People, you've gotta listen to this rap above. I found a while ago and it is awesome. Check it out, you won't be disappointed with it.
------
The feeling of something warm caressing my hand was the first thing I noticed as I awoke. I slowly peeled my eyes open to see Keith by my bedside, fast asleep.
I smiled, grasping his hand tightly.
"Keith," I whispered, "It's time to get up."
Slowly, Keith woke up, smiling as he sat up.
"Hey, Zurine. How ya feeling?" He asked. I sat up and uncovered myself from the warm covers of my bed.
"I'm just fine. I just felt a little overwhelmed by Shiro's return, that's all."
I swung my legs over the bed, but just as I was about to stand up, I was tackled by Luna who licked me and purred with happiness.
"Luna! Stop that, it tickles!" I said through my muffled laughs. I could hear Keith laughing in the background.
"She hasn't left your side since yesterday." He said, when Luna finally let me up, I looked up at Keith surprised by what he said.
"I've been asleep for that long?"
Keith nodded, "Yeah, but we should get you something to eat." Just then my face and ears flushed red as my stomach rumbled in agreement.
"Good idea." I said. I stood up and walked magically changed into my normal clothes. Keith grabbed my hand and led me out to the kitchen.
It didn't take long for us to make a quick meal. Once I was finished, Allura's voice rang through the speakers.
"Everyone, report to the control room. We have a new mission." She said.
Keith and I rinsed off our dishes and walked to the control room. Once the doors opened, I was relieved to see everyone smiling.
They ran towards and sighed in relief.
"It's good to see that you're awake, Zurine." Allura said.
"Yeah, you gave us quite a shock when you collapsed like that." Coran added.
"Are you sure you're okay now?" Pidge asked worried as much as everyone in the room.
I simply smiled and said that I was fine.
Allura explained the mission. We were to infiltrate a Galra base.
"I'll stay here, if that's alright." I said, "I want to look after Shiro."
"That seems fine." Hunk said, "We'll be back soon. Keep things cool while we're gone."
"I will."
One by one, everyone left the room, but Keith stayed behind for a moment.
He grabbed my hand and placed a gentle, quick kiss on my lips. It was only for a second, but it was lovely nonetheless.
He pulled back and smiled at me, "See you when we get back."
"Good luck, Keith." I said waving goodbye as we went to catch up with the others.
Once they were all gone, I went to my white Voltron Lion, sat down in the pilot chair and stayed still.
"You seem to be troubled."
"Yes, White. The Shiro Keith rescued is not the true Shiro. I felt it when I tried to heal him. I don't know if I should tell everyone about this."
"You should ask the real Shiro when the Black Lion returns. He'll be avle to tell you what you should do with this information."
I chuckled, "You always know the right things to say. Thank you White."
"Of course, Zurine. Anything for you, my Princess."
I exited my lion, Luna walking by my side to the medical room.
I stared at the healing pod where the fake Shiro slept and healed. Suddenly, the pod opened, and Shiro fell out.
I decided to play along with this. I rushed over to Shiro and caught him beofre he fell to the floor.
He opened his eyes and turned towards me.
"Zurine? Is that you?" He asked weakly.
"Yeah, it's me." I said, setting him down next to the pod.
He smiled before passing out. Luna helped me carry him to his room, where we waited for the others to return.
Everyone came back a few hours later, I called them over to Shiro's room, but because of his situation and weakened condition, Keith and I were the only ones to come in and ask questions.
"Shiro, what happened to you?" Keith asked.
"I don't know." Shiro answered, "The last thing I remember was Zarkon trying to take over to the Black Lion. It told me to use my bayard. Then, just nothing. I woke up, and I was on a Galra ship."
"Well, you'd just unlocked the Black Lion's ability to teleport." Keith said, "Could it have teleported you? Maybe it was trying to save you."
"By teleporting me into the hands of the Galra?" Shiro asked.
"Shiro is correct, Keith. The Black Lion would not make a move like that." I said.
"Maybe, Zarkon forced it too. Remember, Zurine, Zarkon was trying to take hold of the Black Lion at the same time."
"Yeah, maybe." Shiro said.
Keith sighed, "Well, if you're feeling up to it, the rest of the team would be thrilled to see you up and around again."
"We all need you." I said. Shiro agreed to try. I smiled and sat down next to Shiro.
"I'll stay here and try to heal him a little more. When he's ready, I'll meet you all on the bridge with Shiro." I said.
Keith smiled and nodded, walkign towards the door.
"Hey, Keith?" Shiro said before Keith left. Keith turned around and stared at us, "How many times are you gonna have to save me before this is over?" Shiro asked smiling.
Keith smiled again, "As many times as it takes." Then he walked out.
I sighed and turned back to Shiro, "So, what happened to you, Zurine?" He asked.
I placed my hands on his arm, a soft glow surrounding my hands as I began to heal him. At the same time, my earrings began to emit a soft glow as well.
"The mass amounts of energy I put out due to my powers, completely drained me." I said, "I was put in a coma for a few days to regain what energy I had lost."
"Keith must've been worried sick about you. He really does care about you, doesn't he?"
I nodded, my cheeks turning red, "Yeah. I heard from the others that he barely left my side, only leaving me when he really needed to."
Shiro chuckled, "I never would've thought that Keith would open up to anyone other me. You've really changed him, ya know."
"I guess, but he was like that ever since we've met all those years ago. But enough about that, tell how you feel, physically speaking."
"I feel healthy, at least. But I have this massive headache."
"I think I can help with that." I placed my hands on his head. I concentrated on the spots where his pain was most concentrated. After a few ticks, I let go. Shiro smiled at the loss of pain.
"Thanks a lot, Zurine." He said, smiling and standing up. He walked over to his mirror and stringing his fingers theough his overgrown hair.
"You think you help me with this?" He asked me, "I don't think I like the long hair look."
I smiled and nodded, grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting off large chuncks of hair. Shiro took care of his facial hair.
A few minutes went by and Shiro looked like he did before he disappeared.
He thanked and walked with me to the bridge. There I was almost tackled again by Luna, who was patiently waiting for my arrival.
Shiro smiled as everyone greeted him warmly.
"Great job out there, everyone. You've really turned tides in the outcome of this war. I'm glad you've never lost sight of the mission while I was gone." Shiro said proudly.
"You're looking better. How are you feeling?" Lance asked with a large smile on his face.
"Good. Just trying to get rid of this weird headache. Zurine helped with it, but it keeps coming back."
"Guys, I think I have something here!" Pidge exclaimed.
I quickly went to my chair and pulled up copies of what Pidge was looking at from their last mission.
"So, I downloaded intel from the Galra base we just defeated." Pidge said typing while I analyzed further, "I untied the quantum-folded encryption, and I found something on Lotor."
I cringed at the name.
"Do you know where he is?" Keith asked.
"Well, not exactly, no, but the last three sightings of his command ship have been in the Va'Kar quadrant."
"Nice work, Pidge." Shiro said, "Although, those quadrants are massive. How will we pinpoint his location?"
Hunk jumped up with a happy spark in his eyes.
"Yeah, since the comet is made of the same material as Voltron, maybe I can scan the emission spectrum for Fraunhofer lines, like when I found the Blue Lion."
"But you know those emssions are subject to free induction decay. Those are exponential drop-offs." Pidge said.
"Yeah, but you could find a way to amplify the sensors--. No, there'd be way too much interference. What if, instead, we increase the SA magnitude?"
"The spires of the castle!"
"Genius!" Hunk and Pidge began running around to begin their plan. Meanwhile, I slumped back into my chair. Suddenly, a thought came to me.
"I can help with my powers." I said, "I was able to feel the lions over vast distances. It brought me to Earth to find all of you. Finding the comet by feeling for the same energy as Voltron, should make it easier."
"That's great, Zurine." Shiro said, "Let's set a course for the Va'Kar quadrant while they work on pinpointing Lotor's location."
We nodded, the rest of us going to our rooms to rest. Luna lay on the floor while I lay on my bed, closing my eyes and concentrating on finding the comet.
My eyes opened, my vision was immediately bombarded with mixing colors of purple, blue and other colors you could find in the universe. It was a space I was familiar with.
This was where Shiro fought Zarkon.
It was a spiritual plane.
"Zurine." Someone said from behind me. I smiled, recognizing the voice.
I turned around and saw Shiro, standing right in front of me, amiling just as I have been.
"Hello, Shiro." I said, "It's good to see the real you again."
"What do mean?"
"A second Shiro has come aboard the castle. He is an almost perfect copy of you. I'm worried something might happen to everyone if he does something wrong. What should I do, Shiro?"
Shiro pondered for a minute before answering, "I think you should not tell anyone about me. Keep an eye on this other Shiro and make sure that everyone is safe. The heart of Voltron should never waver, or else the entire team will fall. Do you understand?"
I nodded. Shiro wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I enjoyed his embrace, just to feel his warmth made me think that everything would be okay.
"Take care of yourself, Zurine. And good luck."
All of a sudden, the spiritual plane disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a white plane.
I looked around, confused, but then, I saw what I was looking for.
I saw the meteor, feeling the identical energy as Voltron. But just as I was about to exit the white space, the meteor chanhed shape.
All of a sudden, my vision became blurry, I couldn't see what the meteor had changed into. I know that I saw something large, with purple highlights in a far off part of the Va'Kar quadrant.
I jumped as I felt something on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with a dark shadow.
"Stay away!" It said with a hoarse voice, "Stay away from the Dark One!"
I woke up in a cold sweat, with in turn woke Luna up.
Luna walked up to my bedside and purred to calm me down.
I pet her gently on the head while wiping the sweat from my brow.
"Thank you, Luna, but I'm fine."
Suddenly, the castle began to move. I rushed out my room to the bridge.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We found Lotor and the comet, but it's booking away from us." Hunk said.
"Zurine, did you have any luck?" Pidge asked.
I nodded, "Yes, I saw the comet, but it changed. Then, a shadow..."
"A shadow?" Allura repeated, "What was this shadow?"
"I don't know, but it told me to stay away from the 'Dark One' whoever that is."
"We'll talk about that later." Shiro said as we caught up with Lotor, "Make sure we stay back enough to remain undetected."
A few more minutes of flying and the electronic beeping from Pidge's station grew louder.
"It looks the signal stopped in the Ulippa system. Activating long-range scanners." Pidge said, while activating the scanners.
The scanners showed up on my screens and the larger screen in front of us. The scanner showed us a large base on a small asteroid, and a large ship was about to dock.
I zoomed in, pulling up any information I could get from the scan.
"That's not Lotor's ship." Keith said as he stood up.
"But the comet is in that ship." Hunk said. I nodded in confirmation.
"I can feel the comet inside that ship." I said.
Keith and Shiro tried to state our next course of action, but the two stopped, realizing that only one of them would be the leader.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Shiro." Keith said. I frowned at the sudden change of command.
Keith was doing well as the leader, but know that Shiro was back, the question of who is the true leader of this team was raised.
"We need to get that comet. They must be transporting it into that base." Shiro said, "It'll be vulnerable during the transfer. That's the best time to strike."
I looked down at my screens, but my former suspicion turned into surprise as I saw the ship with the comet in it, begin to fire at the Galra base.
"Everyone, there's something going on with that ship." I said. We all turned our attention back to the large screen, watching as the docking ship continued to fire.
"Who the heck are these Guys?" Lance asked, just as shocked as the rest of us.
"I don't think they're moving the comet to the base. We need more information."
"You're right. You take the Black Lion, Shiro." Keith said, "I'll stay in the castle with Coran and provide support."
"Keith, are you sure?" Shiro asked, but Keith insisted.
I changed into my Palidan armor and raced to my lion, taking off into space to find the comet.
While I flew, I could not feel the Black Lion. I knew that Shiro and the Black lion would not let the fake pilot it, so the Lion remained dormant.
"Shiro, where are you? We need you right now!" Lance said.
"The Black Lion, isn't responding to me. Keith, I need you to lead this mission, the Black Lion needs its true Palidan." Shiro said.
"He's right, Keith." I said, "The Black Lion won't take anyone else. We chose you for a reason."
"Alright, I'm coming down." Keith said as he rushed to the Black Lion.
We flew through the clouds and landed near the Galra base. Our pilot chairs became our speeders and dropped us on the ground.
We sped off towards the base.
"The most inportant thing is for you to get eyes on that comet." Shiro said, "Second is figuring out who we're dealing with."
"Copy that, Shiro." Keith said as we continued to speed off until we got close enough to the base without being spotted.
We exited our speeders and crept into the ship.
"Shiro, we've just boarded the ship. There's no crew in sight. Moving forward with the search." Keith said.
"Zurine, can you feel for the comet?" Lance asked. I nodded and closed my eyes, stretching my senses to find the comet.
It didn't take long before I could feel where it was.
"This way." I said, running down the left side corridor. Everyone followed without hesitation.
Lance shot the controls to the doors, opening them quietly with his sniper gun. Hunk was helping with the search by carrying around a small device that track the energy of the comet. It was just a precaution in case something happened to my link.
We took another left down the corridor, but as we ran, I heard some type of voice.
It wasn't the voice from earlier, no, it was.... less clear. More indistinct. I couldn't tell what the whispers were saying.
All of a sudden, the sounds of the power shutting down reached my ears, but the others didn't notice.
"Sounds like the fight next door is over. Let's go!" Keith said walking by my side. I kept quiet, focusing on the energy I felt.
I led my friends to a large room behind a door. It was a large hangar.
"The comet should be right here. Like, right here." Hunk said as we approached a large ship.
I gasped, it was the comet.
I walked closer, staring at the ship.
"Where's the comet? Is it in that ship?" Lance asked.
"I think the ship is the comet." Hunk said.
"There's no way this could be the comet." Keith said, his voice full of surprise like the rest of us.
I walked over to the closest turbine engine, and placed my hand on it. I was instantly flooded with the same energy as Voltron when he is formed.
I quickly took my hand away, "There's no doubt about it. This is the comet."
"But that can't be. He's already made a ship from the comet's ore?" Allura said.
"Oh, this is bad." Lance said.
"More like horrible." Pidge added.
"Guys, there's a piece of the teludav inside the Galra base." Shiro said.
"The one we used to wormhole Zarkon's ship?" Lance tried to clarify.
"But they would never be able to operate it without an Altean--" Allura gasped, realizing the answer to her own question.
"Zarkon's witch! She had Altean markings."
"Is anyine else kind kf freaking out?" Hunk asked nervously.
"Yep, mark me down from one freak-out." Lance said.
"Lotor must be nearby. We need to find him and take him out for good." Keith said.
"Team, you cannot let Lotor get that ship. You need to get back to your lions. You need Voltron." Shiro said.
"Why take out one ship when we can stop all of this by taking Lotor himself? We can't let him keep outsmarting us." Keith asked.
I walked over to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Keith, we know almost nothing about Lotor. It would be best if we form Voltron and take out this ship before Lotor and can get his hands on it." I reasoned with him.
"Zurine is right, Keith. This is too important."
"Keith," Allura said, "I wamt to stop Lotor just as badly as you, but Shiro and Zurine are right."
"Okay, you guys go back to the lions. I'm gonna search the ship for Lotor." Keith said.
"Keith, you need to stick together."
"Keith won't be alone. I'm staying behind too. White can pilot herself, she won't be as powerful but she'll be able to help." I said.
"Yeah, I'm with Shiro on this one." Lance said as the others agreed.
Keith reluctantly obeyed Shiro's words and we all walked out of the hangar.
As we ran towards the exit, we found ourselves face to face with Lotor's small force.
My eyes narrowed at the sight of them, but they smiled when they laid eyes on me.
"Ahh, little child of Sun and Moon. Lotor has been dying to meet you again." The larger woman said happily before growling and launching towards us.
She tried to land a hit on Allura, but she dodged in time.
Through the smoke the blind woman, Narti I believe her name was, alid on the ground with her cat under Pidge.
Pidge launched her whip, trying to hit Narti, but she slid low and tripped the Green Palidan.
Her fluid movements allowed her to dodge Hunk's incoming punch and in turn, she elbowed him in the face.
The woman with purple hair, Axca, charged at me with full strength. Seeing her coming I quickly changed into my sun form and shot fire at her.
She just as quickly dodged, jumping into the air and firing at Lance, who luckily activated his shield on time.
Keith took the chance of her being distracted and charged at her with bis sword. However, his shot was blocked by Axca's blaster.
The two struggled to even move to fight, but they were separated when the pink girl, Ezor, threw a dagger at their colliding weapons.
She used her speed to throw anither dagger at Keith, but just before it hit, the dagger was shot by Lance's blaster.
I smiled at his good shot. But I shook it off, touching the golden bands on arm, the bands grew and stretched into a chest plate and arm guards.
I ran over to the larger woman, Zethrid I think she was called, who was trying to aim at Allura.
I ran behind her just as Allura had gotten her whip wrapped around her gun.
I jumped into the air and reeled back my arm, then slammed my fist into the back of her head.
Zethrid staggered so little, but it wasn't enough to stop her. She grabved the whip and pulled Allura closer to her.
Zethrid used her strength to grab Allura and then throw her into the wall.
She turned around and faced me, joy dancing in her eyes.
"Nice armor, princess, but that won't help you." She mocked me, I smirked and scoffed at her words.
"Let's see you try to break this armor." I said.
She ran to me and tried to punch me, but I flipped over her, using her back as a force to help me jump towards my friends.
"We need to get back to the lions." Keith said. We agreed and ran outside to our speeders and raced back to our lions.
"Okay, seriously, what is going on? I mean, who were they?" Lance asked.
"I've met one of them before, in the weblum. She stole some of the scaultrite." Keith said.
"I've met them too, after I woke up." I said, "I used my powers to transport my spirit to Lotor's ship and met them all."
"Allura, you said they had an Altean?" Hunk asked, "They must be trying to build a teludav so they can make wormholes."
"If Lotor has turned the comet int I a ship, we have much bigger concerns." Allura replied.
"I thought Lotor took over for Zarkon. Why is attacking a Galra base?" Pidge wondered.
"There's something different about Lotor." I said, "He's not as evil as his father."
"How can you tell, Zurine?" Keith asked.
"I don't know. I can't explain how, but I can tell that he isn't thinking about his father's empire. He's planning something much bigger."
"And that's why we have to stop him here and now." Keith said as we raced faster to our lions.
Once we boarded them, we powered up our lions and flee into the sky.
All of a sudden, I felt the comet fly right past us and into the atmosphere. My fear rose exponentially as the ship made from the comet flew towards the castle.
"Guys, we've gotta move, the comet ship is going after the castle." I said.
That was just enough to make us form Voltron and rush even faster.
We fired a laser at the new ship, but it dodged and flew closer to the Castle.
Voltron formed its sword and charged at it. I stayed in my sun form and gave Voltron as much power as I could.
But every time we tried to strike, the ship would move quickly to dodge.
Keith growled in frustration, "It's too quick!" He shouted.
"Guys, the cargo ship is escaping with the teludav inside of it." Shiro informed us.
"I thought taking down the ship made from the comet was the most important thing." Keith argued.
"We still can't let Lotor get away with the teludav."
"Shiro's right. We need to destroy it." Allura agreed.
"But the comet is right here! We need to take it down!" Keith yelled.
Voltron continued to clash with the ship.
"Keith, the cargo ship is getting away!".
For a split second, Voltron turned around to see the cargo ship fly away slowly, but that was just enough time for the ship.
The ship behind took aim and fired, and since we didn't expect it, I couldn't use my power to protect Voltron.
I screamed at the pain coursing through my body as Voltron created its shield.
The oain stopped as the attack from behind was blocked. I drew in heavy breaths and held the handles tightly.
"Zurine, are you okay?" Allura asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I replied. I kept my eyes on the ship in front of us, and the large orb of static energy was beginning to look dangerous.
"Guys, the teludav is getting away!" Hunk shouted.
"Keith, what should we do?" Lance asked.
"You're going to lower your shield, shoot the cargo ship, and deal with the consequesces."
"We can beat this ship first, and then get the cargo ship." Keith said.
"There's not enough time. Yoy need to make a decision."
Keith was obviously frustrated, but decided to do as Shiro suggested.
"Hunk, ready your bayard." Keith said, "On my cue, we're gonna lower tge shiled and shoot the cargo ship. Zurine, can you give us an extra boost?"
"Of course." In that instant, Keith made his cue.
Hunk formed his cannon anf Voltron turned around, leaving us vulnerable from the back.
I wasn't worried about the attack from behind, because as soon as the ship fired, Keith maneuvered Voltron out of the way, letting the attack made for us hit the cargo ship.
The ship prepared to fire again, and this time, it hit its mark.
The blast hit my lion the hardest. I screamed bloody murder as the pain from the blast hit me.
Everyine screamed, but I was the loudest. Voltron was now lifeless, floating in space. I let go of my controls, too weak to hold on.
"So, Lotor was attacking a Galra base and trying to steal the teludav? None of this makes any sense." Lance asked, confused like the rest of us.
"We can talk about this later. They're getting away!" Pidge said.
"We need to go after them." Keith said, but he was interrupted.
"No. Get back to the Castle. Something strange is going on here, and we need to figure it out. Also, the White Lion was hit pretty hard. Zurine, are you there?"
Everyone then panicked, "Zurine? Are you alright?" Keith asked along with the others.
"Yes, I'm alright. That blast just hit pretty hard. I need to rest." I said, my boice barely above a whisper.
We returned to the Castle, and with the help of Keith and Allura, I was safely tucked in bed and allowed to rest.
After that, Shiro amd Keith had a talk about Keith's new leadership.
"I'm proud of you, Keith." Shiro said proudly, "And I think this whole ordeal has changed you for the better."
"What do you mean?"
Shiro chuckled, "I mean, ever since I've met you, you were a rebellious kid who preferred to be by himself. But now that you've been introduced to new people and have become a part of this team, you've become more open."
Keith smiled, "Yeah, I guess." He said.
"And... I think most of your change is because of Zurine. She's really changed you for the better."
Shiro and Keith smiled, Keith blushing at the thought if me being the main part of his change.