So, you were in space. You were a Paladin of Voltron, and a Defender of the Universe. No pressure there.

And now you were lying in your bed in your room in a weird alien castle, exhausted. Just about two days ago, you had been just a normal student at the Garrison. It must be true then, that you could never know what life had in store for you.

Just the other day, you, Pidge, Keith, Lance, Hunk and Shiro each got a Lion. You also got armours and weapons that suited each wearer perfectly. Then you fought some Galra and formed Voltron for the first time. Maybe by accident, cause none of you knew how you did it. And that day you had been trying to form Voltron again, without any results.

You had tried everything you could think of, even creating a cheerleader pyramid out of the Lions. But nothing. And it started to get to you. You had never been in a situation like that. Everything was still so new and you just had to practice over and over again. It just felt so overwhelming. You needed some time to breathe.

You looked at the ceiling and let out a sigh. You had been trying your hardest but none of it seemed to please Allura and Coran. Both of them demanded you to train nonstop, when in your head everything just seemed like a one big mess.

You let your eyes wander around the room you were in. It was just plain, gray and pretty much empty. You were used to yours and May's room at the Garrison, which was always filled with some small clutter. You had both been a bit hoarders. Now you got nothing, not even your laptop or your books or your clothes.

And as you started to feel uncomfortable, the room started to feel like a prison as it was so bare. You were lying in a bed that wasn't that comfortable. Even the blanket was too thin and the pillow too lumpy. You weren't usually the one to complain about small things, but that day you felt like you wanted to open the door and shout profanities at everyone in the castle.

But instead, you just sighed and got up from the bed. You decided to go back before anyone started to wonder where you were. But before leaving, you leaned on the door and took a deep breath. You needed to get your act together.

As you walked in the hallway, towards the training deck, you thought about what had happened that day. You and the other Paladins had tried so hard to form Voltron, but none of you worked well together. The original Paladins had fought hundreds and hundreds of battles together, and you couldn't even last a moment without bickering.

You were really expected to save the universe. Not a small task. According to Allura, Zarkon had been conquering almost the entire known universe. On top of that you had to make sure that Zarkon wasn't going after Earth. So you had to stop him, no matter what. But it was a lot to process to a one small human being.

As you finally walked in the training deck, the others were there already. And as you looked around, you felt overwhelmed again. The training deck was so huge that your eyes widened for a moment.

In the Garrison you were always in smaller rooms or in the cramped simulator. So you looked around in awe. Everything was so metallic, shiny and clean. It all seemed so new, even though the castle wasn't.

You glanced at the others, and saw that Keith also was especially interested in the training deck. He looked around with a spark in his eyes which you hadn't seen before. Well, you had known him only for a couple of days now, so no wonder. But still, that spark almost lightened up his whole presence.

Then you suddenly flinched as you realised that Keith had seen you staring at him. Through your embarrassment you just faintly smiled at him and turned around. And when he didn't see your face anymore, you shut your eyes, wanting to disappear somewhere. Why did you always get lost in your thoughts at the worst moments?

Luckily Coran's voice was just heard in the speakers, letting you forget your embarrassment. "Alright, Paladins. Let's start." He said as small drones suddenly appeared through the walls of the training deck. You looked at the drones puzzled. What were you supposed to do?

"A swarm of drones is about to attack. The Paladin code demands you put your team members' safety above your own. At least if you want to survive." Coran just explained calmly.

"What?" You yelped aloud as the small drones started to circle around you. "Wait, wait, wait. What's going on?" Hunk raised his voice. And just then, everyone's holographic shields activated.

"Protect your teammates or no one will be there to protect you!" Coran still advised as the drones started to shoot at you. And everyone immediately started to evade the shots as well as you could. You yelped and evaded a shot just in time. Then you tried shielding yourself from one, and that's when you realised what Coran had meant with his instructions. You had to shield each other, not yourself.

But then it was too late already. Pidge was the first to fall through the floor as Hunk dodged a shot so that it ended up hitting her. And almost immediately after that, Hunk fell too. Then it was you, Shiro, Lance and Keith left.

You tried to concentrate as well as you could. And as you looked at the small drones closely, you saw one of them starting to shoot again. You quickly jumped in front of it and blocked its beam. And as you jumped, you almost stumbled on Shiro who you had just saved.

Shiro quickly glanced at you and smiled. And at that moment, you felt good that you had gotten a hang of the training exercise. But at the same time, you were suddenly hit when Lance evaded a beam behind you. "Lance!" You yelled at him as you dropped down.

But that was almost the end of that exercise. The others didn't last that long anymore, and soon everyone was down. So, protecting each other ended up in a total failure.

Next was a maze training simulation that was supposed to make you trust each other. Everyone was already tired and anxious, and of course Keith and Lance got paired up. It didn't go too well. Of course they ended up bickering all the time. Lance got zapped so many times, that you couldn't help but laugh. You knew you shouldn't have, but you couldn't help it.

You were paired up with Hunk on the simulation. And as you were standing on the edge of the training deck with the invisible maze in front of you, you didn't feel at all scared. "Ok, I trust you Hunk. So don't let me down! Or I will ruin your dinners for the next week!" You yelled at him. And you knew you could trust him wholeheartedly. "I won't!" Hunk said back with a reassuring tone. You knew Hunk was precise. All you had to do was listen.

"You ready (Y/N)?" You heard Coran ask. And you showed them thumbs up and smiled. "Okay, take two steps forwards. Then two steps left." Hunk guided you steadily. And you followed his directions.

It was slow but steady and you made it through in one piece. You only got one slight shock of electricity as you once took a step too much. But other than that, it went well.

Next you were in your Lions, flying high in the sky. "You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with their Lion." Coran said on the intercom. "No problem. Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real." Lance started to proudly brag.

"Then you won't have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your Lions into a nosedive!" Coran still added. And everyone got silent. Except Hunk. "What, really!?" He yelped.

Your heart started to race, but you still put your Lion into a nosedive. "Okay girl, here we go." You whispered as you pushed the handles. And immediately your throat started to get dry as you saw the ground down below. "Activating training helmets." Coran still said. And suddenly everything went black.

Everyone gasped. Your helmet's visor was dark. You couldn't see a thing! What the hell was Coran thinking!? "Coran, what's happening? I can't see!" Lance screamed from the lack of vision.

"You must learn to see through your Lions eyes. The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the Lion feels!" Coran advised.

And even though your heart was racing like hell, you took a deep breath, trying to block away the awful feeling in your gut. "Will you guide me?" You asked your Lion and she purred back at you. And you smiled. You focused and you could almost see what your Lion was seeing. You saw the ground getting closer, but you weren't scared anymore.

Just then your focus got a bit distracted by Keith and Lance competing again. "You still going, Keith?" Lance asked with a challenging tone. "You know it. You?" Keith replied irritated. "Going? I'm speeding up!" Lance replied. And you shook your head. Competing idiots. And as both of their Lions crashed down on the ground, you couldn't help but smirk. Maybe they'll learn eventually?

But you still kept going further down, even though you felt the ground getting closer. "I trust you now, so don't let me down." You whispered to your Lion.

And just then she roared, warning you. You quickly pulled the handles and the Lion flew right past the ground level. And you sighed. "Thank you." You said to her happily. And she purred back at you, letting you know that you were a team.

And as the training helmets were deactivated, you saw Shiro flying next to you. All the others were somewhere else. "Excellent (Y/N) and Shiro!" Coran praised you. "Well done Shiro!" You congratulated him. "You too (Y/N)." He replied.

But the exercises just kept on coming. You were all so tired already, but Coran kept insisting you to continue. And now you were all sitting in a circle on the floor of the training deck. "The most important part of Paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron." Coran explained the purpose of the next exercise.

You had a head gear on, which formed a holographic image before you. "Everything else has to fade away. So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between Paladins." Coran advised you again. And even though you felt slightly uncomfortable that others would see what was on your mind, you tried to obey Coran.

Everyone started to concentrate. You shut your eyes since you didn't want to intrude on others thoughts. You just tried focusing on what you were doing. And it was pretty easy for you because of your meditation rituals.

And as you focused, the first thing you saw was one of your favourite places on Earth. It was your grandmothers cabin in the woods, near a lake. You slowed your breathing down and went deeper. You cleared your mind thoroughly. Just waves of energy flowed through you. And soon your mind was blank.

"Now focus on forming your Lion." You heard Coran say. And you focused. Soon the image of your beautiful Lion was in front of you. And you saw the other Lions too, except Pidge's. Was she having trouble concentrating?

"Bring your Lions together and form Voltron." Coran instructed. And as the holographic Lions moved towards the center, Pidge wasn't still getting hers. "Keep focusing! Only one to go!" Coran cheered, trying to encourage Pidge.

But just then, Keith's irritated voice stopped your concentration. "Pidge, stop thinking about your girlfriend!" He growled at her. You frowned and immediately opened your eyes. And you saw that in front of Pidge was the image of her and her brother Matt, which she now resembled with short hair and glasses.

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes! Clear your minds!" Coran raised his voice, still encouraging you to move on. So you closed your eyes again and concentrated on the Lions.

And for a while it seemed to work. Pidge had gotten her Lion too. And all of them were running towards each other. Until Pidge got distracted again, her Lion disappearing. "Pidge, focus!" Lance yelled. "Lance, shut up!" You said to him as you opened your eyes. And at that moment the image of your Lion disappeared.

"I'm done with this!" Pidge yelled, throwing the head gear away and standing up. "Pidge?" You looked at her, puzzled of the sudden outburst. "Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!" She raised her voice as she started to walk out of the training deck.

You looked after her and saw that she was feeling really bad. "You happy now?" You turned to glare at Lance and Keith, who just couldn't keep their mouths shut before. And they just looked back at you puzzled, like they had no idea what was happening.

You took your head gear off and stood up. "Pidge is just tired. We're all tired." You grunted as you walked out of the training deck too.

You found Pidge sitting in the hallway, leaning against the wall. And she looked really sorrowful and tired. "You okay?" You asked quietly as you sat down next to her.

Pidge took off her glasses. "I'm just so worried for my dad and Matt." She said while wiping her eyes. "I know you are." You said as you wrapped your arm around her back. You knew that all she ever wanted was to get them back. She really missed them.

"It seems that Shiro doesn't know anything about them. It's like they disappeared into thin air. Or then they were killed on Kerberos. But why would they just take Shiro and kill everyone else?" Pidge started to babble almost nervously. And you took a deep breath. All those questions you wished you could answer. But you couldn't. "I wish I knew Pidge." You let out a sigh.

Then Pidge took a deep breath and put her glasses back on. "But I promise I will help you find them, no matter what." You said as reassuringly as you could. And she looked back at you, faintly smiling. "I know. Thanks (Y/N). You always seem to cheer me up." She said while taking another deep breath.

Then she nodded determinedly. "I feel better now, thanks." Pidge said as she stood up. Then she stretched out her hand to you. And you took her hand as you got up. "Better go back before Coran or Allura think that we're slacking." She still said, letting out a laughter. And from the way she laughed, you knew that she was feeling at least a bit better.

After you and Pidge got back to the training deck, you had a terrible practice with a metallic gladiator. You were supposed to fight it together, but it just pretty much kicked your asses. You were really bad and not in any way a team. You really weren't up to the Paladin standards yet. You had so much training to do ahead.

After the humiliating practice you finally got to go to the dining room to eat. Finally! Everyone was tired, hungry and irritated, and Coran and Allura just kept on pushing you to do more. You needed a break so bad. And you really were starving.

You were all sitting around the dining table waiting to get something to eat. And then Coran walked in. "Ahoy, young Paladins! I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food!" He said, putting some green goo on the table. And everyone kind of groaned. That green goo, every time. Didn't they have anything else at the castle?

But at that point, you could eat anything. You were that hungry. But just as everyone started to take the food hungrily, Coran suddenly pushed a remote control. And it triggered handcuffs, linking each of you.

You sighed as you realised what happened. You really weren't in the mood for any more of Coran's training methods. And you glared at him with a murdering gaze, but he just smirked back at you.

"I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team. So, welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day." Coran explained with a smug smile on his face. "Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing." Hunk spoke with a slightly threatening voice. When it came to food, you didn't want to mess with Hunk.

But Coran just disregarded him. "This one's a classic. You get to feed each other, like a pack of yalmors!" He laughed happily. And you felt like you were being used like some kind of a guinea pig. But even though you didn't like it, you knew there was nothing for you to do but to obey. You sighed as you felt beaten.

You looked to your left and saw Keith tied to your wrist. On your right was Pidge. You carefully took a spoon from the table with your right hand and scooped some goo in it. You slowly tried to take it towards Pidge's mouth, but it all fell down to your lap. "Shit." You sighed.

Keith and Lance on your left were also trying the same. And you couldn't help but laugh in your mind that it just had to be Keith and Lance tied together. What luck. You knew this exercise wouldn't end up well. It was an utter and pure mess, literally.

While you were trying to do the exercise, everyone just kept on complaining. So much that Allura finally had enough. "Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?" She raised her voice, looking at you irritated.

"Can't you just give us a break? Everyone's been working really hard today." Shiro tried pleading calmly. "Who wouldn't complain when they are being tortured like this?" You said, glaring at Allura.

Unlike Shiro, Keith wasn't calm at all. You felt a tug on your wrist as he stood up. "Yeah! We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like... like..." He tried coming up with some good retort, but failed. But luckily there was Lance. "Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" He yelled. "Yes! Thank you, Lance!" Keith said to him. And you looked at them shocked. Were they actually getting along?

"You do not talk to the Princess like that!" Coran also stood up as he raised his voice. And that's when Pidge also joined in. "Oh, the princess of what? We're the only ones out here and she's no princess of ours!" She raised her voice as she stood up too. And just then, she got hit with a plateful of goo straight in her face.

Everyone gasped at the surprise. The goo was dripping down Pidge's head. And she did not look happy at all. And that's when Keith growled and grabbed a plate of goo. He immediately shoved it back towards Allura and Coran. "Oh it's on!" Hunk yelled, and suddenly goo started flying everywhere. And you stood up too. You were easily incited. Oh it's on!

You immediately joined the fight by taking a handful of goo in your right hand. You looked at Pidge and smirked. She nodded as you swung your hand in a large arc, throwing the goo towards Coran. He unfortunately evaded it just in time. Sly fox. But you still looked at Pidge and laughed with her. You were actually feeling kind of liberated at the moment.

Until you realised that Coran was looking at you intensely with a huge plate full of goo in his hand. He was ready to throw it at you. And as he swung his arm and the goo started flying towards you, your eyes widened in horror. You closed your eyes and tried lifting your hands to shelter your face from the up and coming attack. Then you heard a smack but didn't feel anything.

You opened your eyes carefully, just to see Keith standing in front of you, his chest towards you. He was really close and frozen. And as you looked up, you saw that he had taken the hit for you. He had this appalled grin on his face, as the goo had hit the back of his head and was now dripping under his armour.

You were a bit baffled as you suddenly realised how his closeness made you feel somehow warm. And how you were taken by his gesture. And as he realised you were looking at him, he stopped grinning. He looked back at you a bit baffled also, like he was surprised of his own actions. And just for a second, you felt something unnerving in the pit of your stomach.