Something was definitely wrong with the castle. There were too many threatening incidents happening at the same time. It couldn't be a mere coincidence.

You, Keith and Lance found Coran from the maintenance room. And even though Lance tried his best to assure him about the castle trying to kill you all, he didn't seem to believe. You almost had to drag Coran with you as you went to find the others, to see that they were alright.

You searched a couple of places for them, and soon you ended up at the Green Lion's hangar. And as Lance pushed the button to open the door to it, you heard a loud thud from inside. And you all startled because of all the scares you had already experienced. Well, and Lance shrieked.

As the doors opened up, you saw Pidge and Hunk lying on the ground, in really awkward positions. And you wondered what had happened. But Lance on the other hand immediately started to yell, again. "How can you guys be taking a nap while this castle is trying to kill us!?" He yelled almost irritated. He was really on the edge.

"Taking a nap!? We've been floating around in Zero G! You know how scary that is!?" Hunk yelled back while getting up. At the same time you went to Pidge and helped her up. And as she was on her feet again, she immediately started to check that all her equipment was still intact. Of course she was more concerned of her equipment than herself.

"That's not scary! That's fun! I was almost ejected into space!" Lance continued with the yelling. He seemed to be genuinely afraid. Or having a panic attack. But he wasn't keeping his composure at all. And Coran was just standing behind you all like he wouldn't even care. He just crossed his arms like he was waiting for proof that the castle really was trying to kill you.

"I got attacked by killer food, and that's the most horrifying thing you can imagine! The stuff of nightmares! It'll haunt me to my grave!" Hunk yelled, getting more agitated the more Lance yelled. And he was probably right. What if the thing you most loved would attack you all of a sudden? Certainly you would get nightmares from that. Nightmares, that would haunt you for months.

"Well I had a robot trying to kill me! And the castle almost suffocated (Y/N)!" Keith then joined the yelling once he had enough. And that's when Pidge turned to look at you, gasping. "What happened?" She asked.

"I thought I saw an intruder going to Allura's room. But she wasn't there, and then the room tried to suffocate me. That's all." You tried to say as calmly as you could, even though it still made you feel anxious.

Then suddenly Coran gasped, waking up from his slumber. "What? The Princess? Why didn't you say so in the first place!" He suddenly yelled at you, finally starting to look concerned. And that's when Lance turned to Coran. "I don't care what you say Coran. This castle has gone apples and bananas!" He spread his arms while yelling.

"Perhaps the infection from Sendak's Galra crystal is worse than we thought." Coran stated pondering. "Well, let's get rid of it." Hunk answered him anxiously. "It's too late. When Sendak plugged into the ship, it corrupted the entire system." Coran said, clearly worried now, finally comprehending the severity of the situation.

Then you suddenly gasped as you remembered something. And everyone turned to look at you. "What about Shiro? Is he still with Sendak?" You asked them horrified. The dread of what he could be going through dawned to you suddenly. "We have to go!" You just yelled while turning around and starting to run towards the detainment room. And the others came after you.

You ran, even though you still weren't in your best condition after everything that had happened before. You realised that your heart raced like hell and you started to feel a bit lightheaded as your breaths became more rapid. But you had to run. You tried to ignore everything as there was more serious business to deal with at the moment. You needed to see that Shiro was alright.

When you ran inside the detainment room, you saw Shiro sweating and looking like a wreck, leaning on the containment pod that Sendak used to be in. And then you gasped. Sendak wasn't in there anymore. "Shiro!?" You tried calling out to him, but he didn't react at all. He was breathing heavily while staring at the empty pod intensely.

"Shiro?" You said his voice again in a calming tone as you put your hand on his arm. But Shiro just stared at the pod, sweat dripping off his forehead. So you leaned a bit closer. "Shiro, everything is alright now." You said to him calmly while slightly shaking him, trying to snap him out of his daze.

"Where's Sendak?" Keith asked. And his question finally snapped Shiro out of his trance. He finally looked at you all. And your heart sank to your stomach as you saw his face. You could see from his eyes that he really wasn't alright. They were full of guilt, anxiety and horror. Then Shiro opened his mouth carefully. "I...I had to get him out of here. I was hearing his voice. He....He can't be trusted on this ship." Shiro said with a shivering voice, trying to convince you all.

Then Lance started to yell again. "It's the ship! I got stuck in a cryo-pod, then, in an airlock. Keith got attacked by a robot, (Y/N) got almost suffocated by Allura's room and Hunk and Pidge got attacked by food. It's been a weird morning!" He just yelled, way too loud. And you had enough.

"Lance, shut up!" You raised your voice, glaring at him. He had panicked enough already. "What!? But it's true!" He glared back at you. And you wanted to slap that man to calm him down. Could you? You smirked at the thought, but before you could say anything back, the computer suddenly beeped.

Everyone startled as a holographic screen appeared in front of you. "What is going on Coran?" You asked him, not really sure of what was happening. And he seemed quite confused too. "What...how is that possible? The ship is starting a wormhole jump!" Coran suddenly gasped. And you all gasped too. "Is it Allura?" You asked, but Coran was speechless, probably trying to think.

Then he suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. "To the control room!" Coran yelled as he immediately ran out of the detainment room. And everyone else started to go after him, except Shiro. He was still trying to get back his composure. So you decided to wait for him.

When Shiro realised that you were looking at him, he straightened out his back, giving you a small reassuring smile to signal that he was alright. But you still waited. You knew that he wasn't as well as he tried to make you think. You didn't want to leave him alone.

Then Shiro realised what you were doing. "I'm alright, really." He tried to assure you. "That's good. But I'm still waiting for you." You just answered him. And he sighed. "Thank you." He said with such honesty as he started to slowly but surely make his way out of the detainment room. And then you went after him, making sure that he wasn't left behind.

As you ran after Shiro, you suddenly started to feel quite overwhelmed. Ever since leaving Arus, it had felt like everything was a struggle. Why were those days sometimes like nightmares? Didn't you already have had enough trouble without some crystal infection?

As you entered the control room, you saw Allura standing on the platform, wearing a nightgown. And everyone looked at her slightly confused. "Allura! What's going on?" Shiro asked. But she didn't really react to you arriving. She just stared in front of her. "She's in some kind of a trance." Coran said, looking at Allura worried. And then you looked at the window before you and realised that the castle was heading towards a giant flaming star. What was going on!?

Then Allura turned to look at you all, and you saw that she had an eerie expression on her face. Like she was dreaming without sleeping. And something was definitely wrong with her. "We're going to Altea. We're going home. My father is taking us." She said with a serene voice and a frightfully calm smile. Yes, something was definitely wrong.

Shiro immediately tried to go to Allura, to see that she was alright, when suddenly a holographic face appeared on the large screen in front of her. "Stay away from my daughter!" The face yelled threateningly. And you all immediately stepped back, a bit startled. You had not expected anything like that.

Then you realised that it was King Alfor's holograph. He had been the intruder who was brawling the hallways. And you felt yourself a bit foolish. Maybe you should have realised that it was a holograph, not a real person. Maybe that would have saved you from almost getting suffocated. But maybe the situation just got the better of you.

Shiro still tried to get to Allura, but suddenly a barrier appeared around her, pushing him back. "Allura!" You yelled, trying to wake her up. But she just looked back with that serene gaze. "Everything will be alright. We're going home." She said eerily calm. And you got shivers from how she was. Like she was controlled by someone else.

"Allura, wake up!" Shiro yelled when he couldn't get close to her. "The crystal must have corrupted King Alfor's artificial intelligence. It's taking over!" Coran said with a horrified expression on his face. He probably never could have anticipated something like that to happen in the castle. And neither could you.

Then suddenly King Alfor's whole holograph appeared next to Allura on the platform. And there they stood together, father and daughter. But it wasn't real, even though she clearly thought it was. "We're headed straight for a star and it's about to explode!" Pidge yelled out, still trying to get Allura to wake up. But nothing. And you were helpless again as the castle was in danger. "Can't we do anything!?" Hunk asked, looking at you all worried.

And you were worried too. Everything was beginning to feel too overwhelming. You were somewhat scared and your mind started to panic. So you instinctively backed away a bit. But just then you suddenly felt a hand on your back. And you stopped and slightly flinched, until you realised whose hand it was. You didn't even have to look to know that it was Keith, trying to calm you down. And with the touch of his warm hand, you started to feel a bit better. Suddenly you felt like everything would turn out alright, even if it didn't seem like that at the moment.

"Father, I can see Altea." Allura said, still lost in her dreams, even though Shiro tried his best to intervene. "Allura, it's not real! Can't you see!?" He tried to get her to wake up. But she just looked ahead with hazy eyes. "The juniberries, the most exquisite flower of all." She sighed admiring.

"What is she talking about?" You asked from Coran. "Juniberries grew on Altea..." He said, looking at Allura with a sad expression on his face. Like he was reminiscing of their home planet too. "I love the smell of the mountain juniberries in the early morning breeze." Allura just continued, lost in the dream world.

Then suddenly Coran seemed to figure something out. "Allura! Where is the fragrance of the sweet juniberries!?" He suddenly yelled, questioning her. And that's when Allura's eyes seemed to change a bit, and it seemed like she was trying to sense something.

Then Allura suddenly gasped and the dreamy look disappeared from her face entirely. And that's when she looked at the holograph of King Alfor next to her. "That's not Altea..." She said horrifed, finally out of her trance.

"Allura, you must reset the course and get us out of here!" Pidge immediately yelled, realising that Allura was free. And Allura didn't hesitate at all as she tried to take control of the castle again. But just then she was pushed off the platform and out of the barrier surrounding it, leaving the holograph of King Alfor there alone. And now he was controlling the castle, making it fly straight towards the flaming star.

Allura looked at her father. And even though it wasn't her real father, you could see the sorrow in her eyes. "Father, please, I beg you to turn this ship around. If we don't do it soon, we will all perish!" She tried to plead to him. "I know. That is my intention." King Alfor's holograph just answered with a cold tone. "What, why?" Allura asked devastated. "Don't you see dear daughter? Zarkon can never be defeated." King Alfor again replied. And you all gasped. That couldn't be true!

You covered your mouth with your hand as you realised how close the flaming star was getting. "Is there nothing we can do?" You turned to the others. "What if we take the Lions and just fly out of here?" Lance tried to come up with a solution. And he was kind of right. That way you could at least save something.

But just then King Alfor's holographic image suddenly changed. "Allura, my A.I. has been corrupted. You must disconnect my power source!" It suddenly warned, looking at her with gentle eyes. And for a moment it seemed like the holograph was back to normal. Until it again changed, losing all the gentleness in its eyes, concentrating again on flying the castle to its doom.

Allura was seemingly shocked of what her father had said. Then she took a deep breath and turned towards you all, her expression now determined. "I've got to get into the A.I. Chamber to disconnect my father's power source manually." She said clearly, even though you could see she was broken inside.

Coran tried to say something back to Allura, but she just interrupted him. "I know Coran, that means losing him forever. But there's nothing we can do." She said, looking Coran defiantly straight in the eyes. Coran looked back for a moment before deciding to stay quiet. He knew Allura was right.

"Paladins, get into your Lions! I need you to slow the castle's descent into the star." Allura then ordered you. And of course you obeyed immediately. Nobody even hesitated before you all were running. You changed into your armour as quickly as you could and headed straight to your Lion. You were probably quicker than ever as your Lions soared out of the castle.

You immediately flew in front of the castle. And when everyone was positioned, Shiro spoke. "Alright, start your boosters!" He ordered. And everyone started their boosters, pushing against the castle, trying to slow down its movement. You pushed your handles forward hard, trying to give as much resistance as you could.

But soon you started to feel like nothing was happening. The castle had too much force. "Is this helping at all!?" You asked concerned. "I don't know, but we have to do this to buy some time." Shiro said uncertainty lingering in his voice. And then your Lion roared. "I know, it's getting hot. I'm sorry girl. Let's just do the best we can." You encouraged her as you couldn't do anything more. You were pushing your handles so hard that it felt like your hands were starting to hurt. And all you could do was to hope that Allura could disconnect the holograph power source soon.

It seemed to take some time. You started to sweat in your armour as the heat was getting unbearable. And you couldn't even swipe the sweat away, as you kept a tight grip on the handles. But just then Allura's image appeared on your screen. "Paladins, get to your hangars. We're getting out of here." She said firmly. And you sighed in relief. She had done it. "Alright Princess, we're coming in." Shiro commented.

You finally loosened the grip on the handles. Then you flew your Lion back to the hangar. And as soon as you were in, the castle seemed to change its course. You hadn't even gotten out of your Lion when you felt the castle starting a wormhole jump. And you were really relieved. "Thank you girl." You petted your Lion's console again before getting out.

You quickly made your way to the control room as you knew everyone would gather there. And as you got in, you saw Allura sitting on the platform. She looked so crushed, hanging her head low. Coran was next to her, trying to comfort her.

You kneeled before Allura, to see her eyes. And you saw that she had been crying. You saw that she was hurting, even though she tried to keep her composure. "I'm so sorry Allura." You said while taking her hand to yours, trying to understand her pain. She had lost so much and you felt bad for her. You had also kind of lost Earth and your family, but it was different. You knew they were still there alive. Or at least that's what you hoped for.

Shiro also kneeled down next to you, looking at Allura. "I'm so sorry about your father, Princess." He said, smiling a comforting smile. "We all are." Hunk said behind you. You all wanted to make her see that you cared for her.

"Thank you all. But that was not my father. The real King Alfor was a great man and a great father. He may not be here with us anymore, but his dream lives on through all of us, and his legacy is Voltron." She stated confidently while standing up, letting you all know that she was alright. And she was so brave. You admired her for keeping her composure, even after everything that had happened.

Coran decided to escort Allura back to her room to rest. And the others were starting to make their way to their rooms also. Everyone was tired. It had been a long day. And even though you were tired too, the thought of going to bed was making you feel somewhat anxious. You were kind of afraid that the nightmare would repeat. So you turned to the others as they were leaving.

"Shiro. Can I talk to you?" You interrupted Shiro as he was leaving. He looked at you questioningly, but complied immediately. "Of course." He said as he started walking back to you. And at that moment you quickly glanced at Keith before he left. And you saw that he was looking back at you, slightly frowning.

You immediately turned to look at the space through the large control room window in front of you. And in that moment everything was so dark. You couldn't see anything, but maybe it was better that way. Then Shiro came next to you. He crossed his arms as he looked out of the window too. And for a moment it was silent. Shiro stood besides you, but didn't force you to talk. He just waited.

Then you let out a deep sigh. "Shiro. Can I ask you something?" You started a bit hesitantly. "Yes." He just replied. "What did you see at the training grounds?" You turned to look at him when you asked the question. And you saw his expression darkening. Suddenly he looked quite sorrowful. "Well, I wasn't expecting that." He turned to look at you and smiled a bit awkwardly.

"Please, Shiro." You almost pleaded him to tell you. "If you really need to know, I saw myself killing you all with my hand. One by one...you were all lying there, bleeding..." He said, first looking at his prosthetic arm, then closing his eyes, like he wanted that image out of his head. And you let out a silent gasp. That sounded awful.

"I knew it was just a test, but I was so glad to see you all after it. It felt so real." He still added. And you nodded. It did feel real. "That sounds..." You started, your breath shivering as you tried to take a deep breath. "You have been through so much..." You said, looking at the dark space before you.

"I'm not the only one who has gone through a lot." Shiro said quietly, turning to look at you. "That's true, but I guess nothing can compare to what you have experienced." You said, shrugging your shoulders. "Experiences are personal to everyone. Can you really compare?" Shiro asked you. And you didn't know what to answer. So you were quiet, staring outside.