"I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."

Sendak's threat hangs in the air even after he's disconnected the transmission. Shiro finally breaks the tense silence. "All right, let's not panic."

"Not panic?!" Hunk cries. "The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us! We only have four Lions-"

"-Technically, only three working Lions," Pidge corrects.

"Thank you, Pidge," Hunk says. "Three working Lions and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old."

"Actually, it's 10,600 years old," says Coran matter-of-factually. "You see, it was built by my grandfather-"

"Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that," Hunk interrupts. "See? Now's the perfect time to panic!"

"Wait," Allura says, "this ship has a particle barrier we can activate."

Lance begins to flirt: "Girl, you've already activated my par-"

"Lance," I growl.

"The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever," Coran informs. "The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."

"Panic now?" Hunk asks.

"No," Shiro declares. "We've just got to figure out our plan of action...aaaaand figure it out quickly."

"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day," Lance suggests.

"I second that," Hunk agrees. "Yes. W-We tried to find all the Lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three; we can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about."

"Then it's settled," Lance claims. "Allura, (Y/N), you ride with me. One of you take the old guy?"

"We can't just abandon Arus," Pidge argues. "The Galra will keep destroying planets and taking prisoners unless we stop them."

"Okay, if we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth," Hunk speculates. "We form the snake-worm thing-a-ma-jig and-" Hunk hisses through his teeth and wiggles his arms upward like a snake. "-outta here."

"Sendak could destroy the planet and come after us anyway," Keith says. "Staying is our only option."

"Here's an option: shut your quiznak!" Lance orders. Allura and Coran cringe at the misuse of their language.

"'You keep using that word,'" I quote. "'I do not think it means what you think it means.'"

"You're defending him?" Lance utters in shock. "With movie quotes, no less!"

I think for a second. "Yeah, I am. Fleeing at the first sight of danger is dastardly and stupid. How do you think the entire universe is going to react when they see its defender tucking tail and running at the face of its first threat? Only a coward would abandon people, even ones that aren't their own, at the drop of a hat."

"Wise words for one so young," Coran comments.

"How I see it, the Galra can take my heart and breath when they pry it from my cold, dead chest," I add darkly. The others pause, taking in my dark threats. "Princess Allura, I know I'm no paladin. These are your Lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

"I-I don't know," Allura admits nervously. The poor girl sounds stressed.

"Maybe your father can help," Coran says.

She stares at him questioningly. "My father?"

Coran had taken Allura to another room, not explaining anything about the situation. Leaving my team to their own devices is probably the worst thing he could have done. "I'ma just say, before anything else happens, don't touch anything," I say.

Shiro laughs. "Don't say that; they'll do it just to spite you."

"I still can't believe you stood up for Keith's opinion, (Y/N)," Lance grumbles. "I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends, but do you really think I'm going to take friendship into account when I'm choosing my own beliefs?" I contend.

"No," he says. "I guess not."

"Besides, you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't back down from a challenge, especially if someone is rubbing my nose in the challenger's dirt. That is unless the challenge is really, really stupid, like sleeping with somebody."

"Really?"

I nod. Lance smirks. "Then I challenge you to an arm wrestle. If you win, I'll stop flirting with you for two weeks."

"Four," I bargain.

"Done. If I win, I get to kiss you."

"Hm... You're on."

The two of us sit down at the table nearby. Hunk and Pidge stand behind me, looking smug. Keith stands away from the group, not taking part in our childish game. Shiro stands in between us. Is that envy on his face?

Shiro asks, "(Y/N), are you sure about this?"

"Hold my beer," I say cockily. I grasp Lance's right hand gently, and he initiates the battle. I barely even engage my muscles and hold his arm upright. He pushes harder, stands on the table, and uses both hands, but he still cannot get my hand to budge. He stops, panting for air from the amount of force he exerted.

"How... are you... still... upright?" he huffs.

"I'm waiting for you to get your second wind," I comment snidely. Lance grits his teeth and tries again, fiercely forcing his hand against mine. I roll my eyes and promptly slam his hand into the table.

Lance yelps in surprise more than pain.

Pidge laughs, "Yeah, (Y/N)! Way to show him!"

"Man, I really wanted that kiss." Lance pouts.

Allura suddenly reenters the room, no longer wearing the dress she wore when she fell from the cryo-pod, but a suit of armor that was very flattering. "You five paladins were brought here for a reason," she declares. "The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope."

"We're with you, princess," Shiro agrees.

Allura takes us to a room filled with armor. Five central columns stand tall, holding suits made for the paladins of Voltron. There is no sixth.

"Your suits of armor," Allura explains.

"Cool!" "Outstanding!" "Nice," are the resounding responses. Hunk looks at the armor, then at himself, guesstimating if his body will fit into the paladin armor.

"Uh, Allura," I ask. "what do I wear?"

"That," Allura pauses, "is a very good question. Coran, do we have something that would fit her?"

"'Fraid not, princess. Not that I know of. Then again, I'm not exactly her, um... type. I don't exactly keep up with women's fashion," he replies.

"If I need to, I can sit out or stay here, although I really don't wanna just sit here when my team is fighting a battle," I say.

"Hang on," Allura orders. "Wait here. I might know where something is."

She turns and leaves. I hear lots of rustling and an occasional clang, the princess muttering to herself the whole time. "Here it is!" Allura comes back, holding a folded piece of cloth. She hands it to me.

"A cloth," I note, quirking a brow at it.

"Not a cloth, (Y/N). You can go back where I was to change," Allura offers.

"Thank you, princess."

I go around the corner and strip down. I slide into the fabric, it softly brushing against my skin. It tightens into a bodysuit with built-in gloves that hugs my body gently. Allura had also handed me a cape to go with it. It trails to the backs of my knees, not long enough to be a problem if stepped on, but not short enough to look dorky. I find a mask along with the cape and put it on over my nose. It resembles the mask Bucky wears in Winter Soldier (because heck, yeah, why not multi-fandom?), with a glass that goes over my eyes.

I find a pair of boots leaning against the wall, and I grab them. Pulling them on, I notice they're made of firm leather. They rise to my knees and lace up the back of my leg, and they fit perfectly.

"This is amazing!" I breathe, stepping out from behind where I was changing.

"It was my mother's," Allura says. "I'm glad that it has found a new owner."

She approaches a display and lays her hand on the glass. It opens, and four horseshoe-shaped weapons float up to their individual paladins. "The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each paladin.

Hunk grabs his first. His is a massive machine gun that he nearly drops when it forms.

Keith takes his bayard, and it turns into a beautiful sword. His shield appears a second after.

Lance snatches his weapon, and it becomes a sniper rifle. He cheers in excitement.

Pidge grabs hers last. Hers turns into a small, lightweight blade, and she swings it around to test it.

"Aw, you got a cute little bayard," Lance teases.

That is, until Pidge jabs her bayard into his side, shocking him with several volts of electricity. He falls to the floor.

"Yeah, it is pretty cute," she comments, a complacent smirk crossing her lips.

I look to my right and see a mace leaning up against the wall. I go and pick it up, hefting its weight carefully. It reminds me a bit of Hawkgirl's mace from the DC comics I read as a child. "Can I hit something with this?"

"I don't know, " Coran says. "Can you?"

"Yeah, sure, I can."

"Well, if you can, you can. But I think the real question is 'Will you?'."

I sigh. Is Coran always like this? I spy a small ball nearby, and I pick it up. I toss it in the air and smack it with the mace. It bounces around the room at high speeds, bonks Coran in the back of the head, and lands at Lance's feet. He picks it up. The second he touches it, he yanks his hand back.

"Ow! Hot!" he yelps. Ha! Two for one!

"Yeah! Let's go pound some Galra butt!" I cheer.

"You'll need to retrieve the Lion from Sendak's ship," Allura declares, all of us now back in the control room.

"That's a pretty big ship," Keith says nervously, although he hides it fairly well. "How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?"

"Well, it's not a matter of 'we,' it's more a matter of 'you,'" Pidge corrects.

"Pidge is right," Hunk agrees. "Once we get you in, you'll be able to, like, feel its presence and track it down."

"Yeah," Lance says. He crosses his arms. "You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?"

"Yeah. You made fun of me for that," Keith mutters.

"And I'm proud of that, but it turns out it's exactly like that kind of mumbo-jumbo."

"Keith," Allura says, getting the paladin's attention. "Remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect."

"All right, here's our plan of attack," Shiro says.

I'm with Keith, Shiro, and Pidge, cutting through the metal of a Galra ship.

"Pidge, what's your ETA?" Lance asks through the comms.

Pidge whispers, jumping through the hole in the ship, "We're in."

Once we're inside, we sneak past the Galra sentries. Shiro suddenly balks in the hall and gasps anxiously. "I've been here before!" he whispers. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here."

"So, that means your other crew members, they might be held captive here," Pidge realizes. "We-We've gotta rescue them!"

"Pidge, we don't have time," I say, looking at my friend sadly. "We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus."

"But we can't just leave prisoners here!" she argues.

"Look," Shiro says, "no one understands that more than me, but in war, we have to make hard choices. Now, let's get moving."

Pidge stands her ground. "No!" she shouts. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos mission with you."

"Commander Holt is your father?" Shiro questions.

"Yes," Pidge replies. "I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother, and I'm not going to give up when I'm this close. I won't!"

I grab her shoulder. "I'm coming with you, Pidge. Matt was a close friend of mine."

"No," Shiro orders. "I remember where the prisoners are held. I'll go with Pidge. Keith, you go find the Red Lion."

"By myself?" Keith asks, his demeanor falling.

"No, (Y/N) will go with you. Minor change of plans. You'll be fine," Shiro says. "Just remember, patience yields focus. So-" Galra sentries burst into the hall where we are stopped.

"Run!" I shout. I grab Keith's wrist and pull him down the hall, running for my life. I pause at a fork in the path and run to the side, Keith plowing into me as I turn around. I twist to pin him against the wall.

"What-"

"Shh!" I put a finger to his lips and wait until I feel the Galra's presence pass. "Okay, we're clear." I get off him and scratch the back of my neck. "Sorry about that."

He hums in acknowledgment, but I notice a slight tinge of red across his face. "Great. Now, which way?"

I look in either direction. "I don't know. You're supposed to be the one bonded to it," I say.

Keith groans and takes off to the left. I stand there and wait, figuring he'll be back around in a second. Keith comes charging back around from the right side. He growls and runs the same way he came. He stops abruptly. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, just figured I'd watch you run around in circles," I sneer.

Keith glares at me. "You know, for someone who shares a connection to the Blue Lion, I was thinking maybe you could help find the Red Lion. You're not being very helpful right now."

"I'm keeping an eye out for Galra sentries, though, aren't I?" I remark. "I'm very good at watching for danger."

Keith rolls his eyes and grabs my wrist, dragging me with him on his crazy goose chase. After running a few more circles around the fork, Keith groans in defeat. "You've got to be kidding me!"

I sigh. Do all my friends have to be dumber than the rest of the world? "Keith, Shiro's words do have some truth to them. You're not going to get anywhere without patience."

"Patience yields focus," he murmurs. He closes his eyes. I can feel his thoughts traveling around the ship and connecting to the Red Lion. His eyes fly open as he whirls to face a specific hall. "Gotcha!" He dashes towards the hallway in question and runs towards the Lion's calls. He balks at a room.

"Bingo," Keith says. He walks up to the Red Lion and puts his hand on the force field. "Let's get out of here. Open up." He gets no response from the Lion, which looks like it's dangling from some experimentation. "It's me, Keith. Your buddy." Still no reply. Keith is beginning to get frustrated. "It's meeeeeeeee! Keeeeeeeiiiiiiiiitttthhh! Your-I! Am! Your! Pa-la-din!" He enunciates. I giggle softly at him when Galra sentries rain fire on us. I yelp in surprise.

Keith looks at me worriedly, but I shout to him, "Bond with Red! I can handle these idiots!" He nods and goes back to trying to get through to the Lion.

I activate my shield in an attempt to block the blasts from the sentries. I lunge for them, yelling a battle cry, and swing my mace at them. I slide between one of the sentries' legs, sweeping its legs out from under it. Jumping to my feet, I slam my mace into one's head. I notice Keith had activated his shield as well.

"I'm bonding with you!" he shouts, attempting to break through with the Lion. "Hey! Come on! We're connected!" He lashes out at the sentries, cutting off one's legs and slamming the other with the hilt of his bayard sword. He sees all the other sentries waiting for him to finish.

I spy him glancing at a nearby control board and automatically know what he's thinking. I activate my oxygen mask right as he slams the button on the computer. I cling to the nearest stable object for dear life while the vacuum of space attempts to pull me free. If anything could make the situation any worse, my hands begin to slip. Curses! I hear Keith yell and see he'd gotten knocked into space by some debris. "Keith!" I whisper.

Letting go, I push off the metal of the ship and reach for him. "Keith! Grab my hand!" His fingers barely touch mine, and we pull each other close. His breathing is heavy, and I can feel the fear in his body.

I have no choice but to try and summon the Lion. My mind flows freely to the Lion, and I feel our spirits bond. I notice an extra bond besides the one I just created: Keith's. The Lion bursts from the Galra ship, rapidly flying towards us. Keith cries out as the Lion engulfs us. But when the Lion puts him in the pilot's seat, I can tell he relaxes a little.

"Good kitty," he praises, relief flooding his tone. "Let's roll."

"You guys made it!" Hunk cheers.

"Kitty rose has left the stage!" adds Pidge.

Lance says, "Let's get the heck out of here!"

"I hope I stopped that cannon," Hunk says. "I could barely make a dent in it."

We fly back to Arus. Once we're there, we pilot the Lions into the hangar and land them in front of a monolithic door. The Lions' eyes begin to glow.

I feel a surge of energy flood through me. Unaware of what I'm doing, I approach the door and kneel. I lay my hand on the floor before the gate and murmur:

Let man quake, and foe tremble,

At her roar and her 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!

Gold lines flow from my hand up the gate. The door slides open dramatically, and yellow eyes shine in the blackness of the room. The Black Lion roars in its ferocious glory, and the other Lions roar with it. I smile, rise to my feet, and turn to my friends. They gawk at me. "What?" I ask.

"(Y/N)..." Pidge trails off.

"Your eyes," Shiro finishes.

I quirk a brow. "Guys, stop playing with me."

"No, seriously," Hunk says. "Your eyes are all rainbowy!"

Lance pulls out a mirror and hands it to me. I look at my reflection. My eyes are their usual dull (E/C). "I don't see anything."

"Well, they were," Keith argues.

Lance smiles. "They were beautiful. Still are in my opinion."

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to flirt with me for a month," I say, a grin cracking across my face.

"I wasn't flirting," he explains. "I was being honest."

"Yeah, right."

Lance yells, "I'm serious!" I punch his shoulder.

Alarms blare loudly, and Allura cries over the PA, "Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere! We need Voltron, now!"

As the others take off in their Lions, I run to the Black Lion, but Shiro catches my shoulder. "(Y/N), stay here. I don't want you to get hurt."

"But I want to help," I say. "You guys don't know how to form Voltron yet, and I have a weird, inexplicable knowledge of how to do these things."

"This is a battleground, (Y/N)." Shiro's face is grim. "In war, people fight, and they get killed. I can't lose you. You're too important to me."

Any other day, hearing those words from him would make me leap for joy, but today, they only fill me with dread. "I could say I feel the same about you, Shiro, but I'm not telling you to get your duff off the war zone. I don't want to sit back and do nothing while my friends are fighting a seemingly hopeless war."

"I understand and agree, but staying here, you'd hardly be doing nothing. Allura and Coran are going to need all the help they can get to keep up the castle's defense."

I sigh dejectedly. "I'll stay, but don't hesitate to call me out there if you need backup."

"I won't," he promises. I throw my arms around him, tears pooling in my eyes.

"Be safe, and come back," I whisper.

"Shiro, where are you?" Lance asks through the comm. "We need you out here, stat."

"Coming," Shiro replies, shooting a meaningful glance at me. "Just needed a minute." With this, he climbs into his Lion and takes off to save the universe.

In the control room, I see Allura and Coran standing at one of the computers. A blast from the newly repaired ion cannon on Sendak's ship shakes the entire castle, the particle barrier barely protecting the ancient wonder.

"Man, those Galra guys repair things fast," Hunk comments.

"The barrier gets weaker with every blast!" cries Coran. "Once that shield goes down, we'll be defenseless!"

"I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while," Allura says, "but you have to form Voltron now, or we'll all be destroyed."

"Jeez, no pressure," Hunk says sarcastically.

The Galra battleship fires again, rattling the particle barrier dangerously.

Shiro groans and calls, "Listen up, Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?" Silence passes for a second.

"I'm nodding," Hunk says. "Is everyone else nodding?"

"Yes," everyone replies disdainfully.

"Let's do this!" Shiro cheers.

Lance asks, "Uh, how?"

"Good question. Does anyone have any ideas on how to form Voltron?"

'This is the problem I was hoping we could avoid, Shiro,' I think. 'I knew this would happen.'

"I don't see a Combine into Giant Robot anywhere on my dashboard," Hunk says.

The Galra sentry ships rain fire on the Lions as they run across the rocky terrain. I stabilize the particle barrier and read the energy levels. "Coran, our energy levels are plummeting. They're going to have to form Voltron soon, or we're toast."

"Erm, what's toast?" he asks confusedly.

"It's an Earth food. Don't worry about it." I hone in on the conversation among the paladins again.

"We've gotta do something!" Keith shouts.

"Combine!" Hunk plows into Keith's Lion, bowling it over. Keith regains his footing.

"Hey!"

"Okay, that didn't work." Hunk's Lion lowers its head defeatedly, as a human would. I chuckle.

"Quickly, paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!" Allura cries.

"Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine," Shiro suggests. "Take off on my cue: One, two, three, Voltron!"

"No, wait!" I shout, seeing something out on the Galra ship.

"Nothing's happening!"

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait! I feel something!" Lance exclaims.

"I do, too," Hunk says. "I feel it; it's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!"

"Uh, guys, I think I know why. Look up," Shiro says, pointing up at the Galra ship's tractor beam that is pulling them in.

"What the cheese?" Lance moans.

"Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Pidge yells.

Another blast from Sendak shatters the particle barrier. I fall to the floor with the impact, cutting my leg in the process.

"Oh, no."

"I-I don't care what you say, Shiro. I-I'm panicking now!"

"It can't end here!"

"This is it!"

"It's been an honor flying with you boys."

"No," I mutter. "No, no, no. Not again." I look up at the image of my friends' Lions getting abducted, tears starting to fall down my cheeks. My heart pounds rapidly, but the rest of the world seems to fall into slow motion.

I can't live with this. Ba-bump!

I can't let them lose. Ba-bump!

We can't lose. Ba-bump! I clench my fists tightly, and my tears dry.

I can't let them fight alone. Energy flows through my body.

I won't let them fight alone. Everything erupts into a blur.

All I know is light, power, and strength. The sheer brilliance of my glow is enough to supercharge the computers in the control room. Faster than light, I've flown to Sendak's battleship. In my rage, my body bursts into flame, but I'm not burned as I tear through the ship's side.

I spy a pod escaping from the destroyed ship, and I zoom after it. I pound it into Arus's crust and float down to it. Sendak and his fellow pilot lie inside. When they see me, their faces turn from pained to fearful for their lives.

I melt through the windshield with my hand and grab them by the scruff. Lifting the Galrans out of the pod, I stare into their eyes and see hatred, fear, and confusion. I threaten, my voice roaring like thunder, "If you ever come near my friends again, I will tear you apart, limb from limb, and feed your mangled body to a weblum. Understand?"

The Galra commander only stares at me fearfully, not saying anything. "UNDERSTAND?!"

His body tenses, and he mumbles, "Understood." I release him, and he flees for his life, a wise decision on his part. I fly back to the castle and land just outside. Allura and Coran run out to greet me as I power down.

"What was that?" Allura asks. "What were you doing out here?"

"Don't tell anyone what you just saw," I plead. "Please. I don't want the others to know, especially since I don't know what these powers are myself."

They nod in understanding as the paladins approach. "Good work, paladins!" Allura exclaims as if nothing happened.

"Thanks, pretty lady," Lance flirts, taking off his helmet.

Shiro huffs, "We did it."

Keith jerks off his helmet. "Heck, yeah, we did."

"How did we do it?" I look down in shame. I've never kept anything from my friends before.

"I was just, like, screaming the whole time," adds Hunk. "Maybe that did it."

Pidge puts her glasses back on and lowers her gaze sadly. I notice and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father," I say, smiling down at her. "Wherever they are, I know they'd be so proud of you."

"We won the battle, but the war is only begun," Allura says darkly. "I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these Lions."

"Good thing you paladins know what you're doing," Coran pipes, "because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

"Totally," Hunk agrees, then realizes what Coran just said. "Wait, what?"

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time," Lance complains.

"And you only had to fight one ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of 'em!" Coran chides, playing with his mustache thoughtfully. "It's not going to be easy being the defenders of the universe."

Shiro smiles. "Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it."

I smile at him and gaze into the sunset, preparing myself for the long war to come.

~~~

Hey, lookee, more edits! It's like I'm procrastinating on the next chapter or something...