~~~Allura~~~
It had been a few days since our mission on the Balmera, and both Saoirse and I were very exhausted. From what I've heard, she had barely woken up since we left. I figured it was because of her human origin that she was more drained than I.
But I couldn't shake the strange sight I saw while she slept on the Balmera. I couldn't forget the strange blue color that washed over her hair. It was so familiar.
I sat in the AI room, where my father resided in his holographic form. The room was designed to project images of Altea and memories.
I sighed, "I loved the smell of the mountain juniberries in the early morning breeze." I said to my father, 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."
I laughed softly, "It took forever for Mother to calm me." Just the thought of my mother and our planet almost brought me to tears.
"I miss Altea so much. I miss you, Father. I wish it didn't have to be this way." I 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 behind me opened. I turned around to see who had entered and saw Coran rushing up to me.
"Princess, there you are. What are you doing up and about? You should be resting." He said.
"Oh, Coran, can't I stay?" I asked, not wanting to part from my Father.
"The Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony took a lot out of you. Come along, to your room." He took my hand and helped me up to my feet, the Altean mice following us.
"Get your rest, darling. I will be here for you when you're well." Father said.
I smiled back at him, "I love you, Father. I'll see you soon."
Coran turned me around and led me out of the room as the images faded and my Father disappeared.
"Coran." I said as we walked down the halls, "How is Saoirse?"
"She hasn't woken up just yet, at least not for very long." Coran answered, "She is only awake for about an hour at a time, but shes slowly getting better. When she is awake we have her eat, so she's well fed. But, I suppose she needs more rest since she is a human."
"I'm not sure she is." I whispered, but Coran heard me and looked down at me curiously.
"What do you mean, Princess?" He asked.
I thought back to the Balmera and how Saoirse's hair shone blue for a moment. Also, I remembered the old Balmeran woman say how Saoirse had an ancient power inside her.
"I'm not sure, really. But something about her seems... strange. But maybe... maybe it's just my imagination."
Coran shrugged it off and led me me to my room. He lay me in my bed and left me to rest. Even though I was resting, my mind was filled with questions about what I had seen on the Balmera.
~~~~Shiro~~~~
I walked down the halls to Saoirse's room, where I knew Keith would be. For the past few days, Keith had barely left Saoirse's side.
I arrived at her door and let it slide open, revealing Keith slumped over asleep in a chair next to my sleeping sister.
I smiled at the sight. They were always very close, even before I adopted Saoirse. When I first met them they were never apart for long, and when they were, Keith seemed sad and more lonely.
I walked in and placed my hand on Keith's shoulder, shaking him awake.
"Keith. Keith, wake up." I said softly as to not wake up Saoirse.
Keith jumped a little and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes to rid himself of sleep.
"Shiro?" He said as he yawned, "What's up? Is something wrong?"
I shook my head, "No. Coran called for all of us to come to the detainment room."
"Oh, ok then." Keith said, standing up and taking one last look at Saoirse before we left the room together.
"Has she woken up today?" I asked.
"Just once. I gave her something to eat about a few hours ago, and she went back to sleep about half an hour ago." He answered.
I sighed, relieved that she had at least eaten today.
"I'm worried, Shiro. She's barely been awake, and the last time she was like this... was after that house fire."
I looked over at Keith, his face showing that he was lost in thought. I remembered that accident well, of course it was all over the news. A brave fireman died while saving a young girl from the scorching flames that day. She was kept in the hospital for weeks, and Keith barely ever left her side, not even when he was taken into the home.
We went down to the detainment room, where everyone else had already gathered, Coran setting up small devices so we could interrogate Sendak in his cryostatis form.
"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," I 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 I 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.
We waited for a minute, but nothing happened.
"Uh... is this what's supposed to be happening?" Hunk asked.
"Lets give it time." I said.
We waited.... and waited... eventually Hunk began to fall asleep, but I was still waiting. Hopefully with new intel on Galra weak points, Sendak would give us 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 we lost another member.
"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." I volunteered, "Somewhere in Sendak's mind it the information about Zarkom 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." I said.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
"Saoirse.... Saoirse..."
A voice whispered to me. I was so tired. I didn't want to see who was calling me.
"Saoirse.... please...."
I felt something warm press against my cheek. I leaned into the warmth, not wanting this warmth to leave me.
But then, the warmth left me. I wanted to know who was there with me. I forced my eyes open and saw my blurred room, but no one there.
I yawned and slowly sat up in my bed, looking around the room and waiting for my vision to finally clear.
"Saoirse." I gasped when I heard the voice again.
"Who's there?" I asked the voice.
"Saoirse..."
I lifted the blanket off of me and swung my legs off the bed. I still felt a little weak, so I leaned against the wall to help me walk. I shuffled to the door and let it open before I walked out of my room.
I was confused as soon as I took a step out of the room. The hall was slightly darker than normal and no one was outside to call my name.
"Is anyone there?" I called out to the empty halls, my voice echoing and bouncing off the walls.
"Saoirse..." the voice called out to me again.
I turned to my right and saw something shining in the distance.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Come to me, Saoirse... please, come to me."
I stood there staring at the glow in the distance. I didn't know what was down there, nor did I know who was calling for me.
But I felt something inside me, telling me to follow the voice. So, I listened and began walking towards the glow.
~~~~Keith~~~~
I swung my sword, defeating one of the Altean fighter drones.
"Start training level three." I shouted to the computer. A portion of the ceiling opened and dropped another drone.
It activated and charged straight for me. I blocked the door with my own and evaded the attacks. But the drone caught me and pushed me away. I rolled onto he floor before catching my breath and standing back up.
"End training sequence." I said, but the drone didn't deactivate. It just walked closer to me, the light on its head turning red.
"End training sequence!" I shouted, "End training sequence now!"
The drone slapped away my bayard sword and pushed me towards the door. I slid past him, grabbed my bayard and ran out of the training deck, closing the door behind me before I ran down the halls to escape the drone.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
I felt some of my strength come back, at least enough to not have to lean on the wall to walk.
"Saoirse..." the voice called to me again.
"Why are you calling me?" I asked myself.
The glow in the distance became brighter with every step. And the strange feeling I had drawing me to this glow became stronger.
Suddenly, the glow became even brighter and came close to me. I stopped, waiting for the glow to reach me.
I strained my eyes to see what the glow was, but gasped when I saw that the glow wasn't something, but a someone.
The blue glow around the person shone brightly in front of me.
"Saoirse! Thank goodness." the voice said, the glowing person running to me until we were face to face, or lack thereof.
The glowing person didn't have a face, the bright glow covering most of their face and leaving only a nose and mouth stretched into a sweet smile.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" I asked.
Whoever this person was, I could feel that they were happy to see me, yet, they seemed sad.
They reached out their hand and gently caressed my cheek. My eyes widened in shock. This was the warmth I felt before in my room.
"I'm so glad to see you again, child. You've grown into such a beautiful young lady."
I reached my hand up to my cheek and placed it over the glowing hand.
"You know me?" I asked.
The person nodded.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. We'll see each other soon. When you remember."
"Why can't I see you now? Tell me where you are, I can't remember who you are." I begged, a wave of sadness coming over me.
"I'm sorry, Saoirse. It has been so long since you escaped. I was locked away years ago, and I cannot recall where we are."
Slowly, I felt the warmth of this person's hand fading. I looked into where their eyes should've been and saw the glow diminishing.
"My time is up, Saoirse." They said, "Please, take my quintessence. I may not be there with you in my own body, but my energy may help you remember something."
"Wait, don't leave me! Please, tell me who you are! Where are you so I can find you." I begged.
The person smiled gently and something trailed down their cheek. It was a single tear.
The tear floated off of their cheek and went straight towards my heart. Instantly, I felt my chest burn and collapsed onto the floor.
"I am so sorry, Saoirse. Maybe one day we shall meet face to face. Goodbye."
I looked up, clutching my chest in pain as the glow finally faded away, when something happened.
It wasn't just my chest thumping and burning in pain, it was my head. I took my hands away from my chest and clutched my head in pain.
Scenes flashed in front of me, showing me things I never could remember. Scenes filled with laughter, smiles and the bright glow of the sun.
"Am I really going to pilot this?" A small voice asked.
"Yes, someday, you will pilot this magnificent ship and fly off to planets unknown to much of the universe." The voice from before said.
"Really? I wanna fly it now! Can I? Can I?"
"No, not just yet. You'll have to wait until this war is over."
The scenes turned from happy to horrifying as I saw several people, their faces blurred out, taking two adults away while a smaller hand reached out for them.
They screamed so loud that I couldn't take it anymore. Then... it suddenly got quiet. Something came over me. The pain faded.
I stood up, not knowing what my body was doing, almost in a deep trance. My legs took me down the halls towards the bridge.
~~~~Keith~~~~
I was running down the halls, fighting off one of the battle drones from the training deck. Suddenly, I heard loud banging and a scream.
"Help! Help!"
I turned around and blocked one of the drone's attacks with my sword as I turned the corner, but the drone kicked me in the chest, slamming me against the airlock door.
"Keith!" A muffled shout came from behind the doors.
I turned my head and gasped in shock. Lance was stuck in the airlock, banging against the glass.
"What are you doing in there?" I 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.
I blocked another attack before looking at the control panel beside the door, my mind snapping with an idea.
I pushed the drone against the control panel, which opened the door and sucked the drone into dead space.
"Keith, hurry! C'mon!" Lance shouted reaching out for me.
I acted fast, grabbing Lance by the hand while trying to keep myself from being sucked in. With one last pull, Lance was out of the airlock. I reached over to the control pad and pressed the main button to close the door.
I gasped for breath, panting heavily next to Lance on the floor.
I 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!"
We gasped and screamed, running down the halls to find the others.
~~~~Allura~~~~
I sat in the juniberry fields, blowing the petals off the flower in my hands while my father sat in front of me.
"Altean flowers are the most beautiful." He said.
I looked down at the flowers beneath me, sad to know that they weren't real.
"It is sad that I will only see them in my dreams." I 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." My Father picked a flower and handed it to me.
I smiled and took the flower from my Father.
"I can take you there. I can take you home." He said.
"You can?" I asked in disbelief.
"Would you like to go home?"
My entire body filled with unimaginable joy and excitement.
"Yes. I want to go back to Altea, Father."
"Then come with me, and I will show you the way."
I followed Father down the halls of the Castle. I was going home. I was finally going to see Altea again.
~~~~Lance~~~~
Keith and I ran down the halls searching for the others. We met up with Coran and ran to the lab, where Pidge most likely was. We opened the doors to the Green Lion hanagr 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?" I 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.
I turned to Coran agry at the haunted killer Castle.
"I don't care what you say, Coran. This castle has gone apples and bananas!" I 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 or Saoirse?"
We panicked for a minute before running to find Shiro. We ran and ran down the halls towards the detainment room, where Shiro stayed to keep an eye on Sendak.
Suddenly, we heard a scream, making us run even faster to the detainment room.
When we got there, we 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 we 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!" I 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 said stopping me from talking, "Where's Saoirse?"
"We don't know, we're going to her room to see if she's all right now." Keith said.
But before we could go find Saoirse, 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."
We didn't waste any more time and ran towards the bridge.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
I walked towards the Bridge, staring at the doors as they opened. The red lights blinked over and over again as the ship went into a wormhole jump, at least, that's what the screens read.
The doors opened completely and revealed Allura in her station creating the wormhole.
"Allura." I said softly. She turned around and smiled softly, but her eyes were clouded, as if she was walking in a dream.
"Saoirse, isn't it wonderful? We're going to Altea." She said.
"Altea is gone, Allura. You're trapped in a dream." I said walking closer to Allura.
Just then, the doors behind opened again. I turned around and saw the rest of the group standing in the doorway.
"Saoirse!" Shiro shouted, running to my side and wrapping his arms around me happy to see me safe.
"What's going on?" Shiro asked Allura.
"We're going to Altea." She answered, "We're going home. My Father is taking us."
Shiro let me go and ran with the others to Allues, but were stopped by a barrier around her.
"Stay away from my daughter!" A man screamed as his face appeared around us.
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 us, and it was not stable.
"We're headed straight for a star and it's about to explode!" Pidge shouted.
"Father, I can see Altea." Allura said 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. But I can bring her back.
I walked past my friends and brother, stopping in front of the barrier.
"Saoirse, what are you doing?" Shiro asked.
I didn't answer, instead, I pressed my hand on the barrier... and went through. Everyone behind me was shocked to see me walk straight through the barrier with ease.
I walked up the small set of steps and stood by Allura's side, placing my hand on her's as it hovered in the air.
She looked at me with confusion, but smiled.
"Saoirse, aren't you excited to be here? Isn't Altea wonderful?" Allura asked.
"Allura, this is not real. What you are seeing is a dream. You have to wake up." I begged.
"Nonsense, this is Altea." King Alfor said to his daughter, "That flower in your hand is real."
Allura sighed in relief at her Father's words.
I looked into Allura's eyes and down at her hand.
"Allura, can you tell me what the flower in your hand smells like? Is it sweet?"
She looked at me confused, "Of course, can't you smell the Juniberry yourself?"
"How can I smell something that isn't real?"
Allura brought her hand to her face and sniffed the imaginary flower in her hand. She gasped, her eyes clearing up as she turned back to the front and saw the star in front of us.
"That is not Altea." She said.
She looked back at the star and gasped, "That's not Altea." She said.
"When that star goes super nova, it will destroy the entire system." Pidge informed us, "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 backwards. I was touching her, so I was thrown back as well into Shiro's arms.
King Alfor appeeared in front of us staring at the star that would bring our end.
"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.
"Saoirse, are you feeling okay to do this?" Shiro asked.
I nodded and ran ahead of them to get to the Silver Lion. Healthy or not, I was going to help.
~~~~Allura~~~~
I ran to the A.I. chamber and to the controlled power source, where my Father appeared in front of me.
"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." I said.
His hologram went away and the power source was ready to be shut down. But, I gasped when the world went dark, and memories of our time together floated around me.
Memories of our laughter and fun, and times where we were sad.
"This is not real. This is all in the past." I said to myself, running away from the memories. Even past him holding me as a baby.
I cried in pain, this would be the last I would see of my Father.
"You don't have to fight, Allura." Father said, "You don't have to make this sacrifice."
I knew he was corrupted. I knew this wasn't really him. But as I listened to his voice, I couldn't help but reach out and hug him one last time.
"Goodbye, Father." I said through my tears.
"Goodbye, Allura." Father said, before he disappeared in a flash of light, fading away like the memories he held.
I stood there for a tick, then rushed back to the Bridge. I manned my controls and opened a transmission link to the paladins.
"Palidans, get to your hangars. We're getting out of here." I said.
The lions all returned to the castle and I opened a wormhole. The ship entered the wormhole and was transported away from the star.
A little while later, all the palidans reutrned to the control deck and sat down with me
"I'm so sorry avout your father," Shiro said
"We all are." Hunk added.
I 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."
I turned around and looked over the brave Paladins who helped keep my Father's legacy alive. But then my eyes wandered to Saoirse and again, I saw her hair shine blue.
Who was Saoirse really?
~~~~????~~~~
I gasped for air, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Are you all right?" A voice said behind me.
I nodded turning towards the voice, smiling with overwhelming emotions.
"I saw her.... I saw her!" I cried, "Saoirse has grown up into such a beautiful young woman. I wish you could've seen her."
Two arms wrapped around me and held me close to a warm chest.
"We'll see her soon. Lellal will find her eventually. You said that she's piloting the Silver Lion, right? He'll surely find her and bring her back. Just have hope."
I couldn't stop hoping that Saoirse would find us. After all.... she promised.
And she never broke her promises.