A/N: Hello. Just a heads-up, there'll be a new Galra commander that will have a larger role in the story later on. He is known as Kospego and will be voiced by Chris Ayres to give him that tyrannical feel, emperor or not. That'll be all.

Chapter 43: Kral Zera

At the Galra space station where Komar captured Jenny before, Zaltron, Keith, and Sandra were accompanied by Ilun, Caxas, and Jareth as the first of their company spoke.

"That's our target. As soon as it docks, we mobilize."

As the drones walked away, the group came down from the vent before they walked in to notice boxes of crates as Ilun spoke with Jareth reassuring her afterward.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Trust us, Ilun. It's been done before."

As the drones carried the boxes (along with a larger one for Zaltron's size) inside to the hangar bay, they set them down by the other boxes. Once they left and the doors closed, they broke out before Ilun spoke to Lapis.

"Good tip, Brother."

Then, they noticed a Galra soldier aiming his gun at them before Zaltron spoke his cue words to confirm that they're allies.

"The sun falls one day to give night its own time..."

The Galra soldier knew the rest of the words as he spoke.

"Just as night falls to let the day rise. Follow me."

As the soldier dropped his weapon, Sandra grew curious about how he convinced him.

"Hey, how did you tell him not to shoot us?"

"It's a code between fellow blades used to determine allies from enemies."

"Huh."

Then, Sandra realized another problem.

"Wait. There's too many of us. I don't think we should risk being seen all at once. We'll take turns."

This made Ilun go with her idea.

"Good thinking."

With that, one half of a group remained near the boxes while the rest of the group consisting of Keith, Sandra, and Ilun were taken to a control room before the soldier showed them a door above.

"This shaft will take you directly above the bridge."

Ilun nodded to him as she spoke.

"Thanks, Brother."

Suddenly, they heard Ranveig's voice as he spoke.

"The Archivist is taking too long to start the ceremony."

This made Sandra pressured as she quietly spoke.

"Everyone in, now."

With that, Sandra went in first before holding her hand out to pull Keith up just as Ilun went up next.

"If he waits much longer, the empire will descend into chaos."

When Ranveig entered, the soldier put his fist on his chest before he gave him an order.

"Make ready for takeoff."

With that, they snuck in the vents as Sandra spoke softly.

"Let's just hope the others will have better luck."

Fortunately, they were, as the Violet Lion held Rogue Thrust in a Galra cruiser as Lapis spoke.

"You don't have to worry, Sandy. We're right behind you."

Meanwhile, at Base: Xanthium, Kaecilius looked at his hand and saw it beginning to wither as he snarled before looking to Komar.

"Komar, I thought you prepared this body to its height in Quintessence."

"I have... but with the Quintessence we had left. We barely had any to begin with."

This frustrated him as he gripped the scientist by the collar and shook him.

"THEN GET ME MORE!"

Catching his temper, Kaecilius took a deep breath before he released Komar and spoke.

"Ahem. We can worry about that after the Kral Zera."

"Speaking of, I found a Druid of Haggar's and informed him of the ceremony that is to be displayed."

"And?"

"He's agreed to postpone it for those who deny its true emperor. For good."

This made Kaecilius weary as he spoke.

"And does he know of your allegiance to me?"

"I can assure you, try as he might to look inside my head, he won't find any answers."

This gave him cause for relief as he smiled.

"Perfect. But this mission is too important to leave to chance. So, just in case..."

With that, Kaecilius formed a dark orb and placed it over Komar's head before it blinded him in a white light as he screamed in agony.

At the Castle, Lotor was trying to convince them of the Kral Zera's importance.

"I'm telling you, Branko's dissension and wanton attack was only the beginning. With our father near death's door, more and more high-ranking officials are going to start lashing out and consolidating their power at the Kral Zera."

This made Hunk pause him as he spoke.

"Uh, just gonna hump in here. What exactly is the Kral Zera? Is there food here? It sounds awful fancy."

Belle and Lotor knew otherwise.

"It's not a restaurant, Hunk."

"Belle is right. It's the coronation ceremony for a new emperor or empress. It is held on one of the first planets we, the Galra, have conquered. Planet Feyiv, a sacred land."

Then, Ayame spoke to Lotor about the matter.

"So, who's going to be at the Kral Zera?"

"Allow me to show you."

Before Lotor thought about doing so, he turned to Allura, aware that this isn't his Castle.

"May I, Princess?"

"Go ahead."

With that, Lotor pulled up a hotlist of deadly Galra officials.

"Warlord Ranveig is one of the fiercest Galra in the empire. That's why my father sent him to the fringes of the universe. He will already have several factions pledging their allegiance."

This made Lance and Jenny comment on this.

"Warlord, huh? I'm guessing you don't get that title by being nice."

"Gee, you think?"

Next, it showed a female Galra speaking with the drones as Lotor spoke.

"Commander Gnov was one of Zarkon's most trusted advisors next to Zygmar. She will be unifying Zarkon's inner circle of commanders. They know what they'll be getting with her."

"Let me guess: trouble?"

"Yes, Jennifer. A sort of trouble you've endured countless times on enemy lines. She's not as reckless as Warlord Ranveig, but she's just as cruel. Quartermaster Janka. He is responsible for overseeing supply routes throughout the empire. Don't let his stature fool you. His power is bureaucracy, and he should not be underestimated."

Pidge spoke up a detail about him.

"He keeps popping up in my database. His supply chain management is incredible. He definitely color codes."

Hunk felt it confusing a little.

"So, organized evil. Okay."

Then, Lotor brought up another commander.

"Another one who will appear is none other than Commander Kospego. A commander that rivals both Ranveig and Gnov in strength and intelligence, but when it comes to brutality, no one can match him. Before he ever fights, he analyzes his enemies' weak points and strikes there to make them suffer their final moments as they cling onto life before he kicks them off the proverbial ledge. When any of his men disappoints him, he shows those merciless attacks and murders toward them as an example of his own enemies as well. He has little to no tolerance for failure."

Belle grew very nervous around him.

"Something tells me he won't get any votes for best friend."

With that, Lotor finally went to a familiar face that tortured Jenny before as well as Zarkon's devoted emissary and high priestess.

"And, finally, Zarkon's witch, Haggar, and the creator of the Komar Experiment known as... Well, the name is self-explanatory."

After seeing him, Jenny grew tense.

"We've met before. He's the guy who turned me into a prune."

"Next to Haggar, Komar's the most dangerous of them all. Because his cells have been near-fatally damaged in battle, and therefore not eligible to rule, he more than likely has a puppet already. Someone he can control and manipulate. The same would go to Haggar. If the Galra were smart, they'd be working together against them. If either of their puppets takes over, then stopping Kaecilius' tyranny will all have been for naught."

Seeing enough of what they've been told, Shiro knew what needed to be done.

"Then we can't risk any of them assuming control. We should help Lotor take command of the Galra Empire."

Allura reminded him of her standing.

"Shiro, we've already discussed this. It's far too risky."

Lance then spoke up his idea.

"Yeah, why don't we let them fight amongst themselves a while before we do anything?"

This made Ayame speak against that.

"You know what we just went through on Olkarion, Lance, and that was just one rogue commander vying for the throne. When the entire empire lashes out, everyone in the universe on both sides suffers."

This made Jenny concerned about how to stop it.

"How would we even get Lotor there without stirring up a huge fight?"

Lotor then spoke of an idea to remedy this.

"I'll be bringing Voltron."

This made the Paladins widen their eyes before Hunk, Jenny, and Allura spoke.

"Yeah, because Voltron never gets in fights."

"I'm with Hunk on this. That doesn't sound too good of an idea."

"Shiro, we can't allow that to happen."

Shiro looked away and tensed a bit before he replied calmly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

As he walked away, Jenny and Belle felt bad for him as Hunk spoke and the latter replied to him.

"Uh, what's up with Shiro?"

"Don't know, Hunk. But what I do know is that he's under a lot of pressure. He's just trying to keep everyone safe."

"Yeah. You can't blame him for wanting that. Right, Allura?"

Allura sighed at this before she replied.

"I don't know."

Meanwhile, Ranveig's cruiser and countless others were nearing the destination as its monitor showed a structure with a purple fire at the bottom of the precipice before he spoke.

"The Archivist has made the summons. Set a course for Planet Feyiv. It is time for me to burn with the glory of the Kral Zera, and take my place on the Galra throne."

As they overheard this, Adea spoke to Lapis quietly.

"Kral Zera? Planet Feyiv? What's going on?"

"A coronation, Adea. But why would it happen so soon? Zarkon must be in trouble for it to happen so quickly."

Meanwhile, on the planet's surface, Zarkon stood under the flames of the Kral Zera beside the Archivist as countless Galra commanders joined in before Gnov belittled Janka.

"Avert your gaze. The throne is for real fighters."

"I've conquered more worlds than you've ever seen with just the swipe of my finger."

Just as the Galra cruiser prepared to land, Lapis spoke to her group.

"Alright, when we get down there, we'll set one explosive on each load-bearing beam. They work on a timer. Once we set them, we have to bolt immediately. Understand?"

This earned a salute from Adea as she spoke.

"Understood!"

As the cruiser landed, Janka noticed two faces above the steps.

"Emperor Zarkon! And the Archivist!"

With that, the Archivist got their undivided attention as Zarkon looked at the crowd for his children while he spoke out to them.

"Through 33 rulers, during times if peace and times of expanse, this flame has burned for over 13 millennia. From our first, Beodar, to Vrig the Great, and longest and most powerful of all... Zarkon. But soon, his time will pass."

This was made evident as the flame burned out behind them.

"As per tradition, our next ruler must ascend the Steps of Destiny and light the Kral Zera."

As a commander walked up after a moment of silence, he was stopped by one of Ranveig's sickle implanted through his back before he was tossed away.

"Fool! Only the strongest may lay their hands on the torches. That is why I will assume command."

In Zarkon's renewed opinion, he knew better than to call such savagery strength. But with him put on the sidelines by tradition, he could only hold his tongue and watch them as Ranveig spoke on.

"I have been on the frontlines of the expanse, where iron meets soul, spreading the glory of the empire, not huddled in the center overseeing already-conquered worlds, growing fat on the victories of our forefathers."

As he raised the torch, Komar, who is joker with Syn, Varek, Vantiv, and Sendak (who now has an upgrade for his arm), spoke out to him.

"Warlord Ranveig speaks the truth. That is why Vaxel, the purest of the Galra, should light the flame. He was fear incarnate for millennia, and he will lead the empire in his place for 10,000 more years to come."

Next, Haggar spoke up, introducing Sendak in the mix.

"Your claim is false, Komar. Sendak is the only one here who fits this description. He was Zarkon's right hand. Surely only he is worthy of the throne."

Janka knew who they were and grew concerned.

"The warlock and Vaxel. Not to mention the witch and Sendak. Perhaps we should put our differences behind us. The only way we can stop these two is by working together."

Gnov felt differently however.

"Why would I partner with the weak?"

As Janka resented it, Kospego made a dark laughter as he emerged, revealing a face with raven hair over his face with red irises over his yellow eyes in a similar outfit as Ranveig's, save for the shoulder pads.

"Sendak? The one who disappeared while the Empire crumbled? The one who requires a witch to speak on his behalf? Even Vaxel is more pure than he is."

"Enough! Victory or death!"

Knowing how fearsome he must be, Kospego knew he had to analyze his opponent first.

"So be it. Ranveig, I'll let you take it from here. Vaxel is mine."

As Kospego walked to Vaxel, his opponent smiled before he spoke.

"I've heard tales of you, Kospego. Let's see if you live up to them."

"Now you will know why Zarkon put me in the most dangerous territory in the universe."

With that, Ranveig drew out his other sickle before he spun them and spread out the blades away from his face as he smiled before they engaged with Kospego engaging Vaxel as he drew two blades from his sleeves and rushed at him with rapid slashes, unfazing Vaxel as his new armory shielded his cuts before Vaxel attempted to swing at him, only for him to touch a nerve on his neck after dodging, causing him to be unable to move, granting the foe reason to smile before pushing him back. As they fought, Sendak knocked Ranveig away with his new hand before walking toward him. While this occured, Kospego attempted to strike him down, only for Vaxel to launch his synthetic arm at his face, knocking him back before he got himself up and swiped his mouth of the blood that came from the attack.

"Well done. You're the first person to make me bleed in combat. Besides Emperor Zarkon, of course."

Underneath the ceremony, Keith, Lapis, Sandra, and the other Blades clasped the bombs on the pillars as Adea spoke with Lapis.

"So, Lapis? What's the big deal about the Kral Zera?"

"Like I said, it's meant to choose a new ruler for the Galra Empire. But with too many of his commanders vying to seize power, we just can't take the risk."

"Even if it means destroying Zarkon in the process?"

Lapis grew hesitant to answer before she sighed.

"Look, Zarkon wouldn't have wanted his empire to fall in the wrong hands. For some reason, this is their best solution. Hopefully, Voltron will come up with a better one."

With that, they finished another set before Lapis spoke.

"Alright. On to the next."

Once they finished planting explosives, they began to take off just as a Druid appeared and glared at them as he growled.

In the Green Lion hangar, Pidge and Hunk were working in the computers before she looked over to Hunk's and noticed something off.

"Hunk, what are you doing?"

"Why are you single-modulating the gendocam?"

"Settle down, Pidge. It's a gendicam, not a vlexagane, okay? Single-modulating is fine."

"You should double-modulate everything."

"Are you crazy? That's a waste of a button-press."

Just then, San walked by them as he spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt."

However, Pidge wasn't as she spoke to him.

"Hey, Dad, real quick. How do you reconfigure a gendocam?"

"Oh, great question. Well, you start off by double-modulating—"

"A-ha! I told you!"

This made Hunk lower his eyes and give a frown as Sam realized what's going on.

"Ah. Modulating arguments. That's how your mother and I met."

This made Pidge and Hunk look at each other weird before Sam spoke again.

"Anyway, have either of you seen Shiro? I wanna go over my report to the Galaxy Garrison one last time with him and Belle before I leave."

"I haven't seen him since he stormed off the bridge."

"I've never seen him like that. I know Belle told us he's just worried, but that was weird. It was almost as weird as double-modulating."

As Hunk enunciated those last two words, Pidge frowned at this before setting up a transmission with Allura.

"Hey, Princess, do you know where Shiro is?"

"Let me check."

As she did, she noticed he wasn't there.

"He isn't on the ship. His lion's gone, too."

For her, it was easy to come up with another important question.

"Where's Lotor?"

At the Kral Zera, Sendak bested Ranveig as Kospego smirked before the victor spoke as he pointed his claw at the loser.

"You are defeated. The empire is mine."

At the same time, Vaxel held his sword at Kospego's neck before he spoke.

"Do you yield?"

"I do, but not to death. Your power will be worth working for. Of course, Sendak wouldn't agree."

As the Blades finished setting up the bombs on the outside, Lapis spoke to the group to which Ilun replied next.

"All set on my end."

"Activating timers on the explosives."

At the ceremony, Sendak took the flame and walked up the steps as he glared at Zarkon who looked at him with sorrow before he turned to the Galra and shouted.

"I will strengthen the Empire, as no one else can!"

However, another commander, Trugg, spoke against him.

"Stop! You cannot light the torch without facing my blades."

As she charged at him, Sendak fired two blasts at her before she jumped, something Sendak counted on before he targeted her with his robotic eye before firing a third shot at her, knocking her to the floor as he glared at the others, daring them to challenge him. Vaxel would've taken his cue were it not for the roar of the Black Lion as it descended to the ceremony and landed, putting out the torch that Sendak carried before Zarkon grew surprised, just as Keith and Lapis ran out to see the Black Lion as he spoke his name.

"Shiro. Ilun, Zaltron! We have to stop! Shiro is out there!"

Ilun, however, gave a bit of bad news toward this.

"It's too late. My bombs are armed and the timer is set."

Lapis then spoke to her.

"Then tell them to turn them off! We can't let the death of a Paladin of Voltron be on our heads!"

Meanwhile, the Black Lion opened its mouth to reveal Lotor and Ayame together, much to the relief of Zarkon as he spoke.

"My children..."

Unfortunately, Sendak recognized one of them, too.

"Lotor."

"Halt! Your true emperor has arrived."

As Lotor and Ayame stepped out of the Black Lion with the Galra and Komar's faction watching, Vaxel mocked him with a laugh first.

"You? Lead the Galra Empire? What could possibly make you think that you could be our emperor?"

"The blood of my father's greatest foe was not just in his veins for 10,000 years. It's now also on my sword. The emperor of tyranny fell to me and so will anyone that stands in my way."

Sendak took his turn next to scorn Lotor, but to no avail.

"You think nepotism makes you qualified to lead us?"

"I will light the flame, not for defeating Kaecilius and not even for being the strongest Galra here. But because I did something no one else can do. I return the Black Lion to the Galra. Stand aside, Sendak."

During the long silence, Kospego had procured an idea. No doubt a battle was going to take place. If he can analyze both Lotor and Sendak, the throne would surely be Vaxel's, if not his. With that, Sendak spoke up.

"Time to prove yourself through honorable rite of combat."

"No! Time to end this."

Haggar then interrupted Lotor with a shout.

"Enough! You must realize it's futile coming here. You cannot lead the Galra even if you wanted to."

"You think you can stop me, witch?"

"The blood that so bolsters your claim is also what quells it."

Komar then chimed in next.

"For once, I couldn't agree more. You are not pure Galra. You are a half-breed, the weakest of them all. Your mother was Honerva, and by giving life to you, you are known as the worst stain of the Galra Empire in recorded history!"

This made Ayame tense in anger before Lotor stopped her with his hand before he spoke.

"Everyone here knows my lineage, but that will not keep me from the throne, least of all you, you damaged creature of burden."

This earned Komar's snarl while below, Keith, Lapis, Adea, and the other blades were dismantling the bombs before they heard dark laughter behind them. When they turned around, they saw no one but a countless multitude of bombs set to go off before Adea turned to Luzria.

"Did you hear it?"

"That creepy laugh? Yeah. Who didn't hear that?"

Just then, a Druid appeared as he laughed again before they looked to see him as Adea spoke.

"Uh, guys? We've got a problem!"

Above, Lotor declared war on Sendak.

"Now I'm taking what's rightfully mine. I am lighting that flame, and my first act as emperor will be to reunite you with your late General!

"You're not getting to the top of these steps!"

As Sendak charged at Lotor and Ayame, they got their weapons ready before clashing with each other.

Below, Keith and the others managed to disable their bombs before Adea and Luzria were knocked back toward them as they noticed the Druid. Just then, Ilun and Zaltron arrived before the former spoke.

"What are you doing? We have to go!"

"We're kinda stuck at the moment!"

To prove this, the Druid fired a blast at Keith while hitting the hand that blocked it, breaking the bones of it as it earned his screams of pain and knocked him back before Atchiam took charge and attempted to punch him, only for him to vanish, making her hit a pillar before it came down. After which, he reappeared and zapped her in the back, knocking her to the ground before Adea got out her luxite scythe and charged at him as she yelled out.

Above, Lotor dodged Sendak's swipes while Ayame slashed her naginata at him. However, Sendak saw this coming and gripped it before tossing her away before attacking Lotor who tossed his sword at him before he countered it. Lotor used this opportunity to jump near him while retrieving his sword in midair and attempting a downward slash, only for Sendak to swipe his claw at him, sending him backward before attempting to smash his claw into Lotor only to hit the ground just as Ayame moved in closer to him and slashed her naginata at him, forcing him to dodge with a backward bend before he and Ayame countered each other's attacks from their weapons, allowing Lotor enough time to ground Sendak's claw with his broadsword before he spoke.

"You don't even know what you are, Sendak. So loyal, so brave, and yet so stupid."

"I know exactly what I am. I am a warrior!"

With that, he charged his weapon before firing at the ground, sending both siblings back as Zarkon grew worried for them as he widened his eyes before Lotor spoke.

"You are nothing but Haggar's puppet!"

With that, Lotor moved in to strike only for Sendak to launch his claw at him, a weapon of which he was able to counter before Ayame shouted.

"Look out!"

Suddenly, Sendak moved in himself before striking Lotor to the top of the steps before he jumped near him and the siblings charged toward Sendak while he charged toward them again.

Below, Lapis looked at Keith's broken hand from the blast and checked to see if he was alright while Adea occupied the Druid.

"Keith, are you okay?"

"I... I don't know."

As Keith groaned from it, Adea spun her scythe rapidly to repel the lightning before she moved in to strike him before he teleported. However, Adea saw his trick coming as she raised her scythe bear her and spun it before the lightning could get to her. However, the lightning that sparked near her was blinding and it caused her to groan as it began to burn a side of her face before the Druid noticed the bombs' timer and vanished before Adea pushed herself forward a bit, fumbling a step before holding her hand close to her face and turning to the group.

"Hey. Where'd he go?"

Caxas spoke to her as he shouted.

"Never mind that! The bombs are about to go off!"

As they noticed, Lapis spoke to the group as Ezor joined with Adea.

"We need to leave now!"

Adea couldn't agree more.

"Escape!"

As they took off from the bombs, Lotor and Ayame were forcing Sendak back before he attempted to strike them, only to hit the ground as Ayame jumped back while Lotor jumped above him and attempted to strike back only for Keith to push Lotor away as the other Blades jumped out of the doorway before an explosion was set off and headed towards Sendak before they fell on the steps. As this happened, multiple explosions went off near the Kral Zera before Keith and Lotor got themselves up before the former noticed Ayame as she did him.

"Keith?"

"Ayame?"

Suddenly, Sendak roared as he broke free from a pile of rubble with a grunt before seeing Lapis among the group of Blades that infiltrated the Kral Zera before she saw him. And the moment she did, her memories of torture and agony, ranging from her family's slaughter to his abuse toward her cane back to her and made her all the more furious.

"You!"

"You!"

Sendak knew it meant one thing.

"Lotor has betrayed us to Voltron! Fire on the Black Lion!"

This made Lapis all the more flustered before she got her luxite longsword and charged at him.

"No!"

As Lapis began fighting Sendak, countless Galra cruisers began firing on the Black Lion before Shiro spoke.

"I gotta draw their fire."

As it took off, Gnov turned to Komar before preparing to fire at him, only for Vantiv to fire a small quintessential blast at the bow on her arm before she lunged at her while Varek got out his aura scythe before slashing them away with the backlash of the winds in one fell swoop. As the Galra began fighting each other, they spoke out orders to shoot their opposition as Kospego watched the fireworks with glee, each of his foes removing themselves as Vaxel grew impressed.

"Commander Trugg's fleet has opened fire!"

"Watch our for their left flank!"

"Return fire immediately!"

"Fire on Gnov!"

"Hmm. What beautiful fireworks. A lot less of my enemies to worry about."

"Hmm. You intended this, didn't you?"

"Hmm. How did you guess?"

As Kospego and Vaxel watched, Shiro activated the Black Lion's jaw blade before it dismantled some Galra cruisers as Lotor watched as well.

"This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I knew they would all turn on each other."

Then, they heard grunting behind them as Sendak gripped Lapis in his claw and slammed her on the steps before Lotor, Keith, and Ayame moved away as the Brother looked to the remainder.

"I'll fend off Sendak with your friend."

With that, Lotor went after Sendak before kicking him away from Lapis who grew flustered at this.

"Stay out of this, Lotor! He's mine!"

"When was that ever your call? Although, I wouldn't mind if I had your cooperation."

As Sendak got up, he snarled before Lapis was forced to agree to it.

"Fine, but only because he needs to pay."

Meanwhile, Keith and Ayame found themselves attacked by Gnov as Keith blocked her attack, causing his mask to short out before his face was revealed and the pain from his broken hand to get worse, much to Ayame's concern as she was forced to block Gnov's attack and push her back before she and Keith went after her. While this happened, Sendak swung at Lapis and Lotor before the former lunged at him with an overhead slash, one of which Sendak blocked as he spoke to her.

"After all I've done for you, how could you have turned out like this?"

"You robbed me of my life, Sendak! How'd you expect me to turn out?!"

"Killing you would be too merciful. Once I'm emperor, I'm going to keep you and Lotor as my slaves!"

"I was your slave once before, Sendak. Never again!"

This made Sendak angry as he swung his claw up, knocking a chunk of the steps upward and sending Lotor and Lapis back before Gnov swung at Ayame and Keith, causing the latter to get a bad grip on his sword due to the effects of the Druid's previous attack before Ayame saw his danger.

"Keith!"

And he wasn't the only one. Acxa noticed this too as Ayame stood on between him and Keith just before Gnov attempted to smite her. Before she cold, however, Acxa shot the sword away from her, giving Ayame the opportunity to knock Gnov back with her naginata and sent her tumbling down the steps before she helped lifted Keith up before they turned to see Acxa as they smiled at her before she took off and Keith spoke.

"I could've handled it, you know."

This made Ayame smile before looking to his hand as she spoke next.

"Your hand..."

"Someone ambushed us before the bombs went off."

"Did you see who it was?"

"No. It must be one of those Druids Haggar had before. But why would he retreat?"

Meanwhile, Acxa went back to Haggar and spoke to her.

"Should we go get Sendak?"

"Leave him. The empire has fallen."

At that same moment, Syn spoke to Komar.

"What about Vaxel?"

"Leave him be. We may have lost our opportunity to claim the throne, but at the very least, we get to watch the Galra Empire rot from the inside. However... Lotor is still going to be a major problem. We shall allow him a brief respite for now, but he must be dealt with permanently."

Meanwhile, Shiro was having difficulty fending off the cruisers as he took damage.

"There's too many. I can't handle them all myself."

With that, a wormhole opened up before the rest of the lions arrived as Lance spoke.

"Looks like you could use some help!"

With that, Lance fired a blast at a fighter before Hunk smashed another as he spoke next.

"We got your back, Shiro!"

"Okay, Team. Let's form Voltron!"

With that, the five lions combined into Voltron while the White Lion went in its robot form as they decimated the Galra cruisers with Sendak taking notice of it and growled as Lapis shouted.

"SENDAK!"

With that, Lotor and Lapis leaped after him before Sendak took a chunk of land and flung it at them before firing a blast to make a smokescreen. However, while Lotor flipped backward, Lapis went through the dust before slamming her sword down on the ground, only to find that Sendak had gone.

"NO! Come out and face me, coward!"

As Lapis grew angry, Adea noticed this and saw for herself how Sendak affected her as not long after her shout, she began to sob before she tried to comfort her.

"Hey. It'll be alright. The next time we see him, we'll bring him in."

Adea only pushed her hand away before she glared at her.

"No. The next time we see him, Sendak is going to die."

Meanwhile, Sendak saw Quartermaster Janka running to a fighter before he gripped him with us claw over a cliff and briskly walked over to him before his victim noticed.

"Sendak, I— We could work together. Brains and brawn. A joint rulership. Stronger than any the empire has ever seen."

However, Sendak already knew what he wanted.

"Your fleet is mine."

With that, he dropped the Quartermaster as he screamed.

"No!"

Having dispatched of Janka, Sendak walked away from where he fell.

At the Steps of Destiny, Lotor walked up with Ayame, Keith, Lapis, and Rogue Thrust watching as he carried the torch before the two Voltrons landed near the spire and watched as Lotor carried the torch before he spoke to his father.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop this, Father."

Zarkon only placed his hand on his shoulder as he spoke.

"It's not over yet. The ceremony is still at hand. We'll worry about the insurgents another day. For now, they have their agency. We will respect that."

With that, Lotor lit the flame with determination before the Archivist spoke as he bowed.

"The flame is lit. Bow to your next emperor."

With that, the Galra that remained bowed down to Lotor as the newly lit Kral Zera burned as bright as day.