Hunk and Pidge circled around the new Toumian trainer, Zriez, in the middle of the Training Arena. Tuaste was working with Lance on his Bayard techniques, and after the day they had yesterday, Hunk was very glad that it was Lance's turn. Zriez looked a lot like Tuaste, but he fought like Eitim. Hunk thought Zriez was Tuaste and Eitim's son or something, considering he looked like both of them.

"Don't let me get the better of you, Paladins!" cried Zriez. 

"This guy is starting to get on my nerves," Pidge said to Hunk, and Hunk had to agree with her. Zriez kept saying that every few minutes, and it was starting to drive Hunk nuts. 

"How do you think we're going to take him out?" asked Hunk.

"Beats me."

Hunk tried to slam into the Toumian, but Zriez spun out of the way just in time. "Remember your exercises, Paladins!"

Pidge groaned, and dove for Zriez's legs. Zriez jumped out of the way, and Pidge's face slid across the sandy floor. "My glasses," she groaned.

"Aren't they fake?" asked Hunk.

"It's sentimental." Pidge stood up and brushed her face off. She took off her glasses frowning. "Dang it. They're scratched."

"That will teach you a lesson to watch where you dive!" Zriez exclaimed. 

"Can you try to not be so peppy?"

"I don't know what you mean!" laughed Zriez as he danced around Hunk and Pidge's blows. 

"I really want to kill this guy," Hunk grumbled. He trudged behind Zriez and Pidge. Pidge may claim to hate physical activity, but Hunk loathed it. At least she was quick. Hunk was a lumbering hunk of... well, Hunk. 

"Dead!" Zriez proclaimed as  he jabbed Pidge in the stomach. She grunted and fell over. Zriez turned to Hunk, an evil glint in his eyes. 

"Oh, no," Hunk moaned.

"Oh, yes!" 

Hunk dropped his training sword and ran for his life while Zriez chased him all over the Training Arena. Keith, Shiro and the new trainer -- Tycl, maybe? -- all stopped their duel to stare in confusion at Hunk and Zriez. Hunk didn't care. All he wanted to do was escape the clutches of the overly peppy Toumian. If Zriez was Tuaste and Eitim's son, Hunk wondered how Zriez was related to them. If at all. 

"What the --" said Tuaste as Hunk passed her. "Zriez, what...?"

"Look at Hunk go!" cheered Lance. "I didn't think he could run that fast, to be completely honest, but wow!"

"Dead!" Zriez called out as he tackled Hunk to the ground. 

"Oof," said Hunk as he fell to the ground. The side of his face slammed into the dirt and exploded in pain.

"I will admit," said Keith, "that was pretty amazing."

"I'll never look at Hunk the same way again," said Pidge, grinning. 

Hunk looked up at his friends. Zriez was still sitting on Hunk. Hunk groaned. "Go ahead," he said, "make fun of me. See that I care."

"None of us are making fun of you," said Shiro, grinning. 

"You did well, Paladin of the Yellow Lion," Zriez said, finally getting off of Hunk. He held out his grey arm, and Hunk grabbed onto it and pulled himself up. "You are a worthy combatant."

"Thanks," Hunk grumbled, rubbing his side. 

"You are very much welcome!"

"Zriez, what happened?" asked Tuaste. 

Zriez's face lit up. "It was a great battle, Mother. The Paladins of the Green and Yellow Lions were very good, but I managed to kill the Paladin of the Green Lion dead. It was at that time that the Paladin of the Yellow Lion dropped his weapon and lead me on a mighty chase throughout the field of battle. It was a race worthy of the legends."

Tuaste closed her eyes, and Hunk thought he saw tears leaking from them. Even he wanted to burst out laughing at what Zriez said. "I am sure it was, Zriez," said Tuaste when she opened her eyes. Tycl was shaking with laughter. Zriez beamed. "I'll train with Shiro next."

"I was meaning to talk to you about that," said Shiro. "Princess Allura said that my Bayard was lost with the original Paladin for the Black Lion."

"Then we shall make do."

"But here's the thing." Shiro held up his right arm, and the prosthetic pulsed with a white light rimmed with purple. 

"Witchcraft!" hissed Zriez, backing away from Shiro. 

"It's not witchcraft," said Shiro. "I was taken prisoner by the Galra over a year ago, and escaped with this. It's Galra technology."

"May I?" asked Tuaste. Shiro nodded, and his robot arm stopped glowing. Tuaste grabbed it and inspected it from several different angles. "Amazing. This kind of technology can only be dreamed of on Toumia." She looked at Shiro. "You say this is Galra technology?"

Shiro nodded. 

"What it looks like to me is a mix between technology and magic. The Ar Yehr speak of such things being possible, but according to the Eopsu Gegysh, such things are impossible and unattainable." She turned to the rest of the Paladins. "Training today is over. I must take the Black Paladin to the Pedagogues of the Ar Yehr and Eopsu Gegysh. It will take most of the day. You are dismissed." 

Zriez and Tycl walked off together, and Lance and Hunk followed. Keith stayed behind for a few moments, and several moments later, Pidge joined them. 

"What do you guys think Tuaste needs Shiro for?" asked Keith. 

"As long as they don't experiment on him, I don't really care," said Pidge. 

"Why would you care if Shiro gets experimented on?" asked Lance.

"Never mind," grumbled Pidge. 

"I wonder where Aensu went," said Hunk. "I mean, they found a replacement for both her and Eitim."

"She went off to be a guard to the Slyh Hefysha," said Keith. 

"How do you know that?"

Keith shrugged. "No reason." Was it Hunk's imagination, or was Keith blushing? Something didn't feel right, deep down in Hunk's gut, so he didn't push it. 

"My big question is," said Pidge, "is how any of us can pronounce any of these tribe names. They'r all something weird and crazy, like the Ibhe Htua, Ar Yehr, Slyh Hefysha, or... what was the last one?"

"Epcot Gegish?"

"Something like that."

"You're right," said Keith. "It is weird."

"You could say it's... incompronounceable," said Hunk, grinning. 

Different variations of "Shut up!" and "There's a door over there, Hunk," followed. 

"I can't believe I heard that with my own ears," moaned Lance. "That was awful."

Hunk chuckled. "Bad puns are a hobby of mine."

"Puns should never be anyone's hobby," said Pidge. "Let alone a hobby of yours."

"Though if anyone was going to make a bad pun, at least it wasn't Shiro," said Keith. 

"Spare us!" Lance shrieked. "The horror, the horror!"

They all started laughing, and Hunk pulled them all into a big hug. "I seriously love you guys," he said. "You're the best."

"Thanks, big guy," said Pidge, patting Hunk on the back. 

"Love ya too, man," said Lance. 

"This is awkward..." said Keith.

"Aaaand it's awkward now," said Lance, squirming out of Hunk's grip. "Gosh darn it, Keith, why do you always have to ruin stuff like this?"

"Let's please not argue," said Pidge, getting in between the two Paladins. "Guys. Come on. We have a day off. Let's spend it well."

Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith. "Hooking up with beautiful ladies?"

"Not that well."

Lance laughed and slapped Pidge on the back. "I'm kidding, Pidge. You know, I've always wanted to pick purple grass..."

Keith rolled his eyes, and Hunk could tell that Keith was trying very hard not to smile. So Hunk smiled for him. 

"Hey, guys, I have an idea," said Hunk. "What if we go around the city, and hang out with the people here? Get to know them a little bit, get to know their culture. It wouldn't hurt, right?"

"That sounds great, Hunk," said Keith, "but I don't think I will. I'm going to chill out back at the castle." 

Lance narrowed his eyes. "I was really looking forward to frolicking in the purple grass, but okay, I guess I'll join you, Keith."

Keith looked taken aback. "What? Look, you don't have to if you don't want to."

Lance held up a hand. "No. I'm joining you, Keith, and it's final."

Keith looked off in the distance like he was in The Office.

"I'm going to go see if any of the Ibhe Htua have any tech that I can mess around with," said Pidge. "I'll see you guys later?"

Lance shrugged. "Meet back at the castle around the third sunset?"

"Works for me. See ya!" Pidge raced off. 

"Let's go, Keith," said Lance. "An afternoon of chillaxing is just what I need."

"Go exfoliate yourself," muttered Keith.

"Didn't quite catch that."

Keith sighed, then shouted out, "Moisturize me!"

Lance looked at him in confusion. "You want me to moisturize you? Dude, you can moisturize yourself. Good-bye."

Lance stomped off. Keith sighed, rolling his eyes, and stomped off after him. Hunk smiled after the two of them, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. 

Since he had no friends to accompany him around the city, he wandered the streets, taking his time, just looking at everything. Before long, he got lost, though he didn't care. He wandered through streets filled with Toumians that would stare at him in awe. He just smiled and waved at them when that happened. Other times, he wandered through completely empty alleyways. He wasn't worried about getting mugged or attacked because first off, he was a Paladin of Voltron, and second, the city didn't have that kind of feel to it. 

Purple vines grew down the buildings, blooming with hundreds of varieties of flowers. None of them were purple, which was fine, but he saw several that were green. It felt weird, looking at green flowers, but only because he came from a planet where green plants was the norm. For the people on Toumia, purple flowers were probably just as weird. 

He wandered into a market, and was taken aback by the sounds and smells that suddenly engulfed him. The street was full of stalls and vendors, each crying out to sell their wares. Hundreds of Toumians milled around, all having an agenda. Hunk thought he saw several on dates. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, and froze. He smelled something that reminded him of Earth. His eyes snapped open, and he followed the scent all over the market. He didn't know how long he spent searching, but the smell finally lead him to an empty booth. "Hello?" Hunk called out. "Is there anyone here?" Hunk jumped several feet in the air when a long, thin alien with a beak-like mouth and a red head popped up from behind the booth. The alien had several chin-things, and eight arms. 

The alien screamed. Hunk screamed back at it. The alien screamed back. Hunk screamed, the alien screamed. 

"Who are you?" yelled the alien.

"Why do you have a German accent?" Hunk shrieked.

"AAAAAAAA!"

"AAAAAAAA!"

"Cut it out!" yelled one of the vendors. "You're scaring my customers away!"

"This alien is scaring me!" cried the alien

The vendor groaned. "Leave it to Gustav," he grumbled.

"Leave what to me?" asked the alien.

"Bah!"

The alien turned to Hunk and shrugged with his top two arms. 

"Who are you?" asked Hunk.

"Oh, great," the alien groaned. "Now you just split the timeline!"

"What?"

The alien sighed. "In this timeline, you asked who I was, but in the other timeline, you asked what I was! You've just caused the end of the known universe!" The alien grabbed Hunk's jacket and pulled him close. The alien's eyes were wide with fear. 

"What's the difference?" asked Hunk

"The difference?" The alien brought one of its hands up to its forehead. The tentacle-things on its chin quivered. "The difference is the survival of the known universe! Have you no sympathy?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm a Paladin of Voltron. I'd be the last person to cause the end to the universe."

"YOU HAVE JUST DOOMED US ALL!" yelled the alien, fainting. Hunk peered into the booth. The alien cracked one of it's red eyes open. "That was your cue to leave."

"Um... sorry?"

The alien groaned and closed its eye. "The timelines," he said after a while, "are completely ruined."

"What?"

"What, he says!" The alien sprung up. "How dare you come here and make these outlandish claims? You don't know about the timeline? Heresy, I say! I name you Heretic, Paladin of Voltron! Heretic, Heretic, Heretic, Heretic!"

"Hey kid, shut him up!" shouted another vendor.

Hunk turned to her, shrugging. The vendor rolled her eyes and climbed over her booth and stalked over to where the alien was flailing around, wailing about the timeline.

"Gustav, get a hold of yourself!" said the Toumian vendor. "Or do I have to get the spray bottle?"

The alien froze. "No spray bottle would be nice."

"Then behave. Have you even introduced yourself to the nice Paladin?"

Gustav hesitated. "No," he grumbled. 

The vendor sighed, and looked over at Hunk like, Can you believe this guy?

"Gustav..."

The alien groaned and lifted himself off of the ground and extended his limp, three-fingered hand to Hunk. "Gustav," said the alien, rolling his head around. 

"Hunk," said Hunk, grasping the fingers. 

"See?" asked the vendor. "Was that so hard."

"Yes," said Gustav. 

The vendor sighed. "Gustav is a drama queen," she told Hunk. "He's a genius, there's no doubt about that, but he's an annoying pain in the yalben."

"Not my yalben, I hope," said Gustav.

"Everyone's yalben."

Gustav glared at the Toumian vendor. "That was very rude, Syskea. It's not polite to talk about yalbens."

Syskea rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, "but don't blame me when TAC comes for you."

"TAC?" asked Hunk.

"Tactical Assault Corp."

"Oh."

"Oh, please," said Gustav, "I haven't been arrested by TAC in days. I'll be fine."

Hunk furrowed his brow. Syskea sighed. 

"Fine," she said, "but this is the last time I stick my neck out for you, Gustav." She turned to Hunk. "Good luck," she whispered. "I think Kmuln already called for them."

Syskea walked away and packed up her booth. 

"Good riddance," said Gustav, sticking his beak/mouth think out at her. 

Hunk stood there. He really didn't know what to do. "How many times have you been arrested by TAC?" he asked.

Gustav shrugged. "I lost count." He started busying himself with something underneath the booth. "Please leave. I'm busy."

"What have you been arrested for?"

"Disturbing the peace, trying to build a time bomb to reunite the timelines, arson -- though that one wasn't my fault -- theft, cheating -- that was fun -- forgery, starting a riot -- that was an accident -- bribery, lots and lots of bribery, identity theft -- no matter how many times I told them, my identity was stolen, so I just stole theirs! -- money laundering, shoplifting, vandalism, disorderly conduct, failure to appear for jury duty, jaywalking, loitering, mopery, disregarding public decency laws, impersonating someone on jury duty -- that's also when I was arrested for not going to jury duty, though that makes no sense -- prank calling, being a public nuisance -- that one pops up the most often, which is weird -- violated a restraining order, actually, three of them --"

"I get it," said Hunk, rubbing his temples. "You're a regular criminal."

"Actually... yeah, you're right. And I believe that you have exactly one minute and twenty-two seconds to leave this place before TAC comes and arrests me again." Gustav popped up, staggering while holding something big and heavy in his eight arms. "A little help, please?"

Hunk reached over and helped Gustav slam the big book onto the table. "What's this?"

"My arrest records. That's only the first one. I have three more, hang on..."

Hunk looked around, but the market was still as busy as ever. No signs of any Toumian SWAT teams. 

"A little help..." Gustav said, his voice very high-pitched. Hunk reached over and grabbed the book, straining to lift it onto the table. "Don't break the table, fatso!" shrieked Gustav. "This was a gift!"

"What, did you steal this too?"

"No, TAC gave it to me. Apparently I have the record for the highest arrests! So they gave this to me as a birthday present." Gustav lovingly stroked the rough wood. "Oh, and by the way, you have about three seconds to get out of here."

"Why?"

"Too late!"

"Halt, in the name of the law!"

Hunk spun to see a group of three Toumian SWAT team members rushing through the crowds of people. Screaming started, and Hunk froze. Gustav leapt onto Hunk's shoulders so that he looked like a mix between a hat and a scarf. "Run, run, run!"

Hunk didn't have to be told twice. With Gustav gripping painfully to his head, he sprinted as fast as he could out of the market. 

"Left!" screeched Gustav. "Right! No, not that right, your other right! Calculus almighty, are all Paladins this thick?"

"Stop talking," growled Hunk. This was the second time today he was being chased by Toumians, and he was not liking the experience. "Where are we headed?"

"Out of the city! Right!"

Hunk skidded to a stop. "Where out of the city?"

Gustav sighed, and it reminded Hunk of a tweenage girl. "Does it matter?"

"Actually, yes, it does. I need to stay here so I can train, and I just can't leave my friends behind."

"Well, I guess I can't fault being noble, though it's something that I would never do. Where do you need to go?"

"The Field of the Fallen. It's where some of my friends are."

"Are you kidding me? That's, like, on the other side of the city! I have half a mind to kick your yalben out of this team!"

"It's not a team if I'm doing all of the work!"

Gustav grumbled under his breath. "Fine!" he moaned dramatically. "Turn around then take the third right."

Hunk did so, still running. He followed Gustav's instructions to the letter, but it was only a matter of time that TAC would catch up to them. 

"Oh, look at that, they've got the entire chapter here," Gustav cooed. "How cute."

"The entire chapter of what?" panted Gustav.

"TAC."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it! We'll be fine, just keep running!"

"I can't keep running forever!"

"Not forever, just until you get out of the city!"

"And how far is that?"

"It's right up there!"

Hunk saw the eternity of purple grass blowing in the wind and a glimmer of something metallic. "I don't think I can run any more," he panted. "I'm exhausted."

"When the fate of the universe is at stake, do you just say, 'I'm exhausted, so I won't do anything else?'"

"Well, when it involves running, yes."

Gustav arched over Hunk's head and looked into his eyes. "No! Run, large Paladin! Burn the fat! Burn those calories!"

"I'm really starting to hate you."

"Oh, good, now you're just like everyone else. Onward, noble steed!"

Hunk groaned, and started jogging towards the Field of the Fallen and the castle. 

"Stop!"

"Keep running! I believe in you! You can do this! You're not going to be fat anymore!"

"Stop talking," panted Hunk. "Let me run in peace."

"Go, go, Hunk! Go, go, Hunk! Go, go, go Hu-unk, you know what they say! Hang in there Hu-unk, you'll make it someday! Don't give up Hu-unk, run till you drop, I've done the math and you come at on to-o-o-p," sang Gustav. 

"Stop!"

"I'm not speaking, I'm singing. Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go --"

Hunk roared and, somehow, found an extra reserve of strength within him to sprint the last hundred meters to the castle. Luckily, the pod was already down there, and Tuaste and Shiro were climbing into it.

"Hold the elevator!" shrieked Gustav, laughing maniacally. Tuaste and Shiro spun, and both were very shocked and confused. Hunk would have laughed at their expressions had he not run across the entire city carrying an alien with an insane criminal record while being chased by the Toumian version of SWAT. 

"Gustav, what in the name of the first masters are you doing?"

"Singing! Go, go, go Hu-unk, you know what they say! Hang in there Hu-unk, you've made it today!"

"What is this," said Shiro, looking confused and terrified. Hunk couldn't blame him. 

"Sha la la, Hu-unk, you did just fine to get me away from TA-A-AC --"

"QUIET!" Tuaste roared as the doors closed. She was glaring at either Hunk or Gustav; Hunk couldn't figure out who. "I have half a mind to throw you to TAC."

"Throw who to TAC?" Gustav asked sweetly.  Tuaste lunged for the alien and squeezed her arms around him. His face turned purple. "Uncle, uncle, uncle!"

"What are you doing in my city?"

"Actually, I'm not in your city. This nice Paladin has offered me sanctuary."

Tuaste whirled on Hunk, her eyes wild. "What does he mean that you offered him sanctuary? He's a public menace!"

"The Paladin was nice enough to help me get away from TAC," said Gustav, slithering out of Tuaste's grip and curling up on Shiro's head. "I love your frosted tips, dude. Very nice contrast."

Shiro shook his head to get Gustav off, but Gustav held on tight. 

"I don't even know what he means by I offered him sanctuary," said Hunk.

"Apparently, Gustav considers being on the Castle of Lions being under our laws of sanctuary."

"Go through the requirements of the law," said Gustav, still playing with Shiro's hair. "Every single one of them apply to me. I was brought here voluntarily, by someone who lives here, as a guest; I'm evading the law, which is a normal happenstance, in my case; and as soon as I leave, I'll be arrested by TAC again!"

Hunk thought steam would come out of Tuaste's ears. Her face was a dark, deadly shade of green, and she shot daggers at Gustav. "If I ever see you in my city again, I will deal with you personally. Is. That. Clear?"

Gustav gulped. "Yes."

Tuaste composed herself. "Then let us go into the Castle of Lions with our wits about us. Shiro and I learned many things that need to be shared with everyone."