Meanwhile inside the Main Bridge of the Castle of Lions, Sendak was furious. Everything was going as plan for him, he had taken the castle, captured one of the Paladins and the former champion, and gotten all the lions. But just as they were about to take off, one of the other Paladins shut down the system.
"Haxus, I want whoever's in this ship found and terminated!" Said Sendak angrily.
"Commander Sendak, I've received a transmission generating from somewhere inside." Said Haxus playing Team Voltron's communication channel out loud.
Allura: "There's not much time before they get the ship running again. You must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in."
Pidge: "You got it. Tell me what to do."
Allura: "The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull."
"She's telling the intruder how to take down our defenses." Said Haxus informing Sendak.
"Yes, but she's also giving away his location. Find that room. Kill the Paladin!" Said Sendak informing the Galra Sentries as they leave. "Repair the engine, Emperor Zarkon has commanded us to bring him Voltron. This ship will rise before day's end."
Meanwhile at the Balmera, in the bottom of the mine on the Balmera, two aliens are approaching to Hunk and Coran from the darkness. Hunk raises his cannon Bayard in defense, while Coran panic.
"Okay, don't come any closer, I don't know how to use this very well." Said Hunk panicking a bit.
Then the two aliens step into the lights, revealing a male and female local Balmerans, who are large, bipedal aliens with grey, diseased-looking skin. They have fully yellow eyes and lack noses. Their skulls are protected by a darker layer of cartelidge or bone that resembles a helmet.
"Wait a minute. You're not Galra." Said Hunk lowering his cannon.
"Nor are you!" Said the female Balmeran and a Galra fighter jet slowly descends the mine.
"A patrol!" Said the male Balmeran and looks at the female Balmeran. "Shay, we must take leave from these ones, now."
"Wait, please! We need your help. If the Galra find us, they'll kill us." Said Coran as he pleaded.
"Or torture us." Said Hunk.
"Or keep us as some sort of creepy pet to play with how they please." Said Coran adding that.
"Not our problem, Hairy Lip. Galra see us near you and they kill both you and us. Shay, exeunt!" Said the male Balmeran beginning to leave.
"No! These many years only Galra have been seen here. I will not turn my back on the skylings." Said the female Balmeran, known as Shay, turn to Coran and Hunk, who smile at her.
"Vex!" Said the male Balmeran cursing as he and Shay approach the Altean flight pod. "Grab a side. In here. Hurry!"
So the male Balmeran and Shay began pushing the flight pod out of sight, into the cave with Hunk and Coran following them. Then the Galra patrol passes by without detecting them.
"Thanks for saving us, I'm Hunk." Said Hunk introducing himself.
"Shay. And this one, my brother Rax." SaodnShay introducing herself and her brother Rax. "How did you fall to us?"
"Well, we came looking for something. And you guys might be the right people to help us find it."
Meanwhile back on Arus, Pidge is inside the Castle of Lions at the Generator Room, which is a long hall of energy arcs, with Rover hovering beside her. Then Pidge began to speak to Allura through the team's communication channel.
"Pidge, have you made it to the Generator Room?" Asked Allura through their communication channel.
"I'm in." Said Pidge looking at the hallway. "This technology is so advanced, I don't know if I can figure it out."
"Yes, you can. The lives of your fellow Paladins are at stake. You can't give up." Said Allura encouraging Pidge.
Then Pidge look down on the floor with a small frown, realizing how Allura is worried for the other Paladins and the Lions, she understood how it feels as she reflects on her past.
Flashback
It was a year ago before the Kerberos mission, back when Pidge is Katie Holt, sitting with her entire family at dinner the evening. Pidge had long hair and wore a purple dress. The dress had puffy sleeves, and a white pinafore layered over it. She accessorized with Mary Jane shoes and a purple headband.
"Hope you enjoy this home-cooked meal, Matt. After our launch to Kerberos tomorrow, we'll be eating freeze-dried peas for the next two months." Said Sam smiling at his son.
"Don't lie. I know you love those peas, Dad." Said Matt smiling at his dad.
"It's true. Those Garrison chefs really know how to genetically manufacture a delicious vegetable." Said Sam looking at Katie.
"I wish I was going up with you guys." Said Katie looking a bit upset.
"Just you wait, kiddo. Something tells me that you're going to have your own crew someday. And you're going to fly with them to worlds so far away, we can't even imagine. I bet my bottom dollar you're going to be part of something that makes the whole universe sit up and take notice."
Said Sam and Katie smiled.
It was a happy with the Holt Family, however as five months have passed, the news spread out that the Galaxy Garrison mission to the distant moon of Kerberos is missing, and all crew members are believed to be dead. The Galaxy Garrison has said the crash was presumably caused by pilot error. However Katie became enraged, believing that it was a lie, so she broke into the and hacked into computers at the Galaxy Garrison to find the truth, till Iverson finds her in his office.
"You again? Get off my computer! How did you get past the guards?" Said Iverson frowning at Katie.
"You said the spacecraft went down due to pilot error. I saw the video feeds from your probes. There's no evidence of a crash anywhere on Kerberos!" Said Katie glaring at Iverson.
"Those feeds are classified! I could charge you with treason for hacking into them." Said Iverson grabbing Katie and dragged her into the hall to a guard.
"Where's my family?!" Said Katie till Iverson shove Katie to the guards.
"Escort Miss Holt off the premises and make sure every guard knows she's never allowed on Garrison property ever again." Said Iverson as the guard restrained Katie.
"You can't keep me out! I'll find the truth! I'll never stop!" Said Katie declaring.
End of Flashback
"Okay. Talk me through it, Allura." Said Pidge speaking through the communication channel.
"Shutting down the barrier from this room can be dangerous." Said Allura informing Pidge. "Remember, the barrier is also a weapon. So, stay away from the energy arcs."
"Don't touch the giant lightning bolts. Got it." Said Pidge looking at the electricity.
"Now, what I'm going to need you to do is. . ." Said Allura through the communication channel.
But just as Allura was going to inform more, Rover suddenly shoves Pidge aside just as a Galra Sentry fires lasers at her, and Pidge flees from the Sentries. Meanwhile outside of the Castle of Lions, Allura stands outside the Castleship with Keith, trying to communicate with Pidge.
"Pidge! Hello? Are you there?" Said Allura trying to get to Pidge. "Pidge, what's going on?"
"What's happening?" Asked Keith looking at Allura.
"I lost contact with Pidge!" Said Allura worrying for the situation.
"What are we going to do now?!" Asked Keith getting frustrated.
"Wait... the mice! Maybe they can help." Said Allura focusing and telepathically speaks to the Altean Mice. "Friends, I need your help."
Inside Allura's bedroom, the Altean Mice are all sleeping peacefully till they heard Allura's voice. They all woken up and scurry off to help.
Meanwhile Pidge is trapped behind a structure in the Generator Room under laser fire from the Galra drones, then she pull up the map and it shows an exit shaft above her.
"My only way out is two floors up? Seriously?" Shouted Pidge and avoids being shot, she generates a hologram of herself from her armor. "Let's try this."
Then the hologram of Pidge runs towards the energy arcs. Then a Sentry fires at the hologram, destroying it and hitting the energy arc, causing it to explode and take out a Sentry. Then Pidge runs for the exit shaft above, using her grappling hook to reach it.
"Whoa! Can't believe that worked!" Said Pidge smiling.
Just then the Sentries began firing lasers at Pidge, she flees with Rocer. One Sentry instructs the others to stay and guard the generator. So one of the Sentry stays behind as two began following Pidge. Then Pidge exits the shaft at the Training Deck. The two Sentries attack but Pidge as she defends herself with her shield and accesses the invisible maze.
"The invisible maze." Said Pidge as she got an idea. "Let's see them get through this."
Then as Pidge activates the invisible maze, the two sentries are trapped by the maze, as one is destroyed by the maze's shocks. Then Pidge escapes through another shaft and the remaining Sentry began following her. Pidge got hit by laser fire and falls down a shaft, she stops herself and drags the Sentry into the shaft with her Bayard. The Sentry falls and explodes, producing shock waves that make Pidge lose her footing, till River stops Pidge from falling to her death.
"Rover! Nice save, buddy." Said Pidge and Rover beeps at her.
Meanwhile at the Balmera, Hunk and Coran were both sitting with Shay and Rax and their Balmeran family around a fire, as they all have dinner.
"Thanks for the delicious soup. Are these potatoes in here?" Said Hunk as he and Coran sip at bowls of soup.
"Grandma's special dish for special visitors. Cave-root for the skin. Cave bugs for the soul." Said Shay explaining about the soup.
Apparently the moment when Shay told them about the soup, Hunk and Coran both retch as Hunk swallowed the soup and Coran tries to remain polite.
"Eheh. . . Thank you for the bugs." Said Coran and Shay's Grandmother gives him more soup. "Okay, I think that's too many."
"So, how many of you are down here?" Asked Hunk looking at the Balmerans.
"There are thousands here on Balmera. We work and live in these mines." Said the older male Balmeran who is Shay's father.
"We harvest Crystals for Zarkon." Said Shay explaining their situation.
"Zarkon." Said Hunk frowning at what the Galra Emperor has done. "That's so. . . Sad that he's enslaved an entire planet."
"Zarkon may rule, but we still have family. That's where true happiness comes from." Said Shay's father smiling till Rax stood up.
"The Galra would tear our family asunder if they found these ones!" Said Rax with a frown on his face. "Everyone comes to Balmera and takes, but gives nothing in return."
"In the past, those who took the Balmera's Crystals would replenish her with energy. It was an equal exchange. But the Galra only take. It is no wonder we can feel her suffering." Said Shay placing her hand on the ground, which glows blue, and the Balmera is heard.
"I'm sorry that we put everyone in this situation, but the faster we get the Crystal and get out, the faster everyone is out of danger." Said Hunk looking at the Balmerans.
"We're looking for a battleship-class Crystal." Said Coran explaining what they need.
"Battleship-class Crystal? Those are most rare. Galra soldiers guard them ceaselessly until their harvest. Your quest is in vain." Said Shay's father informing the situation.
"There is one, found only weeks ago. It is almost excavated." Said Shay telling Hunk and Coran.
"Quiet! Even if they could steal the Crystal from the Galra, battle patrols wait to take down their ship. These ones have no chance of getting out of here alive, with Crystal or without." Said Rax frowning at Hunk and Coran.
"Okay, so this Crystal we need is basically the hardest thing in the universe to get." Said Hunk understanding the situation.
"Well, I don't know about the hardest. There is the scaultrite mineral found only in the stomachs of giant weblums. Collecting that stuff's no picnic. Uh, but, yes, th-this seems very difficult." Said Coran agreeing with Hunk.
"You may stay here until Balmera gives another Crystal. One that is hidden from Galra eyes." Said Shay offering the favor.
"We don't have that kind of time, I got an injured friend who needs to get into a magic healing machine, stat." Said Hunk wording for Lana. "My best friend Lana might not make it if we don't get that crystal!"
"Hunk, you fix the pod. I'm going to do some reconnaissance and see if I can come up with another plan." Said Coran as he leaves Hunk with the Balmerans.
Meanwhile back on Planet Arus, Pidge exits the shafts into an empty hallway of the Castle of Lions with River hovering beside her. She sighed in relief as she took her helmet off, she touch her hair and recalls the day she took on the identity as Pidge.
Flashback
After being banned from the Galaxy Garrison, Katie realized that the only way to find the truth is to undercover, so she applied her fake name "Pidge Gunderson," and after being applied, she stood before a mirror in a Garrison cadet uniform.
"First day of school. Time for a haircut." Said Katie as she took a pair of scissors and cut off her hair.
Meanwhile at the Galaxy Garrison, Lana and Hunk stood before a list of names. It was when Keith was kicked out of the Galaxy Garrison, and Lana saw that she is moved up to Fighter Pilots class.
"I did it, I'm a fighter pilot!" Said Lana smiling and place her arm around Hunk. "And look, you're my engineer!"
"Cool. Uh, can I do that from the ground?" Asked Hunk and Lana frowned.
"Hunk, Honey-Bee, when we both got into the Garrison, we promised each other that once I'm a Fighter Pilot, will be a team together, and I'm still promising to be by your side, just like you promised you'll be by my side." Said Lance smiling at her best friend, which Hunk smile back, and looks back at the list. "And our communications officer is. . . Who is Pidge Gunderson?"
"Right here." Said Pidge as Lana and Hunk turned to see her.
"Welcome to the team, Gunderson. I'm Lana McClain." Said Lance smiling at Pidge, which cause the young cadet to blush at Lana's smile.
"Hey, I'm Hunk." Said Hunk introducing himself.
"I feel like we're going to be a great team together, so let's starts by getting to know each other first." Said Lana smiling at Pidge. "What do say we start off by. . ."
However while Lana is talking, Pidge starts to overheard Officer Iverson talking to another Garrison officer.
". . . Just a minute. Security for the Galaxy Garrison's mainframe is our first priority." Said Iverson informing the officer. "It's been breached once. And by a little girl, no less. It cannot happen again!"
Then Iverson turned and walked towards to the hallway where Lana, Hunk, and Pidge. Pidge panic for a bit as she saluted with her left arm to hide her face, so Iverson won't know it was him.
"Wrong arm, cadet." Said Iverson correcting Pidge.
So Pidge saluted correctly, while Lana and Hunk were startled by Iverson and they both salute as well. Iverson walked by them without noticing anything amiss from Pidge, and she sighed in relief that Iverson doesn't know it's her.
"So Pidge, what do you say we do some team bonding?" Said Lana smiling at Pidge.
"Sorry, I don't have time to mess around with you guys. See you in the simulator." Said Pidge as she walked away.
"Hmm. . . Maybe he needs some time for himself." Asked Lana looking back at Pidge.
So as Lana and Hunk left, Pidge turned to watch them before leaving into the Garrison office to find out more of the truth of the Kerberos Mission.
End of Flashback
Pidge frowned a bit as she remembered how at first she was too focused on finding out the truth, but the more she hanged out with Lana and Hunk, the more she starts hanging out with them. Then the night when Shiro came and help him escape, Keith show them where the strange reading came from, they found the Blue Lion, and they all arrived at Arus, where they met Allura and Coran, and discovered Voltron and how they're destined to become the Paladins of Voltron.
Pidge got along with all of them during their time when they're training, but who she got along with the most is Lana. Suddenly Pidge's heart began to clench at the thought of Lana, who is still injured and in need of help. Pidge always loves her brother, but she ever wonder what will it be like to have a big sister, and Lana is the answer to it.
Flashback
Pidge is outside of the Castle of Lions with the Green Lion as they are both sitting on the edge of the bridge, looking at the sky after training today and forming Voltron. Then Lana walk out of the castle entrance with the Blue Lion beside him.
"Hey Pidge." Said Lana and Pidge turns to her.
"Hey Lana." Said Pidge smiling a bit.
"Whatcha doing?" Asked Lana smiling at Pidge.
"Just enjoying the view of Arus after that intense training and forming Voltron." Said Pidge looking at the view.
"I know how you feel, I just hope that Allura and Coran will finish repairing the castle soon, even though the planet reminds me of Earth." Said Lana smiling at the view. "Mind of me and Blue join you and Green?"
"Sure, we could use the company." Said Pidge smiling at Lana.
Then Lana sits next to Pidge, while the Blue Lion sits next to the Green Lion, and they all enjoy the view of Arus. Then Lana look at Pidge and saw she looks a bit upset.
"You okay, Pidge?" Asked Lana and Pidge sighed a bit.
"To be honest, I'm not really okay." Said Pidge frowning in sadness.
"You missed your brother and father, huh?" Asked Lana looking at Pidge.
"Yeah, ever since the Kerberos Mission, I've been trying to search for them." Said Pidge looking upset. "When we were at Sendak's ship getting the Red Lion, I was hoping we might find my brother and father, but we didn't."
"I'm sure they're still out there, and will find them soon." Said Lana smiling at Pidge. "And I know they be proud of what you're doing right now, being a Paladin of Voltron."
Pidge look at Lana with her eyes widen for a bit, till she smile softly at him. Then as they enjoy each others company, Lana make small jokes that made Pidge laugh at how hilarious they are, they both would even tell some stories of how they're older siblings would do fun things together. Somehow Lana was like a big sister to Pidge, despite being a younger sibling, which is something they have in common.
End of Flashback
Pidge smile remembering how Lana was able to make Pidge smile, she was somehow amazing as she was able to look after them, the way she smile brings happiness within their hearts, and her eyes sparkle brighter than the stars in space. Pidge smile remembering how Lana makes her smile when she's sad, and now Lana is hurt and in the clutches of the Galra and needs help.
"You know, Rover, I haven't always been there for my team. But this time I will be. Come on." Said Pidge as she runs off with Rover.
Meanwhile in the vents of the Castle of Lions, the Altean Mice were heading to the particle barrier generator room to shut down the barrier so Keith and Allura will get into the castle, while a large diffuser was running through the hallways trying to hide from the sentries and do the exact same thing.
Meanwhile back at the Balmera, Hunk is repairing the Altean flight pod as Shay watches him fix the pod with her face leaning against her hand.
"Tell me, what is the sky like?" Asked Shay looking curious.
"The sky?" Said Hunk looking surprised at Shay. "You seriously have never even seen the sky?"
"No... but, at night, I sneak up as high as I dare, trying to imagine what it is like." Said Shay as she climbs on top of the flight pod. "Oh, lucky are you to fly in this machine to worlds far from here."
"Well, it doesn't have to be like this. You can be free, too." Said Hunk smiling at Shay.
"Free?" Said Shay not understanding what the word means.
"Yeah, free. It means you can go where you want, be what you want, do what you want. No Galra masters to tell you what to do." Said Hunk explaining what being free means.
"It makes no sense. Zarkon controls everything." Said Shay looking confused.
"Nope. No, things are changing." Said Hunk as he crossed his arms. "Have you heard of Voltron?"
"A child's tale." Said Shay with a small laugh and Hunk look unimpressed.
"It's real. I'm one of the Paladins, and Voltron is going to defeat Zarkon." Said Hunk smiling at Shay.
"You are?" Asked Shay a little hopeful till Rax appears.
"Stop filling this one's head with your shadow show! The cavern is our home. This will never change. Come." Said Rax as Shay reluctantly leaves with her brother and Hunk frowns as they leave.
Meanwhile on Planet Arus, inside the Castle of Lions, Haxus is in the Central Energy Chamber as he was speaking with Sendak through the computer.
"Powering sub panels." Said Haxus informing Sendak.
"Sub panel energy transducer is go." Said Sendak over the coms.
"Aye, sir. Opening pathway to link with Bridge. Initializing main cluster reboot." Said Haxus as he began rebooting.
What he didn't know was that Pidge is climbing a ladder on the wall to hack into the Castle's computer system through an open panel using her armor's computer.
"Gotcha." Said Pidge as she smirks
"Initializing complete. I'm set for main power up." Said Haxus looking over the engine.
"The Bridge is go." Said Sendak over the coms.
"Powering up." Said Haxus powering up the engine and Pidge overload the engine with her armor's computer.
"And up, and up, and up, I would not want to be touching a metal surface when this thing overloads." Said Pidge and the alarm began blaring.
"Sir, something is wrong." Said Haxus looking over the computer.
Suddenly the engine overloads which sends out an explosion in energy, which Haxus got caught in the blast and is now wounded. However Pidge grabs Rover as it hovers to avoid being electrocuted, and Rover brings Pidge down to Haxus.
"You're the one causing all this trouble? A child?" Said Haxus glaring at Pidge.
"I'm not a child. I'm a Paladin of Voltron." Said Pidge and Haxus laughs.
"Let me tell you something, child." Said Haxus drawing out his sword. "I'm a soldier of the Galra Empire. Nothing stops me but triumph or death."
Haxus yells as he began battling Pidge. Pidge was able to strike Haxus with her grappling hook, but he somehow catches the rope and throws Pidge aside from the engine room.
"Nowhere left to run. Nowhere left to hide." Said Haxus smirking evilly at Pidge.
Just as Haxus prepares to kill Pidge, Rover suddenly appears and manage to distract him. Then Pidge dives between Haxus's legs and throws him off-balance on the catwalk. Then Rover slams into Haxus to knock him over but Haxus somehow grabs Rover to avoid falling.
"Rover!" Shouted Pidge worrying for her drone friend.
Then Rover began beeping as it deactivates to let Haxus fall, which also means it will fall with him, when suddenly a big green streak came across and grabs Rover, causing Haxus to let go and fall to his demise.
"Rover!" Said Pidge in relief as she hugs Rover close to her chest.
'I'm glad that Rover is okay.' Said a female voice.
Pidge look up to see none other than the Green Lion. Apparently, shortly when Sendak have capture and chained the lions, Green managed to escape without Sendak noticing.
"GREEN!" Shouted Pidge running towards the Green Lion and hugs her. "I'm so sorry Green, I was just so desperate to find my family. . . That I didn't know that. . ."
'Calm my Paladin, it's not your fault and I'm not angry at you, I understand how much pain the Galra put you through after capturing your family, I'm just glad you're alright, Katie.' Said Green and Pidge's eyes widen.
"Wait. . . How do you know. . ." Asked Pidge looking at Green.
'That you're a girl, when we bonded, I can be able to tell your gender by the quintessence in me.' Said Green smiling at Pidge. 'But don't worry, your secret is safe with me, till you're ready to reveal your secret.'
Pidge smile at Green as she hugs her lion tight and Green wrap her paw around her Paladin and hugs her back, and then Sendak interrupts their moment through the computer.
"Haxus, report in." Said Sendak and Pidge answered.
"Haxus is gone, and you're next!" Said Pidge frowning and Green growl in anger.
"You've slowed me down, but this ship is mine! You will turn yourself over to me immediately!" Said Sendak yelling over the coms.
"Never!" Yelled Pidge with a frowned. "I'll never turn myself in and I'll never give you my lion!"
"Well, then, maybe your leader can convince you." Said Sendak and Pidge froze.
"What do you want?" Said Shiro through the computer.
"Your friend wanted to hear from you." Said Sendak evilly.
"Shiro?" Said Pidge sounding a bit scared.
"Pidge?" Said Shiro over the coms. "Pidge, don't listen to. . ."
Shiro was going to warn Pidge, till Sendak tortures Shiro by using his prosthetic gauntlet, and Pidge can hear Shiro's screams.
"No!" Shouted Pidge in fear for Shiro.
"You can make it stop. Turn yourself in. His suffering is in your hands." Said Sendak cutting of communication.
"What are we going to do, Green?" Asked Pidge looking at her lion.
'I don't know Pidge, but we have to be very cautious, Red has told me and the other lions that Sendak is Zarkon's most loyal commander.' Said Green looking at Pidge. 'His motto is victory or death, and as far as we can see, victory has always been at his side.'
"Then we need to think of something quickly." Said Pidge as she tries to come up with a plan.
Meanwhile back on the Balmera, Hunk and Coran stand with Shay and Rax in their home, and Rax has his arms crossed.
"Is your ship repaired that you may depart our presence?" Asked Rax rudely at Hunk and Coran.
"Uh. . . Are you saying that you want us to leave?" Asked Hunk looking at Rax.
"Yes." Said Rax frowning at Hunk.
"Well, it's working, but we can't leave without the Crystal." Said Hunk and turns to Coran. "You come up with any ideas how to get it?"
"Actually, yes." Said Coran grinning at Hunk.
Coran's plan is to disguise themselves as a Galra Sentry with Hunk as the legs and Coran wearing a helmet as he sits on Hunk's shoulders, while the both of them are wrapped in a blanket, however they can barely keep upright, as Hunk tries to balance them both.
"I can't believe I'm the legs again. I'm the one who took down the guard. I should get to be the head." Said Hunk sounding frustrated.
"Shh! Legs don't talk." Said Coran shushing at Hunk.
Then Hunk and Coran approach the two Sentries , who are guarding the Crystal, while wearing their in disguise.
"Oh, hello, gentlemen, shift's over. Boss needs you back at the guard shack." Said Coran to the two Sentries.
"Verify identification code." Said the Sentry.
"Right, I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm going to have to pull rank. You guys are in big trouble, right? So, hand over those blasters and ID badges." Said Coran till the Sentries take aim.
"Verify identification code or be destroyed." Said the Sentry repeating what it said before.
"Okay, okay. I've got it right... here!" Said Coran throwing off the disguise.
Then Hunk aims his Bayard cannon at the two Sentries and began blasting them, which destroyed them. Then Coran gets off of Hunk, goes to the Crystal and place his hands on it, which began to glow brightly blue.
"What are you doing? We got to hurry!" Said Hunk urging Coran to hurry.
"I'm not just going to pry this out of here like some Galra monster. The Balmera is a sacred being." Said Coran looking at Hunk. "You have to communicate with it. Let your life forces connect. This is the way it was done in our time."
"Whoa. You really know your Balmeras." Said Hunk impressed by Coran's knowledge.
The Balmera responds to Coran's offer and exposes the Crystal entirely. The Crystal nearly falls over, but Ciran was able to catch it, however the crystal was so heavy that Coran ended up injuring his spine in the process.
"I think I'm broken." Said Coran in pain.
Hunk sighs at Coran till he hears the sound of laser blasters being armed and turns to see they are surrounded by Galra Sentries.
"Augh... Okay, guys! All right, I hate to do this. Blasters and badges. Come on. Give them up!" Said Coran but falls over from pain and Hunk raises his arms in surrender.
Meanwhile back on Planet Arus, Pidge and the Green Lion both lurk near the entrance to the Main Bridge in the Castle of Lions and listens as Sendak speaks to a severely injured and near-unconscious Shiro, with Lana next to him still unconscious.
"I'm impressed that you managed to escape. Perhaps it would be worth the trip to your planet to see if the rest of your kind have your spirit. Of course, they will all end up broken, just like you. Now that we have Voltron, every planet, every race, all share the same fate." Said Sendak evilly at Shiro.
Meanwhile back at the Balmera, Hunk and Coran are both locked in a cell after being captured by the Galra Sentries.
"Quiznak! I can't believe they saw through our disguise." Said Coran till he and Hunk hear footsteps. "Someone's coming!"
Hunk and Coran both got up and they saw Shay appear carrying a Galra Sentry arm, as she approached to their cell.
"Shay?" Said Hunk in confusion.
Then Shay uses the Sentry arm on the cell scanner to unlock the cell, and the cell barrier disappears.
"Make haste to your pod. The Crystal is prepared for departure." Said Shay informing Hunk and Coran.
"How did you get the Crystal?" Asked Coran in shocked.
"I was assigned to take it to the upper levels, but instead I took it down. Soon, they will discover my ruse. Time is short." Said Shay about to guide them out till Hunk stop her.
"Why are you helping us? You'll get in trouble." Said Hunk worrying for Shay's life.
"Because your words touched my heart. I wish for freedom for all Balmera. Perhaps your Voltron can make it so." Said Shay looking at Hunk with hope in her eyes.
Hunk looks determined realizing the pain and suffering Zarkon has put the universe through, and understood that he and the others are their only hope for freedom. So Hunk, Coran, and Shay all run for the flight pod, till they saw Rax with Sentries armed.
"No. Rax, why?" Asked Shay sounding heartbroken.
"These two bring only trouble to our family. It was the only way to protect you." Said Rax and Hunk angrily readies his Bayard.
"No! The Balmera will save us." Said Shay placing her hand on the ground to contact the Balmera.
"Shay, no!" Shouted Rax as he backs away.
The Balmera responds to Shay's contact and causes rocks to fall from the cave to crushing the Sentries. Hunk, Coran, and Shay all run for the flight pod, but some Sentries survive the rocks and capture Shay.
"Shay!" Shouted Hunk as the Sentries pull her back.
"Go! Make haste!" Shout Shay looking at Hunk.
"Let her go!" Shouted Hunk preparing to charged at them.
"No, Hunk! We have to go!" Shouted Coran who's already in the pod.
Hunk hesitate at first cause he doesn't want to leave Shay, but more sentries and Galra fighter jets arrive, so Hunk enters the Altean flight pod with Coran, and looks back at Shay.
"I'll come back for you, Shay! I promise!" Said Hunk as the pod closed.
"If we can't shake these patrols, we might be back here sooner than we want!" Said Coran as he and Hunk leave in the flight pod pursued by Galra fighter jets.
Meanwhile in the Planet Arus, the Altean Mice infiltrate the Generator Room of the Castle of Lions and take out the last Galra Sentry guarding it. They press the button on the control panel to deactivate the particle barrier. Outside, Keith and Allura watch the barrier disappear.
"It worked!" Said Keith smiling at Allura.
"They did it!" Said Allura proud of her move as she and Keith head inside the Castle.
Meanwhile at the Main Bridge, Sendak was checking over the system till he sees Pidge and the Green Lion on the computer of the Castle Bridge. He turns to attack and pursue them out of the Bridge and chase them. However Sendak didn't know he is chasing holograms, and Pidge rushes inside the Bridge with Green besides her to speak to Shiro.
"Shiro, wake up. It's me, Pidge. . ." Said Pidge trying to wake Shiro till she's caught by Sendak's gauntlet.
"You really thought your little hologram trick would work with me?" Said Sendak evilly.
The Green Lion growled in anger as she and Rover attack Sendak, but Sendak was too strong and throw them from the other side of the Main Bridge. Then Keith and Allura enter the Main Bridge, and Keith summons his Bayard to fight.
"Stand back!" Shouted Sendak holding Pidge.
Suddenly Sendak got struck from behind, causing him to drop Pidge, he was shot by Lana's Bayard rifle, who was able to regained consciousness enough to shoot the Galra Commander and she passes out again. Then Shiro rushes at Sendak to attack, till he got knocked aside. Then Keith began to battle Sendak, but the Galra Commander throws Keith aside, then Pidge tried to attack but Sendak throw her aside where Keith and Shiro are.
They all groaned and Sendak smirk evilly as he was going to attack them, till suddenly the Blue Lion, Red Lion, Green Lion, Yellow Lion, and Black Lion began attacking Sendak. While Sendak was attacking the Paladins, the Green Lion was able to free the other four lions.
As the five lions attack, Sendak was able to throw the Black Lion, Blue Lion, Yellow Lion, and Red Lion, but the Green Lion was able to grab hold of Sendak's prosthetic arm, and looking at Pidge and signaling her. Then Pidge charged Sendak with her Bayard and severs the energy chain to his gauntlet, rendering it useless.
"No!" Shouted Sendak enraged and battles Pidge.
Then Allura managed to sneak past Sendak and began accessing the Main Bridge's computer. Then began attacking Sendak again, till the Galra Commander catches his Bayard's blade, and Allura readies the computer.
"Keith, now!" Shouted Allura to Keith.
Then Keith kicks Sendak into the center of the Main Bridge and then a barrier began rising up, trapping Sendak. Afterward, Pidge frees Shiro with her Bayard with the Green and Black Lion checking on them, while Keith checks on Lance with the Blue and Red Lion with them.
"Lana, are you okay?" Asked Keith helping Lana upright.
"We did it. We are a good team." Said Lana smiling at Keith.
Keith's heart flutter a bit and smiles back at Lana. Then Lana began to pass out again and falls on Keith's chest, Keith blush a bit till he realizes Lana needs medical attention now, so Keith carried Lana princess-style and cradled her in his arms.
'Lana. . . Oh no!' Said Blue worrying for her Paladin.
'Don't worry Blue, Lana will be okay, we just have to wait for Yellow's Paladin and Coran to come back with the crystal.' Said Red comforting Blue.
'Oh, I hope they get back soon.' Said Blue worrying for Lana.
Meanwhile at the Balmera, Hunk and Coran are fleeing from Galra fighter jets as they try to escape them.
"We can't shake them! We're not going to make it!" Said Coran panicking at the situation.
Hunk panic a bit, till he remembers the booster fuel Pidge installed in ten pod and motions to press the button.
"Uh, it may turn us into a giant fireball." Said Coran reminding Hunk.
"Maybe, but it's our only chance." Said Hunk and
Coran hesitates but sees more Galra jets approaching.
"Fine. Fire in the hole!" Shouted Coran as Hunk presses the button and the flight pod blasts into the sky and Coran cheers.
"We did it!" Shouted Hunk cheering as they fly back to Arus.
Back on Planet Arus, Hunk and Coran arrived in time, as they installed the crystal in the Main Bridge, powering up the castle, and Lana is changed into a cryosuit and is placed inside a pod. Allura, Keith, Shiro, and Pidge stand by her in the Sleep Chamber, while the Green Lion, Blue Lion, Red Lion, and Black Lion are standing at the other side of Lana's pod.
"After a day in here, she should be fully healed." Said Allura informing the Paladins.
'Oh, I hope Lana will be okay.' Said Blue worrying for Lana.
'Don't worry Blue, Allura said that she'll be fine in a day.' Said Black smiling softly at Blue.
'Yeah Blue, she'll be alright, she's strong just like her lion.' Said Red smiling at Blue and Blue smile back at Red, then Shiro approaches to Pidge.
"Pidge, we can't thank you enough for all you did. I can't help but feel that you were meant to be a part of our team. . . But I understand if you want to leave." Said Shiro looking at Pidge.
"Dad used to tell me how close he was with his crew members. They were like family. Now, I understand what he was talking about." Said Pidge and Shiro smiles at her. "I'm staying with you guys. Let's stop Zarkon for all of our families."
"Good to have you back on the team." Said Keith as he and Allura smile at Pidge, and Pidge smiles fondly at her team.
'I'm glad you are staying Pidge, I knew I made the right choice of choosing as my Paladin.' Said Green smiling at Pidge.
Pidge smiles at her lion and pets her head gently, they all look back at Lana and hope he'll be alright.