((This is the closest thing I could get to how I imagined Bialar))

   "Take cover in the Balmera!" Allura ordered Shay and her family. "We'll hold it off with the Castle's defenses."

Not arguing, the family and the other Balmerans ran for cover inside their planet while Allura, Bialar, and Ember made their way into the Castle.

   "What can we do?" Bialar asked, turning towards the frantic Princess.

   "We can't do anything! That machine is too tall and too powerful for us to attack it personally." Allura stated, dashing out of the pod that took them up into the Castle and towards the bridge. "Particle barrier up!"

   "We have to do something!"

As if to prove her point further, when the Castle started to fire its defensive weapons, the beast - now headless, mind you - blocked the attacks with two purple crystals that were in front of him.

   "Those crystals are acting as shield." Allura said. A green light burst from the creatures' torso and hit the Castle dead-on, causing the occupants inside to stumble from the force. "I need to lure it away from the Balmera!"

Bialar turned towards Allura as the Castle started its way into space, her orange eyes deadly serious. "Contact the Paladins of Voltron, I will go out there and distract it."

   "Distract it?! How?!"

   "I'll fly around it's body, he won't be able to hit me if I use my jetpack!"

   "You could use those disk things I showed you!" Ember suddenly exclaimed. "Wait, hold on, I'm coming with!"

   "Ember!"

   "Allura!" Ember turned towards the Princess. "Please, just contact the Paladins! Bialar and I will distract the monster by flying around it, using our powers!"

   "It's too dangerous!"

   "We'll be like flies! He won't be able to hit us!" Ember took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Allura, we got this. I got this. If it gets to be too much, I'll fly back."

Allura flinched as the monster sent yet another green beam at the Castle. Her eyes locked onto Ember's and they stared at each other for a long moment.

   "Promise?"

   "Promise."

Allura let out a groan of irritation. "Go! Hurry, I'll contact them now."

   "Lets go." Bialar ordered, running out of the bridge with Ember close behind. They had to stop by Ember's room to grab her helmet and Bialar gave her a comm to connect to her own before they actually made their way into space, by passing the particle barrier in a little section Allura made for them.

Ember let out a shaky breath, staring at the beast as it made another shot towards the Castle.

   "Lets get close enough to see if there's a weakness on it." Bialar commanded, making Ember nod. "Make sure to stay clear of its arms, legs, and those purple shield things."

   "So the whole thing? Got it. Lead the way." 

The two of them jetpacked their way over to the monster, keeping an eye out on its extra appendages and shield as they scanned him. 

   "Go for its torso," Bialar finally said. 

Taking a deep breath and nodding, Ember jetted forward with her arms slowly glowing with her power. It didn't catch the monsters' attention, until she threw a disk at its torso with as much force as she could. 

That  caught its attention.  

It's red body swung around, trying to find out where the attacker was, but Bialar was on its backside already throwing her rainbow daggers. When the beast turned again, Ember flew around and threw more disks. 

This went on for a while, the monster even shot its green beam to try and hit them, but missed. 

   "I'm getting on that thing," Bialar finally spoke. Ember nodded, throwing a disk to get its attention. While the focus was on Ember, Bialar flew as fast as she could towards it. 

   "Watch out!" Ember shouted, just as a purple shield cut Bialar's path off. Bialar spun, trying to get out of range. Ember flew to the side, throwing an arrangement of different objects at the monster to try and distract him. 

Thankfully, it worked, and just in time. 

As soon as the two wormholes opened up and flew in two lions. Ember knew she was in for it when she started to hear the group talk. 

   "Whoa! How is that thing operational? It doesn't have a head!" Lance exclaimed as the beast fired another shot at the castle. Bialar and Ember had backed off, watching as the Yellow and Blue lion flew closer. 

   "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with those crystals."  Pidge replied. 

   "Yeah, those two large crystals are acting as a shield." Ember inputted. "Won't even let Bialar get close."

   "And you would know that because?" Hunk trailed off. Ember, not knowing exactly how to put it, simply started firing disks at the monster again. 

   "Ember, why are you just flying through space near that thing?!"

   "You guys weren't here and we need a distraction!" Ember defended herself. Bialar, to her left, tilted her head in confusion, reminding Ember that Bialar didn't have a link into their comms. 

   "Can't worry about that now." Shiro said, sounding just the tiniest of bit mad. "We have to protect the Castle."

   "How did we beat it last time?" Keith asked. 

   "We formed Voltron, then I stuck in my bayard and shot it with my blaster right in its arm lasers. But that didn't stop it so then we had to punch it." Hunk explained all in one breath. 

   "Basically, you need Voltron." Ember deadpanned. 

   "But we only have two lions."  Pidge pointed out.

   "Maybe we can just form the legs and kick it."  Lance offered. Ember let out a sigh, swooping back to where Bialar was floating. 

   "What's going on?" Bialar asked. 

   "They need to form Voltron, but they got to get into the Castle to get the lions." Ember explained. Her eyes widen as the beast let out another laser, this time aimed for the lions but spinning around. "Duck!" 

   "Whoa!" 

Bialar and Ember swooped down, barely missing the deadly weapons ray. The two moons that orbited Balmera exploded, sending Bialar and Ember flying to opposite way. The heat radiated throughout space, but thankfully the two weren't that close. 

   "We need a plan here! Bialar and I are just floating here!" Ember reported.

   "That new laser is much more powerful. We're definitely gonna need all the lions."  Shiro commented. "Ember, get back to the Castle with Bialar. Hunk, you distract it so we can fly into the Castle. Once we get our lions out, we'll cover you so you can fly Keith in for Red."

   "Copy, turning comms off." Ember murmured, turning off her comms. Clearly, they weren't needed anymore. "Bialar, Shiro wants us back to the Castle." 

   "Chin up, Ember," Bialar ordered, gently tapping the underside of her helmet before they took off towards the Castle. "We did our job and that was to distract that thing until Voltron's Paladins got here."

   "I wish we could do more, though," Ember sighed. 

   "You will, I know it," Bialar replied. "Just not with giant machines. That's for Voltron. I'm sure we will get some ground missions soon. Until then, we must train you. Understood?"

   "Yes, ma'am."

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

To say that Ember thought Slav was annoying, would be an understatement. 

He was absolutely beyond irritating. 

Currently, he was lounged across the keyboard on the bridge, typing away with his extra hands while still having one hold him up. 

   "Why is there an Arboertum in the Castle? There's no use for some plants, they would just wilt - oh! Sun-like lights, nice touch." Slav commented. 

   "I'm so glad Pidge is smart, and not like Slav." Ember murmured under her breath, Allura patting her shoulder in support. 

    "Why is there a grand entrance on the 40th floor? And what's with all the ziplines? You have hover technology." Slav complained. 

   "I love the ziplines!" Ember retorted, eyes narrowed. 

   "Well, you know what?" Allura responded, clearly at the edge with Slav as well. "Ziplines were quite fashionable 10,000 years ago." 

Noticing that Team Voltron was finally in the Castle after defeating the beast, Ember smiled and greeted them happily. 

   "Guys! You're all okay, right?"

   "Of course we are," Lance scoffed. "As if that beast put any dents on us."

   "Hunk legit almost became a barbecued lion."

   "From this point on, we don't talk about that." 

Ember giggled, throwing an arm around Hunk and Keith. "Sure thing, Hunk, sure thing."

   "Allura, have you heard from Coran?" Keith asked, keeping an arm on Ember's back so she wouldn't fall backwards. She might be tall, but she wasn't tall enough to throw an arm around Hunk's shoulders without being on her toes. 

   "Yes." Allura replied shortly. 

   "So we ready to pop through the wormhole and get back to Olkarion?" Lance asked. 

   "Yes," Allura replied, this time with more energy. Ember pursed her lips, dropping her arm from around Hunk but keeping it around Keith. "I've checked in with Coran and the teludav is nearly complete."

Her gaze went over to Hunk, completely ignoring Keith. "Hunk, thank you for getting the scaultrite." 

   "No problem." Hunk grinned, his face falling as he noted Ember's foot tapping. "You know, Keith was there too."

Finally, Allura met Keith's gaze, but was giving him a bad look. It was full of mistrust and hate.She turned away, not giving them a reply. Ember pursed her lips. 

   "Allura." 

   "Yes?" 

   "If you're going to treat Keith this way, you might as well treat me that way."

   "What?"

Allura turned towards the young girl, who was like her best friend, and watched with wide eyes as Ember walked closer. 

   "If you're going to treat Keith this way, you might as well treat me that way." Ember repeated, slowly. 

   "I-I heard you the first-"

   "Good." Ember nodded sharply. 

   "I'm not-"

   "Why not?" Ember narrowed her eyes into knives. "Keith may be part Galra - which he can't help - but I'm part Majesdanian. Why am I getting better treatment than him?"

   "Because he's-"

   "Don't say it's because he's part Galra. Part of my race led to your kingdoms downfall just like the Galra."

There was a small moment a silence, which was very uncomfortable. Allura was still shocked at Ember's words, but composed herself as quick as she could. 

   "I wish to drop this conversation."

   "Gladly." Ember huffed, turning on her heel to march out of the bridge. "Don't bother thanking me for distracting that stupid beast until you thank Keith for getting the scaultrite, as well!"

It was now more than ever that Ember wished she could shut the doors herself, because a door slamming behind her exit would have made things more dramatic. 

The group stared after Ember in shock, not expecting that kind of eruption from her. They knew it was coming, but they didn't think it would be that bad. 

At least it couldn't get worse.

Pidge let out a sigh, taking off her helmet and started to follow after her best friend. "I'll go hose her down."

   "I. . .better help. . ." Keith muttered, not finding a real good reason to leave the bridge. Clearly, he wasn't wanted. 

The door slid shut softly behind them. 

▬ ✦✧✦ ▬

Keith didn't go to find Ember until after they landed on Olkarion and Coran had showed them all the teludav. When Coran had asked where she was, Pidge simply replied with;

   "Ember needed to check over a few things with her plants."

No one really dared to question it. Especially Princess Allura, whose face scrunched up slightly at the other girls' name. 

Currently, Keith was walking around the hallways of the Castle, trying to find her. She wasn't in her plant space, she wasn't in her room, and he didn't know where else to find her. 

Until he passed by the training room and heard the sounds of fighting. 

Entering slowly, Keith noticed that Bialar and Ember were training, and Ember was actually keeping up. That was until Ember caught sight of Keith. 

   "Keith!" She exclaimed, just as Bialar swept her feet out from under her. Ember landed with a thud, a groan escaping from her mouth from impact. 

   "Don't loose focus," Bialar reminded her lightly, sticking a hand out to help Ember stand. Her orange eyes noted Keith standing in the doorway and her lips pulled up into a smirk. "We're done, for now. We can train later."

   "Okay!" Ember grinned, walking over to Keith while Bialar left the room. Bialar wiggled her eyebrows, making Ember scoff lightly. 

   "You were doing pretty good," Keith complimented. 

   "Thanks," Ember smiled. "We might have not been training for long, but Bialar has taught me a lot of stuff."

   "Maybe we can spar sometime?"

   "I would totally beat you!" Ember teased, grabbing a towel and wiping her face and neck. "Well, what's up?"

   "You missed seeing the teleduv," Keith gestured for Ember to follow. "So, I thought I'd take you to see where the teams gathered to watch the sunset."

   "Sure! I haven't seen a sunset in so long," Ember sighed, throwing her jacket on as they walked down the halls. A small pause of silence enveloped them, although Ember was humming a familiar tune. Keith cleared his throat, feeling slightly awkward. 

   "Uh, about what you said on the bridge. . ."

   "Hm?"

   "You didn't have to do that. Really," Keith pushed, seeing the look on Ember's face. "I was fine dealing with Allura's newfound hatred for me. I know how close you two are."

   "Allura doesn't like you because you're half Galra. That just so happened to be part of the race that has taken over the universe. My alien half is the other part that has taken over the universe. She shouldn't treat you like that. That's, like, racist."

   "I'm pretty sure it isn't."

   "In a way,  it is." 

The two chuckled, Ember covering her mouth slightly. 

   "Well, thanks. It was pretty brave of you to call her out like that." Keith smiled. 

   "Almost as brave as you guys fighting alien monsters?"

   "Almost."

The sunset was beautiful. The oranges and yellow blended perfectly, making it hard to tell where each color started. It was such a vibrant light as well, Ember couldn't have been happier. 

While Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Shiro stood to watch the scene, Pidge and Ember sat with their legs thrown over the edge. Ember was slightly leaning into Shiro, the older pilot gently running his robot fingers through her ponytail. 

   "What's everybody thinking about?" Pidge asked, breaking the peacefulness that has settled over them. 

   "Zarkon."

   "Calzones."

The team turned to look at Hunk, he was the only one to have answered differently. Well, besides Ember in her head. Hunk looked at his team sheepishly.

   "I mean, uh, heck, yeah, I'm thinking about calzones, okay?" Hunk shrugged. "He's a bad guy. We're trying to defeat him. I get it. I'm hungry."

To prove his point, a loud rumbling came from his stomach. They turned their gaze back to the horizon. 

   "We've come a long way." Keith commented. 

   "Yeah, remember when Hunk used to throw up from riding i the elevator?" Lance quizzed. 

   "Of course I remember, I was the one who had to help him," Ember scoffed, scrunching her nose up at the thought of throw up. 

Ew. 

   "You guys remember that Arusian? Klaizap, I think his name was? Cool name?" Hunk reminisced. 

   "Yeah, Keith tried to beat him up even though he's the size of a peanut," Lance chuckled. 

   "He was their bravest warrior and he had a sword up to Ember's neck!" Keith argued. 

   "What about that time we had a food fight?" Ember snickered. "I had such a hard time getting that goo out!"

   "How about the time the food goo machines attacked us in the kitchen?" Pidge laughed. 

   "That was the scariest thing that's happened to me the entire time I've been here." Hunk admitted, an aloof grin on his face. 

   "Oh, come on."

   "What? It's the truth!" 

   "We've faced sentries, a haunted castle, giant Robeasts, a mall security guard, Ember's fail attempt at a rainbow spike."

   "Hey!"

   "And don't forget that cool cube thing!" Pidge hopped up and turned towards the group. 

   "Yeah, and hat awful cube thing."

Ember tilted her head backwards, not only to face her friends as they talked, but because Shiro had stopped running his fingers through her hair. 

   "You realize once we defeat Zarkon, the universe won't nee Voltron anymore." Shiro pointed out, turning to face his team. 

   "We can return to Earth." Lance realized. Ember grimaced slightly, but couldn't help but long for the call of her trips to France.

   "I can look for my family." Pidge murmured.

   "I guess I could look for mine." Keith reasoned. 

   "I could probably see if my real dad would want me. . ." Ember whispered softly. 

   "This is it." Shiro stated. "As long as everything goes according to plan, we can't fail."

Because after everything they've been through, Team Voltron needed a breakthrough. Who knows, maybe this will be the final battle?

Oh, how wrong they are.