It had been a few days since the Balmera, and the team was exhausted. However, it was Allura and Novae that paid a larger price.
While Allura was too weak to stand on her own for too long, Novae has been unconscious since the event. Shiro and the others have been watching over her since she had been brought back, and she still has not woken from her sleep.
It troubled the team of how long she has been sleeping, but they couldn't do anything since the pods don't work on healing her body. She had to heal through her own strength.
Shiro walked through the door of Novae's room, seeing Pidge sitting by her bedside.
"Pidge, it's time to change shifts." He said, grabbing the young girl's attention, "Has she woken up?"
Pidge sighed, standing up and shaking her head.
"She hasn't even stirred." Pidge answered, "I'm getting worried, Shiro. Her scans show that she's fine, but she won't wake up. I'm getting really scared that she won't ever wake up."
Shiro walked up to Pidge and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't give up hope, Pidge. Believe me when I say that she's stronger than she seems." Shiro said.
"I know. But it's still scary." Pidge responded, then left the room to go do her own research, not only for her personal search for her family, but to figure out what had happened to Novae.
Shiro sat in the chair next to the bed and watched as Novae slept. It was the first time he had seen her so calm and serene. When she was in the prisons with him, she would only sleep for a couple hours a day, and she had never seemed so calm than now.
He placed his hand over hers and for a moment, it was as if he was as calm as she was.
"Who are Novae? Why won't you wake up?" He whispered as the woman continued to rest, her calm face hiding the nightmares that plagued her down to her soul.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Allura sat in the AI room, the place where her father resided, and projected images of Altea through her memories.
The princess sighed, "I loved the smell of the mountain juniberries in the early morning breeze." She said, remembering their sweet scent.
"As did I, Allura." Father said.
"Remember the Summer Berry Festival? People would come from all over Altea for the harvest."
"I remember how the berry juice stained your favorite dress. You were so upset."
Allura laughed softly, "It took forever for Mother to calm me." She frowned.
"I miss Altea so much. I miss you, Father. I wish it didn't have to be this way." She said sadly.
"I know, Allura, but, as leaders, we have to do what's right for our people, even if it means great sacrifice."
"I know, Father. That's what you always say."
Suddenly, the door opened. Allura turned around to see who had entered and saw Coran with a worried expression.
"Princess, there you are. What are you doing up and about? You should be resting." He said.
"Oh, Coran, can't I stay?" Allura asked, not wanting to part from her Father.
"The Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony took a lot out of you. Come along, to your room." He took her hand and stood her up, the Altean mice following them.
"Get your rest, darling. I will be here for you when you're well." Alfor said.
Allura smiled back, "I love you, Father. I'll see you soon."
Coran led Allura out of the room and down the halls towards her room.
"Coran." Allura said as they walked, "How is Novae?"
"Her condition has not changed and she has yet to wake up. Physically she is well, but...."
Allura sighed as she was walked into her room and laid in her bed.
"I am concerned by what had happened to her. The others say that she appeared to have passed. And yet she still breathes. How is that possible?"
Coran sighed, "Perhaps one day she will explain. But for now, we must wait for her to awaken from her coma."
He gently lay the blankets over Allura and left the room so she could rest.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Everyone went down to the detainment room where Sendak was being held, Coran setting up small devices so they could scan Sendak's memories.
"Okay guys, Sendak's almost all hooked up." Coran said as he made the final preparations, "but look I have to warn you, this technology was made to keep Altean memories alive, not interrogate prisoners."
"Coran," Shiro said, "We understand that this is not what the technology was meant for, but if we can extract Sendak's memories, we may gain valuable information of Zarkon's troop location."
"Yeah and then we can just like 'knock knock, who's there, the mighty avenging fury of Voltron son!" Lance said, making me sigh at his behavior.
Pidge walked up to the machine hooked up to Sendak, smushing her face against the glass.
"Fascinating. So, how exactly does this work?" She asked.
"As the memories are extracted, they're written bit by bit on individual molecules of the micro-storage strands." Coran explained.
Lance sighed with a dreamy look on his face, "When I go, I want all the stuff in my brain stored in a giant ship."
"The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane." Keith said sharply.
"Oh, yeah? Well, the amount of information you have, Keith, could be..."
"Yeah?"
"Uh... it's less than what I have!"
"Oh, good one, Lance!" Hunk praised from behind.
Keith rolled his eyes and Shiro sighed at their immaturity, turning back to Coran.
"This is how you incorporated King Alfor's memories into the Castle of Lions?" Pidge asked Coran.
"Precisely, but it's never been attempted before on an unwilling participant." Coran said as he turned on the machine. The machine began to glow and hum.
Everyone waited for a minute, but nothing happened.
"Uh... is this what's supposed to be happening?" Hunk asked.
"Lets give it time." Shiro said.
They waited.... and waited... eventually Hunk began to fall asleep, but They were still waiting. Hopefully with new intel on Galra weak points, Sendak would give them a clue on how to defeat Zarkon for good.
About half an hour passed, and still nothing.
"Well, I can't wait around anymore. I'm going to hit the training deck." Keith said before he walked away.
Some more time passed, and finally, Pidge left.
"Okay, if anybody needs me, I'll be in the lab. Maybe I can pull some information form Sendak's Galra crystal." She said before walking away.
Twenty more minutes, and Hunk stood up.
"Time to feed the beast." Hunk said, his stomach grumbling, "I'm going to go make some breakfast."
"Well, I'm afraid I can't wait here any longer, either. I have a million duties to attend to." Coran said stretching his arms, "Between that Galra crystal infecting our system, and then fighting off those ships and performing the Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony, the old Castle of Lions has taken quite a beating. Every system needs to be recharged and repaired."
"I'll stay." Shiro volunteered, "Somewhere in Sendak's mind it the information about Zarkon that we need."
"Okay, well, while you guys do that, I think I'm gonna get my chill on." Lance said, "Maybe kick back with a lemonade or space juice. Something."
"Hold on there, space juice. You're going to come and help me." Coran said.
"What? Why? Why me?"
"Because you're the last one here and because your activity isn't very important."
"Wait. Did I say "chill out with a good lemonade?" I meant I gotta do homework."
"No. Too late." I heard Lance groan and walk away with Coran.
"Let us know if anything happens. Shiro?"
"You got it." Shiro said, his mind racing for the answers they needed.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
The world was dark... nothing but the piercing quiet that swirled around a single figure. Even though the world was dark, the figure was able to see so many others surrounding her.
A child covered in bandages, crying as she held several jewels in her hands.
A slightly older girl crying through her grief, her hair disheveled as her bangs covered her swollen eyes and the cuts on her cheeks.
Another girl, slightly older, dressed in strange clothes and smiling at the figure, though it was fake and forced, it hid the pain she was feeling and gave hope to others who looked upon her for her strength.
Another older girl was holding something in her hands, a glowing object that she stared at with so much hope, but with a sad smile that graced her once hope filled face.
Another older girl, her hair sloppily cut short to her chin was looking down in shame, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white and her palms bled from her sharp nails digging into her flesh.
Finally, there was a woman the same age as the figure, their backs turned towards the figure, showing off the numerous scars that laced her back.
The figure cried as she looked out at these young women.
"I see... it has happened again, hasn't it?" The figure said.
The youngest girl nodded, "Another will be added to the many thousands that reside here." She said.
"Must you continue adding more of us here?" The second girl asked.
"There is no need to go through all of this pain." The third girl said, "You can let go and join us here, forever."
"Yes, dear one." The fourth girl added, "There is no need to go through such lengths for the universe, as it has dealt you nothing but pain, loss and hardships."
"Why do you continue to do this, Blue Star?" The fifth girl asked.
"Should we expect the same answer as before?" The final girl asked
The figure nodded her head, "My answer remains the same. I will do whatever it takes to save the universe from the Garla's rule. I will not join you... not until everyone in the universe is safe from harm."
The six girls in front of the figure sighed and walked closer to her, stretching out their hands for the figure to take.
"Novae." The six girls said, "It is time to awaken once more."
The figure, Novae, took the hands of the six girls. Suddenly, a familiar sensation flowed through Novae and a semi-transparent form was slowly ripped out of her. The figure turned solid and turned around to face Novae. She was staring at herself.
"Thank you." The copy said.
"I'm sorry." Novae cried, closing her eyes as her world went black once more.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Keith swung his sword, defeating one of the Altean fighter drones and finishing off the current level.
"Start training level three." Keith shouted to the computer. A portion of the ceiling opened and dropped another drone to continue his training.
It activated and charged straight for Keith. He blocked the drone with his own weapon and evaded the attacks. But the drone caught him and pushed the paladin away. He rolled onto the floor before standing up and catching his breath.
"End training sequence." He said, but the drone didn't deactivate. It just walked closer to Keith, the blue light on its head turning red.
"End training sequence!" He shouted, "End training sequence now!"
The drone slapped away Keith's bayard sword and pushed him towards the door. Keith quickly slid past him, grabbed the bayard and ran out of the training deck, closing the door behind him before he ran down the halls to escape the drone.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
The Altean princess lay sleeping peacefully in her bed, when she heard a voice call out her name.
"Allura?" It said. She moaned as she awoke from her slumber and with blurred vision, saw her holographic father sitting by her bedside.
"Allura, dear daughter..." King Alfor said.
"Father, what are you doing here?" Allura asked as she sat up in bed confused.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
"I bet that if we can modulate the dynamics of this crystal, we'll be able to reverse engineer a lot of Galra tech. Don't you think, Hunk?" Pidge said excitedly as she typed away at her keyboard.
"Hunk, are you paying attention?" Pidge asked.
"What? No, I'm sorry. That whole food goo ambush really set me on edge, Pidge." Hunk replied, remembering the previous kitchen fiasco that happened not even an hour ago, "If we can't trust food, we are lost as a culture."
"Relax." Pidge said as she climbed onto the Galra crystal and secured the cords connected to it, "I'm sure the Castle's just glitchy. It's 10,000 years old."
"Yeah, it does seem like the ship is not currently trying to kill us." Hunk pointed out.
"Okay, so, all the sensors are on the crystal. Hit the switch."
Hunk went over to the computer to activate the sensors, but before he could do anything, everything around him and Pidge began to float, including the Paladins themselves.
"Hunk, did you accidentally hit the anti-gravity switch?" Pidge asked.
"Uh, no. There's no anti-gravity switch. Uh, is there?" Hunk wondered.
Pidge reached out towards the crystal to try and grab it, but alas, she was cursed with a petite body, grunting as she tried to stretch further.
"Ah! Curse my short arms!" She shouted, slumping in defeat.
"Oh, I hate those little things!" Hunk shouted, "All right, forget it, Pidge. I'm gonna swim towards you. Just hang on!"
Hunk tried to do so, but ultimately failed in doing so.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
A pair of amethyst colored eyes opened for the first time in several days, her body was heavy, but she forced herself to stand out of bed. She looked around the room and saw a single chair by her bedside, at the sight of it she smiled, sensing that her friends were once sitting in that chair.
But when she stood up, she felt her right leg sting terribly. Novae looked down and saw her leg glinting in the light of her bedroom. She would have to make repairs later, after she found her friends. She would have much to explain.
She walked over to the door and walked out of her room, seeing that the halls were pitch black, but felt something off about the Castle. There was a dark presence in the air, and Novae could feel that this darkness was following everyone in the Castle.
She leaned against the wall as she walked down the halls to find the Princess, where the source of the darkness was the strongest.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Keith ran down the halls, fighting off one of the battle drones from the training deck. Suddenly, he heard loud banging and a scream coming from around the corner.
"Help! Help!" The scream shouted
Keith turned around and blocked one of the drone's attacks with his sword as he turned the corner, but the drone kicked Keith in the chest, slamming the boy against the airlock door.
"Keith!" A muffled shout came from behind the doors.
Keith turned his head and gasped in shock. Lance was stuck in the airlock, banging against the glass as a voice counted down quickly.
"What are you doing in there?" Keith yelled, dodging another attack from the drone.
"I need help! Because if you don't get me out of here right now, I'm gonna be sucked into space!"
The doors began to open.
"I'm getting sucked out into space!" Lance shouted, grabbing onto something sturdy and holding on for dear life as empty space tried to suck him away.
Keith blocked another attack before noticing the control panel beside the door, a plan snapping into place.
Keith pushed the drone against the control panel, which opened the door and sucked the drone into dead space instead of Lance.
"Keith, hurry! C'mon!" Lance shouted reaching out for Keith.
The Red Paladin acted fast, grabbing Lance by the hand in a firm grip. With one last pull, Lance was out of the airlock and safely inside the Castle once again. Keith reached over to the control pad and pressed the main button to close the door.
The two heavily panted and gasped for breath as they sat by the door.
Keith turned to Lance and shot him a glare, "What were you doing out there?!"
"Who was that guy?!"
"He was trying to kill me!"
"Well, is he the Castle? Because that's who's trying to kill me!"
The boys gasped and screamed, running down the halls to find the others.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Allura sat in the Juniberry fields, blowing the petals off the flower she held while her father sat in front of her.
"Altean flowers are the most beautiful." Alfor said.
Allura looked down at the blooming, knowing that they were not real.
"It is sad that I will only see them in my dreams." Allura said, "But, when I wake, my memories are like these spores, scattered in the wind."
"Altea is not merely a dream, Allura. It still exists. The Altean flower, you can see it. You can touch it." Alfor picked a flower and handed it to Allura.
The princess smiled and took the flower from the Altean king.
"I can take you there. I can take you home." He said.
"You can?" Allura asked in disbelief.
"Would you like to go home?"
"Yes. I want to go back to Altea, Father." Allura said excitedly.
"Then come with me, and I will show you the way."
Allura followed her father down the halls of the Castle, ready to return to the lost Altea.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Keith and Lance ran down the halls searching for the others. They had met up with Coran and ran to the lab, where Pidge and Hunk most likely were. They opened the doors to the Green Lion hangar and saw Pidge and Hunk sprawled on the ground among thrown around pieces of tech.
"How could you be taking a nap while this castle is trying to kill us?" Lance asked angrily.
"Taking a nap?" Hunk repeated as he stood back up, "We've been floating around in Zero G! You know how scary that is?"
"That's not scary! That's fun! I was almost ejected into space!"
"Well, I got attacked by killer food, and that's the most horrifying thing you can imagine! The stuff of nightmares! It'll haunt me to my grave!" Hunk shouted shaking in fear.
"Well, I had a robot trying to kill me!" Keith added.
Lance turned to Coran angry at the haunted killer Castle.
"I don't care what you say, Coran. This castle has gone apples and bananas!" He shouted.
Coran groaned, "Perhaps the infection from Sendak's Galra crystal is worse than we thought."
"Well, let's get rid of it." Hunk suggested.
"Its too late." Coran said, "When Sendak plugged it into the ship, it corrupted the entire system."
"Sendak?" Keith whispered before realizing something, "Wait. Has anyone seen Shiro?"
Everyone panicked for a minute before running to find Shiro. They ran and ran down the halls towards the detainment room, where Shiro stayed to keep an eye on Sendak.
Suddenly, they heard a scream, making them run even faster to the detainment room.
When the team got there, they found Shiro next to an empty detainment pod, breathing heavily on the ground as his forehead was slick with sweat.
"Shiro, are you okay?" Pidge asked as they rushed to his side.
"Where's Sendak?" Keith asked.
"I... I had to get him out of here." Shiro said in a shaky tone with quick and ragged breaths, "I was hearing his voice. He.... He can't be trusted on this ship."
"It is the ship!" Lance said, "I got stuck in a cryo-pod, then, in an airlock. Keith got attached by a robot, and Hunk and Pidge got attacked by food. It's been a weird morning."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Shiro shouted, "If this is happening throughout the Castle, then we should go check on Allura and Novae. It could be affecting them, too."
Everyone agreed to go check on their missing teammates, but before they could go find them, the computer beeped repeatedly. Coran turned around and read a screen floating in the air.
"What? How is that possible?" He asked himself.
"What is it?" Keith asked.
"The ship is starting a wormhole jump."
They didn't waste any more time and ran towards the bridge.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
The team ran to the bridge to find the princess, but the only thing they saw was the missing princess on her pedestal and the Castle moving through hyperspace.
"What's going on?" Shiro asked Allura.
"We're going to Altea." She answered, her voice vacant and dreamlike, as if she was sleep walking, "We're going home. My Father is taking us."
Everyone ran up to the pedestal, but were immediately pushed back by a barrier.
"Stay away from my daughter!" A man screamed as his face appeared around the group.
It was King Alfor. Allura's Father.
"Allura, wake up!" Shiro said.
"The crystal must have corrupted King Alfor's artificial intelligence. It's taking over!" Coran said.
The ship passed through the wormhole, and exited out to a shocking and terrifying sight.
A bright, burning star sat in front of the group, and it was not stable as the flares were shooting off of the star like waves.
"We're headed straight for a star and it's about to explode!" Pidge shouted.
"Father, I can see Altea." Allura said to her holographic Father.
"Allura! Allura, wake up! What you're seeing isn't real!" Coran shouted, but Allura didn't listen.
She was seeing the old Altea and smiling at the dream she was having. She wasn't here anymore. She was trapped within her dreams.
"ALLURA!" A voice shouted behind the paladins. They turned around and saw Novae, heavily leaning against the doorway. She was breathing heavily and staring at the Altean princess.
"Novae!" Everyone shouted, running up to her, but she pushed everyone away, limping over to Allura. As soon as she got to the barrier that surrounded Allura, she reached out her hand and easily slipped through it. The team behind her were shocked, as they were unable to get through the barrier before.
Novae stepped completely through the barrier and touched Allura's shoulder, to which the princess smiled at her.
"Oh, Novae, can't you see it? This is Altea. Isn't beautiful?" Allura asked with a soft chuckle.
Novae frowned and placed her hand on Allura's forehead before closing her eyes.
"Your mind is clouded, Allura. There is no need to dream, for your future is yet to be seen." Novae said, her palm emitting a strange soft golden light that covered Allura's entire form, "Return to us, Allura. Awaken from your dreams."
Allura's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, her pupils shining in a white color instead of their normal pink shade. When her eyes returned to normal, Allura became panicked. She turned around and saw the burning star in front of them.
"That is not Altea." Allura gasped.
"When that star goes super nova, it will destroy the entire system." Pidge informed the princess, "Allura you must reset the course and get us out of here."
Allura nodded and tried to change the course, but the controls shocked her, sending her and Novae backwards where Shiro caught both of them.
King Alfor appeared in front of the group staring at the star that would bring the end for the team.
"Father," Allura said, "I beg of you to Turn this ship around. If we don't then we will all perish."
"I know," the king said, "That is my intention."
"What? Why?"
"Don't you see, my dear daughter? Zarkon can never be defeated. He's been ruling for 10,000 years."
"But we must continue to fight!" Allura tried to reason with her father.
"Fight? For what? It is all over for Altea, you don't have to live a life of war. You can be with me and the rest of your people."
"Father, please! The paladins and I can still stop Zarkon! Somewhere in there, you must want that to happen."
Suddenly, King Alfor's hologram shifted, "Allura, my AI has been corrupted, you must disconnect my power source. ~We can stroll across the Blossom Canyon every morning, just like we used to. Remember how much you loved that?"
Allura looked down, her head hanging sadly.
"I remember. I'll see you soon, Father." She said before turning around and facing us, "I've got to get into the A.I. chamber to disconnect my Father's power source manually."
"But that means losing King Alfor forever!" Coran said.
Allura knew what she was doing, and she knew the permanent consequences that would follow.
"Paladins, get to your lions! I need you to slow the Castle's descent into the star." She ordered running past us to find the A.I. chamber.
"I can try to override the system to open the hangars." Coran said running to his control station.
"Novae, stay here with Coran and Allura. You can barely stand right now." Shiro ordered.
Novae nodded, "Of course, Takashi."
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
Allura ran to the A.I. chamber and to the controlled power source, where her father appeared in front of her.
"Don't do this!" He begged, "You must. ~All my memories, all my knowledge will be lost forever!~ Do it, Allura. If you are to live, we must say goodbye."
"I'm sorry about this, Father." Allura said sadly.
His hologram went away and the power source was ready to be shut down. But, Allura gasped when the world went dark, and memories of their time together floated all around her.
Memories of their laughter and fun, and times where they were happy.
"This is not real. This is all in the past." Allura said to herself, running away from the memories. Even past Alfor holding her as a baby.
Allura cried in pain, as this would be the last she would see her father.
"You don't have to fight, Allura." Alfor said, "You don't have to make this sacrifice."
Allura listened to his voice for the very last time, and hugged him one last time.
"Goodbye, Father." She said through my tears.
"Goodbye, Allura." Alfor said, before he disappeared in a flash of light, his life fluttering away like petals scattered in the wind.
Allura stood there for a tick, watching as her father left her for good, then rushed back to the Bridge. She took the controls and opened a transmission link to the paladins.
"Palidans, get to your hangars. We're getting out of here." She said.
The lions all returned to the castle and Allura opened a wormhole. The ship entered the wormhole and was transported away from the star.
🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁
A little while later, all the paladins returned to the control deck and sat down with Allura.
"I'm so sorry about your father," Shiro said sincerely.
"We all are." Hunk added.
Allura smiled before standing up, "Thank you," her face turned angry, "but that was not my father. The real King Alfor was a great man and a great father. He may not be here with us anymore, but his dream lives on through all of us, and his legacy is Voltron."
Novae chuckled nearby, sitting in Shiro's seat, "I envy your strength, Allura." She said softly, still tired even though she had woken up from a coma, "It took me many years to cope with the death of my father."
Allura and the others turned towards Novae and moved closer to surround the once sleeping paladin.
"Novae, we have so many questions about what happened to you." Pidge said, "Why didn't you wake up sooner?"
"Why did your heart stop beating at the Balmera?" Lance asked.
"Is your leg made of metal?" Hunk asked pointing her right leg.
"What did you mean by what you said about coping?" Allura asked.
Novae sighed and looked up at her teammates, seeing their concerned and eager for answers expressions.
"I cannot answer all of your questions, but I am able to tell you this much." She said, "My heart stopped beating on the Balmera because of what is within my blood."
"Your blood?" Shiro repeated.
Novae nodded, "Yes. My people, the Estellians, have a unique and rare ability to connect with living things and heal them from their very core. However, not all can do so for some cannot pay the price to heal."
"What price is that?" Keith asked, "That price scared us all half to death."
Novae looked down, the shadows of her hair hiding her sad eyes.
"The price is..... complicated. I'd rather not speak of it all, but I can say that it takes a large amount of my energy, which causes me to go into a death-like state for a time while I recover said energy." She explained.
Everyone was shocked and scared. For most of the group, seeing Novae in that state was their first time seeing death, and it was traumatizing.
Shiro walked over to Novae and took her hand, making the woman look up him.
"Novae, please, don't do that again." He begged, "We can't take the risk of you doing that and never waking up again."
Novae chuckled and stood up, albeit a little wobblily.
"I cannot do that, Takashi. I cannot make a promise such as that, for I have done it before." Novae said. She walked over to Lance, who was more confused as to why she was heading towards him.
She placed her hand on his chest, immediately from her touch came a soft golden glow from where his heart was located.
"What the heck is happening?!" Lance shouted, stepping away from Novae and letting the glow fade from his chest.
"There is no reason to fear it, it is simply a sign of what I have done to save you." Novae explained.
"What was that?" Pidge asked.
Novae smiled brightly as she turned to the rest of the group, "Do you recall when Sendak took control of the Castle and both me and Lance were severely injured?" Everyone nodded, "Lance was not projected to survive for very much longer. I used my ability to heal his more severe wounds and give him a better chance at survival. By giving up some of my life, I have saved another more important life."
Novae began to walk back to her room, but was stopped by Shiro once again.
"You're barely on your feet. Let me help you get you back to your room." He offered, and Novae gladly accepted it. Once they got back to Novae's room, as she was tucking herself in bed, Shiro noticed the metal leg she had.
"What happened to your leg?" He asked. Novae stopped her actions and looked down at her leg, remembering the painful day she acquired it. But she smiled anyway, knowing that her sacrifice was worth it.
"I was just entering my ninth summer, when I was sent to a Galra controlled planet." She explained, "The Galra were heartless to even the younger children and families. I was fighting the commander that was in charge of the planet, when he took a small child hostage and used him a shield. I had no choice but to fight him without using my full strength. I eventually defeated him, but I lost my leg in the process due to the Galran's sword. It left me weak enough for him to take me back to the druids so they could continue their experiments. Thus, they gave me a leg."
Shiro was completely shocked. Not only did she sacrifice a leg, but she sacrificed her life to save Lance, the Balmera, and who knows how many others.
"If only I was brave enough to take on that much pain for someone." Shiro said sadly, "I couldn't even begin to imagine what pain you've gone through."
Suddenly, Shiro felt a hand on his. He looked up and saw Novae smiling at him sweetly.
"There are things in this universe that are far worse than any pain we may endure. But we can face those demons together. I promise, Takashi." She said.
Shiro's eyes widened, remembering what had happened between him and Sendak, the things he said to the Black Paladin....
He was about to ask more questions, when he noticed that Novae was sleeping sitting up. He sighed and gently lay her down, not leaving her side for the next few hours and thinking about she really was.
But what he didn't know, nor what anyone would ever be able to understand.....
Was how far that heart would truly go to save everyone in the universe, how much pain she would be willing to take for the others, what demons she would have to face...
And how many times she's willing to die for them.