Chapter 1

Allura had warned them that this planet's inhabitants had a rather gruesome habit when it came to death, especially those of enemies or people in debt. How it worked, Pidge didn't particularly want to know, but they used a ritual that would turn lifeless corpses into zombies beholden to those who'd reanimated them. There was a whole range of classifications for how long different zombies were allowed to be active before their masters had to let them return to death, as well as an entire section of their legal system dedicated to handling cases of zombie misuse.

It was not one of Pidge's favorite planets.

And by the end of their day there, she could easily claim it was one of Shiro's least favorites.

Why?

Because, apparently, when the bodies of aliens crashed onto their planet and expired, it was within the rights of any scavenger to reanimate that corpse with no legal ramifications. Which was how they came to encounter Sendak again.

What was left of him, anyway.

Crashing onto a desert waste within the remains of his cryo pod had not done the Galra's looks any favors, as his remaining arm was more than a little shredded, while there were a couple holes in his torso that went all the way through. The native who'd reanimated him was the very same one Pidge and Shiro were bartering with to get some cloth for making new clothes, since everyone aboard the Castle was ready for a change of outfit that wasn't of Altean design. Understanding that the pair of paladins wanted a variety of colors, the alien yelled for someone called 'Onesie' to bring out another crate of samples. Pidge yelped and Shiro stiffened when the rather gruesome looking Sendak emerged from the back room of the shop, crate in hand.

Shiro's next response was to yell and attack.

In all honesty, Pidge couldn't blame him.

The merchant, however, could.

Not just for attacking his zombie, but also for subsequently knocking a Sendak-sized hole in the wall of his shop.

Outside, quite a few people stopped in shock to see Shiro pummeling the zombie, though others screamed and ran. That was what caused Pidge to snap out of her stupor and charge after the black paladin.

"Shiro! Stop!" She yelled, grabbing at her leader's right arm. "He's a zombie, a dead mindless zombie! He can't hurt you anymore!" Unfortunately, Shiro seemed to be caught in a flashback, as his hand lit up with purple energy in preparation for the next blow. Pidge, holding on, screamed as she got burned through the material of her gloves.

That got Shiro's attention, jerking him back to the present. "Pidge-?!" The green paladin staggered back a step, gasping sharply at the pain in her hands. "Oh no, Pidge, I-"

"What you think you are doing!" The merchant bellowed, waddling right up to Shiro and flapping his six arms about. "You think you intimidate me into giving you better deal?!"

"No, that's not-"

"He was our enemy!" Pidge shouted at the alien, getting his attention and determined to keep it. "Your minion was our enemy, one who hurt us badly. My friend thought he would hurt us again."

"He cannot hurt again, he dead!"

"It was an automatic response!"

"Hhn! You must pay for damages now, to store and to minion! Or I press legal charges! Onesie, come!" Sendak's body shifted to an upright position and shuffled off after the irate merchant, back towards the cloth store. Shiro, meanwhile, stared at his injured teammate. Before he could make up his mind over whether to thank or berate her, a low, thrumming siren approached, heralding the arrival of the town's police force...