The Rise of Voltron: Season 1: Chapter 5 - Errant Embers

Sleek, white transport vehicles soared through the air, weaving around tall, shining buildings in practiced, perfect lines. Each time one passed, sunlight caught in its pristine metal and reflected through the window screens of a grand, spacious office. Datapads filled the shelves alongside odd knickknacks and artifacts from numerous worlds — rather messy compared to most Alteans’ quarters — while a hologram of the solar system spun lazily in the high, domed ceiling. Near the back of the room was a desk, at which sat King Alfor in the casual blue tunic and trousers he preferred rather than his formal attire. Occasionally, he stroked the goatee he was attempting to grow into a beard while typing away at a holo-screen, the quiet taps being the only noise in the room—

“Have you finished yet?”

—at least, they had been. Recently, a much louder sound had begun repeating next to the desk, accompanied by a small head briefly popping over the top.

“Have you finished yet?” Thump

“No.”

“Have you finished yet?” Thump

“Not yet.”

“Have you finished yet?” Thump

“Allura,” Alfor chuckled, pausing in his work, which prompted the little girl to stop bouncing, “I told you, I will be done in a dobosh. Just be patient.”

“Alright,” she replied.

While he resumed typing, she stood very still and quiet…for a few tics.

Ever so slowly, she peeked over the desk again and whispered, “Have you finished now?”

Alfor nearly collapsed atop his work with a wheezing laugh, then leaned back in his chair and theatrically declared, “Very well, you win.”

“Yay!” Allura cheered as she raced out of the room.

Rounding the doorway at a frightening speed, she nearly ran clear into Coran. Luckily, his reflexes were sharp enough to raise his leg out of the way just in time. He stared after her a moment, then turned to her much-slower father, trailing behind.

“Just think, sire,” he said with an amused smirk, “soon she will be able to fly without the Lion.”

“Indeed,” replied Alfor, the bags under his eyes seeming much larger all of a sudden.

Coran chuckled and called after them, “Have fun.”

“We will,” the pair called back, though one was far more enthusiastic than the other.

They passed streams of other attendants and officials, each sending either not-so-secret smiles or critical raised brows their way, and soon enough Allura was waiting outside the armory, as she had many-a-time before.

“Hurry, Father,” she said, rocking on her feet and staring hard at the door as if that would make it open.

To her, however, it seemed to work, as not a tic later, it did so. Standing with a soldier’s regality was her father, now clad in his Red Paladin armor, his bangs and ponytail tidied up to properly reflect his station. At the sight, Allura’s eyes grew to twice their usual size, and she squealed in delight and ran in place, her ears bobbing rapidly.

“You see me in this all the time,” said Alfor with a laugh.

“And it is amazing every time,” she replied.

His cheeks gained a touch of warmth, tinging his blue markings purple, as he did his best to suppress a goofy grin. Kneeling down, he said, “Thank you, my juniberry. Now” — He summoned his helmet and held it up — “are you ready to fly?”

The little princess jumped for joy. “Yes!”

“Righty-O, then, here we go!”

Alfor slipped his helmet on her head, scooped her up, and placed her on his shoulders. Once she was secure, he took off through the corridor, his baby girl cheering the whole way. In no time at all, they reached another set of wonderfully familiar doors and entered the Red Lion’s hangar. He stood tall and proud as he waited for his Paladin. He wasn’t the only one, though. Alfor hastily dug in his heels, screeching to a halt inches before bowling over his wife.

Queen Melenor’s gentle face was set in a disapproving frown, which she then added to by a raised eyebrow. “And where are you going?”

It seemed she already knew, making the pair a bit sheepish as Alfor replied, “We were just about to go for a jaunt with Red?”

“That sounds lovely,” she said, uncrossing her arms. “However, Allura should have been at lessons with me ten doboshes ago.”

The duo sagged dramatically, their ears drooping. “Awww.”

“But I—” Allura began.

“No ‘but’s,” her mother said firmly yet kindly. “You can go flying some other time. Now, come along.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Alfor plucked his daughter from his shoulders and set her down. “I am sorry, my dear, but it seems we must remain on the ground today.”

He reached for his helmet, only for her to grip onto it tightly and run into the Lion’s shadow.

“No! I want to go flying now!” she said. “I will be a Paladin one day, so I need all the experience I can get!”

“You will also be queen someday,” said Melenor calmly as her husband stood by her side, “and that means you must learn how to properly rule our kingdom.”

“Being a Paladin is more important than being queen!”

Allura’s parents froze, sharing a look of confusion and surprise.

“Where in the stars did you get that notion?” asked Alfor.

“From you,” she answered, seeming a little perplexed at the question.

Drawing near and crouching to her height (and moving away from his wife’s pointed gaze), he replied, “But I am both Paladin and king. They are equally important.”

Allura crossed her arms and puffed out her chest in a matter-of-fact manner. “Paladins fight evil and monsters, and fly to the corners of the universe. Kings do not do that.”

A tiny laugh bubbled from her father’s throat. “Dearest, there is much more to being a Paladin than merely fighting and flying, and I would have no clue how to do half of it if I did not also know how to be a good ruler.”

“They are very alike, actually,” said Melenor, mirroring her husband’s stance. “They both require diplomacy and leadership, and they have a duty to protect the innocent and their people. Thus, learning to be one will make you better able to be both.”

Allura opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out. She tried for several tics to think of something, only to cross her arms again and pout.

Alfor cupped her puffed cheek, saying, “I know you want to follow in my footsteps, and truthfully, nothing would make me happier, but part of being a Paladin is knowing where you are needed most. Right now, your people need a princess much more than they need another Paladin.”

For a while, she mulled over his words, fiddling with her fingers. Eventually, she let out a small huff. “Very well.”

The couple smiled.

“But I still get to go flying, right?!”

Laughter filled the hangar, her mother replying, “Of course you can, just later.”

Allura cheered and dove into her parents’ arms. “Then I will be the best Paladin-queen ever!”

“We know you will,” said Alfor with a chuckle as he and Melenor wrapped their daughter in a warm embrace.

It was a perfect moment — too perfect to last.

Allura knew that now. The memory faded away, leaving herself staring at her reflection. Even before being put to sleep, so many decaphoebes had passed since then — since they knew peace. Terrible glowing eyes flashed through her mind. The black coil which had wrapped itself around her soul upon awakening in this terrifying new universe tightened painfully, and there was only one way to remove it.

“Princess.” The sound of Keith’s quiet, steady voice roused her from her thoughts. There was a pinch of concern on his face. “Are you feeling okay?”

She shook her head free of the last of her daydream and answered, “Yes, yes, I am fine. My apologies.”

He regarded her curiously. ‘What’s up with her? She’s been spacing out all day.’

“Have you heard a word I’ve said?” asked Coran through the video-comm from the castle.

“Uh, I have,” said Hunk, his hand raised, “and I hate all of them because they’re telling me to fly into a fiery death trap.”

“Technically it’s more lava than fire,” said Pidge, Green moving closer to Yellow and Blue, the three Lions resting in the planet’s orbit.

“You get how that’s worse, right?”

Lance sidled up on his other side, saying, “You sure this is the right place, Pidge?”

“One hundred percent,” she replied. “I saw a planet covered in lava fields with triple volcanoes. Inside the middle one is where we’ll find the Red Lion.”

“A trivial but fun fact,” said Coran, pulling up images of three tall peaks surrounded by a lush tropical jungle, “Planet Hilem was once a thriving world widely known for the triplet mountains you are looking for, though it seems time has not been so kind to it.”

Allura’s gaze narrowed at the red-and-black form of Hilem before them, its surface obscured by a choking layer of dark clouds, and its cracking moon drifting out of its orbit. “Perhaps it was not time that was unkind.”

“Are you saying the Galra have the power to kill entire planets?” asked Keith at length, his eyebrows knitting together.

“I would not put it past them to try,” she replied bitterly.

“Agreed,” said Shiro, glancing at his hand. “But speculation won’t help us right now. We have a mission to complete.”

“Yeah, and why exactly do I have to complete it alone?” asked Hunk.

“Because Green can’t handle those temperatures, and we’re not leaving her up here without someone to watch her back.”

“Wouldn’t my ice beam be more useful down there, though?” said Lance.

“Not as much as you’d think,” Pidge replied, sending a visual aid to the others’ monitors. “Normally, ice would just sit on top of lava and melt really slowly due to the magma having high heat but low energy, which can be a problem in and of itself since it creates pressure from steam that’ll then explode. But because Hilem’s dying, it’s releasing all its energy at once, and that massive amount of surrounding heat would melt the ice way too fast for it to do much good.”

“Therefore, Yellow’s heavy shielding and armor stand the best chance of getting us close to that volcano,” Shiro finished. He rested his hand on Hunk’s shoulder. It didn’t seem to reassure him much.

Studying the images, Keith asked, “If the Lions can’t take that kind of heat, what good’s our armor going to do?”

“My father crafted these suits specifically to withstand all the dangers one might face traversing the stars,” Allura answered proudly.

“…Okay, let me rephrase that: if the Lions of Voltron can’t survive in this kind of heat, what good is our fancy armor going to do?”

She glared at him. “You doubt my father’s design?”

“I doubt a lot of things,” he replied, “including this mission. Even without the heat, the planet’s so decayed that the ground’s probably unstable, and that’s not mentioning the toxic gasses and smoke which will severely limit visibility. One wrong move, and it’s game over.”

She very much wanted to come up with a rebuttal, but couldn’t, especially when Pidge added, “Plus, said gunk in the atmosphere and high radiation will totally mess up our radar and comms. If anybody gets lost, it’ll be an uphill battle trying to find them.”

“Which is why I want you two to stick very close to me.” Shiro’s tone shifted to full captain mode as he addressed his partners. “We’ll tie our grappling cables together into a lead so we don’t lose track of each other.”

“I would recommend hurrying as well,” said Coran. “Prolonged exposure to those temperatures will compromise any system, including the Lions’ and your suits’.”

“Ooh, ooh, what if we coated Yellow in a layer of ice? That could buy us some extra time,” said Hunk.

“Think you can do it, Lance?” asked Shiro.

“No problem, boss.” The young pilot got to work.

Ensuring to keep the freeze ray at its lowest possible setting, he moved Blue’s open maw over her fellow Lion’s body, slow and close, the beam contained to a mist-like aura rather than a blast. Once there was a decent layer, she pulled back and let Yellow shake himself a little to get rid of any pieces in his joints.

“You’re good to go, hermano.”

“Good luck, all.” Coran’s gaze swept over them, then locked with Allura’s. She nodded to him, an intense look in her eye.

With that, he closed the line and Yellow activated his barrier as he headed down through the dark atmosphere. It was a rougher ride than usual, the smoke and fine ash providing stiff resistance. When they finally breached the cloud layer, they were met with a hellish sight. Great rivers and lakes of molten rock cut through the land to the horizon like jagged, bubbling scars; whatever solid stone remained had been burned black ages ago. Massive swaths of the land shifted and cracked, spurts of lava and toxic gas shooting into the sky, adding to the thick miasma blanketing the planet.

Even with the heavy shield, Hunk was reluctant to get close to the surface, his sensors already warning to turn back. He resolved to focus on their destination which, thankfully, was easy to spot even through the dark grey haze clogging the air. The three volcanoes reached to the sky almost proudly, with yet more magma spilling from their calderas and many mouth-like breaches gaping along their sides. However, as they neared, Yellow began drifting down, aiming for a patch of stone much farther away than they’d planned.

“What are you doing?” asked Allura sharply.

“I-It’s not me,” Hunk said, hurriedly pulling up the advanced scanners to avoid getting yelled at. “It looks like the ground’s more unstable the closer it is to the volcanoes. If we try to land at the front door, Yellow’s going to fall in.” An alert popped up. “And, of course, it’s getting hotter by the meter, which will deplete his energy way too fast. I hate to say it, but if we want to have enough power to get out of here, this is as far as he can go.”

Shiro thought over the implications. “I don’t like leaving you here by yourself — or wading through lava, for that matter — but if that’s what we’ve got to do, then let’s get going. If things go critical, have Yellow roar for us.”

He and his partners nodded to each other and moved to the back of the head.

“Moving single file will be best,” said Allura as she took out the grapple from her gauntlet. “I will take the lead.”

“Why?” asked Keith with a dubious brow.

“I can use my magic can help create a safe path, and protect us from any lava spray,” she replied, puffing out her chest a little. “Besides, it is only logical for the person with the most experience to lead.”

“By that logic, Shiro should take point. He has the most experience in this era.”

“Keith, please don’t drag me into this,” the man muttered with no small amount of exhaustion.

She let out a rather indignant noise. “Shiro has not been trained to overcome such hazardous environments. I have.”

“The Galaxy Garrison has an extensive preparedness program for its astronauts, so for your information, Princess, he does.” It was almost impressive how Keith managed to make a royal title sound degrading.

“Oh, please. Mere explorers’ training is nowhere near comparable to Altean Alchemist training.”

“Doubt it.”

Hunk wisely decided to keep out of the conversation.

Shiro, however, didn’t have that luxury, and before she could retort, he stepped in, moving them apart. “Allura taking point is fine. I was planning to bring up the rear anyway, so we’re wasting time arguing about this.”

Keith cast a side glare at her annoyingly smug face and gave a disgruntled but accepting nod. The three brought out their lengthy cables from their gauntlets, finding that the ends latched together with electromagnetic tips. Once they were secure, they sealed their helmets and headed into Yellow’s mouth.

“Okay, not sure how accurate this is, but I’m estimating we’ve only got about a few hours,” said Hunk. “I’ll see if I can radio Lance and Pidge and let them know what’s happening.”

“Copy that,” Shiro replied. “Open it up.”

Very cautiously, Yellow parted his maw and the trio stepped out. Within the heavy, ice-filled shield, it was more warm than hot, but it still triggered a warning on their HUDs. Jaws clenched as they neared the hefty barrier, which suddenly seemed far too thin. They took a collective breath and stepped through.

A wave of blistering heat hit them like a sucker punch. Their suits immediately did what they could to compensate while a hoard of alerts coated their HUDs. In dismissing them, they were able to fully take in the world of Hilem. Without the golden light of the Lion’s shield and screens, the darkness hanging over them seemed to press down with its own gravity; even the widespread glow of the lava couldn’t relieve the pressure. The trio’s vision wandered up the rivers to the triplet volcanoes, a far more terrifying sight when standing exposed at their base. Not only were the mountains themselves active, funneling immense plumes of smoke into the thick, black clouds, but the sky above them was alive with wild arcs of purple lightning. Thunder rocked the air as distant eruptions shook the ground in kind, sprouting wild geysers of lava at random intervals.

Despite the raging heat all around, a chill ran down Allura’s back, and she gulped. Every cell in her body was telling her to turn around and leave this place and never look back. She very much wanted to listen.

“Well, lead the way.” Keith’s snarky tone knocked the fear out of her (mostly), and she shot him an irritated look. He simply returned it with an expectant brow.

‘I was wrong before. He is plenty pointed, like a sharp brick.’ Turning away with a small huff, she started off toward the erratic mountains, her companions walking single-file behind her.

The endless minutes crawled by; they trekked over ridges and around clefts, the uneven ground often groaning beneath their feet like a terrible beast about to strike. Ash and embers rained down in a perverted blizzard, coating their armor and keeping them from seeing much beyond where lightning and lava illuminated. Every so often, a burst of the molten rock had them ducking behind their shields, forced to wait out the episode. As promised, Allura’s magic proved very useful in creating larger barriers when needed, and even draining the energy from sections of magma pools and streams so they didn’t have to go around. Still, every poor step had them nearly slipping down jagged cliffs, and cracking the ground with spurts of toxic fumes. Had it not been for their tethers, they would’ve been dead several times over.

They still could be, Keith knew. He kept scanning their surroundings, ensuring his partners were alright, and monitoring his suit’s integrity. While they did seem to have been designed to withstand extreme temperatures, that didn’t account for acid, and if he recalled correctly, volcanic ash and gas were full of the stuff. The armor was holding, but there was a minor warning for the fabric sections. His eyes narrowed. The clock was ticking.

The incline swiftly steepened, and in turn, the trio’s progress plummeted. Soon, they were climbing more than hiking, and worse, the heat was beginning to overwhelm their cooling systems. They pushed onward and upward as far as they could, managing to reach nearly halfway up the mountain before pausing on a decent-sized terrace.

“How much farther?” Shiro panted, leaning against his knees.

Allura plopped onto a small boulder, equally winded. “I…I do not know, but hopefully not much.”

Off to the side, Keith stood with his hands behind his head, taking long, deep breaths. He looked at the low cliff leading to the next level. It was uneven, covered in ample holds, allowing him to climb up to the edge and peek over.

“It isn’t,” he called down, though he kept his eyes forward.

“How do you know?” asked Allura. She instinctively went to wipe her forehead, only to bump her helmet.

“Because I can see it. And a problem.”

The other two glanced at each other, then joined him on the wall. Upon reaching the top, their eyes went wide.

“Ancients of Oriande…” Allura whispered.

Stretching before them was a massive moat of magma. It had to be a couple hundred feet wide at least, roiling and churning, streams spilling through cracks in the edge and back down the mountain. Through the heat shimmers and smog, a deteriorating archway — the entrance into the volcano — could be seen on the other side, and the only way to get to it was the sparse chunks of rock floating on the deadly river.

Shiro and Allura stared at it with mouths agape.

Keith regarded it for a few seconds, then hauled himself up. “Okay.”

She balked. ‘“Okay”? What does he mean “okay?”’

“Uh, bud?” said Shiro in stunned bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

“There’s no way around and no time to find it even if there were one,” he replied. “Our helmets can map out a safe enough route. We just need to be fast.”

His partners shared an incredulous look, then joined him.

“I hope you realize how insane this is,” said Allura, eyeing the river warily.

Keith let out a light scoff. “Like everything else we’ve done hasn’t been?”

The notion did little to ease her tension as they resumed their walking positions. It grew worse upon reaching the edge of solid ground, the heat doubling in intensity and almost pushing her back. For a moment, she stood there, the path already plotted on her HUD, yet her feet remained frozen. There were a thousand ways this could wrong, and if she failed here…

‘Father, help me.’

“Princess.” She gave a slight start, then looked behind to see Shiro smiling at her confidently. “We’ve got your back.”

Allura managed a hesitant nod and turned back to the moat. She closed her eyes with a deep breath, and when she opened them, she leapt to the first rock. It wobbled at the impact, threatening to tip over. After a few seconds, it settled and the group let out a collective sigh. Spotting the next one, she stood and jumped again, Keith taking her place on the first, and so on. Ever cautiously, stone by stone, the three crossed the river of fire, their cables extending and retracting as needed. While some landings proved more precarious than others, by halfway, they’d managed to avoid injury. It was actually going pretty well — so of course it didn’t last.

A terrible CRACK split the air, reverberating in their bones. The ground shook in its most violent shudder yet, sending ripples through the lava and nearly knocking them off of their rocks. They looked up in horror; another eruption burst broke the upper ring of the middle volcano’s caldera, sending massive, flaming boulders into the sky, which then came down right on their heads. Every impact in the river sent more tremors to destabilize their footing. They managed to hang on until one crashed through the outer edge of the moat. The river began spilling out, dragging the trio with it.

“Move!” Shiro bellowed.

They jumped like they’d never jumped before, their booster packs providing extra range. The lava roiled around them, pulling the stones off the mapped route. Allura stopped when it vanished entirely. Two diverging paths replaced it. Both were risky; both could work. She glanced back and forth, pros and cons buzzing through her head as her heart raced faster than slip-space.

“Just pick one!” yelled Keith. “It doesn’t matter which, just go!”

She wavered. “What if I choose wrong?”

“Then we’ll deal with it, but right now you need to—” A shadow overhead cut Shiro off. “LOOK OUT!”

The blazing boulder crashed into the lava, and from it cascaded a massive tidal wave. Keith and Allura cried out as it swept up their stones, nearly slanting sideways and forcing them to cling on for dear life. Keith instantly boosted between whatever rocks were in his way and grabbed the princess around the waist. With the wave’s momentum, the shoreline was coming fast, but so was the swell itself. Just as it began curling down, he pushed off with every ounce of energy his pack had. The lava barely missed the pair’s feet. They tumbled onto solid ground, rolling to a stop, clinging to each other. Like a petulant child giving one last stomp, the wave crashed against the shore, sending out a spray of fire. The two teenagers scrambled back, barely avoiding the splatter. The river settled, and the world grew quiet. Heavy breathing filled the comm as they lay there for a minute.

“Princess…” Keith grunted, pushing himself to sit up. “You alright?”

Shakily nodding, she replied, “I will be.”

He mirrored the motion and turned to his right. “What about you, Shi—”

No one was there. The cable, still attached to his, was burned clean through. The scene played over in his head. The first spray of lava had swelled right between them.

Keith shot to his feet and looked around wildly, scanning the shore and moat over and over. “Shiro? Shiro! SHIRO!”

There was no sign of him.

His breaths quickened. ‘Nonononono, c’mon, c’mon! Please, you can’t do this to me again!’

He had half a mind to race back over the moat to search when the comm came to life; the voice was crackly and distorted, but distinct.

“You yell really loud, you know that?”

Keith nearly fell to his knees as his lungs let out the mother of all breaths. Allura gave a smaller one.

“Where are you?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

“Just a few bruises,” Shiro replied, sounding a bit winded. “The swell launched me back over the cliff, but I managed to grab onto a ledge.”

“Okay, I’ll come get you.” Keith started to move but his brother’s stern tone stopped him.

“No. You two need to get to the Lion before this place collapses and it slides into lava. I’ll head back to Yellow.”

“No way. It’s too dangerous. Wasn’t that the point of tying ourselves together? To make sure we could watch each others’ backs?”

“And now I need you to watch the princess’s back.” Shiro paused, a hint of humor creeping in. “That’s an order, punk.”

A tiny laugh managed to bubble out of Keith’s throat. “Copy that, old timer.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “I’m still not that old, you know.”

“Old enough, especially with the greying hair.”

His brother shook his head, chuckling and saying, “Just get going. And, Princess? Keep him out of too much trouble for me, will you?”

She blinked in surprise, then replied, “I shall do my best.”

‘Yeah, right.’ Keith glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Keith, remember what I said. Patience…”

“…yields focus.”

“Good luck.”

“Stay safe.”

The sound of the line shutting off left a rotten taste in Keith’s mouth, but he swallowed it down dutifully and disconnected his cable from Allura’s. He looked to the broken line as he reeled it in. For a moment, he stared at it, then removed it and let it fall to the ashen shore. Breathing deeply through his nose, he turned and headed into the volcano, Allura sticking close.

At one time, the tunnel may have been well-made, if what was left of its intricately-carved lion head archway was any indication; now, however, it was very much misshapen and equally dark as the world outside. Dribbles of magma trickling from cracks in the walls provided decent if scattered light, allowing the pair to avoid any tripping hazards on the lumpy ground. They didn’t need them to see where the path had fallen through, though. There was only a strip of stone left sticking out from the wall, just big enough for them to carefully shimmy across it.

‘Alright, stay calm, Allura,’ thought the princess, eyes glued to the molten rock flowing beneath her feet. ‘You can do this. Just think of something else — anything else.’

After pondering for a moment, she tentatively said, “So, Keith, you are something of a troublemaker, are you?”

He glanced at her but didn’t respond, absentmindedly checking his suit’s integrity. The armor had begun degrading now, too.

“Well, I just so happen to be an expert at keeping out of trouble,” she went on as they reached the other side of the hole, “so with me looking out for you, you have nothing to fear.”

“Yeah, I feel so much better having the person who nearly got us all killed watching my back.”

“I beg your pardon, how in the galaxy was that my fault?” Allura asked.

“You hesitated,” Keith replied, his steps gaining a heaviness. “The three of us could’ve made it together but you took too long.”

“Well, my apologies that standing in the middle of a lava flow while flaming boulders fall from the sky makes me a tad tense.”

“I thought you had ‘special training’ to prepare you for stuff like this.”

Allura ground her teeth. “And without that training, we would have been roasted alive several times over. It has been my training, my magic, that has protected us, so you don’t get to complain about one little slip-up.”

Keith rounded on her, halting them both. “I do when it nearly gets the people I care about killed.”

Venom laced his words, yet she couldn’t help pushing back. “But it did not.”

“But it could have. And now Shiro has to find his way back to Yellow on his own and face those dangers all over again without your precious protection.”

Perhaps she could have heard his silent warning on another day, and even heeded it, but not this day. Instead, she walked around him, saying coldly, “If you wish to be a Paladin of Voltron, these are the risks you must take.”

“We’re not your toy soldiers to be ordered around and die just because you say so.”

Allura stopped. A strange feeling sprouted in her stomach. It wasn’t guilt, but it curdled in the same way.

Turning halfway, she asked, “Do you truly think me so callous?”

Keith brushed past her, barely sparing a glance. “Prove me wrong.”

She stared after him, that feeling making her fists clench.

“You know nothing about me,” she muttered, though it didn’t have the potency she intended. Regardless, she followed.

While it certainly didn’t seem like a short trip, they soon reached a large, pentagonal chamber. Magma waterfalls poured from the high walls into a lake far below, stirring it up as it flowed around the hourglass-shaped pillar supporting a wide platform in the middle of the room. Several bridges branched off from it, each leading to their own cave, including the one the pair stood in the mouth of. They shared a glance. The princess turned up her nose and walked ahead; Keith rolled his eyes behind her.

The bridge was narrow and falling apart, much like everything else on the planet, but it held. A few times, Allura was tempted to look down, and swiftly regretted it. Once on the other side, the pair found something odd — or rather, somethings. Large mounds of what appeared to be cooled lava dotted the edge of the platform in a ring at exact intervals, like guards waiting to be called.

Keith ran his gaze over them, only to pause. There was a gap in the pattern, and from the empty space trailed scorch marks and scared stone — the remnants of battle. A sense of unease crept into his gut, and he looked around the room again. The design was eerily similar to a colosseum. Something wasn’t right.

He went to tell Allura as much when a rumble cut him off. In unison, the pair turned to one of the mounds as smoke began rising from it. Jagged lines of burning light etched their way across its surface, spreading until the entire stone was glowing with heat. It moved then, shifting and bubbling upward. Hurriedly backing away, the two gaped at the thing taking shape before them: ten feet tall with literally rippling muscles, cloven hooves stomping the ground in a wide, indomitable stance, and long, curved horns atop a bovine skull.

Pale, blank eyes pouring fire, the magma minotaur reared its head and let out a terrible roar that shook the cavern, knocking small trails of rock and dust from the ceiling. The beast then slammed its hands together, magma pooling in between, and as it pulled them apart, it crafted a giant sword and brandished it at them. The challenge was clear.

“Don’t suppose your training taught you how to deal with lava monsters, did it?” asked Keith, he and Allura drawing their weapons in turn.

“It must be the Red Lion’s safeguard,” she said. “A trial by fire.”

The two narrowly leapt out of the way before the sword slammed into the ground. Keith rolled to his feet and boosted back toward it, slicing through one of its legs. He slid to a crouching stop next to Allura, quickly checking her over. The beast floundered a little, then reformed its missing limb in seconds.

“I was afraid of that,” he muttered. The blade was coming down again. “Move!”

Racing around the minotaur, the princess called, “How are we meant to kill something like this?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. The beast looked between the pair, debating which one to hit. “Either it has limited regeneration and we have to wear it down, or we gotta knock it off the edge.”

He might’ve given it an idea. It spun around, digging its sword-tip into the ground and casting a spray of stones. Shields went up but the force sent them sprawling near the ledge. It came for Allura next, swinging upward. She hastily threw a magic blast, deflecting the blade and severing the tip. Just like the leg, it grew right back.

Keith raced in with a battle cry to get the minotaur’s attention and boosted into the air. He brought his sword down, only for it to block him. Once he landed, the two began trading blows. To his surprise, its moves were not of a mindless beast; each swing was calculated and precise, maneuvering with a greater speed than its bulk should’ve allowed. In a flash, it knocked Keith’s sword from his hands and kicked him in his side. He rolled all the way back to the ledge and over, barely grabbing on.

Allura rushed in, striking at the beast’s legs to keep it off balance and sending a blast to where its heart should’ve been. While she held its attention, Keith hauled himself up and made a break for his weapon. The minotaur’s ear tilted back. It shoved the princess away and turned with a low, sweeping swing. At the last second, Keith dropped to his knees and slid under the dripping blade, snagging his own sword and pivoting to strike its leg again.

On and on the battle went, the two teenagers forced to mostly play defense. At first, Keith wondered why a second mound hadn’t awoken, considering there were two challengers; after enduring so many blows his arms were going numb, however, he could see that one minotaur was enough. The few times they managed to land blows of their own, sometimes severing a limb, the wounds healed without any sign of slowing down; even Allura’s magic did little more than annoy it. With every hit they took, their fatigue grew, sapping their confidence and breath.

Allura growled. ‘Quiznack! What is it going to take!?’

She used her staff to push herself to her feet, and realized it was blackened and half-melted. Her fist tightened, bending the useless metal, and she threw it away. Sights locked on the minotaur, she slammed her palms together, willing her magic to gather between them.

On the beast’s other side, Keith had finally found a way to trick it: live bait. The construct, it turned out, had a bit of a temper, and after one-too-many strike-and-retreat bouts, it was ready to end this battle by any means necessary, and so, all he had to do was stay on his back foot, keep his shield up, and steadily move backwards. Inaction, too, it seemed, enraged it. The strikes grew more vicious by the second, but it was working. Just a little closer, and—

Light flashed behind it. Allura had summoned a massive, luminous orb, and once it was big enough, she fired. It tore through the beast’s body, hollowing its entire torso, and nearly hitting Keith, who’d ducked in the nick of time. He stood and sent a wide-eyed look through the gaping hole at Allura as she dropped to her knees, a bout of numbness taking hold of her limbs.

A hush fell, and the two desperately hoped that was the end, but just like their other attacks, lava swirled around and filled the wound in mere seconds. Then the minotaur set its sights on the princess. She scarcely had any energy left to feel terror as it charged, its sword raised high. All she could do was watch it come down.

The instant it got close, however, her world shifted. A second later, she was rolling to a stop. With a gasp, she looked up to see Keith pinned on his back beneath the massive, searing blade where she’d just been, his shield the only thing keeping it from cleaving him in two. Apparently, the beast didn’t like that either, so it raised its weapon and brought it down again. Then again. And again, and again. Every time, Keith let out a horrible, wheezing grunt, both his shield and the stone beneath him cracking, but he refused to look away from those blazing, dead eyes. Every time, Allura’s heart twisted a little more, threatening to burst. Another would die, and she was powerless to stop it.

With a great bellow, the construct reared back for the final blow.

Keith braced himself.

Allura reached for him. “No!”

It stopped. All at once, it just stopped, its body frozen mid-swing.

The pair blinked, unsure if what they were seeing was real or not. After a moment, its body warped and sagged, collapsing in upon itself. Keith rolled and scrambled out of the way as the magma minotaur returned to nothing more than a lumpy pile of stone. He and Allura looked at each other in confusion, unable to form words through their ragged panting.

A new sound reached them just then; a sound that curdled their guts and renewed their adrenaline. Forcing their legs to cooperate, they got up and charged down one of the bridges, through the connecting cavern, following the noise, and found themselves in another chamber where the Red Lion, still in his barrier, was being hauled up through the main conduit of the volcano by three Galra fighters. High above, the clouds of smoke swirled with dark magic and parted, revealing Sendak’s battlecruiser eagerly waiting to collect its prize. Without the Lion’s power maintaining his sanctum, the mountain began shuttering worse than ever, fissures splintering the walls and sending huge chunks of them crashing down.

“No!” Allura cried. “No, there must be some way to stop this!”

Scanning the round room, Keith spied uneven sections that could work as footholds; not many, but enough. “We can use the walls. Boost from point to point, get close to a fighter and commandeer it.”

She gaped at him like he’d grown a second head. “Now I know what Shiro meant by ‘trouble’ — that is insanity! We have three other Lions, we could attack the ship.”

“None of the them can last long in this atmosphere, and the second the Galra get clear, they’re going to jump,” said Keith. She opened her mouth again. “There’s no time for a city hall debate. I’m doing this, so either you’re coming with, or you need to get out of here and rendezvous with the others. Pick one.”

Allura’s head swiveled between him and the Lion, her mind a tangled spider’s web of arguments and counter-arguments.

“Fine!” she said eventually. “We will do it your way!”

Keith nodded, relieved. “Stay close and follow me exactly.”

Together they sprinted up a nearby ledge, and when it ran out, they leapt to a smaller one a few feet above. Round and round, higher and higher they went, their boosters almost failing a few times from the strain of near-constant use. The main conduit began curving inward, narrowing, forcing the fighters to move tighter to each other while still maintaining their distance so they didn’t crash into one another, the walls now a mere couple dozen feet away.

Once they were near enough, Keith called out, “Jump and grapple on my mark.”

Though every fiber of Allura warned her not to, she couldn’t see much choice. She waited. Two skips passed.

“Mark!”

One right after the other, the two leapt with all the strength they had left and fired their cables. A horrible moment of weightlessness passed before the grapples found their anchor on the back of a fighter ship, and they reeled themselves in. Keith searched for any kind of foothold to help him stay upright, but found none. He resolved to leverage his weight and simply brace himself like he was rock climbing when he heard a strange buzz-thump sound. It was Allura. More specifically, her boots. The sound came again as she planted her second foot against the hull, completely flat, and she was seemingly able to freely put her weight on it. Magnetic boots? Keith gave the mental command and, sure enough, his own feet were now firmly locked onto the fighter. It was just in time, too; no sooner had they latched on than the throat of the volcano widened again and the three fighters spread out. The mouth of the tunnel was getting close.

Keith searched for a way in, but found none, only what looked like a sealed door with no means to open it. Fine. He’d make his own entrance. He swiftly carved a crude hole with his sword, leaning out of the metal’s path when the wind suddenly ripped it out and sent it tumbling away. Allura, however, turned her gaze to the Lion below, suspended between the three fighter ships; so close after all this time, just waiting to be flown. Without warning, she detached her cable and deactivated her mag-lock boots. Keith tried to grab her, but his arms were at the wrong angles. With a small burst from her booster pack to slow her fall, she landed on the zenith of the Lion’s shield.

“What are you doing?!” cried Keith. In his panic, he didn’t notice something flashing inside the ship.

“It’s alright,” she yelled back. “All I need do is touch the barrier and then we can fly out of here!”

With an excited smile, she knelt and placed her palm.

Nothing happened. Allura’s smile faltered. Using both hands, she pushed her quintessence against the shield’s, searching for the mystical bond her father had so often spoken of. She felt nothing. The particle barrier didn’t fall. The Lion didn’t awaken.

‘No…no, no, I must be the Red Paladin! I must be!’

Again she tried, sending what little energy remained inside of her out across the blasted shield. Still nothing.

Keith watched, debating whether or not to join her, his crowded thoughts drowning out the thumps of unnaturally heavy footsteps. A metal hand grabbed him. It pulled him into the fighter and slammed him to the floor, forcing him to look into the visor of a sentry, one that was about to use its claws to shred his neck to ribbons. He swiftly summoned his pistol and fired into its face until it was a smoking, mangled mess. It went still, the arm falling limp. He let out a breath, only for the bot to then collapse on top of him and knock the air from his lungs.

Straining, he rolled the hunk of metal off and got to his feet, reeling in his cable. He hurried across the tiny cargo space to the control console — stumbling slightly at first — jumped into the pilot’s chair, and…there was no steering. The consoles were on, everything working fine, but for the life of him, he couldn’t find any way to steer. A line of script overlayed on the main screen-panel-thing had him using his visor’s translator. It read ‘Auto-pilot: Engaged’. Keith blew out a sharp breath and slumped back in the chair, feeling foolish; if the Galra used robots as the bulk of their ground forces, of course they’d use drone ships for their aerial forces, which meant that sentry was a security measure, not the pilot.

‘Swell.’ A small growl slipping out, he lightly hit his forehead with his fist. ‘Need a plan B. No time to use Pidge’s hacking program. C’mon, what could we do? …The cables. We can cut the cables!’

Ignoring the protest of his aching body to stay sitting, he hurried back to the hole. Presently, the fighters were cresting the crater and moving out of the dense smoke plume, allowing him to see the crumbling mountains and ruined landscape far below. His more pressing concern, however, was the young lady now yelling at the top of her lungs.

“I command you to let me in this instant!” Allura slammed her fist against the barrier, but the ancient Lion was unmoved. “I said let me in!”

“Princess,” Keith called over the comm, “listen, we have to cut the cables. I’ll take this one, you take—”

A figure in the corner of his vision made his breath hitch. Riding atop a fourth fighter was none other than the Druid they had run into on Tenshig V. The lightning arcing through the black clouds changed direction, snapping to his hands and joining his crackling black magic, protecting the fighter ships. His five unblinking eyes were locked on Allura.

“LOOK OUT!”

Her head snapped up. The Druid fired. She scarcely had a moment to raise something of a shield. It hit, sending her flying.

As if in slow motion, she fell. Keith reached for her, and for a moment it seemed like she was reaching back, their eyes locked together. He was about to dive after her when out of nowhere the Yellow Lion sped by, catching her in his mouth. Keith slumped against the side of the fighter, silently thanking whoever was watching over them.

‘Is this how Shiro feels when he deals with my antics?’

Before the thought could fully register in his mind, he and the Red Lion were taken prisoner aboard the Galra cruiser.

Within Yellow’s muzzle, Shiro was righting himself and the princess in his arms, having caught her, and nearly fallen over in the process.

“Did we get her?” asked Hunk over the intercom.

“Yeah,” Shiro replied, then turned his attention to her. “Are you okay?”

Allura didn’t answer. She was staring at nothing, her mind reeling. The Red Lion hadn’t chosen her…she wasn’t worthy…she wasn’t worthy to be a Paladin.

“Hey, hey.” Shiro shook her shoulders and turned her head to him, finally breaking her from her stupor. His voice was kind and firm as he repeated slower, “Are you okay?”

Shakily, she nodded with a quiet, “Yes.”

“Good,” he said, his face softening. “Now, where’s Keith?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh no.”

———————————

Sendak knelt on the bridge of the cruiser, Haxus and Macidus flanking him with matching postures. An uncomfortable air weighed upon them as the main screen came to life, allowing the Emperor’s piercing gaze to bore into them.

Forcing back a slight tremble, the general said, “My Liege. I apologize for the lateness of my call. I regret to report that two more Lions have fallen into the Humans’ hands.”

“I know.” How was it possible for two simple words to cut him down so thoroughly? “I thought sending the Druid would help you, not allow our enemies yet more victories.” Macidus’ head dipped a little lower. “However, I assume you wouldn’t waste my time merely to recount your failures.”

“Never, my lord,” Sendak answered quickly, ignoring the slight sweat dampening his fur. “In fact, I bring triumphant news. The Red Lion is in our custody.” He added under his breath, “It has yet to choose a Paladin.”

A quiet, low rumbling filled the room. It took him a tic to realize it was coming from the Emperor. Sub-vocal sounds were integral to Galran communication, as integral as a raised eyebrow or smirk, and while this was a sound Sendak had never heard from his lord, he knew it was one of deep satisfaction, so he permitted himself a subtle smile.

“Well done, General. Bring it to Central Command immediately.”

“By your word, sire. Vrepit Sa.”

“Vrepit Sa.”

With that, the transmission ended, and Sendak stood to relay the order.

“Sir,” a sentry at the control panels below spoke up, “one of the towing ships has reported an intruder.”

“Show me.”

On screen, linked from a security camera in the fighter, appeared the small form of one of the Humans crouched next to a crude hole he’d cut in the back of it. While it flew into the cargo bay, he stayed perfectly still, clearly waiting for an opportunity to swipe the Lion.

“Annoying pest,” said Haxus with a growl. “I’ll dispose of him.”

Sendak held up hand. “No. Get us out of orbit. I will handle this. I’m interested to face one of the children who bested my right-hand man and a sorcerer.”

The two shrank back as he walked past them and off the bridge. His robotic fist flexed with a crackle of energy. A part of him wanted to blame all the failure on the duo, but as their commanding officer, it was his responsibility to ensure such things didn’t happen, hence personally taking care of their little problem in the hangar.

‘I wonder if this Human is as skilled as the Champion,’ he mused, standing straighter in anticipation. ‘Even if he isn’t, perhaps I’ll finally find a fight I’ll enjoy.’

———————————

Ever so slowly, Keith peeked out from his hiding place. The fighters had just transferred the Red Lion’s hold from their cables to a pair of large mechanical arms in the center of the ceiling, near the bay door. They latched onto its shield, though the Great Beast either didn’t notice or didn’t care, hanging limply in the air just above the floor.

Once his fighter was fully at rest and shut off, docked along the floor in a row of identical ships, he creeped out, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement through the small hangar bay’s crimson lighting. No sentries, no officers. It was a clear shot, so he took it. He jogged to the Lion and reached out, his hand hesitating before he took a deep breath and placed it against the barrier. He waited. Nothing. With an exhausted sigh, he let his forehead tip onto it.

“Come on,” he muttered, a slight growl slipping out, “At least help me get us out of here.”

Still the Lion refused to move. After a moment of tired thinking, he knocked.

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

Keith whipped around, summoned his sword and shield, and took a defensive stance in one swift motion. A small smirk played on Sendak’s lips as he observed the Earthling and his ashen, singed armor.

“Good reflexes,” he said, “even in such a state. I can see why you considered yourself a candidate.”

‘Shame. There’s no honor in pummeling an already injured opponent.’

“We need not fight. My master’s orders are for you and your companions to be captured alive. Surrender now and you have my word: you’ll be treated with mercy.”

If looks could kill, Sendak was certain he’d be several feet in the dirt.

“I’ve seen your brand of mercy,” Keith snarled viciously. “I’d rather die than put my team through that.”

Sendak gave a tired sigh. “The stubbornness of youth. Still, loyalty and courage are valuable traits, ones that would be rewarded…if you joined us. In fact, you could all join. You could become honored soldiers of the Galra Empire instead of lowly prisoners. It’s the best way to protect your friends.”

Keith paused. The offer was unexpected, but it didn’t change his answer. “I’ll protect them by killing you.”

He fired up his booster pack once more and charged.

“Children,” muttered Sendak, shaking his head. He calmly slipped into a ready posture.

Keith jumped and brought down his sword; the Galra brought his cybernetic up; the clash rattled their ears.

———————————

“I am such an idiot!” said Pidge. “How did I not think of the Galra using the interference to hide? That’s so basic!”

“Oh, yeah, sure, Keith, just hop on an alien ship and ride it into an even bigger ship full of murderous aliens and robots!” said Lance mostly to himself. “No, there’s nothing absolutely insane about that at all. Eres estúpido!”

“What if he’s tortured? Or mind controlled? Or turned into a cyborg — no offense, Shiro. Or—Or kept as some kind of creepy pet for them to play with however they want!?”

The others gave Hunk disturbed looks.

“Keith was right, you really have a knack for coming up with worst-case scenarios,” said Shiro, desperately keeping that image (and countless others) from forming in his brain. “But freaking out isn’t going to help him avoid any of that, so let’s calm down and think of a plan that will.”

“Right, right, okay.” Hunk had to take several breaths. “Okay, rescue plan. Uh, we’ll have to get past the shield.”

“Got a head start on the hacking. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“And those fighters will be no problem for the three of us.”

While the group began tossing around ideas, Shiro noticed one of them was uncharacteristically quiet. Allura, seated in a second chair Yellow had brought up for her, was staring at her helmet with a distant expression, strangely absent of orders. Come to think of it, she hadn’t said a word since she told them what happened.

Stepping closer, he quietly asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

She gave no answer.

“This isn’t your fault. Like I said, Keith has a bit of a habit of getting himself into trouble—”

“Why…?” It was little more than a whisper, yet it rang out like a gong. “Why did he not choose me?”

Shiro replied slowly, “I don’t know. Guess the Lions have their own way of doing things.” He hesitated. “Why do you want to be the Red Paladin so badly?”

“It was my father’s Lion, the one I’ve been dreaming to fly ever since I was a little girl. The one I promised him I would use to make him proud.” Her voice cracked on the last word, her eyes watery.

Nodding, he knelt and said, “I understand wanting to live up to your family’s legacy. When I was a kid, everyone expected me to grow up to be just like my grandfather, and it kinda ticked me off, to be honest. In the end, I guess we did end up pretty similar, but he never resented me for choosing my own path. There’s more than one way to honor someone. Why is it so important to honor your father this way?”

A shadow fell over Allura’s face and she looked away, glaring at the seat in front of her. “It is the only way to become strong enough to avenge him, and my people.” The anger faltered and she slumped forward. “If I cannot even do that, what kind of princess am I?”

Her words played over in Shiro’s mind with a strange sense of deja vu. Had he thought the same thing once? The way regret pierced his heart every time he remembered the Holts and how he escaped without them, it wouldn’t surprise him. His sights fell on his prosthetic, its wicked claws threatening to pierce his suit.

“We can’t change what’s happened to us. No matter how hard we try, we’ll always carry that pain. Revenge won’t change that. But I’ve seen enough to say it can and will get better as long as we keep moving forward together.”

Allura’s teary eyes turned to him, shining with a desire to believe his words.

“I swear to you, we will defeat Zarkon and his Empire, and I know we all have a part to play in that, Paladin or princess. No matter what happens, we’ll be there for you.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment, then she turned back to her helmet. She wiped away the soot from the visor and stared at her reflection. Who was the girl looking back at her?

‘I suppose I must decide that for myself.’

“I see now why Keith admires you so much,” she said with a small chuckle. “You are very good at speeches.”

Laughing in turn, Shiro replied, “Yeah, well, it kinda comes with the territory of knowing him as long as I have. Speaking of whom” — he stood and offered his hand — “are you ready to get him back?”

Filled with new determination, Allura nodded and took it, and the two joined Hunk at the helm.

“Lance, for the last time, we’re not blowing up the ship while he’s on it. What is wrong with you?” Pidge was saying.

“Alright, geez, it was just a suggestion. But seriously, how exactly are we supposed to get him out?”

“Well, maybe he’ll be able to get himself out once the Red Lion chooses him,” said Hunk.

“That’s not guaranteed, though. Really, we’ve just been assuming we could be Paladins and happened to be right so far. Red might not choose any of us,” said Pidge.

Allura couldn’t help the small flinch. She knew Pidge didn’t mean anything by it, but it still left a rotten feeling in her stomach, much like when she’d fought the minotaur. Her mind wandered back to it, recalling every failed attack and brutal blow before the beast had returned to its dormant state.

…That’s right. It hadn’t been defeated; it had become dormant.

“We never finished the fight.” All eyes turned to her questioningly as she went on. “Of course! Every Lion so far had something protecting them that could only be overcome by the ones who share a piece of their cores. Yellow required an act of pure courage; Green demanded proof of a brilliant intellect.”

Lance raised his hand in his cockpit and eagerly added, “Ooh, ooh, in Blue’s cave we had to make this crazy jump and trust we’d make it.”

“A leap of faith, exactly! The Red Lion is the warrior of the five, temperamental and notoriously difficult to master. He will likely only select one who has proven his instinct and battle prowess. The magma minotaur was the trial, but when the Galra removed him, the challenge was left incomplete.”

“So, Keith could still become Red’s Paladin,” said Shiro after a moment of thought.

“Yes, but only if he manages to prove himself in combat somehow, and I dread imagining what kind of enemy would be needed to match such a creature,” Allura replied, her bruises burning at the memory of being tossed around like a doll.

Seeing how she wrapped her arms around herself, Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Keith can take care of himself.”

———————————

A sharp cry tore from Keith’s throat as his body came to a sudden stop against the wing of a fighter ship, denting it, before he dropped to the floor. His limbs shook. He was nearly upright when a noise made him jet to the side; Sendak kicked the damaged wing clean off.

Rolling and swinging around, Keith drew his blaster and fired a hefty volley. It meant nothing to the Galra. Sendak plowed through them, picking up speed, his massive metal arm a shield. Keith attempted to bolt again, only to be caught by his collar and thrown across the room, tumbling head over heels to another jarring stop. His breaths came harsh and heavy. He looked up, his vision swimming ever so slightly, but it didn’t prevent him from seeing Sendak’s towering form, at least half-a-foot taller than Haxus or the Druid, stalking toward him languidly.

“I must admit, you’re giving me more of a fight than I expected,” he said, sounding surprisingly genuine. “First the Champion, and now you. I’m starting to think it would be worth the trip to your planet to see if the rest of your kind share your spirit. Of course, I’ll have to test all of your friends to be sure.”

The image of them lying brutalized at the Galra’s feet easily came to Keith’s mind, and he clenched his jaw.

He pushed himself up with his sword, shouting, “You won’t touch them!”

“That will depend on whether you can stop me,” replied Sendak, flourishing his prosthetic.

There was an almost playful gleam in his eye. He wanted this fight, and Keith was more than willing to give it to him. Boosters engaged, they simultaneously charged. Keith angled his sword for a head strike; Sendak cocked his arm back for a devastating blow. As he swung down, the teen aimed for the cybernetic, switching to a reverse grip, and drove his blade into the elbow joint, sparks spraying from it.

The two locked eyes. The general smiled. Energy crackled through his metal limb. Keith barely had enough time to get away before the forearm shot forward, slamming into the far wall. He gaped at the sight. Sendak’s smirk grew bigger as he twisted around, pulling on the tether of dark energy connecting the two halves of the limb, and whipping the forearm toward the boy. Keith tried to run, but the giant fist collided with his back within seconds, sending him flying into yet another ship.

The familiar tang of iron and sweat filled his mouth as he shakily pushed himself to his elbows and watched Sendak reel in his forearm. It reconnected to the upper half flawlessly, and its owner looked quite smug about it. An irate growl tore from Keith’s throat, and he grabbed his sword.

———————————

“Okay, they’re getting ready to jump,” said Shiro, monitoring the scans on Yellow’s dash. “Is everybody ready?”

“Are we sure this is the best plan?” asked Hunk once again.

“Not really,” he replied, “but it’s the best we’ve got. Now let’s get our friend back.”

“Yes’sir!”

“On it.”

The Lions put on a burst of speed and fired, dragging their lasers down one particle barrier, then the next. It only took a moment for the cruisers to slow, aborting the jump sequence, and for the fighters to swarm out.

Lance wasted no time freezing several. “Alright, they took the bait.”

“Pidge, you’re up,” said Shiro, prompting Green to duck behind two converging squadrons and go invisible. “Boys, let’s give ‘em something to shoot at.”

Lance whooped twice; Hunk gulped and gave a tentative nod. They dove through the fighters, using lasers, claws, jaws, and tails to take out as many as they could. While they worked, Pidge swooped around and gently grabbed one of the frozen ships in Green’s mouth. Once she was sure it wouldn’t blow up like last time, she cracked her knuckles and got to work.

———————————

Tremors rattled through the flagship, throwing both opponents off-balance.

“Haxus, what’s happening up there?” Sendak called.

“It’s the Lions, sir,” Haxus replied over the hangar’s intercom. “I’ve sent fighters to intercept.”

‘They’re still here? They should’ve pulled back, I can handle this.’ That’s what Keith thought, but he found himself smiling. They hadn’t left him behind.

Sendak, however, had the opposite reaction. “Ignore them! We need to get to Central Command!”

“This is our chance to capture another Lion. We must take it!”

“No! The Emperor’s orders are final, now go!” Sendak shut off the line just in time to block another attack from the boy, who now bore a smirk.

‘Haxus, you fool!’

Up on the bridge, said fool ground his fangs. With great difficulty, he swallowed his defiant desires and went to give the order when a chill flowed through the room.

“You wish to see them fall?” asked Macidus, his voice more slithering than usual.

Haxus narrowed his eyes, but raised a brow in intrigue.

A dark glint entered the Druid’s masked face. “I can help.”

———————————

Pidge’s hands flew furiously over her holo-screens, her eyes darting over the massive scroll of coding. She had to pause to avoid an explosion, then got right back to it.

“C’mon, Pidge, where’s that signal?” asked Lance in a sing-song way. “It’s getting kinda dicey.”

“Hey, I thought you said this was gonna be fun,” said Hunk tersely.

“Blowing stuff up is fun” — A too-close explosion rocked Blue’s cockpit — “y’know, so long as you don’t get blown up yourself.”

“Well, it’d be going a lot faster if you quit talking so much,” barked Pidge. “But also I realized I could use the connection to just take out the shields entirely, so I kinda switched to that mid-hack.”

“What!?” exclaimed the boys.

“Dude, tell us this stuff!” Lance took out his frustration on a fighter.

“Aw man, now we gotta stall even longer,” said Hunk.

Pidge felt a vein on her forehead pulse. “Hey, you’re not the ones who have to navigate a battlefield and hack an alien computer at the same time. Feel lucky the cruisers share a network so I can infect both at once.”

“Less bickering, more flying,” said Shiro firmly. “Pidge, you need to tell us before making those calls, but I approve. Keep at it.”

While they got back to work, a prickly feeling coiled around Allura’s stomach. Her head snapped to the flagship. Standing on the prow, his speck of a form aggrandized by the fervent glow building around him, the Druid summoned his dark magic; power surging in a terrible ritual.

“Look out!” she cried, but it was too late.

An ethereal black hand sprang out, shattering Yellow’s shield and sinking its claws into him, his armor useless against such a force. The Lion and his passengers screamed as the stinging energy tore through them. Seconds felt like an eternity, yet at last the torrent passed and the hand retracted, leaving the Humans all but collapsed.

“What was that?” moaned Shiro, rubbing his head and standing on wobbly legs.

Hunk could barely pull up a diagnostic with his half-numb arm. “A third of our power’s gone…” His face paled. “The extra shielding’s offline!”

The three watched in horror as the hand pulled in the bright blue quintessence it had stolen from them and Yellow, constrained within the incorporeal fingers, and before their eyes, corrupted it. The quintessence, now stained black-and-violet, swirled around the Druid, boosting his power.

“Yes…” His piercing laugh echoed through the void. “YES!”

Then he spotted something: a frozen fighter wing flying much too fast around the battlefield for it to be debris. Veins bulging on his arms and eyes flaring, his vision shifted, letting the material world fade away in favor of spying the Green Lion’s quintessence. With a dark chuckle, he fired.

“Pidge!” Lance cried.

She didn’t have a second to register the warning before Blue dove in the way. The sound of Lance’s scream spurred Pidge faster in both her flying and hacking.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”

———————————

Keith let out a harsh grunt as he careened into the ground once more. He didn’t move when Sendak took a step closer, making him think (or perhaps hope) the boy was finally done. He wasn’t. In astonishment, the general watched him plant a fist against the floor and force himself to his feet for the hundredth time. His limbs were trembling and he was gasping for breath, rolls of sweat sticking his long hair to his face, but his posture and sword held firm all the same.

Sendak let out a disbelieving huff. “I figured you were tenacious but this is getting ridiculous. Just stay down. The Lion obviously isn’t meant for you. You’re no Paladin.”

Keith glanced at Red, a sinking feeling in his gut. If he was going to be chosen, it should’ve happened already. However, looking back at his opponent, he noticed a multitude of scorch marks on his armor — scorch marks he hadn’t given him.

Large mounds of what appeared to be cooled lava dotted the edge of the platform in a ring at exact intervals, like guards waiting to be called. Keith ran his gaze over them, only to pause. There was a gap in the pattern, and from the empty space trailed scorch marks and scared stone — the remnants of battle.

He couldn’t help a tiny grin. “Neither are you.”

Sendak’s eye narrowed.

“Defeated the lava monster and everything, and you weren’t spared a second glance. That’s gotta sting.”

His expression darkened. “Yes, it seems there’s more to the Lion’s judgment than mere physical prowess. But I doubt one who failed to even complete the trial would have any chance of controlling such power.”

Keith gave a short, scoffing laugh. “If you think control’s all that counts, it won’t matter how much dark magic you pump into it.” He shifted into a stronger stance, an arm slipping behind him. “The Red Lion will never bow to you or your precious master.”

An insult to himself Sendak could’ve brushed off, but not one to his Emperor. With a deep, tiger-like growl, he lunged. Keith threw a grenade. Digging in his heels, the general put up his arm just in time to block the explosion. He stumbled back, his large, sensitive ears ringing, though not enough to cover up the sound of rapid footsteps rushing toward him. Out of the smoke burst Keith, his sword raised to strike his enemy down.

At the last second, Sendak caught the blade in his right hand. A tiny trickle of indigo blood trailed from his palm, sizzling in the heat of its plasma edge. With a dark snarl, he then launched his left arm at the boy, grabbing and pinning him to the back wall.

———————————

Green swerved manically through space, the Druid’s magic nipping at her tail. Inside, Pidge scrambled to finish the hack, her divided attention slowing her progress. Hunk and Lance were doing their best to keep the heat off her, but every time the magic so much as nicked them, their power cores took a massive hit. Their inordinate amount of quintessence was the only reason they still functioned.

Desperate to help, Allura dug deep within and tried to boost Yellow with her own magic, but merely fell to her knees. She’d already been exhausted before the Druid drained her energy; now she was running on empty. To make matters worse, more fighters launched from the cruisers.

“Pidge, hurry!” said Lance.

Her hands worked faster than they ever had before. She was almost there!

———————————

Sendak couldn’t believe it. Even after the thrashing and with all his wounds, still the boy resisted. He fought against the tight grasp, the palm nearly the size of his torso, using his free arm to try to pry away the metal fingers despite how clearly useless it was.

“For the Voice’s sake, there’s no way you can break out of that,” said Sendak with a frustrated groan as he strode closer, tossing the Altean sword away. “It’s over. Give up.”

Keith paused, panting raggedly, his voice beyond hoarse. “Would you?”

Sendak’s expression shifted slightly.

———————————

Macidus’ cold laugh reached new heights. He called upon every shred of power he had.

Pidge leaned so far forward, her visor nearly touched the screen. ‘Just one more second!’

———————————

“No, I wouldn’t,” Sendak replied, taking another step. “But I have something worth fighting for.”

———————————

The black hand reached out.

Command: Confirmed.

Pidge screamed.

———————————

Alarms blared to life throughout the flagship, nearly deafening the two combatants.

“Haxus!” bellowed Sendak. “What happened?!”

It took a moment for the colonel to respond, sounding frazzled. “Th-The shields are down! All of them, in every section! Volkath’s ship, too!”

“How is that possible?!”

‘They did it.’ Warmth filled Keith at the thought. Then he noticed a control panel just within reach. “So do I.”

Before Sendak could register his words, he slammed his hand against the scanner. It beeped in confirmation and the hangar door slid open. The general gaped in barely-contained fear as the oxygen began venting from the room, dragging him with it, arm and all. He turned back to Keith in time to see him plant his feet on the wall and push off, his booster pack on full-blast. He slammed into Sendak with his shield, sending them both straight out of the hangar!

‘I was wrong. He isn’t tenacious, he’s insane!’

In a panic, the Galra summoned his helmet and glove, and hurled the boy away. His cybernetic hand now free, he shot it into the hangar floor, claws tearing up the metal, and straining against the venting atmosphere, hauled himself back inside moments before the energy bulkhead activated.

‘Blast it,’ thought Keith as he drifted away. ‘Was really hoping I could get rid of him…so the others wouldn’t have to…’

The words trailed off in his mind. He spun through the black void of space, his muscles going slack and adrenaline seeping away, allowing all the aches and pains he’d been ignoring to finally catch up to him. His head was worse; it was like it was stuffed with cotton, making his vision and thoughts fuzzy. Looking around, he managed to spy something in front of his face. A spider web? He squinted. No. It was a crack in his visor. Why hadn’t he noticed the oxygen warning blinking on his screen?

‘Oh. That’s not good. Guess it must’ve happened when…’

His skull pounded. When was it again? When the bull charged? There was so much fighting today. Maybe what he needed now was some sleep. Whatever part of his brain was still working screamed at him not to, but the rest of him was too tired to listen.

‘…Shiro’s gonna kill me for this…’

His eyes slipped closed.

RROOOAAAAARRRRR!!!

They snapped open again.

The Red Lion was diving toward him. Into his wide maw, he scooped up the little Earthling, and brought him into the cockpit. The lower half of his helmet vanishing, Keith instantly began gulping down the fresh, cool oxygen. Once the cotton cleared from his mind, he stared around in amazement and placed a hand on the dashboard.

“Thank you,” he breathed.

Red gave an appreciative growl in reply, then pulled up a depiction of the battlefield. On one side was the cruisers (the energy bulkhead Red had barreled through noticeably glitching, something Sendak was undoubtedly thrilled about), and on the other side was the Lions. Even on radar, it was easy to tell they were losing, badly. Their icons were moving far too slow while the Galra fighters zipped around, likely landing numerous shots.

Keith took the controls. A raging energy filled him, burning his armor red and cleansing the ash. “Let’s roll.”

———————————

Yellow crashed onto the surface of Hilem’s splintered moon, tumbling to a stop next to the others. Lions and passengers alike struggled to their feet, but their legs trembled, and they could barely keep their balance.

“So much for that plan,” Lance groaned.

“There’s gotta be something we can do,” said Pidge, pressing a few random buttons that did nothing.

“I don’t think so,” Hunk replied, his eyes locked on the cruisers drifting closer.

The flagship’s tractor beam prepared to fire, filling Shiro with a terrible panic. Images of the last time he was stuck on a moon with his crew bombarded his mind, threatening to overwhelm it. Beside him, Allura glared at the ships, resolving to fight her way out, no matter what it may cost.

———————————

Within the cruiser’s control room, Haxus grinned devilishly as he watched how the mighty Lions of Voltron quivered at his approach. This would truly be a glorious—

“Haxus!” Sendak’s voice over the intercom nearly startled him. “Where’s the Lion?”

“About to be captured, sir,” he replied. “All three, in fact. My plan worked to perfection—”

“Not them! Where is the Red Lion?!”

He froze. “…With you?”

The radar began flashing.

———————————

The team leaned away from the growing light, bracing themselves for whatever awaited them in capture. Dread curled in their stomachs. The tractor beam went to fire — and exploded.

All eyes went wide.

“Is that..?”

“Sorry we’re late.”

The Red Lion raced across the battlefield, little more than a streak of crimson as he destroyed hordes of fighters, the explosions lighting up the stars like fireworks. His lithe form, near-identical to Green’s save for the lack of a shield plate, weaved effortlessly around the enemy’s attacks, zipping from one side of the fight to the other. Wherever he went, a wave of destruction followed.

Allura watched in awe. Though she’d heard plenty of stories, they paled in comparison to seeing the Lion in action firsthand. He was incredible.

“Is everyone alright?” asked Keith, pausing his rampage.

Shiro, now able to breathe again, shakily replied with a smile, “Yeah. Yeah, we’re okay.”

“But not for much longer — tall, dark, and spooky’s getting ready for an encore!” said Lance.

Red set his sights on the Druid and charged, his cannon at the ready. The magic came fast, but he was faster, dodging and retaliating with a powerful blast of his own. The hull beneath the cultist went up in flames and he vanished, but Keith kept firing, dragging the laser down and around the ship in a long spiral. A series of explosions replied. Once he reached the back, he took out the engines. In the blink of an eye, he was up top, sinking his claws into the ship’s hull as he skidded down to the ion cannon. Upon reaching it, he conjured a small blade in his mouth and flew around its base several times, severing it in a burst of flame. Before it could drift too far away, he grabbed it in his jaws and threw it back into the cruiser. The Red Lion roared in victory, then set off for the other ship, which was attempting to defend its comrade.

The bridge of the flagship was in chaos. Alerts overwhelmed every screen; a cacophony of alarms nearly burst eardrums; soldiers ran frantically from post to post, constantly calling out new damage reports. Haxus stood in the center of it all, desperately trying to regain control. This couldn’t be happening. This was supposed to be his victory! His seething cut off when Sendak arrived, looking downright murderous.

“S-Sir, the Lion’s damaged most of our systems, but I believe we can mount a counter-offensive—”

“Are you mad?” he said. “Full retreat now!”

Haxus gaped. “But the other Lions are just sitting there. We could grab one or two and—”

Sendak grabbed him around the throat with his cybernetic and slammed him into a console. “If you’d gotten us back to Command like I ordered, we wouldn’t have to pull back. It was your idiotic attempt to force a victory that caused this!”

Energy crackled over the metal hand as he gave one more squeeze, then let his captive drop to the floor. Haxus clutched his throat and gasped for breath. He went to speak, only for another explosion to stop him. At his wide-eyed expression, Sendak turned to see Captain Volkath’s cruiser receive much the same treatment as his.

The Red Lion sped around it in a hectic and terrifying dance, taking out everything that could even remotely be a threat. While he finished off another wave of fighters, the ion cannon began charging. In turn, the Lion prepared something special. Just when the weapon was about to fire, he let loose a wild, scarlet-and-amber laser straight into the crackling orb, causing the built-up energy to backfire. The explosion that ensued could’ve been called a work of art. It split the cruiser in two, but Red wasn’t done. He kept firing the plasma ray, melting through every level, every compartment, until both halves were little more than smoldering lumps of metal.

Another fearsome roar echoed through the flagship’s bridge. Now Sendak understood what Zarkon had meant all those decaphoebs ago when he said the Red Lion was the most deadly of the five. Had he been a lesser man, he would’ve run screaming right then and there. Haxus nearly did. Who should appear at that moment but Macidus, looking rather worse for wear, smoke curling from his singed robes.

“Protect the ship until we can jump,” said Sendak.

The once-snide Druid seemed to have lost his voice and simply nodded.

———————————

Their work with the second ship complete, Red and Keith swooped around toward the first. However, just as they delivered the final blow, a barrier of black magic engulfed the cruiser and absorbed the fiery blast. With an annoyed growl, the Lion dove forward.

“Red, no!” Keith yanked the controls back, stopping him.

A wave of outrage snapped across their bond, making the Earthling grunt.

“Hey, I want payback too,” he said, shaking off the headache, “but anything we throw at that thing’s just gonna make it stronger and drain us dry. We’ll get ‘em next time.”

Red let out a low rumble of distaste as they watched the battle cruiser use its barely-functional slip-space drive to limp out of sight. He hissed after them for good measure, then flew back to the others and trotted to a stop on the moon.

“You guys okay?” Keith asked again, though the only reply he received was five pairs of saucer-sized eyes and hanging jaws. “What?”

All at once, the others burst into shouts of jubilation and astonishment, their Lions leaning close as their words became nearly indecipherable.

“—coolest thing I’ve ever seen—”

“—and then you were over here just like beeeeeww—”

“—were going so fast like it was nothing, and that heat ray, how’d you—”

“—you defeated so many—”

“—not as cool as my freeze ray but—”

“—was absolutely incredible, bud!”

An odd smile formed on Keith’s face. Praise for a job well done was one thing; this…he had no idea what this was. Maybe it was the adrenaline leaving his system and making him loopy, but laughter began bubbling from his throat. It was short-lived, however, quickly devolving into a coughing fit, and he wrapped an arm around his throbbing torso. Everyone went silent.

Shiro leaned forward, worry etched into every line of his face. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine,” Keith replied with a small grunt, getting his lungs to work properly again. “Sendak just packs a heck of a punch.”

“WHAT!?” they all chorused.

“KEITH—!” Shiro shrieked.

“You fought him?!” Hunk cried. “As in, face-to-face, kung-fu showdown-type fight?! How are you not dead?!”

“Mullet, you’re even crazier than I thought,” said Lance, a hint of admiration hidden in the back of his voice.

“Did you get a good look at his cybernetics?” The guys looked at Pidge flatly. She shrugged. “For science.”

“How bad is it?” asked Shiro, growing more concerned with every question. “Do you need stitches? A cast? Do you have a concussion? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Guys!” said Keith, quieting them. “Look, I’ll explain everything later, but right now, we should get back to the castle.”

Stepping forward, Allura said, “Agreed. The healing pods should be fully operational by now. A quick nap in one and you will feel right as rain. You have certainly earned it.”

“Thanks, Princess, but that’s not why we need to get back.”

Glances of confusion passed through the group.

———————————

Some time later, the six arrived at Arus and set their Lions in their hangars. Meeting up in the hallway, they headed to the control room, where they found Coran in a tangle of wires and computer components. It looked like he’d taken apart multiple sections of the room and was manically digging through them, muttering indecipherably.

At the sound of the door opening, he jumped up, sending parts flying and the mice scrambling out of the way. “You did it! Well done!”

“Indeed,” said Alfor as his hologram appeared, noticeably glitch-free. His gaze passed over them, hanging on Keith just a bit longer than the others. “It does my old soul good to see the next generation of Paladins begin their journey.”

Allura smiled at him, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Sensing her quiet distress, the mice darted up to her shoulders and nuzzled her cheeks, making her giggle a little.

“Thank you,” said Shiro, then turned to his brother. “So, why did we need to get back so fast?”

Keith opened his mouth—

Pidge raised her hand, bouncing on her heels. “Ooh, ooh, ooh, let me guess! It has something to do with the location of the Black Lion, right?”

“Well, yea—”

Hunk slid up next to her. “Where is it? An asteroid field? A deadly nebula? A black hole?”

“Uh, n—”

“Wherever it is, we can totally handle it!” Lance literally jumped in. “So le’goooo!”

“We don’t need to go anywhere,” Keith managed to say at last. The three paused and looked at him in bewilderment, as did the other four. “Coran, can you pull up a blueprint of the castle?”

“Of course,” he replied, and did so, though he had to detangle himself a little first.

After a few seconds of examination, Keith pointed to section deep within the center of the massive structure. “That’s where the Black Lion is.”

“Are you sure?” asked Shiro.

“Red showed me everything. Alfor sealed it in the castle using a powerful spell that can only be broken if the other four Lions are present and fully awoken.”

Allura nodded knowingly. “So there was no chance Zarkon could claim it.”

“That does sound like one of my ideas,” said Alfor, stroking his beard while Coran twisted his mustache.

‘I guess that’s an Altean thing?’ Keith mused.

“Even better!” said Hunk. “Finally, an easy mission!”

“That part may be easy, but there’s something else.” Everyone turned to Keith. “Sendak got to the Red Lion first. How?”

Pidge gripped her chin in thought. “That’s a good point. We’re the only ones who were given the next Lions’ locations, there’s no way he should’ve known.”

“Unless there’s a pattern.”

Dismissing the castle’s schematics, he replaced it with the map of their quadrant. One by one, he placed markers on each planet they’d visited the past few days. It became clear: Green and Blue had been placed directly across from each other, as had Yellow and Red, and while the proportions were uneven, they came together to form an X — with Arus at its center.

The bridge fell into silence. Its occupants stared blankly.

Shiro facepalmed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Father!” Allura whined as she and the others turned to him.

The hologram suddenly had a rather disconcerted and sheepish expression. “In my defense, it was very stressful those last few movements.”

Coran rubbed his temple. “Unfortunately, that also sounds like you.”

“So, this means…” Lance trailed off, his eyes returning to the star map.

Keith finished, “If the Galra are smart, they’re already on their way.”

Dread filled the air. None of them had to say it. If the Galra attacked in full force, they wouldn’t survive. Their defenses were barely operational, the Paladins too green to properly deal with those kinds of numbers, and they had no way to counteract the Druid’s magic. And if they brought more sorcerers to protect the other cruisers…

‘So many “if”s,’ Shiro thought.

Of course, the life of a pilot was little more than a series of ‘if’s. They told themselves it was a ‘when,’ but in the back of their mind, every aviator knew. If they pulled off this maneuver; if they took out the enemy base; if they made it home. That went double for astronauts.

He looked over the faces of his companions, all of them bearing the same anxiety. However, with each also came a memory: Lance and Blue racing through the sky, laughing like little kids in the face of overwhelming odds; Hunk proving his mettle and Yellow restoring a world to her people; Pidge, ever the clever one, unraveling Green’s mysteries and gaining the confidence to tell them who she really was; and today, the sight of Keith at Red’s helm burning a path through the stars, and their enemies.

They knew the risks, and they took them head-on and won. They were extraordinary. And he was going to do whatever it took to get them home.

Shiro set his jaw. “Then we’ll be ready. This universe has been suffering for far too long, and the eight of us are the only ones standing between it and total domination. It’s time to show every world that they don’t have to live in fear anymore. It’s time to show them Voltron has returned.”

With every word, the tension gripping his teammates dissipated until they were smiling, eyes shining in determination.

“Heck yeah, Captain,” Lance replied, pumping his fist.

Hunk gave a thumbs-up. “I’m in.”

“I don’t have any plans this Friday,” said Pidge, her hands on her hips.

“What are we waiting for?” said Keith. “Let’s go get that Lion.”

A round of nods passed through the five and they headed down to the hangars. Before they left the control room, though, Keith noticed Allura wasn’t moving, instead staring at the floor with a melancholy expression.

“Princess,” he called, staying the others, “you coming?”

She looked at the Earthlings for a moment, then to her father and Coran. With a slow breath, she replied, “Not this time.”

“But didn’t you want to be a Paladin?” said Shiro, a hint of nervousness in his tone.

“Yeah.” Lance gave a cheesy grin. “And I bet you’d look great in black.”

The others groaned and rolled their eyes.

“I am…flattered,” said Allura, struggling to find the word before she grew solemn again. “But I can see clearly now who the Paladins of Voltron are meant to be.”

Her gaze met Shiro’s, and suddenly he felt the depth of her words: she believed this was his destiny. The idea was both thrilling…and mildly terrifying.

“A princess must know where she is needed most,” she went on, “and right now, I am needed here in the castle.”

Nodding in understanding, Shiro hid a harsh gulp and led the other four out of the room, casting one last glance over his shoulder before the doors closed. Only when they slid shut did Allura allow her head to fall and her back to slump against a control pillar.

“I…I am so sorry, Father,” she whispered, her voice and shoulders trembling. “I tried to follow in your footsteps, to become the Red Paladin, and I failed. I so wanted to make you proud.”

Alfor drifted close and leaned down, placing a hand beneath her chin. His ghostly-warm touch made her gasp a little, and she tilted her head up to meet his old, kind eyes.

“My dearest daughter, I have always been proud of you,” he said. “And no matter what path you take, I always will be.”

“As will I,” added Coran, placing a hand on her back.

From her shoulders, the mice squeaked and chirped their own agreement. Tears slid down her cheeks as she smiled at them all, then pulled them into an embrace. They stayed that way for a few doboshes, drinking in each other’s presence, then pulled away. Drying her face with a shaky breath, Allura shared one more smile with them, then they moved to the main console and brought up the camera feed for the corridor the Lions were walking down. Alfor had made it specifically to fit them, and it didn’t take long to reach the chamber at the end.

A massive door guarded by Voltron’s symbol rested there with a small staircase leading up to it. The sight of the towering gateway made Shiro’s grip tighten on the chair next to him. Though many memories of his time in captivity still eluded him, he remembered enough to wonder…would the thing he became there prevent him from becoming something good? Would the Lion sense the taint of the Galra and reject him? Would he be able to lead this team even if it didn’t?

Noticing his tension, Keith hooked his arm under his brother’s and set a grounding hand on his back. A specific look passed between them, one they’d shared many times before, though it was usually the other way around. Shiro smiled. Oh, how time flies.

Keith returned the grin. “Go get ‘em, old timer.”

He chuckled and rubbed the teen’s head playfully. “Punk.”

The Lions formed a semi-circle around the door, and he headed out. On foot, it was an even more intimidating structure, but Shiro pushed down his doubt and hesitance, and firmly donned his helmet. Once the Lions stepped closer, a line almost like a barrier lit up, carving a path through the floor, up the walls, and connected with the symbol on the door. It flashed brighter; so, too, did the Lions’ eyes. Slowly, the door slid apart, and for the first time in three thousand years, light shone over the great form of the Black Lion. He sat tall and proud in his purple shield, larger than Blue or Yellow, yet not nearly so bulky, with crimson winglets on his back and a golden V on his chest, his head not even slightly tilted to the ground like the others’ had been. Shiro couldn’t help but gulp as he stared up at the Great Beast. Even in a dormant state, a power emanated from him, radiating throughout the room. His brethren stood a little straighter.

‘Am I ready for this?’ Shiro balled his fists, steadying their trembling. ‘…Does it matter if I am? There are people who need me. I refuse to fail them.’

Reminding himself to breathe, he scaled the steps and reached out. He stopped. On instinct, he’d led with his right hand. After a moment, he curled up the clawed fingers and used his human hand instead. The energy felt strangely cool yet warm against his palm, a faint swirling pattern flowing just beneath the surface.

He waited.

The eyes came to life. The barrier pulsed and fell, and then the Black Lion bowed his head to welcome his new Paladin.

A mile-wide smile spread across Shiro’s face as the lingering energy washed over him, staining his armor with its proper color. A great peace filled him; a sense of knowing, of belonging. This was his destiny. No longer plagued by anxiety, he strode aboard. Once he was settled in the pilot seat, the safety harness in place and the controls in-hand, the Black Lion gracefully stood and gave a mighty roar that shook the castle like thunder. The other four echoed his call. Their pilots cheered, a sound shared by the Alteans and the mice as they hugged a second time.

Alfor smiled at them all and looked up to the sky. At long last, after millennia of waiting and hoping, the Lions of Voltron had returned, and while their Paladins still had much to learn, he knew they would fulfill their ancient oath to protect the innocent, vanquish evil, and save the universe.