The Lion zooms towards the teal and green planet, burning through the atmosphere. Everyone leans in close to me due to the inertia of the falling Lion. "Guys, personal space! Hunk, your breath is killing me."

"Um, is it just me, or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying away through a mysterious wormhole?" Hunk polls. "Why are we listening to a robotic Lion, anyway?"

"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance quips.

"I don't know if you noticed, but we're in an alien warship," Keith snarks.

"Oh," I mock, "are you scared?"

"With you at the helm... Actually, not really." Keith quirks a brow in confusion.

"All right, you two," Shiro chastises, "none of us are happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

Pidge looks at Shiro. "So, what do we do?"

"First, we find out where we're headed. Lance, (Y/N)?"

"No, sorry, Shiro," Lance apologizes.

"I don't know, either." Everyone glares at me. "I'm sorry! The Lion's not talking to me anymore! Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh, listen!" There's a high-pitched noise that barely breaks the silence in the Lion. "I think I hear something."

Keith pipes up, "I hear it, too."

"It's, uh—It's kind of a—a high-pitched squeal?" Hunk says, confused. Suddenly, everyone draws away from me, disgusted at the foul stench I just created.

"But, seriously, though. There's a castle up ahead," I inform.

The castle isn't like castles on Earth; instead, it has spires rising directly from the ground. It's a brilliant white that shimmers in the sunlight, with blue markings on the central spire. A beam of light flashes on the tallest spire as the Lion pulls up to the castle to land. The blue parts of the spires glow as I set the Lion down before a massive door.

I gasp. "Arus."

"Keep your guard up," Shiro warns.

"Something wrong?" Pidge asks.

"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not gonna let it happen again," he declares.

My heart flips inside my chest. Shiro always cared about others. It's why I fell for him in the first place.

As my team leaves the Lion, I gaze at my surroundings in wonder. They feel familiar, though I don't know why. I've never been here, and I haven't seen pictures of this place. But I feel connected to this place somehow.

The Lion abruptly lifts its head, startling my friends, and roars loudly. The castle door opens, and I stare, confused.

"Oh," Hunk whimpers. "The door is open. Guess I was wrong about you."

I shrug and dash inside, laughing like a child. The lights are off, but I don't care.

"Helloooooooo!" Hunk calls. I giggle at him, and he flushes slightly.

"From the size of the Lion, I expected these steps to be bigger," Pidge comments.

I'm suddenly bathed in blue light. What is it with all this?! Seriously! "Hold for identity scan," an automated voice says. A ray of light flashes up my body, tickling me slightly. I feel safe and at home.

"What?" Pidge pipes.

"Why are we here?" Shiro demands. "What do you want with us?"

I put a hand on Shiro's shoulder. "Shiro, it's okay."

"How do you know for sure?" Keith asks skeptically.

"Because I know this place," I say. "I don't know how, but I do. We won't be harmed."

Light suddenly fills the hall where I stand. Pidge and Lance let off a 'whoa' in awe. It illuminates a hallway directly across from where I'm standing.

"I guess we're going that way," Pidge says.

"Yup, you guess correctly," I say. I take off up the stairs, following the lights. I feel an instinct, a force calling me to itself. It's so strong I don't hear the others yelling my name.

I burst into a large room that lights up when I enter. I run to the computer and press buttons, not necessarily knowing what I'm doing.

The others come in behind me. "(Y/N)! What are you doing?!" Shiro asks.

"I don't know," I state calmly. "But just trust me for a minute."

"Where are we?" Lance asks.

Pidge looks at another computer across the room. "It's some kind of control room."

Two large vertical pods rise from the floor. I approach the first one. It opens with a flash of light, revealing a girl inside. She startles awake. "Father!" She begins to tilt forward. I jump out of my trance and catch her before Lance does.

"Hey! I was gonna catch her," Lance whines.

"No, you were gonna flirt with her. No one deserves that kind of wake-up call," I argue.

The girl looks at me, much bewildered. I hold her arms so that she can regain her balance. Her dark skin contrasts with the light colors of her pink dress. Her hair is shiny silver.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior," I say. "There are times when I wonder if he has the manners of a child."

"Who are you?" the girl breathes. "Where am I?"

"My name is (Y/N)." I smile softly at her. "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Princess Allura."

'Wait, how did I know that?'

"How do you know my name?" she asks, her eyes widening.

I falter. "I-I don't know."

"Where is my father?" she inquires.

"Sorry, princess. I don't know that, either. A blue Lion brought us here. That's about the extent that any of us knows." I shake my head sadly.

"How do you have the Blue Lion?" she demands. "What happened to its paladin? What are you all doing here, aside from (Y/N)? Unless... How long has it been?"

"We don't know what you're talking about. Maybe we can help," Shiro offers.

"I don't think so. I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep," Allura says to herself. She turns on one of the podiums.

"Okay, that's how that works," Pidge says, her internal question finally answered. The other sleep pod opens, and a man with fiery orange hair and a mustache stumbles out. He freaks out.

"Enemy combatants!" he yelps. He jumps at Lance, who side-steps the lousy shot. The man nearly topples over. "Quiznak! You're lucky I have a case of the old 'sleep chamber knees.' Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this, wrap you up like so, and—one, two, three—" He snaps his fingers. "Sleepy-time!"

"Well, before you did that I'd—" Lance performs a series of poorly executed martial arts moves. "Like that."

"Oh, really?" the man shouts. "Well, how could you do that when I've already come at you with this!" He jabs the air a few times.

"Man, these guys are good," Hunk comments. I roll my eyes and sigh dramatically.

The computer beeps at Allura. "It can't be!" she exclaims.

"What is it?" the man asks, dropping his fake fight with Lance.

"We've been asleep for 10,000 years!" Allura zones out for a second, remembering what had happened. "Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed." She turns to the man. "Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization." Her eyes narrow. "Zarkon."

Shiro gasps at the name. "Zarkon?"

"He was the king of the Galra," Allura explains. "A vile creature and enemy to all free people!"

"I remember now." Shiro closes his eyes at the memory. I touch his shoulder comfortingly. "I was his prisoner."

"He's still alive?" Allura cries in disbelief. "Impossible!"

"I can't explain it, but it's true," Shiro says. "He's searching for a superweapon called Voltron."

"He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does." Allura turns her focus to the computer again.

Pidge walks up beside me. "How did you know that chick's name?"

"I don't know. It just seemed right coming out of my mouth," I reply.

"Is that how you knew what to do when we got here?" Lance pries.

"I-I don't know! It was just my gut, and I follow my gut, not my head. I'm pretty sure it's gonna get me killed one of these days."

"Princess, you must eat," Coran urges, a hovering plate of food near him. "It's been 10,000 years!"

"I'm not hungry," Allura says, her attention still on the computer.

"Man, 10,000 years?" Lance exclaims. "That's like a thousand plus ten."

"That's times ten," Keith corrects.

"Whatever, dropout," Lance snarls. What is going on between those two?

"Uh, Lance, he's correct. It's times ten, and I'm no dropout," I say.

"I bet I could get you to drop out, if you spend the night with me," Lance smirks.

I flush, getting what he's hinting. "I think I'll pass. I kinda like to not have to parent anybody, and I already have to parent you."

Keith smirks at Lance, who glares at me.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast, and I'm starving," Hunk complains.

"Yeah," Pidge says, "but you've thrown up, like, five times."

"Hm, good point," Hunk notes, digging into the plate of green jiggly goo. He sticks his tongue out in disgust, but he continues eating it anyway.

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago," Shiro declares. "It must have been an incredible place."

"Yes, it was," Coran says sadly. "But now it is gone, and we're the only Alteans alive."

Coran hugs Allura, and she throws her arms around him, weeping into his shoulder. Squeaking noises resonate from one of the pods. I dash over to it. Four mice stand inside the pod, and they wave at me. I chuckle.

"You're wrong." I pick up the mice. They run onto my shoulders. "Looks like you're not the last ones after all."

An alarm blares in the room, and Allura runs back to the computer. Coran shouts, "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!"

"How did they find us?!" Allura cries.

"I'm not sure, but I bet it's Keith's fault," Lance mutters.

"Say whatever you gotta say to make myself feel better," Keith grumbles back, "after getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!"

"That was (Y/N)'s fault! And if you insult her again, I'll stick you in a wormhole!"

"Hey! Leave me out of this! I was doing what the Lion and you guys told me to do!" I shout, joining the fray.

"Stow it, cadets!" Shiro yells, halting my argument. "This is no time to place blame! It's time to work as a team! How long before they arrive?"

Coran counts on his fingers. "At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two... I'd say, probably a couple of days."

"Good. Let them come!" Allura states, determination rising in her voice. "By the time they get here, you will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire."

"Yeah! High-fives for everybody!" I cheer, putting up my hands for a high-five. "Oh, come on, guys! Don't leave me hanging!"

"Princess, there are five of these Lions," Shiro says. "How are we going to find the rest?"

The mice jump from my shoulders to the ground and run off. I chase them, and they lead me to a much larger room. Allura bursts in behind me, as do the others. Lance pants melodramatically.

"(Y/N)... You've... really gotta... stop... running... off... like that," he complains, panting harshly and falling over.

Allura steps onto the podium in the center of the room and is suddenly bathed in blue light. She has her eyes closed like she's concentrating or even meditating.

"SERIOUSLY!! WHAT IS WITH THE COLOR BLUE?! IS IT LIKE YOU GUYS'S FAVORITE COLOR OR SOMETHING??!!" I bellow. Everyone stares at me for my sudden outburst, but they ignore it because that's just how I am.

"Blue is a natural Altean color. We used it in everything," Coran explains. He turns it back to the topic. "King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force. She alone is the key to the Lions' whereabouts."

Allura opens her eyes. A holographic map of the universe spreads across the room, like the map in Treasure Planet. We all let off a resounding "Whoa."

"These are coordinates," Pidge exclaims, watching the holographic Lions float by. "The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion."

"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage!" Coran praises.

Allura smiles softly. "Very observant. That's because the Black Lion is in the castle."

"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands," Coran says, "King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other four Lions are present."

"As you have found," Allura continues, "the Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and can not be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain."

Allura summons the Black Lion's hologram. "The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion."

Allura turned the map to find the Green Lion. "The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring."

"So, definitely not Lance," I tease. Lance glares at me, and Shiro does as well. Keith lets off a small laugh.

"No, not Lance," Allura says. "Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion." Pidge's eyes sparkle in curiosity.

"The Blue Lion—"

"Hold up, takes the most handsome/best pilot of the bunch?" Lance interrupts. I punch his shoulder. "Ow."

Allura's face holds no amusement, only a confused frown.

"Don't answer that, Allura," I say.

Allura nods and heeds my advice. "The Yellow Lion," she says, completely ignoring Lance, "is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift up the team and hold them together."

The Yellow Lion's hologram floats before Hunk's nose. He watches it with wonder and points to himself in bewilderment as Allura speaks.

"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others but also more unstable. Its pilot needs someone who relies more on instinct than skill alone," Allura adds.

"It's probably (Y/N)," Lance whispers.

"Keith, you will pilot the Red Lion," Allura announces.

"What?" Lance cries sarcastically. "This guy?" My annoyance with Lance flares a little.

"Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Lion's coordinates yet," Allura states. "There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it might need some work."

"Don't worry," Coran consoles. "We'll find it soon. They don't call me the 'Coranic' for nothing." We all stare at the mustached man. "It's because it sounds like 'mechanic'. So, Coranic, mechanic. It's not—It doesn't sound exactly like it. It's similar."

"(Y/N), you confuse me," Allura says. "I'm not entirely sure why you're here. I know you're supposed to be here because you passed the identity scan that King Alfor installed in the castle. If you were not supposed to be here, you probably would have been destroyed."

"Eh, little harsh much?" I snark.

"It was for safety reasons!" Coran shouts, me backing away in surprise.

"But I haven't seen anything that really connects you with the others. There isn't a sixth Lion, and I don't sense any other connection to the Lions within you," Allura states, quirking a brow. "So let me ask you, how did you know my name? How did you know what to do to free me from the cryo-pods? How did you even get here?"

"I..." I ponder what she said. How did I pilot the Blue Lion if a Lion could only have one pilot, and it had bonded with Lance? "I-I don't know. It was really all instinct, I swear. I don't know how I knew your name, I don't know what I was doing while I was freeing you, and I don't know why the Blue Lion let me pilot it when it had already bonded with Lance."

"You truly have no idea?" questions Allura, shock wavering in her tone.

"No."

"This is more profound than I thought."

"You think this is profound? It's more like crazy in my book, and I'm the living definition of crazy." I cross my arms.

The holographic Lions roar and fly to the center of the room in a massive display of color, forming Voltron in the middle of the room.

"Once all the Lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe," Allura says inspirationally to the others, who 'ooh' and 'ah' in amazement.

"Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying Lions. Got that part. How do Lions turn into legs?" Hunk begins to bombard them with questions. "Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"

"We don't have much time," Shiro desperately states. "Pidge and I will go get the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one. Keith, (Y/N), you two stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it."

"In the meantime," Allura says, "I'll get the castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed."

"I'll ready a pod," Coran adds, "and load the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion."

As the groups make their way into space in their flight crafts, Allura stands in the control room, watching as two polls rise from the podium she stood on before. She places her hands on them, and they glow an iridescent blue. She closes her eyes.

"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other Lions open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quick about your work," Coran says through the com-link. "The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out your lives. Well, enjoy the trip!"

The others' distressed complaints can be heard even through the quieter comm headpieces. After the ships are sucked into the wormholes, I turn to Keith. "Well, now what?" I ask.

Keith shrugs. "We don't really have that much to do..."

I stroke my chin thoughtfully. "Coran?" The engineer turns to me. "Do you think it may be safe to go outside? I need some air."

"Well, for a few minutes possibly. Why not?" Coran says.

"Thanks!" Grabbing my backpack, I find my way outside. The wind blows through my hair, caressing my face. I breathe in the cool, refreshing breeze and sit on the grass. I pull my phone and headphones that Pidge had left with me out of my backpack. I put them on, tuning out the world. Propping my head on my bag, I stare up at the clouds floating gracefully across the sky. Allura's questions pound in my mind, but I push them away. My eyes flutter closed as waves of sleep crash over me.

I find myself on a grassland, standing among sheaves of grass that come to my waist. Trees are scattered few and far between, and desert birds let off chilling cries. The sky is clear, and a gentle breeze races playfully through the grass. 'How peaceful,' I think.

Yet, where there is peace...

There is usually strife that follows.

A growl resonates from the clumps of dirt behind me. I whirl at the sound but don't see anything. Shrugging, I walk through the pasture, taking in the new sights. Images flash across the sky, most of them of my friends.

The images are silent, but I see people I've never seen before and people I haven't seen in forever. I see myself in tears, then laughing at something Lance is doing, then hugging Pidge. The next one makes me freeze: Shiro with white hair and me with fluffy ears and battle armor. We move closer. I wrap my arms around his neck, him wrapping his around my waist. We kiss (passionately at that).

I quirk a brow at the scene.

A low roar startles me from the images. Threateningly, a red Lion stalks out of the grass. I gasp, backing away very slowly. "Nice...kitty?" The Lion roars, and I scream and run away. My steps fall swiftly on the weaving underbrush.

Soon, I'm backed against a tree, and I whirl around to see the threat. The Lion jumps at me, and I cry in pain as its claws rake across my shoulders. It tackles me to the ground, roaring in my face. I shriek. As the Lion lowers its teeth to my neck, I fear for my life.

Other roars startle the Lion from the situation at hand. It snuffs and gets off me, and I sit up. Four more Lions—black, yellow, green, and blue—stand in a circle, surrounding me. They roar in unison, and before I can even blink, they've become taller than me and opaque in their coloration. The black Lion had even grown wings! The Lions bow low at my feet.

They chant:

Awake, O Soul of Voltron!
Let thy legend live on

To all the galaxies and beyond!
Arise, O Soul of Voltron!

Enemies fall around her feet,

All, either strong or weak.

May all who hear the song repeat
"Arise, O Soul of Voltron!"

Let man quake and foe tremble,

At her roar and mighty rumble!

Let oceans roar and tumble,

And fear the Soul of Voltron!

Awake, O Soul of Voltron!

Let thy legend live on

To all the galaxies and beyond!

Arise, O Soul of Voltron!

I stare in shock at the Lions. What is this? The Lions ignore my confusion and lift their heads to the now starry heavens. They let off a piercing roar, disappearing into the twinkling galaxies above.

I awaken to something touching my stomach. I shoot up abruptly, clashing heads with the person whose lap my head had been lying on. "Ow!"

"Ow, yourself!" Keith shouts. "That hurt!"

"It would've hurt less had you not startled me!" I fire back. "Why was I on your lap to begin with?"

"I came out here to check on you," he explains. "You'd been out here for a while, and Coran started to get worried. I offered to come out here and check on you for him so that he could stay busy with the castle's defenses. I saw that you'd fallen asleep and figured using your bag for a pillow didn't look all that comfortable, so I propped your head on my lap."

"Really?" I ask, my face heating by several degrees.

He nods. I hear a loud rumble and look up to see the Green Lion enter the Arusian atmosphere. "They're back."

"Yep, dang it. I don't wanna go back inside," I pout.

"Don't blame you. It's beautiful out here," says Keith, rising to his feet. "But we've got obligations to the others, so we better get our butts in there."

I sigh dramatically and put out my arms. "Help me up?"

Keith rolls his eyes and sticks his arm out to help me to my feet. Once I'm on my feet (and have my balance), I go inside to the control room where the two Alteans are waiting.

As Keith and I make it to the hall, I spy Shiro and Pidge walking down the hallway towards us, laughing and talking. I shove Keith into the control room and regain my composure as the two paladins enter the room. "So, how'd it go?" I sing-song.

"Well. We found the Lion, so that automatically makes it a success, right?" Shiro says.

I shrug. "I kinda meant 'Did you have fun?', but I guess that works, too."

The control room door opens, and Hunk and Lance enter, rubbing their shoulders and moaning in pain.

Allura cries happily, "You made it!"

"Yeah, just barely," Lance scoffs. "That was a nightmare! I almost puked out there! I felt like Hunk!"

"Think how I felt," Hunk chides. "I am Hunk."

Pidge and I giggle, but not for the same reason. "Yeah, we had a tough time, too," she says, sending a not-so-secret grin to Shiro, who smiles knowingly back. A twinge of envy stabs my heart. What did they do out there?

"Did we find the Red Lion yet?" Shiro asks, back on topic.

"Allura just located it," Coran informs. "There's a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is it's on that Galra ship now orbiting Arus." He wears a solemn expression on his face until he suddenly brightens up. "But wait, good news again: we're Arus!"

"That's not good news, Coran!" I exclaim.

"They're here already?" a shocked Shiro asks.

Coran frowns. "Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting—I-it's more of an art than a science."

The central computer chirrups, and a Galran appears on the screen like a Skype video chat. He's very fuzzy and purple with cat-like ears and face. He would almost be cute if I knew he hadn't come with more bad news.

"Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra empire," he says, his voice low and gravelly. "I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."

~~~

More editing. I'm never satisfied with how it turns out, lol.