A/n: I've changed a few small details and added more to the episode to make it more dramatic. I also didn't plan on this chapter being so long hence why I'm posting it by itself. I hope you'll enjoy. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
••••••••••••••••••••

Arcadia was the first to wake. She weaved her body out of Keith's arms without disturbing him, not wishing to wake him knowing he needed the sleep. She made herself presentable before leaving her room in search of Allura and Coran, knowing the two alteans would already be up. She searched the bridge but didn't find them. She moved to the dining hall, which was another failure. Finally, she headed to the lounge.

Allura and Coran sat on the sofa, throwing banter back and forth. When they heard the door open with a hiss behind them, they turned their heads and saw the alchemist. The golden-eyed girl waved, causing both alteans to launch off the couch and sprint toward her. They crushed her in their arms as she was squeezed in between them. "Nice to... see you both... again," she managed to huff out.

"Oh, how we missed you!" Allura cheered jubilantly.

Coran was crying with high-pitched wails, unable to express his joy with words as he hugged Arcadia. He rubbed his cheek against hers, his mustache tickling her. She smiled and laughed. "It's not like I died or was gone for a long time."

"Three vargas is still quite a long time!" Allura remarks. "It may as well as have been a deca-phoeb!"

Arcadia's smile only widened as they continued to hug her. She wasn't positive on how long the embrace lasted, but she didn't mind. She felt the love they were conveying and was glad to be back to normal.

"Oh!" Allura suddenly pulled away. "There's something I want to give you."

"Ooh, is it a present?" Arcadia excitedly asked, eyes gleaming.

The princess nodded and pried the girl from Coran's grasp. "I think you'll love it!"

<———————<<<<<<

Allura guided Arcadia to the castle's armory. When they arrived, she typed on a holographic keyboard and a tube slowly emerged from the floor. Inside was a suit Arcadia had never seen before.

(A/n: By the way, I do not own any media used in this story! All rights go to their respectful owners!)

The alchemist's eyes widen in amazement. "What a beautiful suit!"

"Father told me to give it to you on the day of your twentieth birthday, but Coran and I decided to give it to you early," Allura explained. "Unlike the suit I made, this one was built to withstand your growing knowledge of alchemy. The suit cannot be damaged by magic and is also made of the same material as the paladin armor. I know how much you love to practice your spells and how often you have to sew the suit I gifted you. Now, you will no longer have to sew up every tear."

The glass tube opened. Arcadia grabbed the suit and examined it, noticing the two holes in the back for when she needed to use her wings. Allura noticed what she was staring at and smiled. "Coran added those a couple vargas ago. I hope you will accept the suit, Arcadia."

"I-I... I'm speechless, Allura," the draconian confesses, a stray tear cascading down her cheek. "I love it!"

"Try it on!" The princess encourages her best friend.

Arcadia nodded excitedly and changed in a flash. She spun in a circle, stretching her arms and legs as she stretched out the material slightly to get more comfortable. "Wow," she gasped fondly. "If there was a word better than "love," this would be the perfect opportunity to use it!" She grabbed Allura and pulled her into another hug. "I love you so much! Thank you!"

Allura smiled brightly, hugging her sister back. "You should be thanking Father, not I. He is the one who constructed it."

"If only his A.I. was still with us, I would. You'll just have to let me hug and thank you instead."

All of a sudden, the door to the armory opened and three friendly faces entered the room. Arcadia pulled away from Allura and smiled at Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. The small girl had a few tears streaming down her face as she dashed forward. She leapt onto Arcadia, wrapping her arms around her. Lance and Hunk soon joined, turning the hug into a group hug.

"We missed you so much, space dragon!" Hunk wailed while crying tears of joy.

"Aw, I missed you all, too, Hunk. Space dragon's not going anywhere anytime soon, I promise," Arcadia giggled.

"Now that you're back to normal, Keith'll stop moping around," Pidge cackled.

Lance pulled away from the group hug and eyed the suit that adorned the alchemist's body with a playboy-ish whistle. "Nice suit. I've never seen it before."

"Allura just gave it to me. King Alfor made it for my twentieth birthday, but Coran and Allura decided to give it to me early," the snowy-haired girl answered.

"Keith's gonna love it," the green paladin smirked, a glint crossing her lenses.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Keith walked into the armory a few seconds later, eyeing his teammates. He blinked owlishly a few times when he saw the suit Arcadia was wearing. He was more confused at where the suit came from. Allura explained and he nodded casually before turning around and leaving the room.

Everyone was silent until Lance shouted, "What kind of reaction was that?!"

"A Keith reaction," Arcadia snickered. "He probably left because he's a blushing mess and he doesn't want anyone else to see it."

Out of the blue, alarms were triggered throughout the entire castle. Arcadia tilted her head in confusion. "What a strange alarm." She turned to Allura to ask her a question, but she had stormed out of the armory before she could. The others rush after her and wound up on the bridge with Coran and Keith.

"What's going on?" Keith asked, staring up at the main screen.

"Yeah, these have never gone off before," Pidge added.

"I've lived in this castle for years, but I've never heard such an alarm," Arcadia comments.

Lance looks over at the princess and her advisor, who were both stunned and a little pale. "Allura, what is it?"

"Looks like you guys just saw a ghost," Hunk comments after seeing their expressions.

"That's just the thing," Coran said, finally being able to work past the shock and inform the confused paladins and Arcadia. "It's an old altean distress code. One used by King Alfor's ships."

"Could it be? Are we not the last Alteans alive?" Allura asked, hope gleaming in her eyes.

"I'm not so sure about this, Allura," Arcadia expresses her doubts.

"I'm with Arcadia on this one," Keith said. "What if someone's cloning the signal to try and lure us in?"

Allura seemed slightly hurt from Arcadia's and Keith's uncertainty, but she refused to show it. "The signal is from an altean ship and we're going to find it."

Keith and Arcadia exchanged worried glances before falling silent. Allura moves to the central platform and opened a wormhole to the ship's coordinates. Her body was tense as the castle traveled through the wormhole and popped out the other side.

When they did, Arcadia felt a chill creep down her spine and goosebumps appear on her skin even inside the warmth of the suit. Her hands started shaking and she tried to stop them, but it was useless.

Coran enhanced the image of the ship, which the princess is able to identify once getting a better view of it. "That looks like a Tel-Galax exploration shuttle, one of my father's deep space vessels."

"According to the ship's identification code, it's Commodore Trayling's ship," Coran informed the princess. "But I don't see any records of its destination or mission."

"What happened to it?" Lance asked, staring at the swirling vortex the ship seemed to be lodged in.

"Is it stuck in a wormhole?" Hunk inquired, confused as to what to make of the vortex.

"That's unlike any wormhole I've ever seen," Coran stated.

"There's a massive amount of energy emanating from it, centered right where the ship is stuck," Pidge exclaimed after scanning the vessel and the vortex.

"We have to see if anyone is aboard. They may need our help." Allura was determined to set foot on the ship in hopes to find fellow alteans. She turned to the others and her eyes widen a fraction when she noticed Arcadia's entire body shivering. "Are you alright, Arcadia?"

Everyones attention fell onto the alchemist. She nodded, holding out her shaky hands. "I feel fine, but my body is reacting to something."

"Maybe you're reacting to the energy. We could send a probe over to it, see if we can get some kind of idea what this thing is," Pidge suggests. "It might also explain your reaction, Arcadia."

Keith glances at Arcadia, who nodded. He then looked back at Pidge. "Do it."

Pidge types a command into the console. A probe launched from the castle and headed straight for the eerie vortex. As it approached it, the girl was able to retrieve some information. "The energy shows no signs of radioactive decay and it's not thermal."

"It's not gravitational, our probe is steady on course, and the light is radiating out, not in, like it would in a black hole," Hunk explained.

"But out from where?" Coran muttered to himself. He delved into thought before a bell chimed in his head as he recognized the signature the probe was relaying back to the castle. "That energy signature... I know it. It's radiating quintessence!"

The probe closed in on the vortex, but as soon as it made contact with it, the small vessel was destroyed.

"Ooh! That's weird," Hunk comments.

"That would explain Arcadia's reaction," Allura stated. "Her own high level of quintessence is reacting to another large source of quintessence. It's possible her body might try to absorb it."

"That wouldn't be good..." Arcadia muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'd burst at the seams and take all of you with me. Even the castle wouldn't survive."

"Thanks for that imagery, Arcadia," Lance grumbled. "Now I can't unsee it..."

The draconian shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, Lance."

Lance crossed his arms. "Okay, well, let's not go anywhere near there. Wouldn't want to die before we saved the universe."

"We must," Allura sternly protested.

"Hold on," Hunk spoke up. "Didn't you just see what happened?"

"Voltron's compositional strength far exceeds anything else in this universe," the princess rebuttals. "We received an altean distress call, which must mean that someone is alive on the ship. As paladins of Voltron, it is our duty to help."

"Sorry to bring up the past, but remember what happened on Unidau and on that moon with the purple alien?" Hunk asked. "That blob-thing lured us to it and Arcadia was eaten."

Said girl shuttered at the memory, her body already overreacting to the vortex and causing her to shake more. "That was so gross..."

"And Rolo stole the blue lion. Distress signals haven't been a very good experience for us," the yellow paladin finished.

"I will not say it again," Allura huffed. "We are boarding the ship."

"Princess," Keith decided to step in. "I still think there's a chance that this whole thing is a trap."

"Even if it's not a trap, it's far too dangerous to go in there," Coran added, agreeing with him.

"I'll do it myself if I have to," Allura proclaimed, stomping out of the bridge to change into her armor.

Arcadia sighed at Allura's rash decision, digging her nails into the palm of her hands through the suit as she clenched her fists tightly. She could feel them digging into her skin through the fabric in an attempt to stop her body from shaking.

Keith saw what she was doing and grabbed her hands when the others weren't looking. "Don't do that," he whispered to her, using his own hands to unclench her fists.

The snowy-haired girl sighed, allowing Keith to uncurl her fists. She still trembled from the immense amount of quintessence leaking from the vortex, but she was able to relax when he decided to hold both of her hands with his. "Let's go after Allura. She can't do this alone."

"You're staying here," Keith determined after hearing what the princess said earlier.

"If I'm inside Voltron, my body won't be able to absorb the quintessence. Please, Keith," Arcadia begged. "I don't want to be left behind."

Keith stares into her golden, pleading eyes for a few seconds before giving in with a sigh. He never could last very long when she used puppy dog eyes on him. "Fine." He then turned to the other paladins. "Get to your lions."

<———————<<<<<<

Voltron slowly began its approach toward the vortex. Everyone was tense as they drew closer. Arcadia gripped the back of Keith's seat tightly, her body shaking even more as they closed in on the vortex.

"Alright, let's take it slow," Keith said. "Pidge, any chance you can explain what I'm seeing right now?"

"The Euclidian space around the ship is obviously some kind of anomaly. But the energy source doesn't originate from anything that registers with my understanding of how reality works," she replied.

Keith wasn't familiar with any of what Pidge was saying and sighed. "I'll take that as a "no"."

"I'll scan the ship for biorhythms," Hunk informed their leader. Everyone heard a beeping noise from the yellow lion. "That's strange. I'm not showing any signs of life on the ship."

"Maybe not on this half, but there is more to this ship than we are seeing," Allura stated. "We need to go through there."

"The glowy, explode-y area?" Lance asked in disbelief.

"If we're gonna do this, we need to take Arcadia back to the castle," Keith informed the team.

Arcadia placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved to stand beside his chair. "I'll be fine, Keith."

The boy wasn't convinced but knew she wouldn't allow him to win this argument. "Alright." He contacted the green lion. "Pidge, keep an eye on Voltron's vitals. Everyone, be prepared to abort if things get hairy."

"Roger that. Ready to abort immediately," Lance replied.

Voltron entered the vortex, being nearly blinded by how bright it was. Arcadia immediately felt the quintessence surrounding them and felt her entire body grow cold. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up, but she only grew colder. When she breathed out, she saw her own breath. "O-Oh, Aethios..." Her teeth were chattering and she felt her muscles stiffen from the cold her body was feeling.

Keith heard her curse and looked over his shoulder, noticing her violently shivering body. "How're you feeling?"

"I-It's freezing..." She confesses, rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

"Just hold on a bit longer," he said, unable to hide the worry on his face and in his voice.

"Guys," Pidge spoke up. "My sensors are going crazy. Technically, we should be torn apart the same way the probe was. But somehow Voltron is completely unaffected by the stress of the spatial distortion."

"Hello?" They heard Coran's voice before it was interrupted by static. The transmission abruptly ended, puzzling the paladins and Arcadia.

The alchemist pushed her stiff body forward and tried to contact the advisor, but she was unable to connect to the castle. "I can't reach Coran." Then, she felt her body temperature return to normal, but her hands still shook slightly.

"I think that's because we have crossed through. Look," Pidge said. "That's the front of the ship."

Voltron soared higher, peering over the white and gold vortex.

"Wait. The back half of this ship, it's gone!" Allura tried to the contact the castle when she realized it was also missing. "Coran! Coran! We've lost sight of the castle. Coran, are you there?"

"I've already tried contacting Coran, but I can't reach the castle," Arcadia stated. "The transmission won't go through."

"Where did he go?" Keith asked.

"And where did that planet come from?" Lance added.

Pidge eyes the green lion's dashboard with a puzzled expression. "According to my sensors, we're still in exactly the same place we were before."

Hunk's scanner suddenly came to life with rapid beeping. "Guys, this is gonna sound strange, but now I'm detecting multiple biorhythms aboard the ship."

"Alteans," Allura articulated. She had no doubt about who was on board the ship and she was eager to meet her own people.

"It seems like we've only got one clue to help us figure out what's going on and it's floating right over there," Lance nodded toward the ship.

Voltron disbanded and the five lions flew toward the ship. They docked near a hatch and exited the lions. The team managed to open the hatch and descend into the ship. Inside, the paladins activated the lights  on their wrists to help see in the dark corridor while Arcadia manifested a bright flame in her hand.

"Hello?" Allura called out into the darkness. "Is anyone here?"

Hunk breathed heavily, frightened by their dark surroundings. "Oh, man. This place is totally freaking me out. Does it feel like a haunted ghost ship to anybody else or is it just me?"

Metal creaked and groaned as they floated down the corridor. Arcadia placed a hand on the wall as she analyzed her surroundings with the sphere of fire in her other hand. "This is rather odd. The ship seems lifeless. It's possibly Hunk's lion detected lifeforms that aren't altean."

"If this were a ship from Draconia, would you want to check and see if there were survivors?" Allura asked with a hint of irritation.

Arcadia glanced around in an attempt to avoid the princess' gaze. "I'd... rather not answer that."

"The answer's "no," isn't it?" Lance inquired.

The alchemist sighed and nodded. "If this were a draconian ship, I'd destroy it myself."

"You would do that to your own people?" Allura asked in disbelief. "Even with a chance of a few draconians being onboard?"

"You shouldn't be puzzled by my answer. I think the entire universe would agree with me," Arcadia remarks. "Remember? My people murdered their own kind and destroyed their own planet. Would you save a ship full of murderers who, might I add, are well-versed in alchemy such as myself?"

Hunk raised his hand. "I definitely would not want to save a ship full of murderers."

"Thank you for agreeing with me, Hunk."

The princess still couldn't understand. "They still deserve to be saved."

"And once you save them, they'll stab you in the back. It's what my people did best. There once was a time where draconians were held in high regards, but that was years before I was born."

Before Allura could argue back, Keith stepped in. "Let's just continue searching the ship."

<———————<<<<<<<

The paladins and Arcadia entered a room located down the corridor. Allura entered first and floated toward the console in the back of the room. She placed her palm on a scanner, which radiated a faint blue before beeping. Then, the lights came on and
gravity was restored. Everyone landed on their feet and turned off their wrist lights. Arcadia extinguished the flame in her hand and looked around the room. "Now we'll be able to search the ship easier."

Keith examined the room with narrowed eyes. "So, did the crew abandon ship?"

Lance approached a spacesuit that laid not far from the console. "I don't know, but they couldn't have gotten far without their spacesu—" He screams once he tears off the helmet and discovers a corpse. "Those aren't empty!"

Allura stood in front of the console and searched for any inkling as to what happened. Luckily, she discovered a vlog. She pressed play and everyone watched as the screen flickered on. The image of an elder altean appeared. "We located the second comet based on King Alfor's information. We managed to get it aboard, but it seems to be causing massive disturbances. We're heading back to Altea, but I don't know if we'll be able to make it that far. At this rate—" His eyes widen in fear as he screamed at the top of his lungs. A blinding flash enveloped the altean before the video feed was cut off.

Everyone was in shock after watching the video. Their eyes were still glued to the screen, unable to make sense of what happened to the elder altean.

"What happened here?" Hunk asked.

"Something deadly," Lance replied grimly.

Arcadia walked over to the corpse and kneeled in front of it, recognizing the monocle resting over one of the vacant eye sockets. "This is the altean from the vlog. I wonder..."

"Uh, what are you doing?" Lance asked in disgust as he watched the alchemist touch the corpse's face.

"Checking something," she muttered back. She ran a finger across the cheekbones and pulled her hand away, rubbing her fingers together. She stood up and faced the others. "Whatever that explosion was on the video, it was not alchemy. Some other force caused this."

"This still doesn't explain the biorhythms I picked up in this area," Hunk mentioned as he examined the information from his lion on his wrist indicator.

Out of the blue, the grill of a vent clattered against the floor. Two figures in black suits and helmets jumped down, landing a few feet from the paladins and Arcadia. One figure amongst the duo resembled one of their alien allies due to the multiple arms—Slav. Before anyone could ask questions, the two aimed their guns at the group.

Lance quickly sprung into action. "Look out!" He activated his bayard and fired. The one resembling Slav screamed as he wiggled his body around and avoided the boy's shots. Hunk dashed forward to tackle the multi-armed alien while the other one aimed at Lance.

Keith ran forward with his own bayard drawn, slicing through the firearm with a single swing. The assailant lost his footing for a brief second before quickly recovering. Keith lunged forward for another attack but missed as the person sidestepped.

While Hunk managed to pin the lankier alien, Lance aimed his rifle at the other figure. He shot round after round, which the assailant dodged before throwing something at the boy. Arcadia saw it flying toward his head and caught it in a barrier. She saw it was a dagger and threw it back at the stranger. He froze when he saw her spell and ended up being smacked in the side of the head with the small barrier. Pidge activated her bayard and shot it at him, breaking his helmet. The impact stunned him and forced him to fall back. He reached for the gun attached to his hip but was stopped when he and his accomplice were imprisoned in a sphere of light.

Arcadia glared at the two and watched as their helmets clattered against the bottom of the barrier due to capturing them both upside down. Her eyes widen when she recognizes the human under the helmet. "Shiro?"

The man shared the same wide-eyed, baffled expression. "Lady Crios, you are supposed to be waiting for our return at the base!"

Her eyes narrowed when she heard the strange accent and her last name. "What is going on here?"

Keith stepped forward, puzzled as he stared at the man. "How?"

"Stay back!" The man warned in a threatening tone, unfazed at the fact he was trapped inside the barrier alongside his companion.

"If you've come for the comet, you'll never get it. I'll die before I let it fall into altean hands," the alien who resembled Slav said.

"Shiro, please," Keith begged, sheathing his sword.

"My name is not Shiro," the man vehemently declares. "Release Lady Crios from the spell you have placed upon her. We will return her safely to her mother."

Arcadia's eyes widen. It's been so long since she or anyone has brought up her mother. Now, a complete stranger who resembles Shiro knows about her. "My... mother?"

Hunk was utterly confused like everyone else. "What the heck is happening right now? Did everyone get amnesia and then wake up with weird accents? But how do you remember Arcadia? And what's this about her mother?"

"You know us?" Slav inquired.

"Of course, we do!" Lance shouted. "You're Shiro, our leader. Paladin of the black lion? And you're Slav. I rescued you from a space prison. You're also slightly crazy."

"I may be crazy, but you've never rescued me from anything before. Unless..." Slav pondered. "You're from an alternate reality."

"None of this makes sense," Arcadia muttered.

"This is an alternate reality," Pidge and Slav said in unison.

"Uh, what's that now?" Hunk asked.

"I think when we passed through that glowy, explode-y area, we entered an alternate reality," the green paladin explained.

"You mean, like, what Slav was always talking about?" Lance glances at Pidge before turning his gaze back to the two figures trapped in suspension inside the large barrier. "Well, not you. Well, you, yeah, but a different you. One that talks about alternate realities a lot."

"Oh, that's him," Sven said.

"Why did you attack the captain and his crew?" Allura asked, approaching the barrier.

"Stay back, altean," Sven hissed, reaching to grab his gun. He pointed it at Allura and fired, but it was futile with the barrier acting as a blockade and absorbing the single shot.

"We found the ship this way, but I can't say I'm sorry they're gone," Slav replies.

"Lady Crios," Sven called out to Arcadia. "We will take you back to the base and make sure whatever spell they have casted upon you is broken. Set us free and we will take you to safety."

"I'm not being controlled!" Arcadia shouted, her fingers scrunching up and causing the barrier to shrink. "I'm not the Arcadia from your reality. And what is this about my mother? Is she alive in this reality?"

"Yes," Slav responds. "Madam Aphyllia is the one who sent us on this assignment. She is the leader of the Guns of Gamara."

"Does that mean Draconia was not destroyed?"

"Yes, but it has been taken over by Altea. Madam Aphyllia escaped and formed the organization to fight against the alteans."

Arcadia wanted to know more and decided to cut a deal with the duo. "If I release you, will you refrain from hurting my friends?" Sven and Slav nodded. The alchemist released them and they landed on their heads. She winced and quickly apologized. "Sorry."

"We're fine, Lady Crios," Sven reassures her as he rubs the top of his head.

"Does this mean the galra—?"

Suddenly, Slav's indicator begins to beep. He looks down and gasps as an image pops up. "Oh, no! More alteans!"

"Wait!" Allura shouted. "More alteans?"

"Their scanners must have picked up your arrival.
Sven, let's go!" Slav said. He turned to the group. "If I were you, I'd run." They both climbed back into the vent they emerged from and departed.

"What the heck just happened?" Lance asked, completely puzzled after listening to everything the two had said.

"Did he say we're being boarded by alteans?" Allura pondered with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.

"I can't even comprehend what I just heard..." Arcadia mumbled, eyes wide. "That was information overload."

The door to the control room suddenly trembled. Everyone tensed and readied themselves for another battle. When the door finally budges and slides open from the force, two alteans, an unknown alien, and several gladiators stormed into the room.

"Put down your weapons!" The female altean commands, eyes narrowed in a sharp glare.

A gasp slipped past Allura's lips. "Alteans!"

The female altean turned to Allura, recognizing the girl. "It can't be. Empress!" Then, her eyes spotted Arcadia amongst the paladins and her shock was overwritten with hatred. "You! Take her into custody!"

"What?" Arcadia gasped.

As a few gladiators closed in on her, Keith grabbed her and pushed her behind him. He reactivated his bayard, ready to slice down any and all who tried to touch her. "Not a chance," he growled.

"Wait!" Allura shouted angrily. "Arcadia is my friend! You will not lay a hand on her."

The female altean stopped the gladiators, eyeing the princess with a puzzled glances. "What is the meaning of this? Are you truly Empress Allura?"

"I am Princess Allura," the cerulean-eyed girl responded.

"I am Commander Hira, Empress," the female altean introduces herself with a bow. "How can you be here? You put down the galra uprising, established the altean empire 10,000 years ago, and allied with Draconia."

Arcadia was now thoroughly confused. Slav had said Draconia was taken over by alteans. She wondered if the alteans in this reality are the equivalent to the galra in her own.

"Where we're from, all the alteans were wiped out by Zarkon when he destroyed your planet," Keith said, retracting his bayard. "And Draconia was destroyed by its own people. Arcadia is the only survivor."

"Where did you come from?" The male altean spoke up for the first time.

<———————<<<<<<

Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Arcadia found themselves accompanying the male altean and his servant, Moxilous. The green paladin had returned to her lion to retrieve more information about how the ship was stuck in the vortex. She discovered a comet, which was the cause of such a tear in realities. "This is the comet Commodore Trayling must've been talking about in his transmission. It seems to be caught between two realities just like the ship."

"Could you obtain a sample for us with your lion?" The male altean asked.

"I can try."

While Pidge attempted to obtain a sample of the comet, the male altean cleared his throat and smiled at Arcadia. "May I speak to you in private?"

Lance overheard and intervened. "I don't think that's such a great idea."

"I only wish to talk with her about Draconia from the reality you all are from."

"Can't you just—?"

Arcadia looked at Lance and offered him a smile. "It's fine, Lance."

The Cuban boy still looked worried, an unsettling feeling bubbling inside him as he watched Arcadia leave with the male altean and his servant. He didn't admit it out loud, but he didn't trust the two alteans.

The male altean (really wish he had a name) and Moxilous wandered out of the room and down the corridor. They entered another room, which was eerily quiet. He offered the girl a seemingly innocent smile as he asked her all kinds of questions.

Unbeknownst to the alchemist, the servant standing not too far from her was slowly approaching her. Before she could even react, she felt a pinch on the side of her neck and winched. She raised her hand, brushing her fingers across the area where she felt the slight pinch. "What was...?" She turned around and saw a strange injector gun in Moxilous' hand. The vial that was meant to hold liquid was empty. She turned to face the altean, confused as to what was transpiring. "What did you do to me?!"

"Now, now," he said. "Try to keep calm. This'll make the procedure easier and less painful."

Arcadia tried to cast a spell, but the lightning fizzled in her fingers. Her eyes widen in bewilderment. "My magic..."

"Is temporarily sealed. Now," his charming smile turned into a menacing smirk. "I've always dreamt of implanting a hoktril in Aphyllia's daughter. She's such a stubborn alchemist. Even if you are from a different reality, you are still her daughter and no mother wishes to hurt their own daughter. She'll be forced out of hiding, leaving the Guns of Gamara vulnerable."

Arcadia went to punch the altean, but both her hands were restrained by Moxilous. She tried to free herself, but the alien was much larger and stronger than her. She continued to struggle as he forced her head down with his other hand.

The bespectacled altean pulled a hoktril from his pocket and walked over to the girl. She tried to kick him, but the servant forced her onto her knees. The man bent down and lifted her snowy locks from the back of her neck. He pulled down the neckline of her suit a little to gain complete access to the base of her skull. "Now," he started. "You will be the most powerful being under Altea's control."

He placed the device on the base of Arcadia's skull. She felt an immense pain and pressure as she felt the device activate and dig into her flesh. Before she could even scream, her entire world became dark.

<———————<<<<<<

After Hira explained Altea's successful victory in her reality, she decided to tell the two about the civilization surrounding her reality. "Advancements have been made. Citizens that might have been casualties of war in Empress Allura's day can now be rehabilitated. Entire races who warred for millennia can now know peace and help us to further our new world."

Keith felt Hira was hiding something, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. He crossed his arms, unable to trust the pink-haired altean.

"So, they become a part of the altean peace movement?" Allura asked in curiosity.

Hira explained the hoktril to the duo, telling them how the device sapped the will to fight from anyone who had the device implanted. Keith saw the true meaning and glared at her. "But you're taking away their free will!"

"The same will that would end your life with no remorse," Hira scowled at the black paladin. "Thanks to us, no innocent will lose its life to the free will of an evil being. Empress Allura, let me show you something." Hira showed the princess a hologram of this reality's Altea. "This is our Altea. Come with me. Allow me to show you the magnificence it has achieved."

<———————<<<<<

"Is anyone else getting a strange vibe from these guys?" Lance mumbled suspiciously.

"Yeah, there's definitely something off about these alteans," Hunk agreed. "I mean, is it me or did they pretty much scramble the big dude's brain?"

Lance crossed his arms with a pout, not answering the yellow paladin. "Okay, seriously. Where is Arcadia?"

"He said she was exploring the rest of the ship," Pidge said, pointing to the male altean.

"Oh, c'mon!" Lance yelled. "You can't seriously believe him! Y'know, I bet he did something to her and that's why she didn't come back with him! Keith's is gonna kill me if we don't find her!"

Lance's yelling was interrupted when a vent cover was kicked out above them. It clattered beside their feet, frightening them and causing them to scream.

Sven greeted them as he poked his head out of the vent. "Yoo-hoo! Up here!"

Lance stared up at him and Slav. "Whoa! How'd you find us?"

"I figured there was a high probability that—"

Lance swiftly interrupted Slav. "Wait, stop. Nope. Never mind. We gotta get to Keith and Allura and figure out a way to stop the alteans from getting that comet. You two haven't seen Arcadia, have you?"

"Lady Crios is missing?" Sven asked in shock.

"I think that creepy altean with the servant did something to her."

Slav's and Sven's eyes widen. They exchanged troubling looks, which Hunk felt wasn't good. "Uh, I don't like those looks..."

"The alteans have been searching for a way to stop the Guns of Gamara and they believe the only way to do so is to use Lady Crios against Madam Aphyllia," Sven explained.

"Okay," Pidge said. "But what does that have to do with our Arcadia? She isn't from this reality."

"She's still Madam Aphyllia's daughter. The chance of survival for us if the alteans have gained control of Lady Crios is zero in this reality and possibly five percent in two other realities!" Slav shrieked.

Pidge's eyes widen in horror once connecting the puzzle pieces. "If they managed to place a hoktril on Arcadia, they'll have access to all her alchemy. We don't stand a chance against her!"

"We need to—!" Sven was silenced by the whirring of a gun.

Everyone gasped and turned to see the male altean, Moxilous, and several gladiators surrounding them with their firearms drawn. "Perfect! I had a feeling the Guns of Gamara were on this ship. But I didn't know Empress Allura's friends would be working with them. There was a bright side to all this, though."

"And what's that?" Lance scowled at the altean.

The male altean stepped aside, revealing a figure standing behind him. "Come, Arcadia. Step forward."

The snowy-haired girl stepped past the altean to stand in front of her friends and Guns of Gamara agents. They all gasped. Sven stepped forward, lashing out at the altean. "How dare you lay your filthy altean hands on Lady Crios!"

A gladiator used the end of its rifle to hit Sven in the gut. He fell to his knees in pain, holding his abdomen while glaring up at the altean.

The paladins saw nothing wrong with Arcadia. She appeared normal, but they knew she was under the influence of the hoktril by her seemingly stiff movements. The male altean placed a pair of handcuffs in her hand and pointed to Lance. "Restrain him."

Doing as she was told, Arcadia approached Lance. He took a step back as she stalked toward him. He stared into her golden eyes, noticing them full of life but dull at the same time. He swallowed nervously when she abruptly stopped in front of him. "H-Hey, Arcadia. Have I told you today that you look—ow!" He screamed as she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. She grabbed his other arm and pulled it behind him, securing his wrists together with the handcuffs. "Keith is so gonna kill me..." He whimpered once she released him.

The gladiators restrained the others and pushed them to the control room where Hira, Allura, and Keith were waiting.

<———————<<<<<<<

The hologram disappeared, but Allura's eyes were still plastered to where the image of her planet once was projected. "Returning to Altea... It seemed like such an impossible dream. I could never allow the thought."

"Allura, this might not be the Altea you remember," Keith spoke up, unable to fight off the strange feeling he was having about Hira and her accomplices.

"You're right. This Altea is home to a people who made sure that the galra scourge was unable to spread across the universe, as it did in your reality. Even the draconians were spared from their own civil war," Hira stated. "Empress, I assure you, we will do everything in our power to help. The comet in this ship's hold possesses the ability to travel between realities. If you will activate this ancient ship's power, we can fly forward and remove the comet from the tear. We can use it to travel to your universe and bring peace there, even to the galra. We could even restore the beautiful culture of the draconians."

"Maybe you should think about this, Allura," Keith said in an attempt to convince the princess to turn the other cheek. "It wasn't that long ago that we thought all galra were bad. Maybe things aren't as black and white as she's making them out to be."

Allura looked at Keith with determination. "Keith, these are my people and they may be the strongest allies we have in this war." She reached out toward the power panel and placed her hand on it, restarting the ship's engines. The ship was no longer embedded in the center of the vortex and only existed in one reality now.

"You've done it, Allura. Soon, we'll use the comet to spread peace throughout every reality," Hira smiled.

The door behind them slid open with a hiss, grabbing their attention. They turned and saw the three paladins, Sven, and Slav handcuffed.

"What is going on?" Allura demanded after seeing her friends restrained.

"Empress, the Guns of Gamara have infiltrated this ship," the male altean explained before gesturing to the paladins. "These people were working with them."

"Let our friends go!" Keith commanded with a growl. He activated his bayard and charged at him, but before he could reach the male altean, a hand wrapped around the tip of his sword. His eyes widen in shock as he realized it was Arcadia. Before he could even utter her name, she released the blade and kicked him in the side. He flew across the room, slamming into the wall with a grunt of pain.

Keith pushes himself off the floor with shaky arms, eyes locked on Arcadia. Pidge saw the confusion on the boy's face and shouted at him. "She's being controlled, Keith!"

Hira heard and turned to her partner. "You managed to embed a hoktril on the daughter of Aphyllia?"

The male altean nodded. "Yes, Commander. With this, the Guns of Gamara will fall."

"Excellent work. We'll escort her back to our ship," the altean commander complimented him.

Keith readied his bayard with gritted teeth. "You're not taking her anywhere," he growled threateningly. He pushed through the pain and charged at the bespectacled altean once more. Arcadia dashed ahead at the altean's command, meeting Keith halfway. Her hands were consumed in flames as she slid under his blade and punched him in the same side she kicked only minutes ago. Keith winced feeling the pain from the bruise he could feel that was forming and the heat of the flame. He fought through the pain, beads of sweat cascading down his face. He managed to spin around and grab both of her wrists, feeling the flames singeing his suit and burning the skin underneath. He stared into her golden eyes before frowning and whispering, "I'm sorry."

Keith tugged Arcadia forward and head-butted her as hard as he could. He instantly regretted it the moment he felt his head throb and the girl pass out. Fortunately, his forehead missed her horns by a few centimeters. He still had his hands wrapped around her wrists and slowly lowered her to the floor. He whispered another apology before releasing her.

"Dude!" Lance yelled. "Why'd you do that?!"

"If Arcadia's not conscious, she can't be controlled," he huffed out, rubbing his forehead.

"Hira, release Lady Crios of the hoktril!" Sven demanded.

"Yes!" Slave yelled in agreement. "You already have enough slaves! You and the rest of Altea have turned this universe into an army of them. Peace at the sake of freedom!"

"Slaves?" Allura gasped in horror. She glanced at the unconscious Arcadia with wide eyes. "Is this true?"

"Non-cogs are not slaves! You're the ones who spread chaos and destruction! We're going to scan that little brain of yours and get every last rebel location," the male altean threatened Slav. "Finally, our wars can end."

"They clearly are slaves!" Keith bellowed angrily. "You just forced Arcadia to fight against her will! Taking away someone's free will is slavery!" He tried to calm down as he glanced at the princess. "Allura, we cannot let this happen. Look what they did to Arcadia!"

"Hira, please," Allura begged with pleading eyes. "We both want the same thing—peace."

"Do we? Your weakness has brought nothing but pain and suffering to your people at the hands of the galra. We have brought peace and order to ours.
And, with this comet, we will bring our peace to every reality," Hira glared at Allura. "You're no empress of mine."

"And you're no altean," Allura spat, activating her bayard.

Suddenly, Slav started laughing. Lance's brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the alien. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because this is the reality where everything works out fine," Slav responded.

"But you said earlier that—!" Pidge was interrupted by the sound of an explosion and the ship rocking. Everyone let out a scream just as the ship ceases shaking.

Keith gripped his sword and throws it at the gladiator located beside Lance. It sparked as the blade pierced its armor and fell to the floor, lifeless.

"Dogpile!" Sven yelled. He, Slav, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance tackled another gladiator and pinned it to the floor with their bodies.

Allura, releasing all her anger on Hira, took her down easily while Keith handled the male altean and Moxilous. She inhaled deeply before sighing and looking toward the others. "Let's go."

Keith yanked his sword from the gladiator and deactivated it. He rushed over to Arcadia, who was beginning to wake up. She blinked a few times as she pushed her upper body off the frigid floor. Keith offered her a hand, which only received a blank stare. He hates the thought of controlling her, but he had no choice due to the hoktril. "Take my hand."

Arcadia did as Keith instructed and placed her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet and escaped the room with the others. Myriads of gladiators littered the corridors of the ship, making their escape more difficult. Lance and Hunk used their firearms to destroy the robots while Pidge, Allura, and Keith used their shields to protect them from the lasers.

Keith moved his hand from Arcadia's and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her body close to his to keep her behind the shield. "Pidge, which way to the lions?"

"To the left!" Pidge shouted over the gunfire.

The paladins, Arcadia, Sven, and Slav maneuvered through the corridor, avoiding the gunfire as best they could. When they thought they'd destroyed all the gladiators, more took their places. Lance was in the line of fire without noticing. Sven pushed him out of the way, taking the laser in his place. He grunted in pain, alerting Lance. "Sven! Are you okay? You saved my life!"

"I'll be fine," Sven groans. "Just get me to a space hospital."

"We've kinda got a portable space hospital," Lance said, eyeing Arcadia as he wrapped his arms under Sven's and pulled him to safety.

Keith unwound his arm from around Arcadia's waist and asked if she could heal him. He had already completely forgotten about the hoktril. When she didn't budge, he remembered he had to command her. With a sorrowful sigh, he ordered her to heal Sven. She casually walked over, causing his heart to stop as she waltzed right into the gunfire. He ran to her, tackling her body to the floor behind his shield before she could get shot. His heart was pounding in his chest as he held her with one arm. "Guess I should've been more specific..."

Keith released Arcadia and allowed her to heal Sven. The man felt the warmth from her incantation spread across his entire body, causing him to smile. "Thank you, Lady Crios." Arcadia just blinked and retracted her hands before backing away.

"They're blocking our way to the lions!" Keith yelled, blocking more gunfire with his shield.

"Everyone, hang on!" Slav shouted. He dashed toward the gladiators, dodging and weaving their attacks. He reached a lever and pulled it, triggering an alarm. The bay doors fly open, sucking the gladiators into space. Everyone held on for dear life to keep themselves from being shot out into space alongside the robots. Keith held onto the wall, using his other hand to grasp Arcadia's due to her current state. The suction was tugging on their connected hands and he could feel her fingers slipping from his. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight against the strong pull.

When their hands were torn from one another's, Keith's eyes widen. He tried to lunge forward to grab her again, but Arcadia was out of reach. "Arcadia, no!" He watched helplessly as her body was dragged into space.

"She'll be fine, Keith!" Pidge yelled. "She can breathe!"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" He shouted back.

Slav pulled the lever again and closed the doors. "Get to your lions and retrieve Lady Crios before the alteans do!"

The paladins nodded and left the ship. They returned to their lions and immediately searched for Arcadia.

"Found her!" Hunk announced. He used the mouth of his lion to grab her and regrouped with the others.

"This is all my fault," Allura spoke up with a dejected tone, regretting in helping her own people. "I activated the ship. They're going to dislodge the comet and have the power to terrorize every reality."

Slav's face suddenly popped up on the lions' interfaces, startling the paladins. "No, you can still get the comet away from them."

"Pidge, scan for the comet," Keith commanded.

"Yep. Already picked up on its elemental signature," Pidge responded.

"Everyone, we're going back in to get it," Keith said. "Form Voltron!"

The five lions came together and formed Voltron. Once the mighty defender was in one piece, the paladins followed the comet's energy signature and broke through the hull of the ship to reach it. The team pried it from the spacecraft successfully and away from the approaching altean ships.

"Okay, now what?" Lance asked.

"We need to find the exact spot we came in or else we might not make it home," Pidge answered.

The altean ships targeted Voltron and fired. The paladins were able to maneuver out of the way while still holding on to the comet. Pidge continued to concentrate as Voltron dodged the lasers. Once finding what she was looking for, she shouted, "I found it!"

Once locating their exit point, they engaged boosters and pushed the comet toward the tear in reality. The altean ships continued their barrage of lasers, refusing to let Voltron escape with the comet. A single laser hit the mighty defender in the back, causing it to surge forward. It pushed the robot into the rift with the comet, the five paladins screaming.

Voltron surged through the vortex and exited back in the correct reality. The robot's grip on the comet slipped as it floated aimlessly beside the celestial body.

"You're back! Oh, thank the ancients!" Coran cheered once seeing the large robot. "Paladins, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Out of nowhere, a familiar ship attacked the castle while Voltron was unresponsive. Lotor targeted the comet and easily plucked it away from the paladins before flying off victoriously. Coran was in shock at the sudden appearance of the prince, but he was more worried about the paladins who had yet to answer his worried call. "Paladins, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Allura heard her advisor's worried voice and responded in a hoarse tone. "Coran, we're here."

Coran sighed in relief before telling her what happened to the comet. She felt the guilt return tenfolds and frowned as she listened to him.

Eventually, the remaining paladins awoke from their unconscious states and disbanded.

<———————<<<<<<

Everyone was gathered in the infirmary. Arcadia sat on a small examination table, her snowy locks pulled over her shoulders to reveal the device located on the base of her skull. "So..." Lance stared at the device. "How're we suppose to remove this horse-whatever?"

"Hoktril," Pidge corrects the Cuban boy.

"Whatever..." Lance rolls his eyes.

Coran scanned the device over and over again, still amazed at how advanced the small object was even after being informed by all the paladins of what happened in the other reality. "I'm not sure."

Lance circled around the table, watching as Arcadia's golden eyes followed him. He grinned as he came to stop directly in front of her, poking her cheek. "Y'know, she's kinda like a life-size doll."

Keith smacked Lance's hand away from Arcadia's cheek with a scowl. "Stop poking her."

"We'll just have to use brute strength to remove the hoktril!" Coran announces.

"Um, Coran?" Pidge spoke up. "We might end up giving her brain damage if we do that."

"It's either that or she stays like this forever."

"Oh, seriously?" Hunk asked.

Pidge sighed in disbelief before hopping onto the table and standing behind Arcadia. "Fine." She rolled up her sleeves while sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth. She wrapped her hands around the edge of the device and used all her strength to pull on it.

When her fingers slipped, she fell off the table with a scream. She landed on the floor with a groan and her glasses were crooked. "Ugh..."

"Are you alright, Pidge?" Allura asked.

"Yeah," she huffed in response. "Someone else give it a try."

Lance, Hunk, and Coran tried next, but they all failed. Deciding to combine their strength, Pidge climbed back onto the table. Lance latched on to Pidge, Coran grabbed Lance, and Hunk grabbed Coran. The small girl rubbed her hands together before placing them around the hoktril. "Pull on three," she said. "One... Two..."

"Three!" All four of them shouted. They all pulled and groaned as they felt the resistance. Hunk inhaled deeply, tightening his hold on Coran. He released a battle cry and tugged as hard as he could. Pidge, Lance, and Coran yelled out as they felt their bodies fall backward.

A painful scream echoed throughout the infirmary. It had belonged to Arcadia. She hunched over, nearly falling off the table. Luckily, Keith was there to prevent her from falling. She rubbed the back of her neck with a wince. "I would appreciate it if I could keep my brain in my head." She sighed, looking around the room. "Oh, we're back in the castle. When did we get back?"

"A few hours ago," Pidge answered, tossing the hoktril onto the examination table.

"You... don't remember?" Hunk asked, blinking a few times in confusion.

"Um, no," Arcadia confesses.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Coran inquired.

"We were on the ship and one of the alteans asked to talk to me in private. Then, his servant injected me with something and after that, I felt a pain in the back of my neck and blacked out. What happened after that?"

The paladins and Coran exchanged glances before sharing what all Arcadia had missed. She listened intently to every detail, staring down at her hands when they reached the part where she fought against Keith. Her head shot up as she met Keith's lilac gaze. She hopped off the examination table and grabbed his hand. In silence, she tugged him out of the infirmary and down the corridor a little ways.

Once they were away from the infirmary and she knew they were alone, Arcadia grabbed the hem of Keith's shirt and pulled it up. "H-Hey—!" His cheeks turned slightly red at her action. He peered into her face, his blush disappearing when he saw the sorrow and guilt in her expression. Looking down, he saw she was staring at the large bruise on his side.

"I also saw the burn marks on your hands," Arcadia muttered.

Keith lifted his gloved hands up, noticing the burn marks along his exposed fingers. He wasn't able to see underneath the leather, but he knew his entire palms were scorched from where he grabbed her hands earlier. He looked back up at her, knowing she was beating herself up over his injuries. "It's not your fault."

"It is!" Arcadia shouted. "I'm the one who burned you and caused the large bruise on your side." She reached out and grabbed his injured hands, placing them between both of hers. She casted a healing incantation, watching the exposed burns heal. She tore off his gloves and checked his side to make sure she had healed all his injuries. "There. All healed. I'm really sorry, Keith." She handed him his gloves and stared at the floor while he put them on.

Arcadia went to leave, but she stopped when an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her against a firm chest. A hand cradled the back of her head as it rested on Keith's chest. She blinked owlishly before looking down at the floor with a crestfallen expression, eyes half-lidded.

"Like I said, it's not your fault," Keith sighed. "You were being controlled. Stop beating yourself up over it. You healed my wounds, anyway."

"I fell for a trap I should've seen from a mile away," Arcadia protests against the boy. "If I had just stayed with the others, I would've been fine."

"Stop it," Keith hissed. "Even if you did stay with the others, there wasn't any guarantee you would've been safe."

Arcadia felt her guilt slowly washing away, but she pouted like a small child who hadn't gotten their way. She buried her head into his chest, her words becoming muffled. "I'm still the one who injured you..."

Keith rolled his eyes after deciphering her muffled words. "You really are a pain..."

The alchemist reclined her head and glared weakly up at him. "So are you."

"I'm just stating the facts. You were forced to fight me," he said.

"I'm stating the facts, too. I still feel horrible for hurting you even if I wasn't in control of my actions." She wrapped her arms around his torso with a sigh. "Just let me wallow in my guilt for a day or two, then I'll be fine."

"You really are stubborn."

She huffed with laughter. "I learned from the best."