The Gold Paladin

Changing Guard

It was dark in the far reaches of space, where hardly anything could be seen for miles. But for Keith, it might be the place where he would find their lost friend.

Weeks had passed since the Paladins fought against Zarkon. But even with him gone, the universe was still far from out of the Galra's control, and even then, they couldn't go on without some sacrifices.

Shiro was gone. And Novae was.... unpredictable at the moment.

Even though they worried about Shiro and Novae, the Paladins still helped whoever they could, freeing planets from the Galra, cutting off supplies to Galra bases, and whatever they could possibly do to slow them down, even at least a little bit. 

And without Shiro to fly the Black Lion, and Novae to form the wings and chest plate, Voltron couldn't be formed. There would be no way for the Galra to fight as full Paladins.

Keith stopped flying through space, not finding anything on Shiro in the vicinity.

"There's nothin' out here, Coran." Keith sighed.

"I'm sorry, Keith." Coran replied.

"I'm comin' home." He turned around and flew back to the Castle as fast as he could.

🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁

Allura and Coran stood in the med bay, the rhythmic beats of a heart monitor filling the mostly silent room. She and Coran had been working for the past few weeks, keeping one person alive.

"Coran, do we have any other new readings on her condition?" Allura asked sadly.

Coran shook his head, "No, I'm afraid not, Princess. Her condition remains the same. There are no signs of her waking up anytime soon." He said.

Allura sighed sadly as she looked down at the unconscious woman sleeping in the bed, several machines hooked up to her to keep her body functioning normally, and a breathing mask over her mouth and nose to keep her lungs filled with air.

~~~~

It was strange, shocking, and downright terrifying to say the least. As soon as everyone began grieving over the loss of Novae, she suddenly shot upright, breathing as if she was suffocated and had just gotten air back. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, her eyes wide and shaking as if she was terrified.

"Novae!" Everyone shouted, rushing to help her in any way they could.

"NO! NO MORE! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Novae screamed over and over again, clutching handfuls of her black hair and threatening to pull out every strand.

Pidge grabbed Novae by the arms and helped her breathe normally. Keith made sure to keep her calm along with the others, reassuring that everything was okay and that she was safe.

Novae wouldn't stop shaking or screaming. Her shakes began horrifying tremors that just didn't stop. They finally picked her up and dragged her to the med bay for treatment.

They put her to sleep, but as she relaxed, her body began failing again. They put her on life support for the time being until she woke again. As they tried to change her into a more comfortable set of clothes, Allura tried to take the Gold Lion bracelet from her wrist, but something kept her from even getting close to it. It was thin layer of energy that refused any unwanted touch. So the bracelet stayed on as Novae recovered from this ordeal.

And during the following weeks, they all kept a secure guard on her, taking shifts in watching her in case she woke up.

~~~~