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After eight years of marriage, Katie didn't need their bond as paladins to tell when Keithir was frustrated by something. She tried to hide her amusement as he sighed, glaring at the back of Slav's head as he rambled on about something he called a “trans-reality extrapolater”. (She honestly wasn't sure what Slav was talking about anymore. Sometimes it was best to just smile and nod.)Katie gently nudged Keithir's arm to get his attention and then mouthed the word “sorry”.He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Some of his frustration ebbed away, but not enough to keep it from his voice as he addressed Slav. “Is there a point to any of this?”The tiny, eccentric genius turned and gave Keithir a withering stare. “I was just about to explain it and then you interrupted!”“Sorry, Slav,” Katie apologized placatingly. “We just have some plans that we're eager to get to, is all. This is our first vacation alone together in a few years.”Slav begrudgingly accepted that as a worthy answer. “Then I'll be brief. This device will allow us a glimpse into other realities! I've gotten it to work a number of times for me so far, though never the same one twice. You see, its all highly dependent on numerous variables like weather patterns, star placement, what food you've eaten, time of day, humidity, how many times you flip the blue switch, the color of your socks...”They let Slav ramble on for a moment and then Katie cleared her throat.“You're saying that there's no way to pick the exact reality that you get to see,” she said, redirecting him back to the topic.“Precisely!” Slav agreed. “It's all very fascinating and I'm sure with a few more tests, I'll have it figured out in no time! So, do you want to try?”Katie hesitated. “Are you sure it's safe?”“Are you saying you doubt my technological achievement?”Yes. Katie kept that thought to herself. “Of course not, Slav. If you say it works, then it works. What do we need to do?”Slav brightened and directed the pair to each grip one of the handles. After a moment of consideration, he flipped a few switches and twisted one of the knobs. The machine hummed to life, vibrating strangely, but Slav didn't look alarmed or worried, so Katie figured that was what it was meant to do.“Now what?” Keithir asked warily.Slav was about to respond when the machine emitted a popping noise and a visible spark shot out of the top. He scuttled backwards with a quiet, “oh no.”That was the last thing Katie heard before everything went dark.
Pidge groaned as she started to wake up. Strange, considering she couldn't remember falling asleep. What was the last thing she remembered?Something about Lotor giving up information? No, that wasn't right. Well, it wasn't wrong, but it didn't have anything to do with what she had been doing. That was Allura and Shiro; they were drilling Lotor for inside information. She was sure that Hunk was stress baking after everything that happened on Naxzela and Lance was... off doing Lance things? (Of everyone, Lance proved to be the hardest for her to predict. She assumed wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he found it relaxing.)Pidge winced as she sat up, fighting a rush of disorientation. She reflexively reached up to adjust her glasses, but her fingers only met skin. Frowning, she looked around for them, only to find someone unexpected laying on the floor near her, slowly coming to.“Keith!” She crawled over to him and helped him sit up, her brow furrowed in concern. “Are you alright? When did you get here?”Keith blinked as he looked around and took in his surroundings. “Is this the Castle of Lions? How did I get here? I was just at the Blade headquarters! Kolivan called me in to--” He abruptly snapped his mouth shut and looked away from her. “Pidge, what's going on?”“I wish I knew,” Pidge responded honestly. She forced herself to her feet, wobbling a bit as the disorientation returned. It faded quickly and she held out a hand to help Keith up. “Maybe there's something wrong with the Castle again. I bet Coran would know.”With Pidge's help, Keith unsteadily got to his feet as well. One thing was for sure, their equilibrium had been messed up by something – likely whatever knocked them out and teleported Keith all the way from Blade headquarters. They needed to find the cause and make sure it wouldn't happen again.“Do you think he's on the bridge?” Keith asked.Pidge nodded. “That's the most likely place.”They set off from the room, but didn't get far before a small figure scampered down the hall toward them. Slav froze at the sight of them and then wailed, reaching up to grip at his tufts of hair with two of his eight hands. “Oh no, it's even worse than I thought!”Pidge gaped at him. “Slav?!”“What the hell is going on?” Keith demanded.Slav was too busy having a melt down to be of any use to them. Keith and Pidge likely would have ignored him and moved on to find someone who was actually helpful, except at that exact moment, Allura and Shiro rounded the corner, both looking frazzled.And with them they brought a whole new round of questions.Keith stared at Shiro, opening and closing his mouth for a moment, before blurting out: “What happened to your hair?”Pidge was a little more focused on the very Altean toddler in Allura's arms. She lifted a hand to her head, already feeling the start of a migraine as her brain worked overtime to try and comprehend everything that was happening.Allura and Shiro exchanged alarmed glances as they took in the situation. They seemed to come to an agreement through eye contact alone and then Allura was urging Slav to calm down and breathe, while Shiro walked forward to handle Pidge and Keith.“I think it'd be better if we go someplace quiet until we figure out what's going on,” Shiro told them. “Follow me.”Keith took a step forward, paused to make sure Pidge was coming too, and then they obediently followed Shiro to another room, both hoping he had the answers they needed.
Tears dripped down Katie's face as she knelt with her head bowed over the nearest trash bin, hoping her stomach would settle after its last wave of nausea. “I'm going to kill Slav,” she grumbled to herself.She didn't know what the machine was supposed to do, but she doubted that knocking her out and teleporting her to a different part of the Castle of Lions was it. Her head spun and her stomach rebelled after such treatment. Worse than that, Keithir wasn't with her and she could no longer feel him through the bond they shared, which meant he was either still unconscious or had been teleported very far away.Katie sat back and rubbed her eyes dry, no longer feeling as though she needed to throw up again. Just in case, she took a few extra doboshes to rest before getting up and starting her search for Slav.He was probably right where she last saw him, heading into a full blown panic over the possibility of killing the crown prince of Daibazaal and his wife with his new invention, something the Galra would not take lightly.She's feel bad for him, but a more vindictive part of her thought he deserved to panic.Katie reached the room without running into anyone else, which was a little odd, to say the least. There was always someone around, even when they were using the Castle in her spaceship form, but they weren't due for a journey for another few phoebs! Despite that, it wasn't until she reached the room where she last saw Slav that he began to think something was seriously wrong.The room was completely empty. There was also a fine layer of dust coating everything, indicating that it had been quite some time since anyone was there.Katie swallowed and backed away. She once again tried to reach Keithir through their bond, but there was nothing. With her anxiety rising, she tried to communicate with the Green Lion.Nothing.Katie spun on her heel and ran for the bridge. There was no time to stop and slow down, to consider the implications of what was happening. The bridge was the center of the Castle of Lions and she knew that by accessing the system there, she would be able to figure out exactly what was going on and where – or when – she was.She kept an eye out for anyone else as she ran, but as before there was no one.It was unsettling.The bridge doors easily parted for her, sliding open as she approached, and it was there that she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Standing at the helm was the ever reliable form of Coran.“Coran, thank the stars,” Katie breathed, hurrying over to him. “There's something really weird go-- why are we in space?” She finally slowed down to look around.It was only Coran on the bridge. Another checkmark on her list of really weird things. And he was looking at her as though she'd grown a second head.“Pidge?” he asked, his voice raising in alarm.Katie took a half-step back. “Y-yes? Who else would I be, Coran?”“But you can't be!” Coran protested, shaking his head. “You're too old to be Pidge! Who are you really?”Katie had a sinking suspicion that she knew what was going on. And on the one hand, knowing that she was dealing with time travel brought her one step closer to not having a mental breakdown, but on the other it meant she wouldn't be able to relax until she found a way to fix things.She took a deep breath. “Coran, it's really me. You can check! Ask me something that only I would know and I'll answer.”Coran stared at her for a moment, his surprise hardening into suspicion.“Coran, please. I know it sounds crazy, but I think Slav accidentally built some kind of time machine and it sent me back in time to this moment,” Katie explained, hoping he'd believe her.He had to.Why wouldn't he?“I have all of the paladins ranked in order of something. What is it?” Coran asked.“Height,” Katie responded promptly. “I'm number five.”Coran hummed thoughtfully. “How about a harder one? I once arranged a quest for the five of you to complete. What was the goal of that quest?”The one gave Katie pause. He'd set up a number of bizarre training exercises over the years, but it had to specifically be one after she and Keithir found the Red Lion. Unless he was counting Allura as one of the five? She had been with them for the only one she'd consider labeling a “quest”. Katie would just have to go for it and hope she was right.“You told us there were special planets for us to train on, but all along it was to beat the monster born from the Yalexian pearl.”“You're missing some of the details there, but close enough,” Coran agreed after a moment.Katie exhaled softly in relief. It was hard to remember everything after so many years had passed. She'd have to hope the rest of his questions didn't rely on knowing some passing detail.“Last question! If you're from the future, how many years does it take for us to defeat the Galra empire?”“What?” Katie asked, flabbergasted. “That's a joke, right, Coran? We're not... we're not at war with Daibazaal. We've never been at war with them. They're our allies. Why would we...?”With every word she spoke, Katie's dread grew. Coran wasn't smiling. The sheer wrongness of everything returned tenfold, along with a violent wave of nausea.She took a step back, shaking her head. “No. No, this isn't right.”Coran began walking towards her, holding his hands out in a reassuring manner, but there was something in his eyes that spoke the opposite.Katie swallowed her queasiness and ran, thought she didn't get far. The moment she set foot past the doors, she collided with a broad chest.“Pidge?” Shiro asked, bewildered.“Catch her!” Coran cried out.Katie's heartbeat was thunderous to her ears as she tried to side-step Shiro, but he was too fast. Even while taken off-guard by the sight of her and Coran's strange command, he still managed to grab her by the arm and hold her in place.“Coran, what's going on?” Allura's voice floated down to them as she approached. “Who is-? Wait, is that Pidge?”Katie ineffectively tried to yank her arm from Shiro's hold, but he only tightened his grip. “Please, I can explain,” she begged, twisting to face Coran. “I swear, I'm not here to hurt anyone. If you would just let me explain, maybe we can make sense of this!”Coran's suspicion lessened as he looked at her, his gaze softening. “Perhaps it would be best if we put you down in one of the cells for now. You did just tell me that you believe we're allies with Daibazaal.”Allura gasped sharply.Katie nodded once and then bowed her head, refusing to let them see her cry. She'd been so relieved when she found Coran, but all she felt at that moment was terrified and alone.Wherever she'd ended up, it certainly wasn't the past.Keithir, she thought desperately. Where are you? Please be safe.She sniffled as Shiro and Allura escorted her down to the Castle's holding cells. Tears prickled at her eyes.
I'm scared.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As far as holding cells went, the one they put her in wasn't awful. There was a bed, an enclosed space for a bathroom, and a table for her to sit at. And despite the tension running between them, Shiro and Allura were nothing but gentle as they guided her inside.Katie understood the reasons why Coran suggested it. She was a stranger with a familiar face to them and they couldn't take the risk that she could be working for the enemy. Locking her away meant everyone would be safe, including her.None of that made it hurt any less.She settled on the bed, assuming they were waiting for Coran and the others before they began questioning her.“Who are you?” Shiro asked.Evidently, she was wrong.“Katie Holt, paladin of the Green Lion,” she said promptly.Allura frowned. “Then you're not Pidge?”“'Pidge' is my nickname. Matt gave it to me when we were kids. I always hated being called that, but after Kerberos it was kind of comforting. Like I had a piece of him with me.” Katie paused, looking at Allura curiously. “You didn't know?”“I did,” Shiro spoke up. “But I don't think you've ever directly told anyone else. Or not you – Pidge. Our Pidge.”Katie took a deep breath. “Okay, so--”“How did you get on my ship?” Allura interrupted. “The alarms didn't go off or anything, but you made it all the way to the bridge. How did you do that?”“I'm not sure. Look, the last thing I remember was Slav showing us this invention; this 'trans-reality extrapolater'. He said it would let us see into alternate realities, but something must have gone wrong, because I blacked out and woke up here, alone,” Katie explained.“There's someone else with you?” Allura asked, sounding alarmed.“I-I don't know! He wasn't there when I woke up. He could still be with Slav or somewhere else on this ship. I wish I did know.”Stars, what if he was on the Castle? Coran said they were at war with the Galra, so if anyone found Keithir, they'd think he was an enemy invader! What if they hurt him? It would be all her fault for asking him to go with her to see Slav's invention!Katie looked at them, her eyes wide with fear. “Please don't hurt him if he is. I promise, we don't mean any harm.”“What would we harm him?” / “He's Galra, isn't he.”Shiro and Allura spoke at the same time and Katie dropped her gaze to her knees, unsure of what to do. She wanted to trust her friends, but knowing that they were at war with the Galra in the awful reality she'd fallen into made her feel like that wasn't possible. Not fully, anyway. She had to protect herself and Keithir and figure out how to get them home.“Katie,” Allura gently began, “we want to help you, so I need you to trust that we will not hurt you or your friend. Believe it or not, we do know that not all Galra are evil. Some of them want peace just as much as we do.”“We'll search the Castle for your friend and bring him here if we find him,” Shiro assured her. “Will he recognize us?”Katie nodded and made no attempt to correct them on the “friend” aspect of her relationship with Keithir. She lifted her head to watch the two of them leave, taking note of the distance between them. They were still close enough to converse quietly, though she could make out bits of what they were saying. (Something about “finding Pidge” and “informing others”, which Katie assumed meant they would also be filling in Lance and Hunk on what was happening.)She sighed and laid down, taking a moment for herself while everyone was away.
Shiro dropped them off at a room, told them not to leave under any circumstances, and then left without another word of explanation. Keith and Pidge stood there for a moment, thoroughly confused.“So much for an explanation,” Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. “What is this place anyway? Someone's bedroom?”Keith turned away from the door to take a better look around. His eyes fell to a nearby photograph of all of the paladins, minus himself, and his heart constricted. “Maybe it's Shiro's.”He stepped closer to the short dresser for a better look, mostly aware of Pidge's half-hearted “maybe” as she began to snoop around as well. Everyone looked the way he remembered in the photograph. Shiro's hair still had a tuft of white in the front and the sides were shaved. Lance was grinning and had an arm slung across Hunk's shoulders. Pidge was on the other side of Hunk, caught in the process of adjusting her glasses. Allura stood in the center, dressed in her flight suit and smiling.“Could we be in the future?” he asked, glancing at Pidge.“That would explain Shiro's hair and Allura's baby.”Keith blinked. “Baby?”Pidge raised an eyebrow. “You really didn't notice? She was holding him in her arms when they came running up. Though I guess Shiro did get us out of there pretty fast...”Okay, so Shiro had white hair and Allura had a baby. That was two checkmarks for the probability of them being in the future. Also, he suspected that Slav was somehow involved, which was a solution for the “how” part of them being there.Keith moved on to the next framed photo. There were only two people in it, one of whom was Pidge and the other...He stared for a moment and then picked it up. The sight of Pidge in a beautiful, shimmering gown was one he hadn't expected, but even less than that was her on the arm of a Galra with fluffy ears, wearing red armor disturbingly similar to the armor worn by Galra soldiers. He looked familiar, in a way, though Keith couldn't place where he'd seen him before.Keith put the picture back where it belonged. There were so many featuring Pidge and the Galra. Some with the other paladins. Some with Matt and who he could only assume were Pidge's parents.He couldn't look at them any more.There was one thing that stood out to him above all else: he wasn't in a single one of those pictures.He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. He wouldn't think of Naxzela. He'd spent far too much time reliving that moment – he could see it every time he closed his eyes. The massive ship. The barrier around it. The desperation he felt after all of their failed attempts to take down the barrier. He didn't have a choice.To save everyone, he had been willing to sacrifice himself, and there he was, in a future where it appeared he'd done exactly that. Why else would there not be photographs with him?Unless...Unless Pidge was angrier with him than she let on.He had abandoned the team when they needed him to lead. He had chosen the Blade over Voltron and backed out on promises to help with Coalition shows. All of that, after he yelled at her for trying to leave the team to search for her family.She had every right to be mad.“What's this?” Pidge asked, coming up next to him. Her eyes widened as she looked at the collection of photographs. “Is that me?”Before Keith could answer, the door slid open and Shiro and Allura walked in. He took a good, long look at both of them, trying to figure out how far into the future they were.“Lets start with the basics, shall we?” Allura suggested. “Slav says that he has been testing a machine that will allow its user to view alternate realities. He recently added components similar to the ones used in a teludav, likely an attempt to gain more control, and it seems to have caused a... malfunction, of sorts.”“Alternate realities... So this isn't the future?” Keith asked, restraining his relief until he had an answer.“No, I don't believe so,” Allura said.It wasn't the future.It was startling how much better that made him feel, but at the same time, what did that mean for the version of him in the reality he landed in? Was there a Keith?“So, why us? I mean, why did it specifically bring the two of us here?” Pidge asked. “And how? We weren't in the same place when we left, but we were once we got here!”“The two of you may have been apart in your reality, but you were together here. We believe you must have swapped places with them,” Allura explained.Keith didn't intend to say anything, but the words slipped out regardless. “There's a version of me here?”Shiro looked concerned. “Of course there is. Why wouldn't you think so?”“The pictures,” Pidge said, glancing at them again. “Keith's not in any of them.”Allura and Shiro shared a troubled look, neither sure of how to answer that. After a moment, Shiro cautiously asked: “Does the name 'Keithir' mean anything to you?”Keith frowned and shook his head.“Perhaps the two of you should start from the beginning. The more we know about the reality the two of you come from, the better chance we have at sending you back,” Allura said.“The beginning...” Pidge mused.There was only one place to start. It was how both of their stories began.“The Kerberos Mission.”
Kolivan wasn't sure where to begin. Keith stood in front of him, head bowed and shoulders slumped, clearly struggling under the weight of his almost sacrifice. Kolivan hated having to lecture the cub, but there was still so much he had to learn. There was no other way to get through to him.“I don't need to list the reasons why what you attempted was wrong, Keith,” Kolivan said, watching the youngest Blade flinch. He pressed on. “You must learn that every action has a consequence. A sacrifice for the greater good may seem like the easy-- Keith?”Kolivan reached out in time to catch Keith as he passed out. Words were lost on him as Keith's form shimmered and then blurred, becoming smoke-like before reforming. However, it wasn't Keith who he held in his arms afterward, but a Galra in hand-tailored silks and a pair of fluffy ears sticking out of black hair.There was something familiar about him. The structure of his face. His smaller build. The unusual coloring to his hair.The Galra groaned as he began to stir, slowly blinking open his eyes. “Kolivan?” he asked, his voice heavy with confusion. “What...? Why are you here? What's going on?”He struggled to stand on his own and Kolivan watched him, ready to catch him again as he swayed on his feet and tried to get his eyes to focus.“How did I get here? Kolivan, where's Katie? Is she alright?”Kolivan was silent for a moment as he debated what to do. He liked to think that he was prepared to deal with a great many things, but one of his Blades disappearing in his arms and a stranger appearing in his place was not one of them.The other Galra didn't seem dangerous, just worried and on the verge of panic. He was also under the impression that he knew Kolivan, though he was sure they'd never met before.“Kolivan?”“How do you know my name?” Kolivan asked curiously.The Galra looked taken aback by the question. “What do you mean? Why wouldn't I...?” He paused and took a good look around for the first time. “This is Blade headquarters, but how am I here and not on Altea? That machine... Slav!”Kolivan frowned as he watched the stranger begin to pace. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was familiar, but his memory was hardly so bad that he would forget having met him before. And how odd that he mentioned being on Altea, when everyone knew it was long destroyed. It was all fascinating, but Kolivan wanted a clear answer on who the Galra was and how he knew his name.Kolivan cleared his throat. “Who are you?”The Galra stopped pacing, his ears flicking back nervously. He slowly reached back and withdrew a small blade, which he held out with both hands for Kolivan to view. “My name is Keithir, and where I'm from, you helped train me. I guess that's not the same here.”All at once, Kolivan understood why the Galra looked so familiar. The answer was with the blade he carried; small and easily concealed, with the mark of Marmora clearly displayed. There was only one member of the Blade who carried a weapon of that size.Keith.“There was a machine. Slav built it and told us that it was to build other realities, but I think it brought me here instead. Katie, my wife, she has to be here somewhere. I can't feel her, but she must have been brought to this reality with me,” Keithir babbled. “I have to find her.”Kolivan looked him over and quickly came to a decision; one which would give him time to evaluate whether or not Keithir was a threat. (Regardless of him being Keith, he still had to be careful. It could be a trap or a trick.) “I will help you, but first, calm down and start from the beginning. You say Slav built a machine?”Keithir took a deep breath and began again, slowing down to give Kolivan a chance to take in all of the information he was giving. Kolivan was more interesting in his body language than the words he was saying, searching for any tell that would reveal a lie or an omission of truth. By the time Keithir finished, all Kolivan could think was that either he was being fully honest or else was a very good liar.He had heard Slav mention alternate realities before, but had never put much thought into the theory for himself. If Kolivan wanted to know more, he'd have to contact the reclusive genius, but in the mean time, perhaps there was someone closer he could talk to about the matter.“Come, we will contact the paladins of Voltron.”Keithir's expression lit up. “Shiro and Allura?”Kolivan nodded and wondered for a moment how many similarities their universes shared. He supposed he would find out in time.
Katie exited the bathroom to find Allura waiting for her inside the cell. She paused, unsure of what to expect. “Is everything alright?”“I want to apologize for my reaction earlier. It was unfair of me to jump from conclusions just from hearing the word 'Galra',” Allura said.“You did it to keep everyone safe. You never need to apologize for that,” Katie told her. She hesitated and then asked: “Were you able to find Keithir?”Allura shook her head. “We all searched the ship, but there is no sign of him. Pidge isn't here either, which makes me think the two of you swapped places. It's likely the same for your friend.”White hot panic raced through her veins. He could be anywhere. Without their connection, how would she be able to find him? How would he find her?Katie's head spun. She needed to sit down.Allura watched her, sympathy clear in her expression. “I'm sorry. We're still looking for him and we will keep looking until we find him, I promise.”“Thank you, Allura,” Katie said sincerely. “I know this isn't easy and it's strange and just... Thank you.”Allura sat down next to her on the bed. “I wanted to ask you more about your friend. Keithir, you said? What can you tell me that will help us find him?”Katie knew she needed to tread carefully. Telling Allura that he was the crown prince of Daibazaal was unlikely to go well. It was a detail that could wait. Luckily, she had something that would be far more useful than simply telling Allura about Keithir.She untucked her necklace from her dress and held it out in her palm. The Marmora Blossom gifted to her by Keithir served as the facing, but she'd added a locket to the back to contain her favorite photographs. Katie opened it up and showed Allura the first picture, which had been taken on their wedding day.“This is Keithir.”Allura looked at the picture, curiously at first, and then her brows furrowed in confusion. “Is that...? But it can't be Keith!”That was a name Katie hadn't heard in a while. But then, it had also been a few years since their last visit to Earth, which was the only time Keithir adopted his human persona. The fact that Allura recognized him as “Keith” made hope bloom in her chest.“You know who he is?” she asked eagerly. “Where is he?”Allura looked gobsmacked. “You mean that's really Keith? But he's Galra! I mean, he is half-Galra, but he's never looked that way.”“He can't shift forms here?”Allura shook her head. “He just looks human. I never even thought he'd be able to shift forms. It doesn't seem possible.”“Keithir can,” Katie said with a shrug. “So where is he?”“He's gone with an ally of ours, doing covert missions to help end the war,” Allura explained.Katie didn't have to put much thought into puzzling that one out. “The Blade of Marmora? Does Kolivan lead them? Can you call them?”Allura looked a little flustered. “I- yes. I will do that. I think you should come with me. It doesn't feel right making you stay down here when you've done nothing wrong. Do you feel comfortable joining us on the bridge?”Katie nodded, more interested in seeing Keithir than getting out of the cell. She hopped up and followed Allura, knowing that she was one step closer to finding their way home.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Nine vargas, forty-seven doboshes, and twelve ticks had gone by since Katie last saw Keithir, and while there had been times they were apart for much longer, it hadn't been without warning or without their bond active to check in with each other.Katie glanced at her friends. Or rather, the younger, alternate reality versions of her friends. (And boy, was that going to get tiring fast. She was just going to call them her friends. Or maybe Pidge's friends?)Hunk and Lance were hanging back, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty, like they wanted to talk to her, but weren't sure if it was appropriate. Katie understood; she wasn't sure how to approach them either, however much she wanted Hunk's support and Lance's method of cheering her up.Coran was by Allura's side, occasionally glancing back at her with a sympathetic expression, while the princess had given her a reassuring smile before standing to wait for Kolivan's arrival.That all at least felt normal.Shiro was... different.There was a distance to him that she hadn't expected, and maybe it was just because he'd had different experiences from her Shiro, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. It wasn't just the hair. There was something about his eyes. The way he stood away from everyone. He barely looked at her.The doors to the bridge opened and all thoughts of Shiro fled Katie's mind as Kolivan and several members of the Blade of Marmora walked in, along with the one person Katie had been waiting to see.“Keithir,” she breathed, already moving forward.He met her halfway, just as eager to see her, and swept her up into his arms, holding her to him tightly. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. Katie clung to him, her eyes tearing up from overwhelming relief.“I missed you,” Keithir said quietly and kissed the top of her head.A choked laugh escaped Katie's throat as she tilted her head to look up at him. “I missed you too. I was so worried when I couldn't feel you. I thought...”“I know. Me too,” Keithir told her. He drew back slightly to get a better look at her. “Are you alright? You look pale.”“I'm alright, I promise. I think being sent here affected me worse than I thought, but I'll be alright after some food and rest.” Katie rose on tiptoe to kiss him.Keithir didn't look any less concerned, but he didn't argue. “Can we both agree to never help Slav test one of his machines again?”“Agreed,” was Katie's soft response.When they separated, Katie looked around to find the paladins gaping at the two of them. Lance in particular seemed to be struggling with what he saw.Ah, right.She hadn't exactly told them her relationship with Keithir, choosing to let Allura think he was just a friend. She supposed the others thought the same.“Everyone, this is my husband, Keithir,” she introduced.Lance unfroze. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Husband? You married Keith?! What kind of – Ow! Hunk!” He turned and glared at the yellow paladin, rubbing his side where Hunk had elbowed him a little too hard. “Oh, like you're not just as surprised by this!”Hunk looked flustered. “I am, but we don't have to be rude about it!”Allura quickly stepped forward to calm everyone down and restore order. “It doesn't matter what they're relationship is. We're here to determine the best way to get them back to their reality and return Pidge and Keith to our own.”“Actually, I've been thinking about that and I don't know if there's much we can actually do on our end. Everything relies on that machine Slav built and whether or not he's able to pinpoint our location in this reality,” Katie explained as she leaned against Keithir. His steady warmth at her side ebbed away the discomfort she'd felt for the past few vargas. “If there's some way to get a signal through or just make this universe stand out, we might have a better chance, but I don't know where to even begin making something to do that.”“Do you think Slav would know?” Kolivan asked.Katie thought about it for a moment. “It's possible, but- wait, is there a Slav here?”Shiro grimaced. “Unfortunately.”Katie tried not to grin. At least that was another common thing they shared. Slav really was a universal constant. “Great! So can we talk to him?”“I will get a message to him and see what he has to say,” Kolivan promised. He turned to Allura next. “In the meantime, princess, there's something I'd like to discuss with you and Shiro, if you have a moment.”“Of course,” Allura spoke for both of them. “Coran, would you mind showing Katie and Keithir to a room they can use?”Coran nodded. “Of course, princess.”“We'll come too!” Hunk blurted out, grabbing Lance's arm.Lance put up no protest with the plan, clearly at ease with tagging along to see where Katie and Keithir would stay. They all followed Coran, leaving behind Shiro, Allura, Kolivan, and the members of the Blade.Katie could only assume they were talking about their war against the Galra and were sending them away so they wouldn't have to hear about it. Which also made her wonder: Had anyone told Keithir?“So you two are really married?” Lance asked.“For eight deca-phoebs,” Keithir responded, glancing over at the boy. “Is it really that surprising?”Lance shrugged and then shoved his hands into his pockets. “I guess I've just never thought of either of you being interested in dating or romance. You always make a face whenever I talk about girls.”“Probably because you're pick-up lines are so bad,” Hunk teased.“I can't really speak for your Pidge, but I wasn't all that interested when I was younger,” Katie told them. “In fact, I still wasn't interested when we started dating, but he won me over before too long.”Keithir chuckled and lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss on the back of it.Hunk quietly cooed over how cute they were. “So if you've been married for eight years, how long have you been in space?” he asked curiously.“Twelve deca-phoebs?” Katie responded, unsure of the exact amount of time. She'd been fifteen when they left Earth, eighteen when she met Keithir, and nineteen when they got married. Looking back, they'd all been so young, it was hard to believe it'd been so long. “But Keithir left Earth when he was a baby.”That started up a whole round of questions from Hunk and Lance s they abandoned their previous shyness in favor of learning more about their accidental visitors. Keithir let them talk, knowing there was no interrupting them once they got started.They arrived at the room before Hunk and Lance finished talking. With Katie looking more and more like she was going to pass out, Keithir brushed them off in favor of taking care of his wife.“We can talk later,” he told them, not caring how rude he sounded. He quickly thanked Coran for showing them the way and then shut the door behind him.The three stood there for a moment longer.“Do you think it was too much?” Hunk asked, worried.“Give them a little time to adjust. It must be scary, being in a place so different from what they're used to,” Coran advised. “I'm sure they'll be more open to talking once they've gotten some rest. Now come along, you two! There's much to be done! With Pidge away, I'll need some help rewriting the script for our next demonstration!”Hunk groaned. “I thought we were done with the Voltron Show.”“We are! This is different.”Lance and Hunk each made a face, but had no choice but to follow.
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Allura gratefully sat down in the chambers she shared with Shiro, after spending a number of hours talking to Keith and Pidge, learning about the universe they came from and filling them in on the basics of the reality they'd been transported into.They'd been lucky with the similarities shared between the two, but the differences were troubling, to say the least. And looking at the two of them made her heart ache. They were so young to get caught up in such a terrible war.Unsure of what else to do with them, she and Shiro agreed that they would stay in Katie and Keithir's room, at least until they could find a better alternative.Shiro sat down next to her and wrapped an arm across her shoulders, offering comfort. “Koichi is fast asleep, though Romelle says he'll probably be waking soon. I told her she could go for the day.”“We'll have to thank her for watching him on such short notice,” Allura said, happy to lean against Shiro. “I still can't wrap my head around all of this. I knew Slav was working on something big, but I never imagined it could cause something like this. Katie and Keithir are gone! What are we going to tell Emperor Zarkon? Or Thace and Ulaz? Katie's family?” She couldn't think of another time when she felt so helpless. With any other situation, there had always been something she could do to help, but they had no choice but to wait.“We'll take it step-by-step. The Emperor and Empress should be told first, then Katie's parents and Keithir's father. Until we know how long it's going to take to get them back, everyone else can be told on a need-to-know basis,” Shiro said, trying to think logically about it.“Hunk and Lance return from Nalquod in three days,” Allura murmured.“Then we will tell them then,” Shiro said. “Let them enjoy their – what is it now? Fourth honeymoon? I hope they know I was only joking when I told them they should marry in the traditions of each of the planets we're allied with.”Allura giggled. “It is a rather effective form of diplomacy. They're showing that they have an interest in getting to know the people of different planets and its for a happy reason. People love getting to celebrate.” Her amusement quickly faded as the seriousness of their situation took hold once more. “We we tell their families. And perhaps... my father? He may have some knowledge to contribute and I'm certain that Emperor Zarkon will tell him if we do not.”She could shake the feeling that they were forgetting someone important. Allura wracked her mind, trying to figure out who they missed.Kolivan, perhaps? She doubted Thace and Ulaz would keep such a thing from their leader, but she also felt telling him could wait until they knew a little more.Keithir's human father was on Altea with Katie's family, choosing to live outside of the Castle, but nearby. He'd be informed along with Colleen, Sam, and Matt.Matt.There was something important with Matt.Someone very important with Matt.“Oh no...” she whispered, looking up at Shiro with wide eyes. “What are we going to tell Yorak?”She could feel Shiro's sharp intake of breath as sheer panic raced through the bond they shared. While not as strong as the one Katie shared with Keithir or Hunk with Lance, powerful emotions always came through clearly.It made Allura's own worry worse. “Shiro, what are we going to tell their son?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Yorak listened from the door with wide eyes as Shiro and Allura talked. His furred ears twitched slightly, straining to pick up on their words and his tufted tail curled around one leg as his worry spiked.He knew eavesdropping was bad, but he only wanted to say “hello” and ask if they would play hide-and-seek with him and Uncle Matt, and then he heard them talk about Mom and Dad and how they were gone...!But weren't they supposed to be gone? They told him they were going on boring adult vacation and he was going to stay with Uncle Matt, grandpa, grandpa, and pawpaw to have a fun vacation! So why were Shiro and Allura talking about it like it was a bad thing? Did something bad happen?Yorak swallowed the whine that started to build in his throat and rubbed his eyes, trying his best not to cry. He shuffled closer to the door to try and better hear what they were talking about.“...have to tell him. He's with Matt today, so if we go tell the others first and give them time for the news to sink in, they'll be better prepared for any questions Yorak has,” Shiro said.Allura sighed heavily. “I know you're right. I just wish we didn't have to. He's not even five yet! How are we supposed to tell him that his parents vanished and we aren't sure where they went or how to get them back?!”Tears spilled over as Yorak backed away from the door, no longer interested in what Shiro and Allura were saying.Mom and Dad were gone?But that wasn't right.They couldn't be.Yorak wrapped his arms around himself and sniffled. They were wrong. His parents weren't missing and he would prove it.He raced through the halls, paying no attention to the Alteans he passed by. They were familiar with his boisterous antics anyway and were hardly fazed by the sight of him running. He didn't stop until he was standing in front of his parents' door, panting from exertion. Yorak stood on tiptoe to reach the keypad and hit the buttons in order just like he'd been shown and the door soundlessly slid open.“Mom?” Yorak called out as he stepped inside. “Dad?” His eyes landed on two people in the room, who stared back at him in surprise, and for a moment there was only silence.And then Yorak's vision swam as tears filled his eyes. He sniffled as the truth set in; his parents really weren't there. An ugly sob broke free and he started crying in earnest, too overwhelmed to know what else to do.Pidge and Keith exchanged a startled glance. They'd been quietly reviewing what they learned from Shiro and Allura and trying to come up with their own plans for getting home, when the door opened and presented a whole new unexpected dilemma.Hearing that she and Keith were married was as much of a surprise as seeing that he had a Galra form. And while Shiro and Allura hadn't said much more about the lives of “Katie” and “Keithir”, Pidge had put together her own assessment of them after looking at all of the photographs and shared them with Keith. Some he'd figure out on his own – like the fact that the Galra cub who appeared in later pictures was their son.The same Galra cub who was sobbing in front of them.Pidge had no idea what to do. Should she try to comfort him? Or go find someone who knew him? It didn't seem right to leave him alone when he was so obviously distressed, but--Keith was already moving. He knelt in front of the cub and reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. The cub responded by sobbing louder and latching onto Keith.“Shh, it's alright,” Keith whispered reassuringly.Pidge moved a little closer, watching in amazement as Keith slowly calmed him down. After a few minutes of soothing words, the cub pulled back and rubbed his eyes, only to freeze again when he got a good look at Keith.“D-dad?” His lower lip wobbled and for a moment, Pidge thought he might break down again. Violet irises set against gold sclera turned to her next. “Mom? But... but you're so little...”“We're not exactly...” Pidge faltered, unsure of how to tell him.“Where's Mom and Dad?” demanded the cub, standing up straighter. “What did you do to them? I want them back!”“We swapped places with them,” Keith explained, keeping his tone calm. (A feat Pidge admired him for, considering the current level of frustration she felt had her teetering on the edge of panic.) “We don't know how yet, but Shiro and Allura have some very smart people working on a way to fix things. And where we came from, I'm sure your mom and dad are looking for a way to get back to you.”Pidge took a deep breath and knelt down next to Keith. “I'm going to help too. I won't give up until you have your parents back, I promise.”The cub gazed at them for a long moment and then nodded. “'kay...” He shuffled his feat, ears twitching as he thought hard about something. “You look like them.”“We're kind of them, but younger,” Pidge said. “I'm Pidge and he's Keith.”“I'm Yorak.”At last, a name to go with the face.Yorak looked much more hopeful, if still (understandably) upset. “You're really gonna help?”Pidge nodded. “Absolutely.”That was enough for Yorak, who sniffled and rubbed his eyes, composing himself as much as a four-year-old could before leaving without another word. Pidge and Keith sat in silence for a long while, until Keith stood up.“How did you know what to do? With Yorak?” Pidge asked as she stood as well, stretching out her legs to alleviate the cramped feeling.Keith shrugged. “I just thought of what my dad would do. The rest was just, I dunno, instinct or something. Kolivan...” He paused to get his thoughts in order. “Kolivan says that's what my gut feelings are. It's Galra instinct.”“I'm glad. I was so busy thinking about what I should do, that all I could do was stand there, overthinking things like always.”“Better than being reckless and impulsive,” Keith muttered bitterly, turning his back to her as he walked to the bathroom. He shut the door behind him, signaling the end of that conversation.Pidge couldn't help but stare after him in wonder. What was that about?
ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Katie happily sighed as she curled into Keithir, content for the first time since waking in the unfamiliar reality. If not for the fact that her stomach had finally settled and was beginning to grumble, she would have happily stayed in bed with him for a while longer.“Think they'd be mad if we sneak out to the kitchen?” she asked sleepily.“They never said we couldn't,” Keithir murmured. “Want me to go so you can rest, or do you want to go too?”Katie reluctantly extricated herself from his arms and shook her head. “No, I'll go too. They might ask us to stay in place after this, so I may as well walk around while we still can. I also want to see if Hunk's there. I bet he'd answer some of the questions we have.”Keithir nodded in agreement and a few doboshes later the pair made their way down the too-quiet hall, thankful that the layout of the Castle of Lions was the same. They arrived unhindered and found Hunk and Lance hanging out in the kitchen. Hunk was busy baking, while Lance played the part of the taste-tester.It was such a familiar sight, that Katie found herself smiling at the two of them, any trace of apprehension gone.Hunk noticed them first. “You're here! Wait, are you supposed to be here?”Keithir answered him the same way he answered Katie earlier. “No one ever said we couldn't.”“Oh, um, yeah. No, I guess we didn't.” Hunk looked from them to the food and then back again. “So are you guys hungry?”“I don't recommend the food goo,” Lance spoke up, gesturing for them to join him on the bar stools.Katie looked a little green. “Yeah, I think I'll pass on that for now. Have anything peanut butter flavored?”Hunk shook his head. “I haven't managed that yet. What I do have is a bowl of berries that taste kind of like bubblegum, but also kind of not? I think it's just the texture that throws it off and makes it weird. Oh! I have bread!” He excitedly pointed to a loaf that was bright yellow in color with specks of red and orange. “I've been thinking about making a jam to go with it, but I haven't found the right fruit yet. Lance threatened to throw the berries out of an airlock when I tried to use them.”Katie and Keithir settled in next to Lance and listened to Hunk ramble on about his ideas for meals. Lance pushed a bowl of what resembled oatmeal toward them, along with a plate of what Katie recognized as quetzlflakes.Figuring it was the best of the (clearly experimental) food available, Katie spooned out some for herself and then passed it off to her husband.“Is it safe?” Keithir wondered out loud.“Well Lance is still alive. Seems safe to me,” Katie said jokingly.“Ha ha,” Lance said dryly, rolling his eyes. “Maybe next time I'll let you taste before I do.” There was a pause and then he grinned at them. “Things really aren't so different, are they? I mean, I know this whole war is different for you, but all of us are the same, right?”Katie took a bite of food and took a moment to chew and swallow before answering. “Everyone seems mostly the same. You and Hunk are just as inseparable in our reality.”Keithir chuckled, but otherwise kept his amusement at her statement hidden.Hunk perked up at the topic. “Will you tell us about them? Or anything about your reality? You took all that time to listen to us – well, Allura – fill you in on the basics of ours, but all we really know is that the two of you are married.”Katie figured it couldn't hurt. It wasn't like they were dealing with time travel, where they'd have to be careful about what they revealed. Still, she figured she'd start small.“Well, Coran has recently taken it upon himself to expand his knowledge of courtship in different planets we're allied with. They're highly entertaining to read and I think he inspired Shiro to write his own on what to expect while courting an Altean,” Katie told them.Lance and Hunk listened raptly as Katie talked about whatever silly thing she could think of. And while she'd initially hoped to gather more information for herself, bonding with the younger versions of her friends felt more important.That was how they spent the rest of their evening; like four old friends catching up on things they'd missed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
“You have a son?” Hunk asked softly.He and Lance had been rendered speechless with surprise after the newest revelation, which also included the fact that Keithir was Galra royalty.Keithir tugged a small, violet colored device from his pocket and tapped at the screen for a moment before passing it over to Hunk. “His name is Yorak.”Hunk “aww'd” over the picture, which was of Keithir and a small Galra child perched on his shoulders, both grinning at the camera. He took a few ticks to look it over before handing it to Lance.Lance cocked his head to the side. “Don't take this the wrong way, but he doesn't look anything like you, Katie.”“He's adopted,” Katie explained, amused. “There was an outcry from some of the Galra when we got married. They worried that any cub we had would be too human to lead, so when the opportunity to adopt Yorak came up, we took it.”“He's the nephew of my father's top commander. Yorak's parents were killed in a raid on one of the outlying colonies, but his uncle isn't the best with kids, so he asked us,” Keithir said, taking the device back from Lance.“Your reality sounds so nice. No war, you two are married with a kid...” Hunk paused. “But what about us? I mean, the Hunk and Lance of your world. You haven't talked much about them.”Lance brightened up. “Yeah! Am I married? Is she pretty? I mean, obviously, since it's me-” (Hunk snorted in amusement.) “-but is she?”Katie covered her mouth to hide her grin.Keithir put his device away, while struggling to keep his composure. “Ah, well... you're both happily married,” he said elusively, kind of enjoying dragging it out.“Yes!” Lance happily pumped a fist in the air. “What's she like? I wonder if she's someone I'll meet in the future. Or maybe I already know her! Is it Allura?”Hunk stared at them with wide eyes. “I'm married?”“On a serious note, are you both sure you want to know?” Katie asked. “We already know how different our realities are, and I don't want to make things weird for all of you. Just because it happened one way for u, doesn't mean it'll be the same for you.”“Now I really want to know,” Lance said, eagerly leaning forward.Hunk looked a little more apprehensive about what they had to say, but there was still a burning curiosity there that made him want to know. “It'll be nice to hear what we're like in a reality that isn't mind controlled by Alteans, like in that one that we ended up in a few months back. Not that we ever actually saw ourselves there. Just this odd version of Shiro...”That statement nearly derailed the entire conversation, except Hunk refused to say another word about it. It was a sneaky tactic and as frustrating as it was to have a potential answer for how to get home, Katie mentally applauded him for that bit of cunning.“We're revisiting that,” Katie told him.Hunk nodded.Keithir looked as though he was about to demand carrying on with that line of conversation right then and there, but with a look from Katie he stayed quiet. They had teased Hunk and Lance enough and they deserved to get their answers. Then the two could tell them more about their other interaction with a different reality.“When we left, the two of you were visiting Nalquod to renew your wedding vows for a fourth time,” Katie said, giving them a moment to process the information.“I, uh,” Lance stammered, looking wide-eyed at Hunk. He cleared his throat, struggling for a moment, and then gave his friend a lopsided grin. “Anything you want to tell me, buddy?”Hunk appeared mildly uncomfortable. “I don't – I mean, not anymore! There was this teeny little crush I had, but I'm over that, I swear!”There was a moment of silence as Lance gaped at him. Clearly that wasn't a response he had expected. He recovered fairly quickly and jokingly responded with: “I can't say I blame you. I am pretty cool.”Hunk let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and relaxed, relieved he hadn't messed things up between them with his revelation. It felt good to come clean after hiding it for so long. “Yeah, you are. Unfortunately, you also snore and that's why I knew we wouldn't work.”“I don't snore!” Lance protested.“As the person who was your roommate at the Garrison, I'm uniquely qualified to say that yes, you do,” Hunk teased.
“Oh yeah? Well you-! You, uh...” Lance paused as he tried to think of a good comeback. “You hoard food and don't share!”Hunk gasped in mock outrage.Katie and Keithir sat back and enjoyed listening to their friendly banter back and forth. As much as they wanted to hear a possible solution to their problem, they understood their friends needed a few minutes to reassure one another that nothing was going to be weird between them.“You know, I don't think we ever told Shiro about Sven,” Hunk said, seemingly out of the blue. He shared a glance with Lance, who followed along with the change of topic with an easy shrug.“That whole day was weird. It's kind of like we all agreed to never talk about it again without actually saying we'd never talk about it again,” Lance said. “Because, honestly, Shiro's alternate self was probably the least weird thing about it.”That was it.That was what Katie and Keithir were waiting for.“You guys saw an alternate reality and got back home on your own?” Katie asked, sounding amazed. “How did you do it? Tell me everything!”“It all started when we picked up on this Altean distress signal...”
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Someone was knocking at the door.Pidge wasn't sure how she should handle it. Allura had payed them another visit to bring them food and an update, promising that she'd have more answers in the morning, which Pidge assumed meant they were being left alone for the night.So who was knocking at the door? And why was Keith taking so long in the bathroom? She knew he liked to be alone, but it was getting ridiculous.She stood, glancing at the bathroom and then to the main door as whoever was there knocked again. “H-hello? Allura, is that you?”“Katie?”Not Allura.And not Shiro either. Or anyone she whose voice she recognized.What was she going to do? Allura and Shiro specifically said they wanted to keep the number of people who knew about the switch to a minimum; understandable, given that Keith was a Galra prince in that reality.Had she stayed quiet, she could have just ignored them until they went away, but it would be rude to do that after speaking up.“Just a second!” Pidge called out, hoping that Keith would wonder what all of the noise was about and come out to help her.No such luck.Pidge quietly grumbled as she shuffled over to the door, where she took a deep breath and stood up straight before opening it. A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and the faint trace of a beard stood on the other side, blinking down at her with oddly familiar eyes. He stared for a moment and Pidge shifted, thoroughly uncomfortable.“Sorry,” he blurted out, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Shiro told me what was goin' on and that I shouldn't bother you, but I had to come down and make sure you kids are alright.”The automatic response of “we're okay” hung on the tip of Pidge's tongue even as she tried to puzzle out who the man was. He was human, that much was obvious, but beyond that she honestly had no idea. She ended up giving no answer as Keith exited the bathroom at long last.She turned to face him when she heard the click of the bathroom door in time to watch him go perfectly still, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of the man standing in the doorway. He swallowed thickly and (to Pidge's immense surprise) tears welled up in his eyes.“Dad?” he asked, his voice breaking.Pidge's heart clenched as she registered the pain in his voice. She could only step aside and watch, feeling as though she was witnessing something so deeply personal that it would be wrong for her to stay, as Keith broke down and his dad strode across the room to comfort him.But Pidge had no place to go. All she could do was watch, helpless to do anything.She reached up and rubbed her eyes, blinking back her own tears that threatened to fall. In that moment, listening to Keith try and talk, she began to realize just how little she knew about her teammate.Hunk and Lance talked about their interests and families all the time and she'd heard so many stories of Shiro from her dad and Matt; even Allura and Coran, when they were in the right mood, would tell stories of Alfor and the way things were on Altea.But Keith had always stayed quiet. Everything she knew about him was what she observed for herself and when it came down to it, it wasn't enough.“It's alright, son. It's alright. I'm here now,” said Keith's dad.Pidge didn't know how long they'd be stuck there, but she was going to use that time to her full advantage. She'd get to know him better and convince Allura to let him spend more time with his dad, on top of helping Slav with whatever he needed. It was a lot, and she was sure she'd find more to add to her list, but she had the determination and drive to see it through.
Keith spent an hour talking to his dad and recovering from the shock of getting to see him again. He never could have imagined being in a reality where he was still alive, but there he was: older, but still the same as he remembered.Saying goodbye felt like an impossible task, even with the promise of another visit, and the moment his dad walked out of the room, Keith sank down onto the bed, completely drained.A few seconds later, the space next to him dipped down as Pidge settled in next to him.With a start, Keith realized she'd been in the room all along and he hadn't once stopped to consider how uncomfortable she must have felt standing there and watching. He guiltily looked over at her. “I'm sorry, Pidge.”“Sorry? Sorry for what?” she asked, sounding genuinely confused.“I – the whole thing with my dad. I didn't think.” He had no idea how to properly put it into words. He just knew that apologizing was the right thing to do.Wasn't it?Pidge frowned. “What? Keith, no. You don't have to be sorry for that! He's your dad! I'll admit I wasn't expecting that and next time I'll leave the room, but that's not something you need to apologize for. If anything, I feel bad that I couldn't give you more privacy.”“That's not your fault either,” Keith pointed out.He started to see what she meant though; neither of them were at fault. They were rooming together under strange circumstances and all they could do was their best, which meant that he needed to pull it together.He'd never been the best at that without a little help, but he though he could do it for Pidge's sake.She smiled up at him. “It's getting late. We should sleep.”“Oh, yeah,” Keith responded, getting up to look around some more. There had to be some extra blankets somewhere. Or maybe he could use a couple of towels? It wouldn't be ideal for sleeping, but it was better than nothing.“Keith, what are you doing?”“You can take the bed,” Keith said, debating with himself over whether or not it was right to go through the closet. Even if it did belong to another version of him, it still felt like an invasion of privacy to open up something so personal.“And where will you sleep? On the floor?” Pidge asked, sounding as though the very thought was absurd.When Keith turned back to her, it was to the sight of her rolling her eyes.“And what would you suggest?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.Pidge mirrored his pose. “In the bed.”Keith's jaw dropped. Had he heard that right? She couldn't really be suggesting they share the bed, could she? It wouldn't be appropriate! “But that isn't – I can't!”“Why?”“It isn't right, Pidge!”“Why?” Pidge repeated, uncrossing her arms. “Give me one good reason why. Do you think I'm going to molest you in your sleep or something?”“What? No!” Keith protested.Pidge pressed on. “Okay, then are you planning on doing something to me?”Keith shook his head before she even finished speaking. “No! I'd never do that to you. Or anyone else!”“Then I really don't see what the problem is,” Pidge said with an air of finality. “There's nothing wrong with two friends sharing a bed. And look, it's big enough for both of us to spread out without touching! If it really bothers you, then we'll figure something else out, but I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor.”Friends.Keith stared at her with wide eyes.That was the first time she'd ever referred to him as a friend. The first time anyone – outside of Shiro – had done so. He knew most people didn't need to hear it in order to know it was true, but it made it feel so much more real to him to be able to hear it.Pidge was his friend. Close to his heart in such an unexpected way.He looked at the bed and then back at her.“Okay.”
OLKARION – VOLTRON COALITION HQ
If Katie thought the Slav from her reality was unhinged, he had nothing on the manic personality that was the Slav rambling on in front of her. No one seemed to know what to do except let him keep talking, as any attempt to redirect him let only to frustration.He rambled on about probabilities and had two panic attacks over whether or not he knew how to breathe, before focusing on Katie and Keithir with razor sharp attention and falling silent for the first time since they entered the room.It was so unsettling that Katie thought she'd rather listen to him lose his mind over Shiro stepping on a crack in the floor again.“Fascinating,” he murmured, looking them up and down. “You two really are from another reality! How spectacular!”And just like that, the moment was broken as he unleashed a tidal wave of words that left them all scrambling to keep up. Details of his own theories intermixed with almost incoherent ramblings of someone who rarely knew what was happening in the world around him, punctuated by brief moments of what was almost clarity.Katie started to wonder if he'd really be able to help them after all.“And you two are married!” Slav said, sounding delighted as he broke away from detailing how parallel universes differentiated from alternate realities. “Congratulations, by the way!”“Thanks?” Keithir replied, completely baffled. “We've been married for eight years.”“Not for that! For the baby!”Katie's breath caught in her throat, one hand automatically rising to her belly.Keithir was even more bewildered by that statement. “But Yorak's four,” he said, looking to Katie for assistance. He took one look at her and knew there was something more to it than that. “Katie?”Guilt clawed its way through her chest. “I was going to tell you and then all of this happened and I... I just didn't want you to worry. You're already worrying so much about all of this!”She knew she was babbling and needed to calm down and breathe, but it was so hard! It was the completely wrong way for Keithir to find out. They were supposed to be on vacation! They were supposed to be sitting back and relaxing, not stuck in the middle of a ten-thousand year old war with their only hope of getting home resting in the hands of a complete lunatic!Slav blithely continued on, unaware of the distress he was causing. “A little princess! Quite the honor for Galra! Or is that another reality...?” And just like that, he was off on another topic.Keithir ignored him, stepping in front of Katie to block out everything else and give her something familiar and comforting to focus on. He lifted up her free hand and gently kissed hr knuckles. “We're having a baby?” he asked softly.Katie nodded, her whole body trembling as she sucked in air. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.”That was a discussion for another time, when they were both calm and there was no one else around to interrupt.“You wanted to surprise me,” he guessed. “Well, I can definitely say that I'm surprised.”She giggled, lifting her head to peer up at him with teary eyes. “We're having a baby. A princess, if Slav's right.”“Awww!”“Hunk!” Lance hissed.Hunk looked mildly abashed. “Sorry! It's just that they're so cute! And they're having a baby! Can you imagine it? A little Pidge and Keith running around!”“Which means that it is even more imperative that we return them home quickly,” Allura said, stepping forward. “There must be something we can do. Slav, do you have any ideas? Perhaps a beacon of some kind?”Slav looked panicked by the very idea. “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea the very horrors that could attract to us?!”“Okay, then lets not do that,” Shiro spoke up before Slav could go into details about said horrors. “Could we build something that any other versions of you would be able to hear or know about?”Slav swayed and opened his mouth to say something, but Shiro grimaced and held up his hand.“On second thought, never mind. That sounds like a bad idea.”Keithir wondered if it had more to do with not wanting to potentially deal with more than one version of Slav than whatever nonsense was about to spew out of the genius's mouth next.“What if we use the Lions?” Hunk suggested. He looked uncomfortable as everyone's attention shifted to him. “Okay, I know we figured that we can't use Voltron to travel through realities, since we don't know where we'd end up, but I've been thinking about it since our conversation last night-” (He nodded to Katie and Keithir.) “-and since the Lions all exist in both worlds, maybe we could use them as some kind of focal point. There had to be some kind of connection between them and if we use that, I bed we could trace it back to their reality!”“But that still leaves us with the problem of how we'd do that,” Katie pointed out, frowning as she considered the idea.“Aren't we supposed to have some kind of 'mystical connection' with the Lions? Maybe we just do more of those mind bonding exercises like we did when we first got the Lions.” Lance blinked as everyone turned to him instead. “What? No good?”“Actually, that's a very good idea,” Allura said, sounding surprised. “It's worth a try, unless Slav has a better idea?”Slav stood there for a moment, not blinking or speaking.Allura sighed. “Slav.”“Oh, you mean me?” he asked, pointing at himself with all four left hands.Allura's right eye twitched as she struggled to retain composure. “Yes. I mean you.”“Okay.”There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for Slav to catch up and answer.“What was the question again?”Everyone groaned and prepared for an even longer afternoon than expected.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Pidge tried to roll over, but there was a heavy weight across her middle, anchoring her in place. Soft puffs of warm air tickled her neck and she frowned as her slumbering brain struggled to compute what was happening.She knew before opening her eyes that it was Keith, but how he had latched onto her in his sleep without either of them waking up was a mystery. Pidge watched him for a few minutes and tried to decide the best course of action.Should she wake him?Should she let him keep sleeping?If the situation was reversed, what would she want Keith to do?None of those questions led her to a satisfactory answer, though she did come to the conclusion that staring at him was mildly creepy and she should stop doing that immediately.Keith inhaled deeply and Pidge went still and shut her eyes, making the split second decision to pretend like she was still asleep. She felt him tense against her as he woke up and took in their positions, and then, with a mumbled curse, he moved away from her.Pidge involuntarily shivered as that side of her body went cold without Keith's heat pressed against her. She opened her eyes again and turned her head to watch him get out of bed and head straight to the bathroom. He didn't take long, unlike the day before, and exited a few minutes later.“Did I wake you?” Keith asked when he saw her.“Oh, no. No, you're okay,” Pidge responded, taking a moment to sit up. “It's time to get up anyway. Allura said she'd bring news with breakfast, right? She'll probably be here soon. So even if yu did accidentally wake me up, it would have been for the best, since I want to be awake and ready for whatever she has to say. But you didn't! Wake me up, that is.”Well that was awkward.Pidge thought she'd like to sink into the floor after that disastrous attempt at putting him at ease.Keith stared at her in obvious confusion, but before he could say anything else, there was a knock at the door.“News delivery!” Allura cheerfully called from the other side.Pidge slid out of bed and made herself look as presentable as she could in rumpled, day-old clothing while Keith went to let Allura in. Pidge was in the act of finger combing her hair into a more manageable mess when Allura walked in with Shiro right behind her, both of them with their arms full.“Breakfast and new clothes,” Shiro said, noting their confusion.“Yes, we can't have the two of you wearing the same thing all the time! That's unhygienic.” Allura crinkled her nose as she passed off one bundle to Pidge and the other to Keith. “I'm afraid we had to guess at your size, Keith. I hope it all fits. You don't have to try them on now, of course. Please, eat while the food is still warm!”Keith was already in the act of setting aside his new clothing in order to take a plate from Shiro, happy to dig in. Pidge did the same, though she was briefly tempted by the thought of wearing something clean. (It would be much nicer to shower first, then change clothing.)The pair sat down on the bed to eat while Shiro and Allura began to fill them in on what had happened since they last talked.“Slav has been running more tests with help from Coran and Hon – ah, other trusted individuals,” Allura told them. “Apparently, he added scaultrite mineral to his device just before showing it to Katie and Keithir, but didn't take into consideration adding a stabilizer for the discs, which we believe is what led to the malfunction that brought you here. On the bright side, we believe it's the key to sending you back and retrieving our friends, however... the discs were shattered and we have no scaultrite currently in reserve.”“Coran's putting together a team to go collect more, but it will take time,” Shiro said reassuringly.Keith grimaced. “If he needs help, I'm not volunteering this time. Once was enough.”Allura looked excited. “I've always wanted to see a weblum for myself, but mother and father have forbid it. Is it really as exciting as they say?”“It was awful,” Keith said bluntly, and went into no detail after that.Shiro quickly moved on. “Coran knows a few people who are familiar with the process and they'll be taking care of gathering scaultrite, so there's no need to worry about that. Our task is less dangerous and won't take us out of the Castle, but it's the most important one. None of this is going to work if we can't find the right reality to send you back to.”“But how?” Pidge asked. “We've told you everything important that we could think of. What more can we do?”“That we're not sure of, but Slav insists that he needs more data. I'm sure that between all of us, we can figure something out,” Allura said.Pidge went back to her breakfast and tried to think of what else could help them. There had to be something more. Something they were missing. Something nagging at the back of her mind, like a forgotten whisper.“We're still closing off the paladin wing of the Castle, so it will be at least another day before you two can leave this room,” Shiro said apologetically. “We're also cleaning up one of the spare rooms for you. It'll be ready by then.”One of the rooms.So, they'd still be sharing. The thought filled Pidge with more comfort than she expected. As odd as it was to suddenly share a very confined space with Keith, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle being all alone. He, at least, was familiar, even if he was acting more distant than usual.Keith had always been the lone wolf of the team, and really only talked to Shiro when he needed help. That had only become worse after he discovered his Galra lineage and they lost Shiro immediately after. But he'd pulled it mostly together to lead them for a while and she thought for sure that things would go back to the way they once were the day Keith and the Black Lion picked up a distress signal, but it was almost like Keith completely reverted once Shiro was back as leader.Or maybe he was worse.Pidge lowered her gaze to her food and tried to focus on eating instead, as bitter feelings began to rise up the longer she let her mind stray to events of their recent past.It was best to focus on the present. She needed to focus on the present and deal with the problem set before hr. Getting them both home safely was paramount.“We'll leave you two to yourselves for a bit,” Allura said, exchanging a meaningful glance with Shiro. “There are a few things we have to oversee, but we'll send some company your way. Enjoy breakfast! And once you've changed clothes, just toss your old ones into the chute and we'll make sure to have them cleaned and returned to you.”“We'll see you later for lunch,” Shiro promised before he and Allura left the room.Pidge and Keith finished their food in silence.
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Keithir felt nothing from the Red Lion.He sat and spent what felt like hours meditating and trying everything he could to reach her, but no matter what he did, he received no reaction. While not surprised, it didn't stop him from feeling as though he'd failed.When he met up with Katie, who'd been trying to do the same with the Green Lion, he could tell by the look on her face that she'd gotten the same result.Nothing.“We knew it was a long shot,” she said with a tiny shrug. “I just hoped... I mean, they have to know we need their help, right? Or can they not help and this is their way of showing us that?”Keithir opened his arms and drew his wife in close as she gravitated towards him, needing comfort. “We'll keep trying. Maybe there's something we're missing. Maybe our other selves need to be in the Lions too.”“But then you'd need to be in the Black Lion, wouldn't you?” Katie said, sounding unsure. “Or would he need to be in Red...?”Keithir kissed the top of her head. “We'll keep trying. You never give up on a piece of tech just because it doesn't work out the first time, and we won't give up jut because this didn't work the first time. We're going to get home, Katie. We'll find a way.”“We always do, don't we?” Katie said, pulling back to look up at him fondly. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, relishing in the offered comfort, and then stepped away. “Thank you.”Keithir held her hand as they walked back to rejoin the others on the bridge. It was still a surprise to him that Allura gave them such free reign to roam the Castle as they pleased. He had to assume it was because there were only the seven of them aboard the ship – occasionally more when Kolivan and the rest of the Blade of Marmora boarded to discuss their next plan of action.He'd never considered the Castle of Lions to be particularly large, especially in comparison to the Daibazaal citadel and the Altean royal palace, but it felt massive with so few people populating its halls. It was a stark reminder of just how different their realities were and of the horrors Allura and Coran had been forced to go through at the hands of his people.Katie squeezed his hand and he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.No.Not his people.He couldn't think of them that way after everything that they'd done to the universe. His people would never-!He thought of Lotor.Of the Galra who openly mocked his father for marrying an Altean. Those who called it a weakness. Who thought Zarkon weak.Of the ones who threatened Katie.Of those who betrayed their emperor, claiming to support the old ways of the Galra – the ways of war and conquest, over peace and prosperity.If they had someone they trusted as leader, someone to rally behind, it wouldn't be difficult for his people to stumble down the same path, however much he hoped otherwise. It terrified him to think about.Keithir wondered if Allura ever felt the same way. Keithir had heard from Katie and his mother of devices capable of shutting off a person's free will, turning them into obedient slaves. The worst part was that the victim would be aware of everything, locked away in their own mind to suffer through the injustice. Allura and her father, King Alfor, quickly shut down the program and ordered the destruction of all research on the subject, but the possibility of such abuse of power had still existed, born from the mind of an Altean alchemist.Maybe he had nothing to worry about and thinking about such things would only lead him down the path of constant paranoia.His father was a strong and proud leader, whose friendship with King Alfor was known far and wide. No Galra would dare rise against him. Keithir himself had won the loyalty of the majority of his people, if not for his tireless pursuit to keep the peace, then for his foresight to adopt Yorak and name his his heir.Keithir had to keep faith in his people. He knew them. He'd grown up with them. He knew they were more than capable of great things, and, aside from the rare few, all preferred the peace that covered their part of the universe.They would be fine.And so would the Galra of the reality he found himself in. They'd been led down the path of war for far too long, but seeing Kolivan and the Blade working hard to change that gave him hope.Kolivan could change it all.Voltron could change it all.But first they had to get Pidge and Keith back.Keithir glanced down at Katie. 'We always find a way.'
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
“We leave you all alone for one week and come back to find you've lost two paladins!”“Welcome back, Lance,” Allura said without looking up. “Did you two have a good time in Nalquod?”Lance crossed his arms over his chest, staring down Allura while Hunk caught up after his long sprint through the castle. Hunk looked a little winded as he came to a stop next to his husband, his brows furrowed in concern as he noted the lack of people on the bright. It was just the two of them, Allura, and Coran.“Nalquod was great, but that's not what we're talking about right now. What's going on, Allura? You sent that message about an accident with Katie and Keithir and them being missing and something about another reality and then nothing else!” Lance barely paused for breath, and as he talked his anger drained from his voice, leaving behind frustration and fear.Allura stepped away from the console, leaving Coran to continue without her. “I am sorry we had to call you back like that. I will admit, we've been a bit panicked and were not thinking clearly. The situation is... complicated and we're trying to keep it as quiet as we can. It wasn't something we could fully explain through a message.”Allura took a deep breath and began to tell them everything that had transpired over the past three days, starting with the malfunction of the trans-reality extrapolator and ending with moving Pidge and Keith to one of the unused rooms so that, while they were still sharing a room, they could each have their own bed and space.“We told Emperor Zarkon and Honerva, of course, as well as Katie's family and Travis. Everyone who has the knowledge to help is pitching in,” Allura said. “Hunk, once you've settled back in, I'll take you down where they're working. Another set of eyes will certainly be of value.”“Anything I can do?” Lance asked.“I could use a hand with coordinating everyone from here!” Coran piped up.Lance looked a little discouraged.“Pidge and Keith could use a friendly face. Someone they'll be comfortable with. I've been afraid of saying names to them, in case I mention someone who they are not on friendly terms with,” Allura said.It was far from ideal, but Lance could admit that it sounded better than standing around on the bridge, waiting for video calls. It still rang of busywork to him. Something for him to do for the sake of having something to do, while everyone else worked on the really important stuff.He shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sure. I can do that.”“Shiro will join you once Koichi is down for his nap. I think he plans on taking Keith to the training deck today. We're hoping that since it was one of Keithir's favorite places, Keith will be the same.” Allura sighed, glancing back at Coran before shaking her head and walking towards Lance and Hunk. “Pidge may want to join them, but if not, just make sure she doesn't stray out of the paladin wing. The fewer people who know about this, the better?”“Shiro's not helping Slav?” Hunk asked, not in a manner that indicated confusion, but instead amusement.Allura laughed gently. “No, he says that it's a matter a bit beyond his expertise, though he's willing to listen whenever I talk about it.” There was a pause as she grinned at them mischievously. “And also if he has to be in Slav's presence, he's afraid he may throw something at him.”Lance laughed, feeling better about his role in everything, and patted Hunk on the shoulder. “Have fun talking science with Slav. I think I'm going to enjoy a nice, relaxing day with Pidge.”Hunk made a disgruntled sound. “Are you sure you don't want to trade?”“Sorry, babe. Not a chance.”Lance playfully leaned in and kissed Hunk on the cheek, dancing away when his husband tried to grab him and retaliate. Allura covered her mouth to hide her giggling.“How about I go ahead and get things back to our room, so you can get to work,” Lance suggested.Hunk blanched. “You don't have to do that. It wouldn't be fair to make you do all of the heavy lifting. I'll help you first. Like Allura said, I should get settled in first and then I can go help.”“It's four bags and they hover. Unless you think I'm too weak to pull them along with me?”“No, of course not, but-!”“Great!” Lance clapped his hands together and gave Hunk a bright smile. “Have fun, babe!”He took off before Hunk could get in another word, mentally vowing to make it up to him later. Maybe with his free time, he could plan the Best Honeymoon Ever, since theirs had been interrupted. He could even pester Pidge for ideas! Sure, she wasn't the same as Katie, but he bet she'd have some interesting thoughts on it, all the same.Unless she wanted to go to the training deck too. Then he was absolutely taking the chance to show off his superior shooting skills and impress them with his bayard's secondary form.After that he could plan all he wanted.
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Keithir had tried everything he could think of to communicate with the Red Lion. Meditation didn't work. The special headsets designed to heighten mental concentration didn't work. Begging the Red Lion for any sign that she could hear him didn't work. Sleeping in the cockpit didn't work.He was at the end of his rope. He had been so sure that the Lions had the answers, but neither Red nor Green were willing to open up to them. Keithir was starting to think they weren't able to. Maybe the Lion-Paladin bond was completely different in that reality. After all, the others all looked confused when he and Katie tried to explain it to them.Still, Keithir couldn't give up. He refused to. There was one last thing he could try.He took a deep breath and knocked on Shiro's door. It slid open a moment later and Shiro greeted him, his voice coated with surprise.“Is everything alright?”“Nothings wrong, but I had a thought and I need your help to do it.” Keithir waited a moment to give Shiro time to respond. When he nodded, Keithir continued. “I started to think, if your Keith can pilot the Black Lion, maybe that's why Red won't respond to me. She's Lance's Lion here, not mine. If I try to communicate with the Black Lion, maybe she'll listen.”“Are you asking for permission?” Shiro asked. “Because you don't need to. If you think that's what you need to do, then go for it.”Keithir shook his head. “I'm asking for your help. If both of us go to her and try to make the connection, maybe that will work. I would ask Lance, but I get the impression he doesn't like me all that much.”Shiro chuckled. “He does butt heads with Keith a lot. Sometimes to the detriment of the team, but there's still trust between them. If you asked for help, he wouldn't turn you away.”“He'd just lord it over me,” Keithir guessed. It was what his Lance would do – had done, on the rare occasion Keithir asked for his help. And of course, the reverse was true.“Only for a few months,” Shiro joked with an easy grin. “Hopefully you'll be home before then. Keith would have to bear the brunt of it instead.”Keithir snorted in amusement. “I'd hate to be the cause of that.”“Do you want to do this now? I have time,” Shiro said.Keithir shook his head. “Kolivan asked to see me, so I shouldn't keep him waiting for much longer. Would later today be alright with you?”“Any time you're ready.”Keithir thanked him and walked away with a lightness to his step. Even if it didn't work, at least he knew he was trying everything he could think of. Trying was better than sitting around and listening to Slav babble on about things that didn't make sense to him.He met up with Kolivan in one of the smaller meeting chambers, where he also found Katie waiting for him. She greeted him with a smile and a kiss.“What's going on?” Keithir asked curiously.“There is a mission. One which I hoped to send Keith on, but you are equally as well equipped for this. I would trust no one else,” Kolivan said.Keithir frowned and looked to Katie in confusion. “You know about this?”“I do,” Katie confirmed. “You should listen to what he has to say before you decide.”What was so important that Katie thought the risk was worth it? Because it was a risk. A mission in the middle of a war. There was so much that could go wrong; too much that could go wrong.“We have a spy stationed under Warlord Ranveig, who has reported the finding of a vial of highly unusual quintessence. Unfortunately, she no longer has access to it and says that Ranveig has used it to create a dangerous weapon. With the way things are going lately, I believe her position there is no longer safe. Your mission will be to get to her and convince her to return with you.”“Why me? There have to be other members of the Blade who could do this,” Keithir said.“You are the only one she will listen to.” Kolivan didn't go into a deeper explanation than that and turned to the podium next to him, passing his hand over the top to bring up a holographic image of a Galra woman with short hair and markings on her face.For a moment, Keithir stopped breathing.She was someone he'd only ever seen in the pictures his dad kept, neat and tidy in a small photo album. There weren't many of them – Travis said that he worried what would happen if anyone else saw them, but the few he had were cherished by them both.Keithir swallowed and reminded himself to take a breath. “Mom's alive?” He barely heard Kolivan's response. All he could focus on was how close he was to seeing her. For the first time, he could have a conversation with her; it was a chance to get to know her and learn more about his Galra lineage.He wouldn't have another chance.He glanced to Katie and her understanding gaze gave him the strength he needed.“I'll do it, but first I need to know everything you have on this base and Ranveig. The fewer surprises I face, the better,” Keithir said.Kolivan nodded in agreement and got to work detailing all of the data he had, thanks to Krolia. Katie stayed by Keithir's side, asking questions of her own in support of her husband's choice.It wouldn't be easy by any stretch, but Kolivan was certain they could draw Ranveig's attention elsewhere, which would leave Krolia in charge and alone in the base. It would be Keithir's best shot at getting in and out without detection. The real challenge would be convincing Krolia it was best for her to leave.“When do I leave?” Keithir asked.“Tonight.”
Katie wished she could go along with him. If she could pilot the Green Lion, she was sure she could have tagged along using the active camouflage, just to provide backup in case of an emergency. She was sure Green could keep her and the baby safe.She smiled and placed her hand over her belly.While the delivery of the news had been far from what she had planned, she was glad Keithir knew. Intentionally hiding her pregnancy from him would have taken a toll on her, and probably would have made him worry about her more than if she'd told the truth.“No secrets,” she reminded herself of their old promise.Katie took a deep breath and went on her way, hoping to find Hunk or Lance so she would be too distracted to constantly wonder where Keithir was or if he was in trouble. Her best bet was to start with the kitchen and broaden her search from there.Surprisingly, neither of them were there. They also weren't in what Lance dubbed the “super cool hangout space” or in their rooms. She was sure they weren't out on a mission, but just in case, she headed towards the bridge.“...like this.”“I don't you don't,” Allura said, sounding tired. “But so far, all of the information he has given us has proven to be correct. I don't see why this should be any different.”Katie stopped in her tracks just before the turn to the bridge, listening to Allura and Lance talk. She frowned, quietly moving to stand against the wall and get as close as she could without being discovered.“But why? Why tell us any of this after he tried to kill us in the past! There has to be something we're not seeing,” Lance said persistently. “We can't trust him, Allura!”“I don't trust him, but if Lotor is willing to give us information, then it is my duty to accept that and use it to our advantage,” Allura said, her voice calm.“Lotor!” Katie hissed under her breath, unable to stop herself. She covered her mouth with her hand, praying they hadn't heard her, but as footsteps came towards her she knew she was busted. Katie stepped away from the wall as they turned the corner and saw her.“Can I help you with anything, Katie?” Allura asked politely.Cursing herself for revealing her location, Katie shook her head. “I was just looking for Lance, but it's not important if you two need to talk.”“No. We're done here.”Lance frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Katie beat him to it.“You can't trust Lotor.” She faltered slightly when Allura raised an eyebrow, recognizing a warning when she saw it. But she couldn't let it go. “I don't know what he's like here, in this reality, but if he's even a fraction similar to the Lotor I know, you can't trust him. He twists the truth to his advantage and manipulates everyone, making it hard to pin the blame solely on him. He makes you think he's helping, but it's only because he has something to gain from it.”“He's giving us information on how to defeat the Galra. How would that be of benefit to him?” Allura asked.“It's hard to know with him. We didn't know, right up until we were caught up in his trap,” Katie said. “He hid the Red Lion from us, and when Keithir and I got in the way of his plans, he plotted to kill us and destroy the Red Lion in one go. He didn't count on Keithir being her paladin. If not for that, I don't think we would have survived.”Allura had nothing to say in defense of Lotor after that. “I am glad you both survived. We will be cautious and continue to double check anything he tells us, but that doesn't mean I can ignore tactical information.”Katie bowed her head in understanding.She hated it. Knowing that Lotor was being held somewhere in the castle. So much could go wrong with that, especially if the others were as divided as Allura and Lance on how to handle it.Katie would have to investigate for herself.
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
They were still restrained to one room.Well, that wasn't quite true. Allura told them they could go anywhere in the paladin wing of the castle, but all that consisted of was the kitchen, their bedrooms, and the lounge. It was nice to be able to get food on their own, but other than that there was nothing for them to do. Staying in their room felt like the safer choice.Pidge ached to have something productive to do. To get her fingers on a keyboard or any piece of tech to tinker with. All of the visits were nice, but there was only so much company either of them could handle. Lance and Shiro dropped by around noon, and while it'd been fun to see what her friend would look like in another ten years, Pidge found herself struggling to make conversation with him. She was grateful that Lance came to see her and that he didn't take offense to her lack of desire to talk, and he'd even promised to bring a game to play the next time.Keith's dad came by again, bringing with him a giant blue wolf, and after he was gone, Pidge's family arrived. She spent most of that hour crying from seeing them all together again, which started a chain reaction for all of them.By the time it was just her and Keith again, all Pidge could feel was relief.She flopped down onto her own bed with a groan and decided that moving was overrated.“I've been thinking about something.”Pidge mumbled into her bedding.“Are the Lions here made from the ore of one of those comets? The whatever-reality-bending one?” Keith asked.Pidge frowned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. “The trans-reality comet? I guess they could be. We know that at least two of them existed, so why not more?”“What if that's our key to getting home? I mean, Voltron is the whole reason we were able to cross over into another reality and get home the last time, so can't we just do that again?”Pidge paused to think about it. “That's more of an idea than any I've had, but last time we had to know the exact point we breached through. You and I were in two separate places when we crossed over and there's also the machine to consider.”Keith didn't looked surprised or disappointed by what she was saying. “We'd have to form Voltron too.”That brought up a good point. Would they be recognized by the Lions? It was something worth looking into.“Think we can convince Shiro to let us see the Lions?” she asked.Keith grinned at her for the first time since their arrival. “I think I can manage that.”It wasn't much of a plan, but it was more than what they had before. Pidge thought they finally had something she could work with, and it was all thanks to Keith.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
NEAR RANVEIG'S BASE – (STOLEN) GALRA FIGHTER
Patience had never been something Keithir had an abundance of, (as Thace loved to remind him) which made sitting back and waiting for the right moment a monumental task. The familiarity of his borrowed Blade uniform and the feeling of a mask hiding his face from view served to aid him, a physical reminder of what was at stake.He kept his eyes on the orbital base. At any moment, he would have his sign that it was safe to approach. Kolivan had laid out the plan very clearly and Keithir wouldn't be the one to deviate from it.There!Keithir leaned forward, hands gripping the controls as a cruiser departed the base and sped a good distance away before going into hyperdrive. He let a few more ticks pass and then a low frequency hum came through his comms and he guided his ship towards the base, keeping a wary eye out for unexpected movement.He anchored it to the underside, out of sight in case Ranveig or anyone else returned sooner than expected. After that, it was a matter of slipping in through a nearby maintenance shaft and avoiding all sentries as he made his way to the security center, where Krolia was meant to stay and monitor all transmissions until Ranveig's return.Keithir made it past all of the patrols he encountered without making a single slip-up, ducking out of sight and waiting until their heavy footsteps went by. He paused just outside the door, taking a moment to prepare himself before going inside.She stood at the center console, her eyes on the screens around her to keep track of what was happening witch Ranveig. She glanced at Keithir as he walked in.“I told Kolivan it was too early for an extraction. There's still more I can do here.”It took everything in Keithir's power not to react to hearing her voice for the very first time. He never thought it would matter that much. Honerva was his mother; she'd raised and cared for him all his life, not always perfectly, but in the best way that she could. He never needed more than that. But the moment he heard Kolivan say that Krolia was alive, all of that changed.“Kolivan wouldn't have sent me if he didn't think it was important,” he said, once he found his voice. He deliberately shifted to his human form and then removed his mask. “We should hurry, before Ranveig returns.”Krolia looked taken aback by his appearance, staring at him for a tick too long before collecting herself and nodding. “I just need a moment to set the hangar doors to automatically open as Ranveig approaches. The longer it takes for him to realize I'm gone, the better chance we have at getting away.”“I may have something to help with that.” Keithir removed a small drive from his pocket and handed it to Krolia.She took it and looked it over critically, recognizing it as Blade tech. “What will it do?”“Exactly what you're trying to do, but it will also cause a lockdown once Ranveig is inside. Katie designed a quick learning virus to thwart any attempts to override it,” Keithir said, trying not to smirk. He loved bragging about how smart his wife was. “That will keep him busy for a while.”Krolia looked unsure, but plugged it in anyway. “I hope you're right. Ranveig is smarter than he looks.”“And Katie's a genius. If she says it will work, then it will,” Keithir easily countered.Krolia let the virus download onto the ship and then removed the drive, passing it back to Keithir. There was no more talking as Keithir led the way back to his ship, continuing to carefully dodge patrols. (The less Ranveig knew about Krolia's disappearance, the better.)Keithir was well aware of his mom watching his every movement as he unhooked the ship from the underside of the base and began to pilot them back to the Castle of Lions. His palms began t sweat.Surely she had noticed his age didn't line up with how much time had passed. She had to see how much older he was. Any moment, she would asked about that.“Did Kolivan tell you about the strain of unusual quintessence we found?”“I'm-” Keithir stopped himself as his mind processed what she was actually asking. He furrowed his brow, thinking back to everything Kolivan told him earlier that day. “He said that it was more powerful than any quintessence he has record of, but that Ranveig used all of it on some kind of weapon. Should we go back for it?”While it wasn't part of the mission, if it meant turning the tide more in Voltron's favor, it would be worth the risk.“No, it's too dangerous to transport,” Krolia said. “I spent time analyzing the radiation of the ship we found it on and all of my readings indicated that it passed through the Quantum Abyss. We have to find out for certain.”Keithir had first heard of the Quantum Abyss from his mother – Honerva. It was a place where the flow of time was easily disrupted and distorted; where hostile creatures capable of taking out entire fleets lurked in space rock and debris. She'd told all of that to caution him about the perils of space flight when he was first learning to pilot.Naturally, the possibilities of what could be found there fascinated him as a cub and it was a long-held dream of his that one day he would be good enough to explore and map it himself. As he got older and heard more stories of those who'd tried to do just that, his enthusiasm waned and he turned his focus onto things that were less life-threatening. At least, until some time during his fourth year of marriage to Katie, when she stumbled across files detailing the unusual zone of space and they worked together designing drones capable of entering it and mapping out a safe path. All of their work came to a stop when they adopted Yorak shortly after.It wasn't worth the risk.Keithir kept them on track to the Castle of Lions. “I can't. My mission is to take you back to Kolivan.”“He would understand that we have a duty to find out where this quintessence came from,” Krolia argued. She kept her voice level and calm, but there was a spark of heat there. “If this is the work of Zarkon and his witch, we have to destroy the source before they can use it against us.”Keithir flinched. “I can't,” he repeated, thinking of Katie. He took a deep breath, keeping his thoughts on her, and relaxed his grip on the controls. “If you really feel like you need to do this, I'll help you once we get to the Castle of Lions. There are Altean shuttles there that would be better equipped for your journey, but I can't go with you, mom. I'm sorry.”There was a silence so still that Keithir's ears rang, though that may have been because his control over his shifted form was slipping. He quickly adjusted his focus to keep from doing so in front of her.The last thing he wanted to do was try to explain that he was from an alternate reality while they were stuck in such a cramped cockpit.“So you already know.” Krolia's voice was soft when she spoke again.“Dad has pictures. He likes to talk about you.”Krolia's smile was a sad one. “I've missed him. I've missed both of you so much, Keith.”Keithir had to swallow his words as the radio crackled to life and Coran's voice came through to say he had a lock on their location and was opening a wormhole to bring them back.Space lit up blue in front of them.
In a way, Katie was glad for something to do. With her lack of focus, her only other option was to pace back and forth on the bridge. She was sure Coran was equally as grateful, if his relieved sigh when she made an excuse of going to see the Lions was any indication of his feelings.Of course, that had only been an excuse to get away. Coran didn't need to know that her real goal was to sneak down and find where they were keeping Lotor prisoner. She had enough context clues to know that it was somewhere near the cell she was kept in when she first arrived. If she could find that, it would be her best starting point.Katie traveled down through the Castle, checking out rooms and halls as she went. Her footsteps echoed around her, no less eerie than the first time she noted the emptiness of the Castle. It made her wonder how Pidge was handling things back home. There was always someone awake and walking around there. Did she miss the quiet?She supposed it was peaceful, in a way, and allowed the paladins time to bond without distraction.It also made it impossible to sneak up on anyone.Katie slowed to a stop the moment she heard a second set of footsteps echoing alongside her own. Within a few ticks, Lance strode up next to her, his hands in his pockets.“You're going to see Lotor.”“I don't want to talk to him, I just want to see where he's being held,” Katie said truthfully. The last thing she wanted was to give Lotor something to use to his advantage. Seeing that he was there would be enough for her.Lance looked at her for a moment with a frown on his face. “You don't trust us when we say he's safely locked up?”“I don't fully trust Beta Traz to keep him and I helped update the security there,” Katie said. “It's not you guys that I don't trust; it's Lotor. He's talked his way out of trouble too many times for me to not be cautious.”Lance relaxed at her words. “Yeah, I kind of get that vibe from him. Hunk keeps telling me I need to relax and appreciate that he's willing to work with us, but it feels so wrong to me. I tried talking to Shiro too, but he just brushes me off! It makes me actually miss Keith. He'd be with me on this.”“How did Lotor end up here, anyway?” Katie asked, sensing an opportunity to get some answers while no one else was around.“He used his super-powered comet ship to take down a barrier and save us from a galaxy destroying bomb and then turned himself over to us, so naturally we now listen to whatever he has to say,” Lance told her, sounding bitter. “It doesn't make any sense! Just a month ago he was trying to kiss us, and now he's here telling us everything he knows about the Galra, and sure, it's all turned out true so far, but how long will that last? What happens when he gets tired of playing nice? What does he want from us?”Katie stayed quiet, letting Lance go off on a much-needed rant.“I keep thinking about what you said earlier; what does he get out of all of this? He could've let us all die and then there wouldn't be anyone around to stop him anymore! Is it because of the Lions? Zarkon was always after them, so maybe Lotor wants the same? But he already has a ship made from the comet, so that doesn't make any sense!“I just... I don't know what to do,” Lance admitted, loosing a bit of steam. He slowed down to catch his breath. “Everyone else acts like I'm making a big deal about this. Maybe I am. Maybe Lotor has made a change for the better and this is his way to make amends.”“It took us three years before he slipped up badly enough that we got proof of his wrongdoings, and Keithir and I almost died for it,” Katie said. “The Blade had been looking into his actions for even longer than we did. None of us could predict what he would do next or what his goal was. I guess what I'm trying to say is, at least when the moment comes, he won't take you by surprise. You'll be ready.”Lance didn't look very reassured by that, and Katie couldn't blame him.“Hey,” she said, nudging him. “Wanna help me sneak in to get a look at the security? I may have an idea for an improvement or two.”“I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to make sure you get nowhere near Lotor, buuuut...” He dragged out the last word as he grinned at her. “If you find your way into the room next to him where there's a one-way mirror, I don't see how that's breaking any rules.”“Lead the way!”
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
The more Shiro tried to explain the bond between the Lions and Paladins, the more confused Pidge felt. It was on a completely different level from what she'd experienced and it was hard to wrap her mind around it all.They were sentient beings, with unique personalities and preferences, and that was pretty much the same, but then Shiro started talking about their form of mental communication and how they could use it to influence their chosen Paladin. He lost her more when he made mention of a second type of bond shared between the Paladins and how it was strongest between the two arms and the two legs.“It's an impossible feeling to describe with words,” Shiro said. He looked at Pidge and Keith as they sat on the floor together and tried to focus on “reaching out to their Lions”.Keith frowned.Pidge groaned and stretched out her legs, giving up on any type of meditative pose. “This isn't working.”“Then lets try something different,” Shiro said, being supportive. “Instead of trying to connect to the Lions, why not each other?”Pidge glanced over at Keith, who scowled at his knees. “We've never felt that kind of bond you keep talking about. And I'm not sure it'll work. Lance pilots the Red Lion where we're from.”Shiro blinked in surprise at the information. Somehow, during the hour they'd been working at connecting to the Lions, the subject of which one they piloted never came up. Pidge was sure she'd mentioned Green, but Keith hadn't breathed a word.“Then which one does Keith...?”“Black,” Pidge responded promptly, but Keith had a different answer.He got to his feet and avoided looking at either of them. “None of them. I'm not a paladin anymore.”Pidge gaped up at him. “That's not true!”“Yes it is. Shiro pilots Black. You have Green. Lance has Red. Hunk's in Yellow. Allura pilots Blue now. Sorry, but this wasn't a good idea. I can't help afterall.”Shiro's and Pidge's protests fell on deaf ears as Keith pulled up his hood, hiding his facial features from view, and headed back towards the paladin wing.Pidge stood up, unsure of what to do. Should she chase after him? Give him space? It was so hard to know which one was best for Keith when he was in a mood like that.And it had been happening a lot since they arrived. (Or at least, Pidge couldn't remember Keith being so broody during their time on the Castle of Lions.) It was like there was something weighing him down – dragging him down – but if he wouldn't open up and talk to her, then what could she do? She couldn't force him to talk and trying would only result in him closing himself off.She glanced at Shiro, wondering if he had any advice, but he looked just as lost as she felt.It was something she would have to figure out on her own.Too bad they didn't share the type of bond Shiro mentioned. That would have made it much easier to understand what was going on with Keith. He sounded okay when he suggested the Lions the night before, so what changed? Was it because he couldn't communicate with Red or Black? She was in the same boat with her inability to reach Green, so she understood that it was discouraging, but maybe there was something beyond that. Maybe It was a bunch of little somethings all piling up and adding up over time until it became too much.“Sorry, Shiro,” she apologized as she pulled on her hood. “We'll have to try this again later. Thanks for helping us.”Pidge saw him nod before she turned and left, finding her way back to their room and hoping she'd find him there. Luck was on her side, as he was sitting on his bed when she walked inside. She approached slowly, giving him ample time to ask to be alone, but he didn't move as she sat next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.“Keith?”“Sorry,” he mumbled.“It's been a stressful few days. I'm surprised I haven't broken down yet. I've been told I get mean,” Pidge said, only half joking. “We'll take a break and then we can try something else. I'm not willing to rule out the Lions yet, are you?”Keith weakly shrugged. “I don't think it'll work for me.”“Why not?” Pidge asked gently.“None of them came to help the last time I was in trouble.” Keith took a deep, shuddering breath, the simple statement draining him more than he thought it would. “I... When Naxzela happened... you guys were so far from the command ship. I had to try and do something. None of our attacks were working. I... I was desperate.” He looked at Pidge and there was something pleading in his gaze. “I knew if I could take out the barrier, Matt and the others would have a chance. I thought... I thought my ship would be enough.”Pidge went cold.Keith hadn't really-!“That thing Shiro was talking about with the bond, I've felt it. Or I think I have,” Keith continued. “The other times Red came in to save me, there was this weird feeling. Like... I don't know. An emotion that wasn't my own. But that didn't happen then. I didn't feel anything.”Pidge wasn't aware of the tears spilling down her face as she scooted closer to Keith and stretched her arm across his shoulders, giving him an awkward hug.“Sorry, Pidge,” he apologized again.With some hesitance, he shifted to wrap an arm around her waist, reciprocating her hug.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Krolia hadn't known what to expect when Keith mentioned a castle, but the building settled in with the Olkarion cityscape still took her by surprise. It was unlike anything she'd seen before, with sleek high spires and lit with light blue. It looked out-of-place, like someone had picked it up from someplace else and deposited it within the city.She glanced at her son, who looked tense as he carefully guided them towards the castle. Below them, the Olkari stopped to point and stare in fear, but they must have been warned about the Galra craft beforehand, because no one tried to strike them down from the sky.They flew down to the castle and easily glided into the hangar, parking off to one side. A small group of people were waiting for them when they disembarked, and Krolia was relieved to see Kolivan among them.Keith walked towards them, but rather than go report to their leader, he headed straight for a young human woman with brown hair. He pulled her into his arms and Krolia watched as his shoulders relaxed, his tension draining away.“Welcome back, Krolia.”Her gaze snapped to Kolivan and she inclined her head. She tried her best to pay attention to him, but something kept drawing her back to her son.There was something... off. She couldn't say for sure what it was, but she could feel it.“I am glad you came,” Kolivan said. “I worried that not even Keithir would be enough.”“It almost wasn't. Kolivan, why am I here?” she asked.“We have a situation here which requires my attention, and I have had difficulties managing both that and my duties as leader. I should have called you in months ago, but felt your position under Ranveig too important. Now, however, things have changed,” Kolivan told her.Krolia frowned. “What of Antok? Surely he'd be a better...”Kolivan glanced away.
Oh.
Krolia's stomach churned at the revelation. “Kolivan, I'm sorry. Of course I'll help you, in whatever way you need, but what's so important that you feel you need to divide your attention?”“Currently, this castle is playing host to two visitors from another reality. We have been working to return them and bring back the two who were sent to their reality. It is a complicated matter, but one of great importance to our cause. Of the missing pair, one is a paladin of Voltron, and the other is a member of the Blade of Marmora.”Krolia looked around, wondering who it was that came from another world. Her eyes fell on Keith once more.Keith, who kept casting her guilty looks and then immediately averting his gaze.Keith, who she was starting to realize looked older than he should.Keith, who had point-blank refused to travel through the Quantum Abyss, no matter how important it was to her mission.Krolia swallowed. “You called him 'Keithir'.”“That is how he introduced himself after the swap happened,” Kolivan said.He wasn't her Keith.There was a sting of mild betrayal there. Why hadn't he told her the truth from the start. (Because she never would have believed him.) Didn't he trust her? (He was afraid of how she would react.) Why hadn't he corrected her when she called him “Keith”? (She would have had so many questions from such a simple correction.)Keithir glanced her way again and she straightened her spine, making a split-second decision on what to do. He watched her approach with no small amount of trepidation, and flinched when she reached for him.Krolia abruptly pulled him into a hug, giving him no room to pull away. He stiffened up until he realized what was happening and then wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back tightly.What universe he came from didn't matter, he was still her son.Keithir pulled away after a few long ticks and turned slightly to his left, gesturing his friend forward. “Mom, this is my wife, Katie.”There was so much to take in – other realities, a wife, the purple color starting to bloom across his cheeks – but Krolia let it all slide over her. She'd stop and ask questions later, but right then she was going to enjoy getting to know her family.“So is your face supposed to do th- OW!”Krolia listened, bemused, as the two younger humans began to quietly bicker, while everyone else sighed and did their best to ignore them. It was easy, as Keithir shifted form completely, the purple spreading across his face in the form of short fur. He grimaced as his ears elongated and transitioned to the top of his head, sprouting longer fur than on the rest of his body.When his transformation was finished, there was only one thing Krolia could think of to say: “You look like your grandfather.”“Really?” he asked, sounding surprisingly pleased.There was something else she was missing. Something she didn't really want to think about, but her mind drifted in that direction against her will. He knew nothing about their family history and there were only a few reasons for that to happen.Even in another reality, she had missed out on being with her son. She would never be able to change that, but she could start trying to make up for it. Whatever he wanted to know, she would tell him, and in the process get to know him and his tiny wife. (And then later, she would get the chance to do it all over again, once they got Keith back.)
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
There was a Galra who Pidge didn't recognize waiting in the hall when she went to leave. She froze in the doorway, taking in the Blade uniform and the lack of mask. He seemed friendly enough, despite his lack of smile, but that didn't stop Pidge's brain from jumping to wild conclusions as to why he was there.She thought Kolivan was the only one of the Blade who knew they were there. How had he found them? Was he supposed to know? And if he was, why hadn't Kolivan told them? Just who was he?“Umm...”“Apologies, I didn't mean to startle you,” he said. “I was hoping... Is Keithir – sorry, is Keith here?”“Pidge, what's going on?”She jumped, startled by Keith's voice as he exited the bathroom. He walked over to join her with a frown on his face and stared up at the Galra with confusion.“You're... Thace?” Keith said, struggling to recall his name.Pidge could dimly recognize the name. She was pretty sure that was the name of one of Kolivan's spies on Zarkon's command ship; the one who they lost communication with, resulting in Keith volunteering to infiltrate to infect the ship with a virus.“I am,” Thace confirmed. “I was hoping you'd join me on the training deck this morning. Of course, you're more than welcome to join us, Pidge.”It was tempting. She didn't want to be out of shape by the time they got back to their reality, and it would be nice to fight alongside Keith again, but the call of her stomach was louder. “I might join you later,” she told him.Keith was already pulling his Blade uniform out of one of the drawers, preparing to put it on.They'd decided the anonymity of the uniforms was perfect for the times they needed to travel beyond the paladin wing of the Castle, but Kolivan recommended they only do so in the company of Shiro, Allura, or a trusted member of the Blade, like himself or Regris. (Pidge supposed Thace counted too.) She'd have to find someone to take her once she was done in the kitchen.Pidge left them there, heading off on her own when she saw how comfortable Keith was with going along with Thace. She wasn't sure if it was the familiar name or if Kolivan had specifically mentioned him as someone trustworthy, but she knew he would be okay. Aside from Shiro, who was basically Superman, Keith was the strongest person she knew. If he ran into any trouble, he'd be able to get himself out of it.The kitchen looked empty when she arrived, but the smell of peanut butter lingered in the air and the plate of perfect cookies sitting on the counter told her she'd just missed Hunk. At least, she assumed it was Hunk. For all she knew, Lance had taken up baking as a way to impress his husband. (She didn't think she'd ever get over the fact that they were married. It was weird, but natural at the same time. Or at least it wasn't impossible to see how they'd be good together.)Pidge figured it wouldn't hurt if she had one or two cookies. She went to reach for one, but a tiny, purple hand beat her to it, feeling around on the counter before landing on the plate and then carefully withdrawing back down the other side.She had a pretty good idea who the cookie thief was.“Yorak?”A tick passed, and the hand reappeared with the cookie and placed it back on the plate. Pidge stifled her laughter.“You know, I don't think Hunk would mind if we share one,” she suggested, picking up the same cookie and splitting it evenly.Yorak peeked around the corner, his big ears twitching in curiosity. He brightened when she held it out to him and happily walked over to accept it. “Thank you!”Pidge kept an eye on him as she began to nibble on her half, pleased by the taste of peanut butter on her tongue. He reminded her a lot of Matt: polite, but not without a streak of mischief. She doubted he was supposed to be unsupervised in the kitchen and could only guess that he'd once again sneaked away from whoever was watching him.As before, she had no idea what to do. At least Yorak wasn't crying and seemed content to quietly munch on his treat, but that would only last so long.Pidge chided herself for such thoughts. If she could handle facing down the likes of Sendak and his underlings, she could handle a simple conversation with a child. She just needed to calm down and think of a simple subject and go from there.“Peanut butter cookies are my favorite,” she remarked.Yorak paused to properly chew and swallow. “Mom likes them too. They're good, but chocolate chip are better, especially the way nana makes them.”Pidge found herself starting to relax. “It's hard to beat a classic.”Yorak looked pleased with the acknowledgment, but said nothing else, choosing to watch her with his head tilted to the side instead.Any other time, Pidge would have appreciated the quiet. Social interaction wasn't her strong suit and it usually worked for the better for her if she let someone else take the lead. (Which was what was so nice about being friends with Hunk and Lance, who could do so as naturally as breathing.) With Yorak, it felt awkward. Like he was waiting for her to take charge.Time for a new topic.“Yorak?”Pidge visibly deflated in relief. She was saved!Yorak quickly stuffed the rest of his cookie into his mouth as an Altean woman with graying hair and dark robes swept into the room, an exasperated but fond expression on her face. She paused at the sight of Pidge before walking over and scooping Yorak up into her arms.He squealed in delight and buried his face into the crook of her neck.“You've had your grandfather very worried about you,” she gently scolded. “I know it isn't fun being cooped up all day, but you must be patient with us for a little while longer. And you will apologize for running off.”“Yes, grandmother.”Pidge looked at the woman with renewed interest. If she was Yorak's grandmother, then that made her Keithir's mother. The thought threw Pidge off momentarily before she came to the logical conclusion that she was his step-mother. Perhaps she was the reason for Keithir's status as “Prince” though she wasn't sure how, since Allura and her parents were the ruling family of Altea.There was a massive chunk to the puzzle of that reality that Pidge hadn't been given, and it was going to drive her crazy if she couldn't find out what was being hidden from them. Would it really hurt to tell them more about the lives of their other selves, especially for Keith? What if there was some clue to getting them home that was hidden in the secrets being kept?Pidge had plenty of time to do some digging and find out, considering her role in repairing the machine so far was reduced to daily updates from Allura and brief discussions of theories to pass on to Slav and his team. With Yorak's grandmother, she had her first opportunity to find out a few things.She finished off her cookie and cleared her throat to get the woman's attention. “Uh, hi?”The Altean turned to face her with a soft smile. “Hello, Pidge. Thank you for watching after him. I hope he wasn't much trouble for you.”“Oh no, he's great,” Pidge quickly assured her. “I only got her a few minutes ago.” She paused, feeling a rush of uncertainty. The woman probably wanted to get Yorak back to where he was supposed to be. She should let her go.“Sorry, but who are you?” Pidge blurted out, unable to stay quiet in the end.The woman didn't look at all offended. “I am Honerva.”It took Pidge a few seconds to recall where she'd heard the name before. It was only once, when Allura and Coran explained the origins of the Lions and the events leading to the destruction of Altea and Daibazaal.Honerva was the wife of Zarkon.Pidge backed up as a very real fear began to build in her gut. She fought to remind herself that they were at peace with the Galra and the there was no reason for Zarkon or anyone associated with him to attack her and Keith.They were safe.“Pidge, I am sorry. I should not have... Allura mentioned you have great reason to worry and urged myself and my husband to keep our distance,” Honerva said, keeping her voice gentle and low. “I should have listened, but I will admit that my curiosity got the better of me.”Pidge swallowed her fear. “You and Zarkon, you're Yorak's grandparents? But Keith's dad – I mean, I've met Keithir's dad, so how...?”Honerva adjusted her hold on Yorak. “It is a bit of a long story, but I have time if you'd like to hear it.”“I wanna hear,” Yorak said.Whether it was the sincerity in Honerva's voice or Yorak's eagerness to hear the story, Pidge sat down to listen to what Honerva had to say. Maybe none of it would matter in the long run, but the more she knew, the better prepared she'd be for any more “surprises” thrown her way.“Nearly thirty deca-phoebs ago, the Blade of Marmora was investigating a rebel unit who desired to gather the Lions and use them to build an army capable of taking down the combined forces of Daibazaal and Altea...”
Pidge's talk with Honerva left her with a great amount to think about. She'd thought it was strange how many similarities their two realities shared, so to finally hear some differences put her at ease, and it also made her think that maybe it was because of those similarities that they were able to pas between them. Those parallels formed a bridge; fixed points that were the same, or very nearly the same, and any differences were there to balance things out. The key to going home had to be there somewhere.She'd mentioned as much to Honerva, who promised to look into it more, but it was something Slav had brought up a number of times and thus far they hadn't had much luck with it.Pidge had so many more questions and theories and ideas as she settled cross-legged on her bed to wait for Keith's return.Like, how were they able to pass through without any protective equipment? Was it because of Slav's machine or was it residual protection from the Lions? Would they still be protected when it was time to go back? What would happen if someone who wasn't alive in the other reality got sent through? Would it even be possible? And if it was possible, would they be able to get them back?She was sure she'd have the answers if Allura would let her in on the meetings, but the last time she asked, the princess recited security issues that Pidge was finally starting to understand the reasoning behind.She'd assumed it was to keep people from panicking over two missing paladins, but it was more than that.Keithir was the crown prince of Daibazaal, and as his wife, Katie was the princess.Pidge closed her eyes and fell back on the bed with a soft “oof”. Her thoughts bounced around as she took a moment to relax and breathe.She may not be allowed to sit in on meetings, but that didn't mean she was without options of her own. Slav and his team could handle the machine and any equations and algorithms needed, and she would work on building a bridge.The Lions were the strongest similarity – the strongest connection they had between the two realities. They hadn't had any luck in getting Green and Red to respond, but maybe they were going at it the wrong way.She had one more idea to try, and they'd need Shiro's help to do it.
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Keithir found himself in the Black Lion's hangar early the next morning, staring up at the massive Lion while waiting for Shiro to arrive. He wasn't sure what to expect from her. There was every chance that they'd get the same response as they did from Red and Green – silence.“Work with me, girl,” he murmured as they doors slid open behind him and Shiro walked in, clad in his armor. Keithir raised an eyebrow.“Sorry. It's a habit,” Shiro explained with an amused grin. “Ready to try this?”“Absolutely,” Keithir replied.As Shiro walked up, the Black Lion lowered her head and opened her mouth, letting them both inside. Shiro let Keithir sit down in the pilot's seat, choosing to stand behind him with a hand on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke as they closed their eyes and cleared their minds, both opening themselves up to the Black Lion.Keithir's breathing evened out after a few doboshes and a strange, floating sensation washed over him.And then he felt it.A pinprick of surprise that wasn't his own. It fueled his determination and he chased after it, following it deeper and deeper into the dark haze until he stumbled through a curtain into an empty plane lit by a colorful nebula.He glanced at his hands, taking note of the faint glow around them, and nearly fell to his knees in relief. “We did it! Shiro, we did it!” Keithir turned, expecting to see the other man standing with him in the Astral Plane, but there was no one else. “Shiro?” he called out, looking around in confusion.In the distance, the air distorted and Keithir braced himself for trouble.A shadowy figured formed and the air smoothed back out as it moved forward. The closer it got, the more Keithir could make out distinct features, until he could say with absolute certainty that it was Shiro standing in front of him.Except something was wrong.Shiro stared at him, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Keith, is that you?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
THE ASTRAL PLANE
Keithir watched as Shiro's form grew more solid the longer he stood in front of him.“Keith, is that you?” Shiro asked, his confusion plain on his face. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”“Find you?” Keithir repeated.Shiro nodded. “I tried to reach you before, but I wasn't strong enough. This form is a recent discovery. I think the Black Lion is helping me maintain it.”Keithir held up a hand, unable to follow what Shiro was saying. “Wait, what are you talking about? You were just with me, remember? And I'm Keithir, not Keith.”Shiro paused and looked him over a second time. “So I didn't just imagine that... It's difficult to keep up with what's happening outside of this place. I get these flashes, I think from the Black Lion, but it's hard to piece things together. Your appearance...” He averted his gaze. “I left Keith in a bad place, when he was just starting to come to terms with who he is. I never wanted... This place reflects the way you feel inside, so when I saw you, I thought it could be that he was starting to see himself as more Galra than human.”As Keithir watched, Shiro's form flickered and for a moment he could see a Shiro who bore no scars and whose hair was still entirely black. He blinked and Shiro looked the way he had when they first met.“I don't understand, if you're in here, then who is with us outside of this place?” Keithir asked, trying to focus on what was the most important.“I don't know,” Shiro answered honestly.Keithir crossed his arms over his chest. “Whoever he is, he seems to have all of your memories and mannerisms. He has everyone convinced that he's you. He can pilot the Black Lion too!”“Because of me.”“Because of – but why?”“He wanted to,” Shiro said with a shrug. “I could hear him pleading with Black, so I gave him the chance. Look, whoever he is, wherever he came from, he honestly believes that he is Takashi Shirogane. There's nothing I can do about it from here, so I just have to hope that nothing goes wrong.”Keithir's head spun. The last thing he expected was a third Shiro in the Astral Plane, but there he was! He was going to need a new way to differentiate between them if things went on for much longer.“You said your name is 'Keithir', right? You and your Pidge crossed over from another reality?” Shiro asked, trying to get his limited facts straight.“That's why I'm here,” Keithir said, holding off on his other questions for the time being. “We're hoping that the connection between the Lions will be strong enough for us to follow it home, but if this is as far as I can go, then it looks like we've hit another dead end.”Shiro made a sound of disagreement. “I wouldn't say that. I've been here for, well, a while, and I still find new things. Doorways and windows into different levels of the Astral Plane, all with their own unique purpose. This place is only the surface.”“So if we find the right doorway...”“It could lead us to your reality,” Shiro said confidently. “But we have to be careful. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets.”Keithir's excitement began to rise as it sank in that he really had a lead on how to get home. He couldn't wait to get back and tell Katie! But at the same time, a more sobering thought occurred: Shiro couldn't leave.Shiro was stuck there with no hope of escape, while his doppelganger walked freely, and that wasn't something Keithir was okay with. Shiro was always willing to help him and it was his turn to repay that. All he had to do was figure out how.“Do me a favor and don't tell the others about me when you go back. I don't want to add to their worry,” Shiro said.“But what if there's something they can do to help? Shiro, they deserve to know!” Keithir protested.“Not this time,” Shiro refuted. “At least, not yet. Look, I don't want to keep this from them either, but for now it's best to stay quiet. You can tell your Pidge if you'd like, but not the others.”Keithir still hated it, but acquiesced to Shiro's request. He could stay silent about it for a little while, so long as Shiro planned on eventually letting the others know. Getting permission to tell Katie helped as well.Before he could ask any questions about how Shiro ended up as a bodiless entity inside the Black Lion's subconscious, the air behind Shiro began to shimmer oddly. Keithir raised a hand to point out the abnormality, prompting Shiro to turn and look.“Is there anything dangerous that comes here?” Keithir asked.Shiro shook his head and frowned. “I've never seen anything like this. The Black Lion is enough to keep things away, but maybe both of us here is too tempting. Stay on guard.”Keithir nodded, though he wasn't sure what he could do if there was something coming for them. Would his blade be enough?They watched as a tall, rectangular space continued to distort before them, forming what almost resembled a doorway, in which two figures began to take shape. It took a few doboshes, but slowly the figures came into focus and Keithir could make out some familiar details on the taller of the two.“Shiro?” Keithir took a small step forward and lifted his hand, hesitating mere inches from the abnormality. “Can you hear me?”“Keithir?”The rectangular space rippled violently before smoothing out, revealing the crystal clear image of a Shiro with pure white hair and matching Altean markings. Next to him was Keith, who stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes.“It really worked!” Keith breathed in amazement.The four of them took a moment to let their success sink in and then it was onto business and figuring out what their next step would be.“It's clear that the Black Lion is the connection we've been looking for,” said white-haired Shiro.Keithir shook his head. “It isn't only that. None of this would work if we didn't have the two of you in the correct reality.” He gestured to the two Shiro's. “Both of you working with the Black Lion is what gives us the connection we need. The question is: how can we use it to get home?”“I know Slav and some others have been working on some kind of machine over here,” Keith spoke up, casting an unsure look in white-haired Shiro's direction.Astral Shiro spoke up next, offering what advice he could based on his limited knowledge of everything that was happening. “Your first step will be to tell the others about what you've found. From there, they can find a way to test it. Maybe Slav has some ideas. I'll be here to relay messages, so we don't have to worry about timing.”Keith frowned. “You're staying here? Is that safe? What about the team?”“Keith, I...” Astral Shiro swallowed and looked away. “I can't leave. I've been stuck here since our battle with Zarkon.”Keith's blood ran cold as he stared at his oldest friend. “What? But... but I found you!”Astral Shiro wore a pained expression as he explained what he remembered about it all. There wasn't much, just pain as he and Zarkon fought for full control of the Black Lion, a feeling like floating, and then waking up in the Astral Plane.The more he spoke, the more awful Keith felt.He hadn't even questioned it when he found “Shiro”. He should have. What were the odds that he would escape from Galra captivity a second time – and without any help? He'd been so caught up in the euphoria of finding Shiro alive...“Shiro...” Keith choked on his name, unable to say more than that.“It's not your fault, Keith. You couldn't have known,” Astral Shiro said gently.“I should have!” Keith protested, finding his voice. “The moment that we saw the Black Lion wouldn't respond to him, we should have known something was wrong! I should have known!”White-haired Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can't go around blaming yourself. It sounds to me like no one could have known. Now that you do, we can find a way to put things right.”Astral Shiro shook his head. “You all have enough on your plate right now. Don't worry about me. I'm fine here.”“I'm not leaving you here like this!” Keith said fiercely.“And neither am I,” Keithir agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think all of the answers to getting us back to our realities are with Slav and his machine. We don't have a clue how it works or what went into it on this side, so let us focus our energy on how to set this right.”“I still don't think it's a good idea to let the others know. I don't want them to panic. The only thing I know for sure about this other Shiro, is that he really believes he's me, but will that last if he knows the truth? Or say you don't tell him, do you really think everyone will keep acting as though everything is alright? Will they still treat him the same? We don't know where he came from. For all we know, this could be part of an elaborate trap. He could turn on everyone and we wouldn't be at full strength to stop him.”He had a good point and Keith felt sick just thinking about it. Still, he wasn't sure he could keep it a secret from Pidge and stay sane.“Keith,” Astral Shiro softened his voice. “I'll tell you the same thing I told Keithir. You can talk to Pidge about this, but I'd rather no one else knows.”“I'd like to talk to Allura about this as well. She may have a few ideas,” said white-haired Shiro.Astral Shiro sighed the way he did when he was struggling to keep his composure and not let anyone know he was feeling frustrated, something Keith saw most often lately when Lance was feeling particularly playful.He reluctantly agreed that the other Allura could know, but to hold off on telling anyone else. Keith wished he could tell everyone; he didn't want Shiro to spend another second alone in the Astral Plane, but there was nothing they could do about it at that moment.“I'll be back,” Keith promised as he and the white-haired Shiro prepared to leave. “We're going to find a way to get you out of here. I won't give up until we do.”Astral Shiro looked at him fondly. “I know.”The world turned to smoke around him and then went dark. Keith breathed in deep and opened his eyes to find himself back in the Black Lion's cockpit, his limbs stiff as though he hadn't moved in hours. Next to him, Shiro carefully stretched, likely feeling the same stiffness.“I need to get back to Allura and tell her what we found out,” Shiro said. “But first I'll walk you back to your room.”Keith stayed quiet as he pulled up his hood and activated his mask in preparation for the walk back up through the Castle. He followed behind Shiro, thinking about what he could do to help his friend. Despite his promise that he would get him out of the Astral Plane, Keith didn't think it was possible for him to do anything. Most likely it would be up to someone like Pidge or Allura. Maybe even Coran.That wouldn't stop him from trying.He wasn't going to lose Shiro. Not after everything he'd done for him. Not after everything Shiro had been through.“We'll figure this out, Keith. I'm sure Allura will have an idea that we can try. I'll let you know the moment she does,” Shiro said.Keith nodded, suddenly noticing that they were standing outside of is room. “Hey, Shiro? Thanks.”“Any time, Keith.”Shiro smiled and then left Keith to face Pidge on his own. He took a moment to think of how he would tell her and then went inside, where his words promptly failed him at the sight of his dad and Pidge chatting at the tiny dining table.“Keith!” Pidge stood up to greet him. “How did it go? Did it work?”“It did, but-”Pidge squealed and ran up, throwing her arms around his neck in pure joy. “That's great! What happened? Tell me everything!” She drew back, confused by his lack of excitement. “You... you aren't happy. What happened?”Keith focused on Pidge as he tried to remember how he wanted to break the news to her. “What if I told you the Shiro we found in that Galra ship wasn't the real Shiro?”“What are you talking about? Of course it's Shiro. Who else would it be?” Pidge asked, her brow furrowed.“Pidge... The real Shiro is in the Astral Plane. He's been there ever since our fight with Zarkon.”For the first time since he'd known her, Pidge was shocked into silence.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
With a connection established, Slav and his team were able to press on with their work with renewed enthusiasm. Shiro traveled back to the Astral Plane a half-dozen more times, twice with Keith, relaying information to the other side and learning whatever he thought could help about what they were doing over there. As days passed and they gained a clearer picture of what it would take to get everyone home, a new problem swiftly emerged.Shiro held up a hand to stop Slav's unending flow of words that he could barely follow. “Sorry, but I don't think I can understand most of that in order to properly relay it. It would be different if I could carry notes with me, but the Astral Plane doesn't work like that, remember? Everything there, from the way you look, to what you carry with you, is based on personal memory.”Slav crossed his arms over his chest and gave Shiro an unimpressed look. “You're telling me you can't remember a simple thing like-”“No, I can't,” Shiro interrupted before Slav could get rolling again. “We need to match this tech exactly on the other side in order for this to work, right?” He looked around the room, gazing seriously at all of the genius minds gathered into one place.Honerva and Alfor were carefully studying the blueprints, while Coran hovered over their shoulders. Allura wrung her hands in worry. Hunk stood back with Lance and Travis, who were mostly there out of curiosity. Slav stood, unmoving, staring up at Shiro with narrowed eyes.And then Slav sighed. “Ah, you're right! How can I expect anyone to accurately describe the brilliance of my machine? I'll simply have to build another one and send it to them!”“We can do that?” Allura asked, sounding surprised.“Of course!” Slav responded as though it were the obvious answer. “Though getting our delivery person back is more... questionable.”Honerva looked up. “You are not seriously considering sending someone over, are you? The only reason we have a shot at getting Keithir and Katie back is because a perfect swap occurred. We would have to replicate that in order to send someone over and have a chance at getting them back as well. Would we be able to do that?” She turned to Alfor for assistance.“It would require new calculations and reconfiguring the device, which could take days with all of the tests we would need to run. It is doable, but it will take time,” Alfor said.“The longer we wait, the more of a risk we run,” Hunk pointed out. “Do we have that kind of time?”“Question!” Lance blurted out, waving his hand in the air.Everyone turned to look at him, but Lance said nothing more and kept his hand raised expectantly in the air. A few ticks passed and Shiro sighed and asked: “Yes, Lance?”He lowered his hand. “For those of us who aren't total nerds, what's all of this about? I thought we only needed the one intergalactic thingy-” (“Trans-Reality Extrapolator,” Slav grumbled.) “-you know, the same one that caused this whole mess. Why do we suddenly need two? And why can't we send it over on its own?”“To begin with, the fact that this swap occurred with a single machine and no one got hurt or lost is truly a miracle. The second machine is needed to make absolutely sure that everything goes correctly, and for that they have to be as close to identical as we can get,” Allura explained. “It's the last piece we need to put into place, now that father and I have used our knowledge of alchemy to follow the connection to the other reality and worked out how to apply it to the extrapolator.“As for why we cannot send it over on its own... Slav – and the rest of us – fear that if it ends up somewhere else, it could be used for great evil. The chances of it not arriving in the correct universe are much higher than if we send someone.”“So basically, we have no choice but to send someone?” Lance asked.Allura worried her lower lip. “We would rather not, but if it is our only option... We still have a few days before everything is prepared. I would like to try sending Pidge with Shiro once again and see if we get a different result before we do anything drastic.”Shiro wasn't so sure that repeating the attempt would make a difference, but he was willing to try again. Whatever it took to get everyone home and also keep everyone in the correct universe. (And that was one problem he hadn't expected to have.)“I'll talk to her about it later,” he promised.Everything about getting Keithir and Katie back was more complicated than any of them imagined, but at least there was progress and a possible date in sight. In less than a week, they could have their friends back.“So why can't we send Keith or Pidge over with the machine?” Lance asked.Allura paused. “It is a valid suggestion, but we want to ensure a smooth swap to get them back. Sending someone over is easy, but bringing them back is not. With the swap, we don't have that problem.”The door slid open at that moment, interrupting their meeting, and in stepped Alanna with baby Koichi in her arms. He smiled the moment he saw Shiro and reached his arms out toward him, babbling, “Dadadadada!”“Sorry,” Alanna apologized as she walked over to him. “He's been missing you both. You know I can't resist those eyes when he asks for you.”Shiro gladly took his son, swinging him up into the air and smiling at the delighted squeal he got in return. “Did you miss me, buddy?”“Miss you!” Koichi parroted back, throwing him arms around Shiro's neck. “Where's mama?” He peered around until he spotted Allura and then pointed. “Go there, dada!”Shiro chuckled and pointed to Alfor instead. “You want to go there?”“No! There!” Koichi protested, giggling.“Oh, that way!” Shiro turned around walked toward Allura, who met them halfway, greeting Koichi with a kiss on the forehead.Koichi reached for his mom, and Shiro transferred him over to her with practiced ease. He spent a moment watching the two interact before remembering that they were in the middle of an important discussion.“We'll continue this later,” Shiro told the others. “Slav, do what you can and I'll talk to Pidge later so we can try again with the Black Lion. It seems I've been neglecting a very important duty and need to attend to it now.” He watched Allura raise Koichi into the air and swoop him back down as he giggled and begged for her to do it again and again.He had a beautiful family to spend time with.
Pidge hadn't known what to say when Keith told her about Shiro being in the Astral Plane. It all sounded so unbelievable! But then again, had someone told her a year ago that she would find herself in space, working with aliens, and piloting a massive robot lion, she never would have believed that either. (Not to mention all of the other crazy things she'd seen and done.)Once she got over her shock, it was time to get to work, figuring out exactly what she could do to help. Much like their reality-swap dilemma, it seemed more like something she'd have to take a backseat in and let someone else do all of the work.That didn't mean there was nothing she could do. Her purpose was just a little different from usual.She sat down next to Keith as he towel-dried his hair after another lengthy training session with Thace. (One interesting thing she'd learned about Keith was that his habit of keeping his things neat and tidy also extended to his hygiene. He showered after every training session.)“I've been thinking a lot about Shiro, and I know Allura said something about a way that our Allura can help, but I feel like there's still more we can do before then. Or more we have to prepare for. I mean...” Pidge sighed and glanced up at Keith to find him staring back, giving her his undivided attention. She blushed a little at the attention and averted her gaze.“We have the real Shiro in the Astral Plane, who has no body to return to, which is why he can't leave. And then we have our impostor Shiro, who we know nothing about. Like, where did he come from? Who or what is he? I considered an android for a while, but I personally helped run diagnostic scans on him when we found him and he is one-hundred percent flesh-and-blood human. Or, well, almost one-hundred percent, with the arm and all. So I asked Allura if there have been any attempts at cloning in this reality, just to know if it's possible, but she says its a type of alchemy banned across all Alliance planets and colonies.”“But what else could he be?” Keith interrupted.“I don't know. I've considered shapeshifters too, but there's no ability like that in the Planetary Database – or at lease, nothing that results in sharing memories or looking exactly like someone else,” Pidge said. “A clone is the only thing that makes sense, and when you consider everything that the Galra have done to expand their empire, it wouldn't surprise me if they perfected cloning at some point. With Shiro's arm, it would be easy to implant memories and control him in a way that wouldn't be obvious to us.”“A clone...” Keith looked away, his brow furrowed in thought. “We really couldn't have known. If it weren't for this whole situation, we wouldn't have found out.”Until it was too late.Pidge didn't know what the Galra were planning with Shiro, but she knew it wasn't good. They needed to deal with it as quickly and quietly as possible, without letting the clone know something was up. She was sure they had some way of keeping an eye on him, or else there was some sort of trigger that would have him enacting their plans, like a sleeper agent.“His arm has to be the key to all of this, right?” Keith asked. “It's like what you and Hunk talked about before when Shiro started to remember how Ulaz helped him escape.”Pidge nodded. “It's the most likely way they're controlling the clone. If we can remove it, that should be enough to stop him, but...” She hesitated, not sure how Keith would react to what she was about to say. She was still working out her own feelings about it all. “Just remember, this is all theoretical. I won't know for sure until Allura tells me more about her idea and we get back to the others.”“Pidge, I don't care what it takes to get Shiro back. You have no idea everything he's done for me,” Keith said, completely serious.“There's a moral issue that I'm not sure the others will easily overlook,” Pidge admitted.“But this is Shiro we're talking about!”“I know,” Pidge said gently, laying her hand over his. “I know, and I'm with you. I'm just saying that this clone looks, acts, and thinks like Shiro and that's not an easy thing to ignore. There's also the question of whether or not this clone counts as a living, breathing person. What do we do if Shiro refuses to leave because he believes his clone deserves the chance to live once he's free of Galra control?”Keith opened his mouth, likely to give some sort of heated retort, but his more rational mind took over before he could do so. “That does sound like something Shiro would do.”“We'll figure out what to do if we get to that point. I won't give up until we get him back,” Pidge promised him.She meant it, with all of her heart. She'd dropped the ball when Shiro first went missing, losing herself to her misery and grasping onto the one lead she was able to chase after, which was the one that led her to find Matt. Looking back, she felt horrible about leaving him to search all on his own.Pidge wouldn't do that again.If it was her and Keith against Lance, Hunk, and Allura, then she would stand by him until they had the real Shiro back.“Pidge, I... I really appreciate that,” Keith said, his voice soft. “I guess there isn't much we can do until we get home.”“Or at least until we have more information,” Pidge agreed.Her hand was still resting over his, but neither of them tried to move away, continuing to sit together in relative comfort.“You know, Hunk and Lance brought over an Altean movie player and helped me set it up. If you're interested in a quiet night in, I was going to raid the kitchen for snacks and bring them back here,” Pidge said.Keith said nothing for a moment as he thought it over. “A movie night does sound nice.”Pidge beamed and let go of his hand in order to get up. “Is there anything specific you want me to bring back for you?”“You don't want me to go with you?”“I figured you could pick out which movie we watch first. They're all in that box and Hunk promises they're labeled and have descriptions. Something about Lance and horror movies?” Pidge wasn't sure what that was all about and hadn't been willing to ask more about it.Keith shifted his gaze to the box and nodded. “I can get us all set up here. If you find any chocolate chip cookies, I'd like a few.”Pidge fought back a grin. “I'll see what I can do.”
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Katie slid into bed and curled into Keithir with a tired sigh. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, giving her time to get comfortable.“Everything alright?” he asked. “Is our cub giving you trouble?”“I don't think she's a fan of the food goo,” Katie said with a grimace.Keithir chuckled. “I can't say I blame her. No one actually likes food goo, except for maybe Coran.”Katie hummed in response.“We'll be home soon and then we can find something she does like. I'm sure Hunk will be happy to help, and mother may have a few tips,” Keith said, once again kissing her, but that time on the cheek. “Is there anything I can do?”“Just keep holding me?” Katie requested.Keithir was happy to comply and even happier to have a night where he could relax and cuddle with his wife in bed. She'd gotten so wrapped up in trying to help Slav build a replica of the original machine, that she often came to bed long after he'd already fallen asleep and then he would wake long before she did.It wasn't as though he was just lounging around while she worked. His role was to keep venturing to the Astral Plane, where he could talk to both Shiro's and occasionally Keith.And when he wasn't there, he was trying to figure out a solution to the “Shiro Dilemma”, writing down any of his ideas and theories to leave behind for Keith and Pidge. He didn't have much, but he hoped it would help in some small way.All of that at least kept him from worrying.About getting home.About Yorak.About the new baby.And a million other little things.Keithir closed his eyes and reminded himself to enjoy his time with Katie before another long, tiresome day of standing around and talking about how they could fix and improve the Trans-reality Extrapolator.“I love you, Katie.She shifted against him until she could kiss him, slow and sweet. “I love you too. We're going to get through this, you know. We're going to get home.”“I know,” Keithir said, truly meaning it. “I just can't shake the feeling of... I don't know. Like there's something we're missing. Or something we haven't taken into account.”“There could be, but I'm sure we'll figure it out in time.” Katie yawned and settled back in, snug at his side.She was probably right. He'd sleep on it and probably come up with an answer in the morning.
The longer she stayed out of the room where they were working on the Trans-reality Extrapolator, the worse Allura started to feel. The guilt of needing a break when there was so much work that needed to be done ate away at her, but with the arrival of Matt, they had a fresh mind and could afford to take breaks. (Plus, Hunk and Coran worked together to ban her from entering the room, which was completely unfair. It was her Castle!)Allura couldn't deny that she needed to get away for a little while to give her mind time to rest, and once it was all over she would have to thank them, but for the time being, all she knew was frustration.Everyone was doing their best, working hard to match the descriptions and details given to them by Katie and Keithir, but it wasn't enough.Allura walked through the halls, head bowed and her eyes trained to the floor. How had they gotten so close, only to see failure the more they worked? Replicating the machine was proving impossible without the blueprints, despite Keithir's best attempts at relaying messages from the other side.She slowed to a stop, closed her eyes, and took a deep, calming breath.She had to relax. The stress would overwhelm her if she couldn't.When she opened her eyes, she saw Lance walking toward her, blue towel slung over one shoulder and a look of concern on his face.“Allura, are you alright?” he asked.She forced herself to smile and try and put Lance at ease. “I am perfectly fine. The others shooed me off to rest for a little while, so I was headed back to my room.”“Ah, cool, so was I. I mean, not to your room! My room! I was going back to my room!” Lance babbled, a little flustered.Allura watched in amazement as he awkwardly backtracked, wringing one end of his towel in his hands. It was a welcome change from the blunt flirting he used to attempt, but strange at the same time.Was she starting to see the real Lance, and not the front he put up to protect himself?“Going back for a bath?” she asked curiously, gesturing to the towel.“Huh? Oh! Uh, no, no. I was going down to the pool and then I remembered that it's in the ceiling – which is pretty! But not really great for swimming,” Lance said with a shrug.Allura tilted her head to the side, unsure of what Lance meant. She didn't think there was anything wrong with the pool. It looked fine to her when she and Coran were first looking over the Castle to make sure everything was running properly. “What's wrong with it?”“Besides that fact that it's on the ceiling? Probably nothing.”Oh.Oh!Allura's eyes lit up and she tried not to laugh.There was absolutely nothing wrong with the pool, Lance just wasn't using it correctly! Showing him how sounded like the perfect way for her to relax and take her mind off of more serious thoughts.“Don't move, I'll be right back,” she told him, hurrying past him to her room. She caught sight of a fleeting expression of surprise and bit her lip to keep from laughing.She reached her room in record time, stripping out of her gown the moment the door closed behind her. She tossed it aside, planning on taking care of it later, and began the search for her swimsuits. She found two stashed away in a drawer and took a moment to contemplate which one she wanted to wear.One was blue and white and covered her entirely, much like her flight suit. It was primarily for public appearances; simple and modest, it covered her markings the way she was supposed to when being seen by someone who wasn't family.It would go against all of her lessons if she chose her second swimsuit, which was pink with white down the sides. It showed off her arms and legs and had always been her favorite.Coran would be highly disapproving of her choice if he knew.Allura figured he didn't need to know.She happily slid it on, grabbed her towel, and headed out to rejoin Lance. Her heart pounded from her unexpected fit of rebellion. It was exciting!Lance was right where she left him, and as she approached, his expression shifted from confusion to surprise, his mouth parting as he got a good look at her. Allura felt her cheeks heat up at the attention and almost hoped he'd drop one of his outrageous flirtatious comments to break the mood, but none came.He visibly snapped out of it and averted his gaze. “Sorry, I just wasn't expecting – it's a lot like what girls wear back on Earth.”“What were you expecting?” Allura asked curiously.Lance shrugged. “I don't know. I guess it just surprises me how similar humans and Alteans are. It shouldn't after being out here so long.” He offered her a small smile. “So, you're going to show me how to use your weird Altean pool?”Allura laughed as she began to lead the way. “I'm going to show you how to use our perfectly normal pool.”She and Lance continued to joke as he fell in step next to her, sharing a pleasant conversation as they walked through the Castle. Talking to him was effortless; something she hadn't fully expected.He had come so far since his first few months at the Castle. All of them had, but there was something remarkable about the change she saw in Lance and she couldn't help but look at him differently.He was someone she could call a friend. Someone she could talk to and rely on. Someone she trusted. Someone fun.They arrived at the pool and Lance looked up at it and then very pointedly at Allura, one eyebrow raised as if to ask: “So now what?”Allura, determined to prove him wrong, strode across the room to a slim door, passed her hand over the panel, and gestured for him to enter first.Lance peered into the small room. “Uh, Allura? Why are you making me go into a closet? Is this some kind of joke? Are you going to lock me in there because I made fun of your pool?”“This is an elevator.”Lance needed a dobosh or two to recover before he could move and properly form sentences again, only to be stunned into silence a second time once the elevator reached the top and they stepped out onto a platform.“Allura, this is incredible,” he whispered.“This isn't even the best part,” Allura said as she turned to a second display next to the elevator. She pulled up a screen, which displayed a variety of options. “Using this, we can create our own beach. Or at least a projection of it. From the crystal sands of Altea, the black sands of Nalquod... Even the red of Daibazaal.”Lance was quiet as Allura demonstrated all but the last. “Any tan beaches?”“Quite a few, actually,” Allura said, easily finding what Lance asked for.The floor still felt like hard paneling, but over it was the image of hot, dry sand, shimmering beneath sunlight. Under Lance's direction, Allura picked blue skies and tall plants with leaves sprouting from the top, which he told her mostly resembled palm trees, except they were the wrong color. An artificial sand bank rose up across one side of the pool, while the rest stretched on to mimic the natural ocean and horizon line.It was far from perfect, but from the look on Lance's face, she could tell that it was the closest to home he'd had in over a year.“Once the war is over, I'd love to visit Earth and see your beaches. We could add them to the database here,” Allura said.“Yeah?” Lance took his eyes off of the projected beach. “If you need a guide, I could show you around.”“I would love that, Lance,” Allura said, and found she truly meant it. She set her towel down a good distance from the water so it wouldn't get wet, and then grinned at Lance before running and diving into the pool.Lance tugged off his shirt in a hurry, tossing it and his towel aside, and quickly joined her.They spent hours up there, goofing off and splashing each other, showing off their best dives and “fancy” jumps. Allura completely lost track of time, and it wasn't until the artificial sun dipped over the horizon and the low-level lighting kicked on that she realized how long they'd been up there.“Sundown on the beach,” Lance murmured as he floated on his back. “I want to do this every night.”“It really is nice,” Allura agreed. She hoisted herself up onto the edge of the pool and left her legs in the water as she began the lengthy process of gently squeezing water from her hair. “I'm glad I bumped into you, Lance. I really needed this.”Lance let his legs sink down so he could properly look at her. “Anytime. I mean it. And not just for swimming. Any time you want to relax and do something fun, I'll be there, if you want me to be.”“I may have to take you up on that.”There was so much she could share with him about Altea. Games. Stories. How to make the skin-care lotion that he loved so much. And in turn, he could teach her about Earth.It would be a great cultural exchange.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“You were so young,” Travis murmured, staring at his son with a stricken expression. “You didn't have anyone? Not Kolivan or Thace or anyone else?”Keith avoided looking at him as he shrugged. “I had Shiro.”It was only the partial truth. He didn't meet Shiro for another two years after his father died, and it had been a long road to learning to trust the man.Shiro had saved him. Given him hope when he had none. Inspired him to do better when everyone else was set against him. And somewhere along the way, Shiro became his family. He never needed anyone else, so long as he kept believing in him.“What about your mother?”“I've never known her. I didn't even know I was part Galra until recently, when Kolivan told me after I passed the trials. And ever since then, I haven't...” Keith paused to shake his head. “There are more important things to focus on.”“I don't think Kolivan would turn you away if you asked about her. Family is just as important as your work with the Blade,” Travis said.“Maybe that's the way it is here, but things are different back home. There's nothing more important than ending the war. Not to the Blade.”Travis was silent for a moment. “I know it's not the same, but I have a few pictures of her, mostly from after Keithir was born. Part of me always knew they wouldn't be able to stay on Earth and I wasn't sure that it was possible for me to go with them, so I took pictures, just in case.”Keith eyed the small binder his dad brought with him. He'd been curious about it from the start, but knowing that it contained pictures of the mother he'd never seen or known filled him with a sense of anxiety.Was he ready to see her?“Tell me more about her?” Keith requested instead.Travis smiled, happy to do so.
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
“I'm just saying, it's a bad idea,” Katie said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared down Allura, Shiro, and Kolivan. Behind her, Keithir was muttering angrily as he processed exactly where they had recently been getting their intelligence on Galra installations.“So far, everything he has told us has been truthful. We have no reason to dismiss his knowledge of the inner workings of Galra command,” Kolivan pointed out.Had she known she would spend a good chunk of her morning arguing with them, Katie would have let Keithir convince her to stay in bed.“I thought you were just holding him prisoner,” Keithir said, reigning in his temper. There was an edge of steel to his voice that Katie rarely heard.Allura mirrored Katie's stance. “He turned himself in and offered to help of his own free will. As Kolivan said, everything he has told us has only helped us free planets and make progress in the war. He truly wants to help.”Keithir's ears pinned back in clear agitation, but he kept his voice controlled when he spoke again. “When I first started to hear rumors of Lotor's activities from the Blade of Marmora, I didn't believe them. I told Kolivan it wasn't possible, that they'd gotten it wrong. Lotor wasn't capable of the things they were saying, after all of the good I'd witnessed him doing. To prove that, I started to watch him more carefully, to find anything to clear his name. And through watching him, I found the truth.”“Lotor lies to and manipulates those around him by offering partial truths. He'll give you exactly what you want or say what you want him to say, but I can guarantee that it benefits him more than it does you. If he's given information on Galra commanders and how to take down outposts, it's because they stand in the way of his own plans or because he sees them as expendable.“Once he has your truth, he starts to ask for things. He'll start small and work his way up, until you're too deep in to see the truth. And when you're no longer useful to him, he'll betray you and you'll want to blame yourself for not seeing it sooner.”“Think about before he turned himself in,” Katie suggested once Keithir was done. “Would you have trusted him then? Did he do anything to suggest you were on the same side?”“No, he tried to kill us,” Lance spoke up before anyone else could.“More than once,” Hunk added, a little less aggressive and more uncertain.Allura made a soft sound of disagreement. “We were hardly friendly toward him. What was he supposed to do?”“He attacked first!” Lance responded. “He set up that trap for us on Puig, remember? If he really wants peace like we do, why would he do that? Why not contact us and offer to form some sort of alliance? I'm with Katie and Keithir on this, we can't trust him!”“Lance, that's enough,” Shiro commanded.Lance backed down, clenching his jaw and looking away.Shiro stepped forward to address the room. “It doesn't matter what he's done in the past, he's here to help now. Without this intel, we never could have progressed as quickly as we have and we would have lost many more lives. We're not discussing this any more.”Katie heard Keithir growl in frustration and glanced back to watch him pivot on his heel and leave the room. “You know, for all that our realities are very different, there's so much more we have in common, especially when it comes to the people in them. I hope we're wrong. I hope Lotor is genuinely here to help. But I also hope you keep what we've said in mind.”She stayed for a tick longer and then followed her husband out of the room. She picked up her pace as the door shut behind her, easily reaching his side.“They need the real Shiro back.”“Agreed,” Katie replied. “Whatever idea our Allura has, I hope she figures it out soon. Maybe that's part of the news we were promised tonight.”“Maybe,” Keithir said doubtfully.“We'll find out soon. We just need to be patient until then.” Katie took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Would it help if you got to see where they're holding Lotor? There's a room next to his cell with a viewing glass. He won't even know we're there.”Keithir considered it for a few ticks and then shook his head. “It's better if I don't. I think I'll go up to the training deck instead. Would you help me set up?”“Of course,” Katie said.
The next time they saw any of the others was long after Keithir was finished beating up robots and running the invisible maze. He and Katie grabbed a late lunch after that, spent a few more vargas relaxing in their room, and then headed down to the Black Lion, where Keithir slipped back into the Astral Plane.When he returned from talking to Shiro, Coran was waiting there with Katie, speaking in quiet voices. They both turned to look at Keithir as he approached.“Allura and Kolivan have put a hold on more missions until they re-evaluate the situation,” Katie told him, though there was something off about her tone, like there was something about it that bothered her. “Shiro and Matt went down to talk to Lotor.”“Is that a good idea?” Keithir asked, directing his attention to Coran.Coran's mustache twitched with disapproval. “It does seem risky, but we'll just have to trust Shiro's judgement, as we always do. And Matt seems like a level-headed fellow! I'm sure he can keep things under control.”“He does give that impression, doesn't he?” Katie said wryly.Truly, Matt was a blessing to have around in stressful – or any other – situations. He had a way of knowing just what to do or say, except when it came to Shiro. Katie joked that it was a mild hero-worship at play, born from the days or their dad telling stories about the rising star of the Galaxy Garrison. Thanks to Shiro, Matt had found himself in trouble more than once since his rescue, and while they were all amusing stories, nothing was funnier to Katie than watching Matt get flustered because Shiro threw him for a loop.Keithir suspected Shiro did it on purpose; a harmless, long-running set of pranks to play on his friend, not unlike the way Regris continued to treat him.But that was their reality.Maybe Matt could handle it and they didn't need to worry.“We'll have to call them up if they aren't back,” Keithir said, turning to more important matters – at least for the moment. “Shiro says they have a lock on this reality and want to try sending us something. Whoever wants to be around for that should go to the workshop.”Katie tilted her head in curiosity. “I wonder what they're sending through. I mean, it's likely something inorganic to test to odds of reaching us without trouble, but what? Something electronic? Or maybe they'll go more simple than that.”“Only one way to find out. If we're right about the flow of time being the same in both realities, we should see something in thirty doboshes,” Keithir said.
Thirty.Twenty-nine.Twenty-eight.Keithir counted down the ticks and tried to ignore how adorable Katie was when she was practically squirming with anticipation. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her was so strong.He breathed in deeply and looked away.Everyone was on high alert, waiting for something to happen. For something to appear. Slav stared hard at his incomplete version of the trans-reality extrapolator, as though expecting it to suddenly work.A buzz filled the air, crackling so strongly with energy that Keithir's fur stood on end. He slowly backed away from the center of the room, pulling Katie with him, unsure of how the energy would react. He could almost see it, sparking and splitting the air, creating a rip that was visible for less than a tick. He blinked and it was gone and there in its place was a tall man with dark hair, cradling a familiar-looking machine in his arms.Keithir's brow furrowed in confusion and a low whine built in the back of his throat. “Dad?”
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Shiro knew before he stepped into the room that the air was rife with tension. He could feel it pulling tight across his connection to Allura and he wondered what the source of it was. Had something happened to the trans-reality extrapolator? Was it not ready after all? They'd been so sure just a few hours before!He braced himself as the door slid open, but instead of walking into a loud argument like he expected, he was greeted by uncomfortable silence.“What's going on?” Shiro asked, looking around in the hope that he could learn something.Anyone who was in on the accidental swap was in the room, with the exception of Yorak, who was being looked after by his Uncle Sendak for the afternoon. (Shiro hoped they weren't getting into too much trouble, or that at the very least Sendak wouldn't try and give Yorak a sword again.)“It would seem that we have a volunteer to transport the blueprints and materials to the other reality,” Alfor said.“A volunteer?” Shiro repeated slowly, not sure he understood. Hadn't they decided there was too much risk in sending someone over? Did they find a way around that while he was away telling Keithir about their plans?That couldn't be right. He wasn't gone for that long.“I know the risks,” Travis spoke up. “I've heard y'all talk about this for days now. I know it's not likely I'll get back, but it seems to me that this'll be the best way to make sure the odds are the best they can be.”“What about Keithir?” Keith asked, his worry leaking into his voice. “What about Yorak? Your life? You'd be leaving all of that behind!”Travis's expression softened as he walked over and pulled him aside to speak quietly – too quiet for Shiro to hear on the other side of the room. Whatever he was saying made Keith more agitated at first, but he slowly began to look more at ease, or at least less like he was willing to argue, the longer Travis talked to him.While that was happening, Alfor and Honerva struck up a hushed conversation with Slav and Allura slipped over to stand by Shiro's side.“I've already briefed him on what he needs to do,” she said.Shiro looked over at her, startled. “Allura, this isn't-! We can't ask him to do this! I thought there were more tests to run. What if something goes wrong?”“We did not ask him to do this, he volunteered, and despite a great deal of protest from the rest of us, he seems pretty set on doing this. Shiro, he has been to all of our discussions about this and is well aware of everything that could go wrong. He is right when he says that this could be our best chance. We can get all of the pieces over, along with the blueprints, without worrying about them ending up in the wrong hands. And if we act quickly enough, we may be able to bring Travis home along with Katie and Keithir.”Allura sounded so sure of what she was saying, that Shiro almost believed her. He wanted to believe her, but it couldn't be that easy. Not after all of the calculations and Slav's ever-expanding list of possible complications.But at the same time, Travis had made up his mind, and in the end, it was his choice. They could only do what they could to support him.Shiro took a deep breath. “Okay. What do we need to do first?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
Katie hung back as Keithir reunited with his dad, his pleasure at seeing him obvious to everyone. She had a worry, however, and as she caught Allura's eye she knew she wasn't the only one to realize it.Sending someone to another reality was far easier to retrieving them.Katie subtly shook her head, hoping Allura would understand it as a silent request to not say anything immediately. Keithir deserved a moment before they broke the news.Thankfully, Slav was busy eagerly looking over the blueprints and parts, too distracted to blabber on about complications or percentages of failure. In fact, it was the most delighted she'd seen the mad genius. Period. She hoped he stayed like that. Keithir deserved to hear the news in a more gentle manner, unlike the blunt surprise of her pregnancy.Everyone else was starting to disperse; Hunk all but dragged Lance from the room, citing the need for a helper while he cooked up a feast to celebrate. Kolivan leaned in to quietly speak with Shiro before they left together. Allura remained for a moment longer, but when it became clear that Slav wasn't interested in help, she and Coran quietly absconded.“Are you going to tell him?”Katie jumped in surprise at the sound of Matt's voice in her ear, and as always when she saw the scar across his face, felt a rush of guilt rise in her chest. It was silly of her to feel that way, but she figured she could get away with blaming hormones.“I, um, not yet,” Katie told him, looking away. “I will soon, but he deserves to have this. It hasn't been an easy two weeks.”Matt sighed, gentle and tired all at once. “It won't be too much longer and then you'll get to go home.”“And you'll have Pidge back,” Katie said. “Soon everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be. Or almost everything.” She bit her lip as she watched her husband and father-in-law. “I hope we're worrying for nothing.”“I do too,” Matt said, resting his hand on her shoulder.His support, even though he wasn't her Matt, lifted a weight she didn't know she'd been carrying. She hadn't known how to treat him when he first showed up at the Castle – still didn't, in some ways – but he was still Matt. A younger, slightly more serious and battle scarred version of her brother, who likely felt the same way about her as she did for him.And it reminded her of something important. Something she had been meaning to say, but hadn't found the time to. Catching him up on all of the super important details had taken priority over everything else.“Listen, Matt, about dad,” Katie began, well aware of how flustered she sounded. “It may be a long shot, but I think I know how you and Pidge can find him. Or rather, who you need to talk to in order to find out.” She looked up to see surprise color Matt's face, which then settled to steely determination.Katie took a deep breath and explained her idea.If Lotor was the culprit in her reality, then it stood to reason that he knew something about where their dad was located, even if he wasn't directly involved in his capture. Matt would have to be careful and not outright accuse Lotor of knowingly concealing the whereabouts of their dad, but she knew he'd be far better at it than her younger self, who was much more likely to go charging in at full sprint.“Just be careful,” Katie advised as Keithir and Travis approached. She tried to smile, but one look at Keithir's face had her crumbling.He said nothing and simply pulled her into his arms and held her for a long moment. She heard Matt say something and then the sound of a door opening and shutting, signaling his departure.“Is it okay if I spend some time with my dad?” Keithir asked, his voice barely above a whisper.Katie swallowed around the lump in her throat, doing her best to hold it together and be strong for him. “Of course. Take all of the time you need.”Keithir pulled away and gave her a small smile. “We'll see you at dinner. Promise.”Katie nodded. She wished with all her heart that she could give him the reassurance he wanted. That everything was going to be okay. That they would all make it home together.But she couldn't.“I'll be with Hunk and Lance. Maybe we'll find something I can keep down today.” Her attempted joke fell a little flat, but Keithir bowed his head and kissed her anyway.
Krolia dropped the plate of food she was holding when they walked in, and it shattered and splattered all over the floor, drawing everyone's attention. Hunk hurried over to clean up the mess, but Krolia stood there, frozen in shock.Keithir shifted, uncomfortable with the attention on him and his family. He hadn't expected everyone to be in the room when they arrived. Weren't there still another thirty doboshes before dinner?Even without their bond, Katie knew exactly what he needed and quickly stepped forward to give Travis a big hug, effectively breaking the tension in the air. From two feet away, Keithir could hear his dad's soft “congratulations” and the equally quiet exchange about potential names, though he couldn't make out whatever name Katie whispered to him.His attention was drawn to Krolia, whose gaze softened as she watched the pair, and when they separated she found the strength to step forward. “You came from the other reality?”It took Travis a moment to respond, equally as floored to see her even with Keithir's warning. “I am. You, um, you look good.”“So do you.”Keithir cleared his throat to hide the fact that he was trying to cover up his laughter. Honestly, it shouldn't have been as funny as it was to him, but a quick glance at Katie told him she thought the same – it was so similar to some of their own first dates. The stilted conversation of two people who had heard of each other, but never met.(Which was wrong and right all at the same time. Keithir decided it was best not to think about it or else he would develop a headache.)While his parents awkwardly reintroduced themselves, Keithir turned his attention to Katie, who was having difficulty meeting his eyes. He pulled her in close and pressed his lips to her forehead, hoping it would help put her at ease.It worked.Katie relaxed against him, wrapping her arms around him and holding on tight. “I'm so sorry...”“Dad made his choice, even knowing what would happen,” Keithir said softly. “Talking to him, hearing his reasons, even if I don't understand them, it helped more than I thought.” He took a deep breath and let her go. “He... He says the parts he brought with him are to echo clone the machine. It means-”“It doesn't have the ability to send anyone on its own,” Katie cut in with a frown. “It's just amplifying the range of the one in our reality to make sure we get home. But I thought the plan was to build an exact clone. Unless... the parts were too sensitive for the journey? Or the chance of anyone else getting their hands on it is too risky.”“But how would they?” Keithir asked.Katie bit her lip and glanced across the room, where Shiro was seated at the table and talking to Kolivan, Coran, and Allura.“Shit,” Keithir grumbled. “I forgot about that.”“So I guess there's still no word from Allura on that?”Keithir shook his head. “There's nothing we can do, so maybe she's going to leave it to Pidge and Keith. I can't imagine she would send them back without having some idea in mind.”Katie crossed her arms over her chest. “She could have passed that along to us.”“Cut her a little slack, there's a lot going on,” Keithir reminded her, unable to resist leaning in to kiss her forehead once again.Katie grumbled a little bit, but it was with the utmost fondness for the Altean princess.Keithir stepped back and offered her his arm, which she took with a pleased smile. It was no time to worry about such things. They would set it aside and enjoy their remaining time in that reality.In the morning, they were going home.
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Maybe she went a little overboard, but it wasn't like Hunk and Lance weren't there to encourage her the whole time. Not to mention the fact that it clearly amused Keith, who'd gone extra quiet ever since his dad volunteered to travel to their reality with the necessary parts.Pidge stared at the bulging duffel bag on her bed, wondering if she should take everything out and reorganize it once again. She was sure Lance snuck something else in there when she wasn't looking, just as he'd done three other times since she started packing.It was almost like she was on vacation and trying to find the best way to pack souveniers.A knock on the door distracted her from fully making a decision. “Come in!”Keith stepped inside with a new set of thin packages in his arms and Pidge started to rerun calculations of what they'd have to leave behind. Did she really need that book on Altean customs? Or the anthology of unusual movies Lance shoved on her after learning of her and Keith's movie night?“These are from Allura,” he said, handing one of them to Pidge. “She said we can wear ours home if we want to.”“Wear them...?” Pidge curiously examined her package, testing the weight and flexibility. It did feel like clothing, but why would Allura give them something like that?She glanced up at Keith, who didn't appear to be in any rush to change into his, but she had to ask anyway. “Do you want to go first?”Keith shrugged. “We could both go. I'll take the bathroom and you can stay out here. Just let me know once you're finished.”Pidge had no reason to argue and nodded in agreement, waiting until he was securely in the next room before opening her package to see what Allura gave her.“Oh,” she breathed softly, lifting up a lovely green dress. It had a simple scoop neckline and short sleeves and she could tell that once it was on, it would flare out and fall near her knees. There was a faint pattern printed on it, which when caught in the light revealed subtle flowers in shades barely lighter and darker than the rest of the fabric. Also in the package was a pair of plain white leggings and a cute headband with flowers decorating one side.It was by far one of the prettiest dresses she'd ever been given.Pidge glanced down at her orange and white shoes, feeling that they weren't at all appropriate, but as she began to get dressed she found a note beneath everything else written in Lance's surprisingly legible scrawl.
'Look in the closet.'
If Lance was waiting for her in the closet she was going to deck him right in the face.She breathed a sigh of relief when all she found was a box with her name on it. Inside was a pair of sturdy brown boots to go along with her new dress. She sat down on her bed to put them on, just remembering to call out to Keith that she was done.Keith took another few minutes before stepping out in what at first glance looked like a variation of his Blade uniform, but he more she looked, the more she saw a design for comfort over function. A hooded jacket, cropped short in a mimicry of the chest armor, turtleneck underneath, and loose-fitting pants.It was a good look for him; all of the dark grays and the stripes of blue-violet, which enhanced the blue of his eyes, though part of her missed seeing him in his eye-catching red jacket.“You look good,” she said, looking away when she became aware that she was staring. Never once did she consider he was going to same to her. To distract herself, she took a few things out of the duffel bag in order to fit in her old clothes, as well as the additional packages from Allura.“I think I'm going to miss it here.”Pidge looked up as she tried to cram her sweater into the bag. “I know what you mean. It's been nice. Even sharing a room has been kind of fun, and that was always what I dreaded most about going to the Garrison. I think Matt enjoyed telling me nightmarish stories about roommates.”Keith chuckled. “I got lucky there. No one ever wanted to be my roommate.”“Keith...” Pidge's smile slipped away. “That's awful.”“It wasn't so bad. I got a room all to myself and didn't have to deal with anyone else,” Keith said dismissively.Pidge frowned as she dropped her eyes back down to the bag. Her clothing barely fit, which left no room for her shoes. She resigned herself to carrying them herself. “For the record, anyone would be lucky to have you as their roommate. Seriously, Keith. I wasn't lying when I said this has been fun.”Just as she didn't see him staring earlier, she also missed the faint blush spreading across his cheeks.“Thank you, Pidge.”Before Pidge could respond, Keith swooped in to help zip up the bag and then picked it up with the clear intent of carrying it for her.It was time to go.
OLKARION - CASTLE OF LIONS
Knowingly traveling through realities was even worse than their original trip and twice as disorienting, though that was likely because they had been unconscious for that first trip. Pidge only wished she had a better way to describe the sensation, but there were no words that she knew of that would appropriately convey what it was like. Nothing even close.“I want to die,” she muttered melodramatically, clinging to Keith to try and stay upright. “If we ever do this again, knock me out first.”Keith, looking rather pale, carefully dropped the bag at his feet, holding onto Pidge just like she was hanging on him. Somehow, they balanced each other out and were able to remain standing. “We are never doing that again.”For a moment, they continued to exist there in their own little bubble, their ears ringing as they tried to acclimate. And then Hunk burst that bubble with a joyous cry of: “It worked!” before rushing to them and dragging them in for a teary hug.“I never thought I'd be so happy to see Keith,” Lance joked as he joined in. “We've missed you guys. I mean, your other selves are pretty cool – way cooler, in Keithir's case – but it's not the same.”“Same to you,” Keith responded, and while his exhaustion was clear in his voice, there was also a fondness lurking beneath the surface.Pidge grinned as she leaned into her friends. “We've missed you too. It's good to be home.”Allura approached next, slow and unsure about whether or not she was intruding, but Hunk and Lance naturally shifted aside to let her in.“Aww, group hug!” Matt called out, swinging in on the other side of Lance so he would be closest to Pidge, at the same time as Shiro joined them on the other side of Hunk.“Alright now, give 'em some space. Traveling through that ain't easy.”Pidge jerked her head in the direction of the voice, her heart sinking at the sight of Travis standing there and smiling kindly at the two of them. For a moment, breathing was difficult. “You're still here? But... but I thought it would work! I'm so sorry! We should have waited and run more tests and-”“Pidge, it's okay,” Keith gently interrupted.“No it isn't!” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “It isn't fair!”“I wanted to stay.”Her fighting strength drained away at those words, replaced by pure confusion. “But why? What about Keithir and everyone else?”“I'll miss them every day, but Keithir has his adoptive parents. He has Thace and Ulaz. He has Kolivan. His wife and son, and soon, a little girl. He doesn't need his old man hanging around.” Travis paused, his gaze shifting over to Keith. “I figure there might be someone here who needs me. If he wants to give this family thing a try, of course.”“You know I do,” Keith admitted, choking up a little.Pidge restrained herself from reaching out and offering him comfort. He wouldn't appreciate it when they were in front of everyone. Instead, she moved until she was leaning against Matt, relying on him to keep her upright and giving Keith the freedom to move.The heavy weight of the rock hidden in the pocket of her dress reminded her that they had one other very important matter to worry about before they could do much else. A “compass stone”, Honerva called it. Apparently it was the key to something called “Oriande”, which Allura was likely to know about, and that was how they would save Shiro.Pidge yawned. “Hey Lance, could you grab that bag for me? Keep it somewhere safe.”Everything could wait until she and Keith got some rest. A quick nap and they'd both be refreshed and ready to take on anything. And though she knew it would be better to think about it with a fresh mind, she couldn't help but sluggishly consider what needed to be done first and how they would keep Shiro away from the group meeting. Maybe a distraction of some kind?She yawned again and closed her eyes. “Feels like the worst jetlag ever,” she tried to say, but her words slurred together into something incomprehensible.Matt chuckled. “Okay, lets get you both to bed before you pass out.”Bed... sounded nice.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Keith didn't remember going to bed, but that was where he woke up, still dressed in the clothing given to him by the other Allura. He sat up and stretched, before glancing at the clock on his bedside table, curious to see how much time had passed.“Lunchtime,” he said to himself at the same time as his stomach growled. He swung himself out of bed, surprised that a few hours of sleep had been enough to replenish the energy sapped by their journey home, and set off to check on Pidge.Maybe it wasn't so weird. He was knocked out by the first trip and there was no telling how long that lasted. Or maybe it was because he was unconscious the first time that he didn't need to sleep.Pidge would know the answer better than he did.She answered her door, looking more awake than he expected, still wearing the cute dress and boots. She looked surprised to see him, but quickly recovered.“I've been trying to think of a good way to tell the others about everything, but honestly? I... I don't know,” Pidge admitted, jumping straight into their biggest dilemma. “I thought we'd come home and everything would fall into place, but now that we're here it's even harder. I can't even look at him!”Alarmed, Keith gently backed her into her room so they would have more privacy to talk. Just because he didn't see anyone else around, didn't mean there was no one there.“I know what you mean. Every time I look at him, all I can think about is Shiro, all alone and not knowing if he'll ever get out. How many missions have been compromised because of him? How many lives put in danger?” Keith clenched his hands, staring hard at a spot on the floor.“Keith...” Pidge slowly took his hand, keeping her movements simple. “I'm sorry. I just got so anxious thinking about it all. This isn't something we've had to deal with more and I'm not sure what to do, but I meant it when I said we'd figured this out.” She paused and took a deep breath, continuing to hold his hand. “We need to take this step-by-step. So first, we need to tell the others.”“We'll need someone to distract... Shiro so he doesn't overhear,” Keith said, struggling to call the impostor by Shiro's name. He needed to though, so he wouldn't raise suspicion when they needed to talk to him.Pidge nodded. “It'll have to be someone who makes sense. Someone who doesn't need to be told what's going on yet. So we start with who needs to know. Allura, obviously.”“The rest of the team. Hunk, Lance, and Coran should all know what's going on. Kolivan should probably be told why we're taking a step away from the war,” Keith said.“Matt can do it.”“Are you sure? My dad could also...” Keith trailed off as Pidge shook her head.“Matt just makes the best sense, so he distracts him while we tell the others. What then? It's too risky to let him know about Oriande, but he'll ask questions if we take off for an unknown location.”“I've been thinking about that,” Keith said slowly. “Once we're done talking to the others, we should see what happens when we detach his arm. If he lets us near it.”“You mean if he lets me near it,” Pidge corrected.Keith frowned, hating the idea of putting her directly in danger, but what were their options? If not Pidge, then it'd have to be Hunk or maybe Allura. Hunk didn't need to be put under that kind of pressure; it'd be too much for him to handle all at once. And they couldn't take the risk of Allura getting hurt.It had to be Pidge.She squeezed his hand. “You'll be there with me, right? Just in case?”“Every step of the way,” Keith promised, meaning it with all of his heart.
Gathering everyone together for a meeting was the easy part. As was asking Matt to distract Shiro for them. Convincing them that it was best if they didn't wait for Shiro to arrive? That was the hard part.They wasted precious minutes trying to convince them that they didn't need to wait for Shiro, and then finally Keith was able to explain what he learned during his visit to the Astral Plane. Pidge helped calm things down after the initial explosion of surprise and once Keith was finished, she helped detail their plan.“This is insane!” Lance exclaimed. “Shiro isn't really Shiro, he's some kind of... clone? Or whatever?”“I'm not lying,” Keith snapped.“And if you hadn't seen him for yourself, you would find this hard to believe as well,” Allura pointed out. “It's not that we don't trust that you're telling the truth, it's just difficult to wrap our minds around it. Can we be sure that he means to do us harm?”Pidge crossed her arms over her chest. “Why else would the Galra clone him?”Allura didn't have an answer to that.“If we remove his arm, we'll know for sure what we're dealing with. Either it'll free his clone from Galra control, or...” Pidge hesitated. “Or it could be what houses Shiro's memories and he'll just... collapse. Like an empty shell.”“In that case, we'll need a cryo-pod on standby. Though I have to admit, I'm curious as to how we'll get Shiro back into his body. Can the Black Lion do something like that?” Coran asked.“Actually, that's where Allura comes in,” Keith said, looking to Pidge for help.Pidge glanced over at him and nodded, before reaching into her pocket and taking out a smooth stone. She held it out for Allura to take. “This is from the other Allura,” she said, purposefully omitting Honerva's name. “She called it a compass stone and told us it's the key to something called Oriande.”Allura frowned as she accepted the stone. “But it's only a legend; A bedtime story my father used to tell me. It doesn't actually exist.”Coran leaned over for a better look, his expression one of awe. “Perhaps there's more truth to it than we thought.”“But how will it help? Oriande is said to be the birthplace of Altean alchemy, not... I'm not sure what to call this. Soul transference?” Allura ran her hand over the stone, which began to glow beneath her touch. She gasped in surprise, lifting it out away from her as a star map shimmered into view, surrounding her to show an area of space none of them were familiar with.“That's the Patrulian Zone,” Kolivan spoke up. He went on to explain before anyone could ask what or where that was. “It's classified as a highly dangerous area of space. No ship that has ever ventured there has been able to return.”“Like the Bermuda Triangle?” Lance asked.“What is the Bermuda Triangle?”“Yes, that's basically what it is,” Pidge said, intervening before the entire conversation could be derailed. “Look, the other Allura said it will allow you to set things right with Shiro and I believe her. She also has another message: Take someone you trust, with all of your heart.”“Someone I trust,” Allura mused with a frown.Pidge nodded. “The way it sounds is that only you and one another can go in safely. The rest of us will have to stay back and wait for you.”Keith stayed quiet, ready to back up Pidge if there was any disagreement on how to proceed, but no one seemed to have an argument against going to Oriande, or even against removing Shiro's prosthetic arm. There was still more to work out, but the hardest part – telling them about Shiro – was behind them.He breathed in, his anxiety lessening.Everything was going to be okay.
It was honestly bizarre, being around the clone and knowing he wasn't really Shiro. His mannerisms, his smile when he made a joke that he found funny or clever, the fondness in his voice when he greeted them – it was all the same.No wonder they hadn't noticed.It made what they were doing even harder. Keith wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look at Shiro again without feeling some form of guilt, but it had to be done. They had to be sure.He was a little in awe of Pidge as he watched her act excited about taking off the clone's arm. She babbled on about learning stuff in the other reality and “wouldn't it be great to have an arm not made by an evil empire?” as she guided him to a chair.“I suppose it would be nice,” Shiro agreed, though there was some confusion in his voice. “Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, it has been useful to us and you and Hunk have both confirmed that it's safe for me to use.”“Except that having it may have been what caused you to get captured by the Galra a second time. If I remove it, I'll be able to run a deep scan and you won't have to sit still until it's done. There could be more secrets, like the hidden coordinates that Ulaz left, and this is how we'll find out,” Pidge argued pleasantly. “If you really want to keep it, I'll give it back once I'm done.”Shiro nodded as he got comfortable in the chair. “I have grown a little fond of it.”Keith walked over to stand by the clone, ready to play his role of the supportive friend. If anything went sideways, it left him in prime position to respond. “Will it hurt?”Pidge glanced up at him. “I'm not sure. We never did determine whether its connected through nerve endings or through some kind of quintessence-based neural link, but detaching it shouldn't cause pain. Reconnecting it... well, that may be a different story. Ready, Shiro?”Shiro gave one short nod. “I'm ready.”Keith unintentionally held his breath, watching as Pidge opened the panel on Shiro's upper arm. She took a moment to look it over and then cautiously began the process of releasing the connections, glancing up to Shiro's face for any sign of discomfort after each one.“Still okay?” she asked.“Feels strange, but it doesn't hurt.”“Good.”Pidge carried on with her work, slow and methodical, and just when Keith started to think they were in the clear, Shiro's face went slack, his eyes unfocused.Keith moved purely on instinct, shoving Pidge away in the nick of time. He unsheathed his blade and lifted it to block Shiro's hand as he reached for Pidge. They clashed, rough and violent, and Keith trembled as he used all of his strength to try and shove Shiro away. His stomach twisted, unnerved by the malevolence in the clone's eyes.“Shiro, you don't want to do this!” he yelled, hoping there was some part of the clone – the part who truly believed he was Shiro – who could still hear him.“You're wrong,” growled the clone. “I've wanted to do this for a long time. Did you really think I enjoyed being around you? Why do you think we let you go running off with the Blade of Marmora? None of us wanted you here.”Keith faltered, the words biting into his carefully crafted armor.The clone bore down on him, easily taking advantage of the opening left for him. “We were glad to see you leave.”“Keith.” Pidge's voice was quiet and fearful, but the reminder that she was behind him, relying on him to help set things right, gave him the strength to push back.He could remember the tears in her eyes that day. The surprising sadness in Lance's voice. Hunk sobbing as he went in for a hug. Allura's concerned gaze. Coran, making no effort to conceal his emotions. And he knew it wasn't really Shiro, but he'd still checked in and supported him the way the real one always had.The clone was lying.The others did want him around.His dad traveled from another reality because he wanted to be there for him! And Lance never pulled any punches when it came to his feelings (particularly in regards to Keith), so when he spoke of missing him, it was the truth.“...anyone would be lucky to have you as their roommate. Seriously, Keith. I wasn't lying when I said this has been fun.”Keith grit his teeth, straining to keep the clone's glowing hand away from his skin. “The real Shiro would never say something like that. A thought like that would never even cross his mind! And that's why I know, you're nothing more than a shallow imitation.”The clone snarled and threw a punch with his left hand, knocking Keith aside before descending on Pidge, who scurried backwards in fright. Keith rolled to his feet, fully prepared to dive in and clash with the clone again to protect Pidge, but she surprised him by changing course, spinning to her feet and dashing forward. She dropped into a slide and as she raised one hand towards the clone's open chest, Keith realized she had her bayard.The clone went down with an agonized shout and Keith swiftly pinned him to the floor, making sure to give Pidge ample space to get to the prosthetic arm and finish her task. Within seconds, there was a heavy clunk as the arm popped free of its socket and fell to the floor.The clone's body went still.Pidge's hands trembled as she lowered them to her lap, her bayard discarded next to her. Keith hastened to her side and pulled her into his arms.“I... I can't believe...”“You did what you needed to. We both did,” Keith reminded her. “Now we keep going with our plan. Shiro is counting on us.”“You're right,” Pidge murmured, closing her eyes and resting her head on Keith's shoulder. “Those things he said to you... they aren't true. We all missed you.”“I missed you guys too.”Nothing more needed to be said.
ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS
Katie almost expected to be swept up into a Welcome Back party the moment she and Keithir returned, but the small group waiting for them was even better, especially considering the exhaustion that overtook them both. Even in the hours after, the most that was mentioned was a big family dinner once they were settled back in.Before then, there was one important matter they needed to settle.Ulaz hugged them when they arrived at his medical station. “It's good to see you both. I suppose you're here to make sure your journey did not cause any adverse effects?”“It is something we're worried about,” Katie agreed, leaning back against Keithir for comfort.Ulaz hummed in understanding and stepped away to gather the proper tools. It didn't take but a few ticks, as he'd prepared ahead of time for their visit. “Take a seat, Katie.”He took her blood first, a tiny pinprick which barely hurt, and slotted it into a nearby machine to let it run its tests. Then, with a biometric wand scanner, checked her over from head to toe, focusing the longest over her middle.Ulaz let her up while he checked over the diagnostics. “You're all clear. There's nothing I see that causes any concern, though you have lost a small amount of weight. How is your nausea?”“Off and on,” Katie said with a shrug. “I'm still figuring out what's okay to eat and what smells trigger it the worst, but I can still keep down most food.”“Not food goo,” Keithir teased.Katie looked a little pale by the mere mention of it. “Coran isn't helping with dinner plans, is he? I'd rather not have everyone find out by puking at the sight of one of his concoctions.”“That would be a question for Hunk and your mother. They are running the kitchen tonight,” Ulaz responded, gesturing for Keithir to take a seat next. “Any thoughts to how you will tell everyone?”“A few. Right now we're still deciding on who to tell first. Our parents and Thace, of course, but Shiro will want a reason for why I can't go on any dangerous missions for a while,” Katie said.”It's just... it's a little early right now. I'm barely two months along.”Ulaz didn't look up from his work. “Your cub is strong, Katie. I do not see any reason you should worry, but I will respect your caution and will continue to keep it a secret until you are ready.”“Thank you, Ulaz,” Katie said, grateful for his support.Ulaz inclined his head and then gave Keithir the all-clear as well, announcing with a smile that they were in perfect health.From there, they went off to find Sendak, both eager to see Yorak and hold him in their arms once again.
OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS
“I can't believe he's been a clone the whole time,” Matt said, staring at Shiro's body in the cryo-pod. He could almost pretend that his friend was sleeping and not an empty shell. “Do you really think Allura can do it? Put him back into his body? Or this new body?”“She's the only one who can,” Keith said from where he sat.Pidge nodded in agreement. “The other Allura sounded sure that going to Oriande will give her the ability she needs to help Shiro, and I believe her. She wouldn't lie about that.”“I still can't believe they're married in the other life,” Keith remarked.Matt's gaze snapped to Keith, his jaw dropping in shock. “Wait, what?”“It was a little surreal seeing the lives our alternate selves lead,” Pidge admitted, ignoring Matt's question. “I wish I'd asked them more about it, but we were so worried about getting back... I know mom and dad moved to Altea as part of some kind of Earth-Altea transfer program. You too, Matt. Mom had all kinds of new plants to study and talk about and I think you and dad were working on integrating Altean tech into Earth ships? I didn't catch much, except that the Galaxy Garrison's space exploration program has tripled in size and they can make it out to Kerberos in about a week instead of three months.”“Wow,” Matt said, sounding dazed.Pidge sobered up a little. “Speaking of dad, did you find anything while I was gone? Were there any bases or ships carrying intel on prisoners?”Matt shook his head. “Nothing on that front, but I did get a lead that I need to tell you about. Katie told me that in her reality, Lotor was the one who held us captive, and she figured that he would know the most likely place he's being held.”“Did he know?” Pidge asked, sitting up in interest.“He gave me the name and location of a base and I passed that along to Kolivan to see if he knew anything about it. He's had Kr- one of the others help him look into it. I didn't want to say anything, because I don't know how much trust there is to it or if dad's even there. But if he is... I mean, I know this Oriande thing is really important, and I'd love to be there when Shiro wakes up, but if dad really is there, then I have to go.”“And I'd have to choose...” Pidge murmured.Silence permeated the air.“Pidge, it's your choice,” Keith said, his voice surprisingly gentle. “All of us would understand if you want to go save your dad, and that includes Shiro. Do what you think is right for you.”It was such a far cry from the start of their time together that Pidge couldn't help but tear up a little. He'd come a long way from the lonely boy who rode in on a red hoverbike to rescue his only friend.How easy would it be, to go off with Matt and stage a rescue the way she'd dreamed of doing for so long?The fact remained, she was being asked to choose between the two most important, most influential men in her life.She needed a workaround. A way to look at the problem presented to her in a different way. There had to be something that would help her find the answer. Her dad or Shiro?No, that wasn't the right question.Who needed her there?Her team, heading into unknown and dangerous territory?Or Matt, backed up by a team of rebels and information cleared by the Blade of Marmora?When she looked at it like that, the answer was clear.
Allura personally piloted the Castle of Lions into the Patrulian Zone, using the time to think about everything that happened in the course of one quintant. The most important thing was that Keith and Pidge made it back, and while the addition of Travis to the team was a surprise, it was a welcome one. (She tried not to get too jealous of Keith getting a second chance with his father, but those bitter thoughts kept creeping in.)She breathed in deeply, checking the starmap, and slightly adjusted course. The Castle's sensors were picking up on a strange energy signature somewhere in the center of the zone, which Coran agreed was where they needed to go.There was one other problem Allura had, and that was her lack of answer to the question: who would go with her to Oriande?Her instructions were to pick someone she trusted, but how could she choose when she trusted each of the paladins? There had to be something more. Something she was missing. Had Pidge relayed the message word-for-word, or had she paraphrased?“Take someone you trust,” she murmured to herself. Her gaze drifted to Coran, who busied himself at the center control, monitoring the ship and keeping an eye out for any more unusual readings.She certainly trusted Coran. He was her father's oldest friend and had a large role in helping raise her. While his ideas were a little outrageous at times, there was no one else she relied on more.If Shiro were an option, her decision would be made. As the leader of Voltron, he made the most sense, and aside from their brief hiccup at the start, they made a fantastic team. There were so many reasons why she trusted and looked up to him, but his sheer compassion for everyone was at the top of that list.But Shiro wasn't an option. He was the reason she was going to Oriande.Which left Keith as the current Black Paladin and leader of the team. While it was great to have him back and she knew she could count on him no matter what came their way, he didn't feel like the right fit for Oriande.Perhaps Pidge, who would appreciate a trip in pursuit of knowledge, was a better choice? Hunk had also expressed interest in learning more about Altean culture, though his was more in regards to cuisine. She was hesitant to say either was the perfect choice.Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine a day when she would consider going on a mission with just Lance, but there she was, contemplating exactly that. He'd become a true friend, unafraid to speak his mind (whereas Hunk often hesitated in fear of making anyone upset), but without the unthinking heat which often came from Pidge and Keith.If the past movement had proven anything, it was that Lance was someone she could rely on. Someone she could be herself around without fear of judgement. Someone she genuinely enjoyed spending time with.(And hadn't she entertained the idea of teaching him more about Altea?)But was going to Oriande something he wanted to do?None of them knew what to expect or why the other Allura said to only take one person with her. Would he be tested as well? Was there a test? She assumed there was, otherwise anyone could get in and learn the secrets.What if she wasn't worthy?“Uh, princess? We may have a slight problem,” Coran spoke up.Allura snapped out of her thoughts, lowering her hands to slow the Castle. She was about to ask what was wrong, but words failed her as she saw exactly what had Coran worried.A massive white hole loomed in the distance and around it, the bodies of numerous destroyed ships.She eased the Castle to a stop, not wanting to get any closer or else risk them suffering the same fate. “I don't understand... Coran, are you sure we have the correct coordinates?”“Yes, princess. The precise point in space that the compass stone pointed to is there, in the very center,” Coran said. He turned to her, worry in his eyes. “I could take another look, but there's something we have to consider – Oriande may not exist in our reality. Maybe it did once, but the existence of this white hole likely means it was destroyed long ago.”Allura shook her head. “No, I refuse to believe that. I owe it to Shiro to try everything I can.”“But, princess-”“I'm calling the others to the bridge,” Allura interrupted. “We'll decide what to do together.”That was what Shiro would want. A team decision.She calmly made the call, asking everyone still on board the Castle to report to the bridge.She had made her decision.“Take someone you trust, with all of your heart.”
Waiting for Allura and Lance to return was one of the top five most nerve wracking moments of his life, just after Krolia's entire pregnancy with Keith. (Which had less to do with Krolia herself and everything to do with the panic of raising a half-alien child on a planet of people who would react with scorn and panic if they found out there really was intelligent life beyond their solar system.)All contact with Allura and Lance was lost the moment they got near the white hole. Neither had sounded panicked leading up to that, so they had to trust that they were still alright.Coran paced the bridge, pausing frequently to check for the faintest readings. He didn't speak and no one tried to start a conversation with him, each dealing with the situation in their own way.Hunk sat and fidgeted with an old piece of Altean tech, either trying to figure out what it did or just using it as something to occupy his attention.Pidge was at her station and had two screens pulled up to monitor. One was for communication with Matt and the other was set to help Coran scan for their missing teammates.Keith had no distractions. He sat and did his best to find something even vaguely productive to do, but after a few minutes he leaned back to stare at the ceiling.All Travis could do was stand quietly by.Well, that wasn't true. There was one thing he could do, but that would mean disturbing the delicate tension of the bridge, and he wasn't entirely sure how Coran would react to that, as wound tight as he was.Travis warred with himself for a few doboshes. It was something that needed to be said. Keith deserved to know his mother was alive and that she'd been on the Castle of Lions for a short while. He wanted his son to have time to prepare for meeting her instead of being dropped into it, which meant he'd have to tell him soon. Krolia had gone with Kolivan to help Matt and the rebels find Sam and would rejoin them once both missions were complete.There would be too much excitement once Allura and Lance returned. Travis would have to take the chance while he had it.He moved as quietly as he could, making his way over to Keith and tapping him on the shoulder. He gestured towards the door, and though it took Keith a moment to understand, he soon stood and followed his dad out into the hall, completely unaware of Pidge's curious gaze on his back.“What's wrong?” Keith asked.“There's somethin' I need to tell you about your ma,” Travis began awkwardly. There really was no easy way to say it, was there? “She's here, Keith.”Keith looked startled. “Here? On the ship? I – but how? When?”“She's with Kolivan on the prison break mission right now, but she'll be back. Not real sure how or when she got here. We haven't had much chance to catch up, everything's been happenin' so fast.” Travis paused, giving Keith time to process everything he was hearing. “I know you've got a lot goin' on right now, but we both figured it wouldn't be right to blindside you with this. It's up to you, when and if you wanna see her.”“Of course I want to see her,” Keith said, his voice thick with emotion. “I just... Does she really want to see me?”Travis nodded. “She does.”He watched Keith take a moment to think, to compose himself and stand up straight, steeling his nerves so he could say what he needed to. His inner strength shone through, the resolve of someone ready to step up and take the lead.“Okay. Once everything has calmed down – when we have Shiro and Pidge's dad back – then I want to meet her,” Keith said.It was everything Travis could have hoped for.
“What happened to your hair?”Lance nearly whined at the question, posed by Hunk the moment he and Allura stepped off of the Altean shuttle. He reached up and plucked at his newly white hair.Allura quickly stopped him, taking his hand in her own and lowering it. “Your hair looks fine, Lance.”“I'm more curious about the markings, to be honest,” Pidge said, peering closely at his face. “Is this a side effect of Altean magic?”“Alchemy,” Allura corrected.Keith stepped forward before anyone else could comment on Lance's change in appearance. “The important thing is, they're back safely. Do you think you can help Shiro?”“Yes. I don't know how exactly, but I know I can do it. It's... difficult to explain,” Allura said.“Your father used to say that a lot when he was building the Lions,” Coran said, smiling fondly at the memory. “There's no time to waste! I will bring the cryo-pod down to the Black Lion's hangar. It's time to bring Shiro home.”Allura nodded and led the way as the team split up – Coran with Travis and Keith to help safely move Shiro's body, and Pidge, Hunk, and Lance with Allura.“It actually is a good look for you.” Pidge tried to compliment Lance, but he pouted for most of the walk down, certain that he was being teased.Hunk and Pidge tried to assure him that they were being sincere, but gave up after a few minutes and instead asked questions about what Oriande was like and what they'd learned while they were there. Allura did her best to answer, but fell short for most of them.There were only so many ways to describe suddenly knowing something, without having actually learned it.By the time they reached the hangar, Lance had relaxed enough to try and help Allura tell them about their trip, but soon encountered a similar problem when asked about his role in all of it.“I don't really know,” he said with a shrug. “There was this old temple and statues that wanted to kill us, and also the ceiling that tried to crush us... Basically, everything there wanted us dead!”“Everything was designed to test us,” Allura corrected, sounding amused by his descriptions.“By trying to kill us,” Lance agreed and continued on. “And then we weren't in the temple at all anymore and there was this giant ghost lion who-”“Wait, wait, let me guess,” Hunk playfully interrupted with a big grin on his face. “It wanted to kill you?”Lance nodded emphatically. “I know you're just teasing me, but that's exactly what it tried to do!”“Lance very heroically sacrificed himself to protect me,” Allura further explained, making him blush. “Every Altean who passes the trials and earns the blessings of the Ancients needs a Guardian – someone to stand by their side and help harness their new abilities and the knowledge gained. That's why the other me said I needed to take someone who I trusted with all of my heart.”“That's so cool!” Pidge gushed.“It's kind of like when we sit and bounce ideas back and forth,” Hunk said, looking to Pidge. “Neither of us hold all of the answers, but together we stand a chance.”Allura smiled. “That's one way to look at it.”The hangar doors slid open and everyone turned to look as Coran, Travis, and Keith maneuvered the hovering cryo-pod towards the Black Lion and set it down in front of her.“We're ready whenever you are, princess,” Coran said. He waited near the keypad for her word, releasing it only once she and Lance were in position.Allura closed her eyes and reached out with her mind for the answer to what she needed to do. Lance rested a hand on her shoulder, offering a steady presence to keep her grounded. He walked with her as she approached the Black Lion and placed her hand on the Lion's paw.A purr rumbled through the hangar as the Black Lion's eyes lit up.Allura began to glow with a soft white light, and soon after, Lance's blue markings did the same. They turned together, moving perfectly in step back to Shiro's body, where Allura placed her hands on his chest. The glow slowly faded from her, trickling instead into his body.Everyone held their breath as she lifted her hands and then Shiro gasped in air and began to cough. She backed away into Lance's steady arms as Keith rushed in, shouting Shiro's name.Shiro groaned as he opened his eyes, only for them to flutter shut against the harsh lighting. He turned his head and blinked a few times, trying to adjust. “Keith...?” he asked hoarsely.“I'm here,” Keith said, relief soaking his voice.“What happened to my arm?”There was a momentarily pause where everyone feared he was suffering from memory loss, but Pidge quickly stepped forward to dissolve that fear.“That was me,” she said, walking over to stand by Keith after a nudge and a pointed look from Hunk. “It was the only thing we could think of to do to keep the Galra from finding out what we were doing. Sorry, but it might be a while before you have another working one.”Shiro turned his head to blearily peer up at them, managing a tiny smile. “I owe you both my thanks.”“Allura did all of the hard work, transferring you back into your body,” Keith told him. “And Lance helped.”“Thank you,” Shiro said, raising his voice as much as he could. Exhaustion coated his words and every action he took and he soon closed his eyes. “I guess getting pulled out of the Astral Plane and back into a body is more tiring than I thought.”“We'll reset the pod for healing to make sure your recovery goes as smoothly as possible,” Allura reassured him. She nodded to Coran, who worked to do as she asked at once.As Shiro slid into a deep, restful sleep, a sense of serenity began to fall over the inhabitants of the Castle of Lions. At last, everyone was right where they were supposed to be. The paladins were home.Soon, they would have to return to the war and all of the problems associated with it, but for the moment they could exist in a bubble where everything was perfect. And once they did return, they could do so with renewed enthusiasm, ready to take on anything else the universe wanted to throw their way.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Keith comfortably sat on the couch in the paladin lounge, one arm holding a tablet so he could help review possible battle strategies and the other draped lightly across the back of the couch where Pidge sat and was scanning over the latest attempt at integrating Altean tech into Garrison fighter-class ships. If he glanced over, he could see a header which read: “Mecha Flex Exofighter – Prototype 0.8”.“Do you ever want to just punch Lotor in his stupid, smug face?” Pidge asked, completely unsolicited. She dropped her tablet into her lap and threw back her head in a display of pent up frustration.Keith set aside his work in a more gentle manner. “You know I do. What's going on now?”“Nothing. It's just the usual,” Pidge grumbled. “Going on about how the Galra need quintessence and looking into the rift in the remains of Daibazaal is the best way to do that, even though Shiro's pointed out a number of times that without the war, the Galra don't have a need for that much quintessence. I think it's the only reason Allura hasn't given in and started to help him. Well, that and Lance redirecting her to whatever issue the Garrison is having in figuring out how Altean technology works.“I just wish we didn't have to have him around, even if he has been useful.” Pidge sighed and tipped her head to the side, her hair just barely brushing against Keith's shoulder.“Best to keep him where we can keep an eye on him,” he recited, trying not to focus on how close she was. Just a few more centimeters...Pidge grinned and sat up straight so she could playfully nudge him. “Now you sound like Shiro.”“Does that mean you'll listen to me?”“Ha! Not a chance!”The door slid open and they quickly separated as Krolia and Travis walked in. Keith blushed and removed his arm from the back of the couch, pointedly looking away as his heartbeat quickened.Krolia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about how closely they were sitting, which Keith was grateful for. He still wasn't sure what was going on between him and Pidge and he appreciated the room everyone was giving them to figure it out on their own.“Is everything alright?” Pidge asked.“We got a message from Slav askin' us to meet him here,” Travis explained. “I'm guessin' he's not here yet.”Keith wondered if he had an appropriate excuse to leave before Slav arrived, but couldn't think of a single one that his parents wouldn't immediately see through. It was a talent his dad had been surprisingly bad at in the beginning, whereas it took his mom roughly two weeks to figure it out.It was hard to believe it had only been one year since everything in his life changed for the better. Shiro was back to his old self. He had both of his parents in his life. A close friendship with Pidge. The respect of Commander Iverson and other officers of the Galaxy Garrison – which had always felt like an impossibility.Pidge picked up her tablet. “I should get back to the lab and see what Hunk thinks about the flaxum assembly. There have been some concerns about it coming loose during flight and I need to run some ideas by him.”“Nice try, but you and I both know Hunk's with your mom talking about solutions for food production in space,” Keith said, stopping her before she could stand up. If he had to deal with Slav, so did she.Pidge slumped back. “Just wait until it's my turn to design another holo-deck exercise.”“I look forward to it.”He knew she meant it as a form of revenge for making her stay, but he genuinely enjoyed the programs she created so far, even the ones he failed at. Each one had its own challenge and unique solution.Keith's favorite so far was the one most hated by everyone else who tried it. (Except, amusingly, his mom and Kolivan – maybe it was a Galra thing.) It was a ninety minute obstacle course which Lance nicknamed “The Death Gauntlet”. Between the various traps, the training robot stalking the participant through a maze, the portion run in complete darkness, and a half dozen other tasks, it was little wonder that most people failed halfway through. And even if they did complete it, no one managed it in the intended ninety minutes, though Shiro came the closest on his third attempt and got his time down to one-hundred-and-three minutes.“It will be worse than the Death Gauntlet,” Pidge warned, jostling him from his thoughts.“You heard about Lance's name for it, huh?” Keith asked.“Kind of hard not to when everyone calls it that now,” Pidge said with a shrug. “Anyway, you're really not going to like the next one. I've gotten requests for a team-building version of it and while I could just copy the original and add the allowance of more than one participant, that would be boring.”Keith nodded in agreement. It would be boring, not just for Pidge, but for him as well, even if it did require working with an unknown team.“But if you're nice to me, maybe I can swing it so you're with someone who takes it seriously, like Shiro,” Pidge tried to bribe him.As long as it wasn't Griffin, Keith figured he'd survive. Luckily, everyone knew that it wasn't an option as the last time.The door slid open a second time and Slav shuffled inside, his arms laden with an unfortunately familiar machine.Pidge went still next to Keith. “Why do you have that?”Krolia and Travis exchanged worried looks, keeping their distance from Slav as he made his way to the table and set it down. He began pushing buttons and flipping switches.“Slav, why do you have that?” Pidge asked a second time. “I thought you destroyed it because it's too dangerous to keep around.”“Don't worry, it's perfectly safe!” Slav cheerily assured them.Maybe Keith should have let Pidge go after all. Or rolled with her excuse to leave and made up a reason to go with her. His parents probably would have let him.The trans-reality extrapolater hummed to life and a blue light began to shine from the top, causing the space above it to waver. After a few seconds, an image began to form – a figure with dark hair and pale purple skin.Travis stepped closer. “Keithir?”The image solidified until it was clear that it was Keithir, who appeared to be trying to speak to them. Travis walked over until he was standing in front of the machine, at which point a second blue light began emitting from the side and scanned him up and down.“Dad?” Keithir's voice came through. “Can you hear me? Slav, are you sure this thing is working correctly?”“There's nothing wrong with my machine!”Travis chuckled. “I can hear you, but I don't understand. I thought...” He paused to shake his head. “It's good to see you again.”Keithir smiled back at him; a smile which grew broader as Krolia joined Travis in front of the machine. “We asked Slav to hold off on destroying it and helped him get it to work the way he intended. This is... this is our last chance. It was a risk waiting this long.”“But one worth it,” Katie said off-screen.Keithir shifted aside to let his wife step into frame next to him. In her arms, wrapped in a deep purple blanket, was a baby with the faintest fuzz of black hair on top of her head and the trace of darkening markings up each cheek.Pidge breathed out softly, reaching for Keith's arm.“We'd like you to meet your granddaughter, Princess Krolia of Daibazaal.”