A/N: Hello. :) Sorry I took so long. Like I said, it's hard focusing on more than one story at a time. Anyway, here's the next chapter of Fate of the Defenders for you all to enjoy.

Chapter 29: The Hunted

In the Castle, Alphus was surprised about Zarkon's awakening, even more so with what he asked as Sneren and Vrathrea sat beside him.

"Unbelievable. That's the only question you had in mind after what you've done?! 'Where is Lotor?!' How can you be so arrogant to demand that answer after what you put me through?!"

Jenny could tell that Zarkon being alive and ignoring his actions got Alphus on edge and tried her best to soothe her.

"Alphus, relax. He's not possessed by Omegus anymore. Maybe he doesn't remember."

"If that was the case, how could he possibly know about Lotor, then?"

"Maybe they were expecting before it happened. I don't know."

"Of course you don't! You weren't there!"

Then, Sneren spoke up and broke up the bout.

"Enough! Alphus, with all due respect, we at least need to hear what he has to say."

Alphus looked at him with malice before Allura spoke.

"He's right. The arrangement was just as difficult for me. But not all Galra are like Zarkon."

"We're not talking about other Galra, Allura. We're talking about him."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But just this once, let him speak."

Alphus looked back at Zarkon before she took her deep breath and spoke.

"Fine. Why do you want to see your son so badly?"

"To stop him from making the same mistake I made."

That answer caught Alphus totally unaware, not to mention infuriated her.

"Mistake?! My brother is gone because of you, and you call that a mistake?!"

Jenny then grasped Alphus' hand and clutched onto it before she spoke.

"Whoa, Alphus. Take a chill pill, okay?"

Then, the former emperor of dread spoke on.

"I know what I've done and I'm sorry to hurt you like this, but I can't let Lotor end up becoming a savage ruler like I was. The only way to guarantee this is by setting him straight."

Lapis got confused with his goal.

"Set him straight? From what?"

"From Quintessence."

That answer made everyone look to their left before their right in confusion. After which, Jenny spoke to him.

"And just what do you mean by that? The Divine one or the Dark?"

"All of the above. What I ended up doing, my possession of my body by Omegus, all of it was because of Quintessence. No one should have this power."

Then, Sneren spoke.

"As if we need your validation, tyrant. We were locating him, anyway."

Lapis looked to the two Blades before she shared her inquiry.

"You were? How?"

Vrathrea took the liberty to respond.

"We planted a tracker in his ship just before we escaped."

Lapis grew afraid of what it meant.

"But that means—"

Suddenly, Coran's voice spoke up.

"Princess, the Black Lion is leaving the Castle!"

"Oh, quiznak. Everyone head to the lions, quickly!"

That brought Zarkon to consideration as she turned to Belle, Sandra, and the councilmen.

"Belle, Sandra, you two help Sneren and Vrathrea keep an eye on him until we get back."

"Got it."

"No problem."

Then, realizing the job they're given they grew worried.

"Wait, what?"

As Jenny, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Lapis hurried to the lions, Lapis spoke to Keith via gauntlet.

"Keith, what are you doing?"

"I'm following the tracker Sneren and Vrathrea put on Lotor's ship. Tell everyone to get their lions. We're going after him. You want me to lead Voltron? This is how I lead."

Then, Lapis responded back as the rest of the lions got near the Black Lion.

"Yeah. I kinda did that already, so..."

"Well, good."

Later, everyone made a break for Lotor around a red planet as Pidge gave out the details.

"Lotor's cruiser is on the other side of the planet. At our current rate of speed, we'll be within attack range in an hour."

Then, Adea's voice spoke to Pidge.

"Uh, isn't that a varga?"

"Whatever."

Keith was more focused on the mission than the time labeling.

"Good. Hold formation."

As the Lions got near Lotor's Cruiser, Allura inadvertently crashed into Hunk with a grunt.

"Oh, apologies, Hunk!"

Jenny spoke to Allura next as the White Lion flew by her.

"It's okay, Allura. It's perfectly normal to be nervous your first time driving a giant cosmic lion."

Realizing the context, Jenny heard herself as she blinked her eyes.

"Wow. Those are the weirdest words I've ever said."

Then, Hunk spoke up next.

"Mm, is attacking right now such a good idea? You know, since not everyone is so great with their lions?"

Allura grew worried at what he meant.

"Do you mean me, specifically?"

"You? No. No way, I didn't— I'm just simply pointing out that more than half of the team are in new lions. Maybe now's not a great time to bite off more than we can chew."

Lance spoke against him while Jenny defended Keith.

"You can blame our hot-headed leader for that one."

"First, you want me to lead, and then you complain about how I do it."

"Knock it off, Lance! He just saw an opportunity and he took it. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Exactly. Thank you, Jenny. Prince Lotor is the heir to the Galra throne. While it's not such a hot idea to let Zarkon back on his throne just yet, we can't let him rule in his place, either. We can end his reign right now."

Then, Jenny spoke up.

"And then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what's going to happen to the Galra Empire if we do? I mean, we don't have Ayame anymore, and... it's going to be difficult to bring them back to peace without her. Impossible, even."

Having realized that he forgot about her, Keith was at a loss for what comes after.

"I dunno. I never thought past that to be honest."

"Then why don't we just talk to Lotor and see what he has to say? Zarkon may be cured from the Dark Quintessence, but I'm honestly more worried about what his kid actually plans to do to make the universe at peace."

"Alright, Jenny. We'll try this your way. For Ayame."

Just then, the Red Lion flew by the White and Blue Lions as he spoke to Allura.

"Allura, you doing okay in blue?"

"I'm fine. I've been flying the Castle for half my life. I just need a few ticks to adjust to the Lion."

Then, Keith spoke up.

"Good, because we're going in."

At Lotor's cruiser, a beeping came from the ship's main hangar before it showed the seven lions headed toward him. Acxa spoke to Lotor about the matter.

"The lions will be on us in one varga. What are your orders?"

Zethrid, more likely to heed her combatting instincts, spoke to them.

"I say we turn around and start shooting."

Just then, Jenny spoke from the White Lion.

"Attention, Prince Lotor. This is Jennifer Shaybon of the White Lion. We'd like to request a sit-down with you."

That made Ezor confused.

"A sit-down? That's weird."

Jenny then continued to speak onward as Lotor looked at her.

"We simply just want to know what your plans are for peace. A general of yours and Keith met a while back in the stomach of the Weblum."

Then, Ezor, Zethrid, Narti, Syn and Kurziam turned to Acxa as she nodded to them as Jenny spoke on.

"She told us you're trying to make the universe a better place. If that is what you're trying to prove, you will come speak with us, alone."

With that, the transmission ended before Zethrid talked back too late.

"Hah! You want peace?! Here's your peace! I'm gonna—"

Just then, Lotor spoke to Zethrid.

"Enough. I must admit, it is a bit unorthodox to request a sit-down with the opponent, but if it's what must be done..."

Syn didn't quite like the situation one bit.

"What? You're actually going through with this?"

"Actually, Syn, I've got something else in store."

Suddenly, the lions detected movement as a red circle enveloped his fighter as Jenny spoke.

"How about that? Let's hope he can make this work."

However, Jenny was proven wrong as Lotor flew above the lions and began shooting at the White Lion, forcing it to retreat as the other lions followed them while Jenny tried reaching out to Lotor.

"Hey! No fair! I'm trying to avoid a fight here!"

Lotto seemingly ignored her pleas as he shot at her, hitting the barrier set up.

"Ugh! I can't shake him, guys. I could use some help here!"

Just then, Lapis caught up to them, as did Allura and Keith.

"Coming up on your six."

However, Lotor noticed them with a smile before the lions shot at him with their lasers, urging Lotor to maneuver his fighter around them, inadvertently causing them to hit the barrier before Jenny spoke up.

"Allura, take it easy, will ya?"

"I'm sorry, Jenny!"

Lance, in the meantime, was having difficulty getting used to the speed of the Red Lion.

"Seriously, does this thing have brakes?"

Then, Lotor shot at the Black Lion before hitting the other lions. At this point, Jenny was getting flustered as she gasped at what he's doing to them.

"Okay, Lotor. You can take shots at me. But no one, and I mean no one, messes with my friends!"

Then, Jenny angrily shot her lasers at Lotor, missing him repeatedly causing her to speed up to him, only for him to move out of the way and reveal the Blue Lion headed toward her.

"Oh, no."

With that, Jenny and Allura smashed into each other and spin around as Lance spoke before the former apologized.

"What's up with this guy, he's playing us against ourselves."

"Sorry, Allura. That one's on me. You okay?"

"I'm fine, but these controls are not responding, not like the Castle."

Jenny made a guess about it, infuriating her.

"Uh, maybe because it's not the Castle?"

"I know that! What's wrong with you, Lion?! Do as I command! Move!"

Pidge thought it had to be said, only to meet reasons why it didn't work as Jenny, Lance, and Hunk spoke.

"Maybe someone should suggest to Allura that flying the lion is different than flying the Castle."

"I just tried that, Pidge, and in case you weren't paying attention just now, she snapped at me."

"Same here. Didn't go over well. She yelled at me, too."

"Yeah, count me out. She scares me when she's under pressure."

"I can hear you."

As Lance, Pidge, and Hunk panicked, Jenny retaliated.

"Well, good! Because you're not supposed to yell!"

Just then, Lapis spoke up.

"Yeah, I'd be more concerned with Lotor right now. Keith, what's the plan?"

Infuriated enough with the situation, Keith wanted some space.

"How about this? Everyone stay out of my way!"

Lance spoke up to him, putting him down again.

"Great. Great leadership."

Adela saw the bright side of what he said.

"Well, doy! He's telling us to recover. We've been hitting each other way more than we've hit Lotor."

"Good point."

Just then, Lotor engaged the Black Lion before the Violet Lion engaged its ion cannon at 20% power and fired it, only for Lotor to escape before the cannon hit the Black Lion and caused it to be knocked back before Lapis grew concerned.

"Keith! Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'd be better if we'd caught him, though."

Then, the lions all noticed that he'd gone as Lapis spoke.

"He's gone now."

Then, Luzria gave her two cents before Hunk spoke up.

"Hmph. Looks like he wasn't planning peace after all. The guilty never run."

"So... should we call it quits? Maybe go back, regroup, get a meal?"

Keith and Jenny begged to differ as the both of them acted indiscriminately.

"No!"

Stunted by speaking at the same time, they looked to each other before Keith spoke to her.

"Huh?"

"Lotor could've meant anything by what he did. After all, he did come alone. We just need to find out what he's really doing to us."

Then, Keith took his turn.

"I know everyone is struggling, but we can't let Lotor slip away. Like Jenny said, we need to find out what he's planning and fast."

Far away, Lotor spoke to himself before his generals.

"Now they have a reason to fight. Acxa, set course for these coordinates. I'm going to lure the lions there."

Then, Acxa pulled up a foggy planet and knew what it was.

"Thayserix? Why?"

"These are not the Paladins who rid my father of Omegus."

Ezor found that especially confusing as there's only one main Voltron.

"What? How do you know?"

"They do not fight as a unit and are unable to form Voltron. Perhaps Omegus did as much damage to the team as they did to him. Whatever the case, they're vulnerable and we need to take advantage."

Acxa quickly made an adjustment to Lotor's fighter.

"Recalibrating your fighter to adjust for the atmospheric changes on Thayserix now."

Ezor grew concerned about this.

"What? What happens on Thayserix?"

"The planet is made of dense gases and has unusual magnetic poles that distort and wreak havoc on normal sensors."

"Oh... So, once the lions are there, they'll be blind."

Ezor realized what it meant to her friend before she turned to her.

"No offense, Narti."

Narti, however, didn't take offense to that as she replied telekinetically with a happy voice.

"None taken."

"Keep the cruiser in orbit around Thayserix. The lions will need some place to recover for her sit-down."

Later, the paladins had found Lotor near Thayserix and closer in on him while drawing near the planet's surface as Keith had an idea of what he's doing.

"He's trying to hide from us."

Pidge didn't think it wise to go after him in spite of it.

"We may not want to follow him. We don't know know what's in there."

Jenny spoke up in a verbal counter.

"I do. Lotor."

Then, Jenny and Keith thrusted their lions into the atmosphere, only for the lions' sensors to go dark (except for Jenny's) before Pidge tried to speak to them.

"Guys, we have a problem. My sensors are going crazy. I think it's due to this planet's atmosphere and what must be strange magnetic poles."

Keith didn't let that faze him as he spoke to them.

"We can't worry about that now. I'm not letting this guy get away."

"Keith, without accurate sensors or working equipment, we're not gonna be able to tell what's up or down, where we are, or how to get out. I say we fall back."

"No, keep going."

However, on the other lions, save for the White Lion, Keith's voice was breaking up.

"...going."

Hunk grew concerned with that.

"What? All I heard was 'going.' Are we going back? Is anyone else getting this static?"

Knowing Keith well, she suggested otherwise.

"No, Hunk. He said to keep going. But... at this point, even I wouldn't recommend it."

Jenny couldn't be more right as Allura was starting to lose them.

"I'm losing visuals on you all. I need you to slow down!"

Jenny grew concerned about Allura before looking to her and back to Keith who spoke clearly on her lion.

"We gotta keep up. He's getting away!"

Jenny looked back to Allura as Hunk spoke next.

"Guys, I think this gas is messing with our radios. We gotta stay close if we want to be able to communicate. But wait, how come your radio's fine, Jenny?"

Then, Jenny spoke to Keith clearly.

"Sorry, Keith. But I'm not going to let Lotor win this by separating us."

Then, Jenny headed back to Lotor before Keith grew angry.

"Jenny, no!"

Growling from what he considered mutiny, he sped up toward Lotor as did the other lions while the White Lion stayed by Allura and boosted her with its back. As they got closer, Lance spoke to the others.

"I think we made it through the worst of it."

However, he only saw a rock in front of him before he swiftly evaded it as did Hunk, Pidge, and Lapis. Meanwhile, Jenny and Allura noticed the rock and panicked.

"No! No!"

"Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock!"

Fortunately, they were able to stop from crashing into that rock. Unfortunately, Allura crashed into the ledge, concerning Jenny as the Blue Lion tumbled.

"Allura!"

Hunk noticed this, too, and vied to head back for her.

"Allura took a hit. I'm going after them."

"Hunk!"

Keith grew annoyed at another example of mutiny as he groaned before speaking again.

"The rest of you, stay on me!"

As Keith got closer to Lotor, he swerved away before heading to another direction with Keith closing in before Lance spoke to him.

"Keith, we have to go back for Allura."

Jenny happened to hear Lance's radio and heard Keith growling before he spoke again.

"Keith, you're splitting up the team! Keith, don't do this!"

When he refused to listen, Jenny was forced to speak to him directly.

"If you think doing this to your team is what being a Paladin is about, then you're no better than Zarkon."

Hearing this, Keith remembered what Alphus spoke of at the Castle as her voice, Jenny, and Lance's echoed in his mind.

"You're no better than Zarkon."

"I can't let Lotor win this by separating us."

"Keith, don't do this!"

Finally, he yelled as he pulled the lion back and the others followed him.

Meanwhile on Lotor's cruiser, Zethrid was angry with him.

"Stop toying with them! Bring the pain!"

On Thayserix, Pidge spoke to everyone.

"Is everyone okay?"

Jenny spoke up for an answer before Allura showed her penitence.

"Yep. For now."

"I'm sorry that I slowed us down, but the Blue Lion isn't listening to me."

Lance spoke to Allura before glaring at Keith.

"It's okay. We're a team. We stick together. Isn't that right, Keith?"

Keith retaliated and revealed his true motives.

"It's not about the team. We have a mission that's more important than any one of us."

At that moment, Jenny figured it all out. Allura said that to him and he has been trying to abide by that ever since. Though, it wasn't to say he got the right idea.

"So because of that, you get to push us away?! That's not what Allura meant, Keith!"

"Then what did she mean?!"

"Obviously, she meant we can't honor their sacrifice by tearing our team apart! Is that what Ayame wanted you to do?!"

That made Keith stricken with guilt as he hung his head down.

"No."

"Then stop acting like you can walk out on us any time of day, because you can't. And you shouldn't. Look what it nearly did to all of us. We could've died. Did you really want this?"

From what Jenny had told him, he'd begun to think differently.

"Okay. I get it. I'm not cut out to be a leader, alright?"

"What? No, Keith, I didn't say that..."

"Well, maybe you should!"

With that, Keith took off away from the team feeling guilty about what he'd put his team through as Jenny grew worried.

"Keith..."

Lance only sighed, knowing how hurt Jenny must've been now that the team has separated again.

"Come on, guys. We'd better stick together."

That made Jenny more determined as she spoke.

"Right. But not without Keith."

With that, all of the lions took off for Keith with the White Lion in the lead before it hovered in front of Keith, who got startled and was forced to stop the Black Lion.

"Jenny? What are you doing?"

"I know you're hurting, Keith. We all are. But like I said, that doesn't mean you can tear our team apart, whether you feel worthy or not."

"Don't you get it? I'm no leader."

"You know, not all leaders are born great. Not even Shiro. You know, my sis told me about how he started out. He was just like you. Hard-headed, determined, angsty. And that was all before he even flew a mission, too. But then came my big sis. She helped him become better than who he was back then. When you came to the Garrison... Shiro wanted to do that for you, too. To help you become better than who you are. Please... don't make Shiro's effort be for nothing."

As he pondered this, he remembered the time he'd spent with Shiro as he shed tears of joy, proud of what he'd built him up and what he did for him before he spoke.

"I'm sorry. You're right. We can't let Lotor separate us again. From here on out, we stay together."

"Good. Let's try to keep it that way, okay?"

As Jenny spoke, they were all unaware of Lotor watching them in the gas, intrigued by Jenny's speech and her dedication. For an Altean, it was almost Galra-like. With that, he smiled as the team huddled together.

Meanwhile, on Lotor's cruiser, Acxa spoke to two Galra soldiers.

"Prince Lotor requires your assistance on Planet Thayserix. We expect you here immediately."

After the transmission ended, Ezor spoke about the ongoing situation.

"Lotor is right on top of the lions. They have no idea."

Zethrid was more concerned about the lack of satisfactory explosives.

"Why isn't he firing?! He could be tearing them to shreds right now! Blow them up, Lotor!"

Acxa pointed a detail lost on Zethrid.

"He can't. The area he's in is full of Red Syntian Nitrate, a highly combustible has that reacts violently to amplified emissions of light."

That made it all the more exciting for Zethrid as she chuckled.

"This is gonna be good."

However, Syn brought up a crucial detail that was supposed to happen on Planet Puig.

"And what about your competition? Wouldn't you rather take her down yourself?"

That made Zethrid change her tune before she shouted the contrary.

"On second thought, don't blow them up!"

Meanwhile, on Thayserix, the team is having great difficulty seeing through the gas as Hunk complained.

"This is crazy! We can't see a thing."

Keith responded back to him.

"Stay together. He's here somewhere. I know it."

Suddenly, Atchiam piped up.

"Found him!"

With that, Lapis spoke to Keith.

"Got it, Atchiam. Keith—"

"I know. Follow me."

When they got to where he was, he's nowhere to be seen. Allura grew concerned about this before she spoke.

"Where did he go?"

Jenny answered her question before Pidge spoke.

"Beats me. Even my radar can't track him. Honestly, the one part of the White Lion that's extremely useful is just trashed. Not that the other stuff isn't useful, but you know."

Then, Hunk perked the Yellow Lion's head up as he spoke.

"Hey, is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling this guy is just toying with us?"

Lance and Pidge could agree with him.

"I'm with you, big guy. I'm getting a case of the heebie-jeebies."

"He must have lured us here on purpose."

Luzria grew concerned about this.

"But why? I mean, what possible motive is there for this just to capture us?"

Suddenly, Keith noticed Lotor's fighter headed toward them.

"Up there!"

Fortunately, they were able to evade the ship before it flew away before Jenny took a deep breath.

"Okay. That was a bit scary."

For Hunk it was more than that as he panicked while Jenny tried to get a word in.

"We need to get out of here. We've been led into a trap. The tables have turned."

"Um..."

"He's flipped the script."

"Uh..."

"The hunters have become the hunted."

That made Lance frustrated before the Red Lion flew to him, causing him to scream as Lance spoke.

"Hunk, shouting taglines is getting us nowhere!"

Keith had to agree with him.

"Lance is right. Remain calm and get ready. He's gonna attack again. Everyone circle up. We need to be prepared for anything."

With that, the lions pointed their tails to one another as Adea smiled.

"You know, I was hoping we'd get to do this. I just wish it was under better situations."

Lapis gave her comfort before Keith spoke up.

"Don't worry, Adea. We can make it."

"As soon as you see him, fire with everything you've got."

However, something didn't quite sit well with Atchiam.

"Wait. This gas..."

Then, she gasped just as Lotor peeked out.

"Red Syntian Nitrate."

Then, Lotor made his move before Keith spoke.

"Now! Fire!"

Then, Atchiam tried to warn him.

"No, wait! You can't!"

However, she was too late as Keith ended up inflamed the gas and made an explosion near him before the others did the same save for Jenny and Lapis, who were able to listen to Atchiam's words.

"What's up?"

"It's Red Syntian Nitrate! We so much as charge it up, we get blown up!"

Just then, Allura took off away from a Lotor before Jenny went after her.

"Allura, wait!"

As Jenny went after her, Allura scampered off away from a Lotor only to trip and end up rolling into a ball.

"Hello? Paladins, help!"

"Don't worry, Allura! I'm coming over!"

However, Jenny wasn't able to stop her from crashing before she ended up tossed into the tree before she went after Allura.

"Hang on!"

Then, the two of them hid before Lotor managed to find the tree, only to encounter difficulty in finding them.

"I am impressed that you two are able to hide, but I will find you."

Unbeknownst to Lotor, the White and Blue lions were on a branch above as they panted.

Far away, Keith and Lapis looked everywhere for Jenny, Pidge, Hunk, and Allura while Lance remained on the rocky precipice.

"What happened back there?"

Atchiam spoke to Lance.

"I was trying to tell you before, but you didn't listen. Maybe if you had..."

Lapis wasn't in the mood for it.

"Can it, Atchiam. What we should be worrying about is where the rest of the team are."

All the while, Keith's faith and self-esteem is being shaken.

"This is all my fault. I followed him right into this trap. Everyone warned me, but I didn't listen. I put the entire team in jeopardy."

Lance can agree with Keith, looking back on his actions.

"Yeah, you kinda did. But now we gotta fix it."

"What's the point?"

"Keith, remember what Jenny told you. Not all great leaders are born great. They have their flaws like everyone else. Even Shiro did. And you know what? If he and Ayame were here, they wouldn't want you to give up right now."

That made Keith become determined before he spoke.

"You're right. Let's go."

With that, Lance, Keith, and Lapis all took off to look for the others.

Meanwhile, Hunk has become lost.

"Hello? Anyone?"

Suddenly, he noticed a figure with yellow eyes in the red gas and grew frightened at first before Pidge's voice came through.

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

That gave Hunk some relief.

"Pidge!"

"Hunk!"

"Oh, my gosh! OMG. I'm so glad I found you. Okay, what kind of computer-y stuff can you do to fix the radar, find everyone, and get us all out of here?"

"Actually, I can't recalibrate my system without a data constant, which I could have gotten had we not rushed into this gas planet."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying... we're stuck."

That made Hunk gulp in fear.

Far away, Jenny and Allura were still hiding from Lotor as the latter tried to get the other's attention.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

Jenny spoke to Allura on her radio.

"Yeah, I can hear you. But I think I'm the only one who can at the moment."

As they saw Lotor's ship flying away, Jenny offered an idea.

"Maybe you need to connect with your lion. That's what we all did."

Then, Allura sighed and tried to take a deep breath.

"Okay. Stay calm, Allura. Think. What would Lance do?"

That made Allura try to act Lance-like with the Blue Lion.

"Hey there, Blue Lion. You know, you're really activating my particle barrier right now."

That only earned a buzzer sound from Jenny.

"Nope! That's not how he bonded with the Blue Lion. Besides, it's only cute when he does it."

That made Allura hang her head down in frustration before speaking angrily.

"Nothing works! I've tried asking you nicely, and I've tried commanding you. What do you want from me?"

Jenny had another idea.

"Hmm. Ohh. Maybe it just needs you to be honest with it. Like, what do you want from it?"

Allura couldn't see the point in this as she hung her head further down.

"I can't do this. Everyone depends on me. The universe depends on me? But I can't control everything."

"Yeah, that's it, Allura. Keep going. What do you need?"

"I... I need your help."

Suddenly, the Blue Lion's eyes flared yellow before it growled at her, earning her gasp.

"I can hear you."

Suddenly, a blast came at them, sending Allura and Jenny past the tree as they tumbled before they stopped themselves and noticed Lotor as the latter spoke.

"Yeah? So did he."

As Lotor smiled at them, Jenny growled and spoke to her.

"Allura, go. Get out of here. I'll hold him off."

"But, Jenny..."

"I said go!"

Then, Jenny fired her laser at Lotor, only for him to evade the blast before it took off for Allura, much to her anger.

"You leave her alone!"

Just as Jenny gave chase, Lotor shot above the Blue Lion and caused rocks to fall from above, to which Allura managed to avoid only to be shot at by Lotor again before she regained motion.

"Help me. Guide me. I can't do it alone."

Just then, the Blue Lion opened a panel for Allura, revealing its ability to do sonic waves to her as she smiled. With that, the Blue Lion summoned a sonic machine before it activated, making a map for her.

"A sonar map. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Blue?"

With that, Allura evaded the obstacles in front of her as Lotor smiled.

"Someone's learning."

As the Blue Lion leaped from wall to wall, Lotor continued to give chase to Allura as Jenny did to him as he prepared to fire.

"Come on. Almost..."

However, Lotor noticed where the Blue Lion was leading him.

"Nitrate gas!"

As Lotor stopped himself, Jenny fired a white laser at him near the right wing, causing a detonation of the gas by the side as Allura leaped behind him.

"Now, let's see if this freeze ray works in here."

With that, Allura fired the freeze ray at the left wing, causing the whole ship to go down and crash altogether. As Lotor tried to take flight again, he realized he was stuck.

"I've lost control on both wings."

Suddenly, Jenny and Allura landed in front of him before the former spoke to him.

"Look, if you were going to train us, you could've just said so."

Realizing that Jenny figured out his game, he smiled.

"Well played, Jennifer."

That made Allura surprised.

"What? You knew?"

"Yep. I figured it out when he lured us here. He saw how terrible we were at forming Voltron at Planet Puig. This was his way of testing us, teaching us that we're stronger together."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because from what Ayame told us, Lotor's on our side. Right?"

Lotor smiled at Jenny due to her detective skills.

"Once again, well played."

One thing still concerned Allura.

"But hold on. If that was a test, then where are the others?"

"The test is still going on, technically. We gotta find them ourselves."

"But what about Lotor?"

"I said we were gonna do a sit-down, and that's what's gonna happen."

Then, Jenny turned to the downed ship.

"So, Lotor, how would you like to bunk with us?"

Far away, Hunk gave Pidge the low-down.

"Hey, Pidge. Here's the scenario. You're stranded on a scary gas planet, and you only have one food to eat for the rest of your life. What's it gonna be? Maybe a burrito? You like burritos, right? Mine would be a burrito."

Just then, Allura's voice spoke to them.

"Hailing Pidge and Hunk. Are you paladins looking for an exit?"

Just then, Hunk and Pidge noticed Jenny and Allura along with Keith, Lapis, and Lance.

"No way! You guys found us!"

Hunk then laughed before Keith spoke up.

"Actually, Allura and Jenny found you. They found all of us. She was able to connect with her lion."

Jenny knew he was right.

"Uh-huh. And we caught Lptor in the process, too. In fact, he's my shipmate."

Pidge was impressed with what went down between them.

"Wow! How did you do it?"

"I just had to get a Lance-like mindset and stop thinking so much."

"Yeah, think like Lance!"

Then, Lance realized what Allura could mean by that and grew offended.

"Wait. Wait a minute! Are you calling me dumb?"

"No, I'm calling you a natural."

"Naturally dumb."

"Yeah, he was born with it."

Then, Jenny spoke up with a giggle.

"By the way, Lance, she tried to flirt with Blue."

"Wait, what?"

Then, Keith decided to get to the task at hand.

"Look, I'm glad we're all making fun of Lance, but we still have to find a way out of here."

Then, Allura spoke up.

"Follow me. I know a way out."

Just then, Lotor spoke up on Jenny's monitor.

"You might find it best to exercise caution. My generals have called for my assistance."

Hunk grew pessimistic about it.

"Oh, man. It's always something."

Then, Lotor spoke again.

"Not to worry. We'll just need to get put of the planet and inform them the situation's changed."

Jenny looked to Lotor for an idea.

"How do we do that?"

Keith was the one who came up with an idea before he spoke.

"We need to form Voltron."

Allura shared her doubts about that idea.

"But we were not able to form Voltron the last time we tried."

"We have to keep trying. We may have come here fragmented and disorganized, but the only way we're getting out of here is if we work together. This is our team. Shiro and Ayame believed in us. We have to believe in ourselves. Who's with me?"

Then, the five main Paladins as well as Jenny, Lapis, Adea, Atchiam, and Luzria shouted in agreement.

"Yeah!"

"Now, form Voltron!"

With that, the five Paladins forged Voltron while the White and Violet Lions transformed into their robot forms before Lotor's cruiser picked up three strange signals. Syn turned to Acxa for an answer.

"What's going on?"

"I'm picking up an energy signature I haven't seen before. Three of them, in fact."

Syn had a feeling what that meant.

"Voltron. And the two knockoffs that go with it."

As the three Voltrons took to the skies, Allura stated her excitement.

"Hunk, I'm a leg!"

"Pretty cool, right?"

Just then, Lotor spoke up.

"All hands, stand down. I'll be inviting the Paladins for a sit-down."

Among the soldiers, it spread confusion.

"A sit-down? Why would Lotor request that?"

In the cruiser, Acxa stated her surprise.

"So, they can form Voltron after all."

Syn smiled at this prospect as he knew it would benefit Lotor and his faction against Kaecilius.

"Good. The sooner we have Voltron, the better."