Chapter 42: Postmortem

At Zarkon's Central Command, he sat on his throne, having heard the news from Zygmar.

"What? Lotor... dispatched Kaecilius?"

"Yes, my lord. Kaecilius... is no more."

This made him widen his eyes before he grew worried as he put his hand on his head.

"Oh, no..."

This confused Zygmar as he spoke.

"What is it, my emperor? Is something wrong?"

Trying not to worry the messenger, Zarkon just sent him out.

"N-Never you mind. Please, leave me."

With that, Zygmar bowed before he spoke.

"Vrepit Sa."

As he walked out, however, Zarkon grew stressed about what it meant.

"If Kaecilius really is gone..."

Suddenly, Zarkon received a vision of Kaecilius laughing maniacally before he felt his head again and noticed his hand beginning to wither away in wrinkles as he figured out what it meant as he began to feel ill.

"No... my 10,000 years are beginning to catch up with me. I must... I must warn my children..."

As Zarkon began coughing, he began setting up a transmission to the Castle where he saw Ayame, Allura, and Lotor before the first of the three spoke up.

"Father. What's going on?"

"M-My health... is in danger. And I fear the Galra Empire will fall Along with me."

Hearing this, Komar grew interested as he was spying from behind a pillar before cloaking himself.

At Olkarion, Ryner spoke with Belle, Sam, Alphus, Matt, Pidge, Cilia, and Sapphire as the last two were told of their events while their own ion cannon is being installed.

"Wow. Your forest can interact with technology as well? That's... astounding."

"So cool!"

As Ryner smiled at Sapphire's comment, she spoke of how she missed it so.

"Part of me misses my people's exile in the forest. But since Olkarion became the hub for refugees in this quadrant, it made sense that we should return to the city and transform it into the Coalition's capital."

As he and Pidge spoke, Sam walked up and looked outside the window to see their technological advancements.

"So much has changed so fast."

"For the better."

Belle knew better than to call it quits, however.

"Yeah, well, Kaecilius may be gone, but the war's not over yet."

"That is why the Olkari are grateful Voltron and its counterpart is here until our defense systems are fully operational. I fear tumultuous times are upon us."

Ryner couldn't have been more right. At Base: Xanthium, Komar walked towards the controls with the thought of Zarkon's health at risk.

"If Zarkon truly has become ill, then countless Galra will try to fill that void, our faction included. This can be quite opportune."

Just then, he heard Syn's voice behind him.

"Opportune for what, exactly?"

As Komar turned to see Syn, Varek, and Vantiv, he gave them the answer whilst easing their worries as he saw their discontent faces.

"If one of our own should obtain power, the Drule Empire will have dynamic ownership of the cosmos. And not to worry. Our master should return from his hyper-luminal warp drive... now."

With that, Kaecilius appeared in a flash of blinding purple light before it dimmed to reveal a bright purple silhouette with yellow eyes before Vantiv widened her eyes at his form.

"And that's not all."

With that, Komar then pushed a button to show the lights on another body of Kaecilius, one that resembled how he was before his exposure to Omegus' influence 10,000 years ago before the quintessential form went inside the clone body with Komar checking the statistics. As the monitor blinked green, Kaecilius' clone body woke up with a gasp before he panted heavily as Vantiv rushed over to him and helped him out gently while speaking to Komar.

"How did you do this?"

"Why, it's very simple. Kaecilius was obviously counting on being bested once. So, it's only natural that he had a backup plan. We have our dear friend Shiro to thank for that."

As he motioned to Shiro's real body in a capsule now with his hair long, Vantiv couldn't help but feel entranced as he spoke.

"And there's more good news. Emperor Zarkon is beginning to wither away."

Hearing this, Kaecilius smiled.

"Good. With any luck, the Galra Empire shall be no more... find me a volunteer. With him in Zarkon's place, the Drule Empire will make that of the Galra rot from inside."

At the Castle, Ayame sat by Lotor as Allura spoke.

"They should be here any minute."

"Good. There is much to discuss."

Having just received the news of their father's illness kicking in, Ayame looked over to Lotor and saw his concern as she spoke.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Ayame knew otherwise. Given that Zarkon's illness was triggered just after Kaecilius' defeat, she knew he must be blaming himself for taking action when he did, knowing somehow it caused their father's sickness.

"What you did was for the greater good, Lotor. And for many of us, Jenny included, proof of your intentions for peace. They're finally starting to see it."

This made Lotor smile at her before Lance, Jenny, Pidge, Hunk, Coran, Babak, and Shiro walked in as the first got surprised before he spoke sarcastically followed by Pidge, Jenny, and Coran.

"Look. It's Prince Lotor, just hangin' out on the bridge."

"Guess this is a thing that's happening."

"Well, he did save my butt."

"I suppose we'll all have to get used to it— like my Zarbloovian intestinal eel."

This caught Jenny off guard as she spoke.

"Wait, what?"

As Coran's stomach seemed to have growled, Jenny grew frightened as he soothed it.

"Easy, fella."

"Please tell me that's not gonna happen to me!"

"Oh, relax. That's not what usually happens to Alteans. I got that one during one of my escapades in Zarbloov."

"Oh. I'm... not sure how I feel about that now."

With that, Shiro walked up to Lotor as he spoke.

"What's going on, Lotor?"

"As we've just been told, now that no trace of Omegus is inside him, our father is beginning to die in increments. In fact, it's already creating a power vacuum within the Galra Empire. The most formidable Galra leaders will gather for what is called the Kral Zera sometime in the next two days to decide who will take the throne in my father's place. We must be there."

Lance, Allura, Jenny didn't feel as if it's the best plan.

"So, you want us to fly you into the middle of a meeting with all of the most powerful Galra leaders?"

Allura and Jenny began to be concerned for this as well.

"Lotor, we appreciate all that you've sacrificed, but this sounds far too dangerous."

"She's right. I mean, do you even have the big guy's permission?"

Shiro, however, saw merit in their mission.

"We've been in more dangerous situations with much less to gain. Putting Lotor on the Galra throne is what we've been discussing."

Pidge only showed concern toward this.

"Yeah, but no one told us that would mean flying into a war zone."

"We can't plan an operation this important so quickly."

"We don't have a choice."

Lance then spoke up followed by Jenny.

"I'm with Allura. We need time to think this over."

"And permission! Don't forget permission!"

"Guys, this is not your call."

Hearing this, Jenny grew a bit perplexed.

"Okay..."

"Allura, the Coalition wouldn't be where it is right now without Lotor. We need to listen to him."

Pidge then spoke up in agreement with her.

"Well, I'm with Allura, too. This is too dangerous to pull off at the last minute."

Coran then spoke up next before Babak.

"Agreed. So, it looks like it's five-to-two in the Princess's favor."

"Six."

"Look, this isn't a vote. I'm the leader of Voltron. I'm making this decision."

"Like when you armed Lotor with your bayard without consulting the rest of us?"

"That's right. Making that decision resulted in the removal of Kaecilius and stopping his Drule Empire in its tracks."

"You put the entire operation in jeopardy."

"I put an end to Kaecilius' reign of terror. Now is the time to finish the job."

Lance then walked up to Shiro as he spoke.

"Shiro, we're all on the same side here."

However, Shiro only snapped at him for trying to soothe the tension.

"I told you to stay out of this!"

This made Lance even more surprised with Jenny just as shocked while Ayame showed a look of concern before Lotor spoke.

"While you all waste time squabbling, sinister forces are conspiring to fill the Galra power void, the Drule included. If we don't return to claim the throne, there is no telling who will."

"Good. It's settled."

Jenny felt otherwise as she spoke.

"How does that make it settled? We didn't agree to anything."

"Our hands are tied. The Kral Zera is happening. If we want to stop the Galra from taking themselves down the wrong path, we need to put Lotor on the throne immediately."

"Why him? Why not Ayame?"

Lotor then explained this as he spoke.

"Because that privilege usually falls on the living eldest child."

Jenny then eyed him as she spoke questioningly.

"And how old are you?"

"Over 10,000 years old."

This made Jenny widen her eyes before she stepped back.

"Oh. You look good for someone who's lived that long."

With that, Lance spoke to Shiro, having decided to give him some space.

"Okay. If this isn't my call, then there's nothing I can do. If anyone needs me, I'll be doing some training. Anyone who wants to join is welcome."

As he walked out, Jenny ran toward him.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

At Base: Xanthium, Kaecilius can see Lance and Jenny walking out as he grew curious.

"That fool... he should've held his tongue in that manner. I suppose all mortals speak highly of themselves when their situation gets undesirable. A feeble coping mechanism, at best."

Just then, Varek arrived with Branko, although he's not himself. He was shown to have purple eyes rather than a yellow and red one.

"Our volunteer has just arrived. With a little trick I used at Olkarion, he sees things our way now."

"Perfect. If he succeeds in taking the throne, no one will suspect this..."

With that, Branko's purple eye coloring vanished, restoring the yellow eye and red robotic eye coloring as Kaecilius spoke again.

"...until it's too late."

At Zarkon's Central Command, Ezor, Kurziam, Acxa, and Zethrid were in a cell together. Evidently, once Zygmar found out he was given the order to imprison them out of suspicion that they were behind his poisoning, and they didn't quite take it very well.

"What are they planning to do to us? We brought Lotor back to Emperor Zarkon. It wasn't our fault he got sick.'

"While I agree with you, their feelings may not be mutual."

"It doesn't matter. We won't live to see the new regime. Whoever comes through that door next will likely be our undertaker."

"Whoever comes through that door next is gonna get a face full of fists."

Suddenly, the door began to open, revealing Haggar herself and surprising the former generals as Ezor spoke.

"Are you here to kill us?"

"No. I'm here to recruit you."

At the training room, Lance was shooting at the drones spinning around him as Jenny watched while he successfully shot one down before he was swarmed with them before being shot in the back and shoulder as he summoned his shield and blocked their fire while grunting as he cane under heavy fire. While Jenny grew worried, she knew better than to interfere, having been told not to do so before Lance opened his eyes as his bayard suddenly changed before it turned into a broadsword and cleaved the drones swiftly before Jenny widened her eyes at his weapon as he looked at it himself.

"Whoa."

"Uh, Lance? How did you do that?"

Allura had the answer as she spoke.

"I haven't seen that for 10,000 years."

This made Jenny curious as she spoke to her.

"Seen what? What is that?"

"It's an Altean broadsword. My father used one just like it."

This made Jenny look to him again with intense surprise.

"Okay, Lance. For real, you've got to tell me how you did that!"

"I have no idea how I did this."

"Aw, man!"

"I think your bayard has shown you what we've all been noticing. You have greatness within."

Jenny smiled at Lance, who returned the favor before he remembered someone who snapped at him not too long ago.

"Huh. I don't think Shiro has noticed."

Hearing this, Jenny and Allura admitted their feelings to him as they spoke.

"Yeah. We know what you mean. Maybe he's just... stressed? I don't know."

"Shiro has been quite difficult lately. I'm not sure what to do. We seem to constantly be at odds."

"You guys are under a lot of pressure. Having Lotor around doesn't help."

"Sometimes it feels like it was easier to fight the Galra rather than to try to work with them. Well, Lapis and her friends excluded, but still."

"Speaking of, the way Shiro acted... doesn't that remind you of anyone else? I mean, what if he left the team, too?"

Lance could easily see their concern as he spoke.

"Fat chance. You both have the coalition's best interests at heart. Don't forget that. Shiro isn't your enemy."

"Maybe. But, still... it just doesn't feel right."

"Well, he is the leader. Maybe since we're this close, he's really determined to make sure that we all get out of this in one piece."

This made Jenny smile at the thought as she spoke.

"You know... maybe you're right. I shouldn't get so suspicious. I mean, he did help us out over and over."

"And I need to stay focused on the big picture. Thank you, Lance. Speaking with you has actually made me feel better."

"What do you mean, 'actually?'"

Jenny proceeded to explain what she meant.

"Well, considering your track record with other ladies on Earth, I wouldn't exactly expect her to go to you for advice."

"Hey!"

This made Jenny and Allura laugh before Lance joined in on the laughter before he spoke.

"Ah, you're right. I must have really grown out of it since then, huh?"

"Yep. You sure did."

With that, Allura spoke to Lance next.

"Oh, and Lance, if you're going to try to control a sword this powerful..."

Suddenly, she tripped Lance before taking the bayard herself, causing it to change back as Jenny started laughing her head off at how easily Lance was tripped.

"...you're going to need to work on your stance."

At the Green Lion's hangar, Pidge spoke to her father about the Green Lion.

"I developed a cloaking device by reverse engineering the technology from the invisible maze in the Castle and integrating it with the lion's shield system. The last time Rogue Thrust was here, Luzria asked me if she could get the schematics for it to use on the Violet Lion, so I agreed to it, just for one small favor."

"It's just amazing. All this technology— it used to exist only in my dreams. I can't wait to tell your mother all about this. Wait till she sees you two. So grown up."

However, Pidge and Matt had other plans.

"Well, the thing is, between the rebels, the Blades, and Voltron, Matt and I have a lot of work to do before we can go back home."

"Right. We need to stay, until the Drule are defeated and we can rest assured Earth will always be safe."

"What?"

"We can't go home with you, dad."

With that, the three of them just stared at each other in the hall.

At the Central Command, Haggar gave them the news.

"With every minute passing, Emperor Zarkon's health is declining, and the Empire weakens by the same moment."

Zethrid grew concerned as to what it means for them.

"Are you planning to seize power?"

"No. The Empire will only accept a ruler with Galra blood. It needs a natural-born leader. With an iron will to match his iron fist. Bring him to me, and I will pardon your past misdeeds."

Meanwhile, in outer space, Branko was traveling towards Olkarion with Komar speaking to him.

"Is the payload ready, Commander Branko?"

"Yes, Komar. The Olkari scientists were good for something after all."

"For your sake, you had better be right."

With that, Branko fired the payload from the Drule cruiser before it sped like a meteor toward Olkarion as Komar spoke to Kaecilius.

"If what Branko preaches turns out to be truth, then we'll have quite a garden in store for us."

"So long as it blooms Voltron to us, our attempt to seize the throne will be that much more successful."

At Olkarion, the payload made a sonic boom as it entered the atmosphere before breaking apart and landing in the forest before Ryner hailed a transmission to the Castle with Belle, Cilia, and Sapphire seen with her.

"Ryner hailing the Castle of Lions."

Babak then spoke about the object that entered orbit.

"Ryner, what was that?"

"A meteor-like object struck the forest outside the city. We're detecting high levels of an unknown toxin emanating from the impact site."

With that, Shiro spoke up next.

"I'll check it out."

Unfortunately, he was a bit late for that. The toxin corrupted the plants in the forest as they turned from green to purple before cob defrost on the payload and swallowed it just as the toxin spread to the whole forest and began to move to the city as Shiro hovered above the corrupt forest.

"I'm detecting movement up ahead. Babak, Coran, I'm going in for a closer look."

As he did, however, he noticed the source of the movements headed toward him like a tank before he spoke.

"Guys, we might have a big problem here."

"How big?"

The tank then fired a blast at Shiro before he dodged while speaking.

"Guys! Send out the team!"

As he dodged its fire, Kaecilius can see for himself through Shiro's eyes how well it was proceeding.

"From the look of things, the virus must've reached the city by now. And there's no doubt that the lions have mobilized. Truly, the dawn of a new age of warfare has begun. Move in slowly, Branko."

"Yes, Kaecilius."

As the Drule cruiser moved in, the Olkari began to be attacked by the vines as they took over the city while leaving the protected Castle untouched just as Matt and Sam went over to Babak and Coran.

"What's happening out there?"

"The forest appears to have come alive and is attacking the city."

"Where are the lions?"

Babak gave him the lowdown.

"Don't worry, Sam. I've already sent them to assist Shiro. As we speak, he's battling something in the forest."

Battling it, and having no luck. Shiro fires repetitive laser blasts once he evaded its fire, but it didn't do anything to pierce the armor just as the rest of the lions arrived and shot their laser blasts at the tank, causing it to roar before Pidge showed it to Ryner.

"Ryner, what are we looking at here?"

"I don't understand. That monster resembles one of our tree-mechs. It's as if the forest is being corrupted."

Hearing that word, Belle didn't have fond memories of being corrupted herself as she spoke, trying to determine the source.

"What do you think is causing it, Shiro?"

"It must have something to do with whatever that is emanating from the impact site."

Pidge found more evidence of it as she spoke up again.

"It looks like some sort of invasive plasma. Coran, have my dad and brother analyze the data I'm sending!"

"On it."

Then, Jenny spoke up as it fired.

"Duck!"

As they served away, Shiro spoke to the team.

"Hurry up, team. Let's form Voltron!"

Ayame then spoke up to him.

"Jenny and I'll keep it busy so you don't get shot too soon."

"Got it, Ayame!"

With that, the five lions came together while the White Lion occupied the tank before firing its photon cannon with the White Lion activating a particle barrier to shield itself just as Voltron charged in as Ayame spoke.

"All yours, Takashi!"

"Thanks, Ayame. Shield up!"

With that, Voltron activated the shield just as the creature started to fire again. However, the moment it did, it collided in point blank range with the shield, knocking both sides back before the monster growled as Shiro spoke to the team.

"Let's finish him!"

However, Hunk had difficulty moving.

"I can't move my leg, I mean, my Voltron leg!"

Allura was confronted with the same problem as she grunted.

"Neither can I! These vines are restricting our movements!"

Shiro then tried to check with Pidge.

"Pidge, can you get free?"

"Negative. They're everywhere."

With that, the vines began overtaking Voltron itself as Lance couldn't move either.

"Red's stuck too!"

Jenny and Ayame noticed this and tried to help as the former spoke.

"We'll help you guys!"

As the White Lion got closer however, the vines began going upward and trapping the White Lion as it pulled the vessel down hard on the ground before Jenny spoke.

"Or not!"

Allura then had an idea as she shouted.

"Separate into lions!"

"We can't! We're seized up! Trapped!"

With that, both Voltron and the White Lion were consumed into a cocoon before it lifted itself up as the tank headed towards the city as Hunk spoke.

"Wait. What's that sound?"

Jenny can make a guess as she spoke with the other paladins.

"My guess? It must be headed to the city."

Shiro made a guess of his own as to why as he spoke.

"And I think I know why. Ryner, is that ion cannon of yours operational?"

"No, it's still not finished. At best it could manage perhaps one shot."

"Well, make it count, 'cause that thing's headed right for you."

Hearing this, Sapphire began to panic as she trembled while Belle soothed her.

"It's okay. You'll be fine."

With that, Ryner activated the green ion cannon whilst targeting the creature.

"Targeting. Cannon charge at 30%. Power at 70%. Target acquired! Power at 95%, prepare to fire!"

However, before it could fire, the ion cannon deactivated.

"No! We're losing power! What's happening?"

Sapphire's screams got her attention as she shouted at the presence of dark vines invading the building.

"Scary vines!"

As Belle got Cilia and Sapphire away from the vines, she spoke to Ryner.

"What's happening?!"

"The ion cannon, all of our systems, they've been compromised!"

At the Castle, Pidge spoke to her family.

"Matt! Dad! These vines..."

"They're like a computer virus. From the data you sent, it appears the plasma substance is self-replicating organic wetware. Which creates a single-expanding system, giving it the ability to interface with nature the way the Olkari do."

"It's like a computer and a virus rolled into one."

Suddenly, the transmission went down, vexing Babak.

"Quiznak it all! Now Voltron is offline too!"

Sam then thought about what to do.

"If the plasma mass has the properties of a computer, there must be some way to hack into it and shut it down."

"Conceivably. If we could just figure out how to interface with it."

With that, Sam smiled at Matt as he had an idea in his head for how to do that.

In the cocoon, Jenny and Ayame tried connecting with the other paladins.

"Guys?! You okay in there?!"

"Can you read us?!"

Fortunately, in spite of Voltron and the White Lion being offline, Shiro was able to respond to them, as they spoke.

"Yeah. We can hear you."

"What are we gonna do? I ca- I can't move!"

"Listen! This virus is affecting Voltron on a sub-molecular level. To drive it out, we have to tap into the quantum energy that bonds is all to Voltron!"

Jenny grew curious on how to do that.

"But how do we do that?!"

"The bayards! They amplify each paladin's life force!"

Ayame then understood where she was getting at.

"Right. They might provide enough power to drive out the virus!"

Lance felt it might be worth the risk, given their position.

"It's worth a shot."

However, another problem arose as the cocoon was suddenly pulled into a tractor beam with the Drupe cruiser above them as Coran and Babak spoke.

"It's the Drule. This is all their doing."

"But how? Kaecilius was slain, wasn't he?"

At the hub, Matt and Sam met with Cilia, Sapphire, Belle, and Ryner as Belle and Ryner spoke.

"Took you long enough to get here."

"We're trying to interface with the vines to stop their growth, but we can't communicate with the nano-cellulose."

"We don't need to stop it. We just need to reroute it."

Belle found it difficult to do so, however.

"And how are we gonna do that, genius?"

Ryner, however, felt obliged to see this option in play.

"Grab a headpiece, show me."

With that, Matt, Sam, Belle, Cilia, and Sapphire put on the devices before he spoke.

"Alright. Follow my lead."

With that, they placed their hands upon the corrupt vines, although Sapphire was hesitant to do so at first before she saw the color change as she widened her eyes in joy.

"I did it, mommy! I did it!"

In the cocoon, Lance and the other paladins summoned their bayards before Lance engaged a countdown.

"Three, two, one!"

With that, they engaged their bayards to their switches before turning as a bright light overcame them.

In an astral plane, Lance gasped and exhaled as he saw Hunk, Pidge, Jenny, Allura, and Ayame appear in the plane with him, but Shiro was nowhere to be found as they began calling out for him with Allura speaking first.

"Shiro! Shiro!"

"Shiro!"

"Shiro!"

"Takashi!"

"Shiro!"

"Shiro!"

"Where are you?!"

Suddenly, a dark silhouette of Shiro appeared before the lights flowed brightly on the circles with Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Jenny going back to reality, leaving Ayame and Lance alone in the plane with Shiro as he tried to speak to them.

"Lance! Ayame, listen to me!"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

Before they could get their answer, they went back to reality before Voltron broke free, intriguing Kaecilius.

"So... Voltron is free. But I have to wonder... what do they know of this play?"

Meanwhile, Ayame and Lance slowly stirred awake as Hunk, Jenny, Shiro, Allura, and Pidge spoke.

"We're back, baby!"

"I've never felt so alive!"

"Attack that cruiser!"

"Wait! What about that tree-beast?"

"Guys, we've got incoming!"

Suddenly, Ayame and Lance gasped as they both saw a green ion cannon firing at the cruiser before it tore through its walls and began to consume Branko as he yelled. With the cruiser destroyed, Belle, Ryner, Cilia, Sapphire, Matt, and Sam grew relieved as Matt and Belle spoke.

"Yes! We did it!"

"You're free to move, Shiro! Now take care of that tree-beast!"

"Got it, Belle! Let's finish this fight!"

As the tree-beast entered the city, it began firing at the hub just as the White Voltron arrived and blocked its fire with the particle barrier before Voltron charged at it and pushed it back as they shouted. After being pushed out of the city, however, the tree-beast saw the next best thing: having Voltron as a buffet as it caught Voltron's head and left hand while also catching the legs before Shiro spoke.

"Pidge, what's it doing?"

"The virus! It's trying to absorb Voltron!"

"I can't see anything!"

Jenny then tried to check for the other lions to try to help.

"Wait! Are any of the other lions free?!"

Pidge and Allura responded to them as the tree-beast prepared to swallow Voltron whole.

"It's got me!"

"Me, too!"

Then, Jenny and Allura realized who wasn't taken as they shouted his name.

"Wait a minute..."

"Lance!"

Lance, on the meantime, was preparing to fire at the tree-beast as he yelled before thrusting his bayard into the switch, firing a blast through its open mouth while creating a barrier of Quintessence before Voltron stood over the pile of vines before Jenny took a deep breath out of relief.

"Thank the ancients. I knew you could pull it off."

Ayame then grew confused about Jenny's other role as she spoke.

"You know, you could've helped."

"Yeah, I could have. But it's not all up to me."

Later, as the Olkari cleaned up the mess left by the tree-beast, the paladins were on top of Voltron with Sapphire in Jenny's lap while she was sitting by Lance and Ayame beside Shiro while Sam spoke to Matt and Pidge on a platform above Voltron.

"Kids, I need to talk to you again about returning to Earth."

"Dad..."

"No, listen. I understand now. And I couldn't be more proud. The whole universe is finding out what I've known all along. You two are something special."

With that, Matt and Pidge hugged their father before as the latter spoke.

"Oh, Dad..."

"And they need you. But I'm needed back on Earth."

This made Pidge widen her eyes before he explained.

"The Galaxy Garrison has to know what's going on out here. They need to get ready. There's a war coming."

"So this is goodbye?"

"For now."

In the meantime, Jenny and Lance sat up with Sapphire on top of her shoulders before the latter turned to Shiro.

"Hey, Shiro. What were you trying to tell me and Ayame in that void thing earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

Ayame knew what he was talking about as she spoke next.

"You were shouting at us, but we couldn't hear you."

"I don't know. Things went dark there for a second. But good work today. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."

This made Lance smile before cautiously looking back to Shiro as Jenny felt even more worried before sighing.

Later at the Castle, Jenny spoke with Belle about what how he snapped at Lance.

"He did what?"

"I know. That totally sounds like something Keith would do. And that's not all. He said he was the leader of Voltron, which we already knew, and that he was making this decision."

Remembering what Jenny told her about how Zarkon behaved similarly before, she tried to understand the reason for this.

"Well... maybe he's worried about you guys. I mean we are pretty close for it to be true."

"Yeah. That's what I thought, too."

"Still... if he's getting stressed... I think we should keep an eye on him, make sure the stress isn't getting to him."

"Sounds like a plan, sis."

At her lair, Haggar was visited upon by the generals as Ezor spoke.

"Look who we found."

With that, Sendak emerged from the shadows as he awaited her orders.

Meanwhile, Kaecilius was not amused with the turn of events as he was calming himself with the room in scratches and Quintessence left on the scratches as he took a deep breath before he heard footsteps as he turned behind him.

"So, I take it you found a suitable replacement for Zarkon this time?"

Syn smirked at this as he stepped aside.

"As a matter of fact, I have. And I have a feeling you might know him."

And indeed he did. Kaecilius recognized the robotic arm and red-eyed glare from the figure as he stepped out of the shadows with the Drule Emperor smiling.

"Ah... its a pleasure to see you again... Vaxel."