Notes: This is Kallura (VF), broganes (VLD), and Klance (VLD).
It was a quiet day on Arus at the Castle of Lions, when the alarms went off. The cadets were in the control room in their defense seats, ready to defend the castle, when the view screen activated. A young man in a red and white set of armor appeared on the view screen. "This is Paladin Keith, leader of Voltron, to whoever is in the castle. Does anyone read me?"
Commander Keith pulled up a screen and contacted Paladin Keith without activating the view screen portion. "This is the Castle of Lions. Identify yourselves or prepare to be fired upon."
"Yeesh. Not very friendly, are they?" a different voice spoke up.
"Not the time, Lance," Paladin Keith scolded.
"Keith, please. He didn't mean anything by it," a female voice broke in. "This is Princess Allura, Paladin of the Blue Lion, and we, the Voltron Paladins, are on a peaceful mission. May we land and discuss possibilities for peaceful negotiations?"
All eyes in the control room turned to look at their own Princess Allura. She turned to the original Voltron Force. "What do you think?"
"We should probably meet outside the castle. Cadets, you are on stand-by. If these Paladins are dangerous, you will open fire," Keith commanded.
Allura opened the communications. "Very well. Land in front of the castle, and we'll meet you there."
"Agreed. Voltron out," Paladin Keith stated, closing the connection.
The Voltron Force set out from the control room and made it outside quick enough to see five robot lions that looked very similar to theirs and yet different land in front of the castle. Each lion knelt down, and the pilots walked down the ramp. Allura stepped forward. "Welcome to Arus. I am Princess Allura and this is the rest of the Voltron Force." She gestured to each pilot as she said their name. "Commander Keith, who pilots Black. Lance, who pilots Red. Pidge, who pilots Green, and Hunk, who pilots Yellow. I pilot the Blue Lion."
Paladin Allura stepped forward. "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea, Paladin of the Blue Lion, and these are the other Paladins." She too gestured to her fellow Paladins. "This is Keith, Paladin of the Black Lion. Lance, the Red Paladin. The Green Paladin, Pidge, and Hunk, the Paladin of the Yellow Lion."
The Paladins removed their helmets, the scar on Paladin Keith's cheek and the marks under Allura's eyes drawing everyone's attention. Commander Keith addressed the group at large, but his eyes never left Paladin Keith. "Let's take this inside. You never know when an attack will happen."
"Let us change out of our armor, especially since they can be uncomfortable in the long run," Paladin Lance stated. "We won't be too long."
The Paladins re-entered their lions, and true to Lance's words, they exited their lions in more comfortable clothes. Keith was in a pair of black pants, a black shirt, red and white boots and a red and white crop jacket. He also had a belt with two hip packs and a knife sheath attached. Lance was wearing blue jeans, a blue and white shirt, a pair of blue and white high tops, and an oddly colored jacket. Allura (Altea) was wearing a mostly white flight suit with pink, blue, and purple accents. Pidge was wearing an oversized green and white shirt, a pair of gray shorts, and a pair of short orange boots. Hunk was wearing a pair of khaki pants, a yellow shirt, a green vest, an orange headband, and a pair of boots.
The group walked in, Allura (Arus) walking next to her fiancée. "What's wrong, Keith?"
"Paladin Keith looks a lot like Daniel. They both have the longer hair and purple eyes, but Keith looks like he's been through something rough."
"Sounds like you, darling. You've been through several rough things."
"True. What do you think about them having the same names as us?"
"They could be from another universe. I don't know how they got here, but maybe they have an idea."
Pilot Lance had led the way into the control room and entered first. "All right, cadets. Stand down, and come greet our guests."
The three cadets jumped down and scrutinized the new comers, who were looking around. Paladin Keith's eyes landed on the cadets, who were surprised at their color. They looked exactly like Daniel's. Daniel was the one who approached the group. He stuck out his hand in Keith's direction. "Hey, what's up? I'm Daniel, who is going to take over the Black Lion. This is Vince, Green Lion's future pilot, and Larmina, who will take over after her aunt is done with Blue."
Paladin Keith's eyes flicked from Daniel's face to his outstretched hand and back again. "I'm not shaking your hand, kid."
"You could try being a little nicer," Daniel grumbled, retracting his hand.
Paladin Lance chuckled. "He is right, Mullet. You could be a little nicer. Now, where is that hot blonde chick? She looked like someone who might appreciate some of the old Lance charm."
Allura (Arus) and Commander Keith entered the room in time to hear Paladin Lance's comment. Keith grabbed Paladin Lance by the front on his shirt and picked him up. VF Allura and Lance approached Keith and each put a hand on his arms.
"He didn't mean any harm, Keith. Apparently, playboy is a multi-universal Lance trait."
"Hey!"
Allura (Arus) giggled. "Put him down."
Commander Keith released his grip, dropping Lance to the ground. Paladin Keith tried to hold in his amusement at Lance's predicament, but a snicker still escaped. Paladin Lance stood up and straightened his clothes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, Mullet."
Allura (Altea) turned to Allura (Arus). "Hello again, Princess. I don't mean to rush things, but we should hide our lions, so the forces of evil don't catch wind of there being two Voltrons."
"That sounds like a good plan, but I don't know how the lions will take there being another version of them," Commander Keith stated.
"Then, just talk to them?" Paladin Keith suggested.
"Talk to...you talk to your lions?" Pilot Pidge asked.
"Of course. They are sentient and chose us as their Paladins," Paladin Lance answered. "Of course, some of us are only the second choice."
A roar shook the castle, and Paladin Lance flinched. "Sorry, Red, but you know it's true."
A second roar joined the first. Allura (Altea) sighed. "I know, Blue, but you know how he is."
A thunderous roar drowned out the others. Paladin Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right, Black. I've got this." He walked over to his Lance. "Lance, you may have been the Blue Paladin and an amazing one at that, but you are my Red Paladin, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my second-in-command. You deserve Red." He winked. "After all, Red is picky about her Paladin. I had to almost die to prove myself worthy." He bent closer and whispered into Lance's ear. "Besides, who better to have my back than my boyfriend?"
Paladin Lance blushed at his Keith's comment, which no one else heard. The Voltron Force stood there confused though. Pilot Lance was the one that asked the question on everyone's mind. "You guys didn't always fly the lions you do now?"
Paladin Keith's eyes fell to the floor. "No. Our original Black Paladin was Shiro. He was the leader and...my brother figure. He was lost during our big battle against Zarkon."
"We did deal the Galra Empire a massive blow, but then the prince stepped up." Allura (Altea) huffed. "Don't get me started on him."
Pilot Hunk chuckled. "Some things don't change."
"So, Lotor's a creep in every reality?" Paladin Pidge asked.
"Yes. In any case, we do need to hide the lions, and I have an idea. You all can hide your lions in our hangar bay, which should not upset our lions," Commander Keith stated. "I will go see Black to inform him about these new lions."
"What are you going to do after that?" Pilot Lance asked.
"Training. Care to join me?"
Pilot Lance grinned. "Of course."
Vince spoke up. "Can we see these new lions?"
"Ooo! Can we pilot them?" Daniel inquired.
"No," both Keiths chorused.
"The lions don't let just anyone fly them," Paladin Keith asked. "However, you may ride in whichever lion you'd like...except Black. You are not riding with me."
"Snart," Daniel muttered. "Can I ride in Red?"
Paladin Lance shrugged. "Sure, kid."
"Okay, Paladins, let's do this," Paladin Keith called out. He led them out of the castle and towards their lions, who bent down for them to enter.
Vince followed Paladin Pidge into Green Lion and was immediately in awe about the level of tech that was the lion. The cadet kept his hands to himself, so as to not potentially disrupt the lion's controls. "This is amazing!"
It didn't take long for the lions to reconvene in the hangar. The Paladins (and cadets) exited the lions, Vince staying with Pidge to ask more questions about the lions.
Commander Keith flipped Lance over his shoulder, pinning the other pilot to the ground. "I win."
"Yeah. I'll get you next time."
Keith extended his hand and helped Lance to his feet. "I'm sure you will."
The door to the training hall opened, drawing their attention to the pair of Paladins entering the hall.
"Come on, Keith. We're in an alternate reality. Do you really want to train?"
"Do you really want me to answer that, Lance?"
"Ahem." Lance cleared his throat, attracting the Paladins' attention.
Paladin Lance's eyes widened at the sight of the pilots. "Oh, we didn't mean to disrupt you two. We were just leaving, right, Keith?"
Paladin Keith stepped forward. "Is this open for anyone to use?"
"You want to train?"
"I like to keep my sword skills sharp."
Commander Keith smirked. "Need an opponent?"
"You got a sword?"
Keith activated his Voltcom, his sword appearing. "Yeah."
Keith's bayard appeared in his hand, becoming a sword in an instant. "Then, let's get started."
Both Lances backed away from the sword wielding duo.
Commander Keith thought he had won when he knocked the other Keith's bayard from his hand, but Paladin Keith had a surprise up his sleeve. He quickly unsheathed his knife, which transformed into an unusual short sword, and continued the practice.
By this time, the rest of the groups had congregated in the training hall to watch the practice duel. Neither of the Keiths knew this. They watched as the two Keiths sprang apart, trying to gauge what the other was going to do.
Paladin Keith extended his empty hand to the side, and the Voltron Force was surprised to see his bayard disappear from where it had skidded to and appear in Keith's hand. He brought it in a little closer.
"Duel wielding, huh?" Commander Keith put his free hand on the hilt of his sword and pulled an identical sword out. "Me too."
As they watched the two Keiths battle, Pilot Lance asked his counterpart, "So, are you two dating?"
Paladin Lance blushed. "Was it that obvious?"
"Kind of." Pilot Lance smirked.
Paladin Keith spun around, his swords blocked by Commander Keith's. However, the older Keith was taken aback at the yellow tint to the other Keith's eyes; taken aback enough for Paladin Keith to overpower Commander Keith and take him down. He planted his swords on either side of the downed pilot.
Commander Keith narrowed his eyes. "What is with your eyes?"
Paladin Keith blinked, his eyes going back to normal. He pulled back his swords, his bayard disappearing and his blade transforming back into its knife form. He backed up, bumping into Paladin Hunk, who patted him on his shoulder. "It's okay, Galra Keith."
Commander Keith stood up and stalked in the Paladins' direction, prompting Hunk and Lance to push Keith behind them and putting themselves between the two Keiths with Allura and Pidge stepping forward to protect his sides, and with a wall against his back, he was protected on all sides.
"Guys, he's not going to hurt me. You don't have to do this," Paladin Keith said.
"It's in the job description, Team Leader," Paladin Lance retorted.
Paladin Keith smiled. "Thanks, Lance."
Commander Keith paused, seeing the interaction between the other Keith and his team. They saw his eyes change and acted like they didn't care. "I clearly saw your eyes change. Care to explain?"
"I'm part Galra, on my mom's side."
"And we don't care that he's part Galra. We knew him before that came out. It didn't change him. I mean, it explained a few things but-" Paladin Lance started.
Paladin Keith put a hand over Lance's mouth. "I think they get it."
When Paladin Keith didn't immediately move his hand, Paladin Lance licked it, getting his leader to pull his hand back and rubbing it on his jeans. Paladin Lance smirked. "I have older siblings and a younger niece and nephew, I know how the hand thing works."
Suddenly, the alarm blared. The two teams raced to the control room. VF Pidge activated the view screen, and Commander Keith exclaimed, "It's Lotor! To the lions!"
The Paladins watched as the pilots and cadets sprinted towards colored and numbered doors, which opened, each revealing a set of handlebars. It wasn't too much longer before the lions appeared on their screen.
"There's a robeast! Let's form Voltron! Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!"
The lions combined and...
"Form Blazing Sword!"
Unfortunately, the robeast had a sword and blocked the blazing sword. VF Lance groaned. "We need something else!"
"Hunk, you're up. Form Yellow Center!"
As the Paladins watched Voltron reconfigured itself to have Yellow Lion as the head, Paladin Hunk called out, "He formed the head with the Yellow Lion! Why can't we do that?"
"Different reality, different abilities," Allura (Altea) replied.
"Rock Wrecking Maces!"
"Eh, I like my shoulder canon better," Paladin Hunk commented.
Unfortunately, the robeast knocked Voltron on its back and pinned the Red and Green Lions, making it impossible to use the wrecking maces.
Paladin Pidge immediately activated the castle defenses, shocking her team. As she activated the counter drone, she offered an explanation, "Vince showed me the castle defense systems."
She used the drone, after combining the cannons and counter drone, to shoot the robeast off of Voltron, allowing the giant robot to get up.
"Form Red Center!"
Voltron reconfigured itself to have the Red Lion as the head. "Draw Magma Pistols!"
Guns appeared in the Black and Green Lions' mouths. Voltron shot the robeast, obliterating it. Seeing as the robeast was defeated, the accompanying Drule fleet fled. Voltron disbanded, and the lions flew back into their dens. The Voltron Force and cadets entered the control room.
VF Pidge approached his counterpart, offering his hand in the universal signal for a high five. "Thanks for the assist!"
Paladin Pidge gave the other Green Lion pilot that high five. "No problem. I love tech, and the castle's defenses are awesome."
Paladins Keith, Lance, and Allura immediately backed up, giving their fellow Paladin a bit more room. Larmina noticed the movement of three of the Paladins. "What are you doing?"
"Pidge is borderline maniacal when she talks about tech," Paladin Lance replied. "Half of the time, we don't even understand what she's saying. We try to give her plenty of room when she starts on one of her tangents."
"I'm not that bad!" Paladin Pidge called out before returning to her conversation with her counterpart.
"No of course not, nerd," Paladin Lance commented under his breath.
Allura (Altea) giggled. "As nice as it is to visit your reality, we really must get back to ours, so we can continue freeing planets from Galra rule."
"Can you get back?" Commander Keith asked.
"Oh yes." Paladin Lance wrapped an arm around Allura's (Altea) shoulders. She pushed his arm off before he continued, "Allura's got this magic alchemy thing going. I don't exactly understand it as it's magic, but it's awesome."
"Quit flirting with the princess, Lance," Paladin Keith said.
"As Lance said, I can safely traverse between realities with Voltron using my knowledge of Altean alchemy, which is more science than magic."
"Sure looks like magic to me," Paladin Lance muttered, earning a small nudge from his boyfriend.
"In any case, it was nice to meet you all, and good luck with defending your universe from the forces of evil that plague it," Allura (Altea) said as the five Paladins bid good bye to the other five pilots and three cadets.
The Voltron Force watched as the other lions formed Voltron. The giant robot glowed a strange aqua color, starting at the Blue Lion and covering the entire robot. Voltron flew into the sky and seemed to get absorbed by the atmosphere. The robot disappeared from their sensors, and the eight people in the Castle of Lions could only assume that the Paladins made it back to their reality safe and sound.
Commander Keith pulled up a screen and contacted Paladin Keith without activating the view screen portion. "This is the Castle of Lions. Identify yourselves or prepare to be fired upon."
"Yeesh. Not very friendly, are they?" a different voice spoke up.
"Not the time, Lance," Paladin Keith scolded.
"Keith, please. He didn't mean anything by it," a female voice broke in. "This is Princess Allura, Paladin of the Blue Lion, and we, the Voltron Paladins, are on a peaceful mission. May we land and discuss possibilities for peaceful negotiations?"
All eyes in the control room turned to look at their own Princess Allura. She turned to the original Voltron Force. "What do you think?"
"We should probably meet outside the castle. Cadets, you are on stand-by. If these Paladins are dangerous, you will open fire," Keith commanded.
Allura opened the communications. "Very well. Land in front of the castle, and we'll meet you there."
"Agreed. Voltron out," Paladin Keith stated, closing the connection.
The Voltron Force set out from the control room and made it outside quick enough to see five robot lions that looked very similar to theirs and yet different land in front of the castle. Each lion knelt down, and the pilots walked down the ramp. Allura stepped forward. "Welcome to Arus. I am Princess Allura and this is the rest of the Voltron Force." She gestured to each pilot as she said their name. "Commander Keith, who pilots Black. Lance, who pilots Red. Pidge, who pilots Green, and Hunk, who pilots Yellow. I pilot the Blue Lion."
Paladin Allura stepped forward. "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea, Paladin of the Blue Lion, and these are the other Paladins." She too gestured to her fellow Paladins. "This is Keith, Paladin of the Black Lion. Lance, the Red Paladin. The Green Paladin, Pidge, and Hunk, the Paladin of the Yellow Lion."
The Paladins removed their helmets, the scar on Paladin Keith's cheek and the marks under Allura's eyes drawing everyone's attention. Commander Keith addressed the group at large, but his eyes never left Paladin Keith. "Let's take this inside. You never know when an attack will happen."
"Let us change out of our armor, especially since they can be uncomfortable in the long run," Paladin Lance stated. "We won't be too long."
The Paladins re-entered their lions, and true to Lance's words, they exited their lions in more comfortable clothes. Keith was in a pair of black pants, a black shirt, red and white boots and a red and white crop jacket. He also had a belt with two hip packs and a knife sheath attached. Lance was wearing blue jeans, a blue and white shirt, a pair of blue and white high tops, and an oddly colored jacket. Allura (Altea) was wearing a mostly white flight suit with pink, blue, and purple accents. Pidge was wearing an oversized green and white shirt, a pair of gray shorts, and a pair of short orange boots. Hunk was wearing a pair of khaki pants, a yellow shirt, a green vest, an orange headband, and a pair of boots.
The group walked in, Allura (Arus) walking next to her fiancée. "What's wrong, Keith?"
"Paladin Keith looks a lot like Daniel. They both have the longer hair and purple eyes, but Keith looks like he's been through something rough."
"Sounds like you, darling. You've been through several rough things."
"True. What do you think about them having the same names as us?"
"They could be from another universe. I don't know how they got here, but maybe they have an idea."
Pilot Lance had led the way into the control room and entered first. "All right, cadets. Stand down, and come greet our guests."
The three cadets jumped down and scrutinized the new comers, who were looking around. Paladin Keith's eyes landed on the cadets, who were surprised at their color. They looked exactly like Daniel's. Daniel was the one who approached the group. He stuck out his hand in Keith's direction. "Hey, what's up? I'm Daniel, who is going to take over the Black Lion. This is Vince, Green Lion's future pilot, and Larmina, who will take over after her aunt is done with Blue."
Paladin Keith's eyes flicked from Daniel's face to his outstretched hand and back again. "I'm not shaking your hand, kid."
"You could try being a little nicer," Daniel grumbled, retracting his hand.
Paladin Lance chuckled. "He is right, Mullet. You could be a little nicer. Now, where is that hot blonde chick? She looked like someone who might appreciate some of the old Lance charm."
Allura (Arus) and Commander Keith entered the room in time to hear Paladin Lance's comment. Keith grabbed Paladin Lance by the front on his shirt and picked him up. VF Allura and Lance approached Keith and each put a hand on his arms.
"He didn't mean any harm, Keith. Apparently, playboy is a multi-universal Lance trait."
"Hey!"
Allura (Arus) giggled. "Put him down."
Commander Keith released his grip, dropping Lance to the ground. Paladin Keith tried to hold in his amusement at Lance's predicament, but a snicker still escaped. Paladin Lance stood up and straightened his clothes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, Mullet."
Allura (Altea) turned to Allura (Arus). "Hello again, Princess. I don't mean to rush things, but we should hide our lions, so the forces of evil don't catch wind of there being two Voltrons."
"That sounds like a good plan, but I don't know how the lions will take there being another version of them," Commander Keith stated.
"Then, just talk to them?" Paladin Keith suggested.
"Talk to...you talk to your lions?" Pilot Pidge asked.
"Of course. They are sentient and chose us as their Paladins," Paladin Lance answered. "Of course, some of us are only the second choice."
A roar shook the castle, and Paladin Lance flinched. "Sorry, Red, but you know it's true."
A second roar joined the first. Allura (Altea) sighed. "I know, Blue, but you know how he is."
A thunderous roar drowned out the others. Paladin Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right, Black. I've got this." He walked over to his Lance. "Lance, you may have been the Blue Paladin and an amazing one at that, but you are my Red Paladin, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my second-in-command. You deserve Red." He winked. "After all, Red is picky about her Paladin. I had to almost die to prove myself worthy." He bent closer and whispered into Lance's ear. "Besides, who better to have my back than my boyfriend?"
Paladin Lance blushed at his Keith's comment, which no one else heard. The Voltron Force stood there confused though. Pilot Lance was the one that asked the question on everyone's mind. "You guys didn't always fly the lions you do now?"
Paladin Keith's eyes fell to the floor. "No. Our original Black Paladin was Shiro. He was the leader and...my brother figure. He was lost during our big battle against Zarkon."
"We did deal the Galra Empire a massive blow, but then the prince stepped up." Allura (Altea) huffed. "Don't get me started on him."
Pilot Hunk chuckled. "Some things don't change."
"So, Lotor's a creep in every reality?" Paladin Pidge asked.
"Yes. In any case, we do need to hide the lions, and I have an idea. You all can hide your lions in our hangar bay, which should not upset our lions," Commander Keith stated. "I will go see Black to inform him about these new lions."
"What are you going to do after that?" Pilot Lance asked.
"Training. Care to join me?"
Pilot Lance grinned. "Of course."
Vince spoke up. "Can we see these new lions?"
"Ooo! Can we pilot them?" Daniel inquired.
"No," both Keiths chorused.
"The lions don't let just anyone fly them," Paladin Keith asked. "However, you may ride in whichever lion you'd like...except Black. You are not riding with me."
"Snart," Daniel muttered. "Can I ride in Red?"
Paladin Lance shrugged. "Sure, kid."
"Okay, Paladins, let's do this," Paladin Keith called out. He led them out of the castle and towards their lions, who bent down for them to enter.
Vince followed Paladin Pidge into Green Lion and was immediately in awe about the level of tech that was the lion. The cadet kept his hands to himself, so as to not potentially disrupt the lion's controls. "This is amazing!"
It didn't take long for the lions to reconvene in the hangar. The Paladins (and cadets) exited the lions, Vince staying with Pidge to ask more questions about the lions.
Commander Keith flipped Lance over his shoulder, pinning the other pilot to the ground. "I win."
"Yeah. I'll get you next time."
Keith extended his hand and helped Lance to his feet. "I'm sure you will."
The door to the training hall opened, drawing their attention to the pair of Paladins entering the hall.
"Come on, Keith. We're in an alternate reality. Do you really want to train?"
"Do you really want me to answer that, Lance?"
"Ahem." Lance cleared his throat, attracting the Paladins' attention.
Paladin Lance's eyes widened at the sight of the pilots. "Oh, we didn't mean to disrupt you two. We were just leaving, right, Keith?"
Paladin Keith stepped forward. "Is this open for anyone to use?"
"You want to train?"
"I like to keep my sword skills sharp."
Commander Keith smirked. "Need an opponent?"
"You got a sword?"
Keith activated his Voltcom, his sword appearing. "Yeah."
Keith's bayard appeared in his hand, becoming a sword in an instant. "Then, let's get started."
Both Lances backed away from the sword wielding duo.
Commander Keith thought he had won when he knocked the other Keith's bayard from his hand, but Paladin Keith had a surprise up his sleeve. He quickly unsheathed his knife, which transformed into an unusual short sword, and continued the practice.
By this time, the rest of the groups had congregated in the training hall to watch the practice duel. Neither of the Keiths knew this. They watched as the two Keiths sprang apart, trying to gauge what the other was going to do.
Paladin Keith extended his empty hand to the side, and the Voltron Force was surprised to see his bayard disappear from where it had skidded to and appear in Keith's hand. He brought it in a little closer.
"Duel wielding, huh?" Commander Keith put his free hand on the hilt of his sword and pulled an identical sword out. "Me too."
As they watched the two Keiths battle, Pilot Lance asked his counterpart, "So, are you two dating?"
Paladin Lance blushed. "Was it that obvious?"
"Kind of." Pilot Lance smirked.
Paladin Keith spun around, his swords blocked by Commander Keith's. However, the older Keith was taken aback at the yellow tint to the other Keith's eyes; taken aback enough for Paladin Keith to overpower Commander Keith and take him down. He planted his swords on either side of the downed pilot.
Commander Keith narrowed his eyes. "What is with your eyes?"
Paladin Keith blinked, his eyes going back to normal. He pulled back his swords, his bayard disappearing and his blade transforming back into its knife form. He backed up, bumping into Paladin Hunk, who patted him on his shoulder. "It's okay, Galra Keith."
Commander Keith stood up and stalked in the Paladins' direction, prompting Hunk and Lance to push Keith behind them and putting themselves between the two Keiths with Allura and Pidge stepping forward to protect his sides, and with a wall against his back, he was protected on all sides.
"Guys, he's not going to hurt me. You don't have to do this," Paladin Keith said.
"It's in the job description, Team Leader," Paladin Lance retorted.
Paladin Keith smiled. "Thanks, Lance."
Commander Keith paused, seeing the interaction between the other Keith and his team. They saw his eyes change and acted like they didn't care. "I clearly saw your eyes change. Care to explain?"
"I'm part Galra, on my mom's side."
"And we don't care that he's part Galra. We knew him before that came out. It didn't change him. I mean, it explained a few things but-" Paladin Lance started.
Paladin Keith put a hand over Lance's mouth. "I think they get it."
When Paladin Keith didn't immediately move his hand, Paladin Lance licked it, getting his leader to pull his hand back and rubbing it on his jeans. Paladin Lance smirked. "I have older siblings and a younger niece and nephew, I know how the hand thing works."
Suddenly, the alarm blared. The two teams raced to the control room. VF Pidge activated the view screen, and Commander Keith exclaimed, "It's Lotor! To the lions!"
The Paladins watched as the pilots and cadets sprinted towards colored and numbered doors, which opened, each revealing a set of handlebars. It wasn't too much longer before the lions appeared on their screen.
"There's a robeast! Let's form Voltron! Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!"
The lions combined and...
"Form Blazing Sword!"
Unfortunately, the robeast had a sword and blocked the blazing sword. VF Lance groaned. "We need something else!"
"Hunk, you're up. Form Yellow Center!"
As the Paladins watched Voltron reconfigured itself to have Yellow Lion as the head, Paladin Hunk called out, "He formed the head with the Yellow Lion! Why can't we do that?"
"Different reality, different abilities," Allura (Altea) replied.
"Rock Wrecking Maces!"
"Eh, I like my shoulder canon better," Paladin Hunk commented.
Unfortunately, the robeast knocked Voltron on its back and pinned the Red and Green Lions, making it impossible to use the wrecking maces.
Paladin Pidge immediately activated the castle defenses, shocking her team. As she activated the counter drone, she offered an explanation, "Vince showed me the castle defense systems."
She used the drone, after combining the cannons and counter drone, to shoot the robeast off of Voltron, allowing the giant robot to get up.
"Form Red Center!"
Voltron reconfigured itself to have the Red Lion as the head. "Draw Magma Pistols!"
Guns appeared in the Black and Green Lions' mouths. Voltron shot the robeast, obliterating it. Seeing as the robeast was defeated, the accompanying Drule fleet fled. Voltron disbanded, and the lions flew back into their dens. The Voltron Force and cadets entered the control room.
VF Pidge approached his counterpart, offering his hand in the universal signal for a high five. "Thanks for the assist!"
Paladin Pidge gave the other Green Lion pilot that high five. "No problem. I love tech, and the castle's defenses are awesome."
Paladins Keith, Lance, and Allura immediately backed up, giving their fellow Paladin a bit more room. Larmina noticed the movement of three of the Paladins. "What are you doing?"
"Pidge is borderline maniacal when she talks about tech," Paladin Lance replied. "Half of the time, we don't even understand what she's saying. We try to give her plenty of room when she starts on one of her tangents."
"I'm not that bad!" Paladin Pidge called out before returning to her conversation with her counterpart.
"No of course not, nerd," Paladin Lance commented under his breath.
Allura (Altea) giggled. "As nice as it is to visit your reality, we really must get back to ours, so we can continue freeing planets from Galra rule."
"Can you get back?" Commander Keith asked.
"Oh yes." Paladin Lance wrapped an arm around Allura's (Altea) shoulders. She pushed his arm off before he continued, "Allura's got this magic alchemy thing going. I don't exactly understand it as it's magic, but it's awesome."
"Quit flirting with the princess, Lance," Paladin Keith said.
"As Lance said, I can safely traverse between realities with Voltron using my knowledge of Altean alchemy, which is more science than magic."
"Sure looks like magic to me," Paladin Lance muttered, earning a small nudge from his boyfriend.
"In any case, it was nice to meet you all, and good luck with defending your universe from the forces of evil that plague it," Allura (Altea) said as the five Paladins bid good bye to the other five pilots and three cadets.
The Voltron Force watched as the other lions formed Voltron. The giant robot glowed a strange aqua color, starting at the Blue Lion and covering the entire robot. Voltron flew into the sky and seemed to get absorbed by the atmosphere. The robot disappeared from their sensors, and the eight people in the Castle of Lions could only assume that the Paladins made it back to their reality safe and sound.