"The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!" The Arusian king narrated, the small group of his people acting out the scene he tried to convey. The two Arusians stacked on each other threw something at the others that were suppose to be 'Voltron' and they fell. "No. I said, 'Voltron was victorious!'"

The 'Voltron' group was quick to jump up and the other two fell to the ground in defeat. The Arusians that were watching it all raised their cups and cheered. Allura, who was to the side of the king, walked forwards with a smile. 

    "Thank you, Your Majesty, for that wonderful production." She turned to the people that filled up the room in the Castle of Lions. "It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe." The Princess turned back to the King, holding a small device out towards him. "Your highness, please accept this gift. This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help." 

The King took is graciously.

    "Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance."

    "Hoorah!" The King cheered, raising the device in the air proudly. The Arusians cheered again and festive music started to fill the hall. 

Ember's eyes brighten at the sound of music started up. Her foot tapped to the beat as Hunk walked over to her, Keith, and Lance. 

    "We ought to get something like that." Hunk suggested. 

    "Like what?" 

    "You know, like, a cheer. Like, a team cheer that we do." He elaborated, causing Lance to nod in agreement. 

    "Mhm. Yeah, okay. How about, uh. . ." Lance trailed off in thought. He snapped to life, grinning. "I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol!" 

    "Uh. . .Voltron?" Keith finished lamely. Lance's disappointed gaze made Ember snicker behind her hand. 

    "No! No, no, no. The cheer includes the instructions." He tried to explain to the Red Paladin. "I say 'Vol' and you say. . ."

    "Voltron?"

Ember laughed, leaning onto Hunk as she did so. "Keith, do you really not know what to do?" She looked up at the purple-eyed boy, immediately straightening up when she saw the raw confusion in his eyes. "You really don't know what's going on."

     "We'll work on it." Lance declared, taking a drink from the cup in his hands. While turned around, Keith shrugged at Hunk and Ember; making Ember was to grin broadly. 

His face was priceless. Adorable and priceless. 

Lance turned around, gagged to himself as he swallowed the liquid and ran over to Coran - who was not too far away from the original group. 

    "Coran, what is this?" 

    "Oh, this is Nunvill, the nectar of the gods." Coran answered.

    "It tastes like hot dog water and feet." Lance shot back. Ember rose her eyebrows in confusion. 

    "How would you know what hot dog water and feet tastes like?" She asked.  

    "Yeah, makes a wonderful hair tonic as well." Coran and Lance disregarded Ember's confusion, the ginger haired male splattering some Nunvill onto his mustache. Lance turned and acted like he was throwing up. 

    "Lance!" Ember scowled, waking the Blue Paladin's armor with her hand. "We are guests on this planet - this drink could be very important to them. So, don't go around acting like that!"

All the paladins had worn their armor - for reasons that Ember doesn't really know - but she gladly decided to stay in her normal clothing. It was much more comfortable than the armor she wears any day. 

Ember watched as Hunk and Keith inspected Lance, Keith tapped Lance's shoulder in slight worry. Dramatically, Lance fell over on the ground. Ember sighed, shaking her head as she drug Hunk and Keith away. 

    "Come on! You guys just have to meet Moontow, Elihu, and Vivian!"

    "Uh, Em," Hunk chuckled. "We already met them."

    "Oh." Ember stated, though she didn't stop dragging them to where she wanted to go. "Oh well. Look, there they are!"

    "Yup," Hunk said absentmindedly, snagging a yellow and pink food thing that had sticks poked through them. "I see them."

    "Emberson!" Moontow cheered, meeting Ember half way, with Elihu and Vivian trailing behind. "Have you tried the Nunvill? It's simply wonderful!"

    "I actually haven't." Ember admitted, smiling to the couple behind her new friend. "Hey guys!"

    "You have to try it! Go on, try some!" Moontow egged the human girl on, lifting a cup towards Ember. She took it, furrowing her eyebrows at the smell of it, and the thought of what Lance said. 

    "If I die, I die." Ember mumbled to herself, raising the drink to her mouth and taking a gulp. Her eyes widen in surprise as she looked back down at the purple drink. "Oh mon Dieu ç'est incroyable." 

    "Not all of us here can speak a different language, Bee." HUnk reminded, making Ember's sparkling eyes look up. 

    "It's amazing! I don't know what Lance was talking about!"

    "Let me try," Keith held a hand out, curiosity getting the better of him. Ember happily passed the cup, wanting everyone to have a taste. 

Keith took a gulp much like Ember did - but instead of finding delicious, his eyes widen in shock and he spat the drink out. Right onto Hunk's face. 

    "You lied to me," Keith croaked out, Hunk covering his face as well and groaning. 

    "I don't know what you're talking about." Ember huffed, turning to the Yellow Paladin. "Are you okay, Hunk?"

    "My eyes!" Hunk screamed, turning back around with a cheesy grin. The two snacks he was holding were now in his eyes. Ember giggled, leaning onto Keith as he laughed as well. 

    "H-Hunk!" Ember snickered. "Really?"

    "Really," Hunk grinned, finger gunning towards where he thought Ember was standing, which was in the completely  wrong direction. Ember laughed, wiping the tears from under her eye with a finger. 

Her sharp gaze went over to Allura - who Pidge had just walked away from - and noted the look in the Princess' eyes. Smiling to her old and new friends, Ember started to make her way towards Allura. She grabbed two cups of Nunvill, handing one to Allura once she was close enough.

    "Allura," Ember beamed. "I love your dress. The party is also going well!"

    "Thank you, Ember." Allura smiled at the younger girl, taking a sip from her new cup. "Are you having fun?"

    "Oh, yeah!" Ember stared off into the distance, a peaceful look coming across her face. "I haven't been in a castle for a long time. Never have I been in a castle that's so advance though!"

    "Your race has castles on its planet?" Allura asked, a bit shocked from the information. 

    "In some countries, yeah!" Her gaze went over to Allura, who was staring at Ember in confusion. "Countries are like. . .grouped communities. They have different rules for each community and different leaders."

    "I see," Allura nodded slowly. "What about these castles you were talking about?"

    "Well, every summer my mother would take my siblings and I to our home country; France. It's absolutely beautiful there." She sighed wistfully. "They had more than a thousand castles in France alone. We use to stay in one that my uncle owned." Her voice trailed off, dipping slightly at the end.

Allura smiled gently, putting a hand on Ember's shoulder and giving it a friendly squeeze. "Well, you now have the Castle of Lions to explore. This castle is just as much as yours then it is mine."

    "Thank you, Allura." Ember grabbed Allura's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You really are an amazing Princess."

    "Ember, Allura." Keith called out their names, snapping them back into the present. "Pidge needs to tell us something."

    "Tell us what?" Ember questioned, not noting the look in Allura's eyes returning. 

    "That's what we're about to fine out. Come on." 

The three of them walked out away from the party, out into a hallway where things were more muffled. They were joined by Hunk and they met up with Pidge and Shiro in the hallway. 

    "Uh. . ." Pidge started awkwardly. "I don't know how else to say this, besides bluntly. I'm leaving Team Voltron."

    "Pidge, no." Shiro started, but Pidge interrupted. 

    "The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search. I have a pod all ready to go."

    "You can't leave." Keith snapped, marching towards Pidge. 

    "You can't tell me what to do!"

    "If you leave, we can't form Voltron. And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families."

    "Yeah, I have a family. They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that like, a thing that can happen?" Hunk intervened.

    "You want to leave, too?" Allura asked, incredulously. 

    "Of course I do!" Hunk dropped his gaze. "Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space, fighting aliens."

    "Hunk, Pidge," Ember murmured softly. "We're fighting now so we can see our families later."

    "But I want to see my family now!"

    "You're putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone else in the entire galaxy!" Keith exploded, stalking towards Pidge with narrowed eyes. 

    "Keith," Ember grasped his shoulder, while Shiro grabbed his upper arm. 

    "Keith, that's not how a team works." Shiro scowled gently. "People have to be a part of it. They can't be forced." He pushed his way to stand in front of Shiro. 

    "Keith," Ember repeated lightly, flinching when Keith jerked his shoulder out from her grip. 

    "If you want to leave, we won't try to stop you." Shiro told Pidge. "But, please, just think about what you're doing." 

Pidge kept her gaze on the ground, not wanting to look any of them in the eyes. "I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion." She walked pass them, Rover following obediently behind her. 

    "I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?" Allura whispered. Ember clenched her fists, closing her eyes tightly. She wasn't sure if she was going to regret this. 

    "Pidge, wait!" Ember shouted, snapping her eyes opening and chasing after her best friend. "I'm coming with!" 

    "What?" 

    "What?!"

    "I'm not need here," Ember admitted, putting on a painful smile. "They have healing pods. You won't. I'm not having my best friend wonder off without the proper medical supplies."

    "How fast can you gather your stuff?" Pidge asked. 

    "Give me five minutes."

    "Wh, No!" Keith shook his head. "Pidge is leaving, Ember, you can't too! You're apart of this team!"

    "No, not really." Ember smiled back at the raven haired teen. "Pidge will need my help finding with finding the rest of his family."

    "You're both just being selfish then!" He snapped, anger getting the best of him. Before any of them could continue the conversation that was clearly declining, the castle around them shook. 

Ember gasped, trying to keep balance at the sudden rumbling around her as Team Voltron looked at each other in confusion. The lights in the castle suddenly went out, making the hallways dim. Allura gasped, seemingly knowing what was wrong, and started towards the control room. 

The closer they got, the thicker the gray smoke got until they all were coughing. Coran soon came into sight, coughing as well as he pushed himself up. 

    "What happened?" Shiro demanded, Hunk and him helping Coran stand. 

    "I'm not sure," Coran groaned, waving Ember off as she started to check him over. "I'm fine, just coughing a lot."

The smoke started to disappear, reveling the now ruined place where the crystal once hung. Below that, was a familiar boy wearing blue armor. 

    "The crystal!"

    "Lance!" Ember gasped, rushing forwards and sliding next to the injured body. Her hands hovered over the burned and scratches that littered his body. "Lance? Lance, come on!"

The boy groaned as Shiro ran over and started to hold him up slightly. 

    "We have to get Lance to the infirmary!" Pidge declared, standing next to Coran as the Altean leaned heavily on Hunk.

    "Without the crystal, the Castle has no power." Allura said.

    "Then we'll have to make do!" Ember snapped slightly, pressure slowly pressing on her. The medic dug around in her pockets, coming up with small band-aids and a small tube of disinfection. "Merde! Merde! I don't have anything on me, and I can't carry Lance to the infirmary by myself!"

    "He doesn't look good." Shiro murmured, noting that Ember's hands were shaking vigorously with nerves. But, it seemed like they couldn't get a break. 

    "Lion warriors, our village is under attack! We need help! Some of us is injured!"  The King of Arusians panicked as he ran in, sweating and crying. Maybe it was just sweat. 

    "Injured. More injured." Ember breathed out, eyes wide. "Gauze, I have gauze. Lance is going to need gauze, lidocaine and aloe, antibiotic ointment-"

    "Let's get to the lions!" Keith exclaimed over Ember's babbling. 

    "You can't." Allura shot down. "They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out. We're defenseless."

    "Will you not help us?" The King panicked. 

    "We'll help you. We just. . ." Keith trailed off as Lance groaned in pain again. 

    "Whatever we need to do, we need to figure it out now." Ember stressed.

    "This is bad." Hunk commented. 

    "We have to get a new crystal to get the Castle working again." Coran explained. "But, to get a new crystal, we need a ship." 

    "The pod I was loading, we can use that! I left the bay door open." Pidge exclaimed.

    "I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby." Coran started to piece a plan together. "Hunk, you come with me. I'll need someone big to help me carry the crystal."

    "A Balmera?" 

    "It's where the crystals come from. I'll tell you about it on the way!" 

With that Pidge, Hunk, and Coran raced their way out to the pod that awaited.

    "I'll go see what's happening at the Arusian village." Keith decided. 

    "I'll go with you, Keith." Allura added, a determined expression on her face. "I brought this on the poor Arusians." 

    "I can go run to the infirmary and get medical supplies. I just need to know where you're heading, Shiro." Ember looked over at the leader. 

    "I'll keep Lance stable until you get back and stand watch over the Castle." Shiro said. "Em, head to the main entrance. I'll be there, the door is wide open."

    "Got it!" Ember nodded, hands hovering over Lance for another second before getting up and sprinting to the infirmary. Keith and Allura followed, but the three of them quickly went their separate ways.

Ember hoped it didn't take her as long as it usual did when finding the right rooms as she smacked into the door to the infirmary. "Merde!" She hissed, holding her nose as the doors finally slid open. 

The black-haired girl didn't waste a second as she sprinted into the room. Small potted plants were hiding here and there, but Ember disregarded them as she threw open the cabinets.

    "Lidocaine, Lidocaine, Lidocaine - Here's ointment!" She breathed out the items she needed, searching frantically. "Gauze, lots of gauze - disinfectant! Okay, where-" She grabbed her small bag that Allura had given her to carry around. Ember threw some scissors and tweezers in there. "Aloe!"

Her head snapped to the plant that was growing nicely on her desk. Without hesitation, she snapped off the biggest leave on the plant and ran for the door. 

    "Hold on Lance, please!" 

Ember rounded corner after corner, running into the walls of the hallway and pushing herself to go faster. At corner closest to the control room, she rounded the corner - only to slid to a stop. 

In front of her were two Galra officers with too many drones to take on herself. Two of them were carrying Lance and a knocked out Shiro. Her grey eyes made eye contact with Sendak's golden eye, before she yelped and turned to run. 

    "After her!" 

    "Not me!" Ember yelled back, digging through her bag as she ran for her life. "Why did I not wear my armor today?! Today of all days, you guys couldn't have waited until tomorrow?!"

Her hands grasped the scissors that she threw into her bag, making her gasp and bring them out. She looked at the blade, making sure they were sharp (which, they were very sharp). Rounding another corner, something caught her leg last second and she flew to the ground in surprise. 

Ember's teeth clicked together painfully as her chin hit the cold ground and her leg burned horribly, but she didn't waste anytime. She flipped over scrambling to her feet with her weapons raised. The droids held their guns higher once they realized she had stopped running.

    "Did you guys seriously shoot me?!" Ember screamed, noting they didn't have anything but  guns. "What the hell!"

The girl jumped on her toes, getting the blood flowing back into her leg - making her leg hurt like hell - but she darted forwards with little doubt. Pink lasers shot at her and she tried to best to dodge them, but her burning shoulder and stomach proved she wasn't doing good. 

Ember let out a battle cry, swinging the scissors at one of the drones knee. It didn't exactly do anything but make the machine falter, but Ember didn't want to take them all down.  She ran down the hallway, running left and right instead of straight down the hallway. 

But, it was fruitless. 

Ember felt the breath leave her lungs as a burning sensation hit her back suddenly. The force made her fall and knock her head harshly against the floor. The hallway spun around her as she tried to get back up, but blackness was edging her vision. 

    "Concussion." Ember slurred, stumbling to stand up. Something hard and metal smacked the back of her head - most likely a drones gun - and she fell to the floor in pain. 

    "Captured the Runaway."

That was the last thing that Ember heard before she went numb. But, a certain Green Paladin was watching from the sidelines, eyes wide with fear for her best friend. 

    "Oh no."

  ▬ translation ▬  

Oh mon Dieu ç'est incroyable

v

Oh my God, this is [it's] amazing 

Merde! Merde!

v

Shit! / Dammit!