The lions were out of order, and I could barely keep from staring at Honerva inside her new beast.
"Paladins, report status." Keith said.
"Im offline!" Lance answered.
"Me, too." Pidge said.
"Uh, guys, are you seeing this?" Hunk asked, fear in his voice.
I already knew the horror I was staring at. Honerva's beast was floating in space, a large wormhole portal behind her and the pillars of the temple below here surrounding the beast.
It gave off a wave of unimaginable horror laced with malice and anger.
"What are those things doing?" Lance asked in a panic.
"That's how she's getting in." Pidge said.
"What do you mean?" Keith asked.
"Honerva!" I shouted, "She's using the wings from her beast to pierce through the barriers between realities. It's her entry point!"
"But how is that possible?" Lance asked.
"Honerva combined her beast with Lotor's Sincline. With the comet's ore and this transformation, she now has the ability to traverse through different realities." I explained.
Suddenly, my body felt hot and every vein in my body felt like it was raging with fire.
The universe was collapsing. All realities were slowly being torn. And I was feeling the damage.
"Our universe is collapsing, just like the day we lost the Castle of Lions." I heard Coram say from the Yellow Lion, "Those wings are causing the very fabric of our reality to disintegrate!"
"Then we're gonna stop that thing before it breaks through." Hunk said before the Yellow Lion powered up and came back to life.
"Hunk, get your passengers back to the Atlas." Keith ordered.
"Copy that." Hunk said and flew back to the Atlas. I choked back the pain as my White Lion came back to life. I wasted no time in charging after the two Robeasts that headed our way.
"Those Robeasts are headed our way." Pidge said,gasping as the Green Lion came back to life, "Just in time!"
One by one, the Lions regained their power.
"Allura, do you copy?" Keith asked, "Can you get to your Lion? We're gonna need Voltron."
"Hold on, I'm coming." Allira answered.
"In the meantime, the Atlas has you covered." Shiro assured.
"Wait, what about the collapsing universe? We need to stop it!" Coran said.
"Coran, we're counting on you to figure something out."
"What? Me? I don't know anything aboyt that!"
"Then find someone who does! We need to stop that weapon before it breaks through realities. Paladins, do everything you can to keep the Robeasts distracted." Let's give the Atlas a shot."
The Robeasts were relentless and fired at us with the intent to destroy. Hunk flew out of the Atlas, summoned his lion's armor and slammed into one of the Robeasts.
"Nice shot!" Lance said.
But the Robeast was not kept down for long. It bounced right back with its weapons and charged for the Black Lion.
I flew to Keith's side and as soon as the Robeast was close enough, we both activated our Lions' special abilities, flying faster than the eye could see past the Robeast.
"Guys, we're going in to stop Honerva!" Keith said as we flew close to Honerva's beast.
The Beast lifted its hand and I heard a voice echo in my head.
"Still." It said. Honerva said.
I couldn't even comprehend her deep, poisonous voice, for as soon as she spoke her command, I was filled with agonizing pain. Our Lions were caught in an Altean energy circle and stopped in their tracks.
I weakly lifted my head up and watched in fear as the beast's hand was raised, with the intention of striking both me and Keith down.
But fate had other plans. Before the beast could even come close to me and Keith, the Atlas, in its transformed state, flew in front of us and blocked the impending attack.
Honerva, being distrated by the blockage, released her hold on the circle surrounding the two of us, giving us a chance to escape.
I smiled as best I could, but with the pain from the circle and the tearing of the universe, it was hard to even get a grin.
I saw my fellow Paladins fight to keep the Robeasts away and to stop Honerva themselves, but their actions proved to be failing.
"Fall back!" Keith shouted. We did as told and fell back from the fight.
Honerva and the Atlas were in their own battle as we escaped and Allura joined us.
"We can't get past them, so we're going to ha e to defeat them. Paladins, on me! Form Voltron!" Keith shouted.
We flew in formation and combined into Voltron. We summomed our sword and charged for the Robeasts.
"Remember, those weapons can siphon our energy, so we need to avoid their direct hits." Allura said.
Our shield appeared and I changed into my sun form for extra power. The Robeasts charged without hesitation, striking us with fierce anger in every blow.
We dodged and blocked the beasts with our shield and quick movements, striking them with our sword as they too blocked and dodged.
Our sword clashed with one of them and sparks flew from the colliding blades.
"Pidge arm cannon!" Keith shouted.
The shield disappeared and the Green Lion arm formed the cannon. We positioned our aim at the chest where the Altean pilot was, but not too close close to hurt them.
We took our shot and defeated the Robeast, cyan blue light spreading across the darkened sky.
The second robeast was about to attack us, when the other Altean, the one who rebelled against Honerva earlier, came in and blocked the attack.
"It's the Altean!" Pidge gasped.
"Why is she helping us?" Lance asked.
I smiled, "Because she understands the right path to take." We reformed our sword and prepared to help, when another voice came in.
"Please, do not harm them." The voice was a woman, one I could tell was the aiding Altean.
"They were misguided, much like I was. We all were."
Her plea was genuine and we would never slay an innocent. We held our sword and flew forward, striking near the shoulder and missing the pilot capsule.
"Pilot capsule still intact." Keith said.
Honerva shot off her lasers at the Atlas and the pain I felt from the tearing universe and realities was becoming worse.
The final Robeast attacked and we fought back, quickly slicing it in half and leaving it in space.
"Final Robeast out of commission." Keith said. We flew back up to the portal Honerva created.
"Hunk, form cannon!"
The cannon was formed and took aim, but the shot was never fired. Everything was black for a moment and everything was painfully silent.
Until I heard a loud boom.
My eyes slowly opened to a bright light shining in front of us. I looked to my right and saw the Atlas floating lifelessly in space.
I turned back towards the light and saw Honerva's beast standing in front of the large portal.
"Honerva... has pierced through realities." I heard Allrua say in a weak tone.
Honerva lifted her hand and clenched her fist, stopping the blades from the wings from spinning and returning to her back.
She turned around and flew into the portal to another reality. As soon as she entered the portal, the pain came back stabbing my heart.
"Come on, we're going in!" Keith declared, "Atlas, stay on me."
"I'm afraid the Atlas can't do that." Coran stuttered.
"Coran's right. It isn't made out of the same ore. It can't traverse realities." Pidge confirmed.
"Then we're going in alone."
"Actually, that appears to be problematic as well." Slav informed us.
"What?"
"The statistical likelihood of Voltron succeeding against Honerva in a one-on-one battle is well below improbable."
"We'll have a better chance than if we don't try at all." Allura said.
Suddenly, we were slightly blinded by several lights gathering around us. I was stunned when I felt amazing life energy coming from these lights and powerful voices they expressed.
They surrounded in a circle, "Balmera." Allura and I gasped.
"What's going on?" Lance asked.
"It's a convuldrum." Coran said, staring at the Balmerans from wach Balmera, "The Balmeras are converging."
"What called them here?"
No one really knew an answer to that questions, but I had a feeling that Shay called all the Balmera here to help us.
And I could tell that Hunk knew it, too.
The energies from the Balmeras rose exponentially, their power from the crystals coming together and transferring to Voltron and the Atlas.
I smiled as the power engulfed us, the pain fading and my body changing to my Oriande form. But I was not the only one to change.
Voltron changed, our body becoming one with another melting into the Atlas.
Then, a bright light engulfed the area. Once it faded, a new warrior was born. And so had I changed once again.
I looked down at my attire and saw that my entire body had changed. The soft cloth hughed my body comfortably, fading from silver to black from the chest down. All over my dress were jewels shining in all sorts of colors, some I've never even seen before.
Semi-transparent pieces of cloth covered my arms, creating a shawl that flowed off of me and shining a deep purple with silver highlights as the light shone off of it.
My hair gained silver highlights along with the gold, and my eyes were swirling with the colors of the universe.
Even my cokcpit had changed along with Voltron and the Atlas. My control handles were transformed into the same pedestals Allura used in the Castle of Lions.
My Lion was colored gold on the inside but stayed white on the outside, intricate markings and symbols for the sun, moon and stars covered my cockpit.
I smiled and gasped at my new appearance and cokcpit. It was as if I was clothed in the universe itself.
And I had never felt more powerful!
"Whoa!" Hunk said.
"No way!" Lance said in disbelief and awe.
"This is crazy!" Pidge exclaimed.
"I don't know what just happened, but now we have a chance." Allura said.
"Let's stop Honerva." Keith said.
"Coran, we'll need you to secure the area and find a way to suppress this rift." Shiro ordered.
With a shout, all of us, Paladins and Atlas crew, pushed our newly created Voltron through the portal to other realities.
We flew down the dark tunnel before we were engulfed in a bright light. When the light diminished, we flew into another reality. One that had already been tainted by Honerva.
This reality was that of Altea, and Honerva had already passed through the portal above the Castle.
"Is this..." Allura asked.
"It's an alternate Altea." Pidge said.
"And it looks like this reality is crumbling, just like ours!" Lance said.
"How come it's disintegrating so quickly?" Hunk asked.
"Its Honerva's wings." I said.
"Her wings?" Allura asked.
"Zurine's right." Pidge said, "Those wings created a sort of cosmic tunnel in one blast. The rift must lead directly to the reality Honerva's been looking for."
"And any reality that those wings bored through is falling apart." Shiro said.
What he said was true. It was only a little, since my transformation and the new Voltron was keeping the pain down to a point. However, I still felt some of the damage to the realities.
"We have to keep going!" Keith said, before we flew through the portal to another reality.
We entered another alternate Altea and saw the darkness consuming it. The feeling of cold and malice washed over me like waves on the sand. It made me feel sick.
"All these innocent lives." Allura said sadly, "There's no limit to what Honerva will do or the lives she'll tear apart to get what she wants."
"That's why we need to stop her." Shiro said and we flew through another portal to another alternate reality.
"Even then, I fear she's started a chain reaction that can never be undone."
I frowned at Allura's words. There was a way to undo this disaster, but I couldn't tell them just yet. It was painful to keep this a secret, but we couldn't worry about what I would do when this was all over.
We needed to stay focused, and so I stayed silent as we continued to travel.
But then, just as we passed through the next portal, we were hit eith a blade. Our screams of pain echoed through the air as we gained our balance.
We looked up to see what hit us and saw Honerva in her beast.
"Countermeasures!" Keith shouted, but a sphere of pure darkness surrounded us, leaving us unable to move as Honevra slammed us into the ground.
She prepared to atyack again, but we formed our sword and blocked the orb of darkness, throwing it back at her.
She dodged and the orb slammed into the structure above. Our sword's shine diminished, revealing a large gold and blue sword pointed straight at Honerva with the intent to strike her down.
We flew into the air and swung our sword, to which Honerva dodged. She flew higher into the air and expanded her wings, shooting off the blades with furious speed.
We were slammed back to the ground, but that didn't stop us. We slid across the ground and got back up on our feet.
I poured my power into Voltron and was amazed at the results. Two powerful beams shot from the chest where my Lion was and flew full speed at Honerva.
However, she dodged and attacked back. She landed on the ground, throwing orbs of dark energy at us. We cut through them as Honerva spun around and hit us with her tail.
Once again we were slammed into the ground and nailed down by her wing blades. From the blades, dark lightning appeared, she lifted her hand up and dark energy circled her being.
The energy siphoned out our power, and even I was able to feel it. I didn't scream out in pain like the others, but I was still very much in pain.
Our energy kept being drained from us, until she stopped when we were too weak to move.
She flew up into the portal and disappeared. I hunched over, feeling helpless. Even with my power, I wasn't able to help enough.
"We need to get up." Lance said, panting and groaning in pain and exhaustion.
"I can't move." Hunk groaned
"The ship's not responding." Shiro growled.
"Honerva, she's absorbed all our strength." Allura said tiredly.
"Thsi reality... it's over." Pidge said in defeat as the reality we sat in, was slowly being ripped apart.
"No." Keith said denying our defeat, "We've always dome the impossible. Our strength is our bond. Our power comes from each other. As long as we're a team, we stamd a chance. Sendak. Zarkon. Lotor. We've saved our universe countless times, but now, all the realities are in need of Voltron. So this isn't the end just yet. We need to get back up and stop Honerva once and for all!"
I smiled brightly at Keith's speech. With new determination, I felt everyone gather up whatever strength they had left and pour it into Voltron.
I closed my eyes and poured plenty of power into Voltron myself, snapping my eyes open when Voltron stood and fired its boosters, speeding us to the portal.
We pushed our power as far as we could, but the last thing I saw was darkness, but cold was not the last thing I felt.
There was a warmth. A light. I felt something strange surround me.
I opened my eyes and saw....
Altea!
However, this Altea was not one I remembered. It was an alternate Altea, one that has neevr seen the corruption of Zarkon.
I looked dkwn at my hands and saw that they were transparent. I was simply an apparition. A spirit in this reality.
I looked around and found myself in the Castle halls, right outside a large study hall.
"Zurine, what are you doing?" I heard a young voice ask.
I turned around to see who spoke my name and saw a young white haired boy sitting beside a young white and gold haired girl.
My eyes widened when the two children turned to face each other.
It was me and Lotor! I suppose in this reality I survive and befriend Lotor. It was strange to see me smiling with Lotor. But, I made me feel like this reality, could've been ours if Zarkon had not been corrupted with Honerva.
"You crossed the stars wrong, Lotor!" The younger me said, pointing to the charts above us.
Lotor stared at the map and realized his mistake. He smiled and laughed at his silly error.
"Aw, man. Youre right! That star doesn't belong in that Solar System." He turned towards the younger me, "How do you know so much about the universe?"
The younger me laughed, "I am the child of the Sun and Moon. I have to know these things."
The two children smiled, and I sighed, thinking that this reality was perfect. But then, I felt the Dark One approach.
I turned around and saw Honerva with Zarkon and Allura standing in the doorway.
She looked surprised and overwhelmed with feelings of joy and love.
"My son." She said.
Lotor and the younger me turned around, their eyes lighting up with excitement when they saw Honerva.
"Mother?"
"Aunt Honerva?"
The two children got out of their seat and started running towards Honerva's waiting arms, but then, they stopped. The younger me looked terrified, her eyes wide and full of fear. She held onto Lotor's hand and his behind him as best she could.
"Please, my child, come to me." Honvera begged, her arms still openwd wide.
The children backed away.
"No." Lotor said.
"She isn't right." The younger me said.
Zarkon, Honerva and Allura looked surprised and confused. As was I.
I could feel the darkness in Honvera, but how could this other reality me feel it?
"Lotor, it's okay. It's you mother. She has returned." Zarkon said calmly.
"Zurine, this is Honerva. Come say hello." Allura said.
"She's not my mother." Lotor claimed, turning around slightly and holding the younger me close and protectively.
"I may appear changed, but I assure you, my love for you is that if a mother for her child. Come to me." Honerva said.
The younger me shook her head and wiggled out of Lotor's hold, standing in front of him with her arms stretched out wide.
"There is darkness inside you!" She yelled, "I won't allow you to harm Lotor or anyone else here!"
"Zurine, what's gotten into you?" Allura gasped.
"Lotor, don't speak like that." Zarkon said.
"Please." Honerva begged, holding her hand out to her son.
"No." Lotor said, "My mother is dead. And you cannot replace her!"
Zarkon sighed and walked over to the younger me and Lotor.
"Perhaps this is overwhelming for the boy and Zurine. Please, if we had some time..." Zarkon said. The two children huddled closer to the Emperor, the younger me glaring at Honerva.
Honerva, with wide eyes, stood up slowly, "Time?" She said, "You speak to me of time? I've spent lifetimes trying ro get back. Countless worlds have fallen in the wake of my efforts to return to you. And this is how you welcome me?"
Suddenly, I felt my body become heavy. I looked down at my hands and them regain color and fullness.
I landed softly on my feet, standing tall and strong as Honerva turned to see me.
"Honerva," I said, gaining everyone's attention, "This is not your reality. This future has been lost to you for the crimes you have committed."
"Who? Who are you?" Allura asked.
The younger me smiled and ran to my side, holding out her arms to be picked up. I smiled and did as she silently asked, picking her up and holding her gently.
"Big sister Allura! This girl is me! She's me!" The younger me shouted excitedly.
Allura, Lotor and Zarkon were surprised and confused.
But, Lotor smiled and ran up to me, holding the fabric of my dress.
"It's true! She feels like Zurine!" He said.
"But, that's impossible." Zarkon gasped, "How can this be?"
I turned and smiled at Zarkon, happy to see him in this way.
"Emperor Zarkon." I said, "It is wonderful to see you like this."
"What do you mean by that?" Allura asked.
"Just as there is this reality, others exist. I am from one of them. My reality is one filled with war caused by Zarkon and Honerva, who were corruoted by darkness and want of power. It resulted in the destruction of Altea and the death of many, including you and and older Lotor."
I pointed to Honerva who was scowling at me with malice.
"And that woman has destroyed multiple realities to come to this one! She is a monster who would stop at nothing to get what she wants! She may have been you mother in this reality, but in mine, she is a witch corrupted and malicious!"
Honerva growled at me, an orb of darkness forming in her hands.
"How dare you?" She said, "My own child, my own husband date question who I am? And you, little princess, how dare you follow me into this reality? I have sacrificed more than you will ever know!"
All of a sudden, I heard thrusters.
"What is that?" Zarkon asked.
We looked up and I smiled in relief as Voltron came flying through the atmosphere.
"No, it can't be!" Honerva exclaimed in fear.
"You brought this abomination upon us?" Zarkon asked, "You are not the empress. You are not my wife! Guards! Guards!"
The gaurds ran into the room,and pointed their staffs at Honerva.
"If there is no place in this universe for me, then there will be no universe at all." Honerva disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
I set the younger me down and knelt in front of the two children.
"Stay with Zarkon. Do not worry about the beast outside, for he is a mighty warrior here to save us all from Honerva." I explained.
"Zurine, what is that thing?" Zarkon asked.
I stood up and walked over to the emperor, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.
I pulled away and smiled, "The warrior's name is Voltron and in my reality, he is the symbol of hope amd freedom for all universes."
I walked towards Allura and smiled, hugging her as well.
"I wish this reality could be ours," I said pulling away, "But, my time to fight has come."
I closed my eyss and focused on teleporting to my Lion cockpit, when a couple of wavering hands caught mine.
I turned around and saw Allura, and the two children holding my hand.
"Zurine, tell me, "Allura said, "How are you like this?"
I stayed silent for a moment, looking down at Lotor and myself, then at Zarkon and back to Allura.
Then, I gave my answer.
"I am like this..."
"Because I am a Paladin of Voltron!"