The paladins struggled to keep the plates in place, as the continuous blast from the Zaiforge cannons reflected from them.
"Urgh! They are gonna rupture soon! We don't have much longer!" said Hunk.
"Keep holding on team, we can do this! Atlas, what's happening?" said Keith.
"Hold on a little longer, we have a plan!" responded Coran.
Shiro was making his way to Sandek's command ship.
Once he got inside, he fought his way past several sentries and entered the main energy room.
A massive crystal stood in the middle of the room.
"Sam, I've made it to the crystal. Activating communication transponder." said Shiro.
"Okay Shiro, I have to warn you, this might be a little strange. I'm about to use your brain as a computer." said Commander Holt.
"Its okay, I'm used to it."
Shiro moved his robotic hand closer to the crystal, and once he made contact, an electric shock ran through his body, causing him to scream in pain.
"I got it Shiro! I will overwrite the system. It should cause an explosion big enough to disable the cannons' beam generators." said the commander.
The crystal exploded, causing Shiro to fall unconscious.
But the plan worked. Sandek's ship lost power.
However, only one of the cannons was disabled.
Five cannons remained, so the paladins began to attack.
Fuelled by urgency, the lions worked together to destroy all the remaining Zaiforge cannons.
When the last one was down, the crew of the Atlas commemorated.
"They took down all of the cannons!" said Commander Iverson.
"Atlas, the MFE team neutralized our last target. Mission complete." said the pilot Griffin, contacting the bridge.
"Our only remaining hostile is Sendak's ship. It seems to have lost power, and its heading towards Earth with exponential speed!" said Veronica.
"No! Shiro is still on that ship!" said Commander Holt.
---
Shiro was making his way out of Sendak's cruiser, as it headed to Earth at full speed.
But as he ran out through one of the platforms, Sendak appeared.
"You! " said Sendak, as he jumped to attack.
Shiro blocked his attack, and began to fight back.
---
The paladins gathered as they noticed the cruiser headed into Earth.
"Sendak's ship is going to crash!" said Pidge.
"We have to guide it to an uninhabited location! Follow me!" said Keith, leading the other lions towards the ship.
The lions positioned themselves below the front of the battle cruiser, pushing it up to keep it from crashing on top of a city.
"Keep it up! We have to make it past the city!" said Keith.
It was a close call, but they managed to keep it airborne until they reached a deserted plain.
Once the cruiser crashed, Shiro an Sendak were thrown off.
Shiro remained on the ground, but Sendak got up and made his way to the fallen captain.
Approaching, the muttered:
"Victory or death."
As he was about to make his final blow, the black lion flew above him, and from it jumped Keith.
He yielded his bayard, and used it to cut down Sendak with one blow, saving Shiro's life.
Keith ran to Shiro to make sure he was okay, and meanwhile the other lions landed and the remaining paladins ran to meet the two.
"HA-HA! We did it!" said Pidge.
"Earth is safe!" said Hunk.
But then, in the corner of her eye, Kanna saw a bright light in the sky.
When she turned to look, the white paladin saw what looked like an asteroid making its way to the surface of the planet.
"Hum, guys..." she said.
As the falling object got closer, she noticed it wasn't an asteroid. It was a robot.
The other paladins began to follow Kanna's gaze and were shocked to see what she was looking at.
"Yay guys, it's over, we won!" said Lance, oblivious.
Kanna and Pidge then started motioning to the giant robot that was making its way towards them.
Lance's face fell.
"No. We won. I'm not turning around and looking at it. We won."
"Prepare for impact!" screamed Keith, and the paladins began running towards their lions.
Hunk carried Shiro to the yellow lion.
The alien robot immediately began firing at the lions once it landed.
"Hunk, get Shiro to the Atlas, we'll cover you." said Keith.
"Got it."
Keeping the robot occupied was no easy task, though.
It had formidable fire power, and he was easily blocking all of the paladins' attempts at an attack.
"Anyone have any idea where this thing came from?" asked Lance.
"No clue." replied Pidge.
"We just defeated and entire Galra armada and now this?" said Allura.
"Paladins, I know we're all in bad shape, but we have strength together. This is Earth. This is our home. We're going to defend it." said Keith.
"And we'll be right here with you." said Coran, as the Atlas flew close to the lions.
"Atlas, we're gonna need you to distract that robot so we can form Voltron."
"Affirmative." said Coran.
Once Hunk got Shiro to the Atlas, the paladins were finally able to form Voltron.
But unfortunately, even as Voltron, the paladins were getting their butts handed to them.
"We're gonna die!" said Lance.
"Think positive!" said Kanna.
"We're gonna die quickly!"
Kanna chuckled. She was scared, but glad to have Lance to lighten up the mood.
Shiro was back on the command of the Atlas, but things weren't looking great for them either.
"Shields report?" asked Shiro.
"They are at 70 percent!" said Veronica.
"Iverson, reports on cannons?"
"They're fully charged!"
"Shields down! FIRE!" commanded Shiro.
However, the alien robot easily deflected the cannon blast back onto the Atlas.
Voltron was fighting using two swords, but the paladins were being quickly overwhelmed.
The Atlas fired another shot, which only kept the enemy busy for a few seconds.
The robot fired back with a blast of energy much more powerful, as if each hit was making it stronger.
"The power coming from that thing is unheard of. My surge indicators are spiking every time it is about to fire. Its absorbing our quintessence, and using our energy to power its attacks." explained Pidge.
"We have to avoid direct contact." said Keith.
But as Voltron continued to fight, their efforts seemed hopeless.
The alien robot managed to pin Voltron down using two swords, and Voltron was about to be destroyed.
In the Atlas, Shiro was desperate to help.
"What's our status?"
"Thrusters are gone. I'm attempting an overwrite." said Coran.
"The cannons are offline." said Commander Iverson.
"The shields are gone." said Veronica.
Shiro was overwhelmed. He didn't know what to do.
But suddenly, a familiar feeling spread through his body.
The same feeling he felt when he first entered the black lion.
"Bring us up. Set coordinates for upper atmosphere. Commander Holt, I need all the power we've got." said Shiro.
As the Atlas moved up into the air, all the systems began to turn blue.
The whole ship began to change.
"Atlas crew, hold tight!" said Shiro.
The Atlas then began to separate, and reassembled into an enormous robot, multiple times bigger then Voltron.
The newly formed mecha Atlas returned to the Earth's surface, and attacked the alien robot, sending it flying miles away.
"Voltron, whats your status?" said Shiro.
"We're here!" said Lance.
"How did you...?" asked Keith.
"I'm not exactly sure, but we've got you covered." said Shiro.
"Sir, hostile returning!" said Veronica.
"Get me eyes on the target."
The alien robot came back, and this time, it used quintessence to make itself as big as the Atlas.
With one blow, it was able to throw the Atlas down.
"How is that thing still winning?" asked Kanna.
"We have to do something, its going to destroy the Atlas!" said Hunk.
"Guys, the only point where it seems to be vulnerable is its chest cannon. We have to strike there before is fires." said Keith.
"Its a split second window! How do we do that?" said Pidge.
The red and white lion's bayard ports then started flashing.
"My lion seems to have a plan." said Kanna.
"Red too!" said Lance.
"Team, we've got one chance. Give it everything you've got! Lance, Kanna, NOW!" commanded Keith.
Kanna and Lance activated their bayards.
Voltron summoned a massive sword, and its wings multiplied in size.
The paladins flew towards the enemy in a flash, and pierced it right on the chest.
The attack caused a massive explosion, and the lions were sent flying separately.
After a few moments of silence, the paladins began to regain their senses.
"Everyone?" asked Hunk.
"I'm here." said Pidge.
"I'm here too." said Keith.
"Blue lion, checking in." said Allura.
"Here." said Kanna.
"Did we win?" asked Lance.
"I think so." said Allura.
But she spoke too soon.
"Hum, guys, I'm sensing an energy increase coming from the robot. Its powering up!" said Pidge.
"What? But I thought it was down!" said Lance.
"It is!" said Kanna.
"It must have some kind of self-destruct mechanism!" said Hunk.
"By my calculations, the energy from the blast alone can dissipate half of the Earth!" said Pidge.
'Of course it can.' thought Kanna. 'The robot can't just stay down and give us a break.'
"We have to get it out of here." said Keith.
The lions got together to lift the robot and get it outside the Earth's atmosphere.
As they approached space, Keith said:
"Its been an honour flying with you all."
Kanna closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.
And suddenly, everything was dark.