AN: This music is beautiful, and it's not the only soundtrack in this chapter. I hope you enjoy.

"Let me get this straight. You're saying this magic rock is going to guide us to a mystical planet?" Pidge asked skeptically.

After their visit to Galra Central Command, Voltron, along with Lotor, went back aboard the Castle of Lions. While Narti herself decided to stay behind and monitor things while they were all away. Lotor and Allura had just finished explaining the reason for their sudden trip.

"A land known as Oriande." Said purple emperor added. Coran chuckles.

"I'm afraid someone's been ruggling your wimble, Prince Lotor. Oriande is just an old Altean folktale. It doesn't actually exist." The orange mustache man debunks.

"That's what I assumed as well, Coran, but now, I have a strong feeling that this is in fact very real." Allura says next.

"It is said to be the birthplace of all Altean alchemy. The place where King Alfor himself learned the secrets that helped him create Voltron, and where Allura and I will learn and master those same secrets, so that the Sincline ships can enter the quintessence field." The galran emperor states.

"Lotor, you've proven to be trustworthy in my opinion, but this Oriande as you call it, it sounds like something from a fairytale we have on Earth. While some of them were inspired by "true stories", the stories were often exaggerated to make the fairytale version more "magical"." Lance says, with added in air-quotes.

"Bottom line, it's most likely Oriande doesn't exist. Like the edge of the world on Earth. I mean, Coran here knows more about Altean stories, including myths and legends, better than anyone else I know." The blue paladin adds.

"Thank you, Lance." Said man tells him. "And I can assure you, King Alfor never mentioned anything to me about traveling to Oriande. I would know of course, I was his most trusted advisor and best friend." He confirms and brags a little.

"In all likelihood, he kept it a secret from everyone. I've been researching Oriande for centuries now, hoping to learn more of my Altean ancestry. Over time, I have managed to gather evidence from across the universe that hinted at its existence. Now, thanks to Princess Allura here, we will be able to gaze upon its magnificence with our own eyes." The galran/altean man states.

"Uh yeah, aren't you a little busy with, you know, running your empire to take a magical vacation?" Hunk asks with a raised hand. Pidge sighs next to him.

"In order to transition the Galra Empire to a peaceful existence, I need to open up a pathway to the quintessence field. Once my people have access to an unlimited amount of energy, the old ways of the empire will be left behind." Lotor explains.

"What? No. Lotor, that's too dangerous." Lance says.

"I know traversing the field will be perilous, but this is the only way the empire can have an unlimited supply of quintessence without needing to take it from planets." The emperor reasons.

"That's not the problem. The quintessence field isn't just an empty space, there are things living there. Beings made of pure quintessence, including corrupted creatures that are dangerous." Pidge explains.

"What?" The galran/altean man said confused.

"A while back, Zarc told us of the things that reside in the field, and how Zarkon himself was taken by the creatures. Reducing him to nothing more than a corpse animated by them, leaving little of the man he once was." Allura explains. Lotor looks at her in shock.

"So, there are things that live in the field..." He mutters. "However, we have little choice. It is either the field, or planets, with life on them." He reasons. Right...

"Well... If the field is in fact an unlimited source, if we're careful and don't go too far in, it might be safe." Shiro, clearly reluctant, reasons.

"I guess..." Allura sighs, looking down at the compass stone. "And, if this voyage is successful, then the universe will finally be on the path to peace." She adds. Lotor smiles at her.

"Alright then, let's find out where we're going." Shiro says. They then activate the castle crystal and Allura brings up the map from the stone.

"There, between those three celestial bodies. That's our destination." Allura says.

"Wait a tick, that's the Patrulian Zone." Coran says.

"The Patru-what now?" Lance asks the advisor.

"The Patrulian Zone is a mysterious part of space where ships enter and are never heard from again. There are many legends that surround it. One even saying is it the home of Zarc himself." Coran replies then looks to Allura. "Princess, that area has been deemed too dangerous to navigate for ages." He tells.

"The perfect place to hide a magical world. Among other things." Lotor says.

"Or to crash and die." Pidge adds.

"Yeah, Oriande might be there, but it could be too dangerous. Are we sure we want to go there?" Lance questions.

"We will approach with caution. Prepare our course, Coran." Allura decrees then orders the older altean man.

"Yes, Princess." Said man replies with a weary tone.

With their course set, they all got to their stations and Allura opened a wormhole. The castle goes through, traveling to the Patrulian Zone. Through many systems and past many planets, they arrived at their destination.

"Really wish Keith could be here." Hunk mutters, but is heard.

"Last they said, he had finished a mission but needed to go on another for some reason." Lance recalls. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was a little worried.

"We're approaching the Patrulian Zone now." Coran reports.

"Hey, what's that up ahead? An asteroid belt?" Kuro asked.

"No. It's a graveyard." The orange haired altean man answers as they approach the said graveyard, full of dead space ships and parts.

"What caused all this?" Hunk asks nervously as they fly through the wreckages.

"No one knows." The mustache man answers.

"I think we just found out." Pidge says as they come to the center of the wrecks. A giant mass of swirling white light. Everyone gasps at the sight before them.

"What is that? Some kind of super massive star?" Lance asked.

"No. Unbelievable! It's an actual white hole!" The green paladin says.

"Whoa! Take that theoretical physics!" Hunk exclaims.

"Wait, white hole? The heck is a white hole?" The blue paladin asks confused.

"Well, unlike a black hole, which produces massive gravity that sucks everything into it, a white hole is basically its opposite. It's a large body that shoots massive amounts out from an unknown source." Pidge explains, pushing up her glasses.

"It's blasting this whole area with crazy high radiation." The yellow paladin says.

"So that's what happened. The energy emitting from it must have fried all the other ships' systems." Shiro deduces.

"Hmm..."The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned at the pyre. The mystic becomes one with the flame, the embers and he are the same. Where just beyond lies the great dragon's lair. All who dare enter, beware"." Lotor mutters while touching his chin in thought.

"Is that like a song you're working on? Because, no offense, but you might want a rewrite." Lance says.

"It's a poem by an ancient Altean alchemist. I discovered it carved next to a cave painting of a fiery sphere." He explains. "I never understood it, until now. It must be describing the route to Oriande. In other words, to enter we must venture into the white hole." He continues and turns to Allura.

"Wait, are you serious? We're navigating by cave poetry now?" Hunk questions.

"How the heck are we supposed to go through that? If we get any closer we'll end up like all these dead ships out here." Pidge adds.

"We wormhole our way inside." Allura answers.

"What?! Princess, no!" Conan rejects.

"The lions can withstand forces other ships cannot." Said princess states.

"Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?" Shiro asks.

"If this is in fact the home of Altean alchemy, then the Voltron lions will make it through." The altean female says with absolute confidence.

"Okay, but what if it's just another nuclear explosion in space? Then we'll all be toast." Lance says.

"Princess, I think we've taken this quest far enough." Coran states.

"I'm admittedly a little skeptical myself. I want to find Oriande as well, but not at the coast of anyone's life." Lotor admits, also suspicious.

"Believe me, I would never ask this any of you to do this if I didn't know... If I didn't feel that in my heart, that it's true. This is where I'm supposed to be." The princess says while looking at the white hole.

"You're coming with us, aren't you?" Shiro states and one look from the altean woman says it all. "Okay, suit up everybody, we're going in." He says.

"Be careful." Lotor warns Allura.

"I promise, I will." The said girl replies back.

They then move in closer to the white hole, while the paladins and Allura all suit up in their paladin armor, then head down to the their lions. Allura with Shiro. They eventually stop just outside the hole's parameter, then take off in the lions.

"All right, Coran, open up the wormhole." Shiro tells the royal advisor.

"Well, okay then, let's fly into the cosmic death storm." Lance says nervously. The wormhole then opens up before them and they all fly through it, remerging in the white hole's interior. Everyone grunts at its force.

"We're being blasted backwards! Everyone, full power to your thrusters!" Shiro says then instructs. Everyone obeys and amps up their individual lion's thrusters.

"We're making progress!" Allura says as they approach what could only be the eye of the storm. When, suddenly, a pair of real eyes appears in the center, and with it, the face of a white lion.

"Whoa... Is that a lion?" Lance asks when he notices the beastly face. The image suddenly lets out a roar and a beam of light shoots at the mechanical lions.

"What?! Why is it attacking us?" Allura questions.

"Not now! Fire lasers!" Shiro dismisses then orders. They all quickly began firing back, but the lasers only went through the lion's image, before it reformed and fired again. The Paladins barely managing to dodge.

Back on the castle, the remaining occupants were horrified as they listened to the distressed cries of their comrades. They didn't have any visuals, but from the sounds alone they could tell something was wrong.

"What have you done?!" Coran cries turning to Lotor, only to gasp in shock.

"Coran, what's...? Whoa!" Kuro begins to ask, then cries out when he sees Lotor.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" The Galran emperor asks confused.

"Dude, what's going on with your face?" Kuro asks as he points to the said man.

"You have Altean markings, and they're glowing!" Coran follows up. Lotor touches his cheeks, then looks down at the council and gasps. He did have glowing Altean marks on his face.

"What in the...? Wait... "The Mark of the Chosen"... Can it be...?" He mutters while staring at his marks, looking deep in thought.

"Uh... Lotor, what are you talking about?" Kuro asks confused, then the prince turned king gets a look of horrified realization on his face.

"Oh no... You have to get out! Get out of there! Now!!" Lotor practically screams through the coms system.

"What? Why? Because of the monster attacking us?!" Lance's voice asks.

"Monster...? "All who dare enter, beware..." Oh lord! That thing is the guardian of Oriande! Meant to keep the unworthy out! You must get back to the castle, now! Hurry!" Lotor exclaims and pleads.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Retreat! Pull back everyone!" Shiro orders and they all began flying away.

The white lion roars once again, sending another beam at them. They manage to dodge, while the beam continues, tearing a rift through the White Hole's side and directly hitting the Castle. It breaks through the particle barrier and fries its entire system. All while the paladins and princess watch, helpless.

"Oh no... We need to get back to the castle!" Allura says over the coms, and the paladins all fly towards. Not seeing another beam launched at them until it was too late and they were all hit.

"I can't control my lion!" Pidge grunts as she and the rest were just floating.

"Me neither. Blue's lost all power." Lance says, having the same trouble.

"Argh! I'm dead in the water." The green paladin says.

"I think we're all in the same boat." Shiro says.

"Yeah, these lions aren't going anywhere." Hunk states.

"We have no choice. Everyone, prepare for manuel EVA. We'll rendezvous back at the Castle and plan our next move there." Shiro instructs, and they all climb out of their lions and use their jetpacks to fly back to the Castle.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Anything?" Kuro asked as Coran was messing with the console.

"I managed to restore auxiliary power, but it won't last long. If we don't get the Castle running within the next quintant, we'll lose all air." The Altean man replies, just as the paladins and princess enter the bridge and walk up to them.

"Lotor? Whoa... What...?" Lance began asking, pretty much speechless.

"Yeah, uh, dude... I don't know if you know this, but your face is glowing." Hunk finishes his thought.

"And if this is the home of Altean alchemy, why couldn't the lions get in?" Pidge questions next.

"This is all my fault, and I am sorry for this. If I had thought about it, I would have known the answer sooner. Just look at Allura." Lotor says regretfully, then turns everyone's attention to the Altean Princess as she takes off her helmet, revealing her marks were glowing as well.

"Whoa! What's going on? What's happening?" Pidge asks confused. Allura herself shocked by her glowing marks, before walking over to Lotor.

"So, you have them too." She says to him.

"In some legends I've studied, it's referred to as: "the Mark of the Chosen". They indicate those who are worthy of entering Oriande." The emperor explains.

"Wait, why aren't Coran's marks glowing?" Kuro asks and they turn to said altean.

"There are many kinds of Alteans. Allura possesses a deep connection to ancient Altean energy. It enable her to operate the teludav and change her appearance. It is also most likely what Zarc saw in her when he granted her his gift. Others are... Well, less magical, no offense." Lotor explains and adds. Coran looking miffed.

"Zarc himself did say our powers were actually manifestations of the bonds that we have with our lions, but he said Allura is connected to all of the lions, and also something else, but he didn't exactly say what?" Pidge recalls.

"I see..." Lotor says, looking deep in thought then sighs. "If only I'd realized sooner than you wouldn't have had to face that dragon beast." He adds regretfully.

"Dragon...? Lotor, the guardian looked like a white lion, almost like our Voltron lions, actually." Lance corrects.

"A lion?" The purple emperor says surprised. "Then what's the dragon mentioned in the script?" He thought confused. Just then, he heard a soft sound. "Did anyone else hear that?" He asked, looking around.

"What was that? That sound..." Allura asked.

"Huh? What sound, Princess?" Coran asks confused. The others all having looks that say they didn't know what she was talking.

"That, soft sound, like the wind almost." The Altean girl replies.

"What are you two talking ab...?" Lance trails off as the sound came again. "Okay, I defiantly heard something that time." He says.

"Yeah, it sort of sounds like a whistle." Hunk describes it.

"Really? Sounds more like a breeze through tall grass." Pidge disagrees.

"Honestly to me, it sounds like a mix between the two." Shiro voices his opinion, as the sound is heard again.

"I don't hear anything. Where would it come from?" Kuro says then questions.

"Me either. That is a good question." Coran ads, then the two royals turn to where the white hole would have been displayed.

"Is it possible...?" Lotor starts to say, breathless almost.

"What is it?" Shiro asks a little concerned and the two turn back to the group.

"I think me and Allura have to enter the realm, alone." Lotor replies.

"What?!" Everyone exclaims in shock.

"No! Lotor it's too dangerous." Lance exclaims.

"Absolutely not! I refuse to have you and Allura go in there alone!" Coran shouts.

"The guardian will only let in Alteans that it finds worthy. You've all experienced what happened when you had tried to force yourselves in. It wants only me and Allura." The purple emperor says.

"Princess, you can't seriously be considering this." Shiro expresses.

"I have to. Lotor is right, only he and I can enter. Whatever is there, it's calling to us." The silver-haired girl replies with conviction.

"How will you even get there? Both the lions and the pods are out." Pidge asks.

"We'll take the personal transporters." Allura answers.

"But our communications are all out too. We won't be able to contact you..." Coran questions next.

"Honestly we have no choice. The Castle is going to be stuck here until we figure out a way to fix its systems, and I have a feeling the answer is in Oriande." Lotor decides to add. He sadly had a point.

With that, the two royals head down to the personal transport launch bay, both getting their own then launching and fly towards the white hole. Inside, the two approach the portal, the white lion appearing in it like before.

Both gulp, waiting for the great beast to make its move. The lion opens its mouth, looking like it was preparing to fire a laser at them. The light grows and a beam blinds them, turning their vision white.

"Huh? Ah..." Allura gasps as her vision clears up, revealing an unbelievable sight before her eyes. "Is this...?" She trailed while asking.

"Oriande... We've made it." Lotor says as they fly through the mystical realm.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back at the Castle of lions, the Paladins, plus Kuro and Coran, were all down in the main generator room, which was offline like the rest of the ship, trying to restore power to the castle. Sadly, it wasn't doing anything.

"Anything?" Pidge asks, while fidgeting around under the control console.

"No." Hunk replied looking on top to see nothing happening. Lance himself was sitting on the side, fidgeting nervously.

"What do you think they're doing right now?" The blue paladin asks.

"Now?" Pidge asks.

"Yes." Lance replies.

"No." Coran answers.

"Wait, what?" The Cuban boy asks confused.

"We're not talking to you, Lance." Pidge groans annoyed. "Is this doing anything?" She then asks the others.

"Do you think they're alright? I mean, will they be able to get back?" Lance asks.

"I don't so." Hunk says next, while fiddling with the console top.

"You don't?" Lance exclaims, slamming his hands on the same top.

"He's not talking to you." Pidge says, annoyed again.

"Well excuse me for being concerned!" Lance says, ducking down to yell at her under the console.

"Coran, try to fire up the chargers." Pidge asks the altean, while ignoring Lance.

"It's just, nerve-wracking. Waiting for them to come back." The blue paladin says while walking away from the console.

"I'm afraid they're dead." Coran says to Pidge.

"What?!" Lance exclaims, not realizing they still weren't talking to him.

"Lance, we are not talking to you!" Pidge yells, reaching her peak.

"Guys, stop it! Lance, I understand you're worried, we all are, but right now we need to focus on getting power back up before we lose oxygen." Shiro soothes.

"Come on, Lance. Let's leave." Kuro butts in and pulls Lance out of the room.

"It's okay, dude. I'll be quiet, you don't need to babysit me." Lance says with a sigh as he walks over to the wall, thumping his head against it.

"Um, actually Lance, I wanted to talk to you about something." Kuro says and the boy turns to him. "Do you remember what happened back on Olkarion? When I hit you?" The clone asks nervously.

"Yeah, but why're you bringing it up? We already talked about it." Lance replies.

"It's just, when I did that to you, it felt like I wasn't in control of myself. Lately, I've been feeling like that. Like, I'm not myself, and it's starting to scare me..." Kuro confesses, small tears in his eyes. Lance stares at him, unsure how to respond.

"Hey, Kuro, it's gonna be okay. I'm pretty sure we're all just really stressed right now. The lack of oxygen can't be helping. Come on, let's sit down." Lance says and the two sit down and against the wall. Kuro leans his head on the Blue Paladin's shoulder, sighing while Lance runs his finger through his white forelock.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the two royals flew through the realm, they eventually land their vehicles and went ahead on foot. Which leads to them climbing up the cliff side of a mountain.

"I wonder if Father climbed this mountain himself." Allura pants as she climbs.

"If I'll be honest, I envy you, growing up with King Alfor. Since young, I wanted to be an explorer and learn about the universe and its many inhabitants. Zarkon was only ever interested in conquering it." Lotor admits, right below her.

"He once put me in charge of a planet for a time, to run the quintessence mining, but I thought there might be a better more civilized way. So I began working with the locals, particularly one called Ven'tar, and together, we allowed the planet to prosper. I even learned many of their customs." He says as they reach the top.

"I honestly enjoyed my time there, more than anywhere. However, he found out, and wasn't too pleased. He told to destroy the planet and all its inhabitants, but I refused. So he exiled me for my defiance." He continues, looking saddened.

"At least you stood up for them. That was brave of you." Allura encourages.

"He, he killed Ven'tar, the woman I had grown to love, right in front of me. Then he went and destroyed the planet himself, just to spite me. I was powerless to stop him, and I was so angry, I took my sword and slashed his face, giving him his scar. That's when I was exiled.

"Around that time, I had learned about my altean heritage. So I decided to search for clues about them, so while their species was gone, their culture wouldn't be lost, or erased as well." The emperor continues, looking ready to cry.

"Lotor..." The princess thought and gently reached out her hand, taking ahold of his. The galran-altean hybrid looked startled for a tick, before looking down at his fellow altean, who looks upon him with empathy. He then smiled.

The two continue their journey, soon coming upon a grand-looking temple, and quickly began making their way to the structure. As they approach the entrance, they hear the same soft sound again, and look up to see a figure in the doorway, with the white lion next to them. The figure signals for them to follow, before heading into the temple along with the lion right on their heels.

"Uh, wait!" Allura calls but is ignored, and the two quickly chase after the two, gasping at the sight that greets them. "Look at these marking, they're beautiful." The altean girl says in awe.

"This is the Temple of the Alchemists. The mysteries and answers we seek are hidden somewhere deep inside." Lotor explains.

They both then hear a growling and look ahead to see the figure and lion again, before taking off, heading further into the temple. The two royals quickly pursue them, ending up in a hallway decorated with stone statues of alteans.

"The Sages of Oriande." Allura says as she takes off her helmet then walks ahead, Lotor following her example. "Father and mother told me stories of their exploits, but I'd always assumed they were merely children's tales." The princess says.

"They were also called: The Life Givers. They were the very first Alteans who had managed to unlock the secrets of Oriande, the beginning of Altean Alchemy as a whole." Lotor recounts as they walk past the statues. He then turns to Allura.

"Allura, the tales you grew up with were not just children's stories. They were the tales of the great ancients who founded the art itself." He tells her.

Suddenly, the statues began rising up from their seated positions and approached them, looking ready to attack. They manage to dodge in time as two almost crush them, but another comes at them with its spear. Allura acts quickly, taking out the compass stone and showing it to the statue, causing it to freeze in its movements.

"Oh, great protectors, we seek passage through your land. We bring you this gift." The altean princess says while kneeling presenting the stone, Lotor quick to join her, the stone displaying the map that led to Oriande.

The statues stand down, one taking the compass and the others clearing the path to let them through. The two continue their journey, making their way deeper in the temple. Eventually, they catch up to the lion, the figure from before nowhere to be seen, on strange yet familiar platform.

"Now what?" Allura asks.

"I honestly don't know, but we best be prepared. It's likely that we must prove ourselves worthy of being here." Lotor replies. The lion growls then disappears, and suddenly, the door shuts behind them, trapping the two in the chamber.

"We're trapped!" Allura exclaims. Things quickly get worse as the ceiling begins descending down to crush them. "What do we do?!" She panics.

"There has to be a clue somewhere in here. Something a trained Altean would recognize." The other altean replies and they start looking around.

"There!" Allura exclaims, pointing to two pedestals at one of the room. "It's just like the bridge of the Castle, the teludav." She says as they rush over and the girl places her hands on the pedestals, concentrating like in the castle, but nothing happens. "It's not working!" The princess panics and the ceiling was sinking fast.

Lotor takes another once-over of the room again, searching for anything else, but there isn't anything other than the pedestals. He then thinks back to the compass stone, how it only worked when both he and Allura were holding it, together. An idea then comes to him and he moves in front of Allura and places his own hands over hers on top of the pedestals.

"Lotor...?" She asks while looking up at him.

He smiles and gently leans forward, touching his forehead to hers. The girl jumps slightly, but quickly relaxes and leans against the man as well. The pedestals start glowing, along with their markings and the whole room soon goes white.

"Huh? Ah..." Lotor gasps as sight returned to him and he found himself in an area that was completely white. "Allura?" He calls but receives no reply. He appeared to be the only being in the plain.

He turns and gasps, spoke too soon as the white lion was there. The beast snarls and charges at him, leaping into the air then coming down to him. The galran emperor quickly dodges out of the way. The growls, turning back towards him and charges again. Lotor manages to stop it by catching by the jaw.

"No! I don't wish to fight you! We came here for knowledge. I refuse to yield, and will learn the secret of altean alchemy!" He declares while being pushed back. The lion bites down on his arm and then throws him.

He grunts as he lands, skidding across the ground. He looks up to see the lion was charging again. He takes a deep intake of breath, preparing himself. Once the lion is close enough, he flips the creature onto the ground and brings out his sword.

"Victory or death!" He says and goes to stab the creature, but stops. "No..." He says, letting go and dropping his sword. "That's my father's way, not mine." He says, dropping to his knees.

"I came here hoping to learn the secrets of the lost arts of alchemy, not to be like him. I wish to end his legacy of tyranny, and lead the Empire and the universe to peace. I cannot change what I am. I'm Altean, but I'm also Galra. If I'm unworthy, then at least allow Allura this last way to connect with her people." He requests. The lion rises up and Lotor prepares for its next attack.

"Well done, Emperor." A voice says and his vision goes white once again.

https://youtu.be/ZGlIPCvWQ0k

Lotor groans as he opened his eyes, this time finding himself in a plain full of stars. He felt mesmerized by the sight, the clusters of stars taking his breath away. He looks around, finding himself alone again, when...

"Lotor? Is that you?" He turns in the direction of the voice, finding Allura.

"Allura!" He exclaims, rising to his feet and floating over to the altean woman, who does the same thing. The two embrace

"Well done, the both of you. I knew you two could do it." They both turn to see a hooded figure form before them. The figure takes down their hood, revealing a familiar face, and arm.

"Zarc..." Allura says surprised, while Lotor is speechless.

"It's been a while since anyone has come this far. Even Alfor didn't come this far." The being states.

"My father?" Allura asks shocked.

"Yes, he did prove worthy to learn, you've exceeded him in finding here." The human looking boy replies.

"Where is this place?" Lotor asks, looking around.

"I guess a way you could categorize it would be, my home world. Or, at least the home world of the original Zarc." He replies.

"Wait, this is your home?" Allura asks.

"You're the dragon, the one mentioned in the ancient script." Lotor realizes.

"Yeah, that's what the first ones took to calling me, when they first found this place." Zarc admits.

"First Ones? Do you mean the sages?"

"Exactly. They were the first alteans to find this place, and this plain. My friend here found you just as worthy as them." Zarc answers as the white lion appears next to him.

"What exactly, is Oriande?" Lotor dares to ask.

"Well, when I said it's my home world, technically speaking it's what remains of my world. This plain we are in, lies in between the many fabrics of reality." The boy explains.

"Was that, you earlier? That sound?" Allura asks next. The boy then whistles the tune again. "Yes, that! What is it?" The girl exclaims then asks.

"It's a trick I learned in one of my previous lives." He answers and conjures an image of a boy with his face but with different hair and eye color. "During this life, I lived in a very harsh environment. Where the classes were divided between the very rich and very poor." He begins the image depicting his tale.

"I was unfortunately born in the poor half and had to steal to just survive day by day. As part of the poor, you could be arrested for almost anything, and I was eventually. I was taken to where we are put away, a placed called the facility. It was there I met a man, a man who became a mentor to me.

"He taught me a lot, including the whistle. He taught the other inmates as well. The whistle was how we could signal each other without alerting the authority. Kiryu, was his name, and he protected my past self. However, he eventually was taken by the system like many of us.

"After I had gotten out, I later learned and regained my power as Zarc. So I used it to bring about a revolution and bring down the corrupt hierarchy. It was a hard battle, but I had others supporting me, and I eventually got to properly bury Kiryu. He still has a place in my heart." Zarc finished his tale.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It must have been hard." Allura says.

"Just goes to show you, never let anyone tell you who are and where you belong. You decide that for yourself. The road is hard, but you can make it with allies by your side." The boy encourages.

"Thank you." Lotor suddenly says. "For showing us, our true path." He adds, tears in his eyes as he held Allura's hand.

"You both have come so far, facing the challenges head on. Now, I, we, reward you with the gift of Oriande. Rise up, life bringers." Zarc announces and his arms glows, while the lion roars. The two royals' markings glow in response.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile on Castle, the others had all gone back up to the bridge again, and were lying on the floor, due to being almost all out of oxygen. The computer chimed in, saying the oxygen levels have dropped again.

"There must be some way for us... to harness the power of the white hole... and use it to get the ship working again." Pidge says, losing breath, fast.

"We've tried everything. I don't think... I can move anymore." Hunk says next.

"Okay, we won't last at this rate... Everyone, gather around me." Shiro pants out. While the others were confused, they obeyed and all gathered around Shiro. The man then uses his power to gather up all the air left in the ship and condense it into the space surrounding all of them.

"Nice going, this should buy us some time." Kuro says, sighing in relief while leaning on Shiro.

"I'm worried, Number 1 can't keep this up forever, and Allura and Lotor aren't back yet." Coran admits. Just then, an alert beeps and image appears on screen.

"Hey! It's them!" Lance cheers, pointing to the approaching royals.

The two alteans came aboard and managed to get the systems, oxygen and all, back up and running. The lions also reactivated and flew back into their hangers. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as their strength returned.

"You did it!" Coran cheers.

"We... We never should have doubted you." Lance says, still regaining his breath.

"Neither of us could have done it without each other, or Zarc's guidance to here." Allura admits.

"By the way, I just noticed that both your guys' marks are a little different." Hunk comments. Indeed, their markings were brighter in color. Particularity making Lotor's stand out against his purple skin.

"A gift from Zarc, among others." Lotor replies. "Now, we can lead the Empire into a new age of peace and hopefully prosperity." He adds and everyone agreed. Unknown to them, there was another pair of eyes watching.

AN: Oh my god! I'm so sorry that this took so long! I've been waiting so long to write this chapter. I hope you all like the changes I made and the updates. I'll be honest, I'm going to be busy with some other projects, including my new Casters of Voltron story, so I'm not update for some time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, see you all next time. Also here's some beautiful Lotura to show you out.

https://youtu.be/nzUz7vZ2ih0