A/n: So, my phone keeps correcting "Coran" to "Corona" and I can't take it anymore! If you see any spelling mistakes, please contact me. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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"Great job training today, guys. We're really getting the hang of Voltron," Shiro said as they all returned to the castle.

"Seriously, how far do you think my lion kicked that broken alien ship? Must have been like a mile!" Lance gloats.

Keith glared at the blue paladin. "Yeah, that'll come in handy when the galra challenges Voltron to a soccer match."

"Hey, I did something cool and you can't handle it. I get it," Lance scoffs.

"Your kick ruined our balance. We fell."

"Well that falling part was Hunk's fault," the Cuban boy said, throwing the blame toward the yellow paladin.

"Hey!" Hunk pouts.

Shiro intervened before the situation could escalate. "All right, save your energy for fighting Zarkon."

Then, they saw Arcadia enter the room. She was chasing the mice while giggling. Keith smiled at the energetic girl and couldn't stop watching her as she ran all over the room. Lance saw the soft expression on the red paladin's face and scowled. "Don't even think about it, mullet."

Keith's soft expression was washed away with annoyance. "What're you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Lance jabbed a finger in Arcadia's direction. "I'm gonna make my move right now!" The blue paladin wiped off his scowl and replaced it with his usual playboy smirk before approaching the draconian.

By now, Arcadia was sitting down at the table, petting the mice as they snuggled into her palm. Lance saunters over and sits in the seat beside her. "Hello, cutie~"

The girl looked up and smiled. "Hi, Lance. Need something?"

"How 'bout you and me take a stroll around Arus?"

"That's sounds lovely, but I promised to spend some time with Pidge."

"How about tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Lance. I'll be helping Coran," Arcadia said.

"What about—"

"Just leave her alone," Keith growled. "She doesn't want to go on a date with you!"

Lance flew out of his chair and slammed his hands down on the table. "You don't know that!"

Arcadia glanced between the two boys. "What's a "date"?"

"Wait," Lance glanced down at the girl beside him. "You don't know what a date is?"

Arcadia shook her head. "I wouldn't be asking if I did. What is it?" Her eyes trailed over to Keith.

The red paladin saw she wanted an answer and gladly provided. "It's where two people who like each other go out somewhere and spend some time together."

"You never went on a date when you lived on your home planet?" Lance asked, flabbergasted at the situation.

"No," Arcadia confesses. "My people were too busy mastering alchemy to care about love or kindness. Every marriage was arranged and no one had free will to fall in love with whomever they wanted to." The paladins all gathered at the table and sat down as Arcadia opened up to them. She looked up and glanced around at the boys and girl. "How do you think my planet was destroyed?"

"By Zarkon, right?" Keith answered as he was sitting beside her.

She shook her head, eyes now casted down at the table. "My planet was destroyed by its own inhabitants. A war broke out on Draconia and it was all because of greed. There were no sides and every Draconian fought for themselves. Husbands killed wives. Wives and Husbands killed children and vice versa. Everyone was alone and the planet's core couldn't handle the immense flow of alchemy. The core combusted and killed the remaining alchemists who were still fighting. Before the core became unstable, I left Draconia and landed on Altea. That's where I met Allura and Coran. We've been together ever since."

No one spoke as the dark story seeped into their minds. They couldn't even imagine such a catastrophe happening to their home. Shiro was the first to respond when he snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry about your home, Arcadia."

"Don't be. Honestly, I think it was for the greater good. If Draconia hadn't been destroyed, it wouldn't be the galra you'd be fighting against."

"Your people wanted to take over the universe?" Hunk asked.

Arcadia nodded. "Draconia was corrupted with alchemy. The need for power ate everyone's sense of humanity and they spoke of enslaving other planets with alchemy. When they had difficulty choosing who would lead the conquest, that's when the war broke out."

"How come you didn't want the same thing your people did?" Pidge wondered.

"I enjoy having my powers, but I've only ever used them for good. I wouldn't be here with you guys if I wanted to use them for evil. I'd be on the galra's side if I wanted that." From her right, she heard a sniffle and saw Lance was crying. She placed a hand on his arm. "Why're you crying, Lance?"

He didn't answer and just wrapped his arms around Arcadia. He continued to cry as he hugged her. She patted him on the back, trying to soothe him. "Are you crying for me?"

"Yes! You've been through a lot and no one can imagine what it was like."

"Thank you for telling us, Arcadia," Shiro smiled at her.

"I'm glad I finally got that off my chest. It's something I've needed to do for a very long time," Arcadia said.

"You haven't told Allura?" Keith inquired.

"Altea already heard the news about Draconia before I arrived. News traveled fast in the Great Dark Nebula. They were wary of me, but King Alfor took me in and raised me like his own daughter. Allura and I became best friends, but we felt more like sisters."

Lance released Arcadia and wiped a few stray tears away. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Aw, thanks, Lance."

Then, the door opened and Coran entered the room. "Hello, guys! How was the Voltron workout?"

Shiro looked at the altean advisor. "We're getting there. Are you and Allura almost done fixing the castle so we can leave this planet? I feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus."

"Just about. In the meantime, to get your minds off those duck seats you're worried about, I made you guys an authentic ancient paladin lunch!" Coran sat a tray down and removed the lid. A fowl stench wafted through the air as everyone sitting down stared at the disgusting dish he had brought. They all groaned while Arcadia plugged her nose as she felt nauseous at the sickening scent.

"Coran, you just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?" Hunk asked, leaning closer to the mysterious dish.

"This is packed with nutrients," Coran stated.

"It smells disgusting!"

Coran leans forward and sniffs the dish. "I know! That's how you know it's healthy!"

Hunk had a few plants in his hand from Arus and poked at them. "Coran, we're on a planet now with fresh herbs, spices, and whatever this thing is. A tuber? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the kitchen and spice things up."

Pidge stood up and dismissed herself. "I'm gonna go check on the prisoners."

"They'll all be waking soon in the infirmary," Coran informed the green paladin. Shiro went to follow Pidge, but he was stopped as the redhead held a fork up with a piece of the smelly dish on the end. "Open the hatch. Food lion coming in!" He imitates airplane sounds as he tries to get Shiro to eat.

Shiro groans and kept the fork away from his face. "No. Just... no."

Shiro walked out of the room and Coran shouted after him. "You don't know what you're missing!"

"I think he does, Coran," Arcadia muttered. She stood up and was followed by Keith.

When the girl was about to leave, she became Coran's next target. "Open wide!" She could smell the putrid odor as the fork was now inches from her face.

Before he could shove it in her mouth, she dove behind Keith and used him as a human shield. "I'm not eating that!" She grabbed Keith's arms and turned his body in different directions to keep Coran away.

"Eat your food, young lady!" Coran bellows.

"No!"

After the shenanigan continued for a few more minutes, Hunk returned with a few dishes. The heavenly smell traveled around the room, canceling out Coran's horrific dish. Keith and Arcadia returned to the table as Hunk sat his creations down in front of them. Arcadia eyes the food curiously, but Lance and Keith had already started scarfing them down.

Seeing as Arcadia wasn't eating, Keith slowed down and looked at her. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Just a little," she answered.

Keith snatched up a dish before Lance ate it all. "Hey!" The Cuban boy shouts. Keith just glared at him as he gave the dish to Arcadia.

She took a fork and tasted the dish. Her eyes lit up as the food hit her tastebuds. "This is amazing, Hunk!"

"Thanks. I did my best with what I had," the yellow paladin smiles at her.

Allura walked in and saw the three enjoying the food. "They like the paladin lunch!"

Coran crosses his arms with a pout. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I just got the final nebulon booster working. We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Zarkon."

The alarms suddenly blared, causing the trio to stop eating. They looked over to the computer as the screen flickered on. "What is that?" Keith asked, spotting the alien on the screen.

"I don't know what it is," Allura responded.

Arcadia stood up with a huge smile. "It's an Arusian!"

The small creature yells out with a weapon in his hands. "He's approaching the castle," the princess said.

Another yell came from the Arusian as he closed in on the castle's entrance. "Aw!" Hunk cooed.

"Doesn't look too dangerous," Lance said.

"You never know," Keith stated, readying his bayard.

Allura promptly stopped him. "No. Alteans believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them."

Arcadia was already ahead of Allura and had dashed out of the room. "Hey, Arcadia!" Keith shouted after the draconian.

"Hey, maybe we can knit him a little sweater!" Lance shouted joyfully.

"I'm not taking any chances," Keith said, taking off after Arcadia.

Outside of the castle, Arcadia has startled the Arusian. The small alien jumped into the bushes and tried to hide. The girl smiled as she sat on her knees a safe distance away from the creature. Keith, Hunk, Lance, Coran, and Allura caught up and the princess stood next to Arcadia. She bent down and peered into the bushes. "Greetings. We know you're there. No harm will come to you."

The small alien jumps out with his weapon pointed at Arcadia. The sudden surprise caused her to fall back and hit the ground. "Wait! He could be dangerous. Drop your weapon!" Keith said as he jumped in front of the collapsed Arcadia with his own sword raised.

"No one takes Klaizap's weapon!" The small creature yells.

"Keith, put that away! Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies," Allura said.

"I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors. Our village is over Gazrel Hill. I come seeking answers as to why the Lion Goddess is angered with her followers."

"Followers?" Coran questioned.

"Lion Goddess?" Hunk wondered.

"The one the ancients spoke of," Klaizap answered.

"What makes you think she's angered?" Allura asked.

"Destruction is everywhere. In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens and a giant has danced in the sky."

Hunk leans in and whispers loudly to Lance. "I think he's talking about Voltron."

"Yeah, I got that," Lance scoffs.

"You have not angered the Lion Goddess," the princess reassures.

The small alien was still unsure. "How can you be certain?"

"Because I am Allura and this is my castle."

Klaizap gasped. "Lion Goddess!"

"Please, bravest warrior, take us to your village so that we may meet our neighbors."

"What about our mission to get off this planet and fight Zarkon?" Keith asked as he helped Arcadia up.

Allura glances at Keith. "Part of the paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy. Arus has been our host for ten thousand years. These people deserve our thanks."

The group followed Klaizap to his village. Arcadia admired the scenery as they walked across Arus. As they entered the village, all the arusians' eyes were on them. Many of them were staring at Arcadia and one of the children ran up to her. She smiled at her and pointed to the top of her head. "You have horns, too!"

Unconsciously, Arcadia touched the black horns protruding from her head. "Yours are better than mine," she smiles. The little arusian followed the snowy-haired girl until they reached the King of the Arusians. "Oh, Lion Goddess, I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness. Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings." The alien claps twice and a female arusian steps forward. "Commence Dance of Apology! Hoorah!"

The arusians cheered as Moontow danced for the three paladins, the alteans, and the draconian. "Please, there's no need for this," Allura said.

"Moontow, halt! The Goddess has refused the apology. Start the sacrificial fire," the Arusian King said and a few others started a fire. The small aliens already had one of their own tied to a pole and ready for a sacrificial offering. "We must throw ourselves in!"

"No!" Allura shouted.

"No sacrifices!" Arcadia yelled.

"So, we may proceed with the dance?" The Arusian King asked, glancing between the two girls.

Allura nodded. "That's a better alternative."

"A much better one," Arcadia added.

The Arusian King claps twice and Moontow continues her dance. At the end of the dance, all the arusians bowed to Allura. "Oh, my! Please, please, rise. Thank you for that, but I am not a great being worthy of your worship. I accidentally put you all in danger." The arusians gasped as Allura continued. "It is I who should be apologizing to you. I am Princess Allura, this is Arcadia, and these are the Voltron Paladins. Although we originally came from different worlds... and have very, very, very different traditions, we wish to live alongside you as friends."

"But the mighty robotic angel... has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?" The Arusian King asked.

"Voltron? No. In fact, that mighty robot is here to protect you. Let it be known that Voltron will protect every innocent being throughout the universe!"

The arusians, once again, cheered. The little creatures surrounded them and began hugging everyone. One arusian jumped on top of Arcadia's head and began touching her horns while another hugged her torso. Another one latched onto her legs and hindered her movement. She giggled at their friendly and loving nature and held the arusian that was hugging her torso. Arcadia looked up and caught Keith staring at her. When the boy realized he was caught, he quickly averted his gaze. Then, an arusian jumped onto Keith and hugged him. The red paladin was taken aback. "I don't usually hug strangers, but, uh... Man, you are cuddly."

"Thank you," the alien responded in a deep voice. Keith's and Arcadia's eyes widened at hearing the arusian. Neither one of them expected to hear such a deep voice come from a small and cute creature. The draconian grinned as the arusian hugged him tighter.

"Team, come in! We need backup! Hello?" Shiro shouted over the comms.

"Shiro?" Allura called out.

"Where is everyone?"

"What's going on?" Keith said as he and Arcadia reached the princess' side. The ground shook underneath them and they looked up to see the source. A strange object had landed on Arus and caused the earthquake. "Oh, no. We gotta get to our lions!"

Allura turned to the Arusians. "Everyone get inside and stay down!"

Hunk nodded. "I'm on it!"

"Not you!" Keith said, grabbing the yellow paladin by the collar of his suit. Hunk whines as he was dragged to the castle.

Arcadia followed Keith to the red lion's hangar and called out to him before he could enter his lion. "Keith!" He turned around, surprised at the sight of the girl. "Let me come with you."

"Let's go," Keith said without hesitating, beckoning Arcadia into his lion. She smiled and ran into the lion's mouth with the paladin close behind. Inside the mechanical beast, Keith flew out of the hangar and started firing at the robeast. "Lay down some covering fire so they can get out of there!"

"I'm on it!" Lance shouts.

"Check this out! Battle-lion head-butt!" Hunk rams his lion into the robeast.

"You guys okay down there?" Keith asked Shiro and Pidge.

"Still alive for now," Shiro responds.

"Are the galra behind this?" Hunk questioned.

"I think so, but I've never seen anything like it."

"So, what's the plan? Shoot at it with everything we've got? Take out its weapon? Call it names?" Lance suggests.

"If we want to take this monster down, there's only one way to do it." The black lion roars at Shiro's words. "Form Voltron!"

All five lions combined and formed Voltron. Arcadia held onto the seat as her eyes were trained on the robeast. Shiro's voice brought her back to reality as she saw his face pop up on the dash. "Remember, we are one unit, fighting with one goal."

Arcadia held onto Keith's seat as Voltron tried to attack the enemy. She noticed the orb was their biggest obstacle as they were repeatedly blindsided by it. She slowly backed away from Keith as she knew they needed her help. "Wait, Arcadia!" The boy yelled as he saw her leave Voltron. He wanted go after her, but he knew Voltron was needed.

Arcadia landed beside Voltron and quickly moved out of the way when the robeast delivered a punch directly at the giant robot's chest. Voltron was sent flying, the Defender collapsing to the ground. Acting quickly, Arcadia transformed and joined the fight.

<——————<<<<<<<

"I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe!" Keith shouted in frustration.

"Yeah, so how is this monster kicking our butts?" Hunk questioned as the orb returned to the robeast.

Shiro saw the monster's next target and gasped. "Oh, no! The village! We have to protect those people!"

Before Voltron could react, Arcadia flew in front of the orb and used her body as shield. The projectile collided with her body and sent her flying. The dragon crashed onto the ground, her body rolling in the dirt.

"Arcadia!" The five paladins shout with worry. Slowly, the dragon recovered and shook the dirt off her white scales. They all sighed in relief to see she was alright. In response, Arcadia released a thunderous roar.

"Arcadia got him away from the arusians, but we can't take him down!" Pidge yells.

"I got it! I'm going to power-kick that orb thing!" Lance announced.

Keith quickly shot down the blue paladin's idea. "No! The last time you did a kick, we fell!"

"Stop living in the past!" The robeast then closed the distance between it and Voltron. "Oh, no!"

"Pidge, fire lasers now!" Shiro commands.

"Got it! Fire!" Pidge accidentally equipped the shield instead of firing the lasers. "Oops!"

"No! Lasers! Lasers!"

The orb blindsided the paladins and sent then back. Hunk groaned in annoyance as the orb returned to the robeast. "Every time we focus on that orb, we're blindsided by the monster, and every time we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!"

"Then what do we do?" Lance inquired.

"Orb!" Hunk shouts, the purple sphere heading toward them. Arcadia acted quickly and dove in front of Voltron. She stood on her hind legs and used her wings as a shield. She growled in pain as the orb made contact with her wings, but she was able to deflect the projectile.

"Shiro, we gotta move or Arcadia's gonna get seriously hurt!" The black paladin didn't respond. "Shiro, are you there? Shiro!" Lance shouted.

The orb returned to the robeast and something in Shiro's mind triggered. "That sound... I recognize this monster from my time in Zarkon's prison. I know how to beat him! Listen, there's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon, and every third time, that orb needs to charge up. That's this monster's weakest point. That's when we strike."

"Okay, so what do we do in the meantime? Arcadia can't keep protecting us," Hunk said.

"Defense! Pidge, we need that shield! We can't keep letting Arcadia take the hits." At Shiro's command, Pidge formed the shield and blocked the orb. "That's one. Two more to go!"

The orb came around a second time and struck the shield, earning a groan from the paladins. "We can't take much more!"

"Last one! Everyone brace for impact!" Shiro shouted. Arcadia was already ahead of Voltron and pounced on the robeast as the paladins were struck by the orb a third time. She pulled out the large wire on its back and the orb vanished. The paladins cheered as they saw what Arcadia has accomplished. "Nice job, Arcadia! All we need to do is finish him off since we no longer have the orb to worry about," Shiro said.

"How'd you defeat him?" Pidge asked.

"I had a sword."

Just then, Keith heard his lion. "Wait a second, guys! I think my lion's telling me what to do."

"Well whatever it is, hurry up and do it!" Lance yelled.

Keith used his bayard and plugged it into the slot presented to him courtesy of Red. Within Voltron's hand now gripped a sword. With the new weapon, the paladins struck the robeast. With a few cuts from the sword, the monster was slain and everyone cheered. "Yeah! We did it!"

"How did you do that?" Hunk asked in amazement, his question going unanswered.

"Whoa," Keith laughs. "Thanks, Red."

Once Voltron disbanded, the paladins flew their lions over to Arcadia. She was still in her dragon form as she stretched her wings with a small growl. The five left their lions and stood in front of the dragon. Shiro smiled up at Arcadia. "We couldn't have done it without you, Arcadia."

She huffed in response and lowered her body to the ground. Pidge came over and threw her body over one of Arcadia's paws. The dragon glanced down at the green paladin as she sighed heavily. "I'm exhausted..."

Hunk joined the young girl and flopped down on Arcadia's other paw. She nudged the yellow paladin with her snout. Hunk laughed at the sensation. "Stop! That tickles!"

Arcadia pulls aways and glances at the red and blue paladins. They both smiled at her, both boys finally able to release their worry. Shiro glanced at his team. "Let's head back. The arusians and Allura will be happy to hear the robeast's gone."

Everyone except Keith left and headed back to the village. The red paladin stared into Arcadia's golden eyes and felt the same familiarity he did when he first arrived at the Castle of Lions. He wasn't sure exactly why he felt as if he knew her before their journey into space, but he wanted to desperately find the answer.

Arcadia turned back to her human form with a smile. "Why didn't you go with the others?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay. We weren't the ones to dive in front of a purple orb... twice," Keith answers.

"Trust me, my scales are a lot tougher than you think. I might have minor bruising, but that'll be all."

Keith peered into her slitted eyes and saw she was telling the truth. "You're pretty extraordinary, Arcadia."

"Me?" She laughs. "You five are much more extraordinary than me. Three days ago, you guys were on Earth and now, you're the Defenders of the Universe. I mean, you and Lance don't get along, but I think you all are an amazing team and every single one of you is special in your own way."

Keith was baffled as his eyes widened a fraction at her kind words. He replayed the words in his head multiple times and still couldn't believe Arcadia's candor. The girl noticed Keith's expression and waved a hand in front of his face. "Keith?"

He blinked rapidly before clearing his throat. "We should head back."

"Don't wanna keep the others waiting," Arcadia said. The two climbed into the red lion and departed.