Prologue

"Just one month ago, we broke news that the Galaxy Garrison mission to the distant moon of Kerberos failed, and all crew members are believed to be dead. The Galaxy Garrison has recently said that the crash was presumably caused by pilot error…"

Keith clenched his fists and then quickly turned off the radio. Silence fell across the shack, as Keith raised a hand to cover his face.

He didn't want to hear any more about Kerberos, or the fact that they were blaming the entire mission's failure on the pilot. Keith knew that Shiro was one of the best pilots in the entire Galaxy Garrison, which had been why he was selected for the Kerberos mission in the first place. Shiro was patient, knowledgeable, encouraging, and determined. He was one of the greatest people that Keith had ever met… That Keith had ever been friends with.

And now the fact that Shiro was gone… It had landed Keith emotionally in a very dark place. When he was still attending the Galaxy Garrison, Keith was one of the more… stubborn and reckless cadets. But he was a talented pilot, and when things did go south, Keith had Shiro there to help him out.

But when he had first heard the news… Keith didn't take it too well. In fact, he ended up punching Commander Iverson in the face. The end result was Keith getting expelled from the Galaxy Garrison, and Iverson ended up with a permanent injury to his left eye. Keith was then left to grieve on his own, as he then found himself wandering back to the desert, near where he grew up.

Keith had come across an abandoned shack in the desert, and decided to take up residence in it. He was able to smuggle and secure some necessities, and had then pretty much cut himself off from the rest of society. One way that Keith managed to distract himself was to explore around the various caves and canyons that surrounded the desert. He would often go out for hours, riding from place to place on his red hover bike.

He turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall, where it read that it was already past eleven o'clock. Keith did his best to hold back a yawn, as he looked down at his map of the area. There was still a large section he had not explored yet, so he decided that tomorrow he would try and explore part of the large section.

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The next day, Keith was riding through the desert sands on his red hover bike, with his hair blowing in the wind. It reminded him a lot of the sensation that came with flying, and he cherished every second of it. A frown came across Keith's face. Would he ever fly again? It was once his dream to become a pilot and explore space, just like Shiro.

Keith was shaken out of his thoughts when he felt a strange tug in his chest. He quickly made a right turn and entered an area that was slightly off the map. He was very confused, but it felt like something was calling out to him to ride this way. The desert sands were replaced with a series of boulders as Keith entered a more rocky area that was overlooked by a canyon.

Keith eventually stopped when he found himself in front of a cave, and the tugging in his chest ceased. As he slid off the seat of the hover bike and powered it down, Keith noticed that one of the boulders outside of the cave entrance had a strange symbol marked on it. He moved closer so he could get a better look at it, the symbol appeared to look like the letter 'V', but on the sides it had angled lines. Keith tilted his head to the side, trying to see if the symbol was maybe not a 'V', but after a few seconds, he gave up. Looking at the entrance of the cave, Keith could feel the tugging feeling in his chest again, like it was pulling him closer and closer to the entrance.

Keith then decided to go through the entrance of the cave, where he was instantly greeted with darkness. He quickly got out his flashlight and turned it on. But when he pointed the light against the wall, Keith's eyes widened as he was greeted with something he did not expect. There were markings all over the place, some seemed to resemble written text, whereas others were just pictures.

In that moment Keith cursed himself for not bringing his camera with him that day, for he would have jumped on taking photos of the walls of the cave. He ended up walking down the path deeper into the cave, until he came across a dead end. It looked like there had been a cave in at some point in time, causing parts of the cave to fall apart and create a blockage. Which meant that Keith would be unable to go any further into the cave. He shrugged his shoulders and decided that he had probably spent enough time in the cave for today, and began to walk back towards the entrance.

As he walked, his eyes kept wandering back and forth both sides of the cave. Keith had never seen anything like this before in his life. Sure, they had learned about ancient cave paintings in school when he was younger, but to actually see cave markings in front of his own two eyes? It had him at a loss for words.

When Keith exited the cave, it took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the sunlight, but afterwards he turned off his flashlight. Keith then took down the coordinates for the cave, so he could update his map later. He then hopped on his red hover bike, and began to ride back towards the shack. While he was riding along, the tugging was still there in his chest, but it was not as strong as it was earlier. Keith wondered to himself if it was something to do with the distance between himself and the cave that triggered the tugging feeling in his chest. He told himself that next time when he would come back to the cave, he would observe to see if the tugging feeling was still present.

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Keith found himself in a library the next day, where he was currently conducting research. His first thought was to look at the history of the area, particularly with what Native American tribes lived here in the past. Keith learned that tribes such as the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache had lived in the area, but in all of their myths and legends, there was no mention of a Blue Lion.

Keith was very puzzled at this information, and decided to expand his search. Once again, there was no mention anywhere of a cave containing markings of a Blue Lion. It was then that Keith realized that he had come across something very special. But he was still stuck, he couldn't figure out exactly what the markings were talking about.

But who could he go to with this information? And who would be willing to help him uncover the secrets of the cave? Keith exited the library with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He was feeling really defeated with the rate of his progress at the moment. He let out a small sigh as he continued to walk down the sidewalk. Keith ended up passing by a small playground on the way to where his red hover bike was parked. Keith looked over the playground and felt himself being transported back to a happier time, when he had been a lot longer and his father was still alive. He remembered going to the playground and imagining that the playground was like a space station, and that he was an astronaut flying around in space.

Keith faintly smiled as he reviewed the memory in his mind. His father would also join varying from pretending to be a fellow astronaut or when Keith would request it, pretending to be an alien! Keith then remembered that he had another friend who played with him when his dad could not. Her name was Mara, she was two years older than him, had a slight French accent, had had long blonde hair, and her favorite color was purple. Keith later learned that Mara and her parents had recently moved to the area and that they lived very close to him, which eventually led to them becoming best friends. Mara's parents were out of town a lot for their jobs, so sometimes Mara would end up staying with Keith and his dad. Other times however, Mara got to travel with them, and would always bring back a souvenir for Keith. She also loved history, and would often tell Keith facts about history at random times when they hung out together.

But one day, shortly after his tenth birthday, Mara and her family moved back to France. Both of them did not want to be apart, so they promised that they would keep in contact, and continue being friends. And for the first few months, they did stay in contact with each other… Until Keith's father died. Keith had become an orphan, and really struggled to come to terms with everything, and he didn't want to talk to anyone for a couple of years. Things only changed when he enrolled in the Galaxy Garrison at age twelve and found a mentor and friend in Shiro. It was then when Keith was opening up again, that he finally wrote back to Mara. On a few special occasions, Shiro even managed to set up a video call between Keith and Mara, which really helped to raise their spirits. But as the years went on and the training at the Garrison became more competitive and intense, Keith didn't have the time to write to Mara, and they fell out of touch. The last time he had wrote to her, which was probably two years ago, she was at University majoring in anthropology.

Keith as the memory faded away, stopped in his tracks when an idea formed inside of his head. He couldn't help but smile, as he now knew who he would be able to contact and ask for help with the markings in the cave. Keith turned around and walked back to the library, and hopped on one of the computers they had available. He logged into his old email account and began to compose a message. It had been so long since he had spoken with Mara, but if there was anyone who would be able to help him out, it would be her.

When he was finally finished, Keith looked over the message a few times to make sure that everything was how he wanted. With some slight hesitation, he finally hit the 'send' button and laid his head back on the chair. Keith hoped that she would really read the message and write him back, especially since it was something that would be right up her alley of interest. But he could also understand if she did not respond, seeing as how he was contacting her out of the blue in over two years. Keith stared at the computer screen for over an hour before he decided to go home for the day. He would come back in a few days to see if she responded. As he rode his red hover bike home, he couldn't help but still feel anxious about the entire situation he was in. But he was also excited at learning more about the markings in the cave, and excited at the prospect of hearing from Mara again. Maybe they would even be able to re-strengthen their friendship! A small smile appeared on Keith's face as he rode off into the sunset back to his little shack in the middle of the desert.

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A/N: Welcome to the Balance of the Universe! Specifically, the revamped and rewritten edition. This prologue chapter takes place sort-of during the events of the first episode, notably when we find out that the Kerberos mission has failed. This prologue is also one of the new additions to this story compared to the original version.

You see, I originally posted this story in February 2018, and managed to post a total of 13 chapters released before I took it off the site.

The reason? As more seasons of the show were released, thus introducing new story elements, I had to think of ways to incorporate my OCs into the show canon as close as I possibly could. That being said, as you read further into the story, you will see some differences compared to the show. You've officially been warned.

Also, I am actually giving myself an update schedule/deadline: There will be two chapters each week, both being released on Wednesdays. This will keep me better motivated to continue writing the story, as well as to take time to receive any feedback from you, the readers.

I do not own Voltron Legendary Defender, but I do own my own original characters. I hope you will give them time and get to know them and love them as I have over the course of their creation/development.

So please, feel free to favorite, follow, and review! I look forward to getting constructive feedback from all of you as the story progresses.