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"How did Honerva get the Olkari cubes,” Pidge asks worriedly. “Last time we saw them, they were on Olkarion.”“Merla tells me that Honerva sent a robeast there to get them,” Allura states. “However, none of them are sure what happened as they were not the ones sent.”“I am unsure as to what occurred either,” Lotor admits. “Evidently Honerva kept things even from me.”“All the more reason why we should go check on Olkarion,” Shiro remarks. “The Olkari have been our strongest allies in this war. We need to make sure they’re ok.”“Unfortunately, Atlas cannot travel just yet,” Allura tells him. “We are still in the process of transferring the Altean civilians to Earth as well as all of the Garrison officers sitting in our brig.”“Then Voltron will go,” Keith states. “We’re in the best position to do reconnaissance and we can travel fast.”“You would not have Atlas’ support,” Allura frowns.“It can’t wait!” Pidge exclaims.“Pidge is right, Allura,” Lance tells her gently. “The faster we get to Olkarion, the faster we’ll learn what happened and can possibly help them.”“Besides, Voltron is stronger than it’s ever been,” Keith assures her. “We’ll be fine on our own.”Allura still looks hesitant.“If it pleases you,” Lotor begins. “Perhaps I could accompany them. The Sincline is more than capable of keeping up with Voltron.”“Alright…” Allura reluctantly agrees. “Let us know what you find.”The Paladins quickly suit up and get to their Lions while Lotor gets to the Sincline.“Paladins, if we want to get to Olkarion quickly, there’s only one way to do it,” Keith states once they’ve all left the Atlas.They quickly form Voltron.“Engage wings!”He and Lance form the booster pack and with the Sincline riding beside them quickly teleport to Olkarion’s solar system.“We’ve got incoming!” Pidge says two seconds after they arrive. “Something big is headed our way at an incredible speed!”“A Galra cruiser? Some kind of weapon?” Lance guesses.“Is it one of Honerva’s remaining robeasts?” Shiro asks.“Shield up!”They quickly form Voltron’s sword and shield as they turn around.Suddenly a huge creature comes into view.“What the heck is that thing?!” Lance asks.“It’s a Weblum!” Hunk exclaims. “Keith, look! We’ve been inside one of those!”“How could I forget?” Keith remarks.The weblum starts to open its mouth.“Um, what’s it doing?” Pidge asks.“It’s creating scaultrite!” Hunk exclaims. “Pidge, you would love it! It’s this amazing chemical process-…”“Science talk later!” Lance interrupts him. “We’re in its line of fire!”“Thrusters!"They move out of the way seconds before it fires a beam.“Should we go on the offensive?” Lance asks.“No.” Hunk tells him firmly. “They may be dangerous, but they’re essential for the universe. Think of them like giant space bees. Keith and I learned all about them from a video Coran made. There was some rule like, “If you don’t want to be killed, stay away from its gills”?”“That wasn’t the rhyme,” Keith corrects him. “It’s “if you don’t want to be dead, avoid its head”!”“We do not have time to listen to you rhyme!” Lotor cuts in.Hunk giggles.“Lotor, you just-…”“Hunk!”“Where’s that weblum going anyway?” Shiro asks, trying to hide a smile.“According to my calculations, it’s heading towards…”There’s dread in her voice as she continues.“Olkarion.”“Then we’d better get there first!”They form the booster pack once more and zoom past the weblum with Lotor close behind.Once they arrive, they split back into Lions and begin their descent into the clouds of Olkarion. The sight that meets them is a grim one.Everything is in ruins.
The planet itself looks like its dying.They quickly land and have a look around.“They were our allies…”Pidge sounds like she’s on the brink of tears.“Our friends…”Shiro walks up and rests a comforting hand on her shoulder.“Paladins.”Everyone looks at Keith.“I know this is a difficult moment, but we need to get to work. That weblem is headed here right now, so time is short. Our top priority is search and rescue. If there are survivors, we need to find them, and we need to find out exactly what happened here. Lotor, you scan from above in the Sincline. Lance and Hunk, you two search the city. Pidge, Shiro, and I will search the forest base.”After several hours of searching, Lotor finds the crater.“Impact crater identified.”“Physical wreckage and destruction patterns are just like those on Earth,” Lance chimes in.“Our findings are the same,” Shiro comments.“It would appear the quintessence was siphoned out of Olkarion as well.”“I took readings,” Hunk adds. “I picked up trace elements of Psyferite, the same metal the Altean robeasts are made from.”“I don’t get it,” Shiro comments. “Other than the cubes, why completely destroy Olkarion of all places?”“That I can unfortunately answer,” Lotor begins, sounding guilty. “The planet's central role as chief ally to the Coalition made it a vulnerable target.”“Right now, we just need to focus on finding survivors,” Keith tells them all.“Pidge, have you picked up anything?” Shiro asks from his section of what's left of the forest.Pidge doesn’t respond.“Pidge, do you copy?” Keith tries.They double back to her location and find her staring at a clearing in the forest that looks like something crashed there.“Pidge?”“I know this place… This is where Ryner taught me how to bond with the forest when we first met the Olkari. The Olkari people helped me make that connection. I learned more from them than I ever thought possible.”Shiro puts a comforting hand on Pidge’s shoulder.“Shiro, they had so much to teach the universe, and now they’re gone.”Pidge drops to her knees in tears.As Shiro stands beside her while she cries; Keith suddenly hears a child’s laugh that draws his attention back to the clearing.Suddenly, the forest looks just as it did the last time they were there.Keith can see two little girls laughing and playing with what looks like a ball.Then as suddenly as it came, it disappears; making Keith stumble backward.“Keith?”Shiro steadies the younger man.“Are you alright?”“D… did either of you just see that?”“See what?” Pidge asks him.Keith looks back at the clearing.“The forest... For a second, it was how it was before. There were two girls playing.”“Like a vision?” Pidge asks.“Maybe the planet’s trying to show you what happened here,” Shiro suggests.“The Olkari did have a profound connection with the land. Their history is etched into the very soil,” Pidge states.Keith gets an idea.“Hang on a minute.”Keith closes his eyes and focuses.When he opens his eyes, he’s in the forest as it was once more, watching the little girls playing.Suddenly there’s a sonic boom. Keith turns and sees a fireball of purple quintessence falling from the sky just like what happened on Earth.“We need to get to the city!” Keith tells Pidge and Shiro.They use their jetpacks to travel to the city’s center and land on the roof of a building within view of the crater.Keith watches as the fireball impacts, creating the crater. As he looks around he sees…“Ryner.”“You see Ryner?” Pidge asks. “What’s she doing?”Keith watches as the robeast drives its double blades into the planet.Pidge and Shiro watch as Keith shields himself from something they can’t see.“I need to get closer!”He flies toward the ground near the crater. After a few tics, they follow him.Keith lands on a building closer to the ground as the robeast continues its attack.“Get civilians to evacuation pods and launch them immediately!” Ryner says. “Have all military personnel report to battle stations.”Keith lands near them as Ryner continues.“Scramble the mechs for counterattack.”Ryner then turns and seemingly looks right at Keith.“Come with me!”Shiro and Pidge land just behind Keith.“Ryner… it looked like she was staring right at me…” Keith tells them. “Or maybe it was the soldiers…”he turns back to them.“I don’t know…”“All the answers we’re looking for could be right here,” Shiro states. “We may be able to find out if anyone got off the planet.”“I don’t get it,” Pidge says. “I’m the one with the connection to nature AND the spirit of the Olkari in me. Why are you the one seeing it?”“Maybe it has something to do with how Keith was able to sense the Blue Lion?” Shiro guesses.“If there’s a clue here about there being survivors, I’ll find it," Keith tells her.“Guys,” Hunk cuts in through the coms. “We have a, um-… We have a major problem here.”“Hunk released some low orbit trackers outside of Olkarion on the way in,” Lance explains. “The weblem just set them off. We have about 10 minutes to evac!”“We can’t leave yet!” Pidge exclaims.“How long do you think you can hold it off?” Shiro asks.“Hold it off? It’s a giant space worm! We can’t hold it off! What are you talking about?!”“Keith just found a way to find out what happened here,” Shiro explains. “But we need more time.”“New plan,” Keith says firmly into the coms. “Lotor, Lance, Hunk, try to buy as much time as you can!”“Understood!”The Red and Yellow Lions follow Lotor into orbit to hold off the weblem as Keith sits down and focuses.Keith opens his eyes and sees a large number of pods lifting off Olkarion as the Olkarion military makes its last stand against the robeast.“A good number of evacuation pods were able to get off the ground and out of orbit,” Keith tells Pidge. “I’m not sure where they went yet, but my guess is a neighboring planet or moon.”“So if there are survivors, they aren’t on Olkarion.”Pidge breathes a sigh of relief.Keith sees the mech suits rush past him then to attack the robeast before seeing Ryner standing nearby.“We need to preserve the information from the communications tower! Keep the beast at bay as long as you can!”Keith turns toward the tower she’s pointing at before flying up to the top of it with Pidge and Shiro close behind him.“Transfer all data from this facility to a safe location off planet!” Ryner orders the engineers from the ground. “Then evacuate immediately!”“Understood! I’ll transfer it to the emergency backup storage on the moon of our nearest neighbor; the gas giant Regantu. The Intel we have is vital to ending this war.”Keith watches the engineer type something into the computer as the robeast turns toward them and powers up its cannon. He sends it tics before a blast destroys the tower, killing everyone inside.Keith groans as his legs suddenly buckle from exhaustion.Shiro immediately catches him.“Keith!”“Are you ok?!” Pidge asks, genuinely.It takes Keith a tic to answer.“The Olkari had intel for us...” Keith tells them weakly. “They... transferred it to the storage unit on the moon of the gas giant nearest to Olkarion.
Its called Regantu.”“I know where that is!” Pidge exclaims.“Keith, Shiro, Pidge!” Hunk says over the coms. “I’m sorry, but you’ve gotta get out of there immediately!”“I need more time!” Keith tells Pidge and Shiro.“I’m gonna go up to help and see if I can tap into that moon from here.”Pidge runs to the edge of the building and jumps off two tics before Green flies into view.“Are you alright?” Shiro asks Keith as he helps his boyfriend stand again.“I think so.”Keith closes his eyes to focus once more.He sees the robeast destroying the city.He looks down from the building and sees Ryner loading the last evacuation pod with civilians.Keith jetpacks down to the ground for a closer look with Shiro close behind.“Hurry! Everyone on board!”Keith watches the beam from the robeast’s cannon cut through a huge group of Olkari fighters like it’s nothing. He then watches the robeast take the Olkari cubes and leave.Keith turns when he hears a little girl crying and sees one of the girls from before hugging Ryner.“I’m scared! I don’t want to leave!”Ryner gets down on the child’s eye level.“We mustn’t cling too tightly to the past,” Ryner tells her sagely. “The Olkari have always been able to adapt and move forward. It is our greatest strength and it will live on in you.”“But our home…” “The old must give way to the new. It’s the way of the universe. Now, please. Go.”The little girl hugs Ryner before getting on the evacuation pod.Keith watches from beside Ryner as the last of the pods gets away before everything returns to the present.“Shiro! Keith! Are you there?!” Pidge asks over the coms. “We can’t hold this thing off anymore! You guys need to get out of there!”Keith stumbles a little, leaning heavily on Shiro.“That… took more out of me than I thought it would...” “Are you going to be ok to fly Black?” Shiro asks him.“As long as we don’t teleport… or get in a fight…” Shiro gets an idea.“Hang on a tic,” he tells Keith.Shiro quickly pulls Keith closer and wraps the younger man in his arms; his prosthetic hand against Keith’s cheek. The prosthetic starts to glow with quintessence that quickly flows into Keith’s body; drawn in by his natural ability to absorb quintessence.Soon, Keith is able to stand on his own again.“What did you just do?”“I gave you some of the quintessence in the Balmera crystal in my arm,” Shiro explains. “It’s not enough to bring Atlas to life anymore, but it does give me plenty of quintessence to spare now.”The Black and Blue Lions arrive for Keith and Shiro then.They quickly board their Lions and fly to join the others.“There they are!” Hunk says. “The planet is clear!”“Everyone fall back away from the Weblum!”The Paladins and Lotor all comply and watch from a safe distance as the Weblem fires its laser into Olkarion’s core.Soon, the entire planet breaks apart and the Weblem starts to eat.“It’s… It’s all gone…” Lance comments sadly.“I’m sorry Pidge,” Shiro tells her."Indeed, my condolences."“I wish we could have done more,” Keith tells her honestly.“Thanks everyone.”“If you think about it,” Hunk begins, “this really isn’t the end of Olkarion. Weblems eating is just the first step in a process that leads to the growth of new stars, planets, and galaxies.”Keith breathes in sharply.“Death is the parent of life… The old must give way to the new…” “What?” Lance asks.“Something my Pop used to say,” Keith explains. “Coupled with something I heard Ryner tell a little girl before she put her on an evacuation pod. Pop used to say that destruction might seem like an end, but it’s really a beginning. Volcanic eruptions might destroy a forest, but volcanic soil is among one of the most fertile soils to grow stuff in. Same with a flood plain. They kill off all the old growth so that new growth can grow in its place.”A calming silence passes over them.“We need to contact the Atlas,” Pidge tells them.“Why?” Lance asks.“Because it turns out the Olkari weren’t done teaching us a few things,” she explains. “The intel I got from the moon of Regantu will save billions of lives.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

On the Atlas, Allura opens a transmission from the Paladins and Lotor.
“Atlas… we know how Honerva got the Olkari cubes,” Keith says.
“Is Olkarion ok?” Coran asks.
“No,” Keith says mournfully. “Olkarion is gone.”
“No…”“Are the Olkari themselves alright?” Allura asks.
“They’re fine,” Keith tells her. “A good number of them managed to get off Olkarion before it was completely drained of quintessence. We were able to locate them on one of the neighboring planets in their system.”

“We were able to acquire Intel from Olkarion that they believed to be vital to ending this war,” Lotor adds. “We are sending it to you now.”
Atlas gets the Intel.
“We need to rendezvous to figure out what to do next.”
Coran searches for a tic.“The Baltuf Nebula would make a good rendezvous point for both of us.”
“Send us the coordinates, Coran,” Keith says. “See you soon.”
~ The day they’re to rendezvous with Voltron they receive another transmission from Keith.
“Atlas, we’ve had some technical difficulties. We’ll be delayed.”
“Copy that,” Allura says. “How long?”
“We’re still assessing that,” Keith tells her. “Might be a few hours. We’ll keep you updated.”
“Roger that,” Allura tells them.~“Coming up on rendezvous point, straight ahead,” Pidge says.They come to a planet with heavy black and gray clouds. The six of them land to find a planet that’s basically one giant volcano.“Anyone else find it odd that Allura changed our rendezvous point to this place?” Hunk asks.“I’m reading high CO2 and low oxygen in the atmosphere,” Pidge points out. “We’ll need our suits to breathe if we go out there.”“I’m not going out there.” Hunk tells her flatly.There’s a sudden beeping.“They’re here,” Keith says as they see the Atlas pull up. “Atlas, we have a visual.”Suddenly, the Atlas changes into a Galra cruiser.“Paladins! Get airbourne immediately!” Keith orders. “This is a trap!”The Lions and Sincline try to run but the cruiser fires a beam that slams the six of them to the ground and pins them.“It’s just like when we were caught by those pirates!” Hunk says.“We’re about to be captured again!” Lance says.“Emergency ejection!” Keith commands.All six of them eject from the Lions and Sincline before fleeing into the forest.“Atlas, come in!” Shiro calls into the coms as a fighter fires on them.“Atlas, we’re under heavy fire!” Keith coms as well.“The Atlas isn’t receiving our communications!” Pidge states.They take cover in a heavily wooded area within sight of the ship and its beam.“That beam has the Lions and Sincline pinned!” Hunk says.“We must have been set up,” Lotor deduces.“But by who?” Shiro asks.The cruiser releases a drone that quickly tracks them down.“Guys, we have incoming.” Pidge tells them. “It’s closing fast.”Suddenly, the drone open fires on their exact location, forcing them to run once more.“We need to lose it!” Hunk says as they run.“Isn’t there anything we can do to throw it off our scent?!” Lance asks.“Yeah, I’ve got an idea,” Pidge says. “But I need a dobosh.”“I’ll buy you some time.”Hunk pulls out his upgraded bayard and open fires on the drone. Lance quickly joins him.Shiro covers Pidge with his shield while she types something into her suit’s computer.“Got it!”Pidge stands up.“It shouldn’t be able to detect us anymore.”“Then let’s get out of here,” Lance says.For a moment, the drone looks like it lost them. Then after a while it finds them again and fires again.“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…” Hunk says as they all take cover somewhere else.“We need something to draw its attention!” Keith says.“I’ve got it!” Shiro tells him before climbing up on the ridge behind it and throwing his shield, knocking into it. The drone looks back right before Keith spins his sword at it, destroying it.“Huh, good job, Keith,” Lance says as Keith calls his bayard back to him as Shiro picks up his. “I mean, I was just about to do that, too, but that’s cool.”Keith makes a face before calmly giving Lance the middle finger.“I might be able to hack into it,” Pidge says.Several doboshes later, they’re all standing around it as Pidge examines it.“This is Galra tech, but it looks like it’s been infused with Olkari elements,” Pidge says. “The subatomic micro-filament is single modulated before it goes through its attenuator. Wow!”“Yeah, so its pretty amazing, huh?” Hunk asks her.“Yeah.”“Oh, look at that. Its single modulated, not double modulated. Huh.”“Oh, shut up, Hunk!” Pidge tells him before continuing. “This thing has been locking onto our key encryption protocol that’s built into our suits and bayards. They even have your suit, Lotor.”“How is that possible?” Lotor asks. "Other than myself, the only others who would know would be my generals."“I don’t know,” Pidge tells him. “Only a genius could do it.”“Can’t we just turn off our suits?” Lance asks.“Negative. And if the drone had our encryption protocol, then so does that cruiser and anyone on it. If we want to avoid detection, we need to lose our suits and bayards.”“Remove our armor?” Shiro asks. “In this place?”“Has anyone read the atmosphere?” Hunk asks. “Oxygen low, CO2 high. We’re not gonna last long. A few hours, tops. We need our suits to survive.”“Yeah, at this point, we’ll survive longer without them,” Keith states.“So keep our suits on and risk getting blasted, or take our suits off and try to live long enough before dying from the poisoned air,” Lance says.They watch as six or seven pirates exit the ship.“OK, new plan. We’re splitting up,” Keith says. “Shiro and I will keep our suits on long enough to lure them away so you four can make for the Lions and the Sincline.”“Understood.”~Back on the Atlas, Acxa is using the firing range when she notices Veronica standing in the firing lane next to her shooting.“I know you have little trust in me, but your constant presence is tiresome,” Acxa tells her bluntly. “If you have a problem, let us end it now.”“Acxa, it’s not that I don’t trust you,” Veronica tells her.“Then what is it?”“Honestly, I just wanted to get to know you,” Veronica tells her.Acxa raises an eyebrow.“By sneaking up on me on a firing range?”“I didn’t sneak up on you!”“Only because I am always aware of my surroundings.”“Look, I’m sorry that I may have been following you around. It just looked like you could use a friend. I know from personal experience how hard it can be to fit in sometimes.”“I spent my entire life not fitting in,” Acxa tells her as she looks away. “I’m used to it.”“Right,” Veronica says.“I was an outcast, born and bred in war,” Acxa tells her. “The only way I survived was to become worse than my enemies.”“I don’t care what you may have done in your past,” Veronica tells her. “I know there’s more to you than that.”“But some people only see Galra, and I understand why,” Acxa states. “Sometimes even I question if my people have the ability to change.”“You're also half human," Veronica reminds Acxa.
"Regardless, by choosing to join the Coalition, you’re living proof that it is possible. I guess… I wanna get to know the Acxa who turned her life around. I have a feeling everyone would like that person.”~“Are we sure the Lions are this way?” Pidge asks.“Every direction looks the same,” Hunk points out.“Oh, what I’d give for a GPS right now,” Pidge whines.“We cannot allow ourselves to panic,” Lotor tells them. “Clearly we have relied on technology for far too much. We must focus if we are to get out of here.”“What do we do?” Hunk asks.“Our Lions are that way,” Lance comments pointing to their left.“How do you know?” Pidge asks. “Do you have a scanner you’ve been hiding?”“No, I just looked at the volcano.”Lance indicates the huge volcano looming above them."It was on our left when we came in, so I put it to our right side, and that’s the way out.”“Ingenious Lance!” Lotor compliments him.“I have my moments,” Lance tells him.“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Pidge comments.“Hey!” Lance says indignantly.Suddenly they’re getting fired at and start running.“More drones?” Lotor asks.“No, look!” Lance says pointing out the pirates shooting at them from the trees.They take off running and the pirates give chase.Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet crumbles out from under them and they fall. Lance and Lotor get separated from Pidge and Hunk.“They’ve split up! Stay on their trail. Get them!”~On the Atlas, they receive another transmission from Keith while Acxa is on the bridge.
“Apologies for the delay,” Keith says. “We’ve experienced a glitch in navigation. I will have to get back to you.”
“Something is not right,” Acxa whispers to Veronica and Allura with a frown.“Everything ok out there, Keith?” Veronica asks. “Do you need help from the Atlas?”
“No assistance required, thank you. Lance will figure it out.”
Veronica snorts.“Right, Lance the navigation genius,” Veronica jokes sarcastically.
“Affirmative.”
Axca and Allura share a frown.“How long have they been delayed?” Allura asks Iverson.“They should have arrived when we did.”“Something is definitely not right,” Acxa says.“Look at this,” Curtis says suddenly. “It looks like their frequency is pinging off a decoy. I’m intercepting it now.”Suddenly, a whole bunch of distress calls from the Paladins and Lotor come in all at once.
“Atlas!"

"This is an emergency!"

"Atlas, come in!"

"We’re under attack!"

"It was a trap!”
“All hands on deck immediately!” Allura commands angrily.~Shiro and Keith head up the side of the volcano together with their suits still on, two of the pirates hot on their trail while two more are hunting Pidge and Hunk.“You think I forgot about you, tiny Paladin?” one of them calls after them. “I’ll make you pay for what you did to me!”Eventually, they collapse to the ground, breathing heavily.“We need to hurry...” Hunk says between gasps for air. “They’re right behind us...”“The CO2 is poisoning us by the minute...” Pidge wheezes out, “....and we don’t know where we’re going... We can’t keep running...”“Okay, what do we do?”“We have to make a stand.”The pirates follow them into a wooded field.“Your brother isn’t here to help you this time,” one of them taunts Pidge. “And I’ve upgraded since we last met.”He pulls out an energy whip as they walk forward.Suddenly, a log swoops down at them, forcing the two pirates to jump apart. Their laugh is soon cut short when their feet trigger two snares carefully placed where they jumped.“Whoa! Alright! Nice work!” Hunk says between gasps for air.Pidge picks up the tracker one of them dropped and quickly locates the Lions.“Found the Lions... This way...”As they head for the Lions, Lance and Lotor run out of a different exit to the cave.“Ok... if my volcano logic is correct...” Lance pants. “The Lions should be on the other side of this--…”Suddenly a pirate pops out of the thicket of thorns they’re running toward and punches Lance in the face.“Lotor, get out of here!” Lance tells the half Altean. “Get to the Sincline! Go!”Suddenly, Lance notices Lotor isn’t there anymore.“Looks like he left,” one of the pirates taunts him.“Don’t worry, we’ll find him for you,” the other one says.Lotor suddenly jumps out from the shadows where he hid and punches the pirate with his prosthetic before throwing him into the other one.“Thanks,” Lance tells him.Lotor nods.“So, no hard feelings about me being with Allura now?”“What I feel of it is irrelevant,” Lotor tells Lance as he helps the Paladin up. “It is Allura’s choice to be with whomever she wishes, not mine. And I was with her under a false pretense. Noble as my intentions were, such could only breed mistrust; even if we were to get back together. So long as she is happy, as am I.”“Sorry I gave you a hard time back then... you’re not that bad.”“I have long ago come to the conclusion that it is... how does Keith phrase it... you being you,” Lotor tells Lance with a half-smile.The Atlas suddenly appears overhead.“Oh my God, that’s a beautiful sight!” Lance exclaims.“That’s where the ghost protocol is emanating from!” Veronica tells Allura pointing at the Galra cruiser.“Hit them with an electro-magnetic pulse!” Allura commands.The beam hits the cruiser, forcing it to crash.“Yeah!” Hunk and Pidge both cheer before they start coughing and gasping for air.After rescuing Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Lotor, they retrieve the pirates and the Paladin armor.“Sophisticated hacking and jamming abilities. Impressive,” the Pirate tech compliments. “It’s nice to find others on my level.”“It is terrific,” Allura comments sarcastically. “Now where is your leader?”“I don’t know. I lost her signal when you attacked,” he tells her. “But she’s out there somewhere hunting the Paladin you call “Keith”.“And who exactly is your leader?” Acxa asks.~On top of the volcano, one of the two remaining pirates spots two sets of Paladin armor side by side; one red and one black with gold.She moves to attack them, only to discover it’s just the armor.She turns around right as Shiro punches her in the face.Keith continues to climb the volcano, panting for air. He climbs up on a ledge and comes face to face with the pirate leader.The leader removes her helmet.Keith gasps.“Zethrid?”“You took Ezor from me!”She attacks Keith, who dodges before pulling out his Blade.Shiro reaches the ledge as Zethrid attacks Keith again and Keith blocks her. Zethrid dodges the swing of Keith’s blade before grabbing his wrist and kicking him across the flat surface of the ledge toward a bed of molten lava. Their fight is moving too fast for Shiro to help as Zethrid continues to land punches, making Keith tumble toward the edge of the cliff over the lava bed.Shiro swings at her but is thrown to the side.Keith dodges another attack from her, making her destroy a bolder that was behind him. Keith attacks her again, but she grabs his blade and punches him; making him tumble even closer toward the lava.Keith pants for air as he looks at her.“I don’t know… what you think I did...”“You took away everything and now my face will be the last one you see!”Zethrid attacks Keith again. Keith cries out from exertion as he swings his sword at her, but she catches it.She quickly disarms him before grabbing him by the neck and lifting him into the air.“Keith!”Shiro moves to help him, but suddenly starts coughing and gasping for air as he collapses to the ground; his body succumbing to the atmosphere.“Now you’ll feel what I felt!”Zethrid pulls Keith into a choke-hold and turns so they’re facing Shiro.
"We're going to watch as your "friend" here suffocates to death."“No!”Keith tries in vain to fight against Zethrid to get to Shiro. He tries desperately to use his abilities on her but her hold on his neck coupled with his oxygen deprivation prevents it.“Takashi! No!”Each cry Shiro hears from Keith sends a crack into his heart as he gasps for air; looking up at the man he loves more than the stars.Suddenly, one of the MFE jets flies by, drawing Zethrid’s attention.Shiro looks up and immediately recognizes James' MFE.'Oh thank God...'The rest of the MFE’s quickly converge onto their location.Shiro watches Zethrid pull a gun as Allura and Acxa arrive while Iverson and Sam run to him and start to administer air.Shiro can hear the MFE fighters talking through Iverson's com.“Does anyone have the shot?”“It’s too risky!”“Zethrid, don't do this!” Acxa tells her. “It is over! You are surrounded.”“You think this deters me, Acxa?! I welcome death, now that Ezor is gone!”Shiro’s blood turns to ice.Nothing is more dangerous to a hostage standoff than a hostage taker with a death wish.Acxa removes her helmet.“Zethrid, I know you hurt. Ezor hurt too.
She would not want this for you.”“Stop!”“Hear my words!” Acxa tells her. “Remember how we first met. We were all so full of hate and rage, half-breeds rejected by the Galra. Now’s your chance to break the cycle… with me, for Ezor.”“There's nothing left for me! I’m too far gone!”Shiro watches Zethrid flex the arm she has around Keith’s neck, making him let out a silent gasp of pain followed by a choked sound.Shiro glances at the gun on the right side of Iverson’s belt.“Wait! Please!” Acxa pleads. “Do not let the rage control you!”“All I have left… is revenge!”The moment she moves to point the gun toward Keith’s head, a shot rings out before it even gets close. It cuts through Zethrid’s shoulder, forcing her to drop Keith.Everyone but Keith looks and sees Shiro still kneeling on the ground but now holding the gun he grabbed off of Iverson’s belt in his left hand; oxygen mask still on his hardened face as the gun’s barrel smokes.Zethrid stumbles off the side of the cliff, but Keith grabs her hand; preventing her from falling into the lava.Together, he and Acxa pull Zethrid up and over the ledge to safety.~Back on the Atlas, Zethrid's arm is treated and wrapped before she's taken to the brig.
As she sits in the brig with her Olkari tech, Acxa and Lotor approach her cell."So the prodigal prince has returned with his tail between his legs!" Zethrid mocks.
"Or is it emperor?
I can't remember.""I suppose I deserve that," Lotor comments acceptingly.
"Though I am not an emperor or a prince or even a savior anymore... At least for the moment. Now I am merely Lotor.""I have nothing to say to either of you! You waste your time.""Your anger toward us is warranted," Lotor tells her."But we refuse to give up on you," Acxa tells her."Furthermore, there is someone else who feels the same," Lotor concludes.The two of them step to the side as Ezor uncloaks herself, now sporting an eye patch."Ezor?!" Zethrid asks in disbelief. "But, how? I held your dead body in my arms after the explosion!"Acxa puts a hand on her hip."Apparently my brother is not the only one who neglects to look for a pulse before assuming someone they love has been killed in an explosion..." Acxa deadpans.She looks back at Zethrid and explains.
"After the Paladins and I parted ways, I returned to the ship soon after to find Ezor badly injured but still alive.
I tended her injuries as best I could before taking her somewhere to get better treatment.
Then I brought her with me to Earth and she's been here ever since."~It’s late before Shiro’s released to return to his quarters.
Everyone else has been released already, save for Pidge who med bay wants to keep overnight to ensure her heart transplant has no ill effects from her breathing the poisoned air.He’s sitting shirtless on the side of his berth in white sweatpants when he hears a knock at the door.“It’s open.”Keith steps into Shiro’s quarters wearing a black tank top and red PJ pants.“Hey, I’d heard you got releas-… whoa!”Keith stops in his tracks and looks around.Shiro catches Keith’s gaze and realizes this is the first time Keith has been inside Shiro’s quarters.Unlike Keith’s and the other Paladins’ quarters which are basically glorified officer’s quarters with shoots to the Lion hanger, Shiro’s is a full captain’s suite with a lounge area with shelves between the door and bedroom area, a more spacious bathroom on the other side of the room from the door, and a desk built into the wall between his bathroom and the shoot down to the Lion hanger. Unlike the Paladins' quarters, Shiro's has not one, but THREE windows behind the couch as well as a large dome-like window over the head of the berth. Unlike the others’ berths which are twin sized and sit sideways under a small, flat window, Shiro’s is a queen sized berth with a large, wide arch over most of it. Where the Paladins have a dresser built into the wall, Shiro has a full size closet with a sliding door.
There’s a long, narrow ledge built into the arch where Shiro puts the arm and shoulder port of his prosthetic when he takes it off at night and while his prosthetic is waterproof, there’s another such ledge so he can remove it to shower.It’s a lot nicer than the others’ (Allura’s berth does have a princess canopy around it, but Shiro has a sneaking suspicion that was Lance’s doing).“It’s good to be captain,” Shiro tells him wryly.Keith recovers quickly and moves to sit next to Shiro on the berth.“How are you?”“Great! Nothing like nearly suffocating to death to get the blood moving, right?” Shiro jokes dryly.“No ill effects from the planet’s atmosphere?”“A little tired, but med crew cleared me,” Shiro assures him.Keith gives him a reassured smile as he gently caresses Shiro's face with his hand.“I’m glad…”Shiro leans into the touch.“How about you?”Keith looks back at the floor.“I was released an hour after we got back. Apparently being part Polluxian gives me the ability to breathe CO2 and carbon longer than humans.”“That figures… but I wasn’t referring to the air.”Shiro gently caresses the bruise forming where Zethrid had her arm around Keith’s neck.Keith places his hand over top of Shiro’s and looks up at him.“I’m ok, Takashi. You saved me. Nice shot, by the way.”“I’d shoot her again in a heartbeat…”Keith smiles softly as they press their foreheads together. They stay like that for a long time.All too soon, Keith pulls away.“I should let you rest…”Shiro sees right through Keith as he moves to leave.Shiro knows he wasn’t the only one who nearly had to watch the other die. If Allura and the Atlas crew hadn’t found them... if they hadn’t gotten Shiro air in time…Yet still, Keith doesn’t seek the comfort he desperately wants and needs for Shiro’s sake. Knowing Keith, that’s the true reason he’s here; to assure himself that Shiro is ok. Shiro sees it clear as day and understands why Keith still can’t bring himself to ask for it, even now.
However Shiro made a vow, as both a Paladin and Keith’s boyfriend, to give Keith the love and support Keith has been denied for so long, to let Keith know he's allowed to be vulnerable and scared; a vow he fully intends to keep.When Keith stands to leave, Shiro catches the younger man’s wrist."Wait..."When Keith turns and looks at Shiro, Shiro gently pulls him closer and wraps his arms around the younger man’s waist in a gentle embrace with his cheek pressed against Keith’s stomach.Keith cards his fingers through Shiro's white hair as he wraps the other arm around him."Takashi?"Shiro tries to put every ounce of charm in his voice as he looks up at Keith“Stay…Please…”“I…”Shiro gently buries his face against Keith’s stomach before lifting the front of Keith's shirt.“Stay…”Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's skin. He gently guide’s Keith down so Shiro can caress Keith’s lips with his own; softly, tenderly.It doesn’t take much persuasion for Shiro to pull Keith down until he’s straddling Shiro’s lap and burying his hands in Shiro’s hair as they kiss.“For a moment,” Shiro murmurs to him softly between slow, deep kisses, “we both thought… we were going to lose each other… both thought… we were going to have to watch helplessly… as the other died… yet still… you take care of me.”Keith gasps softly in their kiss as Shiro continues.“Always giving… never asking… you hold my heart… in the palm of your hand… just as I know… I hold yours in mine.”Shiro pulls away looks up at Keith as he gives Shiro what Lance has dubbed the “kicked puppy” look. He caresses Keith's face with his left hand and presses their foreheads together.“I’m always so worried about you… But I know... I know you were just as scared for me as I was for you."Shiro captures Keith’s lips with his own once more, slowly, deeply as their tongues dance. He slides his hand under Keith’s tank top and hears Keith’s breath hitch.
Keith gasps against Shiro’s lips as Shiro caresses his skin gently.They pull apart and Keith lifts his arms so Shiro can pull the tank top off of him. Shiro tosses it onto the floor as their lips meet once more. He trails his lips down Keith’s jawline to his neck where he places open mouth kisses along Keith's now bare neck and shoulder; coaxing soft gasps from Keith. Shiro trails his lips back up to Keith’s and captures them once more.Warmth pools in the pit of their stomachs as their tongues dance.Shiro’s prosthetic trails down to squeeze Keith’s ass, drawing another hitch from him before trailing his lips back down again. Shiro sucks a bruise into the base of Keith’s neck and hears Keith gasp and groan as he grips Shiro’s hair and shoulders.“Takashi…”Shiro trails his lips back up to kiss the other man's lips once more.
Their hearts are pounding in their chests when they finally pull away.Keith's hand is on Shiro's face as he remains close enough for Shiro to feel Keith's breath on his lips.“I love you so much, Takashi.”Shiro smiles adoringly at Keith as he moves his human hand to cover it.“You mean everything to me, Keith…”Shiro takes the hand into his and turns into it to softly press a kiss into the palm. He then softly captures Keith’s lips once more.
In a slow but smooth motion, Shiro turns them until Keith is laying on the bed beneath him.“Is this ok?” Shiro breathes into his lips.“Yes…”Shiro laces his fingers with Keith’s and marvels at the way Keith’s hand fits perfectly in his.Right before tenderly capturing Keith's lips, he breathes.“Let me take care of you…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A personal camera turns on.“Hello. This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE Pilot. The time is 0600 hours, its day 121, and this is a glimpse at day-to-day life aboard the IGF Atlas.”The shot changes to Kinkade brushing his teeth.“Last night, I unpacked my video gear and decided to document the crew.”Kinkade spits.“I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera.”~The shot changes to Kinkade running on a treadmill.“Back home, people asked me why I liked recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say…”Kinkade makes a blank face and grunts.~The shot changes to Kinkade doing pullups on a bar in one of the ship’s training decks.“…28, 29, 30.”James Griffin suddenly inches into the shot.Romelle suddenly appears really close to the camera.“Are you recording? Why?” Romelle wonders.“Kinkade has always been, uh… an individual who’s most comfortable observing and reflecting on life,” James tells her kindly. “Being a fighter pilot was actually his backup plan.”~The shot changes to Kinkade in the locker room.“It’s true… I learned to shoot with a camera before I learned to shoot with a rifle. I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am.”~The shot cuts back to the gym as the camera approaches Lance running on a treadmill listening to music.As the camera gets closer, it can hear Lance singalong.“If you wanna be my lover… you gotta get with my friends… make it last forever… friendship never ends… If you wanna be my lover… you have got to give… taking is too easy but that’s the way it is!”Lance notices the camera then and takes his earbuds out.“Oh, hey Kinkade. Romelle said you were running around with a camera.”“Just doing a documentary on the crew...”They suddenly hear a commotion coming from the sparring area.They walk over to investigate and find Shiro and Allura sparring each other with a ring of spectators. Allura’s fighting with a staff, Shiro with a pair of tonfas.They quickly find Rizavi standing with Keith, Hunk, Pidge, Romelle, and Lotor.“This is so epic!"She pitches her voice to sound like an announcer."Crown Princess Allura vs Captain Shirogane! Who will win?!”
She turns and sees the camera.“You’re really shooting another documentary? Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.”“That was actually about the process of fermentation,” Kinkade corrects her. “Yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon diox-…”“Boring!” Rizavi interrupts him. “Okay, look, if this little documentary is how history will remember us, I’m gonna help you spruce it up!”Rizavi snaps her fingers.“And this sparring match is an excellent way to start!”She looks directly into the camera.“So, Pidge and I have a wager going on who will win. My bet is on the Captain, hers is on the Crown Princess. So far everyone who wanted to join in is betting on the Captain.”“What about you guys?”Kinkade points the camera at the other Paladins.“Who’re you betting on?”“Definitely Allura,” Lance says from beside him.“Aw… Loverboy Lance standing with his girl!” Rizavi teases.The camera turns to...“Hunk, Romelle, Lotor, what about you guys?” Rizavi asks.“Allura,” they say in unison.“I’m noticing a trend here…” Kinkade is heard pointing out.“Ugh… ok….”Rizavi turns to…“Keith! Leader of Voltron, The Captain's own second-in-command!” Rizavi says as the camera points at Keith. “Who’re you betting on? The Captain, right?”“No, I’m going with Allura,” Keith tells her plainly.“Wow, Keith’s betting against his own boyfriend. That’s cold.”Rizavi squirms a little as Keith looks her dead in the eye.“If Takashi were watching this fight, he’d be betting on Allura too.”“You know what, I’m going to have to throw my vote in with the Crown Princess as well,” Kinkade comments.Rizavi looks at the camera.“Wow, seriously?!”“Think about it, Rizavi. Every single person present who knows the both of them the best is betting on the Crown Princess. I think that’s pretty telling.”The sparring match continues for 15 doboshes as the two exchange blows.That is until Allura disarms Shiro and knocks him flat on his back with one swift motion.Her staff makes a low POW! sound as it hits the mat an inch to the left of Shiro’s head.Allura stands over him.“You lose, Shiro!” Allura tells him cheerfully as she helping Shiro up.The camera pans to Rizavi’s gawking face.“Hope you didn’t bet money on that wager.”Pidge walks into the shot adjusting her glasses.“She did in fact.”Pidge holds her hand out to Rizavi.“Pay up!”Rizavi sighs and hands her some money as Allura and Shiro walk toward them.Pidge collects money from everyone close to them until she has a small stack in her hand before looking at the camera.“Now if you’ll excuse me. I have more money to collect.”Pidge walks off to the spectators further away from them.“Ah! Pidge won another bet I see,” Shiro remarks, watching her walk off as Keith hands him his water pouch.Rizavi points a thumb at Keith specifically.“Not against any of these bozos,” Rizavi grouses.Shiro laughs.“Wouldn’t expect them to. Allura always kicks my ass when we spar; especially if she’s using a polearm of any kind.”Allura drinks from a water pouch Lance gave her before looking at Shiro.“You lasted much longer this time.”“That's what she said!” Pidge’s voice is heard yelling from somewhere off camera, getting a snort from the humans present.Suddenly, they all hear a song start playing from the pocket of Allura’s workout pants.“I’m a boss ass bitch…bitch… bitch…bitch… bitch… bitch… bitch… I’m a boss ass bitch…”“Lance, did you change the music on my alarm again?” Allura asks him sounding both amused and annoyed.“What?! It’s the perfect theme song for you!”Allura just rolls her eyes in amusement as she leaves with the camera following her out.The camera pans back to Lance staring after Allura with hearts in his eyes.“You sure know how to pick ‘em,” Kinkade tells him.Kinkade can practically see hearts coming off of him.“I love a girl who can kick my ass…”“To be fair, that’s not a high bar…” Keith sasses him with a mischievous grin.Keith and the others laugh as Lance silently gives Keith the middle finger without looking away.~The shot changes to an hour later in the mess hall with Rizavi walking up to Keith and Pidge sitting next to each other eating breakfast.“Any updates on that thing I asked you to help me with?” Keith asks her.“Unfortunately, no,” Pidge tells him. “A lot of Earth’s record systems were completely destroyed when Sendak invaded. I’ll keep looking but it’s like finding the tiniest needle inside an enormous haystack inside a barn that’s on fire so it’s kind of impossible.”“If anyone can do the impossible, it’s you Pidge."“Hey, guys!” Rizavi interrupts suddenly, drawing their attention. “Whatcha talking about?!”They look at each other before answering.“Paladin stuff.”“Ok…”Rizavi doesn't sound like she’s buying it but decides not to press.“So, catch us up on what’s going on; mission wise?”“Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grei-Aye system where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled robeast,” Pidge explains.“Those things are pretty dangerous, right?!” Rizavi asks her.Pidge raises an annoyed eyebrow at Rizavi.“Do I need to explain that the Alteans are our allies now and that there are currently five of those robeasts in one of our hangers right now?”“Er… no, that’s ok,” Rizavi tells her awkwardly.“Ok, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the robeast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.”Rizavi groans.“Ugh! Ok…”She then turns the camera to Keith.“Keith! Why don’t you tell us about the dangers of this mission?”Keith raises an eyebrow of his own.“Well…every mission has some inherent dangers,” Keith points out first before continuing. “For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the robeast. Even if it’s not fully functional, it could still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with a hostile pilot who likely doesn’t know the Alteans have switched sides and you have potential threats on multiple fronts.”Hunk walks into the shot and notices the camera.“Hey guys! What’s up?” Keith and Pidge turn to look at him. “You making a movie? Cool! Can I be in it?”Hunk then thinks of something.“Unless this is an action movie. Then I don’t want to be in it.”“Hunk, we’re trying to do an interview, here,” Rizavi tells him in annoyance.“Sorry, my bad. Just wanted to come by and see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with.”The camera zips over to Hunk as he opens the platter in his hands, showing a round cake.“This is just the first pass,” he says. “The final version is coming soon.”Bae Bae suddenly starts jumping into the shot whimpering.“No, Bae Bae! Not for you!”The camera pans to Hunk’s feet where Bae Bae is sitting and begging.“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Hunk apologizes to the dog. “I’ll make you some dog treats later.”“What’s the recipe?” Kinkade asks. “Can we watch you work?”“Well, yeah!” Hunk tells him. “Yeah! This’ll be great! I’ve always wanted my own cooking show.”“What! No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and its dangers! We’re not losing that to document cooking!” Rizavi exclaims.“But... I like cooking,” Kinkade tells her.“It’s like you’re trying to make this boring,” Rizavi whines.“Whoa, first of all, cooking isn’t boring, okay?” Hunk begins. “And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.”Suddenly, the alarm goes off.“Everyone, report to your battle stations immediately!” Iverson says over the intercom.Suddenly, the camera rocks as the ship takes a hit from something.
The camera and Rizavi get knocked to the ground while Iverson repeats his message.Rizavi looks at the camera as Kinkade helps her up.“The camera!”“Leave it! We need to go!”“But this is gold!”The ship takes another hit.“Come on!”The camera rolls into the hallway right before Lance and Shiro run through it in their Paladin armor.Bae Bae comes into the shot then and picks up the camera in her mouth before running to a pair of doors. The doors close and a reflextion in the metal panel on the door shows that Bae Bae is in a lift.
The lift brings Bae Bae up to the Atlas’ Bridge.The doors to the bridge open for Bae Bae and she runs in, camera pointed straight ahead.“Where did it come from?!” Allura asks from her post. “Veronica, we need to see it!”“That thing just appeared out of nowhere!” Coran is heard saying.Bae Bae runs around to the front of the bridge and looks out the window at something with tentacles.“Iverson, fire when ready!” Allura tells him.“Target acquired, we’ve got lock!”The tentacles suddenly disappear.“Wait, no… we lost it! Target has gone dark!”“Electromagnetic radiation from that planet is overloading our radar,” Veronica is heard saying.“Voltron, do you have a visual?”Allura looks ahead as Voltron moves into view.“I repeat, Voltron, do you have a visual?”“Not yet,” Keith’s voice is heard over the coms. “We’re going in now! Standby!”Voltron then forms its sword and disappears into the cloud cover in front of the window.“We can’t see a thing in here!” Lance is heard saying.“Copy that!” Griffin is heard over the coms. “We have zero visibility as well.”“We need a visual,” Shiro is heard saying through the coms.“Roger, trying another avenue,” Curtis says. “Scanning for biometrics.”Suddenly the outline of what looks like a squid becomes visible.“Visual acquired!”“Incoming!” Coran shouts.The creature turns and fires a blast at the Atlas that makes Bae Bae drop the camera and run away whimpering.The camera faces the door as the voices of the bridge crew are still heard along with a roar.“What is that thing?” Iverson asks.“It’s massive!” Coran remarks.“Iverson, open fire!” Allura commands.A blast is heard followed by a roar right before the mice come into the shot.“Direct hit!” Coran exclaims as the mice roll the camera. “It’s coming back around for another shot.”“Veronica, prep the shields!” Allura commands right before the camera goes rolling down the ventilation into the engine room where Commander Holt and Slav are floating around.“Whatever hit us just knocked loose the gravity generator!” Commander Holt says. “Grab the flaxum assembly!”“I can’t do that! It’s red!”“Is this one of your crazy probability reality things?"The camera gets knocked out into the hallway by floating debris as Allura talks over the intercom.
“All crew, report to stations and prepare for Atlas transformation in 10 tics!”
Bae Bae floats by and grabs the camera in her mouth as she passes.“Bae Bae, what are you doing out here?” Dr. Holt’s voice is heard asking after a few seconds. “And what’s this in your mouth?”Dr. Holt’s face comes into view.“A camera?”She turns and drops the camera.“Come on girl!”“All crew, p repare for Atlas transformation sequence in five…”“Oh no.”Dr. Holt grabs Bae Bae and floats with her into the bio lab.
“Four, three, two, one.”
The camera’s battery light starts blinking red as the Atlas transforms and attacks.The camera points out a window and the last thing it sees before its battery dies is Voltron pulling out a blazing sword and moving in for the kill.~The camera turns on again back in Kinkade’s quarters.“Camera’s fully charged! We’re good to go!”Kinkade looks in the camera.“The time is now 0900 hours. We just experienced a minor mishap aboard the IGF Atlas, but we’re back on track. In the future, we’ll hopefully be avoiding creature-occupied gas giants.”~The shot cuts to Kinkade floating down the hallway just outside the kitchen when Rizavi comes into the shot as he’s getting into the lift.“There you are! Tell me this thing was recording during the attack!” she exclaims as she gets in with him. “That was so intense! This documentary is going to be so awesome!”The lift doors open into the Paladins’ private lounge where Griffin is sitting on the back of the couch watching the Paladins play what looks like a game with Romelle, Coran, and Lotor.“Hey guys, what are you playing?” Kinkade asks.“It’s a really neat game Coran introduced us to a while back,” Hunk tells them from his spot to the left of Pidge. “It’s called Monsters and Mana.”“You create a character then play as that character as you go on an adventure,” Pidge tells them.Rizavi groans.“So basically, space DnD.”"I'm the Lore Master," Coran states. "Though Romelle wants to learn how to be the Lore Master so she's my Co-Lore Master."“Most of us already have characters,” Hunk says. “For example, I’m Block, a human sorcerer.”“I am the mystical elven archer Valleyoon,” Allura tells them from her spot next to Lance.“I’m Meklavar, a dwarven ax wielding fighter,” Pidge chimes in from Shiro's left.“I’m Pike, a catfolk thief,” Lance says from Keith’s right.Rizavi makes a face.“You’re a thief? Aren’t you a little loud to be a thief?”“Actually, that’s an effective form of misdirection,” Keith tells her. “While you’re focusing on how much you want him to shut up, he’s stealing your shit.”Lance raises an eyebrow at Keith.“You know an awful lot about how to do illegal shit.”“Oh you sweet summer child…” Griffin deadpans as Shiro nods.Keith raises a teasing eyebrow at Lance.“Lance, you seem to be having a hard time comprehending the whole “I’m a spy” thing.”“Oh, fuck you!” Lance says back as they laugh.Pidge gasps and covers Shiro's ears.“Whoa! Lance! Watch your language, Ok! There’s a six year old present!”Shiro raises an amused eyebrow.“Is this payback for all the times I used to tell you to watch your language when we were on the Castle of Lions?”Pidge laughs.“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to use that one…”“Ok!”Kinkade points the camera at the whole table again.“So, what about you three?”“Sadly, I was not present during their last game but Keith invited me to join in and I cannot say I was not intrigued,” Lotor tells them from Allura’s right. “I am half-elf wizard Rotol.”“Technically, my clone was the one who played last time, but he seemed to have fun so I thought I’d give it a shot,” Shiro tells them. “I liked the character my clone made though so I decided to keep it.”“Which is?”“A human paladin named Takashi.”Rizavi groans again.“A self-insert character? And aren’t you already a paladin in real life?”“That’s what I said!” Coran exclaims.Shiro throws a mischievous grin at the mustachioed Altean.“Honestly, I mostly kept it a paladin because it annoys Coran so much.”“You little quiznaker!”“What about you, Keith?”Kinkade turns to the man on Shiro's right.“What’s your character?”Keith doesn't look up from the table as he speaks.“Like Lotor, I didn’t get to play last time since I was with my Mom on a space whale at the time. I’m a tiefling named Yorak.”Keith holds up his character, showing figure with a lute."I’m a bard.”“A... a bard?!” Rizavi sputters. “You picked a bard?!""Yeah," Keith confirms.
"It looked like a neat class.""Do you even know how to sing or play an instrument?” Rizavi asks.Keith crosses his arms.“I thought this was a high fantasy game? Why the hell would I have to know either of those?”"Er..." Rizavi stammers.“Actually, Keith’s a pretty good singer,” Shiro remarks. “He also plays the piano pretty good too.”“I can vouch for the singing,” Griffin confirms.“Oh, really!? Sing something!” Rizavi insists eagerly.Keith keeps his arms crossed and raises an eyebrow at her.“Do I look like a jukebox to you?”“Sorry Rizavi, but hearing Keith sing is an honor strictly reserved for those he’s dating,” Griffin tells her with a grin.Rizavi looks at him.“Then how do you know about it?”“How the hell do you think? We dated for a while.”Hunk and Lance hand some money to Pidge.“Wait, really!? When?! What’s that like?! I need details!”“Nope! I never kiss and tell.”“Nooo!! You’ve gotta give me something!” Rizavi whines.The doors leading to the hallway to the bridge opens then and Matt walks through the doors.“Hello everyone! I got twice as attractive since you last saw me!”“Two times zero is still zero, Matt,” Pidge deadpans without looking up from adding her new bet winnings to the large stack with the others from earlier that morning.Most of the room dissolves into snickers and laughs.“Need me to hit you with Blue’s ice beam for that burn?” Shiro asks him.“Shut up, Shiro!” Matt says with a laugh.~The camera cuts to Rizavi in front of Commander Holt and Slav.“Welcome to the engine room,” Commander Holt says. “What you see here is just a tiny part of what keeps the ship functioning.”The camera pans across the computer screens before cutting to Slav.“Slav, you’ve created some incredible technology,” Rizavi begins. “What do you think of the Atlas?”“I can respect any engineering that extrapolates for transmutation, but I wish the writing was in Altean…”“He’s mentioned that a few times,” Commander Holt tells them in annoyance.“So what are you doing now?” Rizavi asks.“Right now we’re about to adjust the gravity generator, which was fractionally increased during our last battle,” Slav explains.“Yes, our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever changing depending on the specific needs of the location, so it requires re-calibrating from time to time,” Commander Holt explains. “Okay, adjust the gravity generator back down to .12”“Copy, adjusting now.”Slav presses something and suddenly, everyone cries out in surprise and the camera turns upside down.“What did you press?!”“I don’t know! Which one is the 2 again I can’t read these weird symbols you call numbers!”Slav looks at Kinkade.“Hey, big guy, toss me over!”Kinkade give Slav a little shove and Slav presses a button that turns the gravity back on.Slav looks behind him and goes pale.“Oh no! Directly on a crack!”“Weird…” Kinkade mutters.~The camera cuts to a hallway inside the Atlas. Rizavi’s face comes into the shot.“Ok, so I managed to steal the camera from Kinkade so hopefully we’ll get some good shots mingled in here before he catches up with me!”The camera goes into Pidge’s lab where she’s working at her work bench as a heavy metal song is heard blaring through her speakers.“I’m hand of God… I’m the dark messiah… I’m the vengeful one!” Pidge is heard singing along. “In the blackest moment… of a dying world… What have you become!”She sees Rizavi then and lowers the volume.“Oh, hey. What’s up?”“Nothing, just wanted to see what you’re working on,” Rizavi is heard saying.“Mostly an upgrade I’m making for Keith’s Paladin bracelet,” Pidge tells her as the camera pans down to the workbench to see a black bracelet with red glowing bands on it.“What’s the upgrade?”“Well, Hunk told me that glowsticks help calm Keith when he’s having an Autistic meltdown. So, I’m modifying the glowing bands on his Paladin bracelet to start glowing neon green like one when Keith is starting to have one. Hunk is also helping me make a kindof eternal glowstick shaped like an Atlas rocket for when Keith isn’t wearing his bracelet. I already modified his helmet to muffle ambient sounds as well as extremely loud noises.”“Aw… that’s so sweet!” Rizavi says genuinely.Pidge just shrugs.“I did the same things for Lance’s dyslexia and Hunk’s motion sickness, so it’s not that big of a deal.”Bae Bae suddenly appears with a ball in her mouth and gives a muffled bark.“Oh, hey Bae Bae! Wanna fetch the ball?”Bae Bae barks eagerly when Pidge takes the ball. She throws it and Bae Bae chases after it out into the hall.“I’ll let you get back to work,” Rizavi tells Pidge before running after Bae Bae.~The camera cuts to Bae Bae in the hallway looking at Kosmo with the ball in her mouth.Bae Bae turns her head to the side before putting the ball down and nosing it over to Kosmo before taking up a playful stance in front of the space wolf. Kosmo quickly takes up a playful stance with her and the two start to play with the ball together.“Oh my god, it’s so pure!!”The ball bounces down the hall and the two run after it through an open door at the end of it.Rizavi chases after them with the camera showing Bae Bae leaving the room without Kosmo.
She stops and hides outside the door when she hears voices in the room.“Are the Alteans still avoiding the crew,” Keith is heard asking.“Unfortunately yes,” Lotor is heard responding.Rizavi looks at the camera before holding it out a little to look in the door.Inside the room are Keith and Lotor leaning against the railing of the observation deck with Keith petting Kosmo absentmindedly.“For the most part, they have endeavored to remain in their quarters for the time being. I believe they fear persecution for the atrocities Honerva’s manipulated them into committing.”“I wish I could tell you their fears are unfounded, but that’s necessarily true,” Keith tells him.“An honest answer, if not a comforting one.”“What about you? Everyone treating you ok?”“Nothing I have not endured before, I assure you.”“Still, if anyone threatens you; tell me, Shiro, or Allura and we’ll handle it.”“I appreciate the offer. I must admit, it is… difficult… being amongst the Galra once more. I despised them for so long for the way they and my father treated me.”“Mom and Acxa told me that Galra kids were raised communally,” Keith says.“For the rest of the empire, that is correct. For the only child of Emperor Zarkon and the person he himself claimed was his only weakness however, such was not the case. Cannot allow the prince to be raised alongside “peasants” after all. His words, not mine. I had a governess before I was set into the military.”“I’m guessing that was worse than it sounds?”“I was kept isolated and alone with no one but my governess and Kova to talk to; with the occasional visit to Zarkon with an update on my education. He would accept no weaknesses from me. If it was not him, it was the general population looking down upon me for being a half breed.”"Sounds lonely.”“Indeed it was,” Lotor agrees. “It is odd. I have been a Prince, an Emperor, a Savior… but for the first time in my life, I am merely Lotor. I am unsure what that means?”"I mean, technically you're still emperor," Keith points out. "An exiled one maybe."
Lotor looks at Keith with a raised eyebrow.“What of you? My understanding is you grew up not so different.”Keith looks out the window.“I guess you could say that. My Pop died when I was a kid and I didn’t meet Mom until after I learned I was part Galra so much of my life was spent alone fending for myself while constantly being told I was to blame for everything bad that happened to me. I was alone for a long time.
Until Takashi entered my life, that is.”“When spoken like that, I am unsure as to who had it worse.”“Honestly, I don't think it really matters who had it worse," Keith tells him.
"We both had equally shitty childhoods."Keith fishes a coin out of his pocket."I think the best way to describe it is like two sides of the same coin.”He shows Lotor the heads side.“On one side, is you; the son of an emperor who maybe grew up fed and clothed but for the most part was isolated and told to live up to his father's expectations while being neglected and abused by said father.”He flips the coin.“On the other side there’s me; the son of a fireman who may have been loved by his father, but still ended up isolated and alone and often went hungry with one outfit while constantly being told he wouldn’t amount to anything because he was useless.”Keith turns the coin sideways.“But at the end of the day, it’s still the same coin. We both had really shitty upbringings. We both had to learn to rely on ourselves very quickly.
The fact that you were well fed and I wasn’t doesn’t mean we both didn’t get beaten up from time to time for being who we are. The fact that I was loved and supported by my father when he was alive while you weren’t doesn’t change that we both grew up different in societies that made us feel like we were mistakes.”“What of those who harmed you? Do you not wish retribution?”“What good does that ever do?” Keith remarks. “If I spent all my time getting revenge on every single person who ever hurt me, I wouldn't have time to sleep.”The camera turns to Rizavi’s face as she pretends to gag.“Blah… he sounds like a Hallmark movie.”When she pans the camera back into the room, the two and the space wolf are gone.“Hey… where’d they…”There’s a BOOF! sound off camera.Rizavi turns and yells in surprise as the camera comes face to face with the two hybrids standing with Keith’s wolf.“Oh, hey…you two…” Rizavi says nervously. “Fancy seeing you here…”Keith and Lotor raise an amused raised at one another.“RIZAVI!”The camera pans down the hallway to show Kinkade running toward them.“GIVE ME BACK MY CAMERA!”“Uh… here! She’s all yours!”The camera starts spinning through the air as footsteps are heard running away.Kinkade catches it with the camera facing him.“Why you little…”~The feed cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi floating down the hallway.“The time is 1200 hours,” Rizavi says. “We just got word that we’re in the Grei-Aye star system. The Paladins will be heading down to the surface of the planet any second now.”~The feed cuts to the Lion hanger where Keith, Lance, and Shiro are standing in their Paladin armor with their helmets under their arms as Allura sees them off in hers.“Lance, how are you feeling about the mission you’re about to go on?” Rizavi asks.Lance notices the camera.“Oh, hey! I’m feeling good, I guess. Maybe a little tense. Maybe a lot tense… I don’t know. Why’d you have to ask me that question?!”Allura steps in and puts a hand on Lance's shoulder.“I think what Lance is trying to say is he will be fine. We all will.”Keith turns toward Shiro and Lance, getting their attention.“Let’s move out."~The feed cuts to Shiro taking off in the Blue Lion.As they leave the hanger, Rizavi looks at the camera.“Right now, we’re headed to the briefing room where we’ll be monitoring the Paladins in real time.”Kinkade looks at her.“By the way, you know we’re not gonna be able to bring our camera into that meeting, right?”Kinkade walks out of the shot.Rizavi looks mischievously at the camera.“Says who...”she whispers before covering it.~The camera cuts to the briefing room where it’s just peeking over the table at Crown Princess Allura standing beside a blank viewscreen with Coran and Veronica to the left side and Commander Holt, Romelle, and Lotor to the right.Commander Holt is shown trying to reach the Paladins on the coms.“Come in, Pidge. Are you reading us?”The viewscreen comes on showing Keith and Hunk from the point-of-view of Pidge's helmet cam.
“Ok, we’ve just touched down on the surface.”
“We’re at the crash site now,” Keith tells them as Pidge looks up to show Lance and Shiro closest to the Robeast.Pidge looks up more to show the robeast's head.“That’s the robeast,” she says. “It looks disabled, just like our intel reported. The Altean should be nearby.”Suddenly, the room gasps as the Robeast's head lights up. Its clearly visible from the camera, but the Paladins haven't noticed yet.“Paladins! Brace for incoming!” Allura warns them.It flies past them firing its gun, causing the Paladins to dodge.The camera pans to Hunk.
“I didn’t know it could do that!”

Keith's voice is heard off camera.

“Take cover!”
Lance screams in the background as the ship fired one them again before the feed cuts out.“Paladins, report! We have lost visual!” Allura exclaims. “Bridge! Lock onto that ship now!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The feed comes back shaky as Pidge aims her gauntlets at the ship and fires with Hunk firing his bayard beside her with shots from Lance’s rifle visible in the background.
“Adjusting for long range parameters.”
A beam from Keith’s arm cannon becomes visible then.
“Locked on!”
“Fire!”A shot comes from the upper right of the screen and takes out the ship.
“Direct hit.”

The camera pans to Lance and Hunk.

“Nice shot, Atlas!”

“Yeah, thanks for the cover!”
“Bridge, stay on alert!” Allura commands.The feed jostles as Pidge runs for the ship.“Standby Atlas,” Shiro tells them. “We’re approaching the ship.”“Guys, there doesn’t seem to be a pilot inside,” Hunk points out.
Keith yells from off camera.

“Hey guys.”
The camera pans over to Keith next to a capsule like thing. Keith waves them over without looking up.
“Over here.”

“Keith found something! Lets go!”
Pidge runs over to where Keith is.“Give me a second. Just re-configuring to this barrier’s isometric frequency.”There’s a beep and a chime.
“There! That should do it!”
The barrier for the capsule turns off, showing the Altean pilot.Keith looks at the camera.
“Atlas, our target is acquired.”
Everyone in the briefing room cheers.“Nice work, everyone!” Allura says.~The feed cuts to the hallway with Kinkade and Rizavi.
Romelle and Keith are visible in the background near a fork in the hallway.“We just got word that the Paladins have returned from their mission,” Rizavi says.Keith gives Romelle a concerned look before playfully placing his Paladin helmet on her head, making her giggle.“Maybe we can get a glimpse of this new Altean.”As if on cue, the Altean pilot is brought through by Lotor; a tall dark skinned man with dark eyes, white cheekmarks and dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail.Romelle quickly gives Keith his helmet back before they both follow.Kinkade turns to the camera.“Lotor and Romelle are escorting them to the suite of rooms that have been given to the Alteans that have chosen to stay and help the Coalition. Crown Princess Allura has been trying to convince them it’s safe to mingle with the crew, but the Alteans are understandably hesitant.”~The camera cuts to inside a surveillance room.On one of the monitors is the common room for the Altean suite where Lotor and Romelle are standing with Allura and Merla as they explain to the newcomer what happened at the Oriande.“I… can scarcely believe it…”“I know this is a lot to take in, Tavo,” Romelle tells him. “But you must trust me. We are here to help.”“You are all free to do as you like on the ship,” Allura tells him and assures the others at the same time. “There are some spare clothes if you wish to change. Please, take as much time as you need to adjust.”“I will… Crown Princess Allura,”Allura leaves.“Ooh, I’ve got an idea!”Rizavi takes the camera.~The camera cuts to a hallway near the Altean suite.“So… how was it?”Lance and Allura walk into view right after Lance's question.“He is understandably in shock, but he seems to be taking it well. They are still afraid to leave their room however.”“Considering they’ve been hunted for 10,000 years only to be used by Honerva to attack innocent people, it’s understandable that they’re a little standoffish.”“I know. I wish there were more I could do to assure my people that they are safe.”“Give it time, Allura.”Allura smiles at Lance.“Thank you, Lance I do not think I could have done this without you.”“Sure you could. You’re one of the strongest people I know, but you don't have to.”The two of them hug.As Allura and Lance move to kiss, Kinkade covers the camera lense.“Nope! That’s private…”“Oh come on!”~The camera cuts to Romelle sitting in the lounge nearest the Altean suite.“So Romelle, you know these Alteans from your colony, right?” Rizavi asks.Romelle is dispondent as she looks at the ground.“Yes, I lived alongside them for many deca-phoebs; I grew up with them. They are good people. It pains me to see them so afraid.”“Can you think of any way we can get them to warm up to us?” Kinkade asks.“I truly do not know.”She looks at them earnestly.“You must understand! My people were nearly hunted to extinction! We have never been outside the colony since Lotor built it!
Many were born and raised there.”She looks down at her hands.“They are terrified. And then Honerva turned their fears to aggression and tricked them into doing terrible things in the name of “justice”. How could they not be afraid of?! Given the way Keith was treated for merely being of Galra blood, there is reason to be.”“You’re not wrong,” Kinkade tells her honestly. “Though I think most of those people are either back on Earth already or not dumb enough to attempt anything now that Captain Shirogane is cracking down on it.”“Though I have to admit, I’d pay to see the ass-kicking they’d get from the Crown Princess for even looking at the Alteans wrong,” Rizavi comments. “Can you imagine how livid she’d be if she learned her own people were getting harassed?!”~The camera cuts to the hallway outside a small meeting room at 1300 where Commander Holt and Shiro are talking animatedly."And then he tells me he can't hand me the flaxum assembly because "it's red"!
What the fuck?!""Right!?
Yesterday he told me to change my undershirt because its white and there's a 5% chance he's going to break an arm!"Shiro gestures in exasperation."I don't own any undershirts in a different color!
So I offered to not wear one, to which he said there was a 30% probablility that we'd run into an thermospider's web.
First of all, the fuck is a thermospider?""Thermo typically implies heat or fire so knowing our luck, its probably a spider that shoots fire or something," Commander Holt deadpans."Second of all, he has eight arms!"The camera slowly backs away before cutting out entirely.~The camera cuts back on in the mess hall at 2100 as Hunk sits with Kinkade and Griffin while eating their dinner.There's a haunted expression on Griffin's face as he plays with the food on his plate.“I’ve never seen anything like it… All those tentacles… so nasty…”Kinkade discretely turns the camera off.~The feed turns back on showing Rizavi’s face.“Hey, managed to steal Kinkade’s camera again,” she says mischievously. “Let’s see wha-…”Rizavi is cut off as she bumps right into Kosmo.“Oh, hey Kosmo!”Rizavi points the camera at the giant blue space wolf before pitching her voice.“Who’s a good boy?!”Kosmo turns his head to the side as he looks at the camera. In one swift motion, he grabs the camera in his mouth and runs off.“Hey! Give that back! Bad wolf!” Rizavi is heard yelling.Kosmo teleports and reappears inside the sitting area of the captain's quarters. Kosmo sets the camera down within sight of the sleeping area before moving out of the shot to jump on the couch. Red and Black Garrison uniforms litter the floor as the camera shows a clear view of the pair laying on the berth.
Keith is laying on his back with Shiro lying on top of him, his face nestled against Keith’s chest. Shiro’s arms are wrapped around Keith with the lower half of their bodies covered with a bedsheet.Both men are the picture of contentment.“You’re more than a lover… there can never be another… that makes me feel the way you do…”Keith is tracing small circles across Shiro's back with his fingers as he sings.“And ooh… we just get closer… I fall in love all over... any time I look at you…”Keith's other hand starts carding through the other man's hair.“I don’t know where I’d be… without you here with me… life with you makes perfect sense…”Keith tilts Shiro’s chin up so he can gently capture the other man’s lips with his own.“You’re my best friend...” Keith breathes into Shiro’s lips.Shiro inches up a little to kiss his boyfriend better.“And everyone thinks I’m the sappy one…” Shiro teases him softly between kisses.“That’s because I at least try to be professional.”“Uh-huh…”“Only you get to see me like this…”“I’m a lucky man…”Then, there are no more words as their tongues slip lazily into each others' mouths. Kosmo grumbles impatiently and hops off the couch as Keith rolls them over so that he’s on top.
Kosmo grabs the camera and teleports out of the room as a moan is heard. Kosmo leaves the camera in the middle of the hallway.A few tics later, footsteps are heard off camera.“There it is!”The camera is picked up and Kinkade comes into view.“Note to self, never take your eyes off Rizavi when your things are nearby.”~The camera cuts to the camera walking up to Hunk in the kitchen singing to himself as he cooks.“Let the rainbow… remind you… that together we will always shine… let the rainbow… remind you… that forever this will be our time…”Hunk sees Kinkade and the camera approaching.“Oh hey, you’re just in time!”Hunk holds up his pot-mitt covered hands.“Ok… It’s been a long day but I’m finally done!”Hunk pulls what looks like a tray of cookies from the oven.“What is it?”“It’s an authentic Altean dessert. I’m gonna give it to the Alteans! Coran and Lotor helped me with the recipe but I think Coran’s memory was a bit fuzzy and we didn’t have some things, so, you know, I did some improvising. No big whoop.”“You did this for them? Why?” Kinkade asks in amazement.“Well, I don’t know…”Hunk looks down at the tray in his hands.“Because food has a way of reminding people of moments in time.”Hunk looks up at the camera.“That’s why I made a dessert! Usually, when you eat a dessert, you’re pretty happy, right? And these people, they’ve been through so much and they’re so scared of us; for good reason. I know how terrifying it can be to find yourself in a new place so far from home. I just thought that maybe this would help them remember a moment that made them smile. Something before all this madness.”The camera zooms in on the cookies.“That could go a long way in getting them to trust us, but that’s just what I think.”The camera cuts to inside the Altean suite as the Alteans look at the cookies Hunk brought them as a peace offering.“Please, eat.”Hunk eats one himself just in case they think it might be poisoned or something.“Look, it’s good!”Hesitantly, the Alteans try the cookies.“You made these?” Tavo asks him sounding impressed. “Reminds me of home.”“Well, I had a little help from Coran and Lotor,” Hunk says modestly.Hunk looks at them genuinely.“Look, I know you’re all hesitant to come out after everything you’ve been through, and your fears are completely reasonable. But I promise, no one will hurt you or treat you terribly because of the things you were tricked into doing. If anyone does, just tell me or Crown Princess Allura or even Romelle or Lotor if you prefer and we’ll take care of it, ok? We just dealt with a similar situation recently that almost lead to someone very dear to me getting killed so trust me when I tell you, we will never allow it to happen again if we can help it; alright?”“Thank you,” Merla tells him graciously. “Perhaps... in the morning... some of you might show us around.”“I think that’s a great idea,” Hunk tells them. “I’ll talk to Romelle and the others.”~The camera cuts to Kinkade sitting on his berth, looking at the camera.“This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 2300 hours. Day 121 aboard the IGF Atlas is officially done.”The camera turns off.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Keith sits bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath.Awakened by his lover, Shiro sits up beside him.“Visions?”Keith just nods breathlessly as Shiro rubs his back with his left hand.“They’re… different each time… but somehow the same…”Shiro silently curls his left arm around the younger man and pulls him closer so that Keith’s ear is pressed against the center of Shiro’s bare chest.
Keith wraps his arms around Shiro and clings to him; the steady beat of the older man’s heart soothing him.“This is the 14th one in the last two movements,”Shiro says, laying them both down again.“I feel like someone… or something… is calling to me. Drawing me out to it…”“You’ve said something like that before…” Shiro recalls, wrapping his left arm around Keith’s waist. “Back when you found me and the Blue Lion.”Keith nods.“It feels similar,” Keith says. “But different.
I can’t explain it…”Shiro presses a kiss into Keith’s head.“In the morning, we’ll talk to Allura and the others and see if we can figure this out; alright?”Keith nods silently.“Takashi?”“Hmm?”“Ca… I know I’m usually the one that sings… but… do you think you could…”Shiro moves his left hand to tilt Keith’s chin up and gently brush a kiss across the younger man’s lips.“I’m yours…”Keith settles down on Shiro's chest as Shiro sings softly.“Now I really get what love is for… it hit me at the stroke of midnight… you give me a reason… I didn’t know I was looking for… I’m yours…”~“So, what are we looking for exactly?”The Paladins, Allura, and Lotor are gathered on the bridge.“I don’t know myself, Hunk.”Keith leans against the captain's post.“All I know is, I keep having these visions. They vary, but they all repeat.”"Your visions have been wrong before though, haven't they?" Veronica points out.
"Didn't you say you had a vision of your death in the Quantum Abyss?""His vision was not wrong, merely incomplete," Lotor informs her.
"Technically, he did die as he foresaw; he merely did not foresee himself being revived. Also, when it comes to visions seen in the Abyss; how you interpret said vision is as much factor as the vision itself.""How do you know?" Veronica asks."If anyone knows of such things, it is Lotor," Allura informs her as she steps down from the starmap.“It might be beneficial if we knew more about the visions,” Lotor suggests.Keith crosses his arms and looks down at his feet as he tries to recall them.“Like I said, they vary. Sometimes I see some kind of planet, sometimes I see an arch on a floating island, sometimes I’m in some kind of structure or temple similar to the one in the Oriande, sometimes I’m in a wormhole, and sometimes I’m in what looks like where we found Blue. There are others, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.”Keith squints at the memories without looking up.“Even though they’re all different… it feels like they’re all… connected somehow.”“You mentioned your visions occasionally show a planet?” Lotor asks. “Can you recall a description?”“I’m not even sure it’s a planet,” Keith admits. “It’s the shape and size of Mercury but it's colored like Mars from Earth’s solar system with active volcanoes.
It's kinda like a slightly bigger, red Io.”“What is Io?” Allura asks.“Io is one of the moons orbiting the largest gas giant in Earth’s solar system,” Pidge explains. “It’s known as one of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and is one of the first moons Earth discovered to have active volcanoes.”Suddenly, Keith feels a shift in the air that makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up as the others talk.Keith stands up and looks around the bridge, getting Shiro's attention.“Keith?”Keith doesn’t answer as the Atlas’ bridge starts to glow with a bluish white energy.“You don’t see this, do you?”The energy seems to be guiding him somewhere.Keith’s question is more of a statement, but Shiro shakes his head anyway.“I’m surprised your moons have names,” Coran admits amiably. “Everywhere else just calls their moons just that; a moon.”“Humans are kind of obsessed with naming things,” Veronica comments.
"Even though we kind of suck at naming things sometimes.
There are at least three deserts that are literally named Desert Desert because the word we picked to name them means 'desert' in another language."Keith hesitates before he starts to follow where he’s being led, catching Lotor’s attention as well.Keith stops when he sees he’s being lead up to the captain’s post.“We’re the ones who named the other planets and their moons in our system since none of those planets have any known life on them,” Iverson adds.“You know, for all our obsessions with naming the other planets and moons in our solar system, Earth’s own moon doesn’t have a name,” Lance points out.Keith hesitates for a moment, unsure of himself.Two hands give his shoulders an encouraging squeeze.He doesn’t need to look to know its Shiro.“Actually, it does!” Pidge tells them. “It’s actually had many names since the dawn of humanity, depending on the culture of the people living in which region. The official astronomical name for it is literally Moon, but the unofficial name for it is Luna.”"Ah, Moon Moon. I see what you mean about the name thing," Coran remarks.Suddenly, Atlas’ starmap activates, getting the attention of everyone else on the bridge. A tic later, a set of coordinates pops up.Everyone but Shiro and Lotor turns to see Keith standing on the captain’s post.Keith startles at the attention out of reflex; looking like he’s ready to bolt.Shiro catches his hand and strokes it soothingly with his thumb.“Easy…you’re ok…”“How’d you do that?” Lance asks.“It… felt right.”Keith startles again when the two teludav posts come up from the captain’s post.“Um…”Keith shies back a few steps before looking up at Allura as though asking permission.Allura smiles at him and gestures encouragingly for him to go ahead.Keith hesitantly pulls his hand from Shiro's and puts them on the teludav posts the way he’s seen Allura do and then focuses. A tic later, a wormhole ring opens; only this one isn’t blueish white like Allura’s or purple like Honerva’s.It’s red.“I've never seen one that color before,” Coran remarks."We're supposed to go through there?" Iverson asks.“Where it goes?” Veronica adds.“Captain, Crown Princess, what should we do?” Curtis asks for the rest of the Bridge crew.The human Paladins all share a meaningful look before looking at Allura who nods.“Coran,” Shiro begins. “Let’s see where it goes.”“Yes Captain!”The Atlas goes through the wormhole.~It comes out in an area of space so dark, even with the lights on they don’t see anything in front of Atlas. It’s like they’re sailing in the middle of an ocean at night. All around them, but far off in the distant, they see tiny specks of stars as though they were on a planet’s surface."Full Stop." Shiro commands.“This is the place I saw!”"But there's nothing out there," Veronica points out."Use the scanners. See if there's something out there we can't see," Shiro suggests."Where are we anyway?" Hunk asks."I believe I know where we are..." Lotor begins in awe. "This is the oldest and most ancient part of our universe; the very center of our reality. At least from within it."Suddenly the scanners go off."Scanners are detecting a massive cloud of dust and debris directly in front of us," Veronica says."Hang on, I have an idea."Curtis does something and the view screen for the Atlas bridge changes to a scan showing the massive cloud of dust and debris that's completely hidden by the lack of light."That's the best I can do. Something about the dust is blocking our sensors."“Um… guys, Keith and Allura’s faces are glowing again.”They follow Lance's gaze to where Keith and Allura are standing and sure enough, both of their face markings are glowing again, just like they did at the Oriande.“Whatever it is; looks like Keith and Allura are supposed to go in there,” Pidge says.“You guys are glowing too,” Veronica points out.Lance pulls out his pocket mirror so they can look.Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Shiro’s faces now have markings of their own that are glowing. Pidge has two green dots on her forehead that glow through her bangs with two green spiral shaped markings on her cheeks, Lance has two blue diamond shaped markings on his cheeks and one on his forehead, Hunk has two yellow triangle markings forming a larger triangle on his forehead that glows right through his headband with a triangle shape on each cheek, and Shiro has two purple markings above his eyebrows with three line markings; two going down the sides of his face and one across the scar on his nose.“That’s new…” Hunk remarks.“Guess this means we’re all going,” Pidge comments.~The 5 Voltron Lions soon leave the Atlas and immediately form Voltron so they don't get lost."Does this part of the universe feel different to any of you?" Hunk asks.“No I feel it too. Different, but familiar,” Lance asks.“It kinda feels like when we were in the Oriande,” Pidge points out."Maybe this place is similar," Shiro theorizes.An alarm goes off. An opening in the dust appears. Just inside it is a rust colored dwarf planet with active volcanos."So, now what?" Pidge asks."There should be a structure down there like an Islamic Mosque with minarets and such," Keith explains.Pidge runs a scan of the dwarf planet.“Any idea why this place wants all of us?” Lance asks over the coms.“Not a clue,” Keith tells him honestly.“Guess we’ll just have to wait and find out,” Shiro suggests.“Perhaps whatever is guiding Keith effects all of us somehow,” Allura guesses from where she stands behind Keith's seat in the Black Lion."Here's a question. Anyone else get the feeling something or someone should be greeting us?""No I feel it too," Lance admits. Everyone quickly agrees."The White Lion acted as Guardian for the Oriande and greeted Lotor and myself, as well as Voltron, when we arrived at the Oriande the first time," Allura recalls. "Perhaps this place has a similar being."Suddenly, Keith and Allura hear a BOOF! sound behind them and get the familiar whiff of ozone. They turn to see Kosmo standing behind them; tail wagging.“It appears we have a stowaway,” Allura says over the coms in amusement as Kosmo tilts his head to the side.“We’re too close to the planet’s surface to take him back,” Keith says. “We’ll just have to take him with us.”Pidge locates a temple and they disband into 5 Lions before touching down in front of a large black domed building where Oriande's pyramid would be with minarets where the obelisks were. The six of them walk through the minarets toward the entrance with their helmets on, Kosmo staying loyally at Keith’s side.They stop and look around at the etchings inside a kind of entryway.“Seriously, it feels wrong that whatever is supposed to be here isn’t,” Hunk remarks.Kosmo barks, getting their attention before heading through the entryway.They follow him into a long hallway with three archways across the path. Standing in the middle of each archway blocking the way is a statue holding a sword with a 4th statue at the other end of the hallway.“Ok, so now what?” Pidge asks.“In the Oriande, there was a similar passage where the statues of the Great Sages of Altea sat. The statues were sentient and meant to test those who sought the knowledge of Altean Alchemy.”“So if the Oriande was a sacred place for knowledge of Alchemy to Altea, maybe this is a sacred place of something to Pollux,” Hunk reasons.“This area of space does feel like when we were in the Oriande,” Shiro points out.“So, how do we get past the statues?” Hunk asks.“Well, in the Oriande I had the keystone that lead us there which I presented to the statues.”“Yeah, well our “keystone” is a person,” Lance says. “What are we supposed to do? Hold Keith up to the statues and say “open sesame”?”“Hey guys?"The others look to where Keith is kneeling."There’s something written on the wall here.”The others look and see at a sentence carved into a plaque on the wall.In another language.“Anyone know what language this is?” Hunk asks.“It is Polluxian. That is all I can tell,” Allura states.Pidge snaps her fingers.“I got it! Lance, gimme your helmet!”Lance does what he's told.“What for?”“I programmed your suit to translate any writing it reads into speech and our suits and Lions all have universal translators in them. It might be able to translate it for us out loud,” Pidge explains.She then points Lance’s helmet at the plaque.“Helmet, read this plaque for me.”
“To gain the knowledge you seek, answer four riddles and the way will be opened for you.”
“Nice work, Pidge!” Shiro tells her.“So, we have to answer some riddles?” Hunk asks. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”“Let’s move to the first statue,” Shiro suggests.They locate a similar plaque on the base of the first statue and have Lance’s helmet translate it.

“I’d neither a guest nor a trespasser be, in this place I belong that belongs also to me. Of what do I speak?”

“Ugh! I hate riddles,” Pidge groans. "Couldn't we just have Kosmo teleport us?"Kosmo gives her an indignant huff before teleporting out of the room."Wow, ok!
So no cheating.
Got it," Pidge concludes.“Could it be Earth?” Lance wonders quietly.Shiro shakes his head.“I doubt it. Earth didn’t even exist when this place was created.”“Pollux, maybe?” Hunk wonders.“It's Home.”They look at Keith.“The answer. Home.”Instantly, the statue moves to the side.“How did you know?” Pidge asks.“Because a home is a place where you can be who you are without fear. You’re never a visitor or trespasser there because it’s your home! You belong there.”Keith he leans against the wall while looking at the floor.“I know because I went from having one to not having one in the blink of an eye and then for long, I didn't have one.”“There is no loneliness like not having a home,” Allura says understandingly.Keith gives her a smile without looking up from the floor.“Let’s move on to the next statue,” Lance suggests.Pidge holds the helmet out to the plaque on the statue.

“It wields the broken sword and separates true rulers from tyrants. Of what do I speak?”

“Geez, it’s relevant to recent history but what the heck?” Hunk asks.“Compassion.”Once again, the statue moves to the side.Lance looks at Keith.“Man, you're on a roll with these? How’d you figure that one out?”“Honestly, something Allura told me when we were on Arus.”Keith looks at the Altean and smiles.“You told me how your father taught you to rule with compassion and everyone knows Zarkon was a tyrant. Judging from what Lotor told me about growing up with him; compassion wasn’t exactly his thing. So, compassion.”“Happy I was able to help,” Allura tells him with a smile of her own.“Let’s see if Keith knows the next one,” Pidge says.She walks up and points Lance’s helmet at to its plaque.

“None have seen it, but all know it. Lighter than air, sharper than any sword. Comes from nothing, but will fell the strongest of armies. Of what do I speak?”

About halfway through the riddle, Keith looks at the floor.~
Suddenly he's 10 years old and
he's laying in bed trying to sleep; his stomach growling.
~Keith's expression darkens as he absentmindedly grabs his own stomach in his hand.“Judging from Keith’s reaction, he definitely knows this one,” Hunk remarks.“I think I know what,” Pidge says as tears well in her eyes.She and Keith speak at the same time.“Hunger…”The statue moves to the side.Pidge immediately drops Lance’s helmet and crosses the room to hug Keith. Keith doesn't look up from the floor.“When I lived in the Home… I regularly went to bed hungry. Sometimes… I’d only eat once a day. It’s probably why I was so small before, even though I’m part Galra. There’s a reason people often use words like “stab” and “stabbing” to describe being hungry.

I've actually been stabbed before and it hurts less than going hungry.”The others all join Pidge in hugging Keith.“Let’s get through this last riddle,” Shiro suggests gently after a while.They pull away and Pidge picks up Lance’s helmet.

“Difficult to find but easy to lose. Strong enough to move mountains but gentle enough to bring light to the dark. Painful when false but beautiful when true. Of what do I speak?”

Keith gently slips his hand into Shiro’s left hand as a soft smile spreads across his face. He leans against Shiro's shoulder without looking up from the floor.“Love.”Shiro smiles softly at him before pressing a kiss into Keith's forehead as the last statue moves, revealing a doorway.As they walk through the doorway, they find a flight of stairs going up to the room with the dome. All along the walls of the stairs are paintings and etchings similar to the ones where the Blue Lion was. Soon they reach the room with the dome and find the walls, floor, and ceiling are covered with murals and etchings like the ones throughout the temple and hallway.Standing in the center of the room is Kosmo.“So, what's supposed to happen now?” Lance asks."In the Oriande, the Guardian was awaiting Lotor and I in a similar such room."Kosmo walks over to Keith as Allura explains."The Guardian gave Lotor and I two final tests; one in which I had to use a teludav to stop the ceiling from crushing us and immediately after we were transported to a place surrounded by light.
We were to offer something in exchange for the secret of life; alchemy."Keith pets Kosmo's head."Well, for whatever reason, the Guardian for this place isn't here," Shiro points out.“Hey guys look at this.”They look over to where Pidge is standing just outside the door to the chamber.On the wall is a mural depicting a great battle between two figures; a male with Keith's markings and a female with Allura's, and something that is clearly very evil. Fighting alongside the two figures are four other figures, two at the side of each; all with the face markings like the rest of them.It looks a lot like their battle for the Oriande, but switched with different results.“Did all of this happen before?” Lance asks.While the others are looking at the mural, Keith notices while petting Kosmo that all the etchings on the floor lead to a focal point in the center of the room.“Hey Allura, isn't that the White Lion at the female figure’s side?”“I believe it is, Hunk.”Keith moves to the center of the room and looks down at the etchings on the floor.

From the center, Keith can see the floor markings swirl out into a mandala split into six sections. Each section has a different symbol and color; pink and red are across the circle from one another, as are blue and purple, and yellow and green. Pink, blue, and green are on one side of the circle, red, Purple, and yellow are on the other.He then looks up at the ceiling to see the markings form a yinyang. The red, purple, and yellow half of the floor circle are parallel with the yin half, while pink, blue, and green are on the yang side.“So if the White Lion is next to the female figure, she must have something to do with Altea," Hunk reasons."If that's true, then the male figure must be related to Pollux,” Pidge continues on his line of reasoning.While Keith is looking at the ceiling, a white polymorphic creature swirls across the floor towards him.Keith notices the white creature as it starts to swirl around his feet. He doesn't notice it until it starts to wind itself around Keith’s legs. Once he notices it, it moves to the wall on the tin side of the room and illuminates an etching.“Since the White Lion was the guardian for the Oriande, whatever animal is next to the other figure is what is supposed to be here,” Allura concludes.Keith moves to look at the wall.When he gets close enough, he sees an etching of the male figure from the mural the others are studying standing in a loving embrace with the figure beside him in the same mural. The male figure has the same markings on his face as Keith’s. The other has the same markings as Shiro. He looks across the room to the other wall and sees a similar etching of the female figure with Allura's markings with a male figure that has Lance's.Below it, right in front of him is a single handprint.The other Paladins look beside the male figure in the mural and gasp when they see…“A wolf?!”At that exact moment, Keith puts his hand on the handprint and every etching and marking in the room and along the stairway lights up in a red light.Kosmo howls from the center of the room as the other Paladins run into the room.While the others look at Kosmo, Shiro quickly locates Keith.“Keith!”Shiro runs for the younger man as Keith watches the white polymorphic creature encircle him again.As it spins faster and faster around him, it creates a white ring. Even though Keith is unnerved by it, he instinctively knows he's not supposed to move his hand.Keith closes his eyes and the room suddenly fills with a blinding white light.~When the light fades, they’re not in the temple anymore and their helmets are gone.They're standing on a floating island like the ones in the Oriande with other floating islands all around it. Where the Oriande was bathed in white, this place is pitch black.
There's a kind of Islamic style archway on the other side of the island they're on with something emitting light on the other side of it. When they walk through the archway and look over the side, they see a large circle of light with a swirling vortex or whirlpool of stars, planets, nebulas, and galaxies pouring out the bottom.“What is this place?” Lance asks.“It is called the Universal Cauldron.”They look in the direction of the voice and see Keith standing beneath the archway; his eyes glowing white.“It is from here all life is born and it is to here all life returns when it dies to be reborn anew.”When Keith speaks, his voice echoes as though other voices are speaking through him, the most prominent one sounding female.Pidge scans Keith.“It looks like some kind of entity has possessed Keith and is using him to speak for them,” Pidge says as she shows the others her scan showing a nebulous form inside Keith.Allura looks at "Keith" and demands.“Who are you?!”“We are the Life Givers.”“The Life Givers…” Allura says in wonder. “The creators of all life?”“The very same.”“What about Keith? Is he ok?”The Life Givers look at Shiro.“You fear for the one whose body we are using to communicate. Fear not, he will not be harmed. We are merely speaking through him. Nothing more.”“But why use Keith to talk to us at all?” Lance asks.“We are unable to communicate in a way you would hear. Unlike our counterpart who can use anything to speak for it, we must use either an Alchemist or Nethermancer to speak for us.”“A Nethermancer?” Hunk asks.“One with the ability to manipulate and control nether,” they explain."What is nether?" Pidge asks.“If quintessence is the essence of life, nether is the essence of death. Both are needed and as natural as a fast flowing river. Both Nethermancers and Alchemists can channel us, allowing us to communicate.”"Why not use me then?" Allura asks."It was not YOU who was called here, Young Alchemist."“Is that why Keith is so sensitive to quintessence? And why he has visions?” Shiro asks.They nod.“It is also why he is hunted. A Nethermancer’s quintessence is the most potent of all quintessence. However it is also the most vulnerable to corruption.”The others all gasp.“That’s why his quintessence was getting corrupted?” Pidge asks.“Yes.”The five of them all look at one another before Allura turns back.“What causes such corruption?”“There are a number of ways. Most common is repressed emotional duress.”“So, forcing himself to ignore his own grief for Shiro for the sake of leading and the stress that came with him suddenly leading…” Pidge summarizes sadly.“Yes.”All five of them are silent for a moment as they look at each other. They had suspected that was the case but hearing it confirmed still hurts.Shiro knows he’ll regret making Keith lead for the rest of his life. He’s proud of the leader Keith’s become, but it wasn't worth what it cost Keith to get there.“You mentioned a counterpart?” Hunk asks, attempting to change the subject.“They are the Life Takers, but to you, they have become known as Rift Creatures.”“The Rift Creatures are really called Life Takers?” Shiro asks.“Yes. Where we are made of quintessence, they are made of nether.”“Why are they working with Honerva?” Allura asks.“Originally, they were driven mad... now they had no choice...”“What do you mean?”“We are beings who exist outside both time and space, both the Life Takers and us. Normally, we reside in the space between realities or in pocket dimensions such as this and the Oriande. Never existing in one reality for too long. When Honerva brought one of them through the barrier and kept them there, she toyed with things beyond her understanding in the pursuit of knowledge. When she refused to release it to return, it called to others for help and they answered. Had Honerva simply let it go, it would have gone back through the rift.”"Did the Paladins of Old not defeat it though?" Allura asks."No. We cannot be killed as you know it. We must be cleansed. By trying to destroy the Life Takers, it drove them mad. Now, Honerva forces them to do her bidding in her endless pursuit of knowledge."“But how is she able to force them,” Hunk asks.“For that, you must understand the laws of Alchemy.”“Which are?” Allura asks.They look at Allura.“Learn this and learn it well, young Alchemist. All things in this universe has an opposing force and all great feats of magic comes with a price.”“The Law of Polarity and the Law of Equivalent Exchange,” Pidge states.“Yes.”“The what?” Lance asks.Pidge explains.“It’s two of the most important laws of alchemy back on Earth," Pidge explains. "The Law of Polarity states that everything is on a continuum and has an opposite while the Law of Equivalent Exchange states that nothing may be obtained without first giving up something of equal value.”“I was not aware Earth had alchemy,” Allura comments.Pidge snorts.“It’s not like you think. On Earth, Alchemy is just what Europeans called chemistry back when people thought science was witchcraft.”Allura realizes something.“In order to learn the secret of life, I chose to offer my own in exchange.”"All Alchemists possess a small ability to manipulate nether just as all Nethermancers possess a small ability to manipulate quintessence.”"Like how the light and dark parts of a yin yang both have a little bit of the opposite inside them," Pidge remarks.“So Honerva is abusing her ability to manipulate nether to control the Life Takers?” Hunk asks.“Yes.”Pidge crosses her arms thoughtfully.“If everything has an opposite, and this place is the opposite of the Oriande, than that means that since Alteans learn alchemy from the Oriande than this place is where...”Pidge trails off.“Keith just learned Nethermancy, didn’t he?”Her question is more of a statement.“Once he leaves here, yes. Polluxians were the only race with the potential to be a Nethermancer. There has not been a Nethermancer in 10,000 years.”"What about those druid things we keep running into?" Hunk asks."The Druids are a race genetically engineered by Emperor Zarkon and Haggar. Haggar required a creature that could produce and manipulate quintessence similar to an Altean but loyal and less powerful than Haggar herself.“You mentioned there has not been a nethermancer in 10,000 years. Who was the last Nethermancer?" Allura asks."The last Nethermancer was a Polluxian named Marmora.”“Wait, Marmora? As in the Blades of Marmora?” Lance asks.“The same.”“Who was Marmora?” Shiro asks.“Marmora was a martyr who lived 10,000 years ago when the war began. It was he and the Polluxians who hid the Green, Yellow, and Blue Lions when King Alfor chose to scatter them.”“Black we know was locked in the Castle of Lions but Coran told us Red was hidden on Pollux,” Lance remarks.“That is only half true. Against Marmora’s advice, King Alfor tasked Pollux with hiding all four Voltron Lions so that he himself could draw Emperor Zarkon away. His reasoning was the best hiding place is in plain sight and that Emperor Zarkon would believe he had the Lions on the Castle.
However Emperor Zarkon knew how King Alfor thought. As soon as Altea fell and the Lions were not there, rather than chase King Alfor, he attacked Pollux first.”“Zarkon himself said King Alfor was a better alchemist than tactician,” Hunk points out.“While Altea was under attack from Zarkon, the Polluxians successfully dispatched ships carrying the Yellow, Blue, and Green Lions with orders to the crew never to return. By the time our sister planet fell, only the Red Lion remained. The Polluxians held Emperor Zarkon for as long as they could, long enough for several Polluxian ships including one with the Red Lion to escape. While the ones with civilians found other planets and mingled in, the one with the Red Lion and 2 others acting as decoys prevented Emperor Zarkon from locating it for another 9,000 years.”“Damn, that’s kinda impressive!” Lance says.“How long did Zarkon and Haggar have the Red Lion?” Hunk asks."23 of your Earth years.
It is how they were finally able to track down both the Yellow and Blue Lions."“What of Marmora?” Allura asks. “You said he was a martyr?”“Marmora disguised himself as a Galra and hid among its people for a time. During this time, he created an underground resistance movement that secretly kept the old ways of the Galra alive. He gained a great deal of followers and was able to accomplish much. Eventually he was caught however and Emperor Zarkon had him killed as an example. Rather than scare Marmora's followers, this enraged them. His closest friend founded the Blades, but instead of merely keeping the old ways alive; they endeavored to bring the Empire down from the inside. He so named it after a luxite blade Marmora had given him. That blade remains in the successor’s family line to this day.”“It’s Keith’s blade, isn’t it?” Pidge guesses.“Yes.”“Holy crow! Is that why Keith was able to sense the Blue Lion?” Lance asks.They are silent for a moment.“No. That was something else entirely.”“What do you mean?” Shiro asks.“As you know, the Lions choose their pilots based on specific traits,” they explain. “The Black Lion favors a leader with a substantial amount of quintessence, the Red Lion favors a skilled pilot who relies on instincts, the Blue Lion favors those who show the potential for greatness, the Green Lion favors someone who is intelligent and daring, and the Yellow Lion favors someone with a kindheart who is completely selfless.”“What’s that got to do with Keith?” Lance asks.“Of the six of you, the one you call Keith possesses the traits favored by ALL 5 of the Lions. He could sit in ANY of the Lions he wished and the Lion would accept him as a pilot. Had he located the Blue Lion on his own, she would have chosen him to be her pilot.”They look at Lance.“When Keith arrived at the cave with you, the Blue Lion chose you instead.”“Blue picked me over Keith.”“Yes.”“Was all this what you wished to tell us,” Allura asks them.“No. We called you here because there is more going on than you realize.”“Such as?” Shiro asks.Everything around them changes to the images that were etched and painted into the walls and floor.“This is not the first time someone abused their powers of quintessence. This event happened eons ago when your universe was brand new. An Ancient Being of cruelty and hatred warred with every universe, reeking devastation in its wake.”An image of something dark and ominous appeared.“At the time, there were six celestial beings much like the Guardian of the Oriande, as well as a Guardian who protected the Universal Cauldron.”The image changes to show the six figures from the mural with the two Guardians."So there is supposed to be a guardian here," Hunk states.The two with Keith and Allura's markings become more visible.“Most powerful of them was Altea and her brother Pollux.”“Wait, like the planets?” Hunk asks.“The very same. It was the siblings who created the two planets and modeled each planet’s people in their own image.”“That explains why Pollux is known as Altea’s brother planet,” Hunk comments.“The siblings loved each other dearly and were fiercely protective of one another.”“Who are the other four figures?” Pidge asks.The image changes to the four other figures from the mural.“They helped Altea and Pollux protect their realms. They were known as the Trio and Pollux’s lover...”“Hold the phone! Pollux had a lover?” Lance interrupts.The image changes to show Altea with the figure with Lance's markings."As did Altea. Only Pollux's lover was known by name."It changes to Pollux and the figure with Shiro's markings.“Castor.”“Wait…"They all look at Pidge as she continues."On Earth, we have a legend about two men named Castor and Pollux. According to the legend, they were twin brothers. The accounts vary but the most common legend tells that Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. The legend goes that they loved each other so much that when Castor lay dying from injuries he sustained in a battle, Pollux gifted him half of his immortality. Zeus then placed them in the sky as the constellation Gemini, where they could go back and forth between the realms of Hades and Olympus.”“Your legend is a vast over-simplification of the truth.”The Paladins look back "Keith"."In what way?" Pidge asks.“Castor and Pollux were not simply brothers, but brothers-in-arms…”“So… soldiers who served together or two dudes who are extremely close…” Hunk supplies.“They were called twin souls.”“Soulmates,” Shiro states.“They did love each other greatly. That part of your legend is true. Neither of them were immortal, only semi-immortal. Also it was not Castor who lay dying after a battle. It was Pollux.”“This has something to do with the Ancient Evil I take it,” Allura guesses.“Yes. For eons, the six of them watched over their realms dutifully; Altea, her lover, and knight in the Oriande and Pollux, Castor, and Pollux's knight in the Cauldron. All of that changed when the Ancient Evil attacked the Universal Cauldron. It killed the Cauldron’s Guardian. The siblings and their friends fought a fierce battle to banish the Ancient Evil, but Altea's lover and the two knights perished in the battle; their souls as well as the soul of the Cauldron’s Guardian returning to the Universal Cauldron to be reborn anew. Before It was sealed away, the Ancient Evil cursed the souls of the siblings and those who fought at their side that so long as she remained sealed, they would never be reborn again. Greatly weakened from the battle and heartbroken at the loss of her lover, Altea died the moment the seal was complete, Altea died. Grieved and gravely injured himself, Pollux used the last of his strength to turn Altea’s body into a new planet and her people, far away from the Cauldron or the planets that bear his and his sister's names.”The image changes to a very familiar planet.“Arus.”“That’s where we all met for the first time!” Lance exclaims.“Dying, Pollux tried to send Castor away but Castor refused to leave Pollux’s side. As Pollux lay dying in Castor’s arms, Pollux vows that when the universe needs them again and the Ancient Evil is released, their souls would be reborn and when that time was right he would awaken his sister and they would defeat the Ancient Evil once and for all. Castor lay beside Pollux and held him until his final breath. Heartbroken, Castor soon followed, vowing to find Pollux when that time came. Both their souls returned to the Universal Cauldron, awaiting the day when the seal would be broken.”“Just guessing the seal broke?” Hunk remarks.“When the comet the Lions were made from hit Daibazaal, it broke the seal. When Honerva chose to keep the rift open to study it, she accidentally allowed the Ancient Evil to break free, triggering the Universal Cauldron to release the souls of Altea, Pollux, Castor, and the Trio. Altea’s soul was reborn not long after the seal was broken, but the remaining souls would not be born for another 10,000 years. When the 10,000 Year War began, the amount of nether left in the wake of Emperor Zarkon’s constant draining of quintessence for Haggar without replenishing it left an imbalance as entire planets and galaxies were destroyed before their time. The overflow of nether has driven the already corrupted Life Takers even more mad.”“So, how do we fix it?” Hunk asks.“While both Alchemists and Nethermancers can sense and manipulate Life Takers, only a Nethermancer has the ability to cleanse the Life Takers.”They show an image of Pollux next to a Life Taker.“Once all the Life Takers are cleansed, the Ancient Evil will be forced out of hiding and the final battle will begin.”"Then we've not a moment to lose!" Allura declares."A final word of caution. The universe and multiverse can survive without the Oriande. However, the Universal Cauldron must be protected at all costs. Should it fall, all existence will cease to be."With that, a white light envelopes them once more.~When it fades, they’re standing in the temple again with Keith laying face down on the ground in the center with Kosmo lying beside him.Shiro runs to Keith's side.“Keith!”Shiro turns him over to cradles the younger man in his arms and gasps when he sees another mark identical to Keith's scar has appeared on the opposite cheek.The others gather around them."Keith, are you ok?!" Shiro asks him.
A tic later, Keith groans as he opens his eyes tiredly.“Shiro…”Shiro breathes a sigh of relief.“How do you feel?” Allura asks him.“Like I had an entity speaking through me… it was basically like watching a movie… or something on the vid screen… I could see and hear… but beyond that…”“So…"Everyone looks at Lance before he continues."That was a lot of information to sift through!”“Seriously,” Hunk agrees.Pidge sits cross-legged on the floor and crosses her arms.“Well obviously, we’re the reborn souls of Altea, Pollux, and whatnot. I mean, the timing of everything that’s happened is too perfect to be a coincidence.”“Allura’s definitely Altea,” Lance insists. “For one, she was born not long after the comet hit Daibazaal and two, we met her ON Arus."Lance gives Allura a wink."Plus I’ve always known she was a goddess.”
Allura gives him a playful shove in response."If I am Altea than you are her former Lover," she tells him."If that's true, then The Trio is the three of us. I mean, our team was nicknamed The Trio at the Garrison," Hunk comments before adding. "Also Kosmo’s clearly the Guardian of the Universal Cauldron.”Pidge puts her hands on her hips then.“And if anyone in this band of merry misfits is a reincarnated pair of star-crossed lovers, it’s you two weirdos.”She looks directly at Keith and Shiro when she says this.Shiro and Keith look back at them as the others continue.“For real man. I mean, your love has proven to be unstoppable!""Even Honerva has underestimated its strength.""It's transcended death twice. Technically three times if we’re counting past lives.”“The question is,"Pidge begins. "Who is who?”“Shiro’s crash DID get us started on this path and Shiro and Allura’s ranks are the same,” Hunk comments. “Not to mention, Keith’s the one who found Shiro at the start of this and rescued him from the Garrison.”Shiro immediately knows that’s wrong and says so.“My crash may have started all of this, but it was Keith who led us to the Blue Lion that brought us to Arus where we awoke Allura. Not to mention, Allura and Keith are both of Altean and Polluxian descent respectively AND Keith is the one with the wolf companion.”At the second mention of him, Kosmo perks his head up and turns it to the side.Lance realizes something.“Now that you mention it. Shiro found Keith long before any of this even happened.”As the others get up and head for the door, Keith turns into Shiro. Shiro looks down at Keith and can tell by the look in Keith’s eyes that he’s going to struggle with this revelation for a while. Not the fact that he’s the reincarnation of Pollux or that they were star-crossed lovers in another life.Judging from what they just learned, it sounds like the fate of the universe lies in Keith’s nether abilities cleansing the Life Takers.That’s a heavy burden that’s been placed on Keith’s shoulders.Shiro caresses Keith’s cheek with his left hand, drawing him out just enough to look up at Shiro with troubled eyes. Shiro leans down then and presses a kiss into Keith’s forehead before replacing it with his forehead; a silent promise that he isn’t in this alone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Keith is lost in thought as he walks through the ship.A movement has passed since their trip to the Universal Cauldron.Before rejoining the Atlas crew, they all agreed (at Keith's request) to only tell the others about the Universal Cauldron and Keith learning Polluxian Nethermancy. The only people they’ve told the part about the whole past lives and whatnot at this point in time are Coran (because he’s been with them from the beginning and deserves to be kept in the loop) and Krolia (largely to give Keith more emotional support). Keith knows eventually they’ll tell the inner circle members of the crew but for right now those two are the only ones Keith feels comfortable with knowing that the fate of the universe is resting on his shoulders and the others have been respecting his wishes.The only thing Keith likes about all of this is that his new markings match his mom’s.Keith’s so lost in thought, he bumps right into someone as he’s turning a corner.“Sorry!” they both say at the same time.Keith looks up and freezes.Suddenly he’s 16 and meeting Shiro for the first time. The man in front of him is the spitting image of how Shiro looked when he was 22. His face is a little rounder, his eyes are brown, and he’s eye level with Keith, but everything else; exact match.There’s no questioning who he just bumped into.“You alright?”Keith shakes his head when he realizes he’s staring and stands up straight.“Sorry, you just… you remind me of someone.”“I get that a lot. I’m Ryou.”“I’m Commander Kogane.”Ryou smiles and its just like Shiro's.“That much I figured out from the red uniform.”Ryou looks up and down the hallway.“Actually maybe you can help me. I seem to be a bit lost. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the halls are different today. Any chance you know where the mess hall is?”“No, it’s not just you.”There's amusement in Keith's voice as he explains.“They like to rearrange the hallways from time to time. I’ll walk you.”Ryou looks at Keith as he falls in step beside him.“The ship is sentient? Also, “they”? I though ships were female.”“It was until it merged with the Guardian, which was a male white lion. Now, Atlas is gender neutral so, “they”. But yeah, Atlas is sentient.”Ryou laughs.“This shit is weird.”Keith looks at him incredulously.“Wow, you must be new.”“Just started yesterday. One of the previous nurses was forcibly removed for “misconduct” and the Garrison was short on medical staff they could spare so they turned to civilians. I’m a Japanese Civil Service nurse.”Keith turns his head to the side.“Japanese?”Ryou laughs.“I get that reaction a lot too whenever I say where I’m from. I never really liked the Japanese custom of being called by my surname all the time. Too stuffy. I respect its a custom and those who adhere to it though, its just not for me. That’s why I’m only civil service. "Senior Officer Ryou" isn’t exactly something the Garrison does.”Keith stares at Ryou.“How much do you know about Atlas’ higher officers?”Ryou shrugs.“Not as much as I probably should. I met Crown Princess Allura and I know she’s in charge, and the Paladins are the ones wearing colored uniforms, but not much else.”“So… you have no idea who the Captain is?”“You mean it’s not the Crown Princess?”Keith shakes his head as they enter a lift.“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I have more important things to worry about than who’s ass is in the captain’s chair. As long as they're not a complete asshole and the ship doesn’t blow up, I don’t care.”Keith laughs.“I like you.”Keith looks at Ryou as the lift doors open.“Can I… ask you a personal question?” Keith asks as they walk.“I’m already married,” Ryou jokes.“Huh?” Keith says, not getting the joke.“Nevermind. Ask away.”“Did you... live in Plant City in Arizona at some point?”Ryou’s facial expression is answer enough.“Too personal, got it,” Keith quickly amends.“No, it’s fine. I just… that's not usually a question I get,” Ryou assures him.Ryou looks straight ahead.“I did. For a time anyway. My parents were killed in a house fire when I lived there.”“I… know.”Ryou looks surprised.“You do?”Keith looks at the floor.“My Pop was the firefighter that pulled you out.”There’s a split second of silence as Ryou registers what Keith told him.“You lost your dad that same night…”Keith nods.Ryou moves to hug Keith but Keith startles a little and steps back.Ryou immediately corrects himself.“Sorry! I’m a hugger.”“It’s fine… I mean… you didn’t… it’s just…”Keith closes his eyes and taking a calming breath.“Autism.”Ryou’s eyes widen with understanding.“Ah! Ok, so touch aversion?”“Only for people I’ve just met or don't know very well…”“Gotcha.”
Ryou face becomes a little more serious as start walking again.“Still, I had heard the firefighter had a kid. I know how difficult it was for me and I had my brother and grandfather. It must have been so much worse for you. You look about the same age as me.”Keith just shrugs.“It was for a long time, but I’ve come to terms with it.”They reach the mess hall.“This looks like my stop. It was nice meeting you, Commander Kogane.”“Keith’s fine since you’re not a Garrison officer.”“Keith it is,” Ryou says with a mock salute as he disappears into the mess hall.Keith turns on his heel and practically sprints down the hall.~Lance, Allura, and Hunk are hanging out with Pidge in her lab when Keith comes in.“Pidge, you’ll never guess who I just ran into…”Pidge and the others look up as he walks toward them.“What’s up?”“Remember that thing I asked you to help me with? Guess who just transferred onto Atlas’ med crew?”Pidge gasps and does a little bounce.“Get out! Seriously?!"“I just ran into him. Literally. We ran straight into each other.”“Are you sure it’s him?”“He’s the spitting image of how Shiro looked at 22.”“Who’re we talking about now?” Lance asks.“And what does it have to do with Shiro?” Allura asks.Pidge and Keith look at each other and nod.“So apparently Shiro has a younger brother,” Keith tells them.“A younger biological brother,” Pidge adds.Allura, Hunk, and Lance’s eyes widen.“Really?”“They were separated not long after their grandfather passed away as Shiro was entering his second year at the Garrison.”“When Shiro told me, I enlisted Pidge’s help in trying to locate him.”Pidge gives Keith a high five."Team Fire Piranha strikes again!"Lance raises an eyebrow."Team what?""It's a nickname Pidge gave us after a team up back when I was still the Red Paladin. Apparently its from a video game or something.""It's a Mario reference," Hunk explains.
"It's a plant that spits fireballs in the game."“Anyway, the problem was most of Earth’s records are completely destroyed. The furthest I could get was that his brother had aged out of the system and went to college in Japan.”“Thing is, I don’t think either of them is aware the other is on the crew yet. He just transferred on yesterday so I doubt Shiro’s seen him and so far as Ryou’s concerned, Allura’s in charge.”Allura gasps.“Wait, are you referring to the nurse I met yesterday?”“Yes, that’s him.”“I thought he looked familiar! I could not quite figure out why. You’re right, he does look like our Shiro.”“So, how do we get them together before one of us ends up in medbay again?” Hunk asks.After a few moments of thought, Pidge snaps her fingers.“I’ve got it! Mom has some stuff for med bay. Maybe she can give us a suggestion.”The rest of the Holts happen to be in the bio lab when Keith and the others get there.Colleen is surprised.“I had no idea he had a younger brother.”“I knew,” Sam admits. "Mentioning it only ever made him depressed so I stopped."“He’d lost contact with his brother when he was in the system. Honestly, he thinks his brother's dead.”“Well he’s not, so how do we fix that?” Matt asks.Pidge turns to Colleen.“Mom, don’t you have some stuff for med bay? Maybe we can have Shiro drop it off?”Colleen shakes her head.“There’s no guarantee the person he gives it to will be Ryou.”Sam snaps his fingers.“I think I’ve got it! If I remember right, new guys in med bay are given the grunt work by the others for the first week as kind of an “initiation” sort of thing.”“Grunt work?” Allura asks.“Clean the bed pans, make the beds, fetch things, mop the floors, run inventory, that sort of thing.”Matt catches on to his dad's line of thinking.“So Mom could ask med bay to send someone to come get the stuff she has for them and they’d send Ryou to get it since he literally just started.”“Unless there are other med crew that also started yesterday,” Hunk points out.“There are not,” Allura confirms. “Ryou is the last of the replacement crew for the officers Shiro sent home.”“One of the officers sent home for not wanting to save Keith was a nurse?”Pidge sounds disturbed.Matt shakes his head.“No, Shiro caught him saying some nasty things about Keith like a day or two after Keith was released from medbay. I saw the whole thing.""How bad was it?" Lance asks."Shiro looked like he wanted to murder the guy. Hell, I would have helped him or at least kept watch for him.
I've never seen someone non-verbally tell a security officer to take someone to the brig before.
Shiro was PISSED!"Hunk whistles as Sam changes the subject after noticing it was making Keith a little uncomfortable."At first, the Garrison wouldn’t let us send them back stating "We must all work together to end the war" and they "could not spare any more Garrison personnel".”“Until the Crown Princess had a go at them.”Colleen gives Allura an amused look.“I don’t know what you said to them but they stopped fighting us pretty quickly."“I merely informed them that while it is important that we work together to end the war and I sympathize with their problems, regardless I will not be allowing the officer to remain; as their actions made me fear for my own subjects that remain on crew, some of whom require medical treatment still. I then informed them that while I would prefer to send them home peacefully via wormhole, I am not above insisting they find their own way home if it protects my people.”Matt laughs.“I have never heard anyone threaten to make someone walk home so politely before!”“Explains why they chose civil service though,” Sam admits."Honestly, they're probably hoping he'll be incompetent or something," Lance remarks.Now Hunk notices Keith's discomfort and chimes in to get them back on track.
“Ok, so we have a way to get Ryou here. What about Shiro?”“What if Dr. Holt told him she needs his and Pidge’s help in her lab around that time?” Keith suggests.“That would work,” Colleen agrees. “He can come in right before I contact med bay.”“I kinda want to stick around and see it,” Hunk admits.“Same,” Lance agrees.“I doubt that’s a good idea…” Pidge points out.Keith smiles affectionately at the others debating whether or not they should stay and watch before silently slipping out of the room with his hands in his pockets.“Keith?”Keith turns to see Allura behind him in the corridor.~“So what did you need our help for?” Shiro asks Colleen.“Katie, I need you to spray water the plants over there.”Colleen points to a planter to the right.“I have someone from med bay coming to pick up those crates of medicinal plant clippings so Takashi, if you could keep an eye on them until they get here, that’d be great. In the meantime, you can help Katie water the plants closest to the boxes.”Shiro and Pidge quickly get to work.About 15 doboshes later, Ryou steps into the lab.“I was sent to pick up some stuff for med bay.”“They’re right over…”Shiro trails off when he looks up and their eyes meet.For several tics, the two men just stare at each other in silence as they walk toward each other.“Ryou?” Shiro asks as though his eyes were playing tricks on him when they’re in arms reach of each other.Ryou smiles.“Kashi…”Then the two brothers are hugging for the first time since Shiro left for Garrison Basic Training.Pidge and Colleen high five from where they stand off to the side watching.Shiro pulls away with huge happy tears dripping down his face.“I can’t believe it’s you…”“It’s me, Takashi. I knew that ‘Pilot Error’ crap was bullshit!”“Yes! Someone else with half a brain!”They both jump at Pidge's shout. It hits Shiro then.“You both knew.”“Wasn’t hard.”Colleen heads for the back of the lab.“Takashi, why don’t you help him take the crates up to med bay," she says.“Sure Mom.”Ryou looks at Shiro.“Adoptive?”Shiro nods his head before pulling Ryou into another hug.“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when Ji-chan died.”Ryou sucks his teeth and frowns before shoving Shiro away from him.“You’re lucky I don’t have a pillow.”“But I should have been there. I should have…”He’s cut off when he’s suddenly hit by a couple sprays from Pidge’s spray bottle.“Hey!”“You stop that! There’ll be none of that!”Pidge sprays him a few more times for good measure.“Besides, if you HAD gone, you wouldn’t have met a certain someone.”She sprays him one last time to prove her point.Ryou turns to her a grin and holds out his hand to her.“Hi, I’m Ryou. I don’t think we’ve officially been introduced.”Pidge smirks and shakes his hand.“Katie Holt, but everyone calls me Pidge. I’m his little sister.”“We’re going get along just fine.”Shiro makes a face picks up one of the crates.“Let’s just get these up to med bay.”Pidge and Ryou laugh as Ryou picks up the other crates.~The brothers walk in silence as they carry the crates, occasionally stealing glances at one another.Ryou looks at Shiro as they step into a lift.“What happened to you?” Ryou can’t stop himself from asking.Somehow, Shiro knows Ryou isn’t talking about when he was at the Garrison.“More than a walk to med bay will allow.”Shiro looks at Ryou.“You’re a nurse?”“Civil Service, though its kinda weird they hired me. I mean, the Garrison was short of med staff they could spare, but I'm a Labor and Delivery nurse. I mean, I can do the job, but its weird."Shiro heaves a sigh."Once again, I don't have time to explain, but that doesn't surprise me at all."Ryou looks at Shiro.“What about you? I know from the colored uniform that you’re one of the Paladins, and the stripes mean you're a high officer but not much else.”“I’m currently the Blue Paladin.”Ryou raises an eyebrow.“Why are you wearing a black uniform if you’re the Blue Paladin?”Shiro sighs.“Because I was the Black Paladin but that was a while ago. The other Paladins insist I continue to wear the black uniform because I "will always be the Black Paladin” to them. I was so touched, I couldn’t argue.”“Aw, that’s sweet.”“I’m also the Captain.”Ryou laughs.“Damn, guess I should have been paying better attention to who’s ass was in the captain’s chair. How come the Crown Princess was the one who greeted me?”“She’s the acting Captain at the moment. Allura’s rank commands the same respect as mine so I’m stepping back for a bit and letting her captain while I pilot the Blue Lion and take a mental health break at my second-in-command’s insistence.”“Smart.”“So what else is there that the walk will allow?”“I’m married with kids.”Shiro looks at Ryou.“Really?”“Yep!”Ryou somehow whips out a wallet with pictures.“That’s my wife Izumi and our twin sons; Yuki and Hikaru, they're 5. Izumi’s a civil service doctor at the Garrison in Japan. My mother-in-law as well as Izumi’s brother, sister, and their respective families live with us in Oba-chan’s house since it has so much room so her mother watches the kids while the rest of us work.
Also, because the town is small and the house was hidden, it made for the perfect place to hide out and wait when Sendak invaded.”“What do your in-laws do, just out of curiosity?”“My brother-in-law and his husband are gardeners and rabbit farmers and my sister-in-law is a plumber while her husband works in construction.
Between the six of us and my mother-in-law's impressive sewing skills combined with all of the old clothes that were lying around the house, we were able to sustain ourselves throughout the occupation.”Ryou looks at Shiro.“What about you?”“Not married. Yet anyway, but I have a boyfriend. He’s who Pidge was referencing in the lab. He’s my second-in-command. Literally. That’s his rank.”“Nice, I can’t wait to meet him.”They arrive at med bay then and Shiro sets his crate down where Ryou tells him.“We should get together again so we can really get caught up.”Ryou smiles at his older brother.“I’d like that.”The two brothers hug again before Ryou disappears inside medbay.Shiro turns to leave and he comes face to face with Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. He can tell by the looks on their faces that they all knew.Shiro pulls them into a huge hug.“Thank you so much!”The others disengage.“If you truly wish to thank the one responsible for this. Thank Keith.”Shiro blinks at Allura.“Keith?”“Yeah, man! Keith's the one who orchestrated this whole thing up and made it possible,” Hunk says.“Keith and I were looking for him pretty much since you two became official. By pure dumb luck, Ryou happened fall into our lap.”That’s when Shiro notices the distinct lack of said person.“Where is Keith?”“Your guess is as good as ours, dude,” Lance tells him. “He disappeared right after we set the plan in motion. Didn’t even stick around for a thank you.”“He did not wish for recognition,” Allura tells them.Lance looks at her.“How do you know? I mean, that's definitely on brand for Keith but..."“I asked him."~
“Keith?”

Keith looks back at Allura.

“Do you not wish to see your efforts to reunite Shiro with his brother rewarded? You put so much effort into making this moment happen.”

Keith just shakes his head with a gentle smile.

“Not really my thing. I don’t want recognition. That's not why I did this. After everything he’s been through, he deserves to have this.”

With that, Keith just turns and walks away.
~Shiro stares at Allura with his mouth hanging open for a moment.Shiro turns.“Atlas! Find Commander Kogane!”
“Commander Kogane is in the Paladin training deck.”
Shiro turns on his heel and heads for said training deck.“And that’s our cue to stay as far away from THAT training deck as possible!” Pidge jokes lightheartedly.She and the others head in the opposite direction.~Shiro quickly opens the door to the Paladin training deck and closes it tightly before resuming his run.He finds Keith walking across the sparring mat after showering and changing back into his Garrison uniform; jacket still hanging open.
“KEITH!”
Keith turns around right before Shiro tackles him to the mat.“Takashi, wha- Mfph!”Shiro cuts off Keith’s sentence by kissing Keith over and over again.“Thank you…”Shiro breathes the two words over and over again between kisses.Keith’s breathing hitches and he's already breathing heavily.
There’s no question what he’s being thanked for as their kiss becomes deeper.~Several hours later after everyone but night watch has gone to bed, Shiro leaves the Paladin training deck wearing everything he entered with, except his Garrison uniform jacket. Sound asleep in Shiro’s arms, his head resting against his left shoulder and wrapped in Shiro’s uniform jacket with his own clothes laying on top is Keith.Shiro glances down at Keith as he carries the younger man toward the Paladin quarters.
When they get to Shiro’s suite (which Keith has more or less moved into), Shiro gently lays Keith on the side of the bed Keith claimed and, after throwing their uniform jackets and such onto the couch, covers him up.He sits there a moment to watch Keith sleep. There were no words Shiro could think of to adequately describe the feeling welling in his heart for Keith in that moment. Love somehow doesn't feel strong enough.
If Shiro hadn’t recently learned Keith was his soulmate, what Keith did for him would have convinced him.He gently brushes Keith hair off his ear and leans to kiss Keith's cheek before whispering."I love you."He gets up and walks to the other side of the bed.Shiro removes his own clothes and folds both their uniforms. After setting their folded uniforms on the halfwall between the living area and sleeping areas, Shiro makes short work of removing his prosthetic and setting it on its shelf before climbing into bed beside Keith.Shiro inches closer before settling down, silently looking into his lover’s face.Soon, he drifts off to sleep himself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Allura is sitting in one of the smaller briefing rooms with Tavo.“Tavo, I want to thank you for speaking with me.”“Forgive me Crown Princess Allura, but we don’t have much time.”“Sorry?”“Please,” Tavo emphasizes. “Once Honerva discovers I’m speaking with you, it will be over.”“Slow down, what are you trying to-…?”“Listen to me! Now that she has the Oriande, she will use it to destroy everythi-”Suddenly Tavo cuts himself off with a cry of pain before falling to the floor.“Tavo!”Ryou and one of the other med crew standing by comes in.“Wait!”Allura holds her hand over Tavo and focuses. Her hand begins to glow blueish white.“I feel something.”She focuses on what she feels and draws it out of Tavo until it turns into a blackish-purple polymorphic creature.“A Life Taker…”She releases it and suddenly it starts to ricochet around the room.“Get them out of there!” Commander Holt says.Ryou helps Allura carry Tavo out of the room.“Reverse magnetic polarity once the room is cleared,” Commander Holt tells N-7. “The impulse prism just might stabilize it.”~“This unit uses the ship’s crystal to energize the optronic vacuum casing,” Commander Holt explains. “It was designed to contain diseases, but it should suffice until we find a more permanent solution.”“Thank you Commander,” Allura tells him tiredly. “The Life Taker… it felt like it was trying to communicate with me.”“The Life Givers did say Life Takers could communicate through anyone,” Commander Holt points out.He looks at Allura.“Perhaps you should get some rest. It’s best if everyone stays away until…”Whatever else Commander Holt says, Allura hears none of it as the Life Taker seems to pull Allura into a trance.“Allura?”Allura snaps out of her trance.“You are right. Best to stay away.”As they turn to leave, Sam looks at her without judgement.“Thank you for finally telling the rest of what you learned at the Universal Cauldron to the inner circle of the crew.”“Thank Keith. It was his wish that we not reveal the rest to anyone but Coran and his mother. We merely respected his wishes.”“How is he?”“The shock of it has worn off, but I believe he is still processing it. Reuniting Shiro with his brother seemed to help, but he clearly troubled by it."“It’s a lot to process.”~Shiro is sitting in the captain’s chair on the Bridge lost in thought.A few days after reuniting Shiro with his brother, Keith agreed to let them tell the inner circle of the crew the rest of what they learned at the Universal Cauldron. Now everyone who knew Keith was Galra before he was outed also knows, plus Ryou, who has quickly joined their merry band of misfits.That was a week ago.
Now that the shock of everything has worn off, Keith’s morale’s been a extremely low.He’s doing his job and leading Voltron like nothing’s wrong. To anyone else, Keith might look unaffected by it. Shiro however can see the cracks in Keith's mask others might miss.
Shiro wishes he could do something for him to help but he doesn't know what, beyond what he's already doing.Curtis snaps him out of his thoughts.“Captain, I’m picking up an abnormal signal from planet Dionysus."Shiro straightens up in his chair.“Open a hailing frequency. We need to find out what’s going on.”“Copy,” Veronica tells him.“This is Captain Takashi Shirogane of the Voltron Coalition.”A humanoid alien with light purple skin, glowing white eyes, and no hair or mouth appears on the screen wearing a gold crown and gold armor with glowing blue stones embedded in them.Coran gasps.“Queen Ainson?”“Coran! So wonderful to see you again, old friend.”Her voice echoes as she speaks."I had heard there were a few ancient Alteans who survived."Coran turns to Shiro.“This is Queen Ainson of the Selendis. They were among Altea’s dearest allies.”"Forgive my bluntness, but this is the first time we've found an ally of Altea that wasn't destroyed by Zarkon," Shiro points out."I do not doubt that. The Empire, for the most part, left us alone.""Selendis have some... unique abilities..." Coran explains.
"They are the only race Zarkon ever truly feared, even before the war began.
He likely kept as far away from them as possible."“Just guessing they have incredibly long life spans?”“Indeed. In fact, I had the honor of watching Queen Ainson’s coronation when she was the equivalent of 17 of your Earth years old.”Coran sighs wistfully.“Maybe I’ll be fortunate enough to see Allura’s.”“To what do I owe this honor?” Queen Ainson asks.“We’ve noticed a lot of unusual activity on your planet’s surface. Are you in danger?”She chuckles amiably.“We thank you for your concern, but we are in no danger.”Queen Ainson sounds amused but not judgmental.“My people are celebrating our Lion Goddess Festival.”“That's today?!"“Lion Goddess Festival?” Shiro asks Coran.“Oh yes! It’s this wonderful celebration Dionysus throws every year in honor of one of their goddesses! There are carnival games, food, competitions, rides, and other fun.”“Really?” Shiro asks with intrigue as he gets the beginnings of an idea.‘I wonder if it’s only open to the Selendis… should I ask… it feels like we’re inviting ourselves if I ask…’Queen Ainson chuckles suddenly.“The Voltron Coalition is more than welcome to join in our festivities if you desire.”Shiro blinks.“How…?”“Did I forget to mention one of the Selendis abilities is telepathy?” Coran asks him. “Only the royalty can read minds but they communicate telepathically.”A light blush spreads across Shiro’s face as he reads between the lines. He recovers quickly.“Thank you for your generosity, Queen Ainson.”The transmission ends and Shiro turns to Veronica.“Make an announcement to the Atlas. We’re going to the Lion Goddess Festival.”~Lance and Allura are laying together on Allura's berth in her room with the princess canapy Lance made her pulled back.“Are you sure you don’t want to head down to the festival?”Allura leans against him tiredly.“I am sure. I have not been feeling well, especially after what happened with Tavo. I need to rest.”“Right. Well I could stay here with you. Keep you company if you want.”Allura smiles up at him.“Please, go have fun. Maybe you can win me a prize… something sparkly.”Lance smiles.“Yeah, ok! Winning prizes is kinda my specialty. I am a sharpshooter after all.”~Everyone wears their Garrison uniform but the Paladins all wear their Paladin bracelets and deactivated armor under their clothes just in case (not making that mistake twice).“I pulled some strings with Queen Ainson and got each of you 10 complementary tokens.”Coran says as he gives all the Paladins, Romelle, Acxa, Lotor, and Ryou said tokens.“Use them for games, food, rides, shows…”Pidge looks around.“Where’s Allura?”Lance looks at her.“She’s going to stay back and rest. I just need to find something to bring back to her.”“That’s nice of you, Lance. If I can make a suggestion, it looked like there was a shooting gallery back that way.”Pidge points back behind her.“Thanks Pidge!”A chime goes off in Pidge’s pocket. Pidge looks at her phone.“Oh hey! Sky’s free!”“Sky? You still keep in touch with her?” Hunk asks.Pidge quickly messages Sky back.“Yeah. She’s basically my best friends back home. I’ve been keeping her updated on all the unclassified shenanigans we get into.”Sky responds to Pidge’s message.“Sweet! She’s free for a several hours!”Pidge pulls what looks like a triangle out of her pocket.“What’s that?” Ryou asks.Pidge presses a button and the triangle projects three holographic pyramid sides and starts to float.“I call it Rover 2.0. It’s a prototype for a kind of intergalactic communication device I built using those drones the pirates used on us. It works like a video phone only its hands free.”“Holy shit, that’s amazing! You weren’t kidding about the kid genius part.”Shiro laughs.“I told you.”A tic later the holo-sides glow white and a Peruvian girl with blue eyes and long, straight black hair under a backward blue baseball cap appears.“Hey Sky,” Pidge says.“Sup girl! I see you’re hanging with your friends.”“Yep.”"Nice to see you fuckers again."The floating pyramid turns toward Romelle, Acxa, Lotor, and Ryou.“Hey, who are the new kids? Don’t think I saw any of you fuckers at the beach.”Pidge introduces them.Acxa looks around with intrigue.“I have never been to a festival before."Lotor looks around as well."Celebrations and such were a taboo to the Empire. Zarkon believed such things eroded discipline."“Oh they are so much fun!” Romelle tells them excitedly. “Come, let us explore.”Keith looks confused.“I thought we were providing security.” Everyone present looks at each other.Ryou raises a suspicious eyebrow at Shiro who shrugs sheepishly, confirming Ryou’s suspicions.“Ok… well… Sky and I are going to go make sure the arcade’s safe!”Pidge runs off toward said arcade with Rover hovering after her.“Yeah, I think I’ll go keep an eye on the fairway games.”Lance disappears too.Romelle catches on.“Lotor, Acxa, and I shall protect the rides!”Romelle drags the two of them run off.“I’ll bet the food stalls are prime targets, right? I mean, poisons are a thing.”Hunk runs for said food stalls.“I’ll come with you! For medical expertise!”Ryou quickly follows him.Coran looks around awkwardly before spotting Queen Ainson.“I think I’ll go keep the Queen safe!”Coran runs after her as she slows to wait for him.Shiro puts a hand on Keith's shoulder.“Keith, relax.”Keith looks at him.“If we’re not here for protection than what are we doing here?”Shiro rubs the back of his neck.“Well…I figured we could… I dunno… maybe… go on a date.”Keith blinks.“We go on dates."“A date that isn’t eating dinner on the Observation deck and then dancing on said Observation deck.”Keith softens.“Alright.”Shiro holds his elbow out to Keith. Keith takes it and off they go.~
Allura’s resting in bed when she feels a change in the room. She looks over and sees Lance standing at her dresser where she keeps a purple flower in a pot.

“Lance? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the carnival.”

“That’s a beautiful flower. Where did you get it?”

“Dr. Holt gave it to me. It’s a real juniberry flower. I assumed they had gone extinct.”

“You should know better than anyone, nothing ever truly goes extinct.”

Suddenly Lance disappears as though he’d never been and is replaced by Lotor.

“Lotor?”

Lotor looks at said flower.

“You know, the ancients believed that all life began with a single juniberry flower.”

“I had not heard that.”

Allura gets up.

“I thought you had gone to the festival as well.”

“I am uneasy. We do not yet know how we are going to defeat Haggar.”

“You know she is Honerva now.”

“True.Though, I could rename this a highlands poppy, you and I would still know what it truly is. The witch may change her name, but she will always be a witch.”

“Be that as it may, she is too powerful. There’s nothing I can do to counter her abilities.”

“You are mistaken. Everything you need is here.”

“How?”

Suddenly, she’s in front of the Life Taker’s case.

“The Life Taker holds the power you seek. It is an ancient form of energy that predates time itself. It hails from the quintessence field. The Life Taker gave Haggar the ability to conquer worlds and control the universe for 10,000 years. It even allowed her to corrupt one of the Voltron Lions. She recognizes the strength it provides her and she uses it. If you can become one with it, then the powers you gain can defeat the witch.”

Allura reaches out and touches the case and suddenly she’s on Altea staring face to face with her mother.

“Allura.”

“Mother!”

“I’m so happy you’re here. You have arrived just in time.”

“Just in time? Just in time for what?”

“To save us.”

Suddenly the sky is filled with Galra cruisers.

“Only you can protect us.”

The ships open fire on the castle and suddenly Allura’s inside one of the Altean robeasts draining the quintessence from Altea and using it to destroy the ships with the robeast’s cannon. But then she looks around and sees Altea is a barren wasteland where once green fields lay.

“I am so proud of you," her mother says before she disintegrates.
~Allura awakens with a jolt, gasping for breath.The mice look up at her with concern.“I am alright. It was just a dream.”~Back at the festival, Keith and Shiro are running around the festival competing with each other on pretty much any game that allows them to be competitive (and giving their prizes away to random kids they find).
Meanwhile, Lance quickly runs out of tokens to rack up enough tickets to get a sparkly metal and crystal bracelet that looks like a chain of those juniberry flowers he saw Dr. Holt making for Allura, Hunk and Ryou eat some questionable but still delicious food, Romelle takes Lotor and Acxa on several rides, and Pidge racks up tickets of her own with Sky hovering nearby.Pidge and Sky stop in front of the entrance of a huge tent when Lance, Hunk, and Ryou catch up with her.Lance peeks inside curiously.“Wonder what this is?”Pidge looks at the sign out front.“The sign says it’s a play of some kind. “Come hear the wondrous tale of the Lion Goddess and her friends as they vanquish their foe".”“Sounds interesting,” Hunk comments.“I’ll admit I’m curious,” Ryou states.“Same,” Lance adds.“Let's not all suck each others dicks over this just yet," Sky cuts in.
"The sign says you need a token in order to watch and judging from the shiny object sticking out of Lanky’s pocket over here; I’m guessing he’s run out.”“It’s for Allura!”“My point still stands.”Hunk digs a spare token out of his pocket.“I’ve got an extra token Lance.”“Aw yeah! Teddy Bear saves his bro!”The 5 of them head into the tent.~Keith and Shiro are laughing as they walk away from their last game, each of them carrying a Red and Black Lion plush respectively.“This reminds me of the Scottish Festival Pop used to take me to every year.”Shiro looks at him in surprise.“I didn’t know you were Scottish."Keith laughs.“We’re not. Dad just liked going to show off his ax throwing skills. I’m Japanese and Native American.”“The Japanese I guessed from your last name, but the Native American is a surprise.”“Usually is. I don’t know what tribe, but I know the land my old shack sits “belonged” to them for God knows how long. When Reservations were abolished after the Third World War and all Native American tribes were given their original territories back, the tribe built the farm Pop had. Then a Japanese man married one of their woman and had my dad.”“Just guessing your dad told you all this?”“Yep. Anyway, they’d have the typical Scottish Highland games like hammer throwing and such and then they would have things like ax throwing and archery things set up. Like I said, Pop just wanted to go to show off.
He was pretty handy with an ax.”Shiro laughs.“He was a firefighter so I would hope so."~Allura’s standing in front of the containment unit for the Life Taker.“It has been here the entire time.”Lotor appears behind her.“Everything you need. The ability you have been seeking, is within your grasp.”Lotor’s eyes begin to glow purple but his voice remains the same.“Go ahead, Allura. Free it.”Allura almost does but then stops herself.“I cannot. I will not.”Lance appears behind her now.“It won’t do any harm. The Life Taker will help you. It will save all of us.”“Take it.”“No. No. This is not real!”She hears her mother's voice.“Only you can save us all.” Allura turns and sees her mother in the corner.“Release the Life Taker.”Allura stares hard at her mother.“Come home to Altea.”Suddenly, her mother morphs into Honerva.“Join us.”In a trance, Allura frees the Life Taker and allows it into her body.~Pidge and the others are mulling out in front of the tent for the play during intermission.“Gotta admit, this shit is awesome so far!” Sky comments.“Seriously! It has everything! Action, comedy, drama…” Lance points out.“A general overall theme of found family,” Ryou adds.“Plus, I think the play is hinting at a blossoming romance between the Lion Goddess’ lead general and the loner with abandonment issues,” Hunk adds.“I think intermission’s almost over,” Pidge comments. “Let’s go see how it ends!”~“Takashi!”Keith had lost track of Shiro after going to the bathroom.Keith quickly finds him.Inside a dunk tank.“Takashi?!”Keith walks up to a booth with a clear barrier separating him from Shiro.“Oh thank god!”“I’m gone for 5 minutes to pee and you somehow manage to become a dunk tank incentive?”Shiro points to a sign.“Apparently, it’s a themed dunk tank.”“’Dunk the Black Paladin’”Keith looks up at Shiro with a raised eyebrow.“I’m Black’s Paladin now.”“That’s what I told him! I haven’t been dunked yet, but I really don’t want to wait around for an alien Nolan Ryan to come along.
The water's freezing.”Keith tests the barrier to find it’s not electrified.“Hey you!”They both look up to see the Selendis attendant for the dunk tank walking up.“No talking to the actors!”Keith glares at him.“He’s not an actor, he’s an actual Paladin!” “All the better!”“He’s not even the Black Paladin anymore, I am!”“You didn’t bring in enough customers! Apparently the Voltron Show made this guy more popular.
Even though he looks different, he's still getting me more customers. Now scram before I call security!”Keith raises an eyebrow at the attendant before shooting Shiro a look.Shiro nods trustingly as Keith walks away.Keith ducks behind a nearby stall. After 5 doboshes (and so many bad throws), the attendant forgets about him. When the attendant is distracted, Keith uses all of his Blade training to swiftly but silently return to the booth.Keith pulls out and awakens his blade.“As much as I love seeing you in wet clothes, I’d rather it be somewhere more private.”He quickly slices through the barrier and Shiro scrambles to climb out. Keith stows his blade before lifting Shiro down bridal style.Shiro circles his arms around Keith's neck.“My hero.""You can thank me later..."Before Keith can put Shiro down, they get caught.“What the… HEY!”“Shit!”“Security!”Keith high tails it away, still carrying Shiro.Soon the attendant and 5 security guards are chasing after them through the festival.“It might be faster if I ran myself!”“I'd still have to stop running! I’ve got an idea though.”They’re far enough ahead of security that when they turn a corner, Keith has enough time to jump into the line for a ride. He quickly sets Shiro down; keeping him on the inside of the line.“Quick, stoop a little. Let me handle the rest.” Keith whispers while taking his Garrison jacket off and turning it inside out.Shiro does it without question and Keith drapes his jacket over Shiro’s shoulders, covering the black of his uniform and the “floating arm of glowiness” as Pidge likes to call it. He then wraps an arm around Shiro’s covered shoulders and pulls him in so that his head is against Keith’s chest.At the angle they’re at, Shiro’ hair is mostly hidden by Keith’s body.2 seconds later, security and the attendant turn the corner and stop when they don’t see them anymore.Keith turns his face toward Shiro’s and whispers to him as they move with the line.“Act like we’re on a date…”Shiro grins before whispering back.“We are on a date…”Keith shoots him a quick smile before side eyeing the attendant and security guards.When the attendant looks directly at them, Keith quickly angles Shiro’s chin to tenderly caress his lover’s lips with his own again and again.The attendant quickly turns away. He and security then runs straight past them.Only when the sound of footsteps has faded away does Keith pull back.He glances over his shoulder quickly before letting go of Shiro.Shiro stands up straight.“I’m kind of amazed that worked.”He hands Keith back his jacket.“The perks of having a professional spy for a boyfriend.”Keith pauses to put it back on while they move with the line.“It’s not always so bad to be seen, so long as you don’t stand out.”“And the kiss?”“That was a gamble. Apparently public displays of affection are just as uncomfortable to Selendis as they are to humans."A light blush spreads across Keith's face before he adds."Also I wanted to.”Shiro gives him a smile.“Next!”They look up and see they’re at the front of the line for the ride.“Come on! You’re holding the line up! Let’s go!”They look at each other and shrug before climbing in.“Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.”The attendant starts the ride.“You use ‘em, you lose ‘em.”Shiro shrugs as they go through a tunnel.“If nothing else, it’ll keep security from finding us.”The tunnel exits into a room full of animatronic Selendis with a few Lion Goddesses sprinkled in singing and dancing to the most mind-numbingly stupid song.“This is clearly a kid’s ride…” Shiro deadpans.Keith groans in agreement.Suddenly, the ride breaks down with them in the middle of the room.They hear an automated recorded voice.“Please excuse the inconvenience. We’re experiencing technical difficulties. Please remain inside your buggy until the ride is fixed.”Meanwhile, the music and animatronics are all still running.“We’ve gotta get out of here!” they say at the same time.~Pidge and the others just sit and gawk as the play ends and everyone files out.“WHAT THE QUIZNAK DID I JUST WATCH!?” Pidge exclaims, voicing the sentiment shared by her companions.“The fuck kind of ending was that?!” Sky agrees.A haughty looking Selendis approaches them.“I had heard we had a few Coalition members in the audience. I was not expecting three of the five Paladins.”Hunk looks at the Selendis.“Uh, quick question. Why does the second half of the play feel like it was written by a different person than the first half?”“My father, who wrote the first half of the play, sadly passed away. I wrote the second half myself.”Pidge stands.“I have a question…”Pidge adjusts her glasses and faces him.“Do you take constructive criticism?”“I absolutely do not!”“Too bad, I’m bitching anyway. You killed my favorite character.”Pidge looks him dead in the eye.“Why the quiznak did you have the Lion Goddess die?!”The Selendis sniffed.“I would not expect you to understand the ways of storytelling, but it is not a good story unless the main character dies.”“Ok, first of all; bullshit. If the only way you can think to end a story is to kill off a main character; you’re a shitty writer with no imagination. Second of all, I can think of at least two ways this story could have ended without any of the 6 main characters dying. Either they all attempt to die with her but their guardian spirits sacrifice themselves to save them or you could have just had the redeemed witch fix everything herself!”He looks at her condescendingly.“It is a play about war. Perhaps you are too young to understand, but in war, there are deaths. One of the good guys must die to make that point clear.”Sky's pyramid floats between him and Pidge."Bitch!
You're talking to a motherfucking Paladin!
I guarantee she's seen more death than you, ya prissy dickbag!" Sky tells him indignantly.
“And if someone "had to die" to make it clear wars have deaths, then why the fuck were her friends all taking goddamn pictures of themselves at the base of her memorial?! If my brothers and I pulled that shit at our dad's memorial, we'd all get a chancla upside the head from our mom for being disrespectful!""Same!" Lance agrees.Sky's pyramid floats to the side as Pidge steps forward."If you’re going to kill a character you should have written a death that ACTUALLY makes sense to the story! I can think of at least four ways you could have ended this with a death and still have it make sense; two of which don’t involve any of the main characters dying.”“By all means, do tell me...”“You could have redeemed the witch’s son and have him sacrifice himself.
He's already a savior to the Goddess' followers; let him actually be one by saving said Goddess. Hell, the Goddess’ trusted advisor was trying to be a hero throughout the entirety of the play! Let him be one by sacrificing himself to save her.”“Only the six main characters are present!”“Then kill them all! Fuck, if you were so intent on having one of the main characters die, have the loner with abandonment issues, a self-sacrificing streak, and mysterious abilities that never got explained sacrifice himself to save the Goddess.
Seriously, what was the point of him spending the entire play getting through his abandonment issues, only to have the ONE person who swore he’d never abandon him do just that. At least then said person’s sudden retirement and shotgun wedding to a random side character would have made sense!”The Selendis looks at the boys and Sky.“Are you going to let her speak to me like this?!”“Bitch, I could watch this shit all night! You earned that shit!"“Yep!” Lance and Hunk agree.“We’ll stop her if she says something we don’t agree with,” Ryou adds.~Back at the broken down ride, Keith is curled up on the seat with his hands over his ears while Shiro has his arms around him and is holding the younger man against his chest.Neither of them is enjoying the music, but the music, lights, and animatrons are beginning to over-stimulate Keith.
The steady thump-thump of his lover's heart is helping, but not much.Keith grits his teeth and whines.“The one time I forget my earplugs in the room...”Shiro cards his fingers through Keith's hair soothingly.“Just hang in there, babe. They’ll get the ride up and running soon.”There’s a sudden jolt as the ride starts moving.“Thank you for your patience. Please enjoy the ride.”“Finally!”Two tics later, the ride breaks down again.“Please excuse the inconvenience… We’re experiencing technical difficulties. Please remain inside your buggy until the ride is fixed.”“That’s it!”He quickly materializes his sword and slices through the safety bar.“I’m getting outta here!”Keith gets up and heads for the side of the tent.“Right behind you, babe!”Keith slices through the cloth exterior of the ride and they both exit the ride.Keith takes a deep breath.“Much better… Wouldn’t say no to us leaving the festival though.”“As a matter of fact…”“THERE THEY ARE!”Keith and Shiro turn to see the security guards from before.They both yell and run away again.“I’ve got this one! Follow me!”Shiro grabs Keith’s right hand in his left and leads him through the festival toward the entrance.Keith spots something when they get within sight of it.“Is that a hoverbike?”“Yep! Had Matt drop it off on his way down with N-7. Was intending for you to drive but…”Shiro sends his right arm to start the hoverbike so that by the time they reach it, it’s already starting to move.Shiro hops into the driver’s seat and pulls Keith in behind him before taking off, Keith’s arms around Shiro’s waist.Just when they think they’ve lost them, a couple ground vehicles appear chasing after them.Keith looks back at them as the vehicles chase them up a mountain side.“These guys are persistent!”There's a mischievous tone in Shiro voice when he answers.“Hang on! You and I both know how we can lose ‘em.”Keith looks and sees they’re coming up to a hairpin turn with a steep drop.Keith shoots him a mischievous look of his own before readying himself.When they reach the turn, instead of moving with the road; Shiro drives straight off of it into a dive.Security is forced to stop chasing them or risk crashing.At the last second, Shiro pulls up and turns the bike parallel with the ground, letting the lift of the bike cushion them before taking off once more.Keith looks over his shoulder.“Yep! That did it!”Shiro quickly glances back at Keith.“Believe it or not, I actually did have a destination in mind when I was planning this. Wasn't antisipating getting chased by security but oh well..."Keith smiles at him trustingly.“You know where we’re going.”Keith wraps his arms just a little bit tighter around Shiro and rests his cheek against Shiro’s back before closing his eyes and snuggling closer.Shiro’s heart melts at it as he gives a quick glance over his shoulder.
He lets go of one of the handle bars briefly to give Keith's hands a squeeze.Soon they arrive at a cliff where Shiro comes to a stop.Keith gets off and looks out and sees the cliff overlooks the festival and an enormous expanse of sky. Like Earth, Dionysus is on one of the outer arms of its spiral galaxy so there’s a beautiful band of stars going straight across the sky.Keith turns back to Shiro to say something and sees him standing with a small picnic basket.“Courtesy of Hunk.”Keith smiles at him before helping him set up the picnic.As they eat, they talk about everything and nothing at the same time with the occasional teasing sprinkled in. Afterwards, they lie back on the blanket and look up at the stars, Keith head resting on Shiro’s chest with Shiro’s left arm around his waist; Keith's hand resting inside Shiro's prosthetic.Shiro looks down at Keith where he lays in Shiro's arms with his eyes closed.
Shiro can tell by the slow, even way he's breathing that Keith's dozed off.
As Shiro watches his lover sleep peacefully; he marvels, not for the first time, at just how amazing it feels finally being able to hold Keith in his arms like this. He would give Keith the moon if he could, if for no other reason than the fact that Keith would never ask for it.Shiro lets Keith nap for a few vargas before he knows they need to head back.He uses his prosthetic
hand to gently guide Keith’s chin up to press a soft, tender kiss into them.

When he pulls away, Keith opens his eyes."We need to head back.""Ok..."Keith looks up at him sleepily."Thanks for tonight.
It was good to get out of my head for a bit."Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's forehead."Your pain is my pain... I know things are kinda heavy for you right now.
I'm glad I was able to take your mind off of it for a little while.”~They head back to the festival through a different entrance than the one they left through.Keith wraps his arms around Shiro's neck and pulls him into a kiss. They pull back an inch from each others' lips.“I love you.”Shiro presses their foreheads together.“Love you too.”“Aw! that’s some good cotton candy type shit right there!”They both turn while remaining in each other’s arms as the rest of their group walks up to them.“You picked the perfect spot too.”Ryou points behind them. They turn to look and see they’re standing next to an arch.
They look back at each other and shrug.“I gotta go, Pidge,” Sky tells her. “It’s been nice hanging with you again.”“Alright, talk to you soon.”Pidge deactivates Rover.“Let’s head back guys,” Keith suggests.As they return to the ship, they pass the containment room the Life Taker was kept in.Lance looks in and sees Allura unconscious on the floor.“Allura!”He and the others run to her.
While Lance cradles Allura in his arms, Keith looks up and sees the containment unit is empty.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Allura.”

Allura opens her eyes and she's surrounded by darkness.

“Allura.”

She turns at the whisper. She continues to search every time she hears it say her name.

“Allura!”
~Suddenly Allura awakens with a jolt.“Allura, are you ok?”She looks to her left and sees Lance and Coran standing beside her.She looks around.“What is going on? Where am I?”Lance looks at her gently.“You’re in med bay? When we returned from the festival we found you collapsed on the ground.”“You’ve been asleep for two quintants.”Coran looks away.“The Life Taker… it’s missing.”He looks back at her.“Did you?”Allura thinks for a moment before looking down at her hands solemnly.“I did what needed to be done.”“No…”Lance frowns.“What needed to be done? What are you talking about?”“The Life Taker. It is connected to Honerva. I believe we can use it.”“Use it?!”Lance starts pacing the room. He turns back as Coran starts to speak.“I swore to your father I would look after you and protect you with my life… but I fear I may have let him down.”Coran looks at her.“This is the path of darkness.”“It is the path toward defeating Honerva. It is a necessity."Lance throws his hands up in the air.“Ugh! You and Keith are definitely soul siblings!”~“You bonded with the Life Taker?!”Keith is standing in front of his chair in the briefing room across from Allura. He, Shiro, Hunk, Lance, Pidge, and Lotor are all gathered in the briefing room after Lance, Coran, and Allura tell them what happened.“I did what was necessary, Keith. It has bonded me to Honerva"“Allura, I had one of those things inside me. It nearly killed me.”“She is the single greatest threat the universe has ever faced and we do not have any other leads.”Keith sits down and crosses his arms.“Did it ever occur to you that this might be a trap, Allura? That this might be exactly what Honerva wants you to do? She knows we’re desperate to stop her and she wants you to take this risk. The Life Takers give her the ability to kill people at a distance. We’ve seen her do it several times!”Allura looks at him indignantly."Did you not do the exact same thing?""I don't have Voltron tied to my life force and Atlas was still tied to Shiro at the time!"“Keith's right, Allura.”"Not you too, Shiro..."“Allura, if you die, we’d lose both Voltron AND Atlas. We’d be defenseless.”Lotor looks at her.“I must agree with Keith as well, Allura. He has a tendency to be correct
about such things.”Allura looks at them appreciatively.“I understand your concerns, but I believe it to be worth the risk. The link is there whether we utilize it or not. I believe that if we six use the shared consciousness of Voltron with that of the White Lion, we may be able to travel through the void and into her mind.”“That could, in theory, give us access to her physical location,” Pidge states.“Or at least what she’s planning,” Hunk adds.“I’m with Keith, Allura.”Lance is sitting beside her with his arms crossed.“I don’t like the idea of us using you like this. We’re messing with powers we don’t fully understand. It’s dangerous.”“Lance, you are the Paladins of Voltron and I am the Paladin of the White Lion. There is no one more capable of taking this on.”Allura stands up then.“It has to be us.”Pidge and Hunk quickly join her.“I still think this is a mistake.”Keith stands.“But I won’t abandon you.”Shiro's face darkens.“I spent a lot of time in the infinite void. It took all of my strength not to lose my sanity…”He looks up at them as he stands.“But if we can find a clue that leads to defeating her, it could give us the upper hand in this fight.”Keith takes Shiro’s left hand in his own and gives it a reassuring squeeze.“You won’t be there alone this time.”Coran and Lotor quickly join them leaving only Lance still sitting at the table.After a while, he stands.“Let’s do it.”Allura looks at him.“Besides, the team will have our sharpshooter there to keep
us safe.”Lance smiles at her.“I knew that nickname was going to catch on one of these days."Allura looks at Keith."And if Honerva does attempt to kill me, I will fight her long enough so our nethermancer will put an end to it."Shiro speaks up then.“I do have a condition, though.”Allura raises an eyebrow.“Which is?”“Someone from medbay needs to be standing on the bridge with you while we do this. If Honerva does try to kill you at a distance; the faster we can get you to a cryo-pod, the better chance anyone will have to save you.”Shiro gives
Keith's hand a
squeeze back.“I know better than to ignore my second-in-command’s hunches. Like Lotor said, he tends to be right.”Lotor looks at her.“I would also suggest launching the Sincline as a precaution.””Also either Kolivan or my mom should be on bridge to give orders while you’re doing this.”“Very well,” Allura agrees.~The Paladins all get in their Lions and Lotor gets in the Sincline as Allura and Coran walk onto the bridge with Ryou and Krolia.“The Lions and Sincline are launching.”Allura sits in her seat as her bayard port opens.“Put the Atlas on high alert. Iverson, power up Atlas’ weapons system. Veronica, make sure the shield system is operational.”“High alert? What’s going on? Why are Voltron and the Sincline launching and why are Krolia
and Captain Shirogane’s brother here?”Ryou raises an eyebrow.“I have a name too, ya know."Krolia side smiles.“Yep, they’re definitely brothers,” Iverson deadpans.“We are merely
being careful.”The other Lions form Voltron as she explains.“Atlas needs to be prepared for any eventuality, including the fact that I will be unable to give orders while we are doing this. Coran will explain and Krolia
is in charge.”Voltron and the Sincline are floating nearby.“It is time to begin,” Allura states.She and the Voltron Paladins activate and turn their bayards in their ports at the same time before closing their eyes and focusing.~When they open their eyes, the six of them are standing together in their shared connection between Lions.
Except now there's a difference."Uh... why is Keith standing in the middle now without a circle?"Lance's voice echoes when he talks.Pidge theorizes. "Maybe its related to him being able to pilot all of the Lions or his nether abilities. He can move where ever he wants."“So... now what?” Hunk asks.Keith looks at the Crown Princess.“Allura, do you feel anything?”Allura closes her eyes and focuses.“We must travel through that light.”She points to the white light in front of them all.“It looks so far away. How do you know?” Hunk asks.“The Life Taker draws me toward it.”Using their jetpacks, they follow Allura.Suddenly they’re in an area surrounded by stars that looks like space.Lance looks around.“What is this place? It’s like… it’s like I can hear what the universe is thinking.”“Remember how the Olkari told me that everything is made of the same energy?” Pidge asks. “I think it has something to do with that.”“So, thoughts are linked across some kind of, what, cosmic connection?” Hunk asks.“Yeah, but I think we are the thoughts,” Shiro tells them. “Inside a network of other people’s thoughts.”“Ugh, this is making my head hurt,” Lance whines.“Yeah, I’m with Lance on this one,” Hunk agrees.“If we are to-…Augh!”Allura cries out in pain while clutching her head as the others do so as well.~“I’m detecting fluctuations in Voltron’s energy signature,” Coran says.Ryou scans Allura.“Allura’s is as well.”Coran looks at Krolia.“Should we do anything?”“Hold."~The pain dissipates and Allura looks back at the others floating nearby.“What was that?” Lance asks weakly.“It felt like cold water running down my spine,” Hunk states.“That was Honerva,” Allura and Keith say at the same time.“What?!”“The Life Taker inside Allura is connected to her,” Keith explains.“Wait, then why did we feel it?” Hunk asks.“Because we are all connected through the Voltron Lions and the White Lion,” Allura explains.“The psychic link between us is now shared with Honerva,” Keith continues. “The closer we are to her, the stronger that link.”Shiro looks worriedly at Keith.“Is this what it felt like for you?”“Worse.""How so?" Pidge asks.“First of all, Honerva put the Life Taker in me in the first place, so she already knew the mental link was there. Second, she put it there to make me a docile puppet so it was like that, but more persistently.”Lance looks at Allura.“This is too dangerous! She could use that connection to find us. To find you.”“No, this is how we are going to find her. First, I must learn to utilize this energy to do so.”“I think I can help you with that,” Keith tells her.“You can? How?” Pidge asks.Keith looks at Allura.“This isn’t just on you now, Allura. We’re doing this together. If we concentrate, we’ll be able to find her energy.”Shiro catches on.“Then we can track it back to its source. Everyone, let’s all focus.”They all close their eyes and soon start glowing the color of their quintessence.Soon they all become their Lions. The Voltron Lions form Voltron with the White Lion beside it.“This is awesome!” Hunk yells.“I can feel something,” Shiro
says. “Like an energy inside me.”“It is the Life Taker,” Allura tells them.“This feeling…” Lance begins. “It’s like…”“Like a dark realization washing over you…” Keith says knowingly.“It’s like we’re being pulled by a tether connected to our souls,” Pidge observes.“We’re getting closer,” Keith says matter-of-factually.“Are you ok, Keith?” Shiro asks him.“Yeah I’m good.”After traveling for some time, they turn back into themselves when they reach a large black floor with lightning.“Is this Honerva’s mind?” Hunk asks.“It is on the other side of this,” Allura says while looking at the ground beneath their feet.Suddenly, they see shadowy figures swirling and shrieking around inside it.They all gasp in horror.“What is this?” Pidge asks.“It feels like… these are the souls Honerva has defeated and corrupted…”Keith's voice shakes a little as he speaks.“It is terrible.”Allura's voice shakes as well.“Of course we’re going to have to get on the other side of the-… what?!”Hunk points as hands start to reach up through the floor and grabs onto their legs, pulling them down below the floor.~Pidge opens her eyes and gasps for breath.She looks around and sees a green nebulous field with a green eclipsed sun.“Guys? Where am I?”Her voice shakes.“Guys do you copy? Guys?!”A shadowy figure with a green aura appears behind her with a double-handed ax.“Team, can you hear me?!”Suddenly she detects the person behind her and turns before dodging as the figure attacks her.~Hunk is in a yellow nebulous field with a yellow eclipsing sun fighting off a large yellow figure with a staff.“Hello? Anyone?!”Hunk fires his gun at it. It deflects his shots easily.~Lance is in a red nebulous field with a red eclipsing sun fighting off a figure with a sword with his rifle.“Team! Something severed our connection.”The red figure deflects all of his shots before attacking him.Lance quickly activates his bayard upgrade and locks swords with the person.~Shiro’s in a blue nebulous field with a blue eclipsing sun deflecting blue arrows with his shield.“Guys are you there?! I know where we are! We’re in our Lions’ quintessence field!”Shiro fends off more of the blue figure’s shots.~Allura is standing in a white barrier when she opens her eyes.
When the barrier fades she’s in an area the size of one of the Atlas’ basic crew quarters in the middle of four different colored barriers: green, yellow, red, and blue.As she looks around, she sees four of the five Paladins fighting off shadow figures. She moves to help them but the colored barriers stop her.“I can’t even feel my Lion!” Pidge says as she fights.“I’m pretty sure I’m fighting the original Blue Paladin!” Shiro says.Allura gasps at that before gritting her teeth. Her eyes glow black as she uses the Life Taker.Suddenly, four of the Voltron Lions appear and roar, blowing the shadows off of the figures.Sure enough, Trigal, Gyrgan, Blaytz, and King Alfor become visible.“Knew it!”Pidge looks in shock at Trigal.“Your soul! Honerva must have…”“…Trapped you here somehow.”Hunk looks at Gyrgan.“Please, I don’t want to fight you!”Lance tries to get through to Alfor.“Please! Remember who you are!”“Blaytz, please,” Shiro pleads.Their attempts are in vain as they’re all forced to evade attacks from the Original Paladins for their Lions.“ENOUGH!”Allura's eyes turn white as her bayard appears in her hand and forms her lance.She twirls it in her hand before slamming the pommel on the ground.The White Lion appears at her side and lets out a tremendous roar that gets the Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green Lions to roar with it.Each of the original Paladins glow with a white light as the spell breaks.One by one they all come out of their trance.“What…”Trigal sees Pidge and looks around.“Where am I?”Hunk helps Gyrgan up.“You’re in the void… just outside of Honerva’s mind. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”Blaytz drops to his knees in front of Shiro.“Are the visions from the Lions true?”“Has it really been 10,000 years?” King Alfor asks.“It has,” Lance confirms.“It saddens me greatly to learn that Zarkon wreaked such destruction in our absence,” Gyrgan says.“But not completely,” Hunk assures him. “Voltron has reformed and the Paladins fly together again.”Gyrgan stands next to Hunk as they look at the Yellow Lion.“I have always believed that unity is where true power comes from and true unity can only be born of love.”Trigal looks at Pidge.“I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to know that someone so connected to the world around her is piloting the Green Lion. My race believes observation to be the most revered attribute. It is where intelligence is born and for you it is where it has thrived. The infinite abilities of your mind dwarf the smallness of your size. The Green Lion could not have found a more perfect Paladin.”Pidge smiles at her predecessor.Blaytz stands and looks at Shiro.“You pilot the Blue Lion yet wear the armor for the Black Lion.”“It’s a long story.”“No doubt it is.”Blaytz looks up at the Blue Lion.“People often overlooked me or unnecessarily protected me
because I was “different”, but the Blue Lion recognized something in me, something others couldn’t see. She saw the greatness within that even I did not.”He looks at Shiro.“You have greatness within you as well. That Blue picked you to fly her proves that. Never doubt that you belong with the Paladins.”Shiro smiles.“Thank you.”Alfor looks at Lance.“Through the Lion’s bond I could feel the love you have for my daughter.”“I could feel yours as well.”“As Paladins, we face many quests throughout the cosmos, but the most amazing journey is that of life. The biggest question you face is who to go on that journey with. I’m glad my daughter chose you.”As the Paladins and their predecessors’ energies unite as one, the barriers keeping Allura from them shatters.The White Lion appears beside Allura as she holds her lance like a staff. She raises it in the air as the White Lion roars, getting the attention of both sets of Paladins.The Altean Crystal on it shines bright, sweeping away the darkness around them.“Everyone’s alright!” Hunk exclaims.The Original Paladins look over in amazement.“Wait, is that a…”“A White Paladin?”“The White Lion,” Alfor breathes.That's when he recognizes her.“Allura!”Allura releases her bayard and runs to hug her father for the first time in 10,000 years.“It is fitting that what is brightest to me has become the White Paladin,” Alfor tells her tearfully.“All that I have done, I have done to make you proud.”Suddenly, all 5 of the newer Paladins present cry out in pain and drop to their knees while clutching their heads.Alfor drops to his knees at his daughter's side.“What’s going on?”Allura grits her teeth through the pain.“Honerva’s connection grows.”The pain fades and she looks at her father.“We are very close to her now.”Alfor's voice shakes.“You hold a dark entity within you! Don’t you know how dangerous that is?! That’s what lead to Honerva and Zarkon’s end!”“Dude, you have no idea,” Hunk states.“They’re called Life Takers,” Lance explains.Trigal looks at them.“Life Takers?”“Short version,” Hunk begins. “Honerva did something dumb and now the universe is paying for it."“When Honerva brought a Life Taker through into our reality and kept it there to study it, she was messing with something she didn’t fully understand,” Lance adds.“They’re not supposed to exist in any reality for too long," Pidge continues. "Her
hubris for knowledge coupled with their prolonged stay here as well as all the undue death and destruction caused by Honerva and Zarkon over the last 10,000 years, has
driven them insane.”Allura turns her back to her father.“I know the danger, but now I have the power to stop Honerva.”She turns back to him.“You had to make a difficult choice in war by sending the Lions away. I also had to make a difficult choice… I am not going to be afraid to use the power I have.”“Hey wait a second!”Shiro starts looking around.“Where’s Keith?”The other Paladins all look at him.Pidge gasps in horror when she realizes.“Oh my god!”“What?”Pidge looks at the others.“Honerva had the souls of our predecessors trapped here right?!”The others nod.“Shiro isn’t the only former Black Paladin.”There's fear in Shiro's eyes as he catches on.“If Honerva’s mind had us fighting our predecessors, than that would mean…”~Keith opens his eyes and looks around.“Wait… I know where I am…”He recognizes the purple nebulous field with the eclipsing purple sun.“This is inside Black’s head.”Keith hears movement behind him and gasps when he sees two figures appear out of the darkness.One is carrying a bayard.The other has a glowing purplish hand.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Keith's mouth drops open as he stares.Not at Zarkon because he was Honerva’s husband so of course he'd be here.Its the black and white haired Black Paladin with the glowing hand that takes him by surprise.“The clone... Honerva must trapped you here after you died from our fight.”Zarkon turns his bayard into a sword before taunting.“Allowing a half-breed like you to become

the Black Paladin was a mistake. That mistake will soon be rectified.”Zarkon attacks Keith. Keith dodges before bringing his own bayard’s sword up to block the clone’s attack.~Shiro's voice cracks as he grips Allura's shoulders.“We have to find Keith!”Allura pats his human hand understandingly.“We will find him Shiro."“How?” Hunk asks. “He could be anywhere down here!”Shiro feels a purr in his head then and looks back at the Blue Lion as she lowers her head down to him.“I know exactly how!”He runs up her ramp.Pidge quickly catches on to her brother’s plan and opens her wrist computer to connect to Blue through Green.Shiro sits in her seat before focusing on trying to see through Blue’s eyes. Before long, he succeeds and the bayard port opens. He inserts the Blue Bayard and unlocks Blue’s sonic cannon. He fires a sonic wave to use as echo location to find Keith. Soon a blip comes up on Pidge’s computer.“I’ve got him Shiro!”Shiro exits Blue as Allura pulls out her bayard.“I know how to get us there quicker.”Allura forms her lance again and taps the pommel on the ground and a seal forms like a wormhole ring.In a flash of bright light, they disappear.When they reappear, it looks as though they’re on a planet.“Wait, where are we?” Hunk asks.The original Paladins look around and recognize it.“Daibazaal,” Alfor mutters.“It’s pristine,” Gyrgan says. “Last we were here, all was decimated.”“The actual mindscapes of her mind must be made up of places from her past,” Allura theorizes.Lance crosses his arms.“Wait, hold up. If all of this is just a big ol’ Honerva thought bubble, then wouldn’t she know we’re here?”“About 20 years ago, the Garrison was able to map the human brain. They used a ventral metatronic reactor to read the thero-magnetic wave signatures of each of the subjects.”“Get to the point, Pidge,” Lance tells her flatly.“A person’s mindscape is an endless landscape of constantly shifting thoughts and ideas. We must be hidden in the chaos.”“Do you know this for sure, or is this just a theory?” Hunk asks.“Well, it’s a theory. But if Honerva finds out we’re in her mind, I have a feeling we’ll know about it.”“Good point.”Shiro looks at Allura.“Where do we go now? Where’s Keith?”“I believe we are supposed to enter the palace.”They’re about to enter the palace when they’re attacked by…“Where’d that thing come from?” Lance asks as they take cover.“That’s Myzax, the first robeast we ever fought!” Shiro recalls. “And my first fight as a gladiator.”Myzax hits them with its attack, only it’s different.“It couldn’t do that before!” Hunk exclaims.“This is Honerva’s mind,” Pidge reminds them. “Anything’s possible.”“Does that mean she knows we’re here?!” Lance asks.“It appears she has guardians to protect her thoughts and memories,” Allura surmises.“How are we going to defeat it without Voltron?!” Lance asks.“By working together."They look at Shiro as he continues.“There are 9 of us here, all with different weapons. I have a plan.”“Wow, it’s been a while since we heard that phrase,” Pidge teases him lightly.“Thought you were taking a break from leading?” Hunk asks.“I’ll do whatever I have to to get to Keith,” Shiro states firmly.~Keith tumbles across the ground.As soon as he stops, he rolls to the side right before the clone’s fist breaks through the ground where Keith’s head was.Keith gets to his feet and uses his nether abilities to block another attack.Zarkon changes his bayard to a chain blade and swings it toward Keith who dodges it.~In no time, they’ve defeated Myzax.Shiro looks at Allura.“Where to now Allura?”“Through the doorway.”They run through the doorway and suddenly they’re surrounded by a white light.
When it fades, they’re in front of the pyramid from the Oriande.Shiro looks at the others.“Everyone ok?”“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m good,” Hunk tells him.“Yeah, I’m alright,” Pidge chimes in.“Just a bit shaken,” Allura adds.“What the heck just happened?” Lance asks.“These are traps just like that monster,” Pidge says. “They’re fail-safes Honerva’s using to protect her secrets from any unwanted intruders- Us.”Hunk looks at her.“What? I thought the Life Taker was supposed to be helping us?”Allura explains.“It is pulling us back to its source, which is also near where Keith is currently. Unfortunately, that source is being protected.”Lance grumbles.“Great, so the thing that’s guiding us might get us killed."Allura points to the pyramid.“What we’re looking for is in there.”They quickly move through the pyramid and come out in a rocky area with lighting everywhere.All around them, they see flashes of images.“These must be her memories,” Allura observes.They see Honerva as a child, with Alfor, marrying Zarkon. Then they see her with the Life Taker and see how Honerva’s humility and sanity slowly slipped away the more she studied the Life Taker.“The Law of Equivalent Exchange,” Allura mutters.Alfor looks at her.“The what?”“Something we learned from the Life Givers at the Universal Cauldron,” Pidge explains. “It states that nothing may be obtained without first giving something of equal value in return.”“The more she sought to study quintessence and the Life Taker, the more of her own mind she lost until her yearning to study them was all she knew,” Allura concludes.They then see Honerva become Haggar and the 10,000 years of destruction the Galra Empire caused in their name.
They see her become Honerva once more and yearn to get back what she once had. They see her trying to get Lotor to accept her as his mother only for him to reject her.
They see her with the Alteans at the Kral Zera to replace Lotor as leader of the empire and watch her use those attempting to seize the throne to bring Lotor and the Sincline back from the place between realities and then see her replace his permanently damaged left arm with his old prosthetic. When he awoke, Lotor had complete amnesia about who he is in the same way Honerva did when she was brought back to life. She then plants false memories of herself being a loving mother to him and paints either Zarkon or Voltron as the bad guy.“THAT’S CHEATING!” Pidge exclaims.Lance looks at her.“To be fair, we kinda knew she brainwashed him.”."Still, its like she liked the idea of being a mother, but didn't want to put the work in for it," Hunk points out.
"Remember how she straight up abandoned Lotor the moment he and Keith started fighting?"“Yeah, yeah, she’s a shitty mother… can we please get back to looking for Keith!”“Alright! Geez!” Lance says.Shiro takes a calming breath.“Sorry guys.”Hunk puts a hand on Shiro's shoulder.“Hey, we get it, man. You’re worried about Keith.”“I’ve fought Zarkon in the infinite void of Black’s head before and the Black Lion had to intervene to keep him from killing me. I don’t doubt Keith’s skills, but still…”“You want to be there if he does need you. Trust me, we get it."Shiro gives Lance an appreciative look.“I believe I might know a way to get us there quicker,” Alfor says.They look at him.“How?” Shiro asks.“The Paladin bond is magnetic on its own.”Alfor looks at Shiro before continuing.“However your bond with this Keith is stronger than even that. I felt it during Keith's time as Red Paladin.
If you focus on that bond, it may take us all to his location.”Shiro closes his eyes and focuses on the bond he and Keith share.Everything around them disappears in a flash of light.When the light fades, they’re in a field of juniberry flowers.Allura gasps.“Altea! It looks… different…”“This must be how Honerva remembers it,” Pidge says. “It must be a place she holds dear. We should be close.”“Uh, guys. Look!”Hunk points in the distance.They follow his gaze and see Keith fighting not only Zarkon, but also a second Black Paladin with a glowing purple hand wearing their old Paladin armor…“Wait, if Shiro’s here; then why is Keith fighting him?” Lance asks.Shiro frowns.“Because it’s not me."Pidge gasps.“The clone! He was a completely different person.”They watch as Keith blocks Zarkon’s attack before getting struck by the clone and tumbling across the ground.“Keith!”They all try to run for him, but find they’re being stopped by a purple barrier.“It is just as with all of you. I could see your fights clearly, but could do nothing but watch.”They look at her in frustration.“So none of us can help him?” Hunk asks.“It is a Black Paladin fight. Only when it was resolved was I able to assist you.”“But it’s two against one!” Lance protests. “Both of whom are extremely powerful on their own I might add.”At that moment, Zarkon grabs Keith's wrist and disarms him before throwing him to the ground.
The Black Bayard lands about halfway between the fight and where the rest of them are standing.Shiro looks at the Black Bayard on the ground and sets his jaw.“Not for long."Before anyone else can respond, he firmly places the Blue Bayard against Lance’s chest with a “hold this” and lets go without another thought as he steps toward the barrier.Now that he isn’t holding the Blue Bayard, the barrier lets him through.Shiro doesn’t waste time and immediately starts running toward the fight.Keith staggers to his feet with a Black Paladin on either side of him.“Keith!”Shiro scoops up the Black Bayard while running for Keith and immediately turns it into his shield.“Hang on!”Keith is too focused on the enemies closing in on him to hear the shout.Shiro throws his shield and Keith's completely caught off guard as a large, black, circle disk flies in and hits both the clone and Zarkon in the face; making them take a few steps back.Keith watches the shield return to Shiro before turning his attention back as Zarkon turns his Black Bayard into a cannon while the clone turns his arm into one as well. Both aim them straight at Keith.Shiro immediately activates his wings as he reaches Keith. He pulls Keith against him and wraps his wings around them both at the exact moment both cannons fire, intercepting the blast.Keith looks up at him breathlessly as Shiro holds him protectively in his arms.“Takashi...”Shiro gives him a little smile.When the smoke clears, their attention is drawn to their opponents closing in.Zarkon sneers.“Even better. Now I finally have the chance to kill you once and for all, Champion…”Keith steps out of Shiro's arms and stands between them facing the former Galra leading“You’re not going to lay a finger on him.”The clone turns his hand back into his normal fist.“I see you still have the scar from our last fight!”Shiro steps between the clone and Keith.“You’re going to pay for making him believe, even for a second, that I would ever try to kill him.”As they stand back to back, they exchange a quick determined look over their shoulders and give each other’s hand a quick squeeze for good luck.“Oh man, what I wouldn’t give for a bag of popcorn right about now,” Hunk states in anticipation.The clone charges Shiro while Keith charges Zarkon.It’s probably one of the hardest fights either of them has ever been in, save for fighting each other.Shiro and the clone’s movements are completely matched as sparks of pale blue and purple fly with each blow they land while Keith and Zarkon’s skills as fighters are perfectly matched now that Keith can focus on a single opponent. Together, they fight to protect each other while passing the Black Bayard back and forth between them.The four Original Paladins are stunned as they watch the fight unfold.“I’ve never seen two people fight so in sync with one another,” Glygal comments.“Even as a Paladin,” Blaytz adds.“It is as though they are of one mind,” Alfor observes. “Their opponents match them in every way but resolve.”At that moment, the clone manages to flip Shiro flat on his back and Zarkon disarm Keith. Only the Original Paladins look concerned."Could Zarkon and this clone be too much for even them?" Trigal asks.Pidge looks at her calmly.“Never underestimate the love those two share. Honerva has several times already and every time she does it always ends up costing her dearly."“We don’t know how they do it, but those two have defied even death just to be together,” Lance adds.“There’s nothing those two won’t do for each other,” Hunk continues.“No matter the difficulty, those two always find a way. Together.” Allura concludes.Shiro and the clone's prosthetics are locked against one another as the clone tries to overpower him; the clone’s hand turned into a plasma sword.“You think you can protect him? He’s broken! Worthless! You're wasting your time.”Shiro feels hot rage burn through his veins.With a yell, he moves his legs between them and kicks the clone off of him.The clone hits the ground with a grunt.Shiro stands and glares at the clone.“You will never hurt him again."“I don’t have to.”He points over Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro turns and sees Zarkon grab Keith by the neck and hoists him into the air.
“NO!”
Shiro sees red as he summons the Black Bayard to his hand before slamming his shield against the back of the clone’s head before running to Keith's aid.“Such a pathetic waste…”Zarkon tightens his grip on the young man's throat.“For such skill for battle to be wasted on a worthless half-breed like you.”Zarkon turns his bayard into a blaster.Keith’s eyes go wide and his fight against Zarkon's hold becomes more desperate.Shiro throws his shield before it even gets close, striking Zarkon in the head and forcing him to drop Keith.Zarkon takes a few steps away from Keith as said person falls to the ground, coughing and gasping for air while clutching his neck.As soon as the shield returns to Shiro’s hand it changes into a sword shaped like Keith’s luxite blade. With a yell of exertion Shiro shoves it clean through Zarkon’s body.“Yes!” Hunk, Pidge, and Lance exclaim.Keith turns from where he landed and looks up at where Shiro stands directly between Keith and Zarkon, blade still in the former Black Paladin's body.Shiro glares into the Galra’s eyes as they widen in shock.“You and that bitch took everything else from me… My mind... my body... my arm... my life... Even the Black Lion…”Shiro pulls Zarkon nose to nose with him.“…But I will be dead before you ever touch him.”Shiro turns the sword before pulling it out of Zarkon.Zarkon falls to the ground before disappearing.Shiro turns panting toward Keith as his rage subsides.Keith stands up.“Are you ok?”Shiro reaches out and silently pulls Keith into a fierce kiss that Keith returns with equal fierceness.The barrier disappears as they pull apart. Shiro's fingers are buried in Keith's hair as they press their foreheads together as the adrenaline wears off."I love you."Keith smiles back at him."I love you too..."Allura clears her throat, drawing their attention to the 8 Paladins standing nearby.They hear a groan nearby and turn to see the clone sitting on his knees nearby, rubbing the back of his head.“Ow… what the…”he looks up and Allura, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk.“Guys? What happened?”Then he sees Keith.“Keith? What's going on?!”Keith looks at him with pity.“You don’t remember, do you?”The clone stands and takes a few steps toward Keith.“Last thing I remember, I was standing on the bridge of the Castle as we were confronting Lotor.”While the clone is clearly not a threat anymore, Shiro steps protectively in front of Keith anyway.The clone looks at Shiro in confusion for a second before gasping as his memories flash in his mind, forcing him to his knees again.
Attacking the team, initiating a protocol in the Castle ship's computer that would make the teludav meltdown that had a countermeasure for Pidge’s methods of stopping it, leading Keith to the cloning facility, and finally trying to kill Keith while Keith’s trying to get through to him. In a flash, everything comes back to him and then some.The clone looks at the ground when it ends.“I’m a clone…aren’t I?”It’s more of a statement, but Shiro still nods.Tears roll down the clone’s face as he looks up at the team.“I'm sorry... I’m so sorry…”He looks up at Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance.“I tried to fight her... I’m so glad you’re all ok… How?”Pidge looks at him.“You know me and my tendency to create emergency fail-safes... I had a virus I made from a copy of your arm scan designed to terminate all its command prompts. I hoped I’d never have to use it…”The clone sobs.“I’m so glad you did!”He looks at Keith and cries harder.“I’m sorry… everything I said to you… everything I did…”“You were a victim of this, just like Shiro and the Original Paladins were.”Keith looks at the ground."Besides, you're not the only one she's manipulated."“So, what should we call you now?” Lance asks.“Yeah, I mean, we can’t just call you Shiro’s clone and he’s Shiro so,” Hunk adds.“I don’t know… I had no idea I even was a clone until this moment. Call me Kuron I guess.”“Heh… I’m not the only one prone to sardonic jokes.”He looks at him.“So… you’re the real Shiro then?”“Afraid so.”“I’m sorry for everything I did in your name.”“If it makes you feel better, my soul is inhabiting your body.”“Speaking of dead bodies and souls. You still don’t know what killed you the first time, do you?” “Not a clue.”"Pidge isn't the only one who creates emergency fail-safes.
When Haggar made your hand she also put a kind of “kill switch” in it, just in case you went rogue. She was going to activate it after you rescued Allura, but then she got the idea for Operation Kuron. She was just about finished when the Coalition and the Blades attacked and nearly killed Zarkon. Right when you took the Black Bayard from Zarkon and engaged it; forming Blazing Sword and destroying the original Komar; she activated it.
It basically vaporized your original body...”Keith gives him a look of pure anguish.“It wasn’t Blazing Sword that killed him?!”Kuron looks at him sadly.“She wanted you to think it was.”He turns back to Shiro.“But she needed you out of the way so she could begin Operation Kuron. So... she activated it... She didn’t anticipate the Black Lion saving your consciousness nor did she realize my body and Allura would prove key to bringing you back.”Keith's fists shake at his sides as he growls.“I’m gonna kill that bitch! I literally thought… I thought…”Before Keith can finish the statement, Shiro pulls him into his arms and holds him tight into his shoulder.
Keith grips him like a lifeline and presses his face into Shiro as silent tears roll down his face.Allura looks at Kuron kindly.“Kuron, if you are truly sorry for what you did than we require your assistance. What did Honerva have you and Zarkon protecting?”“I don’t know.” Kuron admits tearfully. “I’m sorry… I promise I’d tell you if I knew but I truly don’t know. I can tell you the true reason she wanted the Altean colony however.
While Operation Kuron was underway, she began to plan what she calls Operation Nemeshisu.”Pidge throws her hands up in exasperation.“Again with the Japanese words for plan names!”“Her plan was to create those robeast suits she had the Alteans pilot and then use the clones from the cloning facility we destroyed to pilot them. When said cloning facility was destroyed, she was forced to find an alternative.
Since she now knew where the Alteans were and had the perfect opportunity to manipulate them, she opted to use them instead.”Hunk looks a little unnerved."Now I'm picturing us pulling a Shiro clone from that robeast that attacked Earth..."“Wait a tic…”Alfor points to a nearby moon.“That is not a moon of Altea.
Its a moon of Daibazaal.”Allura looks at it.“That is the source."The Black Lion roars before turning and firing his mouth laser at the moon, destroying it.As the remnants rain down on them they see images of Honerva living happily with Zarkon and Lotor.“What… is this?” Allura asks.“They are her deepest desires. Everything she hopes to achieve,” Alfor answers.“How could she possibly achieve any of this?” Hunk asks. “Zarkon is gone and Lotor doesn’t accept her as his mother.”“Unless…”Everyone looks at Pidge as she continues.“She’s planning to somehow use that Komar robeast Lotor spoke of to pierce through realities and find the one where she can live happily with her family and have them automatically love her without her working for it.”Keith looks at her.“That’s cheating!”“That’s what I said!”“Is that even possible?” Hunk asks.“Not without destroying every other reality in the process.”Suddenly, there’s a flash and then a howling wind blows across where they stand.“What’s going on?!” Lance asks as lightning flashes.“She knows you’re here,” Kuron tells them.“How?” Hunk asks.Allura suddenly cries out in pain as she collapses to her knees while clutching her head.Lance and Alfor run to her side as she whimpers.“Allura!”“Allura?”“What’s happening to her?”“She holds the Life Taker inside her,” Keith tells him. “Honerva in control of it now and is using it to try and take control.”The wind blows harsher as Keith turns to everyone there.“Get to your Lions!”Suddenly, the Lions all disappear.“Where did they all go?” Hunk asks.“We’re in her mind,” Keith reminds them. “She’s extremely powerful here.”“So what do we do?” Lance asks.“There’s not much we can do,” Kuron tells them. “But accept defeat.”Keith turns to him.“No! We're not giving up!”Kuron gives him an adoring smile.“That’s your Galra lineage. It’s what makes you a great leader of Voltron.”His face falls.“You and Zarkon share that trait, but look where its lead the two of you. Zarkon’s desire for unlimited quintessence for Honerva was the catalyst for 10,000 years of destruction. Your quest to save the universe has lead you inside the mind of the very psychopath Zarkon was getting the quintessence for.”“Yes, to gain the knowledge of what she’s doing. And now we know.”“But you still don't know exactly how or when she’s going to do it? She’s too powerful.”“Kuron!” Alfor begins. “Honerva may be more powerful than each of us alone, but the strength of the Paladins working together as one is one of the strongest forces in the universe!”“The Lions are gone! Voltron is gone!”Keith gets his attention again.“No! Voltron isn’t gone! Voltron is in each and every one of us! We’re bonded to it, and to each other!”“There are only 9 Paladins unless Honerva decides to stop attacking Allura.”“No! There are 10.”Keith holds his hand out to Kuron.“Me?!”“You were the Black Paladin for a while,” Shiro points out. “The fact that Keith and I had to fight you along with Zarkon proves that much.”“We have one last chance to set things right, but we can’t do it without you.”Kuron looks up at him with pure love in his eyes.“That’s the leader I always knew you could be. I may be a twisted reflection of the real Shiro, but I did truly love you.”“Then help us stop her. One last time.”Kuron takes Keith’s hand and Keith helps him up.They turn to the other Paladins.“Form Voltron!”Suddenly, everyone is back in their Lions; Shiro and Blaytz in Blue, Hunk and Glygal in Yellow, Pidge and Trigal in Green, Lance and Alfor in Red with Allura in the back, and finally Keith and Kuron in Black.“Form Blazing Sword!” Keith and Kuron yell together.Suddenly, the Blazing Sword is already in Voltron’s hands.Together, they thrust it through a huge dark mass that then explodes with a blinding light.~Inside the Oriande, Honerva stumbles and leans against her post while clutching her head.One of the remaining Alteans under her control looks at her."Empress!
Are you alright?"Honerva smiles at them."Never better. The Princess has taken the bait.
Now, we wait until the time is right."~One by one, the Paladins all open their eyes to find themselves back in their Lions floating near the Atlas with the Sincline.“We did it!” Pidge exclaims.“Yes!” Hunk exclaims.“Nice work team!” Keith tells them.“Um… is Allura ok?” Lance asks.“Let’s ask.”Shiro looks at the ship in front of them.“Hey Atlas, is Allura ok?”“Er… define "ok"…” Ryou asks with Krolia next to him.Coran frantically tries to awaken Allura.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Coran sits at Allura's bedside in medbay.“It’s been three quintants. What happened to her? Why didn’t she wake up with the rest of you?”“It is as Keith warned," Lotor explains in frustration. "The Life Taker was a trap.
The witch has used it against her.”“We all warned her. You know how stubborn she can be.”“She’s going to pull through.”They both look at Lance.“How do you know?” Coran asks.“I just do…”~“Any changes?”Shiro's walking to the Paladin lounge with his brother when he poses the question.“None.”“This is the first time Honerva hasn’t outright tried to kill one of us. It’s like she’s waiting for something and I'm kinda afraid to learn what.”They reach Shiro's quarters then.“Have I mentioned that everything that happens to you is weird?”Shiro smiles at him as they enter.“You don’t know the half of it.”Shiro immediately stops in his tracks at the door when he sees Kosmo laying on the floor at the foot of the berth with his snout in front of the sliding door of the closet.Then Shiro also notices the comforter is missing off the bed.“Oh no, not again…”Shiro quietly walks to the closet door. Kosmo looks up at him as he approaches and whines worriedly as he slides it open.Keith is curled up in the corner of the closet with the
comforter wrapped around himself.“It’s going to be alright, Keith…”Keith doesn't look up at him.“Vision!”Shiro keeps his voice calm and even as he speaks.“You had another vision?”Keith nods.“Is that what triggered your meltdown?”Keith doesn’t answer which tells Shiro it’s more complicated.“Is it ok if I touch you?”Keith shakes his head.“That's fine. Do you want me to sit with you?”Keith nod.Shiro sits cross legged on the floor.“Do you have your Paladin bracelet or that eternal glowstick Pidge and Hunk made you?”Keith shakes his head.“Do you want them?”Keith nods as he says."Glowstick."Shiro looks over at his brother still standing by the door.“There’s a small Atlas rocket on the coffee table over there. Could you bring it to me?”Ryou does what he’s told.Shiro twists the top of it to turn on the glowstick before putting it on the floor in front of Keith.“Here. Take your time. I’ll be right here until you’re ready to come out.”Keith takes the little Atlas rocket and holds it.For several moments, they sit quietly in front of the closet.Soon, Keith takes Shiro's hand.Shiro holds Keith's hand gently.“On your time, Babe.”After a few more moments, Keith speaks without looking up from the floor.“The war is ending soon…”“Is that what your vision was about?”Keith nods.“We’re at a crossroad between two different destinies. One path leads to peace, the other complete and total chaos and destruction.”“Let me guess. You’re the deciding factor?”Tears start rolling down Keith’s face as he nods.“I'm supposed to do something... Shiro, I know I'm supposed to do something right now..."Keith tries to rub the tears from his eyes before looking up at Shiro.“But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”Keith sobs and leans into Shiro. He wraps his arms around the older man with his face pressed against Shiro's chest.Shiro swallows a lump in his throat but fights his own tears so he can be strong for Keith. He wraps his arms around Keith and tries to sooth his lover.Soon, Keith cries himself to sleep in Shiro’s arms.“Takashi…”Shiro looks at his brother.“How often has Keith been having these meltdowns?” Ryou asks him gently.“He’s been having them since the Universal Cauldron… but ever since we returned from the Infinite Void without Allura however, they’ve been getting worse…”“How worse?”Shiro takes a shaky breathe.“This is the 6th one in the last three days.”Silence envelops the brothers before Ryou speaks.“Takashi… I know I don’t have to tell you this… but… this level of stress… this isn’t healthy… for anyone. Let alone someone on the Spectrum. If things don’t change, he's going to...”Ryou stops when Shiro looks up at him with the most helpless look he’s ever seen on his brother’s face as tears start to fall.Shiro’s voice breaks as he speaks.“I know… I know and I would give ANYTHING to make this easier on him…”Shiro breaks then.“But I don’t know how!”Ryou leans against Shiro as he cries; not sure how to help but there for his older brother nonetheless.~The Paladins all report to the bridge later that day after Iverson summons them.“Captain, we’ve picked up a distress beacon coming from a nearby planet,” Curtis tells him.Shiro steps up onto his post.“Do we know exactly what?”“Negative… all we have is a location…”He brings up the image of a planet.“Tempus Itinerantur.”“The Lions haven’t been operational since Allura failed to wake up from our trip to the Infinite Void,” Pidge states. “How are we going to get there?”Lotor looks at her.“The Sincline has room for an extra passenger.”“That’s one. What about everyone else?” Hunk asks.“The MFEs can carry an extra passenger too,” Shiro points out.“Dibs on the Sincline!”The others stare at Pidge.“What? It’s nice to talk to someone outside my family and Hunk without having to translate every second word I say.”Lance frowns.“I don’t like the idea of leaving Allura.”Hunk puts a hand on Lance's shoulder.“Coran will take care of her until we get back.”“As will the other Alteans,” Lotor assures him.Shiro turns to Iverson.“Iverson, you’re in charge.”“Yes Captain.”“Let’s get down to the hanger then,” Lance says. “The quicker we solve this, the quicker we get back.”~They arrive at the planet.“So, now what?” Hunk asks as he leaves Kinkade's jet.“This is where the beacon is coming from,” Pidge tells them.“But… no one’s here,” Kinkade points out.Lance frowns as he leaves Rizavi's jet.“Anyone else reminded of that distress beacon we picked up on our way back to Earth that turned out to be one of the druids setting trap for Blades?”Shiro frowns at the memory as he leaves Leifsdottir's jet.“Now that you mention it, it does.”“Sounds like an interesting story!” Rizavi states.“Umm… guys.”Griffin calls them over to where he and Keith are standing outside Griffin's jet. Keith is looking into the distance with a frown.“Maybe the signal is from underground…” Keith suggests.Shiro walks to them and follows their gaze.Built into the side of a mountain is a large door."That's not ominous..." Rizavi deadpans.Lotor helps them get the door open and they find a flight of stairs leading down.Cautiously they walk down the stairs into a huge room that then splits off into a series of tunnels.“What is it with these places being super huge?” Hunk asks.“They’re probably compensating for something,” Rizavi comments.Pidge points down one of the tunnels.“The beacon is in this direction.”They follow said tunnel until it opens into a fork branching off into other tunnels.On the floor is a single glowing object.“Found the source of the beacon.”Pidge picks it up and finds it’s a seal of some kind.In the center of the seal is a triangle made of purple and black circular lines.Keith and Lotor frown.“I know that symbol.”“As do I.”It hits them at the same time.“Oh no…”Suddenly, a bola whip comes out from the darkness of one of the tunnels and wraps around Keith’s ankles.Keith yells in surprise as his legs get yanked out from under him and he’s pulled down said tunnel.“KEITH!”They chase after him.“Lotor, who are these people?” Pidge asks.“That seal bares the symbol of the witch's Druids.”“Damn it! I was right, this was a trap like before with Macidus!” Lance exclaims.Shiro growls as he remembers what the Life Givers said about Nethermancers being hunted.“A trap specifically for Keith.”They arrive in a large circular room in time for Keith to do a spin kick while using his fiery nether abilities to burn through the rope; both freeing himself and bringing himself to his feet at the same time.In the brief moment his abilities illuminate the room, they all see him surrounded by ring of robed figures before everything goes dark again.The moment it does, they see flashes of red fire and flares of purplish-pink lightning as Keith uses both his fighting skills and nether abilities to defend himself.
Lotor draws his sword and joins the fray as Keith tries to throw off attempts to restrain him.Shiro hears the sound of something being slammed into the ground followed by Keith crying out in pain and fury.Hunk growls in frustration.“Man, there’s gotta be a way we can help him!”“How? None of us can see in the dark like Keith and Lotor can!”“I’ve got this!”Pidge types something into her wrist computer.“There!”All at once, the Paladins’ visors all change to a kind of night vision filter.The moment Shiro sees 5 robed figures pinning a struggling Keith to the ground with his arms behind his back, he immediately summons his bayard and begins slamming them off Keith with his shield.The others follow suit.“Leifsdottir, I’m sending it to your suit’s computer. You know what to do with it.”Pidge activates her bayard upgrade and starts fighting.“Affirmative.”Together, the 10 of them defeat them.“And stay down!” Rizavi says as the last one falls.Shiro and Griffin help Keith up.“You alright?” Griffin asks.Keith looks at Shiro.“I saw this…”“Why do I feel like you’re not just talking about seeing in the dark?” Kinkade asks.Lance frowns.“Because he’s not."“Keith has visions,” Pidge explains to them.“Does this have anything to do with that Universal Stew Pot or whatever it’s called?” Rizavi asks.“Cauldron,” Hunk corrects. “And no, he was having these long before that. Well, not these visions, but you get what I mean.”“Is it one of the resent ones?” Shiro asks Keith.He nods.“This is the deciding point.”Griffin raises an eyebrow.“The what now?”The Paladins look at each other.“Essentially, the events of this mission will determine the fate of the universe as a whole,” Lotor explains.“Geez, no pressure,” Rizavi states.Suddenly the ground beneath their feet crumbles out from underneath them, causing them to fall."Jetpacks!" Keith commands.They drop into a well lit room, slowed by their jetpacks.At the far end of the room standing on a balcony with a curved staircase at each side is a druid with two more robed figures at each side of him and several beneath said balcony.“Just guessing that’s a Druid,” Kinkade states.The Druid laughs behind its mask.“I knew a distress signal would lure you in. Your kind has the weakness of caring for others.”Keith frowns at it.“Just like Macidus with the Blades...”“Macidus was a fool. He sought to kill you for your Nethermancer abilities. I on the other hand wish to study and harness it.”“I won’t be your guinea pig!”The Druid turns to the robed figures.“Disciples! Deal with the rest as you like, but the Nethermancer is mine!”“Yes, Master Epoch!”All but the two disciples at Epoch’s side attack them at once.The Paladins pull out their bayards; Pidge and Hunk activating their bayard upgrades as the MFE pilots and Lotor ready their weapons.Keith activates his jetpack to hover.“Spread out!”As they follow his command, Keith summons his nether abilities; making his eyes glow with red fiery energy.Epoch fires a stream of quintessence at Keith. He quickly dodges it before moving straight for Epoch.With one swift move with his legs, Keith takes out both disciples with his nether. He then lands on the balcony and begins throwing fiery balls of nether at Epoch. Epoch counters with a stream of quintessence, which Keith uses his abilities to absorb it and then throw it back at the Druid.As Keith and Epoch fight, the Paladins, MFEs, and Lotor battle the disciples.
Every time one falls, it just gets up and starts fighting again.Epoch throws Keith off the balcony but Keith uses his jetpack to slow his landing.“Heads up!”Hunk clears a sizable gap for Keith to land in.Keith lands on his feet between where Hunk and Griffin are fighting. Epoch follows after him, throwing quintessence at him; which he absorbs before throwing it back. Keith then forms balls of nether and flies at the Druid as he throws them at him.The MFEs steal glances when they can.“Holy crap!” Griffin exclaims.“That’s right, this is the first time you guys have seen Keith in a Nethermancer fight,” Hunk states.The mention of his fight with Keith reminds Lotor."The witch placed Life Takers in the Druids before she sent them away!”Keith remembers it too.He focuses on Epoch and immediately senses the Life Taker inside the Druid. Keith then senses the disciples are actually Life Takers as well.Keith calls nether into both of his hands before sending a sustained beam of nether directly at Epoch; cutting through him and pushing out the Life Taker. Holding the Life Taker in a beam from one hand, he then focuses his other hand down at the disciples who instantly freeze before morphing back into Life Takers once more.“That’s a new one,” Pidge remarks.Keith then lands as he merges them all together into a single Life Taker.In his mind, he visualizes the Life Taker being cleansed of their corruption and returning to the space between realities.Soon it glows with red fire before turning an iridescent black and disappearing all together, to the cheers of everyone.When his nether abilities fade, he stumbles a little from fatigue.Shiro steadies Keith while the other Paladins and Lotor move closer.“Easy…” Shiro breathes.“That took a bit out of me…”“You!”They all look up as Epoch floats to the ground, sparking angrily.“Now I see why Macidus chose to kill you!”He pulls out a kind of pendant.“You are a mistake! You should never have existed!”The pendant begins to spark with purple quintessence.Shiro and Lotor gasp."No!"“Keith!”Lotor quickly parries the attack as Shiro grabs Keith and throws him bodily away from where Shiro and the other Paladins are standing with Lotor.A tic later, smoke envelopes them with a CHOOM!.“Takashi!”~When the smoke dissipates, the five of them are back outside the cave. Except…“What the hell?!”All around them are opalescent lines in the air and space around them.Pidge scans them.“The scans of the lines is exactly the same as the scans I took from the Quintessence Field."Lotor frowns.“It is the quintessence field. The lines we see are tears in the fabric of reality. The Quintessence Field bleeds into this place.”“Why? What happened?!”“It is imperative we find the answer,” Lotor tells him.“Uh… guys?”Pidge’s voice shakes a little as she points to where the jets and the Sincline were parked. Immediately, they see what has her so shaken.“Where is the Sincline?” Lotor asks.“And the other 3 jets?” Lance asks.“Gone…”They turn to see a grizzled looking Griffin standing behind them.“Griffin?” Shiro asks.“You five disappeared almost 2 months ago.”“It’s been almost 2 months?!”“How is that even possible?” Lance asks.“I mean, it’s always been hypothesized that time travel is possible, but no one has ever been able to prove it,” Pidge states.“Some of the Druids were working on using quintessence for time travel when Haggar sent them away. Evidently one of them got it to work.”Lance looks at Lotor."What was Epoch trying to do anyway?""I believe it was his intent to completely remove Keith from time as though he had never existed."Griffin frowns."No Keith, no one to stop Honerva."The others frown too."It's worse than that, Griffin," Hunk says.
"No Keith, no Voltron.""If Keith hadn't existed, we would have never found the Blue Lion," Lance adds."If we hadn't found Blue, then we never would have met Coran and Allura," Pidge continues."If Keith hadn't been there to break me out of Garrison quarantine after my crash, we wouldn't have been able to even look for the Blue Lion," Shiro concludes."Indeed. Thus I countered it, and here we are."Shiro looks at Griffin.“What happened in the time we missed?”“When you disappeared, Keith ordered the MFE pilots to retreat… He said that the four of us were the best suited to become Paladins with Veronica becoming the new Black Paladin.”Shiro frowns.“Veronica? What happened to Keith?”Griffin hesitates before saying.“Keith was captured by Epoch…”“NO!”“Did it at least work?” Pidge asks.“Unfortunately no. Allura never woke up so neither did the Lions.
Two weeks and three days after we returned, the Life Taker killed Allura and with her went Atlas and the Voltron Lions…”“No…” Lance breathes.“Two days later, Honerva attacked. She used some kind of drill to search for a reality where she could find both a living Zarkon and a version of Lotor young enough that she could join them and have them immediately love her.”“Ah… so like the witch to take the easiest course of action to avoid blame rather than accept that she caused not only the death of her husband but forced the person she claims to be the mother of to be raised by a shadow of what his father once was."“I have never heard someone say “that’s cheating” with such elegance before,” Pidge comments in amusement.Hunk and Lance look at Griffin.“I thought Honerva needed something to power the Komar mech in order for her to use it?”“Right, wasn’t that the whole point of her kidnapping Keith and trying to drain quintessence from an entire galaxy?”“She used the Oriande to create the power source. She then merged her Komar mech with the Sincline and drilled a hole in the fabric of reality where Altea used to be.
One of the Altean pilots who stayed turned out to be able to open wormholes, but without Atlas and Voltron, the Coalition was annihilated. Then Honerva used the Life Takers inside the Alteans who remained to destroy the Atlas from within.
I’m the only one left. Now reality is ripping itself apart because of Honerva’s actions.”“So why are you here?” Shiro asks.Griffin looks at Shiro.“I’m here to either save Keith or die trying. I figured if I’m going to die, I might as well go trying to save him so he isn't forced to be alone or tortured when the end comes.”“Let’s find him then,” Shiro says firmly.“If we are able to procure the pendant the Druid used, perhaps Pidge and I can deduce a way to get us back to where and when we disappeared,” Lotor adds. “We could stop this from happening.”“Let’s move then.”They head for the still open door.They get to the huge room with tunnels at the base of the stairs when they suddenly hear screaming that freezes the breath in Shiro’s lungs.Before Shiro even registers he’s done it, he’s running toward the screaming. He reaches a doorway and sees two disciples and a different Druid than Epoch experimenting on Keith as he’s strapped to a table.Shiro see red as he opens the door he rushes them; Blue Bayard in hand.Switching rapidly through weapon forms; he kills all three before anyone else can reach the door.Shiro runs to the table and swallows thickly as he takes in his lover.Keith’s wearing clothes like Shiro wore when he was a slave as he lay with his eyes closed. His bangs have turned white from quintessence exposure the way Shiro’s was and there's now a new scar across one of his eyes.Shiro cuts Keith free before gently caressing the younger man's face.“Keith…”Keith groans before opening his eyes.“Shiro?"Shiro gives him a watery smile.“It’s me, Keith…”Shiro helps Keith sit up. Keith quietly gets off the table and heads straight for the chest on the far side of the room.“You aren’t curious as to what happened or how we got here?” Lance asks.“No.”Keith's voice now deeper, probably from near constant screaming as he takes off the pants of his outfit to put on the Paladin under-armor.Hunk starts to explain.“That thing of Epoch’s sent us into the future. If we can get that thingy he used, we might be able to..."“Stop.”Keith takes the top shirt off as he continues.“This is all pretend to you guys. Some horrible nightmare you hope never happens. I suffered… the universe suffered… for us… it was real…”The Paladins all gasp in horror when Keith removes the under-armor shirt.His skin is turning black again over his heart and lungs.Shiro stares as Keith continues putting the under-armor on.“Keith…”Pidge scans him quickly as he turns his armor back on. No one is surprised to see his quintessence is turning black again.“Your quintessence…”Keith picks up his Marmora blade.“Yeah… well… what do you expect after two months of torture…?”Griffin opens his mouth to speak as he hands Keith the Black Bayard but Keith stops him.“If you’re about to tell me what happened to my mom, sister, and Romelle; don’t bother… They told me everything. I’m sorry about the other MFE pilots. Especially Kinkade.”“Its not over yet. We can stop this from happening.”“Does it give me a chance to kill Epoch?”“Most likely.”“Then let’s go… he usually stays in the chamber where you all disappeared in.”~Shiro can’t take his eyes off of Keith as they walk.
The two months of torture has left Keith angry and vengeful.
When they come across a room with another druid, before any of them can move Keith is already sinking his blade into druid without mercy or fear.“If you stare any longer, I might do a trick…” Keith sasses dryly without looking at him.“Sorry… its just…”Keith slips his hand into Shiro’s.“I know…”“This is the end of that one path your visions showed you, isn’t it? The path that leads to chaos and destruction.”The question is more statement, but Keith nods anyway.They reach the chamber where the hole down is, only to find a door."This wasn't here before," Hunk comments.Lotor tries the door."It is sealed," Lotor tells them."I don't see a computer I can hack into either," Pidge says.Lance calmly walks up to the door."Maybe you just have to knock."He knocks on the door and it quickly opens.Hunk looks at the others.“Anyone have a plan?”“Here’s a plan. Get the pendant. Don’t die until Epoch is dead.”Keith heads down the hole before anyone can say anything.They all shrug and fly down after him.They battle Epoch until Keith kills him with his Marmora blade and takes the pendant off of his body.“It would appear to be the same pendant as before,” Lotor observes.“Give us a varga and we can figure this thing out,” Pidge says.Suddenly the air around them wavers as more tears appear.“You have to go now!” Griffin tells them.Suddenly, they hear the sound of Life Takers coming from the hole in the chamber ceiling.Keith and Griffin look at each other and nod.“I’ll fly up there and try to buy you more time. After that, it’s all you, Keith.”“It’s been an honor fighting beside you, James.”Griffin takes his position at the top of the hole as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk immediately start to protest.“Wait, what?!”“No!”“We can’t just let you die like this.”Keith snaps.“Look around! We’re already dead! This reality is dying! The only way to save us… the only way we live is if this day never comes.”They can hear fighting at the top of the hole as Keith moves into position.“Keith, wait!”Keith turns as Shiro pulls him into a fierce and emotional kiss; one Keith returns in earnest.For this Keith, it’ll be the last kiss they ever share.For Shiro, it’s a promise; one he voices when they pull apart.“I’ll stop this from happening.”His voice breaks as they press their foreheads together.“I swear, this future will never come to pass!”Keith pulls away.“I love you…"Shiro holds Keith's hand like he doesn't want to let go.“I love you too.”Shiro moves to join the others when they do.Pidge and Lotor start the device and a small bubble envelopes the 5 of them.Shiro can’t take his eyes off of Keith as he stands between them and the hole in the ceiling; Life Takers pouring from the opening like someone turned on a faucet.Keith’s entire body starts to glow red and he holds his arms out to the side and creating a wall of fire with his nether abilities.
Whenever a Life Taker hits it, they burst into flames.Shiro moves to take a step out of impulse but is stopped by Lance.“Move and we’re all dead!”The last thing Shiro sees is a Life Taker zeroing in on Keith, preparing to kill him before smoke envelopes them.~-Present-“Takashi!” Keith yells.Griffin helps him up from where he landed.Shiro’s prosthetic flies out of the cloud of smoke and punches Epoch in the face before grabbing the pendant and bringing it back as the smoke dissipates.When everyone is visible, Shiro crushes it in his hand before letting the pieces fall to the floor.“You have not won yet!”Epoch's entire body starts sparking with purple quintessence.Keith gasps.“No!”Keith throws his blade and hits Epoch square in the chest.
Epoch falls to the ground before exploding; the blast knocking them all unconscious.While they’re unconscious, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance all see flashes of their past lives and the fight with the Ancient Evil.
Shiro sees his past life holding a dying Pollux in his arms.Pidge, Lance, Hunk, and Shiro awaken before Keith, their bodies glowing with the color of their quintessence; markings visible on their face.Shiro looks over toward where Keith lies motionless and crawls over to him. He pulls Keith into his arms as Keith awakens.Keith smiles up at Shiro before Shiro pulls him into an embrace.~As they head back to the Sincline and MFEs, the five of them tell Keith and the MFE pilots what happened in that dark future they saw.“Wow…” Griffin says speaking for all of them.“Yep,” Lance agrees.Kinkade looks at Griffin."Gotta admit, it was kinda sweet of future!you to try to save Keith so he wouldn't be alone."Griffin blushes as Rizavi speaks.“So how do we Back to the Future this?”“The first thing we need to do is save Allura,” Lance states.“Yeah but how is the question,” Kinkade points out.Griffin looks at the freckle faced blonde beside him.“Leifsdottir, this is your specialty."“We cannot cleanse the Life Taker from her as that would either cause Honerva to attack earlier and/or more probable, alert her to our knowledge of her intended plan. We also cannot keep it in the containment unit Commander Holt built as it seems to be able to telepathically pull people to it.”Keith gasps as he looks up from the floor.“I know what to do, but we need to get back to the Atlas.”“Let’s get you there then,” Griffin says. “I’m not going to let Future!me and Keith’s deaths be for nothing.”Keith jumps from Griffin’s MFE before it even lands when they get back to the Atlas and heads straight for med bay with the other Paladins close behind him. Before he reaches med bay, Keith calls on his nether abilities; causing him to start glowing red.Ryou, Coran, Romelle, and Merla look up as he enters. Romelle and Coran immediately pull Ryou and Merla respectively away from Allura as Keith approaches her.“Open a cryo-pod.”“Right away, Number 4!"The other Paladins, the MFEs, and Lotor enter the room as Keith holds his hand over Allura’s chest and focuses.Slowly, Keith pulls the Life Taker from Allura’s body. Unlike when Allura pulled it from Tavo, Keith doesn’t let it go. He walks it over to the cryo-pod and drops it in. Coran closes and activates it; freezing the Life Taker solid.Keith moves to Allura’s side once more; placing his hand on her forehead and closing his eyes to focus.They both shine with his quintessence as the other Paladins move closer; Lance and Shiro by Allura and Keith’s side.~
Inside Allura’s mind, she’s standing on a path with a pink and white nebula around her.

She looks around.

“How?”

She sees Keith standing in front of her then.

“Keith?”

She walks toward him.

“What are you doing here? Where did the Life Taker go?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Keith presses his hand to her forehead.

“Right now, you need to…”
~
“Awaken!”
Keith’s voice echoes like two people are speaking at once and when he opens his eyes, they’re glowing with a teal light.Both their face markings glow bright as their memories as Altea and Pollux return to them. Allura’s eyes glow red briefly when she opens them. When the light fades, the part of Allura's hair that’s always pulled back turns black.She sits up with a gasp.“Thank God!” Lance cries.He, Coran, and Merla hug her as Pidge, Romelle, and Hunk look on.When the glow fades, Keith’s bangs turn white and his legs immediately buckle; his eyes fluttering shut.“Keith!”The shout from Lotor and the MFE pilots gets everyone's attention as Shiro catches him in his arms and follows him to the ground.“Easy…” Shiro sooths.He cradles Keith head in his arms while Allura and the others join them on the floor.It takes a few tics before Keith can blink his eyes open a little and look at Shiro.“’M alright… Jus’ tired…”His eyes flutter shut again.“Hold on, Keith...”Allura places her fingers on his forehead and focusing her own energy. A tic later he glows with her quintessence. When it fades, he still looks tired, but he can open his eyes and sit up.He smiles at Allura.“Thanks…”Shiro helps him stand.“How did you know we could freeze the Life Taker?” Kinkade asks him.“I didn’t. It just felt right."Shiro taps his com.“Iverson, call an emergency briefing for the Coalition available at 0800 hours tomorrow.”“Yes Captain.”Shiro turns to the others.“Let’s head back to our lounge. I think we all could use a rest for the night.”~Without changing out of their Paladin armor, the six Paladins and Ryou head for the Paladin lounge as Hunk and Lance tell Allura what happened.Allura looks at Keith earnestly as they enter the lift.“I am sorry I did not heed your warning. You were right… It was a dangerous risk I took that could have cost the Coalition dearly. I had faith that you would be able to save me from it but… the pressure that placed upon you was unfair.”“In your defense, it did lead to us not only learning what Honerva’s plan is but also how, when, and where she’s going to act upon it as well as the exact chain of events leading up to it. So you weren’t wrong. That risk did pay off.”As they’re getting off the lift, Pidge stops Shiro. Ryou notices and hangs back as the others enter the lounge and mull around the snack bar area of their lounge.As soon as the others are far enough away for privacy.“Shiro, can I have a word with you a moment?”By her tone, Shiro and Ryou can tell it’s serious and hang back by the lift doors.“What’s up?”“I need to show you something.”Pidge fidgeting with the wrist guard of her armor as she continues.“When we learned that Keith’s quintessence was more vulnerable to corruption than ours, Keith and I installed an alert in his suit that would go off at the first sign of his quintessence getting corrupted again."Shiro's stomach drops.“Don’t tell me…”Pidge shows him an image of Keith’s quintessence on a datapad.“His suit just sent me this as we were leaving med bay."Sure enough, Keith’s quintessence is showing tiny streaks of black again. Not a lot, but it’s definitely visible.Shiro leans back against the wall suddenly with one of his hands pressing over his mouth as he stares at the readout.Ryou gives his brother's shoulder a squeeze.“Do we know what’s causing it?”Pidge sighs.“It could be anything... But the Life Givers did say extreme stress is often the cause… and Keith’s been under a ridiculous amount of stress lately.”Shiro blinks rapidly trying to calm his ragged breaths as he looks up at the man he loves more than anything in this universe. As he looks at where his lover stands next to the bar; he notices once again just how exhausted the younger man looks. Shiro tries to think of the last time Keith slept peacefully for longer than a few hours and honestly, it was probably a few quintants before the Universal Cauldron.That was roughly a phoeb ago.On top of the pressure he's under from his visions and his destiny…It’s like Ryou said. Keith’s at his breaking point. The fact that his quintessence is beginning to get corrupted again proves it.Never in his life has Shiro felt so powerless.“There must be something… anything…”“Allura could cleanse him but…”“That would only be treating the symptom and not the problem,” Pidge agrees with Ryou’s line of thinking. “He's under so much pressure lately. His destiny… the visions… not to mention the physical and mental demands that come from leading Voltron and piloting Black… it’s no wonder his quintessence is getting corrupted.”Shiro’s gasps and looks at Keith.“Pidge, say that again…”She looks up at him.“I said “it’s no wonder his quintessence is getting corrupted”…”“Before that.”“The physical and mental demands that come from leading Voltron and piloting Black…?"Shiro's face brightened.'That's it!'Shiro kisses Pidge’s forehead.“Pidge, you’re a genius! I love you!”Pidge raises an eyebrow at him.“So I’ve been told and I love you too…”Shiro swiftly walks toward Keith.“Keith? Can I speak to you a moment?”Keith and the others turn to look at him as he approaches him.Allura notices the look on Shiro's face.“Everything alright, Shiro?”Shiro calmly takes Keith by the hand and leads him to a bar stool.Shiro sits on the stool.“Keith…”Shiro takes both of Keith’s hands into his own and looks up into the younger man’s face.“I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to answer me honestly. Forget about the war, forget everything else but the truth for a moment. I promise, you won’t disappoint me or let me down. Ok?”Keith nods, his brow furrowed.“Do you want to lead Voltron?”Keith’s eyes widen before giving Shiro a questioning look.Keith’s reaction alone is answer enough but Shiro gives Keith an encouraging look anyway.
Shiro's prepared to pull rank if Keith tries to deny what they both already know; but he wants to give Keith a chance to say it. He knows that even now, Keith questioning the truth of Shiro’s promise is warranted. Valid even. Still, Shiro waits him out until finally Keith speaks.“No…but…”Shiro smiles lovingly up at Keith before he can finish the statement.“Come here, babe.”Shiro pulls his lover into his lap and wraps his arms around him. Shiro holds him tight and rocks him a little bit before speaking.“I’m going to see if I can reestablish my bond with the Black Lion.”Keith and the others look at him in surprise.“You’re going to lead Voltron again?” Lance asks.“I think I’ve taken enough of a break.”Keith looks at Shiro.“Do you want to lead?”Shiro looks back at Keith.“What I want is for you to be happy. What I want is to lighten the burden you have on your shoulders. I can’t…”Shiro has to take a breath before continuing.“I can’t keep watching you hurting like this anymore… I know you know what I’m talking about.”Keith’s silence confirms Shiro’s statement.“Mind cluing us in?” Hunk asks for everyone else.Shiro looks up at Keith and after a tic, Keith nods his consent before wrapping his arms around Shiro's neck and hiding his face in Shiro’s shoulder.“Keith’s been having Autistic meltdowns ever since we left the Cauldron. When that wave of visions started after we got back from the Infinite Void, they got worse.”“How worse?”Keith doesn't lift his head when he answers.“Six in three days."The silence is deafening.Pidge steps in.“There’s more."She looks at Keith.“Your headaches are getting bad again, aren’t they?”Keith nods slowly without looking up.“My quintessence is getting corrupted again, isn’t it?”“It only just started… but yes…”“Allura can cleanse him though, right?”Hunk looks at the princess.“Right? I mean, we caught it early.”“That would fix the problem for now, but the fact that it’s happening again suggests something deeper is wrong,” Ryou tells him.Allura feels like she’s going to cry. Her actions may not have caused the corruption but it certainly hadn’t helped either.“To put it simply, if things don’t change soon; this will just keep happening over and over until it kills him again; either via the corruption or…”Ryou trails off because no one wants to say what that “or” could be.Shiro guides Keith to look back at him.“Keith… There’s… I can’t do anything about your visions or your destiny or anything else… but there is one burden I can lift from your shoulders; the one I put there in the first place.”Keith stares at him speechless as Shiro holds the younger man’s face in his hand.“I am so proud… infinitely proud… of the leader you’ve become.”Shiro blinks up at him as he continues.“But I also know… it wasn’t worth any of what it cost you to get there. Just because I knew you were capable of being a great leader didn’t make it ok for me to force you to be one. As long as I live, my greatest regret will always be that I forced you lead when I knew you didn’t want it; especially since its what caused your quintessence to get corrupted the first time.”“We didn’t really have much of a choice though.”“I could have asked Allura to lead.”Shiro looks at said Crown Princess briefly before looking back at Keith.“Even back then, she had the confidence, training, and support needed to bear the weight of leadership. Black chose you because I asked him to. Yet even though you hated it, even though you weren’t prepared… you did it anyway… and you did it for me and because they needed you to be… and even though you still hate it; you stayed on as leader, even after I recovered from my soul transplant, because you knew I needed you to be even before I did and we didn’t yet know what killed me in the first place. We know what happened now and we know it won’t happen again. Now that we know that and I’ve rested enough, I cannot, in good conscience, make you lead anymore; knowing not only that you never wanted it but that it’s hurting you. It’s time I became leader again…”Shiro presses their foreheads together.“For you… because you need me to be.”Keith hugs Shiro then, who hugs him back tightly.“Will the Black Lion even accept you?”They look at Hunk as he poses the question.“I thought your connection with Black was severed when Allura did the thing.”“If my clone could establish a strong enough bond with Black that we had to fight him in the Infinite Void, I should have no problems either reconnecting our old bond or forming a new bond with him.”They go down to the Lion hanger and sure enough, Black immediately lights up when Shiro sits in his seat.“You know…”Ryou rubs his chin thoughtfully as Shiro exits the Black Lion.“I’ve been thinking…maybe your bond was never severed in the first place.”They look at him.“What do you mean?”“Well, Takashi said upstairs that the Black Lion let Keith fly him because Takashi asked him to. Then when Keith was unable to fly the Black Lion and no one could get to them, Black let Lance fly him, again because Takashi asked him to.”“Then why did the Black Lion refuse to accept Shiro when he tried to activate him before we started the return trip to Earth?”“Probably because A. Takashi only had one arm and was still recovering from a soul transplant (that will never not be weird to say, by the way) and B. the Black Lion agreed with Keith’s assessment that not only did Takashi need a mental break from leading, but also because it was still unknown what killed him in the first place and that Takashi should be kept as far away from the Black Lion’s seat until it was figured out. Now that he’s had a mental break and the cause of his death is both known and prevented from happening again, he immediately accepts Takashi back. If the Lions are sentient enough to be picky about who pilots them, then they’re probably sentient enough to worry about said pilot’s health.”“That’s a fair point."“Then why did Black wait until I specifically asked for Keith not to be taken from me to activate?”“Again, if the Black Lion is sentient enough to worry about his pilot, he's also probably sentient enough to know your feelings and force you to admit them to yourself.”Pidge grins at Shiro.“In other words, Black knew you and Keith are in love with each other and he was tired of your shit.”“Love you too, Pidge…”“Keith?”They turn to see Lance standing beside Keith.“Since Shiro’s the Black Paladin again, you should be the Red Paladin again too.”Shiro looks at Keith.“You are my Second-in-command."“Not just because of that.”Lance looks at Keith.“I know you could be in Blue if you wanted but… You told me… that you were happy being in Red, that being his Paladin was the first time you ever felt like you truly belonged anywhere… If either of us deserves that… it’s you.
You were the leader we needed twice, even though you hated it.”“Blue did pick you over me.”“Besides, I’m done dealing with Red’s tantrums. He’s your problem now.”Keith raises an eyebrow.“Did you try taking him for a few laps around the ship every quintant?”Lance blinks at him.“I’m sorry, what?”Keith hands the Black Bayard to Shiro.“Red’s the fastest of the Voltron Lions. Meaning he has a lot more energy to burn off than the other Lions, save for maybe Black. So a few laps around the ship every quintant helps burn off that energy.”Lance stares as he gives Keith the Red Bayard.“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Lance deadpans. “You mean all I had to do to getting him to stop bitching at me was take him for a walk every night?”“You’d be pissy too if you were kept cooped up inside all the time. The only times I didn’t do it was after a really tough battle.”“So that’s why you made it a point to head to Red’s bay every day.” Shiro says as he gives the Blue Bayard to Lance.As soon as Lance has the Blue Bayard, all five Voltron Lions roar.Ryou covers his ears as the Lions’ roar echoes throughout the ship.“Holy fuck that’s loud!”Keith walks to Red.“I think I’m going to take Red for a few laps around the Atlas. I missed our solo flights.”~Shiro returns to his quarters and removes his Paladin armor; setting it neatly on its rack. Dressed only in pajama bottoms, he leans against the window and watches the Red Lion fly past the window with a little smile on his face.The smile fades when he remembers future!Keith and that dark future he saw.He’s still staring out the window lost in thought when Keith returns.Keith sees the dark shadow over Shiro’s face and immediately knows what he’s thinking of.He swiftly crosses the room to Shiro, placing a hand on the older man’s shoulder. Shiro is already turning toward him when Keith pulls him into his arms.Shiro grips Keith like he’s a lifeline and Shiro a drowning man. Keith holds him tight for several moments, carding his fingers through Shiro’s hair. When they pull away, Keith moves his hands to hold his lover’s face and watches as the first tears fall.Keith wipes them away with his thumbs before guiding Shiro’s face up so their lips could meet.“Keith…”Shiro's kiss becomes more desperate and emotional as more tears fall.“I’m here,” Keith breathes back between kisses. “I’m here… you stopped it from happening.”“I need you…”That’s all the encouragement Keith needs for him to pin Shiro against the window
while slipping his tongue into Shiro’s mouth.Shiro quickly deactivates Keith’s Paladin armor before unzipping Keith’s Paladin under-armor, all without breaking their kiss. Shiro pushes Keith's under-armor off his shoulders and helps Keith remove it from his arms down to his hips, desperate to feel Keith’s skin against his own.Keith lifts Shiro up and pins him against the window again with Shiro's legs around his hips; Keith easily supporting Shiro’s weight.Shiro groans at it and wraps his legs around Keith’s waist while burying his prosthetic in Keith’s hair.Keith laces his fingers with Shiro's left hand and pins it above Shiro's head as their tongues dance.After a few moments, Keith lifts Shiro away from the window and carries him to the berth. He sits on the berth with Shiro in his lap. Shiro pushes just a little bit until Keith is laying on his back beneath him.
Keith gently rolls them over until he's on top. All of this done without breaking their kiss.~Shiro blinks awake later that night.He’s lying on his right side on the berth, his prosthetic on its shelf. Curled up under Shiro’s left arm is Keith sleeping peacefully with a hand in front of his mouth. Shiro’s body is practically singing from the skin on skin contact as his chest presses against Keith's back.As Keith’s new white hair hangs in his face, Shiro notices that this is the most relaxed he’s seen Keith in a long time. That alone tells Shiro he made the right decision in becoming the leader of Voltron again.The images of future!Keith holding the Life Takers at bay as one of them zeros in on him along with the memories of Pollux dying in Castor's arms plays in his mind, but with it comes a realization.The thought of living without Keith… Shiro knows he could do it just like Keith did but the very thought of it… no… no, he doesn’t want that life.With his realization comes a determined resolution as he looks at Keith’s peaceful face.He never wants to be without this man in his life.So, he decides he never will be.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The following morning, the Coalition members readily available on board ship meet in the briefing room.On one side of the table sits the entire Bridge crew and Slav with the MFE pilots standing behind them.On the other sits Krolia, Romelle, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge with Kolivan, Acxa, Lotor, and Commander Lahn standing behind them.Sitting at the head of the table is Allura and standing side by side in front of the viewscreen are Shiro and Keith.Shiro steps forward.“We now have an opportunity we’ve never had before. We know exactly what Honerva is planning, how she’s going to do it, and when and where she’s going to strike.”Keith continues.“She’s calling her plan Operation Nemeshisu."Commander Holt raises an eyebrow.“Isn’t that the Japanese word for Nemesis?”“It is,” Shiro confirms. “In the dark future we saw; two weeks and three days after the MFE’s return to the Atlas from Epoch’s cave, Honerva uses the Life Taker to kill Allura. Two days later, she attacks.”“The reason I froze the Life Taker in the cryo-pod instead of cleansing it right there is because Honerva is likely watching that particular Life Taker.”“So you froze it to fool the witch into believing that we have placed Allura inside a cryo-pod the same way the others did for you.”Lotor sounds mildly impressed.Keith points at him.“Exactly!”Keith addresses the room again.“Lotor said that if the other Paladins hadn’t acted, the Life Taker would have eventually killed me. Honerva now thinks we have Allura in a cryo-pod and she’s likely waiting for us to either cleanse the Life Taker or for the Life Taker to kill Allura.”Veronica raises an eyebrow.“How do you know Honerva’s thinking?”“Honestly Veronica, it’s just a hunch.”“Which is why we’re listening to it,” Shiro interjects. “Keith’s hunches tend to be right.”Lance looks at his sister.“Besides Veronica. If Honerva knew we were onto her, she would have attacked by now.”“Fair point.”Keith continues.“We now know that Honerva is planning to capture the Sincline somehow. Since it’s made out of the same comet ore as Voltron, it has the ability to pierce realities. Honerva’s planning to use it and a kind of trans-reality drill to find her version of a “perfect reality”.”Romelle looks at him.“Perfect reality? Does that even exist?
Also, where did she obtain such a drill?”Keith looks at her kindly.“Honestly, I don’t think it really matters whether it exists or not.”"As for how the witch obtained her drill, she will undoubtedly use something from the Oriande to create it," Lotor suggests.“The problem is the trans-reality ore has been traveling between realities for millions of years,” Pidge explains, “and it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon. What Honerva’s planning to do is force the process to happen, which, as we saw in that dark future, will have catastrophic side effects on this and any reality she travels through. It doesn’t matter if such a reality exists, the simple act of her looking for it will have horrific consequences alone.”Hunk looks at Shiro and Keith.“So what’s the plan?”“We need to gather the entirety of the Coalition’s forces and prepare for battle,” Keith answers.“First, we need to find a central location for us all to meet and use as a base of operations,” Shiro continues.“Sadly, with Olkarion destroyed; that requires the Coalition to search elsewhere,” Lotor adds.They all think for a moment before Allura speaks up.“What about Dionysus? They are the only long standing ally of Altea remaining that we know of AND the planet’s system is near enough to where Altea was that we can prepare without Honerva learning what we are doing.”“Not to mention, Honerva feared the Selendis more than Zarkon did,” Coran adds.Krolia looks at Keith.“We’ve been tracking a Galra fleet within the vicinity of Dionysus. Our intel shows they have a Zaiforge cannon. Maybe Kolivan and I can take a small team to commandeer the ship.”“Why don’t you take Commander Lahn and try to recruit them to our side,” Keith suggests. “We don’t want to fight more battles than we have to. In fact, Commander Lahn.”Keith looks at said commander.“Try to contact the other Galra who’ve joined the Coalition and have them rendezvous with us here.”Commander Lahn nods.“In the meantime, Slav and I have been working on prototype upgrades for the Atlas’ weapons system,” Commander Holt says. “Of course, we’ll have to somehow find extra power for them.”Slav crosses his arms.“Always making the most amazing things in the universe, but never having enough power to run them."Pidge looks at them.“New weapons? I’ll give you guys a hand with that.”“And I may know where we can get the extra power,” Coran says. “There’s a small Balmera in Dionysis’ vicinity.”“All right! A little trip to a Balmera,” Hunk says. “We’ll take the Yellow Lion.”“And Romelle,” Coran says. “I’ve been training her on Altean customs. She’ll be quite helpful in communicating with the Balmera.”Keith looks at them with a smile.“Good idea.”Shiro looks at Keith.“Keith, do you have anything else to add?”“A few things actually."Keith looks at the room again.“In that dark future, Honerva had taken control of the Alteans on board the Atlas. Honerva likely has a Life Taker inside all of them like the one that was inside Tavo. It’s kind of why they’ve insisted on sitting out these meetings and the missions.
Also, if Honerva had a Life Taker inside the Red Lion, she likely has one in the Sincline and the Altean robeasts as well. With Honerva focusing on the Life Taker that was in Allura, she’s likely not watching the others. If I stretch it out over the course of the next week or two, I think I can pull the Life Takers from the Alteans and such and cleanse them without Honerva realizing what we’re doing.""Won't cleansing them tip her off anyway like it did when Allura cleansed Red?" Lance asks."No. Allura was cleansing the quintessence of the Red Lion to purge the Life Taker.
I'm cleansing the Life Taker itself.
However, there is one hitch we need to be ready for.”Pidge raises an eyebrow.“Which is?”“In every single vision I’ve been having of the coming fight, whether we win or lose, in every single one of them, no matter what we do or how we prepare; she always ends up getting the Sincline. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make her work for it. Just be prepared; she will succeed in getting the Sincline. Our job is to try to steer her toward the vision where we defeat her.”Hunk looks at him incredulously."'Vision'? As in singular?""There's only one future where we succeed with all 6 Paladins surviving. Just one."“We have two weeks to prepare,” Shiro states. “Let’s get started.”~Queen Ainson agrees to allow the Coalition to rendezvous at Dionysis and Atlas immediately wormholes there.Romelle visits the other Alteans.“I will be gone for a short while, accompanying Hunk and Coran to a Balmera. I cannot tell you much at the moment, given the circumstances.”“We understand,” Merla tells her. “I can only hope through your actions, our people can make some small amends for what we’ve done. If there’s anything we can do to assist you.”“Well, we could use some more help on the Balmera. It’s life force is strengthened by Altean energy.”A dark-skinned Altean woman with green markings and short black hair speaks up.“We wish we could join you, but that may not be wise. We all still have Life Takers within us.”“I understand, Eversa. Keith has a plan for that. He will take care of you. I promise.”Tavo steps forward.“Let me go with you. I want to help.”“Thank you, Tavo,” Romelle tells him appreciatively.~Down in engineering, Pidge is looking over her dad’s shoulder as he shows her the weapons they’re working on.“The weapons we’re trying to create uses the Atlas’ current cannon array. Slav correctly identified that after the cannon fires, the chamber discharges atoms along with trace elements of thorium.”“But it was your father who came up with the idea to actually use the atoms and thorium discharge!”“You want to turn our cannons into a thorium ray?”Slav moves to the other side of Pidge.“That’s exactly what I asked.”“Pidge, all the elements are already there. It could work.”Slav moves between them.“He’s right! All we need is an atomic trajectory, which should be easy enough based on the path of the cannon. And of course, we need that extra power. Also, we’ll need to jump up and down on one foot, count to three and shout out our favorite metal, color, or planetary atmosphere!”Pidge looks at him in exasperation.“We don’t have time for that!”“We have two weeks!”~Keith’s standing on the observation deck as the Atlas approaches Dionysus. He watches the Yellow Lion and the shuttle with his mom, Kolivan, Commander Lahn, as well as Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor leave.“Good luck out there.” he whispers.Two arms wrap around his shoulders and he immediately relaxes back into them without looking.For several tics, neither of them speaks as they look out into space; taking comfort in each other’s presence.“Worried?”“A little. There are at least a dozen different ways this fight can end with a victory for us, but only one has all six of us getting out alive."Shiro presses a kiss into the side of Keith’s head.“We'll do everything we can to steer toward that future."“Hmmm…”Shiro holds Keith a little tighter.“At least your meltdowns stopped.”“Allura cleansed the corruption so hopefully that’ll be the last of it.”They lapse into silence.“Hey Keith.”“Hmmm?”Shiro pulls away.“Can I ask you something?”Keith turns to face him.“What is it?”“Will you…”He trails off when Allura appears in the doorway for the observation deck.“Forgive my intrusion, but we are prepping to land and you are needed on the bridge, Shiro.”“Alright, I’ll be right there.”“What were you going to ask me?” Keith asks when Allura leaves.Shiro presses a kiss into Keith's forehead.“I can ask you later.”Keith watches him understandingly as he follows Allura“Alright."~The rest of the day Keith and Shiro are busy contacting all their allies with militaries to have them rendezvous at Dionysus.The next day, Keith starts cleansing the Alteans first. He’s cleansing 2 at a time each morning so he doesn’t exhaust himself.About a day later, the Yellow Lion returns with a Balmera crystal and Hunk immediately joins Pidge, Slav, and Commander Holt in their weapons upgrades.Keith cleanses two more of the Alteans.
As he works, Keith notices Romelle and Tavo casting looks at one another when the other isn’t looking.“What’s going on with you and Tavo?”A blush blooms across her Romelle's face.“It is nothing! We are merely friends.”“Uh huh…”Romelle blushes harder before sighing.“I suppose it is more than friendship. I told you I had few friends when I left the colony, yes?”Keith nods.“Tavo is the only one left. The others were all taken to "the colony".
As we grew older, Tavo and I began to develop feelings for one another. Then Bandor died and I left with you and Mom… now that we are together again and not on opposing sides of a war, we’ve begun to court one another.”“I trust your judgement and I know you can take care of yourself, but if you ever need help hiding a body…”Romelle laughs.“I will keep it in mind.”~Over the next couple of days, Keith and Shiro are busy greeting the Coalition’s allies as they arrive as the other Paladins continue preparing Atlas for the coming battle. At night, they're both so exhausted they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.As Keith cleanses the last of the Alteans, he sees Romelle standing with Tavo. He hides a side smile as he sees Tavo kiss Romelle’s hand; making her blush.Romelle leaves to find Allura
as Tavo walks with Keith to the hanger where the Altean mechs are held so Keith can check them for Life Takers.“Romelle tells me you’re one of the few friends she had growing up.”Keith doesn't look at the dark-skinned Altean as they arrive at the hanger but Tavo looks at him.“That is true. We were always close. When her parents, our friends, and later her brother were taken to the “colony”, I would visit her to ensure she was eating and such…”Tavo looks at the ground.“Our friendship had begun to change into something else when she suddenly shut me out…”Keith examines the Sincline.“That must have been when Bandor died.”Tavo nods.“I knew something had happened, even if she refused to tell me what. Then suddenly she disappeared entirely.”Tavo looks straight in front of him.“When Honerva came to the colony telling us Zarkon killed our people and that Romelle was a traitor who helped Voltron, "the Great Destroyers" attempt to kill Lotor, I was the only one who questioned the truth of it. Romelle is many things, but a heartless killer is not one of them.”Keith moves to the Altean mechs.“Glad one of you had some sense. No offense.”“No, I agree. I will admit I was under the misconception that it was you who were taking advantage of Romelle, not Honerva who was taking advantage of us.”“I can see how you’d think that. So, no resentments about her shutting you out suddenly?”Tavo shakes his head and looks at Keith again.“Knowing what I know now, she was likely afraid and I honestly cannot blame her. It must have felt as though the entire universe was against her. I am just happy to see her be herself again.
When Bandor had been taken, it was as though a light had gone out. I have not seen her smile since Bandor was taken to the “colony”. It is good to see her happy again.”Keith finishes checking the mechs.“I’m glad she has you, and I trust Romelle to make her own decisions and such. Just remember, her entire adoptive family knows how to kill a person and make it look like an accident.”Tavo laughs amiably.“Noted. I am glad Romelle has you, as well. It is good to have someone other than myself and Bandor care enough for her to ensure she is treated with respect. Romelle speaks highly of you.”“I know a thing or two about being an outcast.”"Of that I have no doubt."Allura comes into the hanger then.“Tavo and I confirmed that the Altean mechs and the Sincline all have Life Takers in them,” Keith tells her.“I would like to hold off on cleansing them for the time being,” Allura tells him. “Another matter has come to our attention that I feel should be given priority.
I've called a briefing in 10 doboshes.
I will explain then.”~“When we retrieved the intel we got from the Olkari, it was encrypted,” Pidge explains. “It wasn’t until we met the Solendis that we learned to decipher it."Pidge shows up the deciphered message."It just repeats 1 word; “Val-Kree”, with a set of coordinates”.”Coran looks at the room.“The Val-Kree hail from the planet Esorn, and like the Selendis; were among Altea’s strongest allies. They were renown throughout the universe for their skills as warriors and strategists. Sadly, Esorn was destroyed by Zarkon before he attacked Altea, likely to prevent them from assisting Altea. I honestly thought them destroyed until Number 5 showed me the missive.”“If the Val-Kree have survived, perhaps they would be willing to aid us once more,” Allura states.“Not to be Johnny Stormcloud here, but I get the feeling recruiting them won’t be that simple,” Hunk points out.“Sadly, I believe you are correct Number 2,” Coran agrees. “Unlike the Selendis who have incredibly long lifespans, the Val-Kree have relatively normal ones. Generations of the Val-Kree have been born and died under the Empire’s reign. They may not even REMEMBER the alliance with Altea.”“We should at least try to recruit them,” Shiro suggests. “We could really use their help.”“Queen Ainson has loaned us a shuttle while Commander Holt and Slav continue their upgrades to the Atlas’ shields and weapons systems. I will open the wormhole for you,” Allura says. “Only Coran, Romelle, and the Voltron Paladins will be going.”~Upon arriving at the coordinates, they find a gas giant with rings like Saturn.“The coordinates lead to a space in the gas giant’s inner most ring and the planet,” Coran states.“The ship’s sensors are detecting a small moon hidden there," Pidge tells them.“Must be the place,” Lance comments.“Bringing her in,” Keith tells them.He flies the ship to the space and expertly lands on the moon’s surface.They disembark and walk around.“So… where are they?”“I doubt they would have anything visible to the eye,” Romelle points out. “My colony wasn’t.”“If we had the Lions, we could use Blue’s sonic cannon to find anything underground,” Lance comments.Hunk turns to Pidge.“Any signs of life?”“No, but it’s entirely possible they have technology in place to avoid detection.”As if on cue, a group of warriors in masks jump out of hiding and encircle them with blasters and swords.“Who are you trespasser? State your business,” a short one asks, their voice clearly female.“We mean you no harm?” Shiro states.The one who asked lowers her blaster as he, Coran, and Romelle step forward.“Alteans? I thought they were wiped out thousands of years ago.”“Not entirely,” Romelle states. “A small group of us managed to survive; just as you have.”“The Olkari gave us coordinates to this place,” Coran explains.She signals the others to lower their weapons before taking her mask off; prompting the others to do the same; revealing a people who resemble humanoid bears with fur that varies in color from natural colors like black, brown, or tan and outlandish colors such as yellow, pink, and blue.
On their faces are stripes the same color as their eyes which seem to vary in color from red to yellow and every shade in between. The Val-Kree in front of them has lavender fur with golden eyes and stripes.“I am General Vel, commander of Queen Vesenya’s army.”“I am Captain Takashi Shirogane of the IGF Atlas and the Black Paladin of Voltron, this is Coran and Romelle. We are with the Voltron Coalition seeking an audience with your queen.”“This way, if it pleases you.”They follow General Vel to a rock face in the side of a mountain that soon moves to reveal a door. They walk through the door into a tunnel lit by bowls of a glowing blue liquid.Pidge inspects one closely.“Fascinating. How do these work exactly?”“That would be a question for our chief scientists,” General Vel tells them.They soon exit the tunnel and see a huge clearing the size of the mountain. There’s a fortress in the dead center of the clearing with smaller dwellings around it.“Isn’t this the middle of the mountain?” Hunk asks as they enter the fortress.“It is.”“How…?”“The mountain top is made of a type of rock that appears solid on one side but is clear on the other.”“Cool!” Pidge and Hunk exclaim.General Vel hides a smile as she brings them into a room in the fortress where a group of older Val-Kree are standing around a table looking at what appears to be a map of the moon’s surface.Standing in the direct center is what appears to be a small Val-Kree that looks like a bear cub with black fur and pink eyes and stripes.They all look up as General Vel leads them into the room.“Forgive my interruption, Your Majesty.”General Vel bows to the smaller Val-Kree.“Captain Takashi Shirogane and some Alteans seek an audience with you on behalf of the Voltron Coalition. They claim they were sent by the Olkari.”She points as she looks back at her map.“Have them wait over there. My people’s needs are more important to me than theirs.”“Yes your Majesty.”General Vel motions for them to sit on a nearby bench and wait before leaving the room.“As we were saying, your Majesty,” the Val-Kree to Queen Vesenya’s right states.Their meeting continues on for about another varga before Queen Vesenya finally addresses them with her advisor at her side.Shiro greets her with a bow.“Queen Vesenya.”“Welcome to New Esorn.”Coran looks at her respectfully.“Might I ask how old you are, Your Majesty?”“I’m 10, and before you ask I was crowned queen last year after my mother’s death.”“My sympathies, Your Majesty. I too have lost…”Queen Vesenya cuts him off.“I’ve little time or patience for small talk or diplomacy. State your business.”Keith raises an impressed eyebrow at Queen Vesenya.“We’ve come seeking aid from an old ally of Altea.”Coran explains their objective.“The Voltron Coalition is preparing to make our last stand against Honerva; the one formerly known as Haggar. The Coalition along with what remains of the Alteans need the alliance of…”She cuts Coran off again.“You don’t just want our alliance. You want our pilots and warriors.”Shiro starts sweating a little.“Y..yes. You must understand, Your Majesty…”Queen Vesenya looks at him sternly.“What I understand that I’m responsible for the safety and security of the Val-Kree. What I understand is that a Coalition we’ve barely heard of and a former ally that none of the Val-Kree alive even remembers has suddenly shown up on our doorstep after 10,000 years expecting us to suddenly drop everything to help them as though nothing has changed. I have heard of Honerva’s depravity and I regret what happened to the Alteans, but my people have suffered as much as yours for simply being an ally with you. Tell me; how is the Coalition any different from Zarkon and his Empire? Why should we sacrifice our lives to fight in your war?”“I like her…” Pidge breathes to the other Paladins.“She did not come to play with us hoes,” Lance breathes back."Seriously..." Hunk agrees quietly.Keith hesitates a tic before stepping forward.“If it pleases you, Your Majesty.”Keith looks straight ahead as he speaks.“I understand your concerns.”Queen Vesenya looks at him quizically.“I don’t know you.”“My name is Commander Keith Kogane, Your Majesty. Red Paladin, Second-in-Command of both the Atlas and Voltron, as well as a Blade of Marmora. I’m from Earth just like Captain Shirogane.”Queen Vesenya addresses him directly.“Alright, Commander. How is it you understand my concerns?”“The questions you ask are both fair and logical, given your position. You want to ensure we won’t abuse the help you and your people can give us and use it to enslave the universe as Zarkon has for 10,000 years. I understand you want to protect your people, your Majesty, but if Honerva's plan succeeds, the entire universe will die, including your people. We need to make a stand against her and we need your help to do it. How can we prove to you that we only seek peace and nothing more?”Queen Vesenya looks at Keith for a moment. Her advisor moves to speak to her but she silences him with a gesture before stepping up to Keith."My people aren't mindless warriors who favor slaughter glory and military might over intellect and culture. We value the arts and science above fighting ability.
Tyrants such as Zarkon may value science and intellect to an extent; but culture and the arts are always considered worthless to them.
Show me that your Coalition values the arts."Keith crosses his arms while scratching his chin thoughtfully."I must ask then. What does your people consider to be arts and culture?
Opinions vary.""All of them. Visual, literary, performing..."Keith turns and looks at Hunk."What about culinary?""As a matter of fact, yes."Hunk immediately pulls a bag of simple cookies out of his belt pouch and steps forward."These are what our planet calls butter cookies."Hunk offers her one.
"My mom's recipe. Baked them earlier today."She takes one and takes a bite."Mmm! We do not have such food on New Esorn. This shall have to be rectified."Queen Vesenya finishes the cookie happily before stepping in front of Keith and looking him dead in the eye.“I’ve only heard the barest whispers of Voltron and I’ve not heard of the Blades of Marmora but I have heard of Marmora himself. It was he who placed us here 10,000 years ago promising his successor would come here seeking aid to end the war. It was also he who gave the Olkari our whereabouts, knowing they would protect the information with their lives.”She doesn't blink as she continues.“He said his successor would come baring a luxite blade. Do you have such a blade?”Keith pulls out and awakens his blade without breaking eye contact.“You trust these people. You are willing fight for them.”Keith doesn't hesitate.“With my life, Your Majesty."“You believe in their cause?” “Wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t.”She steps toward him and narrows her eyes at him, making Shiro and Coran squirm a little. Keith can see the barest hint of a smile that tells him she's been convinced but she’s messing with Shiro and Coran, prompting an amused smile from him.She takes a step back.“Very well then. The Coalition will have the Val-Kree’s support in the coming battle.”Shiro and Coran both breathe a sigh of relief as she walks back over to them.“Thank you,” Shiro tells her.“How many ships can we expect from you?” Coran asks excitedly. “A dozen? Two dozen?”“2 ships with 31fighter pilots each. We may not have the numbers we used to, but 1of our pilots has the combat skills and piloting ability of 20.”“If they’re anything like their queen. Honerva won't know what hit her."Queen Vesenya shoots Keith a smirk at the compliment before continuing.“I will gather the whole of my people and join you on Dionysus."They leave to return to the shuttle then."I seriously cannot believe that worked," Lance states."Never doubt the power of food to bring people together," Hunk tells him."Who knew your tendency to bring food everywhere would come in handy."When they return to Dionysus, while the others are walking off the ship, Shiro grabs Keith and kisses him fiercely while pinning him against the wall. When they pull away, he stays close as they press their foreheads together.“Thanks for the back-up."Keith looks dazed from the kiss."Anytime.""How’d you know what to say to get her to join us?”“I didn’t, Apparently I’m a natural with kids...”Shiro raises an eyebrow.“What was it Lance’s niece and nephew kept calling you when we were there?”Keith makes a face.“Mr. Keith.”Shiro laughs.“Oh stop, you and I both know you like it.”Keith just pulls Shiro into another kiss; this one more tender and sweet, before walking out of the shuttle hand in hand.“Hey Keith?”“Yeah?”Shiro rubs the back of his head when they step off the gangway.“I wanted to ask you something before."“Which is?”“Will you…”“Commander Kogane!”They both turn to see one of the lower officers.“Kolivan and Krolia have returned with the Zaiforge cannon.”Keith's face lights up.“Oh thank you!”He turns back to Shiro when the officer leaves.“What were you going to ask me?”Shiro smiles at him.“It can wait. I know you’re eager to see your mom and sister.”Keith gives Shiro a quick kiss before leaving to find Krolia.~For several quintants, everyone is busy with battle preparations while Keith cleanses the Altean mechs as well as the Sincline.Once all of their allies arrive, they spend the rest of the time with leaders in the briefing room to discuss strategy.The day before Allura was fated to die, all preparations for the coming battle are completed to the best of their abilities; save for Keith cleansing the Life Taker.Lance pulls Keith aside later that day.“Hey Keith, mind if I borrow the Red Bayard for a bit? There’s something I need to do that I can only do in Red.”Keith raises an eyebrow at Lance before wordlessly handing him the Red Bayard.“Thanks, I’ll bring it back to you later tonight.”Lance heads for the Lion hanger and walks up to Red.“Hey, I know I’m not your Paladin anymore, but would it be alright if I linked up with your consciousness for a moment?”Red immediately lowers his head and opens his mouth for Lance.“Thanks Red."He quickly runs up the Red Lion’s mouth and sits in the seat.About 15 doboshes later, Lance leaves.Lance pats Red on the nose.“Thanks buddy. You know Keith was right.
Those daily night flights do put you in a better mood."Lance laughs at the "fuck you" he gets from Red before leaving.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

On the morning Allura died in that dark future, Keith approaches the Life Taker’s cryopod and without opening the pod; cleanses the Life Taker. Shiro then calls a briefing for later that quintant.Shiro stands in front of the briefing room.“Good evening and welcome to our final briefing before the final battle. With the entire Coalition gathered and all battle preparations completed, we now have a full quintant before Honerva begins her attack on the barrier between realities. So take the time we have tomorrow to mentally prepare yourselves for the coming fight. One way or another, the war is ending in two days.”~As the six Paladins enter the Paladin lounge with Coran, Lotor, and Romelle after the briefing, Romelle looks at Allura’s wrist and gasps.“Is that what I think it is?!”Romelle does a little hop while looking at the sparkly metal and crystal bracelet that looks like a chain of juniberry flowers around Allura’s wrist.Allura blushes.“It is…”Romelle immediately hugs her with a squeal as Coran and Lotor congratulate her.Pidge, Shiro, and Hunk look confused.“Want to clue us in so we can be excited too?” Hunk asks.“Lance proposed, didn’t he?” Keith guesses.“Yes!” Romelle says excitedly.“Alteans give their intended betrothal bracelets rather than rings as your people do,” Lotor explains.Allura looks at Keith.“How did you guess?”“Lance borrowed my bayard for “something that could only be done in Red” and I can still feel Alfor’s consciousness through Red. It’s kind of an Earth custom for the groom-to-be to seek the blessing of the bride-to-be’s father before asking her to marry him. Not everyone follows it but it doesn’t surprise me that Lance would.”“When I told King Alfor I didn’t have a ring yet, he told me the bracelet thing and I never got to give her this one after the Lion Goddess Festival so it became an engagement bracelet.”The other Paladins quickly congratulate Lance and Allura.“Ah, fuck it…”Shiro takes Keith’s hand and pulls him off to the side.Keith gives him the kicked puppy look as the others turn to look.“Takashi?”“I’ve been trying to ask you something for the past two movements, but apparently having a private conversation is an impossibility for us at the moment. So, small audience it is.”Shiro holds Keith’s hand in both of his.“I don’t want to go into this fight regretting a single thing I have or haven’t done.”With that, Shiro takes a step back without letting go of Keith’s hand and gets down on one knee in front of the others.“Keith Kogane… will you marry me?”All their friends' mouths drop open.“What, you mean now?! As in like tomorrow?”Shiro chuckles without releasing Keith's hand.“Yes. I love you, Keith. If what I saw in that future taught me anything, it’s I can’t bear the thought of living without you. You mean everything to me. Marry me?”“Yes… yes you know I will!”Keith drops to his knees and throws his arms around Shiro’s neck. Shiro wraps his arms around Keith and holds him tight.Keith pulls away.“But, who’s going to marry us? I don’t think there are any ministers on the crew."“Honestly dude, I doubt anyone is going to care if a minister marries you or not,” Hunk points out.“Seriously, when we get back home, you can deal with the legal crap,” Lance adds.“Besides, I’m pretty sure everyone already thinks you’re married. There’s a reason Sky’s nickname for you two is “old married couple”.”Allura bows.“It would be my honor to officiate your marriage.”“Alright, well what about rings?”“Leave that to me!” Pidge says. “I’m the only one who knows both of your ring sizes anyway.”“Alright… I guess we can wear our Garrison uniforms…”Lance, Coran, and Lotor all gasp in horror at the thought.“Absolutely not!”“I won’t hear of it!”“We will acquire more suitable vestments for such an occasion that is in accordance to your customs."“And before you say anything, I’ll make your cake and food!” Hunk tells them.Shiro pulls Keith to his feet.“Looks like we’re getting married tomorrow.”“As long as it’s just those closest to us.”Shiro nods.“Sounds more than fair. Let’s aim for tomorrow at 1600 hours in the multi-faith chapel on deck 3.”Shiro looks at Lance and Allura.“What about you two? I could officiate yours as well since we’re saying ‘fuck legalities’ and all that.”Lance laughs.“As much as I appreciate that, I’m gonna have to pass. You guys are fortunate enough to have your family on board ship. If I tried to elope, my mom would teleport in out of nowhere asking.”Lance pitches his voice before continuing.“Que’ mierda es esta mierda, mijo? Who said my youngest child could get married without his mother there? I fed you, I washed you, I changed your diapers, and my baby elopes?!”Lance goes back to his normal voice.“Either that or she’ll send a heat-seeking chancla after me.
Really, it could go either way.”Romelle looks at him confused.“We are across the universe from Earth."“I know what I said. So thanks, but pass.”“Ok then, no eloping for you,” Shiro comments.“Besides, what better incentive to defeat Honerva than a wedding?”Keith shakes his head with a smile before giving Shiro a quick kiss and heading to the lift.Romelle looks at him in confusion.“Keith? Where are you going?”“Another Earth custom.”Keith hits the button.“Its bad luck for the wedding couple to see each other before they walk down the aisle. We need all the luck we can get for the coming battle.”The lift doors open then.“I’ll be staying with my mom until after the wedding if anyone needs me.”Romelle follows him into the lift.“What are some other Earth marriage customs?”“I’ll explain on the way to Mom’s quarters.”“I too am curious as to your Earth customs,” Allura admits."As am I," Lotor adds.Keith looks at them as the doors close.“I leave that to you all”~Krolia immediately congratulates Keith when he tells her.“I had a feeling you might. Galra mate for life and the two of you have already learned you are each other’s mate. It was only a matter of time.”Keith and Romelle sit on the floor while leaning back against Kosmo as Krolia speaks.“How different are Galra customs from Earth ones?” Romelle asks inquisitively.“Only the royal families have a ceremony to celebrate becoming mates,” Acxa states from where she sits on the couch with Krolia. “The rest of the population exchange bond marks in private.”Keith perks up a little.“Bond marks?”Krolia explains.“Bond marks are special markings that bind you more chemically than emotionally. It is a link that bonds your heart with your mate’s. It is an intense the connection that cannot be broken, even in death.”“Now that you mention it… Dad had a mark on the base of his neck that only showed when he took his shirt off.”Krolia then pulls the neck of her shirt down to reveal a similar mark on her shoulder.“Unfortunately, it only tells you that you are mates. It does not tell you if your mate has died or not.”“Hence you not knowing Dad died."“If I had known, I would have come to get you,” Krolia promises him for about the millionth time.“I know, Mom,” Keith assures her. “But if you had, I would have never met Takashi. Or I would have, but he wouldn’t have meant as much to me. So it worked anyway.”Keith gets an idea then.~“Ok, so how are we going to keep Shiro and Keith apart until the wedding?” Hunk asks early the following morning as he’s leaving the mess hall with Lance, Pidge, Allura, Romelle, and Ryou.“Someone should be with each of them to ensure they are never in the same place at once,” Allura suggests.Lance looks at her.“Who though? Hunk’s cooking, Pidge is making the rings, Allura’s officiating, I’m making sure they aren’t getting married in a Garrison uniform.”“Easy.”Pidge points at Ryou and Romelle.“You two are going to keep an eye on Shiro and Keith respectively."Ryou shrugs.“I was going to volunteer to baby-sit my brother anyway."Romelle looks confused.“Why would you sit on your brother? That doesn't sound nice.”The humans have to fight hard not to laugh.“No, baby-sit is another way to say he’ll keep an eye on Shiro,” Pidge tells her.Romelle catches on.“Oh! Ok! Then I shall endeavor to baby-sit Keith!”Pidge pulls up a holo-map of the ship on her Paladin bracelet.“It looks like Shiro’s down in the biolab with mom and Matt. Keith’s on the training deck.”“On it!”~“Hey Matt?”Matt looks up from where he’s helping Colleen gather flowers while Sam waters some of the plants with a hose.“Hey, if it isn’t Groom #1!”Matt stands up straight.“What can I do for you?”“Will you be my Best Man?”Matt immediately hugs him.“Honestly, I would have been insulted if you hadn’t asked me. Who else on this ship other than Keith knows you like I do?”Matt thinks for a moment.“Well, except Allura. Your brotp is legendary!”“Allura’s the one marrying us so I can’t really ask her to be my Best Maid too."Ryou comes in then and playfully punches Shiro in the shoulder.“There you are, big bro. I’ve been assigned to shadow you to ensure you and Keith don’t run into each other before you’re walking down the aisle.”Sam looks at him.“Smart idea. Who’s shadowing Keith?”“Romelle.”Ryou then leans against Shiro.“So… are you nervous? I was a wreck at mine.”“I thought I would be, but, I’m not. More excited really.”Ryou shrugs.“Can’t say I’m surprised."“Yeah, you two are practically married as it is,” Matt adds.“That’s what Pidge said last night. Honestly though, it’s not just being able to call Keith my husband.”A smile spreads across his face at the warmth in his heart when he says the word.“At least, not entirely…”“You never thought you’d live long enough to get married, did you?” Sam asks.Shiro nods his head to confirm it.Matt raises an eyebrow.“Weren’t you engaged before Kerberos?”“Yeah, but even when Adam and I were engaged and doing great, with how busy our lives were at the time and how focused I was on doing as much as I could in the limited amount of time I had, I thought I’d be dead before we even set a date. Either that or I’d die not long after. When Adam and I broke up, I had decided not to date anymore when I got back from Kerberos. It felt unfair to date someone with full knowledge that I was dying soon.”“Then aliens happened,” Ryou comments.Shiro laughs.“My point is, I’m getting married!”Shiro does a little hop while hugging Ryou.“Like actually getting married and I can actually live a happy life with my husband and possibly die of old age with him!”“Ignoring that tomorrow is the… hey!”Matt gets cut off by Sam spraying him with the hose.Colleen brings the focus back to wedding prep.“Are you going to write your own vows?”“Keith and I spoke briefly last night via Paladin coms and agreed to say a few words before the official vows.”“That's so sweet!” Colleen gushes.Shiro smiles at her.“Thanks Mom."Ryou looks at Shiro.“Shouldn’t you be writing it?”“I already know what I’m going to say."~Keith hesitates for a moment when he finds Griffin in the locker room of the training deck. He fidgets with his Paladin bracelet as he gathers his nerve.“H...hey James?”Griffin turns.“Hey, Keith."He raises an eyebrow when he notices how anxious Keith is."Everything alright?”Keith crosses his arms.“Er… fine. Great even. Umm…”Griffin has known Keith long enough to know when he’s doing something out of his comfort zone so Griffin patiently waits him out.“Shiro and I are getting married today…”Griffin’s smile is genuine.“Congratulations.”“Um… thanks… It’s going to be a small ceremony in the chapel… and I was wondering if you could… you know, be my Best Man?”Griffin blinks at Keith.“You want me to be your Best Man?”“Er… yes? Only if you want to.”“I’m honestly surprised you’re not asking Pidge or one of the other Paladins.”“I know I could but I really want it to be you."“Why?”“Because you were there for me when Shiro couldn’t be, when it felt like the whole world was against me. Not to mention, you’ve known me longer than anyone; except for maybe my mom and future!You was apparently willing to die so I wouldn’t have to die alone, so…”Griffin puts a hand on Keith’s shoulder to stop his rambling.“I’d be honored."“You would? Awesome! You can bring Ryan if you want, just don’t tell Nadia. We’re trying to keep it private for now.”Griffin laughs.“You don’t have to tell me twice. She thinks I don’t know she snuck Ryan’s camera into the briefing when we picked up Tavo.”Keith laughs as they're leaving the locker room.“How much of that documentary did you have to delete?”“Most of it was great; especially the part where Nadia lost that bet with Pidge…”Griffin snorts before continuing.“We got permission to keep the classified stuff because it actually wasn’t that bad. We only had to remove a short part at the end.”“Which part?”“Let’s just say your dog stole the camera from Nadia at one point and took it to the Captain’s Quarters. That got removed real quick.”“Keith! There you are!”They look and see Romelle running up to them.“What’s up?”“I am to follow you to ensure you and Shiro don’t see each other before you walk down the aisle."“Ok, you can come with me to see Pidge."“Yay!”“What time?” Griffin asks as Romelle coms Ryou to check on Shiro’s location.Keith tells him.He and Romelle quickly go to Pidge’s lab from there.“Hey Pidge, is it too late to ask for a special request for the rings?”“Of course not! Whatcha need?”Keith puts a chunk of black metal.Pidge picks it up inquisitively.“Is that?”“Luxite."“How? I thought the location of the planet they got the ore was lost?”“It is. This is a chip from my Blade. I did some research once and apparently once a chip removed from the whole of the luxite Blade, it becomes blank luxite again so it won’t be linked to both myself and my mom anymore.”“You want me to make your rings out of this?”Keith nods.“Also, if you could carve something into Takashi’s ring?”“Of course I can.”Keith starts writing what he wants carved into Shiro's ring.“Speaking of the wedding, do you mind if I have Sky attend via Rover as my date? Turns out she’ll be free all afternoon and evening and it’d be nice to not be the only 16 year old there.”“Yeah she can come. I just didn’t want the entire crew there.”“I hear you. Can you imagine if Slav was there?”“Oh God! Shiro and your dad would either murder him or have an aneurism.”Keith and Pidge laugh."Speaking of Sky, you two have been spending a lot of time together lately."Pidge blushes.
It quickly dissolves into a soft smile."I like her and I know she likes me back so we're just going to see where this goes."Romelle gets an alert from Ryou.“Quiznak, we have to go!”“Shiro heading this way?” Pidge asks.Romelle nods.“Probably to request something carved into mine,” Keith guesses.“Knowing you two weirdos, you’re probably right,” Pidge teases as Romelle drags Keith out the door.~The rest of wedding planning goes smoothly.Before long, they’re in their respective rooms in the chapel as Lance, Coran, and Lotor bring in their wedding tuxes.When the moment comes to walk down the aisle, they both agreed the night before to walk together. Only their families, the other Paladins, Kolivan, Lotor, Coran, and Griffin are present with Kinkade acting as both a photographer and videographer.Keith wears a simple black tuxedo with a red boutonniere pinned to it and his hair tied back in a ponytail. Shiro wears a solid white tuxedo with a long cape like a train for a wedding dress. On the front of his tuxedo is a purple boutonniere.“Wow…” Keith breathes when they see each other for the first time as they walk together down the aisle.“Seriously, those guys did a great job on these.”They come to a stop in front of Allura.“Welcome. We are gathered here to celebrate a joyous moment in the lives of the two men standing before me; the moment they were united in marriage. Marriage is the promise to love each other unconditionally. This ceremony will not create a relationship that does not already exist between you. It is a symbol of how far you have come these past few years and how far you will continue to go as individuals and partners. No matter what challenges you face, you now face them together. If anyone objects to this union, let them speak now.”Shiro suddenly feels a tug on the cape of his tux right before they hear a chorus of aws and laughter. When Allura giggles, Shiro and Keith look to see Kosmo curled up on the train of Shiro’s cape.Shiro laughs as Kosmo looks back at them and wags its tail.“Guess this means he approves.”Krolia coaxes Kosmo to come sit with her so Allura can continue.“In the time I have known the two of you. It has always been clear the two of you shared a bond stronger and more beautiful than anything anyone could comprehend. Like all things that bring beauty to the universe, it has drawn in those who seek to break that bond. Throughout our time together, I have seen that bond get tested over and over again. Many have tried to break it. All have failed. With each failure, the bond only grew stronger and more beautiful. May that bond you have never be broken.”Allura turns to take the rings from Coran standing beside her and hands them to Shiro and Keith.“Now I believe it was your wish to say a few words as you placed the rings? Who would like to go first?”Keith looks at Shiro.“After you."Shiro takes Keith’s hand into his own.“Keith, the first moment I met you as a 22 year old all those years ago, I could never have imagined how much you would grow to mean to me. I started mentoring you without a single thought of getting anything out of it. After all, I was going to die soon as far as I knew at the time. I thought I was helping you and possibly giving the Garrison another ace pilot to replace me when I died. Then you gave me something I never thought I’d have.”“A true, honest friend.”Keith’s eyes are shining as Shiro continues.“Someone who didn’t coddle me for my disease or worship me like some perfect superhero idol. Someone who believed in me and supported my dreams and ambitions and treated me not like a hero or someone who was dying, but as a person. I know that support came at great cost to you and I will forever be grateful to you for that. When I came back after my imprisonment and we became Paladins, you were always right there, right by my side; taking care of me… supporting me… encouraging me… protecting me….”Shiro presses their foreheads together.“Loving me.
”Shiro pulls away.“Then I died and you saved me, again... and again... and again. Then I came back and suddenly here was this beautiful young man three years younger than me carrying himself with the kind of confidence I had always dreamed he’d have for himself. Before I knew what hit me, I was falling in love with you.”Shiro holds Keith’s face in his hand as he continues.“I want to live with you… and die with you… and everything with you… I want you to always be by my side and I want to always be by yours. I’m yours. Now and forever. I never dreamed I could love someone the way I love you. You’re my right arm, Keith. I need my right arm.”Shiro takes Keith’s left hand in his and slides Keith’s ring onto his finger.“I give you this ring and vow as I did so long ago and for the rest of our days to never give up on you and to always see the best in you.”Keith wipes his eyes before speaking.“Takashi, the fact that I get to call you by your first name is something 16 year old me could never have imagined being able to do when you bailed me out of juvie after I stole your car.”Shiro laughs at that.“When you entered my life, I had given up all hope and lost all trust in anyone but myself. Trusting anyone had become too painful by that point, everyone always gave up as soon as there was a hint of trouble with me. I know mentoring me couldn’t have been easy at times with how determined I was to push you away at first. I thought, ‘he’ll give up on me eventually. It doesn’t mean anything that he promised, they always do.’ Yet you never did.
I don’t want to think about where I'd be if you hadn't saved me.”Shiro’s eyes start to get misty as Keith continues.“You loved me when I couldn’t even love myself. You were the only person who not only believed in me but also kept their promises to me for such a long time, I guess it was inevitable that I’d fall in love with you; even if I didn’t realize it at first. Even when I did, I never dreamed you’d feel the same. I thought you’d only ever see me as your best friend and I was ok with that. As long as you were happy, so was I. I’ve never been happier to be wrong. In the Home, I was always told that I had to love myself before I could love someone else. Bullshit. We both know I didn’t start loving myself until recently. But you… I loved you so much I forgot what hating myself felt like.”Shiro sniffles as Keith slides Shiro’s ring onto his left hand.“I give you this ring as a promise that no matter how many times it takes, I will take care of you and protect you without smothering your spirit. I want to support your dreams while soothing your nightmares. From now until the end of our days and beyond.”Allura gives them both a moment to compose themselves before continuing.“I am unsure what traditionally occurs beyond this point according to the customs of Earth’s culture so I will use the customs of my culture. Please take each other’s hand.”They do as she says.“These are the hands of your best friend that are holding yours as you promise to love each other for a long time to come. These are the hands that will work together as you build your future and make your dreams a reality. These are the hands that will comfort you in illness and trials, and share the joy and happiness of life together. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you all through the years. May you always hold each other and give strength to each other to hold to during the storms and stresses of life… I would say until death do you part, but clearly even death cannot break your bond.”Everyone in the room laughs.“Do you swear this to each other as of this moment?”“I do.”“Then it is my pleasure to pronounce you married. You may kiss your husband.”Keith immediately grabs Shiro by the lapel of his tux and pulls him into a fierce kiss as everyone cheers.~After Kinkade takes pictures of them with their families and friends, they have a small reception in a little room just off the chapel.Everyone quickly comes to congratulate them.Krolia hugs them both.“Congratulations. Akira would be so proud of you, Keith.”Keith smiles at her.“Thanks, Mom.”Lance looks at him in confusion.“Akira? Who the heck is Akira?”“My dad, Lance,” Keith says flatly. “That was his name.”“Why did I think it was something like Tex or Heath?”Keith opens his mouth.“Shut up, Keith!”Lance laughs."I don't know what you're about to say, but shut up!"Keith laughs.“Hey, you walked into that one!”“More like dove into it,” Pidge teases.Shiro suppresses a laugh.“Speaking of Lance, you three did an awesome job on the tuxedos.”“Seriously, they fit perfectly. How did you do this so fast?”“Coran.” Lance and Lotor say in unison.“Funny story. Apparently Queen Ainson foresaw a wedding not long after we left and had them specially made knowing we wouldn’t have much time to prepare.”“We merely added the embellishments."“Except for the boutonnieres. Those were Dr. Holt."“About time you mother fuckers got married,” Sky says from Rover.Music started playing then, calling them out on the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple.Shiro pulls Keith out on the dance floor and pulls him close as the song starts playing.
“I set out on a narrow way many years ago… hoping I would find true love along the broken road…”
Neither of them speaks as they sway to the music, Keith’s head resting on Shiro’s shoulder and Shiro’s hand in his.
"But I got lost a time or two... wiped my brow, kept pushing through... I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you..."
Shiro looks down at the man in his arms as they dance.
“Every long-lost dream… lead me to where you are… others who broke my heart… they were like northern stars… pointing me on my way… Into your loving arms… this much I know is true… that God blessed the broken road that lead me straight to you.”
Not long after their first dance they both dance with their respective moms.
Then came the best man speeches.Matt goes first."Hey everyone, I'm Shiro's best man. I think I got the role by default since Shiro doesn't really have a whole lot of other close friends who weren't either doing something for the wedding or marrying him. I was a little hesitant but hey, its a free meal and some drinks so I wasn't about to turn that down."Everyone present laughs."But in all seriousness, congratulations to the new couple.
You both were literally the last people to figure out you should be married."Shiro and Keith both shrug in acceptance as Matt sits down and Griffin stands up."How the hell am I supposed to follow that?!"Matt just shrugs as everyone laughs."I'm Keith's Best Man. Even though Keith and I've known each other since we were in middle school, I was genuinely surprised at when Keith asked me to be but I'm no less honored. I'll keep my speech short so we can hurry up and attack the food. Someone once told me that you don't marry the person you can live with.
You marry the person you can't live without and that's just what these two have done. So congratulations you two."The rest of the wedding is uneventful as they eat and then have fun dancing with their friends.For a few hours, everyone forgets about the upcoming battle.As it starts to wind down, Shiro and Keith say good-bye to their friends and family before going to the observation deck for a private slow dance among the stars.Shiro looks at their rings as they sit side by side on the floor together some time later.“Pidge did an amazing job with these rings."Keith takes his off.“Speaking of the rings, let me see yours a moment."Shiro does as he’s asked and Keith puts them both in the palm of his right hand.“Give me your left hand…”Shiro does it without question and Keith puts it on top of Keith’s before placing his own left hand on top of Shiro’s. Keith then concentrates and soon they can both feel the rings grow warm as they start to glow. When the glow fades, Keith releases Shiro’s hand.Shiro takes his ring back and examines it.“What did you do?”“I infused the luxite of our rings with both of our quintessence. Watch this.”Keith kisses the ring in his hand. When he does, the ring in Shiro’s hand starts pulsing in the rhythm of a heartbeat.“Oh wow,” Shiro breathes.“Got the idea when Mom told me bond marks don’t tell you if your mate is safe or not. Now, no matter where we are… whether we’re right next to each other or across the universe from each other… we’ll always know if the other is safe.”Shiro kisses him as he takes his ring back.That’s when Keith notices the engraving inside his ring.“Takashi…”Shiro looks and grins.“I could think of nothing better to help you remember how much I love you and how much you mean to me." “I will never give up on you,” Keith reads.He puts his ring back on and looks up at Shiro.“Read yours.”Shiro looks at his ring and grins as Keith moves to straddle his lap.
“As many times…”
Shiro starts to put his ring back on as Keith guides his chin up so he’s looking up into Keith’s amethyst eyes.
“…as it takes…”
He breathes into Keith’s lips as the younger man pulls Shiro in for a kiss warmer than a shot of whiskey and sweet like honey.Keith moves his hands into Shiro’s hair as their kiss stays soft and tender while also growing warmer and sweeter.Shiro’s hands roam Keith’s body as Keith starts to softly grind against Shiro’s lap; their breaths steadily getting quicker.They’re panting for breath when they finally come up for air.Keith breathes into Shiro's lips.“Take me to bed…”Shiro smirks up at him."Gladly..."~Hours later after returning to their quarters and making love for the first time as a married couple, they lay on the berth together with Keith on his back with Shiro on top of him, Shiro’s head on Keith’s bare chest and his arms wrapped around Keith’s waist.However, neither of them is sleeping.For the first time since they woke up that morning, the reality of the coming battle hits them like a sledgehammer as they cling to each other.“Keith… I’m scared…”Keith holds his love tighter.“Me too…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

On the morning of battle, the Coalition is gathered in the briefing room with Veronica, Curtis, and Iverson on the bridge watching the scanners.Shiro stands at the front of the room.“Welcome to what will be the final pre-battle briefing of the war."Shiro takes a deep breath."This is it. This is the moment we've prepared for to the best of our ability.”He turns to Dr. Holt."What's the status on non-essential Atlas crew members?"“All Atlas personnel that aren’t needed for the coming battle have disembarked and will remain on Dionysus until the end of the battle. The Garrison officers and I will join them when the briefing ends.”“Might I suggest that the young Val-Kree queen remain on Dionysus with us as well for the duration of the battle?” one of the Garrison officers in the room states.Queen Vesenya locks eyes with the Garrison officer.“I don’t plan on sitting on the sidelines knitting while my people are risking their lives on the front lines. I might be young, but I am every bit as much a Val-Kree as the rest of my people.”“Of course you are, Your Majesty, but it's too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines.”The Garrison officers squirm as Queen Vesenya narrows her eyes at them.“I don’t need your permission to fight alongside my people. I am not so cowardly as to request my people to risk their lives fighting if I am unwilling to do so myself. I am as much a member of this Coalition as you two."Her eyes somehow get colder."Perhaps more if what I’ve learned since joining is true.”As Queen Vesenya stares down the Garrison officers who dared suggest such a thing, Dr. Holt leans over to Krolia beside her.“I'm so glad I got to stay long enough to witness this…” Dr. Holt wheezes quietly while resisting the urge to laugh.Keith has an impressive poker face for the amount of mirth in his eyes as Shiro tries to get the briefing back on track.“When the battle begins, the Coalition will wormhole to where Altea used to be. The Selendis have kindly offered to use their wormhole generators so Crown Princess Allura won’t hurt herself holding the wormhole open for the entire Coalition.”“Honerva will have complete control of about 20 Altean mechs,” Keith adds.“We have a few of those Altean mechs ourselves don’t we?” another Garrison officer asks.“Yes, but it would be unwise to rely too heavily upon them."Keith looks at the officer.“Lotor's right. We only have 5 Altean mechs at our disposal. Six if you count the Sincline.”“Keep the internal capsule intact and aim for the weak spot in its central cannon before it fires,” Allura reminds them.“However, Honerva’s Altean mechs aren’t the only threat we’ll be facing in the coming battle,” Pidge adds.“In addition to the Altean mechs, from the intel Commander Lahn has given us, Honerva has a fleet of about 15 Galra ships at her disposal,” Keith tells them. “Whether they’re actually loyal to Haggar or Honerva has them under her control via Life Taker is unknown, but that’s 15 Galra cruisers each with an unknown number of fighters and drones.”“This is why our Galra allies have been asked to assist us,” Allura adds. “Commander Lahn’s fleet might be smaller in number at 8 ships, but it will make a huge difference against the Honerva’s Galra fleet. This is also why the rest of the Coalition’s allies are needed. The Paladins and Atlas must focus on stopping Honerva.”“We’ve already countered all of her potential attacks, haven’t we?” a Garrison officer asks. “Is she still that dangerous?”All six Paladins, Coran, and Lotor respond in unison. “YES!”“When Honerva discovers Keith cleansed the Life Takers, she’s going to be pissed!” Lance asserts. “Not to mention cornered.”“Also, knowing her, she likely has one last small but important detail up her sleeve that we don’t know about,” Keith reminds them. “She always does. That will likely be how she ends up capturing the Sincline.”Keith turns to Lotor.“Lotor, as soon as it looks like Honerva is going to successfully get a hold of the Sincline, eject and fall back to the Selendis’ ship with the rest of the Alteans who aren't piloting mechs.”“Will do.”“As soon as Honerva gets the Sincline, the rest of the Atlas’ crew except Allura must evacuate to the Rebel ships,” Shiro orders.“I am staying as well,” Coran insists.Shiro smiles at him.“Wouldn’t have expected otherwise."Hunk looks at him.“The seven of us started this fight together and we’ll finish it together."“I was actually about to insist you do,” Keith states. “I don’t know why, but the only vision I had where the six Paladins survive has both you and Allura remaining on the Atlas after everyone else has evacuated.”Suddenly, Iverson’s voice is heard through the coms.“Honerva has been sighted.”Shiro looks at everyone.“This is it! Battle Stations.”The six Paladins, Lotor, and the MFE and Altean Pilots all change into their armor while the remaining Atlas crew changes into flight suits.When the Paladins are fully changed, Shiro
stops them before they head to the bridge.”This is it, guys,” Shiro says.
“We all knew this day would come.
Win or lose, it’s been an honor to fight alongside you all.”The other Paladins nod in agreement.Lance grins.”Hey, guys. What team is it?”
Keith smiles before yelling
with the others.“Voltron!”~“Iverson, report!” Shiro says when they get to the bridge as Allura steps up onto the Captain’s post when the seat disappears.“As predicted, Honerva has appeared where Altea used to be."Shiro opens a com to the rest of the ship.“Alright, Atlas crew. Prepare for wormhole jump.”Queen Ainson radios the rest of the fleet.“Coalition, prepare for jump as well."“Copy.”They wormhole into Altea’s former orbit to find the Oriande with a dragon shaped mech the size of Atlas' mech form hovering over the central most point of the Oriande with one of the Altean mech’s beside it.Forming a blockade around the Oriande are the remaining Altean mechs still under Honerva’s control as well as the rest of Honerva’s armada.Pidge narrows her eyes.“What’s she doing?”“I don’t know, but we’re going to stop her."Shiro turns to the others."Paladins, let’s get to our Lions.”As the Voltron Lions, the Sincline, and Altean mechs launch, the Coalition engages Honerva’s armada.The five Voltron Lions attempt to get to Honerva’s mech but are quickly met with mech suits and Galra fighters.Honerva uses Oriande’s pyramid to infuse the Altean mech and the large mech with quintessence until they merge. Once merged, the dragon mech fully activates.“Guess that explains how Honerva created the power source,” Lance remarks.Lotor and the other mechs intercept the other Altean mechs as the rest of the Coalition engages Honerva's armada.“How do we tell Honerva’s Altean mechs and Galra from our own?” Someone is heard asking over the coms.“If they’re shooting at you, they’re bad!” Queen Vesenya is heard responding.She then takes out one of the Altean mech suits with a single shot to the chest cannon while fighting off about 5 Galra fighters with a combination of her piloting ability and fighting skills.Keith fights through some Galra fighters.“I want 10 of her,” Keith comments to Shiro through the Paladins’ private coms.Shiro smirks.“No."“Or just 1. Can we adopt her? I want to adopt her. Can we adopt her?”Shiro slices through one of Honerva's Galra cruisers.“I think her people might have an issue with us adopting their queen."~Inside the dragon mech, Honerva reaches out with her mind to the Alteans on board the Atlas.“Arise my children… Now is the time to act… repent for your traitorous ways… lend me your quintessence and all will be forgiven…”Honerva is completely stunned when she gets nothing in return.“What?!”She reaches out to the Alteans in the mechs fighting for the Coalition with Lotor. Once again, she gets nothing.“No.”She tries again to reach out to the Sincline and Altean mechs themselves and is again met with nothing.“No! How!? How did you…”Her eyes fall on the Voltron Lions as they slice through more Galra fighters. She focuses specifically on the Red Lion as it separates one of Honerva’s Altean mechs from the rift creature that allows her to control both the Altean and mech.Honerva growls.“You.”She brings the wings of her dragon mech around to the front.All four of the other Lions and Atlas suddenly hear another voice through Keith's com.“You have interfered with my plans for the last time, Red Paladin!”The wings divide into separate blades angle upward at the Red Lion before shooting across the battlefield.Keith deftly outmaneuvers them. He’s about to fire Red’s rail-gun at Honerva when he sees something out of the corner of his eye.
Before he can react, Red is blindsided by a piece of Honerva’s wing."KEITH!"Honerva reaches out to the Red Lion with her mech suit.“Still.”Suddenly, the Red Lion freezes in place as a quintessence ring appears around it within striking range of Honerva’s mech.Keith cries out in pain as he feels Honerva's quintessence course through his veins.“AUGH! I can’t move! She's draining us!”Honerva moves to strike the Red Lion with the arm of her dragon mech.“NO!”Shiro uses Black's wings to teleport across the battlefield and slam bodily into the Red Lion, knocking it clear of Honerva’s quintessence ring two tics before the arm passes through where the Red Lion was.Atlas immediately starts punching Honerva's mech as the other Lions converge where Red is drifting motionless on his side.“Keith!
Babe, are you ok?!”It takes a bit for Keith to respond.“I'm ok... Red's still offline though."“I am not finished yet!”From each point of the obelisks a purple glow emits before forming quintessence rings.Pidge zooms in and sees four druids standing atop the points of the obelisk. She shows the others.“And there’s that small but important detail Keith warned us about.”Using the druids’ magic to amplify the pyramid, Honerva brings the pieces of her wings together again and launches them at all of the Altean mechs; both her own and the Coalition's.
One wing piece is spearing each through the middle. Honerva quickly begins draining their quintessence.Lotor coms the Alteans in the mechs.“I believe that to be your cue for an orderly exit! Fall back.”The mech pilots for the Coalition all eject; taking the Alteans whose capsules they were able to separate from their mechs with them.As Lotor moves to attack, Honerva pulls two wing pieces back together before launching them through the Sincline.Lotor quickly ejects.Allura turns to the rest of the bridge crew.“That is your cue as well.”Iverson types something into his console before standing up.“Alright. Rerouting all bridge functions to the helm.”The Rebel ships pick up the remaining Atlas crew as they leap from the nearest airlock to them and quickly move them away from the Atlas.Honerva brings the Sincline toward her dragon mech.“Finally!”With the combined power of the druids’ magic and the quintessence from the Altean mechs, Honerva begins to merge the Sincline with her mech.They’re about halfway merged when a beam from a Zai-Forge cannon hits one of the obelisks; destroying it and the druid on top of it.Krolia's voice is heard clear over the coms.“That is for attempting to kill me.”Krolia destroys a second obelisk.“That is for attempting to kill my son.”She destroys another.“Twice!”Krolia destroys the final obelisk.“That is for anything I forgot.”Hunk and the Paladins cheer.“Holy shit, don’t mess with Keith’s mom!”"Go, Krolia!""Go, Mom!"Honerva grits her teeth and fires at the Galra cruiser with the Zai-Forge cannon.Thanks to Pidge’s upgrades to the shields of the Galra cruisers on their side, the beam hits the shield and bounces off.Out of desperation, Honerva throws all of her wing pieces directly into the pyramid itself and destroys the Oriande to complete the ritual.Once merged, she uses the wings of her mech to form what looks like a drill and quickly drills through the barrier between realities.“We need to form Voltron to stop her."Red starts moving again."Red's back online!"“Wait, what of the collapsing universe? We must stop it.” Lotor coms to them as he reaches the Selendis’ flagship.“Lotor, we’re counting on you to figure something out,” Keith tells him.“Paladins, form Voltron!”As the Atlas fights Honerva’s mech, Voltron moves for the drill.“Hunk, I need the cannon!”Hunk immediately forms the cannon and locks on to the drill.Before he can fire there's a bright blast of energy as the drill succeeds in puncturing the barrier between realities.Before anyone can do anything, Honerva retracts her wings and disappears through the hole.“Paladins, we’re going in. Atlas, stay on us.”“I’m afraid the Atlas can’t do that, Number 1.”“Coran’s right,” Pidge tells him. “Atlas isn’t made out of the same ore! It can’t traverse realities.”“Then we’ll have to go in alone.”“Actually, that appears to be problematic as well,” Slav states.“What?!”“The statistical likelihood of Voltron succeeding against Honerva in a one-on-one battle well below improbable.”“I hate to say it, but I have to agree with Slav, Shiro, but for a different reason,” Keith tells him over the coms. “If we go in there without the Atlas, the five of us alone can succeed but we’ll all perish in the fight.”“It’s a better chance than if we don’t try, Keith.”“Look, I’m not saying we do nothing. I'm telling you to be patient for a few tics.
If we have to take that route, so be it, but I know for a fact that it’s an unnecessary sacrifice. I know there’s a way we can bring Atlas with us. I just don’t know what that way is at the moment.”"Are you two actually having a lover's quarrel?""Shut up, Lance."Suddenly, there’s a boom and streaks of bright blue light as eight balmeras appear.“What’s going on?” Lance asks.“It’s a convoldrum, the converging of Balmeras,” Coran tells them.“What called them here?”“Shay,” Hunk says softly.All eight balmeras form a ring around Atlas and Voltron and start to glow in unison. All at once they hit the Atlas and Voltron with a tremendous amount of quintessence.Atlas and Voltron both begin to glow blueish white. A blinding light fills the area and when it dims, Voltron has merged with Atlas. It’s white like Atlas with Voltron colors on the arms and legs. The Black Lion is still the head but now the Atlas’s command bridge is on the chest.All six Paladins and Coran open their eyes.“What just…”.“Whoa!”“No way!”“This is crazy!”“Like I said. There’s a way for Atlas to come with us.”“I am unsure of what just happened, but now we have a chance,” Allura tells them.“Then let’s stop Honerva!” Shiro says.“Lotor, secure the area and find a way to suppress the rift,” Keith says.“Affirmative!”With a yell, all six of the Paladins fly Voltron into the rift after Honerva.“I believe I know of a way to stabilize the rift, but we must act quickly. We need to get an Altean on each of the balmeras.”He turns to Queen Ainson before gesturing to her command post.“May I?”Queen Ainson gestures for him to continue.~When Voltron leaves the rift, they see what looks like Altea.“Is this…”“It’s an alternate Altea,” Pidge tells Allura.“And it looks like this reality is crumbling just like ours was in that dark future we saw,” Lance adds.“How come it’s disintegrating so quickly?” Hunk asks.“Those wings created a sort of cosmic tunnel in one blast,” Pidge tells them. “The rift must lead to the reality Honerva’s been looking for.”“And any reality those wings bored through is falling apart,” Shiro concludes.“We have to keep going!” Keith tells them.They continue on their way through the rift.~Meanwhile, Lotor is on the deck of the flagship for the Selendis with Merla at his side and an Altean on each of the Balmera.“We must hurry!”Commander Holt is standing at one of the consoles on the ship.“Ok, I think this is it! Powering the amplification module.”Slav is typing at another console.“I’ll direct the target to the rift. If we hit it with enough energy, it should seal.”“Are the other Alteans in place?” Lotor asks Merla.“Affirmative.”~Voltron continues to follow Honerva through realities, watching as each one slowly disintegrates.“All these innocent lives,” Allura laments. “There is no limit to what Honerva will do… or the lives she’ll tear apart to get what she wants.”“That’s why we need to stop her,” Shiro tells her.“Even then, I fear she has started a chain reaction that can never be undone,” Allura continues."One thing at a time, Allura," Keith advises.~“We are in place! Balmeras, channel your energy into the Selendis’ flagship!”The Balmeras do as their asked and soon a beam of energy is firing from the Selendis' flagship into the rift, stabilizing it.“It’s working!” Commander Holt exclaims. “The channeled energy from the balmeras seem to be holding the rift together.”~As they’re passing through another reality, they’re suddenly struck from the side.“Launch a counterattack,” Shiro commands.They take another hit.Before they can do anything, Honerva’s mech slams into Voltron, sending them crashing into the ground of the reality they’re in. Honerva then fires a black ball of energy at them.“We need the sword!”They form a large greatsword and hit the ball of energy back at Honerva.Honerva dodges it and it hits one of Altea’s rings.~“Our current power level isn’t enough to maintain the rift!”“Then we must hold for as long as we can. Every moment buys Voltron more time.”Krolia coms them from the nearby fleet sitting around doing nothing.“Is there any way we can help?”“We require all the energy we are able to harness to prevent the rift from expanding."“Copy that! Galra fleet, adjust the frequency of your ion cannons and aim at the Selendis’ flagship!”“All Selendis ships follow suit!” Queen Ainson commands.“Val-Kree, you as well!” Queen Vesenya commands.The additional energy flowing into the Selendis’ flagship strengthens the beam.~Meanwhile Voltron continues to battle Honerva.After exchanging a few blows, Honerva manages to slam Voltron to the ground and sinks two of her wing pieces into Voltron before sucking the quintessence out of them.~There’s a sudden explosion in the back of the Selendis’ flagship.“The psion chamber can take no more,” Queen Ainson tells Lotor.“No!”Soon, the beam of energy stops all together.~Honerva pulls her wing pieces out.“This is where it ends for you!”
She leaves through the rift.The Paladins struggle to pick Voltron back up.“We need to get up.” Lance states.“I can’t move,” Hunk says.“Nothing is responding,” Coran adds.“Honerva, she has absorbed all our strength,” Allura says while gasping for breath.“This reality…” Pidge says tiredly. “It’s over.”“No,” Shiro groans. “We’ve always done the impossible. Our strength is our bond. Our power comes from each other.”“Shiro’s right,” Keith says. “As long as we’re a team, we stand a chance.”“Sendak. Zarkon. Lotor for a time. We’ve saved our universe countless times, but now all realities need us. We need to do this as we have done everything else since we started this journey together. Are you with me? Pidge?”“I’m in.”“Hunk?”“Copy.”“Lance?”“Roger that!”“Allura? Coran?”“We’re in!”“Keith?” Shiro asks affectionately.“Let’s get back up and stop Honerva, once and for all!”With that, they get up and extend Voltron’s boosters and rocket toward the collapsing rift to the next reality.~Honerva has reunited with Zarkon on Daibazaal and he’s taking her to Altea where Lotor is.“I vowed to raise our son as you would have wanted. He excels in his Altean studies. Lotor has his mother’s intellect.”King Alfor greets her.“Empress Honerva… It is an honor to see you once more. All of Altea will cherish this day.”Honerva smiles at Alfor.“Please come with me.”Honerva tenses before looking in the direction the voice came from to see this reality's Princess Allura.“Your son awaits your presence.”Allura turns to lead Honerva to the Castle. Honerva glares at Allura, but follows her anyway. They soon come to a room where a very young Lotor sits at an Altean computer.Honerva gasps.“My son.”Lotor looks up at her words and then smiles when he sees her.“Mother?”He hops off his seat and runs to her as Honerva kneels down to catch him in her arms.As quickly as he started running, he suddenly stops about halfway between his seat and her.“Please, my child, come to me.”Lotor backs away from her with a look of fear on his face.“No.”Honerva and Zarkon look at him in confusion.“Lotor, it’s ok. It’s your mother. She has returned.”Lotor just backs up even more.“She’s not my mother!”“I may appear changed, but I assure you, my love for you is that of a mother for her child. Come to me.”There's a tone of finality in his young voice as Lotor speaks.“She is not my mother."“Don’t speak like that,” Zarkon tells him.“Please."“No. My mother is dead and you cannot replace her.”There's a stunned silence before Zarkon steps forward and steps between them.“Perhaps this is overwhelming for the boy. Please, if we had some time…”“Time? You speak to me of time? I’ve spent lifetimes trying to get back. Countless worlds have fallen in the wake of my efforts to return to you.Zarkon steps even more between Honerva and Lotor.“That is terrible. You should have never done that nor should you be bragging about such things."“You ungrateful fools... This is how you welcome me, after everything I've done for you.”Honerva conjures a ball of black quintessence into her hand.“My own child, my own husband question who I am? I have sacrificed more than you will ever know!”A sonic boom is heard, drawing their attention to the window in the ceiling of the room.“No! It cannot be!”Voltron descends from the sky.Zarkon looks at her.“You brought this abomination upon us?
You are definitely not the empress! You are not my wife!”Honerva glares at him as he calls his guards.“If there is no place in this universe for me, then there will be no universe at all!”Honerva teleports into the pilot seat of her mech as Voltron lands on Altea and the two prepare to square off.Honerva fires a blast at the Castle but the blast is quickly blocked by Voltron throwing its greatsword so that it takes the blast instead.Honerva then jumps on Voltron, destroying buildings in the process.“We need to get this fight as far as…”Shiro’s cut off Honerva summons a sword on her wrist, forcing them to dodge so they can pick up Voltron’s sword.They exchange blows before Honerva trips Voltron with her mech’s tail. She then turns her sword and wings into a drill and slams it into the center of Voltron’s chest.Sparks fly as the drill whirls against Voltron’s chest.Shiro pants before gritting his teeth and yells as he thrusts his grip forward with a yell of exertion.Lasers shoot from Voltron’s eyes and hit Honerva’s mech square in the face; forcing her off of them and onto her back.Shiro summons Voltron’s sword back to they’re hand and moves to drive it into the head of Honerva’s mech but Honerva moves it just in time for it to drive into the rock behind her head.“Let’s finish this!”“Incoming!”Keith yells comes too late as they’re hit from behind by a piece of Honerva’s wings, forcing them onto their knees. As they try to get up two more drive into them, forcing them back on their knees.The rest of Honerva’s wing pieces imbed themselves in the sky in a circle pattern. Honerva then uses the quintessence from Voltron to open a new rift going who knows where.Shiro grunts.“We can’t let this happen. She can’t get away.”“She won’t,” Keith promises.They all get up and pull the pieces of Honerva’s mech from Voltron before racing toward the rift after her.“I don’t know if we’re gonna make it!” Pidge growls in frustration.“Our quintessence is being used up too fast for us or the Lions to replenish it after getting so much drained from us,” Coran states.Keith takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.Suddenly Voltron begins to glow red right before shooting up toward the rift twice as fast as before.“Woah, everyone else feeling that!” Hunk exclaims.“Yeah, I feel like I’m on a sugar rush!” Lance says."Same!" Pidge tells him.“My Lion’s quintessence is being replenished as quickly as it is being used!” Allura exclaims.“My own quintessence is being replenished just as quickly,” Shiro adds.“How is this happening?” Coran asks as they move closer to the opening.“I’m happening.”Keith's entire body is glowing red where he sits in Red’s seat.“Keith?! How?!” Lance asks.“Remember what Honerva wanted to do to me? I just did that for Voltron. Don’t know how long I can keep this up though.”“Then let’s not waste it,” Shiro says.With a final burst of speed, they fly through the rift into a blinding light.~Shiro opens his eyes first.“Is everyone ok?”He gets a series of tired yeses and heres from everyone except Keith.“Keith? Love, are you alright?”It takes a few tics for Keith to come to with a groan, not glowing anymore.“Yeah, I’m good. That took more out of me than I thought.”“Does anyone have eyes on Honerva?”They look around and see a central point with what looks like nerves branching out of it. Occasionally it’ll light up at the center and a small bit of light like electricity will run across the branches.“What is this place?” Lance asks.“I… I am unsure…” Allura admits.“This is the beginning!”They all turn as Honerva slams into them.“And the end!”Suddenly, Honerva takes aim and fires at one of the branches, destroying it.There’s a great explosion from the central point as images flash in Keith and Allura’s heads as they hear screams echoing in their ears.Allura's voice is strained when she speaks.“C… Can you feel that, Keith?!”Keith's own voice shakes.“The branches. They’re the only remaining realities in existence.”Everyone catches on to what their saying.“This place,” Pidge begins, “is the source of time, of space, of…”“Everything,” Hunk finishes.“I will end this!” Honerva yells.Honerva takes aim at another reality.“We have to stop her!” Shiro yells.Keith focuses his energy and calls on his abilities once more. Soon he and Voltron are glowing red again.With a yell, Voltron intercepts Honerva before she can fire.The two mechs battle as Voltron fights to protect all of existence from Honerva. Throughout the battle, Honerva attempts to destroy the other realities, but only succeeds in destroying two.After a fierce battle weaving in and out of realities, Honerva drives her mech’s tail into Voltron’s chest before pushing it back toward a row of branches.“If Honerva destroys any more branches, all of existence will end with it!” Coran yells.Keith grits his teeth in exertion as he uses his abilities to draw in the nether from the destroyed realities and then convert it into quintessence.With a yell, the Paladins and Coran all push back against Honerva’s.A huge red booster pack appears on Voltron’s back that they use to push Honerva away from the branches toward the core where they’re enveloped with a blinding light.~When the light fades, they’re in a place surrounded by white light without their mechs and helmets.Honerva looks at them.“Where are we?”Allura stands near her.“The connected consciousness of all existence."“You think you’re safe here?!”Honerva attacks them.Even though it’s seven on one, it’s still a tough fight with Honerva constantly conjuring Life Takers as she attacks.With each Life Taker she conjures, Keith cleanses it until she has no Life Takers left to summon.They surround her.“It is over, Honerva!”“You think you’ve won?!”Honerva begins to glow black and purple.She fires a blast at Keith and Allura, hitting them square in the chest and sending them flying backward.They hit the ground hard with a grunt.“Keith!”“Allura!”Honerva takes aim at Keith and Allura and fires again, but Shiro and Lance jump in the way and shield their respective partners with their bodies as the blast hits.“Shiro! Lance!”The light fades, showing both sets of partners lying on the ground; Shiro and Lance’s arms wrapped protectively around their partners.Shiro and Lance blink their eyes open first.Hunk runs to Shiro and Keith while Pidge and Coran run to Allura and Lance.“Are you guys ok?” Pidge asks.“Yeah…” Lance breathes.“I think so…” Shiro groans tiredly.As Keith and Allura start to come to, Honerva gives a yell that draws their attention back to her.Shiro holds Keith protectively in his arms as Honerva throws a ball of quintessence at them, but Hunk steps in front of them and takes the hit.“Hunk!”She turns and fires another at Allura and Lance, but Pidge and Coran take that hit.“Pidge! Coran!”Honerva scoffs.“Why risk your lives for their sake?”Hunk sits up.“Because we love each other."Pidge pushes herself up from the ground.“Because we care."Coran lifts himself up.“Because in the short time we’ve been together, we’ve become a family."“Fools! Love and compassion for others are weaknesses! It will destroy you!"Keith groans from where Shiro's holding him.“You’re wrong…”Allura pants in exertion.“You keep calling them weaknesses... but that is not true.”Shiro and Lance both help their respective partners up.“They’re not weaknesses.”“They are strength!”They both start glowing their respective colors as Honerva gears up for another attack.As Honerva’s moves to attack, they both feel a flicker of darkness residing in her that makes them both freeze.“Keith, did you just feel that?”“I sure did!”Keith steps forward and revs up his nether abilities.He hits Honerva with a sustained beam of nether that cuts straight through her. A tic later, a large Life Taker gets shoved out of her.The moment it leaves Honerva, her body turns to ash and drifts away.Keith holds the Life Taker as Hunk speaks.“Wait, if Honerva had a Life Taker inside her all along; does that mean she was a puppet like everyone else?”“Looks like it.”“So that wasn’t the final battle we just fought?” Coran asks.“It would appear so,” Allura tells him.“If Honerva was a puppet, then who’s pulling the strings?” Pidge asks.“As soon as I cleanse this Life Taker, we'll find out.”“We ready to do this?” Shiro asks.They all ready themselves.“Let’s do this!” Lance says.Keith cleanses the Life Taker and the collective consciousness of all existence fades and is replaced with an area that’s bathed in black with an archway floating on an island.They walk through the archway and look over the side to see the large swirling circle with planets, stars, and such in it.“This must be that Universal Cauldron you told me about."“Hey guys, look! The Lions are back!” Hunk says.They all look and sure enough there are the 5 Voltron Lions with a transformed Atlas floating next to it.“So is Atlas!”Keith turns at the sudden BOOF! at his side and sees Kosmo standing there.“How the heck is Kosmo here?” Lance asks.“Cosmic wolves can teleport anywhere in our universe and beyond,” Coran explains.Kosmo suddenly looks toward the opposite end of the floating island and starts growling prompting everyone to look.At the other end of the island stands a familiar black and purple alien cat with a red crest on its head and tail.“Is that… Kova?”Kova’s eyes glow yellow then and her body morphs into an enormous dark mass of energy with glowing purple eyes.“That must be the Ancient Evil the Life Givers mentioned,” Keith with a frown.With a single attack, the Ancient Evil destroys the Voltron Lions, followed by Atlas.“No!”With another attack, It destroys the floating island they’re standing on; causing them to fall into the Universal Cauldron with a yell.The inside of the swirling vortex within the Cauldron is like falling through the center of a tornado.Two at a time, Kosmo catches all seven of them before teleporting them to another larger island with rocky ledges just inside the Cauldron as the wind howls around them.Hunk yells over the howling wind.“Does this mean we’re all dead?!”Keith yells back.“I don’t think so! We’re still alive. Kinda. It’s hard to explain.”The Ancient Evil roars over the Universal Cauldron. It fires bolt after bolt of corrupted quintessence at them, many of them hitting them.They take cover under a rock ledge.Lance tries to pick himself back up.“What do we do?! We’re getting our asses kicked!”Pidge looks at him.“What can we do? It destroyed the Lions and Atlas!”“It destroyed them!” Coran exclaims. “Actually destroyed them!”“Did we fail,” Hunk asks.Shiro looks at them.“No! We only fail when we give up!”“But there’s no hope now?!” Hunk yells back. “Without the Voltron Lions or Atlas…”“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again! This isn’t the first time we’ve faced the impossible.”“Shiro is right!” Allura states. “Our strength has always come from each other! We must not give up! All of existence is counting on us and we cannot fail them.”“We can’t give up now!” Keith adds. “We need to stand together.”The others nod in agreement.“It’ll be difficult!” Lance points out.Pidge looks at him.“Everything worth doing in life is! We can still win this! With or without them.”“It’s still hard to believe they’re gone!”Keith interjects.“They aren’t gone!”“What do you mean they’re not gone?!”“Yeah man, We saw them get destroyed!”Keith explains.“The Lions and Atlas weren’t just regular space ships. They’re sentient! They have spirits and minds of their own and we’re standing inside the place where all life comes from and goes to. Which means…”Allura catches on to his train of thought.“Their spirits should be in the Cauldron!”“Everyone, call your Lion like you normally would!”Everyone except Coran closes their eyes and focuses. Soon they hear the roar of the Lions.When they look up, the White Lion is standing with 5 other Lions just like it, but the colors of the Voltron Lions. The White and Black Lions have long manes, Yellow and Red have short manes, and Green and Blue are maneless.“It worked!” Hunk exclaims.“What do we do now?!”Instinctively, Keith runs to the Red Lions’ spirit as said Lion runs to him.“Keith?!”They all watch as Keith drops to his knees right before they meet and Red leaps at him, disappearing into Keith’s body and merging with his quintessence in a flash of bright red light.When the light fades he’s turned into an ethereal being that is the shape of his body with his eye color and face markings, but the color of his quintessence. He turns toward them as he floats off the ground with his hair floating around his head as though he were under water.Shiro feels his breath catch in his chest at the sight of Keith.Keith flies up toward the mouth of the Cauldron and aims a blast of fire at the Ancient Evil.It screams in pain.“He’s actually hurting it!” Pidge exclaims.The remaining Paladins quickly follow suit with their Lions. Soon all but Coran and Kosmo look the same but with their own quintessence color and markings.Kosmo remains behind to protect Coran while they follow Keith.As It moves to attack Keith, Shiro teleports up in front of Keith and hits It with a blast of wind and lightning. As It reels back from the attack, Lance hits It with a blast of ice, while Hunk and Pidge hit It with ethereal rock and vines. When It moves to attack Lance, Allura moves in front of him and hits It with a beam of pure pink and white light.The six Paladins use their abilities to battle It, making it smaller and smaller.“Together!” Keith commands. “Hit It with everything you’ve got!”All six Paladins combine their powers and hit the Ancient Evil with everything they have. It screams and writhes as the attack hits It. Keith and Allura then combine their quintessence and nether abilities and hit the Ancient Evil with it, destroying it.Coran yells as they all return to the rock he and Kosmo are on.“You did it!”“We’re not done yet! The Universal Cauldron needs to be healed!”Allura calls her abilities again and hits the floating island they’re standing on with it.There’s a flash of white light.When the light fades, the island floating above the Cauldron with the archway has returned and they’re standing on it once more, now back in their normal bodies.“Hey, the archway’s back!”Keith turns to Kosmo.“Go home, boy! We should be there in a little bit.”Kosmo disappears with another BOOF!.Hunk looks at the others.“So… how do we get back?”“There’s something else we have to do,” Keith tells them. “Something that involves the Cauldron.”“The alchemist must restore and heal the realities damaged by the war…”They turn and see a black polymorphic creature take the shape and form of a person.“Life Takers. Now that they’re not corrupted and what not, they’re just like the Life Givers,” Pidge observes.“I thought they needed to speak through someone?” Hunk asks.“Maybe they’re telepathic?” Pidge guesses. “It would explain how that one that was in Tavo was able to communicate with Allura without someone to talk for it.”Allura looks at the Life Taker.“How?”“The Universal Cauldron exists outside any one reality. It governs all realities and all universes. A life that is extinguished in one reality may be used to create a life in another.”“So if I wish to restore and heal the other realities, I will need to do so from here?” Allura clarifies.“Yes.”Pidge speaks up.“Wait a sec! The laws of alchemy state that all great feats of alchemy comes with a price and nothing may be gained without first giving up something in return.”“That is correct."“So what’s the price for restoring and healing the multiverse?” Hunk asks.It’s Allura who answers.“Such a feat of alchemy would require a great deal of quintessence from the one performing it... All of it in fact.”“No!” Lance growls. “No, there has to be another way!”Allura turns to him.“There is not. I am the only one with the knowledge and ability to perform the alchemy required. I am afraid this is where my path ends.”“There’s gotta be a way to do this without Allura dying,” Hunk agrees.“Allura’s not gonna die,” Keith says calmly. “I know she isn’t and I think I know how we can stop it.”“You know how to stop her from dying?! How?” Lance asks him desperately.“The alchemy required takes a lot of quintessence? What if you drew on the quintessence of another? Say someone who can become a quintessence battery?”Allura frowns.“Keith, using your abilities like that took a great deal out of you. Using them again for such a long time could kill you as well as me."“It’s worth a try. I’m not letting you do this alone.”“Keith’s right, Allura. If it helps, draw from us too.”“Hunk…”“We’re not going to let this happen, Allura. Not if there’s something we can do to save you.”“Shiro, please… You cannot…”“I’m not losing another friend to this war, Allura, and I’m not going to let my husband of one day kill himself trying to save you."“If you think we’re going to just sit back and let you die without a fight; you’re wrong!”“Pidge, please! Think of your family.”“You’re my family too, Allura. You're the closest thing to a sister I've ever had.
I’m not abandoning you.”“I said I couldn’t live without you, Allura. I don’t want to try... not if there’s a chance I can save you.”Allura sighs.“There is no way to talk you all out of this is there?”“If the situation were reversed, would you let any of us do this?” Keith asks.“We’re not just a team, Allura,” Pidge says. “We’re a family.”“Win or lose, we do it together,” Hunk tells her.“Very well,” Allura tells them in acceptance.Allura and Keith both call on their abilities and start to glow with the color of their quintessence while the four remaining Paladins move in on them. Lance and Shiro loop their arms around their respective lovers as Hunk and Pidge hug them respectively.Allura unleashes an enormous amount of energy into the center of the Universal Cauldron.Coran looks at the Life Taker as everything is enveloped in a blinding white light.~When the light fades, they’re in the connected consciousness of all existence again.As soon as Keith and Allura stop glowing, they both collapse into Shiro and Lance’s arms.Shiro and Lance catch them and lower them to the ground with their heads cradled in their arms.“Allura! Allura, wake up!"“Keith! Come on, babe, wake up! Don’t do this to me again!”“Did we fail?” Hunk asks tearfully.Pidge gasps when she checks them.“No! No, they’re both alive! I think they’ve just fainted.”“Oh, thank god!”After a few tics, Keith stirs first.He blinks his eyes open tiredly.“Shiro…”Shiro smiles in relief.“Hey…”Allura stirs next before opening her eyes.“Lance? What happened? Where am I?”Lance smiles down at her.“Right here in my arms.”Shiro and Lance help Keith and Allura stand as Pidge and Hunk celebrate.“It worked!”“I seriously cannot believe that worked!”Allura frowns.“It should not have.”They all look at her.“What do you mean?”“It was not just the quintessence that was needed to fix the multi-verse. It also requires a life in order to create life.”“Then what happened?” Hunk asks.Coran steps forward.“I happened."They all look at him.“Coran?” Shiro asks.“I offered the Life Taker my life in exchange for Allura’s."Tears well in Allura's eyes.“No! Coran, why?!”Coran approaches her and looks at her like a father would his daughter.“I swore to your father that I would look after you and protect you with my life, Allura. It was a promise I fully intended to keep.”Coran hugs Allura as she starts to sob. Tears roll down everyone’s cheeks as they watch.“You have been a second father to me since I was small."“And you are the daughter I never had, but the old must give way to the new and Altea needs its queen. I only wish I could have lived to see the wonderful queen you will be.”Coran looks up at the other Paladins without releasing Allura."It's been an honor to fight alongside you."He looks at Lance.“You take care of her, Number 3."“I will. I promise.”All five Paladins hug Coran one last time before they’re all enveloped in a bright light once more.~One by one they awaken on the floor of something and look around.“Where are we?” Pidge asks.“Atlas’ bridge?”“I thought it was destroyed with the Voltron Lions,” Hunk says.“I think the part that transforms was destroyed,” Shiro says. “Now, she’s just another ship.”“Holy crow, look!”Lance points out the window.They all look and gasp.There, looming in front of them is Altea as though it were never destroyed.“Altea!”“We did it,” Pidge states. “We actually did it.”Tears roll down Allura's face.“But at a cost."~9 Months Later~On Feyiv, Lotor and Keith stand with Krolia, Kolivan, and Kosmo on the dais leading up to the Sacred Flame of the Empire to address the Galra Empire.“With the return of Planet Daibazaal, the Galra Empire is at a crossroads,” Keith begins.“For too long, the people of this extraordinary civilization have been manipulated by a dictatorship which placed a misguided sense of self-preservation above all else,” Lotor continues. “It was a tragic, unfortunate series of events that lead us down this dark, never-ending path of power and greed.”“But now,” Keith continues. “We, the citizens of the Galra Empire have an opportunity to make right all of the injustices set into motion by our forefathers.”Standing in the audience Shiro watches proudly alongside the other Paladins, Romelle, and Acxa as Keith and Lotor give their speech.“We have been given a second chance,” Lotor continues. “To come together in rebuilding the Galra Empire by joining the Galactic Coalition. As your emperor, I vow to use this opportunity given to us to usher in a new era of peace throughout the universe.Shiro and the other Paladins clap as the citizens of the Galra Empire cheer.~1 Month Later~“Do you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of Altea with law and justice and mercy to be executed in all judgements?”Allura stands before Merla in a blue coronation gown with pink embroidery shaped like juniberries and a sparkly pink monarch train trailing behind her with a single juniberry stitched into it. In each of her hands she holds a scepter and an orb.“I solemnly promise so to do."Allura kneels before Merla as she places a sparkly crown with juniberries on it upon Allura’s head.Allura then stands and faces the audience.The entire Atlas crew is in attendance at Allura’s coronation, which is held in front of the Atlas since there hasn't been enough time to build a new castle yet. Sitting in the front row are Lance, Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Lotor, and Lance’s mom, who the rebels personally went back to Earth via wormhole to get.“Presenting her majesty, Allura Melenor. Queen of Altea!”“Long may she reign!”The audience cheers, Lance and the other Paladins cheering the loudest.Allura enters the conference hall on board the Atlas for her coronation ball afterward.“Hail Queen Allura.”When the five other Paladins all bow along with the rest of the room, Allura immediately stops them.“No.”Allura motions for them to rise.“You five never have to bow to me.”She approaches Lance and embraces him.“Especially not you.”A quiet "but what if I want to..." is heard from Lance as she pulls him into a gentle kiss.Lance’s mom approaches her and hugs her.“You look beautiful, mija!”“Thanks to you. Thank you so much for making my coronation dress.”“Anything for my future daughter-in-law."Allura turns to the other Paladins.“Will you all be staying for a while?”“Unfortunately, the Atlas crew needs to return to Earth right after the ball ends,” Shiro tells her.“I understand. It is time for your crew to return home.”“Besides, we still have one more battle to fight,” Pidge says.“I wish you would let me join you."“You’re needed here, Allura,” Shiro tells her.“Besides, this is kinda something we need to do ourselves,” Lance tells her.Hunk wraps an arm around Keith's shoulders.“This one’s personal.”Keith gives them a timid smile in return.~With a wormhole created by residual energy from Allura, Atlas leaves New Altea and returns to Earth's solar system.When they arrive on Earth, they’re greeted by the families of the crew.Lance and Hunk are immediately greeted by their respective families, though they remain nearby.“Ryou!”“Daddy!”Shiro and Ryou turn to see a pair of 6-year-old boys running up to them.Ryou immediately steps forward and drops to his knees to catch the two of them up in his arms.“I missed you both so much!”“Daddy, look! Look!”His boys both point back to where Ryou’s wife stands.Ryou freezes when he sees her holding a bundle in her arms.She smiles at him.“Surprise.”Ryou stands then and walks to them, stunned.Nestled in Izumi’s arms, is a baby.“A month after you left, I learned I was pregnant again.”Izumi hands him the baby.“Meet your daughter, Makoto.”Ryou cradles his new daughter in his arms with tears in his eyes as she sleeps.“Hi sweetheart. I’m your dad.”Shiro looks on happily as Ryou kisses his wife.“Daddy, who’s that?”Ryou looks up and remembers.“Oh, right!”Ryou motions for Shiro to join them. He turns back to his kids as Shiro approaches him.“You know how daddy said you have another uncle that daddy didn’t know the whereabouts of?”Both his kids nod.“This is him. Meet Takashi.”“Uncle Takashi!”Both kids immediately accept Shiro as they run up to him.Shiro laughs as they each hug one of Shiro’s legs.“Nice to finally meet you both,”Shiro looks up at Ryou’s wife.“Doctor.”“Call me Izumi."Ryou looks at Shiro.“Want to hold your new niece?”“?!?!”Shiro has a mini-panic attack trying to remember how to correctly hold a newborn as Ryou hands him the baby.A dopey grin spreads across his face when she yawns.“She’s so little.”Keith smiles adoringly as he stands off to the side with Pidge, both of them content to just watch Shiro with his family.When Shiro sees them, he's having none of that.“There’s someone else you should meet too.”Shiro hands the baby back to his brother.“Two someones actually.Their eyes widen.“Who?”Shiro motions for Pidge and Keith to join him.Pidge immediately walks up to them but Keith hesitates for a moment before walking toward them skittishly with his arms crossed.“This is Pidge, Uncle Takashi’s adoptive sister.”“Does that make her our aunt?” one of the boys asks.“Not yet, but my parents are working on it."The two six year olds didn't care."Auntie Pidge!"Shiro holds his hand out encouragingly to Keith. Keith puts his hand in Shiro’s and Shiro gives it a reassuring squeeze."Meet my husband, Keith."Ryou remembers.“Boys, Uncle Keith is a little uncomfortable with hugs and such at first. How do we greet someone like that?”Both boys wave at Keith.“Hi, Uncle Keith!”Keith smiles.“It’s nice to meet you."Keith looks around as he stands with Shiro’s family.He freezes when he spots someone in the crowd.“Um… Shiro."Shiro looks and his mouth drops open at the familiar dark-skinned man with brown hair and glasses standing at a distance from them.“Adam?!”Adam has his hands in his pockets.“Fancy seeing you all here."Shiro immediately pulls Adam into a hug as Keith, Pidge, and Ryou join him.Ryou looks at him.“Don't take this the wrong way, but how are you here? No offense, but didn’t you die.”“I did. Apparently, whatever you guys did that brought Daibazaal and Altea back also brought back a bunch of other planets and people."“It wasn’t your time to die,” Keith tells him bluntly. “Everyone and everything Zarkon and the empire destroyed before its time was returned.”Adam smiles amiably at Keith.“Good to see you again, Keith. I’m glad you’re ok.”“Likewise. And thanks... for... you know..."“You three should make a cult. The We-Died-But-Now-We’re-Alive-Because-Space Magic club.”Adam laughs.“You two are definitely brothers!”“As if my looks didn't tell you that,” Ryou sasses.“At least no one will confuse us."“Takashi, you underestimate just how dumb the average person is," Ryou tells him."Speaking from experience?""Pidge, if I had a week, I couldn't tell you all the stories I have. It would not surprise me if Takashi and I still get mixed up; even with the white hair and a... what did you call it?"“Floating arm of glowiness.”“PIDGE!”Pidge turns and then yells as she’s tackled to the ground by a tall, dark-skinned girl with long, straight black hair under a backward blue baseball cap.“HAVE BABIES WITH ME!!!”Pidge laughs as she pushes Sky back a little.“I’m happy to see you too, but can I get a little context here?”“All of the pilots who were killed in my squad were brought back too,” Adam explains.“Oh…”Pidge hugs Sky back in earnest when she remembers Sky’s dad was one of said pilots.“I’m glad you got your dad ba… Mmph!”Pidge is cut off by Sky kissing her. As soon as her initial shock wore off, Pidge closes her eyes and kisses Sky back.Shiro looks at Adam calmly as if that weren't happening right next to him.“Does that mean Sanda’s alive too?”Its Keith who answers as Pidge and Sky break their kiss and sit up.“No, not everyone who died will be brought back. Sanda’s death was supposed to happen.”“Speaking of the Garrison Elite.”Adam looks back at Shiro.“My journal survived the Galra Occupation.”“Good.”Pidge stands up with Sky and turns to them at the reminder about the journal."I have a good use for it."The remaining Paladins join them.“We’ve got a score to settle with the Garrison.” Pidge says.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

True to his word, in the months following their return to Earth, with Keith’s blessing, the support of the other Paladins and the Holts, Adam and Iverson acting as witnesses, and Adam’s journal for evidence, Shiro presses charges on Keith's behalf against the members of Garrison command who played a role in Keith’s setup for conspiracy to frame him for assault with the intent to wrongfully expel him as well as charging the instructors who allowed Keith to be attacked by the other cadets with neglect of a minor.
Those who actively participated in said attack were also charged with assault on a minor. Shiro also sues the Galaxy Garrison for defamation of character and slander for their “pilot error” explanation for the Kerberos mission.

Both cases succeed with all of the higher officers and admirals above Shiro and Sam Holt being stripped of command and fired.

Sam Holt was then named the new Head of the Galaxy Garrison and Shiro promoted to admiral. Sam's first act as Head was to use the Garrison facilities and bases around the globe to bring all of the foster care systems under the care of the Garrison to ensure proper funding and better training for both social workers and foster parents, including how to spot and care for someone who isn’t neurotypical; managed and run by Dr Colleen Holt. Sam then creates a program for the younger siblings of cadets still in training to be brought to the base in Arizona until said cadet is made an officer in the event anything happens to their parent(s) or guardian(s).

Using the money he received for damages from winning his lawsuit, Shiro along with Ryou and Keith start a fund for orphaned children of fallen firefighters to provide a nest egg for them in the event they age out of the foster care system without a family. They also create a program at the Garrison to either teach those who prove unfit for the Garrison a trade or assist them in finding a job.

All measures put into place to ensure that what happened to Keith never happens again.

The Holts officially adopt Ryou into their family during all of this and the two families remain in constant contact with one another.

Ryou and his wife continue to live in the house belonging to their grandmother's family but regularly visit the Holts and vise versa.
Sam and Colleen immediately begin spoiling their new grandkids.
Ryou and his wife have two more kids; a boy named Daisuke and a girl named Kisa.

Atlas is soon joined by five more ships in the Garrison fleet; the Enterprise, Voyager, Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis, using materials from other planets and balmera crystals from Shay’s balmera (which moved to orbit Mars due to issues with the Balmera effecting Earth's tides) with help from the Altean ambassador to Earth. Their mission is to promote the Galactic Coalition while exploring the universe.
With Shiro as her captain, Atlas is named the Flagship of Earth's fleet.

Adam is made the new helmsman for the Atlas. Much of the Atlas crew remains the same, except Matt and Beezer are now Shiro’s chief engineers in place of Sam Holt and Slav, much to Shiro’s relief for the latter.

Not long after starting as helmsman, Adam and Curtis begin to develop feelings for one another. Through some wing-manning from Shiro and extensive meddling from Keith and Matt, Adam and Curtis begin dating. A few years in, they get married and adopt some cats that they bring with them on the Atlas when they’re away on missions.

Pidge becomes the head of technological and medical advancements on Earth. She builds a wormhole engine for Earth’s ships after extensively studying ones from the Selendis to make traveling long distance more convenient.
She also creates new medical technology for transplant patients and kids with learning disabilities and many other medical ailments.

She and Sky become an official couple a month after the war and get married two years later. Sky carries and gives birth to their two kids. Five years after the end of the war and two years into their marriage, Sky gives birth to their son Leo, who looks like Sky with Pidge's eyes. Four years later, their daughter Cassiopeia (or Cassie) is born, who looks like Pidge with Sky's blue eyes.

After a mourning period of a year for Coran and all the Altean lives lost during the war, Lance and Allura get married in a ceremony on New Altea in the newly constructed castle, with Lance’s niece as the flower girl and his nephew as the ringbearer; making Lance Prince-Consort to Allura. Queen Allura then commissions a memorial in honor of Coran and all those who were killed in the war. After re-establishing their ancient alliance with the Selendis and the Val-Kree (whose planet was also returned), Queen Allura establishes new alliances with both Earth and Daibazaal. Through her experiences as a Paladin, Queen Allura becomes known to be a skilled diplomat, as well as a fair ruler to her people.

In the early days of their marriage, Lance continues to pilot shuttles between Altea and Earth. Once their kids are born, Lance hosts an intergalactic late night talk show right out of the castle on Altea so he can be a stay-at-home dad during the day while Allura is being queen. The other Paladins (except for Allura) and Emperor Lotor are regulars on the show. He’s noticed those episodes tends to have higher viewer ratings, especially when Keith is on the show. This rating goes up even more after their sisters start dating and later get married.

Lance and Allura regularly travel to Earth to visit Lance’s family. Five years after the war (and a few months after Leo was born), Allura gives birth to twins; a boy and girl they name Astaire, who looks like Allura, and Cora (named after Coran), who looks like Lance. Both kids inherit their mom’s ears and face markings. Astaire's markings are white, Cora's are red.

Queen Allura names Romelle her chief advisor, Merla her commander, and Tavo a leading medic on New Altea.
About half of the Alteans who were drained of their quintessence by Haggar were healed and brought to New Altea. Unfortunately, Bandor and Romelle’s parents were not among them. Romelle mourns them during the year of mourning and continues to mourn for an additional year.

Six years after the war Tavo and Romelle get married, after a four-year engagement. A year later they have a son, Bandor; who looks like Tavo with Romelle's eyes and cheekmarks.

Hunk becomes an ambassador stationed on the Atlas and regularly works with Shiro to bring people into the Coalition through the use of his cooking skills. He also has an intergalactic cooking show that Kinkade films on their downtime (much to Rizavi’s chagrin) that becomes a hit throughout the universe.

Hunk marries Shay a year after the end of the war and seven years after the war and three months after Bandor was born, they have one daughter named Hanny, who looks like Hunk with Shay’s eyes. Hanny also inherits her mother’s ability to communicate with Shay’s balmera through her hands and her father’s love of cooking.
They later adopt a pair of sibling Balmerans from Shay's Balmera; a boy named Krayan and a girl named Laryn.
They're looking to adopt at least one more kid from another planet.

Ryan Kinkade’s documentary on day-to-day life on the Atlas during the war earns him an award for best documentary.
He and James Griffin are still going strong, but for the time being have no wish to marry.
That may change, but for the moment they are content with being boyfriends for a while.

Redeemed, Emperor Lotor dedicates his rule to making right the terrible things done during the 10,000 Year War and to fix the damage caused by it. He names Krolia and Kolivan his chief advisors and maintains a strong friendship with Queen Allura. A few years after the war, he becomes mates with and marries a male Galra named Brax. Convinced his own genetics are cursed, Lotor and Brax opt to adopt one of the many Galra young left orphaned by the war as their heir.

They end up adopting ten and growing.

After a second wedding ceremony to become officially married, Shiro and Keith take a yearlong honeymoon to explore the Milky Way together. Upon returning, Shiro goes back to being Garrison Admiral and Captain of the Atlas, now just a regular ship, working side-by-side with Keith who gets promoted to Senior Blade and leader of the Blades of Marmora upon Krolia and Kolivan’s retirement.
Having been reunited with his younger brother, Shiro changes his last name to "Kogane" in his personal life while continuing to go by Shirogane in his professional life.
Every year to celebrate their anniversary, Shiro and Keith take a vacation in their personal shuttle to further explore the Milky Way ( usually returning on the anniversary of the war ending).
They also take p ersonal leave regularly to visit each other’s families.
Keith redirects the Blades of Marmora into a humanitarian group and quickly makes Axca, Zethrid, and Ezor part of his team. With the exception for the occasional request from Emperor Lotor that sends Keith and his team to a separate part of the universe, the two leaders are rarely seen far from the other’s side. When they are, they use their wedding rings to let the other know they’re safe.

It’s on one such mission that Keith finds a colony of Polluxians; descendants of the ships of civilians that escaped. He brings them back to the reborn Pollux where they reestablish their civilization with help from Altea.

While the six Paladins regularly see each other, once a year on the anniversary of the war ending, they all gather with Lotor on New Altea to hang out and let the kids play together.

~
10 years after the end of the war.~
“Hey everybody, Keith and Shiro are here!”Everyone waves as Shiro and Keith arrive on New Altea with Kosmo.Keith is carrying a cooler. Shiro is carrying a cardboard box that seems to wiggle in his arms.“Guess what.”Shiro sets the box down on the ground.“Cosmic wolf pups for everyone!”Hunk looks at them.“Wait, what?”Out of the box tumbles four cosmic wolf pups.“Puppies!” the kids all yell.Cora looks up at Shiro with her big blue eyes.“Can we play with them, Uncle Shiro?!”“By all means.”“Yay!”Leo, Cora, Astaire, Hanny, and Bandor run off to play with the pups while little 1-year-old Cassie stays and toddles over to Kosmo.Keith sets down the cooler“Yeah… so apparently Kosmo’s a girl…”“How the heck did Kosmo have puppies?!”Shiro looks at him.“Well Lance, when a mommy wolf and a daddy wolf really like each other…”“I know how puppies are made, you ass!”The adults laugh.“I think Lanky means how did you not know your dog was a girl?”“Do I look like an expert on gendering space wolves to you?”“Unless the male of the species carries the kids,” Hunk points out.“They do not,” Lotor clarifies. “Though they typically have litters of no fewer than five pups.”“James and Ryan already claimed the runt. They’re already weaned. Just a heads up, they get about that big.”Keith points to the horse sized Kosmo, who’s very patiently letting Cassie pet her backward.“So Lotor, no Brax or the kids?” Romelle asks.“None of them wished to travel."“What about Sunshine and the other cubs?” Sky asks Hunk.“Shay? She’s visiting her family right now with the other kids,” Hunk says.Shiro looks at Pidge.“Speaking of traveling, Pidge, didn’t you say you were working on a way to make it easier for everyday citizens to travel to other planets without needing a spaceship?”“Not just working on it. Nearly completed.”Lance and Hunk both sit up.“Really?”“It’s some kind of wormhole generator, right?” Keith asks.“In a way, its a system of gates that generate a wormhole from one gate to another.
You open that wormhole by dialing in a specific set of symbols into the gate's console. I’m working with the Olkari on it. We’ve finished the prototype for it.""That is ingenious, Pidge," Lotor tells her in amazement.
"How did you ever come up with such an idea?""Ok so on Earth, there’s this really old sci-fi tv show called Stargate SG1 where they use the same thing to travel throughout the Milky Way... Basically, I took that concept, only I’m expanding it to throughout the universe.”Allura looks at her."A science fiction television show inspired that?""Don't knock Earth's scifi shows, Zelda. We wouldn't even be in space if it weren't for one.""There's a reason two of Atlas' sister ships are called Enterprise and Voyager," Shiro adds."What of the other three?" Romelle asks."They're named after three of the first space shuttles that were used in the early days of space travel; Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.""Weren't there two other shuttles?" Sky asks.Keith nods."Challenger and Columbia. Those names were both retired out of respect for their final crews.""Right, they both had tragic ends," Hunk remembers.
"One while taking off, the other while landing."“It is a relief that the Olkari got their planet back,” Lotor says, attempting to change the subject. “A shame they had to elect a new leader.”“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” Pidge says acceptingly. “It’s like Ryner said, the old must give way to the new.”“Speaking of new, Shiro how is the new arm working?” Allura asks him.“Great!”Shiro flexes his new techno-organic right arm that combines Olkari technology with Altean.“It acts and feels like a real arm! If it weren’t for the fact that the arm is white, blue, and green; you’d never guess it was synthetic.”“You don’t miss the prosthetic?” Lance asks.“I mean, I miss the reach it had. That definitely came in handy on more than one occasion, but it’s nice to be able to shower or go to sleep at night without having to remember to remove a prosthetic. Also, having a bicep again is nice. Having something get thrown at me only to go sailing through the gap between the shoulder port and arm was getting old.”“Awww!!”Romelle points at Kosmo.The others look and see Cassie sound asleep while curled up and laying on Kosmo’s side sparking chorus of more 'Aws'.“Looks like Cassie’s discovered the fringe benefits of having a fluffy dog the size of a damn horse,” Sky comments.~That night, after all of the children have been put to bed, the nine of them relax in the lounge of the new castle on Altea.Shiro’s sitting on a couch with Keith laying dozing to his right with his head in Shiro's lap, Lance and Allura sit on a loveseat to the right of them, and Pidge and Hunk sit on a couch to his left with Sky sitting in the middle leaning against Pidge.Curled up in the center of the circle is Kosmo.Lotor looks at them from the other side of Hunk.“I have been meaning to ask. How has it been over the years since the Lions were destroyed?”“To be honest... I don't really notice a difference," Lance tells him."I don’t think "destroyed" is an accurate word,” Pidge adds.“At least, not in the traditional sense,” Hunk concludes.Romelle looks at them from between Keith and Lance.“What do you mean?”"Even though the Lions' physical bodies were destroyed, I can still feel my bond with Blue as though nothing happened,” Lance explains.“It is the same for the rest of us,” Allura adds.“I think when the Lions’ spirits merged with ours during the fight in the Cauldron, they kind of… stayed merged,” Shiro explains. “It’s hard to describe.”At that moment, Keith awakens with a gasp before sitting bolt upright, getting everyone’s attention.“Something's happening outside.”He gets up and runs for the door with the others on his tail.“Kosmo, watch the kids!”The eight of them run outside just in time to see a comet come through the atmosphere and hit a part of New Altea that is just an open field.“Is that?!”They rush to the site to find the comet sitting in the center of a crater.“It’s the same comet Voltron and the Sincline were made from!” Pidge exclaims after scanning the comet.“We could rebuild the Lions!” Hunk exclaims.“First things first,” Keith interjects. “Let’s remove the comet and close the rift it just opened so history doesn’t repeat itself!”Allura has the ore moved to a more secure location so she can seal the rift.Allura and Lotor inspect the comet.“Hmm…”“I second that hmm…”“Something you kids want to share with the class?” Sky asks.“I believe there is enough ore to build all five Lions with some ore left over,” Allura states.“How much left over?” Pidge asks.“Not enough for a sixth Lion or the Sincline, I’m afraid,” Lotor tells them.“However I believe there is enough comet ore that I could infuse it with another ore and build a new Castle of Lions,” Allura concludes. “It would basically have the same capabilities Atlas had.”“Should we though?” Hunk asks."What do you mean?" Romelle asks.“Well, I mean, the universe is at peace,” Lance points out.“Not so peaceful that a legendary defender wouldn’t be of use,” Pidge points out.“Especially with the rising issues coming from all the rogue groups from the old empire”Shiro pulls Keith against his side before continuing.“Not to mention, there are still a few of Haggar’s druids out there.”Keith doesn't look up from the ground as he adds.“Besides, maybe this is why the Lions' spirits are still merged with us. I mean, how many times have the Lions saved us? Countless. Now it’s our turn to save them.”“Spock's speaking some poetic shit right there.”“How long do you think it will take to build?” Shiro asks.“A year,” Allura tells them. “Maybe two.”~Two years later, the new Voltron Lions as well as the new Castle of Lions are completed, complete with new bayards and uniforms. Now the Castle of Lions also has a bayard port.When Allura engages her bayard with the Castle, the White Lion infuses the new Castle with its spirit before immediately transforming the castle into a very large White Lion mech.
When the five Voltron Paladins engage their new bayards and link up with the consciousness of the Lions, they feel the spirits of their Lions go into their new bodies.As soon as the Lions come online, all six Lions let out a powerful roar.~Meanwhile, somewhere on Earth, Curtis and Adam snuggle on the couch with their cats.“Thank you for remembering my name!”Adam laughs.“You’re… welcome?”