-Castle, ballroom-

Kate felt sick. It was getting hard to breathe just standing around a lot of people. When they celebrated their victory, the princess invited all the Arusians to her castle. Sure it was nice and all, but not when she had to be part of the crowd! A whole ocean of emotions swept her mind and soul (not in a good way). This was the drawback of being empath. Being in a small room with over three people made her sick. Being in a huge hall with over thirty people made her sick. She needed to be in an open area to tolerate all of this.

"Keith, you okay?" Hunk asked her.

"Never better," She rasped, which didn't help.

He looked at her even more concerned. "Maybe you should, like, see a doctor. Or rest somewhere."

Lance came to them with his drink. "Hey I got an idea about our victory cheer." he beamed. "How about, I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol—!"

He paused, waiting for an answer.

Kate raised a brow, not getting it. "Uh... Vol-tron?" She panted a little.

"No! No, no, no, no, no." Lance said shaking his head. "The cheer includes the instructions. I say 'Vol' and you say..."

She craned her head forward, still confused."... Vol-tron?" She repeated.

The blue paladin sighed. "... We'll work on it."

Hunk turned to her. "You've never tried these things with your friends?"

"I've never had any friends during my teenage years." She replied bluntly.

They both tensed. Oops, wrong way to start a conversation, they mentally thought.

Kate just stared at them, frowning. "What?" Her voice was getting weaker.

Lance scratched his head. "Keith you okay?" He asked, making her shoulder tense. "You look...really, really pale. Like more paler than usual. Want to drink some of this?" He gestured to his cup he was holding.

Kate sniffed the air then clapped her hands over her nose from the foul smell. She took three long steps away from Lance. "No," she said quickly. "I don't think you should try it either." Then she fled to an empty corridor. She didn't stop running until she couldn't sense anything around her. She looked at her surroundings then sighed. Her back hit the wall and she let her body sag down to the ground. She flinched when she heard the mice squeak nearby. She let them climb to her shoulders. "What- what are you guys doing here?" She asked, taking a breath.

Chulatt squealed to her.

She gasped. "Pidge is going to do what?" She said in aghast. She got back to her feet instantly. "Where is she?"


-carrier pod-

(Pidge's perspective)

Pidge managed to slip away from the party without being noticed. She was surprised no one asked her about her backpack full of supplies. She made up her mind to leave the team to find her family. That was her plan from the start when she got blasted to space. Rover silently followed from behind as she climbed to the seat of the carrier pod but froze when she heard a voice next to her.

"Isn't it a little too early to call it a night?" Keith asked casually sitting on the next seat.

She jumped, nearly falling out. "Keith!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Keith shrugged. "Oh, no reason. Just that I was planning to leave voltron tonight to find my family and not say goodbye to the rest of the team."

Pidge looked down and pouted. "How did you know?"

"The mice keeps me updated."

"The mice?" She questioned. Pidge paused, studying him. "Are you...going to stop me?"

Keith averted his eyes from her. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Normally I would. I probably would be yelling at you right now, but Shiro is against me being unreasonable. So I'm not going to. Though, I'm wondering why you're doing this."

Pidge huffed. "Why? You know why! It's my family!"

He shook his head. "No, I get that. I mean, why are you doing this alone?"

She blinked.

Keith went on. "We're a team, remember? With us, you have everything you need to make your search faster. If you went solo, you have to survive without any help. I can see you packed with supplies, but how long will it last? How long will it take to find your family? You can't fight the entire empire alone. You'll be—"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Pidge shouted holding up her hands. "I get your point...I didn't think that far." She sighed. "But what am I supposed to do? I don't want just-"

"-Sit around, thinking you're not helping?" Keith finished her sentence. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I always end up doing reckless things and get in trouble for that."

Pidge just laughed. She didn't know why she found that funny, but she just laughed. Keith smiled at her after she calmed herself down.

"You and Shiro known each from before, right?"

Keith nodded. "He was always there for me." He said smiling. "And he always got me out of trouble back when I was still a cadet. I was a hellion. I owe him a lot."

"What about your family? Weren't they there for you too?"

Keith sighed heavily. "Nope. My dad died when I was eleven-" Pidge flinched from the news "-and my mom...well, she was never there to begin with. She didn't stay long enough to leave any sort of memories or messages for me."

"Oh," was all she could say. Both Keith and Allura lost their fathers too. Pidge cleared her throat. "I've been wondering this for sometime," she said trying to change the subject. "but, how did you know I was...you know..." she trailed off.

"A girl?" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Call it instinct." The raven haired boy looked down. "And...since we're confessing, I have to tell you something too. I was being a little unfair to you, so I might as well just make it a tie."

Pidge waited. "What is it?"

Keith said nervously. "I'm a girl too."


-Castle Bridge-

The look Pidge had on her face was princess. She couldn't explain when the entire castle suddenly shook and rumbled.

"Don't tell anyone," was all she said before they both got out from the pod and ran to the bridge.

When they got there, the rest of the team stared at the scene in horror.

"What happened?!" Shiro demanded, helping Coran get up.

"Ugh... I'm not sure." The old altein said slowly.

Allura gasped. "The Crystal!" The smoke cleared, and they saw Lance unconscious. "Lance!"

Shiro ran to his side and shook him a little. "Lance..?" No response. "Lance!"

"We have to get Lance to the infirmary!" Pidge yelled.

Kate stepped to help, but she halted when a memory, Lance's memory, flashed into her mind...


Kate found herself in a room she didn't recognize. It wasn't the garrison, it was someone's home. A young tanned girl sat on the couch, reading a magazine. Her hair was short and chocolate brown and she wore glasses. Lance entered the room wearing...actually she didn't know what he was wearing. But it kinda looked funny. The girl looked at him baffled by his clothes. "Hey," She said, "I see you're ready and psyched about Halloween...um, what are you dressed as?"

Lance flipped his hat and grinned at her. "Space cowboy." He said with pride.

She gave him an unamused look. "Okay, A: there are no cows in space. B: didn't you wear that last year?"

"So?"

"So, don't you think you should move on?"

"I like it."

The girl just shrugged and went back to her magazine. Lance sat next to her. "So, where's mom and dad, Veronica?" He asked her.

"Dad went to pick up our other younger siblings, mom went grocery shopping." She replied not looking at him. "What about you? How are things going in the Garrison?"

He leaned back of the couch. "The usual. I'm still trying to beat Keith."

"No luck so far?"

"Nope," he bristled. "How can that guy be the top of the class? With that attitude and...and mullet. Tch, I'm jealous of him. I bet his life must be great."

Veronica flipped a page. "I wouldn't really say that. That guy is an orphan."

Lance's anger dissolved from his face. "Oh," he looked away. "Okay, my bad. But still! How the heck can he so natural in flying and doing things that looks cool. Ugh, that guy doesn't even know he's popular with the girls."

"More popular than you?" She teased.

Lance waved it aside. "I'm just envious of him. I'm trying my best to beat him, but he's not trying to push me aside and bring me down. He's just—"

Veronica grabbed both his cheeks. "Hey!" She said forcing him to look at her. "Just because he's better doesn't mean your terrible. I've seen you work hard to get people's attention to show your talent. To show who and what you can do. Forget him, this is you. You're not him. Focus on your life, not his." She let him go. "Besides, even if you don't feel like a hero in public, your the hero in our family." She said smiling.

He was silent for a few heartbeats, letting all of what his sister said sink in. Lance returned the smile. "Thanks, Veronica. You really are a great little sister."

She flushed. "I'm not little any more!"

He laughed. "And you're probably right about this costume, I need to move on." He gasped to himself like a great idea zapped into his mind. "I know, I'll dress up as Shirogane!" He said with glee before bolting out of the room.

Both Kate and Veronica looked at the door he disappeared into moments ago with an unamused look on their faces.

Veronica sighed. "I don't know if Shirogane would be flattered or insulted by this." She said to herself.

Kate silently agreed.


"—where the Crystals come from. I'll tell you about it on the way!" Coran said talking to Hunk as they ran. Pidge followed them from behind.

Kate blinked and looked around. How much time passed? What did she miss? Allura placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Keith, we have to go and see what's happening at the Arusian village." She said.

Kate just nodded.

"I'll tend to Lance and stand watch over the Castle." Shiro said holding him.

Kate was reluctant to leave the two of them, but she couldn't argue. She looked at Lance's unconscious face one last time. The only explanation on how she saw his memory was because he was thinking about it not too long ago. He misses earth. He misses his family.

Both Kate and the princess sprinted to the exit.


It was too late. She should have seen it, she should have realized it sooner that Sendak planned all this.

Kate punched the particle barrier with her fist in frustration. Shiro and Lance were still in there. And they were stuck out here. She...failed them.

"They have control of the Castle." Allura said in horror. "They're taking Voltron!"

"Can we break through the barrier?" The raven haired girl asked.

"No. And whoever has taken the Castle has a Crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. We have to stop them."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Keith,can you hear me?" Kate heard Pidge's voice through her helmet.

"Pidge?"


(I'm forwarding a lot, if you don't mind)

Kate and Allura watched the barrier come down.

"It worked!" Kate balled her fist.

They both ran inside the castle.

Don't die on me Lance...Shiro...I'll save you, she swore.

They ran through the familiar corridors and rooms and finally reached the bridge. But she froze.

Kate's senses slowly drowned when she saw Sendak holding Pidge, slowly crushing the smaller girl with his gauntlet.

"You really thought your little hologram trick would work with me?" He said in a murderous voice." Pidge grunted in pain.

The world seemed to go slower around her. She couldn't hear anything else other than her own heart beating inside her.

Pidge was going to die...

"Keith," someone murmured her name.

Kate slowly looked at Lance and Shiro's direction. Lance still had his injuries and he was unconscious, but she could've sworn she didn't feel any sort of life coming from him. And Shiro...he looked more terrible than Lance. He was tortured.

And she wasn't there to stop it.

He was bleeding badly, and he was tired. But he was alive, that much she could tell.

Sendak had tortured him. He made him suffer.

She should have never left them.

Now they were both near death.

"Keith?" Allura asked warily behind her.

Allura's voice drowned when she heard her heart beat again.

No. No more deaths. She was tired of experiencing it.

Another heart beat.

She owed so much...she was not going to fail.

She felt her nails harden.

Another beat...

...

She finally snapped at the galra in rage.

Sendak noticed their presence, but he didn't have time to blink or react when Kate launched herself at him. She leaped at him like a panther attacking its pray from above, swiping for his face with a hand. She struck, four lines she gouged the side underneath his robotic eye with her nails. The galra screamed and threw Pidge to the ground. He tried to slash her, but she was too fast for him. She ducked and rolled to the side and snarled at him like a wild animal.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, touching his wound. Blood smeared on his finger tips, he looked back at her. The raven haired girl stood and growled at him, showing her sharped canines. He then looked at her hands. "Claws?" He questioned lowly, he narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you?"

She attacked again. She lunged at him while dragging her right hand which was grazing the floor, creating marks on the surface. Sendak threw his gauntlet to stop her, but she gave an uppercut to it and deflected the attack, tossing his gauntlet in the air. Pidge took her chance and cut the energy chains, that connected his arm to his body, with her bayard. The galra's gauntlet fell and rolled away from him.

"No!" He roared enraged even more. He lunged at the green paladin but Kate tackled him to the ground. They both rolled until Kate was atop him, she summoned her bayard which changed into a dagger.

He has done this, he hurt them. He hurt him.

Sendak froze, she could feel fear coming from him. Good. He should be afraid.

The blade plunged down.

"KEITH!"

And it stopped. Her hand just stopped by the sound of Shiro's voice. The blade was just inches away from Sendak's face, another second late, he would never wake up again. Kate slowly looked up at Shiro's face. Then at Lance's unconscious face. Her raged died out inside her, and her senses slowing came back. She nearly tried to kill—

Sendak used his advantage. He grasped her arm and threw her to the ground, her body slid across the floor, hitting the wall.

"Keith!" Shiro yelled.

The galra got up. "Impressive," he mused. "You fight like a galra, so hungry to shed blood in hatred. Except you hesitate. A weakness emperor Zarkon would never tolerate. You-"

While he was distracted, Pidge pushed Sendak at the center of the Bridge and a barrier rose up, trapping him. Kate looked at where the princess was, Allura had taken control of the castle while they were busy fighting with Sendak. She'd trapped him.

(Ending scene song - back to December. You can listen to the original or you can listen to the version sung by a youtuber called krissysings)

The red paladin pulled herself together sluggishly and slowly walked to Lance's side while Pidge freed Shiro from his cuffs.

"Lance," she knelt next to him, "are you okay?"

"We did it." He murmured, as she pulled him upright. "We are a good team." He said grasping her hand before he collapsed in her arms. She let his head rest on her collarbone when she hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Lance." She said nearly crying. "I'm so sorry I left you and Shiro alone. I promise, you will see your family again."


-castle lounge-

After locking Sendak up, and put Lance into the healing pod immediately, her mind eased a bit. Allura said Lance would be fine after a day.

But that's not the only thing that bothered her.

Kate sat alone on the couch.

She nearly did it again. Except she didn't break, she snapped.

Her anger drove her too far, she nearly killed someone.

Worst of all, Shiro had seen this bloodthirsty side of her. A side she desperately tried to hide from everyone.

Now what will he think of her?

She heard the door hiss open, but she didn't dare to look.

Never let the leash snap again, she told herself silently.

"Keith?" It was Shiro.

She didn't respond. The black paladin sat next to her on the couch. "You okay?"

Kate shook her head. "Thank you," She said in a hushed voice. "If you hadn't stopped me, then I would have..."

There was silence between them. The guilt within her was so strong, it was swallowing her. Kate looked at her fingertips. They were still dirty from Sendak's blood but they were back to normal. No longer sharp or hard.

The black paladin watched her and observed her behavior, his eyes softened. It wasn't long until Shiro pulled her into an embrace.

"Everything will be okay. I promise you that." He whispered. "Don't worry about."

Kate just wanted to cry in his arms. Just why was he still gentle with her? Despite what he'd seen her do, despite how she reacted aggressively towards Sendak. He still never gave up on her. He still never left her behind.

Why did she had to suffer like this with guilt.

Why did she love a man who would never feel the same about her?


Thank you for reading. So I mentioned Lance dressing up as Shiro before in chapter 3, if you remember. The dialogues were a reference from the show castle.