It begins with a whisper skittering over her mind, awakening senses dulled by time long lost. Eras have passed since she has felt that active and familiar presence.

Her sister is near.

Blue.

Dear Blue is near, and the Paladins of Voltron are on the move.

Hope remains.

Green and Yellow now. Her thoughts slowly sharpen, a brightness filling her, reminiscent of the old days. They are three and only one is missing.

But Red will be here, she knows.

Blue, Yellow, Green, Red. Her siblings have come for her, reassuring and so close (for how long has she been in the dark?)

She senses him too, the Terran who awaits her, his quintessence a guide to lead her through. She cannot help but marvel at how well they fit-

Ah. He has-

He has His imprint.

Her cub. No, no longer her cub. He is the Galran. Distant and separate from her.

The Galran…He is still alive. And the Terran before her holds His imprint.

So this is why they fit so well. She will never be free of her shame, never be free of the memories-

No. No.

She shakes off the shards of forsaken promises and steps into the light. The Galran does not deserve remembrance, He does not deserve her.

Her new Paladin awaits.

She reaches out and knows: they are alike, truly. Both believing too much in the words of traitors, both left in a lurch which folds over them, threatens them even as they consciously fight it.

He is perfect for her, she decides.

And she has been asleep long enough. It is time to awaken.

Voltron. Together they are Voltron. Her sisters are with her and she is with them, whole, as they had not been in their last union. But this time. This time, she would not fail them.

She feels His consciousness tug at her sometimes, a frighteningly cold emptiness yawning open beneath her with every prolonged second it lingers. Her new Paladin has that same emptiness within him, that same cold, but it is masked by the rest of his warmth and kindness, pushed away with a force that she recognizes as his own spirit, his own strength.

It allows her to unfurl herself, stretching out her limbs tentatively. She bumps gently against his quintessence and feels a timid prod in return.

Perhaps. Perhaps this will work.

They train and they fly and they bond. Her Paladin's trust is not complete, but he acknowledges her wisdom and experience, just enough for their link to form. She feels a pulse within her when they move as one.

It is a pulse she thought she would never know again.

He is meant for her, this Terran. But does he see the same of her?

It can be overwhelming.

Her Paladin is in pain. He is always in pain, and at times, her own aches overlap his, until Paladin and Lion and Black and Shiro settle roughly together, edges scraping against the other.

Her sisters know when things are amiss, but they know better than to acknowledge it. Her Paladin shields himself away from the other Terrans. They are a façade of lies and leadership.

When she can, she reaches out to him, but whether he finds her comfort pleasing is a mystery. She does not play the role of the soother well, but if it will help...

She will do anything for this Terran, if he would remain by her. If he would make that choice himself.

The little red-clad Terran is a constant. He notices far more than most would credit him for, and she is glad for his presence at her Paladin's side. Shiro's smile is always brighter when the red one is near.

When battle arrives, she is unprepared for what happens.

He comes for her and takes her, stronger than ever before with the quintessence rotting purple in His veins. Her roars are forced down as Shiro is thrown out, their connection severed with His suffocating shadows overtaking-

No no no no no NO NO NO NO NO

Red…beautiful fierce Red, she is at her side and warm as ever. Shiro is safe, and with her sister next to her, the clustered cloud of doubts hanging over her ease away.

When Shiro returns to her, he is wounded.

Shame is a dark deep purple, and Shiro appears to understand her silence, but there is no time for them to converse on what has happened, on the divide splitting wide between them.

The Galran is attacking still, and Red, reckless and impulsive Red (oh, how she had missed her) is at His mercy. Shiro is frantic, calling out for the Red Paladin and Red is on the ground, calling for her, but she is not ready with Him so close, she is not ready for-

"Come on. We got this. Come on, girl."

Shiro.

He does not understand her yet, and she does not understand him either, but she knows well who her Paladin is (this broken Paladin, leading a broken Lion).

However splintered their bond is, she smoothes them over and commits to her duty. Her sisters, Voltron and her Paladin have always come first.

The wormhole is distorted, bending and twisting them to a music of it's own choosing. Her siblings are pulled away (not again…will it never stop?) until only Red remains (Red), and they hurtle together towards a wasteland of a planet.

Towards a very hard fall.

The battle has left her torn and reeling from the wrong within her. Something has happened. She cannot move.

Shiro is injured, side decorated a poisoned purple (purple, always purple, but he is not Him, Shiro is not HIM), and even then, he leaves the shelter of her side in his need to find the Red Paladin.

She is no one to stop that devotion.

There are strange aliens on this planet and she is too damaged to even snarl a warning.

Shiro is attacked and she is helpless and drained (fated to be left behind), watching as her weakened Paladin collapses. A mournful sound leaves her, but it does nothing, helps no one, and Shiro is battered by the creatures which hope to make a meal of him.

All at once, the Red Paladin is before her, seeking entrance.

"I know I'm not Shiro, but he's in trouble! We need to help him."

She had not noticed him, drowned as she was in her despair.

But here, no questions need be asked and suddenly, she is mobile once again.

She grants him entry without thought and when she feels that quintessence meet with her own, she understands. Red's affection for this little one is well-deserved.

Strength thrums through her, bright and burning. The feeling is an artifact of a time long gone but it is here now, powerful and undeniable.

And an odd thought flits through her, that Shiro deserved to see her at her best.

She roars.

Green comes for them, and her siblings nuzzle at her when they are reunited, curious and excited by her newfound resolve.

The Galran…Zarkon would be just as curious to see her as she is now.

She plans on showing him, nonetheless.

"Work with me."

Her mind may be set, but her Paladin is still hesitant, something withering within him at the memory of losing control to Zarkon.

"What do I have to do to strengthen our bond?"

It strikes her all at once then. How much she had misunderstood him.

It begins with their bond, their trust.

And Shiro believes in her, though it has taken her too long to see it. She knows now to look back and trace it, knows now that he has trusted her so since the moment after they'd first formed Voltron.

But he is afraid to trust himself with her. And the current flaw in their connection lies in him believing such a flaw exists at all.

Her realization lifts what little remains of her sorrow. This, she can fix.

She shows him, in the best manner that she can, unconventional though it may be. The astral plane is a mere dip in space for her and she takes him there, allows him to find out on his own.

Zarkon, once more, Zarkon, everywhere she goes, she cannot esca-

"It's about earning each other's trust!" Her Paladin's words ring with the truth he beholds and he shines. She feels that pulse grow once more within her and lets it out with a defiant roar.

Zarkon will not touch her Paladin again.

"Did you just save me?"

It is worth it, when Shiro finally grasps what she wants him to know.

Her soul burns warm, warm as the smile on his face.

They fly and fight and bond, and they have a plan to oversee. Zarkon will fall today, Zarkon will-

Pain pain pain he's gone pain he's gone he's gone wrenching pain her cub is gone she's alone PAIN she's failed them all what has she done SHE LET HIM GO

Red's cub stands before her once more, shoulders pulled in tight. She feels his grief and threads of uncertainty, a deep sense of loss and…ah.

There's that spark. There's that determination that so meets her sister's approval.

"I'm getting Shiro back", he says. A declaration that he clearly does not intend to take back. He has neither time nor thought to spare for fear and failure.

She likes this cub.

"I'm getting Shiro back", he repeats, and a goal like that does bear repeating, "but I'll need your help again to do that. So…please. Help me find him."

He does not realize. He does not realize that he need not ask, not really. He needn't have asked that first time she'd let him in either.

Her loyalty lies in these bonded ones who love her sisters so, who fight so fiercely and feel so fiercely and leave their mark on all that they touch.

She will do all that is asked of her, for her Shiro to return.

She awakens once more.