"Is everyone okay?" Hunk ran over with all the lions landing and they exited.

"We're alright, still Alive," Keith nodded.

Lotor looked over seeing Lance. He walked over but when Allura appeared from her lion he stopped. Lotor gulped and saw bruises covering lance, like he was tossed, his neck... and his arm was broken... it hurt to see how useless he was to someone he cared for.

Lance glanced over seeing where Lotor looked and sighed seeing it was the princess, of course. Lotor was uncomfortable with her, he knew that much was so obvious, even to lance.

"So can we go home now?" Lance shook his head.

Shiro opened his mouth to answer but there was a loud booming in the sky. They all looked up shocked to see a large object coming from space and heading to them like a meteorite.

"What is that?" Pidge asked confused.

It crashed into the desert not even a mile away, and Lotor could sense it wasn't something safe, but also not something from his previous empire.

"Everyone get in your lions now," Lotor watched where the object crashed. His pointed ears perked up.

"Why? What is it?" Allura asked. Lance watched Lotor, his ears twitched for a second and went down.

"Get in the lions," lance nodded backing up to get to red.

They all ran back as Shiro went to the black lion, Lotor pursed his lips to go to the black lion but hunk touched his arm. The yellow Paladin smiled gently and motioned to his lion. Lotor agreed and ran back to the lion with him.

They took off to fly to the object, they circled it as it stood.

Lotor gasped shocked seeing his sincline that everyone thought was destroyed in the battle. Lotor felt sweat run down his neck trying to breathe. That was his. His creation.

"No.. how..." Lotor gripped the back of hunks chair.

"What. the fuck. is that?" Pidges jaw dropped. They all were shocked.

"Take it down!" Keith barked.

"On it!"

It powered up and immediately started shooting from a wrist gadget on one arm. While it double sided synth was in its other hand.

Everyone dove out of the way and tried shooting back, the new enemy spun the long weapon easily blocking the blasts spinning it quickly.

"Lance, Lotor, explain?!" Allura cried out when it started to shoot back.

"It's not mine!" Lotor yelled back harshly.

"Yea no, as much of a compliment that would be that we could make it... that's not our cannon ships! Look at how it's built, the way it moves, somethings not right," lance grunted a little.

"I need to get back to the atlas, Lotor I need too," Shiro narrowed his eyes. "I need to get back,"

"We're here and ready to help," they heard same and saw the atlas joining them.

"Alright let's get it distracted so the two can go," Keith started to move back towards the atlas with hunk so they could drop the men off.

"As soon as we get back, we form voltron,"

"If you can, keep some of it intact, at least the source, I want to know who or what created this," Lotor told the Paladins coldly. It was almost like that thing was insulting.

The two men dropped from the lions jaws and landed on top of the atlas. The battle machine seemed to notice despite how tiny the two beings were, it was focused on Lotor and Shiro.

"Guys it's about to move!" Lance gasped seeing it powering up and holding its synth with both hands before speeding past the lions.

"watch out!" Lance screamed.

Lotor looked up confused and gasped when the atlas blasted back just as Keith and hunk flashed back over to the other lions and immediately created voltron.

The new sincline spun its synth and went to attack again but voltrons sword blocked it this time.
It used its blaster and held it up to voltrons face, shooting up close and creating an explosion.

"Fuck!" Keith screamed when they were impacted and shook.

But it went past voltron straight to Lotor and Shiro once more. Shiro jumped into the atlas as Lotor was about to but the atlas got a direct shot and knocked Lotor Off.

Lotor landed in the dirt with a cry and scrambled to his feet to get out of the way. He would be killed as soon as he saw the sincline moving, but not to attack him, creating distance between him and the Paladins and atlas. A powerful stance ready to attack and defend.

"Is it protecting you?" Allura asked surprised.

"Maybe it can sense him being galra?" Pidge offered.

"What about Keith?" Lance raised a brow.

"Stinks like earth to much?" Hunk pursed his lips.

"Shoot it down!" Lotor yelled over them.

"Wait, shoot at Lotor," Shiro stopped them.

"Pardon!?"

"If it truly is protecting Lotor then it'll do anything to keep him safe right? It'll let it's guard down, find that weak spot," Shiro explained.

Lotor raised both his hands high and flipped off the atlas from the far distance.

"Charming," Shiro watched from the camera.

The blue lion shot first and the sincline stopped the blast.

"I'm not even surprised at this point," Lotor jumped away and Allura shrugged.

"Don't be petty, he's not your exe," lance sent her a look.

"Are we really doing this again?" Shiro snapped at them.

"Listen, I know we're in bad shape, exhausted, confused, but let's get this thing taken down and save earth," Keith inhaled a deep breath and focused on the new robot. "Again,"

Lance shoved the levers forward and sent a blast at Lotor and the sincline ducked down to stop the low blast, voltron immediately kicked its head down in the earth.

The sincline grabbed the yellow ankle and began crushing it in its hand as voltron raised its blade and slammed it into the center of its chest, impaling it into the ground as everyone screamed at the electricity running through their lions.

There was a blast that shot voltron back into individual lions and they all scattered across the ground. But the sincline didn't move. It was not longer powered either.

"That wasn't so bad," hunk panted as he laid in his chair stressed out. He didn't like that at all.

"I'm so sick of being electrocuted today," lance mumbled as his head was laid back with his eyes closed.

"How you doing out there Lotor?" Shiro called from the ear piece.

"I wasn't injured," Lotor started already walking to the sincline to get close and personal.

"Hey hey stop, don't touch it," Sam cried out.

"Why?" Keith grunted.

"Somethings come up," Sam told them and Lotor paused only a few feet from the machine.

"What is it?" Lotor narrowed his eyes.

"Surge indicators, coming from it," Pidge turned to the machine as the red lights flashed in all the lions.

"I thought it was down," lance was able to get his lion to move as well as Pidge.

"It is," hunk felt sick. "Oh no..."

"What?" Lotor started to back away now.

"It must have some kind of self destruct mechanism," he explained.

"According to my readings the blasts radius from the destructive mechanism will destroy half of the earth alone," Pidge gulped.

"Then we need to get it out of here," Keith nodded.

The lions powered up and the red lion ran around the sincline and grabbed lotor only to drop him on top of the atlas. Lotor grunted rolling to his feet and turned to see all the lions lifting the machine as one, and flew to the sky. To space. He couldn't move, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Go go go," Keith growled as they went full speed to get the sincline away from the earth. They were so close to winning the day.

They were so close to saving their home.

Their families.

Their loves.

It was just one more sacrifice.

"It's been an honor flying with you all," Keith whispered. They were still in earth atmosphere. They still needed to get away.

"Give it everything you got!"

Alluras hands trembled as her throat burned.

Pidge gripped the handles tighter, it felt like her knuckles were going to break.

Hunks face scrunched up trying to put on a brave face.

Lance accepted the worst. A single tear ran down his face.

They knew the sacrifice that went unsaid. They didn't want to say it.

"See you guys tomorrow," Pidge smiled sadly.

They broke out of the earths atmosphere. It felt like a million degrees around them as they shoved their way through the empty battle field only to keep going, they needed to be farther. The alarms were blasting in their ears as the lions shook.

-

The sky flashed white from the explosion, the impact to the earth was just a breeze to push the dirt and leafs back.

Lotor fell to his knees as he watched five individual spots in the sky starting to fall to the earth.

One by one each lion hit the earth all over the deserts like meteors, smoke coming from their impacts.

The battle was truly won.

—

"Today, is a solemn day,"

A garrison flag role on the pole. Stopping three quarters of the way on the flag pole. Shiro stood on a stage in front of thousands of civilians, thousands of survivors, with five lions behind him and the garrison joining the stage. All of the garrison generals and commanders dressed in uniform behind shiro, Lotor stood at his right side in a uniform as well, white hair tied back. Adam stood next to Lotor.

"Today we look back at the lives that have been lost, and the sacrifices that have been made here in earth and across the universe," Shiro spoke into a microphone at a podium.

"There isn't one of us here today who hasn't experienced the tragedy of losing someone close... it truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives and the sun itself couldn't reignite it," Shiro looked back over at Lotor who had his head down. He looked past and made eye contact with Adam.

"But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely, it is fueled within each of us, by memories and the love of those we've lost, and now we must move forward in their names, and shine that light onto a new path for future generations,"

The rebellion with Matt, Nyma, rolo, and slav as well stood in front with the survivors. The marmora. Other alien life's that wish for a place for peace and safety.

"Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope, earth is now stronger than ever and it stands as a beacon of light, to help guide those fighting against tyranny and oppression, from here we will spread peace and together we will hold strong... as the defenders of the universe,"