"Welcome tooooo… ARRREEE… YOOOOUUUU… WORTHYYYYYY! Wwwwwith your HOOST… BOOOOOOOB!"

A small, cyan-colored creature emerged from the "studio's" floor, lit by two spotlights on both the left and right side. Behind him, a figure clad in dark sat in a seat facing a screen that also faced another chair that faced a screen. "Bob", the cyan-colored alien, soaked up the cheers from an audience that wasn't there. Still, he acted like there was one. The figure behind him didn't move, instead waiting for Bob to finish his introduction and get on with the show already. "Greetings, and welcome to Are You Worthy! Now, this game is different from Garfle Warfle Snick, because instead of two teams going at it, I'll be sitting down with a single contestant to ask them questions about their life and other topics!

"Our contestant tonight has already been on Garfle Warfle Snick, but this is his first time on this show. Please welcome, from the Blades of Marmora, a former Paladin of Voltron, KEITH!"

The lights above the hot seat instantly lit up, revealing Keith sitting in the contestant's chair. He had to shield his eyes because they'd grown accustomed to the lack of light, but besides that, he was visibly ready to handle the spotlight (ba-dum, tsh!). Bob waddled over to Keith and shook the former Paladin's hand. Smiling, Keith took Bob's hand. Then Bob sat down in the seat across from him. "Welcome to the Hot Seat, Keith," Bob started. "Now please, tell me your name, where you're from, what you do and why you're here."

"I'm Keith, from Earth, leader of the Blades of Marmora, former Voltron paladin, and I'm here to help a friend out."

"And who is this friend you want to help out, Keith?" Bob asked. "Be honest."

Keith lowered his head, tugged on his Marmora uniform and sighed. "I want to bring my friend Princess Allura back from the dead," he answered, "To the way she'd be now if she hadn't needlessly sacrificed herself, and with her memories intact." Over a year had passed since Allura had needlessly sacrificed herself to save all realities. Keith had spent many sleepless nights wondering why he didn't do anything to stop her. Even though he had seen what she did on the whale in the Quantum Abyss, he also saw possibilities of different futures. He wasn't telling Bob, though. Just a month before, he'd overheard two aliens discussing something when he heard the word 'bob'. His mind had turned the word over and over until he remembered the humiliating game show he'd played with the reality-warping creature or god or something. And now he was here.

"Aaaaahh, Princess Allura," Bob said in typical TV host sympathy, showing a picture of her bright smile, followed by the nebula with her shape. It made Keith turn away and try to hide his pained expression. "She will be missed. And what are you willing to do to get her back, hmmmm?" He leaned towards Keith. The Paladin could tell that he was probing Keith's intentions. So he met Bob's gaze with a steely look of his own.

"Whatever I can," he answered.

"Well, we'll have to see what happens on Are! You! Worthyyyyyy!" Bob announced. "Now, the rules of this game are simple; I'll ask you a series of questions, both multiple choice and otherwise, and you'll have to get every one of them correct if you want me to use my powers to warp reality and bring the dead back to life. Also, I might ask follow-up questions if I feel I need to. The topics will range from general trivia to questions about your personal character. You'll also get three lifelines; ask a friend, ask the audience, or 50/50. Understand?"

"Perfectly," Keith answered.

"That's the spirit! So, Keith, are you ready to begin?"

"Bring it," Keith answered.

"Then let's get started!" Dramatic music swelled, peaked and faded. The lights dimmed a little bit, focusing on Bob and Keith. "Alright, first question; What's the name of Princess Allura's father? Is it A) Zarkon, B) Coran, C) Alfor or D) Texas?" The question and answer options appeared on Keith's screen.

"C, Alfor," Keith answered.

"Cooo-RRECT!" Bob declared. "Next question; Would you say you're a righteous person? Is it, A) Yes, B) No, C) I don't know or D) Maybe."

Keith almost did a second take but regained his figurative footing. He promptly figured out that Bob was doing this on purpose, and since it was his world, he had no other choice but to play along. But without missing a beat, he answered, "A, yes, I am."

"And HOW would you say you're a righteous person?" Bob asked.

"I led the Paladins of Voltron, but that's not enough," Keith answered. "I try to help people no matter where I go, I try to fix any wrongs I see and I'll fight against tyranny no matter where it pops up. I'm not going to let myself go down a dark path. I want to help people and it feels good."

"Cooo-RRECT!" Bob shouted again. "Next question; What is Allura's favorite flower? Is it A) Juniberries, B) Roses, C) Yalexian Lillies or D) Cacti?"

"A, Juniberries," Keith answered. "She told me how she loved their smell." His eyes dropped as he smiled wistfully. A tear started to form in his left eye, but he pulled himself together in time for Bob to tell him if he was right.

"Cooooorrect again!" Bob announced. "You're doing well so far, even if it's just 3 questions. Now then, next question! Which lion did Allura pilot? Was it A) the Red Lion, B) the Green Lion, C) the Black Lion or D), the Blue Lion?"

"D, the Blue Lion."

"Another correct question, you're on fire tonight so far!" Bob declared. "So, besides the last time you were on Garfle Warfle Snick, have you been on any other shows?"

"No, just Garfle Warfle Snick."

"Good to know! So far it seems the competition would love to have you on! If there was competition." Bob winked eliciting laughter from the invisible audience. "How are you feeling so far, by the way?"

"I'm feeling good," Keith answered. "It's still early, but I think I've got the hang of this."

"I'm glad you're game!" Bob declared. "Now, let's get back into the swing of things, shall we?"

"Bring it."

"Next question! What was Lotor's evil plan? Was it A) Harvest Quintessence from innocent Alteans? B, manipulate Princess Allura into doing his dirty work? C, conquer the universe and kill anyone who stands in his way, or D, all of the above?"

"D," Keith answered.

"Rrrrright again! One more question, then we go onto the next round. What's the name of the planet Altean alchemy supposedly originated? Is it A) Arus, B) Oriande, C) Olkarion or D) Daibazaal?"

"It's B, Oriande," Keith answered.

The music flared back up, almost making Keith jump, but he kept his cool again. Bob raised his arms, shouting something about how Keith was going on to the next round. "We'll be right back to Are You Worthy, right after this!"

[Commercial: A promo for Bi Boh Bii's sitcom's new season. There's going to be a special guest, celebrity chef Vrepit Sal as himself]

"We now return to Are… You… WORTHYYYYY!" the announcer bellowed over the sounds of the theme song. The lights came back on, this time focused solely on Keith and Bob. Keith was busy sipping some water that he'd requested and Bob poofed into his hand. Realizing he was back on, Keith put the water bottle down. He gazed at Bob, wondering what the reality-warping alien had planned for him this time. Bob's smile and game show host personality belied the true nature of an immortal, all-knowing being—a god, for all intents and purposes—who had something planned for him. Mentally resolving to stay on his guard, he smiled and waved to the "audience" when Bob introduced him again.

"So how are you feeling so far, Keith?" Bob asked.

"I'm feeling good."

"Good, good. Is there anyone you'd like to give a special shout-out tonight?"

"Yeah, my friends, the Voltron Paladins, my mom Krolia, and my dad, even though it's too late to bring him back."

"Well, I could bring him back, but it would require you to give up on bringing Allura back."

"No," said Keith. "I've made peace with that. He died a hero. Allura was taken from the universe too soon."

"Well then, let's keep going. Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"Then let's get started!" The lights dimmed a little more. Bob leaned into the screen in front of him to read the question that popped up on his screen. "What is Allura's mother's name? Is it A, Romelle, B, Honerva, C, Melenor or D, Fala?"

Keith studied the screen intently. This one wasn't as hard as he expected, but experience told him it was still very tricky. He already knew Romelle and Honerva, which eliminated them both. It was like getting a free 50/50 lifeline. But the other two… he realized the trick here. Bob had expected him to fall for a trap expecting an easy question. He thought about it. He remembered hearing somewhere that Allura's mom's name sounded like something out of Lord of the Rings. Fala didn't look very Lord of the Rings-y, so by process of elimination, he said, "C, Melenor."

"He's right!" Bob announced. Keith released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Next question! What's the creature that guards the secrets of Oriande? Is it A, the White Lion? B, a Robeast? C, a White Tiger or D, a Bakku?"

Another tough question. Cursing himself for not being there when Lotor and Allura were bonding on Oriande, he leaned in to study the options. Robeast was definitely out, but that left three of them. Knowing he still had 3 lifelines but needed to keep them, he mulled over if it was a good idea to go right for it and then use a lifeline in one of those leading questions Bob was bound to throw at him. He looked up at Bob. The alien's expression was mostly as neutral as a smile could get. He was definitely hiding something. He clearly expected Keith not to get this one. But Keith studied the questions again. Then he remembered the lions. Even though Alfor claimed he didn't know what he was doing designing the Voltron lions, there had to be another explanation. "I'm going to go with A, the White Lion," he answered.

The music flared. "Well done, Keith!" Bob announced. "You're hanging in there! Next question; You left Voltron because you hated your teammates A, Correct? B, Incorrect, I had some walls up, C, I wanted Lotor to get close to everyone and ruin everything or D, maybe?"

Another leading question. The question itself caused Keith to wince as it reminded him of the poor choice he made when Shiro left. Narrowing his eyes at Bob, he answered, "B, I had some walls up."

"And I'll bet you put those walls up because you hated your teammates," Bob continued.

"No, it's because I was scared of being pushed away, so I push other people away," Keith answered. "It's… something I'm still working on. And I pushed Allura away because… never mind."

"You are correct!" Bob declared. "Three more questions, then you move onto the next round! The next question is, 'what did I do to be worthy of Voltron even though I'm just a human?' Did you A, steal the lions? B, kill the previous paladins? C, find a lion or D, the Lion found you?"

"We found a lion," said Keith. "The blue lion was on earth."

"You were ready for the follow-up, and you're right!" Bob announced. "Next one; Which of the following describes your life the most? Is it A, hard? B, Difficult, C, Challenging or D, Broken?"

"C, challenging," Keith answered. "Because I've met a lot of challenges in my life and I've solved many of them."

"And what's the challenge you haven't solved?"

"I'm still not good expressing my feelings," Keith answered, "And I still have a habit of pushing people away before they reject me."

"Correct!" Bob declared. "One more question; Say you come across a weapon more powerful than Voltron that could hypothetically bring everlasting peace to the universe. What do you do with that weapon? Do you A; keep it and use it to threaten your enemies? B, Leave it alone? C, destroy it? Or D, tell others about it?"

This was a trick question and Keith knew it. There was only one answer that Bob wanted, and one of those was eliminated because there was no way Bob was going to let him have Allura back if he answered that he'd use a dangerous weapon. That option was already off the table. Leaving it alone was an appealing choice… except someone else could find it and use it to terrorize the universe. He looked up at Bob again. Bob was giving him that smug look again. Keith met his gaze with a steely expression, making Bob frown for a millisecond. But Bob smiled again, lowering his gaze so that he looked like Norman Bates staring out at the audience. Keith held his gaze for a few more seconds, then went back to the screen. He mulled over C, which was also a feasible option. But something about it didn't seem right. Destroying a powerful weapon was surely to cause massive recoil damage, and there was also the possibility the weapon could be hard to destroy. That just left D.

"D, tell people about it. The universe needs to know there's a dangerous weapon out there, and everyone needs to do something about it."

"Is that your final answer?" Bob asked.

"Yes."

The dramatic music that had been quietly playing in the background swelled to a triumphant crescendo, allowing Keith to release the breath he'd been holding.

"Onto the next round, Keith! And we'll be right back with the next round after this message from our sponsors!"

[Commercial: A New Altea and New Daibazaal tourism ad]

The lights brightened back up, revealing Keith and Bob sitting in the hot seats. "Welcome back to Are you Worthy! With me, your host Bob!" the alien god-like figure announced. "If you're just joining us, my guest Keith, the former leader of Voltron and current leader of the Blades of Marmora has correctly answered 11 questions so far. Now Keith, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good," Keith answered.

"You've been with the Blades for a few decaphoebs. What made you join them?"

"I joined them because I wanted to learn more about my past," Keith answered. "I have a knife that my mom left me. I didn't know where it came from until I came to the Blades. Then I found out I'm half-Galra, half-human. Then I went to them full-time because Shiro—or rather, a clone of him—returned and I felt empty, alone and unsure what to do, so I used them to push my friends away. Even though I returned to Voltron, I still regret leaving them. But it was thanks to them I was finally able to find my mother and find a way to heal."

"Such a touching story," said Bob. "So what are you doing now?"

"The Blade are now a humanitarian—forgive the phrase—organization. We help distribute food, clothing and other relief materials in places hit by disaster. We also help keep the peace in areas that areplagued by violence. Our mission was resistance, now it's peace, thanks to Princess Allura's vision."

"A truly honorable cause," said Bob. "Now, let's continue!" The music swelled and the lights dimmed to focus only on Keith and Bob. "Now Keith, I'm ostensibly going to ask you the standard 5 questions, but be prepared for more if I feel like I have to ask.

"And just a reminder, I don't often do this. But, if I deem your case to be worthy, I can grant you the grand prize, the resurrection of Princess Allura!" The "audience" cheered.

"Don't call it a prize," said Keith.

"Suit yourself," said Bob. "But before we go on, I must inform you that your friend Lance was on this show and... let's just say he didn't win. Now then, let's begin!"

So Lance thought of this too... Keith thought to himself. He suspected that Lance would try it at some point, since he felt extremely guilty about letting Allura needlessly sacrifice herself. The additional fact that he'd failed could only mean that either Bob was lying, or telling the truth, both to intimidate him. The former was more likely. To be honest, even though he encouraged Lance and Allura, he could see that it was unhealthy for both, especially Allura.

"In order to be able to go to Oriande, what must an Altean be able to do? Is it A, be a chosen Altean alchemist? B, defeat a white lion, C, prove themselves to a guardian or D, find it?"

Another trap question. Every answer was correct. Yes, Keith had asked Coran how Oriande works. It would be easy to say that Bob wanted Keith to get this one right, except Bob had been making everything pretty tough for him so far. There was only one answer that Bob would accept. Studying the screen, Keith reviewed his options. He ran them over several times in his head, considering the options. But he kept running into a brick wall. Then he remembered that he still hadn't used his lifelines yet. He'd coasted for most of the game, even though Bob had definitely pulled out as many stops as he could to hinder his progress. Anyways, now would be a good time to use one.

"I'd like to use a lifeline, Bob," he said.

"Alright, which one?"

Quiznak! He hadn't thought of which lifeline to use. Quickly, he thought of one. "I'll ask the audience."

"Let's see what the audience has to say!" Bob announced. The dramatic music swelled and Keith turned to see the poll conducted of the invisible audience. "Forty-five-point-seven percent of the audience says 'C', twenty-one-point-two says 'B', 15 percent says 'A' and 9.5 percent says 'D'. Does that help?"

No, it quiznaking didn't.

He'd miscalculated. Bob was almost certainly trying to throw him off so he could answer incorrectly. He was playing dirty. As much as he wanted to fight back, Keith remembered the last time they—more specifically, Pidge—tried to play dirty too and it almost ended horribly for them. Nothing was worse than being forced to fight clean by an opponent who was fighting dirty. He rubbed his hands together, examined the "poll" results and went back to his thoughts. As much as he hated to do it, there was only one other choice he had; use his second lifeline.

"I'll use another lifeline," he said. "Fifty-fifty."

Two options were erased. The "audience" gasped when 'B' and 'C' were the ones to go. "Hmmm, the plot thickens!" Bob chuckled. "Now Keith, are you sure you don't want to use your last lifeline?"

Keith didn't answer, but re-focused on both answers. Yet despite what Bob might've assumed, Keith was confident he knew the right answer. Finding Oriande was the easy part. It was getting in that was the hard part, according to Coran. If this was the logic Bob was going for, then—"It's A!"

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes! Yes, it's my final answer!"

"You… are…" Bob paused a little longer, "CORRECT!"

Relieved, Keith sighed and leaned back against his seat. But that rest only lasted a tick.

"Next question! And this one isn't multiple choice, so you can't use a lifeline, lucky you." 'Lucky.' "You knew Princess Allura was going to die, based on what you saw in the Quantum Abyss, but is it true that you were only using her to stop Honerva because you're a coward deep down?"

Keith screamed internally.

"There's only one answer," Bob said, clearly taunting him.

As if Keith hadn't wrestled with that fact for two years.

"Well, Keith?"

"Yes," Keith answered. "Yes, I'm a coward. I knew that she might sacrifice herself, and I didn't tell her there were other ways to stop Honerva without sacrificing herself."

"Like what?"

"Like Honerva sacrificing herself," Keith answered.

"That's correct!" Bob chimed. "But why didn't you tell her?"

"Because it's like you said," Keith answered, "I was being a coward."

"Well, don't beat yourself up too hard about it" said Bob. "Onto the next question! And this one is multiple choice, so you can use a lifeline!" Was that supposed to make him feel better? The lifeline was to phone a friend. The only people he told about this were Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor. Nothing against them, but if Bob called, say, Coran or Lance, then his whole operation was compromised. "The questions is, why did you yell at Princess Allura while you were lost in the depths of space? Is it A, you were jealous that she and Prince Lotor were close? B, you secretly hated her? C, you were going insane? Or D, you cowardly wanted to drive her away so that she would sacrifice herself?"

Once again, Bob wasn't being fair, as was his prerogative. But he'd already asked him a question that—it hit Keith, but like a tap on the shoulder instead of a punch to the face. Bob was trying to get him to mess up. "The answer's C," he said. "Everyone was in a dark place, myself included, we weren't in total control of our actions and I wanted her to admit she'd made a mistake."

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes, it's my final answer," said Keith.

The triumphant music swelled. "Correct!" Bob announced as Keith released the 5th or 6th breath he'd held all show. Two more to go and Allura would be back. "Are you nervous?" Bob asked.

"Not at all," Keith answered. A lie. Keith's heart pounded against his chest.

"You doing alright, and that's all that matters," said Bob. "The second to last question is, your friends are in grave danger, and you can't save them in time. What do you do? Do you A, run? B, try to keep fighting, even if it kills you? C, give up, or D, join the other side?"

Bob must not have seen that time Keith nearly sacrificed himself to save his friends from Haggar's bombs. What's more, Bob was trying to see how selfish he was. "The answer is B, try to keep fighting," he answered."

"YOU ARE CORRECT!" Bob announced. "Now Keith, for ALL THE MARBLES," Bob declared, "WHY do you want to resurrect Princess Allura? Is it A) you didn't get the chance to tell her how you felt about her? B, you need her to help you develop your quintessence sensing abilities? C, you want her all to yourself or D, she's really pretty to look at?"

Keith might as well have been stunned. Whether or not Bob still misunderstood his intentions, the fact of the matter is, none of the choices were HIS correct answer. He didn't care. He didn't get this far by giving up or trying to force the square block into the round hole. Bob obviously wanted Keith to say something selfish. That's what this thing had all been about. Well, part of it, anyway. A few questions here and there were to throw him off.

Looking up at Bob, his eyes met the alien's once again. Bob gave him a smug look as if he thought he'd trapped Keith. Well, if there was any a good time to play Bob's game, now was it. And what he was going to say was the honest truth; "E; because Allura deserved better. She lost and gave everything, but got nothing in return. She deserves a chance to start where she left off and finish her work to spread peace. She need to let go of the past. She deserved to heal. But she didn't get to do it.

"She meant a lot to all of my friends and myself. She didn't get to be happy. And I loved how brave, inspirational and selfless she was. She deserved to love. She deserved to bring justice. And I'll do what I can to help! I've already been doing that!"

Silence. Bob stared at Keith, his jaw hanging open like a cartoon character's. However, that shock didn't last. His expression darkened. "And what will you sacrifice to get her back?"

Crap! Keith almost panicked, but instead responded, "I'll sacrifice Voltron! It's made from a trans-reality comet loaded with enough quintessence to bring her back and keep all the realities intact!"

Bob was completely dumbfounded. Keith was satisfied, because he knew what this meant. The triumphant music swelled, forcing Bob to react. "YOU'VE WON!" he declared. "Let's show Keith what he's won!"

"A newly-resurrected Princess AllurAAAAAAA!" the announcer declared.

Keith stood, but a glimpse of Bob stopped him from racing over to Allura. Reminding himself that he was still playing Bob's game, Keith kept his gaze on Bob, even though he could hear footsteps approaching from behind.

"Well, Keith, congratulations," said Bob. "You're proven yourself worthy! But, before you go, there's a few more things I need to ask you. And I have to make this very clear: You can't turn around to look at Princess Allura."

Anger welled up inside Keith. He took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Remembering some Greek myth about a musician who went to the underworld to get his dead girlfriend back, he kept his focus on Bob.

"So, Keith, is there anything you'd like to say to Allura?" Bob asked.

"Yes," Keith answered. He took a deep breath. "Allura, I'm so, so sorry you had to die. In fact, I wanted to stop you, but for my own selfish reasons. I should've stopped you because you deserved to live and be happy."

"That's touching, Keith," said Bob. "What will you do next? Run off to elope?"

"I'll take her back to New Altea," said Keith. "Then we're going to Earth. Then… I don't know yet. Whatever she wants." The "audience" went 'aaaaaawwwwww'.

"One more question, Keith," Bob asked. "Do you love her?"

"Yes, I do love her," Keith answered. "But I don't care if she doesn't love me back. All that matters is that she believed in me and my place on the team, just like everyone else. I'll have her back unless I know she's doing the wrong thing.

"I'm just glad to have known her."

"Are you SURE you want to bring her back?" Bob asked. "Iiiii could bring back your father."

"My father died a hero," Keith answered.

"So did she. She knew the risks, just like your father. Why her and not him?"

"I just said," Keith answered. "Because she didn't deserve, nor need to die."

"Are you sure it's because you're still in mourning and haven't accepted her death, just like you accepted your father's death?"

"Allura and my father died for similar reasons," Keith answered. "But if I resurrected my dad, I'd be turning my back on Shiro, and I'd betray why my dad rushed into that burning building; to give people a second chance! And that's what Allura deserves!"

Worried that he intimidated Bob, Keith eased his stance, lowered his eyes and prepared for Bob to hand down his judgement. When Bob was silent longer than he expected, Keith opened his eyes to find Bob smiling at him. And not a fake, intimidating smile, either; a genuine one. "You've proven yourself worthy," he said. "CONGRATULATIONS!"

There was a flash of light. Disoriented at first, Keith looked around. The lighting was darker. He was no longer in the "studio". Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid ran up to him, panting.

"What the heck just—is that!?" Ezor's eyes widened. So did Acxa's and Zehtrid's.

"I can't believe it," said Acxa. "You actually did it!"

"Sir! The Allura nebula! It's—it's gone!" A Marmora member sputtered over his earpiece.

"What do you mean!?" Keith answered.

"I mean what I said!" the Marmora member replied. "Look for yourself!" A holographic screen appeared before Keith. He gasped. Allura's nebula was indeed gone, replaced by a silhouette of Voltron.

His heart racing, Keith slowly turned around.

She stood there, still wearing her Paladin armor, but looking a couple years older. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and disbelief. Then she looked up at Keith. Their eyes met. His vision blurred, but he could see tears welling up in her eyes, as well.

"KEITH!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms. Not sobbing quite as loudly as she was, he gently lowered her to the floor, still holding her tightly. His three subordinates rushed to his aide, only to back off. "What did you—how did you—What am I doing here!?"

"You're alive!" Keith sobbed. "You're alive and you get to see what you've created!"

"So, um, are you two going to kiss—OW! Acxa!" Ezor paused. Acxa softly smiled at her. The three backed off, giving Keith and Allura the necessary space.

Finally, Allura stopped crying. She backed off just a little bit to gaze into Keith's eyes. "So, I…"

"You were dead," Keith finished. "But I brought you back so you could finish your work and so you can be happy. Also, everyone else wants to see you, especially Lance."

"You did it for me?"

"Because I love you," Keith said. "But I don't care if you don't love me back—Allura?" She cupped both his cheeks, pulled her towards him, kissed his cheek and then backed off.

"Thank you," she said, "For being so selfless."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

After season 8, I needed a way for me to recover from how much Allura's death hurt. I came up with the idea for this in a tweetstorm and decided to write a fic about it. How you enjoyed it!