Chapter four: Bits And Pieces
It had been a few days since the lions returned and converged with the Atlas; and the incident with Shiro that immediately followed. They'd done some tests on Shiro, but, again, found nothing. Shiro took the Altas back to Earth, and somehow the Black lion followed. The other lions seemed to follow each of the other Paladins as well. Anywhere they went the lions were there. Black followed Shiro, Red followed Keith. Blue followed Lance, Green followed Pidge, and Yellow followed Hunk. They would stand there waiting, like guardians over their masters. Each Paladin found this strange, but went about their work regardless; almost trying to ignore them.
"The lions won't leave us alone." Keith said one night, over their weekly dinner.
"Yeah," Hunk agreed. "I..I..I mean, it's not bad. But ever since they did that thing with Shiro, they have remained by our sides... Something's gotta be up."
"Yes, but what?" Pidge wondered aloud. "We've examined Shiro twice now, and whatever the Atlas and Voltron did to him, it doesn't leave any traceable evidence of even being there." There attention then shifted to Shiro, noticing, now, that this whole time he'd been quiet... again. Shiro sat laid back with his head hanging low, his eyes closed and an almost nonexistent shadow cast across his face.
"Shiro?" Keith said, placing a hand on his left shoulder; remaining seated. Shiro's eyes opened and he turned slowly to look at him. Keith was taken aback by how hollowed and glazed-over they looked, like there was no emotion in them at all.
"Shiro? Are you feeling ok?" Keith asked, unable to hide the confused expression on his face.
"Yeah...um..." Shiro trailed off, rubbing both eyes with his pointer finger and thumb; then pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what happened a few days ago. I still can't remember anything, but bits and pieces of what the lions showed me. And I can't help but feel that whatever it was... was really important!"
"I know." Keith sighed lowering his gaze. "It sucks not being able to remember something important."
"I know, but- Allura!" Shiro interrupted himself as the Princess's face flashed across his mind, as he stood up abruptly. The chair fell down, and the team jumped in response. Another memory flashed back, showing him standing there with her. He could suddenly almost feel her presence again. And also remembered Alfor and the other Paladins standing there with them...
Shiro was shocked back out of the memory and stumbled back a couple paces. Romelle, who had just come to see them, caught Shiro as he nearly fell backwards over the upset chair.
"Easy Commander Shiro!" She cried, gripping his arm carefully and supporting his left shoulder with her other hand. Keith sprang up from his chair as well, and was at Shiro's side at once.
"Shiro what's going on?!" He asked frantically.
"Allura," Shiro breathed again; having recovered from the shock fairly quickly this time. "She was, I..I..I was there. We were-... Alfor? Zarkon?-"
"Shiro what about them?" Keith began to pry, trying to get a real answer from the scatter-brained admiral. Shiro was silent a moment, his eyes flashing.
"I think I visited Allura and the original Paladins in the void of Voltron and the Atlas." He said finally, his wide eyes meeting Keith's. The team froze their mouths agape at this statement. Could it be true?! They were all thinking.
"Are you sure?!" Keith exclaimed in a gasping breath.
"Yes!" Shiro nodded quickly. "I can't explain it. But I was there. I..I..I was there and she there, an..an..and... THEY were there. we were all there together. And we were talking, talking about something.. something important.. an...and... ye-ugh!" Shiro slammed his fists in the table, having taken a seat once again. Frustration tightening its grip on his chest, making him feel breathless.
"Ok, Shiro. Ok." Keith soothed placing a gentle hand on his shoulder once more, his other hand following. "Do you remember anything else?"
"No..." Shiro sighed. "That's the problem." Shiro abruptly stood up again; the chair sliding away, but remaining upright this time. Keith looked from Shiro to Coran.
"There's gotta be a way to help him remember." He said.
"Perhaps." Coran gave a single nod. He braced his elbows on the table, and, interlocking his fingers, pressed his lips to his hands thoughtfully.
"But does anyone know a way?" Hunk asked openly, half fearing that no one did. Keith racked his brain, he was unwilling to give up. Shiro was clearly seeing things and he knew Shiro couldn't make things up; even after all the Galra had done to him. He knew there had to be something more to this. The lions returning and Shiro's struggles with visions and memories couldn't possibly be a coincidence. There had to be a reason!
"Ok Shiro. Can you tell us what you remember from the vision." Keith asked, setting a recording device on the large banquet table of the royal hall. "Anything at all."
"Well... I was in a black void. Somehow I ended up on Altea and found the original Paladins and Allura. We're were discussing something, but-.. I- can't seem to remember what it was. The next thing I remember was...in another black void. But there were lights, light that were important. Something about them was significant I-..." Shiro was yanked away to a display of the Black lion and the clone, then shocked back out of it as quickly as it came. "The clone!" He gasped in surprise. "Remember something!"
"What?" Keith asked quickly, leaning forward a little.
"The lights..." Shiro trailed off thoughtfully. "They were-.. memories... events of the future. Something about... Allura." The team's eyes widened, Lance's heart skipped a beat at the name.
"Ok, that's good Shiro. You're remembering. What events were they depicting?" Keith went on slowly, unable to hide a proud smile.
"I..." Shiro tried to envision more. "..I don't know." Shiro dropped his head and shoulders; closing his eyes in shame. "The last thing I remember seeing was Allura. She was calling to me. But...I couldn't reach her... Something was pulling me away from her... I couldn't stop it."
"Ok." Keith sighed. Dropping his gaze to the floor. "But at least we have something to go on now. Which means we can at least start to try and understand what's going on here. Keep trying to remember things... For now we'll look at what we've got now and go from there... Ok?" Shiro still looked down. "Hey, we're gonna figure this out." Keith encouraged lowering a little to gain Shiro's glance. "I promise." Shiro managed a slight smile.
"I hope you're right." He said finally, Keith could only return a unconvincingly confident smile. Though it still felt encouraging to the admiral, despite the falsity of it.
The hanger door was open and the Atlas glimmered in the sunlight. Garrison personnel and students bustled about the giant ship. Shiro stood at a distance from the ship and observed its shiny metal surface. His mind was elsewhere; and he knew it when Matt's voice brought him back with a start.
"Isn't this exciting Shiro?! It's national Atlas day! The day everyone in the public gets to learn about the ship that helped end the intergalactic war with the Galra and Honerva." The young man's eyes shimmered dreamily at the sight of all the people spread throughout the hanger, around the massive ship.
"Oh- uh...yeah, it's pretty great." Shiro agreed, trying to play off the fact the he'd spaced out for a second. "And I'm sure your father is having the time of his life sharing the details of the Atlas's technology."
"You alright Shiro?" Matt spoke up curiously. "That's the third time you've spaced all morning."
"Uh...yeah. I'm fine." Shiro shrugged casually. "Just...had a lot on my mind lately."
By the end of the day Shiro was still immersed in his thoughts, which were constantly wandering off with him, and he was being jerked out of it every time.
"And that's the last of them." Hunk remarked brushing his hands together. "I think today was a huge success."
"Yeah. A lot of people came out to see the Atlas and learn about our adventures in space. And the battle that saved all realities everywhere." Keith monologued their purpose for the celebratory day, even though they all knew it. Keith then looked over at Shiro, who stood just a short distance away with his head down, leaning against something; and his hands braced at his sides. Keith's look of concern was unmistakeable, the team knew how worried Keith was about him; as were they all. But they also know how much Shiro, himself, was struggling; and wished there was something they could do.
"Takashi?" A voice pulled their attention away from the miserable admiral. There before them stood a young woman looking to be around Shiro's age, but slightly younger. Her golden blonde hair pulled back into a tight military-style bun; with a few strands escaping from the rest of her hair. Her silvery blue eyes studying Shiro beyond them. Slowly the woman walked past them and approached Shiro. She set a hand on his left one, making Shiro slowly look up at her.
"Wha- ah.. Kimberly?!" Shiro gasped, taken aback by her being there. He almost thought he was hallucinating, he almost couldn't believe who was standing there next to him. And without even trying, he brought her into a hug, wrapping his long arms around her. Her arms wrapped under his, with her hands up on his shoulders. She pressed her cheek to his, then they broke the embrace. Their hands sliding down their arms into the other's tender grasp.
"I can't believe it... you're here?!" Shiro was completely blown away.
"I know..." Kimberly looked away sheepishly. "After my break up with Wayde I couldn't stay around much longer. I asked to be transferred to away from Garrison headquarters to be alone... Thank goodness Wayde didn't follow me... Though.. I guess it was kinda meant to be kept a secret.
"Well I think you succeeded." Shiro grinned humorously. "But I did miss you. A lot of us did."
"I know. And I'm so sorry. I-"
"Don't be." Shiro stopped her short. "You did what you had to do. I know that break up was hard. Even though you deserved better." Kimberly shot a knowing smile up at him, thankful for his understanding. The team couldn't help but smile. For once in quite some time... Shiro looked anything other than stressed.
"So..." another voice broke their moment of reunion, making Shiro and Kimberly's hearts skip a beat. "You sabotaged my relationship and humiliate me in front of the whole Garrison. And then you try to act as though none of it happened?!" A tall man, about Shiro's height, with reddish-brown hair highlighted with blonde tips stood erect where Kimberly had once been. His green eyes staring daggers at Shiro.
"Don't even start, Wayde." Kimberly told him firmly. "You know that Takashi had nothing to do with our relationship; and that was over years ago."
"Pah! Nonsense!" Wayde snapped, pacing over to them; and getting in Shiro's face. "Takashi Shirogane was a meddler then, and, from the looks of it,... he still is." Wayde looked him up and down suspiciously.
"That's no way to treat your commanding officer, Sargent Michelson." Kimberly snapped pressing her hands to his chest and pushing Wayde back.
"Commanding officer!" Wayde spat. "He made be an admiral now, but he doesn't control me.
"Uh.. actually he does." Hunk spoke up.
"Oh, what do you know, cadet!" Wayde returned, brushing him off.
"Wayde, the only thing I did was tell her the truth... when she asked me." Shiro was now beginning to get frustrated.
"Oh, so my own girlfriend betrays me?!" Wayde replied turning his glare on Kimberly.
"It's not like that!" Shiro defended her before she could reply. "She asked my opinion on your relationship, and if you two would one day get married. And I told her the truth."
"Is everything alright over here?" Sam chimed in, joining them; having noticed them standing over here like this.
"Oh, so you humiliated me AND insulted me?!" Wayde shouted. His eyes flaring and his fists becoming tense.
"All he said was that he didn't think we would survive, because we were so different. He was afraid we'd disagree too much and end up fighting all the time." Kimberly stated.
"And you didn't bother to come talk to me about it?!" He snapped back. "Instead of talking to this...this goody two shoes, hotshot!" Shiro and Wayde glared at each other, as the two stepped forward; but Kimberly stepped between them, placing an arm across both their chests.
"That's enough. You two have always been at each other's throats since we were cadets. We're not going to start this childish gambit again. You two are grown men, you have to figure out how to tolerate each other..." she paused gazing at Sam. "Without killing each other." She finished, shooting a firm glance at Wayde; who scowled back in defeat. Her expression softened into a smile, as she greeted Sam properly with a hug.
"So nice to see you again, Sam." She said, her voice muffled a little by their embrace. Shiro stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder. Wayde saw this and couldn't hold back any longer. With an angry yell, he threw a punch at Shiro landing it across his jaw. Shiro hit the floor and before he could recover himself, Wayde launched himself onto him. Wayde punched again and again, when Sam caught his arm and began to pry him away from Shiro; dragging him off of the admiral. And Kimberly quickly knelt down to help Shiro. Keith, meanwhile, having seen the whole thing, froze. The memory of himself punching James Griffin came back to him, almost at the same time as when Wayde punched Shiro. Snapping back out of it he could hear Sam talking.
"That's enough Sargent!" He shouted intensely. "You are out of line. Attacking your commanding officer is a serious offense, and you will be punished accordingly. Go calm yourself... I'll speak with you later." Wayde seemed to resist for a moment, but Sam's furious glare finally changed his mind and he stormed off. Sam then turned back to Shiro, concern replacing his anger in an instant. Kimberly was slowly helping Shiro sit up. His head thumped as he shifted himself up, a wave of dizziness following. And didn't even dare stand, knowing what would happen. Keith had also knelt beside him now.
"Easy Shiro." He was saying gently. Kimberly set his left arm across his left knee, which was pointed up, then laid his head on his arm. She kept her right hand on his back and the other one on his arm. Sam knelt down too; as the others watched from where they stood.
Hey guys sorry I haven't posted for a little while. Family stuff. Anyway here's the next chapter and I can wait to see what you guys think either what comes next. Hope you're still enjoying this story! Thx!!! ;) :D