"Rise and shine! Get up, now! You guys got thirty minutes to get dressed and lined up before we drag you all out!" 

Ember shifted on the so-called bed she was sleeping on, not wanting to get up at 6:30 in the morning. It's been the same drill for the past two months. Get up, eat breakfast, sit in a plain white room to watch cartoons or color, go to 'school', eat lunch, stay in the room again, play in the gym, eat dinner, arts and craft, before finally going to bed. Of course, taking her medication the doctors here prescribed her whenever they deem it a good time. 

   "Jalus! Don't make me drag you out of bed! Up and at 'em!"

Ember glared sharply at the person standing at her door, with her shared roommate. He didn't seem phased, simply tapped his watch and left. She scoffed, quickly getting dressed in some sweatpants - with no strings, - a loose shirt, and put on some socks instead of some lace-less shoes. 

They were very, very forceful when it came to clothing around here. Of course, it was to be expected. She was in Willow Crest. 

She waited in line as usual to get her food and sat down at the same table she sat at everyday for meals. Her eyes seem glazed over as she picked at her food, moving it around her tray with no intent of eating it. 

   "Ember," A voice hissed, making her raise her eyes up. One of her friends here - named Dessie - was sending her a glare. "Eat your food, before they send you back to Tubes." 

Ember narrowed her eyes and took a big bite of her oatmeal. Tubes is what the patients here called a procedure staff does whenever they notice a patient isn't eating enough, or trying to starve themselves. Basically, they strap you into a chair, shove tubes up your nose and down your throat, and feed you that way.  It wasn't very pleasant. 

When the whole upper section finished their meal, they were all herded pass the younger section and into the plain white room they were to sit in for hours on in. The TV blared above them all in a corner of the room - protected by a square of plastic so no one could touch the actual TV. 

Ember on the floor while her friends piled in around her, on the benches that were drilled into the wall or on the floor with her. Roy started to deal out cards to those who wanted to play while the rest gazed at the TV with dead eyes. 

Usually, it was weird old cartoons that played on the TV - things like Fairly Odd Parents and Powerpuff Girls - but today, it seemed that the news was taking up every channel. Ember quickly found out why as well, and the news made her go into a complete panic. 

Kerberos Mission Disappears Due to Pilot Error.

The only person that checked up on her while she was in the hospital was dead.

  Oh, Keith.

Ember didn't remember much after the news. She blacked out and when she woke up, she was in an empty white room with nothing but a door to let her out. Whenever the staff deemed her sane enough. 

Which was another two days. 

When she finally got out of the room, Dessie explained what happened. Apparently, Ember went on a grief-filled rampage, kicking and hitting any staff that tried to get close to her as she tried to find something. Dessie wasn't sure what, but Ember knew all too well. 

She kept it to herself. 

Realizing that nothing was going to actually bring Shiro and his team back, Ember worked on herself. She tried to change her mindset, thought things through and was on good behavior. 

Ember was back at the Garrison two months later - her field changing from a pilot to a medic. For Shiro.

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

Ember got out of the healing pod faster than Shiro. Her foot was healed up, though greatly weakened, and the concussion was nonexistent. 

Lance and Keith have been having her do stretches that strengthen her foot back into perfect condition - Lance taking over whenever Keith waited with Shiro in his healing pod. It was work, but now Ember could walk without a limp around the ship. Though, not for long periods of time. 

When Shiro fell out of the healing pod, he instantly insisted on trying to find the coordinates a certain Galra general had downloaded into his arm. 

As of right now, Team Voltron were huddled around Pidge and Ember as Pidge tried to decode anything and Ember tried to help. 

   "I'm not finding any coordinates in here. Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?" Pidge asked. 

   "I'm positive. Someone helped me escape." Shiro insisted. 

   "And he was Galra?" Allura asked, face hard. 

   "Yes."

   "You know you cannot trust them." Allura started, Ember quickly interrupting her. 

   "Does that mean you cannot trust me?" She asked the princess, turning to look at her. "Most Majesdanians are fighting for Zarkon. One of them is even Zarkon's left-hand man."

   "Your father must have trusted them once." Shiro added on, furrowing his eyebrows and turning to look at Allura. "Zarkon was the original Black Paladin, wasn't he?"

   "That was a long time ago." She dismissed. 

   "Wait, what?" Lance asked. 

   "Didn't you see how he stole the Black Lion right out from Shiro? Or that he could do all that cool stuff with his bayard? Shiro's bayard? You know, the black one?" Keith stated, before turning towards Ember. "And since when did you find out you were an alien race?"

   "Hours before I was captured," Ember responded dully, glancing around the room. "Sorry I couldn't share."

   "Why didn't you just tell us the truth about Zarkon?" Shiro asked Allura, barely even glancing at Ember. 

   "I wanted to protect you from the dark history of the paladins and their ally," Allura defended herself. "so that you would have a chance to bond with your lions on your own. You  are the Black Paladin now, not Zarkon."

   "Yeah, well, the Black Lion may have a different take on the matter," Shiro replied bitterly. 

   "Hey, Pidge," Ember suddenly said, pointing at the laptop screen. "Is that something worth pointing out? I've seen that symbol fly by way too many times to count." She asked, pointing at a strand of symbols. 

   "Hm," Pidge hummed, typing a little. "Good catch, Em! I think I see it now. Some repeating numbers in all this Galra code. Let me extract it."

   "They are coordinates!" Ember grinned in excitement. "They lead to the Thaldycon system."

   "Then, that's where we're heading." Shiro demanded. 

   "Shiro, are you sure you can trust this?" Keith asked, making Ember blink in surprise. "I mean, after all the Galra have done to you - They, They took your arm."

   "It's worth the risk. Someone helped me escape." He looked towards the rest of the team. "If we can locate some allies in our fight against Zarkon, especially ones from his own side, we might just find a way to take them down."

   "We can check the location, but I do not like this." Allura voiced. "The Galra are not to be trusted." She gritted her teeth together before speaking again. "But, if we must be going. . .Ember, you need a new suit. Follow me."

The princess left without another word, quickly storming out of the room. It was silent before Shiro spoke up again. "Coran, could you set course towards the Thaldycon system?"

   "Of course," He responded, starting to head towards the control panel. As everyone started to move around and do their own things, Ember walked up to Keith. 

   "Hey, Keith?"

   "Ember, uh, I-"

   "I forgive you," Ember stated simply. "I knew I should've told the team, but we were so involved in mission, I didn't want to disrupt that."

   "Yeah," Keith nodded. "It doesn't matter now. You told us now."

   "Good," Ember grinned, holding her fist up. "Friends?"

   "Friends," Keith tapped his knuckled onto hers, before Ember started to make her way towards the armory - where Allura should be. 

Just like she thought, Allura was in the armory, standing in front of some armor that looked just like hers', besides some color differences.

   "Shiro said he found your bayard in the escape pod he used when we were captured." Allura started. "So, it's back in its' place."

   "Allura," Ember started. "I was wondering if I could make weapons out of the light stuff," 

   "Quintessence," Allura replied in amusement. "It's a form of quintessence, but yes, you can make a weapon out of it. I remembered Queen Leslie was able to have a dagger on her at all times. I made a sheath for it," She chuckled at the memory. 

   "So she didn't have to remake her dagger every time she needed it?" Ember asked in awe. 

   "Not once did I see he remake her dagger. I believe one day you'll be able to do the same." Allura shook her head. "Besides the point, this armor here is what Princess Karoline wore for battle. We based our armor design on each others', I just added more color."

Ember looked up at the light gray armor. Instead of pink stripes, there were dark gray, and the blue was more of a green-blue. Unlike Allura's bright blue. "A-Are you sure, Allura?"

   "Absolutely," Allura nodded, turning towards Ember. "Karoline knew what her fate was, her partner - Xavin - could see the future in short glimpses. When she told Karoline, they imminently started to write letters." Allura paused. "I didn't find mine until recently."

Ember's dark eyes sadden at the though, putting a hand on Allura's shoulder in comfort. She stared at the armor - trying to imagine what Karoline and Xavin would've been like - before looking back at Allura. 

   "If you believe that's what Karoline would want, I will wear the armor with pride."

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

The Castle was worm holed into a field of giant crystals, that clustered around each other tightly. 

   "Well, this is it. No sign of any activity at all, living or otherwise." Coran voiced, scanning the area with wary eyes. 

   "Can we get in there to take a closer look?" Shiro asked. 

   "Those xanthorium chunks contain highly unstable nitrate salts," Coran informed them. "Even bumping one of them can blow us straight to Wozblay."

   "Are you sure this is right?" Shiro asked desperately. 

   "These are the coordinates Number Five gave me."

   "Hey! My decryption is solid." Pidge retorted, offended that they thought she was wrong. 

   "There must be something we're missing." Shiro murmured. 

   "We should get out of here." Allura suggested. "We've checked it out, but now, it's time to move on."

   "No. There must be something more to this. I can feel it." He paused. "I think we should wait."

Ember let out a little sigh, she hated waiting, before walking over to Coran. "Here, let me see the coordinates again, and the algorithm."

While Ember double checked everything, and Pidge tripled check, Shiro was checked each and every cluster. This went on for some time, Ember and Pidge stopping when they realized they had everything correct. 

A red warning sign popped up on the screens and the alarms started to blare loudly. 

   "There's an intruder in the Castle!" Coran exclaimed. 

   "How could someone just sneak aboard the ship?" Pidge asked. 

   "I knew coming here was a mistake!" Allura griped, pulling up different screens to find the intruder. "There he is. Level five."

   "Everyone, suit up." Shiro commanded. Ember let out a grin, starting towards the door since she already had her armor on, but was stopped by Shiro. "Expect you, Ember."

   "Can't I just be backup?" Ember muttered. 

   "Until you can fight, and learn to use your powers, I think it's best to sit these things out," Shiro suggested as everyone else started to leave the main room. "Please, Em,"

   "Fine," Ember muttered, plopping down in Lance's chair as Shiro left. "I just want to be helpful. . ."

It was silent for a while, as Coran and Allura kept an eye on the intruder. 

   "Careful, he's faster than an angry klanmüirl!" Coran voiced over, making Ember perk up a bit. "But he can jump like a sprightly globinheffer!"

   "Coran, you're not helping!"  Lance complained.

   "Somebody's as mad as a wet chüper." Coran commented sarcastically. 

   "I'm pretty sure none of us know what that is, Coran," Ember pointed out, walking over to the gingered hair Altean to watch the screen as well. 

   "Coming your way, Number Five!" Coran announced. Ember watched as the intruder jumped over Pidge, and the Green Paladin turn quickly to shoot the little arrow part at the man/woman. 

   "I got him!"  Pidge exclaimed when they caught the weapon. They started to run, dragging Pidge with them. "I don't got him!"

   "He's dragging Pidge away!" Coran commentated, the two of them watching as Lance rounded the corner and ran after his teammate. They were heading straight for Hunk. 

   "Come back here!" Pidge yelled, as they ran pass Hunk. The Yellow Paladin started to shoot randomly, causing her to groan. "Hunk!!"

   "Huh? Sorry!"

   "Oh, Hunk failed the team, guys."

   "Hey!"

   "All right, it's up to Keith now." Ember lightly hit Coran on the shoulder, mouthing a 'that wasn't nice'.

   "Copy that. I'm ready." Keith said, summoning his bayard. 

   "Ooh, this is exciting! He's got a sword!" Coran exclaimed. "One young paladin, one seemingly indestructible foe. . ."

   "Coran," Ember warned as the intruder ran around the corner, right at Keith. Pidge continued to scream in panic as Keith started to try and fight the person holding onto her weapon. 

   "Swing and a miss! Oh, another swing and a miss!" Coran sighed. "He can't touch him! He's too fast!"

Pidge suddenly dug her feet into the ground, causing the intruder to be pulled back slightly. In that short time, Keith managed to make his way over to the intruder and swung his sword in a downward arch.

The intruder blocked with his own sword, and Ember saw Keith freeze for one moment. But the moment was all the intruder needed, because he knocked the sword right out of his hand. 

   "He knocked his bayard out of his hand! It's on the ground!"

Keith went for a punch, but the intruder pulled Pidge forwards and knocked them both to the ground. Not giving up, Keith ran at them again, only for the intruder to throw him into Lance and Hunk, who were just running around the corner. 

Like a freaking shadow, Shiro appeared from behind the intruder and activated his arm, holding it close to their neck while the intruder held the sword close to Shiro's face. 

Ember held her breath, waiting for someone to make a move. Much to her surprise, the intruder backed down, lowering their sword and hood. The mask that concealed their face disappeared, revealing a male Galra. Instantly, Shiro backed down.

    "Ulaz?" Shiro murmured. Out of no where, Allura knocked the Galra into a wall and held him there, ignoring his grunt of surprise. 

   "Who are you?" She demanded. 

   "Stop! It's him! This is the Galra who set me free!" Shiro raced forwards. 

   "You've come." Ulaz stated simply. 

   "Ember, get some cuffs ready," Allura ordered out loud, making Ember nod. 

    "Y-Yeah, sure thing."

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

Couple minutes later, Ulaz was cuffed and sat, much to the displeasure of Shiro. 

   "I don't think this is necessary," Shiro trailed.

   "I will not have some quiznak-ing Galra soldier on the bridge of my ship!" Allura hissed. 

   "Allura," Ember said in a warning tone, checking over Lance. "Stop moving, Lance!"

   "Why aren't you checking on our prisoner?!" Lance exclaimed. 

   "Because he's not the one who got their asses handed to them!"

   "Hey!" Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Keith shouted in union. 

   "If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead," Ulaz simply stated. 

   "Are your Galra threats supposed to win my trust?" Allura narrowed her eyes. 

   "Allura!" Ember hissed. 

   "I'm not trying to win your trust. I'm trying to win a war." Ulaz replied. "And, because of Shiro, we're closer than we've ever been. Our gamble on you paid off better than we could have ever imagined."

   "When you released me, you also mentioned that there were others working with you." Shiro said. 

   "Yes. We are called the Blade of Marmora." 

   "Uh, others?" Hunk said uneasily. "Are they here?" 

   "Hunk, can you try not to act so scared around the chained-up prisoner?" Lance complained. "It makes us seem a little lame."

   "I have one other person at this base." Ulaz seem to stare straight at Ember as he continued. "She is of Majesdanian descent. As of right now, she's keeping watch."

   "What is this base you're talking about?" Allura demanded. "Shiro's coordinates just led us to this wasteland."

   "The base is hidden." Ulaz seemed  not bothered by Allura's attitude. "Now that I know it is Shiro that has come, you are welcome to our outpost. It lies dead ahead." 

   "Behind all the xanthorium clusters?" Pidge assumed.

   "No. Right in front of it, in a hidden pocket of space-time."  

   "Coran, are you hearing this?" Allura asked. 

   "I am picking up some kind of anomaly on the screen," Coran admitted. "I suppose it could be a cloaked base."

   "Just fly straight for the center of the xanthorium cluster. You will see." Ulaz explained. Ember stopped her check up on Pidge, looking closely at Ulaz. 

   "You think you're going to get me to destroy our ship because you say so?" Allura glared. 

   "Allura," Ember said sharply. "Excuse me for saying this - but would you think with your head for a moment instead of your eyes? The color of his skin does not make him any less of an ally than me."

Allura snapped her jaw shut, the paladins looking at Ember in surprise. But Ember kept staring at Ulaz, making direct contact with his yellow eyes. 

   "We came out here to find some answers. Are we going to turn back now?" Shiro asked softly. 

   "You know I trust you, Shiro, but this doesn't feel right." Keith put in. 

   "And you know I hate to agree with Keith, but it's a big fat ditto for me." Lance added on. 

   "Galra could have implanted fake memories of the escape in your head." Pidge suggested. 

   "Oh, come on, that would be so evil," Hunk paused. "Which, of course, they are. But they'd have to come up with some molecular level storage unit, which his hand does have. But, to be linked up to memory, it would need a direct pathway to his brain, which. . .yeah."

   "Ulaz freed me. Without him, we wouldn't be here." Shiro countered. 

   "I don't know why we're hesitating on this." Ember admitted. "He hasn't been lying so far."

   "How would you know?" Lance asked. 

   "I've taken anatomy, Lance," Ember explained. "One section was dedicated to signs of the body. Signs of exhaustion, depression, and stress. He might have a different anatomy, but signs of lying go through and through."

There was a pause as Allura thought everything over. Finally, she spoke. "Fine. Slow and steady, Coran. Head for the xanthorium cluster." 

   "Yes, Princess. Beginning approach." The ship started to move forwards, making the alarms blare again throughout the ship. "Impact imminent in five, four, three, two. . ." There was a pause, since Coran was the only one who could see out of the castle, before he spoke again. "Well, that's something."

   "What is it?" Allura demanded. 

   "Putting it up on the screens."

The screen behind them lit up, and the swirling colors of a vortex took over the screen. 

   "Amazing," Pidge said in awe. "They're folding space."

   "It's like a space taco. Or a space calzone. Or a space-time soup dumpling and we're the soup." Hunk imagined. This made Ember's stomach growl. "Hey, is there a cafeteria on this thing?"

   "Now I'm hungry," Ember muttered, glaring at Hunk. "Thanks."

With another blast of light, the base that Ulaz was talking about appeared in all it's glory.

   "Welcome to the Blade of Marmora Communications Base Thaldycon." Ulaz welcomed them. "Now, if you'll free me, I need to send a message to the leadership. They need to know we've made contact with Voltron."

   "Go with him and keep an eye on him," Allura ordered, glancing at Ember. "You too. I'm staying here."

   "Oh! Can we go?" Hunk asked. 

   "I want to see how they make the space pocket!" Pidge exclaimed, eyes gleaming with excitement. 

   "You guys go ahead. I'll hang back and protect the Princess." Lance grinned arrogantly, making Allura let out a groan. 

With everyone deciding on who was going and not, the small group proceded to the Red Lion to get to the base. On the way there, Ulaz pointed out the beam that was shooting a lavender color. 

   "This is the gravity generator that creates the space-time fold that hides the station. It was created by a reclusive genius engineer named Slav. His technology allows the Blade of Mamora to remain hidden while we work to take down the Galra Empire." Ulaz informed the team. "Zarkon would do anything to get his hands on this technology."

   "There are Galra out there that aren't loyal to Zarkon?" Keith asked. 

   "Galra and Majesdanians. We thought expanding the Galra Empire would bring stability. We learned too late, a tyrant doesn't seek stability, only power."

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

When the Voltron group finally got inside the space base, they walked into the bridge to see one other person standing at the command screen, typing in a series of codes. 

   "Beau, did you check out that Castle?" She said in an airy voice, turning around to face them. "Oh! You all must be in Shiro's group!"

The woman was beautiful - she had brown skin with tight, curly black hair that was pulled up into a bun. Her eyes were a shade of orange that popped out greatly against her skin. She wore the same uniform as Ulaz did. 

   "This is Bialar, my partner in this mission," Ulaz introduced. "Bialar, this is Team Voltron."

   "It's nice to meet you all," Bialar smiled at them, skipping over and grabbing Ulaz's arm. Her orange eyes settled on Ember and they brighten. "Oh, you must be the halfling Majesdanian! I remember Ulaz saying something about you."

   "It's nice to meet you," Ember smiled in reply. Bialar grasped Ember's hands gently as everyone else started to look around the place. 

   "Was you're mother Majesdanian, or was your father?" Bialar asked. 

   "Uh, I'm pretty sure my mom is human," Ember stammered. "I never met my father. . ."

   "Ah, so you must not know a lot about the other part of your race," Bialar perked up a bit. "Don't worry! I have something that might be helpful for you!"

Ember was almost overwhelmed by the energy Bialar radiated as she dragged Ember across the floor to the big computer. Bialar bumped Ulaz lightly with her hip to take over a small part of the keyboard before plugging something into the port. 

Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and Ember were gathered around behind the two teammates as Keith started to make his way over to them. 

   "With our members working on the inside, planning coordinated attacks with Voltron, we may finally have a chance." Ulaz explained. 

   "So, you have agents working within Zarkon's ranks?" Hunk asked. 

   "Of course we do, silly!" Bialar sent a cheerful grin to Hunk. 

   "How do you think you got away from Zarkon in that last fight?" Ulaz pointed out. "Do you think those shield around Zarkon's command center went down on their own? We've got people risking their lives in this war, just like you."

   "If you have people on the inside, can they tell me where my family is?" Pidge jumped in, looking hopeful. "They were taken the same time Shiro was."

   "I knew others from Earth were captured. I never saw them, but I have some records of Galra prisoners here." Ulaz replied. "I can transmit them to your ship."

   "What's that weapon you carry?" Keith asked suddenly. 

   "It's a ceremonial blade that each member of our order carries." Ulaz presented it to Keith.

   "Us Majesdanians have one too!" Bialar showed her blade as well, before going back to her screen. 

   "Hm, nice." Keith hummed. 

Red lights started flashing as the alarm started to blare. Bialar and Ulaz instantly started to figure out what was happening. 

    "Dammit!" Bialar hissed. 

   "Oh, no!" Ulaz turned towards the group. "You were tracked!"

   "What? Us?" 

   "If Zarkon knows we're here, it's because you two ratted us out." Keith retorted. The pod that was flying towards them exploded, making a robot appear from it. 

   "It's another one of Zarkon's robot. . .beast. . .ro-beats!" Hunk exclaimed. 

   "We have to get back to the ship." Shiro commanded. Bialar typed whatever she needed to as fast as she could, pulling the port out and turning towards Ember with a panicked look in her eyes. 

   "Ember, listen to me," Bialar said in a rushed tone. "I have given you all my notes for our powers in this port. It tells you about all the spells we can do, and how to form actual items from the light and keep it real. But everything you can do with your powers is based on what you're limit is."

   "Why are you giving me this?" Ember asked, clutching the port in her hands as Bialar grasped her hands again. "You don't even know me."

   "But I know you're going to be doing something great," Bialar responded, a grin taking over her features. "I just need you to do something. For Ulaz and I."

   "Anything," Ember nodded. 

   "We have a son, his name is Coruscare. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but if I don't make it out of here, give him these notes. He's a halfling, just like you, and will need all the help we can get him."

   "Coruscare," Ember repeated. 

   "Ember, lets go!" Keith called out from the doorway, everyone else already filing out towards the Red Lion. 

    "Thank you," Bialar pressed her forehead against Ember's and closed her eyes. "Fie ca zeii să vegheze asupra ta." She murmured. "Until we meet again."

    "Until we meet again," Ember repeated, clutching the port in her hand tightly before turning and running after her teammates. 

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

Hours later, Ember was walking around the Castle's hallways, deep in thought. Her mind was racing with thoughts and she couldn't just stop on one. 

  Why did Ulaz sacrifice himself? Was Bialar in there as well? What kind of spells can I apparently do?

Not paying attention, she bumped right into Keith, who had his own mind racing with thoughts. 

   "Sorry!" Ember apologized quickly, looking up and seeing Keith's dazed look. "Keith?"

   "Hm?"

   "Are you okay?"

   "Yeah, I'm fine," Keith responded automatically. "Just have a lot on my mind."

   "That makes two of us," Ember sighed. She placed a hand gently on Keith's shoulder, pausing to let him dodge out of the contact if he didn't want it. He stayed still. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. No judgement zone, free of charge."

   "Thanks," Keith paused. "I might take you up on that. . .But not now. . ."

   "Whenever you need me, I'll be here." Ember smiled, squeezing Keith's shoulder before walking towards her room. "Sleep well, Keith."

   "Sleep well, Ember."

▬ translation ▬

"Fie ca zeii să vegheze asupra ta."

v

"May the God(s) watch over you."