[3rd POV]

/Location: Arus, Castle of Lions/

It was the very next morning after the Galra's attack on Arus. Most Paladins are sleeping peacefully, aside from Shiro and Keith. Commander Sora's group were in their own quarters in the castle, due to the damage done to the battle cruiser, and the lack of rooms. Y/n was tossing and turning in his sleep, hunched over with a look of pain on his face.

Y/n: "No. No... NO! GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Suddenly the alarms in the Castle of Lions start to blare, rousing everyone but Lance, who is sleeping with headphones on that are playing peaceful music.

Allura: "Everybody up! Zarkon's attacking! The Castle's about to be destroyed! Go, go, go! We need Voltron and Aquarion now!"

The awakened humans rush towards the Bridge of the Castle. Some dressed, others struggling to get dressed. On the Bridge, Allura and Coran were standing around, with no signs of the supposed attack.

Allura: "Hurry! We can't survive much longer!"

Coran: "You've got to sell it a little bit more."

Allura hands Coran the mic, to which he goes full ham with it, shocking Allura with his choice of words.

Coran: "Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aaaah! it's horrible! Her head fell off! Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?"

Allura looks back towards the door, before looking back at Coran.

Allura: "Coran..."

Coran: "Oh, yes, Princess, I'm listening."

Allura: "It's over."

Coran: "Oh, I know! Uaaaagh! If only Voltron had been formed..."

A hairbrush hits Coran in the head, as the alarms turn off, making him look back at the humans. A seething Celine had was being held back by Hunk, despite her flailing around.

Celine: "I SWEAR I'LL KILL THEM BOTH!"

Coran: "—Oh! Time!"

Shiro: "I guess this isn't an actual attack."

Allura: "And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you... Coran?"

Coran: "Seventy-five degrees. Oh, sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer."

The humans sweatdrop at this as Coran tosses the thermometer.

Allura: "However long it was, it was too long. You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon. Look at you! Only Shiro is in uniform. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your bayards? Commander Sora, your most of your squadron is still in their night wear or falling asleep on their feet!"

Sure enough half of Sora's group was in nightwear, while Kita, Riza, Yazmin and another female named Miko were dressed, but slumped together sleeping standing up.

Only Sora and Luisa were dressed and awake.

Allura: "And where are Lance and Solari?"

Lance enters the bridge, yawning and looking well-rested.

Lance: "Good morning, everybody. What's going on?"

Allura: "That answers for Lance, that still leaves Solari missing."

She sighs as she rubs her face, she then looks at the humans.

Allura: "Coran and I have been up for hours getting the castle back in order. We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed."

Hunk: "Hey!" [Yawns] "You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird Castle. That's a lot to process in, uh... I don't know. What day is today?"

Coran: "It's the third quintant of the Spicolian movement. Hump day!"

Luisa pushed her glasses up before answering in a terminology her fellow humans would understand.

Luisa: "It's been at least a day since we arrived on Arus."

Hunk: "—It's a lot to process."

Allura: "You must understand the stakes of our mission."

Allura brings up a map of the universe from the castle's computer, and displays the amount of distress beacons.

Allura: "Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations. So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe."

Allura moves the map to the Milky Way, where it appears barely out of Zarkon's reach.

Allura: "Earth is here. An attack on your planet is inevitable."

Hunk: "Oh no..."

Allura: "Exactly. Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so we can begin fighting Zarkon."

Shiro: "The Princess is right. Let's get to our Lions and start training."

Pidge: "Wait. But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship."

Coran slides over to Pidge.

Coran: "Ah, negative, Number Five. I have you ranked by height, okay? The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow."

Allura: "That's right. Now, get to your Lions, and I want the Vectors up in the air."

Sora: "You heard her, Celine, Toya, Riza to the Vectors."

Riza: "Huh?" [Yawns] "R-Right."

The three girls run off to enter the Vectors as the Paladins start their journey to their Lions. The Vectors take off into the sky, Celine in Vector Luna, Toya in Vector Mars, and Riza in Vector Sol.

Allura: "I thought only Solari could pilot Vector Sol?"

Luisa: "From the data I have run, a good few of us can pilot the Vectors. They utilize "Elements" and these "Elements" are interchangeable. In other words, anyone can technically pilot any of the Vectors, cadet Solari isn't the only one."

Allura: "I see, that's good to know considering Solari is currently missing..."

The door behind them opens revealing Y/n

Y/n: "I'm not missing, I was getting fresh air."

Allura: "You were supposed to be here when the alarms went off. What if there was an attack, you shou-"

Y/n: "You should shut up."

The entire room went silent. The humans knew full well how Y/n acted with orders, and being chastised for not following them. However it was still a shock to say the least as he spoke in such a manner to Allura.

Allura: "What?!"

Y/n: "I said shut up. I know when something out of the ordinary happens. I know when there's a threat. I fight when I need to, not because I'm told to."

Coran: "Solari! You do not get to speak so freely and rudely to the Princess!"

Y/n: "Frankly Coran, I don't care."

Allura: "WHAT IS WITH YOU?! Yesterday you were so kind and caring, maybe a little wild but today you're just... Just... A WILD ANIMAL!"

The humans looked shocked, as Allura and Y/n stared each other down, before Y/n scoffed and walks back toward the door.

Y/n: "Glad you finally realized it."

The door closed behind him as Allura grabbed her hair in frustration.

Allura: "What is his problem?!"

Sora: "He grew up with animals."

Allura looks at Sora, who was looking back at the door to the bridge.

Sora: "For 3 years he grew up living like a wild animal, that's the other reason Celine calls him a Wild Dog. Because he technically was one until I had found him, but even after 12 years, his heart had never left the woods."

Allura: "I... I didn't... Quiznak."

Sora: "Give him time, for now focus on helping the Paladins. Yazmin, you and Luisa finish that project."

Yazmin: "Hai..."

She walks off with Luisa to finish what they were working on, while Allura focused back on her original goal of helping the Paladins form Voltron. Back outside, the Yellow Lion finally arrives.

Hunk: "Hey, sorry, everybody. Seriously, though, can't they park these things, like, a little closer to the Bridge?"

Shiro: "All right, guys. Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync."

Allura: "Feel the bond with your Lions and your fellow pilots until five become one unit and you form Voltron!"

The Lions take off, flying in sync, the Paladins cheering together. However with each pass, the enthusiasm slowly fades until Hunk is the only one cheering.

Hunk: "Whoo... Am I the only one who's still pretending to be excited?"

Shiro: "Clearly, this isn't working. Let's set down for a little bit."

As they go to land, Vectors weren't having any better of a time figuring out how Y/n did it.

Celine: "This is getting us nowhere. How did that idiot manage to make us combine?!"

Toya: "I'm not certain, but when we were Aquarion, there was a sense of belonging. It was as if we were one body, one mind, one heart."

Riza: "What was it he said? Genesis merge? Something about singing?"

Celine: "That's right, when we merged to form Aquarion, there was like this song. We couldn't just hear it, but feel it as well."

Toya: "I remember a faint line of it; 'On the first day of the world, under the tree of life. The two of us heard the voices of whales reverberating from afar.' Perhaps Solari would know more."

Celine didn't want to admit it, but he seemed to know more about these machines and how they operated. However she felt like she knew these controls as well, or at least felt like she should know how these Vectors worked.

Celine: "Fine we'll talk to the Wild Dog, but I won't be happy about it!"

Riza: "Whatever you say Celine."

As they turn to head back towards the castle only to see the barrier come up, and the castle start firing at them and the Lions.

Celine: "What the hell?!"

Riza: "Is she trying to kill us?!"

Toya: "Allura, Shiro, what's happening?!"

Keith: "Allura, what are you doing?!"

Allura:  "Running a diagnostic test on the castle defenses and inspiring you! I believe in you, Paladins and Elements! Let fear be your guide! Form Voltron and Aquarion!"

The trio of girls look at Allura like she lost her mind. This wasn't going to help anything, just get them all hurt in the process!

Lance: "Forget this! I'm heading back to the castle!"

Toya: "Lance wait!"

Lance ignores her and pilots the Blue Lion towards the castle, dodging the attacks, but is thrown back by the particle barrier. Hunk dodges the bombardment.

Hunk: "Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!"

Allura: "You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you? He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!"

Allura presses a button on the screen, causing the defense systems to engage an auto tracking bombardment of the Lions and Vectors, before she walks away leaving the room empty. Once she was out of the room, Y/n walked in and kicks the main console, jolting the crystals inside, making the barrier flicker.

Y/n: "No wingless royal brat tells me what to do."

As he leaves the barrier continues to flicker slightly.

/Location: Galra controlled space/

At the Galra Empire's Central Command, the Galra commander who captured Shiro and chased the Blue Lion kneels before Zarkon.

Zarkon: "You have returned early. Did you complete your mission?"

Galra commander: "Sir, the moon's crust became unstable. Staying any longer would have cost half my crew."

Zarkon: "Hmm, perhaps, but the half that survived would have been stronger. Weakness is an infection. Better to cut it off than let it spread."

Galra sentries grab the terrified Galra commander and drag him away.

Zarkon: "What have you and your Druids come up with to capture Voltron?"

Haggar: "I have been working on perfecting something. Something that will strike fear into the hearts of any that stand against it. Voltron and the ancient machine may have surprised Sendak, but they will not be able to overcome my creation."

The Paladins, and Elements, except Shiro, lay exhausted on the couches of the castle lounge. Then Allura and Coran enter.

Allura: "Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?"

Coran: "No, still just 84 percent, I can probably ask that Yazmin girl to help, she seems to want to learn about the castle."

As Allura turns to see the room, she looks happy to see the Paladins and Elements.

Allura: "You did it! You formed Voltron and Aquarion!"

Keith: "No. The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in."

Allura: "What?"

One of the mice squeaks, mimicking kicking something, and Allura looks pissed.

Allura: "HE DID WHAT?!"

The mouse squeaks again and Allura got full on enraged.

Allura: "HE CALLED ME WHAT?! THAT NO GOOD! SELFISH! TO THINK I EVER FELT ANY PITY FOR! HE MAY HAVE HIS NAME, BUT HE'S CERTAINLY NOT HIM!"

Riza: "Oh... he's dead."

Pidge: "What did the mouse say?"

Riza looked at the group and decided to translate.

Riza: "Solari re-damaged the particle barrier controls, allowing us back in."

Lance: "That doesn't sound too bad."

Riza: "And then proceeded to call the Princess a 'wingless royal brat'."

Hunk: "Oh boy..."

One of the doors near the back opens as Shiro enters.

Shiro: "What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break."

Allura: "Shiro's right! You should be training!"

Coran: "Perhaps you should take a calming breath P-"

Allura: "I am perfectly calm Coran!"

Coran backs off, as the mouse that snitched on Y/n ran to Riza, hiding in the neck of her shirt. It gives a small scared squeak, before Riza pets it gently with her finger. Then the unfortunate soul of the hour walks in, a stern expression on his face.

Y/n: "They have been training, and while it may not have born fruit, they are still trying. Putting their lives in danger is not how you inspire that growth. They are not your soldiers, not your cannon fodder, they are living breathing individuals."

Allura: "That's rich coming from you! You may share Solari's name, but you are no Solari! Just some wild beast that never left the dense greenery that it lived in, before being captured to be tamed, yet is a failure at even that!"

Y/n approaches Allura, his eyes flashing gold, making Allura step back.

Y/n: "Let's get one thing straight here Princess, I couldn't care less about how you see me. I couldn't care less how anyone sees me."

Allura: "That does not give you the right to call me a royal brat!"

Y/n: "You're not proving me wrong right now. Because I don't see the technical Queen of what is left of Altea. I see a scared little daddy's girl who's fighting her father's war from 10,000 years ago."

Allura's eyes widen as Y/n, his words were cold, but not heartless. Harsh as they may seem, they were true. Allura put her fear and desperation to form Voltron and Aquarion, above the safety of the pilots of both Voltron and Aquarion.

Y/n: "If anyone needs me, I'll be with the Lions and Vectors."

He walks past Allura, leaving everyone in the lounge shocked. Allura looks toward the floor, thinking hard on what Y/n had said.

Allura: "Coran... Oversee their training. I... I need to be alone."

As Allura walks out of the lounge, Coran clears his throat.

Coran: "Right then! Time for a little history lesson that might explain why you're not forming Voltron! The original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of Yalmors linked at the ears."

Lance:  "Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us."

Coran: "During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time. As for Aquarion, not much is known on how it's formed, just that 3 hearts, 3 minds, and 3 bodies must be one. Hm you know what? You should try working out on the training deck."

Hunk: "There's a training deck?"

/Location: Galra controlled space/

At the Galra Empire's Central Command, Haggar enters a dark cell where an alien with bright yellow eyes is held.

Haggar: "I think I have the opportunity you've been waiting for. How would you like to get your revenge against the Champion?"

The alien growls and smiles.

/Location: Arus, Castle of Lions/

Now in the training deck, the lights turn on as Coran stands in the observation room, and clears his throat to check his microphone.

Coran: "Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up, guys. The Paladin code demands that you put your team members' safety above your own. A swarm of drones is about to attack. It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team."

Altean drones appear, encircling the Paladins; Keith and Pidge form shields.

Hunk: "Wait, wait, wait. What's going on—Whoa!"

Hunk's shield forms, startling him.

Hunk: "Did you guys get one of these?"

Yazmin: "Shields are standard issue defense for Paladins."

Hunk: "Oh. Wait I thought you were working on a project or something."

Yazmin: "We finished it, it was more like repairing something rather than building from scratch. Repair drones are a blessing."

Shiro and Lance form their own shields.

Shiro: "Get ready."

The Altean drones begin firing lasers. Hunk dodges and Pidge is struck, dropping into a hole that opens up underfoot.

Coran: "Protect your teammates or no one will be there to protect you!"

Hunk is struck and basically swan dives into the floor. Shiro, Keith, and Lance huddle back-to-back to defend themselves.

Coran: "Yazmin increase intensity."

Yazmin salutes and increases the training difficulty, making the drones circle faster, and fire sooner.

Lance: "You keeping up over there, Keith?"

Keith: "Just concentrate on keeping me safe."

Lance scoffed before the drones dropped down to ankle height.

Lance: "Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate."

Keith and Shiro crouch down to continue guarding, but Lance is distracted and does not. He lifts his foot to avoid being shot, and Keith is shot instead, disappearing into the floor. Lance tries to defend Shiro but is struck himself, so Shiro ends up struck. Both fall through the holes in the floor. Coran facepalms.

Yazmin: "This is going to be a long day."

Coran: "I'm afraid so, activate the maze."

Once more Yazmin nods and activates the holographic maze. Lance is sent into the middle of it.

Coran: "To form Voltron, you must trust in each other. This ancient Paladin maze will teach you that trust."

Lance puts on his helmet before the walls vanish from sight, leaving him standing in what appears to be an empty training deck.

Yazmin: "The rules are simple, Lance. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls? You'll get a nice taste of what happens when you touch exposed copper wiring, that's hooked up to a running fuel cell."

Coran: "Did you up the voltage?"

Yazmin: "Just a tiny bit."

Lance winces knowing Yazmin still hadn't forgotten about what he did back on Earth.

Lance: "Wait. Who's guiding me through?"

Keith: "Take two steps forward."

Lance: "Oh, no. Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic?"

Coran: "Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn."

Keith: "Like I said, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction."

Lance only turns right and hits a wall, getting shocked so badly he falls backwards onto the floor, foaming at the mouth. Keith turns and looks back at Yazmin.

Keith: "Only adjusted it a tiny bit huh?"

Yazmin: "Now we're even."

She lowers the voltage back down to just a small jolt.

Yazmin: "And he should have listened."

Coran sighs muttering beneath his breath.

Coran: "These humans I swear."

*Time skip brought to you by Luisa slapping Lance awake.*

The team is flying their Lions through the sky for the next test. Coran speaks to them from the Castle's Bridge.

Coran: "You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with his Lion."

Lance: "No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real."

Y/n: "Glad to hear you think you have such a bond. This exercise will test your claim."

Coran: "Everyone, put your Lions into a nose dive!"

The Lions dive down towards the ground.

Coran: "This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but, uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go."

Yazmin: "Activating blackout visors."

The visors of the Paladins' helmets turn pitch black blocking the Paladins from seeing anything.

Lance: "Coran, what's happening?! I can't see!"

Coran: "You must learn to see through your Lions' eyes. The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the Lion feels!"

Lance: "You're sounding like Nature Boy!"

Hunk: "Mine feels scared!"

Hunk panics and pulls out of the dive right away.

Y/n: "Clear your minds, concentrate on being one with your Lions. Let your heart beat with theirs."

Unfortunately his words were mostly ignored by the red and blue Paladins.

Lance: "You still going, Keith?"

Keith: "You know it. You?"

Lance: "Going? I'm speeding up!"

Lance speeds up his dive, practically challenging Keith to do the same.

Keith: "Oh, yeah?"

Keith of course accepts the nonverbal challenge, and speeds up his dive as well. Y/n sighs turning his attention to Pidge and Shiro.

Y/n: "Listen to your Lion, it knows what to do."

There was the sound of the Red and Blue Lions crashing in the background as Y/n focused on the remaining two. Unfortunately Pidge heard the idiots crashing as well.

Pidge: "What was that noise? Did they crash?"

Y/n: "Don't panic, it will cloud your judgement."

Once more his words go unheeded, as Pidge panics and pulls out of the dive, but hits a cliff. Shiro remains in a dive with his eyes closed, using Y/n's advice, and is able to connect with the Black Lion seeing what it sees. He pulls out of the dive last-second, and flies through several rocky areas without using his own eyes.

Y/n: "Well done Shiro, you did it."

*Mini time skip by Luisa chastising Keith and Lance.*

Back in the training deck, the Paladins sit in a circle with special headsets on, as Coran speaks to them over the intercom.

Coran: "Now the most important part of Paladin training, is being able to meld your minds, and focus on one thing: Voltron. Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron."

A screen depicting the thoughts of the Paladins appears before each one. Keith thinks of his desert shack. Lance thinks of his family. Hunk thinks of food. Pidge thinks of the photograph Hunk found on Earth of "Pidge" and a "girlfriend", but the image is obscured. Shiro thinks of the Kerberos Mission launch.

Coran: "So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between Paladins. Come on, everyone, clear everything. Now, focus on forming your Lion."

The Paladins, aside from Pidge, form their images into their respective Lions and move them to form Voltron.

Coran: "Bring your Lions together a-and form Voltron. Keep your minds open, work together. Good! Keep focusing! Only one to go!"

The Green Lion has not appeared. Pidge's mental image remains static-filled; Keith notices, but before he can say anything Toya speaks up.

Toya: "Focus Pidge, use that memory, love isn't invalid. Be it for a loved one, a partner, or a friend."

Pidge takes a deep breath before trying to turn the image into the Green Lion. Once it manifests the mental Lions move together.

Coran: "Good! Almost there. Now, form Voltron."

The mental Lions begin forming Voltron.

Coran: "Yes!"

Everything was going well, then the worst happened. The Green Lion attaches to the mental Voltron, but becomes the same static-filled image as before.

Lance: "Pidge!"

Pidge stands and tosses the headset to the floor in frustration.

Pidge: "I'm done with this! Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!"

Shiro: "Oh, come on, Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this."

Pidge: "I'm just... I'm just tired, okay?"

Shiro: "Okay. Let's take a break."

*Mini time skip brought to you by team Aquarion trying the headset method to form Aquarion.*

Celine throws the headset onto the ground in anger.

Celine: "This isn't working!"

Riza: "Thanks captain obvious."

Celine: "I don't need your snark!"

Lance: "Man they're worse off than we are."

Hunk: "No kidding."

Coran hands all the Paladins packs of fluid to drink as they sit and relax. Yazmin passing some to the trio of girls.

Coran: "You all have been working hard. Maybe it's time to relax a little."

Toya: "Training has to be followed by recovery."

Yazmin: "I'm sure it'll come to you, you can't give up yet."

RIza: "I wish Solari was here, maybe he could explain what we're doing wrong."

Celine scoffed at the thought of her doing something wrong. Although in the end she can't say she's sure she's doing anything right.

Yazmin: "Kinda hard to do when both he and Allura are avoiding everyone. What even happened?"

Pidge: "They might have had a little fight earlier."

Yazmin: "There wasn't any fists involved was there?"

Keith: "No just cold words and fiery glares."

Yazmin breathes a sigh of relief.

Yazmin: "Good, then there's a chance for them to reconcile."

Coran: "Is him using fists in a fight truly that bad?"

Yazmin: "He kinda has his own code. If he starts throwing fists in a fight, and you lose, he won't even bother with you."

Coran: "And if you win?"

Hunk: "No one knows, he's never lost a fight against other cadets back on Earth."

Coran puts his hand to his chin thinking about something.

Coran: "Rest up, we'll continue training in a little."

Meanwhile Allura was in her personal quarters on her bed, staring at the ceiling, 3 of the mice next to her head. Y/n words had hit harder than an ion cannon shot. When she first met him, she swore she saw someone different, someone she had seen in a dream. The way he spoke was almost as if he was alive for ages. His name matched the ancient warrior's. Then there was the ancient machine Aquarion. Yet how he acts, his disrespect, it confused her.

Allura: "Solari is just so confusing. How can I trust him to help us, when I can't even get him to listen. Father couldn't even tell me an answer..."

The mice squeak as they offer words of comfort and possible ideas. Then the last and smallest member of the Altean mice climbed the bed and ran over to the rest. It squeaks a few things making a few movements like it was fighting something.

Allura: "Fight him? Are you sure? But what if I lose? If I have a chance to reconcile, then fighting him would possibly make matters far worse, to the point we lose Aquarion."

The other mice chat amongst themselves before addressing Allura.

Allura: "Well yes we took a gamble against Sendak and it worked, but..."

She went silent as she thought about it, was it better to try and talk things out, or was it worth the risk to challenge him.

*Time skip brought to you by Chibi Y/n humming with the Lions sleeping near him.*

The humans sit in the dining hall before a table of food goo and other strange food. Coran stands nearby.

Coran: "Ahoy, young humans! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron and Aquarion six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux!"

Shiro: "Smells great, Coran. Thanks."

Sora: "We really appreciate it after today."

Before the humans even have a chance to eat, Coran pulls out a remote and presses a button. The humans are handcuffed together on each arm.

Lance: "Hold the phone!"

Coran: "I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team. So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day."

Celine: "Then why are we cuffed too?!"

Coran: "Frankly, none of you seem to want to work together, it's worse with Solari."

Said male was sitting between commander Sora, who was at the end of the table, and Celine who looked pissed. Y/n just looked tired, wanting to end this day before he lost his sanity.

Coran: "This exercise is a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of Yalmors!"

Y/n sighs before feeling something tap his cheek, looking up Sora was smiling and holding a spoonful of the food goo.

Sora: "Come on open up."

To her this was like when she tried teaching Y/n to eat normal food, however this didn't play out the same way it did then.

Y/n: "No."

That one word made Sora lose her smile and pull the spoon away as she looked at the goo on her plate.

Keith: "... Dude."

Lance: "That... That's cold."

Y/n: "Oh grow up."

Allura soon joins everyone for dinner. The Paladins struggle to eat, while Sora's group argues on how they would do anything. Y/n just slams his face into the plate, making Celine look away disgusted. Lance flings Hunk's food goo on accident.

Hunk: "Ow!"

Lance: "Sorry."

Hunk tries to eat again; Lance's fingers end up Hunk's nose and mouth. Lance pulls away.

Lance: "Ew! Ugh..."

Lance is pulled back over by Hunk, causing him to pull Keith's hand into Lance's plate of goo.

Lance: "Oh, nice. You defiled my food goo!"

Keith: "It's your fault! This is ridiculous."

Allura sighs in frustration.

Allura: "Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?"

Shiro: "Can't you just give us a break? Everyone's been working really hard today."

Keith stands up as annoyed as almost everyone else at the table.

Keith: "Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like... like..."

Lance: "Like a bunch of toy prisoners!"

Keith: "Yes! Thank you, Lance!"

Coran: "—You do not yell at the Princess!"

Pidge: "Oh, the Princess of what? We're the only ones out here and she's no Princess of ours! Also yell at her?! Please! Sol has been insulting her all day and you weren't even trying to scold him!"

Suddenly Pidge gets a face full of the food goo. All the humans look over to see Allura with a spoon in prime food flinging position. Pidge and Keith glare at her.

Keith: "Go loose, Pidge!"

Keith flings a bowl full of goo at Allura. Coran blocks the attack and tosses a huge scoop of goo all over the Paladins. He also hit Celine who was livid now.

Celine: "Riza!"

Riza: "You're all dead now!"

Y/n: "Aquarion vs Voltron, count me in!"

Everyone throws goo at each other until they begin having fun and laughing. It was almost like diverging back to old school food fighting had removed the stress, and annoyance of the day. This continued for a while, until the fight leaves Allura exhausted in her chair. The humans were all laughing and smiling.

Allura: "ENOUGH! Do you see what you're doing?!"

The humans fall silent and apprehensive, but Allura smiles at them.

Allura: "You're finally working together as one!"

Keith: "Hey, she's right!"

Lance: "I actually don't hate you right now."

Celine: "For once I don't entirely want to kill Lance."

Riza: "That was fun."

Commander Sora's group all nod in agreement besides Y/n who remains silent.

Hunk: "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?

Shiro: "Let's go form Voltron!"

Paladins: "Yeah!"

Hunk: "Actually, I was thinking dessert. But, yeah! Let's do it!"

Once uncuffed the Paladins run to their Lions and this time successfully manage to form Voltron.

Sora: "How did you know that would work?"

Allura: "I realized it when Y/n spoke so highly about those I put in danger. Humans fight when they have an enemy, but they work together when they have a common enemy.

Celine: "You made yourself the target when we were eating, to give them an enemy."

Allura: "Yes. Now there's one more thing I need to take care of. Please tell Solari to meet me in the training deck."

*Mini mini timeskip.*

Allura stood in the training deck waiting patiently until she heard someone enter.

Y/n: "What do you want?"

Allura: "I know I said some hurtful things, and so did you, and I'm truly sorry for that. But I can't allow you to just do as you please, and throw everything else to the wind. You aren't in the woods anymore, you're not a mindless beast."

She turns to face him, a calm yet determined expression crosses her face.

Allura: "And while I have heard that this may be a terrible idea, I believe it's the only way to get you to listen to me."

Y/n: "So you called me here just to fight me? You do realize what will happen when you lose right?"

Allura: "Yes, but I refuse to lose, not when I'm so close to finally bringing everyone together to fight Zarkon! So today I will leash you!"

Y/n: "Heh, phrasing on that one, but fine, let's see what you got."

Y/n's fingers curled into his palm as he lifted his hands up, Allura takes her own stance as well. Yet neither side moves at first.

Y/n: "Last chance Princess, walk away and you don't get hurt."

Allura: "I'll do what I must to ensure you listen."

Y/n: "Fine, you brought this on yourself!"

Y/n runs toward Allura throwing a wide punch making her back away and send a kick at his head. Y/n ducks, before rolling backwards, and launching himself back onto his feet as she brought her boot down trying to slam it into his head.

Y/n: "Not bad, you think fast on your feet. But enough warm up!"

He rushes her full speed, throwing wild punches left and right, making Allura block or dodge. Up in the observation deck, everyone else was watching worried.

Pidge: "Is this really the best option? Sol isn't holding back, what if he kills her."

Coran: "Believe it or not the Princess can handle herself. She was trained since she was a child."

Hunk: "Yeah but Y/n's been fighting and surviving for 15 years."

Keith: "I lost count how many people he sent to the medical staff at the Garrison."

Coran hummed in concern, hearing the humans concerns about Y/n fighting Allura made him start to doubt the Princess's idea.

Coran: "I-Im sure she can handle him."

Riza: "Then why is she losing?"

Toya: "You assume based on appearance, look closer, this isn't a fight of strength."

Looking back at the fight, it sure looked like she was losing, she had bruises here and there, dirt covering certain parts of her scuffed up spacesuit. However she still stood there, determined to get through to the wild human. When he threw a punch, she would block or counter, but never drive through the attack.

Y/n: "Still standing huh? I'll admit you're lasting much longer than the other ones I fought. Although those weren't really fights, and neither is this."

Allura: "You... You finally realize..."

Y/n: "Not that hard to tell what you're doing. You fight only when attacked, but you're not making an effort to strike first. You aren't going for the win in terms of strength, nor are you using speed to get away from me, or chase me."

Allura: "I knew this was the only way, to make you understand what I was doing. To show you that I wanted to help, that I wanted us to work together..."

He walks closer toward Allura, and flicks her in the center of her forehead, making her wince.

Y/n: "Self sacrifice is one thing, making yourself a living punching bag is another. Have more respect for yourself and your allies, trust your abilities, you could have easily beat me with the amount of opportunities I gave you."

Allura rubs the spot he flicked, with a slight pout, before noticing his outstretched hand.

Y/n: "I already agreed to help take down Zarkon, so let's move forward Princess."

Allura smiled and takes his hand, making everyone sigh in relief that they made up. Then out of nowhere Allura decked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Y/n doubled over her shoulder slightly, then he smirked.

Y/n: "I deserved that."

Allura: "Yes, yes you did. I also believe that's my win."

Y/n: "Heh, you got lucky."

/Location: Galra controlled space/

At the Galra Empire's Central Command, Zarkon watches the coffin like ship prepare to be launched.

Zarkon: "This beast will allow us to destroy the Paladins. And then, Voltron will be ours."

Haggar: "And of the ancient machine?"

Zarkon: "We will either claim it, or reduce it to scrap."

The ship launches, it's navigation computer set to Arus.