Lance breathed out as he opened his eyes, looking up at the bluish sky of Nebola, as tiny snowflakes gently descended down, some catching on his eyelashes. He blinks as he stares up at the scenery. The Blue Paladin was currently laying on the planet's snow covered ground, in only his armor undersuit and metal boots.

Since he'd gotten his powers, Lance noticed that his body had been adapting to the cold to the point he barely noticed when it was chilly. Guess it was a side effect of said powers, though not a bad one. While starring up at the sky, Lance's mind flashed back to how it led up to this point.

-Flashback-

Keith had just returned to the Castle of Lions, with Kolivan, and met up with everyone on the bridge. Where they were informed of the current situation.

"Zarkon is alive?!" Kolivan said alarmed.

"And he's declared Lotor an enemy of the Empire?" Keith asked.

"Pretty much. Most likely the dude's going to be in hiding for a while. Like that wasn't obvious." Lance said.

"This situation is, defiantly alarming." Allura comments.

"Yeah. We're going to need all the help we can get. So it's a good thing you're back." Shiro says to them.

"How was your little get away anyway? Did you get the answers you wanted, or really needed?" Lance asked with a serious glint in his eye.

"Yes, along with a good smack to the face. Again." Keith responded with a groan.

"A needed one I guess." Lance added. Before Keith could rebuff, the door opened and Matt walked in.

"So hey... Why is there a Galra here?!" He seemed to panic a bit at the sight of Kolivan. "Wait a minute... Keith? Is that you?" He said when he noticed the Red Paladin. Who looks to the rebel.

"Matt?" Keith asked. The older Holt sibling was still, before running to the Galra hybrid and proceeded to hug the life out of him.

"Oh my god! It's so good to see you!" The Rebel said as he squeezed Keith.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too." The Red Paladin said back.

"Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Lance asked surprised.

"Yeah, Shiro practically adopted Keith, and we were best friends back at the Garrison, so we've seen each other." Matt answered. Made sense.

"Can you let go of me now?" Keith asked and Matt complied. "And to answer your earlier question, this is Kolivan. He's the leader of a Galran rebel group known as the Blade of Marmora." He also answered.

"Oh, I heard rumors about a group of Galra that opposed the Empire, but I was skeptical. Guess it was true, but why are you wearing similar clothes to the leader here then Keith?" Matt asked next.

"Well... Long story short, apparently I'm half-Galra and have a Marmora ceremonial blade. So, yeah I'm sort of part of the Blade now, as well as Voltron." The Red Paladin explained.

"Okay." Matt said, trying to process the information.

"More on that later, for now we need to focus on the war here." Shiro intercepted.

"The war between us and the Galra, or the war between Zarkon and Lotor?" Hunk asked.

"Both. Like I said, with Zarkon back, we need to branch out and strengthen our alliance." The Voltron leader states.

"And strengthen ourselves while we're at it." Everyone turned to Lance when he spoke. "If we're going against Zarkon again, I doubt it's going to go like last time. Even then, that nearly cost us a lot." He says, the others agree with him. "Okay, I think we need to train our powers more, and the best place for that is the Elmara system." He states.

"What?! But what about the Galra? We can't just leave right now." Keith rebuffs.

"Actually, with the Empire is disarray at the moment, now might be the perfect time to take a break." Coran said looking over the Castle screens.

"Also, Lance has a point, we all need to train our powers more, and part of that is training and getting used to environments akin to our powers." Shiro supported.

"Yeah, Lance has kind of been doing that, with taking cold baths to get used to cold temperatures." Pidge says, and Keith looks to the said Blue Paladin.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"Yep, it's actually pretty nice." Lance states.

"Then it's settled." Allura spoke and everyone turns to her. "You five shall fly to the Elmara system to further your training. For now, we will remain here and monitor the Empire. We will contact you if anything comes up and we need Voltron." The Altean Princess states. The Paladins all nod in agreement.

With that, the Voltron Paladins all packed up supplies and took off in their Lions, Keith now able to enter Red again, setting out for the Elmara system. Lance to Nebola, Keith to Pyrolion, Hunk to Terrian, Pidge to Energon and Shiro to Aurarea, all to train and better understand their powers.

-Flashback End-

So here he was, on the beautiful winter planet laying in the snow. Lance was currently training to adapt his body to the icy-cold temperature of the planet. Lance sighed as he sat up and decided to get some rations.

He walks back to Blue and walks into the ship, grabbing a wrapped roll of food, curtsey of Hunk, and walked back outside. He climbs up onto of his Lion's head, sitting down while enjoying the scenery then he unwraps the food and began eating. He then started to wonder how the others were doing.

-Pyrolion-

Keith groaned as he sat in the pilot's chair of the Red Lion, panting heavily as he took a swig of water, though more of a giant chug akin to a full quart.

"How did it end up like this?" He asked himself. Actually, he knew how. Lance had stated that adapting to each planets' environment would help in developing their powers, and Shiro wholeheartedly agreed to it, as did everyone else. So here he was, dressed in only his armor undersuit and trying to adapt to the sweltering climate, with his armor it could cool him, but instead he felt like he was melting.

"Geez, I grew up in the desert but this heat is ten-times more intense than that." He sighed. "Though, it has been getting better. Guess that makes sense, I'm just going to have to endure it for now." He sighed again, and went to head out back into the scorching heat.

As he walked, he remembered about what had transpired before returning to the others. Ara, Selifae, and her words that wouldn't stop rattling around in his mind. Thinking it over, she was right about him. He thought no one wanted him around, but in reality he was the one pushing away before giving them a chance.

If he wanted to protect people and bring down the Empire, and Zarkon, once and for all, he needed to stop being so closed off and let others in, and right now, he needed to adapt to this Volcanic Wasteland. Well, here he goes.

-Terrain-

"Phew..." Hunk sighed as he stretches. He had been practicing using his powers on the rocks in one of the planet's canyons. "Man, I could go for some food right now. Well, lunch break." He said and went to the Yellow to pick up some snacks. He walked back out with his food in hand, and mouth.

"What next?" He asked himself and took a bite. "Guess my seismic sense could use training." He thought went to do just that. Train his seismic sense on hard ground, then on soft ground. He took his bandana and used it as a blindfold, then began.

The hard rock ground was pretty easy, but the sand was, honestly, it was like Toph quoted; sand was so loose and easily shifted, it kind of made things fuzzy, but if she could do it, he could too. So he wasn't going to give up so quickly.

-Energon-

On Energon, Pidge, with Rover by her side, was in the forest resting beneath the shade of the forest foliage. She had been training for a while and decided to take a break. She sighed as she looked up at the foliage that was blocking the sunlight.

"You know something Rover, before all this, I used to hate the outdoors with a passion. But now, I realize Keith was right. It is nice out here, so peaceful and quiet, and the smells are amazing." Pidge confessed to her little bot friend.

"I know joineries can change people, but this is really something." She continues. "Ryner, and Zarc, both really had a point. Deep down, we're all made up of the same cosmic dust and earthily matter." With that Pidge, sat up and pressed her hand to the ground, concentrating and once again, it was like the universe was opened up to her, like downloading information, it was so vast and beautiful.

-Aurarea-

Shiro sighed as he starred at the scenery from atop of one of Aurarea's many tall mountain peaks. Up this high, the scenery was simply gorgeous, though he was starting to get a little dizzy.

"Oh man, I forgot about altitude sickness. I guess with my helmet it helped, but I need a break." He groaned and walks over to the Black Lion and into the cockpit. "Despite it being an alien planet, guess the air pressure is the same." He thinks to himself and drinks some water, which is supposed to help.

"Man, now I see why mountain climbers have to train so much." He sighed to himself. He knew mountain climbing was challenging, but not this nauseating. "Though, I have heard it's a lot worse than this, must be these powers that are helping me adjust so fast." He sighed and went back outside.

"Lance said the Air Nomads were a very spiritual race, to the point they could connect to the spirit world itself. If they were supposed to be nomads I guess that means they meditate. Maybe, I should try it." He thought and sat down, crossing his legs and putting his hands together in a prayer style. He took deep breathes, and breathed out, trying to just let his mind wander.

He suddenly felt a presence in his mind, he opened his eyes to find himself in the Astral Plane, where he had fought Zarkon for possession of the Black Lion. He got up and looked around. It was just like he remembered, last time he was here it was during the last fight against Zarkon, where he threw him out of the plane. He looks around again and finds not only the Black Lion, but also the giant version of him made of light from when he was in a coma in the healing pods.

The giant Shiro beckons him to come forward, though he is unsure, but then he feels something nudging him from behind. He turns slightly to see a large male lion that seemed to be made of light and stardust, particularly the lion's large fluffy mane that looks like it had actual stars in it. Wait a minute, Shiro feels like he knows the lion, then it hit him.

"Black? Is that you?" He asked. The Lion seemed to huff in confirmation and began nudging him forward again. "All right, I think I get it. I'll go." He said with a laugh and walked towards the giant of light. he took a deep breath and walked in the light absorbing him in.

Back on Aurarea, Shiro was still in a meditation stance, when his eyes snapped open, revealing glowing whited-out blackish-purple. He suddenly rose into the air, stretching his arms out from their meditative position as huge gusts of wind shot out all around him. The Black Lion also rose, also glowing blackish-purple and let out a mighty roar.

Shiro slowly lowers to the ground, landing softly on his feet and his eyes having stopped glowing and went back to normal. The Lion had also stopped glowing. Shiro looked out around, the blasts of the winds having blown away a few clouds, and sighed, the high altitude and air pressure no longer bothering him.

-Castle of Lions-

Princess Allura, Coran, Kuro, Matt, Kolivan and Antok were all on the bridge discussing about Zarkon. Needless to say, his return has shaken up all of them, and most of the Voltron Alliance.

"This situation we're in, is more than a little worrying." Allura admitted.

"Now we're back to square-one as Lance would say." Coran said. "We need to strengthen and build the Alliance even more now if wish to stand a chance." He added and went over the castle control console, pulling up a map of said alliance systems.

"I've alerted the Blade of Marmora, we'll be sending out our spies to check over the situation." Kolivan informs. "In the mean-time, I'd like for one of our own to remain on the Castle with you all just in case." He added.

"Understood." Allura agreed, and the two Blades left the room. The Princess heard a squeak and looked over to Kuro to see him with the mice happily crawling over him while making chirping noises. The man chuckled the mice scurried up to his shoulders.

"Kuro, is everyone alright?" She asked him and he froze. "You hadn't said a single thing during the discussion. Do you anything at all?" She added. The clone looked down for a second.

"Honestly, I'm terrified." He admitted. "Of Zarkon, the Empire, Haggar, and..." He trailed. "What if you and Keith were right? What if I am a spy? I don't... I don't want anything to do with them, anymore." He voice broke as he wrapped his arms around himself and started shaking. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see it was the Princess.

"Kuro, I'm sorry for being so suspicious earlier. I realize now you have suffered as much as anybody at the hands of the Galra, and you're also a part of this fight against them as anyone else." She said and Kuro felt relieved. The mice squeaked and nuzzled Kuro on his cheeks.

Later, the Paladins returned to the Castle, all docking in the bays and meeting up on the bridge, where Coran was there to greet them.

"Ah, Paladins! Welcome back. I trust the training went well." The Altean man greets.

"Yes, it did." Shiro said and he looked at the others.

"Hey, where's Allura, and Kuro?" Lance suddenly asked. Just then the door opened, and the Paladins turn around to see the Princess and Clone come into the room. Only...

"Whoa..." Hunk said a little surprised. Both Allura and Kuro were dressed in Paladin designed armor, with Kuro being in identical black armor to Shiro, but Allura was in pink colored armor.

"We are a part of this battle as much as you all are, so I thought we would need a little something to fully join." Allura said.

"Yeah, the castle had an extra set of the black armor. Allura said it would be cool to see if looked more alike." Kuro said, a little shyly.

"It looks nice on you." Shiro compliments, and Kuro smiled.

"So... Pink, huh?" Lance asked Allura.

"Yes. On Altea, we wear this color to honor fallen warriors. I decided to wear it to honor the Paladins of Old and to those who'd lost their lives for this war." She explains. "So how did your training go?" She asked.

"Really well Princess. Now it's time to finish this war and end Zarkon, once and for all." Shiro replies then states, and everyone agreed.

AN: Sorry this took forever guys, got a bit of writer's block there. I hope you like what I wrote this time around. Also, any Voltron Fans reading this having seen season 8, good news I'm gonna rewrite that awful ending, and hopefully make it better. Though anything would be better than what we did get, that was just out of nowhere and it didn't really feel like anything got wrapped up right.