Title: A Place to Remember

Rating: T

Chapter: 12

Author's note: first season story


"What do you mean I'm dying?" I spun around, but the field of flowers was gone replaced by metal halls and machinery, like I was deep in the bowels of the castle. "Crista?"

She was gone. I looked around some. There were a lot of vents that opened into this area. They looked like dark caves.

"Hello?" I asked. I wonder why I'm here. "Ella? Crista? Anyone there?" So great I'm dying. I wonder why. Maybe I'm not really dying and this is a nightmare. Weird Altean nightmare, right, that's it, just too much alone time. I want to believe that, but I don't. She was right I could feel it.

"What are you doing here?" There were shiny round circles reflecting in one of the tunnels.

"Pidge?" It looked like her glasses, but the voice was wrong.

"That's not much of an answer. Are you looking for someone?" The voice came closer. The reflections were from goggles that the person had pulled on top of their head. Their body was completely covered in slick black fur, the hands had what looked like a second thumb opposite the first. They had soft fuzzy ears, on top of their head, like cub ears on a bear. Their head had mid-length black hair that stuck out at all kinds of angles. There were deep green face marks and emerald green eyes. They were wearing a soft green tunic and brown leggings. No shoes though, and their furry feet landed on the ground next to him. They were only about four feet tall.

I was staring at them. I know it, but I've never seen anyone like them.

"You're so…"

"If you say cute, I will cut you." they growled and the pointy teeth did offset the cute factor a little.

"I was going to say beautiful. Is that better?" I offered taking a step back.

"Yes, I will accept that. I'm Max." a paw was extended in greeting. I took it in mine and was surprised by the feeling of pads on the bottom of their hand.

"Nice to meet you Max. I'm Lance. Do you know where we are?"

"The Castle of Lions," they tilted their head sideways at me. "I'm working on some repairs to the ventilation system."

"So, you're Altean?" Okay, maybe it was rude, but I have never seen anyone like them before.

A snort of laughter sounded as they covered their mouth, "Half. I'm half-Altean, half-Burbear. I grew up here in the castle. Most people do not approve of my heritage."

"Why?" I mean really pointy teeth aside they seemed nice enough.

"Burbears are known to be aggressive. It's not a trait most Alteans find appealing. Between you and me they can be kind of stuffy. But again, I ask why are you here, Lance?" Their eyes were so intense when they met mine.

"I don't know." I think they mean more than just this place in the ship.

"You're dying and you're hanging out with me in the vents. It's not that I don't appreciate you trying to keep my memory alive or anything, because I do and Pidge is totally welcome to any clothes I left behind. It's just your team, they are looking for you." They faded away with a smile like the cheshire cat.

"Lance!" I don't even know where I am, it's all dark, but I could hear a voice calling my name. Was that really Keith? Great I'm must be dying wrong and he's come to tell me how to do it better.

"That's hardly fair, now is it son." An Altean man in a decorated uniform stood in front of me. I looked around and I was on some sort of training field outside of the castle. There were other Alteans in uniform, marching or sparing or running in different areas around me.

"No. I guess it isn't."

"Don't guess son. You know it isn't." He looked down at me with stern grey eyes. His facemarks were red and his skin darker than Allura's. He had gray hair and a stubbly beard.

"Yes sir." I couldn't help, but snap to attention. I guess the garrison did ingrain some things into me.

"That's better." A smile twitched at his lips. He took his cap off and reached out to cuff the back of my head. "Don't be so formal. You're not one of my soldiers. What brings you here?"

"I don't know sir, I need to get back to my friends. I don't know how I got here, but something is wrong and I need to get back to them." It is becoming more clear that I need to focus on getting back. I'm not ready to check out just yet.

"And these friends? Who are they? Maybe I can help you?" He walked over to a bench and sat down and patted the spot next to him.

"Well, it's weird, cause I'm like from the future I guess? My friends are in the castle, but we are the only ones that live there, just the seven of us. Well and the mice too, but they're kind of an oddity."

"Are you friends Altean? I see that you are not." He looked at me curiously. "Such odd ears, almost like a Burbear, but in the wrong place."

"Allura said they were hideous." I blushed at the memory that still stung. I'm not arrogant exactly, but I do take a certain pride in my appearance.

"Oh, well I don't know about that, but certainly not Altean." He paused waiting for me to answer his question.

"Allura and Coran are Altean. The rest of us are human. We found them and the castle, well Blue did more accurately."

"Blue? The lion?" Now I had his attention for sure.

"Yeah, I'm the Blue Paladin where I am from."

He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "So that doesn't bode well for my people. Perhaps you can tell me more about your friends?"

"Well Hunk, he's my best friend, is the Yellow Paladin. He's great. The most kind-hearted and understanding guy you could ever meet. Coran is, I guess, Allura's advisor and the castle expert. He keeps it running and knows all sorts of things about the universe and the Lions and I think just about everything."

"Coran? Does he have orange hair?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes."

A loud laugh answered this time. "Little Coran, that boy is always underfoot in the castle, crawling around the ducts and getting into everything. Last week we had to pull him out of the waste system as he had accidently fallen into it."

I couldn't help the smile on my face for that one. I am so going to have to ask Coran about it when I get back, if I get back.

"So what about the others? Who is the green Paladin?"

"Pidge, or Katie, she's a complete genius. I mean like the smartest person I have ever met, which is something because Hunk is crazy smart too. She's younger than the rest of us, but like super tough, just the other day she got hit in Green and bounced back like nothing." I couldn't stop the flare of guilt at the memory.

"And how did she get "hit" as you say?" He looked at me with concern.

"I was supposed to be covering her. I messed up and she got hurt." I answered with my head bowed. I was embarrassed to tell him this. He seemed like a military man of some experience and I seem like a total failure in that department.

"I see. So what were you doing instead?" He didn't act judgey or angry just seemed to be collecting facts. So I told him about Hunk and the ion cannon and what had happened. He nodded a few times and then turned to me a half smile on his lips.

"You did make a mistake Lance, but it is not the one you think you made."

"What? I'm sorry, but if that was supposed to make sense I missed something." I mean is he Yoda or what.

"I am Commander Hobkin of the First Royal Defense Squadron. We are an elite fighter groups, specially trained to support Voltron in battle. I command thirty fighters. It is my job to coordinate attacks on the battlefield between all of them and still keeping an eye on what Voltron is doing and defending the castle. I make the last minute calls on the field that can determine the outcome of a battle."

I nodded, so yeah, very important military man.

"Do you think I can see what everyone is doing all the time?"

"What? No?" I mean thirty fighters, how could he.

"You are right, I rely on my people to feed information to me, give me the details going on around them. Do you see that soldier there, the one with the long hair that just fell on her face?" he pointed across the field.

I looked over to see her dusting herself off and a couple of others helping her up. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I saw the rock she tripped over?"

"No, I mean you would have said something if you did, right?"

"Yes, right." He nodded sagely.

"I'm sure you have a point, but I'm not getting it." I am so not following him right now.

"When you saw the ion cannon powering up, why didn't you tell your commander?" He was still looing off across the field, watching the soldier.

"I thought he'd already know, I mean he is like sooo much better than I am." It's true Shiro is a rockstar.

"And what if I told you he didn't know, that he would never have instructed you to leave the Yellow Paladin in the line of fire? What if I told you he didn't see that ship that hit you and Blue with the ion cannon? He is a very good leader, Lance, but he cannot make the best decisions without all of the information. You must trust him and yourself enough to talk to him. You see things during a battle that others don't and he needs that information. When you know you've trusted him with everything you see, then you'll know he's giving you the best order with everything he sees added. Don't hamstring his efforts to lead you, by holding back. A leader cannot lead someone who does not trust them."

"But I do trust Shiro, he's my hero. I mean he's awesome, how could I not?"

"Then why didn't you tell him, even after the battle you didn't let him know what really happened. He sought you out and asked?" The grey eyes were sharp as flint looking into me.

"I don't know. I didn't do what he said, I just thought he knew and told me to go and I didn't do it and…I should have followed orders and I didn't. I knew I did something wrong. I guess I just assumed I knew what he was going to say and he didn't need to. I was already aware of how I failed." I tightened my fists and drove my nails into the flesh of my hands, I am so not going to cry here.

"You didn't trust him to help you. You didn't trust that he would listen to you. You trust his military leadership, his ability as a warrior, but not his friendship. You haven't trusted any of them, other than Hunk, enough to let down your guard and really become a part of your team. You are holding back a part of yourself and by doing so you are hurting yourself and the team. You are stronger together. You are meant to be together." His grey eyes faded and in their place were huge glowing yellow eyes.