Allura insisted the team train as she and Coran discussed Voltron's next move. Everyone seemed to be doing okay except Keith. His fighting stance was off and Pidge knocked him down easily. Usually, Keith is the last man standing besides Shiro.

Once training was done, and he and Keith were the only two in the training room, he asked "Is everything alright?"

Keith didn't even bother to keep his usual strong stance and slouched, showing his exhaustion. "I haven't been sleeping well. I know it was months ago, but I still can't believe I'm half Galra. After Hunk's comment, I started searching for signs of purple skin or ears sprouting out of my head! What if I become some kind of monster? What if I end up like Zarkon?!"

"Keith." Shiro put his hand on Keith's shoulder in reassurance. "You are not going to end up like Zarkon. Not all the Galra are bad, you know that. The Blade of Marmora are working to stop Zarkon just like us. So, don't worry." He rustled his hair, earning a chuckle from the boy.

"Thanks, Shiro. I needed that." Keith smiled before heading off to relax. Shiro stayed in the training room, throwing punches to the air as if he was actually in battle, but his mind kept going back to the girl. He didn't know her name, or how she knew so much about him. All he had was the image of her face and the necklace, which raised a thousand more questions. Those questions were cut off by a loud bang that made the castle shake.

Running to the main deck, he recognized the ships as a Galra fleet. They were firing at the castle, which luckily had its defenses up, but even those were fading fast. "We need to get away from this! The ship can't take much more!" Allura and Coran were doing their best to keep the power up, but they needed a break. They needed Voltron.

Shiro and the other paladins raced to get suited up and to their lions. Black was laying lifeless on the cold floor. Guilt filled him as realization hit. He had been gone for months. The others had to fight without him there to form Voltron. They could've died, or even been injured. Movement shifted his train of thought, and within seconds the Black Lion was sitting up and roaring. It was a good sight to see.

As he settled into his seat, it felt like deja vu. He quickly retraced his memory and soon Black was flying with all the other lions.

One by one, ships were going down as Lance and Keith weaved through the fleet, shooting fire, ice, and the usual blasts at any ship in sight. Pidge's lion had one of the smaller ships in its mouth while Hunk was ramming into ships head first. Shiro couldn't believe it. His team was doing really well without him. He snapped out of his stupor as one of the ships passed him and tried firing. He dodged the shots and took out the ship easily.

The battle went on for at least an hour before the remaining ships started to flee. The main ship started to pass, then something strange happened. The violet crystal wrapped around his wrist started to glow. He raised his wrist only to watch it glow and slowly float. With the chain holding it back, it tugged his wrist, like it wanted to go to the Galra ship.

"Uh, guys? We have a problem."

"What is it, Shiro?" Keith's voice came through the coms.

"That tracker gem thing," Shiro answered hesitantly. "It's glowing."

Coran gasped. "It's found its wearer. The girl you met, she has to be on that ship!"

"What?!" Allura screeched, making her disapproval clear. "No way! Shiro, don't you dare think of getting on that ship!"

Shiro thought for a second, contemplating his options. "Allura, I have to. This might be the only chance we get. I'll go myself if I have to."

"Like hell you will!" Lance shouted with excitement. "I'm all for a Galra raid, how 'bout you guys?" Pidge and Keith shouted while Hunk's answer was a little less ecstatic. They were all in agreement. "Then let's go save the damsel!"

Shiro led the group to the far end of the ship, where Pidge used her newest gadget to cloak the lions. They got into the ship no problem, and everyone's eyes were on the crystal as it moved and tugged Shiro's wrist up and to the right. "I guess we just follow it."

Hours went by as they continued to follow the gem, weaving through the corridors. Lance covered the back alongside Pidge, while Keith and Hunk covered the front. "Are we almost there," Hunk asked, scanning every corner and holding his gun a little too close. Shiro couldn't blame him, being on a Galra ship brought back every painful memory of his imprisonment. His eyes shifted to the white patch that he woke up with along with the robot arm.

"Shiro, don't!" Pidge hissed. He froze, unsure of what she was talking about. Following her gaze, he looked down at his bionic hand. It glowed like in battle, when he used it as a weapon, only this time he had no need for it. The hand clasped onto the chain until it broke, and the crystal zipped away, finally free to find its owner. "Follow that gem!"

Sprinting to catch up, and almost running into several walls, they finally saw the crystal stop and hover in front of a door. The door was locked with a code and there was no hint to what was behind it. "Pidge-"

"Already on it," she interrupted, walking over to the device to decrypt the code. Hunk and Keith were on lookout to make sure they didn't get an uninvited guest while she worked.

A few ticks passed, then the door slid open. "Am I the best, or am I the best?" Pidge laughed at her very Lance-like comment, but she was right. With her hacking skills and technology, she was the best.

The crystal shot forward, flew around a bit, then circled around a certain sleep chamber. Inside was a girl with jet-black hair with white streaks, pale, slightly scarred skin, and chains shackling her to the base.

Shiro's brow furrowed. This girl looked different from the one he met in the astral plains. That girl seemed kind and loving, while this one seemed a mix between pain and anger. However, the crystal was bumping into the glass, so it must be her. But why does she look so different? He thought to himself.

"This has to be her," he assured, trying to sound as confident as possible. Pidge was already working on disabling the chamber, so he just stared at the girl.

Lance let out a low whistle. "She is pretty. Shiro, you might've just found yourself a girlfriend."

"Lance, no." Shiro rolled his eyes. Leave it to Lance to go from huge flirt to matchmaker, and even though the girl was beautiful, he wasn't interested.

A sudden hiss grasped his attention. "Yes!" Pidge beamed, a victorious smile stretched across her face as the glass slid down.

"Step aside," said Lance as he aimed his blaster. Shiro was going to protest, but it was too late. The sharpshooter aimed carefully and fired at the lock, busting it into tiny shards. The chains fell instantly, and so did the girl. Luckily, Shiro caught her, making sure there was no damage to her.

"Um, miss?" He gently shook her, but she didn't budge. The rising and falling of her chest proved she was alive, so he turned to leave, only to be stopped by a Galra soldier.

"Stop right there," the soldier shouted, though his stance was all wrong. Instead of attacking, he looked ready to hide under a rock. The gun in his hand quaked as he aimed it at the paladins. "Put her back in the chamber!"

Keith, with sword in hand, stood next to Shiro. "No! She's coming with us. You can't keep her," he said, raising the sword.

The soldier put the gun away and raised his hands in surrender. "Please, just put her back. You have no idea what you've just unleashed." He honestly was scared. Every ounce of his body trembled and his eyes never left the girl.

Suddenly, Shiro felt a shift. The Galra's eyes widened along with his as the girl woke from her slumber, taking two glances around as she stood. She was calm...until her eyes set on the soldier.

"You!" Her voice sounded completely foreign from the sweet, angelic sound he heard before. Now, it was filled with hatred. "You're the one who stuffed me in that thing!" A knife appeared in her hand and she threw it at the guy, who dodged it by a centimeter.

"Please, please don't hurt me!" the soldier cowered back while she stormed forward, a new blade in hand. Shiro noticed the blades were coming out of her metal wristband and he had no idea how many more she had in it.

The girl grabbed him by the chink in the armor and lifted him off of the ground with ease. "You locked me up and forced me to sleep, but before that you said something. Say it again."

"Please, I didn't mean to-"

"Say it again!" She pressed the knife into his side, making the guy scream.

Pidge rushed toward the girl. "Stop it," she shouted as she tried to pry the knife from her fingers.

"Get back!" The girl shoved the green paladin back slightly, and went back to the soldier. "Say it again."

The guy gulped before speaking in a shaky voice. "I...I said that a-after I put you to sleep, I'd...I'd find your family and m-make sure they'd endure the highest amount of t-torture..."

"And did you go to Earth?" She moved the knife to his throat. "ANSWER ME!"

"Yes, we went to Earth, but we didn't go near your family, I swear! Please, we just went for the lion, and the champion!"

The girl's anger faltered as she turned her head toward the Black Paladin, and for a moment, Shiro saw the girl from before. Her eyes moved back to the Galra soldier and groaned as she dragged him by his ear. "Get in the sleep chamber."

"Wha-"

"Get in the quiznaking chamber!" She aimed the knife at his throat, forcing him into the chamber. "This is for everything you've done." She hit the button and instantly the gas put him to sleep.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, I will apologize for shoving you, Green Paladin. I'm not myself when angered and I didn't want to hurt you."

Keith raised the tip of his sword to her chin. "Oh, no you don't! You stay the hell back!"

She looked at Keith like he was her worst nightmare. "Look, that Galra put me and so many other prisoners through hell. At least I didn't kill him."

"No, you didn't, but you pretty much tortured him," Lance pitched in.

"He was going to hurt my family! My dad and little brother were in danger and I was forced into that chamber thinking they were dead! I spent a year with all that bottled-up anger, so sorry that I got out of control." She pushed the sword away, frowning at the dark haired boy. Keith didn't move much, he didn't trust her. Not that Shiro could blame him, but now he was sure it was her. She looked sad, but also much more kind and not so hateful.

"Guys, we need to talk about-" he was about to finish when he heard a voice.

A Galra guard! It had found them and was contacting its crew. "Prisoner 8629-1 is awake! I repeat, 8629-1 is awake!" The guard aimed his gun and fired at the Red Paladin, who was still closest to the girl. The shot never made it to him, as a body just an inch or so taller intercepted it.

The dark-haired girl fell to her knees, clutching her side to keep the blood from leaking out too fast. The guard approached her and shot sleep gas in her face, knocking her out in a snap.

Shiro's hand was still glowing, and it's probably a good thing he didn't touch her or any of the others with it, but now he used it as its purpose intended. A weapon. After all, he was the Champion, the one all the prisoners talked about. He attacked swiftly, taking out the guard in three seconds. The hand stopped glowing and he threw the girl over his shoulder. "Let's go!"

They found their way back to their lions, dodging the array of blasts and soldiers in their path, and took off as quickly as they could. Once they were far enough away, the questions were nearly endless.

"Why did we bring her?"

"What if she tries to destroy the castle?"

"What if she attacks Allura and Coran?!"

"What about us?! She could easily try to kill us!"

"Enough!" Shiro finally snapped. "Look, I was there, too! I saw what she did. But did you not hear her? Did you not hear what that soldier said to her? He threatened to kill her family, and if you guys were in the same position, would you not do the same?"

Silence filled the atmosphere.

"Pidge, you almost left Voltron to find your dad and brother, and that would've put the whole universe in danger. Keith, you went through numerous trials and took several beatings just to find out who you were. Need I go on?"

"Paladins, report!" Allura's voice came though the coms.

Shiro cleared his voice. "Princess, we found the girl. She needs medical attention; she took a hit for Keith. I do request that we keep a close eye on her for awhile, though. She didn't exactly come off as friendly at first."

Coran's voice was clear as a bell. "We'll take a look, but get here quick! That Galra ship is about to come back!"

The lions moved at full speed, safely entering the castle a minute before the ship took off. Shiro carried the girl to the ship's infirmary and set her atop one of the tables. "Is she going to be okay?"

Coran, who was carefully examining the girl, nodded. "This one's tough. She'll be just fine. I just need to seal up the wound and check her vitals, then she should wake."

"We'll get a room ready for her. She needs to know that she's not a prisoner anymore." With a simple nod, Shiro turned to leave, as did most of the others. Keith was frozen in front of her, staring at the wound that was meant for him. Why the girl jumped in front of him no one knew. They'd like to think it was out of the goodness of her heart, but perhaps there was a different reason. Brushing the thoughts aside, he left as well, not turning back to look at the girl who saved his life.

A/N: All right! Chapter 3 is complete! This chapter is much longer, and I hope to keep future chapters as long, but it just depends on how much info is needed. So, now they've found the mystery girl, but what will happen once she wakes up? Will she be friendly, or turn on them? You'll find out! Chapter 4 is in progress. Please read and review your thoughts, I'd love to hear some feedback so far! Until next time!