"How are we going to get to that?" Pidge whispered to Lance.
Lance picked up one of the crystals they had collected along the way. "We need some sort of diversion to get the guards away." As if on cue, a huge explosion made the guards jump and rush toward it. "Weren't Keith and Rae over there?" A sudden panic filled him at the thought of one of them hurt. Rae was super cool, and although he and Keith fought, Lance didn't want him to get hurt.
"Come on!" Pidge knocked him back to the present and he followed her.
There were over a hundred crates full of gems. They searched all of them and even tried to pick one up, with no luck.
Suddenly, Keith's voice came through the coms, stating that Rae was hurt and they weren't going to make it back in time. He and Pidge decided to find the others and come back, for there was no way they could pick up the crates on their own.
Hunk gasped at seeing all the prisoners mining the black dirt, looking exhausted and beaten down. He thought of Rae in their position, struggling to stand. It made him shutter.
Shiro noticed. "We are going to get these people off of this planet. The only question is how?"
"What about those?" Hunk caught sight of four huge pods on the other side of the cavern.
Shiro patted the big man's back. "You're a genius." They started to stand, but an explosion brought them to their knees. Shiro looked in the direction of the blast, and his head started to swim.
Keith.
He and Rae are there.
Looking over at Hunk, he could see that he was having similar thoughts.
Minutes passed before they heard Keith's voice. Luckily, the helmets showed a map where they were. He nodded to the yellow paladin and they set off.
Rae sat in the darkness of the cave, trembling from the cold it provided. She urged Keith to check on the weapon and the base, to see the progress. After the agonizing twenty minutes of him pulling the shards out of her back, she couldn't move. Even with the blue healing crystal, which she chewed on like a piece of ice, she still felt the pain.
With him gone, that left her with her old companion. Her thoughts. The silence of the cave acted as a projector for all the bad memories, all the terrible things she was put through, and everything she had done. She curled into a ball, her knees touching her nose, and her hands wrapping around herself to restrain herself.
Even though she worked to keep from falling into her memories, her mind wandered to the endless hours of labor she endured on this planet.
"Get up!" The soldier plucked her from the group, despite her resilience. She was trying to gather enough people to overthrow the small army on Cryskos. So far she had a few Balmerians, the Kallervian twins, the warrior of Roe, and the human boy. She used to remember his name. Unfortunately, they had been caught and she was dragged away.
After being thrown in the Box, a metal cage that dangled over a huge fire, she had nothing but a large drape to cover her from the heat.
Hours passed before they chucked her out, smacking her in the back with their weapons, making the burns and blisters worse. By now, she had learned to hold back her screams of agony, but as soon as she was in their sleep hole, her tears escaped while she held onto the human. The one person she trusted most, and vice versa.
"Rae?" Her head shot up, realizing her tears were streaming down now as they did then. Keith was standing in the opening, a look of concern across his face.
She smeared the tears and forced a smile. "So, what did you find?"
Keith kneeled down in front of her, unsure of how to handle her emotion. He wasn't much for hugs, but he tried. His arms carefully wrapped around her, finding her spine and deciding this was right.
It was the most awkward hug he had even given, and he almost felt bad that he couldn't comfort her properly. Instead, she folded her arms over him, pressing into him further as the silent tears continued to fall.
A minute passed before she let go. "I'm sorry you had to see that, I don't usually let people see me cry."
"It's okay to cry. You looked pretty deep in thought." He planted himself next to her, but not too close.
She was silent for a moment. "I was reminiscing my first visit here. It wasn't fun at all. Us slaves mined and carried gems until we dropped. They worked us to the bone, giving us very little sleep, and when we did, it was in a hole in the ground."
"Geez, that sounds awful."
She chuckled. "That's nothing. They had this pit of fire and dangling above it was a metal cage. If you tried anything to escape, you were thrown in the Box. I was thrown in twice. Stayed in for four hours once. Talk about torture."
He stared at her in disbelief. How could they be so cruel? He moved closer to her. Hearing all these stories made him regret being so mean when they first met. He was still hesitant, but he saw her as someone he could trust. After all, she endured crystal shrapnel for him, and he was thankful because seeing her wriggle in pain as he plucked the crystal bits made him cringe.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How long did it take Shiro to regain his memories?"
He had to think for a moment. "It was a few days, I believe. Why?"
She suddenly blushed. Keith was unsure if it was from embarrassment or something else. "There was a human that I was with on this planet. I trusted him more than anyone, but...I can't remember his name. His face is even a blur." Sadness replaced the blush. She felt guilty for forgetting the face of someone so important to her.
"I'm sure you'll remember soon," he responded. "We'll find your boyfriend, I promise."
She tensed up. "He's not...at least I don't think he is...shut up!"
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Just don't tell him about your thing for Shiro."
She turned to him in confusion. "I don't have a thing for Shiro. I mean, sure, he's handsome, but I don't see him that way. Plus, he likes the princess."
"He is making it obvious, isn't he?"
"Somewhat. It's not as cute as you and Lance, though."
His face turned bright red. "W-what are you talking about?"
She just rolled her eyes, amazed at how terrible he was at hiding it. "It's nothing to be ashamed about. You like a guy, so what? That's more common than you think. Own it. You need to tell him how you feel."
"I don't feel anything toward Lance!" The lie pierced his chest like a knife. He didn't want to admit his fondness for the Blue Paladin, but when others pointed it out, especially a girl who barely knew him, it kind of forced his hand. He let out a long sigh of defeat. "How did you know?"
She gave a sweet smile. "I can sense it. And don't lie to me. I've only ever lied once and that was about these scars on my arm. Tell him how you feel. Whether he rejects or accepts, at least then you would know that you tried. You're the Red Paladin of Voltron, I think you can handle confessing to a crush."
"Can we not talk about this?" He screeched, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from her.
She didn't push it, and he was thankful. "Very well. So, what did you see? How far along is the weapon?"
He almost forget all about his journey to the center of Cryskos. "It's almost complete. They probably only need a few more to finish, then they'll test it. Or so I heard from the one guard."
"Hmm," she thought for a moment all of their options. Coming up with a few decent ones, she heard footsteps that jolted her to her feet. "Get behind me," she whispered, leaning against the side wall with her bow in hand.
She pulled back the string as the steps grew louder, closer, until they were right next to the entrance. Rae leaped out and came extremely close to shooting Lance, who was also ready to shoot her. They both let out the air they held in, and would've started laughing if it wasn't for the fact of being stuck on a planet with Galra soldiers and explosives.
"Geez, I thought you were a Galra! You scared the crap out of me!"
"Sorry, Lance," Rae apologized, lowering her weapon. "We were worried you were guards. After the last encounter, we're trying to be more careful."
Pidge noticed a nervous look cross Rae's eyes, but she masked it quickly. "We saw an explosion," she mentioned.
Keith emerged from the cave. "Yeah, that was Rae. She shot an arrow at it, and it created an aftershock. Thankfully, blue crystals hold healing powers because Rae looked like a porcupine."
"Hey!" Rae smacked him upside the head, scowling. "It was either that or your death, and you Paladins are more important."
Just then, Shiro and Hunk appeared over the hill. "I see how it is. Have a party and don't invite us," Shiro joked, happy to find his teammates. Hunk was too, squeezing all the others together in a giant group hug. He looked on the verge of tears.
"We thought one of you died! I was so worried."
Rae suddenly became shy, backing out of his grip and turning back toward the cave. "We all should get some rest and come up with a new plan. The weapon is almost complete, so we have to figure out our next move."
Shiro's concern was evident, but he shrugged it off for now. "She's right. Everyone in the cave."
After setting up a small fire and circling around it, Rae looked in the bag of gems Pidge and Lance found.
"Holy crow! How did you find this many on one path? It's simply amazing!" She gawked over the crystals, like Pidge does over technology. Pulling out one of each other, she educated the others. "The blue possess healing abilities, and are usually around water. Red are weapons obviously, green are growth."
"We found those near some patches of grass," Lance informed.
This made Rae smile, but it was sad. "These are extremely rare now, with how the planet looks. Most were on the top layer, making the planet beautiful beyond belief."
"It's too bad we can't see it for ourselves," Hunk pouted. He looked so sweet and sad, Rae couldn't take it.
"Here." She picked up a mint-colored crystal and handed it to him. "Look through it, it'll show the true form of anything. You can see the planet in its prime."
He squeaked with excitement, taking the crystal and peeking through it. The black soil was replaced with a beautiful, mint-colored field, with flowers of red, green, orange, and pink that glowed as the wind blew. Rocks were golden, and even the animals looked crystallized, taking on an assortment of vibrant colors. The sky was as purple as Rae's crystal. "Wow," he breathed.
"My turn!" Lance snatched the crystal from Hunk, and took a look for himself. "Woah, this is so gorgeous!" He gazed through the crystal, taking in the glorious view before turning back to the others, the gem still up to his eye.
"Wait, Lance!" Keith tried to stop him, but Lance's eyes were on him.
"Dude, you look so different," he stated, taking in the image of Keith in Galra form. The mullet was the same, just tinted purple, but his skin was lavender and his eyes were yellow. Fangs poked from his bottom lip, and big, fluffy ears replaced his normal ears. Lance almost blushed with how strangely cute he looked.
Keith looked confused, but it quickly turned to panic. Lance didn't know why, at least not until he shifted his gaze to Rae. He froze, seeing the girl that looked exactly like Keith, minus the length of hair and the white streaks in her hair. Seeing the girl he'd come to love hanging around, now revealed as a Galra, he dropped the crystal, letting it shatter on the ground. "You..."
"I can explain," Rae quickly spoke, fear clear on her face.
Shiro shifted his gaze from the two. "What's going on?"
Within two seconds, Lance had his blaster out and aimed at Rae's head. There was a small panic between everyone except her.
Rae puffed out her cheeks. "All I wanted was to tell everyone on my own terms, but did that happen? No! So, you know what? Fine!" She grew two feet, shifting to Galra form.
"So, this was the big secret," Shiro sighed, not in disappointment, but almost relief. "Lance, put your gun down."
Lance was baffled. "But...she's Galra! She's going to trap us here and blow up the joint!"
Shiro stood, his face became stern. "Lance! She's not going to hurt us. She's probably with the Blade. Right?"
Rae glanced at Shiro. "No, I'm not with the Blade. I was a slave for Zarkon, and I'd love to put a stop to his plans. I'm your ally, not his. I know of your alliance with the Blade of Marmora, and you have Keith, so I hoped you would accept me, but if not...then leave me here."
The only sound was the drops of black water that leaked though the edge of the cave. Everyone seemed to cool down. Finally, Lance put his bayard down. "I guess that explains how you know so much about the Galra. Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
She raised one eyesbrow. "Really? Because of yours and Keith's reaction. He almost decapitated me. It's cool now, though. We've been able to talk more and stuff."
Shiro shot a look at Keith, who lowered his gaze to avoid the glare. "What I don't understand is why Zarkon would hold a Galra captive."
Rae planted her rear onto the ground. "I'm only half Galra. He doesn't like my kind, thinks we're weaker, more vulnerable to emotions, which is true to a point. However, we're strong enough to survive some of Haggar's experiments."
Hunk gasped. "You mean that witch did to you what she did to Shiro?" All eyes landed on her hands.
"I don't know. It's hard to remember." She held up her hands, analyzing every fiber for signs of the quintessence. "I have no bio-mechanical parts, so that's good to know." Her eyes moved to Shiro's metallic arm in curiosity. Inching her hand toward his, he suddenly saw what she was trying to do.
The second Shiro moved his hand toward hers, the bionic hand turned pink-purple and started to glow. Both sets of eyes stared in shock, as they raised their hands up higher, watching how the light faded as she pulled away, and grew more vibrant once her hand was close. Her curiosity grew and she grabbed the hand quickly. Panic filled the cave, but strangely nothing happened. Their enlaced hands remained for a minute or two, until Lance's "awe"s made them blush and pull away.
"Fascinating," Rae whispered, staring at her hand. She didn't feel any pain from the quintessence. Actually, she amplified it once her hand reached his. She made a mental note to do a full scan on herself once she was back in the castle.
The silence became awkward, unbearable as she tended the fire. Thankfully, Lance and Hunk jumped into some stories of their time in the Garrison. All their late night sneak outs only to nearly get caught by Iverson. That made Shiro bust out laughing as he added in his own encounters with the General. Pidge told her tale as well, which had everyone cracking up because one tiny girl talking the way she did to a man like that was absurd. Rae listened to all the stories and jokes, but her heart wretched. She had always dreamed of joining the Garrison, becoming a medical officer, or a pilot to explore the universe. She was pretty good at both, being that she tended to most of her friends' wounds, and piloted a ship as a distraction for the Galra. Unfortunately for her, that dream could never come true. She wasn't even sure if she could go back to Earth.
"Alright," Shiro cut in, as everyone was trying to get Keith the share a story of his own. "We still have a job to do here, so we need some sleep. I'll stay up and take first watch."
No one objected. Hunk plopped down and was out in seconds. Lance, who was having a hard time getting comfortable, found his way to Hunk and rested his head on his stomach. Pidge followed his lead, admitting it was for heat purposes. "Plus, he's super comfy." Shiro chuckled, then looked over to Rae.
She lay alone on the cold, hard ground on the other side of the cave, her back turned to everyone. "Why did you try to kill her?" He whispered to Keith once he was certain everyone else was asleep.
Keith avoided eye contact. "I...I was just...I don't know. I panicked, I guess. She saved me from the shrapnel, but then she looked Galra and I overreacted." He looked guilty , and that made Shiro relax. He didn't want Keith to go on a rampage again.
"Well, I guess now you have someone who really understands what you're going through." Shiro wasn't going to lie, he had no clue how to handle Keith being Galra. Especially after being told that he'll probably shift into one. "And you have someone to help if you shift."
"Oh god, don't bring that up. Even though she made up the story, she still knows what happens cause she's already went through it. I don't want to hurt anyone." Keith sounded scared, which is extremely rare. He usually bottles up his emotions, only letting them slip when absolutely necessary.
Shiro patted him on the back. "Don't worry. You're not going to hurt anyone with her around."
"Oh, great," Keith scoffed. "That makes me feel better. It's bad enough the girl protects me like I'm her own kid!"
Shiro snapped his head to look at Keith. "What?"
Keith raised his fingers as he recalled the events. "She took a shot for me, pulled me away from Galra soldiers, and became a human shield. I had to pull at least a hundred pieces of crystal shards from her back because of her recklessness! Add that along with all the times she was overprotective during training." He puffed out his cheeks, almost annoyed. "I just don't know what her deal is."
"Maybe she feels connected to you. I mean, she probably hasn't met very many half-breeds before, so she's trying to keep you safe because she doesn't want to be alone," Shiro suggested.
Glancing over at her, Keith sighed. "She keeps mentioning how I'm more important because I'm a Paladin. Like there wouldn't be anyone to replace me if something happened. So, maybe it's just because I'm a part of Voltron. But that still doesn't justify such rash actions." He hated when she said that. No one should die for him. She shouldn't have to jump into every danger zone for him. He wasn't that special.
"Or," Shiro smirked, about to say something crazy and possibly stupid. "Maybe she's got a huge crush on you." He started laughing.
Keith's face scrunched up. "No," he stated without hesitation. "One, she's closer to your age than mine, and two, she confronted me about you-know-who. Also, she doesn't have that look in her eye like you do when you see Allura. It's more like...I don't know exactly, but it's not a crush."
Shiro's laughing finally settled. "Fine, I'll stop teasing you. I will admit, it's kinda fun. Now I know why Lance does it all the time. Anyway, since we've cleared that up, you need to sleep."
Shrugging, Keith scooted over a bit, propped up against the wall, and fell asleep within a minute.
"Let me go!" She screamed at the soldier who was dragging her across the floor. He was leading her to the witch for the fourth time that week.
After ten minutes of fighting and squirming, only to be kicked in the side, they finally arrived. A metal table lay in the center of the room and she was thrown onto it. Not set down gently, literally thrown. Straps were latched, restricting her hands, torso, and legs before the Galra man left.
"Please! Someone! Anyone! Please, help me!" She was almost in tears, desperate for any sort of help. Haggar's experiments were the most excruciating pain she's ever endured, leaving her numb for at least a full day. The human (why couldn't she remember his name?) did everything in his power to cheer her up once she was back in her cell, but sometimes his jokes didn't work. Oh, how she wanted to be back in her cell, talking to him further about their escape plan.
Haggar's entry shook her out of her thoughts. She approached carefully, examining the girl before raising her hands. "Your process is almost complete. You will become my greatest weapon, and Voltron will cease to exist." Her scratchy voice made Rae's spine tense up, and her toes coil.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" She cried. "How can you make me a weapon that powerful?" A million more questions lingered in her head, but she silenced them.
Haggar sprouted a wicked grin as she turned Rae's face to the side. "Trial and error." Rae stared in horror at the severed arm in a giant glass jar. She heard stories of the man who lost his arm, along with her friend who lost his leg. What would the witch take from her? An arm? Leg? Eye? Heart? At the thought of that last one, she couldn't help but scream and struggle out of the shackles, to no avail. "Don't worry, child. You won't remember a thing." She placed two cold, long fingers on the girl's forehead and suddenly lightning appeared. No, not lightning.
Quintessence.
Rae shot up from her sleep spot, heart pounding over the nightmare. Panting like she just finished a eighty mile run, she holds her hand over her heart to calm its rapid rhythm.
"Nightmare?"
She almost screamed and leaped into the ceiling of the cave at the sound of Shiro's voice. Now she had to calm her heart yet again. "I didn't think you'd still be awake."
"Sorry," he said, though it sounded more like a question. "I just don't want anyone to stumble in on us and attack."
"Galra sleep, too, you know," she replied, matter-of-factly. "But if you'd like, I can take next watch. You need to rest."
He shook his head slightly. "I'm good. So, might I ask what happened in your dream?"
She sighed, knowing he wasn't going to forget about it. "I was in my cell. Haggar ordered a guard to bring me to her, she had been working on me for weeks. She told me I was going to be the greatest weapon, and Voltron would cease to exist. All I remember is the pain I felt, then the comforting voice of my cellmate. And quintessence. Whatever she did involved quintessence."
Shiro was silent for a few ticks, then spoke in a soft, gentle tone. "We'll figure it out, okay? As soon as we get back to the castle, you can scan for any quintessence and we'll go from there." He noticed her eyes shifting to Keith with sadness. "You're protective over him because he's like you, right?"
"Partially." Her sad eyes move to look into Shiro's. "But mainly he reminds me of someone. Someone I swore to protect until my dying day."
Shiro understood that. He was so protective of Pidge because of her brother and father, and he promised her that he'd find them both. It brought to question who Rae made that promise to. She mentioned a brother and father, so maybe it was one of them? He didn't know, and judging by her distant expression, he didn't dare ask. Instead, he stretched his arms and yawned. "I think I will take you up on that offer now." Leaning back against the cool wall, he could feel himself already dozing off.
"Go ahead. You need the beauty sleep." She giggled, but it was faint, for his brain was shutting down quickly.
For the first time in awhile, Shiro had no nightmares. No dreams at all. It was an uneventful sleep. However, the quaking of the earth proved otherwise in reality.
"Shiro! Get up!" Rae shook him until his eyes opened, slightly panicked. She looked worried, and dropped him to wake the others. "Get up now!"
Hunk's rapid movement threw Pidge and Lance to the side, both looking rather unhappy. Keith was up, bayard in hand, ready to fight. "What's going on?"
Rae's purple ears folded back. "The weapon is complete. They're testing it."
"What?" Lance screeched. "I thought you said-"
"I said it was almost complete!" She had her bow in hand, back against the wall, watching as soldiers moved toward the base. One turned their way, barely lifting his blaster before an arrow pierced his chest. "Let's go!"
The team left the safety of their cave and formed a circle, protecting at all angles. Shiro carried the bag of crystals as the others had their weapons ready to go.
Within the three miles between the cave and Galra base, Rae shot down twelve sentries, Lance hit eight, and Hunk hit five. Four managed to sneak up closer only to get knocked down by Pidge and Keith. Not once did they break their circle.
"Woohoo! We made it," Lance boasted as they reached the wall of the base. Looking around, Rae noticed the number of soldiers grew exponentially from her last visit. They had to think carefully to get to the weapon in one piece.
Without a word, she slid the bag off of Shiro's arm, ignoring the quizzical looks, and started digging through the gems. After carefully collecting two orange ones, she tossed the bag back to Shiro and looked for an opening. "You guys might want to step back," she warned as she found an opening. Every guard in sight saw her and raised their weapons, repeating "Prisoner 8629-1".
An evil grin formed on her face as her grip tightened on the crystals. The others stepped back carefully, fearing the worst. She took two steps into the opening, making sure her plan wouldn't backfire. "Alright boys, you got me." She raised her hands in defeat. The sentries inched closer to the girl, which only made her grin wider. "But did you really think I would give up without a fight?"
With crystals still in hand, she brought them down and scraped one against the other. A single spark turned into a wave of flames that stretched to each corner of the wall.
The Paladins poked their heads out from behind the wall, gaping at the damage the two crystals caused. It was more than a fire blast from Red. Galra soldiers were running and trying to put out the fires on the base and their comrades. "How did you-" Keith started.
"Fire crystals. One spark packs more punch than a giant flamethrower," Rae proudly confirmed. "Come on!"
They were led to the weapon, a giant red crystal in the form of a super-sized ion cannon. "How are we going to destroy that?!"
Rae scanned around, noticing the entry that led to the prisoners. "I'll get the prisoners out of here. You need your lions. Voltron might just be the only way to destroy that cannon." They all nodded in agreement and split.
Reaching the prisoners was easy, getting them out was the tricky part. Guards surrounded the giant hole they were in, leaving her to think fast. With bow in hand, she aimed at the sky and sent the beam of light up into the air. As she imagined, the arrow split off and zipped through each soldier, not killing, but seriously injuring them. "Everyone, follow me!" She ran, leading all the prisoners to the pods that were still docked. Stepping off to the side, to make sure everyone was safely aboard, she found herself searching for the human companion. Unfortunately, since she couldn't remember his face, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. None of the prisoners looked human, though, so she put off the search and finished filing them in to the pods.
After redirecting their destination, she hit a large button, sending the shiny pods into space. She watched for a minute, hearing their thanks through the glass.
The tender moment was short-lived, as a sentry reached out, grabbing her hair and ripping her head back to face him. She shifted to Galra form, giving her a better chance at fighting the man, but that only helped a little. This one was a lot stronger, and knew all too well how to fight. By his stance, she could tell he specialized in hand-to-hand combat. As quick as lightning, he kicked the bow out of her hand and landed a punch right to her gut.
It took all of two seconds to regain her breath and thoughts, and in that time, her anger flared. She swings, her fist moving right to the man's jaw, knocking him off the ground. He was down for the moment, so she decided to run to the weapon. She got about a quarter of the way before she heard something that sounded like a rocket and a lion's roar. Looking up as it flew over her head, her breath hitched at such a beautiful sight.
Voltron! It and all its glory was here! Hearing the stories of the defender put a lot of images in her head, but even her wildest dream was nothing compared to the machine that touched down in front of her. It was massive, reaching at least fifty feet. It shined in the sun and made every Galra that inhabited the planet freeze, then run.
She heard a muffled noise, then realized it was probably one of them trying to communicate. Her eyes caught sight of a little button on the cuff of her suit and pressed, feeling a new helmet materializing. "Okay, team, we have one goal and that's taking out that weapon. Rae, are all the prisoners okay?"
Rae smiled victoriously. "They are, Shiro. The pods have already been loaded and have flown away to a safer planet, one not in Galra hands."
"Good work." His leader voice was different compared to his casual one. Rae could sense the brave front he put on. "Now, about that weapon."
"I've never seen one this big," Rae noted.
"I say let's cut it down!" Keith and Pidge's lions slammed together, then pulled away to create a massive sword, one that made Rae envious. She loved giant swords.
The Red lion's head reared back and came down furiously on the cannon. There was a flash, then Voltron shot back, and Rae sailed into the cavern the prisoners mined. "Rae? Are you alright," she could hear Lance ask. "What the heck happened? How did that not work?"
"I don't know," Keith groaned. Within seconds, Voltron was back up. Rae looked around for a plan b when her eyes caught a small glint of yellow. "I have an idea," she exclaimed, standing up and walking toward one of the tunnels that was mined. "However, it is highly dangerous."
"Can't be more dangerous that being a human shield," Keith chimed in.
Rae sighed, knowing the chances of survival being slim to none. "It is a hundred times more dangerous. Voltron must go. Leave the planet and stay a good distance away until Allura opens the portal back up."
There was silence for a moment. Shiro sounded worried. "Rae, what's your plan?"
More silence. She gazed into the tunnel, knowing where it leads, then picked up a giant axe, one which belonged to the lead guard.
"Similar to the Galra's. I'm going to destroy planet Cryskos."
"What?!" They all shouted in unison.
"You can't do that!" Pidge screeched.
Hunk sounded nearly in tears. "You're one of us now, you can't just do that!"
"Yeah, you'll die!" Lance piped up. "And then Hunk will be a crying mess!"
"Rae, think about this, please." Keith never liked to beg, but this girl became their ally, their friend. She was just like him and he didn't want to lose her. "You're a part of Voltron, we can't lose you."
"Enough!" Rae managed to scream even though she was holding back a sob. She never expected them to argue, or care this much. "You five are the Paladins. The world needs you! Not me. You are the defenders of the universe! You will bring peace to the galaxy, and go home to your families." Her voice cracks at the mention of family. "It is my honor to die for you. Now, go!" She plunges into the darkness of the tunnel, her footsteps creating enough sound for the pink crystals to light her way.
The cries of the the five still ring through her ears as she still wears the helmet. Part of her thought to chuck it off, but she would need the air to get to her destination.
Miles after miles, she finally stopped. She made it, the center of the planet. In front of her was the biggest cluster of yellow crystals she had ever seen. It stretched fifty feet across and touched the ceiling thirty feet up. She no longer could hear her friends, and she let out the sob she so desperately held back.
Sensing that Voltron was not on the planet, she managed to smile.
"Goodbye, my friends. Goodbye brother."
She let out a cry that would make an old friend proud and drove the axe into the cluster.
Even Shiro wanted to stay, but he had to put his team's needs before his wants. Rae was right, they had a universe to save, they couldn't do that if they died here. "We need to leave."
"But..." Pidge started to speak through the tears, but even she caved to the silence.
They left, keeping a good distance from the planet before looking back. He could feel their sadness. Another planet gone, another ally...gone. This was supposed to be a victory, but all Shiro could feel was defeat.
A yellow flash spread across the planet, followed by a wave. Within a minute, Cryskos was nothing but rubble. Even the crystals were destroyed.
Shiro wanted to scream. To kick and curse and let out all this built up anger and frustration, but he refrained. The others couldn't see him like that. He finally turned the machine around, heading closer to where the portal should be.
Allura's face showed up on the monitor. "Paladins, thank goodness you're okay! I'm opening the portal now. You six will be home in a tick."
The portal opened, its blue light reflecting off of Voltron in a way that would've been beautiful. Circumstances prevented the Paladins from seeing that, though.
"Allura," Shiro started weakly, his voice nearly giving out. "There's only us five here. Rae...she..." he couldn't finish. Couldn't say it out loud. Allura held a hand over her mouth, knowing full well what he was trying to say.
"Shiro, that blast happened twenty seconds ago, and you're already telling people I'm dead? For shame." The Paladins perked up at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Rae!"
Rae laughed at the loud, incoherent shouts of her friends. "Fun fact about yellow crystals. A big enough cluster takes about ten seconds to detonate. I was thankful for the boosters on my suit; otherwise, I would've been crisp."
Shiro smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Alright, six Paladins are coming home." Rae latched onto the green lion and Voltron shot through the portal.
Allura greeted the six as the exited their lions. "I take it the mission was a success?"
Rae planted her feet and actually saluted, feeling way to happy to care about embarrassment. "The weapon was destroyed, and prisoners were safely flying toward Aleriea, ma'am!" Her stance didn't last long, for Hunk scooped her up and started spinning, earning laughs from Allura and Rae.
"Hunk, stop, I'm gonna puke!"
"No way! You scared us! Puking is punishment for that, you crazy, little Galra halfbreed!" His laughter and spinning stopped as he realized his mistake. Quickly setting her down, he went to apologize. "Oh, man, I'm so sorry. I know you wanted to tell on your own terms and-"
"It's alright, Hunk." Rae smiled, then turned to Allura. "Princess, there's something you need to know." She shifted back to Galra form, holding her hands together shyly, waiting for the shrieking and Altean curses.
Instead, Allura just smiled. "You have proved to be a grand ally, regardless of your race. I will not make the mistake of disliking a Galra ally again." She shook hands with Rae, which made Hunk bawl like a baby.
"It's just so beautiful and touching." He leans on Pidge, who looks ready to hit him with her spade to get him off. The two girls just laugh.
"So," Rae said nonchalantly. "When's my next mission?"
Shiro burst into laughter, then regained seriousness three seconds later. "Absolutely not. You're not going on a mission for awhile."
"But-"
"Nope!"
Rae scowls at him, earning a few chuckles from Pidge, Lance, and Keith. It was good to see them all in high spirits, Rae told herself to be more careful. For the first time in a long time, she felt wanted. She had friends and she would protect them and help them with everything she had. She wasn't going to lose these ones; she refused to let history repeat itself.
A/N: Hello, followers! I am back! So sorry for my absence, it has been a hectic week. My sister got married, and with work, my motivation was lacking. I do apologize. But finally this chapter is up and I really hope you all see it was worth the wait.
Side note, I found that Shiro is officially 25, but that doesn't change Rae's age at 21, or anyone else's. Just thought I'd point that out.
Anywho, this chapter goes into some of Rae's prisoner memories, and reveals her close mystery friend. We will meet him later, promise. And now everyone knows and accepts her as Galra! But that's not the only reveal. Keep following along to find out more about this still mysterious halfbreed! Until next time!