A/N: Hello. I added in what happened to Ayame once Haggar (Honerva) had cast her to her chambers. Along with that, I added a new character named Zixal and he is voiced by Ron Perlman. And the mother of Kumiko makes her appearance too, she will be voiced by Cynthia Cranz while other important figures like Shiro's father will be voiced by Christopher Sabat, young Shiro by Brina Palencia, and young Ayame by Elise Baughman. Also, in case you've forgotten, Yuriko Shirogane, her mother, will be voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard. Enjoy :)

Chapter 31: Isolation

In the Central Command, Ayame was just tossed into a dark chamber by two Druids before the door closed. Once they did, Ayame began giving labored breaths as the Quintessence injected into her began changing her as her normal skin turned light purple before her raven hair changed color followed by her eyes blanking out in a yellow color. Following this, Ayame gave a deep breath followed by a smirk as her eyes opened.

Suddenly, Ayame woke up inside a dark background before she noticed herself far away. For her, it could only mean one thing.

"Xaira."

Xaira then turned around before smiling at her.

"I told you. One of these days, I'll be able to break free. Did you think I was kidding?"

"No. But this is my body, Xaira. Give it back."

"Why should I? Do you even deserve it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your own mother died because of you. If you weren't born at all, she'd have been better off."

This made Ayame furious as she lunged at her.

"Don't you dare desecrate her memory!"

Before she could hit Xaira, she vanished in a dark most as she chuckled before she kicked him in the back as she spoke.

"Pathetic."

Then, Ayame glared at her dark side before she reached for her bayard, only to realize it wasn't present as she gasped.

"Where is it?"

"It's not in your head, that's for sure."

Ayame then yelled as she then engaged in fisticuffs only for Xaira to hold her fist back with her dark purple orb and pushing her away with a shockwave before she laughed.

"It's nice having this much Quintessence on my side. You're so missing out."

"Enough!"

"I'm serious, though. How can you be so scared of something that can be so thrilling?"

"Because I'm not like you! And I never will be!"

"Hmph. So now the coward is playing tough."

Then, she clenched her hand before she pushed the air toward her which Ayame was forced to brace as her dark side spoke.

"Why don't you come fight me again when you're really ready to fight me? Until then, hope you don't miss me."

With that, Ayame couldn't resist anymore and wound up swept away into the darkness as she yelled.

Meanwhile, Shiro woke up to find himself upside-down in a pod that is dangerously close to falling over as he noticed there was a piece of it holding him back from falling before he attempted to lift it in order to be free of it. As he did, the ship tipped over, causing a blaster to fall to the floor and lean close to the edge as Shiro reached for it. Though it was far, Shiro was able to reach it before he fired it at the debris holding him captive, dropping him to the floor before he attempted to run out of it as it fell. Once he jumped out, the ship fell completely before he was able to grab onto an edge and pull himself back up before he fell to the floor. After resting for a bit, Shiro got back up only to notice he's been wounded in the leg. Although, the damage wasn't too bad as he just bore a determined look before walking onward.

At the command center, Honerva was in her chamber, remembering Jenny's role in Kaecilius' burning and defeat. In that moment when she bested him, Jenny reminded Honerva of someone brave as she spoke of her.

"A true Altean. If only my people were as strong-willed and determined as you and your princess."

Just then, a Galra general walked in before switching her skin color to that of "Haggar's".

"General Raht, I have an assignment for you."

"I serve in the name of Galra."

"I fear Lotor's focus wavers since his return. I knew there was a risk in bringing him back after such a long absence. And I worry about the path he leads us down. I need you to keep an eye on him. Follow his battle cruiser and report any suspicious behavior to me."

With that, Raht used his metal arm to place his hand against his chest.

"Vrepit Sa."

Meanwhile, Ayame slowly woke up to notice that she was in a lab while a baby cried far away. Ayame ran to the source of that crying until she noticed Zarkon holding her before her crying had ceased as the child looked up at her with a smile before he turned to the scientist.

"She's a strong one. You're free to make the injection."

"Yes, my emperor."

As the scientist made the injection, the baby felt the needle puncture her skin as she whimpered before Zarkon cradled her as he soothes her and her eyes became yellow for a moment before changing back to normal with purple irises. It was at this moment that Ayame figured it out.

"Of course. What Komar did to me wasn't the first time. It was... when I was just born."

Then, the background changed to see Yuriko at Haggar and Kaecilius' mercy as he spoke her sentence to his emperor.

"Yuriko Shirogane, you have a witness who has testified that you committed grave sins against the gods: lechery, infidelity, and adultery with pure intent. How do you plead?"

Then, she stood up and glared at him as she spoke proudly.

"I plead guilty."

"Mom?"

"So, you admit that you have sinned. Do you seek forgiveness?"

"No. I don't. Because I believe in the Paladin he is. Maybe he won't come today, or tomorrow, or even 10,000 years more. With or without me, he will come back. Or if he doesn't... at least our child will make the Galra Empire better than it is now. Then the universe can finally be at peace."

Hearing her say this, Ayame grew saddened as her tears showed through.

"M-Mom..."

Kaecilius glared at her before he turned to Zarkon.

"So, you refuse to recant. Perhaps the Emperor would like to make a plea of mercy on her behalf?"

Zarkon only glared at her before he spoke.

"I... think not. I have no more use for her. You and Haggar have my permission to end her."

With that, Kaecilius bore a wicked grin.

"In that case..."

With that, he and Haggar stretched their hands out to the accused as they spoke at the same time.

"May the gods have mercy on your soul..."

Ayame tried to stop it as she shouted to them.

"No, stop!"

However, it was too late. Kaecilius and Haggar bombarded her with dark Quintessential lightning, earning no scream for her as she knew it would end and that no matter how long it took, the universe will know peace. As Ayame grew tearful at this sacrifice, Zarkon spoke to Kaecilius.

"Take her away and bring the child to me."

"Yes, my emperor."

As Kaecilius dragged her body away, Ayame then broke down in tears as she fell to the floor and remembered Xaira's words to her.

"She... she was right. She was better off without me. Why bring me into this world if she was going to die? Why would you do that for me?"

Then she listened to her words as if they echoed in her mind.

"...at least our child will make the Galra Empire better than it is now. Then the universe can finally be at peace."

Then, she gasped and got up on her feet before noticing that Yuriko was in bed with Zarkon who looked outside with uncertainty, catching her attention.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's... it's nothing."

"Zarkon, If you have anything to say to me, now is the time."

Zarkon hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

"The truth is... I... I love you. But... once our child is born... you would... be terminated for this."

"Then so be it."

This made Ayame confused before she spoke.

"I've... had a good run anyway. It's our daughter I'm worried about. If she were to die, all hope for the universe would be lost. As would your freedom. I don't even care what happens to me after this. Not anymore. This... this whole thing is bigger than me. If me dying means the universe would be free soon, I'd do this all over again."

This made Ayame feel better as she rubbed her eyes free of her tears.

"Right. She must've known it would happen to her one way or the other. If she tried to escape... it would've only made things worse for everyone else. She knew it had to be done. For the universe, not just for Earth. Now, I understand."

Then, Ayame closed her eyes as she smiled.

"Thank you so much, Mom. I'll never forget what you did for me."

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a dark mist around Zarkon. At that moment, his greatest fear was losing Yuriko and her child. With that, she then looked over to her mother's greatest fear. Of course it was no surprise that she was greatly concerned for her daughter as Ayame felt it. Surprised by this ability, she canceled it out before looking at her hands.

"What did I just do?"

With that, Ayame then noticed a bright door of light before she walked into it, but not before she took her deep breath, working up the courage to go up against her next trial.

At the ice planet, Shiro was walking alone in the icy field, stumbling along the way before forcing himself back up each time. Eventually, he'd made it to a cave where he wrapped a bandage around his leg before using his robot arm to burn the wound, earning his scream in the process. After that, Shiro looked at where he was sitting as he noticed the skeleton bones next to him traveled up all the way to the ceiling, leading him to assume that it was a big prey that was killed.

"What killed you?"

The next day, Shiro went back to a cold waltz, a pioneer with no goal on sight, until he'd noticed an oasis far ahead. Instinctively, he ran towards it and drank the water with haste. As he caught his breath, however, something moved toward him. It appeared to be a small island with nothing on it. When it bursted out of the water did its true form appear as it roared at the Black Paladin. Shiro tried to run from it only to be thwacked by the creature which then took off toward him before slamming its claw into the ground as he dodged. When it tried to strike again, Shiro caught his claw with his hands and held it back before letting it go past him. Using the momentum, he went on top of it and tried to attack it, but his hand could not penetrate through the shell before its appendages grabbed him and flung him to the floor before the alien crab prepared to feast upon him as Shiro spoke weakly.

"Help!"

Suddenly, several blasts hit it in the leg, before it was forced to retreat into the oasis as Shiro saw two unfamiliar faces as the big one spoke.

"This must be the one that crashed the pod."

With that, Shiro's eyes closed before he passed out and the two strangers captured him, unaware of a masked General watching from afar.

At Kaecilius' cruiser, Vantiv received a report before she gave it to him.

"Hmm. That's odd. A day later, and he's already found reinforcements."

Kaecilius then spoke to his mate.

"Perfect. The instant he even tries leaving his icy tomb, our general shall endeavor to reclaim him and subject him to an even worse fate."

That made Varek remember another detail.

"And what of Xaira?"

"If we should encounter her in any period, you will get the satisfaction of terminating her. Would that please you?"

Varek smiled as he summoned a purple aura blade from his gauntlet.

"Of course."

When Ayame opened her eyes, she found herself at a grassy field where Ulaz's craft landed.

"Wait. Am I home?"

Then, she noticed Ulaz speaking with the oldest of the three, two of them being children as one of them was held by Ulaz.

"I'm sorry to say that your wife... didn't survive. She used what little time she had to bring her into this world. She had hopes that she would bring peace to the universe."

As the father cradled the child, he looked to Ulaz and smiled.

"I see. She must've been worth the effort for it to happen the way it did. I'll honor her by raising her like my own child."

As Ayame smiled at her father staring at her child, she began to have tears as she wiped them with her hand before the scene instantly changed to that of a hospital where her father laid unmoving. That memory was one that she remembered all too well, even for her age back then. Her father had perished at the hands of cancer and she walked up to him as if to speak to him one last time. Before she could, though, she heard the doctors' voice speaking to the children far away.

"I'm sorry, but... your father... he couldn't make it."

That made the young Shiro concerned while the younger Ayame shed tears before she ran out to him.

"No! No, he couldn't have died! He can't!"

The older Ayame watched as her younger self ran through her like a ghost before the doctors tried to stop her before she clutched onto him.

"Please, don't go, daddy! I need you!"

Then, the doctors were forced to carry her out as she screamed.

"No! Let me go! I want my daddy! I want my dad!"

As the little girl cried hysterically at this, the older Ayame then looked to her father before sitting beside him.

"Why did you agree to this, Dad? You didn't have much time with us. You could've just as easily picked someone else to look after us. Then you would've lived longer. But you didn't. Why? We... We weren't ready to lose you!"

As her hand touched his face, she began to hear her answer in surprise, as if listening to his last thoughts.

"Please understand... a man who has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father. Have I ever failed you?"

Hearing this, Ayame widened her eyes before she noticed Shiro and Ayame alone on the chairs as the girl cried beside him. Shiro then put his arms around Ayame as she looked up to him.

"It'll be okay, Ayame. I promise I'll look out for you, no matter what?"

"But... what if you leave me, too?"

"I'll never leave you. You're worth it."

As the young Ayame hugged him back, the older one realized what their father had been doing before he died.

"Of course. Dad... he was preparing Shiro for this very moment. Whenever he wasn't with me, he was teaching him how to look after me... until I was ready to be on my own."

Then, she walked over to the children before she hugged them with a smile as she looked at her younger self. When she finished, Ayame walked away from the children before pushing the doors open, leading to another light as she walked into it.

At the icy planet, Shiro heard voices as he woke up.

"Well, what's he saying?"

"I don't know, but he's coming out."

Shiro then noticed he was hanging on a pipe with rope tied around his hands before he tried to lift himself off, only to catch their attention.

"What's that noise?"

"Let me check."

As the big one lifted the tarp, he noticed Shiro before he stopped.

"He wakes."

"Did you remember to put the clamp on him?"

"Which clamp?"

"The one that keeps his arm from turning into a weapon."

"The red one?"

"It's the only clamp we have! Ugh!"

With that, the two of them walked over to Shiro with the shortest of the two up front before their prisoner spoke to him.

"Where am I? Why am I tied up?"

"I say we eat him."

"He doesn't look Galra."

"Does that mean we can't eat him?"

"We're not going to eat him."

"I'm not Galra."

"Even worse. He's a traitor."

"I'm not a..."

Before he could finish, Shiro realized who they really were.

"You're... you're rebel fighters."

"That's right. We stand against the Galra. We haven't thrown our lot in with them like you have!"

"I'm not working with them. I'm on your side. My name is Shiro. I'm a Paladin of Voltron, but I was captured... I think. I was fighting Zarkon."

Of course, the biggest of the fighters didn't believe it as he laughed.

"Fighting Zarkon? Right, and I'm the Phloban of Gargalax."

"Please, have you heard of Voltron? The lions. I need to know... what happened to them? How much time has passed?"

"The Galra have been sending scouts to try and flush us out for years. And now they send you to infiltrate us. Hmm, a joke."

"They didn't send me. I escaped."

The shortest found that just as hard to believe as he scoffed.

"Escaped a Galra battle cruiser?"

That made them laugh before the biggest countered.

"I'm not buying it!"

"It's true. I took a pod. They fired at me. My pod took a hit. They wouldn't do that if I was friendly. Please, contact the Blade of Marmora or Voltron to verify my identity."

However, they didn't want to take any risks.

"And send a signal that can be tracked? Uh, no."

"Look around you. Our food and supplies are limited at this outpost. We have no problem watching you starve until you start telling the truth."

With that, they walked away, leaving Shiro hanging on the pole.

In space, Lotor was contemplating Jenny's decisive action to stop him, only to take half of the trans-reality ore. As he pondered this, Lotor tensed at the thought of her.

"It seems she's proving a more formidable adversary than even Allura. I'll have to be careful about this one."

Just then, Acxa found a strange pattern before speaking to Lotor.

"Prince Lotor, that anomaly is registering on our scanners again."

"Get the coordinates. I want a visual."

As Acxa did that, they noticed that nothing was there, at least according to the scanner.

"There's nothing."

Ezor felt it to be obvious.

"What are you expecting?"

Lotor then made his reasons for it known.

"I don't think three strange readings in a day are a coincidence."

Zethrid was led to assume the worst.

"We're being followed?"

Acxa has her doubts about it while Syn believed otherwise in her thoughts.

"We'd know."

"Unless they had our scanner protocols. They must be counteracting our measures."

"But who would know our protocols other than the Galra?"

That made Syn have an idea.

"Perhaps someone suspicious of us."

"It seems you're not too off the mark there, Syn. Bring up heat detectors and set blasters to fire around the anomaly."

Zethrid clearly wasn't happy with that.

"Around it? I say we hit it!"

"I want to know who's after me."

"And we need to find out what he knows. Because if he knows too much..."

Syn then got out his luxite katana as he spoke.

"He won't be leaving alive."

With that, Lotor's ship fired near General Raht before he was forced to evade them, proving his point.

"It is a Galra fighter."

"Let's invite our guest aboard."

When the fighter tried to escape, he was sucked in a tractor beam as he grunted.

"No!"

With that, the fighter was swallowed into Lotor's ship.

At the icy planet, the rebel fighters retrieved a message from Acxa.

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

"Thayserix? Where is that?"

"Not far from here. The fleet is passing through our quadrant. Log it on the klygarg."

"Oh, I hate the klygarg. How do I get on it again?"

As they spoke, Shiro shimmied up the pipe, trying not to get their attention.

"Enter your password."

"Right. What's my password?"

"I don't know! It's your password! I'm intercepting another communication coming in now. Log this one, too."

"I haven't logged the first one yet!"

"Shh!"

As Shiro shimmied up, he heard the radio chatter.

"We've received orders from Prince Lotor. We are to intercept Voltron."

This made Shiro gasp before the smaller rebel fighter spoke to the other.

"Voltron? Uh... see if he's ready to talk."

When the big guy looked, however, he'd gone missing.

"Ah! Vakala! Get in here! I told you we should've eaten him. His leg is hurt. He can't be far. Let's split up. I'll check outside. You check the tunnels."

As Vakala and the big guy split up, he went outside while his partner checked in the hold. As he breathed heavily, Vakala didn't notice the masked General as he drew out a sword preparing to strike. In the meantime, the Goliath looked in the hold only to find a shadow behind a towel and looked there. However, it was an assortment of supplies stacked to make it appear as if it was the prisoner. As the big Allen got confused, he heard gunfire and ran to the source only to find the masked General tossing Vakala toward him before he spoke.

"You have someone of mine, Rebels. Turn him in, and perhaps I'll let you live."

The goliath only proceeded to fire at the General who countered with his luxite sword swiftly. As this happened, Shiro noticed this while feeling the pain of his leg. As the goliath yelled, Vakala felt he could do a better job.

"You keep missing him! Let me shoot! Give me that!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Tsk, tsk. So discordant."

With that, the masked General fired bolos at him and used them to trap the bigger rebel fighter before Vakala took charge.

"Stop right there! I'll shoot!"

"Go ahead. I dare you."

As he unsheathed his sword, Vakala grew nervous before he fired, only for the general to block it with his sword which he then used to slice his weapon in two. Then, the General kicked him to the floor before Vakala spoke.

"You're on the wrong side of this war."

"Really? Doesn't appear that way to me."

Before he could strike them, Shiro stopped him by getting in the way and sliced off the clamp before Shiro was able to use his arm against the General before he clashed against him. As the two fighters watched, the General's outfit was cut open in the chest before he growled and shoved him away before teleporting away with Shiro looking toward them.

"I could tell you the same thing. I'm on your side. My name is Shiro, and like I said before, I'm a Paladin of Voltron. I know that no matter what I say you won't believe me, so..."

As they trembled, assuming he was going to fire at them, Shiro only dropped the weapon to them, earning their humble confusion before he spoke.

"I need to get to my team and I need your help."

Meanwhile, Ayame had now walked into the bedroom where her late best friend Kumiko laid unmoving. This was one of the worst experiences she's ever had.

"Kumiko..."

Suddenly, she heard a voice yelling behind her.

"This is all your fault!"

She gasped before turning to see her past self being yelled at by Kumiko's mother, Mrs. Nakamura.

"We gave you one job! You were supposed to protect her!"

"I know. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring my daughter back! It should have been you!"

This shattered her past self before she finished speaking.

"I don't know why you were ever brought into this world! I never want to see your incompetent face ever again!"

As the mother left in grieving frustration, the Ayame that had just endured such hateful words collapsed to the floor and broke down in tears as Ayame remembered her words.

"She was right. I could've done anything to protect her, but I didn't. This wasn't the first time anyone died because of me. It should be the last..."

As Ayame tensed her hands, she then let out a shout that let out all of her frustration and pain.

"WHY AM I STILL HERE?!" IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME!

As Ayame cried after this, a familiar voice spoke to her as he appeared along with Jenny, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Belle, and Sandra.

"Listen, Ayame. This is something Shiro told me that I know will help you."

"K-Keith?"

"We'll never give up on you, Ayame. But what's most important is that you can't give up on yourself."

Ayame, still struck with doubt, spoke to him.

"Why not? Why even bother trying if I'm just going to lose you? I'm not worth any effort! They were all better off without me! Why would they throw their lives away for someone who is pathetic and weak?! I shouldn't be here!"

Then, Keith placed his hands on her own as he put them together before he answered.

"Because. You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in my life. And not just mine. Your mother, your father, your friends, they'd do anything for you. Because like it or not, you are worth the effort. That's why you're here."

Hearing this, Ayame welled up with tears of joy before she lightly sobbed. As that happened, her tears fell into her hands before a dark purple orb came from where her hands were joined, catching her attention before she tried to look up to Keith, only to find that he and the others had gone. Ayame wasn't deterred by this however.

"I get it now. Everything my friends did, they did for me. Because they knew, in some way or another, that I'd make the universe a better place. And I will. I won't let their efforts be for nothing."

Back at the icy planet, Vakala showed the scan of Thayserix to Shiro.

"There's Thayserix. It's a giant gas planet. According to the communications we intercepted, Voltron is there. Or was."

"I need to get there. Do you have a ship?"

"Just a shuttle. It's designed to dock with low orbiting ships, not travel across the universe."

Then, Vakala's partner offered him a refreshment.

"Here. Sorry for hanging you up by your wrists."

"Thanks."

As the fighter looked at the klygarg, Vakala gave him the bad news.

"Shiro, there just doesn't seem to be any way to get you to Thayserix."

"What about the Galra cruiser heading there?"

"What about it?"

"Well, if it's passing close enough to this planet, maybe I can hitch a ride."

"Hitch a ride on a Galra cruiser?"

"You just escaped from a Galra ship, and now you're talking about breaking back onto one? You're crazier than me. And I volunteered to live in an ice planet for five years."

"Is it possible or not?"

As Vakala did another scan, he confirmed it.

"The cruiser is currently within range, but it's gonna make a jump to hyper-drive any time now."

"Then I'd better hurry."

With that, Shiro dressed up in the armor they had before activating it. And with that, Vakala and his partner fired their guns at the ice, breaking it apart and making a pathway for him to get through.

"Thank you for all your help."

With that, Shiro took off for outer space before his partner asked Vakala.

"Do you really think he'll be able to get to a fighter an make it to Voltron?"

"If he's really who he says he is, then he's got a chance."

"You know that was our only ship, right?"

That made Vakala widen his eyes as Shiro remembered what he was told about it.

"The battle cruiser's sensor will identify the shuttle once it gets within range. The single shuttle is such a small object that the bridge won't be notified. Its defense system is programmed to destroy on sight. At this point, the sensors will ID you as debris. You must move quickly. Make your way to the blasters. That's where you'll get in. These weapons retract just before hyper-drive."

At this point, Shiro noticed the defense systems preparing to fire at the shuttle before he got out as the blasters destroyed it. With that, Shiro took the opportunity to get inside the blasters just before the Galra cruiser went into hyper-drive. Once inside, Shiro attacked the drone before running to the docking bay. As this happened, the Galra cruiser arrived at Thayserix as the commander of the ship spoke up.

"Exiting hyper-drive. We have visual on Voltron. Voltron is within range."

"Voltron?"

As Shiro got into the bay, the commander spoke up.

"Prepare Fighter Squadron One for immediate deployment."

As the ships turned on and started to rise, a stone suddenly fell to the floor as Shiro spoke to himself.

"Come on. Send the fighters. Let's go!"

However, the commander spoke otherwise.

"Prince Lotor has commenced a sit down. Fighters, abort launch. I repeat, abort launch."

As they went down, Shiro spoke to himself again.

"It's now or never."

Suddenly, the masked General appeared on top of his fighter.

"I couldn't agree more."

With that, the masked General flung him out of the fighter before catching the attention of the other Galra who prepared to fire at him, only to cease fire as the masked General teleported along with Shiro into Kaecilius' cruiser before he spoke to the leader of said cruiser.

"Here he is. The Black Paladin as promised."

As Kaecilius spoke, Shiro noticed a familiar craft leaving.

"Excellent work, Zixal."

"Voltron!"

Unfortunately, Voltron took off without him.

"No!"

Kaecilius then noticed who he was talking about before he spoke.

"Hm. Trying to head back to your friends? I'm afraid that won't be happening. We've got lost time to make up for."

At the command center, Xaira felt tears coming out of her eyes before she stirred from her meditation and felt them with her fingers before she decided to pay Haggar a visit. As she did, Haggar turned to her and spoke to her.

"What is it?"

"My other... I could feel her hurt. She was doubting herself. But then, her understanding came after. I felt it."

"She's difficult to keep down. Not unlike Jennifer. Return to your chambers for now. I'll let you know when—"

Suddenly, Lotor arrived with a robot arm before he chucked it to the ground.

"Hello, Brother."

"Xaira."

After the short exchange, Lotor turned to Haggar.

"Stop sending your cronies after me."

"I know many ideas float through your head, just like your father, but the Galra Empire needs your help in these troubling times, especially with Kaecilius involved."

Xaira has her own personal doubts about it.

"Or maybe he should just cut his losses and hand it over to me."

As Lotor glared at her, Xaira explained her reason.

"Yeah. I know what I said. And that's the truth. You think you're being a leader, but you're not. You're just a temporary bauble to be cast aside until the true emperor shows himself. Face it. You're no leader."

"I am the leader! But I am not my father."

"That's exactly why you don't deserve it."

As Lotor glared at her, he proceeded to walk out before Haggar spoke to her.

"On second thought, I have a new mission for you. This time, I'll oversee your progress personally."