A/N: Hello. We are getting very close to seeing Voltron Season 8 just next week. I can't believe that it's gonna be over soon. I am really going to miss it. :( Just for the record, I don't know what sort of role the creature in this episode will have in Season 8, so I anticipated and made a new one. Note: It will be subject to change once I finish the whole story, along with some of its many chapters. Other than that, I hope we can all take comfort in knowing that Voltron will live on in our hearts, for the sake of the universe... Also, I altered the chapter Trinity of Blades so that I don't reveal the identity of Keith's mother too soon. Hopefully more updates will come before I send the final chapter of Season 5 and before Season 8 comes out.

Chapter 44: Of Scars and Bloodlines

At the Blade of Marmora headquarters, Lapis was pacing back and forth in the room muttering to herself as her team and Keith watched.

"Unbelievable! Just... terrific!"

As she mumbled, Sandra leaned in to Adea's ear before whispering.

"What's gotten into her?"

"During the Kral Zera, Lapis fought Sendak and failed to get him, and she's been angry ever since."

Suddenly, Lapis tossed a sword near Adea, making her panic before she hid under the bed before she berated herself.

"How could I be so careless?! I had him in my sights and I lost him!"

Atchiam, seeing how close the Blade cane to hitting Adea, felt it was getting to be too much.

"Look, I usually enjoy a good rage episode, trust me. But you need to relax!"

Atchiam's action that pushed Lapis back didn't help one bit.

"I don't want to relax! I want Sendak dead! I thought you of all people would understand that!"

"I do! But that's no reason to let your temper out on any of us!"

Having had enough of Atchiam's words, Lapis shoved her away before she got her luxite longsword out and raised it against Atchiam.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Suddenly, just before she could strike Atchiam, a luxite fist claw halted her blade before they turned to see Kolivan and Sneren as the latter spoke.

"All of you, come with us. Now."

This made Lapis growl before she, Sandra, and Keith went over to them with the rest following close by as the sister spoke to Adea.

"Anything else you wanna tell me?"

"We'll talk later."

At the Castle, Sam was preparing to leave as the Paladins, Belle, Babak, Coran, Cilia, and Sapphire were seeing him off as Shiro spoke.

"We're going to miss you out there, sir."

"Ah, you guys seem to be fine without me. Your mission is here. Mine is on Earth. As soon as I get back, I'll inform the Galaxy Garrison of what's going on and start working to upgrade our planetary defenses."

Belle then spoke to him as she was told about how Shiro was welcomed.

"Tell Sanda that the next time I see her, I'm going to kick her butt for having Iverson strap Shiro to that table."

As Shiro grew embarrassed and Pidge and Matt smiled, Sam laughed a bit before he spoke.

"I'll be sure to tell her that."

With that, Hunk and Jenny stepped up as they presented small file drives.

"Hey, Jenny and I had everyone record some messages for our families. Uh, a little heads-up, I got teary in mine, so... that's Mom's eyes only."

"Of course."

"Oh! And I got this drive for Ayame's family. Granted, they weren't her biological family, but still."

Then, Sam spoke to Jenny about a certain detail about them.

"Jenny, you do know that Ms. Nakamura's relationship with Ayame is... strained, right?"

"Yeah. That's why I made it. She has to know what she's doing for her and her family. If she can't acknowledge all of the good she's done, then it's her problem."

Ayame frowned at Jenny as she spoke.

"I still don't know how you managed to talk me into this. We haven't spoken since Kumiko..."

"Kicked the bucket, I know. But it'll be good for the both of you. Trust me. You both need this."

This made Ayame hold her head down before smiling lightly as she spoke.

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

As a tidbit, Hunk spoke up next about Lance's file.

"Oh, and you don't wanna see Lance's, either, since it's just a love message to Jenny Shaybon."

Hearing this, Jenny began to blush while Lance glared at Hunk.

"W-What?"

"Shut up, Hunk!"

"Okay, I was just joking around. Jeez."

As Jenny was about to ask him about the message, she noticed him in a dismal state before she spoke.

"Lance, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just... Once I started thinking about going back to Earth, I... I started missing my mom and brother Marco and my brother Luis and my sister Veronica and my grandma and..."

Before he could finish, Jenny hugged him, stopping him before she spoke up.

"I get it. I miss my family, too. My mom and my dad and Grandpop..."

However, as she spoke, Jenny was unable to stop her own waterworks, triggered by the guilt of how long she'd forgotten about them, and tried to wipe them away as Lance noticed.

"I... I..."

Before she could finish, Lance hushed her and brushed her hair back gently as Jenny tried to hide her tears in that moment to try to be strong for Lance.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm not crying. It's just... just the space dust. It's really dusty in here.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to patch up the tear ducts as Jenny found comfort again from his care as she smiled as did the other Paladins, Coran, Babak, Belle, and Sam before the father spoke to his children, with Matt speaking up next.

"I guess this is it."

"I wish I could go with you. I'd love to help build Earth's first galactic defense system."

"I'm just worried we won't have enough time and resources to make a dent before we need it."

Pidge then spoke up about what her father said.

"A wise man once told me, 'if you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss your chance to do something great.'"

Hearing this made Sam give a smile of his own as he replied.

"Sounds like a wise man, indeed. Matt, you be careful on the front lines. And, Pidge, keep an eye on your brother for me."

"You got it, Dad."

Suddenly, he began whimpering before Sam began a group hug with his children.

"I love you both so much."

"We love you, too, Dad."

With that, Hunk, Coran, and Babak hugged Jenny and Lance while Belle, Ayame, Shiro, and Allura smiled at this as the huggers spoke.

"There... there is a lot of space dust in here."

Coran then sailed before he spoke.

"It's filthy!"

"How did we neglect... (sniffle) such an abnormal amount... (sniffle) of dust particles?!"

As Sam used the pod to enter a wormhole to Earth, he looked back at Matt and Pidge before he went inside it.

Later on, Keith, Lapis, and Rogue Thrust were at the main hub with Kolivan, Vrathrea, and Sneren as the councilman spoke to them before the councilwoman.

"This particular base was, until recently, run by a Galra commander named Ranveig. From what we know, he was developing a super weapon of some sort."

"We're not entirely certain of what it is or what it can do, but we do know that it is incredibly powerful."

Keith grew curious about the source of this knowledge, of which Sneren explained.

"How did we learn all this?"

"We have a spy in Ranveig's camp who's managed to acquire high-level security clearance. Since Ranveig's departure, it's possible she assumed control of the base, but we can't be sure."

"Why not?"

"Because we're not the only ones who know of the weapon. We've recently discovered that a former blade has infiltrated the base as well. I think you know him quite well."

With that, Sneren revealed a familiar bearded Galra face only with a goatee and a scar on his face as Lapis, Sandra, and Keith spoke.

"Xarnas."

"He's alive?"

"How?"

"And he's not in this fight for the weapon alone. Three Galra factions, led by Commanders Trugg, Ladnok, and Vaxel, are at war over the territory. Since their fighting began, all communication has been cut off."

Lapis grew annoyed at the reason they're here, constipated that Sendak is still alive.

"And you asked us here why?"

"We need you and Rogue Thrust to infiltrate the base, extract our spy, take Xarnas in, and destroy Ranveig's weapon."

Then, Vrathrea spoke up to Lapis, already sending the tension she went through at the Kral Zera.

"Lapis, this is extremely important. If either of them acquire this weapon, it could tip the balance of power in their favor. So you cannot allow your feelings to cloud your judgment."

"When have I ever—?!"

"You have when you fought Sendak. Your father was the same way when he fought Kaecilius on Arus. He told us about his exploits. He only stopped because he heard a voice of reason: yours. Beyond that, the mission is the only thing that matters. Emotions are a luxury none of us can afford."

"No offense, but the only mission that matters to me is the death of Sendak. And the sooner we get this done, the sooner I get to end him."

This concerned Lapis' team as Adea bore a look of worry, Atchiam got a suspicious look, and Luzria felt bad for her before Sneren spoke again.

"Be that as it may, this is the operative you'll be contacting. Her name is Krolia."

This made the trio shocked before Adea spoke to Lapis.

"Oh my gosh! That's our teacher!"

Lapis cleared her throat before she spoke.

"Keep your happiness to yourself, Adea. The mission is the only thing that matters."

As Adea got taken aback, she felt scared around Lapis before she spoke.

"We'll get on it right away."

Meanwhile, at the Central Command, the Castle was headed right for it as Lance and Hunk spoke.

"I can't believe we're flying into the belly of the beast."

"It's strange to think that last time we were here we were fighting the Galra. Now we're working with them."

Jenny felt it weird, too, albeit for her own reasons.

"Yeah. I mean, I always hope that we'd be on the same side, but still... I wasn't prepared for how it'd turn out."

Allura and Alphus knew how to go about it, however.

"We have to do everything we can to support Lotor. This is our chance to promote a new era of peace."

"Let's hope we can make it work for real."

With that, the Castle docked itself in just as the Paladins, Belle, Babak, Coran, and Alphus saw Zarkon and Lotor in front of them, before the son spoke to the Paladins.

"Thank you for coming, my friends. My father and I have prepared a new imperial banner to herald our alliance. This is the same symbol that flew over our fathers when they worked together as the original Paladins of Voltron. I hope that we can return the universe to that golden age."

Then, Belle felt worried there was going to be bad news.

"Then, why don't I get the feeling it's possible yet?"

"Unfortunately, since I ascended to the throne, the Galra Empire has been torn apart. A sizable portion has sworn its allegiance to me. However, massive factions remain in revolt."

Hunk, Lance, and Ayame spoke of the difficulty they'd present.

"Uh, okay, the Galra aren't exactly known to turn the other cheek."

"They're more likely to swing the other fist."

"How do you get an Empire that's only known violence for thousands of years to put down their weapons?"

"By providing them with the very thing they're fighting for: Quintessence. Unlimited amounts of it. And, Allura, Alphus, you two are the key to getting it. I'm sure you'll be interested in inspecting every aspect of the Galra headquarters."

Belle then spoke up.

"Well, Shiro and I would like to cross-reference our star charts with current Galra troop locations."

"Consider it done."

Coran felt this to be off, as did Babak.

"You want to sync our intelligence to Galra headquarters?"

"Well, I never thought I'd see the quiznaking quintant!"

Ayame then spoke up next.

"I'd like to help them out, too. If there are any troops that need help, they can count on us."

"Of course. Sentry, take them to the record room. You will find everything you need there."

"Okay. Thank you."

With that, Shiro, Belle, Ayame, Babak, and Coran went with the sentry as Lotor turned to the rest of the group.

"I'm leaving you with personal escort that will take you wherever you'd like to go. Come, both. There is much work to be done."

With that, Allura and Alphus walked with Lotor as Lance sighed before he looked over to Jenny as she spoke.

"Well, at least you've got me."

"Yeah."

"Oh! By the way, what was that love message?"

This made Lance nervous before he spoke.

"Uh, that's personal info! And I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it yet!"

"Okay, Lance. Geez."

Then, Hunk spoke to the sentry.

"So we're free to roam around Galra HQ and have some fun?"

"What is fun?"

Lance then made a smile as he spoke.

"You're about to find out."

Jenny got the gist of it just as Pidge pointed out the flaw in this.

"Oh, I see where you're going with this."

"Guys, it's a robot. It can't have fun."

Jenny then twitched her eyebrows, trying to help Pidge get he idea herself.

"Unless... I reprogram it."

"Bingo. We haven't had our own adventures since we left the Garrison. Maybe it's time we cut loose again. Just like old times."

This made Hunk encouraged by this.

"Take us to the sentry repair center!"

Meanwhile, Keith, Sandra, Lapis, and Rogue Thrust were caught in the middle of the war zone between the three factions as Vaxel talked down to Trugg and Ladnok.

"We have you surrounded, Trugg, Ladnok. Personally, I don't believe any further bloodshed is required, but Kospego doesn't feel the same way. Stand down, and he will take his finger off the trigger he's anxiously waiting to press it down on while I absorb your fleets into mine."

"Do you take us for fools, Vaxel?"

"You, Trugg, and I both know Ranveig developed a weapon capable of conferring an insurmountable advantage on either of us. And we both know it's located somewhere on his base."

"Indeed we do. And we also know that your days are numbered. You cannot achieve victory. Death is your only outcome."

"I will possess Ranveig's weapon or I will die on the attempt."

"You're the one who cannot win, Vaxel. And my first act when I get the weapon is to use it on you."

With that, the transmissions ended as Vaxel smirked.

"I'm afraid you are more wrong than either of you could have been. Kospego, destroy what's left of them. I have a weapon to retrieve."

"Hmm. I thought you'd never ask."

With that, Kospego shot down the other ships with the ion cannon while Vaxel went in a pod and jettisoned himself down to the planet where the base laid.

At the command center, Pidge and Hunk finished up on reprogramming the sentry.

"Reconfigured processor inserted."

"Check."

"All required for optimal performance."

"Checkity-check."

"Now, just gotta upload the new program, and... alright. I'm finished."

With that, Pidge and Hunk doin around before high-giving their hands.

"Yeah! Team Punk does it again!"

This made Jenny confused as she spoke.

"'Team Punk?' Sounds like a rock band. But, good for you, I guess. Now, how do we know if it worked?"

With that, the sentry restarted and got up, making Pidge fall to the floor on her forehead before it spoke.

"You dum-dums got any non-lethal, semi-combustible diversionary devices?"

This made Jenny and Lance confused as they spoke.

"Uh..."

"What?"

Pidge and Hunk, however, knew what it meant.

"I think he's... looking for firecrackers!"

"Oh, it worked."

Jenny grew ecstatic about that as she spoke.

"Yeah! We got a new buddy!"

Later on, a bomb was strapped to a food packet as it beeped with Hunk, Pidge, the Sentry, Jenny, and Lance hiding behind a table before it exploded, sending the food everywhere before they shouted.

"Awesome!"

"Whoo-hoo!"

"That was sweet."

"Amazer-beams!"

"What next?"

Then, Lance spoke to Hunk to answer the sentry's question.

"Hunk, hand me another packet of food goo."

As he did so, they heard one of two soldiers calling to them.

"Halt!"

This made Jenny surprised as she spoke.

"Cheese it! It's the fuzz!"

"You are being detained for unsafe sustenance preparation."

Jenny then shouted at them as she shook her fist.

"Let's see you send me back to jail, coppers!"

The sentry couldn't agree more.

"Scram."

With that, they all took off on a hover cart as Hunk spoke.

"This robot is sweet!"

Meanwhile, the Violet Lion went to the war zone with Keith, Lapis, Sandra, and Rogue Thrust inside as the first two spoke.

"Looks like things have escalated between the three of them."

"It might be best to try to blend in with the debris. Don't wanna attract any fire. Luzria, activate cloaking."

"Got it. Here goes nothing."

With that, the Violet Lion cloaked itself amidst the chaos while the factions shot each other down before they made it to the planets surface only to be suddenly blasted by an ion cannon in the back before they groaned as Lapis spoke.

"Brace for impact!"

As Lapis took control of the helm, she managed to pull up and make a controlled crash as the paws dig deep in the planet's surface before they got out as Lapis held her hand on it.

"It'll be okay, Vi. Get your rest. You need it. For now."

After giving the Violet Lion some rest, the group went inside the base as Krolia showed the sentries to the door before she felt as though someone was watching her as she turned around before Adea backed up just as she decided to show them out. At the same moment, Xarnas walked toward the Keith and the others as they went forward a bit. However, Sandra felt it coming and she got her luxite katana out before drawing it near Xarnas who found himself holding his gun at Sandra while holding his luxite dagger to Krolia before he spoke to both parties.

"Krolia. Sandra."

"Xarnas. Krolia."

With that, Lapis spoke up.

"Xarnas. Sandra. Great. Now that we all know each other... you're under arrest for betraying the Blade of Marmora, Xarnas. We're taking you in."

Xarnas only sighed at this before he spoke.

"Well, I'm afraid there's a change in plans."

Krolia then lowered her weapon from Xarnas as she spoke, leaving Lapis confused.

"You're late."

"What? Why are we letting him go?"

"We're not, but we don't have much time."

At the central command, Alphus, Lotor and Allura stood at the center of a room of relics where Haggar once stood before the last of the three sighed.

"What is this place?"

"Haggar's lair."

Alphus felt as though it haunted her as she spoke to Lotor.

"Why would you bring us here?"

"Our fathers traveled through the rift into the space between reality. I believe Alfor's Altean alchemy made that possible. There may be something in here that contains secrets that Haggar was unable to unlock. But you two can."

As they looked around the room, Alphus felt as though she wasn't worthy of being anywhere near the relics as they were remnants of the race she destroyed. Even worse, she could still hear the screams of the now extinct race, which made her trauma worsen.

"I-I shouldn't be here. Not after what I've done."

Allura tried to comfort her as Alphus held her hand to her face.

"It's okay, Alphus. You don't need to stay here if you don't want to. Let's get you out of here.

As the two tried to walk away, Lotor stopped them.

"Allura, Alphus... please... I cannot do this without you."

"I understand. But Alphus has been through enough turmoil already."

However, Alphus take a deep breath before she spoke, surprising Allura.

"Okay."

"Alphus... are you sure?"

"Truth? I don't know. But he needs us. I can get through this."

As Allura felt her need to go on, she spoke to her worriedly.

"Alright. But if your trauma comes back, sir down and rest at least."

"Okay."

This made Lotor smile as he spoke.

"Thank you, both. Now, where should we begin?"

As they looked through the relics, Alphus was once again reminded of a traumatic event before she held her hand to her head and was asked to sit down and rest by Allura before she found a small science log and she spoke to Lotor.

"Look at this. It's an Altean science log."

As they looked, Lotor recognized the writing and penmanship.

"This was written by my mother, Honerva, thousands of years ago."

Hearing this, Alphus looked at Lotor from where she sat down and spoke.

"Your mother was Honerva? The Honerva that discovered the rift on Daibazaal? Then you're... half-Altean."

"Yes. It was something both Galra and Drule considered a weakness, but I considered it a strength. The union between Zarkon and Honerva sparked a technological revolution within the empire. Even back then, Altean culture was remarkably advanced. The kinds of experiments she was conducting... she advanced science by eons."

Alphus smiled, remembering how Honerva was working and the time she spent with her and Zarkon before he corrupted them.

"That sounds just like her. I remember how we used to talk about what we could do. I never forgot that."

Allura then brought up a certain issue.

"How did Haggar get her hands on this? She was constantly seeking Altean magical knowledge that she could pervert for her energy power. There must have been things that she was unable to access."

Allura then spoke up to them.

"I'm going to continue the search. Alphus, please rest up as much as you can."

"I'll try. Thanks."

As she walked away, Alphus rested herself while Lotor looked through the files.

Meanwhile, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Jenny, and their sentry were hanging out and taking pictures. For instance, one picture showed Pidge on the sentry's shoulder while it held Jenny as she gave a thumbs-up. Another one showed Lance in a Druid costume while Pidge wore Haggar's spare cloak, Jenny wore an outfit similar to Princess Xaira's, and Hunk wore a chestplate, helmet, and cape of Zarkon before the next picture showed Jenny, Lance, the sentry, and Pidge doing poses before Pidge took pictures of Lance, Hunk, and the sentry as Jenny, who was still wearing Xaira's outfit, admired them.

"That's it! Hold that pose. The camera loves you, baby."

"I certainly love you."

"What was that, Jenny?"

"Eep! Nothing!"

The sentry then piped up about a request.

"Oh, and get one more of me."

"Halt!"

At that moment, Jenny and the sentry panicked as they spoke.

"Amscray!"

"Scram."

With that, they took off quickly as the Paladins noticed before bolting off themselves as the soldiers gave chase.

"Get back here!"

Next, Lance and the others did a golf session at the hangar bay as he looked out for the shot before Pidge prepared to swing herself as the soldiers found them again.

"Hey!"

When they took off using their jet packs, the soldiers tripped up on the broken drone parts.

Next, Jenny declared war on the soldiers and arranged an ambush by herself and Pidge before they were all tied up as Lance rode on top of one soldier while Jenny rode on another as they shouted.

"Razzle-dazzle!"

"Full speed ahead!"

As they charged toward each other, Jenny and Lance growled as they got closer to each other while the soldiers panicked and Jenny succeeded in pushing Lance off of his ride before he ended up on the floor with a bruise as Jenny winced while the sentry laughed.

"Maybe it was too much."

Later, they all got ice pops in the shape of swords made by Hunk as Jenny spoke.

"Just so there are no hard feelings. Here you go."

As an added bonus, she handed the necklaces with a sentry head on it to the soldiers and Lance as he spoke.

"So worth it."

Meanwhile, on the base, Lapis wanted an explanation.

"Why aren't we arresting Xarnas, Krolia? He betrayed us!"

"I have a better question. Why would Sneren risk sending you in here now?"

Keith explained before Lapis answered.

"Because he's heard about Ranveig's super weapon. We can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"I'm guessing Ranveig's dead since Commanders Trugg, Ladnok, and Vaxel are attacking my base."

Xarnas then explained the reason for the brief alliance between him and Krolia.

"That's the same reason I'm here. Except I'm not merely just looking for the weapon. I'm searching for my daughter."

This made Sandra, Lapis, and Rogue Thrust surprised as the first of them spoke.

"You had a daughter?"

"I still do. But not for long if I don't find her. I have reason to suspect she was the test subject of the weapon. Worse yet, any one of those commanders at war are on the verge of crushing her forces. We must find my daughter and destroy the super weapon."

This made Adea curious.

"Uh, about that. What is the weapon exactly?"

Krolia turned around to her former students as she explained.

"Warlord Ranveig intercepted an undocumented shipment of Quintessence traveling through his territory. He took it for his own and began experimenting with it. It's more powerful than any Quintessence we've received from the empire, and it has some very... unexpected effects."

Lapis could make a guess as to what it was.

"Was that Dark Quintessence by chance?"

"No, Lapis. It was more unstable. Like it was... artificially created."

"Artificially? Like someone went and tried to reproduce Quintessence manually?"

"That appears to be the case."

Then, the whole base shook as an explosion occurred while the computer spoke.

"First level has been breached. Activating second level of defense."

As Krolia took a look, it showed Vaxel smashing through the first layer of defenses just as Trugg landed.

"Vaxel's at our doorstep and Trugg's fleet has touched down. We're running out of time! Come on!"

As they took off through another hall, Lapis spoke with Xarnas.

"I need to know something. Why would you turn your back on the Blades. They all trusted you."

"It was a family matter, Lapis. I'm sure you of all people would understand. Let's leave it that way for now."

With that, they pressed onward as Lapis began to feel as though she could relate.

Meanwhile, Haggar's lair, Lotor kept on looking through the files as he looked behind him to see Alphus resting peacefully before holding his head down as Allura walked over to them.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong with Alphus?"

"No. She's resting as much as she can before her trauma hits again. So far, nothing has happened yet."

"Then what's wrong?"

"By the end of these logs, it's like they're written by s different person. She's frantic, paranoid, erratic. Her reason and intellect are gone, replaced by fear and paranoia."

Allura then began to get an idea as to what could've happened.

"Lotor, have you ever wondered... what if Honerva became corrupted the same way Zarkon did? Granted, I don't know if Omegus had a hand in it, but perhaps she didn't die like we all thought back then. What if she and Haggar are the same—"

Before she could finish, Lotor interrupted coldly.

"That witch is not my mother."

As soon as he said this, Alphus woke up with a start and breathed heavily before Allura went down to her.

"Alphus, are you alright?"

"I... I guess. I... I thought I saw... Omegus again. Not in Zarkon, but... trapped in limbo. He was waiting for something, anything to happen. Must've been a nightmare."

"Well, whatever it was, you're fine now."

With that, Lotor got back to focus on the mission.

"There must be something else in this room, something we missed."

"I've looked all over. I can't find anything pertaining to Altean alchemy."

Alphus, keeping in mind that she was recovering from her trauma, felt as though they hadn't looked through everything.

"What are we doing wrong?"

"Perhaps we are not using all the tools at our disposal. Close your eyes and just... let yourself feel the energy around you."

As Allura did so, Lotor instructed her further.

"See if any of these objects call out to you."

As she felt it, she could see a blue silhouette behind a box before she moved it and they found a small rock.

"I was drawn to this."

Lotor began to recognize that shape as he widened his eyes.

"Wait a tick. I know I've seen something about this before."

With that, Lotor opened up an image from his gauntlet as he spoke.

"Where is it? Here."

As he found a ruined planet that showed a majestic site even in its withered state, Lotir spoke of where he'd found another likeness of it in drawings.

"These are ancient ruins from an Altean outpost now beneath the dead of Planet Entuk. There, I found a mosaic depicting Altean explorers following a map projected from what they called a 'compass stone.' Supposedly, it can lead to the magical realm of Oriande, which houses the secrets of Altean alchemy."

"Oriande? I thought it was a folktale."

Lotor disagreed with her.

"My research has led me to believe it is quite real. We need to get this stone working."

At the base, Keith, Sandra, Rogue Thrust, Xarnas, and Krolia hurried to two computers as she spoke.

"Luzria, get to that console!"

"Right."

As they got to work, Luzria spoke to her again.

"What now?"

"We need to simultaneously enter this code."

"At the same time? How can we do that?"

Suddenly, another explosion occurred just as Vaxel stepped out of the dust with sentries beside him.

"Went down smoother than I expected."

With that, Keith took action as he summoned his luxite blade and slashed at the sentries before one of them grabbed him in spite of being stabbed before tossing him away, forcing Krolia to turn to Xarnas.

"Xarnas, take over for me!"

"On it!"

As Xarnas and Luzria prepared to enter the code, Krolia shot at the drones before getting his Luxite sword from the sentry before taking the rest of them down just as Vaxel fired a blast from his synthetic arm as if challenging her before Krolia dodged another blast as Adea tossed her luxite scythe at his arm, sticking it into the weapon as he groaned before Krolia engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him before he took her arm and forced it away before punching her, to the ground as she took the luxite blade back for her pupil, who got up and tried to attack, only to be seated away and landed beside Keith. Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by more drones as they got ready to fight before Vaxel spoke.

"I wouldn't recommend fighting anymore. Not if you don't want your comrades to pay the price."

As he pointed his arm now turned into a cannon at Keith and Adea as she grew scared, Lapis grew worried before Atchiam spoke.

"It'll be okay. We just need a plan."

Krolia, however, already thought of one as the blade turned into its dormant state as she held her hands up.

"We can make a deal."

Keith and Sandra grew surprised at this.

"What are you doing?!"

"How can you do this?!"

"I left you two once. I'll never leave you again. Give us a ship, and I'll give you the codes to the weapon."

Suspecting an attempt at escape, Vaxel grew suspicious.

"And why should I take your word at face value?"

"You don't have a choice. We're the only ones who know the access code. If you try to break in, the room will self-destruct. Once we're airborne, I'll give you the code."

Vaxel, however, wasn't interested.

"Here's my counter offer."

With that, Vaxel aimed his cannon at Luzria and hit her in the side, making her scream as she fell before Lapis, Xarnas, and Krolia grew scared for her.

"Luzria!"

"You're going to input the code yourselves. Once the weapon is mine, you may yet live to be my slaves. However, if you try to trick me, you won't have that privilege."

As Luzria groaned at the pain, Lapis growled at Vaxel with tears in her eyes before he spoke.

"Open that gate. Now."

At Haggar's lair, Allura looked at the compass stone with Alphus and tried to break it open like a nut before she conceded.

"It won't open."

Lotor knew that she shouldn't give up as he placed his hands on hers.

"You just have to concentrate. I know you have the power within."

However, Allura sincerely doubted this.

"What if I don't? My father had an ability few Alteans possessed. Coran doesn't have it, Babak doesn't have it, Jenny doesn't have it, Honerva didn't have it. The truth is, I may not have his abilities either."

Alphus tried to cheer her up.

"Allura, you have to. You are your father's daughter. The one who got us closer to peace than we've ever been in. There's— there's gotta be a way to carry in the tradition of Altean alchemy."

"That tradition died along with my people 10,000 years ago. I'll never be the alchemist my Father was..."

Remembering what Alphus told her about the story, Allura began to turn her grief into anger and snapped at her as she shoved Alphus away.

"And it's all your fault! If you didn't kill my people, that tradition would've lasted longer, and we would've brought absolute peace for everyone!"

As Allura said spiteful things to her, Alphus began to get shattered, much to Lotor's dismay as he tried to calm her down.

"Allura, stop! You said yourself that Alphus has suffered enough turmoil already."

"Not as much turmoil as I went through! She caused a total genocide of my people! For all we know, she could've killed them all the moment she came to this reality!"

Hearing this, Alphus began to shed tears at her spite. Realizing what she'd just done, Allura tried to repair any damage she may have caused as she spoke.

"Alphus, I..."

However, Alphus, too hurt to listen, slapped Allura in the face while also scratching her face with her nail before running off.

"No! Leave me alone!"

With that, Alphus ran off throughout the lair as Lotor helped Allura up and saw the scratch she made. Granted, she was too hurt to think it through, but he knew she never intended this.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes. But I'll be even better once we find Alphus."

With that, Lotor nodded in understanding before the two took off to search for her.

"Alphus!"

"Alphus! Where are you?!"

"Alphus!"

Meanwhile, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Jenny watched along with the two soldiers the sentry prepared for takeoff as he was tied to a robeast coffin Hagar previously used as he spoke.

"Are you sure about this?"

"We've been over this already. Let's light this candle. Whoo!"

"Do you think Lotor would mind us firing the robeast coffin?"

As Pidge shrugged, Jenny spoke up.

"I don't know."

"Well, it's not like he's gonna use it."

With that, the sentry called out again before Lance moved in to push the button.

"Come on, I've always wanted to see the stars."

"And now you will."

Given his cue, Lance pushed a button, igniting the boosters on the robeast coffin for take off as the sentry enjoyed the ride.

"Later, pala-dudes. Whee!"

As a result, the booster from the robeast coffin emitted sparkles like a shooting star as they looked out with Pidge, Jenny, and Lance speaking while Hunk and the two soldiers got tears in their eyes that streamed below their helmets.

"That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"So that's what a shooting star looks like up close."

"He's... my hero."

With that, Hunk and the soldiers made a salute as Jenny, Lance, and Pidge followed suit in respect for their friend before they heard Shiro, Belle, Ayame, Babak, and Coran walk in before Jenny's older sister spoke.

"Uh, guys? Can you tell us what's going on here?"

Then, Ayame also took notice of what Jenny was wearing and grew confused.

"And why are you wearing that?"

This made Jenny's face turn red with embarrassment before she shouted.

"Uh... Retreat!"

With that, the group took off in a hurry as they darted away while Ayame just sighed.

At the base, Vaxel spoke to his captives.

"I'm not going to tell you again. Use the code, now."

Seeing the situation, Lapis tensed her fists in frustration before remembering what Vrathrea told her and taking a breath.

"Alright, fine. But you'll be getting exactly what you deserve."

"I'm counting on it."

With that, Lapis turned to Krolia before she spoke.

"You and Xarnas know the code, right? Open it."

This made Sandra and Keith more shocked with how things are going.

"What?! You, too?!"

"I can't believe you would give them the weapon just to save us. You compromised the mission, or does that not matter to you at all?"

"Not yet I haven't. Just go along with this."

With that, Lapis went over to Luzria and tended to her while Xarnas and Krolia inputted the code as the latter spoke.

"Beta-5-2-7-4-Omega-5-4-5."

As the code was inputted, the consoles beeped before Xarnas spoke.

"The code is confirmed."

Vaxel then smirked as he spoke.

"Now... open it."

With that, the door alarm blared as one door opened before another and another just as Keith glared at Lapis.

"This is why you shouldn't have made that trade for us. We could die and you just handed that weapon over to Vaxel."

"No, Keith. I handed them over to it."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just look."

With that, the final door opened to reveal a giant creature with long blue hair, no eyes, and sharp teeth and claws, much to Vaxel's intrigue before it snarled with a charge at him. With that, Vaxel darted toward the beast and fought against it as he swung his synthetic arm, only for the creature to grip it and tear it off before he screamed in agony and the sentries fired at it to no avail as it began attacking them as well while Vaxel was forced to retreat. As this happened, Lapis smiled and spoke to the others as Xarnas looked at it with longing, recognizing the hairstyle as he gasped.

"Everyone, we need to get out of here, now!"

"No! We're not leaving without my daughter!"

"It's too late. That thing must've eaten her already."

"You don't understand. That thing is my daughter!"

"What?"

"I did tell you it was a family matter."

As Lapis looked back at it tearing through the sentries, she knew if they got her, they'd be more powerful. A chance she wasn't willing to take. With that, she called out to it.

"Oh, quiznak. Hey!"

Hearing her voice, the creature turned to Lapis before snarling as it crept over to her before she motioned to Xarnas as she spoke.

"You need to listen! This is your father! Xarnas! Don't you recognize him?"

As the creature stared at him, it began to purr with longing before it tried to speak.

"F-Fa... therrrr..."

"Yes, Xanthia. It's me. I'm here."

Suddenly, a shot came from behind that knocked the creature now known as Xanthia out cold before it was revealed to have been made by Krolia as Xarnas and Lapis widened their eyes while the former spoke in shock.

"How could you?!"

"Don't worry. I only stunned her. We'll all need to carry her out of there."

At Haggar's Lair, Alphus was sitting alone in the dark corners as she sobbed her heart out over what she'd done. All the while, Allura and Lotor had no luck finding her as they shouted for her.

"Alphus!"

"Alphus! Reveal yourself!"

Then, Allura realized how vacant the lair was and decided to use that to their advantage.

"Wait. Why haven't I thought of this before? Don't speak. Try listening for her voice."

As they did so, they heard light sobbing from a distance before she spoke.

"It's this way."

With that, they ran to the source and found a dark corner where no light occupied its presence but the three of them. When Alphus looked up to Allura and saw the scratch she made, she retreated her head back in her arms before she spoke.

"Go away. I've hurt you enough already."

"Alphus, I'm really sorry... for what I've said about you. I was just frustrated. I had no intention to..."

Alphus interrupted her as she peeked her head out from her arms.

"That doesn't matter. You're right. All of your race died because of me. Even if Alfor did die, there still would've been other Altman's that had her alchemy. But thanks to me... they're all gone."

"Alphus, this isn't import—"

"And did you really think I wanted to be here? Even with what I remember now, I still had no clue where I came from to this day. I never asked to be a part of your lives just to ruin it! I never asked to be a part of it at all! But it happened anyway. And look where you are. You don't have a family, a home, or a friend anymore. And it's... it's all because of me. I don't understand why I... why I didn't just kill myself already."

As Alphus wept at this, Allura knelt down and tried her best to comfort her.

"Please, be still. You are not to blame for what's happened to my race. It was Omegus. He simply took advantage of the weakness inside us and struck it where it was most crucial. Besides, you're wrong. You may have destroyed everything I ever knew of Altea, but you didn't take them all away. The Paladins are my family. My friends. My home. But... even they can't be complete without you. And I mean that from the deepest part of my heart."

As Alphus heard this, she whimpered, trying to collect herself as Allura hugged her gently before releasing a bit of tears herself.

"So, please... don't do this. We need you. Jenny needs you. I need you..."

With that, as she hugged her tightly, Allura's tears hit the compass stone she forgot she held before it turned bright blue and opened up a new map as Lotor looked on in awe.

"Allura... you've done it."

With that, Allura and Alphus looked at the map that spawned a yellow y-shaped area as well as an x-shaped meteor on another slide of it as they grew surprised.

"Is that..."

"It is."

"Oriande."

In the Violet Lion, the creature that was freed laid in the hangar with Luzria, Adea, Atchiam, Xarnas, Keith, and Krolia as Lapis reflected on how she acted and what it could've cost her while she spoke.

"We're far enough away. They stopped firing."

"Good."

With that, Adea spoke to Xarnas as Lapis listened in.

"So... what's your story? Why did you really betray the Blades?"

"I had no choice. I'm sure you knew our previous history. We were the best pair of agents, father and daughter. Because of our unique chemistry, we thought no one could figure us out. Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality. One day, I was hit too close to home. Warlord Ranveig captured my daughter and she asked me to put the mission before her and everyone else. But... I didn't. When I got to her, she was beaten to the point where she could only hang off the cliff of life. He told me he would give her back if I did what he asked. Giving my luxite blade to Zarkon's heir as proof of my loyalty. When I successfully made the trade, Ranveig did give my daughter back to me... but she wasn't the same. While I was gone, he mutated her, experimented on her with this new Quintessence. When she tried to kill me, I managed to escape, hence the scar on my face. The burn over it, however, was a different story. It reminded me how important the mission is. Of course, I could never come back to the Blades after my deceit. So, I took a job as Galra commander of the empire, while maintaining my ruse. That is, until I met the Paladins of Voltron. And what happened from then on is... another story entirely."

Hearing this, Lapis sighed before she spoke.

"Guys... I'm really sorry for the way I acted. Since the Kral Zera, I wanted to make Sendak pay before he hurt me or anyone else again. But instead... I just tried to hurt you myself. Thank the ancients Sneren stopped me back there."

Adea smiled back at her before she spoke.

"It's okay. We'll all be fine. But, Xarnas... What are we gonna do for your daughter?"

"I don't know. But I won't stop until I find a cure."

Luzria knew there'd be a downside to this as she spoke.

"What if there is no cure?"

"Then I'll make one myself if I have to. Because family always looks out for each other. Always."

With that, Adea smiled at him and back at the creature as she spoke.

"I understand that more than you think."

With that, Krolia got up and spoke to Keith as she handed the luxite blade over.

"I should give this back to you."

As he took it, Keith grew curious about the possibility of how she managed to use it as well as Adea.

"How were you able to use it?"

"Yeah? Did he trust you with the blade before?"

"No, Adea. It's because it used to be mine... before I gave it to his father."

This made Keith and Sandra widen their eyes as they spoke.

"You're our..."