There was a warning beep on each of their helmets, low oxygen maybe? Who knows.

They were all huddled together with their backs against each other but arms hooked while they waited for either help or to see a lion. It's been hours maybe? They had no sense of time.

"Everyone sound off," Keith said tiredly.

"Lance here," the Cuban was next to Keith.

"Pidge here,"

"Allura here,"

Silence.

"Hunk?" Keith raised a brow a little worried.

"I'm hiding," the yellow Paladin whispered.

"Please sound off hunk, it's important to maintain discipline and mental acuity in these situations," Keith told them with a dry tone, his throat hurt, he felt so dehydrated.

"These techniques helped me and my mom in the quantum abyss," he blinked slowly.

"Keith is right, being lost in space has been known to drive one mad," Allura sighed taking a deep breath.

"To much time contemplating infinity is not good for the mind," she leaned her head back to look straight up.

"I like to keep busy calculating pi out as far as I can," Pidge hummed.

"The record is 4 quadrillion, but that's using the Hadoop parallelization framework, I'm just using my brain," she smiled a little proud of herself.

"Man I really wish I could hear what goes on inside your head sometimes," Lance snickered a little. The word Hadoop made him giggle.

"Wait look, lights!" He stiffened a little looking in front of himself wide eyes.

"Told you Lance would go crazy first," hunk chuckled.

"No no no no I see them! There really are lights," Pidge gasped.

"Perhaps it's a ship!" Allura smiled hopefully as they saw lights coming towards them as they looked at it relieved.

The light came closer and they soon saw it looked like animals that fluttered over them with an angelic glow, it surrounded them with so many it was almost impossible To see the space outside of them.

"They're beautiful," Allura was in awe.

"We should follow them," hunk nodded wide eyes.

"What?" Lance looked at him confused.

"I mean, they must be heading somewhere, like a hive or something," hunk explained looking back at the other Paladins.

"It's gotta be better than here," he nodded.

"Hunks right, let's follow them, everyone stay together," Keith pursed his lips, it was their only option right now.

But as soon as they turned on their jet packs the creatures where gone.

"What? Where'd they go?" Lance gasped.

"We're they even real?" Allura breathed shocked.

"I guess they could've been hallucinations... but that only happens when your going mad..." Pidge gulped a little as Keiths eyes were wide almost fearful.

_

Everyone joined together again with their arms linked, another warning alarm beeped on their helmets.

"Sound off.." Keith rasped. They all had bags under their eyes and were dehydrated and exhausted at this point, they didn't know how much time has gone by but they knew they were tired and hungry.

"Allura here,"

"Lance here,"

"Pidge here,"

Silence once again.

"Hunk, sound off immediately," Keith snapped a little at the Paladin.

"Keith you don't have too-" "it's okay Allura, I was lost in a day dream anyways," hunk zoned back into the reality they were stuck in.

"I was lost in a fantasy ya know.. we'd get to earth and the garrison would throw us a parade and all that stuff," hunks voice was dry as he breathed slowly.

"And I don't know meet a hot shot pilot who wanted to check out the yellow lion, and maybe the yellow lion would take a shine to them, obviously, and I'd be like whoa I can't stand between you two, the bond is strong," he continued slowly, he was in no rush to tell his story.

"What are you talking about?" Allura didn't understand.

"Fantasizing about quitting voltron," Keith breathed.

"No no not quitting, no just like being the bigger man, just stepping aside to pass the baton down to a younger generation," hunk elaborated.

"Am I wrong or is hunk still very young by earth standards?" Allura frowned.

"No I think time is different for me, like I'm on dog years or something," he shrugged a little.

-

The alarm went off once more with a low chime. Keith didn't say anything.

"Should we sound off?" Lance looked over.

"What's the point?" Keith whispered.

Lance looked at him calmly and inhaled a deep breath.

"Lance here," he started it off.

"Pidge here,"

"Allura here,"

"I am hunk,"

"I wonder how my dad and Matt are doing," Pidge leaned her head to the side.

"Better than us?" Keith offered.

"My father had something he always said in dire situations," Allura sighed remembering her life before her people were killed.

"Give up?" Keith asked.

"Sorry?" Allura snapped her head at him wide eyes. Lance held in a laugh.

"It just doesn't seem like he was a real fighter when the chips were down," Keith shrugged.

"Keith come on man," hunk chimed in thinking it was a bit harsh.

"You have a lot of nerve questioning someone's leadership," Allura hissed. "You left us,"

"Allura please," hunk gulped not wanting them to fight.

"As I recall you were the one who really just wanted to cozy up to Lotor as soon as you found out he was altean," Keith scoffed shaking his head.

"At least I didn't sleep with him," Allura rolled her eyes.

Lance immediately started to burst out laughing pulling his legs to his chest as he covered the bottom half of his helmet with this hand. He laughed so hard his stomach started to hurt and his face started to hurt.

"L-Lance?" Pidge was shocked by the laughter.

"I'm sorry-hehe oh man sorry sorry, I think this is just-" he couldn't form a sentence without laughing.

"Wow oh wow, the irony in this," Lance giggled.

"So I step up to try helping I'm yelled at and screamed that I'm just a replacement, I don't want to be apart of voltron I'm a terrible person, I find someone that made me happy and everyone finds a way to try taking it from me," he snorted shaking his head.

"Stockholm syndrome much?" Keith rolled his eyes.

Lance laughed a little again shrugging.

"Maybe, maybe I just don't care anymore, I felt good at the time, happiest I've ever been, what are you doing to do about it? Go ahead and give me to the galra again, maybe this time they'll finish the job," Lance smiled like it didn't mean a thing. He laughed again.

"I'm tired of fighting, I'm just tired of trying,"

"Lance please don't talk like that," hunk closed his eyes.

He hated it here. He hated them. He wanted to stop being in pain for one minute. He wanted it to just stop.

"Or what?"

"Please stop,"

Hunk was breathing heavy between Pidge and Allura, he was so dehydrated he couldn't even cry it out, he was just shaking from the anxiety and distress.

"Please stop it," he whispered.

Lance looked at him but he didn't feel guilty, he thought he would but he couldn't feel the remorse. Maybe he was farther gone than he thought.

"Sorry," he didn't mean it. He hated he didn't mean it.

"Look I understand what's happening here, we don't know how to react when we're scared," hunk gulped turning to them as he forced himself to confront them. "It's causing you to attack one another,"

"That or your space mad, hopefully your just scared," he pursed his lips seeing how annoyed everyone was.

"I-I'm scared all the time, I can talk you through it," hunk offered a smile to them but no one smiled back.

"Sorry hunk I guess I just don't know how to be a coward," Keith glared.

"Why don't you leave him alone Keith?" Lance snapped back.

"Drift off for all I care," he scoffed and Keith sent him a dark look. How was it at one point they both were in love with the other? How did they get from what could've happen to here?

"Fuck you, I cut your pathetic boyfriends leg off for you," Keith growled back.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lance yelled and stopped for a moment wide eyes. Another laugh bubbled up from his lips with pain in his eyes.

"You're insane," Keith shook his head. "I'm out,"

"No dont!" Hunk grabbed Keith just as he tried taking off.

"We have to stay together!" He cried out.

"Why? Are we even really friends? Is there anything holding us together besides some messed up series of coincidences?" Keith scoffed.

"I mean what are we? Some chosen saviors? Ha do you really believe that? Lance is fucking right half the time about this shit team," he snarled harshly down at them all.

"What are we even doing out here?!" He yelled.

"We're doing what we have too," hunk told him seriously.

"Let me go!"

"No!"

Hunk tightened his grip on Keith not daring to let go.

"Uh guys, I see something," Pidge looked ahead of the two boys fighting.

"Is it those creatures again?" Lance asked.

"No.. it looks like a planet!" Allura gasped happily.

"There's no way," Lance breathed in disbelief.

"It looks like earth," keiths eyes widen.

"That wave must've knocked us all the way across the universe," Pidge smiled amazed that they made it.

No one wasted a moment to start flying as fast as they could to earth but hunk stayed back bewildered how they got to the Milky Way. He was happy to see his own planet but he slowed down feeling something off.

"Wait guys, somethings not right," hunk looked around. "Where's the sun? And other planets?"

"Stop, this is to good to be true," he told them as everyone ignored the yellow Paladin.

"Everyone stop!" He cried out flying ahead to be in front of the others and stop them.

"Hunk what are you doing?" Allura asked confused.

"No something is wrong," hunk told them quickly.

"Your hallucinating, your going space mad, let us take you home," Pidge grew irritated, she missed her family, she just wanted to be home with her family.

Pidge was the first to push hunk with them and everyone joined to pull hunk along with their jets.

"No, listen to yourselves! There's no way that can be earth!" Hunk tried fighting back but they had him in a strong hold.

"Let me go!" Hunk yelled yanking himself from their grasps. He flew back grabbing his bayard and it suddenly changed into its blaster, hunk didn't waste time to aim at the earth and fire at it seeing if the planet was real.

It turned into a beast with one eye.

"Wha.. what is that?" Lance backed away slowly now seeing a creature that pretended to be earth in their imagination.

"Hunk was right," Allura breathed.

"Here it comes," hunk got his weapon ready, no other bayard worked.

Everyone dove out of the way as the beast came at them with an open mouth full of teeth.

"It's hunting us," Lance told them.

"We need to do something or it's going to get us,"

"How did you manifest your bayard hunk?" Allura asked trying to avoid the beast that circled them.

"I don't know, I just knew I needed too," hunk felt sweat run down the side of his face as his heart raced.

"You guys need to get out of here, I'll buy you some time," hunk flew ahead blasting his bayard rapidly.

"Hunk no!" Lance spun around.

With a war cry hunk screamed as he flew straight towards the monster with his bayard attacking but something grabbed his leg. He looked back seeing everyone staying by his side and Pidge holding him back.

"Fire jet pack!" Pidge called back as Lance and Allura had her feet and held onto Keith who was trying to lead them away. With their force they were able to fly back as the monster almost got them.

"What are you doing? I told you to go," hunk panted as they floated at a safe distance.

"We would never go without you," Lance pursed his lips shaking his head.

"You can't expect us to just leave you," Pidge looked at him like it was obvious.

"We're a team hunk, we have to stick together," Allura put a hand on his shoulder. "We have to put aside our differences,"

"I'm sorry I said those hurtful things, I was wrong," Keith took a deep breath admitting his fault.

"I'm sorry too, I'm grateful you guys would even consider me to be a Paladin again," Lance looked down, he couldn't believe how he acted, him blowing up at them before. He didn't deserve their forgiveness. Even after everything else.

"This series of messed up coincidences did happen for a reason, they brought us together as Paladins, but more importantly it brought us together, all of us together, as friends," Keith smiled at them gently.

Within seconds there was a roar in the distance and the lions appeared ready to defend their Paladins, blasting and attacking at full force with eyes shining brightly as the Paladins backed off to not get hit.

"We did it!" Hunk cheered as the lions were winning getting the beast to abort the fight.

"You better run!" Pidge punched the air victorious.

"I think it's actually running from that," Keith looked over his shoulder as the lions kept blasting till the beast flew away.

Only to see the storm approaching again...

"We can't outrun it," Allura gulped as the lions returned to them fully charged.

"We're not running this time, we need to form voltron," Keith told them firmly with a nod as they immediately went back to each of their lions.

With voltron they headed straight into the storm at full force to get past it instead of flying away. The lions shook against the storm but they kept going at maximum power to get through it, voltrons wings appeared on the back to push harder and father with all the power voltron had to offer to get out of the storm.

They panted as a white light came through hoping to see the end of the storm as colors were all around them and a blackness surrounded their vision before it went white again.