Here it is; "Reunion", AKA "Pidge Alone", AKA, "does Matt survive or not?" Well...guess there's only one way to figure that out...

"Photons from the visible spectrum are manipulated, creating a quantum storage network. It's the most advanced storage system available."

That was all Pidge needed to hear before she turned in her seat with an enthusiastic grin. "Actually, the Galaxy Garrison is performing tests using DNA helixes as storage. That's the same way genetic information is stored in our bodies!"

She eagerly waited for a response from her teacher, only for one of her many classmates who were staring to scoff with an unimpressed, "nerd".

The rest of the class fell into chattery laughter as the teacher sighed, having seen this scene one too many times.

Pidge had seen it one too many times, too. She averted her gaze, shrinking into herself and fighting against the tears that threatened to spill over while her teeth clenched, the constant laughter from reminding her why she hated her school so much.

The first thing she did upon returning to her room was toss her school books against the wall with a frustrated yell, steam coming off of her as she collapsed in her desk chair and clutched her head with enough force to tear at her hair. They didn't understand her, her teacher didn't even understand her.

Nobody understood her.

"Hey Pidge?"

She hadn't even hear the door open, but she didn't need to look to know who it was. She should've expected him.

"...I hate it when you call me that," she snapped.

"Sorry, 'Katie'." Matt shut the door behind him and walked a slice of strawberry shortcake over to her. "Mom told me what happened today." He leaned against her desk with a sigh. "I know what it's like to be the nerd, but you've got to keep studying hard."

"What's the point?" She exasperated, kneading her feet together beneath the desk.

Matt looked at the ceiling casually. "Well, it was my brain that got me into the Galaxy Garrison."

Her eyes immediately flashed open at Matt, and just like magic, all of her frustration was suddenly forgotten in place of excitement. She became a bouncing ball of energy, gasping and jumping out of her chair with a wide smile to wrap her arms around her brother's neck.

"You got in?! Yes!" She could hardly believe it—they'd been waiting for his results for so long!

"I guess it was my brains. Could've been my good looks or my big muscles."

She giggled, pointedly ignoring that last part before hopping back to beam at him. "That's amazing! Oh man, I'm so excited, I—!" She cut herself off with a gasp, as if an epiphany had just struck her. Then, she grabbed a book off the floor and settled down at her desk to open it as Matt watched on with a raised eyebrow.

"What're you doing?"

"Studying!" She exclaimed, as if it were obvious. "So I can get into the Garrison with you and dad!"

Matt couldn't stop a small smile from spreading across his face as he watched inspiration spark his little sister into action. He knew how she could be when she was determined—nothing would stop her.

Pidge removed her glasses, a wave of nostalgia hitting her just from looking at them before she equipped her helmet. The memories only fueled her determination—she wouldn't let anything stop her.

"Pidge, I don't like the idea of you going alone. You sure you don't need backup?" Shiro checked in for the upteenth time.

"I'm sure. The supply ship we rescued the other day was carrying the explosives, and they said the shop they got it from could pull out of their current location at any time. There's still plenty left that we have to do on Olkarion, but I need to act fast. This could be my only chance."

"You're right. We'll hold up without you; good luck!"

She nodded before turning off the comms and speeding through the darkness of space in the Green Lion towards the outskirts of the Dalterion Belt, where the coordinates were.

The facility in the slums area was one of the sketchiest places Pidge had ever seen in the entirety of the universe. She threw a cloak over her paladin armor just for extra security before trekking through the highly advanced streets, ignoring the floating eye cams all around her and referring to her map until it lead her to the back entrance of the shop.

Her heart was pounding against her chest plate as she walked in and saw rows of dark shelves with less-than-safe products displayed. She wasn't afraid, though—she was anxious, sure, but her goal was all that mattered.

Suspicious clanking noises sounded throughout the shop despite the lack of commotion, and she kept her eyes peeled just in case something leapt out at her from the dense darkness. The glasses she wore didn't grant her any improved vision in the dark by any means, but they did feed her confidence.

She knew she'd reached her destination when she saw the Unilu shopkeeper leaning back behind his desk.

"Shop's closed," he informed, as if this wasn't the first time he had to shut someone down.

"I'm just looking for a show. I've heard it's explosive." Pidge recited the code that the rebels had given her while approaching slowly, smirking as the Unilu man rose an eyebrow.

"So you're after the nano-thermite titanium-boron, huh? Very expensive stuff. Difficult to procure, I assure you."

"Not quite." She moved the front part of her cloak away to reveal her green paladin armor, pulling up a screen from the back of her wrist. "I don't need the explosives. Just tell me who is in this video and where to find them."

She played the video of Matt's escape that she'd retrieved from Beta Traz for the Unilu, focusing in on the rebel's masked face.

"Why would I know those people?" He rose an eyebrow, but he wasn't fooling Pidge.

"Because they use nano-thermite titanium-boron, and you're the only one in this section of the galaxy supplying it to the rebels." She removed her cloak completely. "I'm Pidge, a paladin of Voltron. I'm looking for somebody, and I need you to give me the rebel's coordinates."

He looked her over once or twice before scoffing. "No rebel transponder means no dice. Anybody can come in here with a disguise and demand rebel locations. I suggest you leave right now!" He stood up and pulled out two swords from their sheaths on his waist, pointing them directly at Pidge as she groaned.

"Really? This is how we're doing it? I have the Green Lion if that's identification enough for—"

He didn't let her finish as he jumped towards her, swords spinning, but she was more than ready for his attack. The shopkeeper was only trying to protect the rebel information, so she simply kicked the desk from beneath him to upset his balance so as not to hurt him too much. When he insisted on getting up for a second attack, though, she shot her bayard just past him, yanking it back and knocking him over the head with one of his own toolboxes, and down he went.

"Nothing personal." She sighed, crouching down by him as he groaned in pain. It wasn't exactly orthodox to go around attacking rebel suppliers, but he had attacked first, and she wasn't in the mood for so much resistance as she downloaded the rebel information while he was still coming to.

"I'm not an imposter, I swear. Thanks for the intel, anyways." She turned to leave as the Unilu glared after her.

It was a mistake not to grab her cloak on her way out, though. Her paladin armor was on display for the entire slums to see as she walked back to where she'd parked the Green Lion, a pair of eyes following after her, toothy grin glinting in the darkness.

A massive, eerie man stepped just barely out of the shadows to watch her leave, letting out a soft yet heavy chuckle as a cloak covered his body, and his face.

Beneath the cloak, however, a single reddish-orange sphere glowed—his eye.

She immediately began scanning through the downloaded intel, lining it alongside Matt's video as she exited the planet. It didn't take long for her screen to connect the rebel from the video with an identical face from the Unilu supplier's list of rebels.

"Looks like I've got a positive ID. 'Te-osh'. Last known whereabouts...secret base 1904—Kraydah's moon."

The rebel base was well hidden in space debris, but it wasn't far from her current location—especially not with the speed she was traveling at.

She expected to have to navigate through fragmented chunks of rock as soon as she approached the base; instead, she was met with the flashing lights of explosions as several Galra cruisers came into view.

"Oh no...it's a Galra attack!" Her heart plummeted as she shoved Green's controls forward, blasting through any fighter ships that came her way. To her astonishment, however, none of the fire from the cruisers turned to focus on her; collateral damage was her only foe as she spiralled around fighter ships and watched the impractical chaos ensue.

"...where are the rebel ships? The Galra aren't attacking anything."

Her first thought was that they had already decimated the entire rebel base, and, in a spur of panic, she quickly bolted for Kraydah's moon, ignoring the cruisers so long as they ignored her.

Relief was only rivaled by confusion as the rebel base came into view below. It wasn't completely undamaged, but there were still several cargo ships loaded with medical supplies and refugees. There was no conflict with the Galra cruisers whatsoever.

A tall alien man gazed in awe of her lion as she came in for her landing, running forward to receive her.

"That must be one of the freedom fighters." Her eyes narrowed as Green let her down just as the man reached her.

"Greetings, I am lieutenant Ozar. You must be one of the paladins?"

"Yes, I'm Pidge. What's going on? Are you under attack from the Galra?"

Ozar shook his head, following Pidge's gaze to the sky in confusion. "I'm not exactly sure. The Galra cruisers seem to be locked in combat against each other. It'd be safest to move our supplies to another location, but it's impossible to leave the atmosphere without getting caught in the crossfire. Will the other lions be joining you?"

Pidge pondered his observation for a few moments while shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Voltron isn't coming, it's just me." The Green Lion alone would probably be enough. If the Galra were fighting amongst themselves for some reason, then all she needed to do was escort the cargo ships, meaning there was time for a quick detour. "I'm looking for Te-osh. Is she here?"

The lieutenant pointed at the cargo ship sitting on top of the base's storage house. "Te-osh is inside that ship loading up the last of the medical supplies. We were just about to leave; your timing is most fortunate."

She eagerly began inching around him with a curt nod. "Thank you. I'll give you a hand loading up and help secure your escape; I just need to speak with her first."

"Thank you, paladin Pidge." He nodded back, but she barely paid it any mind as she quickly began running to the cargo ship Te-osh was currently loading, heart racing. This was it—she was finally taking what could be the largest step in her mission to find Matt.

She was about to power her jetpack to speed up to the cargo ship when the dead air suddenly seemed to scream in tension. Her natural instinct kicked in, sensing the threat before she even saw or heard it. Lasers came crashing around Te-osh's ship, and the explosions flourished in Pidge's horrified eyes as debris came crashing around her.

"NO!" She cried out, equipping her shield to protect herself from the falling rocks. The collateral damage still sent her plummeting backwards in a series of tumbles, but she was quick to scramble back to her feet to peer through the broken base for any signs of Te-osh.

"They're attacking!" Ozar exclaimed, running towards his cargo ship with a gun in hand as the other rebels scattered around the crumbling storage house.

Pidge couldn't settle between horror and rage as she watched Galra fighter ships descend from the thick clouds, shooting more lasers at the base as soon as Te-osh's ship appeared amidst the explosion. The cargo ship was forced to take flight, engines charging with difficulty before the ship fled over Pidge's head, with Te-osh in it.

"Te-osh!" Pidge chased after the ship overhead towards her lion, the sound of lasers behind her dulled out by her own blood rushing in her ears. Had the circumstances been different, she would've thrown herself down in frustration at her own short-sightedness. She never should've bargained on the Galra not attacking them—of course there hadn't been time for her to delay their escape.

Her bayard shot at her lion, connecting her to its under jaw and pulling her towards it. A fighter ship shot at her from behind, racing with physics to reach her before she reached her lion, but her bayard pulled her close enough for Green to strain her neck forward and capture Pidge in her mouth, growling protectively as the missile struck her in the face. The resulting blow left Pidge gasping and stumbling in the cockpit, clutching onto the back of her seat for footing as her lungs surged.

"You're really, really gonna regret that!" She jumped into her seat and was quick to turn Green around while dodging several bullets, waiting for another fighter to stray too close before leaping and tearing it out of the sky with Green's jaws.

Just when she started to shoot down more ships and regain her momentum, more Galra fighters appeared from behind, shooting the rebel cargo ships and rendering them completely useless.

"Oh no!" Pidge turned with exasperation, shooting at the incoming ships until Green was twisting in every direction to fight off all the sudden attacks. The fleet was small and incomplete, though, and she quickly managed to fend them all off.

"Is everyone okay?!"

Ozar, who had been shooting at the ships, came forward with a party of other armed rebels, head hung low. "For now, thanks to you. We are safe, but our ships are damaged. We are stranded and cannot help Te-osh. Please, paladin Pidge! You must help her!"

Her eyes widened as she stared at the sullen freedom fighters. "But...what about you—"

"The supplies on that ship are more important than our lives!" Ozar interjected. "Besides, we all know what it means to fight the Galra."

Pidge's chest tightened at their implications, eyes traveling from them to their damaged ships to the sky, where Te-osh had escaped to with more fighters on her tail. There was no time to loiter…

She growled to herself, teeth clenched as tightly as her fists. "Everyone aboard! Now!"

They were in luck; Kraydah's moon was a reserved rebel base, meaning there weren't too many refugees there. Once all of them were fitted in the stomach of her lion, she took off in the direction of Te-osh, blowing through several more Galra fighter ships along the way.

The cruisers were no longer locked in combat; it seemed one of them had won, which explained why they suddenly chose to attack the rebel base that they'd happened to discover while fighting each other. She still had no idea why the Galra had been fighting, but there were more important things she needed to focus on.

Explosions were going off just to her left, and as she followed, she spotted the fighter ships shooting at the stray cargo ship.

"Te-osh!" She sped forward, catching up quickly with the Green Lion's speed as she took two pursuing ships out with tail shots. "Te-osh, I am a paladin of Voltron! I'm here to help!"

A strained voice of pain came through the ship's communicator. "Please! I've been hit…!"

The desperate cough in her voice had Pidge's skin crawling with fright as she shot at the remaining Galra fighter, missing several times. Finally, she let her frustration shred through her voice in a battle cry, equipping the vine cannon and blasting through the last ship, letting it combust with oversized tendrils.

As soon as she landed on top of Te-osh's ship, she boarded it and ran to find the injured rebel, eyes widening when she saw the lifeless form leaning back in the pilot chair.

"Oh no...are you okay?" There was no time for her breath to catch up with her as she gently lifted Te-osh down to lean her against the wall, wincing at her pained grunts.

"The ship...those supplies are needed immediately—!" Te-osh was cut off by her own gasp for air as Pidge removed her rebel mask and immediately went to scanning her injuries with her paladin suit.

"Not without you."

The scans finished quickly, revealing to Pidge just how deep the laser shots had managed to hit on a screen projecting from her wrist. "That's not good…" Internal organs. "I'm gonna get you some help, just hold on…"

She looked around the ship desperately, not seeing anything in the medical supplies that could help her with Te-osh's internal bleeding.

Te-osh herself seemed resigned to her fate, sinking back against the wall more and giving no effort to move other than to tilt her head up to get a good look at her savior. "...Matt…?"

An inaudible gasp seized Pidge, jerking her attention from the supplies. "...he's my brother. I'm trying to find him."

"You look so much like him...it's the eyes…" Te-osh muttered through violent coughs, groaning and using all of her strength to reach into a pocket in her cloak despite Pidge trying to stop her from moving.

"Here…" she held a small, orange device out for Pidge. "Every rebel officer has one of these transponders, it's...how we find each other in the field—! He may not have his anymore, but this is his code…"

Pidge's hands trembled as she slowly accepted the transponder, tears prickling her eyes as Te-osh looked at her like she was all the hope left in the world.

"Now please...please help get these supplies to my people…" Her final breath left her, and Pidge had never felt so powerless in her life as she clenched her fists to hold in her tears, staying by Te-osh's side until the fearless freedom fighter who had rescued her brother was laid to rest.

The rest of the rebels who she'd loaded onto the Green Lion boarded Te-osh's cargo ship, and Pidge helped tow it along to the nearest rebel base. A part of her wished to stay and see Te-osh's burial through to the end, but the entire encounter left her with a painful burn in her chest, and she was more anxious than ever to get as far in her search as she could before returning to the paladins.

"This should be far enough, paladin Pidge." Ozar's voice snapped her out of her daze, and a sudden beeping in Te-osh's transponder, now her transponder, gave her something to pay attention to. "Thank you for your help. These supplies will help save many lives in the fight against the Galra. I am sending you my transponder code; may the paladins of Voltron always be able to find me if need be."

"Thank you." Pidge nodded at him before releasing the ship from Green's grasp, giving them one last glance to make sure they entered the planet's orbit, just to make sure nothing happened to them. She didn't want to fail to save any other lives today.

Once she knew they were safe, she sped off into space with her transponder held out before her, left to her own thoughts again. Matt's prisoner picture appeared, and the device immediately picked up on his signal. She let Green guide her, eyes never leaving Matt's picture for even a second.

Seeing his face accompanied by the constant beeping of the transponder had her transfixed; nothing screamed 'Matt' more than the sound of technology going off in the dark of night.

"I just got a message from dad!" Matt exclaimed, pressing a button on his laptop to stop the constant beeping of his makeshift satellite-esque system beside him on the roof.

"A message?" Pidge scooted closer to him, not because she was afraid of falling from such a high height, but because she was interested in how his technology worked. Also, hearing from her dad was nice, too, if not a little questionable on Matt's part. "I thought we weren't supposed to talk to dad? It's a secret mission!"

Matt snickered, as carefree as ever as he turned the laptop to show Pidge the screen—a meaningless cluster of numbers. "Well sure, but, what the Garrison doesn't know won't hurt 'em. Besides, we're using a quantum frequency with a special two-step encryption! See, dad and I both have this book, right?"

She rose an eyebrow as he lifted his book up for her. "Totally."

"Well that's the cyper. The quantum frequency tells us where in the book to look, so we need it to read the messages."

"...okay."

"But that's not the best part! Dad and I know a second requirement; the real code. We both memorized additions and subtractions to numbers we send, so that even if someone intercepts our messages and has the same book, they still don't know what we're saying!" He was speaking with such pride; naturally, Pidge had to shrug it off.

"Seems a little low-tech."

Matt was thrown off a bit at that. "Well...sure, but, you can't rely too much on computers!" He pointed up to his head, smile back already in classic Matt fashion. "The most powerful processor you have is right here—and it can never be hacked."

Pidge couldn't help but smile back at him at that, turning her attention back to the screen. "Well? What's it say?"

"It says 'bedtime is still ten, even if I'm in space'."

"Ten?!" Pidge exasperated, leaning back to stare up at the stars as if to send a mental complaint to her dad, wherever he was in space.

Matt rested a hand on her shoulder. "Just like the Garrison, what dad doesn't know won't hurt him."

The nostalgia ached and ate away at her as she rested back in her chair. She missed him as much as she regretted never using their time more valuably. The constant beeping only seemed to remind her how much she'd taken things for granted; she tried to just focus on the technicalities behind the noise.

"Matt's signal is getting stronger. He must be around here somewhere…"

The moment she finally looked up from the device, she saw a single planet in the distance, in the exact direction she was headed. She nearly jumped in celebration, but Green's screen immediately locked onto her destination and zoomed in on the planet, showing the status of its atmosphere and its structure...or in this case, lack of structure.

"Oh no…this...this can't be right…" She swallowed hard, bones physically aching at this point as Green sped through the debris that was falling off of the planet itself.

"This place...it's completely destroyed. But it says he's here…"

The debris would only make the planet a more valuable base of operations, surely. She couldn't help but force a smile.

"It's the last place the Galra would suspect a base of operations to be hidden at...it's just like Matt to think ahead…" Her eyes betrayed her words and mouth, wrinkles straining her face as she spotted a massive monument that seemed to be the only thing in tact on this planet.

She landed Green just in front of it and walked up the steps to where a stone plaque stood at just the perfect height for her to read; the rest of the monument was one massive, elongated gateway decorated with countless heroic statues that all matched the size of her lion.

Anxiety stopped her in her tracks as she observed the massive structure. Something this grand had to be of importance, so she pushed through her anxiety towards the plaque. As soon as she approached, it recognized her presence, letting out several chimes before a programmed voice read the plaque off for her.

"In honor of the 127,098 brave warriors that stood against tyranny.

The quest for freedom is won through sacrifice."

Pidge's eyes widened exponentially, heart rate suddenly spiking beyond the speed it'd already been beating at as she darted around the plaque through the gateway, anxiety finally giving way to complete terror.

"No!"

She nearly tripped over herself, wanting to both run faster and stop completely.

"Please, no!"

The light at the end of the gateway enveloped her, only for darkness to take its place as she found herself at the top of a cliff. Below her was…

127,098 brave warriors.

A sea of tombstones.

A memorial.

A gathering for dead freedom fighters.

Dead.

Her transponder continued signalling forward for Matt.

"...oh no…" Her breath escaped her, and she couldn't even tremble as she slid down the cliff towards the tombstones in blind desperation.

Logic didn't matter to her.

Matt…

Reasoning didn't exist.

Matt…!

She scrambled past the endless tombstones, barely able to focus on the transponder.

Her brother was alive.

The one person she connected with on Earth…

The one person who was always there for her…

Her idol...was alive...

She could see him...he was looking back at her, smiling at her, waving at her…

...waving goodbye.

Her brother was alive…

...and then, he was taken from her. Taken and replaced by the tombstone that stood before her, towered over her as she collapsed to her knees soundlessly, as though her body finally knew numbness.

The final nail hit her heart when the tombstone chimed, as though Matt himself recognized her presence. And then…

"Matthew Holt: 0-0-1-0.0-5.2-5—"

The rest of his birth date reading was drowned out by Pidge's own sobbing. Her hands dug into the ground. Her head hung at its lowest in front of his grave. Tears that she had been holding in for the entire war spilt over.

The sky cried with her, ice-cold rain biting at her suit as she screamed in agony and grief. The pain in her voice resonated throughout the entire memorial for every fallen soldier, mixing with the rain into a ghostly song; a song to narrate the cruel reunion between the soldier who would never see home and the one left behind.

Her head was light, and her vision was blurred, both from her tears and the rain delicately streaming down her helmet. No matter how nauseous she got, though, she still couldn't shut her brain off.

Never again would she see his supportive smile…

Never again would he make another cringe-worthy remark for her to tread around…

Never again would she be able to get him a prank present for his birthday…

She slowly tilted her head up to stare at the tombstone once more, as if to continue torturing herself as penance for being too late to save him…

...and it just so happened to be at the same time she had her final thought about his birthday.

Her eyes glanced over the numbers beneath his name once. Twice.

"Wait...what...Matt's birthday is wrong…" Her voice was barely working, and suddenly she felt like she could feel the ground and the world around her as she reread the date listed beneath his name.

It's just like Matt to think ahead.

"...a quantum frequency…?" Her earlier disbelief upon first seeing the tombstone suddenly returned, but for completely opposite reasons as her breaths turned to gasps and the darkness that had begun to cave in from all sides began to crack. "It's...it's a message…? The code! But what...what's the second encryption item? I have a copy of the book…!"

She managed to shakily rise to her feet, hands gripping her helmet, willing to cling to the smallest sliver of desperate hope.

As soon as she brought her orange makeshift phone out, she knew what to do, plugging in the numbers on Matt's tombstone.

"Now factor in dad and Matt's additions and subtractions…!" Her fingers worked furiously at her screen. When the useless numbers faded away to reveal the remaining ones, relief flooded through her like a rush of magic, and she could've fallen to her knees all over again as she looked up past his tombstone with a breathless gasp. "These are coordinates…! He's still out there!"

She took a moment to relish in her relief before turning her back on the faux tombstone, rushing back to Green, who was eagerly waiting for her.

And yet, she wasn't the only living being left on the planet as a familiar cloaked man watched her take to the raining skies, quickly rushing to his own nearby ship. As soon as he entered it, it disappeared from sight.

Pidge blocked out everything that had happened in the last ten minutes at the memorial save for the coordinates; it was the only way she could keep her focus forward.

He was out there. He had to be out there.

Explosions suddenly sounded off from in front of her, followed by a sudden beeping signal from Green's map as she tapped the screen.

"This isn't good. Two Galra cruisers and even more nearby." She immediately equipped Green's cloaking device so she could pass by, but as she swerved around the fleets, she could see more explosions as the Galra cruisers shot their ion cannons.

"More Galra cruisers are firing at each other?" She observed, wide-eyed. It was one of the most bizarre thing she'd seen in space, but there was no time to linger and watch as she flew past. She had a mission, and she was going to focus on it.

Her destination appeared before her once she was past the cruisers—some sort of massive asteroid rock with a peculiarly deep crater in the middle for her to investigate. She took Green down the crater, but floating rocks were her only company as she looked around. It took several deep breaths for her to quell her desperation.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone or anything here...huh?" She spotted a cavern near the ground and was quick to park Green in the hidden hollow. Once she'd touched down, she proceeded on foot, keeping her scanners and wrist-lights active as she floated through the cavern.

Rocks continued hanging in mid-air from every side as the cavern took her down once more; she was able to slowly float along until she reached the ground, walls surrounding her.

"It's a dead end…" She observed her surroundings suspiciously, eyes zeroing in on the rocks that seemed to cling to the floor just in front of her. Weren't the rocks supposed to float?

She grabbed one of the floating rocks from next to her and jetpacked forward before dropping it, and instead of staying afloat, it dropped straight to the ground like dead weight.

"Gravity…? Something must be generating gravity nearby…" She scanned with the wrist of her suit, examining every inch of the ground before her until she detected a circular opening that blended in with the ground.

She bent down to open it without flopping down like the rock; clearly the gravity didn't affect her the same way.

The opening definitely seemed to be a trap door of some kind as it twisted and slid open to reveal a massive underground station with technology and a massive screen.

Her jetpack helped her down slowly, but her heart had picked up pace since she'd discovered the opening and wasn't stopping any time soon.

"This must be some kind of spy facility," she observed, walking up to the orange screen that served as the main attraction of the room in wonder.

But she wasn't alone.

The reflection of a masked figure with a cloak appeared in the screen, and she was quick to turn to see them striking at her with a staff. Battle experience kicked in as she ducked to the side, backing away from the figure and running as they attacked relentlessly, giving her no chance to counterattack.

She ran for the wall and jumped off of it, flipping over the masked figure and using the added mobility granted by her jetpack to her advantage. She equipped her bayard and shot it from mid-air, but the enemy was unphased. They skillfully intercepted the green cable and wrapped it around their staff before yanking on it, sending Pidge clashing into the floor with a grunt of pain.

Her senses were a blur as her chest surged with stress. She was acting on the spur of the moment, rolling out of the way to dodge another attack from the staff before backing up on the floor with narrowed eyes. "What have you done with my brother?!"

The line was spontaneous and purely instinctual, but it was enough to confuse the figure into hesitating. Her bayard shot out again, striking her opponent in the face and sending them clashing to the ground this time, mask rolling across the floor.

She seized the opportunity to shove herself to her feet and charge with her bayard, activating the tazing function in advance to shock the figure, only for them to turn.

Time froze, and Pidge did too, bayard only inches away from her brother's face, lighting it up with the green glow of static that was stored in her weapon.

"...Pidge?" His voice was breathless, but it was his voice and his face, and she couldn't think straight as every inch of her trembled.

"...Matt?"

Her bayard took a few moments to disappear into her suit, as if she couldn't decide just how real this was...she didn't need to think to launch herself forward, though, and Matt caught her in his arms, embracing her for the first time in over a year.

"Oh my gosh…! Ever since the Kerberos Mission...they said you were dead, but I knew in my heart that you weren't!"

Tears slid down both of their faces as Matt brought her closer, crouched down just for her, and they could feel each other trembling.

"I can't believe that you found me...it doesn't seem possible…!"

"The thought of you and dad kept me going...it inspired me to do the impossible!"

They pulled back so Matt could hold her face in his hands; so they could look at each other and confirm each other's existence.

"Okay. But seriously, how'd you get this far into space?"

Pidge's heart was still running at a million miles a minute, but they were smiling now as she focused on him, on his presence.

"It's a long story. Is there any chance you've heard of Voltron?"

"Of course I've heard of Voltron." Matt raised an eyebrow as Pidge looked off to the side in an attempt to hide her pride.

"Well...I'm one of the paladins." She couldn't help but look back at her brother, heart swelling at the way his eyes widened in observation of her armor.

"No...no way! Seriously? You're a paladin of Voltron? That's so awesome!" He scooped her up in his arms, both of them giggling as he twirled her around like they were carefree children back on Earth again.

The reunion was cut short as another figure dropped from the opening above, cloak whipping about dramatically while still covering them.

"How touching…" His voice was breathy and deep, and strangely familiar as the siblings immediately pulled away from each other.

"Who are you?!" Pidge demanded, equipping her bayard while Matt crouched down to grab his metal staff.

The man chuckled, letting his reddish-orange eye show, only it wasn't an eye at all; it was a replacement for an eye. "You mean to tell me you don't remember me? Allow me to jolt your memory, paladin!" He flung his cloak off, and Pidge's jaw dropped open at the sight before her.

"...Sendak?!"

He lifted a new metal arm in front of him—one that resembled Shiro's, no doubt a replacement for his old. "Surely you remember the arm you took from me. I certainly do. I wonder what you'll say when I take yours!"

Pidge and Matt immediately fell into battle stances at his threat.

"Stand back Matt!"

"Stand back Pidge!"

They spoke simultaneously, glancing at each other in surprise. It was clear as day that they were both experienced in combat, though, so they resumed their stances with tense smirks.

"Let's show this guy what the Holts are made of!" Pidge declared.

Sendak charged them, forcing them each to jump back, but while Matt stayed close to the ground, Pidge jetpacked into the air; that was her mistake. Sendak grabbed a handle that was strapped to his waist that immediately extended into an electric whip.

Pidge tried to block it with her bayard, but she lost versatility in mid-air and cried out in pain as he struck her to the floor like a bird from the sky. The electricity continued to shock her even as she fell, spurring Matt into action as he rushed in from the other side.

"Stay away from my sister!" He threatened, jumping with a spin to dodge the electric whip.

Sendak growled as he grabbed another whip from his waist to lash with.

Reaction time alone allowed Matt to twist his staff expertly, blocking the sudden second whip, but the impact sent him flying back, allowing the Galra enough time to launch both whips at him once more.

Both whips caught around his torso, trapping and shocking him as he screamed in agony.

"I've got no use for you," he declared.

Pidge took the opportunity to shoot her bayard at him, but Sendak ducked to the side with a grunt and quickly grabbed the cable, dropping both of his whips. Electricity traveled up the green bayard, but Sendak was unphased; it didn't affect his new mechanical arm that he was holding it with.

"Did you think I would forget how your weapon worked?" He tugged at the cable, sending Pidge flying towards him with a yell before spinning her around into a pillar with a loud thud.

She groaned in delirious pain, but quickly recovered enough to roll to the side, dodging Sendak's fist.

He was relentless, chasing after her and striking her with his fists as she parried each one with her bayard, green sparks of electricity flashing with every clash between them. Eventually, his brute power overwhelmed her, and she found herself being flung back once more as he towered over her.

"I shall deliver you and the Green Lion to Emperor Zarkon, and regain his respect. Then I'll hunt down your leader and exact my vengeance on him, too."

Pidge's eyes widened as she backed up, enveloped by Sendak's shadow as he rose both fists over his head to strike her.

"Pidge, going up!" Matt's sudden shout caught the attention of both Sendak and Pidge as he backed away from the screen that he'd just finished typing into. A beeping sound began resonating from it—a countdown.

She understood immediately and launched her bayard just over Sendak's shoulder, pulling herself up and away to a nearby pillar while he was caught off guard. Matt met her there, jumping up to grab her hand as she jetpacked up towards the opening at the top of the facility.

"Don't think you'll get away!" Sendak raced after her, jumping with enough strength to reach out and grab Matt's ankle to yank him back down with him…

...but before he could grab him, the beeping on the screen reached maximum intensity, and an invisible wave of force overtook the room, sending Sendak flying to the side with a roar of frustration while Pidge and Matt were sent up more.

"Nice one, Matt!" Pidge exclaimed, and the siblings grinned at each other as her jetpack shot them up while Sendak floated a little ways below them, unable to chase without a jetpack of his own due to the lack of gravity that now encompassed the room.

But as they reached the opening at the top, Pidge gave him one last glance.

Sendak grinned up at her, teeth shining, seemingly completely unconcerned.

"Victory or death."

With that, they floated out of the underground facility and closed the hatch before leaning against the wall side by side, panting and gasping for air.

Pidge ached from every atom of her being, but one look at the hatch had her walking past Matt with a wince. "Come on."

The Green Lion exited the asteroid with both of the siblings in it, turning and charging the vine cannon.

"He's after Shiro." Her eyes narrowed. "I can't let him escape."

She blasted the asteroid with the cannon, flying circles around it and constantly launching more blasts until vines began to encompass the entire asteroid, closing over the top. She didn't possess enough firepower to destroy it one go, so if she tried that, she risked giving him an exit path.

Once Matt's former facility was completely encased in thick vines, she leaned back with a deep sigh before glancing up at her brother with a grin. "Good thinking back there, turning off the gravity so that we could escape while he was helpless."

Matt grinned back, holding up his hand for her to clap. "You're the one who kept him busy long enough for me to activate the generator! I swear, I have the coolest little sister in the whole galaxy!"

She high-fived him, both of them giggling and smiling at each other. With one last look at the asteroid-turned-forest, however, her smile faded. "He...mentioned Zarkon."

"Zarkon?!" Matt exclaimed, following her gaze. "But I thought Zarkon was gone?"

She shook her head, eyes narrowed in thought. Before she could lose herself in it, though, Matt clapped her shoulder and crouched down with a smile.

"Well, hey. We can think it over later, yeah?"

His smile slowly spread to her once more, and she nodded. "...yeah. Later. And...we'll find dad later, too."

Matt watched her with all the pride in the world as she removed her helmet so she could breathe easier. When she put the glasses on, however, his eyes widened.

"You...kept the glasses?"

She turned to him with a knowing smile. "Of course I did."

The camera flashed multiple times, capturing multiple pictures of the Holt family in front of the Kerberos Mission's designated ship. Pidge was clinging to Matt with her favorite purple dress in one, then another with their mom holding both their shoulders, then one of the whole family—their dog included, of course.

After the photoshoot, Pidge walked over to observe the ship, and she would've felt inspiration and admiration for how grand it looked...if circumstances had been different.

Matt walked over to her from behind, standing at her side with a wide smile as the wind buffeted her hair and her dress.

"Alright Katie, this is it!"

She turned with a surprised look on her face, smile slowly spreading across her face. "...no, call me 'Pidge'. I'm gonna miss that. And you." Her face fell down again as Matt tucked his hands in his pockets with an excited grin.

"I'm gonna miss you, too. But you know, space! I'm so excited!"

"I know!" She shouted, albeit it was more meek than it was loud as she looked off to the side. "I just can't believe I have to go through middle school without you…"

Matt rose an eyebrow, looking up thoughtfully. "Well...you can talk to me any time!"

That brought her attention back to him. "I thought I wasn't allowed to bother you guys on your mission?"

"Of course you're not; but you know the code!" Matt leaned over to her in a whisper, tucking his face behind his hand secretively with a winked. "What the Garrison doesn't know!"

She gave a soft chuckle, but Matt wasn't done just yet as he removed his glasses.

"Hey, check this out!" He placed them in her hands, and her eyes traveled from her brother, to the glasses, and back to him.

"Don't you need these?"

"Not anymore! The Garrison fixed my eyes!" He propped his hand on his head, striking a pose with a grin that almost sparkled. "I look way cooler now, yeah?"

"No…not really." Pidge didn't even hesitate to answer, breaking into a giggle that Matt quickly joined in on after a brief moment of sarcastic irritation.

"I'll be back soon!" He assured, shoving her playfully.

"You better! Or I'm coming up to space and getting you!" She shoved him back harder, but just as playfully, slipping the glasses on with her hands tucked behind her back. Then, she smiled up at the sky, and she just knew that their inevitable reunion would be the happiest moment of her life.

She couldn't have been more correct.

So, there actually was a good amount of stuff that I changed in this episode while still keeping the overall events the same. Future episodes will have even more changes probably. Read the analysis in the next chapter to understand all the changes I made and why I made them; for the most part, though, it all boils down to one thing: this episode was incredible, but didn't have much bearing on the plot, which is bad for a 6 episode season. So, I gave it more bearing on the plot.

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