Inspired by the Netflix Original Series Dreamwork's

Voltron Legendary Defenders…

and written by fan fiction writer

FlickaLightbeast…

With excitement

I present...

Voltron Legendary Defenders

A Matter of Family

Chapter one

Never forget your position

Keith held on tight to the leather straps hanging from the ceiling. He, Kolivan, and one other Blade of Mamora warrior stood in the Black lion's cargo holder. It hadn't been long since Keith had left team Voltron to join the Blade of Mamora. Although he missed everyone, he felt like his duty was to the Blades now. Besides, Shiro was bonded with the black lion once again now, and Keith believed he himself was just not meant to lead Voltron. So him leaving and Shiro becoming the leader again was better for everyone.

"How much longer till we reach the drop off point, Black Paladin?" Kolivan asked.

"A few more ticks." Shiro said over the com.

He flew the Black Lion right towards a Galra outpost on a rocky planet. The outpost was only known to be there, because it was shown on the map. The outpost was hidden from view by a large, overhanging cliff, the outpost itself being on a cliff side. Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk were all headed for four other different outposts on the planet. Shiro's voice came in on the com in everyone's helmet.

"Alright, remember the plan." He said. "Each lion will drop off either Blade's or rebels near the entrance of each Galra outpost on this planet. Rebels and Blades, your job is to quickly and quietly infiltrate their defenses, get inside and download the information from the main computer. Once that's done, rig the outpost to blow with the explosives. Lions, your job is to keep the guns and fighters on you and distract the Galra from the team heading inside. Keep them occupied and their attention on you."

"We'll do." Pidge said for the rest of the team.

Shiro was coming close to the large cliff edge right above the outpost. Keith breathed in and out deeply as the Black Lion approached the drop off point.

'Patience, yields, focus'

Keith repeated what the Black Paladin had told him seemingly so long ago in his mind. Keith was feeling slightly restless, and he found that repeating those three words in his mind calmed him.

The air duct opened out from in front of them as the Black Lion slowed its speed for a safer jump. Kolivan led the way, and with Keith following close behind, then the other Blade with them. Keith had been training for this, jumping out from some kind of fast moving vehicle, and remembered just how to land and maintain speed. As his feet hit the ground, he rolled to break his fall and was soon running alongside Kolivan. They ran for about a few seconds, the Black Lion flying over and ahead of them in those few seconds. Shiro made his presents known to the enemy by flying over the edge of the cliff and hovering in the distance.

"Commander," a Galran soldier looked over his shoulder to his commander standing behind him, "there's some kind of unidentified, flying aircraft in the distance. It's not one of ours."

The Galran commander looked at the soldier with a frown.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"I think it's one of the lions of Voltron, sir. The Black Lion maybe." The soldier responded.

The commander's frown turned to a greedy smirk.

"The Black Lion is the most powerful of the five lions. If we capture that one, the rest won't be able to form Voltron, and they'll be as good as ours. I wonder how Zarkon will ever be able to thank me. Open fire!"

Meanwhile, Keith, Kolivan and the other Blade warrior stood on the edge of the cliff. Keith tried to peek over the cliff's edge, but couldn't even see the outpost while standing (the cliff had an overhang that blocked his view). They weren't right above the command center, but would make their way there after getting inside. How they would get inside was by swinging down with grappling guns onto the landing platforms down below and next to the outpost. The landing platforms, about ten or less, also overhanged and were anchored into the cliff, but while the outpost itself was half within the cliff side, the other half was exposed and overhanging.

"Kolivan to Black lion, we are in position." Kolivan said into the com.

"Roger that." Shiro replied, and Coran's voice came in on his com.

"Careful not to hit the roof of the overhanging cliff Shiro, it could send some pretty nasty sized rocks or even the roof itself smashing down on the some of the outpost. Save that bit for after the information has been taken from the outpost and everyone is safe aboard." Coran caustioned.

"Roger that as well." Shiro said.

He activated the Black Lion's jaw blade and flew in, tearing a large gash into a part of the outpost.

"I said open fire!" The Galran commander barked at his soldiers, who were slow in there response.

They all sped up in their work, the Black Lion and the outpost were soon returning fire at each other, Shiro being careful not to hurt the base too much since his team would be inside soon enough.

Uptop and above the base, Kolivan, taking a few steps back, ran full speed towards the cliff edge and leaped off it as far out as he could go. He turned in mid air, aiming a grappling gun at the cliff's roof as he fell, and fired. The grappling hook struck into the hard stone of the rock with a loud crack. In the same second that it did, Kolivan had clipped the end of the line to the back of his belt and was holding it with one hand as he continued to let himself fall. When he knew the height was right, he tightened the line and now swung in towards a landing platform.

Knowing his momentum would easily carry him to the platform, Kolivan just let himself swing. When his feet reached the platform, he was able to detach from his line and run smoothly to a stop on the platform. Up above, the Blade warrior, who stood beside Keith backed up and did the same thing Kolivan had done. After he had landed, it was Keith's turn. He backed up a little, then ran full speed for the edge of the cliff and leaped off. Just as Kolivan and the other Blade warrior had done, Keith turned in mid air and aimed his grappling gun at the cliff's overhanging roof. He fired, and it struck home with a clang and he attached the line to the back of his belt. Keith let himself fall until he was level with the platform, holding onto his line with one hand, then tightened it.

As he came in to land though, Keith saw that he was too low as he was nearing the platform ( he tightened his line to late). With the extra length in his line, Keith was too low to land safe and quiet on the platform. To fix it, Keith gripped the line with both hands and began climbing up it as fast he could, and despite his efforts, he still had to pull his feet and lower body up so he didn't smack right into the platform's edge. His back slid on the platform's floor as he skidded to a stop. Keith couldn't believe he had made such a rookie kind of mistake. He got up, detached his line, and hurried to the large doors that led into the outpost, where Kolivan and the other Blade were at.

The other Blade warrior was already at work with opening the door as Kolivan looked at Keith. His helmet hid his expression, but Keith knew why he was looking at him without it. Keith looked at him, respectfully acknowledging.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Kolivan asked in a stern voice and tone.

"I forgot how far out I was and tightened my line to late." Keith responded.

"Mistakes like that can cost a mission what it needs to be successful," Kolivan said, still very stern, "in this case stealth. Never forget your position and where you are in a battle."

With those words, the door of the platform opened, and Kolivan led the way through. Keith followed, a little more weary due to his mistake.

They snuck through the halls for a little while, using whatever they could as cover. By hacking into the system, they found a map of the outpost and were able to guess where the main computer was (which was also where the main control room was) and how to get there. But since this was a small outpost, not a large ship or base and there wouldn't be as much security, the main computer being in the main control room would not be much of a problem. Still, they couldn't get too relaxed, it was still Galra occupied. The break into the main control room was easy, or at least taking out most of the Galra soldiers was easy. The commander however, put up more of a fight than any other outnumbered soldier might have.

Keith was the first to attack him, and he had planned to go in from a flanking assault, but just as he was about to make his attack, the commander flew a rather high and unexpected kick in his direction and his foot caught Keith in the face of his helmet. If not for his helmet, Keith was pretty sure his nose would have been bleeding and in bad shape, his helmet took most of the low though. Keith stumbled a little, but returned the commander's kick with one of his own. The commander stumbled back as Keith's right foot hit his chest hard. The commander stumbled into the main computer desk. He glanced down at the computer, then with a watchful eye on the three Blade of Mamora warriors, he moved his left hand to a distinctly different switch on the keypad.

"Whatever business you have here, traitors," the commander said in a low, menacing voice, "you'll never finish it."

Kolivan, who had been attacking the sentries in the main control room along with the other Blade, looked at the commander and saw him reached for a certain button on the control desk.

"Don't let him press that switch!" Kolivan warned. "It's a irreversible self destruct countdown launch!"

At hearing these words, Keith thrusted his dagger in a spinning throw towards the commander. It glazed his right shoulder just in time before he could fully press the switch, but it was lost as it went through the glass window with a crash and down to the landing platform below. While in that instant of the commander crying out at the gash in his shoulder, Keith had darted forward and grabbed him by the front collar of his uniform and wrenched him away from the computer.

The Galran commander now lay on the floor, stunned slightly because he had landed on his injured shoulder. Keith took up one of the fallen sentries' guns and aimed it at him, not firing of course but ensuring that if the commander got up he wouldn't get far in whichever direction he would try to go. Kolivan came to the computer, having finished off the Galran sentries and took the small drive from a pouch on his belt and plug it into the computer. He could see all the information being downloaded onto the drive, as could each rebel or Blade downloading the information on at the other locations.

"Kolivan to the Black Lion, this is it," Kolivan said, narrowing his eyes at the pictures and files flashing on the screen as they downloaded, "the stolen information on every rebel and Blade of Mamora in our fleet. It's all here."

"Good," Shiro responded over the com, "that means we can stop for them at the other locations. Set the charges and get out of there."

The other Blade took the explosives from the small pack he had been wearing and set them on the walls, setting a timer for but a few minutes (doboshes in their time). Keith glanced at the files and pictures the computer was downloading. There were quite a few, but there was one that stuck out to him. A strangely familiar face that kept appearing over and over again. He couldn't tell who it was, and the face kept disappearing too fast for him to get a good look. But before he could really figure out who it was, all the files were downloaded and the photos all disappeared as Kolivan pulled the drive from the computer.

"The charges are set. But we must hurry if we are going to be in a safe distance by the time they go off." The other Blade warrior said, standing close to the door.

"Then let's go." Kolivan replied, and he led the way out.

All three made it through the doors, and Keith stopped to close them shut, the main computer being the only real thing they needed to destroy. But even while he was doing all this, he couldn't get that thought of the familiar face out of his head. After pressing the button for the doors to close, Keith raced after Kolivan and the other Blade.

He had fallen behind a little, but would no doubt catch up. He didn't see the small grenade that had been thrown by the Galran commander as it made it through the closing doors and clanked on the floor behind him. In a matter of seconds, ones to which Keith would never truly recall, the grenade went off in one, blood tingling explosion. The explosion came as a surprise to all three Blade warriors, and because Keith was closest to it, the blast wave carried him off his feet a second or two before it let him slam onto the ground.

Keith's ears were ringing as he landed heavily on the hard metal floor, and he thought he heard Kolivan call his name. He got up, grunting at the ringing in his ears, but he then noticed small bits of rock crumbling down from the ceiling. He looked up and saw how much the stone ceiling of the hall they were in had been affected by the sudden blast. It cracked dangerously and rocks fell from loose bits. Keith dodged a falling rock the size of his fist.

"Run!" Kolivan shouted at Keith as he turned and ran, the other Blade following.

Keith ran as hard as he could after them both, dodging rocks falling from the ceiling. One hit him, on the shoulder, and although it just slightly threw him off balance, he found that he was far more behind than he first thought. Behind him, the ceiling was giving in, crumbling down in large pieces of rock and piling on the floor. The rocks were on his heels in a matter of seconds, and his vision was being clouded by the dust coming from the ceiling. As Keith ran through the thickening dust, he tried to dodge the falling rocks, or at least the ones that he could see. He could tell though that he was nearly out of it, just a little farther and he'd be safe. Just as Keith's vision was being completely clouded over by the dust and falling rocks though, a very large rock to which he didn't see until it was too late, came crashing down on his head; and this time, his helmet didn't save him from the blow.

Shiro came to land on the main landing platform, where he guessed the Blade's would exit and it was really the only place he could land the large lion. He scanned the bay doors for them, then finally saw them running out. But wait, someone was missing. Only two Blade's came out, and Shiro remembered there had been three of them. Shiro guesses that the third was probably just a little behind, but as he lowered the Black Lion's head for them to get in, he still didn't see the third. Kolivan came to his side.

"We must leave, quickly. The charges will go off soon." Kolivan said, his voice calm and steady despite how fast he'd been running.

"What about the third Blade warrior?" Shiro asked as a Blade warrior came to Kolivan's side.

Kolivan looked behind his partner, and like Shiro, didn't see the shorter warrior with them.

"He must have been caught in some debris, but there's no time. We cannot go back for him now." Kolivan said, but he said it with a low, seemingly grave or slightly depressed tone.

Shiro narrowed his eyes at him in slight confusion, and as he took another look at the other Blade with Kolivan, he suddenly realized with dread who was left behind.

"Where's Keith?!" Shiro asked, his tone concerned.

Kolivan looked at him.

"We cannot go back for him. If he was caught in those falling rocks, there's no way he could have survived." Kolivan said, his voice just a little grace at leaving one of his men, a young man, behind.

"No! He's stronger than you know Kolivan." Shiro said defensively, refusing to except it. "Keith? Keith are you there?" He said in the com.

There was no response, but Shiro wasn't taking that as a signal to leave. He got up and out of his chair and ran in a mad dash out of his lion and to the hangar.

"Shiro! We cannot waste any more time!" Kolivan shouted after him.

Shiro wasn't going to listen though. He wasn't giving up on Keith, he told him once that he never would, and that promise hadn't changed over the years. Kolivan gave a frustrated groan and ran after the Black Paladin, knowing he was probably not going to listen and he was their only way out. The best thing he could do was help.

Shiro ran through the hall, soon stopping upon being unsure of where he should go to find Keith, wherever he was. That was until Kolivan came running past him.

"We went out this way!" He shouted down the hall as he ran. "Perhaps he won't be far back."

Shiro followed Kolivan. After a few turns, they about stumbled into a pile of rocks and rubble.

"This is close to where the ceiling began to collapse." Kolivan said. "I'm not sure what we'll find and we're limited on time."

"So let's start digging." Shiro said as he came forward and began to pull away at rocks, careful to not start any kind of rockslide.

Kolivan did the same.

"If we can't find him soon," he cautioned, "we'll have to leave without him."

Shiro hesitated to answer.

"I'm not giving up on him." He answered. "But you can leave whenever you want."

Kolivan was silent as they continued to dig away. They probably had about fifty-six or so ticks left until they had to leave without Keith. Shiro hoped it didn't come to that. He grunted as he pulled away another rock, and suddenly caught sight of something that made him gasp.

Shiro could see a hand and part of a forearm lying within the rocks, the dark blueish black fabric covering it soaked with a red liquid (blood). With a few more pulled away rocks, they found Keith, buried and hopefully alive. His right forearm and hand, which had been crushed by some of the rocks, were bleeding badly, and the blood was soaking the fabric and staining the ground. Keith's helmet has mostly been kept in tact, apart from the crack where a rock had no doubt fallen on it.

"Keith…." Shiro breathed in horror, and he an Kolivan hurriedly cleared the rocks off the young boy.

After clearing away the rocks that were crushing him, Shiro and Kolivan carefully lifted Keith out of the rubble and set him down. They had probably about forty or so ticks left. Shiro checked to see if Keith was even breathing. Kolivan helped with making the helmet fade away, and with it gone, Shiro could see Keith's face. His limp body had already suggested he was unconscious, but seeing Keith's face made Shiro feel a little better. He was indeed breathing, but barely.

"Keith?" Shiro asked, trying to wake him up, "Keith? Can you hear me?"

Keith's eyes opened a little and he stared at Shiro, with a weak gaze.

"Shiro?" Keith asked, his voice quiet and he winced.

"Keith," Shiro said, trying to keep his voice calm to keep Keith calm as well, "what's hurting?"

Keith winced, trying to pinpoint the pain he was feeling.

"My arm…my side...and my back..." He said, and he was silent for another moment, "...and I can't feel my legs…."

Keith winced again and made a small cough dew to dust from the rocks, he was covered in dust.

"Okay," Shiro said, "just stay with us. We'll get you some help real soon. Okay?" Shiro said, looking at Keith sincerely.

Keith made a very weak nod, his eyes barely staying open.

"...okay…." he barely managed to say.

With that, Shiro carefully slipped one arm under both of Keith's knees and the other under his back. He then stood up, being careful and making sure he held his friend securely in his arms, then turning he and Kolivan began to head back to the Black Lion. Carrying Keith at all had its own risks, but they had to move. They didn't have time to brace his back or neck to keep from further injury (since a spinal injury was what Shiro was expecting, especially if Keith couldn't feel his legs). They'd have to get Keith some medical aid as soon as possible. As of now, all they could do was get to safety.

Shiro carried a limp Keith back through the halls to the Black Lion, Kolivan following close behind. They got to the Black Lion just as the charges above in the main control room went off, the explosion shaking the cliff side and outpost violently. Shiro felt Keith jump slightly at the sudden sound, and Shiro saw him look around with his eyes in both confusion and fear, as if he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Stay with me Keith." Shiro said as he ran up the ramp and into his lion.

Shiro set Keith down on the floor gently, Kolivan tending to him, then sat down in the seat. The Black Lion shook as a rock fell on it's back. Shiro hurriedly turned the Black Lion around and sped them out from under the falling rocks.

"Kolivan," Shiro said, turning his head just slightly so his voice would travel better, "try to stop as much of the bleeding as you can. We have to keep him from getting into shock."

Kolivan responded by putting pressure on Keith's bleeding forearm and hand. Keith grunted, but soon he found that the pain was slowly fading, and he was getting dizzy and tired. Kolivan saw that Keith was slipping into shock and grid his teeth. Quite suddenly, Keith jerked and with a small gurgling cough, something red and liquidy came up from his throat and out through his mouth. Kolivan's face turned grave as his mask deactivated, knowing what the cause of this was.

"Shiro, we must hurry and get him to whatever medical facility you have. He's bleeding internally."

"Wait what?! Who?" Hunk's voice came in over the com. Shiro didn't answer either of them, but he pushed the Black Lion into full speed towards the Castle of Lions.

"Coran, we need a healing chamber ready! Keith is in critical condition." Shiro said over the com.

"I'll get right to it!" Coran said.

"Critical?! How?! What happened?!" Allura asked, worry in her voice.

"Did he get hit?!" Lance asked, also worried.

The muffled sound of Hunk peuking as well as everyone's questions seemed to pass right through Shiro. His only thought was to get to the Castle of Lions, and to get Keith the help he needed. In a mad blur, the Black Lion reached the Castle of Lions and Shiro landed it in the bay seconds before anyone else arrived. He got up, picked up Keith, who was now fully in shock, and carried him to the infirmary. Everyone followed, except Kolivan and the other Blade warrior, who lingered behind for some reason.

Keith was now staring up at Shiro, in shock and finding it more and more hard to breath. Shiro glanced down at him.

"Stay with me Keith." He said, his voice echoing in Keith's ears.

In a slow blur, Shiro carried Keith to the infirmary. Right after Keith's breathing seized and he blacked out, Shiro had put him into the pod Coran had prepared, and activated the healing process.

*note to readers* Hello! Thank you so much for reading the first updated chapter of AMOF (A Matter of Family)! I'm polishing this story and the chapters up because a lot has changed since I finished this story and I just had to go back and fix the errors that drove me nuts looking back on it! If this is your first or even second time reading this chapter or story, then I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment or PM me about your thoughts on it! Thanks again for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day! God Bless and Flicout! XD