Lotor and Allura lay in adjacent beds in the medical wing. Both, to Lance's surprise, were still alive, though their vital signs were faint. He and Coran stayed by Allura's side as she slowly regained consciousness. After he explained what happened, she sat up with a gasp.

"I'm fading fast. I can feel it. That dark entity, it can drain your very soul. It nearly did so with Lotor. Without me to use as a host, it latched onto him. He tried to control it, to use it, but he couldn't."

"So once again, he's the cause of all our problems," Lance said flatly.

"No. What he did was stupid, but no. There's always going to be darkness in the world, in some form." She looked up at Lance and Coran. "But, there's always going to be light too."

Lance wrapped Allura in a gentle hug, afraid to break her. She looked so fragile.

Allura leaned into the hug for a moment, then pulled away. Coran leaped forward, hugging her so tightly Lance almost intervened. Then he thought better of it. Finally, he let go, wiping his eyes. His mustache twitched as he sniffled.

"Do you remember Oriande?" Allura asked.

"Yeah," Lance said. Coran nodded.

"The place where I was standing, that's where the White Lion is supposed to test chosen Alteans. I was there in its place…" she trailed off, as if she wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.

"It seems like you're implying that you're the White Lion."

"That's what I'm trying to say."

"Why?" Lance asked, at the same time Coran asked, "How?"

Allura looked away, deep in thought. "There are certain universal constants. Darkness and light are two of them. And the White Lion represents light. Honerva thought she destroyed the White Lion, but she only weakened it. It needs a new vessel to regain its full strength. I was chosen to be that vessel."

"So what does this mean?" Lance stood up and started pacing, running his hands through his hair. "I rescue you only to watch you die again? Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

Coran launched into a lecture at such a fast pace that Lance couldn't even hear what he was saying.

"No," Allura said sternly. "Listen." Lance stopped pacing and crossed his arms tightly, afraid to even look at Allura. Coran reluctantly stopped talking.

She continued. "The fight with the darkness took a lot out of me. I need your help, Lance, to regain my full strength. When that happens, I'll… ascend. I'll become the new White Lion. I'll still be me, just… as the White Lion."

Coran considered this. "So… you'll live in Oriande?"

"Yes. You'll still be able to see me. I'm not leaving. Just… moving away."

Coran crushed Allura in another protective embrace.

"I'll be fine," she choked out, patting Coran's back. "As long as you don't break my ribs."

"Well I never got to say goodbye before! I have to make up for that!"

"You already have," she said, still struggling to breathe. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize," Coran said. "You did what you thought was right."

They broke apart after a long moment, tears brimming in their eyes. Everyone paused for a moment, collecting themselves.

Lance sighed.

"So you're becoming some sort of lion goddess. That… can't be good news for whatever we have between us."

Allura cast her eyes downward, staring at the white blanket somebody had draped over her. "I'm sorry. To be honest, though… we were both really young when we decided to start dating. Perhaps we went a little too fast anyway."

"I'll say so!" Coran said.

Lance glared at him. "We were in a war. We didn't know if tomorrow would be the day we died."

Allura held out a placating hand, trying to prevent an argument between the two. "True. Still, things were really confusing back then. Maybe starting a new relationship wasn't the wisest decision."

Lance stepped closer to Allura and placed his hand over hers. "I don't regret a second of it." He looked at her, willing her to meet his gaze. Finally she looked into his eyes, and he saw a vast sea of emotion that he couldn't begin to comprehend.

"Nor do I."

They shared a tentative kiss. Allura brushed her hands across his cheeks where the Altean markings were. Coran hacked up a lung an the two pulled apart.

"When I gave you those marks, some of my abilities also were transferred to you. That includes my ability to heal. You must use this now, or I'll fade away completely." She gently placed his hands on top of her head. "Clear your mind and focus on the quintessence running through your body and the body of every living thing."

Lance did as she suggested.

The air hummed with energy. Even through his closed eyes, Lance thought he could see the purple-white threads of quintessence that connected the universe. That connected him to Allura. He willed his own energy to flow into her, restoring her.

Bright light flooded his senses and he blinked his eyes open in a daze.

Where Allura had been sitting, there now sat a massive lioness. She had Allura's pink markings. Her tail was tipped with a flowing white plume much like her hair. Her fur was a dark silver that sparkled in the glow of light that perpetually surrounded her. Allura's clear blue eyes stared back at him. He knew she was right. She was still there, just in a different form.

She rose to all fours and Lance stood. He was sure he hadn't blinked since opening his eyes, but he didn't feel like blinking now.

Coran put a tentative hand out and Allura bumped it with her nose. He placed his hand on top of her head and she smiled up at him. "I told you I'd be fine. Now, there's something I must do."

The lioness leaped off the bed like water flowing down a slope. She seemed to flow across the room as she made her way to Lotor.

Then she put her front paws on Lotor's bed and pressed her nose to his forehead.

He coughed and spasmed. Then he sat up, clutching his chest and head.

When he settled down, he opened his eyes. Gasping, he scrambled back in the bed, eyes locked on Allura.

"It's me," said the lioness. Her voice had a slight echo to it, as if it was coming from far away.

"Allura?! Is this a dream? A dying vision?"

"No. You're very much alive. And I'm real. I've become the White Lion."

"I thought my mother destroyed it."

"The White Lion cannot be destroyed. Just as the dark entity cannot be destroyed."

Lotor shuddered. "So it will be back."

"Most likely. It has a connection to both of us, and it has its sights set on Voltron too."

The former Galra prince forced himself to look at the White Lion. "I'm sorry. I was stupid. So stupid."

Allura hung her head. "Yeah. You were. More than that. You were cruel. Insane. Drunk on power."

"Yeah. I get it. And those very things left me vulnerable to the darkness."

"It latched onto me too. Perhaps I was blind to my own flaws. Let's both get better."

Lotor smiled. "Let's."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lance said. "Are you really trusting him? After all he's done to you?"

"No," Allura said. "But I'm giving him a second chance. He deserves that much. He faced consequences for his actions and now he's willing to change. He deserves the chance to step out of Zarkon's shadow. As do I. I don't want to be remembered as a victim."

"I never thought of you as a victim," Lance countered.

"I knew there was a reason I tolerated you," Coran said, patting Lance's shoulder. "Allura, since you've been put under my care, I've been constantly amazed at your strength and resilience. You've always had the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you let it make you stronger rather than break you down. I couldn't be prouder if you were my own daughter. So if you see something worth redeeming in Lotor, I'll trust you. But it will take me a long time before I trust him."

"I'll stay out of your way," Lotor assured him. "Or, if you'd prefer, you could keep a close eye on me."

"Maybe you should talk to Keith," Lance said. "He's the leader of the Blades of Marmora now. I'm sure he could find something for you to do."

"Ah. Good for him."

Allura headed for the door. "Well, this is gonna be interesting to explain to the others."

Another chorus of "What"s mixed with some creative profanity greeted them until Allura was able to explain what had happened. Lotor stood behind her meekly, flanked by Lance and Coran, who were ready to stop the seemingly inevitable fight. It seemed to Lance to be a small miracle that everybody kept their heads on straight. Probably they were too shocked that Allura was the White Lion.

When everyone had quieted down, Lance whistled a low tone, impressed that he had survived this strange journey. "So… now what?"

Keith squinted at him, cocking his head. "Hey, did anyone tell you that your Altean markings are gone?"

Lance put his hands to his cheeks. "They are? Huh."

Allura nodded slowly. "I figured that would happen. Our magical connection is broken since you used all that energy to revive me."

"Aw man. I was just getting used to them. I thought they were a good look for me, don't you?"

Allura laughed politely, covering her mouth with a paw. Coran shook his head no emphatically.

Shiro smiled. It looked like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Even with the white hair, he looked ten years younger.

"Voltron will live on. Others will take our place. As for me, I look forward to a long retirement with my husband and about twenty cats."

Keith smiled. "No lions, right?"

"Oh, no!"

"Well, I guess I have a new Galra to babysit."

Lotor pouted at him.

"You all know what I'm doing," said Hunk.

Pidge rested an elbow on his shoulder. "Same here."

Keith leaned toward Lance and whispered in his ear, "Yeah, I know what they're doing alright!"

"Quiet, you."

Keith spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear. "What about you, Lance? Back to the simple life on the farm?"

"Actually, I'm thinking about packing the bare essentials and going on a bit of a road trip. I've explored the universe, but I haven't explored much of Earth."

Pidge crossed her arms, smirking. "Well I for one am not listening to your inevitable folk album."

"You know you will!"

"Ha!"

A short while later, Allura said her goodbyes, going to each crew member and embracing them. Shiro stayed in the back and was the last one to speak to her before she returned to Oriande.

"So… while you were in the astral plane, did you happen to see…" he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yes. I saw Adam. He wanted to tell you that he's happy you found someone you could spend the rest of your life with."

"I wish he were still here. I wish we had gotten the wedding we were planning before I left. I'm happy with Curtis, but I don't think I'll ever stop missing Adam."

"He misses you, too. You'll meet him again when the time comes."

"Thanks. That really helps. Although I hope I still have a long time yet. As much as I miss the way things were before, my life now is still worth sticking around for."

Romelle stood at the command console of the Atlas next to Coran.

"So I guess it's up to us now."

Coran nodded. "I hope the next generation of Paladins are more competent than the last."

The ship drifted into the void, heading for a faraway planet.

A month later, Lance sat on a warm rock overlooking a mountain range. He had hiked to the top of the mountain almost nonstop and was procrastinating on making the long journey back down. He took a picture of the sunset and sent it to the group chat, then put the phone down with a happy sigh.

Since their last mission, the former Paladins had stayed in touch a lot more, promising to meet multiple times a year to celebrate shared holidays. His fears that their bonds with each other would be lost along with their bonds to the Lions hadn't come to pass. Instead, though everybody remained focused on their own lives, they found themselves circling back to each other. A few messages in the group chat, a few two or three-person meetups when their paths crossed. Though they didn't talk constantly, Lance felt their presence even here.

Saying goodbye to Voltron for the last time had felt like saying goodbye to a world that had been his home for so long. But here before him was a new world with new adventures. New trouble to get into. And if Lance knew one thing, it was how to get into trouble. It had worked out pretty well for him in the long run, after all.