A/N: Hi, guys. This is the start of my Voltron story. It actually started when I saw Hunk mention Jenny Shaybon. Now that it's been mentioned, I couldn't help but make a story with her involved this time. As for the other OC's, Dragon Ball Super, Transformers Prime, Superman: Doomsday, RWBY, and Dragons: Race to the Edge had a hand in helping me come up with their personalities. And also, Ayame belongs to Akame-no-Senshi for future reference. I hope you'll appreciate the story. Fair warning: it has three parts of the first episode, so I divided it accordingly. And this is a rewrite without the script format, so please bear with me on that as well (I tried my best). Enjoy. :)

Chapter 1: "The Rise of Voltron"

It started on Kerberos, moon of Pluto, where four pilots, Takashi Shirogane, Belle Shaybon, Matt, & Sam Holt, were analyzing the contents of it. Their mission from the Garrison was to collect rare ice samples from Kerberos for microscopic life signs of alien intelligence, easily making their travel the farthest man has ever gone. Sam, Matt's father, warned him to be careful with the contents.

"Easy, son. This ice is delicate."

"Amazing. Isn't this exciting, guys?"

Belle and Shiro weren't quite as enthusiastic about the samples.

"Honestly, it's just as exciting as Ice Fishing. Basically boring."

"You guys get a little more excited about ice samples than we do."

Sam couldn't help but think about what the Kerberos Mission meant for them as far as recognition.

"This is history in the making. Not only have we traveled farther than any human ever has, but this ice could hold microscopic clues about the existence of life outside Earth."

"Again, boring."

"Think of it, Belle. We could use those clues to become the first people to meet aliens."

That made Belle rethink her standing in the situation.

"Hold up. We could meet the aliens first? In that case, take that, Mr. President!"

That made Shiro chuckle a bit while Sam spoke.

"My life's work would be complete."

However, the shaking drove their minds towards another problem.

"What is that? Seismic activity?"

"On a moon? Give me a break."

"We should get back to the ship."

Just then, a larger and otherworldly ship arrived. At this moment, it'd seem Matt's theory about them being the first to meet aliens had come true, but he never mentioned them being friendly.

"What? What is that?"

Belle had an idea based on her preconceptions as to what it was.

"Is that... a mothership?"

Sam couldn't actually believe this to be happening.

"It can't be..."

Suddenly, the bottom of it had a glowing purple light coming from it.

What's more, that light sucked up every little thing that got in its path.

Faced with this quickly escalating situation, Shiro had to try this option.

"Run! Come on, run!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!"

With that, they took off just as the ship fired a red light, sucking up everything, along with the crew.

Later after that, Shiro and Belle slowly stirred from their sleep and opened their eyes to see an anthropomorphic creature communicating with its leader.

"Emperor Zarkon, we were scouting System X-9-Y as ordered when we found these primitive scientists. I don't think they know anything useful."

Then, the leader known as Zarkon spoke to him. He wore a purple and grey helmet with purple eyes.

"Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation. The Druids will find out what they know."

Then, as Belle watched Shiro tried to reach out to them. He thought it possible that they were self-defensive and trying to protect their own.

"Please, we come from a peaceful planet! We mean you no harm! We're unarmed!"

Then, a posh voice responded behind him and proved him otherwise.

"You really think we're that stupid, mortal?"

The figure with purple eyes, spiky white hair sticking upwards, and a black and red cloak blasted black and purple lightning at Shiro, causing him to shout in pain as Belle called out to him, worried for his life.

"Shiro!"

As he tortured him, the figure gave his knowledge on his kind.

"I've seen your kind from above. I know all that they've done. You all deserve worse than this..."

Then, Zarkon snapped at him to restrain his murderous prejudice.

"Enough, Kaecilius."

With that, the figure known as Kaecilius halted his surge, causing Shiro to fall to the ground unconscious, leaving Belle scared for him as he held a complaint toward him.

"He can't very well reveal what he knows if he's dead."

"What's the point? Voltron or not, they'll never stand against us, anyway. The last human specimen we had was no outlier. You've seen this before."

Then, Shiro gasped upon learning this. What other human could've met this unfortunate situation, if any survived?

"Then you should have no problem interrogating them yourself. If they're as useless as you believe, then you shall terminate them."

Kaecilius tensed while clenching his clawed hand before sighing in compliance.

"As you wish. Vrepit Sa."

With that, the transmission ended before Kaecilius dug his claw into Shiro's shoulder and dragged him in the floor, leaving Belle petrified with fear at the same time her anger was rising.

"What are you going to do with him? Answer me!"

Kaecilius ignored her pleas and turned to the soldiers.

"See to it that this vermin is locked up. She'll get her turn."

The soldiers nodded before they began to haul Belle off, only for her to mercilessly attack the guards, bashing one of them in the face before she took the other's gun and blasted him. Then, she glared at Kaecilius before firing at him. However, he was able to stop the blasts before firing his surge of lightning at her, causing her to scream in agony before she passed out. Following this, Kaecilius halted his surge once again as he came up with a different alternative. The last human specimen they had was just as resilient. But Zarkon wrote it off a long time ago. However, he had a certain feeling that she'd be more beneficial.

"On second thought, leave her with me. She could prove most useful."

With that, Kaecilius dragged Belle with him for interrogation and possible experimentation. As for Shiro and the others, they ended up dragged by the guards instead. As they did, the other prisoners looked toward him as if they're new. By which case, they were.

"Look, they brought in another one."

"Who is it?"

"Over there. It's another one."

Shiro could barely keep his eyes open as he took in his surroundings. It seemed to house a thousand prisoners. Shiro widened his eyes before he ended up tossed into one of the cells. After that, the soldier closed the door, locking him in. However, that didn't stop Shiro from running to it and banging on it, demanding to know where his best friend was being held.

"What have you done to Belle?! Where is she?!"

The guard gave him no heed as he walked away from him, leaving the prisoner to grow more volatile in temper.

"Tell me what you did to Belle! Answer me!"

Just when it seemed he wouldn't get the answer, a feminine voice responded to him.

"Don't bother."

Shiro turned to the source of the voice in confusion.

"Huh?"

The source of the noise stepped from the shadows to reveal a purple-skinned alien with furry ears, long dark purple hair, and yellow sclera and blue eyes. Then, he pieced it together. She was his cellmate. Perhaps a renegade who'd given up long ago.

"Wherever your friend is, she's as good as dead already."

Shiro didn't want to believe that, but tried to keep his cool just as he dug deeper into the meaning.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Exactly that. There is no escape."

Shiro only looked at her with determination to prove her wrong.

"I don't believe that. Somehow, someday, I will find a way to get out, and I'll get Belle back."

His cell mate smiled at his determination and had hopes of her own. Who knows how long she'd been trapped in this prison. If it meant she could have her own freedom, she'll have all the help she can get with open arms.

"Well, that'll be the day."

Then, the stranger extended her hand toward Shiro to engage in a handshake.

"My name is Lapis. What's yours?"

Shiro smiled and shook her hand back, this forging a partnership with her.

"I'm Takashi Shirogane. But you can call me Shiro."

ONE YEAR LATER

A new team is seen going to Kerberos. The pilot is Lance, the engineer is Hunk, the comm spec is Pidge, and finally, the copilot is a young woman the age of 17 with long brown hair and dark blue eyes. Her name was Jenny Shaybon. Before she joined the garrison, she was just a regular girl. Her sister, Belle, went on the last Kerberos mission a year ago. Ever since she disappeared, her entire world was shattered to pieces. Then, in light of her loss, the Galaxy Garrison saw potential in her as well. As her days went on, she was ostracized by a group of bullies, but as mad as they made her, she chose not to leave. The only reason she accepted was to find her sister. Everyone else seemed convinced they were gone for good. Well, except for Pidge. He supported her, in fact. And he wasn't the only one. Ayame Shirogane, Takashi's younger sister, was trying her best to find them too. She'd joined the Garrison long before Jenny had. Even before her brother disappeared, she went through her own loss. Her best friend, Kumiko, took her own life by way of overdose. For a while after that, she pushed everyone away, even her own brother. But when they've vanished, Ayame had received a great reality check. Life may be short, but that was no reason to push people away trying to fix yourself. The best she could do was to pick herself up and move on. As proof of her resolve, she tried really hard to keep her team alive and in one piece. Jenny was told of her story and grew very close to her since then. However, six months following Shiro's disappearance, she went into space by herself desperate to find her brother. Jenny and Pidge found out about it the next morning and made the former all the more determined to go to Kerberos. Now, the opportunity had come for them to reap their reward for the efforts that were put into it as the three were flying to Kerberos in order to find them.

"Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14. Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission."

Then, Lance lowered the craft towards the surface, much to the misfortune of Hunk. He was always the fastest to get sick, so Lance's movements didn't help.

"Lance, can you keep this thing straight?"

Jenny pitched into the argument for his sake.

"Yeah. As fun as it was, I'm not sure how much more he could take before he goes all upchucks."

"Relax, Jen. I'm just getting a feel for the stick. I mean, it's not like I did this."

As he enunciated, he swerved the ship, causing Hunk to get nervous.

"Or this."

Then, he swerved it again, causing Hunk to lean right before the trajectory returned to normal.

"Okay, unless you want to wipe beef stroganoff out of all the little nooks and crannies in this thing, you'd better knock it off, man!"

Jenny could tell he was rattled and did her best to soothe him.

"Relax, Hunk. Hopefully, that kind of trajectory is behind us from here on out."

Just then, Pidge saw the signal on the monitor.

"We've picked up a distress beacon!"

Opportunity at hand, Lance gave the order to be prepared.

"All right, look alive, team. Pidge, track coordinates."

"Copy."

Then, the ship began to shake, causing Hunk to feel uneasy.

"Knock it off, Lance, please!"

Jenny knew, however, from experience, that his movements had nothing to do with Hunk's sensitivity this time.

"That's not him this time. The hydraulic stabilizer's out."

Just as Hunk looked at the surveillance, he was about to spew, but he swallowed it. However, he knew he couldn't keep it up for long.

"Oh, no."

"Hang in there, Hunk. Remember, look to the horizon."

Then, the signal ended up cut off, much to Pidge's alarm.

"I lost contact. The shaking is interfering with our sensors."

Then, Jenny turned to Hunk. As it turned out, Hunk was also a genius in any sort of workings pertaining to science.

"How's it looking?"

"It's not responding."

In an attempt to repair it, he unbuckled and went to analyze it. Just then, they spotted a visual.

"Got it. Thar she blows. Preparing for approach on visual."

Pidge didn't find it wise considering their circumstances.

"I don't think that's advisable with our current and gastrointestinal issues."

Hunk, being the likeliest to spew, couldn't agree more.

"Agreed."

"Thanks for the input, but I don't think we have a choice."

"Besides, this baby can take it, can't you, champ?"

Then, the ship shook, disproving his point.

"See? She was- she was nodding. She was nodding."

As they drew closer, Jenny remembered the first thing in training when receiving signals.

"Pidge, can you hail down to them and let them know the cavalry has arrived?"

Then, Pidge unbuckled his harness and tried to speak through it.

"Attention, lunar vessel-"

Suddenly, the ship sent Pidge right off his seat, only for Jenny to catch him before he could hit the ground.

Jenny realized this mistake and thought it best to correct it before the situation got worse.

"That was close. Let's try that again with your belt on this time."

Then, she noticed Hunk struggling to fix it and maintain his lunch at the same time.

"Hunk, you gotta pull through for this."

"I'm try- Oh, no."

Jenny panicked and got out a paper bag from her pack and let Hunk puke his guts out into it.

After having been a victim of Hunk's spews in the past, she's prepared for it since then.

After that, she checked back with him.

"Feeling better?"

"A little."

Then, he got back to work while Jenny went to the ship's deck with Lance as Pidge related the message.

"Attention, lunar vessel, this is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction, against crew recommendations."

Lance knew what that meant and didn't like that one bit, especially not during the rescue.

"No time for your mutinous comments now, Pidge. They're going under and we're going in."

Then, Lance began to swerve downward, worrying Pidge, Hunk, and Jenny.

"Uh-oh. Be careful with that overhang."

"No worries. My first year in flight school, you know what they called me? They called me 'the tailor' because of how I thread the needle."

Seeing his piloting for herself, Jenny had no doubts about that. Well, almost no doubts.

"Well, that's assuring. But keep it steady."

Then, they whoa'd as Lance turned the ship to its side. However, Jenny was keeping an eye on the wing and kept it in mind as Lance tried to pass it.

"Come around, come around! Come on, come on!"

Then, Jenny gave the signal.

"Now!"

Lance swerved the ship downward, barely scratching the wing, and giving the crew the relief they needed.

"Phew!"

Jenny, catching her own breath, assumed the worst to be over.

"That was close. Now all we have to do is land this puppy and we're all home free."

Then, they landed the ship on the moon safely by the crew. When the astronauts looked toward their saviors, Lance and the others waved at them as Pidge gave out a signal.

"This is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. We're ready for extraction."

Jenny looked back at Lance with a smile, knowing his talent and willingness to listen to others (even if it was mainly Jenny that he listens to) was what helped them make it.

"Nice job, 'Tailor'."

Then, suddenly, Jenny saw a familiar face from one of the astronauts. It was similar to her own face, but with blonde hair inside. Seeing this, Jenny grew surprised and shocked. This was their first time clearing the mission successfully, so the fact that she saw her sister's face was a miracle to her.

"Sis? Is that you?"

Suddenly, the monitor displayed two words in green as it spoke aloud.

"Simulation Passed."

Jenny began to get scared for her as reality began to distort her hopes.

"Huh? No! Sis, come back!"

Lance got a grip on her arms, causing her to calm down and take it in.

"Whoa, Jen. Take it easy. What was that about?"

"Sorry. I just thought I saw..."

Just then, the door opened to reveal a sergeant in a grey uniform with a black cap with one eye closed. His name was Iverson. He was the man who sent the last team to Kerberos a year ago. Now, he's training them, along with other groups of cadets.

"Roll out, crew."

Then, they stood in a single file line amongst a group of cadet pilots.

"Now let's see if we can't use this close call as a lesson for the rest of you students. Can anyone point out the mistakes these four cadets made in the simulator?"

Then, one student answered in compliance.

"The engineer puked in the gearbox."

"No. But you make a valid point. As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems. What else?"

"The comm spec removed his safety harness."

"Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they were arguing with each other. The only reason you passed was because miss Shaybon was able to put present issues to rest faster than you could."

Iverson placed his hand on his chest while making a salute up in the sky.

"Just like her sister, Belle. Of course you realize, you can't rely on her forever. Heck, if you're gonna be this bad individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a team! Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next elite astroexplorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what will cost you your lives. We still have no clue what happened to the last crew on the Kerberos Mission."

Jenny felt like she had an idea she needed to get off her chest, considering its purpose.

"Oh, permission to speak, Commander?"

"Granted."

"Would it be crazy to assume... just hypothetically, that... aliens might have taken them?"

That caused Iverson to be appalled.

"What did you say?"

That caused Jenny to become sheepish, in fear of crossing the line.

"Just as a hypothesis, sir. I mean, that's one idea, right?"

"Yes. It would be crazy to assume that. And that's one way to look at it. But I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out."

"No, sir. You don't need to remind us."

Iverson only glared at her with a stern, serious look.

"Don't follow in his footsteps. And another thing: I need you in my office after class dismissal."

That intrigued one of the students that had short black hair while Jenny responded.

"Understood, sir."

Then, he called the next group over, one of which had that same boy.

"Next!"

The next group consisted of a blue-haired student, the green-haired one, a dark blue-haired girl with glasses, and the same student whose curiosity got piqued. The last two students turned to Jenny and nodded to her with a smile. Lance, however, misinterpreted that and flirted back at her, only to be slapped by Jenny, causing him to rub his cheek with a moan.

After class, Iverson had a private talk with Jenny. Unbeknownst to the whole class, Jenny was actually the one student in on Iverson's search for them. The fact that she almost let it slip was considered careless in his opinion.

"Why did you just blab it out to the students out there?"

"Well, technically, I didn't sir. Wasn't that the point of it being hypothetical?"

"That's no excuse, cadet. This whole search and rescue we're doing relies on secrecy. If any others find out, it could cause a panic. That's what these procedures are for."

Jenny wasn't entirely sure it was about preventing panic. The fact that the cadets were hardly interested was proof of it being otherwise.

"It doesn't look that way to me."

Iverson was beginning to snap due to the cold way she said it.

"Are you trying to sass me?"

"No. I'm trying to find out what you really need me for. You say that we were trying to find our lost comrades, but we've been at this for a whole year with nothing. Are we even looking for them, or just another planet where you'd like to dump us for dead?"

Iverson knew that kind of spirit she presented all too well and found it to be threatening. Even more so was her increasing lack of faith in him. If it went low enough, she could tell the whole class about what they've been up to.

"That's not what we're doing here!"

"Then what are we here for?!"

Then, Iverson caught his deep breath before reminding her about her purpose.

"Like I said, the Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next elite astroexplorers. Nothing's changed."

Jenny misinterpreted the situation and thought he'd deserted them.

"Then I've wasted a whole year for nothing."

Jenny began to walk out of the office as the sergeant barked at her.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm getting nowhere with you in finding my sis. I'm not gonna leave the Garrison, but from now on, I'm going to find them by myself."

"You're choosing the impossible."

"Watch me."

Then, she walked out the door with an angry look on her face.

As she walked in the hall, Jenny couldn't get over how she'd been used to help in something that had nothing to do with her sister. What was even the point anyhow? As she reflected on a waste of her year, Lance tried to talk to her.

"Hey, Jenny. You feeling alright?"

Jenny didn't even bother hiding her anger as she responded in sarcasm.

"Yeah. Just great."

Then, she heard a cocky voice behind him.

"Well, if that's true, why have you been going to his office for a whole year, then?"

That voice belonged to none other than Zach Brierty. He was a cadet who's top of the class, using his status to get his way all the time. Not only did Jenny resent him, she wanted him gone. And for good reason. Zach was one of the bullies who'd forced Kumiko to take an overdose that ended her. Since then, she's always wanted to kill him back. But the only reason she hadn't was because he was friends with Lance. But today, Lance was not in the mood to see him.

"Come on, Zach. Now's not the time."

"Really? Because I think now's the perfect time."

Zach placed his hand by Jenny's head on the wall as he spoke to her.

"If you're such a perfect little girl, why have you been going to Iverson's office 24/7, huh?"

"You know why. It's for therapy."

"I don't believe a word you say. Tell me what you're really doing."

Lance got the sense he was being threatening and tried to reason with him.

"You have your answer, Zach. Now knock it off."

"Oh, yeah? Well, what kind of therapy are you taking, huh?"

Then, Zach took notice of a notebook sticking out of her backpack. One way or another, he's gonna get his answers. So, he took the book, much to Lance and Jenny's surprise.

"Hey!"

"That's my book! Give it back, you jerk!"

"Or what? You'll tell Iverson? It's my word against yours. Besides, what's in that book that's so important, huh?"

"My grandpop gave it to me. That's all you need to know."

"Well, we both know that's a lie."

Then, Zach began sifting through the pages and began laughing his head off.

"I get it now. You bring a dream journal with you to class every day. Is that it?"

"Give it back!"

"Well, why don't you make me?"

Meanwhile, Lance is beginning to understand why Jenny hated him.

"Oh, wait. You can't."

"I said give it back!"

"Then tell me what you do in Iverson's office."

"That has nothing to do with you!"

"Neither does your journal."

Then, he gripped a paper from her journal and prepared to rip it out. Upon seeing him potentially ready to tear up the one part that keeps her happy despite her luck, Jenny got to her knees in desperation.

"No! Don't tear it up! Please!"

"Then tell me what you do in his office."

That was the last straw for Lance before he sucker punched Zach in the gut and got the journal back.

"She doesn't have to do anything for you."

Jenny stood in shock as Lance glared at his friend. She wondered what it meant. Had he finally seen Zach for the bully that he is?

"Come on, Lance. I was doing a joke."

"That was not a joke. You were hurting her!"

"Well, guess what? Being hurt builds character."

"Then you won't mind if I do this!"

Lance did a punch to his face next, knocking his teeth out as the crowd of students watched in surprise. Apparently, that one punch was enough to bruise him and knock out three of his teeth. As Zach noticed this and growled at him, Jenny stood up in surprise.

"If that's what you think, then we're not friends anymore."

Zach was surprised to hear him say that after what they'd been through together.

"What? You're taking her side over mine?"

"So what if she's got a dream journal? I respect that about her because she is a person who does her own things and minds her own business. But you don't. You're just a kid, Zach. Look around you. Everyone else here has grown up. If you can't deal with it, that's too bad, but don't you dare take it out on Jenny."

Then, the group of students stood by Jenny and Lance as she looked at their support. Maybe they've suffered under him, too. Whatever the reason, they're all against him now. The fact that it took place made Zach glare at Jenny before he stormed off.

"This isn't over."

Pidge and Hunk arrived in time to see Zach storm off and see the group of students stand by Lance and Jenny. In the process, they also noticed the tears on Jenny's face before she checked on her.

"Jenny!"

"Oh, my gosh. Are you alright? What happened?"

Lance explained the situation to them.

"Zach hurt Jenny. But he's not gonna hurt anyone anymore. And if he does, I'll make him regret that."

Then, Jenny leaned on him in gratefulness before she commenced the waterworks.

"Why did you let him do this to me before now?"

Lance wrapped his arms around Jenny as he spoke to her.

"I've made a mistake having him as a friend, Jenny. But I can assure you it'll never happen again."

Later, Jenny got back into her casual clothing, her navy blue long sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans before she got on the laptop, chatting with the girl in glasses who nodded to her earlier. There, Jenny told her about Zach's attack on her and Lance's involvement.

"What? He just sucker-punched the guy?"

"Yeah, Riz. He hurt me real bad, so Lance hurt him back. It's strange, though. The whole year I've ignored him and today... I've never felt so weak. If Lance hadn't stepped in, my life would've been over."

"Uh, that journal of yours isn't your whole life."

"I know. But... it's an important part of it. I owe Lance so much for saving it..."

This wasn't the first time Lance had helped her either. When Jenny joined the Garrison, she got acquainted with Hunk and Lance quickly. As cocky as he seemed, Lance was actually a great boy with a heart. Jenny saw through it when she was invited over to his house. The night she spent with him and his younger sister sealed it for her. After reminiscing of her fond memory, she went to another topic.

"So, how'd your simulation go, Rizavi? Pretty hectic?"

"Nah. It was a breeze, actually. I actually got the same record as the kid who left."

"Oh, yeah. What was his name again?"

"Why don't you just ask Iverson?"

"And skimp out on girl talk? No thanks."

"Fine. His name was Keith. Rumor has it that Sandra, or Sandy as I like to call her, meets up with him roaming the outlands sometimes. Then, they catch up."

"That sounds really interesting, Riz. Maybe I could ship these two."

That made Rizavi widen her eyes in shock.

"What? Her, with him?"

"I don't see why not. They are pretty intense together."

"Y-You don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever."

Just then, Jenny heard Iverson speaking out.

"Lights out in five! Everybody back to their dorms, now."

All the while, she also noticed Lance and Hunk "sneaking".

"I'll have to talk to you later, Riz. I've just found myself some perps to catch."

"Yeah. I have to go, too. And hey, good luck catching those perps."

Lance and Hunk were against the walls, ducking under the windows as they had a conversation.

"We shouldn't be doing this."

"You heard Commander Iverson. We need to bond as a team. We're going to grab Jenny and Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls-"

Just then, Jenny's voice spoke to him.

"So you can rub it in my face? You must be begging for another slap on yours."

That made Lance panic before Jenny covered his mouth.

"Shh. Keep it down, will you? I'm already in enough trouble just by being around you."

Hunk voiced his opinion just as the lights switched off.

"Okay, I'm just- I'm just saying this here, right now, on the record. This is a bad idea."

"So? When has the fact actually stopped you guys?"

"Yeah, Hunk. For someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure."

"That's definitely saying something. Because I actually don't have any to spare."

Lance found Jenny's statement to be odd, but used that moment to flirt with her.

"I guess mine must have rubbed off on you."

Jenny noticed this and smiled smugly at him.

"You wish."

"That's because all of your little adventures end up with me in the principle's office."

Jenny urged everyone to shush before Lance took a look and made sure they weren't followed. Then, they crawled below the window labeled "Instructor's Lounge", much to Hunk's worry.

"Oh, man."

Later, they saw a guard coming through the hall, forcing Jenny and Lance to go in the blue receptacle whilst Hunk took the yellow one, barely able to squeeze into it. Then, the guard passed the receptacles.

"L-5 north all clear."

When he had left, Lance leaped out first with Jenny just standing up out of it.

"You know, this wasn't exactly a gym."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I'm just flexible like that."

Then, Hunk popped up with difficulty and fell down, only for Jenny to catch it and set it down gently before pulling Hunk out of it.

"You okay, big guy?"

"I'm fine."

Just then, they noticed door A-35 opening and his behind the walls. When they looked, they noticed Pidge walking out and running out with his backpack. Lance and Jenny grew curious as to why at the moment.

"Where is he going?"

"I'd like to know that, too."

With that, they followed Pidge to the rooftop, where he was listening in on radio chatter. Just then, Lance removed one earphone and spoke in his ear.

"You come up here to rock out?"

That made Pidge gasp in surprise and saw Lance, Hunk, and Jenny behind him.

"Oh, Lance, Hunk, Jenny. No, um, just looking at the stars."

Jenny knew that with his equipment, there is always more to the story and acted like she was in a noir mystery movie before Lance chimed in and Pidge conceded eventually.

"Listen here, you 8-bit gentleman. That's a 2-bit story, and I'm not buying it, see?"

"Where'd you get this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech."

"I built it."

"You built all of this?"

Hunk was about to press a button on the laptop when Pidge slapped it away.

"Stop it!"

Jenny became curious about Pidge's work as she blinked her eyes.

"What for? The tech, I mean."

"With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system."

Jenny had an idea and tried to be as sensitive as she could.

"You mean to Kerberos?"

However, that didn't work and got Pidge fumed.

"Sorry. Don't get me wrong, I get it. I lost my sis at the Kerberos Mission. How do you think I've been able to cope with this?"

Lance found her outburst at the simulation to be the opposite of that.

"As if. You went kinda crazy at the simulation earlier today."

"That's just it. I haven't coped yet. And I don't know if I ever will."

Lance began to feel bad for her as he pieced the puzzle together.

"That's the reason why you've joined the garrison, isn't it? So you could get her back?"

As Jenny nodded, Lance sat down beside her and set his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. I'm sorry I ever brought you into that simulator. If I had known that her face was what you'd be seeing, I wouldn't have brought you along."

However, Jenny just smiled at this as she turned to Lance.

"Hey, take it easy. This isn't about me. This is about Pidge. Speaking of, I see you get tense about it every time the Commander brings it up. What's going on with that?"

Hunk was about to touch it, but Pidge caught on and told him off.

"Second warning, Hunk!"

Hunk groaned as Lance made a point.

"Look, Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets."

Jenny found herself in agreement before she spoke to him.

"As much as I'd like to slap him on the face, he's right. What are you looking for?"

"Fine. The world as you know it is about to change."

"How so?"

"The last crew on the Kerberos Mission was lost, but we don't know how, right?"

"Yeah, according to..."

Just then, Jenny saw Hunk's hand and slapped it like a bullet.

"OWWWWW!"

"What did he say, Hunk? Geez. Anyway, what did you find?"

"I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter."

That caught Hunk and Jenny's attention while Lance just brushed it off as insanity.

"Whoa, what? Aliens?"

"I knew it!"

"Okay. So, you're insane. Got it."

Jenny cleared her throat before digging through her backpack as she explained.

"Pidge is actually onto something. My grandpop told me our family had an ancestor that provided enlightenment for our race."

She finally found her journal and showed Lance a drawing of a blue lion with the word Voltron below it.

"And, on top of that, there's also this. Our ancestor knew that kind of lion was a key to Voltron, whatever that is."

"Now that you mention it, they did keep repeating one word, 'Voltron.' And tonight, it's going crazier than I've ever heard it."

"How crazy?"

Jenny knew the answer to that.

"Too crazy to be a coincidence, I'll tell you that."

Just then, Iverson spoke through the speakers throughout the building.

"Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice."

That proved Jenny's point.

"See? Even Iverson got spooked. Coincidence? I think not!"

"What's going on? Is that a meteor? A very, very big meteor?"

When Pidge looked through the goggles, he saw a ship crashing down toward them.

"It's a ship."

Lance took the goggles and saw for himself.

"Holy crow! I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's not one of ours."

Jenny and Pidge knew the reason why.

"That's because it isn't from Earth."

"It's one of theirs."

"So, wait. There really are aliens out there?"

"Yeah. Hopefully, the good ones."

With that, the alien ship crashed. Following this, the vehicles of the Galaxy Garrison mobilized toward it. All the while, Pidge, Jenny, and Hunk grew excited about it.

"We've got to see that ship!"

"Sure, I'm game!"

"Hunk, come on!"

However, Hunk wasn't quite as ecstatic.

"Oh, this is the worst team-building exercise ever."

Later, Jenny and the others were watching far away in the mountain keeping surveillance on the recent activity as Lance spoke in surprise while Jenny casually responded.

"Whoa! What the heck is that thing?"

"Uh, it's an alien ship. Didn't we establish that already?"

Lance got miffed about it, but decided to let it slide.

"You're lucky you're so beautiful."

That made Jenny's face beet red before she tried to hide it.

"Whatever."

Then, she looked through the goggles and saw guards at every exit and entrance.

"No such luck. We obviously can't just waltz in. How are we supposed to take a look now?"

Hunk took that as a cue to leave.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?"

That caused Jenny to clutch onto Hunk's shirt and glare at him.

"We're not leaving. If there's a chance these aliens know where my sis is, I'm not going to just walk away, not until I know where she is. Got it?"

That earned a frightened look from Hunk as well as a surprised one from Lance and Pidge. As Jenny released Hunk, she felt like they were suspicious.

"What are you looking at?"

Lance pointed out the obvious fact, although he hesitated at first.

"Uh... Looks like Pidge isn't the only one who has a hangup."

That earned a scornful look from Jenny, as angry as she got.

"Yeah? Well, what would you do if Veronica was lost in space and you have an opportunity just waiting for you to take it, huh?"

"Whoa. That is just cold."

Jenny realized her mistake and felt bad about it.

"I know. Sorry, guys. I just really want her back."

Just then, Pidge found surveillance footage and pulled it up.

"Wait. They set up a camera in there and I grabbed its feed. Look!"

On one side of the room was Iverson and the others surrounding Shiro while another group swarmed in around Lapis, who was strapped to the bed. Not that she'd noticed as she was unconscious.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Calm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you two quarantined until we run some tests."

"You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!"

Lance recognized who was speaking to them.

"That's Shiro! The pilot of the Kerberos Mission! That guy's my hero!"

"That means... he should know where my sis is!"

"Guess he's not dead in space, after all."

"Where's the rest of the crew?"

Jenny then noticed a purple catlike alien being beside him as she spoke.

"More importantly, who is that with them? She doesn't really belong on Earth, does she?"

"Wait. How do you know it's a she?"

"Well, did you see its chest? It's similar to mine."

That caused Lance to blush like wildfire.

"Okay. Forget I said that."

As they pondered this, Iverson began asking Shiro some questions.

"Do you know how long you've been gone?"

"I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron."

That caught Jenny's attention. "Did he just say Voltron?"

Meanwhile, one of the scientists analyzed Shiro's arm.

"Sir, take a look at this. It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."

Iverson felt it to be dangerous if it's unknown.

"Put him under until we know what that thing can do."

"No, no, no, no, don't put me under! No! There's no time!"

Jenny grew heartbroken to see this as the group watched.

"They didn't ask about the rest of the crew."

Jenny clenched her fist in anger.

"Or my sis..."

"What are they doing? The guy's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?"

With that, Jenny smashed her fist on the mountain, shocking the others.

"That settles it! We're getting him and whoever was with him out and getting some answers."

However, Hunk didn't feel it best before Jenny corrected him.

"I hate to be the voice of reason here, always..."

"No, you don't."

"...but weren't we just watching on TV, because there was no way to get past the guards?"

Taking her feelings in account, Lance sided with her.

"That was before Jenny smashed the mountain, Hunk. This isn't just some adventure anymore. This has gotten too personal for her to just walk away. She needs this. So, would you rather help out a friend? Or would you rather have an angry woman hounding you all day because you never bothered to help?"

Jenny heard the words coming out of Lance's mouth and grew surprised.

"Lance..."

"We're not gonna give up on finding her, Jen. I promise."

As Lance cupped Jenny's cheek, she blushed and hugged him.

"Thanks, Lance."

As Lance hugged her back, he suddenly saw a familiar face down below where the ship was as she arrived in her vehicle.

"Hey. Who's that?"

Jenny looked behind her to see a woman with short black hair as well.

"Is that... Sandy?"

Then, she pushed a button on her remote, causing an explosive chain reaction just outside the area, causing the Garrison to swarm towards it. Then, Sandra signaled for a stranger to move forward and come to the rescue. His identity was unknown due to his red bandana over his mouth.

"Of course. Sandy was distracting them so they can get in. But... what are they doing here? And who's that with her?"

However, that didn't stop Lance from recognizing using him.

"No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!"

Jenny had a feeling about who it was

"Let me guess, Keith?"

"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!"

Then, Lance took off like a rocket, leaving Jenny, Hunk, and Pidge behind before they ran toward him.

"Who's Keith?"

"It's kinda a long story."

Meanwhile, Keith and Sandra walked in to see the scientists analyzing Lapis and Shiro.

"These readings are off the chart."

Then, Sandra spoke to them.

"Let them go, now."

However, they chose not to and went after them.

"Hey!"

When one of them tried to catch Keith, Sandra only tripped him before grabbing his leg and tossing him into the wall. Next, Keith sucker punched the other towards the other side. Then, Keith and Sandra punched the third one to the bed, knocking him out as he fell to the floor. Then, they smiled at each other before looking at the patients. Keith noticed one in particular that was familiar.

"Shiro?"

Then, Sandra saw the other patient, Lapis, and had a plan.

"I'll get Shiro. You can take care of whatever this is."

Keith nodded in agreement as Sandra got out her blade and slashed through the rope. Keith removed his bandanna and took a look at Lapis as she moaned.

"It's a girl."

Then, Keith got out his blade and did the same. With that, Sandra held Shiro by his arm while Keith held Lapis bridal style. When she stirred awake, she saw Keith looking at her.

"W-Who... are you? Do you... know Shiro?"

"Of course. We're his friends. My name's Keith."

"I'm Lapis. It's great to meet you."

Then, Keith looked to Sandra who smirked at him while Shiro came to. Just then, Lance shouted out at them.

"Nope. No, you- No. No, no, no, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro."

Then, just as he was about to get Shiro, she noticed Sandra holding onto him.

"Uh, I mean we! We're saving Shiro."

Keith wondered who he was as he put his other arm under his head.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance."

Keith just blankly stared at him.

"Do I know you? Are you an engineer?"

Sandra blinked her eyes in confusion at how he couldn't recognize him.

"Uh, you two know each other. You were in the same class as the Garrison. Remember?"

"Oh, wait, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."

"Was. Thanks to your dropping out, he's fighter class material."

"Well, congratulations."

Jenny tried to understand the situation.

"Uh, Sandy. Can you please tell me what's going on here?"

Then, Sandra, Lance, and Keith began walking out of the tent.

"We'll explain later. We have to go."

Outside, Hunk saw through the goggles and saw the Garrison coming back.

"Oh, man. They're coming back and they do not look happy. We've got to go."

As Hunk and Pidge ran after them, Sandra set Shiro on her vehicle while Keith set Lapis just behind her as Hunk, Jenny, and Lance went on his vehicle and Pidge vied to go with her. However, when Hunk sat down, the back end tipped over, worrying Lapis as she wrapped her hands on his chest.

"Is that going to work?"

"No. But we'll have to make due."

As the Garrison drew closer, Keith shouted to the others behind him.

"You might want to hold on!"

"What?!"

"What are you-?"

"Holding!"

With that, Sandra turned to Pidge and gave him the similar warning.

"You better hang on tight, Pidge."

Pidge agreed as he wrapped his hands around Shiro as he was behind her and in front of Pidge. Then, Keith and Sandra revved the engine before they took off with their stowaways. As they drove off, Lapis found herself to be enjoying this while Pidge complained about his hands wrapped around Shiro.

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Why am I holding this guy?"

"So he doesn't abandon ship. Now quit complaining."

When he noticed them, Lance grew worried.

"Can't this thing go any faster?"

"We could toss out some non-essential weight."

That angered Jenny to no end.

"And leave Lance out there?! Man, you are cold!"

Keith knew Hunk would be useful in this case.

"Big man, lean left!"

Fortunately, Hunk got the message and did just that, swerving the vehicle to that side while Sandra did the same. In the process, they juked two vehicles behind them, causing them to crash and land upside down.

"Aw, man! Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! No, no. He's fine."

Then, Keith gave another command as they got closer.

"Big man, lean right!"

When he did, they ended up jumping onto the other cliffside, causing one of the two vehicles to crash upon landing while the remaining vehicle continued pursuit. Then, Iverson spoke through speakerphone on the vehicle.

"Just what do you nimrods think you're doing?!"

Jenny spoke back to him.

"Just doing my duty, sir!"

Then, Sandra sped up toward something. Hunk knew where she was headed.

"Guys? A-tut-tut-tut-tut! Is that a cliff up ahead?"

Lance noticed that too and started to panic.

"Oh, no, no, no!"

However, Jenny was getting excited while Keith smiled. Lapis, however, showed some concern.

"Go faster, go faster, go faster!"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yep."

Then, the both of them sped up and ended up falling off of the cliff as they screamed and/or shouted in excitement. Lance was getting scared straight at this point.

"What are you doing? You're going to kill us all!"

Jenny knew that wasn't his plan as she smiled.

"C'mon, Lance! Where's your sense of adventure?!"

"Touché!"

Then, Lapis got curious.

"You know how to solve this, right?"

Keith only smiled as he pulled the engine back and caused the vehicle to pull up at the last second as Sandra did the same and the two vehicles continued on through the desert while Iverson only watched where he had stopped, just at the edge of the cliff.

The next day, Keith was walking towards Shiro, who stared at his prosthetic arm before he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

"So, what happened out there? Where were you?"

"I wish I could tell you. My head's still pretty scrambled. I was on an alien ship, but somehow I escaped. It's all a blur."

Then, this brought something else to mind.

"How did you know to come save me when I crashed?"

"You should come see this."

Inside Keith's shack, Jenny was sleeping beside Lance, much to his comfort. After everything that's happened to her, he could tell she needed it. Just then, Keith and Shiro walked in, the former removing the cloth from the board to reveal detailed images with lines that show their connections in the scheme of things. That caused Jenny to stir awake. As she tried to ask about the board, Jenny was too drowsy to speak right, drawling as the words came out of her mouth.

"Wha...? What's that?"

"I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn to this place. I talked to Sandra about it and asked her for help."

Jenny smiled about what she thought it meant.

"I see. You two got it really bad for each other, don't you?"

"What? No. We were just-"

"Keith is actually my brother."

Hearing this, Jenny's eyes grew wide as they blinked. "Huh. Rizavi was right. I didn't know what I was talking about. But, now that I think about it, it does make sense."

"Anyway, it's like something... some energy was telling us to search."

"For what?"

"Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area."

As he explained, Keith pointed at the map saying, "energy source".

"It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night. Then you showed up."

Seeing this, Jenny didn't hesitate to get out the journal and show a certain page.

"You mean like this?"

Keith was surprised to see it in her journal.

"Well, yeah. How did you have this?"

"Well, my grandpop actually told me about this. Said that my ancestor rode this lion with its Paladin to get here. While he was guarding it, he got married and told her and his descendants about its purpose. But... even when he shared his life with them, he was still... sad. Incomplete, even. As if he wanted it all back."

Shiro placed his hand on Jenny's shoulder, causing her to look toward him.

"Well, your ancestor must have been through a lot. That's gotta be where his family came in. Any time he must've been down, they were there to help him up."

"Yeah. But it didn't make me feel any better, though. To know that he died so sad... that's just heartbreaking."

"I don't think he died that way. I think he died proud, knowing someday, his descendants will carry on whatever he started. That they'll pick up where he'd left off. Does that make sense?"

Jenny took every word of what he'd been told into account and smiled before nodding.

"I should thank you all for getting me out. Jenny, right?"

As Shiro extended his hand to her, Jenny looked at his prosthetic arm and felt a bit tense before clutching onto it and shaking it gently, afraid that it might come off. Then, Jenny turned to Lance and helped him shake his hand, getting used to the arm herself.

"His name's Lance. He calls himself the 'tailor.'"

Then, as Jenny giggled at that, Pidge spoke up.

"The nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge. So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?"

"I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces."

Jenny was focused on one particular member of the crew.

"But what about Belle? Did she make it out?"

Shiro only shook his head.

"I don't know..."

Jenny hung her head down in sadness.

"Oh. I'm sorry to bother you."

Lance, however, knew that despite her words, her looks said otherwise. He placed his arm around her and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, Jen. He probably doesn't remember. It'll just take a while. I promise you, Belle's still alive."

Jenny responded back to him in a deadpan voice.

"How do you know?"

Lance, caught off guard as he was, gave an honest answer.

"I just... have this feeling. I honestly don't know, but... we're not gonna give up. That's what I do know."

Jenny looked up to him and planted a small kiss on his cheek, causing him to get confused.

"Huh? What was that for?"

"For being so sweet. Honestly, I like you better this way."

Lance blushed before Hunk spoke up.

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for us? Like, where are they at this very moment?"

Lapis filled in for him. "First off, they're known as Galra. Secondly, yes, no, and they're about five kilometers from here with the time that's passed." That caught Keith's attention.

"It's because you're one of them, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it was more or less a curse than a blessing. I was born a prisoner. Over time, I sometimes had dinner with Sendak. He took me in when my parents were killed by him. Other than that, I wasn't allowed to leave. I was alone until a year ago. Right when Shiro arrived."

That made Jenny's heart skip a beat.

"Wait! What about my sis? Do you know where she is?"

Despite it being so sudden, she answered just as efficiently.

"Yeah, actually. Last I saw, she's still on the ship."

Jenny did a fist pump in response.

"Alright!"

Despite this, Shiro tried to remember more than that, but couldn't.

"If you're asking me, I can't really put it together. I remember the word 'Voltron.'"

"Just like from my journal."

"Yeah. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do."

That gave Jenny an idea.

"Of course. That must've been where my ancestor came from: space! It all makes so much sense now!"

"Great. But how are we supposed to find it?"

"Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and I found this picture. Look, it's his girlfriend."

However, Pidge wasn't very pleased with that and snatched it.

"Hey, give me that! What were you doing in my stuff?"

"I was looking for a candy bar. But, then, I started reading his diary."

That made Jenny slap Hunk on the face again.

"Ow!"

"Remind me not to keep my stuff anywhere near you."

Then, she held her pack close to her before speaking.

"Anyway?"

"Anyway, I noticed the repeating series of numbers the Galra are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line."

Keith and Lapis grew confused at the mention of this.

"Frown who?"

"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron Geiger counter."

Immediately, Lance and Jenny grew impressed simultaneously.

"Hunk, you big, gassy genius!"

"It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this."

Then, Sandra saw the connection and snatched the paper showing the wavelength.

"Hold on a sec."

Then, she lined it with the mountain on the picture, showing that the wave and the tops of the mountain align with each other.

Later on, Keith, Shiro, Lance, Jenny, Sandra, Pidge, Hunk, and Lapis were out in the front of the mountain from the picture.

"Okay, I admit it. This is super freaky."

"I told you so."

As they walked, Hunk led the way searching for the energy via Geiger Counter while Pidge scanned the area with the satellite tracker.

"I'm getting a reading."

With Hunk leading the way, Pidge, Shiro, Sandra, Jenny, Keith, Lance, and Lapis followed them as they got closer to the source, identified by an intensified beeping. When they got there, they saw a cave. Jenny felt it to be a bit clichéd.

"Of course. It's always a cave."

As they looked around, Jenny tried her hardest to resist the temptation of taking photos of the drawings as Shiro asked Keith.

"What are these?"

"These are the lion carvings I was telling you about. They're everywhere around here."

Lapis knew the reason.

"Maybe they're for a good reason. Like, what if they're trying to lead us to the lion in your journal, Jenny?"

"If that happens to be the case, I get first dibs."

Lance, however, felt it was a bit premature.

"Maybe you have too much of a sense of adventure."

Jenny giggled as she and Lance brushed the dust away from one of the drawings, coincidentally touching each other's hands, and causing them to blush before they looked away from each other smiling. Suddenly, the drawings themselves began to glow blue, causing Jenny and Lance.

"Whoa. Whoa!"

"Lance did it!"

"What?"

"Do you know what's going on, Keith?"

"No. They've never done that before."

"Uh, try not to look down while you're at it, but..."

Suddenly, a blue hole opened up below them and broke apart. As they fell, Pidge rode on Hunk, pulling his hair as they screamed. Meanwhile, Jenny and Lance were holding their hands as they slid across the water while Sandra was riding the water on her feet. As for Keith, Lapis, and Shiro, they were riding the water individually. Just as Lance and Jenny landed on their rumps, Keith, Lapis, and Shiro landed next before Pidge and Hunk landed with a big splash, followed by Sandra who leaped from where the edge was and landed on the water, making a small splash. When they got up, Jenny was still pumped up from the sudden water slide.

"Let's go again!"

However, it was put on hold as she noticed that she was holding Lance's hand again, causing them to blush again before they noticed the Blue Lion in Jenny's journal surrounded by a blue barrier.

"They are everywhere."

"Is this it, Jenny? Is this the Voltron?"

"Nope. According to grandpop, it's one/fifth of him."

"One/fifth? What do you mean? Looks like it's in one piece to me."

"This is what's been causing all of this crazy energy out here."

Jenny scoffed as she walked up to the barrier while Lance walked beside her.

"The force field's here to keep intruders out. So, how we're gonna convince it to open up, I don't know."

"Maybe you just have to knock."

"Eh. Couldn't hurt."

With that, Jenny and Lance knocked simultaneously on the barrier before the barrier disappeared and the markings below the lion glowed. As it did, Jenny and Lance were receiving a vision of the five lions merging together to form a giant robot who brought up a sword etched in fire before slashing it to demonstrate its power. After seeing the vision, Jenny and Lance, along with the others, grew very surprised.

"Whoa."

"Uh, did everyone just see that?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa. Talk about an overload."

"Voltron is a robot! Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!"

"And this thing is only one part of it! I wonder where the rest of them are."

"Like I said, I told you so."

"This is what they're looking for."

"Incredible."

As they looked at it, Lance had an uneasy feeling.

"Hey, does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?"

"Now that you mention it, it's hard to tell. I can't tell which one of us it's staring at."

As if to answer, the blue lion lowered its head to Lance and Jenny before opening its mouth. After a moment, Lance chuckled as he ran into it, much to Jenny's behest.

"H-Hey! I called dibs!"

"Since when?"

"Since we got into this cave, dummy!"

When they got in the cockpit, Jenny ran into the chair, beating Lance to it.

"Aw, man!"

As Jenny made a face, the chair suddenly pulled her towards the front as it turned on. As it showed the visuals, the group was in awe as they walked in as well.

"All right! Very nice!"

"This feels so weird... and yet, so awesome!"

"Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, you know, aware. We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now."

Jenny was frankly not very happy with Hunk's implication.

"Way to kill the mood, Hunk."

Just then, Jenny and Lance felt a connection to the blue lion as it purred and everything else around them disappeared as they saw a blue outline of the space they occupied.

"Whoa. Did you guys just hear that?"

Keith grew confused at the question As he didn't hear anything.

"Hear what?"

"That deep growl. You didn't hear that?"

"Wait. You heard that, too?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I think it might be talking to us."

"Gee, you think?"

Lapis grew curious.

"Well, if it is talking to you guys, what would it be trying to say?"

Lance closed his eyes as he tried to listen to the lion once it purred again. Once it was finished, he opened his eyes.

"Okay. It's saying that we should go back home."

This made Jenny angry as she spoke.

"What? It's telling you to give up?!"

"Nope. Just that I should go home."

This made Jenny confused as she blinked her eyes and spoke softly.

"Okay."

Seeing her reaction, Sandra grew curious.

"That's weird. With your temper, you'd swing your fist at the lion, like Lance did with Zach."

"Well, normally, I would. But it's different. Somehow, it is different."

Lance spoke in agreement as he chimed in.

"She's right. It showed me some sort of castle. On an alien planet. Just like the one on Jenny's journal."

This made Keith look at her in annoyance.

"Your journal? Again?"

"When you've listened to the number of stories I have, you'd know I'd have a book full of them. And you do."

Lance blinked his eyes in confusion and wanted to know about anything else in advance.

"Okay. Well, anything else we should know about on your journal?"

"Well, there's someone named Allura at the castle. She's really beautiful, by the way."

That made Lance excited.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's take you home!" Then, as Lance inputted a few buttons, the blue lion got up, and roared, surprising the present group.

"Whoa. That was... powerful."

Then, Lance reached for the two bars in front of him.

"Okay. Let's see what this puppy can do."

Then, he thrusted them forward, causing the lion to emerge from a canyon and into the air before it produced Blue fire from its legs to act as a sort of jetpack. The lion hovered above the ground before it took off for the air, while Lapis, Shiro, Sandra, Keith, and Jenny clutched onto areas of the lion to keep from falling while Pidge and Hunk screamed. As for Jenny, she was keeping her eyes on what's in front of her as she smiled. However, Keith wasn't too pleased about his speed.

"You are... the worst... pilot... ever!"

"Hey, give him a break, will ya?! This is his first time flying a lion!"

Suddenly, the lion began to speed along faster toward the ground as if it was a fighter jet, earning Lance, Pidge, and Hunk's screams as Lance began to panic a bit.

"That's not me, guys. That's not me!"

Far away, Iverson saw the blue lion flying in front of them.

"What in the Sam Hill is that?"

His private looked through the goggles and determined its appearance.

"It appears to be a flying blue lion, sir."

In confusion, the private scratched his head.

Back at the lion, as it tread the ground with its paws, Jenny was getting used to it as she took a deep breath.

"Phew. Okay, I'm getting the hang of this."

Hunk, however, was beginning to get sick, again.

"Make it stop. Make it stop."

"I can't. This lion's got a mind of its own. Literally!"

To further prove her point, the lion propelled itself into the air again.

"Where are you going?"

"I told you! I'm not the one controlling it!"

Just then, Lance heard the purr again, making Jenny curious.

"Hold up. It says there's a Galra ship approaching Earth. I think we need to stop it."

"What did it say, exactly?"

"Well, it didn't really say anything, so much as feed images in our heads. This is how these lions communicate."

Hunk wanted to just go home and wanted to do anything to get out of this.

"Well, if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, like I don't know, give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone. Sorry, lion. Nothing personal."

Jenny glared at Hunk for suggesting it, as she clearly didn't want to let the lion go.

"No way! They can have their own lion; We're not giving blue up just like that!"

Hunk felt she's getting too attached too fast.

"Now you're naming it?"

Lapis couldn't agree more, but for her own reason.

"It's not that simple. We might've been that agreeable a long time ago, but this is different. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead. Do you really want that?"

Hunk immediately began to regret suggesting this idea.

"Oh. Never mind then."

Just then, Jenny felt another connection up from the Galra ship and heard Kaecilius' voice.

"So... the blue lion is activated. Agent Kren, I trust you'll manage its capture?"

Then, the figure walked towards Kaecilius in the similar armor as Zarkon, only with glowing purple lights on her chest and looked exactly like... Belle.

"Yes, master."

Jenny couldn't believe what she'd witnessed as she snapped out of it and found themselves in front of the ship.

"Sis...?"

Then, she took notice of the warship in front of them.

"Sis! She's in there!"

"How do you know that?!"

"I saw her! Blue showed me!"

Then, she didn't hesitate to dart the lion towards the deck, causing Kaecilius to act by extending his hand out to it, causing it to be knocked away, as if it was a force field. Shiro could see what Jenny saw as well now as he snarled.

"Kaecilius..."

Lapis grew worried at the mere mention of it.

"He's here?!"

In the ship, Kaecilius turned to another soldier, one who had sharp claws, black armor with glowing red streaks, purple skin and ears, and yellow sclera with grey eyes who goes by the name of Varek, and gave him an order.

"Varek, shoot around the ship. Capturing that lion is your first and only priority."

"Yes. All cannons, fire near the lion, but don't hit it!"

Then, the ships fired near the blue lion in a barrage.

"We've got to get it out of here!"

"No! I'm not leaving my sis! Not now, not ever!"

Then, Jenny took over and thrusted the bars to evade the bullets as she focused on the main deck, scaring Lance as she aggressively took his place. Pidge was getting worried about her recklessness.

"Be careful, Jenny! This isn't a simulator!

"Good! That means I will save my sis!"

Then, in a fit of rage, Jenny thrusted one bar down, causing it to activate its energy cannon and caused great damage to it as it left an explosion. Then, Jenny controlled the lion to scrape the ship by its side to disable the cannons. Then, Jenny made a break for the deck again, growing more determined by the second. Lance was beginning to get concerned for her as she spiraled down to madness.

"Jenny, you have to stop this! You're not the only one in this thing!"

"So what?! I'm not gonna let that stop me from getting Belle back!"

Lance began to clutch onto Jenny's shoulder roughly as he tried to snap her out of it.

"Listen to me! Even if you're right about your sister being in there, odds are, we'll never be able to save her if we end up destroyed!"

Jenny stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. Even in this circumstance, she didn't want to think about a moment more without her sister. But if he's right, the retreat is the best option. Then, she thrusted the bars forward, jerking the lion toward the deck, much to the panic of her present crew. As it drew closer to the deck, Kaecilius prepared a dark purple and black light from his hand, only for Jenny to thrust the bars upward, causing it to fly just above the ship, catching Kaecilius by surprise.

"Psyche!"

"What?"

Then, the lion flew over the whole Galra warship, away from Earth. As the lion ran away from the warship, Hazar only smirked.

"Do you really think you can escape me?"

Then, the whole ship turned around and speeded after the Blue Lion, much to Hunk and Pidge's horror.

"Oh, no!"

"They're gaining on us!"

Lance and Jenny, however, saw the good part of the current events.

"It's weird. They're not trying to shoot us. They're just chasing."

"Good. That means they'll leave Earth alone."

"Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good? I am not on board with this new direction, guys."

As they traveled, Keith noticed they were far away from home.

"Where are we?"

From looking out, Jenny knew where they were.

"Kerberos... that means we're at the edge of our solar system."

"It takes months for our ships to get out this far. We got out here in five seconds."

Suddenly, a portal opened up in front of them.

"What the huh?"

"What is that?"

Lance knew only what he was told.

"Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there."

"Where does it go?"

Jenny then began to remember what it told Lance as she widened her eyes, also remembering how slim the opportunity to see Belle again would be.

"Home... but, my sis. I... I don't know what to do."

Shiro placed his hand on Jenny's shoulder to get her attention.

"Whatever's happening, the lion knows more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together."

Then, everyone looked to Jenny for her decision. That made it clear that she's not the only person here, and that her goal wasn't wise at the moment. As Jenny held onto the bars, she hung her head down as she tried to hold back her tears, catching Lance's attention.

"I'm so sorry, sis. Please wait for me, okay?"

Then, she nodded to Lance before he thrusted the lion towards the portal, entering it just in time before it disappeared, much to Hazar's disappointment.

"Curses. No matter. I know very well where they're going. They can go as far as they like, it won't matter."

Then, Kaecilius turned to Kren, who exhibited a confused look on her face.

"Whatever's the matter with you?"

"Sorry, master. I... I thought I saw someone familiar... But I don't know who quite yet."

"Hmm. I believe it best not to dwell on it. The important thing is that soon, Voltron will be ours."

Moments later, the blue lion appeared out of nowhere near a planet similar to Earth. When the crew looked, they were surprised.

"Whoa. That was..."

"The hardest decision I've ever had to do."

Lance could tell her decision is breaking her heart apart, so he tried to fix it, even if he had to cut himself to do it.

"Listen, Jenny. I'm sorry you had to let go of your sis."

Hunk was feeling sick, but for once, he had to put it aside for Jenny's sake.

"Yeah. We all are."

Jenny smiled sadly at Hunk.

"Wow. I'm surprised, Hunk. Usually at this point, you'd puke your guts out."

"Oh, not this time. Oh, wait-"

Suddenly, Hunk's sick feeling returned. Thankfully, Jenny was prepared for that as she got out a paper bag and handed it to Hunk, who then looked back to her while Pidge gave a look of disgust.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault."

"I'm just surprised it took this long."

Sandra then looked to Shiro before she spoke to him and he replied.

"Okay, any idea where we are?"

"I don't recognize any of these constellations. We must be a long, long way from Earth."

Then, Lance felt the blue lion again as he spoke.

"The lion seems to want to go to this planet. I think... I think it's going home."

Jenny smiled as she gazed at the surface and compared it to that of her drawing on the journal about this particular planet.

"I think we both are."

Part 2

As the blue lion entered the orbit, it began heating up faster than a hot dog would be microwaved. Inside, Jenny and Lance were being squished by Pidge, Shiro, Hunk, and Sandra.

"Uh, guys, can you not squash us please?"

"Hunk, your breath is killing me."

"Uh, is it just me, or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole?"

Sandra considered the fact that Jenny was forced to make a decision to abandon her sister and everyone else, primarily Hunk, wanted to get out of there.

"I think it might've been both."

"Why are we listening to a robotic alien anyway?"

Jenny was about to retaliate, but Lance beat her to it.

"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but we're in an alien warship."

"Yeah. The good kind."

Shiro was beginning to have had enough of their arguments.

"All right, knock it off. No one's happy about this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

Jenny was all for the idea.

"Nothing wrong with that."

"So, what do we do?"

"First, we find out where we're headed. Jenny?"

With that, Jenny flipped back to her journal and stopped at a castle.

"Well, if Grandpop's right, it should be taking us to the castle."

Just then, Lance piped up.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh! Listen. I think I hear something."

Suddenly, they heard a strange high-pitched noise.

"I'm hearing it, too."

"It's, uh, its kind of a, eh, a high-pitched squeal?"

However, as the sound grew louder, Sandra and Jenny knew what it was.

"Wait."

"Lance McClain, did you just go silent but deadly on us?"

Then, everyone in the ship covered their noses in disgust.

"Come on, Lance!"

"But seriously, there's a castle up ahead."

That made Sandra furious.

"Why, you!"

Sandra swiftly thwacked Lance in the face with a backhand, much to Jenny's relief.

"Phew. Thanks, Sandy. I admit, he kinda deserved that."

When the crew saw the castle, they were amazed.

"Wow."

"It's just like grandpop drew it."

Then, the lion glared it's yellow eyes, causing the castle's spires to glow blue as it landed near the door. Shiro felt caution was necessary.

"Keep your guard up."

"Something wrong?"

"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again."

Then, all eight of them walked out of the lion and looked around before it lifted its jaw and stood up, catching everyone by surprise, Hunk most of all.

"No! I knew it was going to eat us! No!"

However, the lion simply roared at the castle, causing it to glow blue as Hunk whimpered.

However, the door was simply opening in the process, making Hunk all the more embarrassed.

"Oh, the door is open. Guess I was wrong about you."

Jenny just giggled at Hunk's temporary panic and walked in as she got a flashlight from her pack and used it to look at the journal for a certain page.

"Okay. Where's the passcode?"

"Passcode? What do you think this is, some alien ship?"

"Uh, yeah. Grandpop said so."

"Oh. Right. Carry on."

As she looked for the passcode, Hunk felt the need to check the perimeter.

"Hello?"

That caught everyone's attention for a moment before he shrugged.

"From the size of the lion. I expected these steps to be bigger."

At that moment, Jenny found the passcode she was looking for.

"I got it. Stardust!"

As the word echoed across the castle, it activated above them and shone a blue light on top of them before it spoke.

"Hold for identity scan."

As it scanned them, Shiro asked the castle.

"Why are we here? What do you want with us?"

The castle only responded back in results of the identity scan.

"Altean presence confirmed. Verifying now."

"Verifying?"

Suddenly, the castle fired a blue light at Jenny, who stood confused as the light seeped into her. A moment after, her eyes began to glow blue as she began to grow pointy ears and a sky blue mark under each of her eyes. When it was done, Jenny had changed into a different being entirely. She then looked toward the crew in confusion.

"Uh, can somebody tell me what just happened? I don't have a clue."

Sandra got out her phone and held it to her face.

"You might be surprised."

Indeed she was. Jenny felt the ears on her head and saw the marks under her eyes.

"Uh, rude. I didn't ask you to turn me into an elf, castle!"

However, Lance saw the bright side of it.

"Actually, I think you look kinda cute."

That earned an intense blush from Jenny.

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

However, the castle got to the bad part next, concerning Lapis.

"Galra presence detected. Commencing termination."

Then, the red laser began to target Lapis before Jenny spoke up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool your jets! Lapis is with us."

Then, the castle removed the laser and spoke to her.

"Termination cancelled. Access granted."

Then, Jenny got to business.

"Okay. Can you take us to someone named Allura?"

Then, the castle's lights began to turn on, pointing the way.

"I guess we're going that way."

As they walked toward the path, Hunk called out to see if Allura was nearby.

"Hello? Hello?"

Finally, after a good few minutes, the crew found a room with a control modulator at the center of the circle that also contained eight panels. Lance got curious as to what room it was before Pidge answered.

"Where are we?"

"It's some kind of control room."

Then, the modulator activated, summoning three pods to appear, catching their attention.

"Are these guys... dead?"

Jenny shook her head.

"No. they're just in hypersleep."

Then, Jenny placed her hands on the modulator to activate one pod.

"Okay, that's how that works."

As it switched off, it was revealed to be a brown-skinned Altean with flowing white hair in royal attire and pink marks under her eyes. Jenny automatically knew who she was.

"Allura."

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and gasped as she reached her hand out.

"Father!"

Jenny saw this and ran toward her to catch her.

"Whoa! Careful."

Allura moaned as she tried to wake herself up and looked to see Jenny.

"Are you okay, princess?"

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"I'm Jennifer Shaybon. My friends call me Jenny, though. As for where we are, I honestly don't know."

Then, Allura took notice of her ears.

"Your ears."

"What?"

"They're just like mine."

Then, she began to widen her eyes with hope.

"Are you Altean?"

"I guess. My grandpop told me a lot of stories about you. Well, passed down from a lot of centuries, anyway."

"Centuries?"

Then, as she nodded, she felt it necessary to introduce her friends.

"Allow me to introduce my friends. The one in the mullet is Keith. The other one is his sister, Sandra."

Then, Jenny ran over to Pidge and gave him a noogie before pointing at Hunk.

"This awesome guy is Pidge. The big one is Hunk, and..."

Just then, Lance cut her off as she tried to introduce him.

"I'm Lance."

Then, he smiled with a shine on his teeth.

"Yeah, the flirty guy is also my boyfriend."

Hearing this, Lance's heart skipped two beats.

"I am?!"

As Jenny giggled, she also remembered one more person here.

"Oh. And I'd like to introduce you to our new friend, Lapis."

Lapis felt nervous around her and only held her head down. Allura stared at Lapis with a death glare.

"What is that doing here?"

Jenny noticed this contempt look and tried to ease her out.

"Whoa, Your Highness. Take it easy. She may be a Galra, but this one's with us."

Allura only snapped at what she thought to be Jenny's poor judgment.

"Impossible! All Galra are enemies!"

However, that made it Jenny's turn to snap back in defense of Lapis, much to her surprise.

"Yeah?! And how would you know?! You didn't even get to know her! She never asked to be born that way!"

Allura stared at her in shock and wonder, causing Jenny to panic and bow respectively.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Your Highness. I just feel very strongly about it."

Just then, another voice spoke up.

"Spoken like a true Altean."

Then, Jenny turned to see another Altean with tan skin, a blue suit and white hair along with blue marks under his eyes.

"Whoa. Who are you?"

"You can call me Babak. Soldier, prophet, peacemaker. And above all, the bodyguard of Princess Allura."

Jenny then shook his hand and greeted him.

"I'm Jenny. Nice to meet you."

Then, Babak turned to Allura.

"You can rest easy, Allura. If this Galra was here, then our friend, Jenny, saw a reason for it to be so."

"Of course. It's because we're friends."

Then, Babak turned to Lapis inquisitively.

"Tell me something. Do all Galra share Zarkon's outlook?"

"Some of us do. But not all."

Babak just hung his head down.

"I see."

Then, he strolled over to the modulator.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out how long we've been asleep."

Babak placed his hands on the modulator as another pod opened up, revealing to be another Altean with orange hair and an orange mustache, with blue marks under his eyes and a similar blue suit as Babak. He gasped and screamed upon noticing Lapis.

"Enemy combatants!"

He instantly leaped at Lapis, who instantly leaped out of the way in self defense, causing the Altean to crash into another pod.

"Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the old 'sleep chamber knees.' Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so-"

Then, the Altean demonstrated a headlock before lifting his fingers up and snapping afterwards.

"One, two, three, sleepy time!"

Lance decided to join in on what could've been.

"Well, before you did that, I'd-"

Then, Lance lifted his arm and did a chop before doing a crane pose and doing the kick.

"Hoo! Ha! Cha! Like that."

"Oh, really? Well, how could you do that when I've already come at you with this?"

Then, the Altean squatted as he got his hand in a crab position and moved it back and forth four times as he moved forward.

"Ha, ha, ha, hey!"

Babak was starting to get sick of it.

"Give it a rest, Coran, before you break something... again."

Then, Babak noticed the date on it and grew petrified as he gasped.

"By the ancients..."

"What is it?"

"We've been asleep for 10,000 years."

That caught Allura's attention.

"10,000 years?!"

Jenny was just as shocked.

"You've been asleep for that long?"

Lance tried to do the math if that before Keith corrected him.

"Man, 10,000 years? That's like one thousand plus ten."

"That's times ten."

"Whatever, dropout."

Babak explained their story of their last day on Altea.

"Yes. To us, it was only yesterday when Kaecilius bombarded our castle with Zarkon."

Hearing his name, Shiro had a bit of a flashback of his face.

"Zarkon?"

"Yes. He was the King of the Galra and was once our noble comrade who fought alongside Alfor, Allura's father, until the day he showed his true colors."

10,000 years ago, Babak, Allura, Coran, and Alfor witnessed the destruction of Altea as Zarkon and Kaecilius' faces appeared on the transmission. Babak and Alfor were not pleased to see them after what they've done.

"Kaecilius."

"Zarkon."

"Thank you for demonstrating why Alteans, who possess not a shred of decency among them and would dare defile the world of gods, are of all mortals especially ill-suited to live in my world."

Babak snapped back at Kaecilius.

"You're as vile as you are ludicrous, Kaecilius! You think this is your world now?!"

"It's certainly not yours anymore, old friend."

"Your fleet has been destroyed, Alfor. I will be there shortly to claim Voltron."

Then, the ship fired at the castle, making it malfunction. Allura turned to Alfor.

"Father, we must form Voltron and fight before it's too late!"

"It's already too late. We must send the lions away."

Babak didn't think it wise.

"What good would that do, Alfor?! Zarkon is practically at our doorstep!"

"We can't risk them falling into Zarkon's hands."

"We can't give up hope!"

"I'm sorry, daughter. If all goes well, I will see you again soon."

Then, Alfor placed his finger on her cheek before casting a spell to make her fall asleep.

"Father..."

"I love you."

As she passed out on his arms, Babak walked up to him.

"Please, take her to the sleep chamber and make sure she's safe."

"You're not planning on coming back alive, are you?"

As an answer, Alfor only sighed before replying.

"I can only do my best."

Then, Alfor walked out of the temple as he drew his sword.

"Alfor made a final stand against Zarkon, but it was in vain. He was killed off in the battle, trying to protect Allura. However, we weren't able to save Altea or any other planet in our solar system. And just like that, Alfor, no, our entire civilization, were lost to the ashes of time."

Shiro then remembered who it was that captured him and his team in the first place.

"I remember now... I was his prisoner."

Allura and Babak grew shocked at this revelation.

"He's still alive?"

"Impossible! Unless... the Dark Quintessence."

"What?"

"Quintessence as vile as that is the only explanation for how he's lived this long. It's also what corrupted and twisted his mind."

"What is Quintessence?"

"The source of life and power itself. Such a source that should never have been discovered."

Then, Shiro gave out more details.

"There's more. He's also searching for a super weapon called Voltron."

"Voltron is not merely a super weapon, so much as a last resort capable of extreme power when utilized properly."

Sandra felt they knew that after their experience with the Blue Lion.

"We know that much. But why does he want it so badly?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him."

"And that's exactly why we need to find it before he does."

Far away at space, Kren was being filled with a purple glowing substance known as Dark Quintessence as Kaecilius watched. Once it was fully injected, she opened her eyes as they and the markings beneath her eyes glowed purple. At the same time, she and Kaecilius found themselves subject to a vision of Voltron being forged on Arus and a powerful Altean who had so much power as with a simple flick of her wrist, the fleet ended up being destroyed. Seeing this brought troublesome news as it also reached Haggar as she was meditating on her sacred chamber. Not long after, Kaecilius, Haggar, and Kren arrived to see Emperor Zarkon. Kaecilius delivered one piece of news while Haggar presented the rest.

"The Blue Lion has returned. Soon, all of the lions will gather in one place."

"And now I feel a resurgence of Altean energy. Two sources to be precise."

This made Zarkon raise his eyebrows.

"Alfor's daughter lives?"

"She's not the only one. One of them is especially foreign to Altea. Almost with... an entirely new quality. Perhaps a survivor had fled to another solar system all those years ago. Most likely, a half-breed."

Kren grew surprised to hear this.

"How can that be?"

"I know not. But it is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

Kaecilius made the good news even more sweeter with an additional one.

"And thanks in part to Projects Kuron and Kren, we know exactly where to look."

"Yes. I shall wipe that foul race from the universe and take back Voltron."

Kren grew curious about their need of Voltron.

"With respect, why do we seek such a being when we're so close to achieving total dominion?"

Kaecilius knew what they needed him for and glared at Kren for questioning it.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what is needed to harvest a vast number of Quintessence?"

Kren took a deep breath before answering.

"No. I have not."

Then, Zarkon spoke to them.

"Contact my commanders."

At another warship, a Galra soldier with red armor, a red robotic eye, and a large metallic arm for his left side that has recently been powered up was prepared a transmission.

"Emperor Zarkon requests an audience."

Then, the transmission showed Zarkon to face him.

"Commander Sendak, the Princess of Altea is alive and hiding in your sector. What's more, her friend seems to have more power than she even cares to know. We believe they alone hold the whereabouts of the remaining lions. Your battle fleet is the closest to their location. Retrieve them and the lions. With them all, the Galra Empire will be unstoppable."

"I fight for the empire. I conquer in the name of Galra. No foe has ever stood in my way. And none ever will."

"I have no doubts about that. Which is why Kaecilius and his team shall accompany your endeavor to Arus. One member, in particular, will need... persuasion if she should refuse to acknowledge your command."

"Vrepit Sa!"

Then, the transmission ended as Sendak turned to his second-in-command.

"Set a course for Arus."

Back on Arus, Allura was using the modulator, much to Babak's displeasure as he tried to feed Allura a sort of green goop.

"Princess, you must eat. It's been 10,000 years."

"I'm not hungry."

Hunk, however, begged to differ.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving."

Pidge reminded him of his gastrointestinal issues.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times."

"Hmm, good point."

As Hunk ate the green goop, Shiro was amazed.

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago. It must've been an incredible place."

"Yes, it was... but now it is gone. And we're the last Alteans alive, including Jennifer, apparently."

"Whoa. An Altean... is that what I really am? A part of a race that could've been extinct?"

"Shocking, I'm sure."

"Uh, yeah. That means everything grandpop told me, about our ancestor, they were... all true. Heh. And here I thought they were only cool stories."

Then, Jenny turned to see the saddened Allura and smiled.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You know what? Out of all the characters grandpop told me in your stories... you're my favorite."

Then, Jenny walked up to Allura and held her arms out before the princess threw herself into her arms, sobbing lightly on the foreign Altean before they heard a squeak.

"Huh? Did anyone else hear squeaking?"

Jenny and Allura looked to the pod to see four mice. When Allura saw them, she smiled.

"Looks like we're not the last, after all."

"Those cute little guys are Alteans, too?"

The mice squeaked as they saw Allura and Jenny. Suddenly, they heard an alarm go off and the modulator turned red.

"What's going on?"

Babak took a look at the monitor and saw a Galra warship.

"A Galra battleship got its sights on us!"

As Pidge and Jenny grew worried, Sandra had a theory as to where it came from.

"How did they find us?"

"I thought we lost it on Earth?"

"This must be a different one."

All the while, Lapis began to feel responsible before Babak cut her off.

"Guys, what if it's tracking me?"

"That is a possibility, but we can resolve this issue later."

Lance, however, knew who was the one to blame.

"I don't know. But I bet it's Keith's fault."

Hearing this, Jenny tried to talk Lance out of it.

"Lance, I wouldn't..."

"Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better... after getting us stuck on the other side of the wormhole!"

Sandra tried to do the same for Keith.

"Keith, Lance was just..."

"I'll stick you in the wormhole!"

Then, Jenny and Sandra pinched Lance and Sandra's ears as they yelled out in unison.

"Pipe it down, will ya?!"

"This isn't the time or the place to play the blame game right now."

"You're going to work as a team, and you're going to like it, got that?"

Lance and Keith reluctantly agreed to it.

"Fine."

"How long before they arrive?"

"At their usual speed, it's a matter of two days before they appear in orbit."

Jenny felt all the more sure about this situation.

"You know what? Good. I say we let them come. Because something tells me we'll have reformed Voltron by then. More than that, my sis is trapped there for who knows how long. I'll do anything to get her back. And if Voltron is what it takes, I'm in."

Allura smiled at Jenny's spirit.

"My feelings exactly."

"Except there are five of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?"

"Not quite. There are seven lions."

That caught Lapis's attention as her ears pricked up. "What? Seven lions?"

"I'll explain once all the lions are determined."

At the main hanger, Allura stepped into the center of the podium where Alfor once stood and placed her hands on the panel as a blue light shone down on her.

"In case an event like this took place, King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force. She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts."

Suddenly, Allura's eyes opened as an entire star map opened up around them.

"Whoa!"

Jenny was reminded of something that was just like this.

"This is like virtual reality or somethin'!"

Pidge knew what exactly they were.

"These are coordinates."

Then, he saw the Black Lion on Arus alongside the Blue Lion.

"The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion."

Babak knew he was right.

"Right you are, my boy. In order to safeguard Voltron from being used, Alfor hid the Black Lion in the castle itself. Its door can only be opened if the other lions are present and accounted for."

With that, Allura spoke to the Paladins about their lions before Lance cut her off along the way.

"As you have found, the lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The Quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in their lion. Together, they can form something greater than science can explain. The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion. The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion. The Blue Lion-"

"Hold up, let me guess. Takes the most handsome slash best pilot of the bunch?"

Jenny only elbowed him in the arm as a response.

"Dude, let the lady finish, please."

Allura giggled at Jenny's behavior toward Lance.

"As I was saying, it takes someone who determines the situation and cares about the welfare of his team. Honestly, I'm surprised, Lance, you will pilot the Blue Lion. The Yellow Lion is just as caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together. The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion."

Lance wasn't quite happy with that before Jenny reminded him.

"What? This guy?"

"Well, you do have the Blue Lion."

"Fair point."

"Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it might need some work."

Coran pitched in for repairs.

"Don't worry. We'll find it soon. They don't call me 'The Coranic' for nothing."

Jenny grew confused at that term.

"Huh?"

"It's because it sounds like 'mechanic.' So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not- It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar."

Babak facepalmed himself in the face before he spoke.

"I think we got the message, Coran."

Then, he noticed an odd signature and scrolled over to it, revealing a purple lion with light pink eyes.

"Only the five lions are needed for Voltron. As to why there's a sixth, the Violet Lion, it's a mystery entirely to us as well. Or at least to me. What I can tell you is that it can function like the other lions, but unlike them, it can become a Voltron of its own league. In fact, it'd be known as the second Voltron."

Lapis looked in awe at the lion.

"Wow."

"The sad reality is that its location is just as unknown as the Red Lion's, so we could expect certain difficulty. Same goes for the White Lion. Last we saw of it was on Altea. We don't know at the moment whether or not it survived, but... I pray that it is so."

Just then, the Red Lion roared before it took to the sky, as did the other four. As for the Violet Lion, it flew up into the sky adjacent to the other lions. Then, the five lions merged together as the Violet Lion opened up its back to reveal wings and turned its claws into hands and feet. Then, the Violet Lion opened up its mouth to reveal a beautiful face with grey skin and pink eyes. On the chest of the Violet Lion was the symbol of the Galra that glowed pink as well. Then, the Violet Lion stood by Voltron as it got into a stance with its hands on its side.

"Once all the lions are united, even the sixth, you will form both Voltrons, the most powerful warriors ever known, the Defenders of the Universe."

Then, the simulation faded away into a clear day on Arus. Lance and Jenny grew excited.

"Awesome!"

Hunk checked over everything to be up to date on how it'd work before Babak answered him.

"Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying lions. Got that part. How do lions turn into legs? Also, is this gonna be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"

"They turn into legs by forging Voltron. With any luck, it won't be a long trip. And yes, of course, we, as you say, 'pee.' We're not neanderthals."

At this point, Shiro and Allura had already laid the groundwork on how to go about it.

"Well, we don't have much time. Pidge, Sandra, and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Jenny and Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, you and Lapis stay here. If you locate the Red and Violet Lions, go get them."

"In the meantime, Babak and I'll get this castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed."

Sandra grew confused at the matter of transportation to the location of the Green Lion before Babak quickly resolved it.

"Okay, but how are we supposed to get to the Green Lion?"

"I'll ready a pod and I'll load the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion."

"Oh. Okay, then."

Moments later, the lion and pod took off from Arus and into outer space while back at the castle, Allura placed her hands in the two podiums preparing two wormholes, one for each, as Babak and Coran gave them instructions.

"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other lions open for two of your Earth hours, at most. So, I suggest you be quick about it."

"The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So, if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives."

"Which won't do any of us any good if Voltron isn't forged. Now then, enjoy your trip."

That caused Lance and Hunk to panic while Jenny bore a determined look on her face.

"Wait, what? No!"

"I did not receive the memo on this."

Back at the castle, Babak, Lapis, and Keith witnessed the lion and the pod going into the wormholes before they disappeared. As Allura maintained her position with her eyes closed, Babak turned to Lapis and Keith.

"I imagine this might be boring for you to wait, so before I do anything else, I'll show you where you'll be until you're needed."

With that, Babak showed Keith and Lapis a training room with one lone drone with a sword. Lapis was wondering what kind of room it was.

"What is this?"

"This is your training room. The A.I. has been set to the lowest difficulty. If you want to go higher, shout out a number."

Keith thought it'd be too good to be true.

"Really? Like what?"

"You'll see. Start training level twelve!"

Then, the drone immediately began charging towards Babak, who caught the drone's arm and flipped it over him before removing his sword and plunging it into it, causing it to disappear, much to Lapis and Keith's surprise.

"Hoo-ah."

Then, Babak removed the sword from where it was planted before giving an order.

"End training sequence."

Then, it produced another drone to use from the ceiling. As Keith and Lapis looked to Babak, he smirked at them as he walked out.

"Have fun."

Then, Keith and Lapis looked at each other as they blinked.

Meanwhile, at Sendak's ship, Kaecilius and Kren walked toward Sendak.

"Commander Sendak. How close until we arrive on Arus?"

"The best estimate is but a few short vargas."

"Excellent. Before long, Voltron will be ours..."

Then, Sendak's second-in-command spoke to Kaecilius.

"Pardon me, Kaecilius, but where is the rest of your team?"

"Where they should be, Haxxus. In preparation for the Blue Lion whilst seeking the Yellow Lion in the mines. We already have the Red Lion in our grasp. And the so-called Violet Lion has fared no better. The more lions we secure, the better our chances."

Meanwhile, Shiro, Pidge, and Sandra were on a lush planet of mostly green land and a small fraction of it had water at all. As they walked through the rainforest, they found a canoe with a lion carved on it. Suddenly, they noticed a large sloth-like creature next to them. While Shiro and Pidge I totally got startled, Sandra smiled at it.

"Relax, you guys. It's just a... giant sloth, I guess?"

Then, the giant sloth walked toward the canoe and turned to the three travelers before he urged them to come with him. Pidge figures it out before Shiro agreed to it.

"I, uh... I think he wants us to get in his canoe."

"Then I guess we should go."

"Huh."

Sandra was surprised at how willingly Shiro went along with it.

"And what makes you so sure it's the best idea?"

"I've been locked up by aliens for a year. This is nothing."

Later on, Shiro, Sandra, and Pidge were in the canoe, taking in the wonders of this planet as they enter the cave, which exhibited drawings that are just as majestic.

"I wonder if Hunk, Jenny, and Lance are having as good a time as us."

Sandra had doubts about that.

"Well, with Lance at the helm, the odds of that are basically a million to one. Plus, Hunk would puke his guts out, again. Still, other than that, nothing out of the ordinary, I'm sure."

Back at the Blue Lion, they appeared just above the planet's surface and found the Galra mining it, with its commander sporting a black uniform with spiked shoulder pads pointing upwards turning to his lieutenant that sported a similar outfit, but with a smaller frame than his bulky officer.

"Zarix, report."

"We're on course to successfully dig up the Yellow Lion, Commander Vaxel."

"Excellent. Emperor Zarkon will be most pleased."

Just then, they heard an alarm and saw the Blue Lion in the air. Vaxel smiled as he gave an order.

"Secure the Blue Lion with swift and merciless prejudice."

Then, all at once, the Galra ships began attacking Lance, Jenny, and Hunk, causing them to panic as they sustain damage.

"Oh, no! No, no, no! Oh! Oh, no!"

As the Galra ships followed them, one of them was being piloted by Varek while the other was piloted by Zarix, who received a transmission from Vaxel.

"Do not forget. The Yellow and Blue Lions must be seized by any means necessary."

"You don't need to tell me."

Varek and Zarix fired their missiles at the Blue Lion, eventually hitting it after a number of dodges. As they plummeted, Hunk was getting curious on what went wrong.

"I thought Coran said these planets were peaceful!"

Lance knew there had to be some sort of mistake.

"Maybe 'peaceful' means something else in Altean!"

"Nope! They mean the same thing as on Earth! They must not have seen the Galra here!"

Then, Jenny pulled the bars back, causing the Blue Lion to recover and dart toward the mine. Inside, Hunk recovered from the attack as he stood up and looked at the digital GPS as Jenny wondered if it popped up yet.

"Where is it?"

"According to the coordinates, we're right on top of the Yellow Lion. It's below there, where they're mining for the ore. They don't even know the Lion is there. Or maybe they just got here and they're digging for it? What do you think, guys?"

"If you're right, you need to go get it and fast! We'll be dropped down there."

Hearing this, Hunk panicked.

"Me? Down there? No. No, no, no."

"Don't worry. I'll cover you. Lance, can you take over for a sec?"

Then, Jenny and Lance switched their positions as soon as she set it towards the cave.

"What if the Yellow Lion doesn't work? W-What if I- What if I can't get in the mine? What if I start crying? It's too late. I'm already crying!"

Jenny turned to Hunk and helped him relax as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Stop rambling, okay? Just don't focus on what could go wrong and you'll be fine. My sis always told me that."

Then, Jenny nodded to Lance before he pushed the button to eject Jenny and Hunk. Seeing this, Jenny set her arms along her legs before she and Hunk ended up ejected from the Blue Lion, which spat them out, causing them to roll to the mine. When they got there, Jenny was able to jump in time to land next to the mine while Hunk tripped over a rock and fell on his stomach.

Unfortunately, Zarix noticed them being spat out of the Blue Lion and contacted Vaxel.

"Commander Vaxel, intruders have been detected in the mines."

"The Paladins?"

"Indeed. The Altean is with the chunky monkey. The Blue Lion is guarding them."

As he stated this, the Blue Lion acted as a shield for Jenny and Hunk.

"I need more time to prepare an appropriate reception for this Altean. Ready the ship for departure."

"But, commander, the Yellow Lion- the Altean will seize it!"

"Then blow the mines."

Just outside the entrance, Hunk opened the control panel to see a bunch of wires. He complained as he rerouted them.

"Yeah, sure, just drop us off in an alien planet. That's cool, man. It's only occupied by mean Galra that want to kill us, but whatever. Just ignore them and go connect with a big, yellow, mechanical cat. Easy-peasy. Yeah. That all makes a ton of sense to me."

"You know this isn't the time to complain!"

Then, the machine started itself and went downward, just barely evading the lasers. As they traveled down, they saw yellow markings in the mine, astounding them as Jenny spoke up first.

"Cool."

"It's just like back on Earth."

When they got down, they saw a tunnel that led to another cave just as they felt a shockwave from above.

"Whoa. It must be pretty bad out there."

"Okay, I'm in a giant hole. Now what, Jenny?"

Just as they started to walk towards the entryway, they saw another glowing lion, preceded by another and led to a glowing yellow circle.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Not exactly. How are we going to get through that?"

Jenny looked to see a driller in place.

"I think we might have to start digging."

Outside, Lance fought against Zarix, Vaxel, and Varek in the Galra ships, trying to keep Jenny and Hunk safe. Just as they headed toward Lance, Vaxel sent a voice transmission.

"What's wrong, Paladin? Bite off more than you can chew?"

Lance only growled at Vaxel as he charged the lion toward them.

Back in the cave, Jenny and Hunk broke through the hole and saw the Yellow Lion in a shield. They gasped in awe as they saw its gaze.

Back outside, Lance flew above the trio and then came down towards Varek, who immediately ejected himself before the Blue Lion could chow down on his ship. However, Varek began to charge up light energy around him as he cackled, worrying Lance about what he could do.

"Oh, no!"

Lance turned the lion around to the mines where Varek stopped just above it and began clasping his hands together and slowly lifted them as he produced a red and purple flamed energy from them as he bellowed in increasing volume.

"Hunk! Jenny!"

Then, with a yell, Varek fired it at the mines, causing it to destroy the mine's entrance and consume it in a purple fire, much to Lance's horror. Immediately, he tried using the transmitter to check on Jenny.

"Jenny. Hunk. Please, if you're out there, talk to me."

However, he only received Vaxel's cold laughter in response.

"You should have fled like your previous predecessors. Now, the time of the Paladins is over."

Lance only growled before he angrily snapped.

"You monsters... you're going to pay!"

Then, he yelled out as he thrusted the bars toward Vaxel's ship while the Blue Lion roared, only to be stopped by Varek's dark fiery blast, the owner of which who smirked as the lion fell.

At the castle training grounds, Keith was practicing against the drone at level two with Lapis watching him. After Keith defeated the drone by plunging his sword inside it, it disappeared before he called out to it.

"End training sequence!"

That allowed Keith to get a bit of a break as he planted his hands on his knees. Lapis was about to congratulate him when she saw the blade he carried.

"What is this?"

"Uh, a sword?"

"Yeah, but where did you get it?"

"Someone gave it to me."

"Your mother or your father?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I have one of my own."

Then, Lapis took her blade from her belt and showed it to have the same appearance as Keith's with a bizarre symbol on it. That caught Keith's surprise.

"You have that, too?"

"Mm-hmm. My father forged it himself before he gave it to me. He was standing against Zarkon trying to protect me. After that... I haven't seen him."

Keith began to feel bad for shutting her out.

"Lapis, I'm so sorry."

"Oh. Don't worry about it. It's fine."

Keith only took Lapis's hand with his.

"No, it isn't. I've been shutting people out, lately. I was just trying to protect them."

As they gazed into each other's eyes, Lapis wrapped her other hand around his.

"I know the feeling. I've been doing that lately, too. Ever since I've been captured, I wanted to just mind my own business. Then, I met Shiro. We made a plan to try to rescue Belle. But... we only ended up losing her after that. I knew it was a dead-ringing reminder that anyone I try to help will suffer, whether I like it or not."

"Well, you won't have to worry about me. I'm not the type who asks for help."

Lapis giggled at Keith's suggestion before they heard Babak clear his throat with wide eyes, causing Keith and Lapis to turn to him as they blushed.

"Well, I, uh... certainly don't want to interrupt... whatever that was. But we've completed repairs. Allura's bound to track the Red and Violet Lions anytime now."

As Babak walked out, Keith and Lapis looked toward each other.

Back at the rainforest, Pidge was getting way too concerned with what could go wrong.

"I know the princess said this is supposed to be my lion, but what if she's wrong? I mean, she's probably not wrong, she's a princess. But I'm not a pilot, even though I've always wanted to be a pilot. I mean, I read all the fighter manuals, but I never got to fly the simulator, but hey. I can't get all that worse than Lance. If it wasn't for Jenny, he'd have crashed all the time. But what if I get in there and it doesn't respond? What if I get in there and it's too big and my feet don't touch the pedals? What if there aren't even pedals?!"

"You're rambling. Listen, our commander in the Kerberos Mission is the smartest man I ever met, and he always said, 'if you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great.'"

Sandra smiled at Pidge as he widened his eyes.

"That sound familiar?"

"Yeah. My dad always told me the same thing."

Just then, they saw what appeared to be a temple covered in vines. When the canoe reached land, Sandra, Shiro, and Pidge jumped off and waved to him goodbye. Suddenly, the stone began to glow green as it pointed the way to the temple. The trio walked up as it flowed brighter. Then, Sandra spoke to him.

"Well, are you waiting for an invitation? Go get 'em."

Pidge smiled at Sandra as he ran up the temple and climbed over the vines. When he reached the top, he was exhausted. However, he noticed there was nothing else there. Just then, he heard a growling beneath him before he looked as saw a yellow eye staring into him. He smiled at it before he jumped into it. Then, it began to glow like crazy as he grew excited.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!"

Shiro and Sandra heard the roar far away and ended up wobbling a bit before it rose from the vines. Shiro and Sandra smiled at this.

Back at the outlands, Lance was having no luck against Varek, who's become a one-man army. Varek fired a barrage of dark fiery blasts at it, causing the lion to plummet down.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Going down! We're going down!"

He tried to recover from the attack in vain as he crashed into the ground and ended up cornered with electricity crackling around it. Just then, Varek spoke aloud.

"Are you finished? Considering you represent the Paladin of Voltron, this is a pathetic showing from you, boy."

Lance looked up to see Varek preparing another fiery blast at him.

"Oh, no."

"Now, die, Paladin!"

Then, Varek fired it at the Blue Lion, only for the Yellow Lion to get in between Lance and the blast. Then, the blast hit the Yellow Lion, only for it to have taken no damage and swat Varek into Zarix's ship, the owner of which who panicked and ejected himself onto higher ground as Jenny and Hunk checked on him.

"You okay, Lance?"

"Hunk! Jenny! I thought you guys were dead! You jumped in front of that fire to save my life!"

"Well, Hunk just wanted to get out of the way."

"Thankfully, what this thing lacks in speed, it more than makes up for in armor. Man, can it take a beating!"

Just then, Zarix began to fly on his own as well as he shot out three Black and purple blasts at the Yellow Lion in frustration.

"You've made a mockery of me for the last time, Paladin!"

As he did, Hunk grew nervous of this as he and Jenny spoke up.

"We've got incoming!"

"Yeah. What else is new?"

Just then, they intercepted Allura's message.

"Paladins, please hurry back. I can't hold the wormhole much longer."

Lance took that as a cue.

"Let's get out of here!"

With that, the lions took off to the wormhole, much to Vaxel's chagrin.

"No!"

Then, he fired a small bullet at the Yellow Lion, causing him to tip over and spin around, making Hunk and Jenny dizzy.

"Not this again."

"Remember, look to the horizon, Hunk! The wormhole is closing!"

Fortunately, they were able to get to the wormholes, much to Zarix's anger.

"Curse those Paladins! They will pay for robbing us of universal conquest!"

However, Vaxel began to snicker as it turned into a cackle before he spoke up.

"They can run, but they can never again run home."

Back at the castle, Jenny, Hunk, and Lance arrived with sore backs (well, at least Lance and Hunk). Allura smiled at them, knowing they were safe.

"You made it."

Jenny gave out her side of how things went first before Lance and Hunk spoke.

"Yeah, and a lot of good that did us. Really. Like a lot."

"I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!"

"Think how I felt. I am Hunk"

"On top of that, I thought I lost them."

He began making a small space between his finger and thumb.

"I was this close to losing Hunk and the person I care about the most. This close!"

Jenny smiled as she blushed.

"Aw. You do care."

Pidge, Sandra, and Shiro turned to each other.

"Yeah. We had a tough time, too."

Then, they smiled at each other before Babak spoke up.

"All right, all right. Allura just located the Red and Violet Lions. We've also discovered good news, great news, bad news, and even worse news. The good news is that the Red Lion is nearby. Even greater news is that the Violet Lion is around as well. The bad news is that they're on board that Galra ship. Even worse, it's just now orbiting Arus."

Lapis and Sandra grew surprised at this while Lance had a theory.

"They're here already?"

"How did they get here so fast?"

"Did they use their powers? Two of them attacked us with them while we were looking for the Yellow Lion."

"Those 'powers' you've witnessed come from their own Quintessence, mass produced by Kaecilius himself. More than that, he and his acolytes can also peer into their own kind's mind."

Hearing this, Lapis grew fearful.

"Oh, no. What have I done?"

Just then, Kaecilius appeared on the transmission.

"Princess Allura, this is Commander Kaecilius of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, including the child known as Lapis, or I will destroy your planet."

As the transmission ended, Shiro tried to calm the crowd, who showed looks of shock and fear.

"All right, let's not panic."

Hunk, However, didn't feel that way as he rambled on before Pidge corrected him.

"Not panic? Kaecilius is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four lions."

"Technically, only three working lions."

"That's right. Thank you, Pidge. Three working lions, and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old."

This time, it was Babak's turn to correct him.

"By technicality, it'd be 10,600 years old."

"Again. Thank you. See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"

Allura was aware of its defenses that Babak and Coran began repairs on.

"Wait! This castle has a particle barrier we can activate."

Normally, Lance would flirt at this, but having thought Jenny had perished before, he was over that. At least for today.

"Good. At least it'll give Jenny and the others a chance."

Jenny was becoming more enamored with this new Lance.

"Whoa. Looks like someone's keeping a level head. So, what are the odds we'll survive this, Babak?"

"The particle barrier won't hold Kaecilius's magic or his ion cannon at bay forever. Their own Quintessence must've advanced their weapons vastly since we last fought."

"Panic now?"

Babak was getting tired of Hunk's idea.

"Panic is the last thing we need. Panic is what lost us Altea! Here's what we know. The Galra have warships, an army, all their raw Quintessence at their disposal. You think now is the time to be a coward?!"

"Look, I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day. I was a wreck when I thought Jenny died. I'm not going through that mess again."

"I second that. Yes. We tried to find all the lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about."

"Then it's settled."

When Lance took her hand and walked toward Allura, Jenny stopped him from moving, causing him to look back at her.

"Jenny, what are you-?"

"I know you care about me. But... I don't want to live in a world where innocent people die because we did nothing. I was willing to change my plans when I had to leave my sis, but not this time. This time, I'm putting my foot down."

Pidge was in agreement with her as he spoke.

"Jenny's right. We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them."

"Okay. If we run, then maybe Kaecilius will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we-"

Hunk began to make a hissing sound the way a snake would as he wiggles his arms around.

"-out of here."

Sandra and Keith didn't think it wise.

"Didn't you hear a word he said? Even if we left, Kaecilius will destroy the planet and everyone on it."

"Staying is our only option."

As they began overlapping their arguments, Lapis began to cover her ears, struggling to comprehend the situation as her nails dig into her hair.

"Here's an option: shut your quiznak."

As Allura, Babak, and Coran grew shocked at his use, Jenny knew it wasn't quite correct.

"Uh, that's not what the word means, Lance."

"Well, tough brownies. I'm not going to lose you again."

At this point, Jenny and Lance went back and forth before Pidge and Hunk did the same.

"We're staying."

"Leaving!"

"Staying!"

"Snake!"

Already stressed out by the impending invasion, Lapis finally snapped at their words.

"Everyone, shut up!"

The crowd turned to see Lapis trembling on the ground as she didn't even bother to hold back her tears.

"It doesn't matter if we stay or leave! Everyone's going to die and it's all my fault!"

Hearing this, Allura tried to understand what she meant.

"How do you know that?"

"Don't you get it, Allura?! You were right all along! All Galra are enemies, especially the ones who try to help you!"

Then, Lapis turned and ran from the hall as Keith and Jenny ran after her.

"Lapis!"

"Don't bother looking for me! I shouldn't even be here!"

As Lapis took off in a rush, Keith and Jenny chased after her in an attempt to make her feel better, much to Babak's displeasure.

"Wait!"

"Come back!"

"Oh, great. Just what we need. Deserters."

Allura felt the need to talk with her to help out.

"Excuse me a moment, Coran. I need to talk with Lapis. She needs to know the stakes."

"Perhaps your father can help."

Hearing this, Allura became surprised as she widened her eyes.

"My father?"

Part 3

In another room, Lapis just ran into it, finding no luck with the exit. When she stopped, she just fell to the floor in front of a hologram projector and sobbed her heart out. Just then, a voice responded to her.

"What troubles you, my child?"

Then, Lapis looked up to see a holographic figure in the castle, much to her surprise. She tried to ask him as she tried to hold back her tears.

"W-Who are you?"

"I am Alfor, the former ruler of Altea."

Lapis widened her eyes before coming back to hearing how Zarkon annihilate him and his home. That, in turn, made tears come back as she placed her hands over her eyes. "Oh, Alfor. I am so sorry."

Alfor only smiled at her and placed his hand on her head.

"What for? You've done nothing wrong."

"Don't you know what I am? I'm a Galra. A race that destroyed yours, and is an enemy to everything free. I shouldn't even be looking at you!"

"My child. The origins of your race do not determine who you are. What does is your heart. Nothing else. Although, you're not the only one with a wounded heart. I scattered the Lions of Voltron to keep them out of Zarkon's hands. Allura urged me to keep them and fight, but, for the greater good of protecting the universe, I chose to hide them."

"I know you have."

"No, Lapis. She was right. I made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives."

Lapis held her hands together as she spoke.

"Honestly, I envy you. At least you don't have to live for making a terrible mistake. Meanwhile, I have to stay here. Knowing I brought them here... it's so agonizing, I'd swear I might as well be at Wozblay. I hate it so much."

"You don't have to like it. But that doesn't mean you should do nothing, either. You need to do something to fix your mistake. I never got the chance, but you do. You still have a chance. That's what the sixth lion is for."

"The sixth lion?"

"Unlike the other lions, it was made from Galra Quintessence. It requires a pilot who has seen the flaws of his or her kind and refuses to let them go unnoticed in a constant strive for it to become better. This is why you, Lapis, will be the one to pilot the Violet Lion, should you find it, and set things right."

Hearing this, Lapis wiped her tears away and nodded.

"I understand now. Thank you so much, Alfor. I'll never forget you."

After she had finished speaking with him, Lapis felt a light glow on her body as she turned to see Allura, Keith, and Jenny behind her.

"Hey, guys."

Then, Jenny noticed her new look as she pointed at her.

"Hey, where'd you get the new suit? It looks pretty lit."

Lapis looked at herself to see that she's in a Paladin's suit, only fashioned to be similar to that of a Galra Commander's uniform, as it was in red and the V on it was in Violet.

"I don't know. But I do know what we have to do. Allura, do you know where to start?"

Allura nodded back to Lapis as she shook her hand.

Back at the hanger, Allura was in her pink Paladin outfit and with her hair tied up behind her.

"You six Paladins were brought here for a reason. 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."

"We're with you, Princess."

Then, Allura took them to the armory where five suits were hung as Lapis already had one of her own.

"Your suits of armor."

As they looked around, Jenny couldn't help but be in awe, as did the others.

"Whoa. This is like Star Trek or something."

"Cool!"

"Outstanding."

"Nice."

"Neat."

Then, Jenny noticed a white suit in the armory, making her curious as she turned to Allura.

"Uh, you don't mind if I wear one of these, do you?"

"I don't see why not. If we did manage to find it, you'd be its Paladin anyhow."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know if your journal has covered this, but... my father had a sister once. She was named Alphus. She worked with him to create the Lions of Voltron. It required a Paladin who would do anything to keep her team as one and to help ensure that they are not alone."

"Wow... she must've been really special."

Allura couldn't agree more as she smiled before replying.

"Indeed. More so than you would ever believe. Also, as a fun fact, it can supposedly rely on two Paladins for control at a time."

"Oh. Cool."

As Hunk looked at his outfit, he felt there was a problem concerning his weight until Sandra cleared it up.

"Maybe it's one size fits all."

Coran was beginning to have doubts, as was Babak before Allura reminded them of her faith.

"Princess, are you sure about this? They aren't exactly the best and the brightest the universe has to offer."

"Really? And I thought I was the only one who noticed."

"No, but they're all we've got."

Then, Shiro spoke up.

"Ladies and Gentleman, it's time to suit up!"

Jenny grew confused on how to do that.

"Uh, with what?"

Then, everyone got dressed into their uniforms, with Jenny wearing a the White Paladin outfit as everyone else got dressed into their designated uniforms. Then, Babak and Allura opened two containers, revealing yellow, red, green, blue, and two violet handles, as well as the White one in the center.

"The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each Paladin."

As the yellow bayard was handed to Hunk, he took it and it ended up turning into a machine gun. It clink to the floor at first, but he was able to pick it back up. As for Keith, his bayards turned into a sword and a shield for him as Jenny and Lance's bayards turned into a sharpshooter for him and a White chain blade for her. As Lance scanned the area for targets, Jenny swung her chain blade around before it went back onto her bayard.

"Whoo!"

"Awesome!"

As for Pidge, his bayard granted him a green Angular Katar. Lance saw this and tried to poke fun at it, much to Jenny's warning.

"Aw, you got a cute little bayard."

"If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate cute."

To prove this, Pidge shocked Lance with his bayard, causing Jenny to burst in laughter.

"Yeah, it is pretty cute."

"Ah, that was so funny."

As for Lapis, her bayards summoned two purple swords, of which she wielded with great skill and grew impressed with as they changed to other weapons, like a chain blade, and purple sais as well.

"This might be a bit much for me. But I can manage"

Allura turned to Shiro in apology.

"Shiro, I'm afraid your bayard was lost with its Paladin."

"I guess I'll just have to make due."

However, Lapis has other plans as she planned to hand one of her bayards to Shiro.

"Will it work if I give one of mine to Shiro, Babak?"

"Unfortunately not. Certain Bayards only work for certain Paladins."

With that, Lapis pulled her hands back as she held her head down.

"Sorry, Shiro."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

At the main hangar, Allura showed the schematics of Kaecilius's ship.

"You'll need to retrieve the Red and Violet Lions from Kaecilius's ship."

As they looked upon it, Sandra grew confused about the groundwork of their plan as she spoke.

"Looks pretty big. How are we gonna know where the lions are?"

Pidge and Shiro, on the other hand, had an idea how to work with this.

"It's not a matter of 'we.' It's a matter of 'your brother and Lapis.'"

"Pidge is right. Once we get you guys in, you'll be able to feel their presence and track it down."

Jenny had supporting evidence to back it up as she spoke.

"Yeah, guys. Remember when we felt that crazy energy back at the desert?"

"Yeah. Lance made fun of me for that."

"That's pretty much water under the bridge. Turns out, it's exactly like that."

Allura felt the need to remind them of the lions' potencies.

"Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect. And Lapis, we don't know the first thing about this Violet Lion."

"It's a good thing I do."

Then, Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder as he relayed the plan.

"All right. Here's our plan of attack."

As he explained, Lance, Jenny, and Hunk mobilize toward Kaecilius's ship, Shiro have out the details in a flashback.

"The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too. Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up."

As the Green Lion flew towards the Galra Ship undetected, Lance activated his transmission to Kaecilius.

"Attention, Galra ship. Do not fire. We're surrendering our lions."

Kaecilius smoked at their compliance.

"I had a feeling you'd listen to reason."

As the ship moved closer, Lance stated his worry.

"I hope this works."

As Shiro proceeded explaining, the Green Lion landed on the ship's undercarriage. Then, Pidge cut a hole into the ship, allowing Pidge, Keith, Sandra, Lapis, Jenny, and Shiro to enter undetected.

"While Kaecilius is distracted, Keith, Lapis, Pidge, Sandra, Jenny, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Green Lion. Keith, Lapis, and I will find the lions while Pidge, Jenny, and Sandra guard our exit. Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon."

As the Galra ship opened the door, Lance checked on their progress.

"Jenny, what's your PTA?"

Jenny answered as they have successfully entered the belly of the beast.

"We're in the belly of the beast. Repeat, we're in the belly of the beast. I've always wanted to say that."

Back at the main hangar of the Galra Ship, Kaecilius is certain there's foul play afoot.

"Usually, mortals are too prideful to know their place... activate tractor beam."

As a glowing, purple light shone in preparation, Lance and Hunk grew worried.

"What's that thing?"

"I think that's our signal to get out of here!"

Then, Hunk and Lance immediately got out of the way and swerved around, much to Sendak's anger and Kaecilius's confirmation.

"They lied to us."

"I knew it. Sendak, you'll take command from here on out. Kren and I have our own business to attend to."

Sendak didn't hesitate to give orders.

"Launch fighters!"

As the Galra fighters launched outward, Lance had a plan.

"Hunk, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these jerks on a space ride!"

"Ten-four!"

As Lance took off toward the fighters, Hunk made a break for the ion cannon.

Inside, Keith, Lapis, Jenny, Pidge, Sandra, and Shiro carefully snuck behind the walls. As Shiro looked around, memories of the hall came back to haunt him. He saw the Galra soldiers coming in to escort him, then experiment on him and Belle before seeing Kaecilius's wicked glare as he laughed. He groaned from hearing that laughter, catching Jenny's attention.

"You alright, Shiro?"

"I've been here before. After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here."

"So, that means your other crew members, they might be held captive here."

"That means sis might be here, too. We've got to rescue them."

"Guys, we don't have time. We have to get the lions and get back to Arus."

"But we can't just leave prisoners here!"

"Look, no one understands that more than me, but, in war, we have to make hard choices. Now, let's get moving."

Then, Jenny clenched her fist before she and Pidge simultaneously barked back at him.

"No!"

Hearing him say this, Jenny turned to Pidge.

"Huh? Not that I have a problem, but why won't you?"

"Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones who went to the Kerberos Mission with Belle and Shiro."

"Commander Holt is your father?"

Jenny widened her eyes as she just found out his father was someone of major importance.

"Shut up."

"I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother, and I'm not gonna give up when I'm this close. I won't!"

"I'm coming with you."

That earned Pidge and Jenny's confusion before Keith and Lapis spoke up.

"What?"

"But why?"

"I remember where the prisoners are held. Keith, Lapis, you go find the lions. Sandra, can you still guard our exit?"

"You kidding?"

Then, Sandra changed her bayard to a sniper rifle.

"This'll be a piece of cake."

"By ourselves?"

"Minor change of plans. You'll be fine. Just remember, patience yields focus. So—"

When he heard the doors open, three Paladins each took an opposite direction.

"Run!"

The source of the footsteps turned out to be from Kaecilous and Kren. He drew an exhale before opening his eyes to reveal footprints that are unfamiliar and each splitting in different directions.

"How fortunate that I saw it coming. Kren, you take the left path. I'll take the right."

"Yes, master."

As Keith, Lapis, and Sandra ran off, they ended up stuck with two directions to go to.

"Great. Now, which way?"

"You can go right and I'll go left."

However, the left side wasn't an option as a Galra soldier came by. Fortunately, Sandra was able to shoot him and knock him out before turning to Lapis.

"How about you both go right? I'll stay here and guard the exit."

With that, Keith and Lapis nodded before they went right.

Meanwhile, Hunk darted toward the ion cannon, only to be bumped back by a barrier of some kind.

"What the quiznak? What is that? A force field?"

Back on Arus, Babak knew it could be the work of Kaecilius.

"Kaecilius must have saw it coming. He used his magic to create a barrier to prevent it from being destroyed. Curse that creature."

Allura, in the meantime was having trouble with her own.

"Particle barrier up!"

The barrier seemed to cover the castle. However, it didn't last long and shut down.

"Is that what's supposed to happen?"

"No, Coran. Something must've been out of place."

Babak was proven correct as one barrier crystal was yellow and leaning while the other was blue and straight.

"Just as I thought. One of the barrier crystals is out of alignment."

"We have to fix it immediately. Without the particle barrier, we'll be defenseless."

"We're both too big. What can we do?"

Babak had an idea.

"We obviously can't fit in there. But I know four of your friends who might."

As if on cue, Allura's mice scurried into the panel and rearranged the crystal back in order.

"The mice!"

"How do they know how to do this?"

"I can hear them talking to me. I think our minds are connected. It must be from sharing the sleep pod for 10,000 years."

Babak, who oversaw the panel, saw it go online.

"The particle barrier is ready. Not bad for a bunch of lab rats."

As the mice squeaked in joy, Allura thanked them while Coran was grunting with his fingers on his head.

"Thank you, friends."

"Coran, what are you doing?"

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

Babak groaned before communicating to Keith.

"The particle barrier has been activated. How are things on your end?"

Back at the ship, Keith and Lapis we're having no luck as he communicated to Babak.

"No luck. This whole ship is like a maze."

This is proven to be the case when they stopped at the same hall where Sandra is.

"What's up?"

Keith only groaned in response as Lapis put her hand on his back.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Remember, Keith. Patience yields focus."

Then, Keith took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, Lapis did the same and felt the lions calling out to them from behind. Then, they opened their eyes and found the lions.

"Gotcha."

As they took off, Sandra blinked her eyes.

"Okay?"

However, she didn't notice a dark shadow behind her scurrying to the ceiling toward them.

Meanwhile, Jenny, Shiro, and Pidge saw a Galra drone scanning them, urging Pidge to take action and blast it, paralyzing it.

"That thing saw us. We should get out of here."

"Wait. I think this might come in handy."

Pidge began to rewire the drone and closed its panel once he was finished.

"Now, I'll just reset the controls..."

Suddenly, the drone glowed blue and floated alongside them.

"And it's working for us."

Jenny was so impressed with Pidge's skills.

"That's so cool! What are you gonna name it?"

"I'm going to call it 'Rover.'"

Jenny giggled at that before she ran to catch up with Shiro.

"Wait up!"

They stopped at one door and opened it up with Rover's help by using a laser to unlock it as a passkey.

"Nice job."

As the door opened up, they saw various prisoners and ran in to look for their lost ones.

"Dad?"

"Sis?"

However, they couldn't see them and the both of them grew sad as Shiro stepped into the cell.

"Don't be afraid. We're here to help you escape."

One of the prisoners recognized him.

"It's you... it's you, the Champion. If anyone can get us out of here, he can."

"Wh... What did you call me?"

"We don't have much time. Let's get to the escape pods."

Jenny was still shaken by the fact she couldn't find her.

"But... my sis..."

"I know. I couldn't find my father or brother, either. But it won't do them any good if we get caught, okay?"

"But... how can you just move on, knowing they're still out there?"

"It's because I know they're out there that I'm moving on. They'll be fine."

Taking in every word he said, Jenny nodded.

"Okay."

"Let's go. Come on!"

Outside, Lance was flying away from the Galra fighters while enjoying himself.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Yeah, buddy! This is way more fun without Hunk's barfing!"

Meanwhile, Hunk tried to smash the barrier, but without success as he groaned while Babak barked at him on the transmission.

"Keep pressing your assault, Hunk! The more damage you inflict on his barrier, the weaker it gets!"

"Yeah, and the sicker I get!"

"I don't want excuses! I want results!"

Inside, Keith found the Red Lion in a red particle barrier while Lapis found the Violet Lion in a violet barrier.

"Bingo."

"Let's get out of here. Open up."

While Keith tried to convince it through negotiation, Lapis tried to convince it via reasoning.

"It's me. Keith. Your buddy. It's me! Keith, your— I am your Paladin!"

"Please. You saw what my race is doing. The fact is... I'm one of them, but... I don't want to see my race like this anymore. I want it to change. I can't make this happen without you."

However, Kaecilius begged to differ.

"Actually, it can."

Lapis and Keith turned to see Kaecilius standing in front of them.

"Because I am the only one who sees the necessary change: total extinction of all mortals!"

Kaecilius then fired his black lightning at Lapis, only for Keith to help her using his shield while simultaneously trying to convince the Red Lion to open up.

"I'm bonding with you! Hey! Come on! We're connected!"

At the same time, Lapis opened up to the Violet Lion again.

"Please! I need you! I can't make this change without you!"

Then, Keith charged toward Kaecilius with his sword.

"You're not getting those lions!"

As Keith swung his sword at Kaecilius, he countered with his black aura coated hand and clashed it before he ended up being shoved away.

"Admirable effort... for a mortal."

Then, he fired a streak of black lightning at Keith, knocking him to the floor. Seeing this, Lapis grew more desperate.

"Please! Without you, I... I'm weak... I don't know what to do without you..."

Then, the Violet barrier lifted itself before it flared its pink eyes and smashed its tail at the ejection panel, causing a section of the ground to open up, ejecting Kaecilius, who immediately snarled as he noticed the hole Pidge made previously and used his black lightning to propel himself there. Once he got in, he smashed his fist into the ground.

Meanwhile, Keith had just got caught on the pull and is trying to get up, but was struggling to resist. Lapis saw this and reached out for him after he got whacked by the first round of debris. When the second round hit him, Lapis was able to grab his hand and tried to pull him closer. However, she only ended up caught in the pull as well and went down with him. They panted heavily as they were close together. Then, to their surprise, they saw the Red Lion going after them and opening his mouth. Keith immediately shoved Lapis away in order for the Red Lion to get him before the Violet Lion got her as well. Then, the two of them darted away together as the both of them got in the cockpits.

"Good kitty."

Then, Lapis appeared in his transmission.

"Keith, you okay?"

"Yeah. Let's roll."

Inside the ship, Shiro, Jenny, and Pidge were leading the prisoners to the escape pods.

"Hurry!"

Suddenly, they heard a feminine voice speaking to them.

"Not so fast!"

Pidge, Jenny, and Shiro gasped at the source of the voice: Kren. Along with her are four Galra drones.

"No one is leaving."

Shiro and Jenny immediately recognized her.

"Belle?"

"Arrest these intruders and send the others back to their cells."

"But, sis... why?"

As Jenny ended up struck by a bombshell, Shiro got into his stance, causing his arm to glow pink before he ended up groaning in pain. At the same time, Jenny put her hands on her head and tried to convince herself it was all a dream.

"This isn't real. It can't be real."

"Shiro, Jenny, what's wrong?"

Then, as he got used to it, Shiro's glowing hand released the tension as a gust of black dust emitted from it. Then, as he charged at one of the drones, he blocked it with his hand before slicing its neck and hacked two more to pieces before destroying the final one with a punch, much to Pidge's surprise. However, Kren wasn't impressed.

"Kaecilius was right. You mortals are savage."

Hearing this, Jenny snapped back to reality and found out the truth.

"Wait a second. My sis wouldn't talk like that."

Then, Kren smirked as she prepared a long, pink aura blade on her right hand before she charged at Shiro, who clashed his hand against hers. As they clashed, Jenny made a deduction.

"Of course. She wasn't just captured. She's hypnotized. That explains my vision. I gotta thank it later."

As Kren and Shiro clashed, Shiro tried to snap her out of it.

"Listen! I was a prisoner like you, Belle. I got out; so can you!"

"I don't need anyone to save me."

"You can only save yourself."

Hearing this, Kren grew angry as she gave the sword a dark black glow inside the blade.

"I... don't... need... saving!"

Then, Kren sliced down along his arm, earning his yell of pain, urging Jenny to think of a plan.

"Come on, come on. Think!"

Then, she remembered her bayard and got it ready as Kren lifted Shiro by the shoulder.

"I wanted to stay. I wanted to work with Kaecilius. I wanted to annihilate you and your pathetic friends!"

Then, her arm that's lifting him up glowed pink and began torturing Shiro with electric shocks as she pointed her sword at his head.

"And now... I never want to see your face again."

Then, Jenny launched her chain blade and wrapped it around Kren while also wrapping her sword along the side of her body before sending her own shock, causing her to yell in pain as her pink eyes faded away into her normal eyes. Then, Kren moaned as she passed out. Shiro then turned to see Jenny panting heavily.

"Sorry to do that to you, sis. But you definitely needed that."

With that, the pod began to take off with the prisoners as one of them thanked him before it closed.

"Thank you, Shiro."

Then, as it took off, Shiro tried to ask him.

"Wait! How do you..."

Then, Pidge turned to Shiro and Jenny while stating his excitement.

"Guys, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Me? I barely did anything. Come to think of it, how did you and sis fight with energy blades and stuff?"

"No idea."

"It's okay. We can ask sis when she wakes up."

Outside, Hunk fired a blue laser beam at the barrier, breaking it apart. However, it still had yet to break completely.

"Come on, just break, you stupid thing!"

Eventually, the barrier broke apart, exposing the ion cannon.

"Excellent work! Now you know what to do!"

"Score one for Hunk!"

Then, Hunk collided into the ion cannon, barely making a dent, but it will suffice for the time being. Then, Hunk saw the Green and Blue Lions leaving Kaecilius's ship as he spoke with Pidge and Sandra speaking before the rest of the Lions took off.

"You guys made it!"

"Kitties Rose and Violet have left the stage!"

"Let's get the heck out of here!"

"I hope I stopped that cannon. I could barely make a dent in it."

Inside the main hangar, Haxxus pointed out the incoming problem.

"They stole the Red and Violet Lions!"

In anger, Sendak shouted towards him.

"After them! 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."

"Then, send the drones to fix it!"

However, Kaecilius spoke in an furious tone as he stomped in the hangar.

"No. The ion cannon is far too good for them. I promise you, they will fall by the hand of Kaecilius and Kaecilius alone!"

As the ship approached Arus, the five lions gathered at the door alongside Shiro, awaiting the Black Lion. As their eyes glowed yellow (and pink for the Violet Lion), the links of the lions came together, as measured by Allura who held her hands together as she witnessed it. Then, the door glowed blue as it opened up to reveal a Black Lion with two red wings on its back as Shiro and the others gazed in awe. Then, the Black Lion roared before the others did. Allura made a sigh of relief as Babak and Coran cheered. However, it wasn't to last as the alarm went off and showed another transmission from Kaecilius, and he clearly wasn't happy.

"Oh, quiznak!"

"You dare assault a god and steal his property?! I'll see to it that your souls are erased from existence!"

Allura felt the need to warn the others.

"Kaecilius is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!"

Then, Shiro got into the Black Lion and grabbed onto the two bars in front of him before it roared and took off into the air with the other five following him. Then, the lions merged from the top of the castle and landed, facing their foes. Zarix noticed this and cackled.

"You fools! You couldn't have made this any easier on us!"

Then, Zarix began his assault on the barrier while Kaecilius emerged from where the tractor beam opened up and floated until he landed on top of the ion cannon. Kaecilius prepared a dark black and purple energy from his outstretched hand. Then, he fired a large, black lightning at the barrier, causing the castle to shake as a dark barrier enveloped it before it faded away. Hunk took a closer look and saw Kaecilius fuming at the events that took place as his purple eyes flared dark black on his sclera.

"Man, that guy is so angry!"

Babak and Coran then spoke of their odds as he pointed out the barrier's strength.

"You might have to take him head on. The barrier gets weaker with every blast he fires."

"Once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless."

Allura had an idea to help prolong this fate as she spoke, much to Hunk's chagrin.

"I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!"

"Jeez, no pressure."

Lapis agreed with Allura.

"She's right, though. I know it's considered the second Voltron, but how do I make it happen?"

Just then, Kaecilius fired another black lightning at the castle, enveloping it in a dark barrier again. This time, the barrier is getting weaker. Shiro groaned as he recovered from the effects before he tried to convince them to go on.

"Listen Up, Team Voltron! He only way to succeed is give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?"

Then, everyone nodded before Hunk spoke up.

"I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?"

"Yes." "Let's do this!"

As they took off outside the barrier, Lance was curious on how to make it happen.

"Uh, how?"

"Good question. Does anyone have any ideas on how to form Voltron?"

Lapis and Hunk gave their honest answers, seeing as they were.

"Nope."

"I don't see a 'combine into giant robot' button anywhere on my dashboard."

However, Lapis saw two thin holes for each of her bayards glowing and got them out.

"I think my lion has another idea."

Then, she plunged the bayards into the holes, instantly transforming the Violet Lion. The Lion stood on its hind legs as its paws turned into hands and feet and the Galra symbol glowed pink on its chest before its mouth opened up to reveal a head before it stood in front of the lions, catching their attention. "Whoa." Kaecilius noticed this and snarled.

"Curse you..."

Lapis began her defense as she spoke to the Paladins.

"I'll take care of the ships and Kaecilius. You figure out how to form Voltron!"

Then, they jumped off of the bridge as the Violet Voltron swatted at the ships as Pidge grew annoyed.

"This is insane! Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?"

Sandra thought it was a stupid question as she witnessed the battle with Allura, Babak, Jenny, and Coran.

"Of course it is! Judging from the look on Kaecilius's face, that's the last thing he wants to do!"

Keith can agree with his sister.

"We've got to do something."

Suddenly, Hunk bumped into Keith in an attempt to form Voltron.

"Combine!"

However, that didn't work as he just rolled over.

"Hey!"

"Okay, that didn't work."

Then, they scurried off as the Violet Voltron attacked the ships approaching the castle and received a transmission from Allura.

"Quickly, Paladins! Our energy levels are low!"

Lapis had problems of her own.

"I'm having a bit of a problem! They just won't let up!"

Soon, the Violet Voltron ended up being blasted by Varek and Zarix as they smirked.

"You better come up with something and fast!"

Fortunately, Shiro came up with a plan.

"Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine. Take off on my cue."

Then, the lions darted toward Kaecilius.

"One, two, three, Voltron!"

Keith, Sandra, Lance and Jenny had hoped it'd work.

"Here we go!"

"This better work!"

"Come on, come on!"

However, Kaecilius saw them and used his other hand to fire a glowing purple beacon at them, pulling them towards him. The Paladins didn't quite notice this, however, as Lance didn't feel any different.

"Nothing's happening."

Shiro began feeling otherwise as he spoke up.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I feel something!"

Hunk began feeling the same thing the others were.

"It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!"

Shiro looked up and saw Kaecilius smirking as he pulled them.

"Uh, guys, I think I know why. Look up."

Lance and Pidge didn't like that one bit.

"What the cheese?"

"Kaecilius is sucking us in like a black hole!"

As he pulled in his prey, Kaecilius stated his proclamation.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Paladins of Voltron. For your persistent insolence and repeated affronts toward the Master Race, you will now reap the swift and severe consequences of your actions!"

Then, Kaecilius fired a black lightning blast at the barrier, only for Lapis to summon a shield and blocked it. However, a small fraction of it trailed off from the shield and consumed the barrier before it destroyed it, frightening Lapis.

"No!"

Shiro saw this and grew worried.

"Oh, no."

"I don't care what you say, Shiro. I'm panicking now!"

As Hunk made a monotonous scream, Pidge and the others grew worried.

"It can't end here!"

"This is it!"

"It's been an honor flying with you all."

Kaecillius smirked as the lions grew closer to him. Lapis tried to go after them, only for Vaxel to fire a dark lightning blast at her, short-circuiting it and causing it to fall to the ground. Lapis looked up to see Kaecilius preparing another volley.

"No..."

However, Shiro wasn't willing to give up.

"No! We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope. Everyone is relying on us. We can't fail! We won't fail! If we work together, we'll win together!"

"Yeah!"

Then, the lions roared before they glowed and split away from the tractor beam. The black lion roared as its legs are pulled back inside it while the Green and Red Lions remolded themselves into arms while the Yellow and Blue Lions molded into legs. As the arms connected, they grew longer. Then. The back legs of the Black Lion went inside the legs and connected them with the Yellow and Blue Lions. Then, Kaecilius fired his black lightning, only for the new fusion to waylay it and hit a nearby mountain.

"What?!"

At the castle, Allura, Babak, and Coran saw the figure as they got a scan of it while Kaecilius snarled even more so at the name of the being that stopped him.

"Voltron."

The others were in awe at the giant robot with Keith, Sandra, and Jenny stating their excitement before the Paladins of Green, Yellow, and Blue stated theirs with the two girls at the Castle.

"I can't believe it!"

"Pretty killer."

"I must be dreaming!"

"We formed Voltron!"

"I'm a leg."

"How are we doing this?"

"I don't know, but let's get Kaecilius!"

With that, Voltron glared at Kaecilius before he took the cannon and chucked it away, forcing Kaecilius to take flight. Lapis saw this and pushed herself up while pushing the bayards further, causing the Violet Voltron to summon two swords against Vaxel, Varek, and Zarix before slashing a violet wave toward them and knocking them out.

"You shouldn't have messed with me."

Then, she turned to see Kaeculius flying like a gnat at Voltron, trying in vain to stop him from destroying the ship. Then, the blast sent him farther away as Sendak recovered from the impact. As Voltron kicked into the ship and blasted it, Kaecilius teleported himself in the hangar. Just as Sendak and Haxxus prepares to leave, Kaecilius barked at them.

"Where are you going, cowards! We must fight!"

"But commander..."

"Cowardice will not be tolerated! Victory or death!"

Then, the Paladins shouted as Voltron charged toward the ship and went through it, causing the ship to explode as Kaecilius reluctantly clutched onto Sendak and Haxxus before he spoke.

"This isn't over."

Then, they teleported away as the ship ended up destroyed. After that, everyone cheered as Kaecilius was defeated.

"We did it!"

"That was so cool!"

"We did it."

"Looks like it."

"Pretty awesome, guys."

Later on, Allura, Babak, and Coran ran outside to congratulate them.

"Good work, Paladins!"

Everyone sighed as Shiro walked toward them while Lance complimented her.

"Thanks, pretty lady."

Jenny heard this and grew jealous.

"Oh. And what does that make me?"

Lance saw no reason for her to get worried and confidently replied.

"You know, my beautiful girlfriend."

Jenny grew reassured and smiled.

"That's right. And don't you forget it."

"We did it."

Keith replied as he removed his helmet.

"Heck yeah, we did."

"How did we do it?"

"I was just, like, screaming this whole time. Maybe that did it."

Then, Pidge thought back to his father and brother as Jenny and Shiro placed their hands on his shoulders.

"We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father, okay?"

"Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

Then, Jenny thought of Shiro's sister before bringing her up.

"You know, your sis would be proud of you, too, Shiro."

Shiro grew surprised by what she said.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Six months ago, she left to look for you."

"What?"

"Yeah. Ayame's our there too. So... my search isn't over yet. But we are getting closer. So that's good."

Then, Shiro hugged Jenny before he spoke to her.

"Thank you for telling me this."

Jenny hugged him back before speaking to him again.

"You're welcome."

Just then, they heard a feminine groan from the entryway and saw Belle walking out in limps. Jenny saw this and ran from Shiro over to her.

"Sis!"

Instantly, she hugged her older sister and began sobbing on her.

"I looked everywhere for you! I thought you were gone!"

Belle smiled at her little sister and gave her a noogie.

"Come on, Jen. You know it'll take more than that to get rid of me."

Then, despite her tears, Jenny laughed as she hugged her again. Shiro smiled at Belle and walked up to her.

"It's good to have you back, Belle."

"It's good to be back."

Then, she noticed her current attire.

"How come I'm wearing this? More importantly, what's with you, Jen? Were you at a costume party?"

Jenny giggled before replying.

"It's a long story."

Then, Allura spoke up.

"We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."

Babak didn't bother sugar-coating it.

"Even worse, it'll take more than a damaged ship to defeat Kaecilius."

"Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

Hunk and the others grew alarmed while Lapis was sure of herself.

"Totally. Wait, what?"

"Well, I do. But how did you guys do that?"

Jenny tried to think, but couldn't figure out how they did it.

"Hmm. No clue."

Lance felt that they needed a break.

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time."

"And you only had to fight one ship. Odds are, you could be directly taking on the entirety of the Galra Empire. It won't be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

Hearing this, everyone widened their eyes before Shiro responded with a smile.

"Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it."

A/N: So, what do you think? I know it was very long for a first chapter and that the first episode is compiled into three parts, but it was technically a series premiere. Anyway, I'm also reworking a bit on the story's elements up ahead so that it doesn't stray from the originality. Enjoy. :)