"So you all went to the Garrison together?" Shiro asked us with interest.

Hunk rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah. Kira was in our first year class, but she got expelled for fighting. We haven't heard from her since." He admitted guiltily.

Even Lance winced. "What is it?" Shiro asked, catching onto it.

Lance cast a side glance at me before back at him. "Well, Hunk and I were being picked on by some newly graduated officers. Kira had tried to get them to stop, but they ended up hitting me. So she began to hit back. A full on fight broke out. But she won!" He grinned a bit at that.

Shiro smiled gently at me, which would have made me blush all those years ago.

Not so much now.

"You're a great friend." I snorted, crossing my arms as I stared down the idiot duo. "They were in my group and it was right before a test. Besides I don't tolerate bullying."

Shiro's smile saddened as he grabbed his right arm. It's a prosthetic.

I see.

The druids took an interest in him. "Yeah. I noticed that." He spoke softly. I pursed my lips and averted my eyes.

The rest of the group looked at us wearily. "So . . . you and Shiro were prisoners together once?" Hunk asked gently. My hands gripped my elbows tightly and my jaw clenched.

Memories of the gladiator arena sparked and it made me even more angry. The arena also brought memories of Mari and Ray. Matt. And the others.

"So did you know a prisoner named Matt?!" Pidge asked, getting closer to me. Desperation in his voice and eyes. "Yeah. I knew him." I admitted, staring at him weirdly.

Matt talked constantly. I was his only outlet. The only one who could listen to him and ground him.

"Do you know where he is?! Is he okay?!" He grabbed my arms tightly, immediately making me uncomfortable.

I don't like it when people touch me. I made an exception in the ship because we were escaping. "I don't know where he is. Last I saw of him was when a group of rebels broke him out. Let go." I answered, shrugging his arms off.

Pidge deflated a bit before perking up some more. "But that just means that he's safe as he can be from Zarkon. That's a good start."

Shiro nodded in agreement, some relief washed over his face.

As safe as he can be. Zarkon is a threat to everyone. But as long as he's not imprisoned he's got a fighting chance.

Shiro turned towards me, eyeing my state. "For now, you should get some rest. You've been through a lot."

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, gripping my elbows. "A nap isn't going to do much for being imprisoned for three years. Give or take. Besides, I'm a little restless."

I had spoken light-heartedly, but it seemed to put them in a tense mood.

"Allura, do you think you could create a wormhole to Earth? We should send her home, where it's safe." Shiro suggested.

My head snapped upwards. Return home? "Uh-uh. No way. I'm not going anywhere just yet. I wanna join your fight."

Their eyes went wide at my proclamation. "You, you want to join us?" Keith was the one to ask, obviously bewildered.

I raised an eyebrow at them. "You have five giant metal cats that can destroy fleets of warships. Yeah, I wanna join."

Why is that such a surprise. There are two sides in this conflict. The Galra's and the Rebellions. And I sure as hell am not going to be joining the Galra.

I promised to make Haggar's life a living hell and I don't go back on my promises.

"I, um . . . I'm happy to hear you'll join our fight?" Allura seemed unsure as she spoke.

I don't like people. They make me uncomfortable. No, it's not even that. It's the fact that life is very fragile. And people die as easily as trees change.

I'm still not over the last time someone close to me died. And Matt . . . I was terrified everyday that that could have been the last moment I saw him. That he'd die in the ring, in the labs, in that room.

I don't want to stay with anyone, let alone these guys.

My classmates and hero.

The possibility of bonding to them is stronger than just random strangers.

But they're Voltron. The only ones who can defeat Zarkon. The only ones who can bring him down. To bring Haggar down.

That witch took everything from me. Her and her precious Zarkon. My childhood, Mari, Ray, and myself.

My arms hung loosely by my sides. My fists clenching. I want them to pay. I want to tear them to the ground. And what better way then through Voltron?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"Yeah. I was a pretty decent pilot and strategist if I do say so myself. Besides, I've been inside many warships. I got the basic layouts of them, their weaponry, commanders, infirmaries, druids, even fighting styles. I was also a Champion on one warship so I'm good in hand to hand combat." I listed off the benefits of having me would be.

They still seemed baffled. "You really want to stay and fight, don't you?" Lance murmured.

I stared at him, before smirking. "I gotta repay them for their wonderful hospitality." The sarcasm in my voice held malice that made Hunk flinch.

"Kira, you just got out, you're angry. You're not thinking clearly."

I shot Shiro a look. "How long after your escape did it take you to join?" I asked. He winced at my question. "It's different-"

"It's not. Look. I get it, you're a Paladin of Voltron. But that doesn't exempt me from joining. Besides, I'm the best intel you have at this point. Not only do I know the layout of their ships, but people talk in there. Prisoners and guards alike. And in war, secrets traded amongst the people are the greatest currency."

Shiro sighed, shoulders slumping. "You're not gonna listen to reason, are you?"

Lance laughed boisterously, patting Shiro on the back. "You've got a lot to learn about her."

~

"Pidge!" I called, stopping the short boy who was rushing down the hall. "Oh, hey Kira." He greeted as I approached him.

I placed a hand on my hip, staring at the Matt look-a-like. "Where is everyone? I haven't seen anyone since breakfast."

True to their word, the team decided to let me stay. But we didn't really get much done yesterday.

I was up late with Shiro and Allura, going over intel until early in the morning.

But I haven't seen anyone in a while, meaning they're doing rebellion work without me. "Oh. They're in the detainment room. We have a prisoner there. Come with." He smiled.

I nodded and followed after him. I couldn't help but study him out of the corner of my eye.

How could I not? He looks so much like him.

"Pidge. Is your name by any chance Katie?" I questioned. He/She jumped and stared up at me wide eyed. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

Well I kind of figured it out yesterday. It's kind of obvious.

"String Bean, I mean, Matt was my cellmate for a while. He talks a lot. Especially about you. His only sibling. You look a lot like him in that getup." I admitted.

Pidge, Katie, stared up at me. A mass of emotions in her eyes.

Eyes much like Matt's. "How-how was he?" She asked carefully. Almost afraid of the answer.

Hm. I mulled it over a bit. "He was as well off as anyone could be, but he adapted quickly. Talks a lot. I mean a lot. Almost annoyingly optimistic. Took forever to teach him to throw a punch. You're a lot better than him."

I smirked over at her and she returned it with a confident smile. Then it turned sad. "I just want to find him. Him and dad." She murmured.

I'm not used to comforting people. So I did what I always did for Matt. I gently nudged her side with my arm.

"Matt's a stubborn kid. Something like this isn't going to stop him. Not from finding your dad and certainly not coming back to you. You mean the world to him." I told her.

And it's true. For months all I've heard is Katie this, Katie that. He's such a doting brother. But listening to him had put me at ease.

That's why I figure I should at least try to reassure her. For Matt. I am in no way going to let any of these guys come close to me like he did.

I've had enough of bonds and friends. Because even if we're not on that ship, we're still in the middle of war.

It'd be meaningless since there are plenty of casualties of war.

But comforting her is something he'd want to do. So I'll do it since he's not here. "Thanks Kira." I nodded and we headed the rest of the way in silence.

We soon entered a room filled with cryopods. Everyone else, except Allura, were around one in particular so we headed over towards them.

As soon as I saw who it was a gasp escaped my lips and I moved back and into a stance.

He's here. They're here. They're taking me back.

Upon closer inspection I see he's asleep inside the pod and my body relaxed. Just a bit though, I'm still weary.

I shot a look at the others, more specifically, Shiro. "Why's Sendak here?" I almost snapped.

Shiro held his hands in a calming gesture. "He had attacked us and this planet. He tried to take over the castle by destroying the crystal. We defeated him and he's our prisoner. We want to know what Zarkon has planned so we can stop it."

I see. So interrogation, huh? I would personally love to see him squirm.

He was on one of the ships for a while. And he loved to bully us. Especially Ray.

"I have to warn you. This technology was used to keep Altean memories alive. Not to interrogate prisoners." Coran said wearily as he finished hooking up some device to the cryopod.

"Coran, we understand this isn't what the technology was meant for. But like I said, if we can extract Sendak's memories we may gain valuable intelligence on Zarkon's troop locations."

"Yeah, and then we can just be like, Knock-knock.'Who's there?' The avenging fury of Voltron, son!" Lance had knocked on Hunks head before doing some weird move as he spoke.

I eyed him strangely. Yeah, he hasn't changed at all.

Pidge went up towards Coran, watching as he did something on a screen. "Fascinating. So how does this exactly work?" She questioned.

Coran didn't even look up from the screen. "As the memories are extracted, they're written bit by but on individual molecules for the micro-storage strands."

That's a possibility out here.

Back on Earth that would be an outrageous theory.

Then again we're quite primitive compared to the rest of the galaxy. "When I go, I want all the stuff in my brain stored in a giant ship." Lance said with a faraway look in his eyes.

I snorted. "The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane." Keith stated, making me smirk in amusement.

Lance turned to Keith with a fierce glare. "Oh yeah?! Well the amount of information you have, Keith, could be . . . " Lance trailed off, thinking. "Yeah?" Keith asked, not fazed as he stood with his arms crossed.

His angst still at his highest point as ever. "Uh . . . It's less than what I have!" Lance spoke proudly.

Geez, what an idiot. "Oh good one Lance!" Hunk backed up his friend. Idiots. They're both idiots.

"This is how you incorporated King Alfor's memories in the Castle of Lions?" Pidge asked, still hovering by Coran.

She's excited. "Precisely. But it's never been attempted on an unwilling participant."He finished whatever it was he was doing and stepped back, staring at our prisoner.

My eyes drifted to the Galran. The top of the tube emitted something as it worked on extracting memories in a weird way.

"Uh, is this what's supposed to be happening?" Hunk asked, not seeing really much of anything.

"Let's give it some time." Shiro suggested. So we waited there. Staring at Sedak asleep in the tube. I hope it works. And I hope it hurts.

I hope it hurts a lot.

~

After a while everyone began to get tired of watching nothing happen. With the exception of me and Shiro.

I want this to work. I want him to lose. For Ray.

Ray was a freedom fighter. Always one to pull people together and give them hope. To fight against injustice. That's how he got caught. He stayed behind to save the others while they attacked a Galra fleet on some planet.

It seems poetic if he gave us the information to carry on Ray's and the others revolution.

Especially since Voltron is here.

"Well I can't wait around anymore. I'm going to hit the training deck." Keith's words barely registered in my mind. My attention remaining on Sendak.

At some point Lance came up to stare at me and Shiro. Seeing if we're asleep standing up or turned to stone. When he poked my cheek I slapped his hand, making him yelp and jump away from me.

"Okay, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the lab. Maybe I can pull some information from Sendak's Galra crystal." Pidge stood from her sitting position and headed out.

Wait. A Galra crystal? They didn't inform me of that. Maybe I should help her.

No. Focus.

Interrogation time.

Shaking off my thoughts, I continued to watch Sendak. Over time, the others began to leave, one by one. Soon it was just me and Shiro.

Shiro walked up to the pod and rested his arm on it. "I know you're in there Sendak. I know you have all the answers. Give them to me."

Shiro seems a little . . . off. Tense maybe? I don't really know. But it's not good.

"Shiro, relax. Slow and steady wins the race." I tried. He sighed, pushing off the pod. "We need answers Kira. We need to stop Zarkon." I frowned at him.

He's rushed. That's what it is. And it's dangerous. "Patience is important. I've been imprisoned for years, but I still managed to escape. You were imprisoned a year and you escaped. Some things take time. Just wait. This'll work." I tried.

I don't know him personally. Only of him. This is a different side than what I was told about.

"We managed to escape, yes. But at what cost?" I bit my lip self consciously. He has a point there. We're not exactly normal anymore. And in the worst way possible too.

"If we could have escaped earlier we could've prevented some things. And there are others out there who are being put through what we did. Worse even. We need to defeat Zarkon."

He turned and hit the pod with a grunt. "You're a broken soldier! You can't hold out forever!" Shiro . . . Huh?

The next tube over extracted something bright into it.

What's that?

Shiro and I looked at each other before back to Sendak. "So you can hear me." Shiro said with a smile.

He straightened up went back to being professional. "What was the first rank you held in Zarkon's army? Where did you find the Red Lion? What is Zarkon's greatest weakness?" Shiro began asking questions.

"What makes you think you can possibly defeat him?" We jumped as a voice echoed around us.

This voice . . . I think it's Sendak's. I've met him enough times to tell. But his voice isn't coming from one place it's all around.

Is that normal? Is this Altean's technology?

Shiro pursed his lips but tried not to let it falter him. "If you were to attack Zarkon, where would you strike?" He asked, going back to his questions.

"Why strike at all when you can join him?" My body tensed, my flight or fight instincts screaming for me to listen to them.

Shiro looked around wildly as I crouched a bit, prepared for anything. Our eyes went back to Sendak and I swear, I swear, his eyes opened making Shiro gasp and me go rigid.

He's awake. He's awake. He's going to take me back. No. I'm not going back!

"You will answer his questions and his questions only, prisoner." I growled out the last part.

Sendak's chuckle reverberated against the metal walls. "How the tables have turned. You may be off the ship, but you're still part of us. Both of you. We're connected, the three of us. We're part of the Galra empire."

Shiro shook his head. "No! I'm not like you." His words came out breathy; Sendak's words getting to him.

"You've been broken and reformed. Just look at your hand."

He's referring to his new arm. The one the druids took. "That's not me!" He shouted at Sendak. "It's the strongest part of you. Embrace it. The others don't know what you two know. They haven't seen what you've seen. Face it. You'll never beat Zarkon. He's already defeated you."

Shiro shouted and covered his ears, bending over. His eyes wide and wild. "I'm not listening to you!" He screamed.

I thrust my arm out, blocking him from Sendak.

"Enough with the games! Shiro isn't Galra. I'm not Galra. We will defeat Zarkon and Haggar. We are nothing like you. So shut up and give us the answers we asked for." I spoke strong, cold, sharply.

"You do have a point there. You're right. You're not like us. You're an abomination."

My breath caught in my throat at his words. I didn't argue. I couldn't. Because it's true.

I'm . . .

"You're a monster! Both of you! Do you really think a monster like you can actually save people. Or that a monster like you could be a Paladin of Voltron?"

I just stood there, shaken. I . . . I . . .

"Stop it!" Shiro shouted, slamming his fist into the od and cracking it. It was quiet for a bit. "You're a fool for thinking you could actually defeat Zarkon. Both of you are fools. Just like Ray."

Red. That's all I saw. An enraged scream ripped from me and I slammed my hand on the control pad. Ejecting him into space.

I breathed heavily, trying to reign in my anger. Trying to calm my mind. Abomination. Monster. Fool. Ray.

Shiro slumped to the floor, gasping a bit, trying to subside his fear. I just stood there, hand still on the panel. Those words echoing hauntingly in my mind.

Abomination. Monster. Fool. Ray.

Shiro finally stood, placing a hand on his head. We were quiet. Neither of us saying a word. We don't know what to say to justify our reactions. We know better then anyone what happens of you're prisoners. We've seen what the Galra are capable first hand.

And we know that his words were true too.

The door opened and footsteps approached. "Shiro, Kira! Are you guys okay?" Pidge's voice broke through Sendak's.

I turned a bit to see everyone hover over us. I didn't like it. They're too close. There's no room to escape.

Escape.

"Where's Sendak?" Keith asked. I turned fully towards them and glanced at Shiro. He's still disheveled.

"In space." I simply told them, stepping back from them, creating some space. "We-we were hearing his voice. We can't trust him on this ship!" Shiro told them, still reeling himself in.

"It is the ship! I got stuck in a cryopod then in an airlock, Keith got attacked by a robot, and Hunk and Pidge got attacked by food! It's been a weird morning." The ship?

Ah! "The Galra crystal." I murmured, eyes widening. Pidge and Coran nodded. "Yes. It's infected the ship. We-"

A blaring sound stopped him as a screen moved up to show something. "What? How is that possible?" Coran spoke. Face going pale.

"What is it?" Keith asked. Coran didn't look away from the screen. "The ship is starting a wormhole jump!"

Wormhole? "I thought only that girl could do that. The Princess."

Everyone exchanged worried glances before taking off. This isn't good. I was about to run after when a voice stopped me.

It's distorted, but it's Sendak's.

"You cannot defeat Zarkon. You cannot defeat Haggar." I closed my eyes for a minute. 

This isn't real. It's a trick. But it's also using Sendak's memories. So it must be aware of what's going on.

It doesn't matter though. "Just watch me."

I ran out and headed towards the control room when I saw everyone heading out.

"Allura's dad's corrupted and trying to kill us! We're heading into an exploding star so we need to slow the spaceship down before we all die!" Lance shouted at me as he and the others ran towards where I assume the hangars at.

Okay then. I spotted Allura and ran after her.

"Princess, I'll help." I said, catching up to her. She nodded but kept moving forward. Her eyes glazed over. She looks like she's about to cry.

Lance said Allura's dad. But she had told me that he was an A.I. Meaning he's apart of the castle which is infected.

By stopping him means to destroy his program. Which means she'll lose him forever.

I can see why she's on the verge of tears.

We entered a strange room where there's one control panel and a capsule of memories that waited. We rushed towards it when some strange cables shot out and wrapped around my arms and legs, suspending me in the air.

"Ah!" I shouted as another wrapped painfully around my neck. "Kira!" Allura looked up at me with wide eyes before hurrying over to the control panel.

But a hologram of a man who looks scary similar to Allura appeared behind it.

"Don't do this! You must. All my memories, all my knowledge will be lost forever! Do it Allura. If you are to live we must say goodbye." They A.I. kept glitching.

One is the virus wanting to kill everyone, one is the original trying to save her.

"I'm sorry about this father." As she was about to finish it the capsule started to glow and then the room went black.

Soon memories of Allura and her father flooded into the dark room.

I thrashed against the cables, trying to free myself. They're strong. But so am I! I moved my arms which are spread far apart and struggled to pull them closer.

I'm not dying here by a stupid castle!

Grunting I managed to pull my arms to my neck and gripped the cable there. I'm not dying until I kill Haggar with my own two hands!

With a war cry, I ripped the metal cable around my neck into shreds.

At least now I can breathe again. But there's still these. "Princess!" I shouted towards her as she wept.

"You don't have to fight Allura. You don't have to make this sacrifice." The A.I. said. Allura continued to weep and panic began to override my systems.

I don't particularly care for the others. But I'm not ready to be called out of the game yet.

I thrashed in my restraints. "Get up! You have to! Don't you want to defeat Zarkon and avenge your father's death?! You're supposed to defeat the Galra! That's why I joined you! So get up because I'm not finished yet. Are you?" I shouted.

Get up. I don't want to die yet. Not until I avenge my loved ones. Mari. Ray.

Allura stopped crying and threw herself at the A.I., hugging it. Wait . . . hugging it? That's impossible, it's a hologram.

Ah. It's- "Goodbye father." She whispered. The A.I. smiled before golden cracks spread across him.

"Goodbye, Allura."

As his holigram shattered, the darkness vanished to reveal Allura had destroyed the capsule of his memories in that embrace.

Almost instantly did the cables release me and I fell to the floor in a crouched position. 

Little, beautiful lights floated up and away. These are his memories.

I can't help but think they're the most beautiful things I've ever seen. He really cherished her.

I turned my gaze to her. "He really loved you. Let's make Zarkon pay for what he's done."

Him and Haggar.

I held my hand out to her and she took it. A new flame in her bright eyes. A desire for revenge.

We headed back to the control room where she called the Paladin's back and had us escape the supernova.

~

Everyone was cheering up Allura when I escaped back to my room. I had made sure to lock my door to make sure no one would come in and interrupt.

Walking over to my closet, I dug through my bag and pulled out a syringe filled with bright purple liquid.

Bingo.

I grabbed a new needle and fixed them together before bringing it to my neck.

Taking a deep breath I pierced my skin and injected the liquid. My blood boiled and my heart hammered in my chest as my muscles tightened and loosened repeatedly.

The feral side in me that had began to grow since seeing Sendak growled lowly before retreating further into me.

After a minute my body calmed and I sat on my bed, staring at the wall.

It's a good thing I stole a lot of these. I'm going to need them to keep it pushed back. Can't have these idiots worry about it.

These Paladins are going to be a handful. And so is that Princess. I've been here a day and they've gone into friendship and teamwork a million times like a broken record.

I'm not sure how I'll handle them. But they're my only shot at revenge. So I'll continue to try and work with them.

I'm going to defeat Haggar anyway I can. Even if it means using them to do so.