Forgotten but not Lost

by KayJayComicArt

A strange woman from an unknown planet has crash landed on Olkarion wearing Galra armor and has no memory of her life prior. She soon joins the Coalition in an attempt to regain her forgotten memories and help the universe escape Zarkon's grasp. But in doing so she meets a man with flowing white hair...just who is he and why does he claim to know her? LotorxOC, Alternate Reality.

13. Ch12: Hangups in the Hangar

Chapter 12 - Hangups in the Hangar

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A/N: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender.

I just own Ziera, Colran, Sephiras, Janze and any other OCs mentioned in this fic that isn't canon.

WARNING: Contains violence, death, racism, implications of sexual acts, Lance's flirting, and other things that may cause some readers discomfort.

I want to apologize for how long it's been since I posted a chapter here. I spent a long time without my ADHD medication and am finally at a point where the new medication is taking effect. I'm able to concentrate once again, and my anxiety over making a terrible chapter is substantially lower as a result.

However, I am still worried. So if there are any inconsistencies between this chapter and the others, or mistakes I missed, please let me know!

Enjoy!

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The sound of heavy machinery hitting the ground, and tools being pulled from toolboxes filled the Castle of Lion's hangar in the early hours of the morning. Ziera, who had worked hard on building herself a competent fighter jet for the battle against Zarkon, was on her back beneath the control panel of her newfound ship already tinkering with the wiring; despite the early hour. She was making some last-minute adjustments to the connectors leading to the lasers, hoping to speed up the reaction time by a fraction of a second just so she could fire faster without risking a delayed reaction.

Once she had the wiring in place her first order of business was to start up her ship for the first time, after all, if it didn't activate as intended, she couldn't test the weapon systems.

But, if she managed to get all these components to work, she would be good to go.

.. For a test flight, at least.

She felt her heart racing excitedly at the thought of being able to fly her own ship, her pride and joy; but also the smallest twinge of fear from her claustrophobic crash landing.

'No...' She thought stubbornly, shoving the concerns she had to the back of her mind with a sharp shake of her head. 'I don't have time to be scared, the others need me to stay strong so I can be their backup. I can do this, I will do this!' She pulled herself out from under the controls and sat up, stretching her arms above her head before she stood up and turned to see Slav standing on one of the wings of her masterpiece, tinkering with the mechanics on the side of the cockpit. "How's it going out there, Slav?" She asked, truly happy to have such a genius working alongside her on the pinnacle project of her engineering career.

Though she was a little anxious, given Coran had already told her about what he did with the Teladuv. Thankfully, there weren't any rocks in the castle. At least, she didn't think there was. She hoped there wasn't.

"Well, I've managed to work in an auto-repair system for your ship!" He said. "When you take serious damage from the fatal blasters of Zarkon's many, many weapons, a small drone will emerge and fix whatever problems they cause." He sweatdropped. "So long as the problem isn't that you're crash landing on a strange planet with no chances of survival..." His expression seemed to shift to mild dread. "If that happened, you'd be dead before the drone could even register the impact!"

Of course, Ziera felt sweat slide down her own cheek at the mere thought, his words were both freakishly accurate and downright unnerving, so she could only laugh humorlessly in response. "So... how does it work?" She asked, hoping to steer the conversation a little more towards the technical side of their collaboration.

This made the multi-armed alien perk up excitedly, as he let out a gleeful sound and pulled out his trusty rock. Instantly, the color drained from Ziera's cheeks. "Allow me to demonstrate!" He said, before hitting the wing with intense force multiple times.

Ziera let out a yelp, then a yowl as the striking continued. It was a catlike sound that left a haunting chill in the hearts of those who heard it. Her back straightened up, and if she'd been born with fur, it would have bristled at the sight. "What are you doing?!" She cried out, wanting to lunge for him and snatch the rock out of his hands.

After a fair few hits, thanks to the sturdy design of the machine, the smallest of dents appeared, causing Ziera's stomach to drop in horror. This was her masterpiece, her baby, her work of art... and he'd tarnished it!

Before she could get angry, something that was rare in and of itself, the compartment Slav added opened up and a small robot with a similar design to her ship stepped out on three legs, almost like an A.I powered tripod. It scanned the length of the ship's wing and quickly rushed over to the dent as its red-lined sight glided over the imperfection and detected it as an abnormality to the ship's blueprints. Slav stepped out of the way and the two engineering whizzes watched as the small robot began to use a complicated series of high-tech tools to melt the metal, shape it into a perfectly aligned fragment of the wing, then cooled the metal to return it to a sturdy, undamaged state, all within an impressively short amount of time.

Ziera watched the machine in awe as it assessed its work, then returned to its compartment on the side of her captain's quarters. It stepped inside and with a hissing sound the small opening sealed shut, leaving no traces of the machine's actions or even where it was residing.

Slav hummed stroking his chin as he pouted down at his practically flawless design. "The robot still moves at a speed unfit for battle." He started, leaning down until he was almost touching the metal with his eye, before squinting with scrutiny. "I should continue to run tests until I can calibrate it to perfection-!"

"No!" She cried out, startling both herself and the eccentric genius with her booming volume. She blushed and cleared her throat, relaxing a little. "N-no, it's fine, Slav, really." She smiled sheepishly. "While the robot is repairing my ship, I can provide backup fire from a distance, it's perfect just the way it is."

This was the first machine she had built without causing some sort of explosion, if Slav continued to beat at it with a rock, that apparently defied logic and could appear out of nowhere; she may just lose that one little victory.

Oh, and about a chunk of the hangar's walls and floor in the process.

"Hmmm, if you say so." The worm-like alien said slowly, eyes narrowed suspiciously at her nervous smile. But that didn't last long, as he quickly perked up once again almost giving the engineer whiplash from his erratic emotions. "The good news is, according to my calculations..." He started counting the fingers on his many hands. "This tiny modification has improved our chances of surviving the suicidal final battle from nonexistent to highly unlikely! If your ship doesn't stall upon activation, we can change that probability to straight-up unlikely!" He then sweatdropped and his body began to tense. "However, if your ship doesn't start up at all, or even fails after activation, then our chances drop from nonexistent to-!"

"Whoa, whoa, easy now!" The feline interrupted, raising her hands and lowering them in a calming manner, she could feel his stress levels rising from her place inside the cockpit, and it was starting to unnerve her as well. "I've fine-tuned this ship to the stars and back if it doesn't start up the first time, I'll be rather surprised. I've had a lot of help with this design, I trust it'll work as intended."

"I sure hope you're right. Because I don't think there's a level lower than nonexistent that can be measured in words!" Slav cried out, obviously panicking now as he worked himself into a frenzy.

Ziera laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek with her clawed finger as she felt the stress of his words weigh heavily on her mind. While she was honored to be working with a genius, she was starting to see why Shiro lost his patience around Slav rather quickly.

His words were both remarkably accurate and far too blunt. Even her optimistic self struggled to keep positive when he started talking.

However, she didn't let his mood swings sway her any longer, she quickly packed up her tools and held them out towards Slav. "You might want to take these and step back a little~!" She said gleefully, her cat-like smile evident as she felt the excitement begin to outweigh the stress.

It was finally time for her to rev the engines and test out her first known attempt at creating a fighter jet. Never in her life had she built something so large and complicated and saw it to completion without any explosions, errors or complications along the way. Even from what she remembered about her past, she had some serious trouble getting her original ship to work as intended; and as far as she was aware, she never actually saw that project to completion.

Not that she remembered much past her interaction with Denzie.

Her family and home life were still such a blur; for all she knew, the ship actually belonged to her brother. However, she doubted that probability, since she remembered loving it far too much for it not to be her's.

"Okay, remember..." The multi-armed alien pulled her out of her thoughts as he carefully took the toolkit out of her hand. "If you do get your ship in the air, turn in a full circle seven times, counter-clockwise!"

"Why, does it help with the calibration or something?" She asked, she'd never heard of a technique like that before.

"No! If you don't, then our chances of survival will-!"

"We won't need to do that." Ziera interrupted quickly. "It'll work, trust me." She then watched as he finally relented in his pestering and clambered off the wing of her ship, allowing her to press a button above her head which caused the cockpit window to materialize and hiss shut as she settled comfortably in the pilot's seat. She felt a surreal sense of familiarity in her enclosed surroundings, but she had no idea why. 'Maybe I did finish that first ship I made...' She thought, stroking the control panel as she marveled her finest work.

Though she didn't get to enjoy it for long, as she felt a sharp pain in her temple and cried out, lurching forward as she gripped her hair tightly in her clawed fingers.

There was nothing but blackness in the depths of Ziera's newest memory. Though she could hear footsteps, she couldn't see them, as if the picture was incomplete. The memory too deep for her to unearth completely.

"You wish to pilot a ship?" A deep male voice asked, breaking through the silence.

"Yes, I want to help you," Ziera said, her tone dripping with confidence and a naive hope she had always carried with her.

"You're already helping far more than you realize, do you truly believe you need to sacrifice more?"

"You do." She pointed out, causing the other set of footsteps beside her to falter, leading her own to stop as well. She heard the shifting of feet and knew the person had turned to face her. "Every day you sacrifice far more than I ever could to help my people... Why can't I do the same for you?"

A quiet pause echoed in the darkness, almost deafening in the already unfamiliar space.

"... Alright, I can see your resolve is unwavering. I'll help you, and maybe we'll find another talent hidden in that inquisitive mind of your's."

"Thank you, I won't let you down."

Ziera gasped as the darkness of the memory was suddenly replaced with a blinding light and she opened her eyes to find herself back in the pilot's seat of her newest creation, eyes wide and fingers cramping within her muted cyan locks. Slowly, she looked up and eased the grip on her hair, opening and closing her fists to relax her aching digits.

'Wh-who was that?' She thought, she'd heard that voice before, but she couldn't recall where. 'Someone... taught me to pilot a ship?'

The most frustrating memories she dealt with were the ones without visuals, and now more than ever she wanted to scream to the Divine Beings, demand just a little break from their rigorous testing of her faith. She just wanted answers, and it seemed with every one she found, there were a thousand new questions that came with it.

But... There was something good to be gleaned from her latest, and most frustrating recollection... and that was the knowledge that she had already flown a ship once before. Not just a crashing pod, but an actual ship built with the intent to fight. If that was the case, perhaps flying her new ship would trigger a memory that returned all the basics to the forefront of her mind, making her lessons a little easier before the final battle took place.

She could only hope with time she'd understand herself better and maybe figure out who that strange, yet somewhat familiar, voice belonged to.

Allowing the memory to settle into the recesses of her mind for the time being, the feline took in the cockpit before her. The large control panel which had yet to be switched on, along with the many buttons and steering components that'd allow her to traverse all depths of space with ease were all laid out, eager to be tested and used to protect the universe. Nervous excitement began to bloom in her chest, and her lips pulled back into an excited smile as she strapped herself in and prepared to take flight.

'This is it!' She thought, almost bouncing in her seat. 'I'm finally going to fly my own ship!'

And with that, she pressed a series of buttons which caused the engine to whirr to life. Every monitor in front of her lit up, basking the small space in a wonderful shade of blue. Her heart began to pound, and she took hold of the joysticks used to control the craft.

However, just as she began to pull them back and her ship's large structure moved to lift off from the ground, the lights within the cockpit switched off and the whirring of the engine's crystal power source ceased with a small blip; filling the inside of the ship with darkened silence. Ziera's giddy excitement washed away as her shoulders sagged and she groaned, planting her forehead against the black screen on the control panel.

Of course, it'd stop working. Slav's predictions were freakishly accurate, after all.

With a heavy breath, she straightened up and looked at the various controls, pressing a few in hopes of restarting her ship's engine. Sadly, the vessel refused to respond, and she let her form deflate even further with defeat. "Looks like I've got more work to do." She mumbled. Her mind whirred with theories on the ship's faulty start as she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up, able to see across the vast space of the hangar from her new vantage point.

To her surprise, as she looked down the nose of the ship and to the left of the large vehicle, instead of seeing Slav freaking out on the ground nearby as she had expected; she was met with the sight of the multi-armed alien chatting with Hunk. Upon seeing the female engineer rise from her seat, the food-loving pilot waved at her with a bright smile.

Seeing this pulled her out of the small funk her minor failure had caused, and she let out a huff of soft laughter before she waved back. She lifted her hand to the button above and watched as the window sealing her in dissolved into nothing more than Quintessence which was absorbed into the ship.. "Hey, Hunk." She started, vaulting over the small ledge of the cockpit window onto the axis connecting her ship to the versatile wing of the spacecraft. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon, I thought you'd be with the others, planning for the fight against Zarkon." She said, walking across the strong, metal surface until she paused near the two tech-loving nerds and jumped down, landing right in front of them in an elegant, feline fashion.

"Uh, it's past lunchtime, Era." Hunk said simply, which made his tech-loving friend blush brightly. "We finished our meeting hours ago." He shrugged his shoulder, a silent reassurance that she wasn't a complete airhead for forgetting such an important and heavy conference. "Shiro wants to see you later." He pouted as he tried to remember what Shiro said. "Uh, I was thinking about what I should make for lunch, so I dunno what he said, but I think it had something to do with your part in the plan."

Ziera nodded. "I'll make sure to find the time." She tilted her head to the side. "But is that the only reason you came here? If you've got some time off, you should be enjoying yourself, not delivering messages."

"Oh, I didn't just come here for that!" He turned and picked something up off the ground behind his feet, holding it out to his feline friend. It was a fairly large lunchbox with a clear lid that showed a variety of tasty treats inside, including sandwiches and even some flaky pastries. "I thought I'd bring you a little something, y'know, to recharge your batteries." His bright smile fell into a scolding pout. "I didn't see you get breakfast this morning, so I got worried! Y'know you can't work well on an empty stomach, right?"

This made the alien engineer laugh meekly as she took the lunchbox. "I know, I got caught up in my theoretical designs and needed to see if they worked in a practical sense." She admitted, feeling her stomach rumble at the sight of the delicious feast he'd given her. She truly had neglected her own needs for her creative endeavors.

However, her mind was elsewhere, and she couldn't put a pin in her thoughts just yet, so she turned back to her ship, while Slav slithered into view. "I, uh..." He started, pressing the index fingers of his many hands together. "I don't suppose there's any food for me?"

Hunk smiled and picked up a second lunchbox off the floor and held it out for the alien scientist, who exclaimed in glee before he snatched it and began to devour the meal without hesitation. For someone so anxious, he didn't half have an appetite. It would have warmed the Yellow Paladin's heart, had he not been worrying about Ziera.

"Hey, is something wrong?" The mechanic asked his feline friend, whose ears twitched, the only indication she gave to hearing him.

"Well-" She started.

Without missing a beat, Slav stepped between the two and spoke with confidence, sandwich crumbs littered around his mouth and his eyes closed, as if knowing full well what he said next was a fact. "Maybe she finally realized that there is a ninety-eight percent chance that her desire to fight by your sides would lead to her inevitable end within a ball of flaming metal!" He planted his hands on his hips, awaiting their awestruck response to his insightful observations.

However, when no words or sounds were uttered, his confident demeanor fizzled away once he opened his eyes and saw them both giving him the most intense, yet somehow gentlest glares he'd ever witnessed. "D-did I say something wrong?"

The alien engineer sighed and shook her head, looking from the two back to her ship. "No, that's not it." She said, walking over to her masterpiece and stroking the outer metal wall. "It's just that I've poured my heart and soul into this jet, but I just can't get it off the ground. It starts up just fine, but it immediately powers down again straight after... I'm at a loss of what to do next."

Hunk hummed and stroked his chin as he too inspected the ship, though from a distance. "Mind if I take a look?" He asked, eyes warm and smile wide. He wanted to help her, like she wanted to help them.

However, once again, Slav had to stick his nonexistent nose in. "No need!" He stated confidently, raising his finger as his other arms crossed together. "I'm all over it, with a few tweaks and damage tests, I can-"

"Be my guest!" Ziera interrupted, knowing what those 'damage tests' led to. He was not going anywhere near her ship with that rock of his. Not unless he wanted to see it jettisoned out into the depths of space.

Slav sagged as Hunk walked over to his alien ally, leaving the genius to pout in response to their blatant and rude ignorance. It didn't take long for the two to hunker down and begin working on the ship together, while Slav trudged off to the side, helping himself to Ziera's lunch, which she had forgotten about.

They inspected the vessel from top to bottom, and Ziera even demonstrated the issue to Hunk while he watched, before giving it a try himself with the same results.

All the while, Slav would bombard them with his reality-based theories and how they died in various universes across space and time. Which was reassuring, the say the least.

By the time the Castle's internal clock struck evening, the two tech-loving nerds were sitting on the floor surrounded by plans and blueprints, alone. Slav had grown bored of watching them work, especially since they wouldn't let him help much; and instead went to 'assist' Coran with the Castle's maintenance. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Ziera sighed and leaned back, resting against her hands as she let her head drop backwards with her eyes closed. "Divine Beings, give me strength!" She whined, sitting back up to rub her temples. "This is infuriating, what could be causing the ship to power down so suddenly?"

"Well, we know it isn't a wiring issue or a programming issue... we've checked all that." Hunk chimed in, counting on his hand how many things they'd tried. "And the design itself doesn't have any flaws that'd cause a full-blown power outage, so..." He pouted with a defeated shrug. "I'm stumped."

Their thoughts were interrupted when Ziera's stomach let out an unholy sound, surprising the pair of them. The feline blushed and laughed nervously. "I forgot to eat again." She admitted, turning to collect the lunchbox that had long gone cold. To her surprise, the generously sized container was completely empty. "What the...?"

Hunk snickered, fighting back a smile. "Looks like Slav helped himself while we were busy."

Ziera giggled. "It seems so." She couldn't begrudge him, it had to be exhausting carrying all that anxiety everywhere he went.

The Yellow Paladin stood up and dusted off his butt before he held a hand out to his female friend. "C'mon, we can't get anything done on an empty stomach!"

"But..."

"Ah, bub, bub, bub!" He said, pinching the air on one side of his lip before sliding them to the other side, miming a zipper. "Nope, I don't wanna hear it! Food time, now!"

Ziera pouted for a moment before she relented and took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. She then quickly scooped up her plans. "Alright fine, but I'm taking these with me."

Hunk groaned. "Fine, fine!" He waved off her stubborn response and began walking out of the hangar with her following behind, still reading through her own work. "Geez, you're as bad as Pidge..."

"I choose to take that as a compliment, Pidge is an incredible scientist."

"Yeah, but she also forgets to eat in favor of working." He emphasized. "Guess that's what I'm here for, a gentle reminder that food is just as important as building machines~!"

"I'm certain Pidge, myself and Janze would disagree wholeheartedly." She glanced up from her plans to flash him a small smile. "I went many a night back on Olkarion drawing up plans with Ryner and Janze for new forest-dwelling machines." She flipped to the page tucked beneath her blueprints for a second, before flipping back. "And while my plans didn't work without Ryner's intervention to ensure the theory matched the practical, once we finished the results of those long evenings were the wooden mechs you all seem so fond of."

"Wait, you helped make those?" Hunk paused and spun around, almost causing the poor feline to crash into him, thankfully she'd learned to walk and read long before she met any of them. "That's dope."

"'Dope?'" She repeated with a questioning tone, as she lowered her blueprints and knitted her brows together.

"Oh, right, Earth slang." Hunk laughed and waved it off. "It's a compliment, usually it means something's pretty awesome or cool."

Ziera's ears lifted slightly. "Oh! Well, thank you~. But in all honesty, I was merely a helping hand in their design, the real bulk of the work was done by Ryner and Janze."

"Hey, you don't need to be modest!"

"I'm not, I'm merely stating the knowledge of engineering far exceeds my own, and I look up to them greatly for it."

Hunk relented, knowing she was humble to a fault. "Well, it's good to have role models! Just look at Shiro, everyone here looks up to him, he's the best leader anyone could ask for."

"I agree, and I too have great respect for him. Maybe he'd give me flying lessons after I complete my fighter jet?"

"Oh, about that..." Hunk laughed nervously as the two reached the kitchen and the door slid open with a mechanical hiss. "Lance already called dibs on teaching you how to pilot your ship. You should've heard him, 'if anyone's gonna teach Era how to fly, it'll be me, the best pilot here!'" He snickered as he mimicked his friend's voice, while Ziera giggled at the idea. "And obviously, that didn't sit right with Keith, so the two argued for about an hour over who got to teach you to fly."

"Oh dear." She slipped onto one of the barstool-like chairs that rested in front of the kitchen counter, where many a delicious dish had been served by Hunk, who took his rightful place behind it. "If it causes them so much trouble, I can take lessons from all of them." She looked down at her blueprints once again, hunched over to give her work the attention it deserved. "In fact, that seems like the best possible option, a variety of techniques taught to me by experts might make flying far easier in the long run."

"Yeah, but don't bite off more than you can chew..." The caring Yellow Paladin said, turning away from her to inspect some of the ingredients he had purposely placed on a shelf by the ovens for ease of access. "Treat your lessons like a fine meal, you have to take your time and study your ingredients well, or the final result will be inedible."

The feline had to fight the urge to snort. "Yes, I agree with you there. If you don't analyze your ingredients and pour over your recipes, then you may end up making more Scaultrite cookies~."

This caused the larger male to let out a booming laugh. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I chipped a tooth taste-testing those bad boys!"

"Well yes, I imagine you did. I doubt a crystal cookie could be perceived as 'edible-.'" Ziera's smile fell into shock as she suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Hold on..." She mumbled, darting her eyes down to the many illustrations of her beloved project. Without warning, she shot up from her chair and slammed her hands onto the counter, causing her friend to jump in surprise. "That's it!"

"W-wait, wait, wait!" Hunk stammered out, looking from her sparkling ombre eyes to the plans beneath her palms. "What's it, what's going on?"

Ziera flashed him a fanged grin as she pointed at the heart of her ship, where a small crystal was shown to be embedded within the engine. "The crystal that powers the ship! I can't believe I didn't see it before!" She pulled up a monitor out of thin air, programmed by Allura to show up when she needed it. She then started typing away on the translucent screen as she continued to explain. "The ship is no longer a pod suitable for short-range travel, but a large jet capable of hyper speeds and various aerial maneuvers. Not only that, it has several weapon systems that take quite a bit of power to operate!"

She finished typing and the blueprints appeared on the screen, the crystal glowing red as she replaced it with a larger, more powerful model. "The crystal isn't strong enough to power my ship! As soon as it starts, all that power is drained and it shuts down immediately! I need a new crystal!"

Hunk's confusion quickly switched to joy as he mirrored her grin. "Hey, that's great!"

"But that begs another question..." She hummed and stroked her chin. "Where would I find a suitable crystal at such short notice?"

"Well, Allura went to the Balmera, right?" The food-loving paladin shrugged. "She might have some we can use!" He quickly scrambled some snacks into a small basket and handed it to the alien feline, who was surprised by the sudden offering. "Here, take this to the hangar, I'll go find Allura and meet you there, okay?"

The surprise didn't last long and she nodded, beaming now as the slump she had found herself in dwindled away in her excitement. "Alright, thank you Hunk!"

"Don't thank me yet, we've still gotta find a crystal that'll work!"

With that, the two left the kitchen and went their separate ways, both with a mission in mind. Ziera would return to the ship and draw up the specifics of the crystal she'd need, while Hunk went on a quest to find as many of said crystals as he could.

With any luck, she'd have her ship finished by the morning!

~FbnL~

After what felt like an hour, but had actually just been thirty minutes, Hunk hurried back into the hangar with an armful of different crystals. Ziera's jaw almost dropped as he plopped the glowing natural batteries down in front of her, before planting his hands on his hips with pride. "Did somebody order a large helping of Balmera crystals?" He asked with a cheesy smile.

The feline laughed out loud in her shock and crouched down, looking at the multitude of gemlike power sources of all different shapes and sizes. "How did you even find so many so quickly?!"

"Well, Allura had a whole collection of them in her room, apparently they'd come loose when the crystal for the Teladuv was extracted, so the Balmerans gave them to her, sorta like they were saying 'good luck,' y'know?"

The engineer let a soft, joyous, purr echo in her throat as her tail swished gleefully. "Well, next time I see them, I'll have to give them something to say 'thank you,' won't I?"

"Hey, if you're doing that, lemme help! I bet we could whip up a great chocolate 'thank you' tart!" And as per usual, Hunk's mind began to wander down the rabbit hole of delicious foods. "Or maybe a 'thank you' cherry pie? Or something savory, like a 'thank you' steak drizzled in a sweet barbeque sauce and cooked to perfection~!" A grumble was heard and he pouted, placing a hand on his stomach. "Aw man, now I'm hungry..."

Ziera giggled, glancing up at him from her place among the gemstones. "I'll make you a deal~!" She said, plucking one of the crystals off the ground before she stood up and started walking towards her ship, twirling to saunter backwards as she kept the conversation going. "Once we have this ship in order, I'll make you one of my planet's signature dishes, how does that sound?"

"Awesome!" The man's eyes lit up so brightly, she could've sworn they sparkled like stars. "Then what're we waiting for, let's get this ship rolling!"

And that's what they attempted to do, for an hour or two, at the very least, the pair took turns swapping out crystals in an attempt to get the ship to start. But the power within the small gemstones varied between each sample, therefore it was a challenge to find one that had enough juice to sustain flight and also fit inside the mechanism she had installed to siphon the power and disperse it to all the systems within her complex design.

During this interval, the two would take one or two snacks from the basket prepared just to curb their hunger long enough to continue functioning at full capacity. While Hunk complained that he was hungry more than once, he too couldn't stop working, now just as determined to finish Ziera's ship as she was.

Eventually, Hunk took yet another turn at flying the ship, and their eyes lit up as it raised a little higher off the ground, but just as it seemed they had found their power source, the humming engine cut off and the entire thing hit the floor, jolting the pilot around inside.

Ziera, who had almost been tossed around multiple times, therefore wasn't worried; let out a heavy sigh as she looked at the heaping pile of used crystals, then the three tiny gems they had left to check. "Maybe I'm not meant to fight alongside them..." She mumbled to herself, closing her eyes as her ears drooped.

Hunk opened the fighter jet and got out, rolling his shoulder from the rough landing as he hopped off the wing and made his way over to her. "Nope, that one didn't work either." He said, sounding just as defeated as he tossed the crystal onto the reject pile. "So which one's next?"

Ziera thought for a moment. There was something she wasn't getting, something that would explain why she couldn't get them to work. She assumed the power of the gem was determined by its size, given the one used to power their large Teladuv. However, if that was the case, why were none of the bigger crystals doing anything to keep her ship in the air?

A curious thought popped into her mind and she walked over to the remaining stones and scooped up the smallest of the crystals. "Maybe... This one?" She showed it to him, and his brows lifted in surprise.

"Really? Isn't it a bit small?" He had an incredulous pout on his lips as he turned to the ship. "Look, I won't beat around the bush, that thing looks like it can barely power a microwave! I don't think it even fits, I'm pretty sure the slot for the crystal is twice that size!"

"Well, maybe that's the problem, maybe we're not focusing on the right attributes for the crystal..." Ziera crouched down alongside Hunk and the two looked at the two jewels left on the ground. "Look, see?" She reached over and held out the smallest gemstone beside the others. There was a difference between it and its brothers, while the gemstone was far smaller, it glowed far brighter and Ziera swore she could feel a static sensation in her palm just from making contact. "Maybe size doesn't equate to its power, but the volume of light it possesses."

To prove her theory, she straightened up and went to the reject pile, collecting the largest of the crystals there.

"Y'mean like a battery?"

"Yes, exactly. Just because a battery is small, doesn't mean it can't power something large, its the components within the battery itself that distinguish what it can control!" She turned to Hunk and with both crystals in hand, she brought them close together and the light inside their hard shells differed greatly. The smaller gemstone was far brighter than its large counterpart.

"Huh, I didn't think about it like that..." He stroked his chin. "Why don't you use that one then?" Hunk pointed to the one she had around her neck, which glowed far brighter than the others, given its proximity to the other stones of its kind. The suggestion alone had her straightening up in discomfort.

"No." She said, no ounce of hesitation in her tone. While it was a Galra crystal, and likely possessed a fair bit of Quintessence, if the light was anything to go by; she wasn't willing to part with it. Even if she wasn't sure why she couldn't separate herself from the decorative pendant, she knew that something in her would break if she were to remove it. "I've had this pendant since before I woke up on Olkarion, Melrak said I was wearing it when I crashed... It's... it must be important, so I won't let it go, not now, not ever."

The younger pilot stared at the jewel for a second, before he shot her a soft smile. "Okay, I get it! Everyone's got something they care about, right?"

She smiled back, her eyes dancing with gratitude. "Yeah. C'mon, let's see if my theory holds any water here." She rolled the small, pale blue gemstone in her palm a few times, before she gripped it tightly, determined to make it work.

"Hey, anything's better than what I can come up with!" Hunk said with a light laugh, sheepishly scratching his cheek with his finger, mirroring his feline friend's usual actions. It was obvious that he'd spent far too long in her company and her traits were rubbing off on him a little. "I still can't wrap my head around all this 'Quintessence' stuff, It's nothing like what we use back home on Earth!"

The feline stood up and walked over to her powerless ship. "I'm surprised. Quintessence is the universal fuel source, much like the language we're currently speaking, how come you know the language, but don't use the fuel?"

"Uh, you could say we're a bit behind on the whole space exploration thing." He rubbed the back of his neck and pouted. "Until we met Allura, our species weren't even sure aliens existed!"

"That must have been quite an overwhelming revelation." Ziera climbed into her ship, which Hunk had left open, and glanced down at the young man below. "Give me a second to tinker with the diametres of my crystal storage, then we'll try to get her moving, okay?"

"Okay!" He shot her thumbs up. "You've got this, Era! Show that ship we won't give up!"

The alien engineer nodded and tugged her goggles off the top of her head and secured them over her eyes. She then ducked down beneath the console, tugging her toolbox closer as she began her rigorous tinkering. It didn't take her very long to unscrew the panel hiding her handiwork from sight, but the true difficulty came in attempting to resize the socket the crystal fit into without causing any damage to the ship itself.

'I hope this works...' She thought as she laid down and grabbed a screwdriver from the box. 'Or I'm going to spend far too long reverting these changes back for the next test.'

And with that, she got to work, using her serious talents in engineering to carefully downsize the storage unit for her ship's power source. All the while, Hunk made a couple of trips to the kitchen just to bring back some snacks and drinks for her to enjoy while she worked hard on her newest passion project.

Half an hour in, she slid out from under the console and sat up, wiping the sweat from her brow with an oily hand, leaving a huge streak on her skin. Hunk snickered, and she blinked in confusion until he handed her a cloth and pointed at her forehead. She wiped it and blushed brightly at the stain left on the fabric.

A quick giggle and a small conversation break later, she laid back down and continued her diligent work, while Hunk clambered down to the ground below. Her ombre eyes remained fixed on the task at hand, and by the time a full hour passed, she let out a huge sigh of relief and placed her tools down at her side.

'It's finally finished!' She thought, trying to roll her shoulders in such a cramped environment, only to groan when she realized she didn't have the room. Normally she would have slipped out from beneath the console and done so, but she wasn't completely through with the work yet.

She still had to place the crystal in its new home.

"Hunk, do you have the Balmera crystal?" She called out, knowing he was close by, waiting for her to ask.

"Yep, right here!" The Yellow Paladin said from outside the ship, she heard him scramble back up before he peeked in with his hands against the bottom edge of the window. He then made a grunting sound as he stretched his arm into the vessel as far as he could so she could grab the gem from his waiting hand, which she did with a soft smile as thanks. "I hope this works!"

She nodded in agreement. "So do I, but we won't know until we test it, will we?"

"Yup, If it does work, I'll make some cookies to celebrate!"

The feline laughed, her tail swishing at the thought. "No, you won't." She scolded playfully. "I still have to make that meal I promised you!"

"Oooh, good point!" His mouth practically watered at the thought, and he had no idea what she was even making yet. "But I can still make cookies for after, right?"

She snickered. "Of course you can."

He was a funny one, that was for sure. She enjoyed spending time with the lighthearted, food-loving pilot of the Yellow Lion. He was a breath of fresh air in the tense atmosphere that had overtaken the castle as of late and she couldn't voice just how much she appreciated that now more than ever.

Instead, she wanted to show it, by helping them save the universe so they could laugh like this more often, without fear of the tyrannical emperor hunting them down.

With that thought, she took a deep breath as she lifted the crystal and slotted it carefully into the space custom-built to house it. At first, it glowed even brighter, and the components around it reacted in kind with a light of their own before the stone's glow died down to nothing and the blue shade to the wires traveled away from the source, vanishing into the mechanisms surrounding it. That was the telltale sign that the crystal had connected itself to the ship, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

However, she didn't let herself get carried away, the true test came when she powered the spacecraft up. She knew if she could get it to hover off the ground for a brief period of time, then she had succeeded.

Anxiety fueled her as she slotted the panel back over the components and screwed it shut. She then pulled herself out from beneath the console, and glanced over at Hunk, who gave her a big ol' grin and a thumbs up, before he descended back onto the ground. She watched him run a fair distance to the left and to her surprise, Keith and Melrak entered the hangar at that moment, calling out to her with a wave. The large Olkari soldier saw her in the cockpit and knew she was about to lift off, so he cupped his hands around his mouth, bellowing out his support. "You've got this Era, take that baby off the ground in style!"

This pulled a smile from her tense features and she shot him a thumbs up before she pressed the button above the pilot's chair. This caused a loud hiss to echo in the cockpit as the window that had been non-existent prior, reappeared once again. "Alright, it's now or never..." She said nervously as she plopped herself down onto the chair and switched on the monitor.

Within seconds, the entire ship lit up, and she nodded. 'So far, so good.' She thought, carefully flicking each switch before she grasped the joysticks used to control her craft. 'Please fly, please fly, please fly, please fly...!'

With a sharp intake of breath, the jittery feline squeezed her eyes shut and pulled back on the controls. The ship reacted immediately and the small fighter jet lifted off slowly and smoothly from the metal floor it had sat on for far too long. Ziera's eyes snapped open with surprise as she steadied the ship and it floated effortlessly in the air.

She counted the ticks, and with each one, a grin began to curl her lips. However, there was something else among the giddy excitement, something that threatened to remove her joy completely. Her smile began to falter, and she started to analyze the strange sensation until she heard cheering outside and glanced out to see Hunk clenching his fists and almost bouncing with joyous celebration. That's when she realized just what his celebration meant. She'd done it, her ship had stayed floating in the air for far longer than it had with any other crystal. She had solved her dilemma, and as a result, she had a fully powered ship to her name.

Tears pricked at her eyes and she let out an emotional laugh, her heart was pounding hard in her chest, and a warmth spread through her. With this victory she would finally be able to fly into battle with her friends!

The excitement she felt was overwhelming, it was almost like her heart would burst out of her poor ribs at any moment. The ecstatic engineer couldn't keep the smile off her face as she carefully lowered her pride and joy back down to the ground. As soon as she cut the engines, silence filled the small cabin and she looked around at the symbol of her hard work. This was her ship, a mighty vessel she had built from a single space pod.

But... Something was still very wrong, like a small cloud that loomed in front of a bright sun.

While she was happy, that inkling of harrowing dread began to creep back into her psyche, causing her smile to falter. This ship was once a pod, not unlike the escape pod she had originally crashed in, and it was also literally the same kind of pod she was in when she had a moment of claustrophobic panic during her attempt to prove she wasn't being tracked by Zarkon.

This realization crashed down onto her joy like a wave of icy water, and her heart skipped a beat from the sudden change. She swallowed hard, nervously fidgeting in her seat as she tried and failed to stop her spiraling thoughts.

'No!' She silently snapped, shaking her head abruptly to remove the concerns from her mind, though it did little to help. 'I won't let this moment be ruined by 'what-ifs!''

She decided to push away her looming anxiety and rejoin the others, determined not to let that mental slip ruin the moment. She bound up and pressed the button above the window, watching as it vanished from view so she could yell out to the others with a bright, toothy, albeit forced smile. Her calls caught their attention, and they all watched as she vaulted over the window ledge and landed elegantly on the ground below with no issues. Much like the Earth 'cats' Pidge had compared her to once before.

"You did it!" Hunk bawled, practically charging over to her before he scooped her up into a tight hug. "I don't usually say this, but all that wasted food was worth it! I mean, look at it!" He plopped her down and spun her to look at the ship, while she tried to collect herself.

"I'm impressed." Keith chimed in as he placed a hand on his hip and followed their gaze. "You've really outdone yourself this time, to think you turned that tiny hunk of metal into something like this? That's definitely something to be proud of!"

Ziera blushed as the larger food-loving pilot turned himself and her to the others, then draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a side squeeze. "Y-you're exaggerating guys." She said sheepishly, blushing a deep black as she scratched her cheek with her clawed finger. "I mean, I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for each and every one of you!"

She looked at the Yellow Paladin. "You helped me figure out what was stopping my ship from taking off, and on top of that, you sacrificed your free time to help me fix it." She then looked at the Red Paladin. "You and Lance gave me many ideas on how to set up my weapons systems." She looked at Melrak. "You, Ryner, and the others kept me motivated whenever I hit a snag, whether it was because of my unknown past, or because of a minor hiccup in my designs." She felt tears prick at her eyes again, though this time, for different reasons. "Pidge and Coran sifted through my mess of a blueprint to make sure I didn't use up all the pods here just to get one working prototype! All in all, I'd say you guys did far more than I ever could."

The tall Olkari soldier shrugged. "And?" He asked. "Why does that matter? Just 'cause you got help, doesn't make this accomplishment any less your own!" He grinned and walked over to her, planting his hand on her head and ruffling her muted cyan locks. "Didn't Ryner once say that 'those who succeeded did so because of their friends?'"

"That's true."

He nodded, and his expression switched to a mischievous smirk. "Plus, you've got a bit of a track record for new inventions! The fact that this one didn't blow up is something to be proud of in and of itself!"

Ziera pouted and pulled away from the softest of the Paladins to elbow Melrak gently in the side. "Regardless." She stated, glaring daggers at her best friend. "Thank you... Really." She looked between each of them as she struggled to hold back tears. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."

Hunk's chin trembled. "Oh geez..." He whimpered, before he pulled Ziera into another tight hug, squeezing the life out of her as the waterworks began once again. Honestly, the others were surprised he wasn't dehydrated yet. "I love you guys so much!"

"H-Hunk!" The feline managed to squeak out. "I can't breathe...!"

"Oops, my bad." He dropped her and stepped back, wiping his eyes with his forearm. "I just... Needed to tell you, is all."

Ziera giggled and touched his arm, using the curve of her finger to wipe her own eyes. "I know, and I really appreciate it~."

Keith cleared his throat, getting their attention. "So when are you taking her out for a test drive?" He asked, he was excited to see Ziera's ship in action.

Suddenly, it was as if the entire mood of the room shifted, and even Hunk lifted his face away from his arm to watch Ziera as she took a sharp intake of breath and stiffened up. All those anxieties she had almost forgotten through their joy came rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

Tension filled the space around them, and Ziera clenched her fist as she saw the memories of her suffocating experience in the pod come rushing back. 'No, no, no, no!' She silently panicked. 'Not now, not here!'

Melrak arched a brow and stepped forward. "Era? You okay?" He asked, taking note of her ears dropping and her hand trembling at her side.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" She lied, which was obvious to everyone in the room. The atmosphere was almost unbearable and it was clear that something about Keith's words scared her to silence. "I need to report to Allura first, let her know I'll be taking my ship out soon!" She nervously began to back away from them, towards the hangar door which hissed open. "The last thing we want is for her to assume that the random fighter flying around the castle is an enemy, right?!" She let out an uncomfortable and obviously forced laugh, but no one else joined in. Knowing she wasn't fooling anyone, she spun around and walked out, letting the door slide shut behind her.

The three remaining occupants stared at the metal barrier for a second, before Hunk piped up. "Uh, that was weird... right?"

Keith nodded. "Very weird."

"Anyone got any idea what's going on?"

Melrak shrugged, finally chiming in. "No idea, Era's not usually like that." He said, and they nodded, having known her long enough to recognize that. She had a few timid moments during her time there and doubted herself far more frequently since remembering a bit more of her past, but that... was something else entirely. "She's wanted to fly a ship for almost as long as I've known her. When we showed her our technology, she dove head first into figuring it out, even though she could never get the headset to work. She never shied away from trying to pilot our machines, I don't get how this is any different." He thought for a moment, then shrugged; partly out of frustration, but also out of utter bewilderment. "Hell, if anything, I thought she'd be bouncing at the idea of flying her own invention!"

"So something's making her second guess this?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what..."

Keith stroked his chin, the other hand cradling his elbow, thinking back to the few times she ever hesitated with something. Her reaction was very familiar to him, but he couldn't quite remember why. Immediately, he sifted through his many memories pertaining to her, despite only being in his life a short time; trying to figure out just what could have caused her strange reaction.

She doubted herself when it came to her past, of course. She even openly admitted that she wasn't the best at putting her theoretical designs into a practical form, and worked hard to limit her shortcomings so she could create what could only be described as the most amazing invention she had ever designed.

But despite those lapses in her self-confidence and self-trust, she didn't shy away from something she set out to do. Whether it was to deafen herself to save them from antibodies inside a Weblum, hack into the Yellow Lion to get it up and running again during a lethal fight against a Robeast, or even stow away alongside himself and Allura within a cramped pod only meant to hold two; just so she could rest easy with the knowledge that Zarkon wasn't tracking them through her precious pendant.

She was a force to be reckoned with when she deemed herself fit enough for the role. So why was she hesitating now, and why was this scene giving him strong a sense of Deja-vu?

Wait...

That's when one of the memories he recounted snapped into the forefront of his mind, and it all clicked into place for the hotheaded pilot. "Wait, she's acted like this before." He said, getting both men's attention. "Back when me, Allura, and Era left in a space pod to make sure we weren't being tracked by Zarkon, she started acting strange, she said it was because of a flashback."

Melrak's brows knitted together with concern. "What kind of flashback?"

"She told us she remembered the crash, and how she almost died from oxygen starvation." Keith's frown deepened. "After that, she was uncomfortable until we got back and she could get out."

"And that means what, exactly?" The Yellow Paladin questioned, arching a brow with a pout as he tried to wrap his head around the hypothesis.

"I... uh, I dunno," Keith admitted. "But if she tried and failed to stop the crash landing, maybe she's worried it'll happen again?"

"Tch, what's the likelihood of the exact same crash happening a second time?!" The Olkari soldier snapped, closing his eyes with a sigh as his brows knitted together tightly. "It's dumb and that way of thinking doesn't suit her at all!" He ground out between pointed teeth. "She's the one who always says, 'We won't know unless we try,' so what makes this any different? Yeah, it's dangerous, but that's never stopped her before, she dove out of a flying lion into a tower full of Galra soldiers, for Lubos' sake!" He went to walk out of the room. "I'm gonna find her and drill that into her head once and for all."

A hand grasped his towering shoulder, and he glanced back to see the Red Paladin shaking his head. "Look, I get it, you don't like seeing her like this, and want her to be confident in her skills, but... We can't make her take that risk. If she doesn't want to fly anymore, then she needs to be the one to decide that."

Melrak growled and opened his eyes to glare at the door again.

"Well, if she's going to find Allura, do you think she'd be able to talk to her, maybe help her give it a try?" Hunk asked.

"I don't know."

Ziera's best friend scoffed and clenched his fists. "No way in Hell." He stomped towards the exit, blatantly ignoring Keith's intervention, only pausing to give the door time to hiss open before he continued. "If anyone can get through to her, it's me."

He knew she wouldn't tell Allura anything. She had already confided in him and the others that the Princess' prejudice caused great distrust between them. Ziera wouldn't rock that boat when she's just managed to find a home within the Coalition.

No, if he wanted to help her, then he had to find her and coax the truth out of her himself. After all, Keith's words were a theory, but he doubted the clever paladin was far off the mark.

All he could do was hope that she hadn't given up entirely, no matter how unlikely that was.

~FbnL~

It didn't take long for Ziera to traverse the vast corridors of the Castle of Lions until she finally reached the doors separating herself from the bridge where their base of operations resided. She faltered in front of the metal barriers, placing her hand on her chest as she took a deep breath, steadying herself for what she had to do next.

No matter how hard it was, she wouldn't let this fearful response put a wrench in their plans. Knowing this, she had used reporting to Allura as an excuse to get some time to herself and recollect her thoughts and feelings, but the knowledge that she had to face that fear sooner rather than later gave her pause all the same.

After what felt like minutes, but in reality had been just a few seconds, the feline engineer stepped forward and the doors slid open down the middle. Much to her surprise, as she entered the room she found it completely empty. 'Oh right, it's dawn isn't it?' She thought to herself as the doors closed behind her.

That was actually a good thing, it meant she had a little more time to sort through her thoughts and make sense of her predicament.

The anxiety she felt had been building for a short while before she actually completed the ship, but she had been so focused on her goal that she didn't give herself time to dwell on it. This was a common trait for someone who loved building machines as much as she did if her memory with Denzie was anything to go by.

However, now that she had finished building and had to test drive it, her mind was clear enough to allow her insecurities and doubts to fester back at the forefront of her conscious thoughts.

"Maybe..." She said out loud, unaware of the doors opening behind her. "I'm not meant to fly with the others, after all..."

"Bullshit!"

The poor woman jolted with a loud yelp and spun around with darkened cheeks to see Melrak standing there as the doors hissed shut behind him. His arms were crossed and he was scowling at her, upset with what he just heard. "M-Melrak!" Ziera managed to squeak out after her shock wore off. She sheepishly averted her gaze. "S-sorry, I was thinking out loud, have you seen the princess?"

"You know I haven't." He said, watching as she fidgetted in place, then made a move to walk around him.

"O-okay, I should keep looking then..." She couldn't deal with this right now, she needed time.

As she went to pass, his large hand reached out and grasped at her small bicep. This alone was enough to give her pause. "So..." He started, glancing at her from the corner of his intense eyes. "When're you taking that ship of your's out for a test drive?" Immediately she went rigid, and her hand grasped at the chain of her pendant.

Bingo. He knew from a century of friendship that she always played with her pendant when she felt any strong emotions, especially fear. Something was bothering her, and he had an inkling as to what it was. "Does this have something to do with your missing memories?"

Her shoulders sagged and he knew he'd hit the nail on the head. Without skipping a beat, he turned her to face him and placed his hands on her shoulders. "C'mon Era, it's me..." His tone became soft along with his expression. "After what you told me before, do you really think I'd judge you for having doubts?"

"No..." Ziera finally admitted, looking up at him, her eyes welling with unshed tears she'd tried to hold back. "I'm just ashamed, that's all."

"Why?"

"Well, when you, Ryner, and the others reassured me about my past concerns, I knew I had be more confident in myself. But here I am, only a few days later, struggling to trust my own judgment once again..." She averted her gaze to the side, placing her hand on his as a form of comfort for herself. "It's pathetic, and I'm just so sick of feeling this way." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I've been telling the others I want to fly with them since we went to Taujeer... But I'm terrified." Her other hand clenched into a fist as the tears fell. "Even though I remembered asking someone to teach me to pilot a ship while I was tinkering with the control unit, it's dawning on me now that I don't actually remember the lessons... At the time I thought I'd be fine if I just took her for a spin and waited for the memories to come back, but..."

"You remembered that the ship you made was created from a pod not unlike the one you crashed in, and now you're scared history will repeat itself if you tried?"

She nodded, her chin trembling as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Keith's theory had been spot on.

Upon seeing just how much this was affecting her, Melrak's heart shattered and he surprised her when he pulled her in for a tight, but gentle, hug. "Look Era, I get it, you're scared... But you can't let this stop you from flying your ship! You've worked too damn hard for too damn long to give up now!"

Ziera choked out a sob and buried her face into his muscular shoulder, all the while his large hand rubbed her back soothingly. "I-I know..." She croaked. "I couldn't stop my first crash and it ruined my life for the longest time, I can't help but worry that if I were to find myself in a similar situation, I'd be helpless to stop it then too."

Melrak sighed, he had to come clean. "I thought when you remembered your planet, your crash; you remembered everything. Obviously, that wasn't the case..." The beefy soldier pulled away and wiped her eyes with his large finger. "That crash wasn't your fault, Era. After we rescued you and got you into a healing chamber, me and Colren were told to go back and pick that pod apart for clues. Do you know what we found?"

She shook her head with a sniffle.

"The ship was set to land on Olkarion, and that command was locked in, it couldn't be changed or stopped." He gave her a soft smile. "You know what that means?"

She blinked once, and then her glassy ombre eyes dried as they widened with realization.

"Exactly, no matter what you did, you would've still crashed. Those ships aren't made for long-distance travel, so by the time you reached Olkarion, you were out of oxygen and fuel. Nothing you did would've stopped that crash from happening."

"Wh-why...?" She choked out before she swallowed and tried again. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Melrak grimaced. "Ryner suggested we tell you small bits and pieces at a time since your flashbacks caused you so much physical pain. I didn't want to, but I didn't want to hurt you either." He straightened up. "Then when you started remembering things, I thought it'd just come back to you naturally, so I kept my mouth shut..." He frowned and averted his gaze, guilt eating at his heart. "I'm sorry, I should've said something sooner, maybe this wouldn't be worrying you if I had."

Ziera's hand settled atop the one he kept on her shoulder, he hummed and looked at her. Despite the fact that he'd kept something so significant from her, she was giving him the warmest of smiles, though her chin stop trembled with emotion. "It's okay... I get it, I really do." She squeezed his fingers. "I'm just relieved that I didn't fail to save myself like I thought I did."

Melrak scoffed. "You, fail? Don't make me laugh! Do I need to remind you who led our forces into the capital city?" He let go of her shoulder and crossed his arms, brow arched incredulously. "Or who jumped head-first out of a Green Lion into a tower just to save that pathetic Lubos? I'm pretty sure if you can do that, you can do anything, y'know."

Ziera blushed at his kind and uplifting words. "Thank you, Melrak. If I'm lucky, I might even remember my lessons when I'm out there!" Her smile faltered. "Though that does give me cause for concern..."

"Why?"

"Well, let's say I get out there, and have a flashback... What if I don't regain consciousness in time and crash as a result?" She swallowed an inkling of fear. "In that case, history would have repeated itself and-."

A finger jabbed her forehead, causing her to yelp and place her hand over the sore area. She shot Melrak a glare and a pout. But he wasn't having any of it, looking downright done with her worrying. "I thought we just had this conversation?" He scolded her. "You can't keep thinking like that, idiot!" His scowl deepened as he crossed his arms. "You're working with what-ifs here! We don't even know if you'll remember any of your lessons!"

"That's another thing I should be worried about though-."

"Nope, I don't want to hear it!" He raised his hand, silencing her. "Even if you don't remember your lessons when out there, you've got the Paladins here to help you learn! Hell, if you wanted, I'd teach you myself!"

This made her giggle, while he wasn't a tech-loving nerd like most Olkari, he still had enough knowledge on the matter to pilot a ship with ease and create simple things. She would definitely trust him to teach her to fly.

Not only that, he had a point. The fear had appeared so suddenly that she barely remembered everything she had accomplished since she woke up from her crash. She highly doubted something as simple as flying her own pride and joy would be nearly as dangerous as any of the other situations she'd put herself in while working with the Coalition. She just had to have faith that she'd succeed. And even if she was hit with the worst of luck, the others would have her back, nothing could possibly go wrong with everyone rallying around her in her time of need. "Thanks, Melrak. I'll make sure to do my best in the fight against Zarkon."

Melrak nodded. "Good!" He planted his hands on his hips. "Remember, you're not alone in this. We're all here for you, no matter what doubts you have, we'll never see you as anything less than the awesome fighter you are."

Ziera smiled down at her pendant as she lifted it and watched the light bounce off its glowing surface. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll do my best to take your words to heart, going forward." She gripped the gemstone tightly in her hand. "I want to bring peace to the universe so that others can bask in the light of their suns without fear of Zarkon raining destruction down on them from above! I want to support my friends like they support me, and let those who lost their lives rest with dignity!"

"Like your people?"

She nodded. "Yeah, even if they aren't here to enjoy the fruits of their sacrifices, I want them to move on into the afterlife knowing the universe has been liberated from that monster."

Melrak stared at her for a moment, a little surprised by her words. He knew she'd see sense if he took the time to talk to her, but he never expected her to sound so mature. A bright beaming grin overtook his features and he let out a laugh, scooping her up in his arms and twirling her around. "There's the Era I know! Look at you, acting all grown up!"

"H-hey!" She cried out, pouting as he plopped her back on the ground. "Do I need to remind you that I'm thousands of years older than you?"

Melrak shrugged. "Don't care, you're still a brat and you know it!"

"Ugh, you can be such a pain!" She crossed her arms and glared off to the side, away from her best friend. However, her smile slowly returned as she let out a gentle huff of laughter. "What would I do without you?"

"I dunno, but you'd definitely be bored shitless."

"Melrak!"

~FbnL~

He couldn't lie, part of him understood why Ziera felt like she couldn't breathe in one of these things.

After Melrak convinced her to stop worrying, she went around waking up the others to ask for their help in setting up a test flight; apart from Keith and Hunk of course, since they were already awake. Afterward, he'd offered to sit in the ship with her, mainly to take control if she did have a flashback, but also to give her pointers should said memories refuse to return.

However, he didn't realize just how small the pods were, and even though Ziera had worked to make her's slightly roomier, he was still far too big to fit comfortably. 'So much for two people.' He thought bitterly.

But, seeing her in the pilot's seat, setting up her ship for takeoff, he knew his discomfort was nothing compared to the pride he felt. While she found it pathetic to cry around them so often, he didn't see her as anything but the strong warrior he'd always known, not many would feel so much doubt and still have the strength to fight through it and move forward.

No matter how many times, or how often, he had to reassure her, he'd do so without hesitation; because that's what friends do, and he knew she'd do the same for him if he needed it.

The supportive soldier shuffled forward and placed a hand on the back of the pilot's chair, where his best friend sat; nervously fidgeting as she tried to psyche herself up for the test flight. "You ready, Era?" He asked.

"Y-yeah..." She managed to speak, swallowing the fear rising in her throat. While she had originally protested to Melrak joining her, due to his large stature compared to the small cockpit, she was actually glad he insisted. His supportive presence eased her worries tremendously. "We're just doing a full rotation around the smallest moon, right?"

"Yep. Remember, nothing bad'll happen." He reached down to squeeze her shoulder. "Pidge looked over the ship and said there shouldn't be any malfunctions, and she's even waiting on standby in the Green Lion just to be on the safe side."

Ziera let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

"Exactly, and you'll have Allura and Shiro on standby near the coms to help with anything I can't teach you. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

The feline nodded and gripped the steering handles a little tighter just as a screen appeared to her left and lit up with the face of the Castle's princess. She stood with her hands on both podiums, ready and waiting. "Everything is set up on our end-." She started, only for Slav to let out a cry and dive in the way of the communicator, looking utterly terrified in his usual over-dramatic fashion.

Dread immediately settled in the Olkari soldier's stomach, he knew enough about Slav to know that anything he said now would not help Ziera get over her concerns. One glance down at his friend proved his suspicions correct, she paled the moment the genius appeared and was actually starting to visibly sweat.

"Stop! You can't take that ship off the ground without-Mmmmph!" Suddenly a robotic hand closed over the multi-armed alien's loud mouth and yanked him off-screen, leaving Melrak and Ziera to blink in surprise, before letting out an awkward, tense, chuckle between them.

Well, that was a sudden, yet welcome relief.

"Ahem..." The princess cleared her throat. "If you're ready, I'll open the hangar."

Ziera shot Melrak one last questioning look, and he smiled down at her, giving her a swift nod of approval. She reciprocated the action, then pulled back on the controls forcing her ship to lift off from the ground. "Keep her steady..." He coached her, watching carefully until the vessel was hovering at a stable altitude. "There, that's enough. See, you're doing great! You ready to turn her around?"

"Y-yeah." She tugged the joysticks to one side and the ship turned in that direction, slowly rotating until she was facing the large hatch that led to the depths of space.

"Take your time, Era." Allura spoke up, almost startling Ziera. She was so focused on the task at hand, she actually forgot it wasn't just Melrak she was talking to. "Once you're prepared, I'll initiate the hangar's airlock."

Ziera's heart was thundering in her ears, and her breathing was heavy, but she glanced at her friends on the com just as Shiro stepped up behind Allura to give her a supportive smile. Since Slav wasn't in sight, she had to assume the others were keeping him from appearing again. With the knowledge that they were all watching out for her, she felt the nervousness ease, and the smallest smile curled her lips. "Alright." She said, knitting her brows together as she leaned forward to pump herself up, her smile dropping into a determined scowl, despite her trembling. "Let's get this over with."

Allura nodded and Coran's typing could be heard from off-camera before a loud thunk echoed through the spacious ship storage. The hatch to the hangar began to whirr as it slid open, revealing the smallest sliver of space, which sucked all the oxygen out of the room in less than ten seconds. Thankfully everyone inside the hangar had vacated before her test flight for their own safety, while both Melrak and Ziera were decked out in full space gear. Ziera was in her usual pink, white and black suit along with her pre-transformed helmet; while Melrak was wearing a borrowed suit and helmet from the castle's many spares holed away in dusty lockers.

Thank God they stretch to fit the wearer, otherwise, he'd be out of luck. He was fairly larger than a normal Olkari soldier, that was for sure.

Soon the large wall halted in its descent, now resembling a ramp, rather than an airlock; and the beautiful abyss of space greeted their eyes. Stars were glittering in the distance, and the smallest of Olkarion's moons was within their sights. It was a scary thought, flying the ship that far, but she felt more confident knowing Melrak was there to step in if anything were to happen. "Alright Era." Said friend started, squeezing her shoulder once again. "Let's get moving!"

Ziera readjusted her grip on the control sticks since her palms were sweating. "On it." Then she thrust them forward and barrelled out of the hangar. Once she was a small distance away, she saw the Green Lion appear from the left and a spark of courage bloomed in her chest. She was safe, she could do this!

"Alright, nice speed, can you keep this up until we get to the moon?" Her co-pilot asked, and she nodded as the small jet whizzed forward. However, it wouldn't all be smooth sailing, the vessel jolted suddenly, causing the nervous feline to jump in surprise and let out a sharp yelp.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Melrak placed a hand over hers, helping her steer. "It's okay, your controls are sensitive, your shaking must have caused it to move involuntarily. Just relax and keep her steady, and it shouldn't happen again."

Ziera took a few breaths, then nodded and did as he said, Thankfully, the ship neared the moon with no other turbulent surprises, allowing the nervous woman to relax a little more. Once she got close enough, she slowed to a stop and let out a relieved sigh. Allura's image smiled. "Good work, Era. There should be a few asteroid fragments floating around your flight path, they're far enough away to be of no risk to you, but you could use them for target practice if you'd like?"

Melrak nodded. "You said you needed to test your weapon systems, right?" He patted her hand and let go, relinquishing the small control he had so she could take over. "You've got this, let's get her around the moon and turn those useless space rocks into dust!"

Despite her hesitation, the engineer-turned-pilot felt more confident, knowing she'd made a mistake and corrected it without incident. Something she was sure would've been her downfall prior to her conversation with the red alien behind her. Perhaps he was right, and she really was capable of flying her own ship with no issues. This small spark of confidence fueled her forward and she took off around the moon without giving herself time to second-guess her decision.

"You know how to activate your weapons, right?" Melrak asked, smirking when he saw her take charge.

She nodded, but as she went to press the button, she hesitated. Her best friend saw this and squeezed her shoulder again. "Stop overthinking, Era." He said firmly. "If you want to take a second, I won't stop you, but the more you hesitate, the more mistakes you'll make."

Ziera felt a familiarity in those words, and her brows knitted together. Where and when had she heard those words before?

However, she didn't get time to dwell on the strange sense of deja vu before she suddenly felt a very intense and also familiar flash of pain through her temples. The feline hissed, lurching forward as her claws grasped her muted cyan locks tightly. "Era!" Melrak shouted, but she couldn't hear his voice over the ringing in her ears. Realizing what was happening, he lunged forward and snatched one of the forgotten steering handles in an attempt to keep them from crashing into the moon, while the others fell into an uproar of worry and questions.

After that, all Ziera heard was silence.

"Dammit!" Ziera hissed out as she slammed on the brakes and stopped the fighter jet in mid-air, hovering just over her home planet in a ship that was unmistakably Galra in design. "I've tried so many times, but I just can't get this aerial maneuver right!"

"That's because you're overthinking it." A familiar male voice said from over her left shoulder. His looming presence was intimidating, but also oddly comforting.

"Yes, I know..." She sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes to ease the hammering of her heart through her armored blue, grey, black, and orange suit. "It's just that, you've taught me so many things up until now, and I've struggled with every single one! Are variable geometry wings really that hard to get a grasp on? Am I really cut out for this?!"

"Only you can make that decision." He stated, though a warm hand reached down and squeezed her shoulder hard. "However, my faith in your capabilities hasn't wavered. Despite your struggles, you have overcome each obstacle I have set with hard work and determination." She could almost hear the smile in his voice. "I know with time you will master this maneuver and finally complete the goal you set out to accomplish."

"You mean...?"

"This is the final test... Once you complete this, you will become a certified pilot under my command."

This forced a smile onto her features, and she straightened up. Her doubts were forgotten as she leaned forward, out of his grasp, and opened her determined ombre eyes. "Well, I can't give up now, can I?"

The man chuckled. "I never doubted you for a tick. Now shall we continue where we left off?"

She nodded and did as he asked, pressing several buttons along the blue-tinted control unit, before she pulled back on the joysticks and flew through the air, performing aerial maneuver, after aerial maneuver until she felt her head hurt from the stress. These lessons were intense and long, thanks to the difficulty that came with flying a fighter with wings mounted on a pitch-axis, but she wouldn't stop. Despite her fears, she knew if she mastered this complicated control system, then she would not only be a certified pilot, she would be able to fly circles around anyone who dared to test her in combat.

However, this knowledge didn't stop her from hesitating when it came to the final hurdle in this series of aerial acrobatics, causing her to spin out of control until she finally managed to stabilize the trajectory. Thankfully both herself and her co-pilot were safely secured, her because of her seatbelt, and her partner in crime because of the ship's safety protocol which caused the gravity to rotate with the ship itself. Something that only took effect if one or more parties were stood, not seated.

She groaned, slowing the ship to a stop before she sighed and ran her hands down her face to collect herself. She needed to stop worrying, every doubt in her mind kicked in just as she went to perform the final spin and shoot motion. This caused her to hesitate on the thruster and slow just before she could lock-on to the other fighter jet that was serving as her practice partner, allowing them to fly out of reach of her targeting system.

The baritone voice of her teacher almost made her jump, as he had been silently observing her this whole time. "If you continue to hesitate, you will accomplish nothing but a slew of avoidable mistakes." He removed his hand from her shoulder, probably to cross them against his armored chest. "Take a moment, breathe, and try again. Keep your focus on the task at hand, and use your instincts should your mind cloud your judgment."

Of course, he was right once again. If the mind screamed doubts, the best way to fight them was to clear the mind completely and dive in headfirst.

The feline took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Everything around her calmed down as she pushed all her worries to the side. Each breath became louder and clearer as the fog of doubt in her disappeared, allowing for clarity and focus. After a moment, she snapped her eyes open again and proceeded to retry the stunt she knew was the only thing between herself and her desire to become a competent aerial fighter.

She shot upwards at a high velocity, with the ship acting as her target following after her, she then suddenly jerked forward and dropped, flying past the ship beneath her, which soon soared behind/ The two almost danced through the depths of space as she performed this stunt a second time, then a third. However, instead of repeating it a fourth time, she jerked skyward and watched the other jet shoot past, bewildered by her sudden change in trajectory. Without missing a beat, she tilted back until she dropped down and sped forward, now flying upside down above her chosen victim. The sentry in the other ship looked up and she flashed the robot a grin, then rocketed forward and flipped herself until she was upright once again and facing the other vessel.

With the ship flying after her, while she flew backwards to keep them from crashing into her, she finally had a close enough range to lock on to her target. "Now!" Her teacher said firmly behind her. Now that the hesitation she felt no longer clouded her sharp mind, she did as ordered immediately and shot at the ship multiple times without fail, causing it to explode into a fiery inferno. She slowed to a stop and watched with heavy breaths as fragments of the jet and the robotic sentry inside floated through space aimlessly.

The man's hand grasped her shoulder once again, and a smile spread over her lips. She'd done it, she'd actually done it!

"As I expected, you've proven my confidence in your abilities was not unfounded." The smile in his own voice was apparent, as she lifted her eyes towards him. "Congratulations."

Before Ziera could see the face of the person she'd heard in several of her memories already, the images she saw faded to black as the ringing returned with a vengeance. However, it wouldn't last long, as she began to hear a faint, but panicked voice within the white-noise flooding her consciousness.

"... ra... era... ZIERA!"

The feline gasped as her eyes snapped open and she straightened up to see Melrak trying to pilot the ship around the moon with one hand, using the other to keep a firm grasp on her chair so he didn't fall forward and lose what little control he had. He couldn't cut the engine from this angle, so he had no choice but to keep it steady until she came to.

As soon as she realized what was actually happening she yelped and dove for the controls. Melrak let go just in time and she curled her hands around them, slowing the ship to a stop behind the moon.

"What the hell happened, was that a flashback?!" Melrak snapped, his heart pounding so hard, he was sure it would burst out of his chest. "I knew you were worried this'd happen, but I didn't think you'd be out for that long! The other lions are on their way, are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Ziera said though she sounded distant. This worried Melrak and he tugged on her shoulder, pulling her attention to him.

"Era, answer me." The worry in his eyes almost broke her heart. "I've never seen your flashbacks cause you so much pain before, or last so long... What happened?"

"I..." Ziera's eyes trailed away as she recalled the memory in her mind. She was in a Galra ship, learning to fly from the person she'd asked in a previous memory to teach her. However, the colors the ship and her uniform adorned did not match the colors of the Galra attire and designs she was familiar with. This further proved to her that she wasn't working for the normal branch of Galra commanders, but someone, or something else entirely.

Not only that, but the colors and designs matched those of the person they saved from the Weblum. Was that person also working for that same branch?

Once again, she'd been given an answer that left her with more questions than she had before.

However, she knew she couldn't let herself be distracted by those details. They weren't the focus of her memory, so she pushed her questions aside for now, and instead concentrated on the information she could glean from the brief recollection. Slowly, a smile spread across her lips, which then widened into a grin; worrying her poor friend who was still waiting for a response to his question.

"I just remembered how to fly a ship." She finally told him.

This made him blink for a second, surprised by her words. "Wait, seriously?!" He was having a hard time processing the sudden change in atmosphere.

She nodded. 'Well, I'll be damned.' He thought. and though he was a little annoyed that she'd scared him so much, a smirk made its way across his tight lips. "Alright then, show me what you can do!"

The feline nodded and settled into her seat, no longer tense like she had been before her memory. Melrak gripped the chair tightly as she shot forward with a speed he didn't expect. Without hesitating, she performed very familiar aerial maneuvers around the tiny asteroids, before she turned the ship to fly backwards and shot them, rendering the small obstacles into space dust.

She grinned and changed her trajectory, tilting backwards until she curved beneath the moon and followed the rocky surface until she was flying upwards once again. Once she was lined up with the Castle of Lions she spun once again and made a swift straight line back to the Coalition's large base of operations. The five lions, who were almost at the moon by this point, came to an abrupt stop as she whizzed past them.

As if the ships were sentient, the lion's heads followed her for a moment, before they all turned to look at each other, the pilots in disbelief over what they just witnessed.

It would have been a comical sight had she looked behind her.

Ziera effortlessly flew back into the hangar, and the five lions soon followed, all landing with ease as the hatch closed behind them with an audible hiss, allowing the room to fill up with oxygen once again.

The newly appointed pilot let out a soft breath and switched off her engines, watching as the monitors went dark and she was submerged in silence and shadows. A hand reached over and grasped her shoulder, which made her jump in surprise before she turned to see Melrak leaning forward, one hand on the pilot's chair, while the other gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I knew you could do it." He said, flashing her a toothy grin.

The significance of her success finally caught up to her and her own lips curled back to match his own, before she let out a gleeful squeal and dove at her closest friend, pulling him into a tight hug. This made the larger man grunt as he attempted to hug back, unable to properly do so thanks to the lack of comfortable space.

However, he couldn't bring himself to point this out, instead, he pulled her closer with the best of his abilities and laughed. Honestly, he couldn't tell her just how happy it made him to see her smile so genuinely again, nor how scared he was at the idea of her flying into battle against Zarkon. Though, now that he'd seen her in action, he knew that his worries were unfounded, and she would be fine.

If anything, she'd probably fly circles around that tyrant!

"I did it!" She managed to choke out, causing him to pull away only to see she was crying again, though they were happy tears this time. "I actually did it, I made my own ship, and I took her out for a successful test drive!"

"I did say you'd be fine, you idiot." Her best friend stated proudly. "Now will you stop doubting yourself for five minutes and actually listen to me for once?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, then snickered as she nodded enthusiastically. The two looked out of the window as the lions opened up and the pilots began to run out towards her ship in an uproar; most likely due to worry, given Melrak's shouting during her recollection. "Yeah..." She finally said, looking back at the beefy soldier who gave her the courage to try in the first place. "I will. I once tried to build my own ship in the past and was even taught to fly a ship as well, now I get to do both and achieve a dream I've had since I rediscovered my love for technology. I promise I'll do better to remember just what I'm capable of if I try hard enough!"

"Good, let's get outta here!" He said, grimacing as he squirmed. "I can't feel my legs, and those guys are gonna start thinking we're dead if we keep them waiting any longer."

Ziera nodded, standing up to press the button above her head, which caused the glass chamber to hiss and open, dissolving into nothing as it lifted up and away from the pilot's seat. Immediately she heard the paladins below and straightened up, waving down at them with a bright smile. "I'm alright guys! I'll be right there!"

"What the hell happened back there?" Keith shouted, looking angry and worried.

"Wait, so you're alright?" Pidge asked, a monitor in front of her as she assessed the ship for any damage.

"Whoa, easy guys," Shiro said, raising and lowering his hands in a calming manner. "Let's give her a second to get down, then we can get the full picture of what happened, okay?"

The feline engineer giggled at their responses and vaulted over the ledge, landing on the axis of her wing with cat-like grace. Melrak on the other hand, groaned and stood up unceremoniously, stretching his arms above his head until he heard a satisfying pop. How she could stand to be in that thing for more than five seconds was beyond him, and he knew he'd ache later because of this.

However, as he watched her call out to her other friends and drop from the wing to land beside them all, he couldn't help but think that every second he spent impersonating a ball was worth it. She needed support from everyone around her right now, and he was more than happy to be the one to give said support in Ryner's absence.

She was his best friend, and he was her's. What kind of friend would he be if he didn't shoulder some of her burden once in a while? She'd do the same for him, after all.

His attention was dragged away from his thoughts when the doors to the hangar opened and Allura ran in, looking mildly panicked. "Era!" She called out, as Melrak jumped over the edge of the window and landed on the ground with an audible thump, not quite as gracefully as Ziera had, but at least he didn't break a leg trying.

The new pilot watched Allura jogging towards her. "I heard your screams through the monitor, none of us knew what was happening, are you alright?!"

The tech-loving alien nodded and looked at all her friends as Melrak walked over and joined the huddle of paladins trying to ensure Ziera was alright. "I'm fine, really. I had a flashback during my flight, and Melrak steered the ship until it was over."

"Wait, so what happened after that? You flew past us like you'd been flying your whole life!" Lance pointed out, looking both confused and a little frustrated at how easily she'd taken to piloting a ship, while he struggled until he came across the Blue Lion.

"I'm with Lance on this one," Keith added. "One minute you were jolting around and stalling, and the next you shot past us like a bullet from a gun, how'd that happen?"

Ziera sheepishly scratched her cheek with her gloved claw. "Well, I remembered how to pilot a ship. Turns out I was taught how to do it before I crashed."

"Seriously?" Hunk asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Man, you've got some serious luck on your side, huh?"

"Yeah, I had a feeling I'd remember more about it while I was out there, but I didn't expect a play-by-play of my final lesson like that. It really helped me out!"

Allura picked up on her words and her brows knitted together. Ziera spoke like she knew this memory was coming, did that mean she'd remembered a small fragment about it beforehand? As far as the princess knew, Ziera had no knowledge on piloting a ship beforehand... at least, that's what she was led to believe when Ziera begged to turn one of the pods into a fully functioning jet.

Just how much had she remembered and either forgot or chose not to share with them?

Concern ate away at her heart. Was she scared to tell them anything about herself because of Allura's initial reaction to her? The very thought made her ache with guilt.

"So that scream was because you had another flashback?" Pidge asked, her eyes alight with worry for her tech-loving friend. "You weren't hurt?"

Ziera shook her head. "No, like I said Melrak took control, so I was never in any danger."

The large soldier scoffed. "I beg to differ!" He said loudly, adding a dramatic flair to his words. "I was pinned behind a damn chair, you were lucky my arms were long enough to reach the handle, otherwise who knows what could've happened!" She shot him a glare, knowing he was only messing with her. This made him smirk, and he ruffled her hair. "Don't give me that look, I'd dislocate my arm any day to keep you safe!"

"We all would." Shiro chimed in, placing a hand on her shoulder with a proud smile on his face. "You did great, Era. I'm glad to have you fighting by our side."

"Thank you, Shiro." She felt the joy in her heart filled her with warmth. "I'm happy to help any way I can!"

Hunk, who was already an emotional wreck beforehand sniffled loudly as waterfalls began to stream down his cheeks. "Oh man, I'm so happy for you!" He whined, before he scooped her and Shiro up for a tight hug, the poor captain collateral damage in the larger pilot's need to show Ziera affection. "I love you guys so much!"

The alien engineer laughed and hugged him back as the other members of the Coalition rushed to join in. Lance wrapped an arm around Ziera's shoulder with a smirk, while Pidge wept and wrapped her arms around the older woman's waist; meanwhile, Keith just stood close by with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

Melrak and Allura shared a look, keeping their distance for the time being. But eventually, Melrak shrugged, grinning as he stomped over and wrapped his strong arms around as many of them as he could. "Hey, don't forget about me!" He said, giving them all a big squeeze.

Allura crossed her arms, holding one of her elbows with the other hand as her expression softened. In that moment, when she watched Shiro accept his fate and reciprocate the group hug, she couldn't help but believe that they could actually take down Zarkon. With Ziera now flying alongside them into battle, she could actually see their goals come to fruition in her mind, and she wondered if her father would be proud of her; had he been here to witness this event.

Whether or not he was, she knew their victory would let him rest in peace at long last, and that was enough to soothe her aching heart.

~FbnL~

The door to Ziera's room hissed open as the feline stepped inside and turned to the keypad, pressing a few buttons until the space was bathed in white light. The brightness caused her to hiss and she typed in commands until said light dimmed to a comfortable level. She nodded with approval and stepped away from the door, which slid shut behind her, separating herself and her private quarters from the rest of the castle's occupants.

It had been a good hour or two since Ziera finished testing her ship, and while she had planned to rest the moment she stepped out of the hangar, Hunk insisted on making a small feast to celebrate her accomplishments. Now, with a full stomach and a strong sense of pride, she was ushered to bed by Melrak at long last.

The sight of Melrak with a hand on his hip, pointing at her door after he escorted her back to her room was one that filled her heart with fondness and made her laugh. Sometimes he acted more like her parent than her friend, and she appreciated it.

Though she had to admit, it was rather embarrassing to be scolded by him once he learned that she'd not slept for at least twenty-four hours.

On the subject of appreciation, she thought about all her friends, and she hoped they knew just how much they meant to her. Melrak, Ryner, Colren, Janze, and Sephiras were there for her when she was rebuilding her life, and the paladins helped her navigate the difficulties of remembering her tragic past. She couldn't thank them all enough for everything they did for her.

Helping them take down Zarkon was the least she could do. 'I'll have to treat them all to a great meal once this is all over... Oh, and I owe Hunk a dish from my home planet too.' She thought as she rubbed her tired eyes and stretched her arms above her head with a yawn. 'But first... I need some sleep.'

With barely enough energy to think, she stripped off her space suit and walked over to her bed, only to pause when she passed her photos on the desk. Instead of the single frame she once had, two sat comfortably atop her wooden table. One was a picture of herself with her Olkari family, and the other was a picture of her and the Paladins posing with Coran and Allura in tow. The sight of these immortalized memories filled her heart with love, and she slipped under her warm bedsheets with a smile.

'Thank you, all of you... I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for each and every one of you."

As she closed her eyes and felt her exhaustion take hold, she thought back to all the happy memories she'd made since waking up, and how she planned to make many more once peace was brought back to the universe and she could return to Olkarion for good. That thought brought her more comfort than any words ever could, and finally she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the day she could move into her room in Olkarion's capital city at long last and visit the forest restaurants with her friends; including the paladins, Coran and Allura, should they take the time to visit.

She couldn't wait!

---

A/N: Thank you for reading, please review, any comments or criticisms help me become a better writer!

Voltron Time

Tick = Second.