Chapter One

They were all gathered in the central control room on Voltronia base, stealing time from putting Voltronia back together in order to let Romelle brief them. The Lions were outside the open entrance like giant guards and their presence went a long way in reassuring the Arusians that they were now safe. But even the Lions were not good enough for the Royal Family and their friends. With Merla's show of power, they knew that they were going to be in for the battle of their lives when they faced her on a field that was still new to them.

Families sat near each other, which meant that Jordan sat at her mother's knee in the front of the room, her dark blonde head resting on it. Keith was surrounded by his children, his daughters sitting on either side and Ethan standing behind them. The Branegans were huddled together, protectively circling Link as she gripped Jason's hand tightly in her own. The Yearlings were nearby, Gwen and Hunk in each other's arms. Archent stood alone, his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, his eyes on the Drule Rathul who was calmly sitting in a chair, detatched from what was happening. Pidge sat at the command console, but his attention was on Romelle as she told them of Rathul and what he told them of Arus' magical history.

Her words had them transfixed and she told them of Rathul's role in all this. He had been training Alana on the trip over and she was already showing progress. Ethan looked towards the blue-skinned alien among them, felt something shoot through him when their eyes met.

"That one's strong," Rathul said, interrupted Romelle.

All eyes turned to Ethan. They all learned of what happened in Voltron, but no one could really believe that Ethan, even-tempered, patient Prince of Arus, was a ticking time bomb. Even he didn't. But the certainty in Rathul's eyes erased their doubts. He was looking at Ethan with respect.

"Strong but does not have the purity of Alana," he added. "An interesting mixture."

Then, he looked at Archent

"Interesting that he should have magic in him as well. I don't have the same sense of him as I do of the other three."

Archent shrugged.

"What about me?" Bethie asked.

"You...your magic is being shared at this moment with the child you carry within you."

"Child?" Alana exclaimed, eyes shooting to her sister. "You're pregnant??"

"Be a little more sensitive, Lana," Bethie said sarcastically.

Alana looked to her father but Keith's face was studiously blank so she turned to Ethan who merely shrugged. She shook her head in disbelief and looked to Jack.

"It's yours isn't it?" she said.

Jack's mouth fell open as his mother turned accusing eyes on him. He shook his hands in the air as words escaped him though a part of him had to wonder why he kept getting fingers pointed at him about this baby.

"NO!" Bethie cried. "It was Skech's. Okay? Everybody? The kid is Skech's. I had an affair with..."

Keith silenced her with a look. Bethie clamped her mouth shut, embarrassed. Slowly, Keith turned his gaze to Romelle.

"Finish what you were saying," he said calmly.

Romelle nodded. She told them of Arus' magical history and slowly, each of them understood the implications of opening the Royal children up to the power their planet held. Alana already felt the throbbing power that was trying to find its way into her but she kept it at bay using the skills Rathul taught her. She didn't know why, but she was afraid of it, of its wildness. She felt it in her brother and that scared her even more.

When she was finished, Romelle looked around the room at the thoughtful faces of her friends.

"I want to speak to the Porterfields," Rathul said, cutting through the silence. "This does not concern the rest of them as much as it concerns the Royal Family and the man called Archent. They are the ones who may have to make the sacrifice in order to end Merla's madness and they must have questions for me."

"How much time do you have?" Ethan snorted.

"As much time as you need, Your Highness."

"Lance, Link...take care of Voltronia," Keith said, though he really did not need to.

"We'll be able to get by for a while without you," Lance said.

They trooped out, leaving the Porterfields and Archent alone with Rathul.

"So," Bethie said. "Where should we start?"

"What you did today. Tell me about it."

Bethie and Ethan exchanged a glance.

"Well...it started with me. I felt this calm when I got in the cockpit of the Red and I don't know...I just felt...at peace. I didn't feel anything but that and it was like the Red Lion amplified that feeling inside me."

"There was a balance," Alana said, understanding. "The Red Lion is the Lion of fire, but you were cool inside it. You found a balance with your Lion."

She turned to Ethan.

"And you felt fire, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. Like I was going to explode."

"But you didn't tap into the power, did you?" Rathul asked. "You needed your sister to ignite it inside you."

"Yes. I didn't really understand what she meant by finding peace," Ethan answered.

"From what I have studied from Princess Alana, you three will have different triggers to find your powers."

"What's yours, Lana?" Bethie asked.

Alana smiled sadly at them.

"All of you."

Keith put an arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulder, happy to be in her father's arms again. She hadn't realized how tightly wound up she was until she saw him and it was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Here was strong, dependable Dad...he would protect her.

"Princess Alana has far more than the two of you, not only because of the training I've given her but because she has an inate understanding of what she carries within her. It's difficult to explain and she herself does not know why that is so, but because of her control, her power surpasses even yours, Prince Ethan."

"Can you teach me control?" Ethan asked.

"I can give you the building blocks so that you can figure it out on your own. There is no one way to do this and that is important to remember. You may exchange notes or theories, but when it comes down to it, they're individual tasks."

"What about you, Archent?" Ethan asked. "Have you been able to use your magic?"

"I didn't even know that's what it was," Archent replied.

Rathul went and stood in front of the other man, looking deep into his hard gray eyes. Archent was visibly uncomfortable with the scrutiny but he didn't move away or look away from Rathul. But when Rathul kept staring without any sign of stopping, Archent frowned at him.

"Can't find what you're looking for?" he challenged.

"You're from a far branch of the family, but for some reason, your power is impressive. Not like Prince Ethan, but more than someone as far removed as you should have. Did your parents ever manifest any kind of strange magic?"

"No," Archent answered, drawing out the word. "Let me make this easy for you. Since Merla arrived, these 'powers' started to show up. I haven't powered up a robot Lion or anything like that, but every time Merla does something, I know it. And she's doing something big in that castle."

"Why didn't you mention it before?" Keith asked.

"I didn't feel it before. When Bethie activated the magic in Voltron, she activated it in me as well."

"We're all connected," Alana said quietly.

"You can teach them to harness what they have," Keith said.

It was a statement, not a question and Rathul accepted it as such.

"I can. Whether or not they learn is a different story."

Keith stood.

"Thank you, Rathul. I'd like some time alone with my children before we get back to work. Archent, if you don't mind..."

"Not at all, Your Highness," Archent said, going to stand behind Rathul.

They left and Keith looked at the three young Porterfields around him. Bethie went to sit on Alana's other side and she took her sister's hand in her own.

"You look older," she said, with an appraising eye. "And I have to say that I like the hair."

Alana touched her spiky hair and smiled faintly.

"I cried when Aunt Romelle cut it. Do I really look older?"

Ethan ruffled her head.

"Like a 17 year old," he teased.

Her hand shot out and poked him in the side. Keith smiled, a genuine relaxed smile, and for a moment, it was as if things were back to normal. Then, he thought of Allura, still imprisoned in the castle with Merla and his smile faded.

"We'll get Mom back, Dad," Alana said, looking up at him, her dark eyes so much like his own. "She would never let Merla have her way."

"We felt her," Bethie added with an earnestness her mother never had. "She'll come back to us. To you."

Keith didn't say anything. He just gathered his daughters close and tried not to think about the fact that they were in infinitely more danger than he could ever imagine. Looking over their heads at his son, he knew that Ethan was thinking the same thing.

"I just hope this Rathul character knows what he's doing," Keith confessed. "Look at his recommendations."

"He wants to made amends," Alana explained. "We've spent a lot of time with him in close quarters, Dad. Like Lotor..."

"What was that like?" Bethie interrupted. "Meeting Lotor."

Alana glanced at her father, could see his eyes shutter at the mention of the man and knew that he had not told them of Lotor's relationship to them.

"He's our Uncle," she said. "Mom's half-brother."

Bethie and Ethan stared at her.

"You're joking," Ethan said, his voice low.

"Couldn't be more serious. He's a man of peace now and he has a family. I guess you can say we have a little cousin, but we're never going to see him or Lotor again. At least, if it were up to him. He wasn't like the Lotor in the stories they told us, at least that's the impression I got. He was content where he was and he did not want to leave his home and his family."

"Uncle," Bethie said, putting a hand over her stomach. "Great. Any other secrets we need to know about, Dad?"

"You're not one to talk about secrets, Elisabeth," Keith said stiffly.

Alana's hand tightened on her sister's when Bethie would have stood and really started a fight with Keith.

"We're done with secrets," she said firmly. "Dad...no more secrets, right?"

Keith looked at Alana, then Bethie.

"No more," he said.

"Bethie?" Alana asked.

"That was my only one."

"Ethan?"

"None at all."

"Good."

"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Keith said, patting Alana's arm.

"Rathul calls me the High Priestess of Arus," she said.

"Aside from Ambassador from Arus, that's a pretty appropriate title for you," Ethan said.

A communicator beeped and Keith, Bethie, and Ethan all reached for theirs.

"It's mine," Keith told them. "Porterfield."

"We've got a full retreat going on here, Your Kinglyness," Lance said, sounding distracted. "I've got robots actually trying to run over our people in their rush to get into the castle. The skies are clearer than they have been in months...Merla's running scared."

Keith smiled again but it was far from pleasant.

"Good."