Chapter 9: Haunting Grounds

At the Castle, Alfor and Allura talked with Lapis about how life was with them previously, back when Zarkon had not seized power.

Lapis: "So, you guys took walks to the Blossom Canyon every day together?"

Alfor: "That's right, Lapis."

Allura: "I loved the smell of the mountain juniberries in the early morning breeze."

Alfor: "As did I, Allura."

Then, Allura had a memory of her past and brought it up.

Allura: "Remember the summer berry festival? People would come from all over for the harvest."

Alfor: "I remember how the berry juice stained your favorite dress. You were so upset."

Allura: "It took forever for mother to calm me. I miss Altea so much. I miss you, Father. I wish it didn't have to be this way."

Alfor: "I know, Allura. But as leaders, we have to do what's right for our people, even if it means great sacrifice."

Allura: "I know, Father. That's what you always say."

Lapis: "I could relate. My father always told me the same thing. It didn't make me feel any better, though. I just wanted him to talk to me, well, like a father. Just one moment with just me and him. Is that too much to ask?"

Alfor: "Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's true that your father's mind is, at times, elsewhere. But you must remember that he's doing the things he does for you."

Lapis put her head in between her legs in doubt.

Lapis: "It's hard to remember when he never even talks to me."

Just then, Coran walked in through an invisible door from the Castle.

Coran: "Princess, there you are. What are you doing up and about? You should be resting."

Allura: "Oh, Coran, can't I stay?"

Coran: "The Balmera rejuvenation ceremony took a lot out of you both, except Jenny still had the decency to listen. Come along, to your room."

Alfor: "Get your rest, darling. I will be here for you when you're well."

Lapis: "Yeah. It's not like he's going anywhere. Uh, no offense."

Allura: "I love you, Father. I'll see you soon."

Then, as Coran and Allura walked out of the room, Lapis turned to Alfor.

Lapis: "Alfor... I'm really glad... for the both of you."

Alfor: "Well, thank you very much, my dear."

Lapis: "But, still, don't you feel at least a little bit of pain like I had? About not wanting to... you know?"

Alfor: "On several occasions, yes. But Altea isn't the universe, Lapis. Though we can reminisce, we can't live in the past, lest we become consumed by them. The best discourse that can be done is to move forward."

Lapis: "I know."

Then, Lapis began to walk out before she stopped for a moment and turned to him.

Lapis: "By the way, I wanted to say... thank you for saving me from my pain. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be the Paladin I am today."

Alfor smiled back at her before responding.

Alfor: "It was not me that's confirmed it. It was you."

Lapis smiled at him back before she continued walking out.

Back at their bedroom, Jenny was on the bottom bunk in a blanket on top of Lance.

Jenny: "I gotta say, I get more sleep when I use you as a bed."

Lance: "I'm glad you feel that way. So... you feeling okay?"

Jenny: "Huh? What'd you mean? You're the one who had to fight that laser robot thing."

Lance: "Just making sure you're good after... the, uh, ceremony."

Jenny began to hug Lance as she made herself comfortable on him.

Jenny: "Ah."

Lance: "Look, the fact is, you've gotten into trouble so many times that... that frankly, I'm getting really scared. You've made me worried sick about what'll happen to make you kick the bucket. I guess, maybe that's what happens when someone loves a person; they worry. You understand where I'm going with that?"

Jenny: "I do. But... if you don't say that for real, I can't give you an answer."

Lance: "Fair enough."

Then, Lance took a deep breath before trying to speak his feelings for her.

Lance: "Well, what I'm trying to say is..."

However, Coran's voice spoke to Lance.

Coran: "Lance, please come down to the detainment room."

Then, Lance and Jenny groaned at having their moment interrupted.

Lance: "Now, Coran's officially on my list."

As Lance got up and set her back on the bed, she spoke to him.

Jenny: "Promise me you won't take too long, you got it?"

Lance: "I'll try, but if I do take long, you can blame it on Coran."

Jenny giggled at this before she smiled.

Jenny: "Yeah, that's fair. Well, see you then."

Then, Lance did a thumbs-up before walking out as Jenny slept, not noticing her scars glowing bright blue.

At the detainment room, Azix, Shiro, Lapis, Sandra, Belle, Keith, Hunk, Lance, Zaltron, and Pidge were watching as Coran and Babak placed small devices on the pods of Sendak and Haxxus.

Coran: "Okay, guys, Sendak and Haxxus are almost all hooked up. But, look, I have to warn you, this technology was used to keep Altean memories alive, not to interrogate prisoners."

Shiro: "Coran, we understand this isn't what the technology was meant for, but if we can extract either Haxxus or Sendak's memories, we may gain valuable intelligence on Zarkon's troop locations."

Zaltron: "And more importantly, where and why Kaecilius mass produced so much Dark Quintessence."

Lance: "Yeah, and then we can just be like, 'knock-knock.' 'Who's there?' 'The avenging fury of Voltron, son!'"

Pidge: "Fascinating. So, how exactly does this work?"

Babak: "Once the memories are extracted, they're written in precise detail on individual micro-storage strands of DNA."

Lance: "When I go, I want all the stuff in my brain stored in a giant ship."

Keith: "The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane."

Lapis heard this and countered matter-of-factly.

Lapis: "Well, to be fair, the amount of information in yours might as well be stored in a DNA helix."

As Keith widened his eyes at this, Hunk backed her up.

Hunk: "Oh! Good one, Lapis!"

Lapis looked to see Keith's stunned face before replying.

Lapis: "What? It's true."

Pidge: "So, this is how you incorporated King Alfor's memories into the Castle of Lions?"

Coran: "Precisely, But it's never been attempted before on an unwilling participant."

Then, after the adjustments were made, the pods by the Galra Commander and Lieutenant glowed.

Hunk: "Is that what's supposed to happen?"

Shiro: "Let's give it some time."

Nothing appeared to have happened in the time that followed as Keith and Lapis left first.

Keith: "Well, we can't wait around anymore."

Lapis: "We're going to hit the training deck."

As they left, Zaltron spoke to them.

Zaltron: "I shall accompany you as well."

Lapis grew surprised and hopeful at this.

Lapis: "Really? You will?"

Zaltron: "It's come to my attention that I haven't been making up for lost time as I should've done. I hope you can accept."

Lapis smiled before turning to her father.

Lapis: "Of course we do. Come on."

Then, the three of them walked to the training deck before time passed again with Pidge and Sandra leaving next.

Pidge: "Okay, if anyone needs me, I'll be at the lab. Maybe I can pull some information from the Dark Crystal Vaxel made."

Sandra: "Mind if I join?"

A short while after that, Lance, Hunk, Belle, Shiro, Azix, Coran, and Babak remained until Hunk took his cue.

Hunk: "Time to feed the beast. I'm going to go make some breakfast."

Then, Coran and Babak took their turn.

Babak: "Well, we're not going to stay here longer either. We have business to attend to."

Coran: "Between that Quintessential Bomb infecting our system, and then fighting off those ships, fighting off Vaxel, and performing the Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony, the old Castle of Lions has taken quite a beating. Every system needs to be recharged and repaired."

Belle: "Shiro and I'll stay here, then. Just in case the information does pop up."

Then, Lance got up and started walking away.

Lance: "Okay, well, while you guys do that, I'm gonna go back to Jenny and see how she's holding up. I promised her I wouldn't take too long."

Babak: "I see. Let us know if anything happens."

Lance: "Will do. Make sure you guys don't get crazy."

As he started to leave, Lance turned to Belle and Shiro, he noticed them still fixated on the Galra.

Lance: "Guys?"

Belle turned to him and answered.

Belle: "You got it."

Shiro: "And what about you, Azix?"

Azix: "I'll continue to run some diagnostics to make sure that all the Dark Quintessence was removed. I'll start with the main engine."

Shiro/Belle: "Okay."

Then, Lance continued to walk to his quarters and Azix toward the main engine as Shiro glared at Sendak and Belle at Haxxus.

Meanwhile, Hunk was getting his bowl and the nozzle out.

Hunk: "Maybe today, we try a little crème goo-lée."

However, when he tried to use it in the bowl, it wouldn't work. As he inspected the nozzle as to why it wouldn't work, there was an electric spark from the dispenser before the nozzle suddenly sprayed goo on him, causing him to scream as he dropped the bowl and nozzle.

Hunk: "My eye!"

Suddenly, the nozzle began firing at will before hitting him in the butt, forcing him to flee.

Out at the hall, Pidge and Sandra were walking to their lab before a shot of goo came near them, surprising them before they looked in the kitchen to see the nozzle on automatic.

Sandra: "Uh, what's going on here?"

Hunk: "The goo has me pinned down!"

As Hunk got hit in the face with goo again, Pidge and Sandra moved in and hid behind the counter before opening the washer and getting out plates.

Pidge: "Okay, we're going to have to flank the goo to shut it down."

Sandra: "That sounds risky. I like it."

Then, before the two of them could move in, Hunk stopped them.

Hunk: "Okay, wait. Wait! It's been a pleasure cooking with you."

Then, he did a salute toward them before shouting.

Hunk: "Go!"

Then, the three Paladins moved in towards the automatic nozzle as Hunk are three goo balls that came at him before Pidge and Sandra jumped on top of it and held it back as it sprayed. Then, Hunk took the opportunity to wrap the hose in a knot, stopping the flow before one end inflated before green goo oozed out of the dispenser.

Sandra: "What... was that?"

Pidge: "Provably a malfunction?"

Hunk: "Yeah, yeah. Guess the kitchen system needs to be rebooted, too."

Sandra: "Well, whatever happened, there's only one thing to do about this mess."

Then, Hunk and Pidge eyed Sandra before she asked.

Pidge: "Leave it for Coran?"

Sandra: "Leave it for Coran."

Then, the three of them walked out while whistling casually.

Meanwhile, Babak and Coran were cleaning the pods, the former being disgruntled.

Babak: "Since when did we have a rule where we're supposed to clean it if we slept in it? Shouldn't Lance be the one doing this?"

Coran: "He would be if he didn't give me a good reason: looking after Jenny. He's clearly thought of her as someone really dear to him. You know, this kind of reminds me of my time as a young cadet. I had just enlisted in the Altean space squad aeronautics sub-tech nano-weaponry unit, and I was sent off to boot camp. Our sergeant had us cleaning cryo-pods day and night. I got so good at it, I earned my first set of stripes!"

Suddenly, as Babak was cleaning, the pod somehow activated before he tried to get his attention.

Babak: "Uh, Coran? Coran?"

However, Coran didn't hear him.

Coran: "Oh, those were the days."

Then, before Babak could speak, the pod froze him before going down.

Coran: "You would've loved it. You might've been the perfect drill sergeant."

However, when Coran turned around, he wasn't there.

Coran: "Babak? Babak!"

Then, he assumed Babak had bailed on him.

Coran: "Ah, bodyguards..."

At the main engine, Azix was looking through the conditions of the ship's turbine.

Azix: "The engine appears stable. The sub panels and energy transducer are fully functioning."

Just then, he felt a presence coming from below the engine and had an uneasy feeling. He was sure that Zarix couldn't have survived. But... there's also a chance that he might've, considering his prowess as one of the most dangerous of Kaecilius' enforcers.

Azix: "This can't be possible. Can it?"

Suddenly, to his surprise a dark blast of dark energy erupted from the pit, knocking him to the catwalk and making him unconscious as a being inside the dark mist glared its purple eye and laughed venomously.

At the training deck, Lance and Lapis were fighting the dummy together as Zaltron watched. As Lapis blocked its attacks, Keith closed in and slew his sword through the dummy, defeating it as it dissolved into nothing. Zaltron was becoming alarmed at how fast Lapis had grown up as he'd begun to see her as just a little child. Then, the child turned to him and spoke in a small voice.

Lapis (Young): "How did I do, Father?"

After that, he'd returned to reality and saw her grown up.

Lapis: "Well?"

Zaltron smiled underneath his mask, though no one could tell.

Zaltron: "You've done remarkably well, my daughter. As did you, Keith."

Keith smiled back at him.

Keith: "You know, at first, I thought it was... crazy to have a Galra with us. Well, other than Lapis. But, in a way, I'm glad I'm wrong."

Zaltron nodded in understanding before Keith spoke again.

Keith: "Still, I think we can kick it up a notch. Start training level three."

Then, another drone appeared from the ceiling before it mobilized toward Keith and Lapis. This time, it was Keith's turn to guard against the attacks. However, the drone's attacks were becoming more hostile as it swiped him to the floor, worrying Lapis.

Lapis: "Keith!"

Then, Lapis moved in and fenced against the drone, though she fared no better as the drone saw an opening and tripped her. It was about to impale her before Zaltron interfered and impaled it himself before hoisting his sword up, forcing the drone to disappear. Lapis drew a sigh of relief as her father helped her up.

Lapis: "Thanks, father."

Zaltron: "I believe that's enough training for today."

Keith/Lapis: "Agreed."

Meanwhile, Shiro and Belle were watching Sendak and Haxxus.

Belle: "Any luck, Shiro?"

Shiro: "Nope. Any on your end?"

Belle: "Not I. It's like they're trying hard not to let go."

After a moment, Belle spoke to Haxxus.

Belle: "I know you're in there, Haxxus. We know you and Sendak have all the answers. Give them to us."

When no movement or action was made, Belle quickly got irritated and banged her fist against the glass, much to Shiro's worry.

Belle: "You're broken soldiers! You can't hold out forever!"

Shiro: "They can't give us any answers either if you break the glass like that."

However, a glowing purple essence entered in a tube beside Haxxus before she smiled.

Belle: "Just making sure they heard me."

At the sleep chamber, Coran was about to clean the next pod when it opened up to reveal Babak trapped inside, to his surprise as he screamed. After a short while that followed, Coran opened the pod, allowing Babak to walk out with a chill.

Babak: "T-t-that... infernal pod... j-j-just trapped me in there as you were rambling on about b-b-boot camp!"

Coran: "You sure you didn't just trip and fall in? No judgment. It happens. Besides, why would the pod automatically lock and start the cryogenic freezing process?"

Babak: "Well, let's see. What's different now than it was last time? Ah, yes. It's been infected with Dark Quintessence!"

Coran: "Don't get your boots in a bunch. Azix and Zaltron cleared them of Dark Quintessence quintants ago. My guess is they're malfunctioning."

Babak: "Well, here's mine. I believe we have a spy in our midst. Care to guess who it is?"

Coran: "That's preposterous. Azix may seem like a crazed and deluded Galra to you, but he's really a dedicated and driven person who's working towards his goal."

Babak: "And?"

Coran heard himself and commented on that.

Coran: "Well, that does make him seem like a spy, doesn't it? But he's not. Trust me, nothing out of the ordinary is happening here."

Babak muttered under his breath in disbelief as he walked out.

Babak: "Well, I'm not going to take any chances, thank you very much."

Meanwhile, Lance walked in to see that Jenny was sleeping with her scars glowing blue as a feminine voice spoke before the source of said voice appeared on her bed.

Alphus: "Jenny. Jenny."

As Lance got surprised and saw the ghost, Jenny moaned trying to wake up and saw a woman in white with blue hair.

Alphus: "Jenny, my dear child."

Jenny's vision became clear and confirmed it was her.

Jenny: "Alphus?"

Lance: "Wait, that's Alphus?"

Alphus: "So, you can hear me. That's a relief."

Jenny: "I'm listening, yeah, but why are you here?"

Far away, the sleeping Allura was visited by a hologram of Alfor who spoke softly to her.

Alfor: "Allura? Allura?"

The mice became surprised and squeaked as Allura woke up and saw him.

Alfor: "Allura, my dear daughter."

Allura: "Father? What are you doing here?"

Meanwhile, Babak walked in the hall and noticed the hall lights switching off, with them flickering to show a hologram of Alfor in front of him. Babak suspected foul play from this.

Babak: "I'm onto you, Azix! You think you can use these scare tactics to boot us out of the Castle? Well, you'll have to pry it from our cold dead hands!"

Then, a familiar raspy and terrifying laugh echoed throughout the halls.

Zarix: "That's exactly the plan."

Babak: "Where are you, spy?! Show yourself now!"

Zarix: "As you wish..."

When Babak turned behind him, he saw a figure in a cloak with a glowing purple scythe charging at him as it shrieked before shoving him in the airlock and closing it.

Computer: "Opening airlock in 30 ticks."

Zarix: "Have a nice flight."

Then, Zarix laughed maliciously before vanishing with Babak banging on the glass, shouting for help.

Babak: "No. No! Coran! Paladins! Wherever you are, help!"

At the detainment room, Belle began to ask questions.

Belle: "What was the first rank you held in Zarkon's army? Where did you find the Red and Violet Lions?"

When there wasn't any luck, Shiro placed his hand on her shoulder.

Shiro: "Let me try. What is Zarkon's greatest weakness?"

Just then, a voice responded to him.

Sendak: "What makes you think you can possibly defeat him?"

Shiro and Belle looked around, but couldn't tell where it came from.

Shiro: "You heard that, too?"

Belle: "Yeah. But how come they didn't answer me?"

Shiro: "Well, why don't you try again?"

Belle: "Okay. Why is Kaecilius mass producing Dark Quintessence? What is he attempting to build?"

Then, a different voice responded to him.

Haxxus: "You should know, shouldn't you? You were with him the longest."

As Belle looked toward Haxxus in shock, she began to her scared fast.

Belle: "This is getting creepy way too fast."

Shiro: "If you were to attack Zarkon, where would you strike?"

Sendak: "Why strike at all when you can join him?"

As Shiro and Belle looked at their prisoners, they began to see visions of them being as awake as they were in a flash before reality settled them again.

Shiro: "Belle, I think you might be right."

At the lab, Pidge, Sandra, and Hunk were working on analyzing the infected crystal from Vaxel's attack on Balmera.

Pidge: "I bet if we can modulate the dynamics of this crystal, we'll be able to reverse engineer a lot of Galra tech."

Sandra: "You mean like you did to Rover?"

Pidge: "Yep. But he's been through a lot, so I'm giving him a break. Anyway, we could accomplish a lot if we reverse engineer them. Don't you think, Hunk?"

When they turned to him, Hunk was staring off into space with a worried look on his face.

Sandra: "Uh, Hunk? We're talking to you."

Then, Hunk turned to them, snapped out of his stupor.

Hunk: "What? No, I'm sorry. That whole food goo ambush really sent me on edge, guys. If we can't trust food, we are lost as a culture."

Pidge: "Relax. I'm sure the Castle's just glitchy."

Sandra: "Yeah, dude. What'd you expect from a Castle that's 10,000 years old?"

Hunk: "Yeah, it does seem like the ship is not currently trying to kill us."

Meanwhile, Pidge was done hooking it up.

Pidge: "Okay, so all the sensors are on the crystal. Hit the switch."

Sandra: "Pfft. What do you think I am? Igor?"

As Pidge made a disgusted face, Hunk ran to the switch and was about to push it when everything and everyone in the room started floating.

Pidge: "Hunk, did you accidentally hit the anti-gravity switch?"

Hunk: "Uh, no. There's no anti-gravity switch. Uh, is there?"

Sandra: "Well, whatever button you pressed, find one to fix it."

Hunk: "Uh, I didn't press any button, okay?"

Then, Pidge reached for the crystal, only to have no luck as she couldn't reach it.

Pidge: "Curse my short arms!"

Sandra: "Okay, so there's nothing to help us move that's within reach."

Hunk: "All right, forget it, guys. I'm going to swim toward you. Just hang on!"

As Hunk tried to "swim", he didn't move anywhere and was still floating where he was.

Sandra: "Uh, you know you're supposed to move, right?"

Hunk: "Give it a minute."

Then, Hunk continued, only to fail and quit a moment after.

Hunk: "That's it. I'm all out of moves."

Sandra groaned just as his stomach grumbled.

Hunk: "Oh, I'm hungry again. I hope some food goo comes oozing out of these walls."

Meanwhile, Zaltron, Keith, and Lapis were walking through the hall and noticed the lights were off.

Keith: "Uh, what's up with the lights?"

Lapis: "Yeah. I don't remember it being so dark."

Just then, they heard a faint yelling.

Babak: "Help! Anybody help!"

Keith/Lapis: "Babak?"

The trio ran toward the source and found Babak in an airlock.

Babak: "Paladins! Oh, thank the ancients! You've got to get me out of here!"

Lapis: "Don't worry. We'll have you out in a tick."

Then, Lapis moved in and pressed the switch to open the door, allowing Babak to get in just as another door behind him opened as the computer spoke.

Computer: "Doors opening."

Suddenly, as he went in, the Paladins, Zaltron, and Babak were being pulled by the force of the airlock as Zarix revealed himself with a cackle.

Zarix: "Farewell, Paladins of Voltron! May you freeze in peace!"

However, Zaltron got out his sword and used it to slam it on the ground before pulling them in and hitting the door with his fist, closing it and infuriating Zarix.

Zarix: "Argh! No matter. I've got all the time in the world."

Then, Zaria vanished with a cackle before Keith turned to Babak.

Keith: "What were you doing out there?"

Babak: "Well, obviously, I was used for bait! Can't you tell?!"

Lapis: "Wait a tick. Azix said that he was working in the main engine room. And Zarix fell into the pit of it on Arus. So that means..."

Then, Keith and Babak came to that realization as they widened their eyes in shock.

Keith/Babak: "We have to get to the main engine!"

With that, the four of them headed off for the main engine.

Meanwhile, Jenny and Lance were being graced with Alphus' presence.

Lance: "Whoa. Who'd have thought she'd be more beautiful up close?"

Jenny heard this and didn't like that comment, until Lance reaffirmed his words to her.

Lance: "Don't worry, Jenny. It's not like I'm gonna leave you for her."

Alphus: "This one apparently shows commitment. I admire that."

Lance: "Why, thank you."

As Lance pointed his fingers at her and put on a dashing smile, Jenny grumbled before speaking.

Jenny: "Okay, like I said, why are you here?"

Alphus: "I've come to warn you."

Jenny: "Warn me. About what?"

Alphus: "The Galra you've defeated before has returned from death's door to claim all of your lives."

Jenny: "Huh? You mean Kaecilius?"

Lance: "No, wasn't it Varek?"

Jenny: "Uh, Vaxel, maybe?"

Then, Lance finally remembered.

Lance: "Oh, right. It was Zarix. We tossed him into the main engine pit."

Then, his eyes widened in shock at the sudden realization of this.

Lance: "Wait, what?! Zarix was a stowaway this whole time?!"

Alphus: "I'm afraid so. During the time between then and now, he's acquired new powers that would allow him to strike anywhere at anytime."

Jenny: "Uh, wasn't he already capable of that before? Why did he just wait for all of that time until now?"

Alphus: "He didn't have a choice. The impact of your rejuvenation must've revived him after his death."

Jenny gasped as she placed her hand over her mouth.

Jenny: "Oh, no..."

Lance: "Then we have to warn everyone and fast!"

Jenny: "Tout sweet!"

Then, the two were about to take off just before Alphus appeared suddenly in front of them.

Alphus: "Hold on."

Lance: "What?! What do you mean 'hold on?' You're the one who just said Zarix is back!"

Alphus: "And he's also very dangerous. You can't defeat him as you are now, but I know a way to defeat him."

Then, Jenny walked up to Alphus and spoke.

Jenny: "Well, if you've got an idea, let's hear it."

Meanwhile, Allura was blowing the leaves off of the juniberry flower before Alfor spoke.

Alfor: "Altean flowers are the most beautiful."

Allura: "It is sad that I will only see them in my dreams. But when I wake, my memories are like these spores, scattered in the wind."

Alfor: "Altea is not merely a dream, Allura. It still exists. The Altean flower, you can see it. You can touch it. But once we find it, you'll be able to smell them again."

Allura: "Find it? What are you saying?"

Alfor: "I can take you there. I can take you home."

Allura: "You can?"

Alfor: "Would you like to go home?"

Allura smiled at the hope that Altea would still exist.

Allura: "Yes. I want to go back to Altea, Father."

Alfor: "Then come with me, and I will show you the way."

In reality, the mice watched as Allura stood up and walked out with Alfor before squeaking in confusion.

Meanwhile, Coran walked into the main engine and noticed Azix unconscious, to his surprise.

Coran: "Azix!"

He ran towards his body to check his pulse and confirmed it was still beating.

Coran: "Oh, thank goodness. You're still breathing. Must've overloaded on you."

As Coran lifted him up, Keith, Babak, Zaltron, and Lapis came through the door and saw Coran holding him by his shoulder.

Keith: "Coran?"

Lapis: "What happened?"

Coran: "How should I know? I found him just like this."

Babak: "How is he doing?"

Coran: "He's just unconscious. He should be up and about in a few vargas."

Keith: "That leaves the lab."

Lapis: "And Allura."

Keith: "We'll check the lab, you can check up on Allura."

Lapis: "Right."

At the lab, Pidge, Sandra, and Hunk were still floating in zero g as the former came up with an idea.

Pidge: "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. I have an idea. Grab on!"

Then, Sandra and Hunk grabbed her hands, forming a triangle together.

Hunk: "Yeah! We did it!"

Sandra: "But now what?"

Pidge: "Now, throw me as hard as you can!"

Hunk: "What? No, we're friends."

Pidge: "No, no. Throw me so I can fly across the room and get to the control panel."

Sandra: "This better work."

Then, Hunk and Sandra aimed Pidge at the control panel before chucking her to it as she flew towards it. When it seemed within reach, she reached out for it, but as she got closer, Pidge ended up getting farther away from it.

Pidge: "Oh... oh, oh! No, no, no, no, no!"

Then, she hit the wall before hitting the floor and floating back up.

Sandra: "Well, that didn't work."

Suddenly, the zero g went off, causing all three to hit the floor as the door opened.

Sandra: "That did."

Babak: "How can you possibly think of taking a nap when the spy is trying to kill us?!"

Hunk: "Taking a nap? We've been floating around in zero g! You know how scary that is?"

Babak: "That's tame compared to what I went through! I was almost blasted into the cold void of space!"

Hunk: "Well, I got attacked by killer food and that's the most horrifying thing you can imagine! The stuff of nightmares! It'll haunt me to my grave!"

Keith: "Well, we had a ghost trying to kill us!"

Babak: "I don't care what you say, Coran. We have a spy in this Castle out to get us!"

Coran groaned as he tried to figure out what's going on.

Coran: "Perhaps the infection from Kaecilius' bomb is worse than we thought."

Hunk: "Wait. Didn't Jenny get rid of it?"

Coran: "It's too late. When Kaecilius used the Quintessential Bomb, it corrupted the entire system."

Keith: "Speaking of, has anyone seen Shiro or Belle? They were supposed to be finding out if they know anything about his plans."

Zaltron: "Hopefully, they won't be in any danger like the one we've faced today."

Zaltron couldn't be more wrong as Shiro and Belle were being tortured.

Sendak: "We're connected, you and me. Both part of the Galra Empire."

Shiro: "No! I'm not like you."

Belle: "I'll never be that way again."

Haxxus: "How can you say so for certain? You've been broken and reformed. Your hand is the proof."

Belle looked at her hand in shock as she responded in panic.

Belle: "No... no, that's not me!"

Sendak: "It's the strongest part of you. Embrace it. The others don't know what you know."

Haxxus: "They haven't seen what you've seen."

Sendak/Haxxus: "Face it. You'll never beat Zarkon. He's already defeated you!"

Belle: "No! I'm not listening to you!"

Sendak/Haxxus: "Do you really think that monsters like you could be a Voltron Paladin?!"

Belle: "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Shiro: "STOP IT!"

Then, just as Shiro slammed his fist into the glass, Belle activated her energy sword and cut through Haxxus and his pod as the latter gasped before Belle took a look and saw Galra Quintessence leaking from where she'd stabbed him in fear and began to back away.

Belle: "No. What did I do...?"

Then, Zarix's voice laughed sinisterly before he spoke through Haxxus' corpse.

Zarix: "Once a murderer, always a murderer!"

Belle panicked even more so and slammed on the pod as Shiro did the same to Sendak. As both Galra went shot out to space, Belle began to hyperventilates her hands went on her head, catching Shiro's attention. Instinctively, he went toward her and hugged her.

Shiro: "Calm down, Belle. You're safe. Take a deep breath."

Considering what he went through himself, there was no room for him to talk, but he knew that Belle needed him now that she's become more fragile. She began sobbing on him as she hugged him back.

Belle: "I'm so scared..."

Shiro: "I know. Me, too."

At the hall, Alphus, Jenny, and Lance were walking as she explained.

Jenny: "So, if my Quintessence revived him, then what's to stop Zarix from attacking us?"

Alphus: "We have to take him to a place where he'll burn up. Most likely, a sun about to go supernova."

Lance: "Uh, isn't that a bad idea? We'd be caught in that explosion!"

Alphus: "Not if we just eject Zarix out into space."

Jenny: "But how are we gonna force Zarix, who's now a ghost, out of the ship?"

Alphus: "I think Alfor might know."

Lance: "Alfor? You mean Allura's dad? You know him?"

Alphus: "It was a long time ago, but yes. All we have to do is find him and..."

However, when they stepped into the main hangar, she, Jenny, and Lance found Allura with Alfor.

Jenny: "Found him."

Alfor: "I remember how you used to dance around this very ballroom. I can still hear you giggling."

Allura: "Oh... those were happy memories."

Alfor: "We can create new memories, Allura."

Alphus: "My thoughts exactly."

Alfor and Allura turned to see Alphus, Jenny, and Lance. Allura grew surprised but none more so than Alfor, who's eyes widened before returning to normal.

Alfor: "Alphus?"

Alphus smiled back at Alfor, knowing he remembered her.

Alphus: "I'm back."

Alfor: "My sister..."

Suddenly, they heard Zarix's maniacal laughter as he rose from the ground.

Zarix: "Isn't that wonderful? A family reunion. Too bad it won't last."

Then, Zarix shrieked as he charged toward them.

Meanwhile, the group ran to the detainment room to see Belle being hugged by Shiro.

Babak: "Ah, there you are. Where's Sendak and Haxxus?"

Shiro: "We ejected them out. Belle's gotten scared. I was, too."

Belle began to reply in a scared tone as she tried to speak through her tears.

Belle: "H-Haxxus... I-I killed him. I'm a... a monster..."

Keith: "No. The only monster here is Zarix. He's somehow survived the invasion and now he's attacking us."

Zaltron: "We must find him and destroy him before it's too late."

However, they heard an alarm from the Castle.

Babak: "That's impossible."

Shiro: "What's going on?"

Babak: "The ship is preparing for a wormhole jump."

Meanwhile, at the hangar, Jenny and Lance were fighting Zarix, who phased through his rifle and her chain blade.

Zarix: "Mere child's play, at best."

Just then, Lapis entered and saw the commotion.

Lapis: "Allura! What's going on?!"

Allura: "We're going to the nearest dying star to burn Zarix away!"

Zarix overheard this and snarled before readying his scythe.

Zarix: "Not before I tear you to shreds!"

Just as Zarix was about to do so, a shield appeared around her and shocked Zarix by the tip of his scythe, forcing him back before Alfor appeared on the monitors.

Alfor: "Stay away from my daughter!"

Zarix: "You don't know when to stay dead, do you? Fortunately, neither do I."

Then, Zarix sank back into the ship, worrying Alphus.

Alphus: "No! Brother, look out!"

Lapis heard this and grew shocked.

Lapis: "Wait, brother?"

However, it was too late, Zarix had already vanished before the monitor showed the dying star just as the other group arrived.

Babak: "Allura! You have to stop this!"

Just as she tried, she was shocked and booted out of her podium as Alfor appeared in her place.

Allura: "Father, please, I beg of you to turn this ship around. If we don't do it soon, we will all perish."

Then, Alfor spoke in Zarix's voice.

Zarix: "I know. That is my whole plan."

Allura and Lapis grew shocked at his voice.

Allura/Lapis: "What?! Why?!"

Zarix: "I'm in command of this Castle now. And if any of you cause any trouble, you'll go out in a Big Bang!"

As the imposter laughed maniacally, Allura tried to reach out to him.

Allura: "Father, please! You can't let Zarix control you. The Paladins and I can still stop Zarkon! Somewhere in there, you must want that to happen."

Suddenly, Alfor began to short-circuit, surprising Zarix.

Zarix: "What?!"

Jenny: "Hey! Alfor's fighting back!"

Alphus: "Brother?"

Alfor: "Allura, my A.I. has been corrupted! You must disconnect my power source!"

Allura: "I know. Alphus, I need you to do all you can to hold him at bay. We'll go disconnect Father's power source manually."

Coran: "But that means... losing King Alfor forever!"

Lapis, Jenny, Alphus, and Allura widened their eyes before Zarix spoke.

Zarix: "Ah, yes. It seemed I made the right choice. The moment you pull the trigger, he'll be lost forever to the stars! There'll be no getting him back."

Lapis tensed her hand at the thought of losing the one person who helped her through a rough patch. She didn't want it to come to this. But present circumstances left neither Lapis nor Allura with a choice.

Lapis: "I know. But if it means the universe lives, it's a price worth paying."

Allura: "We were always told we must do what's right for our people, even if it means great sacrifice."

Allura/Lapis: "This is no different!"

Zarix: "You fools!"

As the imposter began to attack, Alphus tossed blue chains at him, binding him as she held one hand on the chains.

Alphus: "I'll hold him as long as I can! You do what you need to do!"

Allura nodded to Alphus before turning to the Paladins.

Allura: "Paladins, get to your lions! I need you to slow the Castle's descent into the star."

Then, Jenny ran toward Allura.

Jenny: "I'll come with!"

Allura: "Jenny, I'm glad you want to help, but this is for me and Lapis to do."

Jenny: "Like heck it is! Pardon my French, but I've never spent any time with Alfor. It shouldn't end in a sacrifice if it doesn't have to."

Alphus saw this and handed Jenny a jar with her open hand

As Jenny, Allura, and Lapis ran to the A.I. Chamber, Coran pitched in on his own devices.

Coran: "I can try to override the system to open the hangars."

Later, the lions appeared outside the Castle and pressed themselves against the Castle to slow it down as Allura, Lapis, and Jenny managed to get to the A.I. Chamber and encounter Alfor and his Quintessence.

Jenny: "Alfor."

Alfor: "This is where my knowledge and memories are stored. Now, Lapis, I need you to destroy it."

Lapis felt like she was being put in the spot, especially since she never wanted to do so.

Lapis: "What?"

Alfor: "It's the only way to defeat Zarix. He can't control what isn't active."

Lapis: "But I... I can't!"

Alfor: "You must."

Lapis: "All of your memories, all of your knowledge will be lost forever! You... you won't be with me anymore! How could I?!"

Alfor: "Do it, Lapis. If you are to live, we must say goodbye."

Lapis tensed and felt a pang in her heart as her tears flowed through her cheeks before she turned to Allura and Jenny before the both of them nodded in agreement. Then, she came to a decision.

Lapis: "I'm really sorry about this, Alfor."

Then, she summoned her bayard before she proceeded to raise it and prepared to strike as Alfor's image and voice suddenly changed to that of Zarix's.

Zarix: "NO!"

Suddenly, Zarix unleashed a bright wave of light, trapping Allura, Jenny, and Lapis in a black void with clouds of memories from Allura. Allura, Lapis, and Jenny looked to one of them and saw one memory of him braiding Allura's hair.

Alfor: "Allura, my dear daughter."

Lapis: "Was that a memory?"

Allura: "This isn't real. It's all in the past."

They then ran toward the center and as they got closer, they came upon a memory of herself as a young baby in Alfor's arms before Allura broke down crying just as Alfor walked up.

Alfor: "You don't have to fight, Allura. You don't have to make this sacrifice."

Then, Allura hugged Alfor as she grunted while Lapis did the same.

Lapis: "I love you, Alfor. I mean it. I'll never forget you."

Allura: "Goodbye, Father."

Alfor smiled as he began to shed yellow cracks of light.

Alfor: "Goodbye, Allura."

Suddenly, the cracked image changed to Zarix, who began to shriek in agony.

Zarix: "NOOOOOOOO!"

Then, Zarix finally shattered to pieces as small orbs of light floated around the trio before flowing themselves into the jar that Alphus gave Jenny previously. Once it was done, the jar was sealed before it spread itself to accommodate the space.

Jenny: "You think it worked?"

Lapis: "I hope so."

At the hangar, the imposter Alfor's image disappeared.

Alphus: "They did it."

With that, Babak spoke to the Paladins from the monitor.

Babak: "Zarix has been erased! Get back in your hangars, now!"

With that, the Lions went back in the Castle which wormholed out of the path of the supernova before the star exploded in a fiery inferno.

Later, Allura, Jenny, Lapis, Babak, Azix, and the other Paladins were in the hangar, recovering from Zarix's attack.

Shiro: "I'm so sorry about your father, Princess."

Hunk: "We all are."

Lapis, however, had a smile on her face as she held the jar that regained his Quintessence.

Lapis: "I'm not. He's gonna be recovering for some time, but... I'm glad he hasn't left us."

Allura: "Why would he? The real King Alfor was a great man and a great father. He may not have been with us otherwise, but either way, his dream lives on in all of us. And his legacy is Voltron."

Then, Jenny thought about her own fate, getting as far as she did with Alphus.

Jenny: "Yeah. Now... I think I just need to figure out my own."

Alphus: "You already know your legacy, my child. To wield the White Lion and be its Paladin. How that will happen is up to you."

As Alphus placed her hand on Jenny's shoulder, she smiled back at her.

Jenny: "Just a question. Are you gonna be there for me?"

Alphus: "Always."

Then, Alphus faded inside of Jenny as their eyes closed. Seeing this, Lance walked up to Jenny, thinking how awful she must've felt.

Lance: "Jenny. You okay?"

Then, Jenny turned to him with a confident smile on her face as the scars vanished without a trace and her hair changed to a blue color.

Jenny: "Yeah. In fact, I've never felt better."

Lance noticed this change and grew surprised, as did the others.

Lance: "I'll say. You look like a new woman."

Jenny blinked her eyes in confusion.

Jenny: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Then, Coran held a mirror to her face.

Coran: "See for yourself."

Jenny grew stunned at her new appearance as she beheld her blue sapphire hair and how perfectly her blue eyes blended. She then smiled at her appearance before speaking.

Jenny: "Wow. I'm like... Alphus Junior."

At Zarkon's Central Command, a strange figure pacing back and forth in the center of the lab, which housed the Dark Quintessence muttered to himself.

Unknown: "Have you felt it? That surge? It must be quite a rival of yours, isn't it? Ah, but we mustn't rush so far just yet. There's much preparation to be done."

Just then, a soldier walked in to report.

Galra Soldier: "Commander Komar. There was a surge of Dark and Divine Quintessence in one area of the galaxy simultaneously."

Then, the figure known as Komar spoke to the soldier.

Komar: "Don't tell me what I already know. Tell me what happened that I don't know."

The soldier stammered as he apologized.

Galra Soldier: "M-My apologies, sir. The Dark surge vanished after about ten ticks. Only the Divine surge remains now."

Hearing this, Komar opened his left eye to show a dark purple iris with a black pupil.

Komar: "And you're certain of this?"

Galra Soldier: "Yes, Commander."

Komar: "Good. Then the end of days as the universe knows them will come to pass..."

A/N: What did you think of this version of the episode? You can be honest with me. For the voice actor of the young Lapis, it is Ariel Winter. As for Komar, it is William Salyers. I figured he'd give Komar enough of a spine-chilling feel to his character. The end of phase 1 is near now...