Nyle POV

Allura and Lotor were ready to start testing the comet ship, so they had us go to the ruins of planet Diabazaal to test it out. So all of us stood in the bridge in our armor, ready to help if something went wrong.

"Beginning system check," Lotor said. "Front and rear stabilizers."

"Front and rear stabilizers are go," Allura responded.

"Quintessence collection array."

"Quintessence collection array is go."

"Infracells."

"Infracells up."

"Dynotherms."

"Dynotherms connected."

"Switching on mega-thrusters."

"Mega-thrusters are go."

"I can't be the only one who sees this is nuts, right?" Hunk asked. "Just getting in there is a long shot. Then they have to make it out again?"

"I agree with Hunk," Coran says. "This plan is a foolhardy and unnecessary risk."

"I don't know," Pidge says. "We've traveled through the quintessence field to another reality. This isn't theoretical physics. Mathematically, we know it's possible."

"Well, it is hard to argue with math," Coran spoke, getting in Pidge's face. "Believe me, I've tried."

"But even if they do reach the quintessence field, then what?" Lance questioned. "The last time anyone got in there, it turned Zarkon evil."

"Lance makes a fine point! Take that, math!" Coran shouts.

"Zarkon fell prey to his own evil instincts," Shiro says. "The quintessence field didn't create them, it revealed them."

"And what if it reveals Lotor? Then what do we do?" I said, still uneasy about how fast he flipped a switch when he needed our help.

"Then we come up with a plan," Shiro said, matter-of-factly.

I sighed and just stared forward.

The ship then took off out of the castle and headed towards the blown-up planet.

"So, this is goodbye...for now," Coran spoke.

"Allura," Lance said.

"Yes, Lance?" Allura replied.

"Get back safe," He said.

"I will," Allura replied as they got closer to the gateway.

"T-minus ten ticks to gate entry," Coran spoke. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The ship disappeared into the gateway, losing contact with them as their ship didn't show up on the other side.

Soon after they left, an alarm started blaring. "What is that?" Hunk asked.

"I've got an incoming craft," Coran says.

"Shields up," Shiro says. "And pull it up on-screen."

Coran pulled the craft up on-screen as it flew towards us. "That, that can't be," Coran spoke. "It's an Altean pod! A really old one!"

"What's it doin' out here?" Lance asked.

"Let's find out," Shiro said as a comms line opened up. "Attention, Altean pod, identify yourself."

Then the camera switched to show Keith in the pilots' seat. "Shiro, it's Keith."

I let out a quiet, gasp seeing him again. He looked a lot different. "Keith! Are you okay?" Shiro asked.

"Where have you been?" Pidge asked.

"How did you get your hands on that pod?" Coran asked.

"Does he look bigger to you guys?" Lance asked. "He's bigger, right? No?"

"Where's Lotor?" Keith asked.

"He's in the quintessence field," Hunk answered.

"Oh, no," Keith replied.

We let the pod aboard the ship and waited for it to land properly. I was itching to see Keith. He came back, and I think we all want to know why.

Keith hopped out of the pod, looking at us. 

"Keith, it's so good to see you," Shiro spoke.

"Hold on," Lance said. "How do we know you're the real Keith and not his bigger, cooler, grizzled older brother?" 

"I don't have time for this, Lance!" Keith exclaimed, walking right past Lance.

Lance took a moment to process before holding his arms out. "Hey, everybody, Keith's back!"

"We need to stop Lotor," Keith said. "He's been lying to all of us!"

"Wh- lying about what?" Shiro asked.

"Everything!" A woman said. We looked to see that she was an Altean.

"You're, you're Altean!" Coran exclaimed, in shock.

"And who's the Galran?" Lance asked.

"Is that a wolf?" Hunk questioned.

"Where did you come from?" Coran asked.

"I promise we'll explain everything once we get to Lotor," Keith replied.

"We can't get to him," Pidge explained. "He just entered the quintessence field with Allura."

"We traveled through realities before," Keith says. "Can't we fly in there and attack?"

"She said Allura is with him," Lance repeats. "We can't risk hurting her."

"Why are we even attacking?" Hunk asked.

"Look, Keith- Everyone, calm down," Shiro said. "When they return, we'll get this all sorted out."

I waited for a moment to make sure everything was calm before going forward and hugged Keith tightly, tears coming to my eyes. I sniffed and held onto him tightly. "I-I missed you so much."

He hugged back and moved closer. "I missed you more. You have no idea."

I smiled and leaned my head into him. "I think you guys got some company," Shiro said, getting our attention.

I looked over at the entrance to see Mereida standing there. She must've followed us out. I smiled, quickly going over to grab her before going back. I stopped a little way in front of him and gently put her down. 

"Who's that Mere?" I said as she looked up at Keith and smiled widely before waddling over to him.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She laughed more, almost crying.

He smiled and picked her up, holding her close to his chest. "Hey, hey Mereida. I missed you so much."

I smiled at them as we all walked back to the bridge as Shiro turned to Keith. "Lance is right. You have changed."

"Time is different where I've been," Keith replied. 

"Shiro, I am Krolia," The Galra woman next to Keith said as she took Shiro's arm. "Keith has told me all about you. Thank you for raising him into the man he is today."

"Krolia is with the Blade of Marmora," Keith said. "Also, she's my mother."

Shiro stared for a moment before smiling. "It's an honor to meet you."

Krolia turned to me and smiled softly. "And you must be the young woman Keith talks about all the time."

I laughed softly and smiled before looking at Keith. "You talk about me?"

He laughed and pushed my shoulder as Krolia held her hand out to me. I took it. "He does talk about you. Quite often. As well as your child."

I smiled and look down at Mereida. "I'd imagine he would. You know she's missed you, Keith."

Keith smiled and held her closer to him. "And I missed her too."

"What?" Lance exclaimed. "Okay, this is nuts! You come back with your Galra mom, a wolf, and an Altean?"

"Yes, I'm still waiting to hear the story of how you found this Altean," Coran says.

"And why we're supposed to be attacking Lotor," Hunk adds.

"This is Romelle," Keith says. "And I think she should tell her own story."

"I come from a planet where there are thousands of Alteans," Romelle says. "We have lived there since the war with Zarkon began."

"What?" Coran says, shocked. "That's impossible. Altea was destroyed. Allura and I were the only survivors."

"Every Altean child knows the story of how Lotor saved us from destruction," Romelle says. "When Zarkon attacked, many were off-planet on trading expeditions. When news spread about the destruction of our home, those of us who remained went into hiding for deca-pheobs. But Lotor, with his deep knowledge of Altean culture, managed to track some of them down. To keep the Alteans secure, Lotor hid them on a remote planet beyond the quantum abyss."

"So, Lotor saved Alteans?" I questioned.

"Man, Lotor is even nicer than we thought." Hunk adds.

"And over time, the Alteans came to worship Lotor as their savior," Romelle says. "Generations ago, in an effort to increase our odds of survival, Lotor announced that he was creating another colony far from our own. But in order to do so, he needed to assess which Alteans were viable candidates to survive the journey. One by one, every Altean in the colony was given a series of tests. Those who were deemed fit for the journey were loaded onto a cargo ship and taken to the second colony. It was considered the highest honor. Any communication between the colonies was strictly prohibited for fear that it would compromise the other's location. This is the world I was born into, one of unquestioning devotion to a supposed messiah. My brother Bandor was always faithful, but I had questions. Eventually, Bandor grew old enough to be assessed for the journey to the other colony, and he was selected to leave immediately. When Bandor left, I felt completely alone. I tried to use the communicator he had given me, but it never worked. My brother was dead, I knew the truth or at least part of it, but I also knew that no one would believe me without proof. When Keith and Krolia arrived, they were my last chance at finding it. I told them what had happened to my brother, and as it turned out, so many Alteans that had been taken before him. As they explained their mission to me, we knew there must have been a connection between the missing Alteans and the pure strain of quintessence. They were being drained of their quintessence."

I was shocked, to say the least, but I also knew that my instincts wouldn't fail me about a bad feeling like the one I had for Lotor. 

"That's horrifying," Coran spoke.

"All this time," Pidge trails off.

"I can't believe he fooled us," Lance adds. 

"He's a monster," Keith says.

The screens started beeping, showing that Lotor and Allura had returned.

"They're back," Coran says.

"What are you waiting for?" Romelle exclaimed. "Open fire!"

"No!" Lance shouts. "Princess Allura is with him."

"We're just gonna let him back aboard the ship?!" I yelled.

"We must!" Coran exclaimed. "As long as the princess is with him, we cannot risk any sort of attack."

"Coran and Lance are right," Shiro says. "We can't do anything until the princess is safe. Once Allura is secure, we will take Lotor down."

Allura and Lotor made their way into the bridge, looking questioningly at us because of our expressions. 

"What's going on?" Allura asked as Keith and Krolia raised their weapons, blocking Lotor from the door.

I formed my bow and pulled the string back, an arrow forming as Lance formed his gun, both of us aiming at Lotor.

"Allura, step away from Lotor," Lance said calmly.

"I will do no such thing," Allura spoke, standing in front of Lotor with her arms out. "Tell me what's happening here."

"Lotor is a monster and has been harvesting Altean quintessence for generations!" Romelle exclaimed.

"An Altean!" Allura says, dumbfounded.

"You killed my brother and thousands of others," Romelle spoke. 

"Lotor has been lying to us the whole time," Pidge said.

"Seems more like his dad than he leads on. I want peace my ass," I said.

"You know nothing about what you speak," Lotor responds.

"What are they talking about?" Allura asked.

"Allura, listen to me," Lotor says. "I've dedicated my life to preserving Altean culture. Now that we have unlocked the quintessence field, all of your people, who would have been hunted down long ago had it not been for my intervention, can live in peace. Were some lives lost in the process? Yes. But they were martyrs to a noble cause. I sacrificed a few to preserve the future for millions. Allura, do not let this ruin everything we've worked for. Think of what we experienced in the quintessence field."

Lotor reached forward, grabbing Allura's hand before she grabbed him and threw him over her shoulder causing him to fall unconscious.

I slowly let my string back, the arrow disappearing before alarms started to blare. A screen showed up, letting us see Lotor's ships being stolen by two of Lotor's generals.

"The hanger's been breached!" Coran shouts, rushing to the control panel.

"It's Lotor's troops!" Hunk yells. "They're stealing the ships!"

Shiro suddenly yelled in pain before dropping to the floor, holding his head. Hunk dropped down with him, trying to help him.

"Shiro?" Keith questioned.

"What's happening to him?" Coran asked.

"Allura and I will secure Lotor," Lance says. "Hunk, help Shiro. Everyone else, get down to the hangar and stop those guys."

Pidge, Keith, Krolia, and I started running down to the hangar. When we got down there we saw one of the ships zooming out of the hangar before the other one started to shoot at us. Pidge and I jumped to one side while Krolia and Keith jumped to the other. The ship stopped shooting before following the other ship.

Then Shiro ran by us with Lotor on his shoulder. A second after, Allura came on the intercom. 

"Shiro's gone mad!" She shouted. "He's escaping with Lotor! Stop him before he leaves the ship!"

Pidge got up and ran towards the ship, forming her bayard before aiming at Shiro. Though she hesitated and the ship sped off as she lowered her bayard.

"What do we do?" Pidge asked, helping Keith up as I pulled myself up.

"We have to stay focused," Keith says. "Lance, Hunk, can you still pilot your lions?"

"Yeah, I'll manage," Hunk says.

"We've got this," Lance added.

"Then let's go!" Keith exclaimed. "If we're gonna fight Lotor's ships, we'll need Voltron."

"Shiro's gone though," I mentioned. "He pilots the Black Lion."

"I will," Keith says, walking off.

We all got to our lions, quickly catching up with Lotor's ships before shooting at them.

The Black Lion flew past Lotor's ships, trying to get the ship Shiro took off in. We stayed back to attach the ships so they wouldn't follow them. But it was proving to be difficult.

"I can't shake them! Help!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Keith!" Pidge shouts.

Every time we would try to shoot at one of the ships, another one would just shoot back at us. The Black Lion came back and flew in front of us. 

"Guys, we're no match for them in our lions," Keith spoke. "Form Voltron!"

They formed Voltron as we stared at the three ships. This would probably be one of the hardest fights we've fought.