Jeremy awoke with a jolt as his Echo Dot blasted “Make Way for the King” from his worship playlist. He groaned, rubbed his face, and muttered, “Alexa, stop.”
Silence. Then that familiar tug in his chest — the one he never ignored.
“Okay, God,” Jeremy said, sitting up. “What do You want?”
The answer came instantly, clear as if someone stood beside his bed:
Go to the world of Arus. The Galaxy Garrison soldiers have been fighting Prince Lotor and King Zarkon’s forces for years. Their main fighters are in their sixties and seventies now. They need rest. They need you.
Jeremy exhaled. “Voltron. Got it.”
A soft knock hit his bedroom door. Rose stood there, her rollator angled in the doorway, eyes wide and awake.
“Hey,” she whispered. “Couldn’t sleep.”
Jeremy nodded. “God just woke me up.”
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “Diamond told me you were being sent to help the Voltron Force, right?”
“Yeah.”
Rose pulled out her phone. “Diamond already called Zack. Cory said he’s not down to pilot a Lion, but Terry—”
Jeremy’s phone buzzed at the same time.
Terry’s voice came through the speaker, groggy but determined:
“Buddy… I’m in.”
Jeremy smiled. The team was assembling.
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Jeremy grabbed his phone and called his mom first. She answered on the second ring, sleepy but calm.
“Hey sweetheart… everything okay?”
“Mom, God woke me up. He’s sending me and the crew to Arus. The Voltron Force is worn out — they’ve been fighting for forty‑two years. They need rest.”
She didn’t even hesitate. “Oh honey, then you go help those poor people. You always do.”
“I will, Mom.”
Next was Grandma. She picked up with her usual soft voice.
“Oh, Jeremy… be careful.”
“I will, Grandma. Promise.”
By the time he hung up, the house was waking up. It was breakfast time.
Zack shuffled into the dining area, rubbing his eyes. “So… we’re gonna help the Voltron Force?”
Jeremy poured himself some water. “We’re gonna replace them. They’re in their sixties and seventies.”
Rose rolled her eyes as she parked her rollator beside the table. “Some of us are in our sixties and seventies.”
Jeremy nodded. “Yes, Rose. But you haven’t been fighting a war for forty‑two years straight.”
Rose blinked, then laughed. “Good point.”
Pastor Dave clapped his hands together. “Alright, breakfast roll call! What kind of cereal does everyone want?”
Jeremy, sitting at the second table, raised a hand. “Fruit Loops with marshmallows.”
Terry, also at the second table, said, “Apple Jacks.”
David Grimes — one of the backup pilots — was already halfway through a bowl of something plain. Sue, the other backup pilot, sat at the first table with a granola bar and her coffee, looking like she’d been awake for hours.
At the fourth table, Rose had Lucky Charms, David had his Cheerios, and Zack was crunching through Honeycomb like it was fuel for a starship.
The room felt like a strange mix of Sunday breakfast and pre‑mission briefing. Everyone was awake. Everyone was ready.
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Jeremy found Pastor Dave in the kitchen, already halfway through prepping the next pot of coffee.
“Pastor,” Jeremy said quietly, “God’s sending us out again. To Arus this time. The Voltron Force needs relief — they’re worn out.”
Pastor Dave didn’t even blink. He’d been through enough of these missions with Jeremy to know when it was serious.
“Alright, buddy. Your mom and grandparents know you’re gonna be away for a while?”
“Yes,” Jeremy said. “They understand.”
Pastor Dave nodded. “Good. If they need humanitarian aid — food, medical supplies, anything — you let me know. We’ll do what we can from here.”
“I will.”
Jeremy headed to the garage where his portal rig was stored. The flat cart was already loaded: his tech cases, his clothes, the tools he always brought on multiverse missions, and a canvas bag with the essentials he didn’t trust to pack anywhere else.
He powered up the portal generator. The rings hummed, lights flickering in a familiar rhythm. A swirling blue‑white vortex opened, shimmering like water standing upright.
“Alright,” Jeremy said, gripping the cart handle. “Arus.”
He stepped through.
The air changed instantly — cooler, thinner, carrying the faint scent of metal and ancient stone. And there it was.
The Castle of Lions.
Tall. Silent. Majestic. Its towers gleamed under the alien sun, just as he remembered from the old show — only now it was real, towering over him like a sleeping guardian.
Behind him, the portal rippled as the rest of the crew prepared to follow.
A new mission had begun.
Nanny stepped forward, hands clasped, eyes wide as she looked over the newcomers who had arrived to relieve the Galaxy Garrison.
“They’re blind,” she whispered.
Jeremy smiled gently. “Yes. But we’ve navigated dimensions that make this universe look tame.”
Rose nodded beside him. “We just helped the Straw Hats in Wano.”
She shuddered slightly, the memory still raw.
“I still can’t believe those poor people in Ebisu Village… they were given Smile fruits as apples. Nobody told them what they were. And now they can’t show negative emotions. They can only smile and laugh through the pain.”
Allura blinked, horrified. “What? What are Smile fruits?”
David stepped forward, voice low and steady. “Ghastly things. Artificial Devil Fruits. They were supposed to give people powers — Zoan transformations. But only ten percent worked. The other ninety percent… their emotions were stolen. They can’t cry. They can’t get angry. They can only smile while suffering.”
Nanny gasped. “That’s terrible.”
Allura’s face hardened, her voice trembling. “It’s monstrous.”
Jeremy nodded grimly. “Yeah. And it’s thanks to that rat bastard Kaido and his subordinate Orochi. But Luffy put an end to that regime.”
He clenched his fist, jaw tight.
“If Lotor ever gave his citizens Smile fruits — if he learned how to make them — I’d punch that turd square in his soul.”
The room went silent.
Even the Lions, deep beneath the Castle, rumbled in agreement.
Jeremy continued, hands moving as he explained. “So Devil Fruits are these fruits that give special powers — but at a cost. You can’t swim anymore. Everyone thought Luffy had the Gum‑Gum Fruit, but it turns out he’s got a mythical Zoan type called the Nika Fruit. But that’s neither here nor there.”
He looked around at the battlefield outside the Castle.
“I see a lot of robot carcasses,” Jeremy said quietly. “A lot of war‑scarred regions.”
He turned back to the Voltron Force.
“And honestly? If Lotor is going to use robot soldiers… why shouldn’t we? The Voltron Force handles the big‑ass robeasts, but robot soldiers could help protect civilians. Keep people safe.”
He pointed toward a shattered Drule mech half‑buried in the dirt.
“And how long has it been since the Lions were upgraded? Some of that tech hasn’t been seen in decades. We don’t even use mainframe computers anymore. We use servers. Or desktop PCs.”
Allura blinked, confused. “No mainframes? You have gone beyond mainframes?”
Jeremy nodded. “Mainframes are slow and clunky. Servers are better — faster, more powerful.”
Allura looked stunned, like someone had just told her the universe was round for the first time.
Meanwhile, Nanny was still stuck on the earlier part of the conversation.
“So these… Devil Fruits,” she said slowly. “They give powers but take away the ability to swim?”
Rose nodded. “Yes. And the artificial ones — the Smile fruits — were even worse.”
Allura’s eyes widened. “Smile fruits?”
David stepped in. “They were artificial Devil Fruits. Only ten percent worked. The other ninety percent turned people into… well, victims. They couldn’t cry. Couldn’t get angry. They could only smile and laugh through pain.”
Nanny covered her mouth. “That’s terrible.”
Allura’s voice trembled. “It’s monstrous.”
Jeremy’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. And it’s thanks to that rat bastard Kaido and his subordinate Orochi. But Luffy ended that regime.”
He looked toward the horizon, imagining the worst.
“If Lotor ever gave his citizens Smile fruits — if he learned how to make them — I’d punch that turd square in his soul.”
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Zack crossed his arms and added, “Straight in his soul.”
Allura actually chuckled at that — a soft, surprised sound. “Oh, I like that. Straight in his soul.”
Nanny huffed, hands on her hips. “Someone needs to punch that blue‑faced freak straight in his soul. He still thinks he has a chance with Princess Allura.”
Jeremy snorted. “He has more of a chance of going straight to hell.”
Nanny blinked. “You do not hold back.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Why the heckity hoo‑ha should I? I’m saved, but I’m not soft. I’m kind, but not nice. If the world doesn’t like me, that means I did something right, yuh!”
He paused, realizing what he’d just quoted. “Sorry — that was Christian rap.”
Nanny waved a hand. “No, don’t be. I like that.”
Allura looked between them, amused and bewildered. “You all speak so strangely… but with such conviction.”
Hunk leaned toward Keith. “I kinda like them.”
Keith nodded. “Yeah. They’ve got fire.”
Sven added quietly, “And purpose.”
The Lions rumbled again beneath the Castle — louder this time, like they were listening… and approving.
Jeremy folded his arms and stared at the metal Lion keys like they personally offended him.
“I always wondered… keys. Why stay with physical keys? Keys can be copied. Keys can be stolen.”
Allura blinked, genuinely curious. “What would you have used instead?”
Jeremy snorted. “I can think of at least ten things more secure than physical keys.”
He held up his fingers and started counting down:
10. Passcodes — a ten‑digit PIN. 9. Passwords — uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols. 8. Fingerprint scanner. 7. Retinal scanner. 6. Face scanner — like in smartphones. 5. Two‑factor authentication. 4. Mobile phone as a key. 3. Key fobs. 2. A combination of three or more of those. **1. All of the above PLUS a one‑time email PIN backup.”
Allura’s jaw dropped a little. “You… you use all of that? For everyday machines?”
Jeremy nodded. “Yep. And for giant war robots? I’d use even more.”
Pidge’s glasses nearly slid off his face. “That’s… that’s incredible.”
Hunk leaned over to Lance. “Dude, their world is wild.”
Lance muttered, “I feel like a caveman.”
Allura looked at the key in her hand — a literal metal key — and then back at Jeremy.
“Your world has truly surpassed ours.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Mainframes and metal keys are ancient tech. Servers, biometrics, encrypted access — that’s the modern standard.”
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Allura said, “Pidge, don’t you think we should get them settled in first? They’re probably tired.”
Rose shook her head. “No, we literally just portaled in from our dimension. We only walked five feet.”
Allura blinked. “Portal tech… you have portal tech? That’s how you travel between dimensions?”
Jeremy nodded. “Yes.”
He bent down, grabbed a few intact parts from old Drule mechas scattered nearby, and held them up. “And is there a way I could set up a—”
Hunk cut in with a grin. “There’s already a workshop in the basement.”172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH78Nw1Oa57
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Jeremy threw his hands up. “Bruh, I didn’t even get my thought out and Hunk over here is reading my mind like a damn GitHub repo README.md file.”
Rose chortled. “They know you without knowing you, darlin’.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
Pidge pointed at him. “You can tell he’s a tech head.”
Lance smirked. “He’s a nerd.”
Jeremy grinned proudly. “Yes, I am a nerd. A Neat Educated Radical Dude.”
Zack groaned. “Jeremy… that line never works.”
Hunk slapped his knee. “Yo, I rez with that. Straight up, homie.”
Jeremy pointed at him. “See? Hunk gets it.”
Lance muttered, “I still think it’s a nerd thing.”
Pidge nodded. “Definitely a nerd thing.”
Allura blinked, confused but amused. “Is… ‘nerd’ a title of honor in your world?”
Jeremy smirked. “In my world? Absolutely.”
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Nanny clapped her hands sharply. “Enough. I think they’ve earned their place here. We need to let them get their gear stowed.”
Keith straightened. “Yes, Nanny.”
Pidge nodded quickly. “Yes, Nanny.”
Hunk raised a hand. “Yes, Nanny.”
Sven bowed his head. “Yes, Nanny.”
Lance muttered under his breath, “Old crone…”
Nanny’s head snapped around. “What was that?!”
Lance froze. “I mean— yes, Nanny.”
She bopped him on the head with surprising force for a woman her age.
“That’s what I thought,” she said primly.
The group was led into the Castle of Lions. The massive stone steps loomed ahead.
Hunk glanced at Jeremy’s flat cart. “Oh… yeah, that’s not getting up those stairs.”
Jeremy sighed. “Figures.”
Hunk grinned. “Oh well. I got this.”
He scooped up Jeremy’s PC tower like it weighed nothing and carried it up the steps.
Lance followed behind, carefully holding Jeremy’s monitor. “Yo, your TV legs are loose.”
Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, I never got them screwed in. I need screws.”
Nanny stopped mid‑step. “Hold up. I’ve got tiny screws.”
She reached into her bag — the kind of bag that somehow contained everything from cough drops to a full sewing kit — and pulled out a small container of assorted screws.
Jeremy blinked. “Nanny… why do you have those?”
She sniffed. “Because I’m prepared. Unlike some people.”
Hunk laughed. “Man, I love her.”
Lance rubbed the spot where she’d smacked him. “Yeah… she’s terrifying.”
The crew continued up the stairs, carrying gear, tech, and the kind of chaotic energy the Castle hadn’t seen in decades.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5wqDpzKLS
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and then Add to home screen.