Chapter 7 – Day 2 – Keith
An: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender. I was trying to get this posted before Season 8 but I'm glad it worked out this way. I was able to incorporate some small details from the last season in here and change Shiro's husband to Curtis.
We're back to Keith in this chapter. The last we left him he was trying to sleep after having sent a message to Pidge.
Keith used every mediation technique he had ever learned to calm his mind and emotions. Eventually he reached to that magic point where his mind cleared and he slowly entered a dream state. He was back in Red flying through a challenging asteroid field. Zigging right, zagging left, rising up or plunging down to get around the various rocks. He was still the best pilot among the Paladins and dare he say the entire Garrison. No one could match his times and skills. He always completed this field way ahead of the other pilots. He cleared the rock that looked like a snail and faced the largest of all the asteroids in the centre of the field. He took a path to the right around the asteroid but then spotted the Green Lion sitting on its surface. What was Pidge doing out there? She didn't take part in these training exercises.
Something stirred in his gut about Pidge and he decided to hail Green. There was no response from Green which unsettled him further. He decided to land and forget about getting the fastest time. He exited Red and used his jet thrusters to get him over to Green. The Lion refused to let him in which angered Keith. He needed to know where Pidge was. He turned to head back to Red to do a scan of the asteroid when a flash of light to his right caught his attention.
He suspected that could be Pidge and he changed his course to investigate. The closer he got to the light source it became clear that Pidge was fighting with Zarkon. Keith immediately increased his speed. Zarkon was using the Black Paladin's bayard against Pidge. She was barely holding her own when Zarkon knocked her feet out from under her and then picked her up by her throat. He then turned to look directly at Keith, "You're too late boy," he said as he snapped her neck like a twig.
"NOOOOO!" Keith screamed as he awoke covered in sweat.
The other Blade members in the room with him told him in not so polite terms to get out if he couldn't sleep. Keith grabbed his communicator and left the room. Once outside the room, he leaned against the door and checked the communicator. He was hoping for a response from Pidge but was sorely disappointed when he didn't see any message from her. He looked at the time; he had sent her the message over four hours ago.
He tried to work out a reasonable explanation that would explain why Pidge hadn't responded yet. He couldn't come up with any. She always responded to him within two hours and since he started dating her, half an hour max. Something was wrong. Something was preventing her from responding to him.
He needed to call Lance. He scrolled through his contacts on his communicator until he found Lance's name. Next to it was that ridiculous picture Lance had taken of himself in a bright yellow shirt and straw hat. His smile was ludicrously wide and Keith swore his teeth sparkled. He pressed call. He hoped he was close enough to a relay so that there was no delay in transmission between him and Lance.
"Hello," Lance's slightly out of breath voice said over the comms. The connection sounded good.
"Lance, I need you to check on Pidge," Keith stated. There was a few seconds delay before he heard Lance's response.
"Keith?" Lance questioned.
"Go and check on Pidge," he repeated.
"Do you know what time it is here or what you're interrupting?" Lance asked angrily.
"Lance, I don't care what the blasted time is or if you're trying to make another baby with Allura. As the Black Paladin I'm ordering you to find the Green Paladin," Keith declared harshly.
"Keith," Allura's soft voice said. She must have taken the communicator from Lance, "What is this about?"
Keith found himself answering her question, "I sent Pidge a message and she hasn't responded. It's not like her even if she's busy she always responds," Keith insisted.
Before Allura could reply he heard the doorbell ring in the background and Lance began to curse about the time and interruptions to their alone time.
"Lance, put some clothes on while I go see who is at the door," Allura suggested.
Keith imagined her wrapping the night robe Hunk had gifted her for her birthday around herself and walking to the door. She must have walked with the communicator because Keith could hear the door opening.
"Veronica?" Allura questioned.
"Yeah, where's my brother?" she asked in a dry tone.
"What do you need Lance for?" Allura asked. Keith suspected she would have moved aside to let Veronica in and they would now be in the small living area in Lance's quarters.
"Matt wants me to get into Pidge's lab and wake her up. He thinks she's sleeping there since she hasn't responded to some question he asked her," Veronica said tiredly. It sounded like she yawned at the end.
"Lance," Allura called for her husband worriedly.
"What is it now?" Lance groaned.
"Go and check on Pidge. It can't be a coincidence that both Keith and Matt are worried," Allura stated wisely.
"Seriously? How many times do I have to tell Keith and Matt that Pidge may be small but she's tougher than the metal that makes up Voltron!" Lance declared.
"Honey, we all know that but that doesn't stop us from worrying about her. We have always trusted Keith's instincts and if he thinks something is wrong then we have a duty to investigate," Allura said.
"Fine," Lance declared. "But I'm positive Pidge is busy working on some techy something and forgot her communicator in her room. It wouldn't be the first time she did it that."
"Pidge didn't forget her comm that time, she purposely left it behind so you wouldn't bother her. Take your comm with you," Keith insisted. He wanted to be there step by step.
"Keith?" Veronica questioned. She probably hadn't realised that he was on the line with Allura.
"How long has Matt been trying to get in contact with Pidge?" he asked her.
"About six hours," she answered.
Keith's mind started playing all sorts of horror images for him. Pidge lying on the ground in her lab bleeding, begging for help after something went wrong or Pidge with a tool sticking out of her chest cause she tripped and fell on it.
"Lance get moving," Keith growled.
"I'm moving, I'm moving but I'm sure you guys are overreacting," Lance said confidently.
"Overreacting!" Keith exclaimed, "I am not overreacting. Let me remind you of all the times you overreacted. There was the time when Allura sneezed and you thought you she had the phalax contagion, there was the time that Allura went for a walk on the planet Kryzo and you thought she was kidnapped, then there was the time that..."
"Ok I get your point," Lance snapped.
"Besides, weren't you the one that posted something was up with Cosmo? Don't you think Pidge would have taken him to the vet if something was wrong?" Keith pointed out.
"Maybe she's at the vet with Cosmo right now?" Lance suggested.
"Not likely, I briefly glanced him in the Peace Quad as I was coming over here," Veronica stated. "I did think it was strange he was out so late. Isn't he always curled up on Pidge's feet?"
"Pidge's feet get cold in the lab. While he keeps them warm for her she'll use her toes to massage his body. She calls it the perfect symbiotic relationship," Keith said, a small smile pulling at his face. Cosmo and Pidge's fantastic relationship made things so easy for him. He had no idea what he would do if they didn't get along.
"Gosh it's cold out here. I should have walked with my jacket," Lance complained.
The minutes Keith had to wait for Lance to get to the lab were agonising. He slid down the wall and sat there in the corridor. Several Blade members passed him by and curiously glanced at him but he ignored them all. The longer he waited for Lance the worst the feeling in his gut became.
"Ok I'm here," Lance declared.
He heard Lance punching in the code on the keypad.
"Pidge can you..." Lance started before he came to an abrupt half.
"What is it?" Keith asked frantically, "Is she ok? Is she hurt?"
"She isn't here. Her communicator is on the counter but some of her tech is gone. She never takes tech out of this lab," Lance said worriedly. "She has her second lab in Green's hanger that she uses for missions. This isn't good."
"How do I tell Matt or her parents that she is missing?" Veronica asked.
Keith pushed aside thoughts of Pidge's family. "Veronica, I need you to go to Shiro and explain the situation. Curtis should be able to determine when was the last time Pidge swiped through security. Lance, I want you to call Hunk and ask him to check Pidge's room then I want you to go to Green's hanger. We need to make sure she isn't anywhere on base. Add Veronica to the call so we can all keep in touch," Keith ordered.
"Affirmative," they both confirmed.
While Keith waited he decided to move out of the corridor and head down to the kitchen. The bathroom definitely wasn't an option. He expected to find his mother or Kolivan there but there were only two junior Blade members eating.
"Find somewhere else to eat," he ordered meanly.
They looked up at him shocked.
"I need the room for a private security matter. You don't have clearance so get out," Keith ordered.
The Blade members quickly grabbed their plates and left. Keith sat heavily on a chair, placed his elbows on the table and rested his head in both hands. He closed his eyes and pictured Pidge.
"That was kind of mean," Veronica pointed out across the communicator. Keith had forgotten to mute his end.
"It was true. This is Paladin business," Keith replied gruffly.
"But you didn't have to be so rude about it," Lance added.
"I didn't ask for your opinions. Can you concentrate on finding Pidge instead?" Keith grumbled. He had this insane urge to cross his fingers and hope that Lance found her in Green's hanger but that feeling in his gut told him that wasn't going to happen. He hated that his instincts were always right.
Lance arrived at Green's hanger first. "Green is here and so is Cosmo, who is growling at Green," Lance said confused. "But I don't see her anywhere," Lance admitted worriedly.
Keith sighed heavily, "Any word from Hunk yet?"
"No," Lance answered in a defeated tone. Keith realised the ever optimistic Lance was beginning to understand that something might have happened to Pidge.
"I'm at Shiro's door," Veronica informed them.
Keith imagined she pressed the buzzer and was waiting for either Shiro or Curtis to answer the door. He heard the door open and then heard Shiro's voice, "What's wrong Veronica?"
"We think Pidge is missing," she blurted out. "I have Keith and Lance on the line. Lance has already ruled out her lab and Green's lab. We are waiting on Hunk to confirm she isn't in her room. Both Matt and Keith tried to get in contact with her and there's been no response for hours. There's also equipment missing from her lab in the Commander Samuel Holt building. I checked the logs, there's no off world mission assigned to her. She's supposed to be entirely focused on the GCS relay system."
"Come in," Shiro said urgently. "Who was the last person to see her?"
"I think it was the girls at the club," Keith answered.
"That was over a day ago," Veronica stated in disbelief, "she left early to come back here. Someone must have seen her after us."
"Curtis," Shiro called for his husband. Curtis had moved on from the IGF Atlas and had become the head of Garrison Security, "We have an incident. Dr. Katie Holt is missing."
There was silence on the line before he heard Curtis join them and start interrogating Veronica about Pidge's last known location and the last person she had contact with.
"I just heard from Hunk," Lance interrupted, "She's not at his place or in her room. The only other options are her parent's or Keith's."
"She doesn't go in my room when I'm not there and it's the same for her parents. Are they still off world?" Keith asked.
"Yes, Sam and Colleen are still away," Veronica confirmed.
"Then we have no idea where she is," Lance concluded. "This isn't good. Pidge is always the one to find us. How do we find her?"
"I'm coming home," Keith announced.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Veronica asked.
"The Blades can handle this mission without me. Pidge is the priority," Keith stated rising from his chair in the kitchen. He needed to find Kolivan.
"We'll turn this base upside down looking for her," Shiro assured him.
"Keep me posted. As soon as I'm in position, I'll radio Allura with the coordinates for a wormhole."
Keith searched through the cabin looking for Kolivan but he couldn't find him. He found the same two Blade members he had chased out of the kitchen sitting outside the cabin. They informed him that Kolivan was monitoring the movements of the guards on the south side of the village and he had ordered radio silence. Keith let loose a string of curses because that meant that Keith couldn't call Kolivan. He would have to go back to the village and find him delaying him from leaving by up to an hour as the village was in the opposite direction to the ships.
Keith packed his gear in record time and moved quickly to the village. The wound in his side started to hurt but he ignored it. He was the master of his body and he would not let something as petty as a wound slow him down. It took him half an hour to reach the south side of the village and a further ten minutes to find Kolivan, who was perched in a tree with his mom on the branch next to him. He remembered what Kolivan had asked him about his mother the night before but he quickly pushed it away. Now wasn't the time to contemplate what a relationship between the two of them would mean for him.
Even though he was sure the elder Galra knew he was there, Keith still loudly cleared his throat to get his attention.
Kolivan's head slowly turned away from the village and glanced down at him, "Aren't you supposed to be resting?" The disapproval was clear in his voice.
"I need to go. There's an emergency at the Garrison. I'm going to take a ship," Keith stated.
"What sort of emergency?" Krolia asked concerned.
"The Green Paladin is missing. She might have been taken. My presence is required there immediately," Keith explained with a calm, neutral voice. He didn't want them to know how worried he was.
"Do you think it's wise to go considering your connection to her?" Kolivan questioned.
Anger rose in him immediately, how dare he imply that Pidge was better off without him looking for her. He clenched his fists and forced his voice to remain neutral, "I am the leader of the Paladins. A member of my team is missing. I have a duty and responsibility to find her."
"Very well, if you need any assistance let us know," Kolivan said turning his attention back to the village.
Keith nodded. It was time to go.
"Keith," his mother said softly.
"I have to go. Every minute wasted could mean ..." Keith stopped himself right there. He didn't want to think about Pidge being close to death and he definitely didn't want to voice that thought out loud.
He turned his back to her and started the four and a half hour trek to the location where they had parked the ships. Shiro sent a message confirming that Pidge hadn't been found anywhere on base and Curtis had filed an official missing person report. He assured him that the case was top priority and that no stone would be left unturned.
Keith glanced down at the bracelet on his hand and pushed himself harder to get to the ship. His entire being was focused on what he had to do over the next few hours.
Step 1: Get to the ship.
Step 2: Fly onto the other side of the sun in this system. That should mask the wormhole and not compromise the Blade's mission.
Step 3: Contact Allura with the coordinates to open a wormhole.
Step 4: Fly through the wormhole.
Step 5: Pilot to the Garrison and land.
Keith cycled through those steps in his head. It helped him keep a tight cap on his emotions. If he allowed his mind any leeway he knew he would start thinking about all the dangerous scenarios Pidge could have gotten herself into. Thinking about her in danger without the Paladins to support her made him angry and his decisions were never good when he let his anger rule unrestrained. If Pidge needed him she needed his head clear and focused.
By the time Keith got back to Earth half the day had finished. Both Matt and her parents had returned before him and everyone was in Shiro's office discussing the case. He didn't even bother to knock on the door and just barged right in. Shiro was behind his desk talking with Sam and Colleen who were both seated in front of it. Hunk and Romelle were by the window. Romelle had her hand placed gently on her fiancé's shoulder to comfort him. Lance, Allura, Veronica and Matt were off to the side arguing. It sounded like Matt was upset that they had returned from the club and hadn't bothered checking to see if his sister had gotten back safely.
Keith pulled his bracelet off his hand and approached the yellow Paladin, "Hunk the bracelet Pidge is wearing has a tracker in it. I don't know how it works but I do know that you can use this one to find her. I always thought it would be Pidge using hers to find me. I never wanted this scenario to ever occur."
"Pidge's system in Green's hanger is a copy of the one from her lab. I'll use that one," Hunk said leaving with Romelle immediately. Keith noticed a sour look pass between Hunk and Matt. Something had happened between them before he arrived. He would find out about that later.
Keith turned to Shiro, "What has Curtis turned up so far?"
"He is on his way back with the security footage from the club that night," Shiro explained.
"ETA?" Keith asked.
"Walking through the door," Curtis said. "I got the footage. We should review this in the conference room."
"Agreed," Keith said.
Everyone followed Curtis out the door down to the conference room where they had all their mission briefings. Curtis inserted the footage into the computer and pulled up the camera view from the dance floor first. He started at the beginning of the night and then fast forwarded through the footage.
"There we are," Allura pointed at the screen.
Curtis slowed down the speed to normal time.
"Where is Pidge?" Shiro asked.
"The three of us were on the dance floor and we left Pidge at the table," Veronica said scanning the screen intently, "There!" she pointed to the right side of the screen where Pidge was half caught in the frame. "We left her there and didn't see her again."
Curtis noted the time on the footage and pulled up the view from another camera that covered the tables. He forwarded through the footage to the correct time. Seeing Pidge on the screen caused an intense ache in Keith. She looked so beautiful with her hair pinned up. He could see the top of her black dress and he knew it was the one she bought three months ago when Rizavi beat KBP 32 before her and she had to go shopping with her.
He saw Griffin sit next to Pidge and his hand clenched immediately. He didn't know what the history was between them but he knew something had happened and he knew from the look on Griffin's face, he wanted something to happen again. He watched proudly as she rejected Griffin but the man didn't take it well. He continued talking showing her something that visibly upset her.
Curtis paused the footage here and looked at the Veronica and Allura, "You didn't mention that James Griffin was at the club with you."
"We didn't see him," Allura answered.
Shiro picked up his communicator and summoned Griffin to them immediately. He then turned to Keith, "Relax and let Curtis handle this. It is his job."
Keith scowled but remained silent. Curtis took the image of Pidge and Griffin off the screen. A few minutes later, Griffin arrived.
Curtis started his questioning immediately, "You are aware that Dr. Katie Holt is missing?"
"Yes," Griffin answered.
"Then why didn't you tell us that you had contact with her?" Curtis asked pulling up the image on the screen.
"That was over a day ago. I didn't think it was important," Griffin said brushing it aside.
Keith clenched his fists, "What did you say to her?"
"That's none of your business," Griffin scoffed at him.
"Pidge is my business!" Keith declared standing quickly, sliding over the table towards Griffin and pulling him by his shirt towards him.
"That's enough Keith," Shiro barked. Lance reached him first and grabbed his back to pull him away from Griffin.
"What did you say to her?" Keith demanded loudly as Shiro's hand closed around one of his arms to pull him further away.
"Nothing important," Griffin said looking away ashamed.
Shiro and Lance pulled him to the other side of the room and even though they let go of him, they stayed at his side.
"What you told her could explain her mental state. I need to know all the details," Curtis said seriously. This was not the funny loveable Curtis. This was Curtis in his professional capacity and he took his work very seriously.
Griffin remained silent.
Curtis sighed, "Do I need to remind you that a person is missing?"
"I told her about the bet," Griffin mumbled.
"What was that?" Curtis asked again.
"The bet," Griffin said more clearly.
"What bet?" Curtis, Shiro and Keith asked simultaneously.
Griffin refused to look at any of them.
"That was cheating!" Lance accused him.
"Yeah well I was fed up of you guys raking in all the money," Griffin snapped at the Red Paladin.
"What bet?" Keith asked again this time looking at Lance for an explanation. He was supposed to know everything that happened on base.
"This isn't as bad as it sounds," Lance prefaced his explanation with.
"Just spit it out," Keith ordered.
"There was a base wide bet on when you and Pidge would break up," Lance explained softly.
Keith took a moment to absorb that information. He could see how that news would hurt Pidge but he couldn't see it making her that upset. They knew the base talked about them and that there were spiteful people out there who bore ill will towards them.
"And what else did you tell her?" he asked Griffin.
"All of your friends are in on it," he answered smugly.
"What!" Keith exploded ready to charge at Lance but Shiro was now holding him with both hands. "Why on Earth would you do that to us? You're supposed to be our friends!"
"Is that all?" Curtis asked Griffin ignoring what was going on between Lance and Keith at the moment.
"That's it I swear. After that she went to the bar and I haven't seen her since," Griffin swore.
"Ok you are dismissed," Curtis said.
Griffin left the room and Curtis turned to Keith and Lance.
"You two need to table this matter for another time. Right now we need to find Dr. Holt," Curtis said. "Griffin said she went to the bar. Let's look at that footage."
Sure enough the camera confirmed Griffin's account. Keith watched Pidge order a stiff drink at the bar when a strange man sat beside her.
"Oh no," Curtis exhaled. "That's the Broker."
"Who is the Broker?" Colleen asked.
From Shiro's reaction Keith knew it was bad.
Curtis paused the video, "The Broker started off as a small time criminal that sold performance enhancers to cadets. He then graduated up to arms, intel, anything that could fetch a hefty price. He used his clients to further his business interests. When you couldn't pay he made you enter into a binding contract. He has some sort of chip to make people do what he says." Curtis paused and looked at the Holts, "Was your daughter taking any enhancers to help with her work load?"
"No, NO, hell no, absolutely not, my daughter would never, Pidge isn't like that, Pidge would never, she doesn't need enhancers," those were some of the answers from everyone in the room.
Keith was highly offended at the question. Pidge didn't need enhancers. She was natural genius.
"I thought so but it is my duty to ask." He resumed the video and then paused it again, "There," he pointed to a small remote in the Broker's hand. "That is the binding contract but how did he get Pidge into it. We haven't seen any evidence that he injected her with anything. Keith you're with her the most. Has she had any marks around her neck lately?"
"No," Keith responded. None that he had seen but he had been on a lot of Blade missions lately. Had she been attacked and he failed her?
"There could be another explanation," Shiro suggested. He used his communicator to call Major Iverson who answered immediately.
"Major when it was discovered the Katie Holt had infiltrated the Garrison as Pidge Gunderson was an investigation conducted?" Shiro asked.
"No, she's a genius it was just assumed she hacked the system," Iverson responded.
"Thank you," Shiro said and ended the call.
"I see where you're going with this," Curtis said tapping his chin in thought.
"I don't get it," Lance admitted.
Curtis looked at him, "When you started here. Didn't you have to pass a medical test? Didn't you have to pass a blood test?"
"Exactly," Shiro said beaming at this husband.
"How does that connect to the Broker?" Lance asked confused.
"If you're on enhancers then you have to pass the blood test and in order to do that you go back to the Broker and pay for that service. Katie must have found out about him and used his services to pass the test and get into the Garrison. The Broker isn't an idiot. Despite her young age he would have seen the value in placing her in a binding contract that he could collect on later," Curtis explained.
"This is all my fault!" Colleen said standing with tears in her eyes "If I had been a better mother. If I had listened to her more."
"Colleen," Sam said reaching for her hand but she pulled away from him and exited the room.
Keith's communicator beeped. "It's Hunk," he said answering it, "Where is she?"
"Wherever she is, it isn't on Earth," Hunk answered.
"Could the bracelet be off?" Keith asked.
"If it was it would come up with a location, if it were destroyed it would show destroyed. She's not on Earth," Hunk repeated 100% sure of himself.
Shiro looked at Curtis, "Find out everything you can about the current plans of the Broker, the rest of us are going to the IGF Atlas. We'll search our galaxy for her," Shiro ordered.
"We should take the Lions just in case. I'll see if I can convince Green to let me take her to the Atlas," Keith stated.
"If anyone can get Green to move, it's you," Shiro stated with a wry smile.
Keith decided to go to Pidge's room first and collect the bag she always had packed for off world missions. He chose to pass through the Peace Quad since Pidge always liked it there and he had this insane notion that he might feel closer to her if he spent a few minutes there. When he entered the Quad his eyes were immediately drawn to Colleen sitting on the fountain. His first instinct was to avoid her but his conscious pointed out that she was Pidge's mother. She was always kind to him and he should return that kindness so he took a seat next to her.
"It isn't your fault," he said to her.
She looked at him, "Thank you for the kind words Keith but the facts are the facts. I failed her as a mother."
"No," Keith disagreed. "You raised a strong independent daughter. How many girls Pidge's age would have been able to pull off what she did?"
"I should have been there for her," Colleen insisted stubbornly.
"You were. She had all the skills you taught her. Do you know, just after we formed Voltron, Pidge wanted to leave and go out on her own in this massive universe to find Sam and Matt?"
"What stopped her?" Colleen asked curiously.
"A mission. She learned a valuable lesson about team work. You should be proud. Yes sometimes, Pidge is too stubborn for her own good and none of us can stop that. The only thing we can do is be there when something backfires on her," Keith stated wisely.
Colleen smiled at Keith, "I am so happy she has someone like you in her life."
"Really? At dinner you always seem to take pity on me when they are discussing their work," Keith said.
"It's not pity Keith, even Veronica and I get tired of hearing about it. Katie has her father and brother wrapped around her little finger. The three of them can go on forever. A change of subject is always good. You're part of the family. Why can't we talk about things that interest you?"
A warm feeling passed over Keith as Colleen told him he was part of the family. It felt great to know he was accepted by the most important people in Pidge's life.
"We should get going. Sam and Matt are getting antsy and want to leave right away," Colleen explained.
Keith nodded. "Do you know what happened between Matt and Hunk?"
"Matt was upset. He said some things to Romelle, and Hunk stepped up to defend her and the words got out of hand. I don't think Veronica is speaking to Matt at the moment. I fear if we don't find Katie quickly, Matt's going to do something stupid that might cause his marriage to come to an end."
Keith found himself placing his hand over Colleen's, "I promise you that I intend to find her as quickly as possible."
"I know you do," Colleen responded.
They parted ways and Keith continued on his way to Pidge's room. He half expected to find Cosmo on her bed waiting for him but her room was empty. The room was much cleaner than the first time he stepped into it. To him it was a mess but Pidge had some order to it only she understood. She did start to clean it up more after both he and Cosmo tripped over her 'projects' on the floor.
He knew where her bag was and he easily retrieved it. When he left her room he intended to go straight to Black but his feet carried him to her lab in the Commander Samuel Holt Building. He didn't know why he stopped there. He knew Pidge wasn't there. He looked up at the ceiling in contemplation and he noticed a tiny camera watching her lab. That was probably how they got in. He walked away and called Curtis. Maybe the camera could trace back to Pidge.
He arrived at the Paladin's hanger to find the other three Paladins waiting for him.
"Keith it is not the way it sounds," Allura assured him.
"And how does it sound?" Keith asked. "Because it sounds like all of you placed bets."
"We did but we bet for you not against you," Hunk told him.
"The bet reset each month and we always bet you would last the month. We were saving the money we won to throw you guys a big engagement party," Lance exclaimed. "Griffin was just bitter that he was losing so he twisted the facts to make it seem like we didn't support you."
"We're not engaged," Keith stated.
"Yet, but we all know it's just a matter of time," Lance said. "That's how much faith we have in you. We saw an opportunity and we took it. Allura and Romelle already have the theme worked out. Rizavi has been shopping for decor, Kinkade bought a new camera to document the entire process, Hunk's working on the menu and I've been trying to source a venue. It was supposed to be a big surprise and that idiot spoiled it. The only bright side is I hear the rest of his team is dealing with him. Apparently you don't want to be on Leifsdottir's bad side."
Allura clasped her hands together, "Are we forgiven?"
"I'll see what Pidge thinks when we find her," Keith said.
"Let's get going then," Hunk declared.
Keith nodded and headed to Black's hanger first. As soon as he entered he was hit with a strong wave of that feeling that had been plaguing him from Black. The other Paladins hadn't felt it so it had to be something specific to his relationship with Pidge. Was he feeling her or did Green know something was wrong and was reaching out to him through Black?
"Black, I'm going to go talk to Green. We need her for this mission. I want you to follow us up to the Atlas."
His Lion acknowledged him and Keith walked over to the hanger on his left. It was there he found his space wolf. Comso was just how Lance had described, sitting on the ground in front of Green, staring up at her and growling.
Maybe Cosmo knew pidge wasn't on Earth. Maybe he wanted Green to take him to find her and the Lion was refusing hence his wolf's growl of frustration. Cosmo was the more than just a pet. He was family and if he was anything like Keith there were no lengths he wouldn't go to, to protect family.
Cosmo looked smaller and Keith could only assume that the teleporting had taken a toll on his body. He would have to ask Hunk to cook big meal for Cosmo when they boarded the Atlas.
"Cosmo," Keith said softly.
As soon as Cosmo realised that Keith was there, his wolf lay on the ground and covered his eyes with his paws. Keith realised he felt guilty. He had told Cosmo to keep her safe. He was teleporting around the base because he realised Pidge wasn't there. He was the first one to realise that something was wrong and he was looking for her.
"It's not our fault buddy. Even if I was here it would have still happened," Keith admitted honestly. "They planned to take her; however because of you we found out something was wrong. Right now we need to focus on finding her."
He looked up at the Green Lion. "I know I'm not your Paladin. She is not here on Earth. We are going to look for her with the Atlas. I need you to go there so you can be ready for when we find her. Please Green. She needs you."
Green's eyes flashed, her head came down and she opened her jaw to allow them in. They both entered and went into the cockpit.
"Ok Paladins, let's head to the Atlas," Keith ordered, taking off first with Green.
The Lion mostly flew herself while he concentrated on Black behind them. Once they cleared Earth's atmosphere he saw the IGF Atlas up ahead but then Green suddenly veered off course.
"Green?" he questioned.
"Keith? What's going on?" Lance asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Green has found her?" Keith suggested hopefully. He turned to look at Cosmo but his wolf was just as clueless as him.
The screens showed Blue, Red and Yellow in line behind Green. Black was still heading for the Atlas and Keith had to concentrate to pull him off course. They flew out to the edge of the galaxy where the GCS relay was located. Green started to circle the relay.
"Green I don't understand," Keith said lost.
"I think I do!" Hunk said. "There's a strange energy reading coming through the relay. Green is responding to that but not any of the other Lions."
"Maybe it is Pidge trying to reach out to Green," Allura suggested.
"The system wasn't designed for this but she could have found a way to get it to work," Hunk mused.
"Can you trace it back to her?" Keith asked hopefully.
"The energy is being broadcast by all the relays now. It doesn't contain any data on which relay sent the message," Hunk explained before his tone turned dark, "I'll have to work with Matt to try to isolate the original relay."
Without being asked to, Green changed course towards the Atlas. "We're heading back to the Atlas," Keith informed the team.
The feeling in Keith's chest eased significantly and he concluded that Green was satisfied with their progress. There was a sense of optimism that started to seep into him and he knew that wherever Pidge was, she was still alive and safe but most important of all he felt like they had the time to find her.
An: Thanks for reading. So what did you guys think about Season 8. I wish the show didn't end so soon. There was still so much story to tell. I'm thinking about writing a story that continues on from the ending they gave us with a new threat to the universe.
