Rai was able to quickly get Suzaku, Milly, and Rivalz back to the Castle. Kallen and Shirley, along with several puffball aliens, were waiting for them when they arrived.

Under normal circumstances, the team would've taken the time to go over the events of the last couple of days and figure out what to do next.

However, that wasn't to be as Rai urgently led the trio down to the infirmary where C.C., Coran, and Allura were watching over Lelouch. He had been rushed to a cryo-pod the moment he'd been retrieved from the barren planet and had yet to wake up.

Kallen quickly informed them that it had already been over a day since Lelouch had been inside of it. He was slowly getting better, but Coran had voiced that he worried if the pod could take care of the wound Lelouch had on his side. Fortunately, it seemed to be working around it, at a snail's pace, but still working.

On the third day of him being in the pod, Lelouch started to groan and whimper, his eyes squeezed shut, and a tear traced down his face.

"Is he okay?" Shirley asked upon seeing this.

"Sometimes, the healing process can cause involuntary brain wave reactions," the princess informed calmly. She and Coran looked concerned, but they weren't panicking. That likely meant that nothing was wrong.

"He-he looks like he's having a bad dream," Milly observed with a worried frowned.

And indeed he was having a dream. Inside, Lelouch cringed and flinched with a groan.

He was eight-years-old lying peacefully in his bedroom at the Aries Villa. He was smiling from the fun day that he had been able to have with just his sister and mother. She had taken them horse-back riding and for a walk around the gardens. Though Lelouch himself didn't find these activities too exciting, as long as his mom was there, he was happy. Plus, seeing Nunnally laugh was just the cherry on top.

He heard the door to his bedroom, creak open suddenly. Despite still being young, Lelouch had always been a light sleeper. As he sat up to see who had let themselves in, he was shocked to see his father, the Emperor standing there at the doorway.

His father started speaking, but static filled Lelouch's ears, and he couldn't make out what his father was saying. His vision began to get hazy as he struggled to stay awake but ultimately succumbed to sleep once more. But before everything went dark, and there was no mistaking it this time, he saw a blood-red seal of a bird in flight reflecting in his father's eyes.

Next thing he knew, the incident of witnessing his mother's corpse and Nunnally trembling in her arms played through his memory again. This time, Lelouch felt something off, almost like this memory wasn't his own, but a scene rehearsed for his eyes and ears only.

As Lelouch continued to moan and shudder in the pod, the other Paladins' concern grew as well.

"Yeah, well, he just got blasted by a space witch and mauled by giant lizards. What dream could be worse than that?" Kallen said, though her concern was still there as well for their leader.

"Wait, a witch? What witch?" Milly asked, confused.

"Yeah, we talking like a Wicked Witch of the West sort of thing?" Rivalz asked, "Green skin, pointy hat, and a broomstick?"

It took Kallen a second to remember that Rivalz and Milly hadn't heard of or seen the witch yet, and was about to clarify when C.C. spoke up first.

"Think more along the lines of dark purple skin and a dark cloak, and then you'll have your answer."

When Rai heard the description that C.C. just gave, his head suddenly pulsed painfully. With a wince, he held a hand up to his forehead to massage it.

"Yeah, she was probably the scariest person I'd ever seen," Shirley nodded with a gulp, remembering seeing her bent over Lelouch. She had been doing something with his head, but they hadn't exactly had time to ask.

"...Princess, Coran, are any Galra capable of doing magic?" Suzaku asked the pair.

"No, they aren't. It's just not in their biology to have that ability," Coran said, with Allura shaking her head.

Rai suddenly gasped, and his other hand sprang to his head too as the pulsing increased. He bent forward, eyes shut, and teeth clenched through the pain.

"...Haggar," he gasped out.

"What?" Suzaku asked, staring wide-eyed at the Green Paladin.

"Her name," Rai swallowed, "That's her name. Haggar."

"You're sure?" Milly asked.

"Yeah… and… she-she did something to me. She gave me that… that Geass power," he said.

Sounds of exclamation and shock sound from all over the room, C.C. especially looked stunned. She had suspected Rai had it for a while, but she didn't expect that witch to have given it to him.

"Wait-so then, did Haggar make a contract with you?" Kallen asked. She also made a mental note to tell the others that she had a Geass too now. She didn't know what it was or what it did yet, but they would need to figure that out soon.

"I-No," Rai shook his head, furiously, "I don't think so. If she did, she certainly didn't offer one, and I don't… don't remember accepting it either," he looked up at C.C. "That's how it works, right? Both sides need to accept it?"

"Yes, that's correct. Both sides must contribute something when a contract is formed," she nodded.

"Wait, so, are you saying that Rai was given it by force?" Rivalz asked, "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know," C.C. admitted, "I've never forcibly given a Geass before. And if I ever tried to, it didn't work."

Rai was about to say something else when he suddenly stiffened, and his mind threw him back into his memories.

"No, no! No!" Zephyr begged as he felt the hard surface of a metal table beneath his back. He felt his arms and legs being held down firmly to the side. Sometimes when they brought him here, they muzzled him too, but not this time. He inhaled sharply as the familiar sensation of needle penetrated his left arm. The Galra soldier holding it steady was injecting some sort of glowing blue liquid into his bloodstream.

"You took my family! What more do you want?!" he demanded at a Galra with a mask over his mouth. There were two other Galran soldiers in the room, acting as assistants. He must be a scientist that wanted to try and new 'toy' with him. What were they going to do now? Give him a cybernetic arm?

"Stop!" the Galra said, batting the soldier's hand away, "I want him awake enough to feel this."

Just as the guard turned his back to the scientist, the Galra pivoted and slammed the guard behind him against the wall hard enough to crack it. He then charged the second one that had turned around in alarm and knocked him out cold with a punch to the jaw.

Zephyr's vision began to go black as the scientist removed his mask and jogged over to him. He took out a large syringe and implanted it into Zephyr's right forearm. Due to the drug still in his system, he barely felt the pain of it at all.

"Listen to me. We don't have much time," the Galra told him urgently. Zephyr almost nodded off when he felt something hard strike him on the cheek. With a grunt, his vision cleared and saw the Galra staring at him intensely, "Wake up! Zarkon has located the Blue Lion of Voltron on your planet, Earth. You must get it before he does."

Zephyr watched in shocked confusion as the Galra then proceeded to undo his restraints and help him up.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked dumbly.

"I've planted a bomb to cover your escape. Get to a pod, now," the Galra instructed, ignoring his question.

"Who are you?" Zephyr asked, still in shock at what was happening.

"I am Ulaz," he said shortly before leading him to the door of the room, "Now, come on!"

When it opened, the two crouched down low, Ulaz scanning the halls for incoming sentries, "Zarkon will know that I released you, so I must disappear. But, if you survive, go to the coordinates in your arm," Zephyr looked at his right wrist. Ulaz must have put something just under the skin. An info-chip maybe? "The Blade of Marmora is with you."

"Wait! Why are you helping me?" he asked desperately.

Ulaz looked at him intently, "As a fighter and a leader, you give hope," he told him before he got up to run down the hall, "Hurry! Earth needs you. We all do."

Zephyr watched him go, still bewildered at what was going on. But that Galra was giving him the chance to get out of here. And he wasn't going to waste that chance.

Zephyr knew that the cargo bay was likely his best chance, so he started making his way over there. However, the drug that they had given him was still active inside him, so he had to fight desperately just to remain on his feet. He panted heavily as he snuck down the hallway, stopping to rest behind a wall outcropping. He was just about to keep going when he heard the sound of sentries walking by, and he quickly hid again, waiting for them to pass.

Fortunately, the next turn that Zephyr made brought him right where he needed to be. He looked back at the sentries walking away but failed to notice the supply cart passing in front of him until he ran right into it.

He gasped in fear when he knocked two canisters over. Looking back, he ran as he saw that the noise didn't go unnoticed by the robots, and he sprinted towards the escape pods.

He heard security alarms going off around him, but his eyes were only on the pods he needed to get out.

Zephyr's hand barely made contact with the button to open it, when one of the sentries caught him by the shoulder. Instinctively, Zephyr flipped the robot over his head but was unable to stop the second one from grabbing him from behind.

He screamed from the painful hold the robot held him in, and despair at not making it, but moments later, the hallway behind them exploded in a fiery inferno. The heatwave threw him and the sentry forward, knocking Zephyr's head against the pod wall and rendering him unconscious. The sentry also fell, but as the pod door closed, it cut its lower body away, destroying the robot.

Zephyr groaned in pain as the pod rocketed out of the cargo hold and towards the planet that he once called home…

...He had no idea how long he been unconscious but was suddenly awoken by the sensation of crashing into something and throwing him to the other end of the pod.

He awoke with a gasp and blinked, looking around. Where was he? What was going on? He felt something wet by his feet and looked down. Wherever he was, this confined space was slowly filling up with water. Panicking, he started backing away, his back soon hitting the far wall. Looking up, he saw that it looked like a door, and he pounded on it, trying to get it to open, and tried pulling it from the sides.

Eventually, when the water was nearly up to his waist, his elbow hit the button to open the entrance, and water came pouring inward. Swallowing as much air as he could, he clawed as fast as he could towards the surface.

Breaking out of it, and inhaling a massive gulp of air, he-wait was his name?! Who was he?! He began to breathe rapidly as he tried to remember what his name was, but nothing was coming to him. How had he even got into that...that…that whatever under the water? Looking around frantically in the grey twilight, he spotted in the distance what looked like land. He didn't know where he was either, but he was cooked if he didn't get out of the water.

Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he began to swim as hard and fast as he could towards the shore…


...The next time he woke up was to the sound of seagulls flying overhead and the feeling of rough, scratchy sand underneath his cheek. He felt something wet and cold, sliding up and down his lower legs.

Something tickled the edge of his nose. He barely opened his eyes and was greeted by a white pinching claw.

He yelped and shot upwards. The little crab that had waddled up to inspect him got spooked by the sudden movement and quickly scurried off.

After calming down, he took a look around and saw sand spreading out several meters away in all directions. So, somehow, he had managed to swim to land in one piece. That was one good thing. But where was he?!

Who was he?

The next couple of days passed in a blur. He eventually found his way away from the beach and started wandering the streets of a large city with tons of people. Anyone who looked at him eyed him oddly or even in disgust. Not that he blamed them. Compared to the more… sophisticated and modern outfits they wore, all he had on was a tight black spandex (?) and a short, purple ragged shirt. He didn't even want to know what his hair probably looked like.

Eventually, the stares got to him too much, so he stuck to traveling through the alleys and other shaded areas. He dumpster dived several times when he couldn't take his stomach pains anymore, and he wasn't risking getting arrested for something as petty as stealing a loaf of bread.

The nights were still pleasantly warm, so it didn't bother him too much when he stopped to rest for the night. A couple of people, most in more worn clothing compared to others, took pity on him and left him some food, water, and a friendly couple even left him some yen. He hadn't even been asking for money, but he was grateful nonetheless.

Despite the small acts of kindness, though, exhaustion eventually overtook him, and he found himself collapsing at the gates of what looked like a large estate.

A frightened female voice was all he remembered before his eyes glazed over, for what he believed might be the last time.

Rai was moving before he even registered it himself, pulling his Bayard out and stabbing it into his arm, where he remembered the chip was embedded.

"Woah! Rai! What are you doing?!" Rivalz shouted in alarm along with everyone else even as he saw Coran rush over, Rai grit his teeth and wrenched out the chip, covered in blood that was now dripping to the floor.

"Wh-what's that?" Shirley asked nervously as Rai stared at it in his palm.

Before he could answer, the pod containing Lelouch started beeping, and the Black Paladin inside blinked awake.


Within the Galran headquarters, Haggar was hard at work on her newest creation. And due to recent events, she had the perfect candidate to have the honor of powering it.

"You know I'm innocent!" Prorok shouted from his metal prison in the center of the room, "I would never betray Zarkon! You're weakening the empire!"

"You misunderstand. I'm giving you the opportunity to serve the empire," Haggar said with a sneer, "You will have the honor of personally bringing down Voltron."

With a wave of her hand, Prorok began screaming in pain, his quintessence and life force extracted from his body and transformed to the machine behind him. Within seconds, its eyes lit up with light.


Rover hovered diligently over the data that was flying through the screen in front of him with his master and the other Paladins looking over him. After Rai had dug the chip out of his arm, and had said arm subsequently bandaged, he plugged the chip into his computer in Zerith's bay. Unfortunately, they hadn't found anything yet, except jumbled Galran code.

"Apologies, Rai, but no results have come up yet," Coran told him, "especially not with any coordinates anywhere."

"They're in here! I swear they are! Someone helped me escape and gave me those coordinates!" Rai insisted.

"And he was Galra?" Allura questioned skeptically.

"Yes!"

"You know you cannot trust them," Allura told Rai with a stubborn frown.

Lelouch chuckled from behind her, causing the princess to look at him with everyone else, "Well, that's ironic. Your father said he trusted his team, the original Voltron Paladins, with his life. They were like his family. That included Zarkon, the original Black Paladin, correct?"

Allura looked like a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar before turning to the side, "That was a long time ago!"

"What? I... Hold... hold on... WHAT?!" Milly exclaimed, looking at Allura in horror.

"Zarkon... the big, bad, evil Emperor of the Galra... was a PALADIN OF VOLTRON!?" Rivalz shouted in shock. His expression reflected on almost everyone in the room, including C.C., her golden eyes widening a fraction.

The only two that didn't look surprised were Kallen and Suzaku. The Red Paladin looked annoyed as she shot Allura a distrustful look, while Suzaku had one of disappointment and… sympathy?

"Lelouch is right," the Purple Paladin said, "You were all there. Zarkon ripped us apart when we were Voltron, and then stole Zenobia right out from under Lelouch."

"Yeah, or what about all that stuff he could do with his Bayard!" Kallen said, leaning closer to Allura accusingly, "Lelouch's Bayard! You know, the black one?"

"Coran…" Shirley looked cautiously at the advisor who had gone unusually quiet, "Did you know about this?"

Coran sighed sadly, "Yes. His identity was common knowledge 10,000 years ago."

Kallen shot him a glare, "Oh well, thanks for not spoiling the surprise! Because we wouldn't wanna be... oh, I don't know... PREPARED or anything!"

"Allura, why didn't you just tell us the truth about Zarkon?" Lelouch asked with a scowl of his own. Allura just stared at the ground.

"You really don't have any room to talk, Zero," C.C. spoke up. Lelouch turned to look at C.C., shocked and even offended.

"She kind of has a point, Lelouch…" Suzaku reluctantly agreed, "...but I also agree. Why didn't you tell us that from the start?"

"I wanted to protect you from the dark history of the Paladins," Allura finally answered, looking slightly ashamed, "so that you would have a chance to bond with your lions on your own." She then looked Lelouch determinedly in the eye, "Lelouch, you are the Black Paladin now, not Zarkon."

Despite the proclamation, a sheen of distrust still clouded Lelouch's eyes, but some of it didn't seem to be aimed at Allura, "Yes, well, the Black Lion may have a different take on the matter."

Though no one voiced it, all of them took note that Lelouch didn't call the Black Lion by the name he had given her. Not even her nickname.

"But… that's not the worst part," Lelouch continued, "Zarkon... also has a Geass."

If Zarkon's status as a former Paladin had shocked them, this revelation practically blew them out of the water.

"Lelouch, are you sure?" Suzaku asked, soundly unusually anxious.

"Would I lie about something like this Suzaku?" Lelouch snapped back, eyes flashing angrily for a moment. "When Zarkon took the Black Lion, I felt him in my mind. I saw it, the Geass. It felt similar to my own, but a hundred times more powerful. And… it felt wrong," he couldn't entirely suppress the shiver down his spine, "Dark and twisted. Just… wrong."

"Wait, Rai," Shirley said, turning to the Green Paladin, "earlier you were talking about that witch lady, Haggar. Didn't you say she gave you your Geass?"

"When I fought her, or tried to, she said that I was only 'scratching the surface' of it…" Lelouch added.

"...So are you saying that the Galra created Geass of something?" Milly asked after a brief, heavy silence.

"Maybe… but if that's the case, how did it end up on Earth?" Suzaku asked logically, "C.C. you said you didn't know Geass's origins either, right?"

"No, nor did the Code Bearer before me," she confirmed.

"But… if the Galra created Geass, that must mean they were on Earth at some point, right?" Rivalz asked.

"Oh, you would've known if the Galra had been there," Coran said grimly.

"Polaris was on Earth, though. Was her past Paladin a Galra too?" Rivalz asked further.

"No, Zarkon was the only one," Allura practically spat.

"...Why do I have a feeling we're getting into something dangerous here?" Shirley asked almost timidly.

Any further discussion was halted by some urgent beeping from Rover.

"What's up, boy?" Rai asked, looking back at the screen. The drone chirped animatedly as he began to highlight a group of repeating numbers within the code. "Good job. Extract it and put it on the screen."

With a confirming beep, Rover did just that. On the bigger screen above, several images appeared of a galaxy that looked very similar to their solar system.

"Well, well, I was right!" Rai exclaimed proudly, "There are coordinates. They lead here: the Thaldycon System. We need to go there now!"

"Rai, are you sure you can trust this? I mean, after all the Galra have done to you- they-they took your family! Your memories!" Kallen asked, sadly.

"It's worth the risk. Someone helped me escape," Rai said with conviction.

"I agree," Lelouch said, walking up to Rai and facing everyone else, "What we need more than anything right now is allies, and if we can locate some, especially ones from Zarkon's own side, we might just find a way to defeat him."

"We can check the location, but I do not like this," Allura said with folded arms, "The Galra are not to be trusted."


After everyone eventually agreed to go, the Castleship wormholed straight to the Thaldycon system. When they arrived, though, the screens in the castle showed little to no signs of activity, and all they could see surrounding them were large, teal, and green crystals that formed an asteroid belt around the galaxy.

"Well, this is it. No sign of any activity at all, living or otherwise," Coran reported.

"Is there any way to take a closer look?" Lelouch asked authoritatively from the Black Paladin's chair.

"I don't want to bring the castle any closer," Coran cautioned, as he pulled up an image of one of the crystals, "Those xanthorium chunks contain highly unstable nitrate salts. Even bumping one of them can blow us straight to Wozblay."

"Are we sure this is right?" Milly asked with uncertainty.

"I believe so," C.C. said, turning around from where she was standing next to Coran, "things aren't always what they seem. Considering we may possibly be dealing with a Galra resistance group, it may be possible they could be hiding with a method not even their own kind could understand or track."

"So, there must be something we're missing here," Lelouch murmured intelligently.

"We should get out of here," Allura suddenly suggested. "We've checked it out, but now, it's time to move on."

"No!" Rai argues back, "There must be something more to this. I can feel it. I think we should wait. Lelouch?"

"I agree as well," the Black Paladin nodded, "we'll wait for one varga. This may be one of our only chances to find an effective ally. I'm not about to let that go to waste."


"Sire," Haggar addressed in the throne room. Her emperor stood with his back facing her, still seething from Voltron slipping through his fingers, "Prorok's transformation is complete. We only need to know where to send him."

Zarkon calmly stood from his throne and followed the witch to the lower platform of the headquarters. Three of her other faithful druids were waiting for them there.

The emperor stood on the middle platform, the druids surrounding him and raising their hands towards him. Volts of violet malevolent energy reached out to him as his black Geass emerged behind his eyes.

"Now, reach out with your mind!" Haggar commanded.

Zarkon's mind reached towards the very edges of his empire, scouring it for any sign of his prize. Stars and galaxies passed him by as nothing more than streaks of light, colors interchanging and shaping the universe.

At last, his gaze landed on the wretched Castle of Lions, where thieves kept his treasure locked away and secure.

Zarkon grunted as the druids magic ceased. It had been many decaphebes since he had performed this ritual as his Geass faded away.

His eyes narrowed, "I have the coordinates to launch the beast."


Lelouch pulled up an image of one of the xanthorium crystals, hoping to glean a little more information from these crystals for possible future use. He was unable to fish for it, though when his screen lit up red with a warning blaring throughout the room.

"There's an intruder in the castle!" Coran exclaimed from his post.

"What? How can someone just sneak aboard the ship?!" Shirley exclaimed.

"I knew coming here was a mistake!" Allura proclaimed as she swiped through the screens towards the cameras. Scanning them, she finally spotted him running down one of the halls, "There he is. Level five."

"Huh, looks like some sort of alien ninja," Rivalz observed.

Ignoring Rivalz comment, Lelouch stood up tall, "Paladins, suit up!"

Everyone made quick work of getting their armor on and then split up on the fifth level to try and find the 'ninja.'

As luck would have it, Rivalz ran into him first. With a gasp, he whipped out his Bayard, which turned into his signature rifle and leveled it at the intruder, "I got him."

"Keep eyes on him, Rivalz. We're all headed toward you," Lelouch ordered into the comm as the Blue Paladin approached slowly.

As Rivalz did so, the figure turned around, but his face was hidden behind a mask that matched his uniform.

"Hold it right there!" Rivalz shouted, aiming his gun, preparing to fire.

The intruder showed little concern for being discovered and rushed straight at the Blue Paladin. Gritting his teeth, Rivalz started firing at him, but just like a ninja, he dodged each of the laser blasts with fluid ease, ducking and jumping off walls to do so.

"Careful, he's faster than an angry Klanmãeirl!" Coran shouted from the deck, just as the 'ninja' leaped past Rivalz and nearly knocked the gun from his hands. Despite this, Rivalz quickly recovered and started shooting at him again as the intruder ran from him.

The intruder didn't get far as Kallen was running down the hall, her claws extended, and her new Geass flashing in her eyes. With a snarl, she was nearly successful in hitting the intruder with a single swipe, but at the last minute, he ducked and slid underneath her, stopping several feet away. Turning swiftly around, she charged at him again, swinging wildly. He flipped over her but almost tripped when Kallen kicked outward with a twist. Her maneuver allowed her to catch a glimpse of his face through the mask.

She blinked, 'Wait he's-'

"But he can jump like a sprightly globinheffer!" Coran's voice interrupted her thoughts, and the intruder took her moment of shock to make another run for it.

Kallen growled and shouted, "Coran, I can do without the commentary!"

"Somebody's as mad as a wet chãper," Coran commented, "Coming your way number three!"

Coran shouted his warning to Milly as she cautiously crept down the hall, her kusarigama held tightly in her grip. She almost didn't register the intruder as he jumped from the hall and raced past her.

"Oh no, you don't!" she shouted as she tucked and rolled under his leap and threw one end of her weapon as hard as she could in his direction. To her shock, just like Suzaku had at the sea planet palace, the intruder caught the handle of the weapon as he flipped around. Despite her surprise, though, Milly pulled back on her end as hard as she could.

"I got him!" she shouted.

The intruder wasn't waiting around and discovered quickly that he was much stronger than the Yellow Paladin and simply began running again, one end of the kusarigama still in his hand. With a shriek, Milly soon found herself being dragged down the hall with him. "Waugh-I don't got him!"

Kallen and Rivalz sprinted from around the corner and started chasing after them.

"He's dragging Milly away!" Coran exclaimed as Milly continued to be dragged along by her butt.

"Urgh, come back here!" she shouted, trying to slow the intruder down.

Shirley gasped from the hallway she was patrolling and spun around with an arrow notched. Just as the intruder raced by, she attempted to fire, but missed and nearly hit Milly instead.

Milly shrieked as the arrow nearly grazed her helmet, "SHIRLEY!"

"Huh?" the Orange Paladin exclaimed, "Sorry!"

"Oh, Shirley failed the team, guys," Coran said mournfully.

"Hey!" Shirley shouted as she started running after Milly as well.

"All right, it's up to Suzaku now," Coran said as the Purple Paladin readied himself down the hall.

"Copy that," Suzaku's katana flashed to life, "I'm ready," he started running down the hallway that he had heard the commotion before.

"Oh, this is exciting! He's got a sword," Coran continued to narrate, "One young paladin, one seemingly indestructible foe."

Suzaku took a swing just as the intruder turned the corner, but was also forced to duck to avoid the kusarigama chain. Fortunately, despite the hiccup, Suzaku was able to sprint back and catch up to the intruder, running neck and neck alongside him. With a shout, he lunged, swinging his katana in a downward arc, "Swing and a miss! Oh, another swing and a miss! He can't touch him! He's too fast!"

Suzaku grit his teeth as he continued to pursue the foe. Just as they turned another corner, they spotted Lelouch down the hall. The Black Paladin readied himself, red sparks dancing over his fingers. Seeing this, Suzaku turned and made eye contact with Milly. With duo nods, Milly slammed her heels into the floor, forcing the intruder to slow down and for Suzaku to catch up. It worked, and the 'ninja's' arm jerked backward, forcing him to stop.

With a shout, Lelouch flung his hand out, hoping to shock him, but to everyone's surprise, the intruder pulled out the blade on his back and blocked the lightning attack.

Suzaku, taking the distraction's opening, swung his katana downward again, but the intruder also turned around and blocked it, locking the blades in place.

As Suzaku held the intruder at bay, Lelouch was able to get a good look at the blade the 'ninja' was carrying. He had just been about to throw more lightning at him, but stopped upon seeing it, or more specifically, the mark on the end of it.

Lelouch was about to say something when Suzaku's katana was suddenly maneuvered from his hands, clattering to the floor across the hall.

"He knocked his Bayard out of his hands! It's on the ground!" Coran exclaimed. Despite the surprise, Suzaku raised his fists and flew at the intruder again. But, with a robust, swift pull of the kusarigama chain, he propelled Milly forward, colliding her body with Suzaku's, sending them flying down the hall.

After processing what just happened, Lelouch ran towards the attacker and attempted to punch him. However, he found his arm being hooked by the 'ninja's' and was flung to the other end of the hall, colliding with Kallen, Rivalz, and Shirley just as they turned the corner.

Before the intruder could do any more damage, the final Paladin, Rai, appeared behind him, Bayard out and raised to strike.

Sensing the danger, the 'ninja' drew the blade out and held it up to Rai's face just as Rai held his katar up to the intruder's throat.

Neither one moved, staring the other down for a solid five seconds as the other Paladins watched in anxious anticipation.

Eventually, the intruder moved first, but not to attack. He lowered his blade and stood calmly in front of Rai. He then dropped his hood, and his mask melted away to reveal a familiar face to the Green Paladin.

"Ulaz?!" Rai gasped, finally lowering his weapon as well.

Before Ulaz could answer, Allura brushed past Rai and pinned the Galra up against the wall.

"Who are you?!" she demanded.

"Stop! It's him!" Rai exclaimed, approaching the princess, "This is the Galra who set me free."

"...You've come," Ulaz said, staring at Rai with calm but relieved eyes.


Ulaz sat in one of the lounges on the ship, his hands and legs chained together. The Paladins, plus Allura and C.C., stood in front of him, eyeing him with suspicion and curiosity.

"Princess, I really don't think this is necessary. He's not an enemy!" Rai told her with an exasperated frown.

"I will not have some quiznaking Galra soldier on the bridge of my ship!" Allura spat with a frown, glaring venomously at Ulaz.

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already," Ulaz replied calmly, though not meeting Allura's eyes.

"Are your Galra threats supposed to win my trust?" Allura demanded with a frown.

"I'm not trying to win your trust," Ulaz sad carefully, looking up at her and the other Paladins, "I'm trying to win a war. And, because of Zephyr," Ulaz turned to look at the Green Paladin, "we are closer than we've ever been. Our gamble on you paid off better than we could have ever imagined."

'He's called me 'Zephyr,' just like those other aliens,' Rai thought before speaking, "When you released me, you also mentioned that there were others working with you."

"Yes. We are called the Blade of Marmora."

"Others?" Shirley asked nervously, "Are they here?"

Milly shot the Orange Paladin an annoyed look, "Shirley, can you try not to act so scared around the chained-up prisoner? It makes us seem a little lame."

"I am alone on this base," Ulaz stated.

"What is this base you're talking about? The coordinates just led us to this wasteland," Allura said scathingly.

"The base is hidden. Now that I know it is Zephyr that has come, you are welcome to our outpost. It lies dead ahead."

"Behind all the Xanthorium clusters?" Suzaku asked.

"No. Right in front of it, in a hidden pocket of space-time."

Allura scoffed. Did he really expect them to believe such a yarn?

Sensing the distrust from the princess, Lelouch approached, "If simply want to know if he's lying Allura, we have a solution."

Lelouch turned to Ulaz, his Geass active. The Galra looked surprised at first, his eyes widening briefly, before relaxing and meeting Lelouch's eye.

"You'll answer our questions," Lelouch commanded, the Geass flaring.

"What do you want to know?" Ulaz asked, the red ring appearing in his eyes.

"Did you free Rai? Or Zephyr?" Lelouch asked, using Rai's other name, as that seemed to be who Ulaz knew him as.

"Yes."

"Why betray Zarkon?"

"Because a tyrant only seeks power. And if Zarkon has his way, all, including the Galra, will perish."

"Are you really alone at this base?"

"Yes."

"How do we get to it?"

"Just fly straight for the center of the Xanthorium cluster. You will see."

Despite Ulaz's answer, Allura still looked unconvinced.

"...Coran, are you hearing this?" Allura called over the intercom.

"I am picking up some kind of anomaly on the screen. I suppose it could be a cloaked base," the advisor answered.

"He said all we need to do is fly towards the cluster in front of us. And we know that he's not lying, thanks to Lelouch," Rivalz reasoned.

"You think he's going to get me to destroy our ship just because he says so?" Allura asked incredulously.

C.C. walked up to her, "Need I remind you, Princess, those under Lelouch's Geass can not lie. It's simply impossible."

"Besides, we came out here to find some answers," Rai said determinedly, "Are we going to turn back now?"

"You know we trust you, Rai, but this doesn't feel right," Kallen said with a worried frown.

"Yeah… um… sorry guys, but it's a big ditto for me," Shirley said hesitantly.

"Galra could have implanted fake memories of the escape in your head," Milly added.

"That's impossible," Lelouch said immediately, "if that were the case, Ulaz would've said that when I asked him."

"Ulaz freed me. Without him, we wouldn't be here," Rai exclaimed stubbornly.

Allura still held a stubborn frown on her face. For a moment, Lelouch wondered if she was still going to refuse. But, to his relief, Allura finally said, still sounding angry, "Fine. Slow and steady, Coran. Head for the Xanthorium cluster."

"...Yes, Princess. Beginning approach. Impact imminent in five, four, three, two... Well, that's something."

Considering that the crew didn't feel the castle exploding into pieces, something else must have been happening.

"What is it?" Allura asked.

"Putting it up on the screens," the moment the advisor said it, a screen appeared in front of the Paladins in the lounge. They all gasped in awe. On the screen, space itself was swirling and folding as if it were a wormhole.

"Amazing!" Suzaku gasped.

"They're literally folding space!" Milly exclaimed.

Upon seeing this, Lelouch, at last, turned his Geass off, and Ulaz's eye returned to normal.

"Are you satisfied with your answers?" the Galra asked the Black Paladin.

Lelouch's lips quirked up slightly in a grin, "Very."

After traveling through the pocket for a couple more seconds, a large blue structure appeared before them.

"Welcome to the Blade of Marmora Communications Base Thaldycon," Ulaz said before standing up. "Now, if you'll free me, I need to send a message to the leadership. They need to know I've made contact with Voltron."

"Go with him and keep an eye on him. I'm staying here," Allura said, looking at Lelouch and Rai.

"Got it. Shirley, Suzaku, Kallen, you're with us too. Milly, Rivalz stay on the ship and hold down the fort here," Lelouch ordered.

Milly looked a little disappointed, but shrugged and agreed, though wasn't complaining.

"I'm coming as well," C.C. said.

"...All right," Lelouch sighed, knowing he couldn't stop her.

The Paladins, C.C., and Ulaz all gathered inside Aka, and Kallen flew them towards the base. As they got closer, they noticed a device attached to it, glistening with light purple energy. It seemed similar to other Galra ships, but the dark intent was gone.

Seeing their stares, Ulaz explained, "This is the gravity generator that creates the space-time fold that hides the station. It was created by a reclusive, genius engineer named Slav. His technology allows the Blade of Marmora to remain hidden while we work to take down the Galra Empire. Zarkon would do anything to get his hands on this technology."

"I can think of someone else who'd love to see this too," Suzaku muttered lowly, a particular Earl's face appearing in his head, hearts in his eyes and drool descending his jaw.

"So, there are Galra out there that aren't loyal to Zarkon?" Shirley asked.

"We thought expanding the Galra Empire would bring stability. We learned too late; a tyrant doesn't seek stability, only power."

'Just like someone else I know,' Lelouch thought with a scowl.

Inside the base, they had a perfect view of the pocket all around them. The energy generator's core burned brightly out one of the windows.

"With our members working on the inside, planning coordinated attacks with Voltron, we may finally have a chance," Ulaz said, typing a message into the screen of the base. It was currently showing a diagram of the Galran headquarters, as well as the planets that orbited around it.

"So, you have agents working within Zarkon's ranks?" Kallen asked.

"It makes sense if that's the case," C.C. said as Ulaz turned to look at them again, "How else could we have escaped from that last fight? I highly doubt that those shields at the command center simply went down on their own."

"You are correct," Ulaz said, "We've got people risking their lives in this war, just like you."

Rai to the opportunity to speak up, "If you have people on the inside, can they tell me where my family is? They were taken the same time I was."

"I knew others from Earth were captured. I never saw them," Ulaz told Rai, "but I have some records of Galra prisoners here. I can transmit them to your ship."

Ulaz turned back to the screen to begin the data transfer. Rai sighed in relief. With this information, they'd at least be able to find a lead on his sister and mother.

Lelouch's eyes wandered to the weapon on Ulaz's back. His eyes narrowed, "What's that weapon you carry?"

Ulaz looked at Lelouch and unsheathed the blade for him to see, "It's a ceremonial blade that each member of our order carries."

"Hmmm…" Lelouch hummed, "interesting."

Suddenly, the alarms started blaring throughout the base, making everyone, including Ulaz, jump.

Ulaz pulled up a screen that showed outside the pocket. To their horror, in the distance, they saw a large and familiar ship heading straight towards them!

"Oh, no!" Ulaz exclaimed before turning to face them entirely, "You were tracked!"

"What?! How?!" Suzaku exclaimed.

While the others looked at the screen fear and confusion, Kallen grit her teeth and glared at Ulaz, "If Zarkon knows we're here, it's because you ratted us out."

Outside the pocket, the ship came to a stop and split open. Inside, the monster robot appeared, the same one that Haggar had merged Prorak's quintessence to.

"It's another one of Zarkon's robot- beast- ro-beasts!" Shirley shouted.

"Everyone back to the ship! Now!" Lelouch ordered urgently.

"Lelouch, wait," Ulaz said before handing the Black Paladin a large flash drive, "These are instructions on how to reach the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Before you go there, find out how Zarkon is tracking you. If you lead him there, our entire underground network, everything we've spent centuries building, will be lost."

Though Lelouch already knew that, he nodded anyway and took the drive. Everyone quickly piled back into Aka and zoomed back to the castle.

"I knew he could not be trusted!" Allura shouted at the screen from Aka's cockpit.

"I don't think it was him, Princess," Lelouch told her.

"It wasn't!" Rai exclaimed stubbornly.

"How can you be sure?" Allura demanded.

"It doesn't matter now. What should we do?" Coran asked urgently as he, Milly, and Rivalz looked anxiously at the screen.

"Can't we hide just here in the space pocket and wait for it to go away?" Suzaku suggested.

Liking Suzaku's idea, Lelouch spoke, "Everyone get to your Lions, but don't launch. We'll wait to see what it does. I don't want to risk fighting it if we don't have to."

As everyone made their way to their lions, Kallen instinctively activated her Geass. Despite not seeing it with her naked eye, she gasped when her vision spotted the ro-beast hovering closer to the Xanthorium crystals. It seemed to be scanning them, searching for something. That something being them.

"I don't think it can see us guys!" Kallen said through the comm, "So I think we're safe as long as we're in the space pocket! It's the only thing there too!"

"You sure?" Rivalz asked.

"Positive!"

C.C. hummed from the bridge of the castle, "Interesting. Absolute Perception."

Suddenly, the ro-beast opened its jaws and, to their shock, started sucking in large chunks of the Xanthorium into its mouth.

"He's drawing in the Xanthorium clusters," Coran gasped.

Once several dozen of the crystals disappeared inside it, the ro-beasts eyes then flashed, and its jaw slammed open again. This time, instead of drawing things in, it shot a thick bolt of red energy throughout the xanthorium ring, causing many to explode upon impact.

"That was almost like Yoru's ability!" Suzaku realized with a gasp. Except, as far as he knew, Yoru couldn't fire any projectiles she swallowed back. Come to think of it, where did those items even go anyway?

The ro-beast began to scan the area again. This time, it spotted the space-pocket among the explosions of Xanthorium. Opening its jaw, it started to suck crystals in once more.

"Lelouch, I think it knows we're here!" Kallen warned, her Geassed eyes still glued to it.

"Hold," Lelouch commanded calmly.

Once he was close enough, the ro-beast's blasters sprang to life again, and this time struck the space pocket with full force.

One of the energy blasts hit the castle head on!

"Direct hit!" Coran shouted, "He definitely knows we're here!"

"Get the particle barrier up!" Allura commanded.

Several more shots hit the castle before the particle barrier rose fully.

The ro-beast began pulling in more crystals to fuel another attack. It was pulling so hard that it began to draw the castle out of the pocket as well.

"Paladins, I think it's time to launch!" Allura shouted.

"Form Voltron!" Lelouch shouted from his bay.

Not wasting another moment, Voltron burst out of the space pocket, slamming hard and head-on into the ro-beast. With a mighty punch, the ro-beast was nearly flipped backward, its blasting shot hitting above it and avoiding its real target.

From inside the pocket, the machine that was being used to hold the space pocket together collapsed. Moments later, it vanished.

"We're exposed! The space fold has been lowered!" Allura shouted.

From the base, a small space pod, that they assumed contained Ulaz blasted away from the base and battle.

"Well, there goes Ulaz," Coran said.

"I knew we should never trust a Galra!" Allura seethed.

Meanwhile, just outside the Xanthorium circle, Voltron continued to pummel to ro-beast mercilessly, pushing it back with each strike.

Then Lelouch spotted a couple of outlying Xanthorium chunks coming up behind the ro-beast, and he smirked darkly.

"Let's light this thing up. Fire lasers!" he commanded. With matching smirks, Kallen and Rai fired several blasts at the monster, pushing it back and sending it tumbling into the open.

This small taste of victory was short-lived, as to their horror, the ro-beast turned around and began to draw in xanthorium crystals again.

"He's pulling in more ammo!" Milly exclaimed.

"Move, move, move!" Lelouch shouted and Voltron out of the way just in time from the ro-beasts blast. They failed to notice how close they were flying to the Xanthorium chunks, some of which got hit by the lasers, causing massive explosions. The Paladins all braced themselves from the turbulence it created. They ultimately managed to escape the minefield, but they then saw to their shock that the ro-beast was now aiming its suction ability towards them.

"Milly, Suzaku, Rivalz, Shirley, give me full reverse boosters!" Lelouch shouted.

The quartet quickly obeyed, but even with the boosters at full strength, the ro-beast's power proved to be stronger. Plus, more Xanthorium chunks were also being pulled in, causing Voltron to crash into several of them, pulling them even closer in.

"Well, this really sucks," Rivalz couldn't help but joke despite the situation.

Everyone groaned in dismay. Now? Seriously Rivalz?

Eventually, Voltron was in reach of the ro-beast's mouth but managed to avoid being pulled fully in by bracing his feet on each side of the machine's face. They tried to push their arms out of the way as well, but they held fast.

"We can't get free!" Shirley shouted shrilly.

Kallen growled before gasping. To her right, a keyhole began to rise from within the cockpit.

"I've got this!" she shouted, her Red Bayard morphing into her hands. With a shout, she plunged the Bayard into the keyhole and twisted it.

From around Aka's neck, three long claws emerged, almost making it look like a mane had formed, but that wasn't the feature the Red Lion was focusing on. Relying purely on her Lion's instinct, Kallen plunged Aka's head into the middle of the ro-beasts mouth.

"Now!" she shouted, and with a flash of red, waves of hot red energy exploded within the beast.

With a roar of distress, the ro-beast seized up, and with all the strength it had, pushed Voltron off of it just as an explosion from within its mouth erupted.

"Did it get him?" Suzaku asked.

As the smoke cleared, the ro-beast showed that it was clearly still functional, but they could see multiple cracks and even some of the metal that had melted around the beast's inner mouth.

"Not quite, but whatever that was, it's certainly wasn't unscathed," Lelouch said, as Voltron quickly rocketed away from the ro-beast, "Right now, we've got to keep some distance between us and that ro-beast!"

Then from behind, with what sounded like a shriek of fury, the ro-beast sped after them, and despite the damage around its jaw, began rapidly firing lasers in Voltron's direction. As it did so, though, some of the cracks began to crackle dangerously. Each shot hit a Xanthorium cluster, forcing Voltron to maneuver around several explosions evasively.

Voltron shot upward to avoid the explosions, but the ro-beast then attempted to pull them in once more.

"It's trying to pull us in again!" Rai shouted as Voltron flew wildly around the open space, trying to stay out of the range of suction. When that didn't work, Suzaku, Milly, Rivalz, and Shirley activated the leg thrusters again to try and slow them down.

"We're burning thrusters at full capacity, and it's not making any difference!" Rivalz shouted, frustrated, and scared.

Before Voltron could be drawn entirely to its mouth, a laser blast from behind hit the ro-beast, shaking its assault and causing Voltron to spin backward from shock.

Looking behind them, they saw that the laser had come from the castle, providing covering fire.

"Are you all okay?" C.C. called to them.

"Alive, yes. All right, no," Shirley told them grimly.

Allura suddenly grunted as the particle barrier started to get bombarded with Xanthorium crystals crashing into it, being sucked towards the ro-beast's direction in the process.

"It's going for the castle!" Suzaku shouted.

"We need some way to stop its tractor beam!" Rai exclaimed.

"I've got an idea," Lelouch said over the comms, praying that it would work, "Rai, form shield!" With a burst of energy, Voltron's winged contracted the collided in front of them into their strong red barrier, "We can use the shield to block the beam!" Lelouch ordered, and Voltron raced at full speed towards the ro-beast. Once within range, the shield was shoved between the ro-beast's jaws and punched it backward. The ro-beast tumbled through the air, but the strategy seemed to work as the castle was now free.

"Okay, we stopped the beam. Now, what?" Kallen shouted.

"Now, we go on the offensive," Lelouch ordered.

"The xanthorium clusters! We can use them!" Rai said with a smirk.

With a nod from Lelouch, the Paladins propelled Voltron up to the ro-beast and pushed it at high speed towards the xanthorium cluster's ring. After building up enough speed, they let go, and ro-beast flew backward into one of the giant chunks, Voltron's shield returning to him moments before it exploded.

"Okay, we had to have got it that time!" Milly huffed.

Much to their shock, once the initial blast dissipated, the ro-beast belched out a blast that they were barely able to shield in time. And unlike the other blasts, it felt much stronger, like all of the ro-beast's energy had been concentrated into one single stroke.

"The shield can't handle this much power!" Rai shouted as they continued to be blasted back. Then with shouts of pain, the shield was torn apart, blasting Voltron fully, sending him spiraling dangerously throughout the battlefield.

Though the cracks had certainly increased around it and taking advantage of Voltron's hit, the ro-beast attempted to suck them in once more.

Lelouch grit his teeth, thrusters at full strength trying to stop them, but it seemed to be of little help. Nothing they tried had worked!

"Guys, I hate to say this, but we might not be strong enough to beat this thing!" Shirley shouted in a near panic.

"Hang on!" a voice exclaimed through the cockpits, and Lelouch gasped.

"Ulaz?!" he exclaimed.

Watching in shock, they saw the ship that the Galra had previously been flying away in zoom back towards them.

"I'm going to take it down from the inside!" the Blade member said, blasting past Voltron and heading straight toward the beast.

"Ulaz, no! Let us handle this!" Rai begged from within Voltron.

"Voltron is too valuable. The universe needs you," he said with finality before disappearing into the ro-beast's mouth.

The ro-beast's mouth slammed shut and was temporarily thrown off balance from Ulaz's strike, but it straightened itself moments later and turned to face Voltron once more. With a mighty blast from its thrusters, it charged them.

With gasps of shock, the Paladin's braced themselves for impact.

"Get ready!" Lelouch shouted, Voltron throwing its fists up to defend.

Before it could reach them though, the ro-beast stopped. The cracks along its frame began to fizzle even brighter now, and they all watched in awe as the ro-beast's limbs began to be forcibly pulled into itself.

"Ulaz opened up the space pocket from inside!" Suzaku realized, "It's falling in on itself!"

The ro-beast continued to shrink smaller and smaller until, at last, it vanished, imploding completely with a flash of violet light.

"H-He did it!" Shirley exclaimed after a moment of stunned silence.

"Ulaz saved us!" Kallen agreed.

Despite the victory, though, a wave of sadness flowed down the Paladin bond.

"He's gone," Rai said mournfully, his eyes misting with unshed tears.

"...Paladins, return to the castle," Lelouch eventually ordered forlornly.


Later on, evening time, according to the castle's clocks, Lelouch stood alone, gazing out of one of the many long windows scattered around the ship. He was deep in thought. He believed they might have found their first faithful ally in this war, but right now, contacting them was out of the question. He of all people knew how vital secrecy was to groups like the Blade of Marmora. If there was even a sliver of a chance, someone was a spy or leaking information to the enemy, finding and exposing them became a top priority.

However, the Black Paladin was no fool either. In war, risks had to be taken for battles to be won. And a fight wasn't won with weapons alone, but with the soldiers that wielded them.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw C.C. approaching him.

Come to think of it, he had meant to ask the immortal a couple questions and now was as good a time as any.

"Did you ever meet my father?" he asked bluntly.

The immortal stopped in her tracks for a moment, and before she could respond, he pressed further, turning his head partway to meet her eyes, filled with distrust and suspicion, "C.C. did you ever give my father a Geass?"

C.C. didn't speak for about a minute before she started approaching again and answered, "I didn't give him one. That honor belongs to another. V.V. A boy, or at least that's what he looks like, who's also immortal and can form contracts as well. He's the one who did."

Lelouch inhaled sharply, "So you did know my father."

"Yes," she nodded, seeing no point in denying it, "I met him in his youth long before you were born. But I haven't seen him in years."

"...I see…"

"...So now what? We need resources, but we can't contact this rebel group. We seem to be in a bit of headlock at the moment," she observed.

"...Where are the others right now?"

He knew what they had to do now.


On the bridge, Rai shook and couldn't help but cry as the reality finally hit him that Ulaz was dead. Though he barely knew the Galra, he still considered him a friend, and he chose to give his life for them to live on when he easily could have saved himself.

The other Paladins were gathered around him in an attempt to provide comfort, Shirley sitting to his immediate right, rubbing a hand along his back.

"Sorry we doubted Ulaz, Rai," Kallen said sadly, "He saved all our lives."

"He was a good man," Suzaku agreed with a nod.

"I-I still have so many questions," Rai stuttered and wiped his tears away.

"And we'll find the answers, no matter what!" Milly said with a determined frown, her fist clenching.

"...Hey guys, about what Ulaz said earlier," Rivalz said, "Do you think Zarkon is really tracking us?"

"We cannot know for sure," Allura suddenly said sternly, "Only Ulaz knew our whereabouts."

The princess's statement left many of the Paladin's in shock. Rai angrily rose from his seat and faced her.

"You don't really think Ulaz gave us up, do you?! After he sacrificed himself?!" he demanded.

"Yeah! Maybe Zarkon found out about this place on his own!" Kallen agreed, narrowing her eyes, "He's probably been searching for the Blade of Marmora too!"

Allura, however, didn't so much as flinch at their accusations, "It's clear the loss of Ulaz has caused you great concern, but, regardless of how Zarkon located us, we cannot stay here any longer. It isn't safe."

"Should we meet up with the rest of Ulaz's group?" Rivalz suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Shirley said, "Ulaz himself said that we need to be absolutely sure we aren't being tracked before that."

"...Ultimately, our next step isn't our choice to make," Suzaku said grimly, turning towards the bridge's entrance as it opened.

Standing there was Lelouch, fully dressed in his uniform for Zero, his cape flowing behind him and helmet held at his waist. C.C. also entered beside him.

Lelouch turned to the princess and looked her dead in the eye.

"Plot a course for Earth."


AN: DUN, DUN, DUUUNN! You heard Zero right! Next stop: Earth. The moment everyone has been waiting for! But what exactly is Lelouch planning, especially with the danger of being tracked by Zarkon?

Well... wait and find out! Mwahahaha!

Seriously though, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, R&R pretty please!

Oh, and just to inform everyone, Kallen's Geass is called 'Absolute Perception,' and it works similar to how the Byakugan works in the Naruto franchise. We'll go into a little more detail in future chapters.

Also, I keep forgetting to add this, but if you noticed at the end of chapter two in the AN, I changed Rai's voice actor. He's now being voiced by Dante Basco, the voice of Prince Zuko from ATLA!

Anyway, that's all for announcements. See you all next time!