in front of the bodyguards. Now that he was closer, he realized that they must have been twins- and were also a little younger than he'd first thought, maybe around Hunk and Lance's age.

They were the same age now as Keith had been when he'd died, he thought with a pang. Keith had never even made it to twenty.

(He was the one who was supposed to die young, not Keith. It just didn't seem fair.)

"Please," the twins said in perfect unison, "-this way."

Taking the lead of the group alongside Allura, Shiro lead the paladins inside. The exterior gave way to the space equivalent of a lobby, with a fountain depicting a battle scene as the central focus point. He cocked a brow at it, reminding himself that these were still Galra they were dealing with, even if they'd distanced themselves by generations from the Empire.

Linum caught his gaze. Motioning towards the fountain, she held her head high. "The first conquest of Brodar the First. We may no longer be part of the Empire, but we still honor the history of our ancestors, before said history was twisted for Zarkon's use."

Shiro just nodded. He already knew that for large portions of their history, the Galra had been conquerors, but not much else. He wasn't about to pass judgement on them without knowing their full history.

From there, Linum lead them up yet another set of stairs. Several flights later, they came out onto a small plateau, with a grand looking door set to the back of it. Although there were more stairs leading upwards in the other direction, Linum guided them through the door instead. He could just make out Hunk's sigh of relief, apparently grateful to (hopefully) be done with the stairs once and for all.

The door lead into an office, a grand desk set back against a huge window with a view that overlooked the city. He had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

Crossing the room, Linum sat down at the desk. Before they could even ask what it was she wanted them to do, the guards emerged, carrying six chairs, placing them on the other side of the desk. Exchanging a glance with Allura, the princess merely shrugged, taking one of the centermost chairs. He sat down next to her, with Pidge, Hunk, and Lance taking the other seats. Krolia, it seemed, preferred to remain standing, a preference that was quickly noted. The chair that had been set out for her quickly vanished, returned back to wherever it had been taken from.

"So," Linum began without any preamble, "-Lotor sends us the paladins."

Shiro frowned slightly at the statement, but he couldn't exactly deny it. He knew that even now, there were still some factions within the Coalition who were still uneasy with their alliance with the Galra Empire. They felt that they had sold themselves out to the very Empire they had been fighting for so long, though most weren't willing to voice it. It didn't surprise him that Ignis' governor might share those same sentiments.

Somehow it didn't surprise him that she'd be bolder about it either.

"We understand your people have no interest in joining the Galra Empire, but I can assure you, that is not what brings us here." Allura said firmly. "We only wish to help."

Linum narrowed her eyes. "And how do you intend to help, princess?"

"We would like to join the negotiations." Allura stated.

Linum merely hummed, leaning back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Do the paladins of Voltron think so little of us that they do not think we can work out a solution for ourselves?"

"I can assure you, that is not the case." Allura quickly said, looking alarmed at the suggestion. "We are quite certain that you can. Only... given the bigger picture, it may be wise to bring as swift a conclusion to this situation as possible."

Linum seemed to consider this. "You make a fair point. We are not so isolated out here that we do not keep up with the affairs of the day. We are well aware that the new Emperor struggles to keep his subjects in line."

Struggle. None of them had been willing to admit as much out loud, but it was true that Lotor was struggling. Things might be far less chaotic than they had been right after his ascension to the throne, but it didn't change the fact that they were still dealing with threats of succession from the Empire, and commanders who were once loyal to his father turning into warlords, each looking for their own piece of the pie.

It was exactly why this situation needed to end well.

"Tell me, princess," Linum began, "-what would your ideal solution for this situation be?"

"I would allow the Viridi to construct a colony here." Allura said simply. "One that they would govern by themselves, but would work in tandem with the existing populace to ensure that any policies they established would be good for all who live here."

"So you do not wish to chase us from our homes?" Linum asked.

"No." Allura said firmly. "I speak for the Voltron Coalition as a whole when I say that I have no qualms about the continued existence of this colony."

Shiro's gaze flickered towards her, unable to help but feel a little doubtful of her claim. He didn't doubt that there were plenty of people within the Coalition who would be sympathetic to the Viridi extremists. No matter how peaceful the people of Ignis were, they were still Galra, and there would always be people who reviled them for that fact alone.

But somehow, he suspected Linum already knew that.

Linum hummed, a thoughtful expression in her good eye. "You say that, but by referring to us as a colony, you do not seem as if you respect our sovereignty."

Allura blinked, as if she hadn't expected that. "I- no. I can assure you, governor, that is not the case."

Linum simply huffed, almost in amusement. "I am certain that a colony is all the current Emperor wishes us to be. But we are a sovereign people, and this is our home. We have no interest in bowing our heads, not to the Galra Empire, not to the extremists who seek to rob us of our homes, and not to the Voltron Coalition."

"If that is clear," Linum continued, "-then I believe we can consider including you in our negotiations."

"That is all we ask." Allura said.

"Then the matter is settled." Linum nodded, rising to her feet. "You are welcome to stay here, if you wish it. We would see to it that you and your paladins are treated well."

"That would depend upon the wishes of the paladins." Allura stated, glancing to either side of her, but mostly towards him.

Shiro shrugged. "I don't see why not."

It would give them more of a chance to get a feel for the place, than if they just cooped themselves up inside the Castle. If they were going to work together with these people, then they needed to know a little more about them than just what they had been told by Lotor.

"Then it is settled." Allura nodded.

"Excellent." Linum said, motioning towards the twin attendants, who jumped slightly as attention was turned back towards them. "Ui and Yi can show you to where you will be staying."

"As for you, lieutenant," Linum began, finally acknowledging Krolia for the first time, "-I suppose the usual room would suffice?"

"It would." Krolia merely inclined her head.

"If it is not too much trouble, we would like to return to the Castle first." Allura said. "I wish to inform Coran of our arrangements, and I believe the paladins would care to collect some of their belongings."

A faint smile curled at the edge of his lip as he watched Pidge, Hunk, and Lance nod eagerly at Allura's statement. While their paladin armor wasn't uncomfortable, it wasn't something they exactly wanted to live in- or sleep in, for that matter. He had to admit, a change of clothes would be nice.

"Of course." Linum agreed. "In that case, they can guide you back to the shuttles for now."

Bowing her head, Allura rose to her feet. "Thank you for your generosity."

"You will find more of it here than you will on Viridi." Linum noted, her nose crinkling slightly in distaste, before she shook her head. "But I say too much. Ui, Yi. Take the paladins to the shuttles. I can escort the lieutenant myself."

His gaze darted over towards Krolia. There seemed to be some familiarity there, but he guessed it shouldn't come as much of a surprise- from the sound of it, Lotor had been using her as something of an envoy. She must have made multiple visits in the past already.

He had to wonder what Lotor's goal was, sending her here with them. He trusted the prince's desire for peace, but he wasn't so naive to believe that he didn't have ambitions of his own, separate from those of the Coalition's.

Well, whatever they were, they weren't any of his concern right now. He was certain Lotor wouldn't risk jeopardizing such important negotiations anyways. He was too smart for that. No, if he had any goal here, it wasn't to get in their way. The exact opposite was far more likely.

If Lotor wanted anything, it was to appeal to Ignis' ruling powers. Bringing a people who had been in rebellion for ten thousand years into line would bring him respect within the Empire, so he was probably using this as a chance to show just how much the Empire had changed underneath his rulership. It was a strategy that might actually work- if it weren't for the person in command.

Somehow he doubted that Linum had any intention of bending to Lotor, no matter how many attempts he made to appeal to her.

"You're certain you don't want to come with us?"

"As much as I'd love to, someone has to stay and watch the Castle." Coran gave Allura a remorseful shake of his head. "But I'll be just a call away if you need me!"

Allura frowned. "I just don't like the idea of leaving you here by yourself."

"Oh, I'll be fine." Coran assured her. "You five go and enjoy yourselves."

"We're not exactly here on vacation, Coran." Shiro remarked.

"Shiro's right." Allura said. "This is serious diplomatic business."

"Fair enough." Coran said. "Just thought this might be a good chance to let the young ones run around a bit, have some fun. It feels like it's been awhile."

"Maybe once the negotiations are over." Shiro said. "It would be nice to relax a little."

He had to admit- it would be. It wasn't as if they never had the time to relax, but things had been different after Naxzela. It wasn't just the fact that they had lost one of their own, but it was also because circumstances had changed so drastically, so quickly. Now they were working with the Galra Empire in an attempt to bring lasting peace to the universe, and that meant they had new responsibilities, and a lot less time to fool around.

No one ever really complained about it, but... well, Coran was right. It would be nice to give those three something of a break, even if it was only just for a few days. He could probably use one himself, though he doubted he'd take it. The idea of him taking a break while there was still so much work to be done just didn't sit right with him.

Keith had died for this chance. He owed it to him to work as hard as possible to ensure everything came to fruition.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep it in mind." Allura said. "Still, they're taking a bit long, don't you think?"

Shiro could only laugh. "None of them are exactly quick packers."

Upon returning to the Castle, they had split up, each heading to their own individual rooms. They had standing orders to meet up on the bridge, but by the time Allura got here, he was still the only one there, save for Coran, who'd never left. If he knew those three- and he did- then he knew Lance would spend at least a solid ten minutes debating which of his skin care products he needed to take, and Hunk would spend just as much time nervously checking and rechecking his bag just in case he'd forgotten something, even though he never did.

And Pidge? Pidge would be trying to cram as much as physically possible into one bag.

He, on the other hand, had barely been in his room for longer than a few seconds, just long enough for him to grab a change of clothes and his toothbrush. He'd always been good at packing light. Adam would say what he was really good at was actually forgetting things, but Adam wasn't here to criticize him right now, so it didn't matter.

Allura just huffed, crossing her arms. "I just don't want to make a bad impression."

"She really got to you, huh?" Shiro asked.

Allura's lips twisted into a frown. "I must admit, I somewhat underestimated her. It won't happen again."

"I'm sure it won't." Shiro said. "She kind of reminds me of you, actually."

"Which is exactly why I am afraid we might not be able to get along." Allura confessed. "Though I suppose that's not exactly what we are here for."

"Maybe you could ask Krolia for some tips?" Shiro suggested.

Allura's frown deepened, clearly not keen on the idea. But before she could say anything, the Castle's alarms suddenly began to blare. Instantly switching gears, anything they might have wanted to say was forgotten as they each rushed to their respective stations. Elsewhere, the rest of the paladins would drop what they were doing to scramble to the bridge. They had all come to learn just how important the alarms were.

"We're detecting a fleet of Galra ships entering the system!" Coran cried.

"Bring it up on screen." Allura instructed.

Several Galra cruisers appeared onscreen, alongside details regarding their speed and proximity. Shiro narrowed his eyes, giving both a quick glance, already making the calculations in his head. If they kept their current course and rate of speed, they would be here in less than ten minutes.

"Please tell me those are friendly ships." Hunk said, the first paladin to make it to the bridge.

"I don't know, Hunk, they don't look all that friendly to me." Lance remarked, hurrying in behind him. He all but leapt into his chair- the one for the blue paladin, not the red. He'd stopped using that one after Keith's death.

No one had complained.

"How can you tell?" Pidge asked, making it to the bridge last. "They all look the same."

"Instinct, Pidge." Lance said. "You do this job long enough, and you start to pick things up."

"Unfortunately, Lance is right." Allura said. "They're not sending any of the friendly signals that we've established with Lotor."

"Let me check to see if I can get a better read on them." Pidge said, hastily typing away. "I may be able to figure out who they belong to."

Shiro waited, watching Pidge work with no small degree of anxiety. If these were enemy ships, then every second counted.

"Okay, I've got it." Pidge said. "It looks like these ships belong to Gnov's fleet."

"Aw man, not Gnov." Hunk groaned. "I thought we ditched her!"

Shiro could only huff in agreement. The last time they had a run in with Gnov and her forces, they'd had a tough time getting out of the trap that she'd laid for them. Thanks to Pidge's quick thinking, they had been able to turn it against her at the last possible second, trapping her and the bulk of her forces in it instead while they wormholed to safety.

But if these really were Gnov's ships, then obviously, she hadn't been as trapped as they'd thought.

"They must be here to escalate the situation." Allura said. "We cannot let them."

Shiro nodded, turning back to face the paladins. "Allura's right. We need to form Voltron and take them out before they can do any damage."

"Coran, radio Linum and inform her that there's been a change of plans." Allura instructed.

"Copy that, Princess." Coran said, a touch of worry to his voice. "Stay safe out there."

"We will."

The battle itself hadn't proved to be much.

He'd been wary and alert for any signs of a possible trap the entire time, but there had been nothing. Given Gnov's usual tactics, it left him with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, one that he couldn't manage to shake even after the last of the cruisers was destroyed. What if there was something they had missed? Or even worse, what if this whole thing had just been a diversion?

"I'm sure if it was, Coran would have notified us." Allura said, after he gave voice to his doubts.

"Maybe we trapped Gnov like we thought, and these are just what remains of her forces?" Hunk suggested.

"Yeah, for all we know they might not even be acting under her orders." Lance said. "I say we don't worry about it."

Shiro bit back a comment that Lance never seemed to worry about anything, and instead tried to take what he was being told to heart. He didn't doubt Gnov would escape the trap she'd set at some point, but that probably wouldn't happen for awhile yet. Maybe Hunk was right, and these were just the last few ships under her command that were free, out looking for a little revenge.

It hadn't amounted to much, but well... victory or death was the motto of the Galra.

He still found himself taking up the rear of the formation, just in case. Maybe he was just being needlessly paranoid, but it never hurt to be cautious.

"So now what?" Pidge asked.

"Now we return to Ignis, and see if our escort stayed behind." Allura said. "I would like to speak with Linum directly about the attack, but the four of you can go ahead to the lodging, if you desire. I cannot imagine that she will need all of us to debrief."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Lance said. "I wonder where exactly we'll be staying? In the capital building?"

"Oh, or maybe they have their own hotel!" Hunk said. "Honestly, you'd think there'd be more space hotels."

"I mean, the universe has been kind of at war for like, ten thousand years." Pidge pointed out. "That's not exactly conducive to tourism."

In spite of himself, Shiro chuckled. While in his worst moments, the banter between the paladins could yank at his last nerve, most of the time he enjoyed it. After Keith's death, he'd been worried that the bond they had all forged would suffer as a result, but thankfully the paladins all proved more resilient than that. None of them wanted to see Keith's sacrifice go to waste.

Unless they never cared about Keith at all, the darker part of him whispered.

He shook the thought off, taking in a deep breath. He knew that wasn't true. They had all mourned Keith's loss in their own way. Thinking like that did a disservice not only to the paladins, but also to Keith.

Exhaling, Shiro fixed his attention up ahead. They were drawing closer to Ignis, and so far, everything seemed to be exactly the way they had left it. Maybe this hadn't been a diversion after all, and he'd been worried for nothing. It wouldn't exactly be the first time.

"-contact Coran- make sure- okay."

Shiro blinked, his brows knitting together. Had they hit some kind of patch of interference? Allura's last transmission had been so filled with static that he had only been able to make out every other word.

"Everything okay, Allura?" Shiro asked, tinkering with the frequencies to see if the static would clear up any. "You're breaking up."

Far from getting any better, the static only managed to get worse. It wasn't only Allura- all the other paladins seemed to be suffering from the same static, although judging from the few snippets of conversation that did get through, it didn't sound like this was a problem for anyone else. It was just him.

Huh. Maybe he'd hit something in that last battle. He'd have Coran take a look at it once they got back to the Castle.

Just as he thought that, communications were cut off completely. Huffing, Shiro attempted to manually reconnect them, but the effort was in vain. Whatever kind of malfunction this was, it was clearly beyond his ability to fix. He'd just have to leave it to Coran.

It was only when his lion began listing slightly to the left, that he truly began to worry.

Jostling with the controls, Shiro frowned. They didn't seem to be responding like he wanted them to, as if the black lion was resisting his commands. The last time this had happened was the time they had fought Zarkon- and a shudder ran down the length of his spine at that recollection. He still wasn't sure what had happened to him after that fight, but he was positive that Zarkon was dead now. Lotor had killed him.

So why was the black lion acting like it wasn't listening to him?

"Black," Shiro began, trying not to sound too anxious, "-what's going on?"

His lion didn't respond, and it was with a start that he realized he couldn't feel the black lion at all. "Black?"

Then, all at once, the black lion began to plummet. Looking frantically up towards the other paladins, Shiro realized that none of them had even noticed what was happening. He was too far behind them, and they were too used to his after battle silence over the coms. They probably thought everything was going as usual.

Grunting, Shiro fought to regain control of the black lion, but it was no use. With a violent jerk, he was thrown from his seat, his head impacting painfully with the floor. His helmet protected him, but not enough- he could still feel a dull throb forming in the back of his head that had nothing to do with his usual headaches.

Groaning, he tried to push himself up, only to be tossed violently again- and this time, he wasn't so lucky. His head hit the edge of a console, black spots forming in his vision. Fighting to stay awake, Shiro reached out a hand, trying to get a grip on his seat- but it slipped away.

The last thing he saw before completely losing consciousness was the desert floor, approaching fast- and then, nothing.