The healing pod opened with a low hiss. Arcadia's eyes fluttered open as she stumbled out of the pod. She managed to catch herself before she face-planted against the floor. Her vision slowly became clear, eyes scanning the med bay. Memories of her time aboard the galra ship resurfaced in her mind. Looking down, she realized she wasn't in her suit any longer. Departing the med bay, she groggily made it back to her room. She found her suit neatly folded up on her bed, which was most likely Allura's doing. She searched it for the chip and found it, sighing in relief.

Deciding to change into her casual attire, Arcadia places the chip on her dresser and grabbed her clothes. She went into the bathroom, ridded herself of the healing suit, and changed. As she went to the sink to straighten out her hair, her eyes widened when she saw two black inverted triangles under her eyes. Gasping, she tried to wipe them away but to no avail. That's when a bell went off in her head.

Lifting her shirt, she examined her back and saw the ancient script of Aethios, Draconia's god, inscribed on her back. It was only a small portion of the entire scripture that mentioned the birth of fire. Lowering her tunic shirt, she took a few deep breaths. "There's no way," she shook her head. "I-I can't become a master alchemist..."

Hearing a knock on her door, she heard Allura's voice. "Arcadia, how are you feeling?" The alchemist left the bathroom just as the door to her room slid open. There was no way she would be able to hide her face markings from the princess or anyone else aboard the ship. Before she could say anything to her best friend, she noticed the markings and gasped. "By the ancients, I've never seen those before."

"They appeared sometime while I was in the healing pod," Arcadia answered, trying to wipe the inverted triangles away a second time.

"What are these markings? Do you know?" Allura asked.

"They're markings of a master alchemist. That's how Draconia was able to locate the next twelve grand masters. Each generation, fifteen draconians were able to master alchemy. They were blessed by Aethios himself, but only twelve would be picked while the other three were...disposed of. Aethios' ancient scripture becomes inscribed in the flesh of an alchemist as they master each element."

Allura's eyes glistened with excitement. "Oh, how wonderful, Arcadia! I'm so proud of you!"

Arcadia only frowned. "I-I don't want to become a master alchemist!"

The princess was shocked to be yelled at by her. "Why not?"

She hung her head, a stray tear trailing down her cheek. "After mastering an element, a master alchemist's lifespan is reduced. And once I've mastered all six, I will only have a few years left to live. I-I don't want that."

Allura's eyes widened in horror. She couldn't possibly think about living without her best friend. "Th-Then don't master the elements. It is avoidable, correct?"

"If only it were that easy," Arcadia mumbled sorrowfully, more tears streaming down her face.

The princess cupped the girl's cheeks in her hands and wiped her tears away with a determined expression. "I refuse to lose you, Arcadia. You are a precious friend to me and I cannot imagine my life without you. I will find a way to reverse this. Maybe altean alchemy can help. Because of your training, I was able to activate the stone we found in Haggar's room. It will lead us to Oriande and I will find a way to save you. In the meantime, I won't speak a word of this to the others. We will simply sugarcoat it as our paladins like to say."

Arcadia nodded, feeling her own determination bloom inside her. She wouldn't let becoming a master alchemist get in her way. If becoming a master alchemist could help Voltron, she wouldn't argue with a god.

After Allura finished wiping away Arcadia's tears, the two headed to the bridge where the paladins, Coran, and Lotor were waiting for them. When Pidge saw Arcadia, she launched herself at her and wound her arms around her. "You're okay!"

The draconian smiled softly, winding her arms around the green paladin. "I feel amazing! Sorry to have worried you and the others."

Pidge looked up, noticing the black marks on her face. "Hey, you've got a little something on your face."

She was determined to keep her spirits up. She nor Allura would give up until they found a way to reverse the effects of becoming a master alchemist.  "Those, my dear Pidge, are mastery marks. They appear on my people when one masters alchemy. I haven't mastered all the elements, but I am by definition a master alchemist."

"That's so cool!" Pidge chanted, pulling away from her.

"It kinda reminds me of a cartoon from Earth. Oh, what was it called?" Hunk tapped his chin repeatedly, trying to search his memory. However, nothing came to mind. "I forget. Oh, well."

Arcadia glanced at Allura, steering the conversation elsewhere. "Didn't you say something about a stone and Oriande?"

"Oh, yes!" The princess revealed the stone to everyone, telling them what it did.

Pidge adjusted her glasses while analyzing the stone's appearance after Allura explained its function. "So, this magic rock is gonna guide us to a mysterious planet?"

"A land known as Oriande," Lotor clarified.

Coran started chuckling at hearing the name. "I'm afraid someone's been ruggling your wimble, Prince Lotor. Oriande is just an altean folktale. It doesn't actually exist."

"That's what I thought, Coran, but now, I have a feeling it is quite real," Allura said.

"It is the birthplace of all altean alchemy," Lotor explained. "The place where King Alfor learned the secrets that helped him create Voltron and where Allura will master those same secrets so that my ships may enter the quintessence field."

"And what makes you the authority on crazy altean nonsense?" Lance sassily asked before jabbing his thumb in the royal advisor's direction. "Coran knows more magic made-up gobbledygook than anyone I've ever met. And don't forget, we already have an alchemist! She's standing right there! She already knows how to wiggle her fingers and do all sorts of crazy things!" He shouted, pointing at Arcadia.

"Thank you, Lance," Coran smiled, believing Lance was trying to compliment him. "And I can assure you, King Alfor never mentioned anything to me about traveling to Oriande."

"In all likelihood, he kept it a secret from everyone.
I have been researching Oriande for centuries, hoping to learn more about my altean ancestry.
Over time, I've managed to gather evidence from all over the universe that hinted at its existence. Now, thanks to Princess Allura, I will finally gaze upon its magnificence with my own eyes," Lotor said, earning a smile from the princess.

"I was only able to do so because of Arcadia's training. Although we are of different people and our alchemy is quite different, what she taught me is the only reason I was able to activate the stone," Allura said, casting her smile in the draconian's direction. "She also deserves gratitude."

Lotor turned his attention to the golden-eyed girl. "Then I thank you as well, Arcadia."

Before said girl could reply, Hunk raised his hand and interrupted. "Uh, aren't you a little busy running your empire to take a magical vacation?"

Pidge, with an unamused expression, sighed as Lotor spoke up. "In order to transition the galra empire to a peaceful existence, I need to open up a pathway to the quintessence field. Once my people have access to unlimited energy, the old ways of the empire will be behind them."

Allura glanced down at the stone for a split second before raising her head. "If this voyage is successful, the universe will finally be on the path to peace."

"Well, let's find out where we're going," Shiro said.

Everyone took a couple steps back as the princess activated the stone. Focusing her energy into the stone, it started to radiate a brilliant blue. Altean symbols were projected from the stone, showing them the location of Oriande. Allura saw the three planets surrounding the mysterious realm. "There, between those three celestial bodies. That's where we're headed."

Arcadia eyed the celestial map suspiciously. "Wait, isn't that...?"

"It is!" Coran gasped. "That's the Patrulian Zone."

Lance glanced between the advisor and alchemist. "The what now?"

"The Patrulian Zone is a mysterious part of space where ships enter and are never heard from again."

"It's similar in concept to Earth's Bermuda Triangle," Arcadia added to simplify the explanation. "You could say the Patrulian Zone is the space equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle."

Pidge began laughing. "I can't believe you know about the Bermuda Triangle, but not a piñata!"

"I may have picked up a book explaining some of the mysterious places located on your planet."

Coran dismissed the girls' conversation and addressed Allura worriedly. "Princess, that area has been deemed unsafe to navigate for ages."

"The perfect place to hide a magical world," Lotor remarked.

"Or to crash and die," Pidge commented.

Allura was silent for a few seconds before making the final call. "We will approach with caution. Prepare our course, Coran."

Coran's eyes widen in surprise at her decision. Knowing he was in no position to argue, he reluctantly agreed. "Yes, Princess."

Shiro, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge took their seats while Allura stood at the helm. Coran plotted their course with Lotor standing not too far away from the central platform. Arcadia stood near Pidge, watching as the wormhole formed. Her attention was drawn to the green paladin when she asked, "So, did your people have a crazy tale like Oriande?"

"About a mysterious realm that possesses the secrets to draconic alchemy?"

"Yeah!"

"No."

"Oh..."

Arcadia chuckled faintly at her disappointment. "Sorry to disappoint you, Pidge. Unlike altean alchemy, draconic alchemy was widespread and all draconians knew how to wield it after a few lessons. My people believed Aethios blessed us with our strong bond to the elements as a way to share it with the rest of the universe. I wish I would've lived in the age where Draconia was peaceful and interacted with other species across the universe."

"But then you would've never met us," Pidge remarked.

Arcadia thought for a second before smiling. "Very true. Even with the destruction on my planet, I've met the most wondrous people and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the entire universe. You all are the family I've so desperately wanted in my entire lifetime."

Pidge beamed up at her. "As Hunk would say, we love you, space dragon."

"I love you all as well," she replied, her smile spreading.

The castleship traveled through the wormhole. It popped out the other side only a few seconds later. Coran announced their arrival. "We're approaching the Patrulian Zone."

Shiro noticed the many objects floating haphazardly around and wondered what it was. "What's that up ahead? An asteroid belt?"

"No," the advisor replied solemnly. "It's a graveyard."

The ship flew by the wreckage of many other vessels that suffered the fate of those who entered the Patrulian Zone. There were no corpses, only the remains of ships. Coran carefully guided the castleship forward to avoid hitting the floating debris.

"What caused them all to lose power?" Hunk asked, eyes focused on a ship with shattered glass and an empty cockpit.

"No one knows," Coran answered.

Pidge scanned the area, eyes widening when detecting what could've possibly caused all the ships to be destroyed. "I think we just found out."

The castleship drifted upward above the ship graveyard. In the distance, they saw a swirling mass of white. It was bright and debris from ships swirled around it.

Coran gasps and Lance stood up, wondering what it could possibly be. "Is that some kind of super massive star?"

"No," Pidge glanced down at the readings on her screen. "Unbelievable! It's a white hole!"

"Whoa! Take that, theoretical physics!" Hunk cheered. 

"Wait, what's a white hole?" Lance inquired.

Pidge did her best to explain it simply. "Well, unlike a black hole, which has massive gravity that sucks everything in, a white hole is an opposite body that shoots massive amounts of energy out from an unknown source."

"It's blasting this whole area with crazy high radiation," Hunk added.

"The energy must've fried those ships' systems," Shiro said.

Lotor started reciting an old altean verse. "The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned on the pyre. The mystic becomes one with the flame, the embers and he are the same."

Lance glanced at him in confusion. "Is that, like, a song you're working on? 'Cause it sucks."

"It's a poem by an ancient altean alchemist. I discovered it carved next to a cave painting of a fiery sphere. I never realized until now that it describes the route to Oriande." Lotor turned his attention to Allura. "We must go into the white hole."

Hunk slinked out of his seat with his hand raised. "Are you guys serious? We're navigating by cave poetry now?"

"How are we to go through the white hole? If we get closer, we're gonna end up like those dead ships there," Pidge said.

Allura stared at the white hole with a determined expression. "We wormhole inside."

"What?" Arcadia gasped. "That's—!" Suddenly, she felt something running from her nose. She wiped it away and saw it was blood. "Another nose bleed..."

"Are you okay?" Lance asked.

"Becoming a master alchemist is a...somewhat painful process, but I don't believe that's what's causing the nose bleed."

"It's possible your body is reacting to the massive amounts of energy the white hole is exerting," Pidge stated.

"Don't worry about me." Arcadia wiped more blood from her nose. "Are you sure about your plan, Allura?"

"Voltron can withstand forces other ships cannot," the princess replied.

"Are you sure?" Shiro asked as he leapt from his seat.

"If this is the home of Altean alchemy, then Voltron will make it through."

Lance voices his concerns. "And what if it's just another nuclear explosion in space? Then we're toast."

Coran was the next to speak up. "Princess, I think you've taken this quest far enough. Lotor is sending you to your doom."

"Quite the opposite," Lotor responded. "It is a mission of life discovery."

The red paladin lashed out at him. "You need to zip it!"

"Believe me, I would never ask any of you to do this if I didn't know if I didn't feel in my heart that it is true. I belong here," Allura remarked, eyes zeroed in on the white hole.

Arcadia turned her attention away from the white hole to Shiro. "Will you be needing my assistance?"

He shook his head. "No. I would feel better knowing you were here. If you're only experiencing a nose bleed this close, I can't even imagine what you'll experience being inside the white hole."

"Understood."

The castleship drifted a little closer to the white hole before Pidge spoke up. "This is as far as we can go. Any further and we'll be affected by the Patrulian Zone's radiation."

The paladins left the bridge and headed to their lions. Arcadia stood between Coran and Lotor, watching as the lions formed Voltron once they exited their hangars. When the mighty defender was intact, Shiro contacted the castleship. "All right, Coran, open up a wormhole."

The three heard Lance sigh as the wormhole formed. "Well, let's fly into the cosmic death storm."

Coran, Lotor, and Arcadia couldn't see that well into the wormhole, but they were able to see Voltron soar into the white hole. They watched the defender engage its thrusters to push against the force of the energy pulsating from the white hole. What startled them was hearing a loud roar from the comms. It wasn't one of the mechanical felines but from something else. They were all puzzled until they saw Voltron being blasted back.

"What's going on?" Arcadia asked over comms.

"A lion's shooting lasers at us!" Hunk wailed.

"Lion?"

"Fire lasers!" Shiro shouted.

She heard the laser fire and then Lance started yelling, "There's nothing to hit!"

Arcadia, Lotor, and Coran heard another laser fire and the painful screams of the paladins. The royal advisor grabbed the alchemist by her shoulders, spun her body around, and pushed her towards Lotor as he used her as a shield. "What have you done?!" He wailed.

"Coran, what're you—?" That's when Arcadia took notice of the marks glowing on Lotor's face. "Lotor, you have altean markings?"

"And they're glowing," Coran added.

Lotor glanced between the two before touching his face. He could feel the warmth radiating from his markings. "The Mark of the Chosen," he muttered.

"What?"

Lotor immediately contacted the paladins. "You need to get out of there! That thing is a guardian! It will only allow worthy alteans through."

"Oh, thanks for the tip!" Lance shouted angrily.

"Pull back!" Shiro commanded.

Voltron turned around and flew back to the wormhole. It dodged a laser from the guardian, hitting the castleship instead. It pierced through the particle barrier and skimmed the underside of the ship. The trio inside gripped the main console to avoid losing their balance as the entire castleship shook from the impact. Coran looked up at the screen and noticed they were losing power. "All systems shutting down!" A red light blinked as an alarm was triggered. "Our stabilizers aren't working! We're listing into the graveyard!"

"We've lost contact with the paladins. I'm heading out to see if they need help. Coran, think you can restore the power?" Arcadia asked.

"I will do my best!" He shouted, immediately getting to work.

The draconian ran out of the bridge and to the nearest exit. She transformed the moment she left the castleship and flew towards the lions. Each one was floating aimlessly through space, ramming into debris. As she flew closer, she called out to the paladins. "Shiro? Allura? Anyone?"

"Space dragon's here to save the day!" Hunk cheered over comms.

"Are the lions operational?"

"No," Lance groaned.

"Everyone, prepare for a manual EVA. Rendezvous back at the castle," Shiro ordered. "Arcadia, can you handle the lions?"

"Leave them to me. You all just focus on returning to the castle," she said, flying towards the yellow lion. She watched the paladins exit their lions and use their jetpacks to fly over to the castle. Using her large body, although smaller than the lions, she propelled the yellow lion back to the castle and safely into its hangar. She did the same for all the lions before returning to the castle to hear what was their next course of action.

The moment Arcadia entered the bridge, Lance stood in front of her. His cerulean eyes raked across her form. "Are you gonna start glowing anywhere? I mean, your eyes already kinda glow, but are your marks gonna start lighting up too? Are you a glow stick just like Allura and Lotor?"

"My marks aren't altean, they're draconic. They will only glow when I use magic," she answered. "And I have no clue what a "glow stick" is." Grabbing him by the shoulders, she maneuvered his body out of her way to join the others.

"So, what do we do now?" Hunk asked.

"Allura and I need to enter the white hole alone," Lotor responded.

"What?!" Lance bellowed.

"Absolutely not!" Coran hollered. "What about the monster?"

"The monster is a guard keeping the unworthy out. It won't hurt us," Lotor calmly replied.

Lance was still unconvinced, his voice becoming laced with anger. "Yeah, and before, you thought it wasn't going to hurt us!"

"How are you gonna get there?" Pidge inquired. "We're stuck."

"We can use the personal transport crafts," Allura said.

Coran started to plead with the princess, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Allura, please! It's too dangerous." He then looked over to the alchemist. "Arcadia, say something! She will listen to you!"

All eyes fell on Arcadia. She frowned, having difficulty sorting through her thoughts and emotions. They were torn in different directions. Taking a deep breath, she expressed her opinion. "Allura, I know how desperate you've been seeking alchemic knowledge from your people. Learning altean alchemy has been one of your dreams since you were a child. I too once eagerly wanted to learn draconic alchemy when I was merely a toddler. And now, I've become a master alchemist."

Allura's eyes widen. "Arcadia, are you...?"

"Yes, I want you to go so you can fulfill your dream. Although I wish it was with any other person in the universe besides Lotor, I won't stand in your way."

The princess smiled gratefully before walking over to hug her best friend. "Thank you."

"Just promise to come back safely."

"I will."

The two girls pull away from each other. At that moment, Lance expressed his shock. "Arcadia, don't tell me you're going to cave in on this!"

"Lance, that's enough," Shiro commanded in a gentle tone. "The ship is stuck unless the princess can somehow get it restarted."

"Not even my lightning could bring the entire ship back online," Arcadia said.

Allura smiled reassuringly at Lance. "Don't worry. This will work. I can feel it."

Gathered around the main console, everyone watched Lotor and Allura leave the castleship via two personal transport crafts. Their figures eventually vanished into the distance and the comms went silent, static fizzling through the ship's main console.

Lance worriedly eyed the white hole. "Did they make it in?"

"I don't know," Coran replied. "I can't get any readings beyond the edge of the white hole."

"We'll just have to wait," Shiro said.

Arcadia glowered at the direction Lotor and Allura vanished in. "If Lotor doesn't come back with Allura, I'm turning him into a chew toy."

"Can I watch?" Pidge asked.

"I would love an audience. The more, the merrier."

"Yes!"

"While we wait, let's see if we can get the ship up and running," Coran said.

They departed from the bridge and headed to the central power chamber. There, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran worked on the console to try and reboot the ship's power. Lance sat by the console, impatiently wiggling his leg. Arcadia and Shiro stood back to keep from getting in the way. The green paladin was underneath the console, fiddling away with the many wires tucked underneath. She messed with a few and asked, "Anything?"

Hunk examined the console and saw it was still disabled. "No."

"What's happening? What do you think they're doing now?" Lance questioned, his anxiety growing by the second.

"Now?" Pidge asked.

"Yes," he replied, not realizing she wasn't asking him.

"No," Coran said.

"Wait, what?" Lance was confused from hearing two answers.

"We're not talking to you, Lance," Pidge snapped. "Is this doing anything?"

The red paladin continued to throw out more questions. "Do you think she's all right? I mean, will they be able to get back?"

"I don't think so," Hunk said, checking on the console.

Lance, once again, thought he was talking to him. He slammed his hands against the top of the console and eyed the yellow paladin. "You don't?"

Pidge was becoming irritated with Lance and groaned. "He's not talking to you."

"Well, excuse me for being concerned!"

Ignoring his outburst, the green paladin called out to the royal advisor. "Coran, try to fire the chargers."

Coran connected the two wires, resulting in nothing. Lance sauntered by with his hands on his hips towards Arcadia and Shiro. "It's just nerve-racking waiting for Allura to get back."

"I'm afraid they're dead," Coran informed Pidge.

Like before, Lance thought he was talking to him and freaked out. "What?!"

"Okay!" Arcadia could tell Pidge was ready to pounce on Lance and stepped in. She grabbed the red paladin's arm and tugged him towards the door. "I think we need to take a little walk. Would you like to join us, Shiro?"

"Sure," Shiro replied.

"Thank you, Arcadia!" Pidge shouted as the three left.

In the hallway, Arcadia released Lance. She and Shiro watched the brunette pace back and forth before leaning his head against the wall with a heavy sigh. "It's okay, Shiro, Arcadia. I'll be quiet. You guys don't have to babysit me."

"Lance, let me ask you something," Shiro spoke up. "Do you remember, on Olkarion, how you asked me about talking to you from inside Voltron?"

Wide-eyed, Lance turned around to face the older boy. "Yeah."

"Wait," Arcadia intervened, intrigued by the revelation. "What exactly are you referring to, Shiro?"

"Oh, right," Shiro said. "We never told you what happened. Well, long story short, we all had to tap into the quantum energy of Voltron to defeat that monster. After that, it went dark and I can't remember any of it."

Arcadia met Lance's wide-eyed gaze while he still focused on Shiro. "What did happen there, Lance?"

"We were all in some kind of mystical Voltron mindspace, and you were yelling something, but I couldn't hear you. Are you okay?" He asked.

Shiro sighed, hanging his head with closed eyes. I—I don't know. My head..." He opened his eyes. "I'm just... I'm feeling so confused. It's like—"

"What?"

"Like I'm not myself," Shiro replied worriedly.

Arcadia stepped in. "How long have you felt this way, Shiro?"

He turned his attention to her. "Ever since I came back. Something feels...off, and I can't put my finger on it."

She crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly while she thought out loud. "The black lion has also been acting strange ever since you returned to being his paladin. I'm not pointing fingers, but there's a possibility your confusion might be affecting Black. He's been rather rowdy and incomprehensible lately. When I tried to speak with him directly, he wouldn't talk. I'm not sure what's going on, but I want to help."

"It's probably just lack of oxygen," Lance said, trying not to worry Shiro. "You should sit down. We'll get through this."

Arcadia watched the two sit down before sitting on her knees in front of Shiro. She scooted closer until she was positioned between his legs. "Would you be okay with a quick healing session?"

"Go right ahead," Shiro responded.

She reached both hands out and placed them on either side of his head. Concentrating, she closed her eyes and used her healing alchemy. Halfway through the session, images of the black lion flashed through her mind. She could hear Shiro's voice, begging her for help as a searing pain surged through her head that caused her to whimper. Her eyes flew open, gasping like she'd been holding her breath for a long time.

Her body fell back, but it didn't hit the floor. Instead, she collapsed against Lance's chest. He had maneuvered himself behind her after hearing her painful whimper. He supported her shaking body, concern etched across his face. "H-Hey, are you okay?"

She could still feel the pain in her head, but it wasn't as painful as it was a few seconds ago. "Y-Yeah..."

Shiro sat up on one knee, wearing the same worried expression that Lance was. "What happened, Arcadia? You saw something, didn't you?"

"Images of the black lion flashed through my head. I-I also heard your voice, begging me for help. I'm not sure what to make of it, though..."

"As long as you're okay," he smiled.

With Lance's help, Arcadia was able to get back on her feet. She thanked him, smiling. Then, their attention was drawn to the door as it slid open. A defeated Hunk, Pidge, and Coran shuffled out of the room with groans. Telling them they failed, everyone headed back to the bridge. The oxygen levels were low and only the paladins and Coran were suffering. They all collapsed on the floor of the bridge while Arcadia maneuvered around their bodies and searched for a way to help her friends.

Lance watched her prowl around the room with no problem whatsoever. "How...is she...okay?"

"Draconians have two...sets of lungs..." Pidge began to explain between breaths. "One set is...for oxygen. The other...is for...converting other elements...into oxygen. That's how...she can...breathe in space..."

"That's...pretty cool," Hunk managed to say. "Then again...space dragon has...always been cool..."

The alarms suddenly began blaring and the computer notified them of the amount of oxygen remaining. "Oxygen levels—5%."

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

"We've tried everything," Hunk stated. "I don't think I can keep moving."

Lance, who'd been staring at the computer screen, points at it. "Guys, look! It's Allu..." His voice trailed off due to the lack of oxygen.

Arcadia glances at the computer screen as it continued to rapidly beep. She saw Lotor and Allura returning to the castle. She stepped away from the computer the moment they arrived in the bridge.

Seeing the barely conscious Coran and paladins, Allura quickly took her place on the middle platform and reactivated the castleship. Now, the oxygen was flowing again to all parts of the ship.

"You did it!" Coran weakly cheered, hunched over and exhausted from the lack of oxygen.

"We... We should have never doubted you." Lance managed to get off the floor by using the royal advisor as a crutch.

"I couldn't have done it without Lotor." Allura looked behind her at him with a smile.

Her joyous smile was contagious as Lotor began smiling himself. "You are a true altean alchemist. Oriande was for you, not for me."

"So, what's the next step?" Pidge asked.

"Slow down, Pidge," Lance groaned. "We just started breathing again."

"Before we make any more plans, may I examine the chip I found in Haggar's room?" Arcadia asked.

"I don't see why not," Allura answered.

The draconian ran back to her room, grabbed the chip off her dresser, and returned to the bridge. She handed it to Coran, who placed it in the main console. Arcadia eagerly stood next to him as he accessed the information stored on it. Draconic symbols appeared on the computer's screen, seeming to be digital diary entries.

"Aw, I can't read that!" Lance whined. "Looks like a bunch of mumbo jumbo..."

"The symbols look like fancy cinnamon rolls," Hunk said, his mouth beginning to water. "Mmm, cinnamon rolls."

Arcadia ignored the two and read each entry closely. Her heart was beginning to pick up in speed when she got deeper into the diary. Her eyes were slowly widening, showing an expression of horror. After reading the final entry, she weakly stumbled back with a gasp. "N-No, this can't be..."

"What's wrong?" Pidge asked.

"Master Zenio is alive and he's...working with Haggar."