Katie's eyes slowly opened awakening from yet another dream or more like a memory. Her head shifted to look at her right to find the clock sitting by her bedside. As her hazel eyes refocused, she read '5:36 am' glowing through the darkness. She was supposed to wake up at 5:45 am. Muscle memory, she concluded. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes rather harshly trying to push the sleep away that was crawling back into her head. She forced herself to sit up on her rather uncomfortable bed and stretch out her arms to wake herself up. She looked around her room finding herself in one of the Grarrison rooms like she should be in.
She picked herself up and off the bed trying to guide herself towards her bathroom, skipping over random objects lying on her floor due to her messy habits. The light switched on in her bathroom almost blinding her. She stepped in front of her mirror and looked back at her reflection. Her fingers ran through her long, auburn hair and down the crook of her neck over battle scars. She picked up her hair and tied it back in a ponytail before leaning over and grabbing her bottle containing her pills. She opened the cap and tipped it over taking two capulets. She popped the two in her mouth swallowing it immediately without any water.
Time to start the day.
It's been 8 years since the war had ended and the paladins returned to Earth. They were happy to be able to hang up their bayards and finally be able to spend time with their families. Of course, the first couple of weeks were packed with celebrations all over the world. The paladins attended feasts with leaders from all over, including the president. They were labeled as heroes and received medals for their achievement. The world loved them, there was even merchandise based off them. Everyone cheered for the Paladins of Voltron and their sacrifice of saving the universe.
Other species from other planets followed in their path and joined the revolution. They praised Voltron and its victory. It was great for awhile, until the hype died down.
Eventually everyone became calm about the situation, and that's when the paladins decided what was best for them. At first they continued to constantly hang out and stay close, but that was up until their lives began to change.
After careful thinking, Keith realized that Earth just wasn't for him. He believed that he belonged up in space with his mom and to help reform the Blade of Mamora. The team understood and wished him the best before he took off in the black lion with his mom and headed back up into the stars.
Allura couldn't stay on Earth forever. She had to get back to what was left of Altea and find the rest of the alteans to rebuild her kingdom. She took the blue lion with her and decided that the rest of the lions should stay here with their paladins in case of emergencies. Her along with Coran and Romelle left Earth.
Hunk decided that space just wasn't for him. He quit attending the Galaxy Garrison and went into culinary school and train to be a chef. He said his goodbye to the yellow lion. Lance and Pidge stayed in contact with him for awhile before they just drifted apart due to the distance. Last they heard, he opened up a restaurant hours away from their home.
Shiro stayed at the Garrison and soon took Iverson's place when he retired. He was now running the Garrison with his leadership skills. He goes to therapy for his past traumatic experiences. He's still in control of the Atlas with Katie replacing her father's spot.
Lance wanted to stay at the Garrison and continue his studies to become an official pilot and commander, but things took a turn for the worst as he let his fears get the best of him. He disappeared one night and never came back. He never got to say goodbye to the red lion. Shiro called his family, but his family had said they haven't heard from him.
As for Pidge who now goes by Katie again became what she always wanted to be. She was the Garrison's technician, also a Lieutenant/Commander like Shiro once was. She worked on improving their technology just like her father once did before he sadly passed away from an illness. She was quite proud of herself from all her past accomplishments, but she always felt like something was missing.
The team drifted apart as the years went on. No one heard from anyone. Shiro and Katie stayed close. Keith would occasionally contact Shiro but not very often. They were all off doing their own things.
As Katie stood there collecting all her past memories together with the team, she began to get dressed. She put on her workout clothes and headed out towards the door. The halls were still dark since the students are meant to be asleep. Occasionally she would catch a couple students trying to sneak back into their rooms but she'd let it slide since she used to be one of those kids too.
She made it to the Garrison's gym and immediately began training. It was a routine she was so used to now. It brought her back memories from the castle. It gave her peace and way to release any anger or frustration she was keeping in her.
She balled her fists and began throwing punches at the dummy set in front of her. She had taped her hands to avoid any substantial injuries, since one time she punched so hard she broke her hand. She was having a bad day at the time actually, a bad month. She swung right, left, up and under. It was swift and smooth as if she was now skilled at hand to hand combat. Eventually she switched from the dummy to an actual live robot the Garrison installed. She put it on a high level and began to fight it.
The robot's hands stood defensively before it began to attack. She blocked it with her arms and would eventually throw in her own punches. Sweat poured from her body as she was working hard to keep the robot from hurting her. She was picturing a Galra soldier in front of her to continue to fire up her anger.
She threw in some kicks, making the robot lose its balance. It was trying to regain its posture but Katie wouldn't let it. She jumped up and threw her foot down, landing on its chest plate. She sat on top of it, throwing down punches on where its face should be, watching electrical circuits spiral out. Electricity started to static around it as she was breaking the device. Eventually it stopped fighting back and she watched as the thing went limp.
She huffed as she looked down at the destroyed robot. Her hands began to feel sore but she ignored the feeling. She brought her arm to her forehead wiping away the sweat forming on her brow. Suddenly through the silence, she could hear clapping from a distance. Her head picked up immediately turning to the direction of it. She relaxed once she realized it was Shiro who was standing proudly a couple feet away from the mat.
"Good job! That's like . . . what? The sixth one you've broken since you first introduced them?" Shiro smiled playfully as he placed his human hand on his hip, the other just casually hovering beside him. Katie picked herself up in a huff and grabbed the beaten robot, throwing it into the pile where the rest of them sat broken. "I'll make another one." She sighed walking over to her bottle of water. She opened the cap and began to chug it down. He walked over to her watching her closely.
"Have you been taking your medication?" He said calmly.
"Yes, /dad/. It just doesn't kick in that quick yet . . ." She spoke in between her drinks of water. He eyed her closely with a frown. "Are you sure? Because you shouldn't be having outbursts like this. You remember the last time you went this far "
"Yes, yes, I punched a commanding officer. That was when I was still training. I'm older now . . . You shouldn't be worrying about me, you should be worrying about yourself. After all, you're more fucked up than me anyway." She soon realized that came off as harsh. She cursed under her breath frowning. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay." He placed a hand on her shoulder. She was still significantly short. She grew some feminine features but that was about it. Poor 24 year old Katie will forever be the short stack of pancakes she is.
"It's just . . . Before your dad died-"
"He told you to look after me. Both you and Matt. I know, but I'm okay, really Shiro." She smiles sincerely at the older man. He smiled back nodding. "Good. Now how about we spar for a bit? I can teach you another thing or two."
"You're on, old man." She chuckled.
After awhile of sparring with Shiro and kicking his ass a couple of times, she returned back into her room to take a shower and get ready for the day.
She felt the cool water hit her back as she stood silently in her shower stall. She felt tears prick her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall. She was done crying. She didn't want to think about it anymore.
Katie blow dried her hair and put it in a single braid right before dressing herself. She put on her Garrison uniform it was slim fitting since she had one specially made for her small figure. She placed the cap on her head and smiled back at her reflection in the mirror. She read the badge on her shirt: Lieutenant Holt. Just like Shiro. She went back to being called Katie Holt shortly after returning to Earth. Pidge Gunderson was just a pretend name for her to play dress up and fly around in a giant green cat in space. Those days were over.
She exited her room and walked down the now lit halls. She passed by young students who saluted her and she saluted them back. Her peers greeted her with a "Lieutenant Holt" and a nod of their heads. It was a normal thing for her in the morning. She made her way down to the garage to start working on repairing damaged jets and upgrading other crafts. It was something that kept her mind busy and that made her happy. Technology has always been her thing ever since she was a little girl.
"Lieutenant Holt, how are you this fine morning?"
She heard someone speak to her as she was lying right under a altean space craft; she had helped built a while back with altean technology. She rolled out to look up at the person speaking to her. Her eyebrow rose at the man staring down at her with a smirk.
"Lieutenant Kendrik. How can I help you?" She mused.
Louis Kendrik was one of the students that graduated with Katie and became a Lieutenant/Commander just like her. He was also the kid who called her a nerd in middle school one time. Now, he's taken interest in the girl. But Katie doesn't really bother to listen to him now a days. "Oh, just wanted to check in on you. See how you're doing. You always have something interesting to say, little Holt."
"Fuck off, Kendrik." Pidge said blankly.
"See what I mean! Always something interesting! You never cease to amaze me, Katie."
"Lieutenant Holt, please. I hate the way your voice sounds when saying my name."
"Oh, Katie. You're funny."
What she hated most about Louis was that he reminded her of Lance. Funny, goofball, and charming. She just wanted him to go away. The memory of her Cuban friend continued to haunt her in a taunting way.
"Is Kendrik bothering you again, Katie?" Her attention turned to Veronica who was now standing beside Kendrik.
"More like torturing me with his presence." She scowled before returning to her work.
"Oh, come on! I'm not that terrible, you guys." Louis whined looking down at the two girls.
"You heard her, leave the girl be Kendrik." Veronica rolled her eyes standing in front of the young man. He groaned and looked at Katie one last time. "Bye, Katie. See you at lunch!" He smirked sheepishly and turned around going on with his day.
"Thanks, Ronnie." Katie sighed as she pulled herself out from under the craft and sat up on the floor, wiping her hands with a rag.
"Of course, what are best friends for?"
Best friends. Her first best friend. The two became close after Lance introduced the two and bonded over their love of technology. Their friendship took off with a great start.
Pidge sat there silently looking down at her hands. "Hey, Veronica? Have you heard anything from your brother yet?" She saw Veronica tense as she stopped typing into her tablet. She watched as her blue eyes switched down to look at her. She sighed and shook her head frowning. "Nope . . . Nothing yet. He only calls on holidays, and it's only for a minute or two to confirm to us that he's still alive."
Pidge nodded sadly and stood up after finishing up her work. As she was assorting her tools, Veronica spoke up again. "I told him you miss him." Pidge froze. She looked at Veronica for a brief moment and smiled happily. She said goodbye to Veronica and exited the garage.
She made her way up into Shiro's office finding him sitting at his desks and typing away into a commuter. "Hey, Katie? Everything alright?"
"Yea. Just wanted to report that I finished upgrading the altean crafts. Now they have advanced cloaking and boosters that last longer. Ready for the MFE pilots to fly."
"You know, Katie... They could really use you out in space again. You would be really useful "
"I told you, Shiro. I'm not ready. I will fly around Earth's atmosphere but not outside it."
Shiro sighed nodding. "I understand Katie."
Space brought back haunting memories for the girl. She hated thinking about it and the memories that followed. Katie feared space a big, black endless infinity. She didn't want to return to a place that had mostly brought pain instead of fond memories.
Suddenly, Pidge felt something. She felt something that she hasn't felt in a long time. She began to clutch her chest and place her hands on a chair to hold her balance.
"Katie?" Shiro stood up with a worried look on his face. He walked over to her placing a hand on her arm. "Katie, are you okay?"
"I... I don't know. I think... I think it's the Green lion." Katie frowned. "She's . . . She's trying to tell me something. What is it girl?" She mumbled the last part trying to dig deep inside her. Suddenly a bright light caught her attention from outside. She turned to the window, Shiro turning along with her. They both watched as something was crashing into Earth's atmosphere. The two rushed to the window to get a better look and were surprised to discover that it was the black lion hurdling towards the surface. "Oh quiznak . . ." Katie gasped.
"Come on!" Shiro was the first out the door and Katie followed close behind him. The two made it outside and hopped on into one of the Range Rovers. Katie was behind the wheel and was following the black lion; they watched as it was falling fast. "Don't get too close!" Shiro reminded Katie. Suddenly the ground shook as they watched the black lion crash on land. A gust of wind flew out making Katie lose control of the Range Rover. She slammed on the brakes luckily coming to a complete stop. They exited the vehicle and ran towards the lion through the dust.
They entered the cockpit as quickly as they could. Shiro and Katie both discovered Keith sitting in his chair badly beaten. There was blood coming down from his forehead over his eye, and his appearance had drastically changed. His hair was tied back in a ponytail due to how long his mullet grew out and his bangs hang in front of his face. He seemed older and matured. Katie's eyes widened at the sight of him. "It's Keith..." She said softly.
Shiro shook Keith but not too harshly. "Keith? Keith! Can you hear me?" He frowned. He turned back to Katie. "We need to get the pod ready!" Lucky for them, Coran had helped build an altean healing pod for them to use whenever they need it.
With Keith back on Earth due to his drastic state, whatever lies out ahead will definitely be drastic.