***EDITED***

A/n: It takes me about an hour to edit each chapter, but I hope it's worth it. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
•••••••••••••••••••••••
"Good morning, my lovely alteans!" Arcadia shouts cheerfully as she walked into the bridge.

Allura smiled at her best friend. "Good morning, Arcadia. How did you sleep?"

"I've got a small knot in my lower back, but besides that, I slept like a baby. How about you?"

"Well, Coran and I have been up for hours."

"Does the castle need to be repaired that badly?" The snowy-haired girl asked.

Allura nodded. "Sadly, yes. Our stay on Arus has been extended by a couple of more days."

"That's alright. This'll give the new paladins time to train," Arcadia reassures the princess.

Allura's eyes lit up. "You have given me the perfect idea! Coran!"

"Yes, princess?" The advisor responded.

"Let's test the alarms!"

"Whoa!" Arcadia stopped the altean from pressing the button. "Don't you think they deserve a little more sleep?"

Allura thought for a few seconds before answering. "No." She slams her hand on the button and the castle's alarms blare all around them. She then shouts over the loudspeakers. "Everybody up! Zarkon's attacking! The castle's about to be destroyed! Go, go, go! We need Voltron now! Hurry! We can't survive much longer!"

Coran walked over and took the device out out of Allura's hand. "You've got to sell it a little bit more."

"Oh, no..." Arcadia mutters.

Coran clears his throat and begins his performance. "Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off! Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?"

The door to the bridge opened and Arcadia saw everyone except Lance had arrived. She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Allura called out to her advisor. "Coran."

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

Allura frowned. "It's over."

"Oh, I know! If only Voltron had been formed." The ginger-haired man realized the others were there and tossed the device aside. "Oh! Time!"

Shiro wasn't pleased at the princess' antics. "I guess this isn't an actual attack."

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

"Seventy-five degrees. Oh," the small device tings. "Sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer."

Allura sighed. "However long it was, it was too long. You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon. Look at you! Only Shiro is in uniform. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, where are your bayards? And where is Lance?"

Speak of the blue paladin and he shall appear. Lance walked in with a yawn and a glass in his hand. "Good morning, everybody. What's going on?"

Arcadia saw his blue lion slippers and tilted her head in confusion as she muttered to herself. "Where did he get those?"

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

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

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

"It's a lot to process."

Allura suddenly opened the celestial map. "You must understand the stakes of our mission. Over the last ten thousand years, the castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations. So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe." The princess pulled up an image of the Milky Way. "Earth is here. An attack on your planet is inevitable."

Hunk gasped. "Oh, no."

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

"The Princess is right. Let's get to our lions and start training," Shiro said.

Pidge glances at the leader. "Wait. But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the galra ship."

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

"That's right. Now, get to your lions," Allura commands.

As the paladins left, Arcadia glared at her best friend. "I think that was a little harsh. They've only been in space for a day and you're already pushing them into their roles."

"You are the one who chose these five to become the next paladins and I trust your judgement and it appears the lions do not protest, either, Arcadia. But you must realize how dire our situation is. Zarkon isn't going to wait for them to bond with each other or their lions before attacking again."

"What happened to that sweet altean girl I met when I was nine? I've never seen you be so pushy toward others." Arcadia crossed her arms.

"I must step up and take my father's place. Wouldn't you do the same?"

"I was raised on a planet full of selfish alchemists. Magic made them greedy and they would do anything to achieve power over all. My father was no better nor was my mother. I'm positive if my people hadn't destroyed themselves and the planet, they would be the ones destroying and conquering galaxies, not the galra."

Allura had completely forgotten Arcadia's past. The poor girl had been through horrors no one could ever imagine. "I-I'm sorry, Arcadia. I forgot about what kind of man your father was."

Arcadia sighs. "It's fine. That man wasn't even a man. He was a cruel, greedy monster that only thirsted for power. He didn't care for me one bit and I escaped Draconia because I couldn't stand it anymore. But," the girl met Allura's sorrowful gaze. "I felt as if King Alfor was the father I've always dreamt of. Your family could've turned me away when I landed on Altea, but they took me in and treated me as family. I made a friend and a sister that day and now, here we are."

Allura smiled and hugged Arcadia. "Though we are not related by blood, you are my sister and nothing will change that."

"Thank you, Allura. Now," Arcadia stepped away from the princess. "Would it be alright if I helped them with their training?"

"I believe they will be needing your guidance," Allura said, her smile growing. "Go on and take this." She handed Arcadia a small ear piece.

Arcadia dashes out of the bridge and to the entrance of the castle. All the lions were present except for the yellow. She placed the small device in her ear and was able to communicate with the paladins. "Where's Hunk?"

"Uh, we're not sure," Keith responds.

"... Should someone go in after him?" Lance suggested.

Then, the yellow lion emerges from its hangar. "Hi, guys. Sorry, everybody. Seriously, though, can't they park these things, like, a little closer to the bridge? Oh, hey, Arcadia!"

"Hello to you, too, Hunk," she giggled.

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

"Do you think that'll work, Shiro?" Arcadia questioned the leader.

"Honestly... no..."

"I admire your candor."

Allura's voice rang over the comms. "Feel the bond with your lions and your fellow pilots until five become one unit and you form Voltron!"

"Yeah!" They all shouted enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" They repeated.

"Yeah!" This time, Arcadia could hear their cheerful moods dampening.

"Yay..." The team muttered.

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

"This isn't working," Arcadia said to the paladins.

"Let's set down for a little bit," Shiro suggested.

"Does anyone have a different approach?" The girl wondered.

"Maybe we should be building Voltron from the ground up," Keith thought.

"What do you mean?" Shiro pondered.

"I mean, let's try literally building Voltron, like, stacking on top of each other."

Lance was confused at Keith's words. "Like a cheerleader pyramid?"

"You got a better idea?" Keith heatedly responds.

"It's worth a try," Shiro states and they did just that. Though, the pyramid was ruined when Hunk placed the yellow lion on top of the black lion.

"Hunk..." Arcadia groans at the sight.

"What are you doing?" Shiro finishes Arcadia's sentence.

Hunk blinked with a baffled expression. "What do you mean?"

"You're supposed to be the leg over there."

"What? No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time, I was the head. Right?"

"No, you're not!" Arcadia shouted over the comms.

"You yelled, "I'm a leg"!" Lance retorts.

"Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things," Hunk said.

Keith groans. "Shiro's the head."

"All the time?"

"Yes!" Arcadia yells.

"Let's just try it my way for now," Shiro calmly said.

"Okay, but next time I call head," the yellow paladin declares.

Arcadia rolled her eyes with frustration but kept her lips glued shut. She watched as Shiro guided the others to create the pyramid the correct way with Hunk as the left leg. "Okay. Arms and legs... and I'll form the head. Feel the bonds with your lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron. Focus. Focus. Is everyone bonding and focusing?"

"Why was this so much easier before?" Lance groans in annoyance.

Shiro sighs. "Let's take a break."

Suddenly, they all heard Allura's voice over the comms. "Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help. Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle."

"Yeah," Pidge answered.

"I'm listening," Lance said.

"You're right," the black paladin stated.

"Yeah, I guess," the red paladin replies.

Arcadia shook her head. "Allura, don't you dare!"

"It's fine, Arcadia! I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the castle's defenses. This should help!"

"No, no, no! I have no protection out here, you crazy altean!" Arcadia watched as the castle's defenses activated and forced her to run around to avoid being injured.

"Okay, whoa, whoa!" Lance dodged a laser by the skin of his teeth.

"Allura, what are you doing?!" Keith bellowed.

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

Arcadia was running for her life and was growing tired. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she was nearly struck. The blast radius of the laser caused her to fall over. The earpiece Allura had given her fell out and she was unable to contact the paladins. Another laser was heading directly for her and she froze in fear. Before she was struck, the red lion intercepted the laser and took the hit for her. It skidded across the dirt before quickly recovering.

Another laser was inbound, but Arcadia was scooped up into the red lion's mouth before it could hit her. She was now laying in the cockpit of the mechanical beast and was able to catch her breath. "Oh, thank the stars..."

"You alright, Arcadia?" Keith asked as he kept his eyes forward.

Said girl got to her feet and slowly made her way to his seat. "I'm so happy I could kiss you! In fact..." Arcadia pecked Keith on the side of his helmet. His cheeks turned red under his visor even though her lips didn't make contact with his skin, which the girl failed to notice as she retreated to stand behind his seat.

"Forget this! I'm heading back to the castle!" Lance yells. When his lion collided with the particle barrier, the blue paladin screamed out as his lion fell to the ground.

"Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!" Hunk begged.

They could hear Allura's anger over the comms. "You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you?! He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!"

Arcadia sighs. "Allura..."

"Exactly how long have you known her?" Keith questioned.

"Let's see..." Arcadia counted on her fingers. "Add ten thousand... Oh! Ten thousand and five years, if you count the ones we were in the cryo-pods."

"That makes you..."

"Nineteen. And I know you're eighteen."

"How did you—"

"I watched you and the others for five years. You don't think I would do my research?" Arcadia glanced away from Keith, realizing how she phrased her words. "That... sounded so creepy and I apologize for that."

"Uh, it's fine."

Just then, the particle barrier dissipated and Keith flew his lion back to its hangar. They exited the red lion and Arcadia thanked Keith one more time. "Thanks again for the save. I'm gonna give Allura a piece of my mind when I see her!"

They headed to the lounge where Pidge, Lance, and Hunk were relaxing. The green paladin saw the two enter and glanced at Arcadia. "Are you okay, Arcadia? I can't believe Allura would activate the castle's defenses knowing you were out there without protection."

"Yeah!" Lance shot up on the couch. "I thought you were best friends."

"I think she's stressed and forgot I was out there. I'm still gonna chew her out for it, though," Arcadia said.

"I mean, you could've been killed," Hunk stated the obvious.

"I am well aware of that, Hunk," the girl sighs. "Like I said, I'm gonna chew her pointy ear off."

"Your ears are pointy, too," Hunk added.

The door opened and the alteans entered the room. "Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?" Allura questioned Coran.

"No, still just eighty-four percent."

The princess looked up and saw everyone except Shiro. "You did it! You formed Voltron!"

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

"What?"

"Oh, right. Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the castle defenses to test the fire suppressors," Coran confesses.

"You almost killed Arcadia out there!" Pidge lashed out.

Allura didn't seem surprised or upset. "I'm sorry for my rash decision, but I had to."

"No one forced your hand," Keith crossed his arms as he sat on the couch with a scowl. "What would happen if you killed her?"

"I..." Allura trailed off, now seeing the error of her ways. "I apologize for my actions."

"I'm still mad at you, but... I'll get over it," Arcadia exclaims.

Shiro returns and glances at his team. "What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break."

Allura's persona returned to her patronizing attitude. "Shiro's right. You should be training."

Hunk pouted as he remained sitting on the couch. "We've been training. When are we going back to Earth?"

Pidge leaned forward a little. "I'm not going back until I find my family."

"Guys, there won't be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon," the black paladin explains.

"How are we going to fight? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron," Lance said.

"Well, I'm not surprised. You know, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears," Coran stated, pulling at his pointy ears.

Lance flopped down on the sofa with a leg in the air. "Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us."

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time. You should try working out on the training deck."

Hunk was puzzled at the revelation. "There's a training deck?"

Arcadia nodded along with Coran. While Allura wandered off to change, Coran and Arcadia led the paladins to the training deck. Once in the observation deck, the two aliens eyed the humans as they stood in a circle with their backs to one another.

The altean advisor accesses the loudspeaker and clears his throat. "Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up, guys. The paladin code demands you put your team members' safety above your own. A swarm of drones is about to attack."

"Huh?" Keith mumbled.

"It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team. Keep your attention forward and on the drones," Arcadia states through the speaker.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's going on?" Hunk gasps as his armor forms a shield. "Whoa. Did you guys get one of these?"

"Get ready," Shiro said, his own shield manifesting.

Arcadia activates the drones and they flood into the training deck. Immediately, Pidge was eliminated when Hunk ducked and the girl was hit in the back. 

Coran quickly intervened when seeing how long it took for a single paladin to be eliminated. "Protect your teammates or no one will be there to protect you!"

Then, Hunk was eliminated due to the absence of Pidge. He yelled as the hole in the floor swallowed him up. Coran placed his hand on a dial and Arcadia called out to the altean advisor. "Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes! Time to increase intensity." Coran dialed up the drones' fire power and speed. This caused the remaining paladins to be pushed back and form a tighter formation.

From the comms, Arcadia and Coran could hear Lance taunting Keith. "You keeping up over there, Keith?"

"Just concentrate on keeping me safe," Keith groans.

Lance scoffs at the red paladin. "Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate." Then, the blue paladin screams out as he lifts his foot to dodge a laser, causing it to bounce off the floor and hit Keith in the back. The boy fell down a hole and a few seconds later, Lance and Shiro joined him.

"So... what's next on the list, Coran?" Arcadia questioned as the drones stopped and returned to their deployment station.

Coral snaps his fingers. "The maze!"

"Are you sure you wanna put them through the maze?" The girl crossed her arms.

"I'm positive! Now, let's pair them up."

<——————<<<<<<<

Lance stood below the observation station, waiting to hear from Arcadia or Coran. Eventually, the loudspeakers came on and the boy could hear the altean's voice. "To form Voltron, you must trust in each other. This ancient paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock."

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

"Take two steps forward," Keith said, analyzing the maze with Arcadia beside him.

"Oh, no. Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic? Let Arcadia be my guide!"

"Arcadia is not a paladin and you must bond with your teammates! Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn," Coran said.

The snowy-haired girl placed a hand over her aching heart. "Ouch, Coran. Talk about harsh."

"Like I said, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction," Keith said, repeating the directions to Lance.

Lance turned right and failed to listen to Keith, causing him to run into one of the maze's walls. He yells out and glared up at the observation station. "You did that on purpose!"

"You're not listening," Keith groaned.

"You said, "Turn right"."

"But before that, I said, "Take two steps forward"."

"Two steps—" Lance was shocked again and screams in pain. "We're switching places right now!"

Coran and Arcadia pinch the bridges of their noses in frustration. The girl's golden eyes narrowed as the blue paladin left the maze. "How can one person not listen to simple instructions?"

Keith sighed beside her, arms crossed over his chest. "No idea."

Coran straightened his back and immediately cheered up. "Alright, on to the next stage!"

<——————<<<<<<<

"You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with his lion," Coran said as all lions were present and accounted for.

Arcadia could tell Lance was smirking by the tone of his voice. "No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real."

"Perfect! Then you won't have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your lions into a nosedive!" The paladins did as the altean instructed and began falling to Arus. "This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go. Activating training helmets!"

Shiro, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk gasp when their vision became dark. Lance, on the other hand, screamed. "Coran, what's happening? I can't see!"

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

"Mine feels scared!" Hunk whimpers.

Arcadia shut off comms for a brief moment. "Wanna bet on who's gonna crash first?"

Coran grinned. "Oh, I love making small bets! I think Keith will be the first to crash."

"And I think Lance will. Let's see who'll be the winner of our little bet."

Coran grinned with glee and turned the comms back on. "You still going, Keith?" Lance asked. The draconian and altean knew the boy was smirking by just hearing the simple question.

"You know it. You?" Keith questioned.

"Going? I'm speeding up!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Must be getting close."

"You've no idea..." Arcadia snickers at how close their lions were to the ground.

"Must be," Keith said.

"You getting scared?" Lance asked with a hint of teasing.

"I'm not scared!"

Both boys crashed their lions into the sand, earning a groan of pain from them. "Ow..."

"I win," Lance groans as his lion fell on its back.

"You didn't happen to see who hit first, did you?" Arcadia asked the altean.

"Um, no..."

"Guess our bet's off," she sighs in disappointment.

"What?!" Lance's shrill voice cut through the comms. "You made a bet?!"

"Uh..." Arcadia mutters. "Yeah."

Lance perked up a little, a glint of hope in his voice as he spoke. "You, at least, betted on me, right, Arcadia?"

"Well... Yes and no..."

"What do you mean "yes and no"?"

"I betted you would crash first and Coran though Keith would."

"You betted against me with the mullet?!" Lance shrieks in disbelief.

What Arcadia didn't know was Keith was grinning victoriously in his lion at the fact she had wanted him to beat Lance. It brought a warm sensation to his heart that he wasn't familiar with. "So, who won?"

"Well, you both crashed at roughly the same time. We're not sure who hit the ground first," Coran said, disappointed the bet was off.

Lance groaned while Keith chuckled. Arcadia's eyes lit up. "Let's make another bet!"

"Are you serious?!" Lance bellows in disbelief.

Coran beamed happily at Arcadia. "Oh, yes! I will place two hundred groggeries that the next paladin to crash will be—!" The sound of Pidge screaming was heard and Coran's mood deflated as he wasn't able to place his bet in time before the green paladin crashed. "Oh, quiznak!"

"We'll make another one before the day's over," Arcadia whispers mischievously.

"Heard that," Keith said.

"Haeophik!" Arcadia curses.

"What's "haeophik"?" Lance questioned.

"That's draconian for a very, very naughty word," the girl responds.

"What word?" Keith pried, desperately wanting to know the answer.

"Look it up!" Arcadia shut down comms and watched the black paladin. She was amazed at how Shiro was able to maneuver his lion with ease without crashing into his surrounding. Coran was also in awe as his jaw dropped. The black paladin landed his lion safely and Arcadia immediately turned comms back on. "Excellent, Shiro!"

Shiro smiles as Arcadia's face popped up on his dashboard. "Thanks, Arcadia."

<———————<<<<<<

Back on the training deck, Arcadia handed the five paladins a headset. Coran was looking down from above in the observation station. "Now the most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron." Arcadia stepped back and watched in silence as each paladin thought of different things. "Everything else has to fade away. This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron. So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins. Now, focus on forming your lion."

Arcadia saw everyone but Pidge was able to form a mental image of their lion without it flickering. Coran continued speaking as he tried to ease them into forming Voltron mentally. "Come on, everyone, clear everything. Bring your lions together and—and form Voltron. Keep your minds open, work together." The five lions slowly made their way to the center and formed Voltron. Pidge was once again having a difficult time concentrating. "Good! Keep focusing! Only one to go!"

The green lion changed back into the picture Pidge was thinking of and Keith shouted at her. "Pidge, stop thinking of your girlfriend!"

Arcadia titled her head in confusion and muttered to herself. "Girlfriend? That's Pidge and her brother."

"I wasn't! Hunk was rooting around in my head!" The young girl yelled in defense.

Hunk sent her an innocent glance. "I thought we were open. You can look in my head hole."

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes! Clear your minds! Good! Almost there. Now, form Voltron." The mental image of Voltron began forming once again. "Yes!" Coran shouts happily.

Morosely, the green lion faltered and everyone lost their concentration. Lance's eyes flew open and glared at the small girl. "Pidge!"

Pidge grunts and tears off the headset, throwing it to the ground. "I'm done with this! Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!"

"Oh, come on, Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this," Shiro said, trying to convince her to put the headset back on.

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

He nodded in understanding. "Okay. Let's take a break."

Arcadia walked over to the green paladin and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Um, Pidge, could you follow me?"

"Yeah, sure," she responds with slight annoyance. The two girls left the training deck and stood outside the door.

Arcadia faced Pidge with a worried expression. "Pidge, are you alright?"

"No!" The girl snaps. "I'm tired and I miss—!" She quickly swallows her words and looked away.

"You miss your brother. I know."

"Wha—how did you know?"

"I know your real name is Katie, not Pidge. I also know about your brother and father. I'm here to help you in any way I can," Arcadia smiled.

Pidge was surprised but happy. She hugged Arcadia and thanked her profusely. She tightened her arms around the taller girl and didn't let go. "Y'know, you feel kinda like a sister to me."

"Really? We've only known each other for a couple of days."

"Yeah, you're right, but you still feel like a sister to me."

Arcadia smiled and patted Pidge on the head. "Let's head back. We can talk more later."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

The two entered the training deck and saw the others were rehydrating. Coran handed a drink to Pidge and she gladly took it before sitting down and relaxing. Arcadia stood next to Coran and smiled at the paladins. "I think the five of you are doing great for only being paladins for two days."

Lance smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Thanks, beautiful." Arcadia grimaced at Lance's flirty behavior while the blue paladin received a glare from Keith.

The door to the training deck opened and Allura walked in wearing her suit. The anger was dripping from her being as she placed her hands on her hips. "What are you doing lying around? You're suppose to be training!"

"Just resting a bit," Coran said.

"You know, you can't push too hard and force them to the brink of exhaustion. They need small breaks in between training," Arcadia came to the paladins' defense.

Allura was even more furious. "What do you mean "can't push too hard"? Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!"

<——————<<<<<<<

"In order to defeat the Gladiator, five paladins must fight as one," Coran said as he, Allura, and Arcadia were, once again, back in the observation station above the training deck.

The snowy-haired girl releases the Gladiator and Hunk was the first to react as it fell from the ceiling. "Hmm? Whoa!" The yellow paladin was attacked by the Gladiator and was easily taken down and shocked by its staff.

Soon, only Shiro and Keith were left. As the black paladin was about to attack, he froze with a gasp. As the Gladiator closed in, Keith jumped in front of the older boy and protected him. "Shiro, are you okay?"

Before he could respond, both boys were defeated by the Gladiator. All five paladins groaned as they recovered just as Allura stormed into the room with Coran and Arcadia close behind. "That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!" The princess crossed her arms and glanced at Arcadia. "My dearest friend, may you show them how to deal with the Gladiator?"

Arcadia's eyes widened. "What?"

"You are well-skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Show our brave paladins how to handle such an opponent."

She sighed, knowing she didn't wish to tamper with Allura's mood. "Alright. I'll do it."

"Good!" Allura clapped her hands together.

Everyone stepped away and stood a safe distance as Arcadia prepared herself to battle the Gladiator. She rolled her shoulders, hearing and feeling them pop. "Alright, I'm ready."

The Gladiator returned and spun its staff around. Arcadia watched as it charged at her before dodging at the last second. She swiped the machine off its feet and promptly backed away from it. The Gladiator recovered and closed the distance between them. Arcadia ran toward the machine and performed a few front flips, using her feet to kick the Gladiator in the chest and push it back. She heard the awe-struck paladins from across the room as she stole the machine's weapon and used it as her own. She jumped on the machine, straddled it, and shocked it at the nape of its neck where it was weak. The machine goes on a fritz as Arcadia fries its hardware.

Arcadia jumped off the Gladiator and tossed the staff aside. She glanced at the paladins to see the shock written all over their faces. Allura smiled brightly at the girl. "Well done, Arcadia!"

The draconian was a little embarrassed as she saw everyone was staring at her in awe. "T-Thank you, Allura."

"That was amazing!" Pidge chanted, eyes sparkling in admiration.

"You were all like—wham! Bam! Boom!" Hunk mocked Arcadia's moves, waving his arms and legs around.

Lance's jaw was on the floor and Keith just continued to stare at Arcadia, both boys still stunned in silence. Shiro smiled. "That was impressive, Arcadia. We could use your skills on missions. I mean, you've already helped us, but I think we should make you officially a part of the team."

"You wouldn't think I'd be a liability?" Arcadia asked, surprised at Shiro's sudden proposal.

"There's no way any of us would think you were a liability."

Arcadia's eyes glistened. "I'd love to be a part of the team!"

"You've already been a part of this team, Arcadia," Pidge said.

Arcadia couldn't hide her excitement and hugged the person who was closest to her—Keith. The boy stiffened when he felt her arms wrap around his torso. His eyes were wide and his body was frozen in shock, but he didn't move. Arcadia's head rested against his chest plate, causing Keith's cheek to ignite with a bright red. Lance glared at the red paladin, who snapped out of his paralyzed state and fired back his own sharp glare.

The jealousy bubbling in Lance's blood caused the blue paladin the run over and join the hug. Keith's glare sharpened as he watched Lance wrap his arms around Arcadia. The Cuban boy's scowl turned into a triumphant grin as he saw Keith's own jealousy igniting in his lilac eyes. The other's saw the silent competition between the boys and Pidge decided to ruin it. She dashed over and hugged Arcadia, who was stuck between the feuding boys. She smirked menacingly at the two boys, proud of her interference.

The four broke away from each other and saw Allura had walked out during the hug. "Whelp, I'm starvin'. Let's go eat!" Hunk shouts.

<—————<<<<<<

"Ahoy, young paladins! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux!" Coran shouted joyfully as he served the paladins.

Shiro smiles at the altean. "Smells great, Coran. Thanks."

Arcadia stood behind the paladins and saw the grin festering on Coran's face. She frowned at him. "Coran, what're you up to?" The man pulled out a remote and all the paladins were handcuffed together.

Lance gasped. "Hold the phone!"

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

"Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing," Hunk said.

"This one's a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of yalmors!"

Arcadia listened as the boys and girl argued with one another. It brought a smile to her face as the bickering reminded her of a family. She glanced at Allura, who was eating with irritation etched all over her face. After more arguing, the princess snapped. "Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?"

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

Keith flew out of his chair. "Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like... like..."

"Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" Lance backed Keith up.

"Yes! Thank you, Lance!"

Arcadia couldn't believe her ears. "Oh, where's a video camera when you need one?"

"You do not yell at the princess!" Coran shouts.

"Oh, the princess of what?" Pidge sassed. "We're the only ones out here and she's no princess of ours!" Suddenly, she received a face full of food goo. Arcadia saw the culprit and was shocked at Allura's action.

"Go loose, Pidge!" Keith shouts, grabbing his own plate of food goo.

Allura gasped as she was about to be hit, but Coran dived in front of her and took the blow. The advisor threw a plate and Arcadia's eyes widened as it was flying directly at her. Before it hit, Keith used his body as a shield and ended up dragging Pidge and Lance with him.

"Oh, it's on now," Hunk declares, joining in on the food goo fight.

Arcadia dove under the table to protect herself from the green projectiles while laughing. She could hear the others' boisterous laughter. The food fight ended when Allura shouted at the top of her lungs. "Enough! Do you see what you're doing?" She then smiled. "You're finally working together as one!"

"Hey, she's right!" Keith said.

Lance looked at Keith. "I actually don't hate you right now."

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" The yellow paladin inquired.

"Let's go form Voltron!" Shiro declared

"Yeah!" All paladins shouted in unison.

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

Arcadia climbed out from under the table and followed Allura and Coran out of the castle. The three watched as all five paladins formed Voltron with ease. The princess smiled at the sight of the large mech. "I told you I could get them to do it. They just needed a common enemy."

"It's true. Like the old proverb says, "A man can be driven to do anything, if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him," Coran said.

Arcadia laughed and smiled. "I told you they could do it."

Allura beamed at her best friend. "I never doubted them, either."

<—————<<<<<<

"Man, that was cool! I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight," Lance said as he sat next to Hunk on the couch in the lounge area.

"Not me. When my head hits the pillow, I'm going to be lights out," Keith said.

Hunk wrapped his arms around the blue and red paladins, bringing them into a bone-crushing hug. "I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Voltron, we're brothers, man. You know? Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Brothers all the way. I love you guys."

"G-forces mess with your head a little bit?" Keith asked once he was released from the hug.

"Yeah, maybe a little. I don't know. It's been a tough few days."

Shiro glances at the green paladin when he realized she wasn't following him and the others. "Going to bed, Pidge?"

"In a minute," she smiled.

"Good work today. We're really coming together."

Arcadia remained in the lounge with Pidge and sat beside her. "Feeling better?"

"Much better thanks to you," Pidge turned her smile to Arcadia.

"I'm glad to hear that."

It grew silent between the two girl, the tension building. Pidge pushes past the sensation and glanced at the mice beside her. "I know you said you didn't want to talk about your race, but..."

"You're interested, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Pidge hopped up from the couch. "I tried looking up your race on my computer, but nothing showed up. Now, I'm even more curious."

"Well..." Arcadia started. "My people were descendants of the Celestial Dragon God, Aethios, which is why we are able to shift into the mythical beasts. Everyone on Draconia also practiced alchemy."

"Wait, does that mean you know magic?"

Arcadia nodded. "I do, but I haven't used a major spell since I was nine. I'm a little rusty."

"I do also have a couple of more question: how do you breathe and fly in space?"

"Ah, I use the gases available around me and manipulate them into air. That allows me to fly through space. And for your other question..." Arcadia pulled down the neckline of her outfit. Pidge gasped as he saw two slits that ran horizontally on both sides of her neck. "They're like... oh, what do you Earthlings call those creatures that swim underwater?"

"You mean fish?" Pidge asked.

"Yes!"

"So, they're like gills."

Arcadia nodded. "Exactly."

"Wow!"

The snowy-haired girl placed a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "Alright, I think that's enough for today. We should get some rest."

"Yeah," the small girl sighs. "You're right. 'Night, Arcadia."

"Goodnight, Pidge."